5 Horrible Ideas For TV Shows (That Actually Aired)

Sometimes you look at a show and wonder how someone thought that would be a good idea for a TV show. I understand not all shows are going to be Game of Thrones, but honestly who thought a show about the GEICO Cavemen was a good idea? Well there are shows that are significantly worse than that, in fact this list will make Cavemen look like it deserved an Emmy.

#5 Manimal

Manimal is part Batman part Beast Boy and all parts awful. The show revolves around Dr. Jonathan Chase, a wealthy businessman with a dark past and a hidden secret. What separates Dr. Chase from the countless other TV protagonists with a dark secret is that his secret sucks. As the opening narration puts it, when Dr. Chase was in Tibet he became "master of the secrets that divide man from animal, animal from man... Manimal!"

That's it, no magic ring gave him these powers, he's not an alien, he's just some guy who learned how to become any animal he wants. And somehow he uses that ability to help the police solve crime. In every episode he turns into a hawk and a panther, but sometimes he would turn into other boring animals like a horse or a dolphin. While this show's concept is bad, what puts it over the edge is the opening theme.

This has to be one of the longest introduction sequences ever made. After a minute of weird animal shots they finally launch into the narration of what this horrible show is about. Shockingly it was cancelled after 8 episodes.

#4 Cop Rock

What do you get when you mix a gritty police drama and a musical? I bet you didn't say a hit TV show. Cop Rock has been a punchline for over 20 years and is routinely featured on almost every "Worst TV Shows" list. One of the many things that made Cop Rock flop was the mixes in tone. The first scene was an intense arrest sequence that ended up with the criminals singing a rap about how inept the justice system is.

It just gets weirder as the show goes on, with judges singing about guilty criminals and a heroin addict singing to her baby on the beach, and that's just in the first episode. Cop Rock somehow aired 11 episodes before it was mercifully cancelled.

#3 The Secret Diary of Desmond Pfeiffer

Oh boy, this is when you start to wonder who sits on these pitch meetings. The Secret Diary of Desmond Pfeiffer is about black English nobleman named Desmond Pfeiffer, who is chased out of England due to gambling debts and becomes President Abraham Lincoln's valet during the civil war. If you're thinking that it has potential to be an exciting drama, I forgot to mention one thing, it's a comedy. Because what's funnier than slavery? Not so surprisingly a lot of people had a problem with the show. There was a protest outside Paramount Studios, so UPN decided they wouldn't air the controversial pilot. Instead they aired an episode where Lincoln was having telegraph sex with a woman he never met. That's right, that was the episode they aired instead of the controversial one. After airing 4 episodes full of sexual innuendoes and dumb jokes it was finally cancelled.

If for some reason you want to check it out, 3 out of the 4 episodes are available on YouTube.

#2 My Mother the Car

If the title of this show didn't give it away, this is a show about someone whose mother is reincarnated into a car. The show stars David Crabtree who purchases a 1928 Porter Stanhope touring car to be the second car for his family. Crabtree bought the car because he heard it calling him, and it turns out that the car is a reincarnation of his dead mother. The running theme of the show is that the collector Captain Manzini is trying to get the valuable car from David, so David has to stop Manzini from stealing his car/mom. It's very strange watching David worry about crashing his mom or someone stripping his mom's parts. This show magically made it to 30 episodes but it's still considered one of the worst shows of all time.

#1 Heil Honey I'm Home

I have no idea how someone thought this was a good idea. Heil Honey I'm Home is a comedy about Adolf Hitler and Eva Braun, who live next door to a Jewish couple, Arny and Rosa Goldenstein. Yes you read that right, someone thought a comedy about Hitler living next to a Jewish couple was a good idea. The first episode was about British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain coming to the Hitler house. Hitler wants to keep the Goldensteins away from Neville Chamberlain but they won't leave, so Hitler gets the Goldensteins drunk in an attempt to make them leave, but it fails. They end up dancing in a conga line with Neville Chamberlain while Hitler hides the "peace for our time" agreement in the icebox.

They made 11 episodes but after airing just 1 it was cancelled. It turns out a lot of people don't think Hitler is a very funny character.