Released in April 1977, ‘All That Glitters’ was a soap opera ‘spoof’ show that was on TV five times a week, during the late-night slot. In an effort to be different, the show’s plot took place in a world where women were the head of the house and men worked as secretaries. Obviously, this was not a popular story back in the ’70s.
Lasting barely three months, it’s a miracle the show even lasted this long, especially after it was called “embarrassingly amateurish” by TIME magazine. Seems like a talented cast, including Gary Sandy, Eileen Brennan, Lois Nettleton, and Greg Evigan, wasn’t enough to make this show a hit.
A Year at the Top
Lasting only 5 episodes, 'A Year at the Top' was a 1977 TV show that aired on CBS. It featured a talented cast, including Greg Evigan, Paul Shaffer, Priscilla Lopez, Nedra Volz, Julie Cobb, and Mickey Rooney (who only appeared in the pilot episode).
Although it had an interesting premise of two struggling musicians that make a pact with the devil's son, played by Gabriel Dell, in order to achieve success, viewers just didn't find it good enough.
Flatbush
'Flatbush' aired on CBS in 1979, and it was about a group of high schoolers that lived in New York's Flatbush neighborhood. They called themselves "The Fungos" and were always finding new adventures to take part in. The storyline seemed promising, and the cast included a young group of actors that could've made it work, but it just didn't.
Apparently, there were a lot of offensive ethnic stereotypes portrayed in the series, and obviously, audiences didn't like it one bit. In fact, even Flatbush's neighborhood president criticized the show, making ratings drop even more. The network produced six episodes, but it was so badly received that it could only air three of them.
Nashville 99
'Nashville 99' was an American crime drama series that was meant to be a replacement for the time-slot occupied by the famous 'The Sonny and Cher Show' in 1977. The show featured famous singer/songwriter 'Smokey and the Bandit' star Jerry Reed. But even he wasn't able to turn the show into gold.
Reed played a detective, and co-star Claude Akins played a lieutenant. Reed, whose badge number was '99', was the comedic element in the duo, while Akins was the more serious, professional one. Unfortunately, only four episodes were filmed, and the show was canceled after three weeks.
Lucas Tanner
The 1974 NBC drama series 'Lucas Tanner' had a pretty simple plot: a successful sportswriter and baseball player who loses his family in an accident and decides to start a new life. David Hartman, who plays Lucas Tanner, moves to St. Louis and starts teaching in the local high school.
Tanner has a fresh and friendly approach to teaching, which makes him beloved by students, but not so liked among teachers that have an old-fashioned way of teaching. Unfortunately, Hartman and his fellow talented co-stars, Robbie Rist and Rosemary Murphy, weren't enough to keep 'Lucas Tanner' on the air for more than 22 episodes. NBC canceled the series in under a year.