12. Life As We Know It (ABC, 2004 – 2005): Lasting only 11 episodes before ABC unceremoniously yanked it from the air, “Life As We Know It” premiered during perhaps the most cancel-happy era in television. Developed by two of the producers of “Freaks and Geeks” (maybe the writing was already on the wall), the series may have ultimately been undone by poor ratings, but the Parents Television Council’s campaign against the show’s sexual themes certainly didn’t help. Then again, when you green light a series based on a controversial young-adult novel called “Doing It” that follows the exploits of a trio of best friends (Sean Faris, Jon Foster and Chris Lowell) navigating the highs and lows of adolescence, you can hardly pretend to be surprised when its characters discuss sex on a fairly regular basis.

Featuring a great cast of young up-and-comers that also included Missy Peregrym and Kelly Osbourne (yes, that Kelly Osbourne, who’s never been cuter than she was here), “Life As We Know It” certainly wasn’t perfect by any means, but it easily outshined similar shows like “Dawson’s Creek” and “The O.C.,” particularly in its handling of its adult characters. The series wasn’t without the usual high school clichés, but the writers never shied away from edgier material, either – like a student having a secret affair with his teacher or a star jock dealing with performance issues – resulting in a smart, sweet and incredibly honest look at how sex changes everything. – Jason Zingale

11. Welcome Back, Kotter (ABC, 1975 – 1979): Despite suffering through remedial classes and acting far more rebellious than was deemed socially acceptable, Gabe Kotter (played by the suspiciously similarly-named Gabe Kaplan) still somehow managed to graduate from James Buchanan High School, but who would have thought that the dreams that were his ticket out would lead him back there? (John Sebastian did, of course, but that’s not really relevant to this discussion.) With his teacher certification tucked into his back pocket, Kotter returns to his alma mater and takes on the challenge of trying to educate the new generation of remedial students. Oh, sure, their names have all changed since he hung around – now they’re called Vinnie Barbarino (John Travolta), Arnold Horshack (Ron Palillo), Freddie “Boom-Boom” Washington (Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs), and Juan Epstein (Robert Hegyes) – but they’re still “sweathogs” all the way.

Most would likely agree that “Welcome Back, Kotter” was at its best when it was still the original four Sweathogs, i.e. before Travolta slipped away from television, put on a white suit, and found big-screen success on the dance floor, but even at its funniest, few would probably describe it as the most realistic look into high school life.

“I don’t think anyone was trying to replicate the high school experience so much as they were trying to service those particular characters and write stories about them,” said Mark Evanier, who served as a story editor for the show. “If you could get a good joke out of it, great…though there were times I think we settled for a decent catch-phrase.”

While the words “up your nose with a rubber hose” lend credence to Evanier’s theory, the Marx-Brothers-inspired chemistry between the Sweathogs helps their slapstick shenanigans hold up nonetheless. And, besides, who needs realism when you’ve got Gabe Kaplan doing Groucho? – Will Harris

10. Glee (Fox, 2009 – present): Is it telling that one of the most popular current shows on TV came it at only the #10 spot? If nothing else, maybe it proves we here at Bullz-Eye aren’t prone to fads. Except that maybe we are, as “Glee” has made it onto our TV Power Rankings lists time and again since its debut. But this list isn’t about what entertains us in the broader sense; it’s about great high school shows. As entertaining as “Glee” can be, it has almost nothing real to say about the high school experience, and in fact most of the high school kids I know find it to be pretty nonsensical.

The one area that it seems to excel in as far as capturing the high school experience is in its ability to play romantic musical chairs with its cast of teenage characters. These kids are fickle, and the only guarantee that seems to come with a relationship on “Glee” is that sooner or later it’s going to end. Some props should probably also be given for their attempt to zero in on the bullying issue that so seems to afflict kids today, but “Glee” chose to unfortunately treat the topic with kid gloves rather than say something truly meaningful. None of this is to say that “Glee” isn’t one hell of an entertaining series, because it is, but anyone looking for something a little deeper would do best to dust off their old DVD of “The Breakfast Club.” – Ross Ruediger

9. Square Pegs (CBS, 1982 – 1983): We hate to recycle the opening line of our DVD review for this classic ’80s sitcom, but since the statement still holds true, we’re going to do it, anyway: “Although there’s absolutely nothing inaccurate about labeling ‘Square Pegs’ as an artifact of its time, it’s far too lazy a phrase to use as the sole descriptor of a series that was not only one of the funniest sitcoms of the ‘80s, but the most accurate representation of ostracized high school kids this side of ‘Freaks and Geeks.’” Hyperbole, ahoy…? Not if you grew up in the ’80s, my friend.

Kids today may only see the novelty value in “Square Pegs” (“Hey, look, Sarah Jessica Parker before ‘Sex and the City’!”), but back when dweebs and spazzes were still busy battling preppies and valley girls, it was – you’ll pardon the expression – totally awesome to see new wave kids represented in a halfway-accurate fashion in prime time. Admittedly, characters like Johnny Slash (Merritt Butrick), Jennifer DeNuccio (Tracy Nelson), and Muffy Tepperman (Jami Gertz) were painted with some pretty broad strokes, but those of us who suffered through the lower circles of the hell that is high school saw kindred spirits in Patty Greene (the aforementioned Ms. Parker), Lauren Hutchinson (Amy Linker), or, in my case, Marshall Blechtman (John Femia). That I was forever mystified while Marshall wasn’t considered the most hilarious kid at Weemawee High School says, I fear, rather a lot about my social standing. – Will Harris

8. Skins (2007 – present): Even though the preceding parenthetical run dates should already make it evident, let’s go ahead and clarify this point right up front: we’re talking about the UK version of “Skins,” not MTV’s attempt at Americanization. Not that we blame the network formerly known for providing Music Television for trying to put their own stamp on the property, but if all they were going to do was water it down for Stateside sensibilities, then they really needn’t have bothered. There’s a reason why creators Bryan Elsley and Jamie Brittain have been recognized by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts and Rose d’Or festival, precious little of which can be seen on “our” version.

“If parents were freaking out over the incredibly unrealistic scenarios presented in ‘Gossip Girl,’” we mused in our review of “Skins: Volume One,” “then one can only imagine the series of heart attacks and strokes that could occur from viewing the disconcertingly real circumstances within this show.” That’s not to say that the level of teenage sex, drugs, and general mischief seen on “Skins” are the norm, but what will make them so disconcerting to moms and dads is that they’re presented in a manner which, unlike in your typical CW series, will make you fear that your child could be doing the same thing at the very moment! Another impressive element of “Skins” is the creators’ decision to phase out characters after a season or two, which keeps the show fresh. Shame about the MTV version, but don’t let that stop you from embracing the brilliance of the original.

