Obscure Sitcoms That Did Not Run Forever

'Boston Common' from 1996 to 1997, which I never understood the premise.

It starred Anthony Clark, whom DL has deciphered is gay.

I can’t say I ever remember Condo. But I do remember Fawlty Tow—I mean, Amanda’s.

Then there’s the even more awful Fawlty ripoff, Payne, “starring” John Larroquette.

'Ned and Stacey' made it through two seasons from 1995 to 1997. This episode features guest star Thomas Calabro.

In 1998, the woman star would be co-lead on a gay-themed NBC series.

'All Fired Up' in 1997-1998 featured a post-NYPD Blue Sharon Lawrence and a pre-King of Queens Leah Remini.

This was also where I first saw the gorgeous Mark Feuerstein!

The 5 Mrs. Buchanans (1994-1995) from DL fave Marc Cherry.

Judith Ivey redeems herself from her stint on Designing Women.

JUST "Fired Up" not ALL Fired Up.

The Powers That Be, 1992-93

Executive produced by Norman Lear show starring John Forsythe, Holland Taylor, Eve Gordon, Peter MacNicol, Valerie Mahaffey, Elizabeth Berridge. David Hyde Pierce, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Robin Bartlett.

Hilarious, so damn funny, but it didn't catch on...except by those in tune enough to appreciate this swipe at political life.

CBS' 1995 'Women Of The House' continued the story of Suzanne Sugarbaker, and featured the onscreen reunion of Delta Burke and Dixie Carter.

The Powers That Be (1992-1993) from pre-fame Friends creators. Starring DL fave Holland Taylor. DL catnip starting at 4:57

R7, Valerie Mahaffey is also in 'Women Of The House'!

r7 and r9 stole my answer.

Veronica's Closet. 1997-2000

Another very funny show. A moderate hit. I loved it.

Starring Kirstie Alley, Dan Cortese, Daryl Mitchell, Wallace Langham, Kathy Najimy, Ron Silver, Lorri Bagley, Robert Prosky

Newly dead Valerie Harper had another CBS failed sitcom with 1995's 'The Office.'

Good Morning Miami

"Fish"

"Hot L Baltimore"

"The Pruitts of Southampton"

I'm old.

High Society (1995 TV series)

Goddamn funny show starring Jean Smart and Mary McDonnell.

Stand By Your Man starring DL faves Rosie O'Donnell & Melissa Gilbert-Brinkman

Not exactly "obscure" but I loved "Angie" which only ran for a couple of seasons in (79-80?) It starred Donna Pescow (Sat. Nite Fever), cutie Robert Hays (Airplane!) and Doris Roberts. (Everybody Loves Raymond). Great show--- kind of a precursor to Dharma & Greg.

I seem to remember one with Don Adams as a supermarket manager??

TGIF had a few high concept oddities that tried to capitalize on the aborted magical sitcom trend that Sabrina started.

The first was Teen Angel, about a teen who dies from eating a hamburger and becomes his best friend’s guardian angel.

The second was You Wish, about a single mom who buys an old rug from an antique store and inadvertently releases the genie who was trapped in it.

I demand more sitcoms with animatronic cats!!

The comedy "ACTION" starring Jay Mohr as a sleazy movie producer. It is THE best, funniest, and sharpest Hollywood satire ANYONE has ever done and I include SUNSET BOULEVARD in that. ACTION was edgy, no-holds barred, razorblade sharp and not afraid to draw blood. If it had been on HBO it would've run for 10 years and been considered a classic. Instead it was cancelled after one 13 episode season and four years later we got the comparatively toothless and dishonest ENTOURAGE in its wake.

Filthy Rich

Starring DL favs:

Dixie Carter

Delta Burke

Ann Wedgeworth

1 season 15 episodes

As a kid, I loved this show!

R22 beat me to it! I loved Filthy Rich.

R19, Check it Out. Gordon Clapp from NYPD Blue was on it also.

Do any eldergays remember Evil Roy Slade? It was a TV movie which was supposed to be a series. John Astin was Roy Slade and Pat Buttram narrated it. My dad loved that.

There was a show named 'Babes' about three fat sisters living in an apartment together -- nobody else remembers this show except for me. I think it only lasted a few episodes, but I thought it was funny! I even remember the theme song all these years later!

All’s Fair, 1976-77. Richard Crenna and DL fave Bernadette Peters as pre-Carville / Matalin DC strange bedfellows.

Monty. Henry Winkler as a Rush Limbaugh-esque talking head.

For you, R25.

R28, thanks! This show could never see the light of day today.

Heil Honey I'm Home.

It aired one Episode (of the 8 shot) before it was cancelled, can't think why?

Agreed, r21. I freaking loved that show. So vicious.

"Top Of The Heap" with a pre-Friends Joey Lawrence was a Married...With Children spin-off.

"Too Something" renamed "New York Daze". This is one most people have no idea what I'm talking about, even when I mention the contest they had to rename the show.

A post-Roseanne John Goodman played an out gay man on "Normal, Ohio." It went about as well as you would expect.

ACTION was perfect. Had a great cast, esp Illeana Douglas as a former child star turned call girl.

Frank's Place. Tim Reid after WKRP ended, as a Boston professor who inherits a bar in New Orleans. There was one episode with moving a body from a funeral home, it was one of the funniest episodes I'd ever seen on tv. I think the show is on YouTube.

For every TGIF hit like Full House or Step by Step there were failures like The Charmings (Christopher Rich), I Married Dora (Daniel Hugh Kelly, Elizabeth Pena), The Pursuit of Happiness (Paul Provenza) and Billy (Billy Connolly).

An ABC drama I really liked was "Prey" starring Deb Messing. She played a biologist named Sloan Parker, so you know it was serious business.

Going Places (1990-1991) part of TGIF. Quite a cast - Heather Locklear, Cameron from Ferris Bueller's, Blanche's slutty niece, Will's gay friend and DL fave Holland Taylor. Helluva theme song.

I loved Veronica's Closet, too. Great supporting cast, and a much better fit for Kirstie than Cheers.

Alos, the Pruitts of Southampton, if only for it's great theme song.

Lastly, It's About Time with astronauts going back in time. Ratings were bad, so mid-season the astronauts brought the cave people back to present time. It didn't help.

