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bad variety shows from the 70's

> > Someone mentioned "Van Dyke And Company." In fact, that
> show
> >
> > won an Emmy in 1977 for Best Variety Show. It was a
> > launching
> > pad for Andy Kaufman as well.
> >
>
> I thought "Saturday Night Live" on NBC was Kaufman's
> launching pad? He appeared several times on that show since
> its 1975 debut.

"A" launching pad. He had been on SNL, true, but IIRC, he
was virtually a regular on Van Dyke's show. Of course, the
country really got to know him (as much as that was possible)
when he played Latka on "Taxi."
>
> > And how about "The Richard Pryor Show" (five weeks on NBC
> > in 1977)? Incredibly, NBC put Pryor in an 8 PM (ET) slot
> > (Tuesdays against "Happy Days" and "Laverne And Shirley").
>
> > Typical of the humor was Pryor's claim on the first show
> > that he had conceded nothing to NBC, followed by the
> > camera's
> > pulling back to reveal a supposedly-nude (actually, he was
>
> > wearing a body stocking) Pryor who, we were to believe,
> had
> > been humiliated to that extent by NBC.
> >
>
> Of course, Pryor was humiliated even more, when that bit was
> cut off (no pun intended) before the NBC broadcast.
>
> > I'm surprised no one has mentioned "Sha Na Na." Does
> anyone
> > agree they were lousy sketch comedians?
> >
>
> Yet the show lasted into the 1980s. Comedians they weren't
> -- they weren't even pop stars (their claim to fame was
> Woodstock), yet people watched the show every week from 1976
> into the early-1980s.
>
Just because the show was long-lived doesn't mean the show
was good, and IMHO, the comedy was pretty lame.
 
> I'm surprised no one has mentioned "Sha Na Na." Does anyone
>
> agree they were lousy sketch comedians?
>

Well, yeah, they weren't any good, but that show doesn't look so bad compared to most of the other train wrecks featured in this thread. I remember liking it when I was a little kid, but I don't think it's been on anywhere in 2 decades.
 
> I'm surprised no one has mentioned "Sha Na Na." ...
> I remember liking it when I was a little kid,
> but I don't think it's been on anywhere in 2
> decades.

Famous last words, paraphrased: "This program was taped before a live audience, so it could be destroyed later."

Yes, someone actually said something like that at the end of each show.

Good night, sweetheart, good night. (Bo Bo dee Bo Bo dee Bo Bo dee Bo Bo - and don't forget to flex your bicep, Bowser)
 
> I may be one of the very few who remembers watching the Star
> Wars Holiday Christmas special with Bea Arthur from Maude
> back in 1977. I have to admit I don't remember a whole lot
> of the show itself other than my parents saying "what in the
> hell is this?". Anybody else remember this?

I have a bootleg copy of that trainwreck on VHS somewhere. It marked the first appearence by a bounty hunter named Boba Fett(who, of course turned up two years later in "The Empire Strikes Back". He was featured in the animated short during the special). That was the first time SW appeared in animated form. It was also the first time Hamill, Fisher, & Ford appeared in character on TV outside of the films themselves(last time for Fisher & Ford, Hamill also appeared as himself & Luke Skywalker in an episode of "The Muppet Show" in 1980).

>
> There was another science fiction I remember where William
> Shatner was doing a very bad cover of Elton John's Rocket
> Man. Now today I think its a safe bet to say that Shatner
> himself would laugh at his old "music", but when this show
> aired ( I think it was around 1976 or 1977 ), he was serious
> about his singing.
>
> Didn't Dustin Hoffman and Bette Midler do a special together
> where they both sang? Now I know Bette is a fine singer but
> Hoffman? I seem to remember this one.
>
> My wife remembers watching a special about the then-new
> movie "Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band" with The Bee
> Gees and Peter Frampton. She says the special was done by
> RSO records I don't remember the special itself but I do
> remember the movie. Come to think of it didn't the movie
> actually destroyed RSO records. RSO was big in 1978 but by
> 1980 I believe they were a thing of the past.
>
> I know the movie was bad but what was the Beatles reaction
> to this? I don't remember hearing anything said by Lennon,
> McCartney, Starr, or Harrison their reactions to the 70's
> Sgt. Pepper.
>
> any other examples of Bad 70's variety shows?
>
Anyone remember "John Denver & the Muppets"? Good Lord, that was bad.<P ID="signature">______________
"I look out for me and mine."-Capt. Malcom "Mal" Reynolds in Serenity</P>
 
> > I may be one of the very few who remembers watching the
> Star
> > Wars Holiday Christmas special with Bea Arthur from Maude
> > back in 1977. I have to admit I don't remember a whole lot
>
> > of the show itself other than my parents saying "what in
> the
> > hell is this?". Anybody else remember this?
>
> That one I don't remember. Probably a good thing.
>
> > There was another science fiction I remember where William
>
> > Shatner was doing a very bad cover of Elton John's Rocket
> > Man. Now today I think its a safe bet to say that Shatner
>
> > himself would laugh at his old "music", but when this show
>
> > aired ( I think it was around 1976 or 1977 ), he was
> serious
> > about his singing.
>
> Shatner made an album called "A Transformed Man" in 1969.
> You'd think he'd learn from that disaster but he's attempted
> to be a singer more than once since then.


