Forgotten Flops: 10 failed TV shows from 1996-1997

[@ultramaximusreviews]

"I'll modem them to you right now, what's your modem number?" NO ONE talked like that in the 90s LOL - I was there

[@TheReviewStudios]

It was so odd I had to put it in there I don't ever remember anyone saying that

[@thatvikingtemper]

@@TheReviewStudios 😂😂😂

[@mrpopsful]

Did you frequent the BBS's?

[@findenison9114]

lol

[@carnacthemagnificent2498]

They did, I can send you proof. I'll wifi it to you, what's your wifi number?

[@thebuckrogers22]

This is why I love this channel, I've never heard of these shows

[@TheReviewStudios]

Thanks yeah we try to fill in that little missing gap in classic TV. Glad to have you here

[@DCMarvelMultiverse]

Profit was ahead of its time. When people ask about it, I always sum it up as "Mad Men meets Dexter."

[@emthatyourefuse2494]

*Profit* was five years too early and on Fox. That's it. That's the only thing wrong with it. In that tiny handful of episodes they predicted EVERY single prestige TV trend of the 21st century to date.

[@BR-jw7pm]

10:31 hey man. If Tim Curry’s in it, it’s a 10/10 by default! That man has never given a bad performance!

[@TheReviewStudios]

I caught myself watching all the episodes I could find online...Really funny

[@BR-jw7pm]

@@TheReviewStudios have to try and find it now! Thanks for giving quality videos on obscure media!

[@romana34]

One of the truest statements ever spoken!

[@nicktaylor2657]

Was a guest star on Roseanne before He must of got it out of that

[@HyouVizer]

@@BR-jw7pm facts 💯

[@YourFunkLord]

This was a common trend with FOX at the time. So many shows will air a couple episodes and then be gone.

[@Mike-kw5xv]

It always comes back to that family guy sketch where they talk about being canceled and will only come back if all these shows get canceled.

[@kelleygreengrass]

I loved Andy Richter Controls the Universe even though I can't remember it now

[@tylertheguy3160]

EZ Streets sounds like it was The Wire before The Wire.

[@TheReviewStudios]

Very Similar

[@charleslangley2685]

No it doesn’t

[@littlekingtrashmouth9219]

With Ralph Cifaretto! Seriously, Homicide: Life on the Street is the wire before the wire

[@NiKiMa023]

Wasn’t The Corner, The Wire before The Wire?

[@alanbear6505]

Tony Danza’s character on Taxi wasn’t planned to be named Tony but the producer was worried Danza wasn’t bright enough to remember to respond to a different name.

[@TheReviewStudios]

A common problem he had throughout his career

[@djpegao]

Wild to see Carrell's character's mannerisms and accent on Over The Top being basically proto Gru.

[@maximusprime3459]

Profit could've become something. I remember my high school English teacher coming into class raving about it and comparing the lead character to Iago from Othello.

[@TheReviewStudios]

Way ahead of its time for sure if you think of the shows that came after this its crazy

[@jeps1973]

@@TheReviewStudios I always wondered if the show had gone to HBO instead what could have been.

[@baxterwilson368]

I love these trips down Memory Lane. I was a teen in the nineties and even though I’ve never heard of most of these shows, they still make me nostalgic.

[@LikaLaruku]

Me struggling to accept that anything with Tim Curry could fail.

[@tudorjason]

I remember watching Pacific Palisades. I gravitated to it for being a primetime soap from Spelling. I still remember one of the bigger storylines being the collapse of the local mall.

[@minirth.maggie]

😂 at the big storyline being the collapse of the local mall! That is perfect!!! I think I tried watching it and gave up.

[@charlesowens6400]

I was an extra on 2 episodes of Pacific Palisades. The first time as a ticket agent at the airport with Joan Collins and Kimberly Davies. The second time I was a high school student, even though I was 33. That was shot at an actual high school near Pepperdine University. The craft services were top notch on Aaron Spelling productions. And the catering for the meals was also excellent. I had also worked on one episode of Melrose Place. . It was shot on location at a park in Oxnard. I was happy to be working on a show that I was into at the time. One of my extra friends did a scene at the studio in Valencia. She got to see the apartment building set with the swimming pool. I would have loved to see that set and the apartment sets. Some of the sets I got to work in were very impressive. And if it is for a show that doesn't last, they usually get torn down when the show is cancelled.

