10 Best TV Shows That Were Never Made
7. Heil Honey, I'm Home! Was The Hitler Sitcom Nobody Wanted, But Was Ahead Of Its Time
It was comedy legend Mel Brooks who said that laughing at people and groups that inspire hatred takes away their power, and if recent years have taught us anything, there are smart, funny, even tasteful ways to mock to leader of the Third Reich. Works like JoJo Rabbit, Brooks' The Producers and its musical as well as To Be or Not To Be serve as perfect examples of how to make Hitler the subject of ridicule.
In 1990, however, England's Heil Honey, I'm Home proved how not to do it. Most criticisms of the sitcom centered around its tasteless premise, which saw Adolf and Eva Braun living in Berlin in 1938 next to a Jewish couple, but few mention how shrill and irritating it is apart from the controversy. None of the jokes land successfully, and the show's main flaw is glaring: it doesn't centre around subtle criticism of the genocidal maniac, but instead mocks the standard set up of a 50s sitcom - using I Love Lucy as a template.
One episode aired, much to the disgust of the country. With some adjustments, however, it's not a premise without merit. Years earlier, National Lampoon Magazine did a photoshoot with Adolf on the beaches of South America - equally in bad taste, but much funnier. So a show about the leader of the third Reich wrestling with domestic hassles is not without comedic potential, Heil Honey just aimed at the wrong targets.