• Get involved.
    We want your input!
    Apply for Membership and join the conversations about everything related to broadcasting.

    After we receive your registration, a moderator will review it. After your registration is approved, you will be permitted to post.
    If you use a disposable or false email address, your registration will be rejected.

    After your membership is approved, please take a minute to tell us a little bit about yourself.
    https://www.radiodiscussions.com/forums/introduce-yourself.1088/

    Thanks in advance and have fun!
    RadioDiscussions Administrators

Strange names for TV shows...

M

mleach

Right of the bat I think of this...Denver The Dinosaur
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denver,_the_Last_Dinosaur

When I first heard of this show I thought it was about a dinosaur living in Denver.

Then there was the mid 70's game show "The Better Sex"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Better_Sex

I wonder how many people tuned into this show thinking it was about..well sex ?

However my pick for the most strangest name of a TV show had to be the local West Virginia talk show called "Midday with Gay" that was supposed to air on WYVN-TV ( I explain the "supposed" part in a bit ). The show itself was "normal" just your average local talk show hosted by Gay Dawson ( she was a former weathergal for The Weather Channel ). But the set...between her and the guest were these BIG letters that said "GAY". I remember the promos "...coming soon to WYVN television...Midday with Gay....Gay Dawson will chat with area civic and relgious leaders.." Imagine Ms. Dawson chatting with a preacher of the local baptist church with the word "Gay" behind them. Anyway despite airing the promos "Midday with Gay" never aired a single episode as WYVN ran out of money and went dark very suddenly.

Runner up would be the WSVA-TV Harrisonburg, VA show from the mid 60s called "The Dr. Pepper Exercise Show". before my time but I remember seeing the show listed in the local listings in an old newspaper. For some reason the words "Dr. Pepper" and "exercise" isn't a good mix.
 
Any titles with numeric (especially referring to days/years/etc) restrictions:
James at 15/16, The First Hundred Years (most ironic since the soap lasted several months and didn't get to test the theory of the title in the least!), (...), Year One (a cop show from a few years back I can't remember), there are others, but these will show the painted-in-a-corner effect you get with them. The best example of these was A Year in the Life, which lasted, of course, one season.

Pink Lady and Jeff

Aqua Teen Hunger Force

Attack of the Show ... huh? what show? which show?
 
"No Soap, Radio" probably takes the prize as
the most weirdly-named show. If anybody can
tell me what that title means, I'd be more than
happy to hear from you.

Two points: the animated show was called "Denver
The Last Dinosaur," and I think it was pretty clear
that the kids who discovered him named him Denver
(don't ask me why). Second, TV Guide always made
sure the game show's full title--"The Better Sex"--was
listed that way. Normally, TV Guide did not include "The"
in titles, but in this case I'm sure they intended to assure
viewers that this was NOT a show about how to have better sex.
(For those who have forgotten, this was a battle-of-the-sexes
game show similar to "Family Feud," with country singer Bill Anderson
and "Real People"'s Sarah Purcell as co-hosts.)

Also, the premise of "The First Hundred Years" was that "the first
hundred years of a marriage are the hardest." That early soap followed
a couple, beginning with their wedding. And yes, the show lasted about
eighteen months, to be replaced by a show that's almost three-fourths
of the way to a hundred years (although I doubt it will get there):
"Guiding Light."
 
Bill Anderson's game show on The Nashville Network "Fandango" would aptly qualify for this as it was a game show about country music not a dance show.

Temperatures Rising as it was a comedy about doctors and nurses not meteorlogists.

There was also a comedy called Second Hundred Years on ABC from 1967-1968 that featured Monte Markham as both the son and grandfather as the grandfather was born in 1867 and was trying to adjust to 1967 America.

There are some local shows on here that would qualify like "Date With Del", among many others with strangely titled names and not people looking for dates.
 
Braves2005 said:
Temperatures Rising as it was a comedy about doctors and nurses not meteorlogists.
Click to expand...

When it came back for a second season, with Paul Lynde replacing James Whitmore, it became The New Temperatures Rising Show. What a mouthful! Easily one of the worst show-titles of all time. Didn't last much longer than the first version.
 
Sabrina The Teenage Witch -- At first, Melissa Joan Hart's character was in high school and definitely was a teenage witch, but when Sabrina started college, Sabrina was no longer a teenage witch and Sabrina was in her early 20's by the time the series ended.

Two And A Half Men -- The young person who plays the son on the show is now 15 (he was 9 when the show started) and if the show lasts 2 more seasons he'll graduate from high school and then what will the show be named? Three Men?
 
They'll fire him, have Charlie Sheen knock up the house keeper during one of his drinking binges and she'll have a kid, dump him in his lap and quit. Voila! Two & 1/2 Men again!
 
Tenspeed & Brownshoe
Tomorrow
My Favorite Martian(wait...there's only ONE martian on the show to choose from...who's to say there aren't OTHER martians somewhere out there who would be a better, more favorable martian?)
T.J Hooker
B.J & the Bear
30 Something
Spongebob Squarepants
 
Anyone remember the daytime game show called *whew*? You didn't actually use your larynx when pronouncing the name of this show. Just that swishing sound when you exhale. Other than that strange name, I remember absolutely nothing about this particular game show! :eek:
 
mleach said:
However my pick for the most strangest name of a TV show had to be the local West Virginia talk show called "Midday with Gay" that was supposed to air on WYVN-TV ( I explain the "supposed" part in a bit ). The show itself was "normal" just your average local talk show hosted by Gay Dawson ( she was a former weathergal for The Weather Channel ). But the set...between her and the guest were these BIG letters that said "GAY". I remember the promos "...coming soon to WYVN television...Midday with Gay....Gay Dawson will chat with area civic and relgious leaders.." Imagine Ms. Dawson chatting with a preacher of the local baptist church with the word "Gay" behind them. Anyway despite airing the promos "Midday with Gay" never aired a single episode as WYVN ran out of money and went dark very suddenly.
Click to expand...