[@1999dlatwt]

Pacific Palisades was a great show. I saw every episode, it had a bad time slot, and it didn't premiere till the spring of 1997. Fox pulled it and it came back in the summer of 97, with the remaining episodes. Given the chance this show could have became Melrose Place, the addition of Joan Collins was a great idea. The show also is rare because it actually had a series finale.

[@zoeysegu5038]

Profit was 2 years too early what a great show

[@TheReviewStudios]

it definitely was... 2 years later on HBO or something

[@thepayne7862]

Profit was great.

[@minirth.maggie]

Profit was AMAZING. OH MY GOD and it was followed by Kindred the Embraced, right? Adrian Kasdar naked in the box...

[@UnrealMisterD]

Man who the hell was in charge of scheduling at ABC?

[@TheReviewStudios]

I know Right

[@mikeh892]

Coke addicts.

[@nicktaylor2657]

My bad 😊

[@mcbaby]

Disney bought ABC in 1996, it didn't take long for them to start messing with it.

[@Genos2600]

Someone who did a lot of coke.

[@charlottecorday8494]

I didn't discover Profit until it came out on DVD and it just happened to become one of my favourite short lived shows EVER. Maybe even my all time one season wonder. This show was just ridiculously ahead of its time, if it had come out a couple of years ago it would have been bigger than Succession.

[@TheReviewStudios]

Yeah, it was definitely ahead of its time. One of the top one season shows of the 90s, for sure.

[@minirth.maggie]

Imagine back in the day, watching the pilot end with him naked in the cardboard box! I tell you, we were screaming "What did I just see!?" 😅

[@evandavis5223]

The decision to run brand new episodes on network tv opposite the World Series and US elections is downright comical.

[@TheTribalChiefCCFMDS]

Profit was way ahead of its time. If it aired on FX or HBO, it may have run for years along shows like The Shield or Sopranos.

[@TheReviewStudios]

Definitely

[@LARKXHIN]

Did that man say "I'll modem them to you" in Profit?

[@TheReviewStudios]

yes!! I had to put that in there

[@cg0825]

Yes--that show was on when I was in college when the internet was in its infancy (1996-ish) and we used to watch it. It was one that messed with your head. Psychological manipulation resulting from childhood trauma was really what it was about. The show was underrated in my opinion

[@DiarraHarris]

"This isn't half bad." But is it half good.

[@TheReviewStudios]

That's Hilarious, thank you I legit got a good laugh.

[@WrongedSports]

If Profit was on HBO it would have survived for much longer what a show that was too ahead of its time

[@TheReviewStudios]

Definitely

[@tonyvergon]

They need to bring back Pacific Palisades, it would be fire right now.

[@TheReviewStudios]

Trying hard not to laugh at this

[@spacemanspiralcatzero]

Adrian Pasdar is underrated in my opinion.

[@thatvikingtemper]

That's the actor's name! Thank you! He looks kinda hot in that show "Profit."

[@spacemanspiralcatzero]

@@thatvikingtemper haha he is a good looking dude. He was in the show Heroes some years back as well.

[@guybeleeve]

He’s been the voice of Tony stark since the early 00’s in animated films and games.

[@spacemanspiralcatzero]

@@guybeleeve hey I didn’t know that!

[@minirth.maggie]

NEAR DARK, baby!

[@RGF91]

There was a Dangrous Minds tv series on ABC but lasted 1 season as well

[@canaisyoung3601]

And it had Annie Potts as Michelle Pfeiffer's character from the movie. Hard to believe that that's the VA for the Little Bo Peep figurine in the Toy Story movies (well, just 1, 2, and 4).

[@NetflixForeign]

Profit was FANTASTIC and I hate that it never got another season because it definitely deserves it. When you see the end of the first episode it is so devastating. All of my family liked it and watched if I remember correctly, it is so underrated. I agree with the critics here, Melrose Place was fun trash. It is what it is, sadly it ruined 90210's original tone near the end. I stopped watched it largely after they copied Melrose Place's tone for it, it was such a waste. I think they decided to copy this tone to up the ratings because Melrose at the time was huge ratings for FOX.

