# Corny TV Shows



## Ariel (Jan 8, 2013)

Anyone else a fan of those really bad T. V. shows--you know the ones whose premise is absolutely stupid and whose plot is ridiculous?  And what shows are you currently watching?

I'm watching the Canadian show called "Lost Girl."  It's about a succubus who wasn't raised in the "fae" world.  She becomes a private investigator whose main method of investigation seems to be "use my magic magic vadge."

It's kind of fun because the acting is a little kooky, the characters are strange, and the plot is convoluted and strangely transparent all at once. 

Just finished watching American Horror Story season 1. It kept me guessing but wasn't too bad.


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## WhitakerRStanton (Jan 8, 2013)

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## Ariel (Jan 8, 2013)

I've always had a thing for the bad special effects and the really bad, kind of stilted acting in these shows.


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## WhitakerRStanton (Jan 8, 2013)

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## dolphinlee (Jan 8, 2013)

Loved Airwolf, especially the music.

Showing my age here, but the 60's programs Lost in Space and Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea were two favourites. They were made by the same production company and the alien from Lost in Space would reappear as the undersea creature in Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea.

I do remember one Lost in Space episode where the mother put the dirty clothes into a machine, turned and had a two minute conversation with her daughter. She then opened the machine and removed the washed and ironed clothes. I definitely want one of those for Christmas.


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## SirThinkALot (Jan 8, 2013)

I'm a fan of the Power Rangers.  Yes, its a kids show, but its a lot of fun, with some surprisingly decent martial arts action.


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## beanlord56 (Jan 8, 2013)

I wouldn't necessarily call Dragon Ball Z corny. I blame the translators for trying to make it more kid friendly simply because it's animated, thus resulting in some cheesy dialogue. However, this is a problem that runs rampant in all anime. With all the fighting, blood, and, during the Namek/Ginyu/Frieza Sagas, profanity and crude hand gestures, it's obviously made for a mid-older teen and young adult crowd.


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## Lewdog (Jan 8, 2013)

WhitakerRStanton said:


> I love corny television shows. One of my personal favorites was Brisco County Jr. I was a kid when I watched so it makes sense but I still watch today also. Alas, no "magic vadge" in that one. Of course the 80's gave us The A-Team, Knight rider and of course The Dukes of Hazard. You should have seen me in my Dukes of Hazard bathing suit as a child. It was just awful. I think I have given away too much of myself.




Yes, loved that show.  Anyone ever watch "Greg the Bunny?"  How about "Mystery Science Theater 3000?"


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## Kitana (Jan 9, 2013)

I've currently been jumping between The Adventures of Sonic The Hedgehog and ReBoot. I'm not sure if I have to explain Sonic much to anyone but ReBoot is a CG show from the 90's and was based in a fantasy computer world where Viruses try to rule over the Sprites of a Mainframe city.


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## moderan (Jan 9, 2013)

MST3K is really corny. I never connected with it. My guilty pleasure corny show is "Ancient Aliens", or anything on TruTV. Whether I laugh at them, or consider them laughable is debatable...I watch them from time to time, and they have little to do with science or cooking or sports, which is what I watch on those occasions when tv serves as more than a bigger radio.


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## Lewdog (Jan 9, 2013)

I constantly have the television on while on my computer.  Is it odd that the older you get the higher the number the stations you watch?  Usually I have either TnT on running syndication, or A&E, History, Discovery, Comedy Central, or Food Network.  I've watched that ancient aliens show quite a bit, why do you think the guy with the crazy hair doesn't do something about it?


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## moderan (Jan 9, 2013)

No clue. He apparently likes it like that. Bad ugly suits and ties too. And an orange bottle-tan.


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## Ariel (Jan 9, 2013)

That guy is seriously nuts.  I like Joss Whedon's shows because I like his dialogue and the humor.

I also liked ReBoot.  Trying to watch Wilfred.  There is something wrong with those people.


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## SirThinkALot (Jan 9, 2013)

Kitana said:


> I've currently been jumping between The Adventures of Sonic The Hedgehog and ReBoot. I'm not sure if I have to explain Sonic much to anyone.



