I always feel bad for actors who tell their parents and friends “I’m co-starring in a TV sitcom!” And then a week later saying “My show was canceled after the theme song played.”
Donnalee Clubb Look again, some were not as easily recognized because they were very young. Some were in things that might not be of interest to you. Have a wonderful and blessed day!!!🙏🏼
@@Omnibushido- I feel like Beck Bennett and Kyle Mooney watched these for research before writing their spot-on send-ups of corny late-80s early-90s sitcoms for SNL.
It feels like every pitch started with, "it's about a slightly quirky family whose mutual love keeps them going through minor conflicts and easily resolved difficulties".
At least Small Wonder did genuinely try to do something different, as it was the first foray into blending sci-fi and sitcom , as well as having the first android (albeit played by a human) on a television series.
The absolute worst thing you can say about that show is that the producers were naïve to the implications of what would happen if somebody actually tried that in real life. It was less than 35 years from that to “we want our jerbs!” Honestly, it held up better than a lot of concurrent network sitcoms.
You always know when a show's credits feature the actor doing something and then suddenly breaking the fourth wall and smiling directly into the camera it's going to be a classic show.
This goes to show that for every MASH or Seinfeld there are 10 of these types of shows. I never heard of about 90% of these shows, or their 'stars'. Seeing Martin Short and Bryan Cranston in small roles was a surprise.
I say more like 50-100 shows because these are the ones that pilots made it to air with some episodes shot. Not ones that they shot a pilot for then cut into a direct to VHS film to try recoup so of the loss since no one picked up that pilot option.
I can't stop myself from thinking how excited these actors must have been, filming their intros for what they think will be the next Cosby Show, only to be disposed of after the pilot...
By the way, shows like Married with Children and The Simpsons sprung up largely as response to family sitcoms like those listed in the video. 3:05 Especially. It's almost like "Insert cliché here"-style parody and sums up the most creatively devoid shows of the era.
But they did change: they got worse! More (and louder) commercials, more (and louder) man-bashing (negating the impact of the Gay characters they reluctantly allowed on the air), more (and louder) agit-prop from Norman Lear wannabes, more (and louder) headache-inducing attempts to copy music videos long after MTV stopped showing them, and worst of all, more “reality” TV because the networks and studios got tired of paying writers more for the same garbage as always only worse than ever before. Not to mention those stupid bugs on the screen that will do permanent damage to your TV if they are left on long enough.
Eric Grijalva I actually remember a couple but I actually liked them. I’m surprised I didn’t see them all since I watched a lot of tv back in those days.
crazysingingchick True!!! Although I remember some. They just weren’t popular like Family ties or anything like that. Kinda glad I don’t remember some of them lol!
Deborah Chapman out of all of these I remember I’m a Big Girl Now the most because I watched that one. I love Diana Canova and Martin Short and I recall it being a good show. Edit: I was very little so maybe it was lame and I just thought it was good. 😂
Clearly Morrissey wrote most of these theme songs. I’d recognize his touch anywhere. Few people know that “Girlfriend in a Coma” was the theme of a Scott Baio sitcom called “Nighty Night Julie.”
Imagine the career that Amy Hannigan COULD have had... or that Marty Shorts fellow... Or that Cranberry guy. Something like that. Really, it's hard to remember.
People talk about how so many things in the 80's were created because "everyone was on drugs" but I'm pretty sure these creators were on nothing stronger than a lukewarm glass of water.
Ellie McKibben I haven’t heard that one before. Everyone was not on drugs then but I find a lot of people are on them today. Yes, I’m including weed too.
The only show I remember is I'm a Big Girl Now because of the theme song and because it was Danny Thomas's last series. Watching these clips can make me sad because you see scores of actors that you never heard of who had dreams that ultimately went unfulfilled. By contrast, it's fun to see the bad decisions made by accomplished actors like Brian Dennehy.
I remember that one too because of Diana Canova and Martin Short. Both good actors, unfortunately not a good vehicle. And Paul Witt had some very successful ahows.
0:00 The Cavnaughs 0:58 Fathers and Sons 2:04 Dads 3:05 Family Man 3:55 First Impressions 4:35 One of The Boys 5:35 Free Spirit 6:07 I’m A Big Girl Now 7:08 Nothing Is Easy 8:03 Raising Miranda 9:01 Star of The Family 10:02 Sweet Surrender 11:02 Better Days 11:58 It’s Not Easy 12:56 13 East 13:50 Have Faith 14:50 Phyl and Mikhy 15:59 Me & Mrs. C 16:43 Knight & Daye 17:46 Nothing In Common 18:56 Trial and Error 19:50 Tough Cookies
The Diana Canova/Danny Thomas/Martin Short Big Girl show was the only one that showed real promise because it was produced by the Soap sitcom people. If they changed the silly title it might have succeeded.
