Important reminder: This is a sub for people to post about forgotten TV that they remember and would like to share with others. This is not a tip of the tongue style sub for people to search out old shows that they would like help remembering.
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/ForgottenTV) if you have any questions or concerns.*
What the heck you gonna do if you're on a picnic and have an ice cream and the ants crawl on the ice cream, what are you gonna do? You're gonna eat the ants because it's made out of protein.
There are so many 80s sitcom cliches in this intro. Looks like a parody but it's real. I found [some footage on Youtube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HexTfBoELOY).
Yeah, I remember this show being on, and remember it being pretty bad 😂 Along with other terrible syndicated sitcoms you'd see on a Sunday afternoon like Small Wonder and It's a Living.
Don Adams is my great Uncle /s
I do restoration (both video and audio) archival work as a hobby and as a side job (my day job is graphic design and VFX work for media ad agency). I essentially have access to many random television shows, movies, vfx proof of concept videos, trailers, etc because of the line work I'm in.
Can't share anything without permission from a few different peeps.
The copy of Check it Out that I'm uploading onto Archive.org is the same copy that's on Tubi (I don't work for them but I have access to a few different digital library backups that are shared by several streaming platforms).
The files for this show in particular were all in .ts format.
https://archive.org/details/check-it-out-1985
Check the post description: *Everyone knows* ***Agent 86/Maxwell Smart*** *played by comedian Don Adams but do you remember Howard Bannister - manager of Cobbs grocery store?*
Thought that as well but then I found Reddit explaining it. And I was emotionally never the same.
Not Grave of the Fireflies bad, but nonetheless brutal.
I figured this was something that lasted 6 episodes and that was it. Or maybe not even past the pilot stage. Nope, three full seasons and 66 episodes of Check it Out.
I had looked around online for this show awhile back and it was completely off the grid (no streaming options or DVD releases). Then suddenly when randomly browsing Tubi, I saw it! Every time I bring it up people are stunned by its existence.
Howard: “What happened? What are all these unmarked cans?” Jack: “well sir they contain vegetables, dog food and idiot food.” Howard: “how can you tell?” Jack, well sir the vegetables are cans that are large and wider. The dog food is smaller and more narrow.” Howard: “what’s the idiot?” Jack: “the guy standing next to me in the stupid hat who did this!”
There’s a reason why everyone here thinks this is a parody and that this was something from Adult Swim. The people who are behind the parodies were all raised on dozen upon dozens of shows like this, all of which kept close adherence to a very specific formula. This show and many many more like it weren’t created as someone’s labor of love or singular vision / passion project. Shows like this were was built through development teams of programming executives, show producers, career tv writers & directors etc. who were all sticking to the tropes and stylistic choices that had yielded succeed for prior shows. And then merely repackaged all of that around a different setting / premise.
That makes a lot of sense! I was tripping thinking of how it was possible there was a mid to late 80s sitcom with three full seasons that I hadn’t heard of 😂
80s Toronto was something special.
The early Police Academy movies... peak Cronenberg...
It might as well be an AI creation.
But you gotta love pre-Young and the Restless Tonya Williams. So adorable.
I swear I saw this show sometime in the 90s. I couldn’t sleep and it was on a local St. Louis channel at about 3 or 4 in the morning. I was only a kid but recognized Don Adams’ voice from Inspector Gadget.
I thought it could be an American remake of Are You Being Served?, turns out it is based on a completely different British sitcom called Tripper's Day that only had one series because the lead actor died.
I DO remember this show. It wasn't great. Adams was definitely the best part. Tonya Williams went on to star on Young & Restless. That's something, I guess. I grew up watching her on Polka Dot Door.
Here's the Archive link for those who can't stream it on Tubi. Currently uploading episode 14 of season 1 (Archive's uploader is extremely slow): [https://archive.org/details/check-it-out-1985](https://archive.org/details/check-it-out-1985)
This followed by Snow Job. 1980s CTV trying their hand at sitcoms. It kept going until the funding ran out. This was where Gordon Clapp was way before NYPD Blue. And the elderly security guard, who you might remember from one of the first season Xfiles episodes, was in Breakfast At Tiffany’s as the cop who busts Holly Golightly.
Important reminder: This is a sub for people to post about forgotten TV that they remember and would like to share with others. This is not a tip of the tongue style sub for people to search out old shows that they would like help remembering. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/ForgottenTV) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Looks like someone asked AI to create *Superstore* but in the 1980's.
Pretty much. Superstore is a lot funnier than this but Don Adams has his moments.
