Obscure (but awesome) TV Shows

[TheImportantFart]

Couldn't find a thread with this theme exactly so thought I'd start one. This is partly for discussion and partly because I'm hoping to discover some hidden gems myself through it.

I'll kick us off with a show called Seven Periods With Mr. Gormsby. This was originally shown to me by one of my history teachers at secondary school (who was more than a little similar to the title character of the show) but it wasn't until early last year that I sat down and watched the whole thing start to finish. And I wasn't sorry I did because it's one of the funniest shows I've ever seen.

If this had been made today/in the US SJWs would have an absolute fit because the show prided itself on being as offensive and un-PC as possible. It tells the story of a shitty New Zealand high school with the focus on the worst class in the school 5F (known as 5 Fuck by anyone who's had to teach it). Mr Gormsby's brought in to deal with them and despite his old-fashioned attitude towards things like race and sexuality (among other things) he manages to bring the class under (relative) control. Here's a sample of what to expect from the show:

Unfortunately, contributing to the show's obscurity is the fact it's never been released on DVD outside New Zealand which is a huge shame because I think it deserves to find a wide audience. Fortunately, a kind soul uploaded the whole thing to YouTube so you can watch it for free. Here's the first episode:

Alright, now let's see what other people have to offer.

 

[WhoopieDoo]

Welcome to Paradox

Similar to Twilight Zone, Outer Limits, etc. Some episodes are pretty good and some are pretty crap (...just like the Twilight Zone).

There are only 13 episodes, and it's been years since I saw it, but least "The Winner", "The Extra", "All Our Sins Forgotten", and "Options" are pretty good.

... Not sure if there are any torrents floating around though. I ripped by boxset years ago and uploaded it to Demonoid, but it could be obscure enough to be seedless...

 

[AnOminous]

The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin, starring Leonard Rossiter.

It isn't immensely obscure, at least in the UK, but has never caught on in the way other British sitcoms have in the U.S.

It's an interesting show in that it's about rather dark topics like depression and existential boredom, but is also often hilarious.

 

[Quijibo69]

Too bad this way before it's time. One of the better cartoons of the late 90's.

 

[TheImportantFart]

Too bad this way before it's time. One of the better cartoons of the late 90's.

That's some dark (but hilarious) shit. Nowadays that'd be right at home on something like Adult Swim.

 

[Steamboat_Bill]

Too bad this way before it's time. One of the better cartoons of the late 90's.

This was probably the high point of Felix the Cat after the 50s cartoon show ended. Everybody knows about the quality of the Felix film, after all...

Most obscure show?... Well, this isn't really that obscure and they actually revived it several years back, but Cartoon Planet, which was a spinoff of Space Ghost Coast to Coast meant for kids and was even funnier.

 

[MrTroll]

The Danish hospital drama/black comedy TV miniseries (8 episodes in 2 seasons) The Kingdom (originally called Riget in Denmark) by Lars Von Trier. I know he mostly has a reputation as a shameless attention whore in his film-making career, but Kingdom is brilliantly dark and trippy, not to mention ridiculously funny, if you don't mind watching subtitled stuff (or happen to speak Danish).

 

[AnOminous]

The Danish hospital drama/black comedy TV miniseries (8 episodes in 2 seasons) The Kingdom (originally called Riget in Denmark) by Lars Von Trier. I know he mostly has a reputation as a shameless attention whore in his film-making career, but Kingdom is brilliantly dark and trippy, not to mention ridiculously funny, if you don't mind watching subtitled stuff (or happen to speak Danish).

Oh damn, I remember this. I hadn't known at the time it was Lars von Trier. It was so utterly fucked up I had no idea what was going on half the time.

 

[WhoopieDoo]

It was so utterly fucked up I had no idea what was going on half the time.

That's a great review. I'm gonna go watch.

 

[Dark Mirror Hole]

Does anyone remember Now and Again back in 2000? Basically Fred Flintstone gets killed by a train and gets his brain transplanted into a superhuman by the government. Then he fights weird bad guys (including a killer bee) while trying to get back to his family to whom he is forbidden from telling the truth. It only lasted one season and the finale ended on a cliffhanger. Such a shame because by then, you become so attached to the characters.