🎶 We're coming along, it's getting even better. 🎶 We're coming along, with moments we can treasure. 🎶 We didn't plan things out this way. But here we are… writing some bad theme songs. 🎶
As someone whos 50 now and grew up in the 80's doing nothing but watching tv all day everyday, i figure at least one of these show will look at least familiar. Nope not a one.
The Cavanaughs actually got a three year run. After which their audience got time off for good behavior. A more appropriate title for Tough Cookies would have been Tough S**t.
Notice though, most of the time it was ether a buddy comedy with kids added or The Aunt/Grandma/Older Sister had to take care of things because Mom died or only appeared in the first episode. The one with the divorced couple living across the street, including Ex Mother in Law to care for the Ex- husband, now that's cringe! Who does that? I would never!
Ah, the 80's, where if you weren't sure what the show was going to be about, don't worry - the entire premise and exposition would be explained to you in explicit detail in the opening credits
The problem with TV in the 80's was that they were trying to have the same kind of success as shows in the 70's. Too many "spin-offs" and too many shows based on a movie's success. Successful shows are like lightening in a bottle, it's a combination of a great idea and really talented writers as well as likeable and relatable cast. Most of these flops didn't air long enough to even be memorable. Of the 80's successful shows that stand out for me are Miami Vice and Moon Lighting.
I don't remember all of these sitcoms, but I imagine a lot of them came out in 1984 or just after then, when THE COSBY SHOW just about single-handedly revived tv sitcoms.
By all means, but its success was not instantaneous. There is an early promo for the show here on RU-vid that apparently turned a lot of viewers off with its condescending tone that said nothing about the show and everything about the network that aired it. As it was, it almost didn’t survive its first season until it won the Outstanding Comedy Series Emmy and jumped up in the ratings by several spots. Even without *Cosby,* it likely would have survived anyway.
HeatherM0891 ... If I remember correctly The Simpson’s actually premiered on Thursdays opposite The Cosby Show. The networks didn’t think it had a chance and look where we are now, season 30. Although not nearly as funny as it once was.
@@shaner743 The Simpsons originally aired on Sundays. But then Bill Cosby started complaining about what a bad influence Bart Simpson was for society. Fox thought, "Yeah well we'll show you", and they temporarily moved The Simpsons opposite The Cosby Show to take away some of his viewers.
Animated shows--primarily The Simpsons at first, and later South Park and (to a lesser extent) Family Guy, took up some of the slack in terms of what was watchable on a given night, in the face of the many other mediocre-to-bad shows that were shown on other networks in the same time slot, or at later or earlier times on the same night on any network, etc.
+Shane R I agree the Simpsons isn't nearly as funny as it once was--I pretty much stopped watching after about 11-12 seasons (and after maybe 10 seasons of South Park, 8-9 seasons of Family Guy--these two I've just seen in reruns).
List of shows and it's runs in this video The Cavanaughs: 1986 - 1989 Fathers and Sons: April 1986 - May 1986 Dads: 1986 - 1987 (2 months) Family Man: March 1988 - April 1988 First Impressions: August 1988 - October 1988 One of the Boys: 1989 Free Spirit: 1989 - 1990 (5 months) I'm a big girl now: 1980 - 1981 Nothing is easy: 1986 - 1987 (8 months) Raising Miranda: November 1988 - December 1988 Star of the Family: September 1982 - December 1982 Sweet Surrender: April 1987 - July 1987 Better Days: October 1 1986 - October 29 1986 (OOOF) It's not easy: September 1983 - October 1983 (1 month exactly) 13 East: 1989-1990 Have Faith: April 1989 - June 1989 Phyl and MIkhy: May 1980 - June 1980 Me and Mrs C: 1986 - 1987 Knight and Daye: July 1989 - August 1989 Nothing in Common: April 1987 - June 1987 Trial and Error: March 15 1988 - March 29 1988 (BIG OOOF) Tough Cookies: March 1986 - April 1986
The dates that are listed is for the Mickey Rooney sitcom that aired on NBC in 1982. Included in this compilation of openings is a different series with the same title from 1989 that also aired on NBC. Bernie Orenstein and Saul Turteltaub created the 1982 series. They were the main producers on the later seasons of That Girl and Sanford and Son.
As a kid, I spent a large portion of each day watching bad TV. I am shocked that I know of so few of these shows. And OMG, do the first few look PAINFUL! I will admit, I would probably have watched 2 or 3 of these shows, had I been aware of them.
You mean *Full Jailhouse.* I couldn’t help but notice how a show with a similar premise, one that didn’t come out of the Miller-Boyett bilge factory, aired Friday nights on ABC a year before it premiered.