Phyliss

R25. I remember! One of the girls was the rather matronly looking woman JoBeth Williams mistook for her dead mother at the diner in Poltergeist 2, if I recall.

The Help with DL regulars Mindy Cohn, Tori Spelling, Al Santos, Megan Fox and Antonio Sabato Jr.

WHET Al Santos?

He was really hot in some horror movie where he was high on meth.

Is that Mary Alice pre-Wisteria Lane?

Whoopi. I feel like I almost remember when it was on. I've only seen this episode. Whoopi owns a small Manhattan hotel and a group of elderly pot smokers headed by Rue Maclanahan use a room as their smoking den.

One of my favorites is the Britcom "Mulberry," from 1992-93. It starred Karl Howman as Mulberry and Geraldine McEwan as Miss Farnaby. Mulberry had to take over for his Father (Death) who, after a few thousand years of hard work, naturally wanted to retire.

Mulberry's first job, as sort of a Grim Reaper in Training, was to collect Miss Farnaby. For the 13 episodes that exist, he never managed to do that. Despite its strange premise, it's a really sweet series.

R41 Al Santos should have had a bigger career. And, yes, that’s Brenda Strong. What a crazy cast.

R42 Whoopi is bringing the energy! Every syllable has its own hand motion

Alright Already on the WB. It starred Carol Leifer and it was very Seinfeldesque. I loved that damned show. I wish it would come out on DVD or streaming.

DAG, sitcom starring David Alan Grier as a US Secret Service agent, who after making a mistake on the Presidential detail, is reassigned to protect the First Lady played by DL fave Delta Burke. Burke looked the best that she had since the beginning of Designing Women.

I loved Hot L Baltimore and The Powers that be. TPTB was also one of my dad's favorite shows. I don't get how those shows didn't have a huge audience when I think of the total shit that is a hit like that 2 girls something or other that has been around for years. Just the commercials for it alone made me know it was mindless crap and I never watched.

Makin' It which lasted 9 only episodes, but the theme song was a top 5 hit for David Naughton. The show starred Naughton, as well as Ellen Travolta (John's sister).

Watching TPTB I wonder, did The Nanny buy their old set? Because the main set looks the same.

Way before "Cheers" there was "The Corner Bar", a series about the patrons of a bar called "Grant's Toomb." According to Wikipedia it "is notable for its inclusion of the first recurring gay character on American television."The first season was good, very funny. Then for some reason the characters and actors were totally changed in the second season. The series ended after that.

"The Associates", a show about young lawyers working at a Wall Street firm. It was funny due to Martin Short. It was cancelled after nine episodes but was nominated for two Golden Globes.

"Women In Prison." It had a great cast (CCH Pounder, Peggy Cass, Wendi Jo Sperber, Denny Dillon) and was very funny but only lasted 13 episodes, possibly because it was too racy for its time. It also featured a hilarious theme song: "Have them forward your mail...now you're in JAAAAAIL!"

Angie starring Donna Pescow

R18 I LOVED Angie! Here's the season 2 disco-themed theme (sung by Maureen McGovern):

R24, I remember Evil Roy Slade. And, coincidentally, my father loved it, too. We both laughed uncontrollably at the scene where the psychiatrist makes him take off all of the weapons he carries with him.

Johnny Bago-Not sure what it was about other than the guy drove around in a Winnebago.

The Adventures of Brisco County Jr. with Bruce Campbell

Raven with some karate guy and Lee Majors as his sidekick.

The Neighbors

[quote]"Women In Prison." It had a great cast (CCH Pounder, Peggy Cass, Wendi Jo Sperber, Denny Dillon) and was very funny but only lasted 13 episodes, possibly because it was too racy for its time. It also featured a hilarious theme song: "Have them forward your mail...now you're in JAAAAAIL!"

Early Fox - when it only aired on the weekend - was great and weird.

R56 the funniest joke was how all the aliens were named for NBA players, and always used full proper names when talking to each other.

I LOVED It Had to Be You. All 4 episodes that aired!

Here's the pilot/premiere.

Yes, R50, they did.

[quote]R32 “Too Something" renamed "New York Daze". This is one most people have no idea what I'm talking about,

I can deliver the dirt on this. The show was cancelled because co-creator/costar Eric Schaeffer started acting like a crazy diva and made so many demands the network very quickly grew sick of him.

Hence, EVERYONE was out of a job.

Princesses (CBS TV series), 1991; lasted only five episodes with three unaired, but I thought it was funny and engaging.

The series chronicles the lives of three female roommates in New York City, each with a different background and upbringing, thus the series' title: Tracy Dillon (Julie Hagerty), an English teacher who just dumped her fiance after learning that he had been married twice and was still involved with one of his ex-wives (who also was his business partner); Princess Georgina "Georgy" De La Rue (Twiggy, credited as Twiggy Lawson, in her first American television series), a recently widowed English princess (and whose previous occupation was that of a showgirl) who arrived to the States to challenge her late husband's contested will; and Melissa Kirshner (Fran Drescher), Tracy's longtime best friend, an outspoken Jewish American who sold cosmetics at a department store. In addition to the three, there was also Melissa's sister Debra (Leila Kenzle).

Mark F. is sooooo CUTE in R4’s clip!

Veronica’s closet seemed pretty long lived to me somehow. Almost in the vein of Just Shoot Me. But, the gay character had a girlfriend at the end...or did I just miss something.

Here are some others I remember. Not sure if they were all flashes in the pan or more tenacious:

Lush Life with Lori Petti

Dangerous Minds Annie Potts

some bookstore show with Pam Anderson

Eve (the rapper)

Whitney (Cummings)

Are you there Chelsea

Relativity (90s)

Caroline in the City (90s)

Rubicon

Profiler and the male version, some hot guy with almond eyes

some show Simon Baker was on

Dharma and Greg

R46 I LOVED 'Alright Already!'

Carol Liefer was so funny in this show.

Bagdad Cafe. A sitcom version of the wonderful movie starring Whoopi Goldberg and Jean Stapleton.

Great gossip R61! I thought he was just playing a diva character on the show, but I guess he was playing himself.

I still remember CBS' summer 1992 series 'Grapevine' because of Steven Eckholdt only in his briefs as well as his character's nickname, "Thumper."

