Great Entertainment Disasters Part 2

After the resounding success of my last article on some of the best known disasters in entertainment history I had to follow the lead of Hollywood by creating something out of nothing. So here is the enviable sequel to that earlier article. Here you will find poorly researched nominations, political mistakes, films that would make better banjo picks and stars that should have retired while they were ahead. I hope you enjoy reading these's lesser known mistakes. On with the show (I guess)

Life with Lucy .(1986)

In Lucile Ball was still smarting over the failure of her last attempt to become a film star and was growing restless with retirement. ABC approached her in late 1985 to make another typical Lucy sitcom produced by Aaron Spelling who would surround Lucy with familiar faces. These faces including two of her I Love Lucy writers and her long time co-star Gale Gordon. ABC desperate for a hit, gave her complete control over everything, a million an episode, no requirement to make a pilot and her pick of any time slot she wanted. Thinking what worked before would work now Lucy slotted her new show in her old home of 7:30 PM (EST) where both I Love Lucy and Here'sLucy ran together for over 15 years. Though the first episode gathered impressive ratings the show lost viewers as the weeks went on. What Lucy had forgotten was that time had caught up with the aging star and what was funny in 1953 wasn't funny in the 80's. Though it was heavily promoted by ABC as the centerpiece of their fall season fans preferred the Lucy of the 50's and 60's and ABC took it off the air after only eight episodes had aired. The aging star felt that her fans had deserted and she never fully recovered from it's failure. Eventually the last five shows of the series eventually aired on Nick at Nite in 1996 . But by that time Lucy had passed away and she wasn't around to see them flop as badly as they did in 1986.

Garth Brooks in the Life of Chris Gaines .(1999)

Chicago's Disco Demolition Night

Credit: Chicago Sun Times

Copyright: Steve Mandich.com