Hot-potato shows

HOT-POTATO SHOWS

"Swingtown" isn't the first network series to raise eyebrows before it hit the air. Here are 10 series that debuted under clouds of controversy -- and how they fared.

"Amos 'N' Andy" (June 28, 1951, CBS): It's almost impossible to see the series today because of the show's mocking tone toward blacks that was controversial even in the '50s. Run: Two seasons.

"All in the Family" (Jan. 12, 1971, CBS): Archie Bunker never met a racial stereotype he didn't embrace. America's long, sentimental love affair with this clear bigot is one of the strangest in TV history. Run: 12 seasons.

"Hot L Baltimore" (Jan. 24, 1975, ABC): A prostitute, a gay couple and future "Facts of Life" star Charlotte Rae were among the tenants of this seedy hotel. But audiences checked out. Run: 13 episodes.

"Soap" (Sept. 13, 1977, ABC): The network received nearly 32,000 protest letters about this soap-opera spoof before it even aired. Once it did, a cult audience developed, as did the spinoff, "Benson." Run: Four seasons.

"Love, Sidney" (Oct. 28, 1981, NBC): Tony Randall was once again part of an odd couple: She was an unmarried mother, he was gay -- at least, that was the original plan. After the TV movie that inspired the series, sexual orientation was never mentioned again. Run: Two seasons.

"Married ... With Children" (April 5, 1987, Fox): Three years after America fell in love with the Huxtables came the Bundys, one of the most dysfunctional families in TV history. Run: 10 seasons.

"N.Y.P.D. Blue" (Sept. 21, 1993, ABC): Bare bottoms, crotch-grabbing and vulgar language led to an early boycott and cries for the return of more wholesome cops. Critics said police drama would never be the same -- and they were right. Run: 12 seasons.

"The Secret Diary of Desmond Pfeiffer" (Oct. 5, 1998, UPN): Turns out Abraham Lincoln wasn't manic-depressive or homosexual. He was an idiot. That was the pitch of this bawdy sitcom, seen through the eyes of the prez's butler, played by Chi McBride. Run: Four episodes.

"Coupling" (Sept. 25, 2003, NBC): Convinced that they could recycle the "Friends" formula, NBC executives banked on six gorgeous singles who chatted more about sex than Carrie Bradshaw and her gal pals could accomplish over a month's worth of Cosmos. Run: Four episodes.

"The Book of Daniel" (Jan. 6, 2006, NBC): Aidan Quinn starred as a troubled reverend who popped pills and had an alcoholic wife and a tendency to chat with Jesus when the chips were really down. The network's prayers for a hit went unanswered. Run: Three episodes.