The Worst Sitcom Ever Made

RNZ Originals

4.3 (31)
COMEDY
COMPLETE SERIES

Geoff Houtman created the worst sitcom ever made. It's haunted him for 25 years

EPISODE 1

'I think of it like a cult'

Kiwi TV show 'Melody Rules' came out in the 90s and is widely regarded as one of worst sitcoms ever made. But just how bad was it? Geoff Houtman - one of the show's original writers - embarks on a quest to find out what went wrong.

25 min
EPISODE 2

'What? You want us to write a kids' show?'

Geoff and some of the original writing group talk about the 'odd' way Melody Rules came to be chosen, and how micro-management from the outset set the course for sitcom-disaster.

25 min
EPISODE 3

'Even I thought I was a terrible choice!'

Even a badly chosen idea and a micro-managed script needs someone to play it. And casting is crucial... especially with inexperienced actors.

23 min
EPISODE 4

'Just f#&%ing stand there and say your line!'

Geoff tracks down the man who directed all 40 episodes of Melody Rules and hears about the challenges he faced: inexperience, arguments with the actors, news cameras on loan, making a sitcom in a broom closet.

22 min
EPISODE 5

'The one-eyed man in the kingdom of the blind'

Geoff tracks down John Vorhaus, the sitcom guru. How did John get the job of training the young writers and what did he make of it all?

24 min
EPISODE 6

'There was just... vitriol in the air'

Melody Rules is finally unleashed on a hyped-up New Zealand public and is greeted with virtual (and actual) hostility.

21 min
EPISODE 6

'The Network would say, here's what we're going to do, blah blah blah'

What were the Network people thinking when they made Melody Rules? Geoff gets their - surprisingly positive - take on the experience.

23 min
EPISODE 8

'I just want to go now'

So how did the failure that was Melody Rules affect the people involved? In this final episode, Geoff's on the road to find out and to discover what he's learned about himself and his perceived failure.

21 min
EPISODE 9 BONUS

The mess, the 25 year old monkey and me

It's been a monkey on his back for 25 years. It's time to try to understand what happened to bring about such a monstrous failure.

2 min

9 Episodes

4.3

out of 5

31 Ratings

Longer eps plz

28/04/2019

Zombielover748292

Very funny and very interesting subject matter, but the short length of the episodes means a good percentage is taken up with intros and outros which can be annoying when you binge listen.
Enjoyable and many-layered

13/05/2019

Lambda4S

This ended up being much more than just a laugh at a past embarrassment. I think it will be of interest to all involved in any creative activity, artistic or technical. Like all the best stories, it's told by the people who were involved, who happen to be engaging personalities.