Worst TV Variety Shows Ever

Discussion in 'Visual Arts' started by Vidiot, Feb 17, 2021.

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  1. Vidiot

    Vidiot Now in 4K HDR! Thread Starter

    Location:
    Hollywood, USA
    Just stumbled upon this tonight.



    My god... the horror! THE HORROR!
     
  2. Dan C

    Dan C Forum Fotographer

    Location:
    The West
    Here's some unedited footage from that show. It's fascinating in several ways...that future TV legend David Letterman is here and clearly hating every second of it, and it shows how these productions were shot leading up to editing. The audience question and answer bit isn't actually too bad considering Letterman nailed this concept on his show just several years later, but then you get to see him doing the pick-up takes with the audience silently watching.

    From my memory the Brady Bunch variety show was probably the bottom of this tired TV junk, but this is pretty close.


    dan c
     
  3. MikaelaArsenault

    MikaelaArsenault Forum Resident

    Location:
    New Hampshire
    The Brady Bunch Hour:

     
  4. MikaelaArsenault

    MikaelaArsenault Forum Resident

    Location:
    New Hampshire
  5. Dan C

    Dan C Forum Fotographer

    Location:
    The West
    It’s burned into my memory seeing them do “Send In the Clowns” dressed as sad wacky clowns, natch. I was 7 or 8 and it’s a vivid memory watching this with my parents because of the squirm-worthyness of it all. I felt a deep humiliation for all humanity, and as a kid growing up in the 70s who’d gleefully watch anything on TV that’s saying something.

    dan c
     
  6. MikaelaArsenault

    MikaelaArsenault Forum Resident

    Location:
    New Hampshire
    It's just a really terrible show, period.
     
  7. I think you nailed in with the "squirm-worthyness" descriptor.

    As a kid watching a show, especially depending on age, there are some normal topics that usually garner an uncomfortable response...like a heart felt love scene, or documentary type medical terms being used...They just make a kid go "yuck" for the most part.

    But....when the show elicits embarrassment, from the kid watching towards the people acting....well...that show is truely bad on all fronts....The Brady Bunch Hour was steeped in that embarrassment.
     
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  8. Spaghettiows

    Spaghettiows Forum Resident

    Location:
    Silver Creek, NY
    I thought that the Donnie & Marie show was really, really bad. But then came The Brady Bunch Hour, which showed me that things can be much worse than even Donnie & Marie.
     
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  9. One of the legendary heavyweights of variety show dreck:



    Sid and Marty Krofft’s head-scratching 1980 foray into the format, Pink Lady and Jeff. This is just a highlight reel. Several full length episodes can be enjoyed via YouTube. It’s a fairly stellar roster of guest stars for a dog of a show that only ran for 5 weeks before cancellation.
     
  10. Malinky

    Malinky Almost a Gentleman.

    Location:
    U.K.
    Bob Blackman takes some beating (literally), with his legendary version of `Mule Train`........

     
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  11. Spaghettiows

    Spaghettiows Forum Resident

    Location:
    Silver Creek, NY
    I remember seeing Pink Lady records in the cutout bins for 99 cents after that show. No, I didn't buy one, but evidently somebody thought that they would become big recording stars in the U.S. from the TV exposure.
     
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  12. Spaghettiows

    Spaghettiows Forum Resident

    Location:
    Silver Creek, NY
    Does anyone remember The Big Show? No, I am not referring to the WWE wrestler.

    [​IMG]
     
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  13. When I was a kid I loved the Brady Bunch -but at 13 when this variety series aired I already thought I was too old for this crap.
     
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  14. O Don Piano

    O Don Piano Senior Member

    That was really, really bad.
    Except the Blondie, Cheap Trick, and Alice Cooper promos.....(as they were called back in those days)
     
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  15. Vahan

    Vahan Forum Resident

    Location:
    Glendale, CA, USA
    Can I be blunt? That cover is an insult to the McCartney original.
     
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  16. pdenny

    pdenny 22-Year SHTV Participation Trophy Recipient

    Location:
    Hawthorne CA
    Ah, the 70's....

    [​IMG]
     
  17. O Don Piano

    O Don Piano Senior Member

    It's an insult, period! :candy:
     
  18. O Don Piano

    O Don Piano Senior Member

    What the hell was THAT?
     
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  19. MikaelaArsenault

    MikaelaArsenault Forum Resident

    Location:
    New Hampshire
    I like The Brady Bunch too, but what were they even thinking when they made that?
     
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  20. $$$
     
  21. Hooperfan

    Hooperfan Your friendly neighborhood candy store owner

    Location:
    New York
    What's really surprising is the fact that Robert Reed, who was not happy with his character on the sitcom, was really enthusiastic about the variety show!
     
  22. O Don Piano

    O Don Piano Senior Member

    Yes, the dialogue on the variety show was infinitely more cringe-inducing than the sitcom EVER was!
    But maybe that's why Reed could stomach it: it was a variety show, nothing more, nothing less.
    And it's well documented that Reed truly loved the kids.

    I've always wondered if the cast got a better deal on that show than syndication deal.
     
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  23. beccabear67

    beccabear67 Musical omnivore.

    Location:
    Victoria, Canada
    This is a format we don't need to make a come back. I have more affection for the yearly 'special' Battle Of the Network Stars. Ed Asner in a sack race is what I call entertainment!
     
  24. Big Jimbo

    Big Jimbo Forum Resident

    Location:
    NY
    IIRC one of the male children wasn’t that interested at first so he asked for a high salary. They gave it to it. So he signed on and they offered similar terms to the others.

    Reed told cast members he was trained in singing and dancing (it didn’t show) and always wanted to do it. For a person who hated the show, he showed up in all its reincarnations. Tina Louise, by contrast, stayed away from “Gilligan’s Island” except for one talk show with all members to promote a movie.
     
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  25. Dillydipper

    Dillydipper Space-Age luddite

    Location:
    Central PA
    Wayland Flowers and Madame, somebody's finally calling for you...!

    Some part of my dim memory seems to recall a summer replacement variety series...only by bringing this up on this thread even justifies my even remembering that...
     
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