Wednesday, March 08, 2017

GOOD shows

I love that there are so many scripted shows on television these days. More work for writers. But there are downsides. One is that all of these shows require titles and eventually they start overlapping. It’s not enough that no one can keep straight which platform these shows are on and what their timeslots are (if they indeed even have timeslots), now we can’t even identify them.

One case in point is the number of shows that begin with GOOD.

THE GOOD PLACE
GOOD BEHAVIOR

And now that THE GOOD WIFE is over, its spinoff has arrived.

THE GOOD FIGHT

An ABC pilot being produced is called…

THE GOOD DOCTOR

And God forbid you check the listings and the following recent movies and series are scheduled…

GOOD PEOPLE
GOOD INTENTIONS
GOOD GUYS
GOOD GIRLS REVOLT
GOOD LUCK CHARLIE
GOOD LUCK CHUCK
GOOD TIMES
THE GOOD WITCH

What can I say except good grief (Charlie Brown)?

I worry that any future spin offs will begin with BETTER and three years from now I’m writing this same post.

On an unrelated note:  late tonight my new podcast episode arrives.  Among the topics:  the making of FRIENDS.   Lots of tidbits you probably didn't know. 

29 comments :

MikeN said...

Coming soon, Whatever Happened to Good Baby Jane, starring Jennifer Aniston and Angelina Jolie.

Wendy M. Grossman said...

Well, the good news is that GOOD GIRLS REVOLT has been cancelled after one season, so that's one less to worry your good self about, goodwise.

wg

Bill Avena said...

There was also the GOOD NEIGHBORS sitcom which aired on PBS in the 70s, with the adorable Felcity Kendall. Strike me dead with lightning if they ever "reboot" that gem!

Barry Traylor said...

Hey Ken, I'm glad that I ain't the only one confused. That's a GOOD thing.

Curt Alliaume said...

Good night, everybody!

Jake said...

We've also had:

THE GOOD FATHER
THE GOOD MOTHER
THE GOOD SON

Richard Pryor said...

GOOD COLUMN

Bill said...

GOOD Post Ken!

Waiting for the podcast on Friends.

Here are some titles:

GOOD Accountant.

GOOD Jew.

GOOD Speech.

GOOD Snafu.

GOOD Host.

Rockgolf said...

But they all get trumped by THE GREAT OUTDOORS, which in turn gets bowered by THE GREATEST AMERICAN HERO.

Or any of these 25 "GREAT" films:
https://www.sporcle.com/games/rockgolf/well-thats-just-great

Covarr said...

HANNAH MONTANA had a unique enough title, but its theme song "Best of Both Worlds" certainly seems to beat all these merely good shows.

Stoney said...

Vince Gilligan is already one-up on the "Better" titles. (I know, different usage but s'all good man!)

Bill Avena, I remember seeing "Good Neighbors" but I'll go ya one better on Brit shows: high time for a reboot of "The Goodies". All we need is a gibbon.

Hey, what was that show where Carl Reiner played an angel?

Wendy M. Grossman said...

Bill Avena: actually, that series' title was THE GOOD LIFE, and the lead characters' names were Tom and Barbara Good (Felicity Kendal and Richard Briers). GOOD NEIGHBORS was what they called it for the US market, for reasons I never understood.

wg

Mike Schryver said...

"GOOD NEIGHBORS was what they called it for the US market, for reasons I never understood."

There had been a Larry Hagman sitcom a few years before called THE GOOD LIFE, and I believe that's why it was renamed for the U.S.

Mark said...

Just change GOOD to BAD and you get to do them all over. Maybe with the same scripts.

YEKIMI said...

Let's go the opposite route of GOOD--at least for movies. Couldn't Find any TV shows with "BAD" in the title...maybe they didn't want to give critics any ammunition. There may be some overseas shows that have "BAD" in the title.

BAD Boys [1983]
BAD Boys [1995]
BAD Girls
BAD Day At Black Rock [not to be confused with the porno "BAD Day On Black Cock"]
BAD Day On The Block
BAD Day
BAD Boy Bubby
BAD Santa
BADlands of Montana
BAD Teacher
BAD Education
BAD Lieutenant
Too BAD She's Bad
The BAD News Bears [1976/2005]
BADlands
BAD Taste
BAD Eggs
Bad Influence
Bad Grandpa
BAD Seed
BAD Words
BAD Company
SuperBAD
Tribute To A BAD man
Too BAD She's BAD

And then there are ones that have both in the title:

The GOOD, The BAD & The Ugly
GOOD Boy, BAD Boy

Brian said...

@ Yekimi

"BAD Day On Black Cock" Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha........... ROFL

You had me fooled, I searched on Google and there is no such movie. But good one... Ha Ha Ha...

Anonymous said...

Plus THE GOODE FAMILY

Mark P. said...

I keep mixing up ARROW and ARCHER, two very different shows.

Have you noticed how many CBS shows' names have the initials BB? That can't be an accident.

Earl Boebert said...

And to fill out the triplet (edited for significance):

Ugly (2013)

The Ugly (1997)

Ugly Betty (2006) (TV Series)

Ugly Love (2018)

Ugly Americans (2010) (TV Series)

Coyote Ugly (2000)

The Ugly Truth (2009)

The Ugly Dachshund (1966)

Pretty Ugly People (2008)

The Ugly American (1963)

Ugly Melanie (2008)

Ugly Me (2006)

To Hell with the Ugly (2010)

Hard & Ugly (2017)

You're Ugly Too (2015)

The Ugly Duckling (2013) (Short)

Ugly World (1974)

Ugly Benny (2014)

Ugly Chic (2012) (Short)

Ugly Alert (2013) (TV Series)

Bumpin Uglies (2016)

Ugly Sweater Party (2016)

God Don't Like Ugly (2014) (Short)

Earthlings: Ugly Bags of Mostly Water (2004)

Plus the defining title: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly (1966)

Tom Galloway said...

I'm still disappointed that when Best Western decided to give itself three different hotel names to reflect quality, they went with Best Western, Best Western Plus, and Best Western Premiere rather than Good Western, Better Western, and Best Western.

Johnny Walker said...

Re: The podcast. Looking forward to it!

Mike said...

Request:
Cap'n Bob's Tales from 'Nam.
Hopefully, a cross between Two Fisted Tales and Frontline Combat.
Or if it mentions Bob Hope:
Bob Hope's Tight Fisted Tales from 'Nam.

Andy Rose said...

A few years ago, there was a trend toward movie titles with a gerund followed by a proper name. It's a pretty awkward way to form a title, especially since those names are meaningless until you see the movie:

Saving Private Ryan
Kissing Jessica Stein
Raising Victor Vargas
Finding Nemo

Breadbaker said...

I'm sorry that Good Girls Revolt was cancelled. I enjoyed it and thought the writing was part of its strength.

Rick said...

U.S. TV show with "bad" in title: BREAKING BAD.

ScottyB said...

You'd think one of the networks would've thunk up the obvious by now: THE GOOD SHOW. Christ, are these people dumb.

ScottyB said...

In podcast episode 10, Ken says, "I'm going to turn off the tape recorder now." Damn right. Those $40 Panasonic cassette recorders were good enough then, and by God, they're good enough now, too.

Stoney said...

No takers on my quizzer about the show where Carl Reiner played an angel? Hmmmff! Anyway, it was called "Good Heavens". A one-season wonder from 1976.

Bryan Thomas said...

THE GOOD PLACE and GOOD GIRLS have shown up since this post. So much GOOD Tv :)