Jump to content

Stars who didn't conquer TV


Paul Raven

Recommended Posts

  • Replies 116
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

  • Members

Yes, agreed. Even in those times, viewers understood on some level that the Paul Lyndes and Charles Nelson Reillys were not the marrying kind.

 

Moving on..

Tammy Grimes was a hot property after Broadway success with Unsinkable Molly Brown. She was offered the lead in Bewitched but instead went with her own sitcom.

 

The Tammy Grimes show was one of the all time bombs up till that time,  taken off after a few episodes which was unprecedented in that era

Image result for tammy grimes show.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...
  • Members

Despite Bing Crosby's years of success as singer and actor in radio and movies and successful TV specials, his 1964 sitcom failed.

Image result for bing crosby showAnd Gene Kellys only foray into TV series was 'Going My Way' (1962) based on Bing's much loved 1944 movie.

Image result for going my way tv series

Edited by Paul Raven
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members


if memory serves, Pryor ended the show himself because he and NBC were into it every single week about content. he started one episode saying he had lost nothing in his dealings with NBC, only to be shown wearing a flesh colored body suit that gave off the impressions his privates were cut off. NCS S&P fought him on that. it was the same thing for Delta House, a 1979 sitcom based on Animal House. they were in the top 10 but the Producer got tired of fighting ABC and cancelled it himself.


Oh my. Madam Sin. where she would launch plan after plan to take over the world. the pilot was DREADFUL. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 year later...
  • 11 months later...
  • Members

 

Oh, I loved "Sibs" sooooo much.  It had everything: a terrific cast (Mason, Margaret Colin, Jami Gertz, Dan Castellaneta, Alex Rocco), terrific writers (creator Heide Perlman, Jim Brooks, Sam Simon) and a REALLY terrific theme song (by George "Atomic Dog" Clinton) that I still sing/hum to this day.

 

I thought "Sibs" had tremendous potential.  Unfortunately, it came along at a time when the TV zeitgeist was blue-collar shows like "Roseanne" and "Home Improvement."  (Plus, rumors suggest that Mason had a falling out with Brooks, although I don't know how true those rumors are).

 

RE: "Good Sports" ~ Ironically, O'Neal BEGGED Farrah to be on the show; yet, I think Farrah, rather than O'Neal, turned out to be the better actor for the project.  I'm not saying Farrah was another Candice Bergen, but she was certainly funnier than her then-partner.  Years later, I asked Paul Feig, who had co-starred on the show, about GS.  Apparently, working with Ryan O'Neal and Farrah Fawcett was nothing short than a nightmare for everyone involved.

 

Speaking of "Sibs," someone uploaded the premiere episode, "The Naked and the Damned," on YT last month:

 

Please register in order to view this content

 

Edited by Khan
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Unfortunately, your content contains terms that we do not allow. Please edit your content to remove the highlighted words below.
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.



  • Recent Posts

    • 1999: I just watched it. It felt so primetime. La Lucci is making history. Aretha's daydreaming segment. @Contessa Donatella Thank you, my love. So helpful and informative as always. adding them to my queue.
    • I know this isn’t a usual or anywhere near universal take, but I loved the relatively brief Hal/Emily relationship/marriage more than I ever thought I would have with KMH/BH.
    • In my field (not that) I've written my share of dreck when it's what people wanted vs. something good. In the end what matters is the check. These pilots may not be great, but whether or not those writers intended otherwise they got paid.
    • I think there is plenty to critique and/or roast about the show, but I think there's also good bones and a lot of progressive improvement. It's the Bell/B&B formula and house style that is hardest for it to shake and the most necessary IMO, as well as some dead weight actors or characters, but that formula also apparently works for a lot of general viewers and I suspect CBS. OTOH it's also very modern in certain ways (sometimes overly hip dialogue, and some story) that still make it feel like a show that's bouncing between distant past staples of soap opera fundamentals and the present moment. And the old fashioned product placement is fun but also so goofy, while material like June is hysterical. Imagine leading with 'the underpass is where I live, and I like it there!' It's an unusual show in that way, because its identity and tone is still not fully formed. You don't know what it'll be. But that's normal at this juncture. The closest thing to a glimpse of the future foundation, I think (besides the obvious core family setup that's been there since Day 1), is the rivalry and future familial bond - and likely love/hate relationship - between Kat and Eva. A la many central sisters or siblings throughout soap history.
    • I loved Kelley Menighan! She was an MVP, especially during the show’s last few years. I always looked forward to anything she did with MM, BH, CZ, MW,  and the two grownup Alisons. Wasn’t a big fan of her with RH’s Paul. I always admired how she balanced being a vixen and being neurotic.
    • LLC can be a lot (lady definitely doesn’t phone it in), but her scenes with Rena made me wish they played actual sisters on a better platform.  Aside from JE, who is a legend so it’s no surprise when she’s excellent, Amanda Setton is my MVP of this story and she hasn’t always been great in this role. You see so much happening in her face as she’s navigating the shifts and layers of this story. She’s fully locked in. Glad Rory Gibson is getting his due on GH. I knew he had more to give than what Y&R was giving him. The writing will be a factor here as well because the character of Michael hasn’t been written well in ages (if ever, arguably). GH just can’t sustain the good stuff for more than a few weeks. Alexa Havins is a very good actress and was widely embraced as Lulu initially, but the character’s one-note abrasiveness has a lot of folks wishing she was gone at this point. 
    • It's pilots like "Hurricane Sam" and "Anything for Love" that makes me so afraid to write professionally, because, my God, what if I actually tried and came up with something just as awful, if not worse (if that's even possible)?
    • JANUARY 1974 SPECIALS ADDED... Here are the January 1974 specials which have been added to the yearly list on page 76:

      Please register in order to view this content

       
    • Wow, you have the patience of a saint watching through this period. I think the show does get better but it takes a while.  I won't give any spoilers about Zachary, but I will drop a slight hint: GL was probably trying to get a ratings boost by doing a story inspired by one of CBS's few primetime hits in the mid-1990s. And no, Zachary does not turn out to be a Texas ranger. 
    • Love makes everything possible.

      Please register in order to view this content

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy