On 4/6/2020 at 2:14 AM, Paul Raven said:

Reviving this thread

Ann Magaret tried for primetime with Four Corners, which was canned after 3 eps

 

52 minutes ago, Vee said:

It Had To Be You, 1993. To this day I don't understand who thought Faye Dunaway could headline a romcom sitcom. IIRC they retooled the show with like, Robin Bartlett?

Yeah Robin Bartlett was the saving grace. i wonder if Robert Urich was upset he said no to the Laverne spinoff from Empty Nest that was in development

 

 

Kate Mulgrew and Terence Knox auditioned together for the lead roles of Laura Scofield and Mitch Quinn respectively on 9 April 1992.

 

The show was originally placed on hiatus rather than cancelled, with new episodes produced without Faye Dunaway. However, this re-tooled version never made it to air.

 

Four episodes were aired before the show went into hiatus. Faye Dunaway was pulled from the series, and a new pilot was ordered with the focus being on Robert Urich's character coping with life as a single father. Robin Bartlett, who had played an assistant to Dunaway's character, would also continue in the series, being moved up from supporting character to co-lead. However, her character would not be a romantic partner for Urich.^[2] Although a new pilot was shot, the revised version of the series never aired. The series was produced by Warner Bros. Television

Edited March 7, 20214 yr by John

Julie Andrews' original concept for her 1992 series

 

 

The one that made it to air & flopped

 

On 4/5/2020 at 11:14 PM, Paul Raven said:

Reviving this thread

Ann Magaret tried for primetime with Four Corners, which was canned after 3 eps

 

I wonder why this bombed? It was on the right network (CBS) and had the right kind of launch (2 hour movie event), with a generally well liked personality (Ann-Margret) produced by a prime time soap veteran (David Jacobs) - on paper it had all the ingredients. 
 

 

On 3/6/2021 at 9:38 AM, Khan said:

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.

 

An episode of Good Sports is on YouTube. It is very obvious that Farrah displays a very easy, natural on-air charm that lent itself to a sitcom role. While she was certainly capable of leading a sitcom, I think the she would have been wonderful in an ensemble show.

 

O'Neal was just awful and unlikeable. 

 

 

 

1 hour ago, Vee said:

It Had To Be You, 1993. To this day I don't understand who thought Faye Dunaway could headline a romcom sitcom. IIRC they retooled the show with like, Robin Bartlett?

 

Faye Dunaway and O'Neal have something in common: they're unlikeable personalities and any light hearted or good natured performance rings absolutely false.

 

The pace of sitcoms is such that the actor has to infuse a lot of themselves into the part - the 22 minutes of each episode doesn't lend much time to huge amounts of character exposition, so sometimes the personality of the performer is key to fleshing out parts of the character that the script doesn't.

 

Alternatively, some actors just can't help but play themselves, especially in a fast paced production before a studio audience. And when that personality is unlikeable the result are disastrous. 

7 hours ago, Vee said:

It Had To Be You, 1993. To this day I don't understand who thought Faye Dunaway could headline a romcom sitcom.

 

ICAM.  I wouldn't say Faye Dunaway can't do (television) comedy, but I do believe, as I did back then, that she was all wrong for that type of comedy.

 

Of course, considering what a nightmare she is BTS, it was likely for the best that that show died a quick death.

 

6 hours ago, John said:

 

 

 

All these years later, it's still very painful to watch.

 

5 hours ago, John said:

 

 

 

I wish I didn't remember this...but I do.  You know you're in danger, girl, when the theme song puts you to sleep.

 

And James Farentino is a comedy black hole, AFAIC.  (See: "Mary".)

 

Edited March 8, 20214 yr by Khan

5 hours ago, DaytimeFan said:

I wonder why this bombed? It was on the right network (CBS) and had the right kind of launch (2 hour movie event), with a generally well liked personality (Ann-Margret) produced by a prime time soap veteran (David Jacobs) - on paper it had all the ingredients.

 

IA.  "Four Corners" had some rough spots in its' abbreviated run, but I thought it had potential -- more potential than anything coming from Lynn Marie Latham and Bernard Lechowick at that point.  I think CBS was just looking to get out of the primetime soap game.

 

More about "Millie"/"Julie": Putting Julie Andrews with children makes sense, given her legacy.  But I'm not sure it'd have been something I'd want to see every week.

