We Need to Talk About the DISASTROUS Ferris Bueller TV Show 

I think it's definitely related and insanely mean spirited. It almost seems like this show was made as a middle finger to Hughes, the movie, and everyone in it.

Schlatter was a main character in Diagnosis Murder (a show that lots of Murder, She Wrote fans might like). Incidentally, the actor who plays the "lawyer" in the pilot was the main antagonist in DM's season 4 episode "Murder Can Be Murder."

On a vaguely related topic, I thought Jennifer Grey was beautiful - totally had a crush on her from Ferris B movie.

That show is horrible in every way, except the two pretty girls, haha. Normally the main character talking to the audience is a really fun and rare thing in TV and movies that I enjoy.

@@encycl07pedia- I watched that show all the time with my mother when I was a kid! It would be great if PUR did a video on it. Definitely up her alley.

That's because you have. There were more genuine laughs in this 15 minute video than in the multiple episodes of the Ferris Bueller show that I watched when it aired.

Seven year old me: They canceled *ALF* for this shit? 38 year old me: this never would have happened if Jason Bateman had never left *Silver Spoons.*

I vaguely remember when this aired. I loved the movie and wrongly thought it would be good. The first episode was more than 12 year old me needed to see.

At least the guy who played Cameron was decent.

I’ve seen the show and this is an 100% fair assessment, especially when Parker Lewis already existed.

Plus it had some really awesome cinematography if memory serves. It wasn't afraid to be a cartoon. Then again, it only lasted three years before it got cancelled as well. I suppose the irony of Ferris Bueller or any homage is that outside of that one big day their lives are kinda basic.

@@CinemaBiohazard Realistically, his younger sister was a freshman in the first season, so three years was about all they were going to be able to squeeze out of it without it becoming Parker Lewis: the College Years.

At least they tried to make some of the regular cast antagonists likeable. Kubiak the stereotypical dumb jock bully has some sort of moral compass to do good, even the principal who had the rule with an iron fist schtick, but not a buffoon. How the hell did Parker Lewis had every ticket for Depeche Mode in the West Coast.

Basically, the difference is that PLCL was on (a very young) Fox and at the time could be more daring while FB was stuck on NBC.

Parker Lewis also beat out Edward Furlong’s John Connor in the “white teen with inexplicable Public Enemy swag” category by ten months. Funny, I never saw FB, but I distinctly remember that horrible theme song. Meanwhile, PLCL was can’t-miss TV for me, at least in the first two seasons. Things got a little too normal in the final season, and I hated the coach character.

I watched the show when it first aired, and I can tell you that your comment here is far, far funnier than anything that happened on the show.

Wait what

Sweet home alabama

TV Buller wishes he had his Movie Counterpart's charisma. The way he saw off the cutout only solidify his doucheness.

I dunno... watching as an adult and he really really is a terrible person.

that's how he got away with murder as well

I always found this character extremely hateable

I would not call Mathew Broderick charismatic... I do not like Broderick as an actor. Everything seems ... overstaged... like he's trying too hard to play to the cheap seats and everything is overblown and disingenuous. Nothing is sincere, and I do not engage with people like that.

(end credits include) "No crickets were harmed during this production"

TV shows based on movies but with new actors can definitely work though: MASH is the perfect example. And Weird Science was funny. So not a perfect slam.

In fairness, the cast of the _Parker Lewis_ television series has solicited less child pornography and killed fewer Irish women than the film's cast has.

@@davidlevy706 So he was driving on the wrong (right) side of the road. Very common mistake by Americans. An accident. You need to quit reading the crazy side of YT if you seriously think Matthew Broderick is a bad guy

@@lazyhomebody1356 I'm not implying that it was anything other than a tragic accident. I do, however, find it outrageous that Broderick got off with a $175 fine.

... but there are so many suspects, she eventually gives up.

It was me, officer. I take full, GLEEFUL responsibility for it.

Oh, great. The reason for the crime wave in Cabot Cove, Maine.

Life moves pretty fast -- Even faster for some.

