Buh-Bye: The Shortest-Lived Television Series to Split the Small Screen



Posted: Tuesday, July 31, 2007

by Jennifer Jordan
On and On Creative

Ah, short-lived TV shows: you gotta love 'em. There is nothing quite like shows that are so bad they live in infamy. From shows that are on the air for just one episode, to those that stay for a few weeks, short-lived TV shows are really quite easy to miss: if you blink, you'll do just that. The following are some of the shortest-lived TV shows of all time: they are gone because they're rotten.

Cop Rock: A show that coupled a police drama with a Broadway-like musical wasn't successful: that's madness! Cop Rock, which aired on ABC, was the brain child (or perhaps brain fart) of Steven Bochco, the man behind several successful series. With a premise that featured cops going where no one in law enforcement should ever go - into a song and dance number - it was like Hill Street Blues, singing the Blues. Originally airing on September 26, 1990, Cop Rock was pulled off the air three months later on December 26, making its cancellation a late Christmas present for the viewing public.

Pink Lady : Sometimes known as Pink Lady and Jeff, Pink Lady was a television series that ran on NBC for six short weeks, six short weeks that felt very long. It first appeared in March 1980 showcasing Jeff Altman as a comedian and Pink Lady, a duo made up of female Japanese singers. A sketch comedy with music throw in, Pink Lady is thought to be one of the worst TV shows to ever hit the small screen. Jim Varney, however, was a cast member and, as most people will agree, any show with an appearance by Ernest P. Worrell can't be that bad.

The Chevy Chase Show: I personally love Chevy Chase (psst….Chevy, if you read this, call me), but The Chevy Chase Show was always a disaster waiting to happen. Placing Chevy in a role where he was required to host a talk show with the occasional seriousness of a news anchor was just never a good idea: it's like asking Dan Rather to be funny. The executives at FOX seemed to agree with this assertion: The Chevy Chase Show was on the air for less than a month.

Who's Your Daddy?: When I first saw a preview for this reality series I thought it was a joke: creating a reality series that set up Southern relatives for romantic encounters would have been less horrible. But, alas, Who's Your Daddy? was a real show, at least temporarily. Featuring a contestant who had been given up for adoption as an infant, the point of the show was for the contestant to correctly identify, from a group of men, her biological father. Parodied by talk shows, and criticized by adoption agencies, Who's Your Daddy? was pulled off the air after one episode, making it the father of all busts.

Manimal : In fall of 1983, a series began about a man who could shape shift and turn himself into any kind of animal. Yes, I know what you're thinking: Emmy Worthy. Airing on NBC for less than three months, Manimal was filled with special effects that were anything but: the same backdrop appeared in several different scenes. Luckily for those with a televisions, Manimal quickly shape shifted into a cancellation.

Jennifer Jordan is a senior editor for www.turbocellcharge.com. Possessing an infatuation with pop culture – and a gift for stalking – she keeps up on the latest news of the musical world.

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Top-level comments on this article: (1 total)
» left by Mcgill 4 years 227 days ago.
I think the series that had the shortest run was a show called "Turn On" and was on the air only once. This was in the late 60's, I think '69. It had to many sexual innuendos and drug references for the time.
» left by Anonymous 2 years 361 days ago.
In some cities "Turn On" was off the air after 10 or 15 minutes, cut off during a skit with Tim Conway showing facial expressions made during sex.
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