Monday, October 20, 2014

One & Out Week: My Mother the Car


In a process that begins with hundreds of scripts that are winnowed down to a small group of sample pilots that actually get filmed, to the handful that get chosen to air, one would think that the television networks would have their processes down pat by now and only the strongest, best shows would make it to TV. Yet the vast majority of shows that get flashy premieres are canceled in their first year. This week we look at shows good and bad that did not get a second chance.

First up- the legendary failure My Mother the Car.

The show had a legendary premise; an attorney played by Jerry Van Dyke buys a car and discovers that it is the reincarnation of his mother and speaks only to him. His mother guides him through life and he tries to use her advice without everyone thinking he's crazy.

The show's ridiculous premise doomed it to oblivion and it lasted just one season on NBC. Many people deem it to be the worst show ever made, though they most likely have never seen it. 

The Simpsons mocked the show with the Lovematic Grampa sequence of its spinoff showcase episode. While the premise is taken from My Mother the Car the segment itself is modeled after a Garry Marshall sitcom.