I was totally waiting for a "so this guy's dead." 🤣

Parker Lewis is one of favorite shows of all time. Never saw any resemblance with Ferris Bueller to me it was more Dobie Gillis.

Whenever the boys in PLCL were planning a scheme Parker would say "Synchronize Swatches," which amused me for its 1980's cynicism. The phrase still is on the tip of my tongue all these decades later.

Yeah, hopefully she does a video on Parker Lewis at some point.

I watched both shows but yeah, I was more of a Parker Lewis fan.

I loved PLCL, it's been a hot minute since I saw the show, not sure how well it still holds up cuz it was almost a live action cartoon at times which I think was part of it's appeal as the characters all try to navigate through life and trials and tribulations while trying to solve problems and help others in a manner that achieves 'coolness'.

I can honestly say that Parker Lewis was a better adaptation of Ferris Bueller than Ferris Bueller.

Honestly the original character had a lot of potentially unlikeable qualities, abusing Cameron and such, but the framing and acting helped smooth it out. The series...didn't do that.

@@FFKonoko And Matthew Broderick is a gem.

@@JohnDCrafton Yes he is, but it also helped the movie that Matthew Broderick, and Alan Ruck who played Cameron were already good friends in real life doing broadway style plays so they were able to play off each other so well that it just felt natural because it was for them.

I fail to see how the attempted TV version of *Coming to America* would’ve been worse other than taking Tommy Davidson off of *In Living Color.* It, too, would have been inferior to the source material but at least would not have unleashed anybody toxic upon the world.

@@JohnDCrafton all the qualities that made him wrong for the role of Alex P. Keaton on *Family Ties* made him right for this part. That’s why they showed that movie on NBC after the last episode of that show. It must have gotten really good ratings which is what made them think they could get those kind of ratings every week with the TV series. This was also they after they failed to make hits out of TV shows based on the movies *Nothing in Common* and *Baby Boom.*

Totally missed out on a Douglas Brackman tie in between both shows which might have made it bearable lol....

sure LOOKS like Titus, but he's not listed in the imdb page so it'd be uncredited if so

I was going to say. They both came out at the same time and Parker Lewis Can't Lose was definitely the superior show of the two.

I gave the Ferris Bueller TV a shot, but I was a huge Parker Lewis kid. It was like the middle child between Saved by the Bell and Malcolm in the Middle. SYNCHRONIZE SWATCHES!

Parker Lewis was the Ferris Bueller that didn't suck.

Parker Lewis Can't Lose rocked!

I misremembered this series as coming after Parker Lewis Can't Lose especially since the title of one episode is clearly an attempt to mock that show: Ferris Bueller Can't Win

Parker Lewis better

The entire cast got on my nerves. No clue why this was so popular.

He has 4. One of them looks just like him!

I think the first movie I saw Ami in was called "She's Out of Control" and Tony Danza played her dad.

@@theasinclaire52 Ooooo!

Weird coincidence. Jennifers Aniston and Grey were in love triangle on Friends.

I'm old enough I saw Dolenz as Circus Boy .. But I preffered the elephant .. 'Daughters' ?.. No .. I assumed he was like the Three Stooges, except singular .. TgT

Maybe... but I was a teenager once, and I've always believed that teenagers aren't young adults; they're old children. Whatever maturity they develop comes many years later, if ever. True adulthood for most people doesn't happen until about 25-30. Not knocking Ferris Bueller's Day Off; it's a great movie, but to me the characters aren't really believable, and only work because it's a comedy (I've always thought though the character of Ferris Bueller was a terrible person and it boggles my mind how many people like that character. I hate that he's treated like a hero and never gets caught and punished for the stuff he pulls. But the movie is funny so I can forgive that). They can only be written that way by someone that hasn't been in high school for a very long time and doesn't really remember what people were actually like at that age. They're still children, no matter how eager they are to convince people otherwise. I've always long believed that it's depressing whenever someone says high school was the best years of their life, because it means that nothing improved for them afterwards.

