Premiering in 2009, Mental was a medical-mystery-drama that managed to cling on for a full season before rapidly hemorrhaging ratings got the better of it. The show’s protagonist, Dr. Jack Gallagher, was like a less appealing version of everyone’s favorite TV doctor: Gregory House. Like House, Gallagher had unorthodox ideas about diagnosis and treatment. He also had a “more than just friends” kind of relationship with the hospital administrator. Unlike House, Gallagher was employed in a psychiatric ward where his mean streak just couldn’t playoff in the lovable way that House’s could.
Actor, Chris Vance, also didn’t stack up charisma-wise compared to the inimitable Hugh Laurie. With all this stacked up against it, the show was an awkward, slow-dying fail. As The New York Times explained, “the creators of Mental couldn’t take Gallagher any further up the mean-spirited scale, so instead they went too far in the other direction and ran smack into cliché.”
2007: Rules of Engagement
‘Til Death wasn’t the only sitcom to attempt the old married couple vs. newlyweds dynamic… and it wasn’t the only one to fail at it. While Rules of Engagement was technically more successful. Lasting a fairly impressive seven seasons, it was never given a break by critics. While it came out in 2007, it seems Rules of Engagement learned little from its failed predecessor. In fact, its similarity to ‘Til Death was a big part of its undoing.
A critic for The Chicago Sun-Times explained, “Rules and ‘Til Death bear exactly the same ups and downs. The ups: essentially a good cast, plus sporadic funny lines. The downs: many un-funny lines, plus rehashed story-lines from a thousand episodes of married-life sitcoms dating all the way back to The Honeymooners.” While these sitcoms failed for being unfunny, hilarity can sometimes be what heralds in the failure, as you’ll read when we get to 2010.
2008: Do Not Disturb
Do Not Disturb was yet another attempt at situational comedy that failed dismally, with fans and critics alike. Set in a New York City hotel, the 2008 “comedy” followed the day-to-day goings on, all from the perspective of the establishment’s employees. While the show featured Jerry O’Connell of Sliders fame, Do Not Disturb was so poorly received by audiences that it was cut after just three episodes had gone to air. It took out the dubious honor of being the first show to be canceled that season.
According to USA Today, Do Not Disturb was “a show that tries to be adult and titillating but just comes across as juvenile and badly paced.” Adding to the air of criticism, The Chicago Tribune described it as being “so bad that it’s not only unpleasant to watch, but it makes you fear for the future of network television.” Now that is one searing indictment!
2010: $#*! My Dad Says
This sitcom was inspired in such an interesting way, it seemed destined to be a success. After the viral success of Justin Halpern’s Twitter feed entitled, “S*** My Dad Says,” Warner Bros. was keen to get in on the action (and, of course, monetize it). So, in 2010, they were hyping the s*** out of a sitcom inspired by the Twitter feed. It seemed to have all the makings of a hit, even snagging William Shatner in a lead role. Sadly, $#*! My Dad Says, ended up being slated by critics and viewers alike as, shall we say, a pile of s***.
The Los Angeles Times had an interesting take on just why this might have been: “oddly, at 79, Shatner comes across as too energetic and youthful even for the 72-year-old he’s playing.” So Shatner was just too darned sprightly? Apparently there was a bit more to it than that. The LA Times continued: “the bigger problem is that he’s given nothing to do or say worth the doing or saying. He gets better mileage from a Priceline commercial.” Seems it’s not so easy to transfer Twitter success to TV ratings. As we’ll soon see, a similar problem is faced by producers who attempt to translate the success of old shows into revamped versions.
2011: Charlie’s Angels
Whenever a remake is announced, fans of the original get tense. It seems nearly impossible to create something that is new yet still resonates with audiences. Sometimes you’re really just better off not messing with a good thing. Try telling that to the networks though! They seem to operate on the premise that if it worked once, it’ll work again. Sadly, ABC’s reboot of Charlie’s Angels ended disastrously, adding itself to the growing list of reasons why producers should perhaps be looking for fresh ideas instead.
Released in 2011, the Charlie’s Angels writers made a valiant effort at sidestepping the temptation to make a kitschy replica of the bangin’ original. However, it seems they stripped too much of the camp 70s fun from the old classic. As USA Today explained, the original Charlie’s Angels “had energy and glamour and a self-aware sense of frothy fun, all of which are missing from this lugubrious update.” With TV audiences in steadfast agreement, the show was dubbed a failure after just four episodes and pulled from the air. With eight episodes filmed in total, this means four are still lurking somewhere, never having shone their light on the eyes of an expectant audience.