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(#13) Odd Man Out
- Markie Post, Jessica Capshaw, Brandon Routh, Natalia Cigliuti, Austin Nichols, Erik von Detten, Vicki Davis
What Was The Setup?: Erik Von Detten played the teenaged Andrew, the only male member of his large family. The episodes focused on his relationship with his mom and sisters, and his lack of privacy in the otherwise all-female household.
How Long Did It Last?: One season, 13 episodes
Why Did It Fail?: By the time Odd Man Out debuted in 1999, ABC's TGIF programming block was in serious ratings trouble. In fact, ABC would scrap the TGIF concept the following year. So, despite it being heavily marketed, the chances of Odd Man Out succeeding were slim even before a single episode had aired.
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(#2) Two of a Kind
- Ashley Olsen, Mary-Kate Olsen, Christopher Sieber, Orlando Brown, Sally Wheeler, Ernie Grunwald, David Valcin
What Was The Setup?: Two of a Kind was an attempt to capitalize on the mega-popularity of Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, the twins who became stars on Full House. The last show produced by TGIF denizens Miller-Boyett Productions, it focused on a widowed college professor trying to raise his 12-year-old identical twin daughters with opposing personalities with the help of a quirky babysitter who the twins thought could be the perfect girlfriend for their dad.
How Long Did It Last?: One season, 22 episodes. However, it had a long life in syndication, both in the United States and overseas. It also spawned a popular preteen book series, with around 40 individual books being written.
Why Did It Fail?: While the series premiere had very good ratings, the numbers dropped off quickly. Evidently, the preteen Olsen twins were not as appealing to a television audience as they had been when they were babies. The show's failure barely put a dent in the Olsens' burgeoning media empire, as they embarked on a series of direct-to-video films in the late '90s and early 2000s.
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(#16) Family Man
- Alison Sweeney, Mimi Kennedy, Richard Libertini, Whit Hertford
What Was The Setup?: A comedy writer with a much younger wife tries to navigate the ups and downs of married life and fatherhood; his wife has two children from a previous marriage, while the couple also has a daughter together. It was based on the life of executive producer Earl Pomerantz (the original producer of The Cosby Show).
How Long Did It Last?: One season, seven episodes
Why Did It Fail?: Originally developed for NBC and meant to be more of a dramedy than a pure sitcom, it was picked up by FOX after NBC turned it down, then moved to ABC when FOX decided it didn't fit into its lineup. Because it was a last-minute decision by ABC to try it out as a mid-season replacement, the show received meager promotion. Low ratings resulted in ABC's decision not to renew the show after its initial run.
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(#3) Muppets Tonight
- Dave Goelz, Kevin Clash, Brian Henson
What Was The Setup?: The idea behind Muppets Tonight was to make an updated version of The Muppet Show, which had been a hit in the 1970s. Kermit and his friends are offered a spot on ABC's TGIF lineup if they can quickly come up with a variety show. But while The Muppet Show is set in a theater, Muppets Tonight takes place at a television studio.
How Long Did It Last?: One season, 10 episodes (it moved to the Disney Channel for a second season)
Why Did It Fail?: Instead of focusing on established characters like Kermit, Fozzie Bear, and Miss Piggy, Muppets Tonight introduced a bunch of new ones like Clifford, who filled Kermit's role as host for the variety show, and Pepe the King Prawn. But these new Muppets didn't have the same appeal for viewers, as shown by the low ratings. Some of the show's problems may also have been tied to the fact the Muppet franchise had not yet recovered from the loss of Jim Henson (who passed in 1990).
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(#9) Hi Honey, I'm Home!
- Charlotte Booker, Stephen C. Bradbury, Peter Benson
What Was The Setup?: When their 1950s sitcom goes off the air, a TV family named the Nielsens (get it?) is transported to 1991 as part of the Sitcom Relocation Program (SRP), where they struggle to adapt to modern life and try to prove they deserve to be back on 1950s television. The teenager who lives next door, a fan of old television shows, is the only one who knows their secret. Hi Honey, I'm Home had a gimmick where nearly every episode featured a guest appearance from a classic sitcom star.
How Long Did It Last?: One season, six episodes (a second season, consisting of seven episodes, aired only on Nick at Nite)
Why Did It Fail?: This show aired in the summer rather than as part of the regular September-May schedule. Nick at Nite would re-air the episodes on Sundays, making Hi Honey, I'm Home the first prime-time series to have original episodes be shown concurrently on both network and cable television.
Ratings dropped swiftly after the premiere episode ranked in the Top 20 shows, and although some reviews were positive, ABC dropped it after airing six episodes. It did, however, get a second season on Nick at Nite.
Making matters worse, Hi Honey, I'm Home ended up bringing ABC legal trouble. Two scriptwriters, Tom Robinson and Phil Herter, sued both ABC and MTV Networks, claiming the networks had taken their idea. They alleged that in 1988 they had sent Nickelodeon a script for a sitcom about a middle-class family haunted by the cast of a canceled 1950s show.
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(#7) Aliens in the Family
- Chris Marquette, Joey Mazzarino, Michael Gilden, John Bedford Lloyd, Michelan Sisti
What Was The Setup?: A single dad is abducted by an alien single mom. They fall in love, get married, and try to live a "normal" life on Earth. The youngest member of this mixed-species family seems to be a predecessor to Family Guy's Stewie: a baby who possesses genius-level intelligence and constantly comes up with ways to dispatch his family.
How Long Did It Last?: One season, eight episodes (only two of which aired in the TGIF program block)
Why Did It Fail?: An attempt to re-create success ABC had had with Dinosaurs (which was about a family of dinosaurs living in 60,000,000 BC, and used animatronic puppets to portray the creatures), the show featured alien puppets created by the Jim Henson Creature Shop. But it was a massive failure - ABC put the show on hiatus after just two episodes; when it returned, the remaining episodes aired on Saturday mornings.
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About This Tool
TGIF was a programming module of ABC in the 1990s. From 1989 to 2000, ABC aired TGIF sitcoms on Friday night that make the whole family laugh. The TV show features the most popular sitcoms in the 90s, as well as some TGIF short series that have never been truly famous.
Generations of people have grown up listening to the life experience and vulgar jokes in TGIF performances, but many of the popular sitcoms in the 1990s have long been forgotten. Full House is usually the first show people think of when they think of TGIF. The random tool lists 17 great TGIF sitcoms that have never be a smash hit.
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