US shows which are mentioned a lot in US pop culture but unknown in the UK

[dontpaintyourteeth]

Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman is wicked. I always wanted the complete boxset but it's obviously a bit pricey to get on import

[Attila]

This thread is a fun read for me as an American who moved permanently to the UK over 10 years ago -- I really stopped watching most TV by the mid-80s in the USA (no real interest, hate commercials, and then moved somewhere for almost a decade with no reception -- once I moved back to an urban area around 2004, I didn't bother to get a TV), but grew up with a lot of the '60s and '70s stuff mentioned here.

Mr Attila is a big fan of MST3K, and likes watching it with me, A lot of the times I feel like Margaret Mead as I quickly explain the references to many TV shows (and toys/TV commercials) that pop up constantly.

Last night we watched Master Ninja I, which was a bit meta, as I explained the American practice of taking unrelated episodes from a short-lived or cancelled series and mushing two of them together to make a 'movie.' The MST3k Riding with Death is a fabulous example of this -- and also the first MST3K he ever watched. He loved it, but was baffled as fuck that characters and plotlines from 'part 1 of the movie' vanished for the second part.

That said, there is a reference to the very short-lived comedy/music/variety abomination Pink Lady and Jeff in Master Ninja I, so that was a tough one to explain.

Alan Hale, Jr, aka the Skipper from Gilligan's Island appears in Invasion of the Spiders, so many of the jokes referencing the Skipper, Gilligan, etc., were lost on him (see whenever Russell Johnson shows up in an MST3K film -- he played the professor who was always building complex scientific stuff out of coconuts).

Young Ronnie Howard appears in Village of the Giants, and there are a lot of Opie jokes; Mr Attila knew him only from Happy Days, and not the Andy Griffith Show.

So I 'footnote' a lot of the references, but it kinda makes it fun, as then we end up down the rabbit hole of shows he's never seen.

He's unfamiliar with the original Bob Newhart show (where Newhard is a psychologist, and his secretary is played by an actress who voiced a major character on The Simpsons -- so he never got the ending of the Bob Newhart show where Bob wakes up and the whole thing was a dream.

I don't think Barney Miller was shown here?

(When I first met him, he was thrilled that he had someone who could explain all the in-jokes in The Simpsons and Family Guy, but sadly I can't stand either one of those programmes, so he's been left on his own there...)

My favourite show as a kid in the USA was called Emergency!, and it explains a heck of a lot why I took to Casualty here in the UK -- it's all on DVD (Region 1) but hella expensive. I don't think that's ever been shown here.

[Lisa Jesusandmarychain]

"Barney Miller" was definitely shown late nights on the Granada region in the 70s ( in other regions too, probably). Groovy theme tune. I remember that Chinese ( I think) feller in the opening titles looking up from his paper in an uninterested fashion, then going back to it. There was also a comedy thick Polish feller in the cast, and a black gentleman who acted like a pimp but was a police officer. All of the officers were very laid back and languid, as was the humour. Is Hal Linden still alive? Going to Google.

Bizarrely, BBC 1 showed the spin- off series " Fish" early on a Saturday evening, fuck knows why.Maybe it was strictly business.

[Attila]

Interesting about Barney Miller, thanks! Mr Attila would have been too young to be interested at the time, I suspect.

It was hugely funny, at least in my memory. Yes, wonderful bassline in that opening theme :)

[Icehaven]

The first few times I watched Family Guy it seemed to just be an impenetrable barrage of references to US tv shows I'd never seen so I didn't bother with it again for years, but eventually I watched it more and got into it, so ended up feeling familiar with shows like The Honeymooners and Gilmore Girls despite never actually having seen them.
A couple of US comedy podcasts I occasionally listen often mention other shows that are completely unknown over here. There's apparently a recent-ish Seinfeld ripoff also named after the writer/star (can't remember what it's called) but they both mention it at length so it must have been a big deal over there. I s'pose it's different now in that it's possible to find it all online if you want to but who has time?

Edit: It was "Mulaney".

[JesusAndYourBush]

Years later I'll be watching something and discover it's a thing Family Guy was referencing.  A couple of years ago Mary Poppins was on at Christmas and as I'd not seen it before (or if I had it was too long ago to remember any details) I decided to watch.  And there it was, the "Bag of weed" song!  At this stage I'm assuming none of the songs on Family Guy are original, it's just that I don't always get the reference.

