What Were They Thinking?

Funny. You don’t think about a TV series for years, and then all of a sudden its name seems to crop up everywhere. Just the other day, I was remarking on how the cancellation of Viva Laughlin reminded me of Cop Rock, a short-lived 1990 program that combined police drama with musical theater. Now, Cop Rock crops up once more in the Chicago Tribune’s roster of the “Top 25 Worst Shows Ever,” along with Manimal (1983) and 23 other series (such as Petticoat Junction, Joanie Loves Chachi, and The 100 Lives of Black Jack Savage) that can’t even arguably be fit under the “crime fiction” rubric.

The list isn’t horrible, and the Trib tries to make it the subject of water-cooler talk by inviting readers to vote on which of its 25 they despised the most. But I’m a little surprised not to see a few other crime-related series on the list. I mean, what about Holmes & Yoyo and Beverly Hills Buntz, or B.A.D. Cats and Mrs. Columbo, or A Man Called Hawk (a Spenser: For Hire spinoff that criminally misused the great Avery Brooks in his Hawk role) and Baywatch Nights (a David Hasselhoff series--need I say more?--that started out as a detective show spinoff from Baywatch, but morphed into a ludicrous paranormal series in a desperate attempt to save itself)?

Heck, I would be more than willing to add Sledge Hammer!, The A-Team, and A Man Called Sloane to this roster as well, but know they all have their advocates. So why invite abuse upon myself?

Are there any truly awful crime, mystery, or legal series I’ve missed?

READ MORE: “The Worst TV Show Ever,” by Ken Levine.