10 Step Foolproof Guide To Making An Awful TV Show

By Grace Murray /

9. Give It A Stupid Title

Titles are the TV equivalent of a book's cover: everyone says you shouldn't judge by them, but everyone does. It's hard to take a promo seriously if the title of the show is monumentally dumb, and TV has provided us with some shining examples of idiocy over the years. Don't Trust the B---- In Apartment 23 (2012-13) was intended to be pronounced as a rhyme, but at a glance it just seemed like a cheap attempt to generate controversy. It also had the effect of labelling the show as an edgy adult comedy, when in reality it was kitschy and surreal, so the right audience didn't find it until it was too late. Then we have the 'punny' titles like Tru Calling (2003-05), because the main character's name is Tru, and that is a truly embarrassing attempt at wordplay (get it?). The superlative example of the title gone wrong, however, is 2005's Blind Justice, a show about a blind lawyer. The tagline is even better: 'he lost his sight... not his vision'. Did someone think that was clever?