7. The White Shadow (CBS, 1978 – 1981): Ken Howard starred as Ken Reeves, a former NBA player whose career is cut short by injury. An old friend reaches out to him and Reeves gives up the pros, moves to L.A. and becomes the unlikely coach of an inner city basketball team. The set up is very high concept, but the execution of “The White Shadow” was much more down to earth. Created by Bruce Paltrow, the series explored the lives of the young men, an eclectic cast of blacks and whites, as much as it dealt with Reeves adapting to his new lifestyle. With Reeves taking on the role of father figure, he did his best to help each kid reach his potential.

An early example of a dramedy, the series introduced us to memorable characters like Morris Thorpe, Go-Go Gomez, Reese, Salami (and his car, the Motel California) and of course, Coolidge. Each kid had spark and charm and made coming back each week a joy, even though the roads they travelled were often full of roadblocks like racism, drugs and violence. That rare show aimed at men of all ages that didn’t involve cops or lawyers, “The White Shadow” holds up today because it treated the high school kids like real people and not just caricatures drawn up in an executives office. – Scott Malchus

6. Parker Lewis Can’t Lose (Fox, 1990 – 1993): What “30 Rock” is to actual television production, and what “Arrested Development” was to the real real estate business, “Parker Lewis Can’t Lose” was to high school life. Wrongly tagged as a knock-off of “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” but with an admitted debt to Phil Joanou’s little seen “Three O’Clock High,” this early 1990s sitcom was years ahead of its time in breaking the static mold of the single-camera sitcom and foreshadowing the camera tricks of more recent live-action cartoons like “Malcolm in the Middle” and “My Name is Earl.” Created by Clyde Phillips and Lon Diamond, the comedy portrayed high school not as the setting for emotional ordeals, but a place where, if valuable life-lessons were to be learned, they were going to be learned in the context of an absurdist comic wonderland of spoofery that recalled both “Rock and Roll High School” and “Airplane!”

Week after week, Corin Nemec‘s preternaturally resourceful and resilient title character, soulful pompadoured rebel Mikey Randall (Billy Jayne), and insanely accomplished neurotic super-nerd and high-tech jacket wearer Jerry Steiner (Troy Slaten) thwarted the fun-killing evil plans of Principal Grace Musso (Melanie Chartoff) and Parker’s diabolical kid sister, Shelly (Maia Brewton), with cartoonish aplomb on a show that was mostly about silly spoofs, Bugs Bunny-eseque slapstick, and wish fulfillment. Dealing with the realities of adolescence was fine for other shows, but when it came to good-natured pokes at teen drama cliches, current events, and television itself, “Parker Lewis Can’t Lose” was a consistent winner. – Bob Westal

5. Buffy the Vampire Slayer (The WB, 1997 – 2001 / UPN, 2001 – 2003): Joss Whedon‘s most popular and analyzed creation is never oversubtle in the metaphor department. Was your high school a living hell? Sunnydale High sits over a “hellmouth” which attracts all forms of evil. Is teen sex fraught with peril in your experience? When Buffy Summers (Sarah Michelle Gellar), finally sleeps with her heroic vampire boyfriend, Angel (David Boreanaz), he literally loses his soul and commences eating her friends. A combination of epic fantasy a la Marvel Comics, action, not-too-scary monster horror, and soap opera with generous portions of the kind of fast-paced verbal comedy that supposedly died in 1964, “Buffy” became a television classic because it was as honest as it was fun.

Many complained when Whedon killed off sympathetic and popular characters, but a truly excellent show based on the very idea of death had to occasionally deal with death. For seven frequently brilliant, hugely inventive seasons starting in 1997, “Buffy” was equally honest, and often hilariously satiric, on topics ranging from bad relationships, to bigotry, conformism, religion, and the fact that life cam be so complicated that even the smartest among us have no clue how to deal with it. High school might be a kind of hell for some, but when Buffy and her friends graduated, the struggles only became more complex. The good news was that, with loyal friends and family members, life could be survived and enjoyed, as well as suffered. If several of those friends have super powers, even better.

4. Friday Night Lights (NBC, 2006 – 2011): Pure. That’s the only way to describe this honest, sincere portrayal of life in a small Texas city, where the ebb and flow of life revolved around the success of the high school football teams. Through five seasons, we saw a parade of characters that rang true to the real high school experience. Unfortunately, the show only attracted a loyal, cult like audience. People didn’t want realism; they wanted to escape and forget about their problems. Yet, through the wonderfully drawn characters, especially the core of the series, football coach, Eric Taylor (Kyle Chandler), and his wife, high school counselor, Tami (Connie Britton), “Friday Night Lights” offered something sorely lacking in American television: hope.

We saw teenagers face devastating injuries, get abandoned by their parents, deal with drug issues, unwanted pregnancies and the threat of jail and death. Yet, through the example set by the Taylors, at the end of every day there was an optimism that permeated from the dusty streets of Dillon. For its depiction of small town America and its truthfulness in portraying the high school experience, “Friday Night Lights” will go down as one of the premiere television dramas of the past decade, if not in the history of television. Like I said, pure. – Scott Malchus

3. Veronica Mars (UPN, 2004 – 2006 / The CW, 2006 – 2007): Juggling school work, extra-curricular activities, and dealing with the negative effects that doing the right thing can have on your social status are not new grounds for a show set in high school. Ah, but what if the high school student was also a private investigator, and not just a private investigator but a smoking hot private investigator? Then they would be Veronica Mars, who’s thrown to the dogs by her rich friends (her sheriff father suspected one of their fathers of murder) and forced to recruit a new band of Scoobies to help her solve crime and survive the hallways of Neptune High.

Kristen Bell has to know that this was a once-in-a-lifetime part for her – hell, she pretty much acknowledges and makes fun of that in “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” – and she made the most of it, making the guarded but vulnerable Veronica one of the most desirable women on television, even though her personal life was a shambles. She didn’t solve cupcake cases involving missing puppies, either. Veronica solved murders (including that of her best friend, which sent her boyfriend’s father to jail), caught rapists (including her own), and hung out with Latino bikers. To use characters from fellow high school show “Freaks and Geeks,” Veronica Mars is like Lindsay Weir and Kim Kelly rolled into one, street smart and tough but kind-hearted, and her supporting cast, particularly Jason Dohring and Enrico Colantoni as Veronica’s boyfriend and father, respectively, was exceptional. One of the rare shows where the high school drama has its rightful place in the grand scheme of things: at the bottom. – David Medsker

2. My So-Called Life (ABC, 1994 – 1995): It stands to reason that “My So-Called Life” and – spoiler alert! – “Freaks and Geeks” should take the top two spots on our list. They are, after all, not only great shows about high school, but truthful shows about life, full of poignancy, heartbreak and humor. This series is more feminine in its approach, whereas “Freaks and Geeks” has more of a masculine take. Claire Danes was all but a nobody when this series hit the airwaves, but that didn’t stop her from deftly imbuing Angela Chase with all the angst, hope and desire that goes along with being a teenager.

