Can you possibly guess how many episodes these flop Seventies TV shows lasted?

Play studio head in the 1970s!

The 1970s gave us tons of classics, but it also funneled out many forgotten shows that were but a flicker on our screens for a season. Maybe two.

If you're tuned into the Seventies, you probably remember seeing these famous stars in imaginative roles, from Patrick Duffy as a merman to Raymond Burr as a publishing magnate. And who could forget Kate Mulgrew as Mrs. Columbo

Well, it turns out most audiences, unfortunately. But if these shows sound familiar, you're the perfect person to play studio head for this quiz. See if you can guess how many episodes these Seventies TV flops actually ran. Good luck!
  1. For Mrs. Columbo, Kate Mulgrew starred as the lieutenant’s wife, a crime-solving reporter. How many episodes did it last?
  2. For The Mary Tyler Moore Hour, Mary Tyler Moore starred as a variety show star trying to put on a weekly show. How many episodes did it last?
  3. For Paris, James Earl Jones starred as an LAPD captain juggling home life and teaching with supervising a young team of detectives. How many episodes did it last?
  4. For Struck by Lightning, Jack Elam starred as an inn owner descended from Dr. Frankenstein. How many episodes did it last?
  5. For Salvage 1, Andy Griffith starred as a junk man who built his own homemade spaceship. How many episodes did it last?
  6. For Kingston: Confidential, Raymond Burr starred as a publishing magnate who solves crimes based on stories he runs in his papers and TV shows. How many episodes did it last?
  7. For All's Fair, Richard Crenna and Bernadette Peters starred as a couple divided by politics who fall in love in Washington, D.C. How many episodes did it last?
  8. For The Ghost Busters, Larry Storch and Bob Burns starred as ghost hunters with a gorilla sidekick. How many episodes did it last?
  9. For Space Academy, Jonathan Harris starred as the commander of a Space Academy, where he taught young space cadets. How many episodes did it last?
  10. For Future Cop, Ernest Borgnine and John Amos starred as veteran cops training a rookie who’s also a robot. How many episodes did it last?
  11. For The Man From Atlantis, Patrick Duffy starred as an amphibious man who alone survived after Atlantis sank into the ocean. How many episodes did it last?
  12. For Cat and Dog, Lou Antonio played the "dog" and Kim Basinger the "cat," in this crime drama about their male-female police partnership. How many episodes did it last?

Can you possibly guess how many episodes these flop Seventies TV shows lasted?

Your Result...

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26 Comments

Debbie 21 months ago
Total guesses from the start until the end but I still managed to get half of them correct 😉
TonyClifton 22 months ago
How about Hot L Baltimore, Holmes and Yoyo and On The Rocks?
RedSamRackham 53 months ago
* On her variety hour Mary Tyler Moore was NOT our sweet lovable Laura Petrie/Mary Richards. She was a controlling not nice star who hated being upstaged making the show unwatchable. ♣
Glenn 53 months ago
A pure guessing game but some how I managed a 7/12.
CaptainDunsel 57 months ago
5 of 12
I actually remember most of these shows, but obviously not their longevity.

BTW, in "Struck by Lightning" Jeffrey Kramer played Ted Stein, the doctor's descendant. Elam played the inn's caretaker, "Frank" - who it turns out is the still surviving Monster.
TimothyStiles 57 months ago
People you gotta have a whole lotta free time on your hands if you know how many episodes a FLOP was on the air. I thought I was doing good just to know there even was a series called "Man from Atlantis" or "Mrs. Columbo"...I had no idea that Raymond Burr starred in a series "Kingston: Confidential"...was that after his stint as Ironsides? Anyway, I'm a bad guesser...so 3 out of 12, I thought was actually pretty respectable.
Geronimo 57 months ago
7/12
Bobbo Geronimo 57 months ago
Same here. Whole lotta guesses!
BrittReid 57 months ago
6/12..They all sound pretty awful.
Barry22 57 months ago
6/12, just guessing. Some of these shows I never heard of.
Kevin 57 months ago
Ghost Busters starred Larry Storch and Forrest Tucker. Bob Burns was the gorilla. it was a Saturday Morning Kids show.
cperrynaples 57 months ago
8/12! Guessed at how long these lasted but didn't check my book until after the quiz! Here are the lengths of those on network prime time: Mrs. Columbo [AKA Kate Loves A Mystery]-2 short runs in spring and fall 1979. MTM Hour-modified version of Moore's variety show, ran in spring of 1979. Paris-First half of 1979-1980 season. Struck By Lightning-6 episodes were produced, but only 3 were broadcast. Salvage 1-2 short runs in spring and summer 1979 with a few leftovers run after Out Of The Blue failed! Kingston: Confidential-Spring and simmer 1977. All's Fair-Only prime time show on this quiz that ran a full season [1976-1977]. Fun Fact: Michael Keaton's first acting role as a Presidential aide. Future Cop- My book doesn't list it, I'll have to double check! Man From Atlantis- Specials in the spring of 1977,followed by 2 short runs the following season. Fun Fact: The final run overlapped the first season of Dallas! Dog & Cat-Spring of 1977!
cperrynaples cperrynaples 57 months ago
PS As it turns out, Future Cop has a history even more bizarre than its premise! ABC ordered a pilot in 1976, but didn't run the series until 1977, and then on an irregular basis. It was then canceled and picked up by NBC, who retitled it Cops & Robins. NBC only ran one episode before killing it off. Believe it or not, the full series is on DVD! As for my quiz score, my misses were 5, 6, 11 & 12!
cperrynaples cperrynaples 57 months ago
PSS Summer not simmer! When I spell a real word, Spellcheck doesn't warn me!
SalIanni cperrynaples 57 months ago
Michael Keaton was also in #2 The Mary Tyler Moore Hour, a variety show that also featured David Letterman in the cast.
cperrynaples SalIanni 57 months ago
Letterman was in Mary [1978] but not on MTMH [1979]. However, he had a memorable guest role on Mork & Mindy!
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