[@minirth.maggie]

I first saw Parker Posey on As the World Turns! Was she a long lost daughter of Hal? I watched TV that season and had no idea she had a show, or Brian Bosworth, or Tim Curry! The only one i saw was Profit, which was so far ahead of its time!

[@TheReviewStudios]

Do you remember watching any of these?

[@keithtorgersen9664]

Rhea Perlman and Danny DeVito would reunite for the beloved kids' film "Matilda". Also, I did not know that they are married in real life.

[@Dragonmaster0118]

Sad thing is if many of these shows premiered today they'd be wildly popular.

[@meganw0408]

Joe Lara married mega church preacher, Gwen Shamblyn, who basically conned her 'flock' out of millions using prayer and God as a diet plan, mainly for her money and the large audience she already had. Shambyn (I might be spelling it wrong) basically lead a cult. There's a great Hulu documentary about her and a made of TV movie that goes hard if you want to see how hard Lara fell and get to know the mega church preacher. It's fascinating.

[@thebadgamer1967]

Profit was amazing definitely should've been on HBO

[@TheReviewStudios]

Right?! It probably would've had a long run on HBO

[@unum1979]

The description of EZ Street sounds like a nonfiction review of today's world.

[@Sheisthedevilyouknowwho-ft9we]

I taped EZ streets, and shared with coworkers. We all agreed it was so good. Didn't Pantoliano have a freezer with hands in it to plant fingerprints ? 😂

[@bright_eyed_tiger9842]

Omg I remeber watching Profit when it was new, I was 11 and pissed that it got cancelled 😂

[@DanPantzig]

Well jeez The Review, I thought I was a Tim Curry fan but here I am completely unaware of Over The Top! I vaguely remember the Tony Danza Show, they really did keep trying with him didn't they?

[@TheReviewStudios]

There are a few low quality episodes of over the top on youtube I highly suggest watching at least one full episode its still funny.

[@hatednyc]

Brilliant but Cancelled was, in and of itself, a brilliant idea. I LOVED it. Isn’t *Over the Top* another Fawlty Towers attempt?

[@TheReviewStudios]

It really was, They featured so many great shows that didn't get a fair shake for one reason or another.

[@chachachazki]

They showed EZ streets in my country, Finland, loved it!

[@orangecat5036]

Brooklyn Bridge, was a good TV show still holds up today.

[@vioisme]

I’m feeling old watching these.

[@britneyspearsvillarosa]

I remember Tarzan (1996)

[@TheReviewStudios]

Nice

[@adorablychaotic]

LOVING the Forgotten Flops momentum Thanks for another one, The Review!

[@TheReviewStudios]

Thanks for coming back for more

[@kilomillensimus9379]

I didn't watch any of these shows, but I did eventually see The Boz in that action movie you mentioned, Stone Cold. It's pretty heavy and very violent, with surprisingly strong performances. Would recommend!

[@one7decimal2eight]

Hilarious that the Ralph Ciffaretto character type failed in EZ Streets but is one of the most quotable characters from The Sopranos

[@ShinySephiroth1]

Didn't expect to see Carol Kane twice in this video!

[@TheReviewStudios]

Didn't expect anyone to catch that nugget

[@ShinySephiroth1]

@@TheReviewStudios Oh! That makes me pretty happy then! 😀 Makes me wonder what else you've sprinkled into your vids!

[@DerekScottBland]

What I remember most about EZ Streets is that CBS repurposed the American Gothic subforum to an EZ Streets one, but the AG fans refused to leave.

[@75aces97]

For a stretch of the 90s I either worked a lot of nights or didn’t own a TV, so I don’t remember any of these. Before that I didn’t watch much tv in high school either. Looks like I didn’t miss much. Tony Danza got stuck playing the same character for 20 years in several different productions. I always wondered how he could have done as an assistant DA in Law & Order or some role along those lines.

[@jeps1973]

My brother and I still talk about Profit. It comes up in convos randomly. If it had gone to HBO I wonder if it would have been a door buster like Twin Peaks was and they got away with a lot of stuff on that show for the time on network tv.