Does it have anything to do with the blue, super-fast hedgehog of the games?


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## Circadian (Jan 9, 2013)

Another Brisco County fan here.  I really enjoy watching the old Doctor Who episodes from the 60's and 70's, even though I make fun of the cheesy special effects.  I also like watching the really weird or wibbly wobbly timey wimey episodes of the Twilight Zone.  Cudos if you recognized the Doctor Who reference!

~Circe


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## Kitana (Jan 9, 2013)

SirThinkALot said:


> Does it have anything to do with the blue, super-fast hedgehog of the games?



Truthfully I can't remember if it's exactly based on the games but I think it's suppose to be somewhat. I remember playing the games when I was young but my memories of exacts are hazy and I've yet to go back and try to re-play them. I really didn't remember the show till it was brought up elsewhere and sparked me to draw a fan-art; it's why I started watching the show again. <^.^> 

And Circadian you quoted my favorite Doctor. <~.^>


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## moderan (Jan 9, 2013)

amsawtell said:


> That guy is seriously nuts.  I like Joss Whedon's shows because I like his dialogue and the humor.
> 
> I also liked ReBoot.  Trying to watch Wilfred.  There is something wrong with those people.


I think the best work Whedon ever did was Roseanne. I wouldn't consider watching Wilfred, or Ted. The premise leaves me cold. Never heard of Reboot. I try like hell to enjoy Metalocalypse because metal, and well, people I like like it, but it's a snoozer. Adult Swim as a whole has drowned and I don't watch it anymore. Boondocks has lessons to teach if you're too young to remember the civil rights movement and Cowboy Bebop has awesome music but I don't dvr and I ain't staying up late to watch em. I'd rather write something.
Nuts. I agree completely. Tsoukalos is batguano crazy and apparently has been for quite some time. The show is fascinating because of the level of crazy and the lengths they'll go to in order to try to get the facts to support their theories. Likewise the UFO Hunters and monster shows. Bill whatshisname is as loony as Jesse Ventura.


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## JosephB (Jan 9, 2013)

I grew up watching Andy Griffith on TBS, and when the Atlanta Braves where on, they  used to show it when there were rain delays.  It’s pretty corny, but it was a well written, produced and acted. The humor is pretty gentle and there is often a little lesson that isn’t too heavy handed. Barney is one of the best and most memorable characters in sitcom history, in my opinion. I have all the black and white shows on DVD – the show’s pretty awful after Don Knotts who played Barney left the show. If it’s shot in color -- don’t watch it. My kids love it and I get a kick out of watching it with them.


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## moderan (Jan 9, 2013)

And stay away from former Cub Ken Berry and Mayberry RFD like it was the Rifleman with former Cub Chuck Connors. I like The Andy Griffith Show. It is cornpone but heartfelt, and Knotts is a genius. I like Jim Nabors too. That shows up on MeTV every night-my wife watches it and I look at the video while I listen to whatever on my headphones. I think I can recite the dialogue by heart anyway-I saw most of it first-run cuz I'm real old and besides, it's been syndicated on WGN since the show ended. Special fun are the crossovers with Green Acres and Petticoat Junction.


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## JosephB (Jan 9, 2013)

It was TBS pretty much non-stop too. I remember it was on just before dinner when I was a kid.  I know just about every line too. I watched Green Acres on TV Land -- I think it was about 10 years ago. Oddly compelling in a way -- pretty surreal. I didn't really want to watch it, but I couldn't help it. The writers had to be on drugs.