Shatner returned to "music" a couple of years ago when he recorded a CD with Ben Folds, so maybe he didn't learn his lesson after all.


>
> > My wife remembers watching a special about the then-new
> > movie "Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band" with The Bee
>
> > Gees and Peter Frampton. She says the special was done by
>
> > RSO records I don't remember the special itself but I do
> > remember the movie. Come to think of it didn't the movie
> > actually destroyed RSO records. RSO was big in 1978 but
> by
> > 1980 I believe they were a thing of the past.
>
> The special couldn't have been any worse than the movie. I
> have to admit that I actually paid money to watch that drek
> in the theater when it came out. One of the worst movies of
> all time.
>
> > I know the movie was bad but what was the Beatles reaction
>
> > to this? I don't remember hearing anything said by
> Lennon,
> > McCartney, Starr, or Harrison their reactions to the 70's
> > Sgt. Pepper.
>
> They were probably too busy throwing up to officially
> comment about it. :-D
>
> > any other examples of Bad 70's variety shows?
>
> Pink Lady & Jeff (NBC, 1979) - Pink Lady was a Japanese pop
> duo who were unknown in the US and couldn't speak a word of
> English. Alleged comedian Jeff Altman was co-host. One of
> the worst shows of any kind of all time.
>
> Van Dyke & Company (NBC, 1976) - Hard to believe, but Dick
> Van Dyke actually did a bad show. Featured a recurring skit
> called "The Bright Family," about the dumbest family in the
> world. Must have been about the NBC executive that approved
> this drivel.
>
> Saturday Night Live with Howard Cosell (ABC, 1975) - Hah-Wad
> as the Second Coming of Ed Sullivan, believe it or not.
> This was done at the CBS-owned Ed Sullivan Theater (which is
> where I think David Letterman does his show) despite the
> show being on ABC. Fortunately for Sullivan he had died a
> year earlier so he wasn't subjected to this pile of
> excrement.
>
> The Sonny Comedy Revue (ABC, 1974) - This was essentially
> the Sonny & Cher show minus Cher (who stayed at CBS after
> their divorce), including most of the supporting cast and
> writers, moved over from CBS. Not funny in the slightest.
>
>
> EDIT: Saturday Night Live with Howard Cosell was, of
> course, live, not taped.
>
<P ID="signature">______________
"I look out for me and mine."-Capt. Malcom "Mal" Reynolds in Serenity</P>
 
> > I may be one of the very few who remembers watching the
> Star
> > Wars Holiday Christmas special with Bea Arthur from Maude
> > back in 1977. I have to admit I don't remember a whole lot
>
> > of the show itself other than my parents saying "what in
> the
> > hell is this?". Anybody else remember this?
> >
> I thought the special was televised in 1978?
>
> Nevertheless, the special was so bad, that George Lucas
> wanted everyone to forget that this special, and the events
> within, ever happened.
>
> Try telling that to a Star Wars fan.

Your average SW fan prefers not to acknowlege the esistence of this trainwreck, except for the animated Boba Fett segment.


<P ID="signature">______________
"I look out for me and mine."-Capt. Malcom "Mal" Reynolds in Serenity</P>
 
> How about "The Sonny Comedy Revue" (ABC, Sunday nights 8-9
> P.M. ET/PT, September 22nd through December 29th, 1974)??
>
> After divorcing his wife Cher, with whom he co-hosted a very
> popular variety show from 1971 until Spring 1974, Sonny Bono
> atempted his own comedy/variety show.
>
> Although some of the producers, writers and cast had worked
> with Sonny on the "Sonny and Cher" show, "The Sonny Comedy
> Revue" was one of the biggest flops of the 1974/1975 TV
> season, both in terms of critical reviews and ratings.
>
> BTW, Cher began her own solo variety show on CBS in February
> of 1975, which was moderately successful. Production of
> "Cher" abruptly ended in December of 1975 when she and Sonny
> agreed to resume their professional partnership, resulting
> in the return of "The Sonny and Cher Show" in February of
> 1976. But the revived version was not as successful as the
> original, and left the air in 1977.
>
> A few other "notorious" variety shows of the 1970's:
>
> * "Mary"/"The Mary Tyler Moore Hour" (CBS, 1978/1979): One
> of the true greats of television history, Moore decided to
> helm a weekly variety show in the Fall of 1978. The ratings
> were so low that it was pulled after three weeks. Later in
> the season, the show returned in a different format: a "show
> within a show" (in which Moore and her castmates were
> playing the cast of a fictitious TV series). While the "show
> within a show" format worked well for some other stars, it
> didn't for Moore. This version lasted a little
> longer----thirteen weeks.


