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The last-ditch effort to save The Don Knotts Show
A behind-the-scenes look at the ill-fated show's decline
"It was funny," wrote TV Guide's Cleveland Amory after the first episode of The Don Knotts Show in 1970.
"And so was Don trying to be a host. But Mr. Knotts actually as a host?"
This was the fundamental flaw of Don Knotts' variety show. He was an actor who built a career around being this "nervous man" character. The archetype's many iterations— Barney Fife, included— shook and stammered their way through whatever task was at hand. But variety shows depend on a confident host at the helm.
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"He never throws his weight around, what little weight there is," noted another TV Guide reporter. "He speaks softly and diffidently."
The Don Knotts Show was bested in the ratings by ABC's cool new cop show, Mod Squad. Despite Knotts' ability to attract A-list guest stars, his show was almost immediately on the decline.
Producers brought in former Andy Griffith Show director Bob Sweeney. This kind of midseason creative team shakeup isn't unheard of, but it is indicative of the network losing confidence in The Don Knotts Show. Sweeney brought with him new writers and even future M*A*S*H star Gary Burghoff.
Elaine Joyce turned down a spot on Carol Burnett to join Don Knotts' variety show team. She had a front-row seat for one of the era's biggest misfires.
"He suffered so much through that," Joyce recalled in the book Andy and Don: The Making of a Friendship and a Classic American TV Show. "Every week, the ratings weren't good and the material wasn't good enough. He suffered through it. We all did. You just wanted to abandon ship."
The Don Knotts Show was canceled after its first season ended. Reportedly, Knotts boarded a plane to Hawaii, where he spent a week asleep in bed.
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11 Comments
ahhhhh - ok - well Mr Knotts I think you were maybe a great actor or schizo
