Several experiments have involved either a failed two-hour backdoor pilot movie, or two episodes of a failed series clumsily edited together. What other known series failures would you like to see riffed?
Mine would be the 1987 attempt at Bates Motel, the one that tried to position the iconic motel at the center of a horror dramedy episodic anthology. (Good premise, actually; dead wrong IP to pair with it.) Anthony Perkins was attached to that project for a while, but he wisely backed out once he realized its true nature.
With the new television season upon us here in the States, we could also open this up to the fresh crop of new series. Mine is going to be the first attempt at the MacGyver remake. Whatever your feelings on Mac Remake 2.0, there’s probably lots to riff with Mac Remake Beta, the original pilot that CBS wisely threw back.
I know it’s cliche, but c’mon! Cop Rock! Too easy? Maybe. What’s your pick?
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‘misfits of science.’
Manimal –
Patrick Duffy (Pam’s husband-who-came-back-to-life-in-the-shower) wishes we would all forget this stinkburger. Actually, most of have, I guess.
The ill conceived attempt to redo the Fugitive a few years back. As a fan of the original series, and the Harrison Ford movie, I would love to see the riffers show it no mercy.
“Manimal”. I think it was even referenced on MST3K once or twice. And that Gene Roddenberry pilot, “Genesis II”. I see that someone else beat me to “Manimal”.
Actually, You can have “Manimal”. I should have written “Man From Atlantis” for Patrick Duffy. Rats!
“A Man Called Sloane.” Wish I had a metal hand.
The Bill and Ted sitcom. 11 year old me still can’t quite get over that one. If we were doing successful TV shows, it’d be Emergency! With Kevin Tighe, Randolph Mantooth and Tim Donelley, the cloned simpleton from Clonus.
The miniseries reboot of “The Invaders” with Scott Bakula, that was also edited down to feature length. Seems like a natural.
Viva Laughlin. The Brains’ singing ability would be put to good use, and I’d get to see Hugh Jackman and hear lots of Wolverine references. So no downside.
I vaguely remember a series (pilot?) called ‘The Invisible Woman’. From what I recall of the promos, that one could use a good riffing.
Also, dare I say it? :struggle: ‘Pink Lady and Jeff’? *Ducks rotten fruit* I know it was a variety show, but still…
How about Here Comes Honey Boo Boo!?
Well, they could’ve done both “Genesis II” (the original failed pilot with Alex Cord and Ted Cassidy) and “Planet Earth” (the re-tooled failed pilot/failed sequel with John Saxon and Ted Cassidy). You can really see Gene Roddenberry desperately trying to re-do “Star Trek”, and not having it work.
And I’m sure that they’d get some mileage out of “Galactica 1980” (except for the last episode, “The Return of Starbuck”; that was the only good story in the series).
Oh, and they almost did the failed pilot “Baffled!” with Leonard Nimoy. For the story on that, go to the Paley Center for Media (located in NYC and Beverly Hills) and watch the tape of the MST3K symposium they did for Mike’s account of that.
Unless I’m very much mistaken, Patrick Duffy wasn’t in “Manimal”. British actor Simon MacCorkindale was the unfortunate star of that mess.
Supertrain meets Galactica 1980:
Needs to be energetically pitched to producer mogul TV’s Frank (offer him a large box of rubberbands as a gift).
For the series to succeed this time need working models of the Supertrain and spaceships in a cost effective manner. Daredevil pilots Crow, TS, and ace pilot Gypsy battle their evil nemesis (Pearl F.) and her minions for control of Earth. Key to resistance is the mother ship DS9 and Commander JR (replaced in seccond season by MN).
See #5. That’s what happens when I have ragweed in my head instead of knowledge.
I wish you all to understand that Automan was the greatest thing ever in the universe forever and ever if you were eleven and also boy should they have done that.
But seriously. Goofy premise done competently enough to watch, but impossible to really do well, that’s exactly in the easy-watching sweet spot.
(looks through replies for “Baywatch Nights”)
Oh, come on.
In the early 1990s, Fox aired one of the worst TV shows ever made, called Woops!, about the 6 survivors of a nuclear holocaust (conveniently all American) living together on a farm (conveniently in the US) and their wacky hijinks getting along together. Yes, I know it’s hard to riff a comedy, but trust me when I say there was NOTHING funny in this sitcom.
COP ROCK!!!
Please, I beg of you, riff Cop Rock.
Seriously, though, because it didn’t last very long, I’d have to choose that Spider-Man series from the 70s.
There’s no way Marvel would let MST3K anywhere near that show, but it’s such a great cheesefest that would go well with such MSTed TV works like Master Ninja and Riding with Death.
I’ve never seen it, but the Justice League of America pilot from 1997 looked pretty bad.
I seem to recall, in a host segment, Servo bemoaned the cancellation of Manimal.
I would like to recommend the Gawd-awful 2005 remake of Kolchak: The Night Stalker. Granted, Darren McGavin is a tough act to follow. Even so, Stuart Townshend’s anti-charisma sucked the life out of the role. It also didn’t help that, contrary to protestations by producer Frank Spotnitz, it was doing more to ape The X-Files.
A show that went to series (!!!) called Automan. It had Desi Arnez Jr and a man who could turn into a car. I kid you not.
Future Cop, wherein veteran street cop Ernest Borgnine gets an experimental android partner.
I don’t think there’s much that needs to be said past that premise.
My Mother the Car –
“She’s a 1928 Porter. That’s my mother dear. And she helps me through everything I do and I’m so glad she’s here. MY MOTHER THE CAR!”. (lyrics to the opening theme song)
For those viewers too young to remember the original The Man From Uncle this one season show starring Jerry Van Dyke was its competition. Chuckle.