[@Shorty_Lickens]

I forgot how successful Baywatch was at the time. So successful it incentivized networks to greenlight a bunch of shitty knockoffs and fill the airwaves with garbage.

[@keithtorgersen9664]

Kind of ironic that when it aired Jason Momoa was relatively unknown but now he’s arguably the most famous.

[@lsimon343]

Bosworth just couldn’t get a break out of college. He bombed big time

[@ashextraordinaire]

The only one I remember is Over the Top, but 96-97 was also my senior year in high school, so I was BUSY that season.

[@Allerka]

I love Profit, have the DVD set, and it is still almost completely watchable today, aside from the odd/bad cyberspace bits.

[@TheReviewStudios]

Awesome

[@christopherdorvil2162]

Tony Danza ends up on these lists a lot.😂😂😂

[@TheGuyInTheCheapSeats]

Tim Curry and Malcolm McDowell were both wasted in separate sitcoms in the same year. Shame they didn't find another British actor, and it would be a trifecta. Profit really was ahead of its time. Antiheroes are a dime a dozen nowadays, but back then, it took nerve, and the show suffered for it. And it's amazing how prophetic Bryant Gumbel turned out.

[@TheReviewStudios]

I agree with all of that thanks for sharing

[@christinesinclair6938]

I recognized that opening sequence for Life's Work. We must have watched Roseanne and just let the TV on to watch Home Improvement.

[@RaoulDuke77]

"I'll modem them to you" I've never heard it said like that before

[@thatvikingtemper]

😂😂😂

[@alienmoosestudios]

Hi new subscriber here 😁 Thanks for sharing this entertaining video 😀

[@TheReviewStudios]

Welcome!! Thanks for watching and for commenting too!

[@rocketbilly]

I'm about to have surgery and I've been saving every single new video sans this one to watch during my recovery and I can't wait. I've gotten a ton of shows to go through thanks to this channel during that recovery, too, and its gonna be a long one! The 90s seriously had some unique ideas being kicked around, and the state of things tv-wise today honestly has me missing the days when studios took really stupid/dumb chances thanks to the booger sugar.

[@TheReviewStudios]

We're glad to have you with us. Best of luck with the surgery and quick recovery.

[@peterpietrzak1253]

Wishbone on pbs was another one one of those shows that failed also

[@lainet.4466]

I loved Pearl. I remember looking forward to each episode every week. I was so bummed when it got cancelled. I also remember Party Girl. I did see the movie before I saw the show. So, my perspective on it was definitely affected. And really the only thing I remember from Profit was the sexy Adrian Pasdar getting naked at the end of each episode. I guess that was part of the pushing of boundaries. Love these vids of cancelled shows. Keep 'em comin'.

[@TheReviewStudios]

Thanks for watching and for commenting too!

[@SteelBoy]

Did they just repurpose the radio set from Fraiser, for the Tony Danza show? It really looks an awful lot like it to me.

[@TheReviewStudios]

It does

[@leesherman5192]

Yeah it looks like he leaped into Frasier's body. Good thing Al's there to help him through this.

[@TheUluxian]

"Over The Top" AKA American Fawlty Towers before John Laroquette did American Fawlty Towers

[@eriklarsen9942]

I remember EZ Streets, I was a fan of Ken Olin from Thirtysomething, so i tuned in. I also, vaguely remember watching an episode or two of Profit. It was pretty quirky, but well done. The rest I don't have any recollection of... it was heyday of the Big 3 (really 4, although Fox was still an upstart) networks, and NBC was king at the time, so unless it was on NBC, I probably didn't go looking for it.

[@nata3467]

as a child I wanted to live with gorillas- would have loved the Tarzan show

[@mossena]

Pacific Palisades stays in my memory thanks to the gorgeous Kimberly Davies!

[@TheReviewStudios]

Yes!

[@cflisthebest]

ok that Kitchen that McDowell and Pearlman and Devito are in.. is the SAME kitchen set used for Mad About You!

[@TheReviewStudios]

You are the only viewer to point out this nugget.

[@Greystonedelta]

It's crazy I don't remember any of this.

