Stars who didn't conquer TV

[Khan]

 

"Ink" had the makings of a good, if not great, sitcom, but it's rare for any series that starts out troubled to turn into something worthwhile.  Just ask NBC and "Madman of the People."

 

Moreover, the fact that "Ink" didn't make it to a second season turned out to be a blessing in disguise, as it freed up Ted Danson for "Becker," a series that (until "The Good Place") was his best effort in moving past "Cheers."

[Vee]

I still don't get Becker. But Ken Levine sings its praises nonstop on his blog, God bless him.

 

 

Oh, I'd beg to differ. His dramatic turn on Damages revitalized his career significantly after Becker limbo, IMO. Not enough people watched that show despite it running five or so years, and it stayed pretty good overalI. I think it had some potential career best work from him, Glenn Close, Martin Short(!), Lily Tomlin and others (Rose Byrne was great but she had the less showy heroine role). Danson was clearly only supposed to be there one season but the Enron(?)-style villain was such a smash that they kept weaving him back in for several more years. Damages is the reason he got Fargo and The Good Place.

 

In conclusion: Y'all should watch Damages. Just speed through that second season though where the writer's strike decimated it and William Hurt quit midway through.

Edited March 8, 2021 by Vee

[BingCherry]

 

I remember an interview with Vardalos around when My Life in Ruins came out where she was pretty frank and self-aware about why the show didn't work and her behavior on set.  Nia and the showrunner were clashing about the show's creative direction, she was adjusting to newfound fame and she was also dealing with infertility and even miscarried close to the end of production.  She said in hindsight she should have never done the series and regretted a lot of how she acted on the show.  

[Khan]

 

Truthfully, @Vee, I'm not a big "Becker" fan either.  (Sorry, Ken.)  I've always thought the series' premise (of a cantankerous doctor who gripes about everything, especially political correctness, but who also displays compassion for his patients, co-workers and friends) was great, but some of the casting choices baffle me to this day.

 

 

Well, I can't say I blame her for being tempted to work on the series.  Nia's career was going very strong after the movie became a massive box-office hit.  She needed to strike while the iron was hot.  Unfortunately, the one-two punch of the series and the dismal "Connie and Carla" cooled her career considerably.

 

 

Speaking of William Hurt, I don't think I liked him more than when he was doing a guest-shot as a therapist on (of all shows) "The King of Queens."  It totally surprised me to see how well he did on a sitcom.

Edited March 8, 2021 by Khan

[Paul Raven]

Re Four Corners

CBS really didn't have a suitable slot for it. Nash Bridges was working well on Fri @ 10 and Walker Texas Ranger on Sat @10.

A lot of shows got lost because the networks just order a bunch of replacement shows that don't fit well into the schedule at a particular time but because something has flopped they're pressed into service.

[DRW50]

Thanks for the Ink quotes, @Vee .

 

I did watch Becker for much of its run (I think until Terry Farrell quit). It wasn't a great show, but I thought the format worked, and they managed the workplace and outside of workplace balance better than many sitcoms. Alex Desert and Saverio Guerra were probably the best parts for me, but I liked just about all the cast. The show never quite fit right, so you watched in spite of that. I think my favorite memory of the show was the episode where David Graf (Tackleberry) was a garage mechanic, bickering with another mechanic over an injury he'd gotten. Toward the end of the argument, Becker, and viewers, realize that they are lovers. It wasn't exactly groundbreaking for 1999, but the way it was done felt much better and more natural than most sitcoms of this period.

[BingCherry]

Sibs had a really bizarre production history. ABC picked up 22 episodes sight unseen because of the deal they had with James L. Brooks at the time; the frequent timeslot shifts and hiatuses; the aforementioned issues between Brooks and Marsha Mason (the role was originally written for Tyne Daly); even after all that, ABC apparently was up for doing a second season but Brooks said no and instead did a new redeveloped pilot of it 3 years later.

[Khan]

 

Wow, I didn't know that.  Marsha Mason was great as Nora, but Tyne Daly would've been great, too.

[DRW50]

 

Apparently she is on that Bob Loves Abishola (?) sitcom now, but yes, she had never really had the success her talent could have given her. Some of my favorite TV work from her is the songs she sang in her season on SNL (before her complaints about the sexism led to her firing) - one, written by Michael O'Donoghue, even became a hit for Dolly Parton.

[Forever8]

One actor comes to mind:  Jerry O'Connell

[reallyhateskateonlost]

Didn't he do Sliders?

It was on for 5 years.

 

[Forever8]

He was also on Crossing Jordan for five years too. But he has had a string of failed one-season shows and a talk-show that didn't make it to a full season. 

[Khan]

And let's not forget THIS little chestnut from the '80's:

 

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[DRW50]

I suppose we could also count Central Park West, which had a number of people who never made it in TV - Mariel Hemingway, Raquel Welch, Lauren Hutton.

 

Mariel also had Civil Wars, which ran for a few years but never got any real notice. 

 

I know Mariel moved away from the industry not long after CPW because of her sister's suicide and mental health problems, but I don't think she ever really recaptured the fame she had in the late '70s and early '80s.

[Taoboi]

Close. Miranda's 'fake an O' boyfriend.

 

 

As much as I loathe him now, I have to give him credit where it's due.

 

It was pretty consistent. From MY SECRET IDENTITY which was popular to SLIDERS (my uber sci fi show) which has not aged well, but has stood the test of time given how many shoutouts it gets at the randomist of places while he was on for 4 years until BTS drama to CROSSING JORDAN. And let's not forget being Neve Campbell's bf in SCREAM 2. 

 

That is a good run. But...no matter how much he cuddles up to Andy Cohen...'fetch' STILL ain't happening with him.