One of the most famous episodes of the series revolved around Angela being tormented by a zit, and that, more than anything else, is what being a teenager is really all about. It’s that time in your life when the smallest things carry the biggest weight. Teens change, but certain aspects of that period of years remain constant no matter what the decade. “My So-Called Life” life is just as tight and smart today as it was when ABC unveiled it 17 years ago. Many have bemoaned its early cancellation (it only lasted 19 episodes) and rightly so, as there were obviously many, many more stories to tell. But the positive side is that it got created at all, and you’ve still not seen it, by all means pick up the complete-series set from Shout! Factory. – Ross Ruediger

1. Freaks and Geeks (NBC, 1999 – 2000): Judd Apatow may have turned into a household name with the college crowd as a result of his film work, but he earned a special place in the hearts of TV critics and discerning viewers when he served as the executive producer of the single season wonder known as “Freaks and Geeks,” created by Paul Feig. The latter gentleman doesn’t get nearly enough credit for what he brought to the table for the series, but anyone who’s taken the time to read both volumes of his memoirs – Kick Me: Adventures in Adolescence and Superstud: Or How I Became A 24-Year-Old Virgin – knows of Feig’s firsthand familiarity with freakdom.

It only takes a single glance at the above photo to see that the show had a cast to die for: the freaks were James Franco, Jason Segel, Seth Rogen, and Busy Philipps, who’s now on “Cougar Town,” the geeks were Samm Levine (“Inglorious Basterds”) and Martin Starr (“Party Down”), and somewhere in between were Lindsay Weir (Linda Cardellini, late of “ER”) and her little brother, Sam (John Francis Daley, currently of “Bones”). It’s no surprise that this crew could make with the funny whenever it was required of them, but much of the humor was the sort that made you laugh both because it was funny and because you’d lived through something similar yourself, a feeling aided in no small way by having the show set in the early 1980s. Unfortunately, between the retro setting and the odd title, “Freaks and Geeks” failed to pull a large audience, a fact which seems inconceivable when you consider how many people have subsequently fallen in love with it on DVD, thanks to Shout Factory. Indeed, after watching the complete-series set, one is hard pressed to comprehend how viewers didn’t riot in the streets when the series got its walking papers. “Freaks and Geeks” isn’t just a great high school show. It’s one of the best TV series of all time. – Will Harris

Extra Credit: What, like you really thought we’d be able to narrow it down to just 12 series? Get real. Here are some of our other favorites. We still left some out, of course, but you’ve got to stop somewhere, haven’t you? (Besides, this gives you plenty of room to complain in the comments section about what we’ve forgotten.)

21 Jump Street (Fox, 1987 – 1991): God only knows what the hell we should expect from the forthcoming film adaptation of this early offering from the Fox network, but it’s a fair bet that Jonah Hill won’t walk out with the same sex-symbol status that Johnny Depp earned while playing Officer Tom Hanson. The concept of “21 Jump Street” involved a quartet of fresh-faced cops – played by Depp, Holly Robinson, Peter Deluise, and Dustin Ngyuen, with Richard Grieco joining the cast in ’88 and then spinning off into his own short-lived series, “Booker” – working undercover as high school students, regularly reporting back to their supervisor, Captain Fuller (Steven Williams). Lots of hot teen topics were tackled, most of which were resolved within an hour, just like in real life. – Will Harris

Beverly Hills, 90210 (Fox, 1990 – 2000): Although the current incarnation of this classic series (The CW’s “90210″) may have finally found its own identity now that it’s in its third season, trying to dismiss the classic classroom drama of Brandon, Brenda, Dylan, and Kelly is basically asking to get your ass kicked. (Those original-series fans are a tenacious bunch.) Few will deny that the show went on a couple of seasons longer than it probably should have, and the jokes about twentysomethings trying to get away with playing high schoolers were absolutely on the mark, but neither of those observations change the fact that “Beverly Hills 90210″ defined the nighttime teen soap genre. Will Harris

Clone High (MTV, 2002 – 2003): Was this the greatest concept for a high school show ever…? You be the judge: it’s a high school entirely populated by clones of famous historical figures, created as an experiment by the U.S. military in order to harness their mental and physical abilities for the good of the nation. Abe Lincoln, JFK, Genghis Khan, Cleopatra, George Washington Carver, Helen of Troy…even Mahatma Gandhi.

“I loved that show, man,” Bill Lawrence, the co-creator of the series, told Premium Hollywood in 2009. “Once you’ve been doing this long enough, you have a couple of things in your past, you have failures that you feel failed rightfully so, and you have some failures that you’re, like, ‘That was wrong.’ TV has so many elements out of your control, be it marketing, timeslots, promotion, luck of the draw…or the Indian government, like “Clone High.’”

Yeah, that whole thing about including Gandhi as one of the students? Not such a hit in India. Nearly 150 Indian MPs and political activists pledged to fast in protest of the series…or, as E! Online put it, “(MTV) came under fire from Indian officials offended by ‘Clone High”s ‘toon version of Gandhi, a high schooler purportedly cloned from the assassinated Mohandas Gandhi, who goes by the nicknames G-Man, and DNA Dan, (and) has an affinity for dangly earrings, rap music, junk food and ‘being the ultimate party animal.’”

I am shocked…shocked!…that Indians would be unamused by such a depiction of the father of satyagraha. Me, though, I thought the show was hilarious. – Will Harris

Daria (MTV, 1997 – 2001): It’s easy to forget that “Daria,” the whip-smart animated series about a wise-beyond-her-years high school misanthrope who never met a line she couldn’t underdeliver, was a spin-off of the pinnacle of dumbness, “Beavis & Butt-Head.” Fortunately, the similarities end there. Daria is a rare beast of teenager, one who clearly isn’t like the other kids, but rather than having a complex or an attitude about it, she instead observes her peers – and pretty much everyone else – with detached amusement, never getting involved and never getting hurt.

Where she inherited this personality trait is anyone’s guess, as everyone in her family is a high-strung head case, but it leads to some incredible verbal volleying with her vain but secretly smart sister Quinn, who’s one of the greatest animated characters in TV history. Even better is Trent, the slacker older brother of Daria’s best friend Jane and, temperament-wise, a perfect match for Daria. In all other aspects of life, though, they couldn’t be less alike (he’s seven years older and still lives at home). Ultimately, the true genius of “Daria” is how they provided so many shallow characters with so much depth; frankly, it’s amazing that MTV allowed something so unassumingly witty to run as long as they did. – David Medsker

Degrassi: The Next Generation (CTV, 2001 – 2009 / MuchMusic, 2010 – present): No list of high school series would be complete without a mention of this Canadian phenomenon that has lasted a staggering ten seasons on the air. Seen in the U.S. on TeenNick, “Degrassi: The Next Generation” has had a multitude of cast members (as students have grown and moved away) and introduced the world to the talents of Shenae Grimes (“Beverly Hills: 90210), Nina Dobrev (“The Vampire Diaries) and recording artist, Drake (who acted under his birth name, Aubrey Graham).