[Blue Jam]

I keep seeing an advert for some crossword app where one of the clues is "80's American sitcom- Full _____ (5). Supposedly the existence of Full House is common knowledge but I have never heard of it anywhere else.

See the Better Call Saul thread for some discussion of The Carol Burnett Show and how all the cast and crew of BCS claim to be big fans who are overjoyed to be working with their comedy idol, while the reaction among viewers here has been more like "What's that? Who is she?"

[Gurke and Hare]

That's another one that got a reasonably decent slot on BBC1.  I think part of the feeling of obscurity might be that imports are often only shown the once, and when the final episode's hit that'll be it for a long time.  Your Quincies and your Petrocellis might float back up in daytime eventually, but it seems to happen a lot less with sitcoms.

I wonder if there's a market for a spinoff from Dave (called, I dunno, Chuck?) repeating all the US sitcoms that were one and out. Endless re-runs of Who's the Boss and Kate and Allie.

[Attila]

I keep seeing an advert for some crossword app where one of the clues is "80's American sitcom- Full _____ (5). Supposedly the existence of Full House is common knowledge but I have never heard of it anywhere else.

See the Better Call Saul thread for some discussion of The Carol Burnett Show and how all the cast and crew of BCS claim to be big fans who are overjoyed to be working with their comedy idol, while the reaction among viewers here has been more like "What's that? Who is she?"

Absolutely loved Carol Burnett's variety show when I was little -- it was a Saturday night institution in the US in the early to mid 1970s, and then repackaged as half hour comedy sketches in syndication. One of her recurring fellow comedians was Harvey Korman, so you'd know him from Mel Brooks' movies. Growing up, Burnette loved going to the movies with her grandma, so a lot of her sketches were parodies of these films -- which is why CB was one of the few comedians my mother enjoyed. Her 'Went with the Wind' parody is on Youtube -- if you watch it, keep in mind that Bob Mackie designed all of CB and Cher's stage costumes in the 1970s!

Ah, go on then

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-8wVvGQ0P4Y

Carol Burnett was/is also capable of an amazing Tarzan yell, too. She used to take Q & A from her audience, and people always requested that.

[George White]

The thing with Alan Hale Jr (Skipper in GIlligan's Island) was that his big role in the UK/Ireland for BOomers was as Casey Jones, a series which flopped in the States.
I suppose Carol Burnett is probably best known here for being Miss Hannigan in Annie. She had her own BBC special in 1970, so there was clearly attempt to make her on this side. A few eps were shown on BBC2 in 1970, but it failed to click. But her show was the same reputation in the US Eric and Ernie have over here.

BTW Jack Soo who played Yemana in Barney Miller was Japanese-American (as was the character), but changed his name when he appeared in Flower Drum Song.

Emergency was def shown on ITV regions. It crops up a bit in Look-In.

THe thing with MST3K that sometimes they'd make refs that baffle Americans but not so Brits. See also the Lovejoy refs in Codename Diamond Head, guesting Ian McShane.

[George White]

" Mad " magazine used to reference " Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman", but that never got shown on British telly as far as I know. Has anyone seen It? It used to be up on YouTube, might still be.
It's basically a surreal precursor to " Soap", but as if That show were written and directed by David Lynch. No studio audience, quite unusual for them days. Louise Lasser Louis Lasser played the eponymous heroine.

A few eps were shown on ITV regions, but it was taken over after 13 eps or so.

[Blue Jam]

All I know about Gilligan's Island is the "Gilligan Cut" but I think "Bicycle Gag", as coines by that Irish man who used to be a comedy writer, may be a more popular term for it over here.

[Better Midlands]

It was very well regarded. I remember when Channel 4 started and they mentioned often that their new US comedy 'Cheers' was from the makers of 'Taxi'. It's probably why I watched it from the very beginning.

Same here, Taxi and MASH were my two earliest US grown up sitcom memories (and the Mary Tyler Moore Show spinoff Rhoda to an extent).

[Blue Jam]

I was just trying to remember where I heard of Taxi for the first time very recently, and realised it was while I was watching Man On The Moon on BBC4. I had no idea anything Andy Kaufman had been in had achieved that level of mainstream popularity.

[Catalogue Trousers]

The Gong Show has to be one of the classic examples. I think that it was shown briefly (on Channel 4?) at one point, but never really became big here, and in ensuing years the likes of Britain's Got Talent and The X Factor kind of removed the need for it over here.

