It's been a monkey on his back for 25 years. It's time to try to understand what happened to bring about such a monstrous failure.

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Kiwi TV show 'Melody Rules' came out in the 90s and is widely regarded as one of worst sitcoms ever made. But just how bad was it? Geoff Houtman - one of the show's original writers - embarks on a quest to find out what went wrong.

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Geoff and some of the original writing group talk about the 'odd' way Melody Rules came to be chosen, and how micro-management from the outset set the course for sitcom-disaster.

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Even a badly chosen idea and a micro-managed script needs someone to play it. And casting is crucial... especially with inexperienced actors.

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Geoff tracks down the man who directed all 40 episodes of Melody Rules and hears about the challenges he faced: inexperience, arguments with the actors, news cameras on loan, making a sitcom in a broom closet.

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Geoff tracks down John Vorhaus, the sitcom guru. How did John get the job of training the young writers and what did he make of it all?

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Melody Rules is finally unleashed on a hyped-up New Zealand public and is greeted with virtual (and actual) hostility.

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What were the Network people thinking when they made Melody Rules? Geoff gets their - surprisingly positive - take on the experience.

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