TV Series with a basic premise that you cannot believe lasted more than a season (show, actress)

[droc31]

Gilligan's Island. My father was addicted to reruns of this show and we used to watch it at 8:05 every weekday morning on WTBS during that network's early days as a superstation.

[droc31]

Originally Posted by Iconographer

In the 60's and early 70's, any idiotic plot line was fair game.

Green Acres
My Mother The Car
I Dream of Jeannie
Gilligan's Island*
My Favorite Martian
The Beverly Hillbillies

And what was with all the dead parents?

Bachelor Father
The Courtship of Eddie's Father
The Brady Bunch
Family Affair
The Andy Griffith Show
Nanny and the Professor

*NO ONE expected Gilligan's Island to succeed, including the producers. Natalie Schaffer took the role of Lovey Howell because she would get a free trip to Hawaii out of it; she was actually pissed when CBS picked up the series, as she was looking forward to retirement.
Also, Dawn Wells was the only cast member to get rich off the show. Her agent/husband negotiated syndication royalties into her contract; no one else thought the series had a chance of being picked up, so they didn't bother. The producers didn't balk at the demand, as they thought that they had nothing to lose by granting it. Go, Mary Ann...she earned millions off that one little concession.

In spite of its original 3 season run on CBS, Gilligan's Island actually lived on much longer due to Ted Turner picking it up in syndication when he first launched WTBS 17 as a Superstation in the early 80s. Same with Bewitched, The Brady Bunch, and many other shows from that late 60s/early 70s era.

[2nd trick op]

Originally Posted by MyTarge13

Hey, no dissing Mr. Ed. That was high quality tv for its time!..... Note, I was only 4 or 5 when I was watching it. At the time, shows like Mr. Ed, My Favorite Martian and the Beverly Hillbillies seemed like Emmy Award level entertainment

Mr. Ed had a predecessor, of sorts:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_the_Talking_Mule

[ansky]

Survivor

[JPD]

Lost.

Great first season, but at every possible turn, they came up with the wrong storyline.

[bachslunch]

Originally Posted by droc31

In spite of its original 3 season run on CBS, Gilligan's Island actually lived on much longer due to Ted Turner picking it up in syndication when he first launched WTBS 17 as a Superstation in the early 80s. Same with Bewitched, The Brady Bunch, and many other shows from that late 60s/early 70s era.

Supposedly the only reason Gilligan's Island was cancelled was to keep "Gunsmoke" on the air, the latter being a favorite of CBS President William S. Paley's wife. From Wikipedia FWIW:

"During the 1966–1967 television season, Gilligan's Island aired on Monday nights at 7:30 p.m. Though the sitcom's ratings had fallen well out of the top-30 programs, during the last few weeks of its third season, the series was more than holding its own against its chief competitor, The Monkees, which aired at the same time on NBC-TV. Therefore, CBS assured Sherwood Schwartz that Gilligan's Island would definitely be picked up for a fourth year."

"CBS, however, had signaled its intention to cancel the long-running Western series Gunsmoke, which had been airing late on Saturday nights during the 1966–1967 television season. Under pressure from CBS network president William S. Paley and his wife Babe, along with many network affiliates and longtime fans of Gunsmoke, CBS rescheduled the Western to an earlier time slot on Monday evenings at 7:30 p.m. As a result, Gilligan's Island was quietly cancelled at practically the last minute, while the cast members were all on vacation. Some of the cast had bought houses near the set, based on Sherwood Schwartz's verbal confirmation that the series would be renewed for a fourth season."

[Iconographer]

Originally Posted by bachslunch

Supposedly the only reason Gilligan's Island was cancelled was to keep "Gunsmoke" on the air, the latter being a favorite of CBS President William S. Paley's wife. From Wikipedia FWIW:

"During the 1966–1967 television season, Gilligan's Island aired on Monday nights at 7:30 p.m. Though the sitcom's ratings had fallen well out of the top-30 programs, during the last few weeks of its third season, the series was more than holding its own against its chief competitor, The Monkees, which aired at the same time on NBC-TV. Therefore, CBS assured Sherwood Schwartz that Gilligan's Island would definitely be picked up for a fourth year."

"CBS, however, had signaled its intention to cancel the long-running Western series Gunsmoke, which had been airing late on Saturday nights during the 1966–1967 television season. Under pressure from CBS network president William S. Paley and his wife Babe, along with many network affiliates and longtime fans of Gunsmoke, CBS rescheduled the Western to an earlier time slot on Monday evenings at 7:30 p.m. As a result, Gilligan's Island was quietly cancelled at practically the last minute, while the cast members were all on vacation. Some of the cast had bought houses near the set, based on Sherwood Schwartz's verbal confirmation that the series would be renewed for a fourth season."

The franchise lived on, however.

Three TV movie sequels were made—the first independently, the other two by MCA/Universal Television.

