http://www.ew.com/ew/gallery/0,,20235467,00.html
remember these?
wasn't there one that had Fabio as a detective or cop?
remember these?
wasn't there one that had Fabio as a detective or cop?
heh-top 25 cheesiest syndicated shows
- Thread starter melancholymecha
- Start date
http://www.ew.com/ew/gallery/0,,20235467,00.html
remember these?
wasn't there one that had Fabio as a detective or cop?
Oh man, yeah I remember many of those.
It's a good think TNG wasn't on there. The net would've exploded!
Bonus points for Super Force.
And Jack of All Trades was intentionally cheesy, I think there's some other fitting contenders out there like that Team Knight Rider show and The Crow TV and Mortal Kombat Konquest. Actually, looking back I think most syndicated TV was rather cheesy.
And Jack of All Trades was intentionally cheesy, I think there's some other fitting contenders out there like that Team Knight Rider show and The Crow TV and Mortal Kombat Konquest. Actually, looking back I think most syndicated TV was rather cheesy.
According to this, there were no cheesy shows before the 1980's.
Before the '80s, there wasn't much for TV options in the US...most areas had 3 commercial networks and a PBS affiliate. Maybe an independent station, but not necessarily. As a result, the market for SYNDICATED TV programming was limited mostly to half-hour game shows (often nighttime versions of network game shows, e.g. Match Game, Wheel of Fortune) and Entertainment Tonight-type celebrity infotainment shows (read as: low budget). Also "stripped" (for daily weekday airing) repeats of network programs became a staple of late-afternoon/early-evening TV programming, without which Star Trek's TOS would never have been the after-market success it was.
Then the cable explosion of the '80s opened up a huge amount of TV programming time (as did the establishment of the FOX Network, which began as a VERY part-time entity) and that allowed for a whole new market for longer programming than 30-minute filler shows. Trek's TNG was a leader in the first-run syndicated market and, it could be said, is clearly an ancestor of all the programs in the linked list as well as the successful shows that have followed it.
But note that the KEY WORD in the article is SYNDICATED. If you don't know what that means, look it up because it matters.
Then the cable explosion of the '80s opened up a huge amount of TV programming time (as did the establishment of the FOX Network, which began as a VERY part-time entity) and that allowed for a whole new market for longer programming than 30-minute filler shows. Trek's TNG was a leader in the first-run syndicated market and, it could be said, is clearly an ancestor of all the programs in the linked list as well as the successful shows that have followed it.
But note that the KEY WORD in the article is SYNDICATED. If you don't know what that means, look it up because it matters.
T. and T.!!! Seriously, that show was awesome! Mr. T and a hot blonde lawyer doing their best Spenser: For Hire impersonation, solving crime. I don't know which was better, that or the Mr. T. cartoon, where he was a gymnastics coach and he and his students would solve crimes while going on gymnastics meets.
Great list. I liked Superforce quite a lot.
Things they left off:
Highlander
War of the Worlds
Friday the 13th: The Series
Captain Power
It was a cable show, but my absolute favorite 90s cheesefest was Silk Stalkings with Rob Estes and the super-gorgeous Mitzi Kapture.
Great list. I liked Superforce quite a lot.
Things they left off:
Highlander
War of the Worlds
Friday the 13th: The Series
Captain Power
It was a cable show, but my absolute favorite 90s cheesefest was Silk Stalkings with Rob Estes and the super-gorgeous Mitzi Kapture.
oh, looking thru the list again I just noticed Fabio in the cast of Acapulco Heat. That must be it. I remember one Thanksgiving or Christmas eve we were watching tv at my grandma's house, she didnt have cable yet so this is all that was on other than Holiday programming.
Opening credits:
Night Man should've been on this list!!!!
18 Wheels of Justice, starring Lucky Vanous, G. Gordon Liddy and Billy Dee Williams.
Cobra, starring Michael Dudikoff.
Pensacola: Wings of Gold, starring James Brolin, Kathryn Morris and Kristanna Loken.
Solder of Fortune, Inc., starring Brad Johnson and Melinda Clarke.
The Cape, starring Corbin Bernsen and Adam Baldwin.
Couldn't find one for "The Immortal," starring Lorenzo Lamas.
Night Man should've been on this list!!!!
18 Wheels of Justice, starring Lucky Vanous, G. Gordon Liddy and Billy Dee Williams.
Cobra, starring Michael Dudikoff.
Pensacola: Wings of Gold, starring James Brolin, Kathryn Morris and Kristanna Loken.
Solder of Fortune, Inc., starring Brad Johnson and Melinda Clarke.
The Cape, starring Corbin Bernsen and Adam Baldwin.
Couldn't find one for "The Immortal," starring Lorenzo Lamas.
First-Run Syndicated shows didn't start/popularize until the mid-80s.
TNG, IIRC, may have been one of the first.