[@TheReviewStudios]

We go out of our way to try to cover things most channels would skip over 😂. So you're probably not alone in that. It takes more effort and creativity to pull some of these off due to poor quality VHS recordings and lack of production info. Often you could watch 10 other channels that do lists and see the same 10 covered by copying and pasting in whatever Wikipedia says as a "script". We like to try to present a more realistic look back at what was on tv at the time. Thanks for watching and for commenting too!

[@knittingnana2939]

"I'll MODEM them to you". What does that mean? Thats the most bizarre thing ive ever heard.

[@RobertGreenwald]

Out of those I only ever watched Pearl and that was due to my love of Malcolm McDowell.

[@ivanburden4658]

This might be the first video where I recognized none of the shows.

[@TheReviewStudios]

wow really? A few of them are worth checking out

[@mikegames3464]

So, the girl from Baywatch turned down part for a evening soap opera kind of show because it was too racy. But turn around and goes topless in the movie under siege?

[@TheReviewStudios]

Right! And that movie came out in 1992. So that was a really suspicious excuse. 😂

[@TheReviewStudios]

Before someone else calls us out .. I should at least mention that it did sound more like she wasn't interested in the aggressive encounter that was originally scripted. Thanks for watching and for commenting too!

[@freespeechchampsusanwojcic2528]

Although short lived, you can see the influence of Profit in many of the hit shows of the "Golden Era of TV" like Mad Men and Dexter.

[@TheReviewStudios]

Yeah, it really deserved so much more. The show didn't fail because it was bad. The network dropped the ball on this one.

[@paulalaurita3358]

Profit was a great show. Shakespearean level scheming.

[@ZeeNastee]

I loved Life's Work, I used to record episodes.

[@kingrama2727]

I love these reviews because after graduating in 1996 I went to live in Japan and many of these i have never heard of…

[@SkyeID]

I graduated college in '96, I've always lived in the U.S., but I still never heard of these shows.

[@kingrama2727]

@@SkyeID lol..

[@NEEDCheese]

Kevin Corrigan was great in Buffalo 66.. and Superbad

[@chrisuncleahmad789]

Eddie from Grounded for Life

[@willlastnameguy8329]

Profit was my favorite show while it was on. I was literally angry when it was canceled 😂 I had no idea that other people liked it and remember it. A reboot doesn't seem necessary. They should have told the whole story when they had the chance. As a side note, there was a series with D.B. Sweeny around the same time called Strange Luck, which was also canceled. That was kind of a bad time for new shows. It seemed like everything got canceled. I think "Kindred the embraced" was around that same time. Communication complete.

[@leesherman5192]

I was into "Strange Luck." The N.D.E. episode is the reason I still obsessively check to make sure the wrong pills didn't get put in my bottle.

[@tejaswoman]

Saw the title and figured no way would there be fewer than one I'd seen, probably multiple. Nope! Always been somebody who watches way more TV then I should, but while I at least had heard of two of these, never saw so much as a commercial for any of them, let alone an episode.

[@srayj]

It’s always interesting to try to understand why shows fail. Were they bad, were they on the wrong network, was it casting, were they ahead of their time…? I will say, some of my favorite “failed” TV shows of the 2000s are Kings (2009) with Sebastian Stan, The Gates (2010) with Frank Grillo, The Class (2006) with Jesse Tyler Ferguson, The Book of Daniel (2006) with Aidan Quinn, and Partners (2012) with Brandon Routh. I was in my 20’s when these shows came out and they appealed to me, but probably not the older demographics who were still the target audience for network television.

[@TheReviewStudios]

@srayj Yeah, it could simply come down to a network president, not liking someone. Thanks for sharing

[@thatvikingtemper]

From what I understand about "Stone Cold," Lance Henriksen and William Forsythe saved the whole movie. It's a cult classic now.

[@minirth.maggie]

My favorite 90s bad action movie. YOU GOTTA SEE IT. It is... everything you could ever ask for. Rogue undercover cop! Gigantic leather jackets! Egregious explosions! Hilarious violence! Minor characters played by people who were either on ALL the meth or decided this was their chance, at an ACTOR, to go big and show their range! I swear to you, this movie is AMAZING. Lance had to rewrite all of his dialogue because the script was even worse and it was just incoherent biblical references. ❤❤❤

[@IamSumfoo]

The “Boz’s” football career may have officially ended when he was injured but he was actually ended long before when Bo Jackson turned him into roadkill

[@KadeemG61]

@@IamSumfoo The Boz remains one of the biggest draft busts in NFL history.