 

An addition to the list: Ellen Burstyn.  As much as I can recall, she's been a lead or co-lead in two series, "The Ellen Burstyn Show" (an '80's sitcom) and "That's Life" (a '90's hour-long dramedy), and neither lasted for very long.

Edited March 8, 20214 yr by Khan

Mary Steenburgen eventually found a critically praised cult show (Last Man on Earth), but her most high-profile foray into television was Ink, a show that generated buzz due to her pairing with husband Ted Danson as well as being Danson's return to series TV. It was a one-season wonder. 

 

Nia Vardalos adapted My Big Fat Greek Wedding to TV, notably without John Corbett (someone I've always found to be dull but who has managed a long career due to wise decisions - like avoiding this show). Initial huge ratings quickly cooled, but they still might have stayed on if not for her reportedly being difficult. Back when TV Guide still tried to be more than a few pieces of glossy paper with nothing between them, they had an expose of the show - the article ended with, I believe, Les Moonves blasting Vardalos and saying he would never work with her again. At the time I did not know what an ass Moonves was, so I was shocked seeing an executive be so blunt and harsh in TV Guide, of all places. 

What I remember most about "My Big Fat Greek Life" was Steven Eckholdt, an actor whom the TV industry had tried very hard (God knows how many failed pilots and short-lived series) to make happen.

19 minutes ago, Khan said:

What I remember most about "My Big Fat Greek Life" was Steven Eckholdt, an actor whom the TV industry had tried very hard (God knows how many failed pilots and short-lived series) to make happen.

 

The Mark Freurstein (or whatever his name was) of his day...

30 minutes ago, DRW50 said:

 

The Mark Freurstein (or whatever his name was) of his day...

He became disliked when he dissed his episode of SATC for me. Not to mention changing his face.

21 minutes ago, Taoboi said:

He became disliked when he dissed his episode of SATC for me. Not to mention changing his face.

 

I had forgotten he was even on SATC. I guess he was another of Carrie's boyfriends?

2 hours ago, Khan said:

An addition to the list: Ellen Burstyn.  As much as I can recall, she's been a lead or co-lead in two series, "The Ellen Burstyn Show" (an '80's sitcom) 

 

Not that I don't think she can do comedy, but I've seen bits of that and it still weirds me out.

I wonder if Nia being 'difficult' was more about her trying to keep some control thrown in at the deep end with various execs who thought they knew better (perhaps they did in some cases)

 

As for Julie Andrews I wasn't aware of that show till now. The fact that it aired at the end of May speaks volumes. Obviously they knew it was a dud, Can't understand why anyone at that time would think Andrews would work in that type of format-she is such a particular type. Maybe more suite to a 'heartwarming' hour show

8 hours ago, DaytimeFan said:

I wonder why this bombed? It was on the right network (CBS) and had the right kind of launch (2 hour movie event), with a generally well liked personality (Ann-Margret) produced by a prime time soap veteran (David Jacobs) - on paper it had all the ingredients. 
 

CBS was running third on Tuesday nights, so I guess it was hard for them to break through. The lead in was Bryannt Gumbel who had defected to CBS and his show was running third. The opposition was Dateline NBC and NYPD Blue which were running neck and neck so I guess Four Corners just got lost amongst them. 

1 hour ago, Vee said:

Not that I don't think she can do comedy, but I've seen bits of that and it still weirds me out.

 

I must confess that I've never seen one minute of "The Ellen Burstyn Show."  I've heard about it, but I've never had the interest to check any of it out on YouTube.

 

28 minutes ago, Paul Raven said:

Can't understand why anyone at that time would think Andrews would work in that type of format-she is such a particular type. Maybe more suite to a 'heartwarming' hour show

 

Maybe.  But, you know, she also tried an hour-long variety show in the '70's, and that didn't last long either.

 

Another addition to the list: Christine Ebersole.  She's had more success in musical theatre than she's ever had in TV.

 

2 hours ago, DRW50 said:

Mary Steenburgen eventually found a critically praised cult show (Last Man on Earth), but her most high-profile foray into television was Ink, a show that generated buzz due to her pairing with husband Ted Danson as well as being Danson's return to series TV. It was a one-season wonder.

