Top 10 WTF Were They Thinking TV Shows
#10: “Naked Education” (2023-)
It’s no surprise that “Naked Education” caused a stir in the UK. The program strives to teach teenagers about body positivity… but does so by having adults strip naked in front of them. Although some have applauded the show’s frank discussions about the human body, many more have expressed their discomfort with the show’s shocking method of teaching. And it’s hard to blame them, given the unfortunately long history of abuse of power in entertainment settings. While it’s certainly true that people of all ages should be exposed to a larger variety of body types in media, we’re not sure that a gimmick-based teen reality show is the place to do it.
#9: “Cavemen” (2007)
Let this be a lesson to every company with viral advertisements. Just because a concept works well for a minute long commercial doesn’t mean it will work well for a half hour sitcom. This comedy show, based on a popular series of ads by Geico, lasted for seven episodes before being pulled from US airwaves. This was a little over half of its commissioned thirteen episode first season. For some who caught the show, it was seven episodes too many. In addition to being a dumb one-note joke of a concept, the series was accused of using its protagonists as a racist metaphor for the plight of real life minorities. Just bad decisions all around!
#8: “Boy Meets Boy” (2003)
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“Boy Meets Boy” made history as the first same sex dating show on American television. Which makes its messy premise all the more unfortunate. It focused on a gay man in his 30s named James, who courted fifteen men in an attempt to decide which was “the one.” The twist? Some of those fifteen men were straight, and James had to weed them out if he wanted to win the show’s $25,000 reward. The series’ sheer existence was unquestionably influential to the future of reality TV, but, at the time, it was hard for many viewers to look past the mean-spirited nature of the show’s conceit.
#7: “Labor of Love” (2020)
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Dating shows are nothing new, but it’s rare that they have such high stakes! In “Labor of Love,” former “Bachelor” contestant Kristy Katzmann got to know fifteen men with the intention of making one of them the father of her children. After eight episodes, Texas native Kyle Klinger was crowned the winner… but the pair unsurprisingly didn’t seal the deal on the show’s promise. After a few dates off-set, the two decided to call it quits, and Katzmann opted to have and raise a baby on her own. This, of course, meant that “Labor of Love” was all for nothing, but we have to say we’re glad that such a significant life decision wasn’t made on a TV show.
#6: “My Mother the Car” (1965-66)
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If you thought this title was a strange metaphor, think again! “My Mother the Car” is about exactly what the title says. After the death of his mother, David visits a used car lot and hears one of the cars calling out to him. Intrigued, he buys the car, and finds out that his mother has been reincarnated into it. What follows is a surreal series about a living car who (among other things) gets drunk on antifreeze, thwarts a political assassination, and goads her son into involving himself in the neighbors’ arguments. Its concept, though creative, proved a bit too strange for its ‘60s audience, and its poor execution led to a swift cancellation.
#5: “Who’s Your Daddy?” (2005)
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A television series about adult adoptees finding their biological parents seems reasonable enough. The trouble with “Who’s Your Daddy?” was that it made the concept into a game show. Contestants were matched with eight men and had to determine which of them was their actual biological father by studying their habits and asking them a series of questions. If they guessed correctly, they won $100,000. If they failed, the man who tricked them won $100,000. Unsurprisingly, the show was deemed exploitative and insulting both to adopted families and adoption organizations alike. Due to the controversy, and the show’s poor performance, only one of the series’ six produced episodes ever made it to air.
#4: “Cop Rock” (1990)
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There are so many police procedurals on TV that it can be hard for new ones to stand out. In 1990, “Cop Rock”s attempt at making a name for itself included…song and dance. And somehow it wasn’t meant to be an elaborate joke. Unlike a typical musical, in which characters break into song to punctuate major character or plot moments, “Cop Rock” peppered songs throughout its episodes at random, leading to numbers about everything from accepting a bribe to exercising. In spite of the occasionally odd subject matter, its pilot episode actually won an Emmy for its music and lyrics, but even that couldn’t stop the show from being canceled after just eleven episodes.
#3: “Kid Nation” (2007)
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After reading “Lord of the Flies,” most would be horrified at the idea of an entirely kid-led survival-based society. But not the creators of “Kid Nation!” In 2007, forty children from the ages of eight to fifteen were sent out to New Mexico to build their own functioning town. They killed chickens, cooked their own food, and had heated arguments about religion and politics. Showers and baths were rare, and trash disposal bordered on hazardous. Safety measures were said to be in place, but contracts still stipulated that CBS would not be responsible if kids were harmed. We’re still not sure how this made it to air, but we’re glad it only lasted one season!
#2: “Black. White.” (2006)
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It’s true that education about cultural appropriation was a lot less widespread in 2006 than it is today, but that fact doesn’t begin to excuse this mess of a show. Executive produced by Ice Cube, “Black. White.” sought to portray the different experiences of the two title races by transforming a White family into a Black family and a Black family into a White family. Understandably, this approach was controversial. Its biggest critics claimed that it actually reinforced the very stereotypes it claimed to expose, with many taking issue with the idea that anyone could ever truly understand another race’s experience after six weeks in makeup.
#1: “Heil Honey I’m Home!” (1990)
When it comes to comedy, Hitler isn’t entirely off the table, as films like “Jojo Rabbit” prove. But if you’re going to do it, you’ve got to do it right. “Heil Honey, I’m Home” did not do it right. Unlike Taika Waititi’s World War II satire, “Heil Honey” seemed uninterested in making any meaningful commentary about its controversial protagonist. Instead, it cast Hitler and his wife as sitcom stars who lived next to a Jewish family, with the purpose of mocking the outrageous sitcoms of the ‘50s. Naturally, people weren’t impressed, and the series was canceled after just one episode.
