TV by the Decade :: November 21•27

Universal Television

Only four new shows premiered this week in two different decades, probably because the networks were loading up their schedules with specials and reruns for the week that generally includes Thanksgiving in the United States. Of the four shows, two barely lasted a season (or half a season), but the other two had very long, successful runs even with a few speed bumps early in their runs (including near cancellation and a move to a new network). Do you remember any of this week’s new shows? Tell us in the comments section below!

1951

• No new shows premiered this week in 1951.

1961

• No new shows premiered this week in 1961.

1971

• No new shows premiered this week in 1971.

1981

November 24 – Simon & Simon

• Cast: Jameson Parker, Gerald McRaney, Mary Carver, Tim Reid, Scott Murphy, Eddie Barth, Jeannie Wilson, Joan McMurtrey
• Notable Guests: Daphne Reid, Belinda Montgomery, Gary Lockwood, Richard Anderson, Anne Lockhart, Jonathan Banks, Ray Walston, Kenneth Mars, Marie Windsor, Thom Christopher, Maryedith Burrell, Eddie Albert, Fionnula Flanagan, Elaine Joyce, Jean-Pierre Aumont, David Hedison, John Pleshette, Christopher Stone, Penny Johnson Jerald, Alan Hale Jr., Louise Sorel, Anthony Newley, Kathleen Freeman, James Avery, Donald O’Connor, Dick York, Julia Duffy, Ann Dusenberry, Anne Francis, John Astin, Frank Bonner, Cathryn Damon, Dennis Franz, Dee Wallace, Gary Coleman, Jenilee Harrison, Kelli Maroney, Olivia d’Abo, Rob Estes, Vera Miles, Jerry Orbach, June Allyson, Tom Selleck, Arlene Golonka, Natalie Schafer, Carol Lawrence, Stacey Nelkin, William Schallert, Tony Todd, David Paymer, Jenny O’Hara, Markie Post, John Hillerman, Jerry Stiller, Charles Fleischer, Dedee Pfeiffer, Tina Louise, Joe Mantegna, Dean Stockwell, Britt Ekland, Susan Oliver, Vanna White, Cliff De Young, Ruta Lee, Robert Englund, Candy Clark, Alice Ghostley, Delta Burke, Kevin McCarthy, Morgan Fairchild, Erin Gray, Richard Kiel, Mario Lopez, Jaye P. Morgan, Cleavon Little, Norman Fell, Sybil Danning, Broderick Crawford, Linnea Quigley, Frank Welker, Marcia Gay Harden, Bebe Neuwirth, Joyce Brothers, Giovanni Ribisi, BD Wong, Alison Sweeney, Billy Crystal, Lyle Waggoner, Deborah Walley
• Synopsis: Two brothers of disparate tastes and manners run a private detective agency.
• Network: CBS
• Broadcast History: Eight seasons, 156 episodes (2 unaired), last broadcast on September 16, 1989
• Trivia: The original pilot was titled Pirate’s Key and was set in Florida. When the series was picked up, the location was moved to San Diego, but after the first season production moved to Los Angeles while still set in San Diego. The series was almost cancelled after its first season, but CBS gave it another chance, moving after Magnum P.I. and doing a crossover episode for the second season premiere and ratings grew considerably until The Cosby Show premiered on NBC, driving ratings growth for the shows that followed it. CBS moved the show to Saturday where ratings plummeted, and two episodes went unaired including the series finale which finally aired in syndication. On the show, the brothers have an age difference of a few years but in real life Jameson Parker and Gerald McRaney were born four months apart in 1947.

November 27 – Darkroom

• Cast: James Coburn (narrator)
• Notable Guests: Helen Hunt, Gloria DeHaven, Brian Dennehy, Billy Crystal, David Carradine, Rue McClanahan, Ronny Cox, June Lockhart, Mary Frann, Richard Anderson, Esther Rolle, Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs, Eugene Roche, Patti D’Arbanville, Anne Lockhart, Samantha Eggar, Grant Goodeve
• Synopsis: American thriller anthology television series.
• Network: ABC
• Broadcast History: One season, 7 episodes, last broadcast on January 15, 1982
• Trivia: Several episodes were deemed too intense for television, so they were edited together with a new opening segment and released theatrically under the title Nightmares.

1991

• No new shows premiered this week in 1991.

2001

• No new shows premiered this week in 2001.

2011

November 21 – You Deserve It

• Hosts: Chris Harrison, Brooke Burns
• Synopsis: Game show in which the contestant plays for a beneficiary, who is put on surveillance throughout the show and told of the winnings at the end.
• Network: ABC
• Broadcast History: One season, 6 episodes, last broadcast on December 26, 2011
• Trivia: International versions have been produced in the Arab World, China, South Africa, Spain, Turkey and Vietnam.

Tyler Perry Studios

November 25 – Tyler Perry’s For Better or Worse

• Cast: Cocoa Brown, Tasha Smith, Crystle Stewart, Brad James, Jason Olive, Kent Faulcon, Michael Jai White
• Notable Guests: Eddie Cibrian, Robert Christopher Riley, Arielle Vandenberg, Bobbi Kristina Brown
• Synopsis: Based on and a spin-off of Tyler Perry’s Why Did I Get Married Films, the series follows the ups-and-downs of married life for Marcus and Angela.
• Network: TBS / OWN
• Broadcast History: Six seasons, 162 episodes, last broadcast on July 22, 2017
• Trivia: The series ran for its first two seasons on TBS, then moved to Oprah Winfrey’s OWN network for its last four.