While characters have come and gone, one thing that has not changed is “Degrassi’s” dedication to tackling sensitive issues such as drugs, rape, abortion and mental illness in a realistic and thoughtful manner. Some of the plotlines may border on the soapy (this is a teen series after all), but the producers have always written with a purity that is lacking in pretty much every crass sitcom or adventure show marketed to teenagers. Obviously, the Bullz-Eye readership is not the intended audience of “Degrassi: The Next Generation,” (unless you’re a teenage boy who got sidetracked from the models pages) but if you are a fan of YA literature or high school shows in general, this Canadian import is worth checking out. – Scott Malchus

Everwood (The WB, 2002 – 2006): New York City piano protégé, Ephram Brown (Gregory Smith) is uprooted by his grieving father and moved with his younger sister to a small Colorado town. Full of himself and angry over the death of his mother, Ephram has no desire to integrate into the rural community of Everwood. But he has no choice, and viewers were thankful that his father, Dr. Andy Brown, refused to return the family back to New York. With a stellar cast, led by Treat Williams as Andy, “Everwood” was the rare family show being broadcast on any major network during the early 2000’s.

Although Williams was billed as the star, it wasn’t Andy’s story that was so compelling. It was Ephram’s and his coming of age. “Everwood” had many of the hallmarks of a teen series – the outcast trying to fit in, the girl of his dreams (Emily VanCamp) that he would eventually win, the high school bully (Chris Pratt) who would become his best friend – but it succeeded because of the sensitivity it used in approaching these universal themes, and by its execution. Often praised as one of the best written and well acted shows of its time, the series only lasted four seasons, a victim of the WB/UPN merger. However, the first three seasons of “Everwood” are available on DVD and well worth your time. – Scott Malchus

Fame (NBC, 1982 – 1983 / Syndication, 1983 – 1987): It’s appropriate, I suppose, that the only part about “Fame” that’s lived forever in my memory is its name…and I probably wouldn’t even remember that if Irene Cara’s theme song wasn’t so damned catchy. Still, the cinematic story of the New York City High School for the Performing Arts (which, though fictional, is directly inspired by the Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts, also in New York) spawned a series that survived network cancellation to run for an additional four seasons in syndication, which is nothing to sneeze at. I’m not sure it’s a good thing that it inspired a generation of insufficiently-talented kids to say, “I am totally talented enough to go to one of those schools,” but I guess it’s no worse than the similar delusions inspired by “American Idol.” – Will Harris

Head of the Class (ABC, 1986 – 1991): Who knew that Johnny Fever’s doctorate was an EdD? (We’d always presumed it was something to do with pharmaceuticals.)

After seeing the three dispensable seasons of “WKRP in Cincinnati” episodes rerun over and over and over again, it was somewhat jarring to see a ‘stache-less Howard Hesseman not only standing in front of a classroom, wearing a coat and/or tie (but rarely both) and shaping young minds, but – gasp! – wearing a suit. Charlie Moore (Hesseman) came into a Manhattan high school as a substitute history teacher, but he soon finds himself as the full-time instructor to the school’s academically-gifted students, including nerdy Arvid (Dan Frischman), chubby Dennis (Dan Schneider), super-spoiled Darlene (Robin Givens), and Janice (Tannis Vallely), otherwise known as the little girl with pigtails and glasses. By the time the series wrapped, however, Hesseman was long gone, having been replaced by Billy Connolly, a very funny man who, alas, was never really in a position to play to his comedic strengths.

“Head of the Class” wasn’t what you’d call edgy, but it’s worthy of mention because of its noble efforts to take away some of the stigma of being a smart kid. Unfortunately, it’s also pretty dated, which is why you don’t see it in syndication very much anymore. (Those Reagan jokes just don’t play the way they used to.) – Will Harris

James at 15 / James at 16 (NBC, 1977 – 1978): It’s almost quaint to think that this series, which changed its title with the age of its lead character, erupted in controversy over the network’s decision to make James – played by Lance Kerwin – feel bad about losing his virginity. Indeed, the show’s creator, Dan Wakefield, quit the show as a result.

According to People at the time…

Wakefield submitted a script calling for James to yield his virtue to a Swedish exchange student on his 16th birthday. (The title will simultaneously age to James at 16.) But squeamish NBC censors balked at Wakefield’s treatment of sex and contraception and had the show rewritten to “punish” the young lovers with guilt. “The network didn’t mind that James was going to have sex,” claims Wakefield, who is working in television for the first time, “but they said even a vague mention of birth control [James' euphemism: "Are you responsible?"] made the episode too controversial. I felt it would have been totally irresponsible not to include that reference.” NBC answers that the script’s problem was not birth control but the “dangerous ground” of “promiscuity.”

History, thankfully, has allowed Wakefield to have the last laugh: when people look back at this storyline now, the only thing they’re thinking is, “Man, I wish I’d lost my virginity to a Swedish exchange student. That’d only be, like, the best first-time story ever!”

Room 222 (ABC, 1969 – 1974): You didn’t need to be a media theorist to figure out that this witty, well-acted comedy-drama, created by a young James L. Brooks, operated on a formula.

It would start with comedic repartee between wry, befuddled principal Seymour Kaufman (Michael Constantine) — yes, there probably is a “Simpsons” connection there — adorably zany student teacher Alice Johnson (Karen Valentine), smart school-counselor Liz McIntyre (Denise Nicolas), and history teacher Pete Dixon (Lloyd Haynes). Since Mr. Dixon and Miss McIntyre were both thirtyish and African-American, it followed that they were dating.

After the first commercial break, a troubled student would emerge, often with a problem ripped from the headlines of the day. After the second break, the troubled student would have a heart-to-heart chat with the extremely wise, compassionate and Poitier-esque Mr. Haynes. By the epilogue, the student would be on the road to a productive adult life.