In a 1978 made-for-television movie, Rescue from Gilligan's Island, the castaways do successfully leave the island, but have difficulty reintegrating into society. During a reunion cruise on the first Christmas after their rescue, fate intervenes and they find themselves wrecked on the same island at the end of the film. It starred the original cast, except for Tina Louise, who refused to participate because of her disputes with the producers and was replaced by Judith Baldwin. The plot involved Soviet agents seeking a memory disc from a spy satellite that landed on the island and facilitated their rescue.

In a 1979 sequel, The Castaways on Gilligan's Island, they are rescued once again, and the Howells convert the island into a getaway resort with the other five castaways as "silent partners". Ginger was again played by Judith Baldwin.

In a second sequel, The Harlem Globetrotters on Gilligan's Island (1981), villains played by Martin Landau and then-wife Barbara Bain try to take over the island to gain access to a vein of "supremium", a valuable but volatile element. This time, Ginger was played by Constance Forslund. They are thwarted by the timely intervention of the Harlem Globetrotters. Jim Backus, who was in poor health at the time, was written out of the script by saying Thurston Howell III was tending to Howell Industries back on the mainland. David Ruprecht played the role of his son, Thurston Howell IV, who was asked to manage the resort. However, Backus insisted on keeping continuity, and made a cameo appearance at the end of the film.
The New Adventures of Gilligan was a Filmation-produced animated remake that aired on ABC on Saturday mornings from September 7, 1974, to September 4, 1977, for 24 episodes (16 installments airing in 1974–75 and eight new ones combined with repeats in 1975–76). The voices were provided by the original cast except for Ginger and Mary Ann (both were voiced by Jane Webb). Dawn Wells could not participate because she was in an on-the-road play.[citation needed] An additional character was Gilligan's pet, Snubby the Monkey.

Gilligan's Planet was an animated science-fiction version produced by Filmation and starring the voices of the Gilligan's Island cast, save for Tina Louise (Dawn Wells voiced both Mary Ann and Ginger). In a follow-up to The New Adventures of Gilligan, the castaways escape from the island by building a spaceship, and get shipwrecked on a distant planet. Only 12 episodes aired on CBS between September 18, 1982, and September 3, 1983. In the episode "Let Sleeping Minnows Lie", they travel to an island, get shipwrecked there, and Gilligan observes, "First we were stranded on an island, then we were stranded on a planet, and now we're stranded on an island on a planet."

As a result of the latter series, two alternate timelines were established—one where the former animated series is followed by all three TV movie sequels (Timeline 1), while the latter picks up where the independently-produced first TV movie sequel leaves off, rendering the other two Universal Television-produced follow-up TV movie sequels non-canon (Timeline 2). The Warner Archive Collection podcast has confirmed that Timeline 2 is the true storyline for the franchise.The New Adventures of Gilligan was a Filmation-produced animated remake that aired on ABC on Saturday mornings from September 7, 1974, to September 4, 1977, for 24 episodes (16 installments airing in 1974–75 and eight new ones combined with repeats in 1975–76). The voices were provided by the original cast except for Ginger and Mary Ann (both were voiced by Jane Webb). Dawn Wells could not participate because she was in an on-the-road play.[citation needed] An additional character was Gilligan's pet, Snubby the Monkey.
Gilligan's Planet was an animated science-fiction version produced by Filmation and starring the voices of the Gilligan's Island cast, save for Tina Louise (Dawn Wells voiced both Mary Ann and Ginger). In a follow-up to The New Adventures of Gilligan, the castaways escape from the island by building a spaceship, and get shipwrecked on a distant planet. Only 12 episodes aired on CBS between September 18, 1982, and September 3, 1983. In the episode "Let Sleeping Minnows Lie", they travel to an island, get shipwrecked there, and Gilligan observes, "First we were stranded on an island, then we were stranded on a planet, and now we're stranded on an island on a planet."

As a result of the latter series, two alternate timelines were established—one where the former animated series is followed by all three TV movie sequels (Timeline 1), while the latter picks up where the independently-produced first TV movie sequel leaves off, rendering the other two Universal Television-produced follow-up TV movie sequels non-canon (Timeline 2). The Warner Archive Collection podcast has confirmed that Timeline 2 is the true storyline for the franchise.[/i]

[tottsieanna]

The Conners

[2x3x29x41]

The premise of a series is just a hook. If the writing is there, if the production is appropriate, and if it is funny (sitcoms) or compellingly dramatic (dramas), then people will watch regardless of the premise.

Originally Posted by Quietude

Although the only really stupid/unbelievable point was the first one it all turned on - that a tenured public school teacher somehow didn't have health insurance.

Aside from the fact that most insurance plans don't cover everything - and a fraction of the bill for a drawn-out cancer experience can still be an enormous amount - the primary financial issue for Walter White was the matter of leaving his wife and special-needs teen son and soon-to-be-born daughter with nothing but whatever life insurance he happened to have (maybe 100k or so through his employer, if he'd exercised the option). The Whites didn't have much money; remember that Walt worked a second job that he hated (at a car wash) to make ends meet. Walter's initial motive for getting into the game was to provide for his family after he was gone.

[ironpony]

I was going to say Breaking Bad as well, and thought how are they going to do a whole series with that idea.