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It Seemed Like a Bad Idea at the Time
The Worst TV Shows in History and Other Things I Wrote
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Narrated by:
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Bruce Vilanch
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By:
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Bruce Vilanch
About this listen
Bruce Vilanch is known as a go-to comedy writer for award shows, sitcoms, and top-heavy variety specials, but he has also been responsible for quite a few of the worst shows ever put on television—legendarily bad productions.
Some of his work lives in infamy—The Star Wars Holiday Special, The Paul Lynde Halloween Special, Rob Lowe dancing with Snow White at the Oscars, and The Brady Bunch Variety Hour. How did these ever seem like a good idea?
Well, everyone has screwed up a few times, or had their work screwed up by others. It Seemed Like a Bad Idea at the Time is a lifetime reflection of what Vilanch has experienced, learned, forgotten, dismissed, and embraced in decades of working in show business, specifically the south forty acres known as comedy. It involves very famous people and people who were not very famous but should have been.
And it explains to the person in the audience who says to himself, once he has gotten his jaw off the floor, “’How did this ever get made?”
Don’t we all want to know?
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Great story, Bad audio. Read the book.
- By MAC on 02-22-25
By: Susan Morrison
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Say Everything
- A Memoir
- By: Ione Skye
- Narrated by: Ione Skye
- Length: 8 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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Gen X icon Ione Skye bares all in an achingly vulnerable coming-of-age memoir about chasing fame, desire, and true love in the shadow of her famous, absent father.
By: Ione Skye
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With Love, Mommie Dearest
- The Making of an Unintentional Camp Classic
- By: A. Ashley Hoff, Bruce Vilanch - foreword
- Narrated by: Kim Niemi
- Length: 10 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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Christina Crawford's book was an immediate bestseller, addressing the infrequently discussed topic of child abuse. When Paramount Pictures released the film, starring Faye Dunaway as Crawford, it was critically panned, and remains one of the most legendary critical bombs in film history. The lavish, big-screen adaptation drew unexpected laughter in the scenes depicting life in the Crawford household. Rarely have such good intentions been met with such ridicule.
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AMAZING narrator for a wonderful book!
- By A. Diozzi on 06-16-24
By: A. Ashley Hoff, and others
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Average Joe
- The Memoirs of a Blue-Collar Entertainer
- By: Joe Piscopo
- Narrated by: Joe Piscopo
- Length: 9 hrs
- Unabridged
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The inside story of award-winning, popular entertainer and actor who discovered that the key to success in the entertainment industry is a strong work ethic and a willingness to reinvent, never quit, and keep learning to survive. Joe Piscopo has made both live and living room audiences laugh for five decades, winning the acclaim and affection of millions of fans. Often recognized as one of the actors who replaced the original cast on Saturday Night Live, he helped rescue the show from cancellation.
By: Joe Piscopo
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Paper Doll
- Notes from a Late Bloomer
- By: Dylan Mulvaney
- Narrated by: Dylan Mulvaney
- Length: 9 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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In Paper Doll: Notes from a Late Bloomer, Dylan pulls back the curtain of her “It Girl” lifestyle with a witty and intimate reflection of her life pre- and post-transition. She covers everything from her first big break in theater to the first time her dad recognized her as a girl to how she handled scandals, cancellations, and . . . tucking. It’s both laugh-out-loud funny and powerfully honest—and is a love letter to everyone who stands up for queer joy.
By: Dylan Mulvaney
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Don't Look Back, You'll Trip Over
- My Guide to Life
- By: Michael Caine
- Narrated by: Eddie Marsan, Simon Slater
- Length: 5 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
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Over a long life, I've learnt a lot and had the opportunity to reflect. I've seen a new generation grow up, among them my own grandchildren, facing the world with all its challenges and problems. I hope they'll find Don't Look Back, You'll Trip Over: My Guide to Life helps them to be optimistic - and shows that anyone can blow the bloody doors off.
