Life's Most Embarrassing Moments

Last updated
Life's Most Embarrassing Moments
Life's Most Embarrassing Moments title screen 1983.png
Title screen of first special
Directed byWoody Fraser (first special)
Jerry Kupcinet (subsequent specials)
Presented by John Ritter (first special)
Steve Allen (subsequent specials)
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
Production
ProducersAlan Landsburg, Woody Fraser
Production company Alan Landsburg Productions
Original release
Network ABC
Release1983 (1983) –
1986 (1986)

Life's Most Embarrassing Moments is a series of television comedy specials primarily featuring "blooper" outtakes, and appeared on the ABC network in the United States from 1983 to 1986.

Contents

Created by Alan Landsburg Productions [1] the first special aired on April 27, 1983, hosted by John Ritter, and was the most-watched prime time television show of the week. Steve Allen hosted approximately nine subsequent installments, which started in September 1983, with the last special airing in May 1986. [2] The content of the show was primarily outtakes of celebrity mishaps. A number of the specials were also rerun as a "weekly series" in August to early September 1985. [3] Each installment was numbered, e.g., Life's Most Embarrassing Moments III.

The first special was highly watched, but reviewer Tom Shales at The Washington Post was not impressed. Noting the show was plainly a response to NBC's Bloopers specials, Shales called it a "grossly irritating hour" where after every clip "the director cut to the studio audience for a hefty round of artificially augmented applause." [4] The comparison to Bloopers was noted by many, and that show's creator Dick Clark Productions sued Alan Landsburg Productions over it in federal court. [5] The case was eventually dismissed, and the dismissal was affirmed on appeal. [6] [7] The trial court concluded that copyright protections do not protect the format of a show: "The format of the two shows look similar, but so do the formats of virtually every television news show. The 'look' of a show is not the proper subject of copyright protection." [8]

In 1988-89, a syndicated version of the show was created with Roy Firestone as the host. [3]

Episodes

  1. April 27, 1983 (hosted by John Ritter) (Most viewed prime time show of the week per Nielsen ratings, with 28.0 rating and 44 share [9] )
  2. September 18, 1983 (hosted by Steve Allen, as were all subsequent specials)(21.7 Nielsen rating, or 18.1 million homes, tied for 2nd place for week [10] )
  3. November 10, 1983 (Nielsen rating 19.8, 16.5 million homes, #16 for week) [11]
  4. February 23, 1984
  5. May 1984 (rerun?) (#3 rated show of the week [12] )
  6. November 11, 1984
  7. February 17, 1985
  8. May 5, 1985
  9. August ?, 1985
  10. February 1, 1986 (lowest Nielsen rating of week, 6.9 rating, 68 out of 68 shows [13] )
  11. May 24, 1986 [2]

Related Research Articles

A blooper is a short clip from a film or video production, usually a deleted scene, containing a mistake made by a member of the cast or crew. It also refers to an error made during a live radio or TV broadcast or news report, usually in terms of misspoken words or technical errors. The term blooper was popularized in the 1950s and 1960s in a series of record albums produced by Kermit Schafer entitled Pardon My Blooper, in which the definition of a blooper is thus given by the record series' narrator: "Unintended indiscretions before microphone and camera."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dick Clark</span> American radio and television personality (1929–2012)

Richard Wagstaff Clark was an American television and radio personality and television producer who hosted American Bandstand from 1956 to 1989. He also hosted five incarnations of the Pyramid game show from 1973 to 1988 and Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve, which broadcast New Year's Eve celebrations in New York City's Times Square.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">American Music Awards</span> Annual American music awards show

The American Music Awards (AMAs) is an annual American music awards show, generally held in the fall, created by Dick Clark in 1973 for American Broadcasting Company, when the network's contract to air the Grammy Awards expired. It is produced by Dick Clark Productions. From 1973 to 2005, both the winners and the nominations were selected by the members of the music industry, based on commercial performance, such as sales and airplay. Since 2006, winners have been determined by a poll of the public and fans, who can vote through the AMAs website.

