These lists are always fun and we haven’t done one in a while. What constitutes a cult tv show? The definition is pretty broad but they should meet the criteria of enthusiasm from its audience and influence on current TV and movies. It helps if the show wasn’t appreciated in its initial run but being a hit doesn’t disqualify it. The main thing is a long shelf life and enthusiasm.
So the rules are simple. For your entry to count, you have to make a case for the show. Just getting a name on the board isn’t enough to count. It’s also more fun to read your post so there’s that. I’ll start off with THE cult tv show…
Star Trek (Original Series): When it first aired, it didn’t make many waves and certainly didn’t set the world on fire at the time. It was only through syndication and a small cult following among college students who watched the show, that Star Trek had one of the best TV after-lives in the history of the medium. Its influence is far reaching from books to movies to tv and even to real world science. No show has had such an enthusiastic fanbase that’s contributed so much to the lore of a show than Star Trek.
Now it’s your turn. What are some of the greatest cult TV shows of all time in your opinion?
If all it had ever done was the final everything-happened-in-an-autistic-kid’s-head episode – which tied god knows how many TV universes together – it would’ve been awesome, but it was pretty much that weird and transgressive throughout its run, with dark humor, lots of crap getting past the radar, the most-abused character in TV history (David Morse’s Boomer), the genuinely chilling Peter White arc, and almost the textbook example of low ratings and sky-high critical and awards cred. This fucked-up thing stayed on the air for six years. Imagine that happening on a network today. (It benefited from the NBC higher-ups – Tartikoff, maybe? – pretty much saying “Okay, so the ratings blow but this thing is just too good. We’re giving it a long leash.”)
Still my all-time favorite. Plus it gave us Denzel Washington AND Howie Mandel, back when he was funny. And if you want acting at its absolute pinnacle you want to watch anything Ed Flanders was in, and he was the default star of the show, the conscience and suffering superego of the saga. Not to mention Norman Lloyd – fucker’s still alive, too, at age 127 or whatever. I really hate that only the first season ever made it to DVD.
Been rewatching this on Netflix. Still great. Too smart for network TV. Sometimes plays like the missing link between Arrested Development and (peak) Community (the two nerd scientists are like Troy and Abed as, well, scientists). “Racial Sensitivity” is one of the greatest comic pieces ever done for network TV and “Jabberwocky” (“A product is for people who don’t have a presentation”) isn’t far behind. “More magnificent than…A FISH.” Lindsay Bluth was great but Veronica is Portia deRossi at her best. The Veridian commercials are masterful and prefigure Monsanto and who knows what else. Great corporate satire with seriously surreal elements (“Yes, my ex-girlfriend looked like a desk with hair”). Only uninspired thing about it is the title.
Rather than talking about the show, which I’m sure you all know and love, I wanna talk about why I’m glad it’s a cult show. Any time I bring up F&G with my friends the first thing out of their mouths seems to be frustration it got canceled so quickly. I’d rather appreciate what we got of it. I even think there’s sort of a poetic quality to the fact the show got cut down on an episode where everyone was in transition. If the show is the ultimate one about high school, then it fits that no character got closure. Those relationships and experiences are formative, they’re not destinations. Plus, I cherish every one of these episodes in a way I might not if there had been 80 of them. Maybe I’m just looking on the bright side, but I think it’s a testament to the show that too little feels like enough.
A[quote name=“Martin Blank” url=“/community/t/148757/the-100-greatest-cult-tv-shows-of-all-time#post_3561191”]3. Better Off Ted (2009-2010)
Been rewatching this on Netflix. Still great. Too smart for network TV. Sometimes plays like the missing link between Arrested Development and (peak) Community (the two nerd scientists are like Troy and Abed as, well, scientists). “Racial Sensitivity” is one of the greatest comic pieces ever done for network TV and “Jabberwocky” (“A product is for people who don’t have a presentation”) isn’t far behind. “More magnificent than…A FISH.” Lindsay Bluth was great but Veronica is Portia deRossi at her best. The Veridian commercials are masterful and prefigure Monsanto and who knows what else. Great corporate satire with seriously surreal elements (“Yes, my ex-girlfriend looked like a desk with hair”). Only uninspired thing about it is the title.[/quote]
“‘Money Before People,’ it’s the company motto. It’s engraved on the floor of the lobby, for crying out loud. It just looks more noble in Latin.”