Future CBS Reality Star Jonathan Penner was also in this, many years before 'Survivor.' He was gorgeous!

Also, Courtney Thorne-Smith was in one episode of this right before her own summer 1992 series started on Fox, 'Melrose Place.'

[quote]Alright Already on the WB. It starred Carol Leifer and it was very Seinfeldesque. I loved that damned show. I wish it would come out on DVD or streaming.

As Carol Liefer was the inspiration for Elaine Benes, and Carol also wrote for 'Seinfeld', there is a reason why 'Alright Already' was Seinfeldesque.

"Best Of The West" starring a pre-Silver Spoons Joel Higgins. I was so sad when it was canceled. I loved westerns and cowboys.

No, Tish, the gay guy had a girlfriend for the first two seasons and he came out in the third season of 'Veronica's Closet,' and was not with the ex-girlfriend at the end.

Hiller & Diller. Great cast but it was all over the place and never found an audience.

R70, I loved “Best of the West” too! It also starred DL faves Leonard Frey, Caren Kaye, and Meeno Peluce.

“Aliens in the Family.” Remembered mostly (if at all) for the tragic actress Margaret Trigg.

Anyone out there remember a show called Young Love? It ran very briefly. It was dropped, IIRC, due to being too racy. This would have been in the 1980s. I think it ran less than a year.

Is there a source for finding shows that have been dropped?

I loved Frank's Place, and was disappointed when it got canceled. Rich characters, every episode was a gem of storytelling. You would think that the network would have given it more of a chance. But it was also a single camera show with a lot of people involved, and it had high production values, so I'm sure it was expensive to produce.

I was young when Hot L Baltimore was on the air, but I still remember watching it. It seemed less like a Norman Lear sitcom; it had kind of a Barney Miller vibe about it. It was the first time I remember seeing regular gay characters -- a gay male couple that was always depicted arguing as they walked together down the stairs. Hard to find any clips or videos from this show.

It may not be obscure because it's sometimes shown in reruns, but I found Bosom Buddies fascinating to watch. The second season was more entertaining than the first season; they focused more on the workplace/buddy aspect and essentially dropped the premise of cross dressing -- but they still had to play up the premise in the opening credits.

Kevin Burke (Christopher Sieber) is a college professor and widowed father living in Chicago, Illinois, who believes there is a scientific explanation for everything except how to control his scheming 11, then 12 year old daughters. Mary-Kate and Ashley Burke (Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen) are identical twin sisters, who are complete opposites; Mary-Kate is a tomboy whose biggest interest is perfecting her jumpshot and curveball and whose worst subject in school is math. Ashley is a girly girl who makes straight A's and dreams of a modeling career and dancing. Kevin's wife died prior to the series.

The other main character is Carrie (Sally Wheeler), a 26-year-old woman in Kevin's class, who has come late to college after exploring the world. Carrie is quirky, difficult, beautiful, and quick to speak her mind, so when she answers Kevin's ad for a part-time baby sitter for the girls, he is convinced she's nothing but trouble and is in favor of their next door neighbor Mrs. Baker baby sitting Mary-Kate and Ashley. The girls think she is a dream-sitter come true, and agree to put their differences aside to join forces to make a little chemistry between their by-the-book father and the beautiful woman who seems to drive him crazy in all the right ways.

One of the biggest losses to tv was "Brooklyn Bridge" starring Marion Ross as a Jewish grandmother. I think it lasted two seasons. Do yourself a favor, if you haven't watched this series, go on YouTube and watch them. This show was one of the best that tv ever produced.

I loved The Neighbors. I wonder if it could be rebooted somewhere.

Happy Endings was cancelled too soon. They’re looking at rebooting it too. It was one of my favorites and held up much better than Friends, though seeing young people being able to afford great apartments and having great jobs is jarring. It’s almost like watching a period piece.

[quote]r74 “Aliens in the Family.” Remembered mostly (if at all) for the tragic actress Margaret Trigg.

Oh boy....!

Anorexia, speed, and laxatives lead to this??

[italic]"But even with her so-called magic pill, Adderall, 'she succumbed to what she fought against—the global corporate concept that all women have to be thin and perfect,' says Hall. The laxative abuse had gotten so bad, according to friends, that Margaret lost control over her bowels. 'I’d get phone calls from her telling me that she’d had an accident in the dressing room of Victoria’s Secret,' Holmberg says. 'When I cleaned out her apartment, I found dozens of pairs of boys’ socks. She never wore socks. She was carrying them around so she could stow her accidents in them.' She had also lined her apartment with towels. If she didn’t make it to the bathroom, she would go on the towels and throw them out the window onto Thompson Street.

Margaret Tigg doing her downtown performance art at th 2:45 mark, before she disintegrated.

R57: Thank you. Now I know the name of the woman who hit on me at Rubyfruit's: Denny Dillon.

Geena Davis IS [italic]Sara.[/italic]

with Allfre Woodard as "Rozalyn Dupree"

Shirley

October of '79 to January of '80

Hot Hero Sandwich with Matt McCoy and pre-SNL Denny Dillon. It was before my time, but it seemed strange.

Does anyone else remember a bad sitcom called Over the Top with Tim Curry and Annie Potts? The behind-the-scenes drama sounds way more interesting that the show was.

Quirky 'Wonderfalls'

'My Big Fat Greek Wedding' was a hit in 2002 but the TV series 'My Big Fat Greek Life' was a flop in 2003.

[quote]Frank's Place. Tim Reid after WKRP ended, as a Boston professor who inherits a bar in New Orleans. There was one episode with moving a body from a funeral home, it was one of the funniest episodes I'd ever seen on tv. I think the show is on YouTube.

This show was gold and was universally loved by the critics.

Goodnight, Beantown is an American sitcom that aired on CBS for two brief seasons in 1983 and 1984. The series starred Bill Bixby as Matt Cassidy and Mariette Hartley as Jennifer Barnes, two news anchors at a fictional Boston, Massachusetts television station.

Tales of the Gold Monkey is an American adventure drama series broadcast in prime time on Wednesday nights by ABC from September 22, 1982 until June 1, 1983. The series featured the romance of early aviation, exotic locales, and cliff-hanging action. It was aired following the success of the film Raiders of the Lost Ark the previous year.

