There are a ton of shows that probably will never make it to DVD, and this is especially true of canceled shows. Unless there is a strong cult demanding it, why should time and money be spent on something that was a failure to begin with? Anyhow, with instant view and internet streaming being increasingly popular ways to get shows, it may be easier for some of the more oddball and unloved shows to come back in some form. Here are some shows that I’d like to see:
Babes
A short-lived sitcom about three fat sisters living together. I don’t expect that this show went far beyond fat jokes and the typical sitcom emotionalism that you get when trying to make characters sympathetic, but I’ve been wanting to see this show ever since I missed its first run on Fox years ago. It was apparently produced by Dolly Parton, which makes me want to see it even more because I fucking love Dolly Parton. It also stars Wendie Jo Sperber, who played Linda McFly in the Back to the Future films and has one of the greatest fat girl names I’ve ever heard. Unfortunately, Sperber died of breast cancer a few years ago, and was the subject of a documentary. Hopefully this bit of exposure will lead to this show eventually getting aired on Hulu or Netflix. I mean, how hard can it be to digitize 22 half hour episodes?
Hardcore TV
A dumb, nudity-heavy sketch comedy show that ran on HBO for awhile. I saw it when I was a kid and laughed my ass off, though, much like MTV’s The State, I highly doubt that the humor is going to hold up when I watch it as an adult. It had such skits as Fairy Tales From the Darkside and a painfully unfunny bit where a guy with a shitty Jamaican accent recounts TV shows. As with all sketch comedy shows, it was hit and miss, but I remember enough funny bits to want to rewatch it, such as Raging Bullwinkle and Cindy’s Sex Talk. One skit of Sex Talk had a man happily discussing his relationship with an inflatable doll, but becomes disgusted when a caller asks for his opinion on inflatable sheep. He ends the skit by describing his future as being “very happy, but very chaffed.” See, that’s the kind of stupid joke that makes me miss the show.
Woops!
A notorious and stupid sitcom about the survivors of a nuclear holocaust. This was another travesty from the Fox network, and while most of its short-lived run was typically lame sitcom jokes, there was allegedly one episode where the find Santa Claus and discover that he’s a serial killer. There were only 13 episodes, but I’d be willing to sit through that just to see this murderous Santa episode. Another thing about the show that intrigues me is the typo in the title. There’s supposed to be an “h” in there. I know that I’m a linguist and should therefore not be bothered by such trivialities as orthography, but it still grates on me for some reason.
You’re in the Picture
A classic show that aired once, and was so shitty that host Jackie Gleason spent the entire next episode apologizing for the show and going into detail about why this piece of shit got aired in the first place. I’ve seen a bit of the second episode and loved it, and I’m increasingly coming to the opinion that Jackie Gleason was one of the funniest mother fuckers that ever lived. In fact, if there is a heaven and I get to go there, I want to see Jackie Gleason describe in detail why EVERY show that ever got canceled was a failure. Anyhow, this is a show that I want to see both for the shitty game that takes up the first (and only) episode of the show, and the half-hour apology Gleason gives the audience in the second. There ought to be a rule where the stars of every canceled show does the same in front of a studio audience, effectively apologizing for wasting their time with this crap.
The Ripping Friends
John K.’s unsuccessful follow-up to Ren & Stimpy, this one focuses on the somewhat homo-erotic adventures of a group of muscular supermen who go around and fight crime. I’ve seen a couple episodes, and the humor is every bit as disgusting and suggestive as Ren & Stimpy, which makes me scream in frustration at the fact that it is still only available in its entirety in Australia. If his short-lived gay sex version of Ren & Stimpy can get a DVD release, then surely the same can be done for The Ripping Friends.
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