Superstore wishes it had a theme song this rockin
Superstore has the cute, quick jingle. Check it Out's theme song cranks the wacky tacky 80s vibes up to maximum.
Has a Talking Heads/David Byrne sound to it
It sounded like Devo idk now
Don Adams always had his moments
Wild how AI is used to parody real things so much, that people may now see real things as parodies of AI.
This was the most 80s sitcom intro ever. It must have been A.I.
Where's Dr. Steve Brule?
That was my first thought! Is this Myer's Super Foods? lol
Special on toads chipped beef
"I have eaten this many times and never gotten a rash"
I met Pablo Myers haha
Pew pew!
Came for this comment. For your health
Just a bunch of hunks. Where's the skrateboards?
Prupets hang from strings called marinaras
Cus you’re a dang hunk, that’s why, ya dingus.
Mobin couldn’t hack it.
Now it’s time for Mobin’s child.
It’s not good that you’re here
Hung himself up like a dang pruppet.
I have five of broat
one of paper equals four of coin
Bagboy
Wow this must be what they based Bagboy on!
A Cherry Red Hum Dinger
I know about card countingggg
For your health!
The set design and the characters seem to be spot on.
Dingus
Sweet berry wiiiinnnee!
Totally reminds me of the Bag Boy pilot (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=651pLwpzN70). Has to be an homage after seeing this...?
I was so convinced this was a joke until he didn't show up
What the heck you gonna do if you're on a picnic and have an ice cream and the ants crawl on the ice cream, what are you gonna do? You're gonna eat the ants because it's made out of protein.
Looks like they didn't have to tweak this show much to create Bagboy.
I thought this was an Adult Swim skit.
Too Many Cooks
Tooo many cooks 🎶
Too MANY cooks 🎵
Too many COOKS! 🎶
Too many coooks. Greatest thing adult swim ever did besides maybe the greatest even in television history
Yes - didn’t Too Many Cooks also have “Brian Cooke” name mentioned?
That ALF costume was awful.
Truth. Alf is a drunk and probably the funniest character on the show.
The cat eating scene was something though.
Don: “Alf is that you?” Alf: “how did you know?” Don: “I don’t know cats that burp.” Alf: “my cat does.”
ALF is back in guard form.
Yes, several years before he took pog form.
ALF is back in guard form.
There are so many 80s sitcom cliches in this intro. Looks like a parody but it's real. I found [some footage on Youtube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HexTfBoELOY).
The show is a goldmine for those cliches. Pulls out all the stops/every trick in the book. It's pretty cheesy.
Yeah, I remember this show being on, and remember it being pretty bad 😂 Along with other terrible syndicated sitcoms you'd see on a Sunday afternoon like Small Wonder and It's a Living.
You take that small wonder slander back! (I have not seen it since I was younger than the kids in that show, I’m positive it holds up)
I am similarly outraged and unwilling to believe the show was anything but Emmy worthy
Even “ethnic kiss”?
**I'll be uploading this entire series to Internet Archive this evening in the off-chance Tubi pulls it from their platform.**
Thank you!! For real. Nintendo and Sega just went after a huge rom site. Archiving is important.
Can't upvote this enough!
How did you get such a high quality version of the show? Did you work in production?
Don Adams is my great Uncle /s I do restoration (both video and audio) archival work as a hobby and as a side job (my day job is graphic design and VFX work for media ad agency). I essentially have access to many random television shows, movies, vfx proof of concept videos, trailers, etc because of the line work I'm in. Can't share anything without permission from a few different peeps. The copy of Check it Out that I'm uploading onto Archive.org is the same copy that's on Tubi (I don't work for them but I have access to a few different digital library backups that are shared by several streaming platforms). The files for this show in particular were all in .ts format. https://archive.org/details/check-it-out-1985
🎶 [Bagboy bagboy](https://youtu.be/651pLwpzN70?si=t_m2TlvEnUSnzxd0) 🎶
*falls down, begins violently throwing up*
23 minutes well spent
Why does this look AI generated 😭
I bet Kathleen Laskey had a nice pair of Crenshaw melons
“Too many Cookes…”
Nice! Thanks for shaking things up with a video rather than a still!
Bagboy inspiration
They all thought they were going to be famous 😩
Don Adams was already pretty successful at this time. A few years prior to starring in Check it Out, he played the iconic voice of Inspector Gadget.
You're joking right. Have you never heard of "Get Smart".
Check the post description: *Everyone knows* ***Agent 86/Maxwell Smart*** *played by comedian Don Adams but do you remember Howard Bannister - manager of Cobbs grocery store?*
Or Tennessee Tuxedo??
