by Michael Lyons
"High concept." Two words in Hollywood that have come to mean a unique concept with a story that's easy to pitch.
It can also mean, "How did this get made?" Some of the latest entries into our realm of televised entertainment, especially on streaming services, are simply carrying on a long history of some of the strangest, and most off-beat ideas that Hollywood has greenlit.
What follows are some of the "high concept" sitcoms from TV's past that also tank as some of the small screen's strangest outings.
My Mother The Car (1965)
This sitcom revolved around a man named Dave Crabtree (Jerry Van Dyke) whose mother is reincarnated as a car, a 1928 Porter to be exact (voiced by actress Ann Sothern).
Yup, you read that correctly. This show emerged in an era of television sitcoms when fantasy reigned supreme with shows like Bewitched and Mr. Ed. My Mother the Car never reached the popularity of those and other popular outings and has been notoriously panned by critics as one of the medium's worst.
Lasting just one season, My Mother The Car has rightly gained a cult following as a high-concept curiosity.
It's About Time (1966)
Sherwood Schwartz, the man behind two of TV's most popular sitcoms, Gilligan's Island and The Brady Bunch, brought us this series about two astronauts (Frank Aletter and Jack Mullaney) who travel back in time to the prehistoric era. Here, they find themselves living with cave people Gronk (Joe E. Ross) and Shad (Imogene Coca).
Like Gilligan's Island, this was all pure silly fantasy, assisted by a laugh track. And like Schwartz's other outings, this sitcom came with an earworm of a theme song.
Holmes & Yo-Yo (1976)
A detective named Holmes (Richard B. Shull) is partnered with an android, Gregory Yoyonovich, known as "Yoyo" (John Schuck), and wacky misadventures ensue.
Airing during the 70s, when television sitcoms shifted to deal with more realistic issues with shows like All in the Family, Holmes and Yoyo didn't endear itself to audiences (even with Yoyo's computer that popped out of his chest) and was canceled after only 11 episodes.
Mr. Smith, (1983)
Just before NBC became the king of 80s sitcoms with series like The Cosby Show and Family Ties, they had a swing and a miss with Mr. Smith.
The sitcom revolves around a talking orangutan who lives in Washington, DC, and is a political advisor.
Despite starring C.J. The orangutan, who had been a hit with audiences in the Clint Eastwood movies, Every Which Way But Loose and Any Which Way You Can, Mr. Smith only hung around for two months before being canceled.
Fish Police (1992)
When The Simpsons hit big in the 1990s, networks started jumping on the prime-time animation bandwagon.
CBS partnered with Hanna-Barbera for this adult-skewed sitcom about cops with an all-fish cast.
Despite being based on a comic book and the talent of the Hanna-Barbera studio, along with an all-star voice cast, including John Ritter, Ed Asner, JoBeth Williams, and Buddy Hackett, Fish Police was given the hook after only three episodes.
These are just a few of the many high concept shows the television has given us but fear not, there will no doubt be more in the years and seasons to come!
For more of my articles and podcasts and to order a signed and personalized copy of my book, Drawn to Greatness: Disney's Animation Renaissance, head over to my website: Words From Lyons!
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