I'm tempted to add Saturday Night Live as well. Okay, we had our similarly-themed Friday/Saturday Live, but how many British people know that John Belushi was a major name in US comedy before Animal House or Blues Brothers? Or that Wayne's World was a spin-off? To name just a couple.

[Icehaven]

I'm tempted to add Saturday Night Live as well. Okay, we had our similarly-themed Friday/Saturday Live, but how many British people know that John Belushi was a major name in US comedy before Animal House or Blues Brothers? Or that Wayne's World was a spin-off? To name just a couple.

I mentioned SNL in the "Comedy blind spots" thread, it's obviously very well known among anyone that likes Western comedy but a lot of us have still never actually seen it.

[kalowski]

The mention of Barney Miller makes me think of Lou Grant. Two American (comedy?) shows that were shown late night that I was aware of, but never actually watched.

[Better Midlands]

The mention of Barney Miller makes me think of Lou Grant. Two American (comedy?) shows that were shown late night that I was aware of, but never actually watched.

Lou Grant was another spinoff of The Mary Tyler Moore show (like Rhoda above) - all created by James L Brooks.

[George White]

One genre of US show that never got big in the UK AFAIK were the WW2 shows.
I know Hogan's Heroes was moderately successful on SCTV, but the more serious likes of Combat!, Garrison's Gorillas, 12 O'Clock High, Black Sheep Squadron and esp. the Rat Patrol all got at best piecemeal showings, with The Rat Patrol being removed from BBC1 after complaints from ex-Desert Rats complained of portraying the Australian/British campaign as almost entirely American with one stock Brit and an American in an ANZAC hat.

[jobotic]

Lou Grant wasn't a comedy was it? Wasn't he a journalist?

[Famous Mortimer]

I wonder if there's a market for a spinoff from Dave (called, I dunno, Chuck?) repeating all the US sitcoms that were one and out. Endless re-runs of Who's the Boss and Kate and Allie.

Over here in the US, there are several free to air stations that do nothing but show old sitcoms. Currently, "One Day At A Time", "Wings",  "Gimme A Break", "The Nanny", "Roseanne", "Barney Miller", "The John Larroquette Show", "Who's The Boss?", "Amen" and "227", among others.

[JesusAndYourBush]

The Gong Show has to be one of the classic examples. I think that it was shown briefly (on Channel 4?) at one point, but never really became big here

I remember seeing a few episodes of the Gong Show on ch.4.  One bit that sticks with me was one of the acts being a little kid, about 8 years old maybe, looking like some sort of little lord fauntleroy in a frilly shirt... and getting gonged before he's even had time to open his mouth.  I'm laughing now just thinking about it.

Another show I saw around the same time was billed as Japanese Candid Camera, and it was a complete episode not just the little bits you might get on a clip show.  One bit was where they posed as a business allowing people to take out their frustrations at the end of a hard day by smashing up a car. It took a bit of persuasion to get the guy to believe that it was ok to smash the car... so you had the guy smashing the car with a baseball bat or sledgehammer and almost in tears while he was doing it while saying "beautiful car" as he smashed the shit out of it.  But they'd switched the plates with someone else's car as well so you also got an angry guy thinking his car was being trashed and wanting to fight the first guy.

Another one was where they had a huge stack of toilet rolls piled up on the ledge across the top of a urinal trough.  Bloke goes up and is pissing... and behind the wall of toilet paper (Black Sabbath consider rewrite) is a bloke dressed up like the michelin tyre man but with bog rolls, bog rolls on his arms, a big one for his head etc, and as the guy is pissing toilet paper man  moves his arms outwards knocking the wall of toilet rolls all over the place and exclaiming "TOILETTO PAPPERR!" which after the initial surprise gave the pisser a good laugh.

[kalowski]

Another one was where they had a huge stack of toilet rolls piled up on the ledge across the top of a urinal trough.  Bloke goes up and is pissing... and behind the wall of toilet paper (Black Sabbath consider rewrite) is a bloke dressed up like the michelin tyre man but with bog rolls, bog rolls on his arms, a big one for his head etc, and as the guy is pissing toilet paper man  moves his arms outwards knocking the wall of toilet rolls all over the place and exclaiming "TOILETTO PAPPERR!" which after the initial surprise gave the pisser a good laugh.