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## moderan (Jan 9, 2013)

Yeah, we get TVLand too. It plays onscreen while I listen to whatever on the headphones and clatter away at the keys of the laptop. The older sitcoms had good writers, mostly holdovers from the NBC Playhouse and like shows. The drug of choice was probably alcohol but that's done wonders over the years. Was Pink Floyd's drug of choice (except for Syd) and you'd never guess it by their output.
MeTV is run by some of the people who used to run WFLD (Fox TV in Chicago) before Murdoch bought Fox-they had some interesting programming, mostly older stuff with Rich Koz as Son of Svengoolie introducing/narrating/interrupting the cheesy Saturday monster movie. TVLand is owned by the Tribune Company and recycles WGN programming. Ted Turner probably bought into the licensing deal way back when.
Koz's show is just nutty and makes me homesick sometimes. I haven't been in Chicago since 2001, except for a pass-through to collect some stuff I left behind in 2003. But ya want corny? Son of Svengoolie. Hmm...looks like the distributor is now Weigel Broadcasting, which also has Chicago connections. The show is on WCIU in Chiville, which used to be the network that showed the White Sox and wrestling.


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## Ariel (Jan 9, 2013)

I liked Roseanne but I'm a fan of Whedon's in general.  Probably the most interesting of Whedon's work, at least emotionally, is probably "Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog."


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## moderan (Jan 9, 2013)

amsawtell said:


> I liked Roseanne but I'm a fan of Whedon's in general.  Probably the most interesting of Whedon's work, at least emotionally, is probably "Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog."



Obviously, I'm not. I find his stuff precious and self-congratulatory. Very likely I'm in the minority. I was afraid of what he'd do to the Avengers and was pleased to see that it wasn't that bad.


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## Ariel (Jan 9, 2013)

A lot of it is precious.  Actually, I thought "Dollhouse" was just plain dumb.


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## moderan (Jan 9, 2013)

I thought the premise was not too awful but the execution was silly and way too much like Dark Angel, which was all kinds of awful.


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## Bruno Spatola (Jan 9, 2013)

Mork and Mindy is immensely corny, as is That '70s Show, but the characters are so unreal yet likable that you kind of don't care in the end, which I don't normally do. If the acting's bad, I can't watch, except for those two.

There's another, actually. Murder She Wrote. It's rubbish but I can't stop watching it when it's on, I love Jessica Fletcher. She seems to know everyone -- "Jessica, is that you!?" Me: "Probably. . ." -- and gets on the killer's nerves, like Columbo, but it's funnier because she's older, like Ms. Marple. The doctor, Seth, makes me laugh too, just because of his Maine accent. Reminds me of the old guy in Pet Sematary (the movie). I get a little kick out of that.

I love how they always laugh at the end, and the picture freezes mid-laugh so they look like they've been suddenly encased in amber. Yeah. . .


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## Lewdog (Jan 9, 2013)

Bruno Spatola said:


> Mork and Mindy is immensely corny, as is That '70s Show, but the characters are so unreal yet likable that you kind of don't care in the end, which I don't normally do. If the acting's bad, I can't watch, except for those two.
> 
> There's another, actually. Murder She Wrote. It's rubbish but I can't stop watching it when it's on, I love Jessica Fletcher. She seems to know everyone -- "Jessica, is that you!?" Me: "Probably. . ." -- and gets on the killer's nerves, like Columbo, but it's funnier because she's older, like Ms. Marple. The doctor, Seth, makes me laugh too, just because of his Maine accent. Reminds me of the old guy in Pet Sematary (the movie). I get a little kick out of that.
> 
> I love how they always laugh at the end, and the picture freezes mid-laugh so they look like they've been suddenly encased in amber. Yeah. . .



Did you know "Mork and Mindy" was a spin off from "Happy Days?"  What kind of drugs do you think the producer were taking to come up with the idea to send Jonathon Winters to their household in an egg as a baby?  Johnathon Winters was also born in Dayton, Ohio, where I am from.  Talk about a lot of connections.


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## Ariel (Jan 9, 2013)

I thought the core idea was pretty good for Dollhouse but I just can't stand Eliza Dushku.  I think she's a fairly poor actress and doesn't really bring anything but "tough chick" to the table.   The execution was interesting until it got to the "core" story halfway through the first season where it started to break down and become ridiculous.


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## Bruno Spatola (Jan 9, 2013)

Ugh! That's what I meant, Happy Days. I always get the name mixed up with That '70s Show.

