Around the dial: Debate rages over TV Guide’s lists

Kirk Baird

Monday, July 29, 2002 | 8:24 a.m.

"The Jerry Springer Show" is the worst program of all time?

Of course the talk show has had its mindless moments, but is that show any worse than a prime-time variety series based on a one-hit wonder: "The Starland Vocal Band Show"? Or TV's attempt to spoof the "Star Wars" phenomenon in the late '70s: "Quark"?

In a recent issue of TV Guide, the Bible of Television listed its 50 Worst Shows of All Time. "Not just bad! Really awful and we love them that way!" screamed the headline on the issue's front cover.

And while few would argue with "The Brady Bunch Hour," "Supertrain," "The Chevy Chase Show" or the XFL, there were some notable absentees.

TV Guide omitted these so-bad-they're-good classics: "Mr. Smith," a half-hour comedy about a talking orangutan with a genius-level IQ working on Capitol Hill; "Mr. T. and Tina," a clashing-cultures sitcom starring Pat Morita that managed one month of air time; or, "Misfits of Science," an hour-long series concerning teenagers with bizarre superpowers who fight crime.

"Yeah, we should have had 'Misfits of Science' on the list," acknowledged Michael Davis, senior editor at TV Guide, in a recent phone interview from TV Guide's office in New York.

With so much bad television unleashed on the public for half-a-century, though, it would be impossible to include every show and keep the list to 50.

Other incredulously bad shows not on the worst-of list:

And, for that matter, where was "Battle of the Network Stars" or "Circus of the Stars"? Sure, both were TV specials by definition, which made them ineligible for the list. But how many episodes have there been of Fox's "Celebrity Boxing," which was ranked as the sixth-worst program of all time?

Of the programs that did make the worst-of list, easily the most the controversial is "Hogan's Heroes" at No. 5.

"We thought the 50 Worst would be talked about," Davis said. "But in no way did we realize the uproar over 'Hogan's Heroes' would reach this proportion."

Not surprisingly, Davis defended his and the other TV Guide editors' decision to include the sitcom that ran for from 1965-'71 on CBS as one of the worst in TV history.

"We arrived at the decision for inclusion on the list with very sound reasons," he said. "It was in exquisitely bad taste. I think the editors here felt the show just did not age well.

"We just couldn't get out of our heads the vision of American POWs in World War II, and how unfunny any subject might be treating the subject."

So Col. Hogan, Col. Klink, Sgt. Shultz and the rest of the wackiest POW camp in Nazi Germany got the boot.

Also on the worst list was "The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo" -- later shortened to simply "Lobo" -- at No. 36. But its parent show, "B.J. and the Bear," about a trucker and his pet chimp, avoided being named to the group.

And was "Lobo" any worse than "Enos"? The short-lived series was an hourlong spinoff of the "Dukes of Hazzard," wherein its titular character left small-town police work for the Los Angeles Police Department.

The show was canceled a season later, and Enos (Sonny Shroyer) returned to his law-enforcement duties in Hazzard County.

While questions remain over TV Guide's worst-of list, the best-of grouping from two months ago raised considerably fewer objections.

"The 50 worst is so much more interesting than the 50 best," said Robert Thompson, director of the Center for the Study of Popular Television at New York's Syracuse University. "There' something about 'Manimal,' where a guy can turn into a puma or a hawk ... "

"In many ways America's TV is at its most fascinating when it's at its stupidest."

Which is why it is far more entertaining to reminisce about the near legendary bad sitcom "Hello Larry," (No. 12, worst-of) than discussing the reliably humorous "Frasier" (No. 34, best-of).

Even with only 50 best shows to choose from, Thompson said he has few -- if any -- qualms with the list.

Sure there are shows left out -- "WKRP in Cincinnati," "Freaks and Geeks," "SCTV" or "NYPD Blue." But "most of the right stuff is there," Thompson said. "It just may not be in the order we want."

While the worst-of list is generating a considerable amount of conversation at the moment, the best-of list was not without controversy, either. Namely the inclusion of "Bewitched" at No. 50.

" 'Bewitched' had to stand in there for all those '60s show that were kind of ... hallucinogenic, but we loved: 'I Dream of Jeannie,' 'Bewitched,' 'Green Acres,' 'The Beverly Hillbillies,' " Thompson said. "Those shows were brilliant in their own way and they're under-represented."

Davis acknowledged that "Bewitched's" selection, in part, may have been in homage to other similarly styled '60s sitcoms.

"I think we tried to be very choosy about shows that helped define an era in television -- especially the sitcoms," he said. "We would ask ourselves: 'Did this show really hold up well over time?' "

He said "Seinfeld," which TV Guide selected as its best show of all time, is an example of a program that has aged well, as well as "The Simpsons," which placed at No. 8.

"I think 'The Simpsons' is the most subversive show ever on television," Davis said. "God bless its beating heart. I'm so looking forward to seasons 14 and 15."

In the meantime, TV Guide readers can look forward to more lists. In celebration of its 50th anniversary, TV Guide has rolled out several lists so far, including the best and worst of television, the 50 Greatest Covers of All Time and "TV We'll Always Remember."

In an upcoming issue, look for the 50 Best Animated Characters on TV.

Davis says that list is bound to be controversial as well. Example: no Pink Panther.

"We'll get letters from people who think they've been slighted," he said. " 'How could you have left Pink Panther off the list?'

"People take television very personally."