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Prime Time TV: Real Shows or Fake Titles?

There have been some wacky shows on prime time tv over the years. Do you know which of these shows actually aired and which are made up?

1. The Brady Babies
   • Real
   • Fake
2. 18 Wheels of Justice
   • Real
   • Fake
   

   Aired: 2000-2001 on Spike TV

   Lucky Vanous played Michael Cates, a U.S. Dept. of Justice agent who is on the hunt for a crime kingpin. After the kingpin finds out about Cates he kills Cates’ wife and daughter. Cates then goes undercover as big-rig trucker Chance Bowman, helping people get their own justice while still hunting Cates. The show also starred Billy Dee Williams and G. Gordon Liddy.

3. Wait Till Your Father Gets Home
   • Real
   • Fake
   

   Aired: 1972-1974 on NBC

   This animated sitcom started as a one-time segment on the ’70s classic Love, American Style. It’s the story of Harry Boyle, a conservative suburban dad saddled with a kooky family, including his liberal, womens lib daughter, and his lazy hippie son. The stories mostly dealt with the generation gap, as well as with current events.

4. Fire!
   • Real
   • Fake
5. The $1.98 Beauty Show
   • Real
   • Fake
   

   Aired: 1978-1980 on NBC

   This game show, a parody of beauty contests, was the brainchild of The Gong Show creator, Chuck Barris. Hosted by comic Rip Taylor, the show featured six contestants of varying “beauty” (there were even a few guys in drag) who were judged on beauty and “abilities” by a celebrity panel. The winner took home a plastic crown, a bouquet of rotten vegetables, and $1.98, dispensed by Taylor from a coin changer on his belt.

6. Dirk Diamond, Private Detective
   • Real
   • Fake
7. Boston After Hours
   • Real
   • Fake
8. Craft Corner Deathmatch
   • Real
   • Fake
   

   Aired: 2005 on Style Network

   This short-lived show (only 20 episodes were aired) pitted two contestants against each other in a cage match of crafting. Contestants were given 10 minutes to create a specific item, which was then judged by a celebrity panel (including Michael Kors). The winner then went on to a death match with the Craft Lady of Steel.

9. The Adventures of Derek and the Martian
   • Real
   • Fake
10. The Idiot Box
    • Real
    • Fake
    

    Aired: 1990-1991 on MTV

    After his success as Bill s. Preston, Esq. in Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure, Alex Winter was hired by MTV to create a sketch show for the channel (which at the time was still strictly music-based). The show was chock full of fake tv shows, like Who’s a Total Idiot? With Tony Danza, absurd commercials, violent slapstick, and just general craziness—with a few music videos thrown in for good measure.

11. Manimal
    • Real
    • Fake
    

    Aired: 1983 on NBC

    One of the strangest shows ever aired, Manimal starred Simon McCorkindale as the wealthy Dr. Jonathan Chase, a shape shifter who would change into animals to help fight crime. Although the special effects were done by the legendary Stan Winston, Manimal only lasted 8 episodes and was named by TV Guide as one of the 15 worst tv shows of all time.

12. Up with People!
    • Real
    • Fake
13. My Mother the Car
    • Real
    • Fake
    

    Aired: 1965-66 on NBC

    Before creating such hits as The Mary Tyler Moore Show and Taxi, creator Alan Burns came up with this cockamamie show about a man whose mother has been reincarnated as a 1928 touring car. After hearing his mom talk to him through the radio, the man buys the car, but is then stalked by an evil car collector who wants the relic. The show is listed as the second worst of all time, behind the Jerry Springer Show.

14. Galaxy of the Time Lords
    • Real
    • Fake
15. Hullabaloo
    • Real
    • Fake
    

    Aired: 1965-66 on NBC

    Hullabaloo was a big-budget showcase for pop music artists of the day, complete with go-go dancers and psychedelic sets. It was hosted by a different celebrity each week, and featured everyone from Paul Anka to the Rolling Stones. Two of the Hullabaloo dancers went on to become big names on Broadway—Donna McKechnie and Michael Bennett.