''Life's Most Embarrassing Moments'' is a series of television comedy specials primarily featuring "blooper" outtakes, and appeared on the

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

network in the United States from 1983 to 1986. Created by

Alan Landsburg Productions Alan Landsburg Productions (ALP), later known as Reeves Entertainment Group and Reeves Entertainment, was an independent television production company founded by Alan Landsburg in 1971. The company produced ''In Search of... (TV series), In Searc ...

Shales, Tom (18 November 1983)
Camelot Recaptured
''The Washington Post'' the first special aired on April 27, 1983, hosted by

John Ritter Johnathan Southworth Ritter (September 17, 1948 – September 11, 2003) was an American comedian and actor. He was a son of the singing cowboy star Tex Ritter and the father of actors Jason Ritter, Jason and Tyler Ritter. He is best known for ...

, and was the most-watched prime time television show of the week.

Steve Allen Stephen Valentine Patrick William Allen (December 26, 1921 – October 30, 2000) was an American television and radio personality, comedian, musician, composer, writer, and actor. In 1954, he achieved national fame as the co-creator and ...

hosted approximately nine subsequent installments, which started in September 1983, with the last special airing in May 1986.Terrace, Vincent
Television Specials: 5,336 Entertainment Programs, 1936–2012, 2d ed.
p. 1500 (2013) The content of the show was primarily outtakes of celebrity mishaps. A number of the specials were also rerun as a "weekly series" in August to early September 1985.Brooks, Tim & Earle F. Marsh
The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946-Present
p. 793 (2007) Each installment was numbered, e.g., ''Life's Most Embarrassing Moments III''. The first special was highly watched, but reviewer

Tom Shales Thomas William Shales (November 3, 1944 – January 13, 2024) was an American writer and television critic. He was a television critic for ''The Washington Post'' from 1977 to 2010, for which he received the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism in 1 ...

at ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'' was not impressed. Noting the show was plainly a response to NBC's ''

Bloopers A blooper, or gag reel, is short clip from a film, television program or video production, usually a deleted scene, containing a mistake made by a member of the cast or crew. It also refers to an error made during a live radio or TV broadcast o ...

'' specials, Shales called it a "grossly irritating hour" where after every clip "the director cut to the studio audience for a hefty round of artificially augmented applause."Shales, Tom (19 May 1983)
ABC's Sampling of Bargain-Basement Hype
''

'' The comparison to ''Bloopers'' was noted by many, and that show's creator

Dick Clark Productions Dick Clark Productions, LLC (DCP, stylized in lowercase as dick clark productions or dcp) is an American multinational television production company founded by radio and TV host Dick Clark. The studio primarily produces Awards ceremony, award sh ...

sued Alan Landsburg Productions over it in federal court.(21 August 1983)
Personal and Confidential is lousy TV
''San Bernardino County Sun' ("Messrs. Landsburg and Fraser. These two schlockmeisters saw "

Real People Real People may refer to: * Human, a species ** People, or all humans as a whole * ''Real People'' (TV program), a 1970s television show that aired on NBC in the United States * ''Real People'' (album), a 1980 album by funk/disco group Chic ** " ...

" and came up with "

That's Incredible! ''That's Incredible!'' is an American reality television show that aired on the ABC television network from 1980 to 1984. In the tradition of '' You Asked for It'', '' Ripley's Believe It or Not!'' and '' Real People'', the show featured people ...

"; they're being sued for plagiarism. They saw "TV's Censored Bloopers" and developed "Life's Most Embarrassing Moments," for which they're also being sued.") The case was eventually dismissed, and the dismissal was affirmed on appeal.Who's the Star: Its Danza
''Greenville News'' ("Dick Clark's plagiarism lawsuit against Alan Landsburg Productions has been dismissed in a federal court.")(October 1986). lr.carolon.net/BI/V08N05.PDF Recent Cases ''Entertainment Law Reporter'' pp. 38-39 (Vol. 8, No. 5) The trial court concluded that copyright protections do not protect the format of a show: "The format of the two shows look similar, but so do the formats of virtually every television news show. The 'look' of a show is not the proper subject of copyright protection."Dick Clark Co. v. Alan Landsburg Prods. Inc. (C.D. Cal. June 13, 1985) In 1988-89, a syndicated version of the show was created with

Roy Firestone Roy Firestone (born December 8, 1953) is an American sports commentator and journalist. Firestone is a graduate of Miami Beach High School and the University of Miami. Television career Firestone began his career as a sports anchor and report ...

as the host.

Episodes

# April 27, 1983 (hosted by

) (Most viewed prime time show of the week per Nielsen ratings, with 28.0 rating and 44 share(4 May 1983)
TV Ratings
''Daily Chronicle'') # September 18, 1983 (hosted by

, as were all subsequent specials)(21.7 Nielsen rating, or 18.1 million homes, tied for 2nd place for week(22 September 1983)
ABC winner second week in row
''The Pantagraph'') # November 10, 1983 (Nielsen rating 19.8, 16.5 million homes, #16 for week)(17 November 19830
CBS Leaves Its Rivials In the Dust
''The Tennessean'' (ratings for part "III") # February 23, 1984 # May 1984 (rerun?) (#3 rated show of the week(30 May 1984)
ABC was the No. 1 prime time network last...
United Press International) # November 11, 1984 # February 17, 1985 # May 5, 1985 # August ?, 1985 # February 1, 1986 (lowest Nielsen rating of week, 6.9 rating, 68 out of 68 shows(4 February 1986)
'Sins' wins
United Press International) # May 24, 1986

References

External links

*{{IMDb title, id=0088552, title=Life's Most Embarrassing Moments American Broadcasting Company reality television shows 1980s American reality television series 1983 American television series debuts 1986 American television series endings Blooper shows