 

[picklehaube]

I'm just going to add "you can't do that on television" .. it was weird in the 80's.. anytime someone said " water " they got it poured on them.. if they said " i don't know " they got slimed. the slime originally was actual fermented stuff they threw in a bucket. Try pulling that off today, seriously. P.S. Alanis Morrisette was on this show, lulz.

 

[TheImportantFart]

Does anyone remember Now and Again back in 2000? Basically Fred Flintstone gets killed by a train and gets his brain transplanted into a superhuman by the government. Then he fights weird bad guys (including a killer bee) while trying to get back to his family to whom he is forbidden from telling the truth. It only lasted one season and the finale ended on a cliffhanger. Such a shame because by then, you become so attached to the characters.

I haven't, but I need to check this out because it sounds so bonkers it just might be amazing.

 

[MrRenegadeRooster]

I don't know how obscure it actually is, but i am literally the only person i know in real life who watched it.

 

[Steamboat_Bill]

I'm just going to add "you can't do that on television" .. it was weird in the 80's.. anytime someone said " water " they got it poured on them.. if they said " i don't know " they got slimed. the slime originally was actual fermented stuff they threw in a bucket. Try pulling that off today, seriously. P.S. Alanis Morrisette was on this show, lulz.

I thought everybody who grew up in the 80s remembered that one.

I don't know how obscure it actually is, but i am literally the only person i know in real life who watched it.

On KaBlam! or as its own thing?

If it was on KaBlam you aren't alone; there's a lot of people who remember it. But if you remember watching it as its own show... then yeah, you are the only one. (Except me, who remembers it airing at 3:30 in the morning in 2006 on Nicktoons Network...)

Speaking of Nicktoons Network, though, allow me to put in Kaput and Zösky for this list. It ran in inconvenient timeslots through most of its short run there, but those who remember it remember it well, because it was a damned funny show, with good voice work (by mostly three people!), good animation, and nicely written scripts, as well as being a Canadian cartoon (a Canadian-French coproduction, really) that is not terrible.

Luckily time hasn't forgotten it and you can see the whole thing on Hulu now, including the episodes that never ran in the U.S.

 

[MrRenegadeRooster]

I thought everybody who grew up in the 80s remembered that one.



On KaBlam! or as its own thing?

If it was on KaBlam you aren't alone; there's a lot of people who remember it. But if you remember watching it as its own show... then yeah, you are the only one. (Except me, who remembers it airing at 3:30 in the morning in 2006 on Nicktoons Network...)

Speaking of Nicktoons Network, though, allow me to put in Kaput and Zösky for this list. It ran in inconvenient timeslots through most of its short run there, but those who remember it remember it well, because it was a damned funny show, with good voice work (by mostly three people!), good animation, and nicely written scripts, as well as being a Canadian cartoon (a Canadian-French coproduction, really) that is not terrible.

Luckily time hasn't forgotten it and you can see the whole thing on Hulu now, including the episodes that never ran in the U.S.

Hahaha both, I actually forgot about Kablam that show was awesome!
But it got its own series, like full length episodes!

 

[Steamboat_Bill]

Hahaha both, I actually forgot about Kablam that show was awesome!
But it got its own series, like full length episodes!

I remember those being material from KaBlam! interspersed with newly-created segments.

 

[picklehaube]

I thought everybody who grew up in the 80s remembered that one.

My apolologies, I should have worded it better. It's obscure to people (read: kangaroos) on the other side of the world.. it was aired for a small time on a government funded channel that was humorously noted at costing each tax payer 8 cents a day to run.

 

[Trombonista]

I don't know how obscure it actually is, but i am literally the only person i know in real life who watched it.

Ouchies!

 

[Vorhtbame]

Obscure? Salvage I, starring Andy Griffith. The pilot was about a junkyard owner (Griffith) who wanted to salvage the junk left by the moon landing. So he built a ship, got an astronaut, and coaxed a scientist to make up some monohydrazine, a potent explosive, for fuel. And hijinx ensued for a couple of seasons.

But more awesome? The MiddleMan, which aired on ABC Family and holy shit it is distilled concentrated awesome. (How awesome? My avatar is of one of the characters.) It's Men in Black meets Spaced with a side order of Captain America, and it is the best thing ever.

 

[juntaro]