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What Were They Thinking? The 100 Dumbest Events In Television History

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What Were They Thinking? The 100 Dumbest Events In Television History
File:What Were They Thinking, The 100 Dumbest Events in Television History cover.jpeg
Author
Illustrator
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
GenreTelevision
PublisherBack Stage Books
Publication date
August 1, 2004
Media typePrint (Hardback & Paperback)
Pages209
ISBN0-8230-8441-8 Search this book on .

What Were They Thinking? The 100 Dumbest Events In Television History[1][2][3] is a 2004[4][5] book by David Hofstede[6] which as the title would imply, chronicles and examines the very[7] worst of television.[8][9] It could by anything ranging from individual plot points or elements, poor network decisions, or even entire shows. It should be noted that the book focuses solely on American television. As a result, it does leave out some of the most infamous television events in other parts of the world. The foreword was written by Tom Bergeron, hosted Fox's ill-fated FOX After Breakfast, which is #23 on the list.

List[edit]

  1. The Star Wars Holiday Special[10]
  2. Dallas revealing that Bobby Ewing didn't actually die at the end of Season 8, which meant that the entire ninth season was just a dream of Pamela's.
  3. The Jerry Springer Show turning from an issues-oriented and political talk show, into a trashy, violent, sexually deviant filled freak show
  4. Jackie Gleason's ill-fated game show You're in the Picture,[11] which was cancelled after only one episode.
  5. CNN trying to promote their new journalist Paula Zahn as "sexy"[12]
  6. The 1950s quiz show scandals
  7. The inclusion of Scrappy-Doo into the Scooby-Doo franchise (1979-88)
  8. Geraldo Rivera 1986 report on the discovery of Al Capone's vault only to wind up finding nothing but debris
  9. Who Wants to Marry a Multi-Millionaire?
  10. The Heidi Game
  11. The Brady Bunch Hour[13][14]
  12. My Mother the Car
  13. Televangelist Oral Roberts announcing in January 1987 that God will "call him home" if he didn't receive $8,000,000 from his flock
  14. The Anna Nicole Show
  15. How flawed the Primetime Emmy Awards' system is when it comes to choosing the winners[15]
  16. Rampant product placement[16], particularly in televised sports[17]
  17. William Shatner's spoken word take on Elton John's "Rocket Man"[18] at the 1977 Saturn Awards.
  18. Dateline's 1992 report on exploding General Motors trucks
  19. The "Big Three" networks each producing their own TV movies about Amy Fisher (ABC and CBS'[19] aired on the same night)
  20. Supertrain
  21. Life with Lucy[20]
  22. The Goddess of Love starring Vanna White
  23. FOX After Breakfast
  24. The Lost in Space episode "The Great Vegetable Rebellion"
  25. Turn-On[21]
  26. The Magic Hour[22]
  27. St. Elsewhere's series finale[23] which revealed that the whole series was a figment of an autistic child's imagination
  28. The $1.98 Beauty Show
  29. Cop Rock
  30. Saturday Night Live with Howard Cosell[24]
  31. The violent and sexually suggestive epilogue of Michael Jackson's 1991 "Black or White" music video
  32. Dynasty re-casting Emma Samms as Fallon[25] (beginning April 1985) after being originated by Pamela Sue Martin for the first four seasons
  33. Pink Lady and Jeff[26]
  34. Twin Peaks'[27][28] second season
  35. Drudge
  36. Moonlighting's poor handling of Dave and Maddie as a couple
  37. Chuck Cunningham's abrupt and unexplained disappearance on Happy Days
  38. Colby losing to Tina on Survivor: The Australian Outback[29]
  39. CBS' many failed attempts at morning shows (such as The Morning Show, Calendar, The Morning Program)
  40. The Dana Carvey Show and how ABC set it up to fail
  41. Several TV adaptations of films, including a 1983 Casablanca adaptation with David Soul as Humphrey Bogart's character Rick Blaine
  42. Burger King's "Where's Herb?"[30] commercials
  43. Small Wonder[31]
  44. The Dukes of Hazzard replacing Bo and Luke with Coy and Vance (1982-83)
  45. Fish Police
  46. The Reagans
  47. Cousin Oliver joins The Brady Bunch for its final six episodes
  48. The XFL
  49. The 1960s era TV rule against showing navels[32] on women (directly affecting such shows as Gidget, Gilligan's Island, and I Dream of Jeannie)
  50. Thicke of the Night
  51. Shelley Hack taking over for Kate Jackson on Charlie's Angels in Season 4