Anyone remember Muscle on The WB? It was a soap opera parody similar to Soap.

Baby Boom, co-starring Joy Behar as Helga the German nanny. All I want is a small clip or photo of Joy as Helga. There isn't one.

He & She; 1967-68, starring real-life husband and wife, Richard Benjamin and Paula Prentiss.

Andy Richter Controls the Universe ran for two seasons on Fox in the early 2000s. It was a decent show.

More recently, “Head Case” starring George Stephanopoulos merkin Ali Wentworth. I wish there were a place to watch episodes, but I guess Starz has it locked up tight. I thought it was wickedly funny. She plays a fucked-up trust fund baby therapist who treats celebs in LA. There are ad-libbed cameos by actual celebs as themselves, which are probably the least funny. I loved the peripheral characters the most. Steve Landsberg (R.I.P.) was the best.

Marie Osmond's 1995 sitcom Maybe This Time with Betty White and Craig Ferguson. Craig and Betty remained close and he often had her on his late night show.

R21 I loved that show. I recall hearing that the producers made it with the intention of selling it to HBO, but FOX offered them more money. Ironically, they probably would've made more money longterm if they had gone with HBO, which likely would've have renewed the snow.

"Head Case" with Ali is on Amazon Prime.

r91 Too soon.

Buffalo Bill, w/Dabney Coleman and Geena Davis.

Homeboys in Outer Space

Four TV Series Cancelled After One Episode

The most embarrassing one has to be Heather Graham's. There was a big buildup and publicity, including a cover story in Parade magazine ... which ended up coming out AFTER the series was cancelled.

The Secret Diary of Desmond Pfeiffer

"Soul Man," starring Dan Aykroyd as a widowed minister. I remember putting this on as a background show while I did other things around the house.

Chez Denise

A few TV remakes of films Bagdad Cafe starring Whoopi Goldberg and Jean Stapleton), Starman starring Robert Hayes and CB Barnes and Gung Ho with Scott Bakula.

Day by Day with Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Courtney Thorne Smith.

"AKA Pablo" with Paul Rodriguez and former 70s gay porn star Arnaldo Santana. It was a Normal Lear project that lasted one season on Showtime.

Flying Blind with Tea Leoni and Corey Parker on FOX

Townies-- 90s sitcom starring Molly Ringwald, Lauren Graham and Jenna Elfman. Interesting because it was Gen X (complete with alternative rock theme song), working class (they were all waitresses) and took place in Gloucester Massachusetts.

Goodtime Girls with Annie Potts and Georgia Engel.

Not really a sitcom but it was very funny in 1992!

'The Edge" starring Julie Brown and original nose Jennifer Aniston.

'The Edge' doing a hilarious spoof on 'Designing Women' in 1992.

The competing Animal House ripoffs:

Delta House with Michelle Pfeiffer (ABC), Co-Ed Fever with Heather Thomas (CBS) and Brothers and Sisters with Chris Lemmon (NBC.) All three failed miserably.

R110, pretty sure AKA Pablo ran on network tv as well (want to say ABC), I clearly recall ads for it running constantly in my youth and we did not have cable.

Good Grief a Howie Mandel sitcom on Fox about a funeral director.

One bit that sticks in mind after all these years is they are responsible for burying the mayor and he's accidentally cremated.

When Howie asks the assistant why he cremated him, the assistant shows him the paper that says, "Mayor may not be cremated."

Howie doesn't understand until reads it again as "May or may not be cremated."

When Howie asks the assistant how he decided, the assistant mimes flipping a coin.

R117 it did run on network TV here in Canada.

R25, you've solved a mystery for me- I knew a show like this once existed on network TV!

R117 I don't know why R110 said it aired on Showtime, it ran on ABC.

"Ned and Stacey" on FOX (1995-1997), with Thomas Haden Church and the DL fave Deb Messing.

People who think "Angie" is obscure should be viciously slapped.

She's the Sheriff, with DL fave Suzanne Somers

Carol Kane had a pilot in the '80s where she played a southern Drama queen. I think it had only one or two episodes before it was canceled. It was pretty funny. I don't remember the name of it and it doesn't seem to come up on her filmography.

The Crew =

"Shirley's World" with Shirley MacLaine

"Diana," with Diana Rigg

"Bette" with Miss Midler

"Encore, Encore" with Nathan Lane

"Emeril" with Emeril Lagasse

"The Jimmy Stewart Show"

"The Smith Family" with Henry Fonda (and Ron Howard)

That Bette Midler sitcom in 2000 (or was it 2001?)

[quote]Anyone remember Muscle on The WB? It was a soap opera parody similar to Soap.

Man, that's the only episode I remember!! I loved that storyline. Pure genius. Ruck and Boatman would later go on to SPIN CITY and Nestor Carbonell is still married to his costar on the show, Shannon Kenny.

Meego.

A great little show called "Maybe It's Me" with Julia Sweeney, Fred Willard & the Little House preacher =

Delta with Delta Burke where she moves to Nashville to become a country music singer. I liked it, but I guess nobody else did.

R132 We weren't thrilled with "The Green Lantern".

MacGruder and Loud

Love Sidney

Mama Malone

Sons and Daughters from 2006, it aired on ABC.

I remember thinking it was funny at the time.

Dads (1986)

A Year in the Life

Style & Substance starring DL faves Nancy McKeon and Jean Smart, who plays a Martha Stewart type

The Ellen Burstyn Show

Starring DL Favs:

Elaine Stritch

Megan Mullally

Brought to you by:

Pepperidge Farm's New Croissant Pizza

Reba

Playboy Club (Amber Heard)

Magic City (Kelly Lynch)

Reba ran for 6 yrs (127 episodes).

R142 I know some you bitches on here, seem to irrationally hate Reba McEntire, but her show ran for six seasons, has been shown repeatedly on cable, been sold to over 30 countries, and garnered her a Golden Globes nomination. It was neither short lived nor obscure.

The Torkelsons (1991)

Sports Night, 1998-2000; Stars: Josh Charles, Peter Krause, Felicity Huffman

The Torklesons had a second life as Almost Home, with DL fave Perry King and a pre-fame Brittany Murphy.