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What great life lessons
- By Nic on 02-06-25
By: Michael Caine
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Lorne
- The Man Who Invented Saturday Night Live
- By: Susan Morrison
- Narrated by: Kristen DiMercurio, Susan Morrison
- Length: 22 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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Over the fifty years that Lorne Michaels has been at the helm of Saturday Night Live, he has become a revered and inimitable presence in the entertainment world. He’s a tastemaker, a mogul, a withholding father figure, a genius spotter of talent, a shrewd businessman, a name-dropper, a raconteur, the inspiration for Dr. Evil, the winner of more than a hundred Emmys—and, essentially, a mystery. Generations of writers and performers have spent their lives trying to figure him out, by turns demonizing and lionizing him.
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Great story, Bad audio. Read the book.
- By MAC on 02-22-25
By: Susan Morrison
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The Fort Bragg Cartel
- Drug Trafficking and Murder in the Special Forces
- By: Seth Harp
- Length: 10 hrs
- Unabridged
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As soon as Seth Harp, an Iraq war veteran and investigative reporter, begins looking into a double murder, he learns that there have been many more unexplained deaths at Fort Bragg recently, all with some apparent connection to drug-trafficking, as well as dozens of fatal overdoses. Drawing on trial transcripts, police records, and hundreds of interviews, Harp tells a scathing story of narco-trafficking in the Special Forces, drug conspiracies abetted by corrupt police, blatant military cover-ups, and American complicity in the Afghan heroin trade.
By: Seth Harp
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Actress of a Certain Age
- My Twenty Year Trail to Overnight Success
- By: Jeff Hiller
- Length: 10 hrs
- Unabridged
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While struggling to find success as an actor and pay the bills, something accidentally happened to Jeff Hiller: he aged. And while it’s one thing to get older and rest on the laurels of success from the blood, sweat, and tears of your youth, it’s quite another to be old and have no laurels. At forty, stuck in a temp job making spreadsheets, the dream of becoming a star seemed out of reach. But after twenty-five years of guest roles on TV and performing improv in a grocery store basement, he finally struck gold with a breakout role on HBO’s Somebody Somewhere, playing Joel.
By: Jeff Hiller
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So Gay for You
- Friendship, Found Family, and the Show That Started It All
- By: Kate Moennig, Leisha Hailey
- Narrated by: Kate Moennig, Leisha Hailey
- Length: 10 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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In the early 2000s, Kate Moennig and Leisha Hailey—both young artists trying to figure it all out—met at auditions for an unknown little TV show. Given that it was a show about lesbians living in Los Angeles, with the first ever ensemble cast of openly queer female characters, Kate and Leisha knew the project was going to be unlike anything else out there—that is, if it even got picked up.
By: Kate Moennig, and others
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Beverly Hills Noir
- Crime, Sin, & Scandal in 90210
- By: Scott Huver
- Narrated by: Donald Corren
- Length: 15 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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Beverly Hills Noir chronicles an assortment of jaw-dropping true crime stories spanning the legendary city’s history, each with oh-so-90210 twists—including a high-profile murder mystery in the city’s most extravagant mansion, the daring exploits of a handsome cat burglar with movie star looks, a toxic Tinseltown love triangle that ended in gunplay, a brazen Rodeo Drive jewelry store holdup with tragically stunning finale, an Oscar nominated actress on shoplifting spree and more—complete with major roles and countless cameos by Hollywood idols and cultural icons.
By: Scott Huver
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Rebel Without a Crew
- Or How a 23-Year-Old Filmmaker with $7,000 Became a Hollywood Player
- By: Robert Rodriguez
- Narrated by: Robert Rodriguez
- Length: 7 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
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This is both one man's remarkable story and an essential guide for anyone who has a celluloid story to tell and the dreams and determination to see it through. Part production diary, part how-to manual, Rodriguez unveils how he was able to make his influential first film on only a $7,000 budget. Also included is the appendix, The Ten Minute Film Course,” a tell-all on how to save thousands of dollars on film school and teach yourself the ropes of film production, directing, and screenwriting.
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Utmost recommendation!
- By Adrian Johnson on 02-19-25
By: Robert Rodriguez
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Woody Allen
- A Travesty of a Mockery of a Sham
- By: Patrick McGilligan
- Narrated by: Seth Lews
- Length: 34 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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Across nearly nine eventful decades, Woody Allen’s life has been full of surprises. Writing jokes got him a gig as the youngest writer of Sid Caesar’s television dream team. As a rising comic, he boxed a kangaroo on TV. He made a blank-check deal with a major studio for terms unmatched in Hollywood apart from early titans like Chaplin and Welles. All before Annie Hall. Yet despite once being one of the most consequential American cultural figures, Allen is now persona non grata.