*MASH, Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore,* and *Cooley High* were all adapted into successful sitcoms despite being bowdlerized for network television. If Linda Lavin could follow Ellen Burstyn’s footsteps for nine seasons, and Alan Alda could do the same for Donald Sutherland for even longer, then what’s this show’s excuse? What makes it all the more ironic is that Matthew Broderick went on to do some truly terrible remakes. Just as there is no Ferris Bueller but him, there is no Inspector Gadget but Don Adams. He also stunk up a Music Man remake that no one asked for except the same Disney shills who made excuses for those shitty remakes of Annie and South Pacific. If I have to suffer from bad TV-related PTSD, so does everybody else.

I think the bigger question was 'why did anybody think that Ferris Bueller would be a good show four years after the movie? At that point who cared?

@@CinemaBiohazard Exactly. While I may love the movie "Ferris Beuller's Day Off", why in the hell would I want to see a sitcom based around an already at that time 4 year old movie? Sure, the movie is a classic, but why try and make it into something it's not? The way the guy playing "Ferris" says it, it makes it seem like "Ferris Beuller's Day Off" was supposedly a mockumentary or documentary about this random douche who's not good enough to carry a show by himself and makes the character we liked from the movie seem like an unlikable, arrogant, manipulative, egocentric douche, who only uses the people around him, which is the exact OPPOSITE of how Ferris was in the movie. I mean, did anybody ask for a TV show of this, or anything else relating to Ferris Beuller's Day Off after the movie? No. The movie was about a cool kid, his girlfriend, and best friend all taking a day off together, and taking a tour of the city; and doing whatever they felt like. Not sure how a sitcom of this same premise could work, but it proved that it could work for a movie. But this was 4 years after said movie. The movie wasn't in theaters anymore, it was on vhs or something by then, so why even bother with a sitcom? You may as well have made a sequel to the movie. While I still like the movie, it doesn't sound like a compelling TV show at all; and could've tried to prove us wrong, but it didn't, and failed. The end. P.S., the theme song is laughably obnoxious.

It's a case where the "rip off" was way better than the official material.

"Parker Lewis was one of those Fox shows you knew was Fox simply by watching it." That is a really good way of putting it. My wife is 5 years younger than me and grew up with no TV in her house, so I sometimes have to pull up video clips online to prove to her that some of the weird stuff I watched as a teenager on Fox really did exist.

Except THIS WAS ON NBC! A similar show called PARKER LEWIS CANT LOSE (which was actually Much Better) was on Fox and lasted three years

@@edvaira6891 They never once mentioned Ferris Bueller in this comment. This is kind of like yelling “water is wet”, we know but this person wasn’t talking about water! lol

Parker Lewis can't lose was definitely the superior show. I found torrents of it back in 2011 to give it a rewatch as an adult.... Still a funny and entertaining show. I really hope it makes it to streaming one day.

@@edvaira6891 are you having a stroke because I straight started out talking about Parker Lewis!

I adored that show. The cartoon bean in hightops in the credits killed me every time!

The show wasn't too bad either.

PUR needs to cover that one! I loved the movie, never knew about the show

Sometimes it ends up going that way. The official version of something is nothing but a cheap cash-in trading on name recognition while the version, uh, _inspired_ by the original actually cares about the things that made it good in the first place. It's happened a number of times in the past, often when something is adapted to another medium/format.

Synchronize Swatches!

Thats something a lot of movies exec's should pay heed to....if your building a movie around an existing well loved IP to garner name recognition... you better damn well be faithful to the source or your in for a kicking from the very same people you want to hook in using that IP... If you want to make something only shallowly connected to that IP with character names and places then dont coat tale.... let it stand on its own with its own unconnected name and branding.

@@johntowers1213 The cast of *What’s Happening!!* would like a word with you.

Cast chemistry is so important, and so frequently overlooked... good chemistry can save an awful work and bad chemistry can doom a great one.

Good lord, I feel young and I’m 28 lmao

I'm so confused looking at this Ferris Bueller. Here's this preppy looking blonde kid in a light blue button down and khaki pants looking like an accountant and his room is all Sisters of Mercy and Cabaret Voltaire posters. How tf did the set decorators see him as having any goth kid interests? SO weird. Everything is just...off.