[@nicktaylor2657]

Tony Danza playing a father with a teenage daughter Gee that sounds familiar Maybe because he in a movie a few years later called She's Out of Control 😏

[@TheReviewStudios]

He basically always plays a version of himself with a new job

[@divamh10]

Wheres models inc

[@rcisneros8567]

Is it me or is the studio from the Tony Danza show the exact one from Frasier?

[@AmandaAtkinson-sf4jo]

Ugggh I LOVED Pearl!!

[@CatyBee]

Instead of remaking big name shows, they should be digging through all of these for good ideas that could be booted into something good for the modern audience.

[@gorillacookies3171]

Ralphie Cifaretto had a show before the Sopranos

[@devonvergiels5185]

Really bummed I didn't know about the show with Tim Curry! I love that guy!

[@jeniphirtaylor-mcintire81]

John Cameron Mitchell as the gay friend on Party Girl! (not to mention Swoosie Kurtz and Merrin Dungey. . .that's a stacked cast, except for Christine Taylor).

[@Eddie-hn5hp]

Andrew Dice Clay in a tv show called HITZ. this show was SO BAD THAT CHANNEL 9 TAPED OVER THE ORIGINAL TAPES OF THE SHOW. ABSOLUTELY HORRIBLE

[@TheReviewStudios]

There's a little of it floating around on KZbin but you've gotta get creative when entering search terms to find most of it. Wanted to highlight that show and another one, Bless this House. Hoping to work those into a video but there's not much to go on so far, and it's all pretty rough quality. Thanks for bringing that up!

[@YakBat]

13:27 Tarzan The Epic Adventures- I was so pissed originally when I found out it wasn't a continuation of the earlier Tarzan with Wolf Larson but was warming up to it by the end. 29:17 Profit Actually originally caught this after it's original run when I was in Nicaragua while on vacation, and was of course let down when I found out it wasn't renewed. 26:50 This one always skips my mind. I always go to his talk show when I think of The Tony Danza Show Great video!

[@TheReviewStudios]

Thank you, cool story about Nicaragua yeah it was difficult to research "The Tony Danza Show" for that same reason. The talk show was much more well known.

[@adam-michaeljames8328]

I was actually an extra on "Over the Top". All I remember is that it was a party scene; I don't think the episode actually aired.

[@TheReviewStudios]

That's awesome! Thanks for sharing with us!

[@mamacindyrogofsky495]

I thought John Goodman wasn't getting along with Roseanne and that was y he was curiously absent in the ninth season.

[@gdmiller26]

I remember Profit.

[@bright_eyed_tiger9842]

If they remade Profit as a movie, I could picture Jon Hamm in that role, his Don Draper attitude would do it 😂

[@keithtorgersen9664]

One of the main actors in EZ streets ironically or unironically did get cast in The Sopranos in the last season, I can't remember the actor's name, it is Joe something.

[@ReginaldTate-le6fe]

I myself just simply LOVE the 1991 movie, Stone Cold okay people.

[@minirth.maggie]

I will defend this movie until my death as the perfect iconic bad 90s action flick. It is a GEM.

[@joelellis7035]

Yeah, I hated EZ streets because it took the time slot of another show that I liked. I could tell from the previews that it was a "late night drama" in the vein of NYPD Blue, and I didn't care for that show either. If you want to see Brian Bosworth on television, watch some of the recent Dr. Pepper commercials. Pacific Palisades replaced "The Lone Gunmen", another programming decision I hated.

[@saturdaisy8576]

I actually remember most of these. I was usually willing to record something that sounded interesting to give it a try. The only one I don’t remember was Party Girl. I wanted to like the Tim Curry one, but it wasn’t good. Profit was the best of the bunch

[@NinjaCthulhu]

Profit was a great show, but released on the wrong network (showtime or HBO would suit it better).

[@pendorran]

'Profit' was ahead of its time and wasted on network TV. It could have been 'Dexter' before 'Dexter'.