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Final Impressions (after First Impressions)
- By Buretto on 02-08-25
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Life Is a Lazy Susan of Sh*t Sandwiches
- By: Jennifer Welch, Angie Sullivan
- Length: 12 hrs
- Unabridged
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Long before their blockbuster podcast, I’ve Had It, Jennifer Welch and Angie “Pumps” Sullivan were simply two best friends, supporting each other through the ups and downs of life. Together they’ve celebrated family milestones and cheered on professional successes, but they’ve weathered the storms together too. When Jennifer’s husband battled alcoholism and drug addiction, she turned to Angie for support. When Angie’s own marriage began to crumble, she turned to Jennifer. And crucially, through it all they’ve kept one another laughing in stitches.
By: Jennifer Welch, and others
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In Gad We Trust
- A Tell-Some
- By: Josh Gad, Sacha Baron Cohen, Ron Howard, and others
- Narrated by: Josh Gad, Sacha Baron Cohen, Mel Brooks, and others
- Length: 8 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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For the first and possibly last time, Josh Gad dives into a wide array of personal topics: the lasting impact of his parents’ divorce; how he struggled with weight and self-image; his first big break; how everyone was sure his most successful ventures (both on the big screen and the stage) would fail; his take on fatherhood, and so much more.
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Emotional and Hilarious and Beautiful
- By Jessi on 02-21-25
By: Josh Gad, and others
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Angela Davis
- An Autobiography
- By: Angela Davis
- Narrated by: Angela Davis
- Length: 19 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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Angela Davis has been a political activist at the cutting edge of the Black Liberation, feminist, queer, and prison-abolitionist movements for more than 50 years. Angela Davis: An Autobiography, first published and edited by Toni Morrison in 1974, is a powerful and commanding account of her early years in these struggles. Read by Angela Davis herself, this autobiography, told with warmth, brilliance, humor, and conviction, is a classic account of a life in struggle, with echoes in our own time.
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Good story of an interesting person
- By Antuane Brown on 03-17-22
By: Angela Davis
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Damn Glad to Meet You
- My Seven Decades in the Hollywood Trenches
- By: Tim Matheson
- Narrated by: Tim Matheson
- Length: 12 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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For the past seven decades, Tim Matheson has been an on-screen favorite in Hollywood. In his debut memoir, Tim takes fans behind-the-scenes of his illustrious career, and reveals what it was like to learn from and work alongside the greats, including Lucille Ball, Dick Van Dyke, Steven Spielberg, and Aaron Sorkin. Tim also talks about how he transitioned from acting to directing, the role in The West Wing that nabbed him two Emmy nominations–and so much more.
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Crazy life and live to talk about it
- By Charles on 11-20-24
By: Tim Matheson
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Boy from the Valleys
- My unexpected journey
- By: Luke Evans
- Narrated by: Luke Evans
- Length: 9 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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In this intimate memoir, Luke takes us behind the scenes of his career on the stage and screen. He writes beautifully of the relationship he now has with his family and the respect they all have for one another on their different paths. Luke's story is a powerful tale of resilience, courage, and the pursuit of finding a sense of belonging and identity, but mostly (and hopefully) a story of inspiration.
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There is always hope
- By NYGiantsGal on 11-25-24
By: Luke Evans
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True Crime Case Histories: Massive 15-Book Collection
- 176 Disturbing True Crime Stories
- By: Jason Neal
- Narrated by: Simon de Deney, Timothy G. Little, Steven Rostance
- Length: 65 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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Their names echo through true crime history like dark legends: John Wayne Gacy, the Zodiac Killer, Richard Ramirez, Aileen Wuornos, Charles Manson, Ted Bundy, and the Golden State Killer. Their infamous deeds have been exhaustively chronicled across every medium imaginable. But beyond these household names lies a shadow world of equally chilling cases that rarely make headlines or streaming television documentaries.
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mispronunciation
- By Carolyn on 02-08-25
By: Jason Neal