  52. The 61st Academy Awards telecast (March 29, 1989)
  53. Dan Rather using "Courage" as his signoff on the CBS Evening News beginning on September 1, 1986
  54. The Secret Diary of Desmond Pfeiffer
  55. NBC's 1983 Fall schedule, which featured eight series that were canceled before their first seasons ended (including Manimal, Jennifer Slept Here'[33], Bay City Blues, and We Got It Made).[34]
  56. The Brothers Grunt
  57. NBC failing to allow David Letterman to use the proper names of his NBC-era segments on CBS' Late Show
  58. The New Monkees
  59. Dusty's Trail[35]
  60. The Wilton North Report[36]
  61. Dark Shadows' "Leviathan" storyline
  62. WWF Raw's Mark Henry/Mae Young storyline
  63. Land of the Lost (1974)'s third season
  64. Madonna's "Like a Prayer" music video debut
  65. Joanie Loves Chachi[37]
  66. Roger Ramjet and Underdog both getting scrutinized by moral guardians due to allegations of glamorizing drug abuse
  67. Days of Our Lives' 1994-95 storyline involving Marlena Evans being the victim of a demonic possession
  68. The failed attempts to Americanize Fawlty Towers (such as Chateau Snavely, Amanda's and Payne)
  69. The erasure of countless TV shows
  70. The Chevy Chase Show
  71. The Star Trek episode "Spock's Brain"[38]
  72. Any shows centering on talking babies (such as Happy, Baby Talk, and Baby Bob)
  73. Roseanne Barr's awful rendition of "The Star Spangled Banner" at a San Diego Padres game in 1990
  74. Nick @ Nite[39] replacing classic shows from the 1950s-60s such as I Love Lucy and The Patty Duke Show in favor of more recent shows from the 1980s-90s.
  75. The Harlem Globetrotters on Gilligan's Island
  76. Paul Lynde as a bachelor on The Dating Game
  77. Harold Robbins' The Survivors
  78. Janet Jackson's Wardrobe Malfunction[40] at Super Bowl XXXVIII in Houston
  79. Bewitched recycling scripts after Dick Sargent took over as Darrin Stephens
  80. The Flying Nun[41]
  81. The Woops! episode "Say It Ain't So, Santa"[42]
  82. Battle of the Network Stars #18 (March 23, 1985)
  83. Me and the Chimp
  84. ABC's 1974 Wonder Woman TV-movie[43] starring Cathy Lee Crosby
  85. Connie Francis performing poorly as a celebrity partner on The $10,000 Pyramid
  86. Elvis Presley being shot only from the waist up (due to Standards & Practices rules at the time that believing that Elvis' swiveling hip dances were too risqué) on The Ed Sullivan Show
  87. Cartoons of the 1970s that took place in space such as Josie and the Pussycats in Outer Space, Partridge Family 2200 AD, Yogi's Space Race, and Gilligan's Planet
  88. Laverne & Shirley writing Shirley (Cindy Williams) out of the show for the final season (1982-83)
  89. QVC selling the Poopin' Moose
  90. Bad Ronald[44][45]
  91. USA Network's Up All Night[46]
  92. The Aldrich Family's obscene amount of recasts (only House Jameson remained for all four seasons)
  93. The Dick Van Dyke Show episode "The Bad Old Days"
  94. 3's A Crowd[47][48]
  95. The overabundance of westerns by the late 1950s (with approximately 30 in total).
  96. Quark
  97. Farrah Fawcett's awkward 1997 interview (where she appeared to be disoriented and incoherent) on The Late Show with David Letterman
  98. The addition of Dawn on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Connor[49] on Angel respectively
  99. AMC[50] beginning to incorporate commercial breaks
  100. The Price Is Right's Professor Price game

Honorary mentions[edit]

  1. Saturday Night Live's sixth season[51] (1980-81)
  2. Fred Silverman's tumultuous tenure at NBC (1978-81)
  3. Boohbah
  4. Are You Hot?: The Search for America's Sexiest People
  5. The Tortellis
  6. Batman often relegating Batgirl to a damsel in distress
  7. The Dean Martin Celebrity Roast of Peter Marshall
  8. Santo Gold infomercials
  9. Jabberjaw
  10. The Morton Downey Jr. Show
  11. Made for TV sequels from the 1990s such as Revenge of the Nerds III and IV, and Problem Child III
  12. Playing It Straight
  13. It's About Time
  14. Rudolph's Shiny New Year
  15. MTV's (as well as MTV2) dramatic decline in quality
  16. The New Leave It to Beaver
  17. CBS bleeping Janet Jackson saying "Jesus" on The Late Show with David Letterman
  18. USA Today: The Television Show
  19. James Stockdale's performance in the 1992 vice presidential debate
  20. Frank Zappa hosting Saturday Night Live (October 21, 1978)
  21. The Love Boat Follies
  22. Playboy's 50th-Anniversary Celebration
  23. Baywatch Nights
  24. She's the Sheriff
  25. AfterMASH
  26. The Lingerie Bowl