Oh, this has sparked a sliver of a memory in me!

[dissolute ocelot]

I keep seeing an advert for some crossword app where one of the clues is "80's American sitcom- Full _____ (5). Supposedly the existence of Full House is common knowledge but I have never heard of it anywhere else.

I do a lot of American tv quizzes on Sporcle, because I've watched a lot of old American sitcoms like Cheers, MASH, Golden Girls, Roseanne, even Blossom, and I've picked up basic facts about Andy Griffiths and such. But there's a whole range of family sitcoms like Family Matters, Family Ties, Full House, etc, that I'm completely unable to distinguish. Perfect Strangers which was on BBC1 a lot was a spin-off from Family Matters, but I don't know if that was ever shown. And later some of these shows got pop culture fame from featuring Michael J Fox and the Olsen Twins. No idea which ones.

Another thing is soap operas. We saw Dynasty, Dallas, and their spin-offs in the 80s, but since then there's a whole tier of shows heavily referenced that have never aired here. Friends had a lot about Days Of Our Lives, which was very confusing for those unsure if it's a real show, and Buffy had jokes about Passions. Actually Passions seems to have been weirder than you'd guess, with supernatural themes that make it more natural viewing for a vampire.

[George White]

Family Matters was shown on RTE. It may have been on Sky. THe difference between that and the others was that it had black leads.
Daytime soaps never really hit in the UK. Sky and C5 tried to show US ones.

RE:African-American sitcoms, few of them landed in Britain/Ireland.
C4 showed Amen, obviously Fresh Prince, Diff'rent Strokes, Cosby, arguably Benson (really a white show with a black lead), but whither 227, Sanford and Son, The Jeffersons, Good Times, What's Happening, That's My Mama, Gimme a Break (although similar to Benson, a black character leading a mainly white ensemble), Roc...
And of course, Webster (though that again was a mostly white ensemble - with Alex Karras' family being comedy Greeks).

[Lisa Jesusandmarychain]

Lou Grant wasn't a comedy was it? Wasn't he a journalist?

Lou Grant's an unusual one. He was originally Mary Tyler Moore's boss on "The Mary Tyler Moore show", and would say things what would elicit laughs from the audience, 'cos it was a comedy show, see? Then, in common with almost every other cunt on that show ( well, apart from the feller who fucked off to be Captain Stubing), he got his own spin off show, except it was a serious drama, no audience laughter on this one, bub. His character was consistent though, that is to say a miserable, bossy cunt.

[confettiinmyhair]

One genre of US show that never got big in the UK AFAIK were the WW2 shows.
I know Hogan's Heroes was moderately successful on SCTV, but the more serious likes of Combat!, Garrison's Gorillas, 12 O'Clock High, Black Sheep Squadron and esp. the Rat Patrol all got at best piecemeal showings, with The Rat Patrol being removed from BBC1 after complaints from ex-Desert Rats complained of portraying the Australian/British campaign as almost entirely American with one stock Brit and an American in an ANZAC hat.

I think Sgt Bilko was shown on Channel 4, and I think MASH as well.

I'd say the Brady Bunch was relatively unknown before the Movie reboot in the 90s.

[Lisa Jesusandmarychain]

Sgt. Bilko was shown late nights on either BBC 1 or BBC 2 during the 80s. It was a revelation for the young Lisa to see it for the first time and to see what a complete rip off Top Cat was ( it even had one of the cast members, Maurice Gosfield, voicing Benny The Ball).
M*A*S*H was incredibly mainstream viewing in Britain, it was shown in a primetime slot for years on BBC 2, with the laugh track meticulously removed.

[George White]

Both BIlko and MASH were huge in Britain.
But I'm talking about the WW2 action shows that were mostly serious (Hogan's Heroes only came to mind because it's of the same vintage) and very gung-ho and very pro-American.
Usually the Brits would be bumbling, officious, effete or doomed love interests.

[Dayraven]

Another thing is soap operas. We saw Dynasty, Dallas, and their spin-offs in the 80s, but since then there's a whole tier of shows heavily referenced that have never aired here.

There's a difference in the US between the prime time soaps like Dallas and Dynasty, which aired weekly and weren't a lot different from other dramas, and the daytime ones, which air daily, look very cheap, and are where the really weird plotlines come from. Most of the daytime ones long predate Dallas or Dynasty, as well.