This is one of my favorite jokes from anything, ever.
Part of Dark Shadows’ appeal is its frequently unavoidable camp nature. Stories change gears without warning, characters sometimes behave in illogical ways, sets fall apart without warning, actors forget lines, and let’s not forget about those goddamn flies that occasionally pester the actors on camera. But the thing to remember is that a good story and camp atmosphere are not mutually exclusive ideals. Dark Shadows can be both great and terrible, and that is its charm.
If you look at Dark Shadows and see nothing but overlit video, creaky special effects and bloopers, you’re only experiencing the show on a level I’d generously describe as “superficial.” The errors in the television show create a form of intimacy between the cast and audience, like watching an elaborately staged community theater project. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the show’s fandom is so friendly with the original cast, gathering each year to meet and dine with them as part of the Dark Shadows Festival. Our fandom is a genuine community. We’re not rooting for the cast to fail, but the humor, intentional or otherwise, only makes the show that much more endearing.
I’d go say far to say that Dark Shadows can be used as a Soul Detector. If you know someone who sees the show and can only laugh derisively at it, it’s a safe bet they’re a horrible person.
First off, the show has a well know small but loyal following. Despite being canceled after one season, the DVD sales helped green light a movie that wrapped up the stories lines of the first season. The show was a excellent mix of characters, dialog, and action.
Though the show only had 3 seasons (from 1966-1969), it’s impact on pop culture is impossible to argue. The series made “camp” popular and annoying at the same time and created a whole new way for the world to view the Dark Knight. Unfortunately. Batman will possibly never recover from the mockery this series provided, from everything in the “Bat Cave” being labelled “Bat-Something” to the “Bat Shark Repellent” they kept, oddly enough, in the “Bat Helicopter”.
Adam West, Burt Ward, Frank Gorshin and many others involved with the show were huge stars and lived like kings for a year or two before nobody ever wanted to see them again. It would be decades before they would be fully appreciated for screwing over the Batman mythos and nobody has taken greater advantage than Adam West. He has enjoyed a resurgence as a pop culture phenomenon and regularly guest stars on several television series, including Family Guy, where he plays himself and is the mayor of their home town.
The theme song is easily repeatable by any 1 year old and is the first tune that springs to mind when people think of our favorite vigilante.
The Batmobile has gone on to be one of the most famous cars in the world, often touring car shows and dork convention circuits. Based on a Lincoln Futura, the car famously cost the show only $1, bought direct from Ford Motor Company.
“Batmania” died down as fast as it exploded into existence but the impact of the tv series rages onwards, it lingers, it just won’t Bat-go away!
Look at the lovely curves on that statue in the background.
There never will be another show quite like it. It drips with the 60s, the bright, dark, and psychedelic sides, it’s full of symbolism, it’s often tightly plotted, and Patrick McGoohan owns the screen like a caged tiger.
One of those shows that, when I first encountered it, didn’t even make me laugh – I just stared at it in amazement. Ren & Stimpy, which also qualifies for inclusion here, hit me the same way. Dude, I got a serious-ass “I miss Sifl & Olly” problem. Suckers!
As rapid-fire brilliant & rewatchable as The Simpsons & Seinfeld. Criminally underloved. It’s whip smart writing is brought to life by the impeccable comic timing of one of the best comedy ensembles in TV history. Newsradio was less a sitcom than an ebullient continuation of The Marx Brothers tradition.
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The fact that The Prisoner isn’t #1 on this list is a ridiculous misstep. Let’s try to have fun anyway.
I remember my big brother waking me up around midnight to watch this show. PBS ran it in the early 70s around midnight or so on Sunday nights, and he’d wake me up to watch it with him. I didn’t get it but I knew it was funny. Years later, I rediscovered it and pretty much memorized every episode. Add in the movies and you have one of the most effective comedy troupes ever. Brilliant stuff.