 

IIRC, "Ink" was troubled from the start.  The network didn't like the original pilot, so they brought in Diane English ("Murphy Brown") to overhaul the series.  There was even an "Ink"/"Murphy Brown"/"Love & War" three-way crossover, I think, and guest appearances from some of Ted Danson's former "Cheers" co-stars to help boost the ratings, but nothing worked.

Edited March 8, 20214 yr by Khan

I thought Ink could've worked, but it clearly didn't. From A.V. Club interviews with both Danson and Steenburgen, individually:

 

Quote

AVC: In regards to Ink, it obviously didn’t last beyond its initial season, but did you personally feel that the series worked?

 

Ted Danson: You know, I think the lesson learned about that—because it didn’t quite work, although I think there are wonderful things about it—is that we made the mistake of having something written for us. You know, we were both well-known, Mary’s an Academy Award-winning movie star and I had come off of Cheers, so [Diane English wrote] two wonderful parts and created a show around these two actors. I think that was a really big mistake. I think as an actor… Well, it’s a little bit like what I was saying about Fargo.

 

I think the process was kind of perverted on Ink, because what should come first is the writing. A writer needs to write something that they just have to write because this is what they want to do for the next five years. They want to write these characters and this story every hour of every day. And then you come along as an actor and say, “Wow, what an amazing writer! Can I be part of this, please?” And if you do it the other way around, where a writer is trying to specifically guess what you might want, I think you short-circuit part of the creative process. I think that’s not true if you’re a Seinfeld or some other stand-up, somebody who knows their voice so well that they can express it and hire people to write their story. Otherwise, if you’re an actor—and just an actor—I think you need to go to the writer first. Let the process begin with the writer.

 

 

Quote

 

AVC: In recent years, you’ve had a tendency to work on somewhat quirky series, like Last Man On Earth and, before that, Wilfred. When I was talking to Ted, we were discussing Ink, and he said that the experience is sort of why he goes looking for creative people in hopes of being part of whatever they’re doing—hence Fargo—as opposed to having a series built around him.

 

Mary Steenburgen: Yeah, you know, I think it’s hard, too, for a married couple to work together. Funnily enough, I don’t think people want to see that. It was the first time in my life that there was something about it inherently that I felt like people really… [Hesitates.] I don’t know, I wouldn’t say that they wanted us to fail, but there was a cynicism that kind of came to us from that. It was hard. Some of it may have been, also, that our producers were Steven Spielberg and Dreamworks. And then there was CBS. I think at the time there was stuff going on that I’ll probably never know about, but it just felt like, “We don’t want to see you guys, a married couple, working together.” And I’ve heard other actors who are married say similar things. I think in a weird way people just want it to all be pretend. And there’s something about a married couple acting a relationship where they don’t always root for you, I think. And I’ve never really felt that before or since in my career.

 

The business has been extraordinarily good to me. Like, really good to me. So when people invite me to complain about it, I don’t, because I’m so blessed to have done it, and I have loved by far the majority of the people I’ve worked with and the experiences I’ve had. But I think Ted’s right. It was our fault, too, to the extent that it’s probably putting the cart before the horse to have a series created for you. Because both of us had spent our entire lives reading a script, saying, “God, I hope I can pull out the parts of me needed to do the job in this role,” and then digging deep and finding that. And there was something a little skewed about a case where it was, “Let us do this for you.” And then I felt like we blew it. I don’t regret it. I don’t regret now that I didn’t work, to be honest with you, because we’ve had such fun doing other things. And, of course, our marriage is stronger than ever, so I don’t look back and see it as a big regret. I’m just trying to describe—if I have to—what I think it was that happened. And I think some of it was just that we’re better off proving ourselves to those writers and directors rather than the other way around.

 

AVC: And just to clarify, he certainly didn’t write it off entirely. He said, “I think it didn’t quite work, but I think there were some wonderful things about it.” So he didn’t blow it off. He just felt like a lesson had been learned.

 

MS: Yeah, I’ve seen bits of it since then that are truly funny, so I don’t think that it was… Well, look, it’s just another part of our lives. And I’m grateful for it.

 

 

9 hours ago, DaytimeFan said:

 

I wonder why this bombed? It was on the right network (CBS) and had the right kind of launch (2 hour movie event), with a generally well liked personality (Ann-Margret) produced by a prime time soap veteran (David Jacobs) - on paper it had all the ingredients. 

CBS dumbly put it up against NYPD Blue on Tuesday nights instead of what would have been a more apt Friday or Saturday slot.