I feel like I’ve slipped into some alternate reality because I don’t remember a single one of these intros, but they are all so confident like they were real shows that people watched
It’s hard to believe that all of these shows aren’t part of the Too Many Cooks universe. Some of these seem as if people had A.I. create the songs and intros.
*Punky Brewster* didn’t do that despite Henry’s job as a photographer. Working that into that show would’ve backed the producers into a corner after he was forced to give it up to go into the restaurant business. They already had to give up most of the animation they created for the season one opening because the transition from live-action to animation was far from seamless.
In the 80s, I had gone through an expensive divorce, was living in a small studio apartment, was working long hours and did not have a TV. Never heard of most of these shows or their "stars". Life was good!
I had a similar situation. Worked 12 hour overnight shift, slept all day. TV memories of the 80s are Cheers, Dallas and Knots Landing. But during some of that time, I didn't even have a TV.
As someone who has watched David Rappaport use toys to stop crime, Pat Morita playing a detective, and Andy Griffith building a rocket out of garbage; I'm impressed with the number of these I've not heard of.
i loved the Wizard ( i think i saw it when i was 7, on CHCH 11 from Hamiton via Cable here in Canada). Ohara i also remember, i think Kevin Conroy was on that, and it was out around the same time as Hooperman, the first 'dramadey'
The cheesy video effects are fun, and it is interesting to see big names on their way up (or down). But the perky, heart-warming and life-affirming intro songs have left me wanting to be cruel to a total stranger.
That's classic, usually Broadcast TV for you. Like the old Billy Joel song says, The 'Good Old Days' weren't always good and Tomorrow isn't as bad as it seems......Current political regime makes that statement seem like a stretch, but still...
I recall a few: The Cavanaughs (QUITE bad, felt sorry for the cast)and I'm a Big Girl Now(amazingly NOT bad for semi-retired Danny Thomas and post-Soap Diana Canova). The rest of these, if I remember them AT ALL, I'd see their ads in TV Guide and think 'Ah...Robby Benson as a cop...I think I'll pass' . These responses have me LOL. The opening credit sequences and their themes are both abysmal AND YET probably necessary to ponder the numbing amount of retread TV(mostly sitcoms)ideas that trod the '80s landscape. Only surprised the Jack Klugman-John Stamos misfire "You Again" wasn't in this.
Martin Olsen became became more famous for working on shows like adventure time and phineas and ferb I mean he was the voice of Marcelines dad Hunson Abadeer
Dads, a show before it’s time. It be a hit today. Two guys, divorced, oddly enjoying each other’s company. Working out together….the endless possibilities. Dads.
Honestly I agree that this show was before it's time. Out of all of the shows here that I was able to find on RU-vid, Dads was the only one that I actually found myself laughing at. I might be tripping but sometimes it even reminded me of "a show about nothing"
It’s shows like these that helped keep Full House on the air during its first season, despite its bad reviews. These shows were so much worse! There wasn’t anything good to replace FH with, so it got through season one and got renewed for another season. The rest is (TV) history.
Well, other than recognizing "Nothing in Common" as an attempt to be an adaptation of a 1986 movie of the same name (which had much better talent), I'm in the same boat.
Same here. Truely unmemorable, one or two show disasters. These are truly awful. But suffice it to say, that in some alternate universe, these shows were hits.
Yes, Corinne was "Winnie Goodwinn", a "free spirit" witch who often got the kids she was supposed to look after in trouble {Daddy doesn't KNOW she's a witch- they DO}. The series lasted 13 episodes in the fall of 1989.
I’ve watched this video several times since I first found it in 2021, but it never occurred to me to ask myself if I, born in 1985, remember any of these shows? 13 East is very familiar looking. If it aired in 1989-90, that’s when my mother was in nursing school, and it wouldn’t surprise me if she’d watch this show because it was relevant to her life. More than that, when I saw the tiled walls in the intro, it flooded my memory with what kid me must have thought when she saw it: “it looks like the pool at the Y!” Aaaaand that’s it. A half-forgotten blur from when I was 4 years old.
as a rule, I think Everything this Channel compiles for these videos was ordered to Series... (whether Fall Launch or Mid-Season replacement) some shows 'might' be canceled in under 3* episodes or see a change in plans between running the ads and the intended debut, but all were Ordered to series (meaning that due to filming schedules and lead time to air a minimum of 6 episodes likely exist/existed for every one of these I think the record for Speed of Cancelation is a Tie between a 70's Variety Show & Heather Graham's '06 sitcom where the order came down in the Middle of the First episode Airing on the East Coast... IIRC the Variety show went to commercial and when the commercial break was Over Affiliates were instructed to put on a Re-run of something else... and in both cases many west Coast affiliates know the shows' fates never bothered to air them.