References[edit]

  1. ↑ Hofstede, David. What Were They Thinking?: The 100 Dumbest Events In Television History. Back Stage. Search this book on
  2. ↑ "Were They Thinking: The 100 Dumbest Events in Television History Paperback – October 1, 2004". Amazon.
  3. ↑ "What Were They Thinking: The 100 Dumbest Events in Television History". Goodreads.
  4. ↑ Owen, Rob (November 24, 2004). "Tuned In: From home-grown to world-famous, feast on TV turkeys". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
  5. ↑ "What Were They Thinking: The 100 Dumbest Events in Television History". BookLikes.
  6. ↑ Hofstede, David. "Comfort TV: More About Me". Comfort TV. Blogger.
  7. ↑ John, Tommy (January 30, 2010). "The Best of Bad TV". White Sox Interactive Forums.
  8. ↑ "On this TV events list: dumb and dumber". Vindy.com. October 23, 2004.
  9. ↑ "Ebook Free What Were They Thinking: The 100 Dumbest Events in Television History, by David Hofstede". Glaaphiabooks. Blogger. August 12, 2014.
  10. ↑ David Hofstede (2004). What Were They Thinking? The 100 Dumbest Events in Television History. Back Stage Books. pp. 204–206. ISBN 0-8230-8441-8. Search this book on
  11. ↑ David Hofstede (2004). What Were They Thinking? The 100 Dumbest Events in Television History. Back Stage Books. pp. 197–199. ISBN 0-8230-8441-8. Search this book on
  12. ↑ Paula Zahn Sexy Promo on YouTube
  13. ↑ Perry, Douglas (January 3, 2017). "2017 is ruined: We missed Fake Jan Day, the grand celebration of 'Brady Bunch' disaster". Oregon Live.
  14. ↑ Hofstede, David (December 27, 2012). "Happy Fake Jan Day". Comfort TV.
  15. ↑ Aragon, Rick (December 19, 2014). "Vows Are Made to Be Convoluted. Sherlock: His Last Vow Review". Rick's Cafe Texan.
  16. ↑ Jacob, Benzkofer, Mark, Stephan (February 11, 2011). "10 things you might not know about TV commercials". Chicago Tribune.
  17. ↑ Hofstede, David. What Were They Thinking: The 100 Dumbest Events in Television History. New York: Back Stage Books, 2004, p. 170.
  18. ↑ David Hofstede (2004). What Were They Thinking? The 100 Dumbest Events in Television History. Back Stage Books. pp. 168–169. ISBN 0-8230-8441-8. Search this book on
  19. ↑ Hofstede, David (October 1, 2004). Boss%2CMilano%2Camyfisher&f=false What Were They Thinking?: The 100 Dumbest Events In Television History. Back Stage Books, p. 165. Archived at Google Books. Retrieved September 17, 2015.
  20. ↑ David Hofstede (2004). What Were They Thinking? The 100 Dumbest Events in Television History. Back Stage Books. pp. 159–161. ISBN 0-8230-8441-8. Search this book on
  21. ↑ Hofstede, David (2004). What Were They Thinking: The 100 Dumbest Events in Television History. Back Stage Books. pp. 150–151. ISBN 0-8230-8441-8. Search this book on
  22. ↑ David Hofstede (2004). What Were They Thinking? The 100 Dumbest Events in Television History. Back Stage Books. pp. 148–150. ISBN 0-8230-8441-8. Search this book on
  23. ↑ Hofstede, David (May 22, 2012). "Why That Girl Didn't Marry That Guy". Comfort TV. Blogger.
  24. ↑ David Hofstede (2004). What Were They Thinking? The 100 Dumbest Events in Television History. Back Stage Books. pp. 141–142. ISBN 0-8230-8441-8. Search this book on
  25. ↑ Hofstede, David (2004). What Were They Thinking?: The 100 Dumbest Events In Television History. Back Stage Books. pp. 137–139. ISBN 0-8230-8441-8. Retrieved May 28, 2017 – via Google Books. Search this book on
  26. ↑ Hofstede, David (2004). What Were They Thinking: The 100 Dumbest Events in Television History. Backbeat Books. p. 135. ISBN 0-8230-8441-8. Search this book on
