TV Shows With Odd Or Precocious Titles

[azumanga]

My Mother The Car

...which also qualifies for being in the "TV Shows With Odd Or Precocious Premise" category. ("Knight Rider", too.)

 

[firepoint525]

Two titles that spring to my mind are:
- Half the George Kirby Comedy Hour (syndicated, 1972-73)
- ½ Hour Comedy Hour (ABC, 1983)

Well, in that case, let's not forget Pat Paulsen's Half a Comedy Hour (ABC, 1970).

There are any number of radio programs (usually Christian talk programs) that have "hour" in their names, even though they are not a full hour long. The Gospel Hour (I think that one was only 15 minutes! ), The (whatever) Hour, etc.

 

[DToTheJ]

I remember a short-lived ABC show that also aired on Nick at Nite in 1991... That show was Hi Honey, I'm Home. That was one of the dumbest shows I ever saw...[/color]

About the only good that can come out of this show was that it was the vehicle that launched the acting career of Julie Benz.

 

[johnnya2k6]

Starting with another ABC show, "Emily's Reasons Why Not" - which lasted all of one episode. Just the title alone boggles the mind.

"Emily's Reasons Why Not" starred Heather Graham, and ABC promoted it heavily not knowing for the fact it would get the premature pink slip. However, the entire series would air overseas but Sony won't even bother putting it on DVD.

Graham's career -- which was already red-hot with "Boogie Nights" and "Austin Powers" -- took a nosedive immediately thereafter, but "The Hangover" last year would revive it (she was offered the role of Jade after Lindsay Lohan turned it down).

 

[firepoint525]

It's Like, You Know, with Jennifer Grey playing herself.

 

[nightfly61]

Tenspeed & Brownshoe

Slap Maxwell. I can't remember what this was about but I wonder if he gets slapped in each episode? It may have been another short lived detective show(like T&B).

Aqua Teen Hunger Force
Sponge Bob Square Pants
Carter Country. I don't think this one lasted one season muchless Carter's term in office!
How I Met Your Mother. This one always made me say..."Huh???"

 

[mjlarochelle]

NTV in Newfoundland has a show called ntv.ca, which are repackaged episodes of the station series A Little Good News. The show has nothing to do with the station's website, which is ntv.ca.

 

[DToTheJ]

Slap Maxwell. I can't remember what this was about but I wonder if he gets slapped in each episode?

It was a Dabney Coleman vehicle; actual title was "The Slap Maxwell Story"; I believe he was a newspaper columnist, sports or something or other, based on the title of the show.

 

[johnnyu]

Tenspeed & Brownshoe

Slap Maxwell. I can't remember what this was about but I wonder if he gets slapped in each episode? It may have been another short lived detective show(like T&B).

Aqua Teen Hunger Force
Sponge Bob Square Pants
Carter Country. I don't think this one lasted one season muchless Carter's term in office!
How I Met Your Mother. This one always made me say..."Huh???"

Actually, it's Spongebob Squarepants!

 

[oldiesfan6479]

It was a Dabney Coleman vehicle; actual title was "The Slap Maxwell Story"...

"Vehicle"..."Maxwell"...?

Now cut that out!

(Since we recently had a Jack Benny thread. )

 

[onairb]

Slap Maxwell. I can't remember what this was about but I wonder if he gets slapped in each episode?

It was a Dabney Coleman vehicle; actual title was "The Slap Maxwell Story"; I believe he was a newspaper columnist, sports or something or other, based on the title of the show.

'Slap' was an erudite (think Frank Deford) but somewhat curmudgeonly sports columnist.
John Ritter played 'Hooperman'. in an unconventional half-hour police dramedy on ABC, which I think was paired with 'Slap' on ABC's schedule(neither show lasted long, in that 'half-hour dramedy' craze all the networks had in the late '80s).

 

[visaman]

You Can't Do That on Television! February 3, 1979 – May 25, 1990. It ran for 10 seasons, so I guess they could do that on Television (Canadian television at least).

 

[visaman]

What about the short-lived game show called "The Magnificent Marble Machine" hosted by Art James

I remember that show! I was just a kid then, and it fostered my interest in playing Pinball.

 

[gr8oldies]

"All That", Saturday Night Live for the preteen set on Nickelodeon.

 

[vchimpanzee]

Although the show was definitely different after John's death it did have several unexpected surprises. Katey Sagal came into her own as the lead in the show and the addition of James Garner as the grandfather added depth. One cast addition that didn't add anything of value, IMHO, was David Spade.

