I had been meaning to recommend What Were They Thinking? since I picked it up nearly a year ago, but it always seemed to slip my mind. It's really a fun read, though as with any book of this type, you may not agree with all the choices. More than a dozen of them are game shows, including many you don't usually see in lists like this (Connie Francis on Pyramid) and many that wouldn't surprise you at all (You're In The Picture and, in general, the quiz show scandals both make the top ten). It seems likely that the people who made the recent TV Land special had this book on hand when making their list (both include, for example, Paul Lynde on The Dating Game).
The author gives himself some leeway by not restricting his list to shows, so that the scope can include ANY lame-brained programming decision. As I said, you won't agree with all choices. The Flying Nun makes the list, though it wasn't nearly the most egregious example of stupid 60s sitcoms. Still, it's a smart book that includes such inspired choices as the FOX mishandling of Breakfast Time. It has flaws (Dick Ebersol's last name is misspelled, as is Jon Stewart's first) and some facts it uses don't ring true to me, but it's fun, which is really all you want a book like this to be.
