Top 10 showkillers on TV

Posted: November 18, 2008 at 11:39 am

Top 10 showkillers on TV

A show-killer is an actor who’s mere presence can spell cancellation for a TV series. Here is our list of Hollywood’s ten most lethal TV stars.

Ted McGinley

Ted McGinley is the bubbly blonde grim reaper of TV series death. His impressive body count includes some of the most popular shows in TV history. The web site Jump the Shark named Ted the patron saint of show-killers.

BODY COUNT: Happy Days, Married with Children, The Love Boat, and Dynasty.

Paula Marshall

Ted McGinley routinely sends her thank-you notes for removing the taint of "show killer" from his public profile. Paula Marshall isn’t offensive her acting style is just like oatmeal (a little bland and too boring.)

BODY COUNT: Cupid, Out of Practice, Snoops, Veronica Mars, Shark, Manchild, Out of Practice, Hidden Hills, Cursed, Sports Night, Wild Oats, Miss Match, Just Shoot Me, and Hidden Hills

Mark-Paul Gosselaar

Mark-Paul Gosselaar’s has the pouty facial expressions of a 13 year old girl and silky hair to match.

BODY COUNT: NYPD Blue, Raising the Bar, John from Cincinnati, Law Dogs, Commander in Chief, Hyperion Bay, and D.C.

Dabney Coleman

Dabney Coleman has parlayed a decent acting career in films to a disastrous run on the small screen. Audiences have concluded his grating personality is only palatable in small doses.

BODY COUNT: Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman, Buffalo Bill, The Guardian, Heartland, Courting Alex, and Recess

Eric Balfour

Eric Balfour’s acting on the TV show 24 was such a ratings disaster writers had a contest to see who could kill him off first mid season. His elongated pointy face (and disasterous fashion taste) has been proven to cause migraines. His acting can be compared to Keanu Reeves after a serious head injury.

BODY COUNT: Conviction, Sex Love & Secrets, Veritas, Hawaii, Clueless, The Ex List, The Chronicle, and Fearless

Tim Conway

Tim Conway’s toughest career break came when Obama was elected president. If McCain had one Tim could have masterfully played the fellow octogenarian president on Saturday Night Live. His grating acting ability is essentially limited to about a half dozen silly faces.

BODY COUNT: Coach, Married with Children, Newhart, Mad about You

Jason Gedrick

Jason Gedrick’s acting skills peaked with the B-movie Iron Eagle, a teenage version of Top Gun. The dyslexic actor is better suited to a show with a bare minimum of dialogue like playing Ponch from CHiPs or Power Rangers.

BODY COUNT: Class of ‘96, Sweet Justice, The Force, Murder One, EZ Streets, Philly, Falcone, The Beast, Boomtown, LAX, Windfall, and Lincoln Heights

Steven Eckholdt
	Steven Eckholdt has appeared in more than 60 different series but is the kiss of death for any show he has starred in. Like many actors on this list he is more castable to producers than tolerable to viewers. BODY COUNT: Smith, Shark, Half & Half, My Big Fat Greek Life, That’s Life, Split Decision , Grapevine, It’s like You Know, and Champs	8

Christopher Gorham
	Christopher Gorham has one of those annoying faces that makes you want to punch him for no reason. The wide-eyed actor always seems out of place like someone on set was picking on him, or displaying the classic symptoms of paranoia. BODY COUNT: Odyssey 5, Boomtown, Medical Investigation, Jake 2.0, Out of Practice,	9

Jason O’Mara
	Jason O’Mara’s Life on Mars is facing cancellation for the second time on the same series despite casting major stars like Harvey Keitel, Gretchen Mol, and Michael Imperioli. BODY COUNT: Life on Mars (two different attempts), Men in Trees, In Justice, The Agency, High Stakes, The Cassidys, and Peak Practice	10