While no one could fill the void Ritter left, David Spade to me is a welcome addition to any show. I look forward to the return of "Rules of Engagement". I also enjoyed his "What's in your wallet?" and "No!" commercials. I'm sorry now that I never watched "Just Shoot Me' excpet for one rerun that had Brian Dennehy in it.

8 Rules ended after season 3 reportedly because Sagal wanted to pursue her singing career. Kaley Cuoco went on to "Charmed" which was cancelled. In 2007 she starred in a TV movie "Fat Like Me" which did show her talents much more so than her former sitcoms. She is now starring in "Big Bang Theory" but, again IMHO, isn't used to her full capacity.

I think she's great. I don't know how much more she could be used. It is, after all, about the guys. I suppose she's strong enough to carry a series.

 

[vchimpanzee]

One title that quickly comes to mind was the short-lived ABC sitcom, "Wednesday 9:30 (8:30 Central)" that aired as a mid-season replacement during the 2001-02 season. If memory serves correct, the show (about a ficticious TV network) was pulled after three low-rated episodes and then returned for a summer burn-off of two more episodes under the title, "My Adventures in Television." All episodes, under both titles, aired -- you guessed it -- at 9:30 p.m. Eastern.

I remember a short-lived ABC show that also aired on Nick at Nite in 1991. ABC only carried the first 6 episodes, while Nick at Nite carried all 13 episodes. That show was Hi Honey, I'm Home. That was one of the dumbest shows I ever saw. A show about a TV family show was cancelled, and they enter the real world. They made it look like people live in the TV world, and when their show is cancelled, they go live in the real world, and can't easily deal with the real world. Elaine Duff (the modern world mother) & Honey Neilson (the 50's stay at home mother) were the oddest neighbors & friends. Elaine couldn't see that Honey was living in the past with her look, family look, and the home? Also, the Neilsons supposedly knew different TV families & characters. Could you imagine what the world would be like if this were real? We'd have a whacked up world (other than what it is now).

Great show.

Responding to the other comment about this show, I watched in black and white so I didn't notice the difference. I had fewer interference problems with analog TV if I turned off the color.

 

[vchimpanzee]

Carter Country. I don't think this one lasted one season muchless Carter's term in office!

Wikipedia says two seasons. I liked it a lot.

How I Met Your Mother. This one always made me say..."Huh???"

I agree, but only about the show, not the title.

 

[Limp73]

"Lazy Town" on Nick Jr.(also on CBS Sunday mornings)

A girl with pink hair (who seems to be the only intelligent one) with a bunch of characters ranging from puppets to real people looking as "fake" as action figures or dolls. Unusual show ala: "H.R. Pufinstuf" but hey, it's kid-safe for preschoolers and mothers.

Speaking of Nick remember the reruns of "Fernwood 2 Nite"?

 

[Ultimajock]

What about the short-lived game show called "The Magnificent Marble Machine" hosted by Art James

I remember that show! I was just a kid then, and it fostered my interest in playing Pinball.

...it lives on as a detail in the great 1979 theatrical film The China Syndrome; The Magnificent Marble Machine is the show that the TV station interrupts in order to air Jane Fonda's live special report from the nuclear power plant (I'm trying not to make too much of a spoiler here, even if the thing is over 30 years old by now). David Brenner has stated several times on TV talk shows that he's one of the players (tho his back is turned to the TV camera) in the episode of the game show that the producers of the movie used on the station's monitors...

 

[bpatrick]

Two titles that spring to my mind are:
- Half the George Kirby Comedy Hour (syndicated, 1972-73)
- ½ Hour Comedy Hour (ABC, 1983)

Well, in that case, let's not forget Pat Paulsen's Half a Comedy Hour (ABC, 1970).

There are any number of radio programs (usually Christian talk programs) that have "hour" in their names, even though they are not a full hour long. The Gospel Hour (I think that one was only 15 minutes! ), The (whatever) Hour, etc.

And likewise, "Ted Mack And The Original Amateur Hour," which actually was an hour show on a few occasions (DuMont, 1948-49; NBC, 1949-52; ABC, 1956-57) but usually aired as a half-hour show. Likewise, Mack's predecessor, Major Bowes, saw the radio show cut from 60 to 30 minutes in the early 1940s.
Another one that comes to mind, "The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour" (not really a strange name), began as the Smothers Brothers' summer replacement in 1968 as "The Summer Brothers Smothers Hour." And Tommy was fond of calling the Smothers' show "The Smothers Comedy Brothers Hour."