Low Concepts

The creator of Pants-Off Dance-Off names the best of bad TV

July 17, 2006—Since making its debut in April, Fuse's Pants-Off Dance-Off has been called everything from "brilliant lowbrow" (New York) to "the dumbest show on television" (TV Guide). It's also become the cable network's most popular show. "Like peanut butter and jelly, there's something oddly charming about everyday people stripping to rock videos," explains creator Tad Low, who, as a co-executive producer of VH1's late-nineties phenomenon Pop-Up Video, knows from craptastic programming. With a Pants-Off best-of episode set to air tomorrow night—hosted by Full House star (and former tweaker) Jodie Sweetin, no less—we asked Low to list the five greatest dumb TV shows in history. Here are his picks:

1. The Gong Show: "Chuck Barris and his band of misfits were three decades ahead of their time, as American Idol proves. Chuck reveled in the dumbness of his shows, purposefully tweaking the network execs who thought What's My Line? and Password were more intellectually rewarding."

2. The Match Game: "Put a bunch of garrulous C-listers onto shag carpet, let them swill booze and smoke while filling in the words to dirty limericks, and you've got a time-tested recipe for fun."

3. Cheaters: "Videotape a cheating husband in the act, then confront his loyal but suspicious wife with the hard evidence, alchemizing her sadness into red-hot revenge. I especially love the smarmy host, who pretends to care for the cuckolded spouse's well-being while gunning for explosive on-camera fireworks."

4. Charlie's Angels: "A jiggle fest of inane plots and absurd acting, but ultimately, a prescient cornerstone in Aaron Spelling's empire of boobilicious programming. It was a refreshing break from the dour male detectives in ratty raincoats that dominated TV squad rooms in the seventies."

5. Pop-Up Video: "OK, it's mine. But this one was so dumb it infected every TV nationwide. Originally, we just wanted to bring Sting, Celine, and Mariah back down to earth with true tales of their backstage tantrums. Turns out, we uncorked an unavoidable tirade of tyrannical text. Sorry about that!"

The best of Pants-Off Dance-Off airs July 18, 10 p.m. EST, www.fuse.tv.