To be fair, the formula did get broken at times, and the show was a trailblazer in its relatively realistic depiction of the kinds of multi-ethnic schools that were then emerging in racial-strife-torn Los Angeles. It also remains a frightening depiction of early 1970s male hairstyles. Wacky comedy relief student Bernie (David Jolliffe) sported television’s most massive Jewfro, which easily dwarfed the staid Afros of black characters like his buddy, Jason (Heshimu). Bernie’s hair didn’t win any awards, but, by God, it deserved its own show. – Bob Westal

Saved by the Bell (NBC, 1989 – 1993): All things being equal, if we’re going to watch Elizabeth Berkeley in something, we’d just as soon make it “Showgirls” (the acting’s just as bad, but as least we get nudity), but we can’t deny the staying power of this kitschy Saturday morning sitcom. That doesn’t mean we have to write much about it, though. – Will Harris

The Wonder Years (ABC, 1988 – 1993): Given that every single member of the Bullz-Eye staff swears by this coming-of-age comedy…or dramedy, really, once you consider how many times it made us tear up over the years…it’s a little surprising that Kevin Arnold and company didn’t actually rank in the list proper. Or is it?

I don’t know about you, but when I think of “The Wonder Years,” I think most specifically of the early episodes, when Kevin and Winnie weren’t even in their teens yet (Fred Savage was 12 when the show started). Plus, so many of the key storylines involved the Arnold family that, even with all of those appearances by Robert Picardo as Coach Cutlip and that gut-wrenching episode when Kevin’s algebra teacher dies unexpectedly from a heart attack, I just don’t think of “The Wonder Years” first and foremost as a high school show…not that that makes it any less awesome. – Will Harris

First up, a list of our 20 favorite series inspired by movies. You’ll likely disagree with some of our choices, but…well, frankly, you always disagree with some of our choices, and we’ve learned to live with that.

1. The Odd Couple (ABC, 1970 – 1975): Yeah, we know it’s technically a TV series inspired by a play, but it never would’ve been made if the movie version hadn’t been a success first. Believe it or not, Tony Randall actually wanted Mickey Rooney to play the Oscar Madison to his Felix Unger, due to the success they’d had together when they played the roles together on Broadway, but the series’ executive producer, Garry Marshall, fought for Jack Klugman and won.

Nice one, Garry: the chemistry between Randall as the fastidious Felix and Klugman as the slovenly Oscar proved so strong that it’s now hard to imagine anyone else playing either role. They also each won Emmy awards for their performances: Klugman won twice – in ’71 and ’73 – and Randall won in ’75, observing in his speech how he wished he had a job. (The show had since been canceled!)

Looking back at “The Odd Couple,” you may notice that the first season of the series looks notably different from the four seasons that followed. That’s because the decision was made to switch from single-camera to multi-camera, thereby giving the cast the opportunity to perform the show in front of a studio audience…not unlike a play, appropriately enough. No matter what season you happen upon, however, it’s still a TV classic. Sometimes it’s because of the guest stars (Oscar’s career as a sportswriter led to many an athlete being worked into the proceedings), sometimes it’s because of the situations the guys find themselves in (I’m thinking in particular of when Oscar invited Felix to be his partner on an episode of “Password”), but no matter what the scenario, it’s Randall and Klugman who bring home the laughs…so much so that, when you mention “The Odd Couple,” you immediately think of those two guys over Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau. Now that’s what I call a successful movie-to-TV adaptation!

2. M*A*S*H (CBS, 1972 – 1983): In the grand scheme of TV shows made from feature films, surely there’s none more commercially and artistically successful than “M*A*S*H.” Based on the 1970 Robert Altman film of the same name (which in turn was based on the book by Richard Hooker), it was an unlikely candidate for a hit series, and yet that’s exactly what it ended up being. Both movie and TV show showcased the frustrations of the Vietnam War through the lens of a group of Army medics operating during the Korean War (or conflict, depending on to whom you talk). Even though the series’ highpoint was the first three seasons, which displayed a far more madcap, almost anarchic vibe, the TV-viewing public couldn’t get enough. The show, enduring numerous cast changes along the way, ran for a whopping 11 seasons, effectively lasting four times as long as the Korean War itself. The series finale in February of ‘83 was, until recently, the most watched TV event in U.S. history, but Super Bowl XLIV came along and smashed that record. – Ross Ruediger

3. Alice (CBS, 1976 – 1985): If ever there was an oddball movie on which to base a TV show, 1974’s “Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore,” directed by Martin Scorsese, was that movie. The relatively straightforward dramatic piece about a widowed mother of one struggling to make her way in the world was reimagined as a half-hour sitcom. By all counts, this series shouldn’t have made it past one season, and yet it lasted a mind-boggling nine years. Well, it’s really only mind-boggling to someone who hasn’t seen the show, because anyone who has, likely understands this sitcom’s place in TV history. Alice Hyatt (Linda Lavin), who in the series is divorced rather than widowed, travels across country with her son Tommy, seeking fame and fortune on L.A. as a singer, when her car breaks down in Phoenix. She’s forced to take a job at a local greasy spoon called Mel’s Diner owned by Mel Sharples (Vic Tayback, reprising his role from the film). There she finds friendship and zany antics amongst Mel’s employees and clientele. “Alice” was an ideal blue-collar premise for ‘70s TV viewers, particularly women, many of whom understood Alice all too well. The show also brought the catchphrase “Kiss my grits!” (thank you, Polly Holiday) to the table and its possible TV hasn’t recovered since. – Ross Ruediger

4. Logan’s Run (CBS, 1977 – 1978): It’s probably a little easier to buy into the idea of a “Logan’s Run” TV series when you realize that the author of the novel that inspired the film – William F. Nolan – actually wrote two sequel novels (“Logan’s World” and “Logan’s Search”) as well as a novelette (“Logan’s Return”), but as it happens, the series stands completely apart from Nolan’s written word. Starring Gregory Harrison as Logan, Heather Menzies as Jessica, and Donald Moffat as an android named REM, “Logan’s Run” sent its characters across post-apocalyptic America by hovercraft on a voyage to find Sanctuary. Given the era, the show was a relatively solid bit of sci-fi, thanks in no small part to having former “Star Trek” writer D.C. Fontana serving as the show’s story editor, but in a rather obnoxious move, Warner Brothers has released the complete series of “Logan’s Run” as iTunes downloads without making it available for purchase in a hard-copy form. Fingers crossed that the folks at Warner Archive will read this and take heed. Better to get a glorified DVD-R version that’s authorized and somewhat cleaned up than a crappy bootleg version.