Farrah Fawcett-Ryan O'Neal in "Good Sports"~Rare Scenes From Their 1991 T.V. Sitcom

Quark, a Sci-Fi spoof that lasted one seasoning the 70s.

I still quote it.

the oblongs. I really loved this cartoon

My love for Lea DeLaria was fostered with The Oblongs.

13 Queens Boulevard — a sitcom starring Jerry Van Dyke. What could go wrong?

Although it did have some strong performers in the cast — notably Eileen Brennan and Narcia Rodd.

Care to take a walk down memory lane with me, to the bygone year of 1979 — forget about smartphones, the vcr and the IBM PC hadn’t even been fucking invented yet! Here’s a full episode of 13 Queens Boulevard.

I am actually going to download it tomorrow because I remember now how much I loved it. I hope it holds up

The Bad News Bears (1979)

Starring:

Meeno Peluce

Billy Jacoby

Corey Feldman

Future Young & the Restless Stars:

Kristoff St. John

Tricia Cast

Jack Warden

Rated: HILARIOUS!

"Back to You," with DL faves Kelsey Grammer and Patty Heaton. Also Josh Gad and Fred Willard.

Duet, another one of those early Fox sitcoms

And its spinoff, "Open House," with Ellen DeGeneres when she was straight.

Duet was horrible but that Alison LaPlaca was hilarious.

Pretty Pushers Lance Armstrong plays a fun sexy drug addicted racing cyclist in the early 2000s. Ashley Olsen is a jet setting drug dealer to the global VIP. She sells the worlds best and most secret drugs. They fall for each other and concoct a plan to develop undetectable drugs in a secret campus Lab in Zurich, sponsored by Columbian drug cartels and Mossod.

ER the sitcom, not the medical show.

I remember watching On Our Own on Sunday night. It was pretty lame and only lasted a year. It starred Bess Armstrong and one of her character's colleagues was played by Dixie Carter.

[quote]Duet was horrible but that Alison LaPlaca was hilarious.

Still married to her Open House costar Phillip Charles MacKenzie of the Showtime gay series Brothers that ran for 5 seasons but is still generally obscure.

Chris Lemmon was hot!

Out of the Blue was a spinoff of Mork and Mindy. Cast members included Tammy Lauren, Dixie Carter, Clark Brandon and Olivia Barash.

Supertrain was NBC's answer to The Love Boat.

I fucking loved Mama Malone when I was a child, though I doubt I would find it as amusing today. Had NO idea Terence McNally created it.

Speaking of Facts of Life Boyfriend Clark Brandon, R164, he starred in:

Mr. Merlin (1981)

Brotherly Love

Manimal (1983)

Starring:

the beautiful Simon MacCorkindale

Brotherly Love was such a misnomer!

Baby, I'm Back starring Demond Wilson from Sandford & Son. He played a compulsive gambler who abandoned his family for seven years. They're about to declare him dead when he returns. His wife is engaged to another man. It aired from the winter to the spring in 1978.

^Oops. Fucked up the link.

The New Odd Couple (1982)

Complete Savages starring Keith Carradine as a single father of a bunch of twinks. Was executive produced by Mel Gibson who wrote and directed one episode and guest starred.

Parker Lewis Can't Lose (1990)

That's My Mama. I love the theme song.

Jennifer Slept Here We’ve Got It Maid Easy Street Hello Larry The Neighbors Duets Open House Out of this World It’s Your Move

These are just a few of the shows I still mourn.

Significant Others ran on Bravo. It was probably the first improvised sit-com.

It was about couples in counseling and was hysterical. I discovered it on DVD and still play it from time to time.

Favorite moment, a black couple are trying to spend more time with their son as a family and the kid chortles, "When I grow up, I'm going to marry a white lady."

I guess GOOD SPORTS at r148 is when America realized Farrah Fawcett wasn't .... terribly necessary?

(They'd already decided this about Ryan O'Neal.)

R137 That was a funny show betrayed by a generic title. I wish ABC had some faith in it.

It’s Like, You Know

Fernwood Tonight aka Fernwood 2 Night

Fernwood Tonight (sometimes stylized as Fernwood 2 Night) is a satirical Talk Show parody that was created by Norman Lear in 1977 as the second spin-off of Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman.

Ostensibly broadcast from the fictional town of Fernwood, Ohio, the show is hosted by Barth Gimble (Martin Mull), a leisure-suited Smug Smiler (who may or may not be evading extradition to Florida). Jerry Hubbard (Fred Willard) is the clueless announcer and co-host who always manages to say exactly the wrong thing at the wrong time. The show ran five nights a week in first-run syndication for a total of 65 episodes. The following year, it was retooled as America Tonight.

Sean saves the world

I loved "The Ellen Show" starring Ellen Degeneres and Cloris Leachman. It lasted one season.

“Busting Loose” with Adam Atkin (son of Alan). I remember it had a big advertising push in the mid-70s and then POOF! It was gone.

Speaking of the Arkin family....Alan Arkin had. short-lived sitcom called “Harry.” Aired for a handful of episodes in 1987.

It also started Richard Lewis, Thom Bray, and DL fave Holland Taylor.

R8 Dixie Carter was never on that show.

The Paul Lynde Show. Had never seen it until recently on Antenna TV. Not as bad as I had imagined it to be.

R186 here. I remember being disappointed when they canceled “Harry.”

Looking at the opening credits today, with that fairly large lineup of supporting character actors (including Arkin’s wife at the time, Barbara Dana), I wonder if it was just too expensive to keep going.

George Clooney had a role in the sitcom E.R.

The Louie Show starring Louie Anderson was funny, but his star had lost it's shine when he became depressing. A pre-fame Bryan Cranston was on it.

The Good Life co-starring Drew Carey but starring John Bowman, another comedian. Funny but before it's time. Drew Carey would use a similar concept later on his own sitcom. Also had Justin Berfield long before Malcolm In The Middle.

Complete Savages produced by Mel Gibson was suppose to be a non-PC American family but ended up being complete shit. For some reason Eric Von Detton was shirtless much of the time.

Shit, I didn't see R174.

R175 PLCL is still a fave of mine and was a huge hit--until the third season. Then it went to shit. I have the season 1 & 2 DVDs and still watch them.