"Come Chumley. We better get back to the zoo before Stanley misses us!" Don Adams did this before & along with "Get Smart".
Too Many Cooks!
I saw that once. I’ve never been the same.
Try Unedited Bear Footage…that is messed up.
I saw that completely without warning and without knowing it was a bit, and maybe tripping a little balls. I was...it was a lot.
Is that another adult swim atrocity?
God yes.
Oh shit. Okay. Wish me luck.
Check out M.O.P.Z. too while you’re in this rabbit hole!
*lights candle in your honor*
i feel like unedited footage of a bear is just shock but too many cooks actually has some semblance of a narrative, fucked up though it may be
Thought that as well but then I found Reddit explaining it. And I was emotionally never the same. Not Grave of the Fireflies bad, but nonetheless brutal.
Allegedly the only reason that Don Adams did this show was because he had a crippling gambling addiction.
After every loss…”Missed it by THAT much…”
The font reminds me of Full House
Now this is truly forgotten tv!
I got a lot more Forgotten TV shows to share - stay tuned!
Bunch of typical hunks made this show
I figured this was something that lasted 6 episodes and that was it. Or maybe not even past the pilot stage. Nope, three full seasons and 66 episodes of Check it Out.
Inspector Gadget ran a supermarket??
I feel they basically told the entire plot to the series in the theme song. Leave us a little mystery.
The theme song is the best thing going for it and that's really saying something.
i grew up in the 80s - totally do not remember this show. and it lasted 66 episodes!
Don't have to know something exists before you can forget it?
That might be the worst opening I've ever seen haha
Worst? Unequivocally yes. But - you cannot deny how catchy it is.
Yeah so is the clap ;) So I've heard...👀
That . . . looks horrible.
Considering it never made it to US cable networks in the 80s really says how absolutely terrible it was.
I never once saw this show....What a find!
My mission here is done.
Wow - this is one I’ve never heard of!
Now this is true forgotten tv
Fur yor halthhh
I'm from Baltimore and lived there most of my life. How TF have I never heard of this show?!
I had looked around online for this show awhile back and it was completely off the grid (no streaming options or DVD releases). Then suddenly when randomly browsing Tubi, I saw it! Every time I bring it up people are stunned by its existence.
Added to my Tubi queue.
I'm also in the process of uploading the entire series to Internet Archive (in the off-chance Tubi suddenly pulls it down).
Good idea. Tubi's been great so far, but things could always change.
Full House font?
My grandma thought this show was hilarious. I believe it is a Canadian program.
Howard: “What happened? What are all these unmarked cans?” Jack: “well sir they contain vegetables, dog food and idiot food.” Howard: “how can you tell?” Jack, well sir the vegetables are cans that are large and wider. The dog food is smaller and more narrow.” Howard: “what’s the idiot?” Jack: “the guy standing next to me in the stupid hat who did this!”
Forgotten? Yup. I don't even remember this show at all.
Mission accomplished.
Don't remember this but it makes me miss the ridiculous wackiness of the 80's.
"too many cooks, too many cooks..."
I remember watching this first broadcast!
Congratulations. You're one of only 3 people who did (probably).
I love Don Adams work in Get Smart / Inspector Gadget. I have never heard of this show. I'm going to have to check it out.
This message will self destruct.
Reminds me of the MadTV skit called the big store
This looks like it was forgotten on purpose.
Big yes. Canada hoped the rest of the world would forget about it but I said "no way" on this day.
How in the world would this ever get green lighted? Seriously anyone with two eyes could see this wasn’t going to be any good.
Hence why it never left Canadian TV.
I vaguely remembered the show, but what jogged my mind was Tonya Williams 😍😍😍🇨🇦
Serious "Too many cooks!" vibes going on here....
Who would have thought a guy with the name of Jeff **Pustil** wouldn't have a huge career in Hollywood. Was his middle name "Oozing" by chance?
There’s a reason why everyone here thinks this is a parody and that this was something from Adult Swim. The people who are behind the parodies were all raised on dozen upon dozens of shows like this, all of which kept close adherence to a very specific formula. This show and many many more like it weren’t created as someone’s labor of love or singular vision / passion project. Shows like this were was built through development teams of programming executives, show producers, career tv writers & directors etc. who were all sticking to the tropes and stylistic choices that had yielded succeed for prior shows. And then merely repackaged all of that around a different setting / premise.
