Most Bizarre Shows Ever on Television.

[Mark Giardina]

I would have to say The Prisoner. And I mean that in a nice way because while the plot was unique, the ending was truly bizarre in my opinion. There is still debate on the series ending even today.

 

[mleach]

If one is to include LOCAL shows, looking back now I would say "Library Dataline with Marjorie Lewis" which aired on our local Winchester, Virginia public access channel ( WINC-TV 6 ) back in the late 70's and early 80's. Despite the time frame the show was still airing in black & white in a studio which chances are is no bigger than your closet.

Show itself wasn't much but the highlight every week was when Ms. Lewis would not only read the names of those who had overdue books but even even the titles and how much the fines were too. Didnt matter if one checked out a childrens book or a sex book..if its overdue Ms. Lewis would mention your name on the air. And yes I can recall the time she mentioned that our local pastor had checked out "The Joy of Sex" and was late in returning that book..and that he had a fine of $2.25 from not returning that book either.

Ah can ya imagine doing this on the air today?

Intersting footnote to this, a few years back Comcast decided to discontinue local programming due to Harrisonburg's WHSV-TV launching "ABC 3 Winchester" on one of their subchannels. For the last week of local programming, it was decided to bring back those who had shows on the channel for a trip down memory lane and one of those present was Ms. Lewis ! ! And for the icing on the cake they actually replayed a 1981 edition of Library Dataline in wonderful black & white. The look of shock and horror on Ms. Lewis' face...priceless

 

[WPPCProductions]

I have to vote for David Lynch's "Twin Peaks:" The story of Laura Palmer .1990 ABC series. this was one of these shows that was out there.The theme and music score was one of the best as I remember at that time period when MTS tv sound and Surround sound was catching on., this show followed behind
Miami Vice with the best soundtrack.

 

[Bob1370]

A good candidate that's still in production is "Off-Beat Cinema" which is regionally syndicated in the Great Lakes region and in the Tampa Bay area, and produced by Buffalo's ABC affiliate WKBW-TV. A group of actors from Buffalo, dressed like members of the beat generation and playing characters named Maxwell Truth, Zelda and Bird, gather on a set that looks like a late-50s coffee shop and present (with sometimes-snarky commentary) some of the most oddball films released between the late 1930s and late 1970s. Sometimes they're howlers like an Ed Wood "classic", Pia Zadora in "Santa Claus Conquers the Martians", or "Reefer Madness"; sometimes they're genuine counterculture classics like "The Trip" or "Easy Rider."

It's an unusual, and creative, approach to late night TV...

 

[oldschooler1]

A good candidate that's still in production is "Off-Beat Cinema" which is regionally syndicated in the Great Lakes region and in the Tampa Bay area, and produced by Buffalo's ABC affiliate WKBW-TV. A group of actors from Buffalo, dressed like members of the beat generation and playing characters named Maxwell Truth, Zelda and Bird, gather on a set that looks like a late-50s coffee shop and present (with sometimes-snarky commentary) some of the most oddball films released between the late 1930s and late 1970s. Sometimes they're howlers like an Ed Wood "classic", Pia Zadora in "Santa Claus Conquers the Martians", or "Reefer Madness"; sometimes they're genuine counterculture classics like "The Trip" or "Easy Rider."

It's an unusual, and creative, approach to late night TV...

I am truly surprised WKBW would fund such a show (well, have the staff to put it together and tape it -- sponsors fund it.) I mean, with all the cutbacks they've gone through there, and how Granite has gutted their company...

My votes: Monthy Python's Flying Circus. Max Headroom. MST3K.

 

[Corky Marlowe]

I've gotta put a vote in for one of the longest running shows in TV history, "Sabado Gigante". Maybe it's bizarre only to my American tastes, but how can you not describe a mashup of Oprah, "Let's Make A Deal", and "Art Linkletter's House Party" where the studio audience sings along with the commercials as just a little weird? "iSi, Don Francisco!"

 

[The Voice of Reason]

My choices would be the X-Files and now on AMC's Rubicon.

 

[Stanislav]

A good candidate that's still in production is "Off-Beat Cinema" which is regionally syndicated in the Great Lakes region and in the Tampa Bay area, and produced by Buffalo's ABC affiliate WKBW-TV. A group of actors from Buffalo, dressed like members of the beat generation and playing characters named Maxwell Truth, Zelda and Bird, gather on a set that looks like a late-50s coffee shop and present (with sometimes-snarky commentary) some of the most oddball films released between the late 1930s and late 1970s.

Also runs nationally on RTV.

 

[Stanislav]

Thus far, most of the shows mentioned were successful, though offbeat. What about failed shows that fall into the "what were they smoking?" category? My vote would be for The Secret Diary of Desmond Pfeiffer :

 

[pqgeorge]

Thus far, most of the shows mentioned were successful, though offbeat. What about failed shows that fall into the "what were they smoking?" category? My vote would be for The Secret Diary of Desmond Pfeiffer :

I would have to say that "You Can't Do That On Television" deserves at least an honorable mention for a bizarre TV show. Produced at CJOH-TV in Ottawa from 1979 through 1990 (with a little hiatus in the late 80's), YCDTOTV was a very funny show that put "Nickelodeon" on the map, complete with green slime, water and a bunch of kids like Alanis Morrisette, Alisdair Gillis and others and created a memorable part of growing up. (I used to watch the show with my kids back in the early 90's when the show was on reruns). Hard to believe that 20 years have passed since the last show was made. Les Lye is gone and so is the old studio. "and so it goes.....".