I did know that, and it spawned Laverne and Shirley too didn't it? I'm fairly sure they were high, hehe. I love that egg, and Robin Williams was brill. I loved it when Fonzie was teaching him to flirt and stuff.


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## moderan (Jan 9, 2013)

Lewdog said:


> Did you know "Mork and Mindy" was a spin off from "Happy Days?"  What kind of drugs do you think the producer were taking to come up with the idea to send Jonathon Winters to their household in an egg as a baby?  Johnathon Winters was also born in Dayton, Ohio, where I am from.  Talk about a lot of connections.


Yes, and Happy Days is a spinoff from "Love, American Style", referencing "American Grafitti".



Bruno Spatola said:


> Mork and Mindy is immensely corny, as is That '70s Show, but the characters are so unreal yet likable that you kind of don't care in the end, which I don't normally do. If the acting's bad, I can't watch, except for those two.
> 
> There's another, actually. Murder She Wrote. It's rubbish but I can't stop watching it when it's on, I love Jessica Fletcher. She seems to know everyone -- "Jessica, is that you!?" Me: "Probably. . ." -- and gets on the killer's nerves, like Columbo, but it's funnier because she's older, like Ms. Marple. The doctor, Seth, makes me laugh too, just because of his Maine accent. Reminds me of the old guy in Pet Sematary (the movie). I get a little kick out of that.
> 
> I love how they always laugh at the end, and the picture freezes mid-laugh so they look like they've been suddenly encased in amber. Yeah. . .


Columbo was great. I love Peter Falk. The In-Laws, with Alan Arkin, was even better. Murder, She Wrote is awful though. Can't stand it-I preferred the Snoop Sisters, especially when they had Alice Cooper on.



amsawtell said:


> I thought the core idea was pretty good for Dollhouse but I just can't stand Eliza Dushku.  I think she's a fairly poor actress and doesn't really bring anything but "tough chick" to the table.   The execution was interesting until it got to the "core" story halfway through the first season where it started to break down and become ridiculous.



She's utterly unconvincing as anything other than window-dressing or cheesecake. The very definition of "bit player". Shoulda been on "Charmed" cuz that's about her level of ability.



Bruno Spatola said:


> Ugh! That's what I meant, Happy Days. I always get the name mixed up with That '70s Show.
> 
> I did know that, and it spawned Laverne and Shirley too didn't it? I'm fairly sure they were high, hehe. I love that egg, and Robin Williams was brill. I loved it when Fonzie was teaching him to flirt and stuff.



It did, and also Joanie Loves Chachi and, very briefly, the Anson Williams Show. Donny Most never got a show.
That 70's show has too much truth to it. It's set in Milwaukee in the same period of the 70s as the period in which I attended high school in suburban Chicago. Life was a lot like that. I even knew a guy that had a Vista Cruiser. I had an AMC Ambassador wagon with giant speakers in the back.


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## WhitakerRStanton (Jan 9, 2013)

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## Lewdog (Jan 9, 2013)

"Saul of the Mole Men" was a pretty stupid show too.  Don't forget "Tim and Eric Awesome Show."


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## SirThinkALot (Jan 9, 2013)

moderan said:


> I thought the premise was not too awful but the execution was silly and way too much like Dark Angel, which was all kinds of awful.



The first season of Dark Angel was excellent.  The problem was after 9/11 the whole 'terrorist attack causes America to descend into a third-world police state' hit a little too close to home, meaning that for the second(and last) season the writers had to downplay that aspect of the story and go to different things(like the whole breeding cult idea)


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## moderan (Jan 9, 2013)

SirThinkALot said:


> The first season of Dark Angel was excellent.  The problem was after 9/11 the whole 'terrorist attack causes America to descend into a third-world police state' hit a little too close to home, meaning that for the second(and last) season the writers had to downplay that aspect of the story and go to different things(like the whole breeding cult idea)


I'm glad you enjoyed it, if only for a while. I got lost about the middle of the first episode and was never inclined to find my way back.
But you know what was corny? Even cornier than MST3K, which was intentionally cornball?
The Waltons. Now that was corny.
Little House on the Prairie. That had so many corns that it had its toes amputated.
And there's worse.
Does anyone remember Dan Haggerty?
I'm not even diggin' in the dirt yet. Y'all younguns don't know from corn.
I saw Hee-Haw first run.
We used to watch Lawrence Welk when I was little.
Wanna cut a rug?


