Turn-On
A short-lived computerized sketch show that was canceled after one episode.
Turn-On is an American surreal sketch comedy series that aired once on ABC on February 5, 1969, before being pulled from the schedule. Created by Digby Wolfe and George Schlatter, it is considered one of the most infamous flops in television history due to low ratings and negative critical reception. Only one episode was broadcast, with another left unaired.
Quick Facts
- Genre
- Sketch comedy
- Science fiction
- Surreal comedy
- Creator
- Digby Wolfe; George Schlatter
- Producer
- Digby Wolfe
- Executive producers
- Ed Friendly; George Schlatter
- Episodes
- 3 (2 episodes unaired)
- Runtime
- 30 minutes
- Company
- George Schlatter-Ed Friendly Productions
- Country
- United States
Facts from the source article.
Premise
The show's opening sequence described it as 'the first computerized TV show,' with sketches generated by an artificially intelligent computer performed against a clinical white backdrop. Co-creator Digby Wolfe called it a 'visual, comedic, sensory assault' involving animation, videotape, stop-action film, electronic distortion, computer graphics, and people. Moog synthesizer sounds replaced a laugh track, representing the computer's laughter. The program was filmed, and some sketches appeared in four squares resembling comic strip panels. Production credits were inserted at random intervals after the first commercial break.
Reaction
A CBS official said the show was 'so fast with the cuts and chops that some of our people actually got physically disturbed by it.' Tim Conway stated that Turn-On was canceled midway through its only episode, so the cast and crew's premiere party also marked its cancellation. Conway, a Cleveland native, claimed that the Cleveland ABC affiliate WEWS-TV replaced the show after the first commercial break with a black screen and live organ music. Ten minutes in, WEWS general manager Donald Perris called ABC headquarters to say they would no longer air it and sent ABC president Elton Rule a telegram: 'If your naughty little boys have to write dirty words on the walls, please don't use our walls. Turn-On is turned off, as far as WEWS is concerned. You tried too hard.' A WEWS spokesman said the switchboard was 'lit up' with protest calls, and Perris called the show 'in excessive poor taste.' George Schlatter accused Perris of lobbying other affiliates before the broadcast to force cancellation, but Perris told The Cleveland Press that neither he nor program director Ernest Sindelar had previewed the show. WAKR-TV in Akron received no negative calls but its general manager criticized the show's 'questionable taste.'
Cancellation
On February 7, ABC announced Turn-On would go on hiatus; the February 12 episode was replaced by the ABC Wednesday Night Movie starting 30 minutes early. TV Guide had already printed a listing for that episode, which would have starred Robert Culp and France Nuyen. On February 10, the show was formally canceled. WEWS, KBTV, and KATV told ABC they would not air it again, and with other affiliates declining, it was no longer financially viable. ABC received 369 complaint calls and 20 supportive calls during the show; by comparison, 1,800 protest calls came after preempting the Wednesday Night Movie for a presidential address. Network officials told sponsor Bristol-Myers the show was unacceptable, and Bristol-Myers ordered Schlatter and Friendly to end production. Many assumed the title referenced Timothy Leary's phrase 'Turn on, tune in, drop out.' Schlatter's contract was bought out under the stipulation that Turn-On never be rerun. ABC replaced it with a revival of The King Family Show. The controversy led ABC to reject a Norman Lear pilot, which CBS picked up as All in the Family. Schlatter, returning to Laugh-In, had writers include jokes lampooning Cleveland after NBC eliminated ethnic jokes, partly due to WEWS' handling of Turn-On.
Legacy
TV Guide called Turn-On 'the biggest bomb of the season,' noting that CBS and NBC had rejected it for lack of quality and that its sexual content drove viewer rejection. A source lamented the lack of a regular host, saying 'there wasn't any sort of identification with the audience – just a bunch of strangers up there insulting everything you believe in.' In 2008, Conway said the show was 'way ahead of its time.' Bart Andrews wrote that Turn-On was close to the original concept for Laugh-In. Harlan Ellison concluded it 'wasn't that it was a bad show, it was that it was an awkward show.' In 2002, TV Guide ranked it number 27 on its 50 Worst TV Shows of All Time, and What Were They Thinking? ranked it number 25. Both completed episodes are viewable at the Paley Center for Media and were uploaded to YouTube on October 9, 2023. A third episode, composed of unused footage, was released on YouTube on February 4, 2024.
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