The current iteration of Macgyver and Lethal Weapon.

How can anyone answer this question without seeing the entire volume of TV programming going back to the late 1940s? It's not possible to do this, for a couple of reasons; first, it would take several lifetimes (multiple channels over a 7 or 8 decade period) and secondly, a substantial amount of TV programming of the past no longer exists in recorded form and in some cases, was broadcast live only.

I have to stop opening threads like this, because when I see responses such as Twin Peaks, I know that people are going to do in this thread what they usually do in such threads- just state their prejudices or preferences. You may not like or understand Twin Peaks but for God's sake, it is nowhere near the worst program ever on TV. My God. Stop and think of the poorly-produced, poorly written absolute garbage that has been on TV over the decades. Production values of TV programs are light years higher than the production values of the vast majority of TV programs from decades past.

You guys have fun with this, but don't think for a second that the real answer will be anywhere on these pages.

Answers such as My Mother the Car and The Gong Show get into the vicinity of really bad TV, but there are still much, much worse TV programs that have exsted, and that you have never seen or even heard of- because they died in obscurity because they were so very bad

Hello

McFly

Too subjective a topic.

There should be some parameters. Such as, TV shows that were on the air for at least three seasons and are available to be viewed today. That would at least make the topic relevant for a discussion.

Also, TV shows were made for their own audiences, not for our time. A show that was acceptable in its day may be really cheesy today. Wildly popular shows like the British sitcom Are you being served? may not be received by today's audience favorably, but should not be considered a bad show. In other words, shows are a product of their time, and should be viewed in that frame of reference. However, some shows transcend generations, and are always well received. Shows like The Andy Griffith Show or The Honeymooners will always be classics.

As Para has stated, there is no way to actually identify the worst show in history. Shows that were truly bad, even for their time, died a quick death and were quickly forgotten. I'm convinced that these types of threads, if they ran long enough, would eventually identify nearly every TV show ever made.

quote:

Originally posted by kz1000:
Too subjective a topic.

Absolutely. Too subjective.

And, as Parabellum said, much has been lost to time. Some of it is literally lost and unrecorded. The true dreck dies a quick death and is forgotten even if tape exists somewhere. We remember the good stuff from years past, but not the awful stuff. This is true of music, movies, plays, etc. This is, I think, the main reason we think things were better in the past. We remember the Andy Griffith Show, and forget all the crap that was on at the same time. In contrast, this year's crap is still fresh in our minds.

quote:

Originally posted by NK402:

quote:

Originally posted by ZSMICHAEL:
Gong show hands down.

What ? I loved the Gong Show. The best part was watching Chuck Barris having so much fun.

Nah, I remember seeing the pop sickle twins, one of the best acts ever.

Saw the previews to The Masked Singer and thought the costumes were made well, but never watched the show.

Many years ago when the screen writers guild had a strike and they all went to scripted reality shows most anything on TV went down hill. The same thing happened when the OJ Simpson trial was plastered all over TV and few watched the Soap Operas when the trial was over. One of them had been broadcast for 70+ years, its gone now.

Would it be fair to say a sitcom from the '60s would be better than a sitcom from five years ago? Was Shazam! better or worse than Airwolf if you liked shows with a badass helicopter? The Screaming MiMi was a helicopter too, but it didn't look to be near as much fun. Sure, there are even folks that would argue over the worst version of Batman. Everybody knows Batman has a cool car. Batman is all about the car.

My take on what would be the worst: All-Star Celebrity Bowling from 2014. Yes, This show would have been even dumber than Marvel: Agents of SHIT.

I'm hard pressed to think of any programming that appealed to a lower audience than Jerry Springer, he made a great living wallowing in others' filth. His show's success belies the ugliness of it.

Then there's "Here Comes Honey Boo Boo". ...

I have been seeing commercials for it over the last few weeks. Last night I had the opportunity to witness this garbage first hand.

I came back to my hotel room and the default channel came on airing this shit. I was so perplexed, I watched about 10 minutes of it.

The "masked morons" drop clues as to their identity and the the judges go back over them incase your too out of the celebrity loop to pick up on the nuances. I feel like I am dumber for watching it.

I'd be willing to bet over half of the population would anxiously tune in to this and it's concerning.

quote:

Originally posted by parabellum:
but there are still much, much worse TV programs that have exsted, and that you have never seen or even heard of- because they died in obscurity because they were so very bad

It's like asking who is the ugliest person in the country.

In this link, it lists its own 50 worst TV shows in modern history and I have never seen one of them, and have not even heard of the vast majority of them.

I don't know which particular show is the "worst", but I hope I've seen it. That means that nothing worse is out there!

I watched a couple of episodes. One of the unmasked was one of the cheech and chong. I forget which name but it's the one who went onto obscurity while the other one did a couple of tv series - one of the tv series was with Don Johnson as a cop in San Francisco and portraying his then girlfriend as his daughter.

It's like, big deal. I hardly think he has any chance of resurrecting his career.

And I'm not into guessing with the judges. There's no thrill for me in that.

Easy. The Lawrence Welk show.

 
The Price is Right.

Recall a series about a girl that started working for a TV station. It was a documentary that lacked direction. About halfway through it was cancelled.