5. The Paper Chase (CBS, 1978 – 1979 / Showtime, 1984 – 1986): James Bridges’ 1973 film version of John J. Osborn’s novel turned producer John Houseman, a film and theater legend but an unknown to the general public, into an Oscar-winning movie star at age 71. Later, Bridges, Osborn, and Houseman brought “The Paper Chase” to television with likable James Stephens starring as earnest law-student James Hart who, week by week, struggled with the enigmatic method and deep mind-games of the unapproachable Prof. Charles W. Kingsfield, Jr. The idea of a show about extremely intelligent young people learning how to think and reason at a high level was a novelty in 1978 — not that it’s commonplace today — and it was canceled after one season. However, such was the affection for the series that the show was successfully rerun on PBS. That led to a TV first: “The Paper Chase” went back into production in 1983 for premium cable’s Showtime with author Osborn’s involvement as well as most, but not all, of the initial cast. Not that anyone seemed to noticed: with Stephens and the charismatic, coldly witty Houseman on board, by the time Hart finally graduated, many viewers had no idea there had ever been a movie. – Bob Westal

6. Fast Times (CBS, 1986): Take this inclusion with a grain of salt, due to the fact that I haven’t actually seen an episode of the show in twenty-five years, but I can tell you without hesitation that the 16-year-old me thought “Fast Times” was totally awesome. Granted, should it ever find its way to DVD (which seems an unlikely scenario, given the ’80s music that it’s undoubtedly laced with), it’s highly possible that the 16-year-old me will turn out to have been a total spaz, but the names in the credits certainly help my credibility a bit: Amy Heckerling, who directed the original film, was one of the producers, and Cameron Crowe, who wrote the book on which the film was based, served as a creative consultant. Unfortunately, the only actors to reprise their roles were the teachers – Vincent Schiavelli was back as Mr. Vargas, and, yes, Ray Walston returned as the irascible Mr. Hand – but Courtney Thorne-Smith played Stacy, Patrick Dempsey played Damone, and Spicoli was played by Dean Cameron. Cameron and Thorne-Smith would soon re-team as part of the student body in the film “Summer School,” in no small part because “Fast Times” lasted for a mere seven episodes.

7. The Real Ghostbusters (Syndicated, 1986 – 1991): This list could’ve been filled to the brim with animated spin-offs of live action films, but there are only two that really stand out, and this is the first of them. Anyone who watched Messrs. Murray, Aykroyd, Ramis, and Hudson bustin’ ghosts on the silver screen could see the potential in an animated series, since it’d give the guys an opportunity to hunt bigger and better spooks without having to pay for all the special effects, but it was a pleasant surprise to find that the show hadn’t been dumbed down for kids. Oh, sure, we could’ve done with a little less Slimer, and we still think Peter Venkman sounds less like Bill Murray than Garfield the Cat, but with J. Michael Straczynski – who would later go on to create “Babylon 5″ – serving as the show’s story editor and writing 21 episodes during the course of the series, the proceedings were both intelligent and funny, with some downright awesome creature designs.

8. In the Heat of the Night (NBC, 1988 – 1992 / CBS, 1992 – 1995): It was always going to take a heck of a role for Carroll O’Connor to be able to be remembered as anyone other than the hilariously bigoted Archie Bunker on CBS’s “All in the Family,” but damned if he didn’t find one in Police Chief Bill Gillespie. The role was originated by Rod Steiger in the original 1967 film, directed by Norman Jewison, but O’Connor’s general physical resemblance to Steiger coupled with the fact that viewers were already used to seeing the actor play someone who was a bit on edge around African-Americans made him about as perfect a casting choice as anyone could’ve hoped for. The role of Virgil Tibbs…well, okay, his mama calls him Virgil, but you can call him MISTER Tibbs…was taken on by Howard Rollins, who’d received acclaim for his performances in “Ragtime” and “A Soldier’s Story.” (In a nice bit of serendipity, the latter film was was directed by – wait for it – Norman Jewison.) Impressively, the series managed to survive a network switch after its fifth season, continuing on for two more proper seasons which were further supplemented by four two-hour films which approximate an eight season, making for a solid second act to O’Connor’s television career and a decidedly successful movie-to-TV adaption.

9. Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventures (CBS, 1990): Given the title of the show, it’s obvious that this animated series continues the adventures of Bill S. Preston, Esq. and “Ted” Theodore Logan, but insofar as its appearance on this list goes, we have to offer a very important caveat: we’re only counting the first season of the show. Why? Because, believe it or not, the first thirteen episodes actually featured voice work by the original cast of the “Bill and Ted” films: Keanu Reeves, Alex Winter, George Carlin, and Bernie Casey. Also, for you cartoon purists out there, the first season was a Hanna-Barbera production. Season two…? DIC. No, thanks. If you’ve already got the Bill and Ted’s Most Excellent Collection DVD set, then you’ve probably already discovered that the first episode of the first season is one of the bonus features, but for whatever reason, they’ve never bothered to release a proper Season 1 set. Given that it follows the feel of the films as closely as could be allowed on Saturday mornings, offering up episodes with titles like “A Most Excellent Roman Holiday,” “The More Heinous They Are, The Harder They Fall,” and “This ‘Babe Ruth’ BABE Is A DUDE, Dude,” there’s only one word to describe the delay: bogus.

10. Parenthood (NBC, 1990 – 1991): No matter what you may have thought of this short-lived series, it’d be unfair to leave it out of a feature which was inspired by NBC’s second attempt to transform Ron Howard’s 1989 film into a TV show. It didn’t have as high a famous-face count at the time it originally aired, time has certainly been good to the careers of several of its younger cast members, most notably Thora Birch (“American Beauty,” “Ghost World”), David Arquette standing in for Keanu Reeves, and, in place of Joaquin Phoenx, one L. DiCaprio. It’s also worth noting that the “Parenthood” writing staff included a gentleman by the name of Joss, who at the time was still two years away from the big bang of the Whedon-verse, i.e. the movie version of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer.” No matter how the show may have been, getting viewers to accept Ed Begley, Jr. and Ken Ober in place of Steve Martin and Rick Moranis was always going to be a tough sell. In the end, the first incarnation of “Parenthood” lasted only 12 episodes, but if this new version takes off, you can count on seeing a complete-series set available for purchase by Christmas 2010.

(In the meantime, however, the only way you can see any part of the series is to jump to the 5:07 mark in this clip and check out the opening-credit sequence.)

11. The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles (ABC, 1992 – 1993): Remember how “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade” kicked off with that sequence where River Phoenix plays Indy as a battling boyscout of a teenager? Well, that got George Lucas to thinking, so he sat down and put together an elaborate timeline of Dr. Jones’s early life and times. Unlike his more recent prequels, however, “The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles” proved to be a pretty darned good idea, serving as both a collection of rousing adventure tales as well as an educational trip through early 20th century history and – thanks to Indy’s archaeological leanings – far earlier, too. It was also a clever idea to flip-flop between two different periods of Indy’s youth, but for whatever reason, the adventures of 10-year-old Indy (played by Corey Carrier) were soon phased out, leaving only Sean Patrick Flanery to play the part, portraying Mr. Jones at ages ranging from late teens to early twenties. Some were underwhelmed by “The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles,” feeling that they simply weren’t as exciting as the films, but time has been good to the series, and the DVD sets are positively phenomenal, having been fleshed out with a plethora of documentaries about the historical events covered within the various episodes. If “The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” didn’t do anything for you, consider revisiting these “Chronicles” to give them another try.