All the actors look trapped in the FB series. I’ve seen most of them do good work elsewhere.

I re-watched few episodes quite recently and though I was no longer laughing out loud (I chuckled once or twice) as I did when watching the show those 25 years ago, I was still able to relate and understand why PLCL was so good for a 13yo me.

I remember some Parker antics that were funny, but probably watched a lot more saved by the bell and charles in charge, haha.

Parker Lewis was a lot closer to Ferris Bueller than this dreck.

One of the episodes was even named Ferris Bueller Can't Win, clearly a reference to Parker. doing so only a few episodes in was not a good sign

yeah, Parker Lewis was the Ferris show we wanted. around the time we also had Get A Life on Fox, which was my favorite thing ever. not sure how well that has aged.

The last season was a let down of sorts but something would’ve had to give once he graduated from high school. It established a pattern of Fox stringing shows along and then canceling them right before they accumulate enough episodes for syndication. See also: *Arrested Development.*

At times like this I’m grateful there were no smartphones then to immortalize some of the things I said and wore.

@@Panzer_the_Merganser Fe-Fe-Fe-Fe-Ferris. _BUELLER!_ Yeah I’d really rather forget the time I tried to beatbox during a presentation in English class when I was 11.

@@DissociatedWomenIncorporated Hahaha Was in Catholic school in the 80’s and… yeah beatboxing was all the rage for us too, especially when singing about the lord. No recordings exist. And for that I’m eternally grateful

And EVERYTHING took place in California.

The late 1990s was worse and would’ve been unbearable without Ricky Schroder‘s ass.

I remember an episode where he had to skip school to avoid a fight and he says it was a terrible experience. Something along the lines of "I've never skipped school before, this sucks, what kind of idiot would think this is cool?"

*Webster* (also from Paramount and tied to this show by Corin Nemec playing Web’s cousin Nicky as if that was supposed to make up for losing Chad Allen to NBC) actually beat *Diff’rent Strokes* (now owned by Columbia) in the ratings the years they overlapped. In that case, stealing from Norman Lear is stealing from a thief.

Yes!!!! So loved this show 🤗

"You're like that Ferris Lewis guy." [VO] Whoa!

The best part of that reference at the end of the episode (which a web search suggested to me is Parker Lewis Can't Win) to Ferris Bueller goes something like: Boy #1: So that's how they do it! Boy #2: C'mon, Ferris, let's get outta here. Meaning it is also throwing some serious shade.

The 9 to 5 show especially, when they kicked off a veteran comic actress in the show's cast and replaced her with a supermodel, just to up the ratings. That goes against everything 9 to 5 stood for in the first place.

No way is there actually a Dirty Dancing show?

So I'm not the only one that was reminded of Parker Lewis Can't Lose

Richard Riehle looks like the budget version of William Conrad. He's like, Jake and Some Other Fatman.

He was also in Executive Decision playing the Airline Marshall.

He was the prison guard who uncuffed Richard Kimble in The Fugitive.

He was also in a flashback in "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" the series, the flashback was to the events of the movie and replaced Donald Sutherland (I think it was) as her original Watcher.

And for the Nerd insert: He was in Wing Commander IV: The Price of Freedom as Chief Technician Robert 'Pliers' Sykes

While only moderately successful (and now largely forgotten), _Parker Lewis Can't Lose_ was a stylistic oddity that paved the way for _Malcolm in the Middle_ - the popularity of which sparked a single-camera sitcom trend that continues to the present day.

@@davidlevy706 As I remember, the ratings fell off, so the show was retitled "Parker Lewis" -- maybe he CAN lose.

Now you need to make the Ferris Bueller theme a ringtone on your phone. Must Annoy Public With Horrible Music. 🤣

I'm also guessing from your name you loved Charles In Charge. Another great ringtone. 😂🤣

Surely it was the classic movie ‘The Leprechaun’ with Warwick Davis that propelled her to the stratosphere?

