CBS once produced a television show based on a hugely successful film with McLean Stevenson as one of the leads. In this case, it wasn't M*A*S*H, but Dirty Dancing. In 1987, the film version of Dirty Dancing shocked industry experts by becoming a phenomenon. Catapulting Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey to superstardom, the film broke box office records and sold millions of copies of its soundtrack. For a time it was impossible to avoid hearing the movie's theme song (I've Had) The Time of My Life at least once a day. CBS felt it was a no-brainer to green light a series based on this massive hit.
Unlike the last time McLean Stevenson starred in a television adaption of a feature film, however, this series found few fans. Starring Melora Hardin and Patrick Cassidy as Baby and Johnny, the television show was greeted with low ratings and ridicule. It ended after just eleven episodes, proving that perhaps the secret of the film's success was due to its stars and not its premise.