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## SirThinkALot (Jan 9, 2013)

moderan said:


> I'm glad you enjoyed it, if only for a while. I got lost about the middle of the first episode and was never inclined to find my way back.



Yea I mostly mentioned it because I find that a lot of times when people talk about how terrible Dark Angel was, they are usually thinking of the second season(which was, on the whole truly god-awful) and forget about or ignore the much-better first season, which was actually much closer to what Cameron actually intended for the series, since aspects of the show didnt have to be altered or downplayed in light of a real-life terror attack.

But hey, if you never got that far in the show...thats you're opinion.


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## Ariel (Jan 10, 2013)

I watched the Walton's as reruns with my mom up until they switched out the actor that played John-boy.  There was no use after that.

The Beverly Hillbillies and Green Acres.


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## Freakconformist (Jan 12, 2013)

My mother and I are big fans of corny Sy-Fy shows. We watched Lost Girl religiously last season. Warehouse 13, Alphas, Merlin and Eureka are also our Netflix staples when nothing else is on. Grimm and Once upon a time isn't Sy-Fy, but might as well be along the same route as Lost Girl. We're also inordinately fond of second rate TNT shows like Psych, Monk, Burn Notice, Royal Pains, and the Finder. We were devastated when we heard about Micheal Clark Duncan.

I think the worst are the corny ghost shows we've been watching lately. Ghost Hunters is out favorite, but we'll also watch Celebrity Ghost Stories, School Spirits, The Dead Files, Paranormal Witness. I think the corniest has to be Ghost Adventures with three guys straight out of the frat house going around "investigating" old houses and abandoned buildings by shouting at every stray noise and overly dramatizing every "result" they get. It's hilarious.



moderan said:


> I'm not even diggin' in the dirt yet. Y'all younguns don't know from corn.



Are you kidding? I grew up watching Saved By the Bell, Charles in Charge, Night Court, and Perfect Strangers.
Don't forget the show that made Bruce Willis a household name, Moon Lighting.


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## moderan (Jan 12, 2013)

Nope, not kidding. Night Court isn't corny;that's a terrific ensemble show. The others, well, they're iffy at best.
But compared to Buffy and Jody, Mr. Ed, and My Mother The Car, they're adult entertainment. Get you some Courtship of Eddie's Father or Hazel or Please Don't Eat the Daisies, and get back to me 
Those ghost shows are just AWFUL.


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## Deleted member 33527 (Jan 12, 2013)

Don't know if anyone around here has heard of or even remembers the show 7th Heaven. I enjoyed it as a kid, now looking back on it, it was one of the most corniest shows I've ever seen.


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## Leyline (Jan 12, 2013)

SirThinkALot said:


> The first season of Dark Angel was excellent.



No, it wasn't. Jessica Alba couldn't act her way out of a paper bag that had been soaked in water to make it easier to act out of. The plots were trite and boring, the writers understanding of genetic recombination was laughable, and the emotional level was pure soap-opera.

My mother loved that show, so I bought her both seasons on DVD. So she naturally expected me to watch it with her.

She got books after that.


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## Lewdog (Jan 12, 2013)

moderan said:


> Nope, not kidding. Night Court isn't corny;that's a terrific ensemble show. The others, well, they're iffy at best.
> But compared to Buffy and Jody, Mr. Ed, and My Mother The Car, they're adult entertainment. Get you some Courtship of Eddie's Father or Hazel or Please Don't Eat the Daisies, and get back to me
> Those ghost shows are just AWFUL.



Yeah I remember watching most of those.  Here's a few you forgot:  "Bossum Buddies," "B.J. and the Bear," "The Monkees" (I loved watching it, but it was corny you have to admit), "You Can't Do That on Television," and "Small Wonder."