@@heyhonpuds Nah, it was the legendary and forgotten Fox comedy skit show 'The Edge.'

@@heyhonpuds Exactly!!

@@heyhonpuds Yeah, I was going to say that. :)

Nah, this didn't give Aniston her big break. That was 'FRIENDS'.

It got 4 seasons to Ferris's 1, so it's at least four times as good as this one.

Part of me always had a "oh hey it's Kubiac" when his actor went on to be a recurring character on ER for years.

@@SethBrower Was there an episode of the show where Kubiac won the Science Fair with a potato powered flashlight that he called "Spud Light"? Or am I thinking of a different show. If it is this show, they it made a lasting impression with me.

@@BrotherAlpha Just looked it up, season 1 episode 12 "Science Fair"

@@SethBrower I'm not sure I should be proud to remember that or not. ... No. I know I shouldn't be proud to remember that, but I am anyway.

You know it.

Oh God, in some nightmare alternate reality Ferris Bueller is a long-running Saturday NBC Teen-Com alongside Saved by the Bell and California Dreams. *shudder*

@@CinemaBiohazard The real reality is nightmarish enough and that TNBC shit is part of the reason why.

@@CinemaBiohazard I can see the show actually working on Saturday afternoon with those shows. But as a prime-time show on Mondays following the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air... no.

Rachins was also a *Golden Girls* guest star that same season, foreshadowing the acquisition of Fox by Disney.

That’s who that was, thank you! I was trying to figure out why the Parker character seemed familiar but I couldn’t place him as I’m not familiar with a lot of 80’s media, but I know him from Stargate SG-1 as Jonas!

@@jean14256 no problem! I didn't know that he was in Stargate SG-1, so I learned something too! Thanks!

Exactly what I was thinking!

Cue the theme music….

Diagnosis Murder She Wrote?

Would love to see her take on Diagnosis Murder. Just watched episode with Betty White as Dr Sloan's sister.

@@NastyWoman1979 RIP A True Golden Girl.

They already had mutually exclusive *Pete’s Dragon* cast members as guest stars.

Another show that should’ve stayed in the 90s.

Check out the 'Zach Morris is Trash' series on FunnyOrDie's channel. No laugh tracks or actor charm for cover; purely focusing on the details of Zack's scheme-of-the-week. Dude is a straight up psychopath.

Don't forget the absolute banger that was Honey! I Shrunk the Kids! The freaking hilarity of the deathwish Snuggle Bear.

Don't Forget Uncle Buck which IMHO even without the original cast was the only one that kind of worked besides StarGate SG1.

_Weird Science_ is from more-or-less that time period, too. I think that one actually made it to a second season, although that was early enough that the idea of a cable-only channel (early effort by USA) making original programming was novel.

@@boobah5643 I forgot about Weird Science, that one worked as well because they updated it to be more 90's, and it was further apart from the movie.

@@DahVoozel that actually looked like it was better than the last movie in the series.

Have you seen Team Knight Rider?

Wait, what? WHAT?!? Is that even a thing?

@@thebeatnumber Team Knight Rider? Oh yes. Oddly, both Team Knight Rider and the one with Val Kilmer as KITT are both continuations of the original show (as was the Knight Rider 2000 movie).

@@SonicAlpha This I have GOT to check out 😎 Thanks for the feedback 👍🏾

You know what, I do want to express myself, alright! And I don't need 57 pieces of flair to do it!

Mike Judge is an asshole for putting her in that movie.

I'm actually surprised this comparison wasn't made in the video.

I hated that show. It was an exercise in boy bashing and I hated how she basically bullied her little brother. I also thought that Nickelodeon was trying to normalize teenage girls dressing like sluts. They dragged Disney down into the gutter, too (this means you, Kim Possible.)

She didn't want to sully Clarissa's name

I was too disinterested as a child to watch Diagnosis Murder, now Im interested its like impossible to find. I cant find anywhere that streams it.

for me, that would be Who Framed Roger Rabbit