Redd Foxx had a few failed sitcoms after Sanford and Son:

Sanford, The Redd Foxx Show and The Royal Family. They were all funny but I guess TV viewers wanted more Cosby and less Redd.

R191 I loved Complete Savages! It was hilarious.

R162 How has LaPlaca not done anything since 2014? She is wonderful. She's like Roz on Frasier. Another one I thought would have steady work forever.

Came across the show "Lotsa Luck", a 1973 sitcom starring Dom DeLuise and written by Carl Reiner - ran for 22 eps. It was playing late night on one of those 3rd rate cable channels that get the old reruns.

"The New Adventures of Beans Baxter" - a 1987 show that was one of the first shows on the then new Fox channel. It followed a teen who is recruited to be a secret agent. Lasted 17 episodes.

"When Things Were Rotten" - a 1975 comedy about Robin Hood, written by Mel Brooks. It lasted 17 episodes and I still remember most of the opening theme song.

Parker Louis Can't Lose, with Corky Nemec, introducing the first slacker, maybe anticipating the hipsters too.

'Boys Will Be Boys' from 1987 was another one of Fox's first sitcoms.

Starring DL Fave, Matthew Perry as a super bitch!

In 1982, I had a short-lived crush on Anthony Edwards when he was on the single seasoned 'It Takes Two.'

Titus, 2000-2002.

Finally, coming to DVD next month: "Life With Lucy."

What I've taken from this thread is that Tammy Lauren has been on an astonishing amount of failed tv series and despite or because of that she's still best known for her one off part as a teen hooker working out of a diner on The Facts of Life.

Anyone remember that mid aughts TV show about college guys in th 80’s? It had a guy dancing in cranberry colored Hanes briefs in a mirror in the promo commercial.

IMO the epitome of the thread title - Police Squad! On ABC in 1982, it only ran for six episodes. Created by the same team which made Airplane, neither the network nor most of the viewing audience got the sense of humor. The main character of Frank Drebin, played by Leslie Nielsen, would later be spun-off with greater success in the Naked Gun movies.

I think Holland Taylor takes the prize for being on the most failed sitcoms.

[quote] I think Holland Taylor takes the prize for being on the most failed sitcoms.

Or Mclean Stevenson

Or Meeno Peluce

Or Tammy Lauren

Or Mark Feuerstein.

And, speaking of Feuerstein, did *anyone* watch that "Good Morning, Miami!" sitcom?

R51 The Corner Bar was a really good show. It did have the first gay character. Gabe Dell (from The Dead End kids, not playing the gay character) was the star. Anne Meara was in it, I think she played the cook (?). It was so long ago I remember watching it with my parents. An even earlier show (lasted one season) was He & She with Richard Benjamin and Paula Prentiss. It was funny to me, but I was a little kid. What was the Fox (?) sitcom with Joseph Bologna and Matt LeBlanc? It wasn't good but when Matt was young he was really great looking.

But unlike Tammy Lauren, R204, Taylor was actually on a successful one...All Tammy's known for these days is trying to teach Tootie how to sell her downtown Suzie!

[quote] But unlike Tammy Lauren, [R204], Taylor was actually on a successful one...All Tammy's known for these days is trying to teach Tootie how to sell her downtown Suzie!

Someone had to teach Tootie The Facts of Life! Edna Garrett and her lesbian cult obviously did not and could not!

r209, Tammy Lauren was on Homefront, which lasted 2 years and had quality writing.

R201, R210, that was the weirdest episode ever. Why would Mrs. G and the girls not try to help her or take her with them?

You're telling me that someone will actually pay for Life with Lucy? There was a very good reason that was cancelled. It not only sucked, it was embarrassing.

Yeah, of all the shows that need to be on DVD, Life With Lucy isn't one of them. Even diehard Lucy freaks thought the show was garbage. Who do they think is going to buy it, Ann Dusenberry fans?

R161 Not to be confused with the 1994-1995 ABC family sitcom starring Jussie Smollett and his siblings!

I watched the crappy transfers on youtube, I didn't think that Life With Lucy was horrible. Most people's problem with it seems to be ageism. Lucy was doing the same slapstick things she had always done, people just for some reason thought an older lady shouldn't behave like that. If it was done today, she would be praised for empowering older women. And, of course there was the fact in most places in the 1980s, she was competing with three younger versions of herself, since I Love Lucy, The Lucy Show, and Here's Lucy, we all still seen regularly in syndication.

R212 is that the episode where at the end they just watch through the store window as the teen prostitute walks off with her pimp? It was supposed to be a sad moment, but I just kept thinking, "You're just gonna let her go?!?"

DL fave Kristi Dawn's eponymous shitcom (co-starring Jon Tenney) that was canceled after only 6 episodes!

Incidentally, why do '90s multi-camera sitcoms and beyond look more polished than earlier ones? Many multi-cam shows from the '70s and '80s look as if they were filmed with a regular camcorder (e.g., All in the Family, Maude, Facts of Life).

R217, yes! Maybe call social services?! Totally messed up.

Wanda at Large with Wanda Sykes and also, yes Tammy Lauren.

Even Emeril Lagasse had a sitcom! Canceled after 7 episodes.

I was a big fan of Bill Engvall's sitcom that was short-lived. It wasn't any good, but had a couple of scenes with a shirtless Bill!

"The Dumplings" with James Coco as a chub. (Typecast!)

Someone mentioned "The Paul Lynde Show" upthread. When that show was cancelled, they shoehorned Lynde into the second season of "Temperature's Rising" (replacing James Whitmore.) It failed, too. That show was a mess -- with lots of cast changes. DL fave Joan Van Ark was in the first season.

"Carter Country" which piggybacked on the success of Jimmy Carter's presidential campaign. It only lasted two seasons. Starring Victor French, pre-Highway to Heaven.

The Shape of Things. According to YouTube, this aired in 1982.

It features Morgan Fairchild, Sarah Purcell, Lynn Redgrave, Betty White, and the Chippendales dancers.

I don’t remember this, but the cast is DL catnip!

[quote]r195 "The New Adventures of Beans Baxter" - a 1987 show

I misread this as [italic]The New Adventures of Anne Baxter,[/italic] and pictured her as a wizened yet merry olde widow in an old folks home.

Dear god.