I vote for Crusade – the Babylon 5 spin-off with Gary Cole as the starship captain.
man from Atlantis was the patrick duffy vehicle that’s being confused with manimal.
Firefly. There was a lot of awful in that show perfect for riffing.
How about some of the godawful 70s animated shows? I would love to have them mock the Filmation stuff, it’s so dreadful. Like The Groovie Ghoulies, Archie, Sabrina the Teenage Witch etc… Or the extremely limited animation of Superfriends. I tried to re-watch it the other day and couldn’t go more than 10 minutes. Maybe break it up into two segments and do it like a short?
Also, anything by Sid and Marty Krofft; HR Puf n Stuff, Lidsville, Land of the Lost etc… So surreal it would be a blast to riff.
Three ideas:
– Not the infamous Brady Bunch Variety Hour, but instead The Bradys — the attempt to mix Thirtysomething with Full House. It was a drama with maimed Brady Kids, 80s hair, and a laugh track. It really, really, didn’t work. Still, you do get the image of an embarrassed Robert Reed in every episode.
– Any of the greasy televangelists who had their work cut short due to scandal. Robert Tilton, Jim Bakker, Peter Popoff, Todd Bentley — any of them.
– One of the more insipid PBS Kids’ TV shows that came out in the 90s and early 00s in the wake of Barney. Boohbah is at the top of the list, mostly because of the horrifying design and druggy feel. It’s a good gateway to introduce the younger set to the brilliant world of MST and Rifftrax.
Oh THANK YOU for suggesting this. Honestly if that show was allowed to go its full season I think people would realize it wasn’t really that good. I would LOVE to see Jonah and the Bots shred Mal and Jayne into coleslaw.
I would love to see them take on an episode of ‘Pink Lady And Jeff’, or maybe the infamous ‘Paul Lynde Halloween Special’ that starred Margeret ‘Wicked Witch Of The West’ Hamilton and the rock band KISS.
That reminds me of one of the pre-show title cards Rifftrax used: “DID YOU KNOW…the easiest way to start a riot at ComicCon is to wear a T-shirt saying ‘You know, Firefly wasn’t all that great.'”
Hey, wait a minute… Joe Don Baker had a failed TV detective series called Eischied in which he played a southern-bred cop in New York.
MST3K, you know what you have to do.
Going back to my teenage years Logans Run. A very bad remake of a good movie. It aired in 1977-1978.
Thanks a bunch. In trying to remember a couple of names of shows that were cancelled almost immediately, I wiki’d one-episode tv series. Wow. Wiki “List of television series canceled after one episode”
I actually am one of the eight or eleven people alive today who saw (part) of “Turn-On.” There’s a great interview with Tim Conway on YouTube, plus a short, short clip from it.
Otherwise, “Small Wonder.” They’ve been showing it on one of our broadcast nostalgia-TV stations. Clear proof that Jesus died in vain.
This wasn’t exactly a “failed” series, but Buck Rogers in the 25th Century was SO bad!
There was a series in 1982 called “The Phoenix” that lasted about a month. Judson Scott plays an alien named “Bennu of the Golden Light”. It’s ripe for riffing. And it’s got Richard Lynch!
Still, my vote goes to Manimal.
Speaking of KISS, how can we forget “KISS and the Phantom of the Park”? How indeed; dear God, please let us forget it!
BLASPHEMER!!!
;-)
Riff, riffer!
Yes and it has none other Troxartis himself, actor Thom Christopher.
Be glad you are amongst fellow MSTies. That is heresy anywhere else on the internet.
I have always advocated the riffing of that film. Please someone get on this!
My first instinct is ‘Manimal,” but since it’s already been suggested several times, I’d toss out “Automan” as a possibility.
“The Wackiest Wagon Train in the West”, which is nothing more than four episodes of Dusty’s Trail, which is basically nothing more than a half-assed attempt at remaking Gilligan’s Island in a Western format.
Chameleons – Not sure if it was intended to be a pilot, or just a standalone TV movie. It had Crystal Bernard (from one of the Master Ninja episodes), and was about a wannabe superhero. It’s very hard to find. You cant even find the whole movie on YouTube, just part of it.
Legends of the Super Heroes – Two live action specials, produced by Hanna-Barbera, featuring several DC characters, including Adam West, Burt Ward and Frank Gorshin reprising their roles of Batman, Robin and the Riddler. These are rather easy to find, and are even on DVD.
The Spirit – A made for TV movie with Sam J Jones (Flash Gordon) and Nana Visitor (Deep Space Nine), based on the classic comic book, decades before Frank Miller made a movie of it.
Once A Hero – A comic book super hero comes to the real world when his series ends. It lasted less than a season.
The Highwayman – Also starring Sam J Jones, as a futuristic law enforcement agent, travelling the roads in a high tech semi, whose cab could become a helicopter. Also starring Jane Badler (V), Tim Russ (Star Trek Voyager) and former Energizer Battery pitchman Jacko. (Before they replaced him with a pink rabbit.)
SMASH! So entertainingly bad. The pilot was decent so it would have to be the two episodes strung together deal. Maybe shoehorn in Jim Stafford and some nice ADR.
Conan the Adventurer, a live-action syndicated series riding on the coat-tails of Hercules the Legendary Journeys and Xena Warrior Princess. It lasted one season and was filmed on some Caribbean island or something. German bodybuilder Rolf Moeller played Conan, because of the live-action movies of course, rather than aim for a more book/comic book accurate, dark-haired Conan. It was pretty cheap.
I love this next one, but it did only last two season so why not, Time Trax. Cop from the future (Dale Midkiff) hunts fugitives from his own time that have escaped to the past, 1993 or thereabouts, with the help of an evil, arch-criminal scientist.