I actually remember "The Cavanaughs" theme song from when I was a little kid, haven't heard it in over 30 years and probably haven't thought about it since then either. It's actually quite pretty. :)
Wow, what a bunch of cookie-cutter shows.. same openings, same selection of cast member types, same fonts, and theme songs that must have all been written by the same person. And I don't remember one of them.
Paul Junger Witt and Tony Thomas must have had it in their contract to have the same exact "Soap"/"Benson" white-on-black font on EVERY single one of their shows. It was copied over for "The Golden Girls" as well. Luckily there was enough talent in that series to overcome THAT intro.
"The Cavanaugh's" opening seemed to take an ETERNITY! These are the days before 15-second opening themes (or 'zero-second' in the case of Seinfeld :) ).
They were already getting shorter by the end of the 1970s. The themes from *Diff’rent Strokes* and *the Facts of Life* and both themes from *Gimme A Break!* are all 50 seconds long. Disney’s Sunday night show around this time switched from extended medleys of their most famous songs to a 45-second disco song replaced with an even shorter disco version of a *Pinocchio* song. Even *The Golden Girls* only captures 42 seconds of a song that was originally nearly five minutes! *The Simpsons* was the exception when its credit sequence originally ran 90 seconds. Some shows barely have them at all anymore. *F(r)iends* ruined it for a lot of people, myself included. It took five people to write that piece of shit song, but the *Mister Ed* theme only needed Jay Livingston and Ray Evans.
The FCC relaxed the rules for prime time commercial time as they only applied to that particular time period. But even daytime TV increased the number of commercials. Years ago, I found a 1986 episode of *Guiding Light.* My mom managed to tape and save the tape of. I timed the running time without commercials. It was approximately 42 minutes. When I recorded the final episode to a DVD-R and paused the commercials, it didn’t even hit the 40-minute mark! Shrinkflation started with everyone’s favorite TV shows, and mine and my family’s were affected reciprocally!
I have only seen The Cavanaughs and Have Faith, and only remember seeing previews of I'm a Big Girl Now. All of the other shows looked pretty bad to me!
Actors who I recognise and/or went on to bigger things: Martin Short, Brad Garrett, Brian Dennehy, Bryan Cranston, Alyson Hannigan, Alison Sweeney, Barry Bostwick, Dan Hedaya, Dana Delaney, Dee Wallace, Maria Conchita Alonso, Robbie Benson, Adam Arkin, Art Metrano, Lainie Kazan, Paul Rodriguez, Matt Craven, Elizabeth Peña, Always good to see these old shows in hindsight just to see any familiar names and faces and where they started out.
Some of these sitcoms looked so bad, that starring in a porn for some of these actors/actresses would have been less embarrassing. And the intro songs are so bad, they sound too somber.
My fav intro is the one where the cast has bad ass instruments behind them, clearly emphasizing how totally bodacious and/or radical your viewing experience is about to get.
Vincent: She done anything i'd've seen? Jules: I think she starred in a pilot. Vincent:What's that? Jules: Well, you know the shows on TV? Vincent: I don't watch TV. Jules : Yeah, but, you are aware that there's an invention called television, and on this invention they show shows, right? Vincent: Yeah. Jules: Well, the way they pick TV shows is, they make one show. That show's called a pilot. Then they show that one show to the people who pick shows, and on the strength of that one show they decide if they want to make more shows. Some get chosen and become television programs. Some don't, become nothing. She starred in one of the ones that became nothing.... and I think these shows also became nothin'
Wow Bryan Cranston at 8:42! Makes you appreciate the tenacity of actors who despite having to wade through multiple short-falls mange to some how break-through.
You mean to tell me that Hakeem, even at his young age, (in the show Fathers and Sons) was just that well known in Hollywood and abroad, that he only needed to go by one name?!!!
Mt. Theodore Alan that’s Hakeem Abdul Samad from that boy band The Boys back in the late 80’s. I guess they knew they were gonna butcher his name so they just went with what they could spell. In retrospect, that was probably a good idea.
I actually do rem "nothing is easy". The fact that data from goonies was on a show always stuck in my mind. I didn't think it was terrible show, but it lasted maybe half a season.
@@lastguyminn2324 Or they recast. Or they created this for the pilot and just decided to stick with it. The show aired so late in the season that they clearly had no faith in it and were just burning it off.
"mostly painful" was an understatement! I can at least gladly say that I don't remember any of these shows, so I guess my taste in television shows wasn't that bad!
Brandon B even for the 80’s, the corniest decade ever these are bad. Absolutely cringeworthy. I hope lots of people lost their jobs behind letting these abominations actually air pilot episodes.