12. Highlander: The Series (Syndicated, 1992 – 1998): Given the cinematic travesty that was “Highlander II: The Quickening,” it’s nothing short of a miracle that the world was ever presented with a “Highlander” television series, but just under a year after the sub-par cinematic sequel, we were introduced to Duncan MacLeod (Adrian Paul). Born in 1592, Duncan became an Immortal in 1622. Three years later, he crossed paths with Connor MacLeod (that’d be Christopher Lambert’s character from the films), who became the lad’s mentor, a move which directly connected the series to the movie while also allowed it to take its own path. “Highlander: The Series” ultimately lasted for six seasons, spawning an animated series as well as a proper spin-off (“The Raven”) before ultimately coming full circle and returning to the big screen for “Highlander: Endgame,” which brought Duncan and Connor together once more.

13. Buffy the Vampire Slayer (The WB, 1997 – 2001 / UPN, 2001 – 2003): It happens all the time: a talented young writer sells a screenplay, only to see clueless producers and directors turn a unique vision into straight-up pablum. What never happens is for that screenwriter to get the chance to transform that pablum back into that original vision. Third-generation TV professional Joss Whedon did the impossible when he regained control of the super-heroic ex-cheerleader first featured in director Fran Rubel Kazui’s 1992′s mediocre comedy. Creating a new backdrop for his heroine in fictional Sunnydale, California, he crafted a genuinely exciting show in which action, fantasy, Marvel comics soap opera, feminist social commentary and witty/silly comedy blended to create one of the most thoroughly engaging and acclaimed shows in the history of the medium. With Sarah Michelle Gellar as the teenager burdened with having to repeatedly save the world and an outstanding supporting cast as her loving, inevitably imperfect, support system, “Buffy, the Vampire Slayer” charmed geeks of all ages, critics, academics, and just enough of a general audience to last for seven always entertaining, sometimes devastating, seasons. As for memories of the original movie, when Kazui recently resurfaced with talk of a franchise reboot, nobody was very pleased. – Bob Westal

(FYI, trying to find the actual opening credits to any given season of this series has been made virtually impossible by the show’s fans, who seemingly feel obliged to recreate them using their own favorite shots from the show or by using a different TV series’ credits as a template or changing the song or…well, anyway, suffice to say that this is the closest to an unblemished version that I could find.)

14. Stargate SG-1 (Showtime, 1997 – 2002 / Sci-Fi, 2002 – 2007) and its brethren: While the average viewer might look back on the 1994 film “Stargate” and think, “Wow, I never would’ve imagined they could’ve gotten ten seasons of a TV series out of this flick, let alone three additional series,” most sci-fi fans probably came within an inch of having their brains explode when they learned about the Stargate for the first time. Hello! It’s a wormhole that opens a gate which allows for transportation between galaxies! When you consider the number of different places that could be visited…hell, you could have a 24-hour network filled with nothing but “Stargate” series and still never run out of material. Obviously, “SG-1″ is the jewel of the franchise, but “Atlantis” has a lot of loyal fans, and if “Universe” has resulted in some seriously polarized opinions, give it time to build. As for the animated series, “Stargate Infinity”…well, it all depends on how far you’re willing to take your fandom, I reckon. There’s been talk for years about how Dean Devlin – co-creator of the original film, along with Roland Emmerich – wants to do two more “Stargate” motion pictures, thereby making it into a trilogy, but given that he wants to bypass all of the mythology created by the various TV series, I actually kind of hope the plan never comes to fruition. Talk about a slap in the face to the fans!

15. Clerks: The Animated Series (ABC, 2000): Given how we praised this show as being one of five animated series during the 2000s that deserved a longer run, it shouldn’t be any surprise that it ended up on this list. (Mind you, the same probably wouldn’t have be true if the awful live-action “Clerks” pilot had been picked up.) Kevin Smith obviously knew that any animated adventures of Dante, Randall, Jay, and Silent Bob on ABC were going to have to go a different direction than they’d gone in the art-house theaters in which “Clerks” had played, so he did: he skewered sitcom cliches, parodied films, gave Alec Baldwin the opportunity to play the villainous Leonardo Leonardo (there are several occasions where the voice you hear is clearly an embryonic version of what would eventually become Jack Donaghy), piled up a shitload of other guest voices, including Gwyneth Paltrow, Gilbert Gottfried, Al Franken, James Woods, Judge Reinhold, Michael McKean, Julia Sweeney, Kevin McDonald, and Charles Barkley, and basically just had fun with the expanded palate offered by an animated world. Of course, the fun only lasted for six episodes, and only two of those actually saw the light of day on ABC, but maybe someday Smith will make good on his assurances that he’s got an animated “Clerks” movie script in him.

16. Soul Food (Showtime, 2000 – 2004): This drama instantly earns a mention for being the longest running drama with a predominantly African-American cast in the history of North American television…and if you think we’re just randomly making this claim, think again: we got it straight from The Washington Post. Based on the 1997 film by George Tilman, Jr., which had been inspired by Tilman’s own experiences, the series followed the life and times of the Joseph family, picking five months after the events in the movie. Ironically, the only actor to reprise their role from the film was the character who died – Irma P. Hall turned up as Mama Joe in the occasional flashback – but the show’s ensemble was still a strong one: while earning precisely zilch in the way of Emmy love, the cast regularly racked up NAACP Image Award nominations, with Vanessa A. Williams and Debbi Morgan winning for Outstanding Actress and Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Dramatic Series, respectively. (The series itself took home the award for Outstanding Drama Series on more than one occasion.) Plus, it didn’t hurt that the series had a killer theme song, too, courtesy of the Reverend Al Green.

