Sure, any producer in Hollywood can pump out just about every kind of TV show about anything. From a hangout spot to a witch wanting to live a somewhat normal life. There are shows that makes us laugh and some that make us cry. Some shows are mega hits that stand the test of time, others are recognized as an important part in the era it was spawned in—like M.A.S.H or the Mary Tyler Moore Show.

But then you get the stinkers. The ones that were so bad that you wonder why and how the Writers Guild of America could ever let these shows see the light of day. The ones that become the definition of flopped and fried.

Thanks to the efforts of my editor Dre and yours truly, this list will feature five of the worst sitcoms to ever air on the small screen. We’re talking worst of the worst. I was thinking about extending it to ten, but that would be considered torture.

So here it is! The Top Five Worst TV Sitcoms…Ever!

5) “The Ropers”

Or as we Generation X kids would call it, “That Show That Came on after Three’s Company.” “The Ropers” starred Jack, Janet, and Chrissy’s nosey landlords. Now they were a very funny crowd, and we liked to see them every once in a while. But not every day. The network executives, however, wanted to milk every last drop of the “Three’s Company” cow and came out with this abomination of a sitcom. Who in their right mind would let this on the airwave? They had some of the same characters from the main show, but the plot line ended up being too lame and reductive to save it. You think the execs at ABC would know that this was bad by the way critics bashed it. They should have learned to stop while they were ahead. But, of course, they did not. And if you think this show was bad, you should see what they did with Jack and his spin off. Yes, they made a spin-off for him, too.

4) “Charles in Charge”

Now, we move on to this joke of a sitcom. And the joke is that everyone was laughing at them, not with them. Actually, I doubt anyone was laughing at all. So here is the plot—Scott Baio plays a college student who is hired by a family to babysit the family’s kids and keep the house, all while balancing life in college. Sounds entertaining right? Well, the masses sure didn’t think so. How it managed to last from 1984 to 1990 is something I’m still wondering to this day. Baio was pretty much on the last string of his career, and this show was his somehow saving grace. That, and “Diagnosis Murder” starring Dick Van Dike, that would air after or before Judge Judy. But, ultimately, this show was just a waste of time. Nothing but cliché plot lines and worn-out prop gag jokes. Mind you, they were up against TV juggernauts in “Growing Pains” and “Family Ties.” So this was just eventually lost in the crowd. Thanks CBS (not really).  

3) “Saved by the Bell: The Next Class”

Unless you are Star Trek, or you are in a galaxy far, far away, you do not need “The New Generation” in your title. And we do mean DO NOT! So don’t think you are clever by trying to rephrase the wording. It’s the same thing!

If it wasn’t broken, don’t fix it. Or in this case, don’t remake it. Case in point? “Saved by the Bell: The New Class.” Good lord! First off, the ‘80s called, and they want their cast members and bad jokes back. Sure, Mr. Belding is still there, that’s cool, but Lord have mercy! Screech as his assistant? What happened? Why not hire Jessie? Then again, if you seen “Showgirls” that would be a logical reason why he wouldn’t). But still…Screech? In any case, the show did try to recapture that same afternoon school feel the original series had, but I think the creators of this spinoff forgot that “Beverly Hill 90210,” “Blossom,” and “Degrassi” were now reigning as the supreme teen shows of the decade. This sad, little spin-off quite simply failed to launch. Maybe the writers thought that they could bring something bubbly and cheerful to teens again. Clearly, though, they missed that boat a long time ago. Sorry not sorry NBC. And we still haven’t forgiven you for “Saved by the Bell: The College Years.” God! That was atrocious!

2) “Smart Guy”

Let’s talk about The WB’s (before it became The CW, go figure) little mistake of a sitcom. And to be fair, the phrase “Are you smarter than a fifth grader?” came from this.

The plot line was interesting: a child genius, with an IQ that rivaled Albert Einstein, which is pretty impressive for a kid who is only seven. His IQ allows him to skip from the fourth to the tenth grade in high school (mind you, this was when the public school system wasn’t a failure). He goes on to become the popular kid in school, as well as a pain to his older brother, whose IQ rivals Donald Trump. And that is very sad. While this show was cute for its time, there were plot holes big enough to drive five buses through. First of all, why would you put your genius kid with that much potential in the same public high school school as his older sibling? Second, shouldn’t he have graduated with several scholarships before everyone else? Third, why did this “Smart Guy’s” older brother always make fun of him even though he is passing more class than him? And finally, why is he not in an Ivy League school yet? Why keep him in high school?

These questions kept many viewers up at night. And, in many ways, these questions made them dumber as a result.

And last, but certainly, not least…

1) “Mom”

Oh my god, was this show bad to the core! What went wrong? What happened? How can a premise as good as this show’s go straight down hill so fast like this? CBS needs a good excuse for why this show about two mothers flopped so hard. Especially because those two mothers were Anna Faris from the “Scary Movie” series, and Allison Janney from “The West Wing,” and whose comedic chops earned her two Primetime Emmy wins for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series. One is single and a recovering alcoholic, but is doing very well career-wise, while the other is not doing so well.

This show had the potential to develop into a great dark comedy. But nope. Either the showrunners or the writers (or maybe both) took an axe to this sitcom for whatever reason. And, of course, by the time it started to get good, CBS pulled the plug, quick and silent. It caught a lot of fans and habitual TV watchers off guard, even myself. And that is why “Mom” sits at the top spot of this list. It is sad, because we will never know what could have been.
May these failed sitcoms find a better resting spot in syndication on basic cable. Godspeed.