Caftan wearing DL fave Lee Grant had a short lived sitcom "Faye"

D.C. Follies. Sid and Marty Krofft puppets with Fred Willard as the bartender.

I was 4 when this show started, but one episode that sticks out was when the Tammy Faye Bakker puppet started crying and mascara was running down the puppet's face.

Clueless

Any Canadians remember Student Bodies? Supposedly it aired on several Fox Networks in the USA, but I mostly remember watching it on YTV and Showcase.

R182 I just did a search to see if anyone mentioned Fernwood Tonight/American Tonight. I have fond memories of watching both series and LMAO.

r231 Clueless ran for three seasons -- a decent run.

I remember that R232 and even watched it when it first aired on YTV. It sometimes runs on MTV Canada now.

It started off as a Canadian version of Saved By The Bell but then turned into some bizarre 90210 teen soap.

Off The Rack starring Ed Asner and DL icon Eileen Brennan.

R125, could you be thinking of All Is Forgiven? Carol Kane played a melodramatic Southern writer on a soap opera.

For some reason, several moments from the first episode are burned into my memory, even though I don't think I saw any of the other 8 episodes.

I think it ran a long time and I know it had its fans but I never got why anyone liked Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman. I knew a guy would rush like he was on fire to get home to watch it.

I feel like the 1980s was just an endless succession of Bess Armstrong sitcom vehicles which the American public just kept continually rejecting

Bess Armstrong???? Ugh, she was in JAWS 3-D, some movie with hot Tom Selleck, endless TV series....

I was SO sick of her in the Eighties!

"The baby shark's MOTHER is IN. THE. PARK!"

Thank you R237 you're right that was the name of it.

LMAO R240! I thought I was the only one who quote that line! She was such a frau in that movie, even the shark didn't want to eat her.

Fred Willard had the clueless routine down pat. I remember he hosted SNL once, and did a skit in VERY small briefs. Needless to say, it got my attention!

Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman moved at a snail's pace, but it was watchable for just simply being surreal. People tuned in thinking it was going to be a comedy with jokes. It was actually a very subtle parody ... if you didn't get it, that was the joke. Same with Fernwood 2-Nite.

I totally agree about Alison La Placa. She should have multiple Emmy Awards, headlining her own series. A great comedic actress. I mean, they restructured Duet to be centered around her...

my childhood favorite....The Governor and JJ

People tuned into Mary Hartman to see if Louise Lasser was high that night.

But, if you had been married to Woody Allen you'd probably resort to drugs too!

CPO Sharkey with Don Rickles

[quote] The Shape of Things. According to YouTube, this aired in 1982. It features Morgan Fairchild, Sarah Purcell, Lynn Redgrave, Betty White, and the Chippendales dancers.

If I were Betty White, I'd kick my agent in the ass. Was she that desperate for money after MTM?

The Critic, starring Jo Lovitz. It was canceled by ABC after 13 episodes. Then Fox picked it up but canceled it after 10 episodes. Frankly, the show was a dud! It had a great premise, but it didn't quite deliver. Many of the jokes were soooo lame!

[quote] "The baby shark's MOTHER is IN. THE. PARK!"

There's no such line in Jaws 3D.

UNDECLARED. Judd Apatow's follow-up to FREAKS and GEEKS with many of the same actors, starring Seth Rogan and a post- QAF Charlie Hunnam. Aired one season and Fox tried to grow its audience by airing episodes they felt superior to others out of order despite it fucking up the continuity.

R252 if it had’ve aired today it would’ve been saved by Netflix.

That 80s Show was famous only for being one of the first targets of SJWs for racial bias.

Luis starring Luiz Guzman was funny but never found an audience.

Drexell's Class starring Dabney Coleman was suppose to be funny like Head Of The Class but wasn't funny--just like Head of The Class.

R242, When in the pool or in the ocean, I also slap my hand on the water's surface, yelling, "Sandy? Cindy? SANDY?! CINDY?! MIKE!!!"

R249 Som'n wrong with STRIPPIN'?!?!

It's Your Move starring Jason Bateman

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhLlQsK1E-E

'Fish Police' (1992). Adult prime time animated series. An all-star cast (e.g., John Ritter, Tim Curry, JoBeth Williams, Ed Asner). Big promotion. Very negative reviews. Canceled after 3 episodes.

[quote]If I were Betty White, I'd kick my agent in the ass. Was she that desperate for money after MTM?

Well, her first post-MTM sitcom died quickly.

What was that animated show about Siegfried and Roy's tigers?

Breaker High (1997-1998) for the Canadians and Ryan Gosling fans.

I also just remembered the "TNBC" (or Teen NBC) lineup that used to air on Saturday mornings on NBC. Clearly, I had no life because I remember these so well. A few of these shows had multiple seasons but I *never* hear people mention them EVER. So, therefore, I think they've become "obscure."

Remember Hang Time?? It had like 5 seasons, but still...

Malibu, CA (1998-2000)

R262 Yeah, Saved By the Bell, that started that whole thing, is the only one that managed to enter the zeitgeist.

USA High (1997-1999)

The Charmings

Pushing Daisies

[quote]Remember Hang Time??

Logo needs to have one called HUNG Time.

R264 Yes, it's all coming back to me now. I would even argue that Saved by the Bell: The New Class is obscure, even though it ran for 7 years... I was actually trying to remember another sitcom from the lineup to post here, but turns out it was The New Class, which I forgot existed!

Someone should make a new thread "Obscure Sitcoms that Ran for Longer Than You Thought"!

R267 "Pushing Daisies" was a brilliant show. Unfortunately, just as it was hitting its stride, the writer's strike came. The show had to go on unofficial hiatus for months, then was never able to find its audience again when the strike was over.

What a shame. The show was so creative and an allegory for relationships in the age of AIDS.

[quote] [R267] "Pushing Daisies" was a brilliant show. Unfortunately, just as it was hitting its stride, the writer's strike came. The show had to go on unofficial hiatus for months, then was never able to find its audience again when the strike was over.

The show never had an audience and was renewed for a 2nd season despite its low ratings. It was a surprise that it came back.

[quote] What a shame. The show was so creative and an allegory for relationships in the age of AIDS.

Umm, the age of AIDS had been over for a decade.

Speaking of Logo, I loved the sitcom It's All Relative.

I'm With Her. Based on Brooke Shields marriage.