A young, former TV weatherman from Indiana named David Letterman was one of the writers on that show. Gee, I wonder what happened to him?(sarcasm)
>
> * "The Redd Foxx Show" (ABC, 1977/1978): Veteran
> comedian/actor Redd Foxx was lured away from his most famous
> role, that of junk dealer Fred Sanford on NBC's "Sanford and
> Son", with a lot of money and the promise to host his own
> variety show. Redd Foxx wasn't the problem; the material and
> guest stars (many longtime friends of his who some critics
> ripped apart for lack of talent) apparently were. The show
> was gone by late January of 1978.
>
> * "Saturday Night Live With Howard Cosell" (ABC, 1975/1976):
> Perhaps the ultimate example of a bad TV variety show,
> regardless of decade. On paper, it should have worked: A
> well-known host and performances (music or comedy) by
> top-name stars, and broadcast live for added excitement.
> After a high-rated premiere, viewers stayed away in droves.
>
>
> And perhaps the high (or low) point of the show came a few
> weeks before it left the air: Cosell and Barbara Walters
> (who at the time was rumored to be leaving NBC to join ABC;
> a deal that indeed became official some weeks later) sang a
> duet of "Anything You Can Do, I Can Do Better".

I recall Lee Majors singing with Howard during one of those episodes.<P ID="signature">______________
"I look out for me and mine."-Capt. Malcom "Mal" Reynolds in Serenity</P>
 
> > I'm surprised no one has mentioned "Sha Na Na." ...
> > I remember liking it when I was a little kid,
> > but I don't think it's been on anywhere in 2
> > decades.
>
> Famous last words, paraphrased: "This program was taped
> before a live audience, so it could be destroyed later."
>
> Yes, someone actually said something like that at the end of
> each show.
>
> Good night, sweetheart, good night. (Bo Bo dee Bo Bo dee Bo
> Bo dee Bo Bo - and don't forget to flex your bicep, Bowser)
>
"Bowser J. Bowser opens his mouth for milk." "Goodnight, and grease for peace."<P ID="signature">______________
"I look out for me and mine."-Capt. Malcom "Mal" Reynolds in Serenity</P>
 
> > > Someone mentioned "Van Dyke And Company." In fact, that
> > show
> > >
> > > won an Emmy in 1977 for Best Variety Show. It was a
> > > launching
> > > pad for Andy Kaufman as well.
> > >
> >
> > I thought "Saturday Night Live" on NBC was Kaufman's
> > launching pad? He appeared several times on that show
> since
> > its 1975 debut.
>
> "A" launching pad. He had been on SNL, true, but IIRC, he
> was virtually a regular on Van Dyke's show. Of course, the
> country really got to know him (as much as that was
> possible)
> when he played Latka on "Taxi."
> >
> > > And how about "The Richard Pryor Show" (five weeks on
> NBC
> > > in 1977)? Incredibly, NBC put Pryor in an 8 PM (ET)
> slot
> > > (Tuesdays against "Happy Days" and "Laverne And
> Shirley").
> >
> > > Typical of the humor was Pryor's claim on the first show
>
> > > that he had conceded nothing to NBC, followed by the
> > > camera's
> > > pulling back to reveal a supposedly-nude (actually, he
> was
> >
> > > wearing a body stocking) Pryor who, we were to believe,
> > had
> > > been humiliated to that extent by NBC.
> > >
> >
> > Of course, Pryor was humiliated even more, when that bit
> was
> > cut off (no pun intended) before the NBC broadcast.
> >
> > > I'm surprised no one has mentioned "Sha Na Na." Does
> > anyone
> > > agree they were lousy sketch comedians?
> > >
> >
> > Yet the show lasted into the 1980s. Comedians they weren't
>
> > -- they weren't even pop stars (their claim to fame was
> > Woodstock), yet people watched the show every week from
> 1976
> > into the early-1980s.
> >
> Just because the show was long-lived doesn't mean the show
> was good, and IMHO, the comedy was pretty lame.
>
"Van Dyke And Company" was a decent show that just failed to find an audience, and yes, Andy Kaufman was on quite a bit, usually as Foreign Man/Latka. "Now I would like to eemeetate the Archie Bunker"...One reason the 70s had so many unbelievably bad variety shows was that summer replacement shows still existed.
A few of those actually did well enough to be picked up in the fall, Sonny & Cher being the best example. (Worst title for one of these: "The Late Summer-Early Fall Bert Convy Show".)
Saw The Captain And Toenail mentioned...Remember the Captain's hat jokes?
"What sits on your head, and hits home runs? Babe Hat!"
So, kids, just like you can throw "Billy Don't Be A Hero" in our faces when we bitch about 50 Cent and Hoobastank, next time we go on about how Johnny Carson or Carol Burnett didn't have to eat bugs to entertain us, you can confront us with Tony Orlando & Dawn, Mac Davis, Shields & Yarnell...The list goes on.
 
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