tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6956070.post8744398991595551809..comments2023-11-03T11:37:13.579-04:00Comments on Something Old, Nothing New: Was This The Worst Show of the '90s?Jaime J. Weinmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15128500411119962998noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6956070.post-26031794385705808652009-03-15T22:00:00.000-04:002009-03-15T22:00:00.000-04:00Thanks, Todd! I'm working on a paper on a related ...Thanks, Todd! I'm working on a paper on a related subject, so I'll try and look into this and see what shape the thing takes!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6956070.post-72358409918658638752009-03-15T20:00:00.000-04:002009-03-15T20:00:00.000-04:00Also, Jaime, Meego was truly, truly awful, though ...Also, Jaime, Meego was truly, truly awful, though I don't know if it's the worst of all time or even the worst of the '90s. There were a good number of awful UPN sitcoms in the '90s.Toddhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10538651542043518746noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6956070.post-56127840724827504702009-03-15T19:59:00.000-04:002009-03-15T19:59:00.000-04:00zbeycp: I spent a lot of time working on an articl...zbeycp: I spent a lot of time working on an article about this at my old newspaper job, and I talked to network execs and TV historians. Basically, the introduction of separate TVs for kids decimated the ratings for big family sitcoms in the late 90s/early 2000s, as Disney and Nickelodeon swept up that kid audience and pretty much kept them all to themselves. The success of cross-family shows like American Idol suggest that family sitcoms could come back in a big way if someone made a good one, but the networks have pretty much stopped trying.Toddhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10538651542043518746noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6956070.post-1897710859651452482009-03-12T22:07:00.000-04:002009-03-12T22:07:00.000-04:00zgeycp's plaint isn't unfair, either...the last ac...zgeycp's plaint isn't unfair, either...the last actually good show that I've seen that seemed appropriate for both small children and adults in more or less equal measure was ABC Family's apparently cancelled MIDDLEMAN...though Disney/ABC's KIM POSSIBLE is close in appeal, if doing a more kidsy lean with the balancing act.Todd Masonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01815516018079824802noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6956070.post-19365250643383310762009-03-11T23:01:00.000-04:002009-03-11T23:01:00.000-04:00The "Sabrina" ripoff is pretty evident; the high s...The "Sabrina" ripoff is pretty evident; the high school hallway looks as if it was magically cloned from the teenage witch's Westbridge High. (Heck, even in 1997 there was some sort of variety in high school architecture; you'd think a set designer would know that.)<BR/><BR/>What's sad is that, while "Sabrina" had declined noticeably from its superb initial season (thanks in part to the departure of creator Nell Scovell), it still towered over "Meego" and the other fantasy sitcoms conjured up in the fall of '97.VP81955https://www.blogger.com/profile/11792390726196611188noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6956070.post-86878608674675409312009-03-11T10:58:00.000-04:002009-03-11T10:58:00.000-04:00Well, there were a few syndicated dramatic shows i...Well, there were a few syndicated dramatic shows in the '90s that challenged MEEGO and PFEIFFER (and any number of abysmal sitcoms on all the networks but particularly the newer ones), such as THE D.R.E.A.M. TEAM and PETER BENCHLEY'S AMAZON and, really, both CONAN THE BARBARIAN series (two failed series were packaged as a two-season set...one of the two was Geman)...but MEEGO might well, minute by minute, come out worst.Todd Masonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01815516018079824802noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6956070.post-4158014902644383032009-03-11T10:05:00.000-04:002009-03-11T10:05:00.000-04:00This was easily the worst show of the era. I reme...This was easily the worst show of the era. I remember when I lived in the UK in 2001 they would re-run it at like 2am for some reason.Ken Reidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16886158171719377649noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6956070.post-65151569086393604782009-03-11T00:54:00.000-04:002009-03-11T00:54:00.000-04:00My exposure to Meego is limited to those two clips...My exposure to Meego is limited to those two clips, but I would still be impressed if it could challenge "The Secret Diary of Desmond Pfeiffer" for worst TV show of the 1990s. The first episode of that series is available on YouTube, and it plays as if someone had actually set out to make the worst television show possible.Lorenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10466505033314234610noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6956070.post-85538496251507102352009-03-10T21:17:00.000-04:002009-03-10T21:17:00.000-04:00You mention the death of the family comedy - has a...You mention the death of the family comedy - has anyone pinpointed exactly when that kind of cross-demographic appeal became unfashionable among North American networks?<BR/><BR/>These days it's impossible to sell them a show "for everyone", and the Family genre has come to mean "aimed at children but tolerable for parents". <BR/><BR/>I've been trying to figure this out on my own, but my family has never had cable so I have a very limited knowledge base on which to draw.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6956070.post-59164547012171928962009-03-10T18:38:00.000-04:002009-03-10T18:38:00.000-04:00Well, since both SMALL WONDER and NIGHT HEAT had f...Well, since both SMALL WONDER and NIGHT HEAT had finally expired in 1989, it is quite possible that this was the worst dramatic series to be broadcast in the US in the 1990s. It certainly has the cast, premise, and creative team to make a strong claim, I agree.Todd Masonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01815516018079824802noreply@blogger.com