  27. ↑ Murray, Noel (May 6, 2010). "A Very Special Episode: Twin Peaks, "Zen, Or The Skill To Catch A Killer"". Chicago Tribune.
  28. ↑ Hofstede, David (June 2, 2010). "The Unraveling of Twin Peaks". The Wild Reed.
  29. ↑ Hofstede, David (2004-10-01). What Were They Thinking: The 100 Dumbest Events in Television History. Random House Digital, Inc. pp. 125–. ISBN 9780823084418. Retrieved 29 May 2012. Search this book on
  30. ↑ Hofstede, David (2004). What Were They Thinking? The 100 Dumbest Events in Television History. New York: Back Stage Books. p. 115. ISBN 0-8230-8441-8. Search this book on
  31. ↑ Zaleski, Annie (September 7, 2015). "Small Wonder was a so-bad-it's-good '80s syndication pioneer". AVClub.
  32. ↑ David Hofstede (2004). What Were They Thinking? The 100 Dumbest Events In Television History. Back Stage Books. p. 100. ISBN 9780823084418. Search this book on
  33. ↑ Levine, Ken (October 27, 2017). "Friday Questions". Oregon Live.
  34. ↑ Hofstede, David (2004). What Were They Thinking: The 100 Dumbest Events in Television History. Back Stage Books. p. 87. ISBN 0-8230-8441-8. Search this book on
  35. ↑ Hofstede David What Were They Thinking?: The 100 Dumbest Events In Television History p. 80
  36. ↑ Hofstede, David: "What Were They Thinking?: The 100 Dumbest Events in Television History", pp. 78–80. VNU, Inc., 2004
  37. ↑ From Abba to Zoom: A Pop Culture Encyclopedia of the Late 20th Century - Google Books. Books.google.com. Retrieved 2013-08-25. Search this book on
  38. ↑ David Hofstede (2004). What Were They Thinking? The 100 Dumbest Events in Television History. Back Stage Books. pp. 57–58. ISBN 0-8230-8441-8. Search this book on
  39. ↑ Gildemeister, Christopher (July 22, 2015). "TV Land "Rebrands" to Raunchy". Parents Television Council.
  40. ↑ Jicha, Tom (December 26, 2004). "So That's Why They Call Television The Idiot Box". Sun Sentinel.
  41. ↑ Bailey, Jason (March 19, 2013). "The 10 Dumbest TV Shows of All Time". Flavorwire.
  42. ↑ Hofstede, David (July 4, 2015). "Christmas TV Party 2015: David Hofstede". Christmas TV History. Blogger.
  43. ↑ Bergeron, Tom (2004). "Forward". What Were They Thinking?: The 100 Dumbest Events in Television. By Hofstede, David. Back Stage Books. pp. 31–33. ISBN 0-8230-8441-8. Search this book on
  44. ↑ David Hofstede (2004). What Were They Thinking? The 100 Dumbest Events in Television History. Back Stage Books. pp. 19–21. ISBN 0-8230-8441-8. Search this book on
  45. ↑ "Existence is Horror: "The Neon Demon" & "Bad Ronald"". Invisible Oranges. July 8, 2016.
  46. ↑ Hofstede, David (2004). What Were They Thinking: The 100 Dumbest Events in Television History. Random House Digital, Inc. p. 18. ISBN 0-8230-8441-8. Search this book on
  47. ↑ Hofstede, David (2004). What Were They Thinking: The 100 Dumbest Events in Television History. Back Stage Books. pp. 13–14. ISBN 0-8230-8441-8. Search this book on
  48. ↑ "The Sleazy 70s Game Show for Husbands Sleeping with their Secretaries". Messy Nessy. November 25, 2015.
  49. ↑ Hofstede, David (2004). What Were They Thinking: The 100 Dumbest Events in Television History. Back Stage Books. ISBN 0-8230-8441-8. Search this book on
  50. ↑ Pazdziernik (October 22, 2006). "Grunge TV". pazdziernik.blogspot.
  51. ↑ David Hofstede (2004). What Were They Thinking? The 100 Dumbest Events in Television History. Back Stage Books. pp. 207–209. ISBN 0-8230-8441-8. Search this book on

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