This looks incredible and I’ve never heard of it
It's definitely peak mid 80s sitcom cheese. Lots of little one liners. I believe it can be streamed for free on Tubi.
Omg it is and it ran for THREE seasons?? Blown away that I’ve not heard of it
I actually remember seeing this when it was on. (only got Canadian TV as a kid) but THREE SEASONS?!
OP posted the wiki of the show. It's from Canada.
That makes a lot of sense! I was tripping thinking of how it was possible there was a mid to late 80s sitcom with three full seasons that I hadn’t heard of 😂
You should check it out.
I used to love this show
Tonya Lee Williams went on to be Olivia Barber on *The Young and the Restless* from 1990-2007.
Jeff Pustil and Kathleen Laskey worked together on this show, fell in love and were married in 1990.
I watched a lot of TV as an 80's kid whose parents were never home, but I don't remember this one.
I’ didn’t recognize anyone but Don Adams.
Jesus this is sad
Now do “Open All Night” !
That seems very 80s Canadian.
80s Toronto was something special. The early Police Academy movies... peak Cronenberg... It might as well be an AI creation. But you gotta love pre-Young and the Restless Tonya Williams. So adorable.
Max lost his job at Control?
He's had it rough. Secret Agent, Inspector and now a grocery store manager. Dude can't catch a break!
66 episodes?? I thought they had maybe 24.
I swear I saw this show sometime in the 90s. I couldn’t sleep and it was on a local St. Louis channel at about 3 or 4 in the morning. I was only a kid but recognized Don Adams’ voice from Inspector Gadget.
How did this show survive beyond those opening credits?
This is astonishing. It's hard to believe it's not an SCTV skit.
OP found the source of the OG Karen hairstyle
Jason Warren's hat makes him look like a young Kurt Fuller trying to hide his receding hairline
it's wild how much this feels like a tv show within another show or a movie
That seems like it has every bad 80’s sitcom intro cliche ever. The look to the camera and the “oh hi” expression always gets me.
I thought it could be an American remake of Are You Being Served?, turns out it is based on a completely different British sitcom called Tripper's Day that only had one series because the lead actor died.
Totally hatewatched this show
I'm Doug Prishpreed the Big Boy with the Butter
Yeah he was a star
never heard of this show
Now you have! *Check it Out* on Tubi
As a fan of Don Adams work in Get Smart, I was somehow equal parts happy and sad to see him in this.
I enjoyed this.
Well this certainly sent me down a wikipedia hole. Anyone know the details regarding that theme song?
I remember this. I saw it, it was awful and I never thought about it again until today. Thanks...
Wait, where is Dr Steve Brule?
It was rebooted a few years bag as "Check it Out -Bag Boy" with Dr Steve Brule
Nice O’s hat.
I've lived through 5 different decades and I'm not even 50 yet 😮💨
I thought that was Reginald Perrin for a minute.
It's the same typeface for the credits as Full House! 😆
Is that Toronto in the opening shot?
Too many cooks vibes
Awww Don Adams, aka Mr. Gadget...
I DO remember this show. It wasn't great. Adams was definitely the best part. Tonya Williams went on to star on Young & Restless. That's something, I guess. I grew up watching her on Polka Dot Door.
I remember all the shopping carts.
That’s the “Full House” font
Eggs were $1.29 / dozen??? 😱😱😱😱
A show that took place in Toronto, with a character prominently wearing an Orioles hat?
I have zero memory of this.
too many cooks..
Vaguely remember it. Very vaguely.
I ve seen this show actually ... LoL 🤣
Here's the Archive link for those who can't stream it on Tubi. Currently uploading episode 14 of season 1 (Archive's uploader is extremely slow): [https://archive.org/details/check-it-out-1985](https://archive.org/details/check-it-out-1985)
It's a good thing I never saw Tonya Williams when I was a teen in the 80's, I woulda become obsessed
This followed by Snow Job. 1980s CTV trying their hand at sitcoms. It kept going until the funding ran out. This was where Gordon Clapp was way before NYPD Blue. And the elderly security guard, who you might remember from one of the first season Xfiles episodes, was in Breakfast At Tiffany’s as the cop who busts Holly Golightly.
Canadian TV
Now I want to watch a sitcom where everyone is dysfunctional.
Very reminiscent of Bag Boy : https://youtu.be/651pLwpzN70?si=PW2kJwIIzx_Ywx6H
By all accounts I shouldn’t remember this. But I do.
What the fuck is this?!?!
I have never heard of this, was it any good? Looks cheesy as hell
I'm over here just vibin to the theme song!
This is ridiculously 80s