R271 There's always a cunt on a thread, isn't there?

That 80s Show (2002), it was awful but it also aired before the world was truly ready for 80s nostalgia!

[quote] [R271] There's always a cunt on a thread, isn't there?

If by cunt you mean someone who deservedly calls out an idiot poster who has their head shoved all the way up their ass, then yes.

R276 Then you're not a cunt. You're just a fucking asshole who wishes they were a cunt.

Wow, you really take getting called out for being stupid hard, don't you? Methinks the DL is not for you. You should probably just go somewhere safer and less upsetting for you.

THE MOMMIES -- the frauest show that ever was! Based on the lives of two suburban housewife friends turned stand-up comedy duo. It was supposed to be the anti-ROSEANNE. I remember Rider Strong's older brother was on it. Canceled after two seasons. Frankly, I'm surprised it lasted that long.

R278...says the asshole who wishes she was smart and clever enough to be a cunt.

Didn't they have a talk show after that? I guess they'll give one to anybody.

R281 Yes! It was replaced by The View!!!

Also, about a decade ago, they attempted to go to Broadway with "The Mommies: A Musical Blog," which had the subtitle: "A 90-minute party of laughter (and a few tears) that will remind you of all the reasons you became a mommie!" Needless to say, it never made it.

HEARTS AFIRE, 1992-1995, 54 episodes. John Ritter, Markie Post, Billy Bob Thornton, George Gaynes, Beth Broderick and Wendie Jo Sperber (of course!). Created by Linda Bloodworth Thomason. Originally a political comedy set in Washington D.C., the show was retooled after its first season. Ritter's character returns to his hometown to take over the failing newspaper. Snooze.

Throb!

Diana Canova, Jonathan Prince (the poor man's Michael J. Fox), pre-Frasier Jane Leeves, and a VERY young "Paul W. Walker."

Hooperman, with John Ritter

Dusty's Trail, with Maynard G. Gilligan, Sgt. O'Rourke's massive appendage, and two-thirds of the Petticoat Junction gals.

Hey, Jeannie!

The New Gidget

"That 80s Show was famous only for being one of the first targets of SJWs for racial bias."

Yuck, do the Trumpsters who whine about SJWs have to invade every thread?

We needed for sitcoms about 1920s maids coming down from heaven

"Sydney," with Val Bertinelli, Craig Bierko, and Matthew Perry.

Cafe Americain, another failed Bertinelli sitcom.

I liked Cafe Americain

"The Girl with Something Extra." Sally Field played a wife with psychic powers to John Davidson.

Can't believe I forgot this one. Spencer, starring Chad Lowe. (Not to be confused with Spencer For Hire.) I was 17 or 18 and thought he was super cute and also really good. The show was more realistic than most teen shows (to me, anyway). Some episodes were better than others but Chad was usually worth seeing.

"Joanie Loves Chachi"

"Blansky's Beauties"

"Son of the Beach"

Charlie and Company (1985) with Flip Wilson and Gladys Knight was CBS's "get any black family!" sitcom after the success of the Cosby Show. Also with pre Urkel Jaleel White and the late Kristoff St John.

Thea (1993)/1 season

Andrew Dice Clay and Cathy Moriarty in a post Roseanne NJ blue collar sitcom in the 90s, Bless This House. It was actually pretty good.

One Big Happy, with Nick Zano.

Frannie's Turn

NOW & AGAIN, a dramedy from Glenn Gordon Caron starring Eric Close, Dennis Haysbert, Gerrit Graham, Heather Matarazzo, John Goodman and the always fantastic Margaret Colin.

R288 I watched "New Gidget" regularly. The sight of shirtless Dean Butler was something I enjoyed very much.

R302 I loved that show! I remember Entertainment Weekly referred to it as "They Saved John Goodman's Brain," but it was really good.

I have since downloaded and (re) watched the oblongs (it held up perfectly and I really think that they should bring it back with the original voice actors) and am now (re) watching the powers that Be and it's a bit hammy but still better than 60 percent of all tv shows currently

Darren Star's, "Grosse Pointe" starring Al Santos (who I agree should have had a bigger career) a young Kohl Sudduth and William Ragsdale from Herman's Head.

It was ahead of its time so it only ran for one season.

I used to love the Tom Jones theme song, "Sexbomb."

I just remembered one- I don't think it's technically a sitcom but it was definitely comedy.

GCB! Good Christian Bitches.

I just remembered one- I don't think it's technically a sitcom but it was definitely comedy.

GCB! Good Christian Bitches.

I liked the Paper Moon TV show (74-75) and thought Jodie Foster and Chris Connelly were as enjoyable as Tatum and Ryan. But no real Madeleine Kahn counterpart. It was fun though.

Enlisted was so funny... didn’t hurt that the three lead guys (playing brothers) were all pretty hot.

I loved "Room for Two" starring DL villian, Linda Lavin and everyone's favorite republican, Patricia Heaton.

Also, "Everything's Relative" from 1999, starring Jeffrey Tambor and Jill Clayburgh and where I first fell in love with Kevin Rahm. Sort of a dry run for Arrested Development but nicer.

Someone Like Me (another one with DL fave Patricia Heaton)

Why did Patty H. get so many chances? In addition to the ones mentioned immediately above, there was also Back to You and the Delta Burke one mentioned upthread. Of course she hit it big with Raymond and The Middle, and now she's back again with her new sitcom. She must be well-liked and/or easy to work with.

It's probably not all that obscure and in total it ran kind of long time, but I loved 'It's a Living' ('Making a Living') in all of its various 80s incarnations. Great theme song, setting, and cast (original and reboot):

It's a Living is a DL fave

Cristela ran for one season with comedienne Cristela Alonzo, comedian Gabriel Iglesias, Carlos Ponce... Cristela even co-hosted on The View and was good, then ABC cancelled the show and Cristela made some not so wise comments about ABC, haven't seen her on ABC since...

R317 what did she say about ABC?

Gigi Does It by Dave Krumholtz was funny

"I'm Dickens - He's Fenster," with Mr. Patty Duke and Mr. Shirley Jones.

DL fave Kristi Dawn in "Kristin"

How about OCCASIONAL WIFE?

teacher's only

[quote]teacher's only

Oh, dear.