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## moderan (Jan 13, 2013)

I forgot lots more too. My Three Sons, for one. The Banana Splits. The Newlywed Game. Cecil the Seasick Sea Serpent and his friend Beanie Boy (A Bob Clampett Cartoooooooooon). Wacky Races. Lassie. Most of the Westerns were the purest hayseed oil. Bosom Buddies had the young tom Hanks and Peter Scolari. And Dan Aykroyd's soon-to-be-wife Donna Dixon.
I have an eidetic memory for tv from that time, due to repeated readings of TV Guide over the years. I haven't seen more than five minutes of those shows, or Punky Brewster, Family Ties, the Fresh Prince, or Growing Pains, but I know who was in them and I understand perfectly what they were about.
And the above are the pure stuff, almost completely unadulterated corn, with an extra side removal of adult.


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## Freakconformist (Jan 13, 2013)

SirThinkALot said:


> Yea I mostly mentioned it because I find that a lot of times when people talk about how terrible Dark Angel was, they are usually thinking of the second season(which was, on the whole truly god-awful) and forget about or ignore the much-better first season, which was actually much closer to what Cameron actually intended for the series, since aspects of the show didnt have to be altered or downplayed in light of a real-life terror attack.
> 
> But hey, if you never got that far in the show...thats you're opinion.



I find it funny how when a story/show is revolutionary at the time, but when people look back 20 years later at it they say "oh that's crap, Doll House did more for the genre." I remember when everybody was talking about Dark Angel like it was the bee's knees. Does anybody remember Sea Quest? Same thing, it was "Star Trek, but underwater", everybody was talking about it. 
Come to think about it, they pulled out the "genetically altered government soldiers" card in the second season, too, and got cancelled. Show killing plot line or government cover up? You decide.


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## Bruno Spatola (Jan 13, 2013)

Fresh Prince is corny, but I think it's a great show. Carlton makes me cry laughing sometimes. The episode where Will's dad comes back is genuinely beautiful, too.

Here's the scene: [video=youtube;bxulantPiXI]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bxulantPiXI[/video]

Least corny moment in the show's history, but I'm a big fan.


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## Freakconformist (Jan 13, 2013)

Polos, pleated khakis, and Tom Jones. Who can out corny Charlton?

Fresh Prince of Belair - Charlton Dancing to Tom Jones - YouTube


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## Ariel (Jan 13, 2013)

I loved that show!  I'm kind of anti-tv to be honest.  I have tv shows I loved but I don't watch actual tv.  I watch Netflix and DVDs.

Does anyone else remember "Dinosaurs?" The one with the baby that always hit the father and said "not the momma."

Yeah.  That was corny.  It was like "married with children" but for kids and with dinosaurs.


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## garza (Jan 13, 2013)

The only such really bad corny TV show I remember was 'I Love Lucy'. I never watched it myself but my mother watched it every week and I saw bits and pieces from time to time. In those days you could put anything on the TV and have an audience. 'Lucy' proved it. 

My favourite show was also corny but the people in it had talent, unlike Lucy. It was 'Your Show of Shows' with Sid Caesar and Imogene Coca. They were great. After more than sixty years I can still remember many of the gags. 

When I left for university in the Spring of 1956 my regular TV watching ended. Sometimes when I'm on the road I'll flip through the channels on the TV in the hotel room and remember why I don't have a TV at home.


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## Lewdog (Jan 13, 2013)

amsawtell said:


> I loved that show!  I'm kind of anti-tv to be honest.  I have tv shows I loved but I don't watch actual tv.  I watch Netflix and DVDs.
> 
> Does anyone else remember "Dinosaurs?" The one with the baby that always hit the father and said "not the momma."
> 
> Yeah.  That was corny.  It was like "married with children" but for kids and with dinosaurs.



I thought the catch phrase was, "Gotta love the baby!"


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## Ariel (Jan 21, 2013)

Just finished watching season 1 of "True Blood" with the Fella.  He's addicted now and I think it's mostly because it's so dumb it's funny.


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