MeanJoePhaser
Admiral
"Sorbo was an engaging lead"
Yeah, the list lost me at the second page.
G. Gordon Liddy as a recurring villain...ah, SUPERFORCE, you ruled.
Michael Biehn's career saddened me...Adventure Stink.
No TIME TRAX, TALES FROM THE DARK SIDE, MONSTERS, SUPERBOY, SMALL WONDER, SPACE PRECINCT (in the USA)?
Yeah, the list lost me at the second page.
G. Gordon Liddy as a recurring villain...ah, SUPERFORCE, you ruled.
Michael Biehn's career saddened me...Adventure Stink.
No TIME TRAX, TALES FROM THE DARK SIDE, MONSTERS, SUPERBOY, SMALL WONDER, SPACE PRECINCT (in the USA)?
This is BULL!! Bull I tell you!!! Herculese and Xena were great shows. I loved Relic Hunter. The Baywatch Nights episode where they thaw out the Viking warrior and he runs amok? Classic! The Lost World, I used to even watch the reruns on Saturday afternoons.
Jeez, don't these guys like TV? I bet they watch Friends and Seinfeld reruns all the time. Pussies.
Jeez, don't these guys like TV? I bet they watch Friends and Seinfeld reruns all the time. Pussies.
RIP EFC.
I don't think I've ever seen a show with such a promising first season go down the tubes so fast.
wow, never heard of some of these.
Thunder in Paradise rocked. Herc and Xena are too good for this list
Thunder in Paradise rocked. Herc and Xena are too good for this list
Meh. They aren't even trying Herc, Xena and Jack of All Trades were intentionally cheesy. What about M.A.N.T.I.S. or "The Fall Guy" or even "Walker, Texas Ranger?" *gag*
Then, of course, there's SciFi's Flash Gordon..... *shudder*
Then, of course, there's SciFi's Flash Gordon..... *shudder*
"Walker Texas Ranger" wasn't syndicated. It was on CBS.
I'm glad someone else remembers "Cleopatra 2525." I wonder if the "Firefly" fans would still be able to stomach Gina Torres after seeing her in her 1st sci-fi outing.
I agree that "Hercules," "Xena," & "Jack of All Trades" don't deserve to be on this list since they were intentionally campy. The rest were all idiot savants. BTW, I've always been surprised that "Xena" was never made into a movie. Considering how many of its 1990s pop culture contemporaries made the leap to the big screen--"Star Trek: The Next Generation," "The X-Files," "Power Rangers," and Duncan MacLeod in "Highlander: Endgame"--I'm surprised that "Xena" never made a similar move. Of course, they still could so long as they do it soon before Lucy Lawless is too old. (Hell, it couldn't possibly be any worse than "The X-Files: I Want to Believe.")
Hearing about "Renegade" just reminds me of the "MST3K" episode where Dr. Forrester puts an additive into Mike's food that turns him & the 'bots into the cast of "Renegade." ("Did I just turn into your Winnebaego driving Indian buddy and then back again?")
And why isn't "Night Man" on this list?!? That must have been the cheesiest of them all. I never really watched it but I would frequently catch the 1st few minutes of it late at night after "Earth: Final Conflict" but before the sleep timer shut off the TV. I can still remember the deathy serious way in which they delievered the opening credits:
"Your brain can pick up telepathic signals like a radio."
"But doc, I'm only hearing bad stuff."
"That's right, Michael. You're tuned into the frequency...OF EVIL."
I'm glad someone else remembers "Cleopatra 2525." I wonder if the "Firefly" fans would still be able to stomach Gina Torres after seeing her in her 1st sci-fi outing.
I agree that "Hercules," "Xena," & "Jack of All Trades" don't deserve to be on this list since they were intentionally campy. The rest were all idiot savants. BTW, I've always been surprised that "Xena" was never made into a movie. Considering how many of its 1990s pop culture contemporaries made the leap to the big screen--"Star Trek: The Next Generation," "The X-Files," "Power Rangers," and Duncan MacLeod in "Highlander: Endgame"--I'm surprised that "Xena" never made a similar move. Of course, they still could so long as they do it soon before Lucy Lawless is too old. (Hell, it couldn't possibly be any worse than "The X-Files: I Want to Believe.")
Hearing about "Renegade" just reminds me of the "MST3K" episode where Dr. Forrester puts an additive into Mike's food that turns him & the 'bots into the cast of "Renegade." ("Did I just turn into your Winnebaego driving Indian buddy and then back again?")
And why isn't "Night Man" on this list?!? That must have been the cheesiest of them all. I never really watched it but I would frequently catch the 1st few minutes of it late at night after "Earth: Final Conflict" but before the sleep timer shut off the TV. I can still remember the deathy serious way in which they delievered the opening credits:
"Your brain can pick up telepathic signals like a radio."
"But doc, I'm only hearing bad stuff."
"That's right, Michael. You're tuned into the frequency...OF EVIL."