<i>This Is Your Life</i> (American franchise) American television series

This Is Your Life is an American reality documentary series broadcast on NBC radio from 1948 to 1952, and on NBC television from 1952 to 1961. It was originally hosted by its creator and producer Ralph Edwards. In the program, the host surprised guests and then took them through a retrospective of their lives in front of an audience, including appearances by colleagues, friends, and family. Edwards revived the show in 1971–1972, and Joseph Campanella hosted a version in 1983. Edwards returned for various specials in the late 1980s.

<i>Threes a Crowd</i> Television series

Three's a Crowd is an American sitcom television series produced as a spin-off and continuation of Three's Company that aired on ABC from September 25, 1984 until April 9, 1985, with reruns airing until September 10, 1985. It is loosely based on the British sitcom Robin's Nest, which was itself a spin-off of Man About the House, upon which Three's Company was based.

Carson Entertainment Group is a television production company established by Johnny Carson in 1980. The company primarily produced The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson from 1980 to 1992 and Late Night with David Letterman from 1982 to 1993.

<i>TVs Bloopers & Practical Jokes</i> American TV series or program

TV's Bloopers & Practical Jokes is an American television series. Debuting as a weekly series, new episodes have been broadcast as infrequent specials during most of its run. It premiered on NBC in 1984, moved to ABC in 1998, and was revived in syndication in 2012. The NBC run of the series was co-produced by Carson Productions and Dick Clark Productions, and the ABC and syndication runs have been produced solely by Dick Clark Productions.

Foul-Ups, Bleeps & Blunders is the title of a comedy series that aired on ABC for two short seasons in the mid-1980s. The series was hosted by Steve Lawrence and Don Rickles and produced by Bob Booker. The series theme song was performed by Billy May and the show music was composed by Kevin Kiner.

In regard to children's programming, the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) has aired mostly programming from Walt Disney Television or other producers. This article outlines the history of children's television programming on ABC including the various blocks and notable programs that have aired throughout the television network's history.

As the national broadcaster of the NBA, CBS aired NBA games from the 1973–74 until the 1989–90 season, during which the early 1980s is notoriously known as the tape delay playoff era.

References

  1. ↑ Shales, Tom (18 November 1983). Camelot Recaptured, The Washington Post
  2. 1 2 Terrace, Vincent. Television Specials: 5,336 Entertainment Programs, 1936–2012, 2d ed., p. 1500 (2013)
  3. 1 2 Brooks, Tim & Earle F. Marsh. The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946-Present, p. 793 (2007)
  4. ↑ Shales, Tom (19 May 1983). ABC's Sampling of Bargain-Basement Hype, The Washington Post
  5. ↑ (21 August 1983). Personal and Confidential is lousy TV, San Bernardino County Sun' ("Messrs. Landsburg and Fraser. These two schlockmeisters saw "Real People" and came up with "That's Incredible!"; they're being sued for plagiarism. They saw "TV's Censored Bloopers" and developed "Life's Most Embarrassing Moments," for which they're also being sued.")
  6. ↑ Who's the Star: Its Danza, Greenville News ("Dick Clark's plagiarism lawsuit against Alan Landsburg Productions has been dismissed in a federal court.")
  7. ↑ (October 1986). [elr.carolon.net/BI/V08N05.PDF Recent Cases], Entertainment Law Reporter pp. 38-39 (Vol. 8, No. 5)
  8. ↑ Dick Clark Co. v. Alan Landsburg Prods. Inc. (C.D. Cal. June 13, 1985)
  9. ↑ (4 May 1983). TV Ratings, Daily Chronicle
  10. ↑ (22 September 1983). ABC winner second week in row, The Pantagraph
  11. ↑ (17 November 19830. CBS Leaves Its Rivials In the Dust, The Tennessean (ratings for part "III")
  12. ↑ (30 May 1984). ABC was the No. 1 prime time network last..., United Press International
  13. ↑ (4 February 1986). 'Sins' wins, United Press International
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.