Revenge of the Nerds (1991 TV Movie) User Reviews

Extremely lackluster failed TV show pilot inspired by the far superior movie

[Woodyanders · 3/10 · 14 September 2009]

The fact that this abortive TV pilot was never aired alone speaks volumes about just how incredibly lame, insipid, and instantly forgettable this 24-minute clunker is. The story is nothing more than a very tepid and condensed rehash of the original film that's done with none of the wit, charm and warmth which made the movie such a gut-busting blast. Instead we get a lot of dumb, obvious, and not remotely amusing jokes that quite simply don't manage to tickle the funny bone even to a moderate degree. Rob Stone as the cocky Louis Skolnick and Lightfield Lewis as his awkward best friend Gilbert Lowe are merely adequate in the leads, but lack the gangly appeal of Robert Carradine and Anthony Edwards. Grant Gelt as precocious little squirt Harold Wormser, Robbie Rist as jolly hippie slob Booger, Jeff Benson as sneering Neanderthal thug Ogre, and Sean Kanan as arrogant evil jock Todd Channing are likewise strictly okay in their roles. Only Richard Gant as tough adviser P.T. Turner manages to bring some life to his part. The presence of adorable onetime "Playboy" Playmate Julie McCullough as a snobby cheerleader helps a bit as well, but Peter Baldwin's bland direction and Eric Cohen's blah and uninspired script reduce the whole enterprise to your standard generic and unremarkable flash-in-the-pan sitcom. If you haven't seen this, then you ain't missing anything.

Would rate zero if it was possible.

[kevsterogg2001 · 1/10 · 19 April 2014]

I own the Panty Raid edition of the movie, so I have this pilot. Viewed twice, was sorry both times. I saw very little resemblance to the far superior movie. No wonder it was unaired. I just wish it was NEVER seen and NEVER allowed to be seen by anyone. It is that horrible. This is more benefiting of the genre of parody, but that would do little to improve it.

This "TV pilot" needs to be burned. And then the ashes need to be burned again. And then those ashes need to be put in a sealed urn, the urn melted, placed into a steel vault, and then buried 100 feet into the ground. I wouldn't even try to force my worst enemy to watch this joke of a pilot.

The only laughter will be canned.

[ddt21977 · 1/10 · 1 April 2016]

Like the other reviewer on here, I also have the DVD of Revenge of the Nerds, which contains this unaired pilot. During this 24 minute nightmare there is not one single creative thought, joke, or performance to be found. If the creators of this fiasco thought they were cooking up a successful American comedy show they forgot one important ingredient, humor. The jokes (I use that word lightly) are rip off' s from the movie. The only original comedy that made its way into here is as funny as getting a diagnosis of brain cancer from your doctor. The head shaking, eye rolling, and disbelief that people actually sat down wrote this, filmed it, edited it, and presented this package to someone wearing a suit in a television studio will start as soon as the opening credits begin. They use every stereotype associated with nerds as a springboard for a joke that will sadly fall flat. The only people who will find humor in this will be someone who still thinks that Santa, and the Easter bunny are real. If you have or at some point get The Revenge of the Nerds DVD, check it out so you at least have a bottom to your barrel of horrible television shows that you can say you have seen.

The laugh track only draws attention to the fact this isn't funny.

[planktonrules · 2/10 · 25 June 2020]

"Revenge of the Nerds" was a very low-brow film that, despite all its excesses, was fun to watch....at least once. However, it spurred on many unwanted sequels as well as this attempt at a weekly TV series...all of which I'd just as soon forget.

So in the case of this proposed TV series, why didn't I like it? The biggest reason is that the pilot offered no improvements over the original film...and mostly was just a repeat of much of what you see in the first portion of the film. But to make it worse, the writing really disappointed...and the lame jokes were accompanied by something not in the movie...an ever-present and poorly used laugh track.

Was there anything I liked about the pilot? Well, only one thing. I liked seeing Robbie Rist playing Booger, as Rist was famous for being the character that showed "The Brady Bunch" had jumped the shark...Cousin Oliver! Now I am not saying Rist was wonderful in "Revenge of the Nerds"...but it was nice to see him trying something else in his post child-actor phase of life.

Not great, but not that bad either

[Horst_In_Translation · 6/10 · 10 February 2017]

"Revenge of the Nerds" is a 24-minute live action short film from 1991, so this one is already over 25 years old. It was made by Emmy winner Peter Baldwin as a pilot episode that may launch a potential show based on a previous movie about nerds. This of course never happened, but I am not as critical of this one here as some of the other reviewers (and raters). For under 30 minutes, the quantity of somewhat funny moments was okay I guess. I personally thought there was a touch of Buck Bundy, a touch of Big Bang Theory and a touch of Steve Urkel perhaps even in here. It wasn't bad by any means. The character seemed a bit interchangeable some of them, but lets keep in mind that this was only one episode. Crucial differences in terms of behavior and relationships may have showed up in further episodes. It certainly does not offer the same level as the very best from MwC, TBBT or FM, but also not the worst, somewhere in-between perhaps. I find it a bit baffling this got rated so low. I guess it is mostly by people who very much love the film this is loosely based on. I have not seen that one, so I cannot elaborate any further on this connection. As for these 24 minutes here, I thought they were occasionally enjoyable and I give a thumbs-up. Worth checking out, even if I am not too sure how and if it would have actually worked as a series. But it does as a one-time short film.

Wow

[bevo-13678 · 10/10 · 20 July 2021]

In aired pilot. I can think of no reason why this didn't go to air.