What year(s) was "Midday with Gay" on the air? "Gay" wasn't a commonly used synonym for homosexual until sometime in the 1970s. Up until then, people in my parent's generation typically used the word "gay" to mean happy. I'm old enough to remember that the new usage sounded funny at first. I wondered if it was meant to imply that homosexual folks were always happy. (I was young then, OK?). In the LA suburb I grew up in, there was even a bar & cafe called "Gay's"...and it wasn't a gay bar, it was named after the lady who owned it.
 
Lkeller said:
mleach said:
However my pick for the most strangest name of a TV show had to be the local West Virginia talk show called "Midday with Gay" that was supposed to air on WYVN-TV ( I explain the "supposed" part in a bit ). The show itself was "normal" just your average local talk show hosted by Gay Dawson ( she was a former weathergal for The Weather Channel ). But the set...between her and the guest were these BIG letters that said "GAY". I remember the promos "...coming soon to WYVN television...Midday with Gay....Gay Dawson will chat with area civic and relgious leaders.." Imagine Ms. Dawson chatting with a preacher of the local baptist church with the word "Gay" behind them. Anyway despite airing the promos "Midday with Gay" never aired a single episode as WYVN ran out of money and went dark very suddenly.
Click to expand...

What year(s) was "Midday with Gay" on the air? "Gay" wasn't a commonly used synonym for homosexual until sometime in the 1970s. Up until then, people in my parent's generation typically used the word "gay" to mean happy. I'm old enough to remember that the new usage sounded funny at first. I wondered if it was meant to imply that homosexual folks were always happy. (I was young then, OK?). In the LA suburb I grew up in, there was even a bar & cafe called "Gay's"...and it wasn't a gay bar, it was named after the lady who owned it.
Click to expand...

If you read the post above, you'd see the show was never actually on the air
 
radioguybroadcasting said:
Lkeller said:
What year(s) was "Midday with Gay" on the air? "Gay" wasn't a commonly used synonym for homosexual until sometime in the 1970s.
Click to expand...

If you read the post above, you'd see the show was never actually on the air
Click to expand...

But if he meant when the show was SUPPOSED to air, it would be late 1993, when the station returned to air; it went dark again in 1994.

See also:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WWPX
 
azumanga said:
radioguybroadcasting said:
Lkeller said:
What year(s) was "Midday with Gay" on the air? "Gay" wasn't a commonly used synonym for homosexual until sometime in the 1970s.
Click to expand...

If you read the post above, you'd see the show was never actually on the air
Click to expand...

But if he meant when the show was SUPPOSED to air, it would be late 1993, when the station returned to air; it went dark again in 1994.

See also:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WWPX
Click to expand...

Speaking of tv stations that went off the air quickly.... Channel 43 in Bridgeport-New Haven, CT as WBPT became a female owned station, but I recall hearing it didn't even last a month!
 
azumanga said:
radioguybroadcasting said:
Lkeller said:
What year(s) was "Midday with Gay" on the air? "Gay" wasn't a commonly used synonym for homosexual until sometime in the 1970s.
Click to expand...

If you read the post above, you'd see the show was never actually on the air
Click to expand...

But if he meant when the show was SUPPOSED to air, it would be late 1993, when the station returned to air; it went dark again in 1994.

See also:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WWPX
Click to expand...

It was indeed 1994. Unlike "the first time" when WYVN was own by Flying A Communications when everyone in the viewing area knew the station was in trouble, the second time around under Green River, few knew just how bad the money woes were for WYVN. It really was that sudden. I am not sure what the last show WYVN aired ( the second time ) but I think it was Studs. Halfway in the show the transmitter was shut off and that was that for WYVN. The next day Green River told the local paper, in Porky Pig fashion..."Thats all folks".

It was also reported not long after the station closed up shop that WYVN only had FIFTY DOLLARS in their checking account at a local bank. Ah..no wonder the station went dark.
 
Just thought of some more:

The New Adventures Of Old Christine -- The show has been on for 3 years now and her adventures are old by now. Why not call it The Julia Louis-Dreyfuss Show and be done with it.

8 Simple Rules For Dating My Teenage Daughter -- What were they? We never did get to know, did we? Not even David Spade knew and David Spade was no John Ritter.

The Big Bang Theory
The Fairly Oddparents
The Feather And Father Gang
Cat And Dog
The Waverly Wonders (Joe Namath's attempt at a sitcom)
Who's Watching The Kids
Rules Of Engagement -- again what are they?
Samantha Who?
How I Met Your Mother
 
-Holmes and Yo-Yo
-Match Game PM: Always loved Match Game including Match Game PM but the "PM" part just sounded wierd.
-Manimal
 
I think the "PM" was added to "Match Game" just
to remind viewers that this was the syndicated access-
time version, not to be confused with the daytime one.

If "My Favorite Martian" is strange, how about Lucille
Ball's radio show (later made into a television show with
a different actress), "My Favorite Husband"? The title
did not refer to Desi; Richard Denning (the governor on
"Hawaii Five-O") played a definitely WASP banker who
was married to Lucy's character (BTW, Gale Gordon was
on that show, IIRC).

Another strange one is a short-lived 1962 NBC sitcom,
"Don't Call Me Charlie." Ostensibly the show was about'
Army veterinarians in Paris, but the title refers to the
commanding officer, whose middle name (I think I'm getting
this right) is Charles, and he gets mad whenever anyone calls
him "Charlie."
 
Status
This thread has been closed due to inactivity. You can create a new thread to discuss this topic.


Back
Top Bottom