 

[azumanga]

I would have to say that "You Can't Do That On Television" deserves at least an honorable mention for a bizarre TV show... YCDTOTV was a very funny show that put "Nickelodeon" on the map, complete with green slime, water and a bunch of kids like Alanis Morrisette, Alisdair Gillis and others and created a memorable part of growing up.

The show also introduced younger viewers to fast-paced comedy segments and sketches, with a format their parents enjoyed on another program worthy of this thread, "Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In".

 

[gr8oldies]

There was a very short-lived syndicated show called "Wedding Day". You guessed it, a wedding was performed each day, and the happy couple recieved fabulous cash and prizes.

 

[cowboybud]

Thus far, most of the shows mentioned were successful, though offbeat. What about failed shows that fall into the "what were they smoking?" category? My vote would be for The Secret Diary of Desmond Pfeiffer :

I would have to say that "You Can't Do That On Television" deserves at least an honorable mention for a bizarre TV show. Produced at CJOH-TV in Ottawa from 1979 through 1990 (with a little hiatus in the late 80's), YCDTOTV was a very funny show that put "Nickelodeon" on the map, complete with green slime, water and a bunch of kids like Alanis Morrisette, Alisdair Gillis and others and created a memorable part of growing up. (I used to watch the show with my kids back in the early 90's when the show was on reruns). Hard to believe that 20 years have passed since the last show was made. Les Lye is gone and so is the old studio. "and so it goes.....".

I don't know...

 

[Tom Wells]

The Marty Feldman Comedy Machine (1971 only)

 

[bpatrick]

There was a very short-lived syndicated show called "Wedding Day". You guessed it, a wedding was performed each day, and the happy couple recieved fabulous cash and prizes.

A format used by the '50s daytime show "Bride And Groom," which probably belongs on this list, along with "Queen For A Day" and "Strike It Rich" out of the same period.

I'd have to say that "Lost" was pretty bizarre, since it was always hard to figure out.

 

[nightfly61]

Many episodes of Night Gallery were pretty weird, but I guess that was the plan. Lots of really bad psychadelic effects & low budget costumes made it almost amusing.
One that did give me nightmares as a child was the episode where the sinister looking posessed doll bit the man.

 

[Ultimajock]

A good candidate that's still in production is "Off-Beat Cinema" which is regionally syndicated in the Great Lakes region and in the Tampa Bay area, and produced by Buffalo's ABC affiliate WKBW-TV. A group of actors from Buffalo, dressed like members of the beat generation and playing characters named Maxwell Truth, Zelda and Bird, gather on a set that looks like a late-50s coffee shop and present (with sometimes-snarky commentary) some of the most oddball films released between the late 1930s and late 1970s.

Also runs nationally on RTV.

...and locally in Phoenix on KAZT-LP/27 (when I was in PHX that show ran Grand Illusion -- good on them for running it but bad on them for clipping out the entire Dita Parlo set of sequences)...

 

[Ultimajock]

I would have to say that "You Can't Do That On Television" deserves at least an honorable mention for a bizarre TV show... YCDTOTV was a very funny show that put "Nickelodeon" on the map, complete with green slime, water and a bunch of kids like Alanis Morrisette, Alisdair Gillis and others and created a memorable part of growing up.

The show also introduced younger viewers to fast-paced comedy segments and sketches, with a format their parents enjoyed on another program worthy of this thread, "Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In".

...or, if they were British in the '70s, Dave Allen at Large...

...to further solidify the Laugh-In connection, the same producers and cast also did a syndicated show titled Whatever Turns You On with Ruth Buzzi as the star...

 

[landtuna]

A format used by the '50s daytime show "Bride And Groom," which probably belongs on this list, along with "Queen For A Day" and "Strike It Rich" out of the same period.

The definition of 'bizarre' is something weird, odd, extravagant, or eccentric. "Queen For A Day", although somewhat weird for a "game" show doesn't quite fit that category. I would put it closer to the present day "Dr. Phil" where the "contestant" spills their sob story but instead of getting the good doctor's advice they get prizes.

OK.....thinking back....it probably was bizarre. And distasteful. The tiara for the winner was in especially bad taste. At least they broadcast baseball games on TV in the afternoon then.

 

[azumanga]

"Queen For A Day", although somewhat weird for a "game" show doesn't quite fit that category. I would put it closer to the present day "Dr. Phil" where the "contestant" spills their sob story but instead of getting the good doctor's advice they get prizes.

Just as close was NBC's version of "Deal or No Deal", where many of the contestants were those with sob stories worthy of "Queen For A Day" (though it also had some "Kings"); the contestants of course, walk home with anything as high as $1 million, or as low as a penny.