17. Friday Night Lights (NBC, 2006 – present): Although hardly the most popular concept ever to make the transition from film to television, “Friday Night Lights” must certainly be one of the best. Both film and series were shepherded by Peter Berg, and while the movie was all too often downright depressing, what with its focus on the pitfalls of high school football, the series is an uplifting piece of drama that opens up the concept to show many more sides of a complex tapestry of lives. You don’t have to like football to love this series, yet you do have to have an appreciation for damn good drama and strong characters, which, at its heart, is what “Friday Night Lights” is all about. A cast of mostly younger people is superbly led by Kyle Chandler and Connie Britton as Coach Eric Taylor and his wife Tami, who’ve moved to the small town of Dillon, Texas to make a new life. Along the way they find there’s more to life than football, and if you are a pigskin fanatic, watch this is you’ll discover much the same. – Ross Ruediger

18. Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (Fox, 2008 – 2009): While its execution was the source of fierce debate amongst its fan base, give the producers of “Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles” credit for using the first two “Terminator” movies less as a blueprint and more as a launching pad to create a new universe outside of the movie’s mythology. This was, of course, as much a matter of necessity as anything, since in the movie universe Judgment Day takes place in 2004 and Sarah had died of leukemia years earlier. Still, the show asked some large questions about fate (can we truly change it?) and faith (is it enough to simply believe in something?) that the movies tended to gloss over in favor of the next action set piece. Unfortunately, the show was too deliberate for its own good, constantly on the verge of launching a giant story arc but never actually doing it until they had been given their walking papers. But when the show was clicking – Catherine Weaver’s killing spree in the factory, for example – “Terminator” offered some genuinely thrilling action and, for a show about killer robots, a healthy dose of humanity. – David Medsker

19. Crash (Starz, 2008 – present): Kickstarting the Starz line-up of original series was this adaptation of the 2004 Academy Award winner for Best Picture…but, really, it’s less an adaptation than it is a series which plays off the general structure of the film. I mean, unless I missed them, there are no crossover characters between the two mediums. It’s strictly a case of telling the stories of a disparate collection of individuals throughout the Los Angeles area…not that there’s anything wrong with that. When you’ve got a cast that includes Dennis Hopper, Eric Roberts, Tom Sizemore, Tess Harper, Keith Carradine, Valerie Perrine, Julie Warner, Dana Ashbrook, Linda Park, and a host of others, all you really want to do is see them work and watch the drama unfold, which it does in a highly enthralling manner. The most important thing you should remember about “Crash” – and this should really go without saying, but we’re gonna say it, anyway – is that if you didn’t like the movie, you shouldn’t be surprised if you tune in and find that you don’t like the series, either.

20. 10 Things I Hate About You (ABC Family, 2009 – present): Although it’s one of the strongest teen comedies to come out of Hollywood in the post-John-Hughes era (possibly because, like Hughes’s work, it was more about heart than fart jokes), this didn’t seem to be the most likely candidate for a series treatment. Kudos to Carter Covington, then, for taking the concepts from the film and using them as a springboard into a new and expanded look at the students of Padua Hugh: Kat and Bianca Stratford, Patrick Verona, Cameron James, Chastity Church, and so on down the line. And the best bit…? Larry Miller is back at Kat and Bianca’s dad. ABC Family has put out lots of solid, enjoyable programming for teens over the course of the past few years, but like the movie which inspired it, “10 Things I Hate About You” is good fun for the whole family.

Great stuff, right…? Yeah, but there’s always the flip side of the coin to consider, too, so before wrapping up, we’d be remiss if we didn’t also cite a few series that didn’t live up to their original source material:

1. Shaft (CBS, 1973 – 1974): There are a couple of reasons why “Shaft” never had much of a chance as a TV series. First of all, even though Richard Roundtree reprised his role as the black private dick who’s a sex machine to all the chicks, the kind of things that Shaft was able to investigate on the silver screen don’t necessarily lend themselves to broadcast television sensibilities. Nor, for that matter, did Shaft himself: the first thing CBS did was switch things up so that he was working with the police. Now that just ain’t nothin’ but jive.

What’s arguably the funniest thing about the series, however, was that it was part of “The New CBS Tuesday Night Movies,” alternating with a show called “Hawkins” which starred…Jimmy Stewart? God love the man, but can you imagine a “Shaft” fan tuning in to see their show, only to find an old white guy instead? No wonder it couldn’t capture consistent ratings.

Unfortunately, there’s not even so much as a clip of the series on YouTube (unless you count the CBS promo for the 1973 fall season, which features a lone shot of Shaft strolling down the street, looking far more bad-ass than he was ever actually allowed to act in the series), but you can at least hear a promo for the show.

2. Ferris Bueller (NBC, 1990 – 1991): Who would’ve expected that a show which was pegged as a “Ferris Bueller” rip-off (“Parker Lewis Can’t Lose”) would actually turn out to be funnier than the actual attempt to turn the film into a series? The “Ferris Bueller” series kicked off with the surreal suggestion that this Ferris was the real Ferris, and that Matthew Broderick was only playing him in the film. The problem: Charlie Schlatter was no Matthew Broderick. On the other hand, the actress who took over Jennifer Grey’s part as Ferris’s sister went on to bigger and better things, but we rather suspect that Jennifer Aniston hasn’t listed “Ferris” on her resume in quite some time. (No, seriously, we’re pretty sure even “Leprechaun” had a longer run on her CV than this show did.)

3. Weird Science (USA, 1994 – 1998): One bad John Hughes adaptation deserves another, and this one easily qualifies. Maybe it’s because Hughes was so damned good at picking the perfect actors for his parts that it seems to have been nigh on impossible to turn his films into decent TV series, or maybe it’s because most any attempt to reproduce his writing style generally comes off either unabashedly derivative or woefully unfunny. With “Weird Science,” it was all of the above, but that didn’t stop it from lasting for…are we sure this is accurate?…five seasons. Give the series credit for having a lot of interesting ideas, but despite Vanessa Angel managing to produce levels of hotness not terribly far removed from Kelly LeBrock, the execution never came anywhere close to matching the humor or heart of Hughes’s film.

4. Clueless (ABC, 1996 – 1997 / Syndicated 1997 – 1999): I feel obliged to mention that, when it comes to the movie version of “Clueless,” it’s one of those flicks that invariably keeps me glued to the TV set whenever I happen upon it while channel-surfing, which means that I was predisposed to like the series it spawned. Making it part of ABC’s TGIF line-up would’ve been enough in and of itself to keep me from watching it on a regular basis, but as Cher, Rachel Blanchard didn’t have a third of the chemistry that Alicia Silverstone brought to the role. In fairness, however, we should note that Blanchard went on to far hipper roles…like, for instance, Sally on HBO’s “Flight of the Conchords.” Better she should be remembered as the inspiration for “The Most Beautiful Girl in the Room” than for her work on this show.

5. My Big Fat Greek Wedding (CBS, 2003): When “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” proved to be the huge sleeper hit of 2002, ultimately bringing in over $240 million at the box office, no one could’ve been any more surprised than the film’s star and screenwriter, Nia Vardalos. Still, she had the savvy to quickly parlay its success into a deal to continue the story of Toula Portokalos Miller as a weekly sitcom. Given that the movie’s humor barely rose above those levels, anyway, this made perfect sense. Unfortunately, where the film had charm to spare, the TV series was an absolutely painful viewing experience, inspiring cringing rather than laughing. As of this writing, the top comment on this YouTube clip reads, “Jesus Christ! 47 seconds into it and it’s horrible!” Really? That’s funny: we had it pegged at the 30-second mark.