TV by the Decade :: Aug 28•Sept 3

T.C.A. Productions

As the Summer ends and the new Fall season dawns, a large portion of the new shows that made their debuts this week were Syndicated series rather than network shows, meaning they could air at different times and on different local channels across the country. Also this week we see quite a few programs aimed at younger audiences as new children’s fare often pre-dated the roll out of new primetime series. This week we see just the tip of that iceberg. Some scripted and reality series also made their debuts on network and cable channels but few of them are remembered today. 1952 did give us a series that inspired another contemporary sitcom, as well as the longest running daytime variety series in TV history. 1962 gave us three new Hanna-Barbera cartoons. 1992 produced two short-lived scripted dramas, and a talk show that should have had a longer run than it did, while 2002 had another short-lived talk show, and two revivals of classic game shows. 2012 expanded the world of Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood, and gave us a mini-series remake of a cult classic thriller from the 1970s. Read on to see if any of your favorite shows made their debuts this week!

1952

September 1952 – The Abbott and Costello Show

• Cast: Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Sid Fields, Gordon Jones, Hillary Brooke, Joe Kirk
• Notable Guests: Joe Besser, Elvia Allman, Gloria Henry, Glenn Langan, Phyllis Coates, Marjorie Reynolds, Lyle Talbot, Percy Helton, Tristram Coffin
• Synopsis: Abbott and Costello portrayed unemployed actors sharing an apartment in a rooming house in Los Angeles.
• Network: Syndication
• Broadcast History: Two seasons, 52 episodes, last broadcast in May 1954
• Trivia: Glenn Strange, Barbara Billingsley, Gloria Talbott, Mel Blanc, Burt Mustin, Maudie Prickett appear uncredited (or in Blanc’s case, is heard as a parrot). The series was the inspiration for Seinfeld, with an emphasis on funny situations over any life lessons. A funny situation or gag was filmed regardless of plot continuity, making the show a valuable record of the duo’s classic Burlesque routines. Bingo the Chimp was fired from the show after biting Costello. Lou Costello owned the show, with Bud Abbott working on salary. Costello did most of his own stunts. During filming, one camera was always kept on Lou Costello because he was constantly improvising. The funniest bits were edited into the episode whether they had anything to do with the scene or not. Joe Besser played ten-year-old Stinky Davis at the age of 45.

September 1 – Art Linkletter’s House Party

• Host: Art Llinkletter
• Synopsis: Daytime variety series.
• Network: CBS
• Broadcast History: Seventeen seasons, 698 episodes, last broadcast on September 5, 1969.
• Trivia: The show originated on CBS Radio starting January 15, 1945, which was spun off to television as Life with Linkletter on ABC from October 6, 1950 to April 25, 1952. It was the longest running daytime variety by the time it ended its run. The show originally aired for 15 minutes but expanded to 30 minute in February 1953. One of the show’s segements, ‘Guess What’s in the House’, where audience members had to guess the contents of a small model house on stage, was adapted into ‘Guess What’s in the Box’ on Let’s Make a Deal. One of the show’s most popular segments was ‘Kids Say the Darnedest Things’, which has been spun off into its own TV series twice.

September 2 – Where Was I?

• Hosts: Dan Seymour, Ken Roberts, John Reed King
• Notable Guests: Bill Cullen, Nancy Guild, Virginia Graham, Skitch Henderson
• Synopsis: The series consisted of panelists who would have to guess a location by listening to clues and viewing photos.
• Network: DuMont
• Broadcast History: One season, last broadcast on October 6, 1953
• Trivia: As with most DuMont series, no episodes are known to exist.

1962

September 3 – Lippy the Lion and Hardy Har Har

• Voice Cast: Mel Blanc, Daws Butler, Don Messick
• Notable Voice Guests: Jean Vander Pyl
• Synopsis: The cartoon adventures of a Lion and his Hyena friend,
• Network: Syndication
• Broadcast History: One season, 52 episodes, last broadcast on August 30, 1963
• Trivia: Was one of the segments of The Hanna-Barbera New Cartoon Series block. Mel Blanc used the same voice, personality and expressions for Hardy Har Har that he used playing the postman on the Burns and Allen radio show.

September 3 – Touché Turtle and Dum Dum

• Voice Cast: Alan Reed, Bill Thompson, Don Messick
• Notable Voice Guests: Daws Butler, Jean Vander Pyl, Bea Benaderet, Hal Smith, Howard Morris
• Synopsis: Touché, a swordsman tortoise and his inseparable companion, the dog Dum Dum, fight for peace and good morals in defense of the weak, innocent and, of course, the beautiful princesses.
• Network: Syndication
• Broadcast History: One season, 52 episodes, last broadcast on August 30, 1963
• Trivia: Was one of the segments of The Hanna-Barbera New Cartoon Series block. The show had no consistent continuity, with Touché having adventures in different eras from Medieval to the Old West to modern times.

September 3 – Wally Gator

Hanna-Barbera Productions

• Voice Cast: Don Messick, Daws Butler, Doug Young, Jean Vander Pyl
• Notable Voice Guests: Mel Blanc, Hal Smith
• Synopsis: The misadventures of a friendly gator.
• Network: Syndication
• Broadcast History: One season, 52 episodes, last broadcast on August 30, 1963
• Trivia: Was one of the segments of The Hanna-Barbera New Cartoon Series block.

1972

• No new series premiered this week in 1972.

1982

• No new series premiered this week in 1982.

1992

August 31 – Vicki!

• Host: Vicki Lawrence
• Synopsis: Vicki Lawrence discuss topics with celebrities in this 1990s talk show.
• Network: Syndication
• Broadcast History: Two seasons, 154 episodes, last broadcast on August 9, 1994
• Trivia: Nominated for eight Daytime Emmy Awards including Outstanding Talk Show Host (3 times) and Outstanding Talk Show. Due to tensions between Lawrence and the producers, she was put on a summer vacation and replaced with guest hosts. When the show returned for a second season, Lawrence had more control but tensions grew over the direction of the show. Some reports stated Lawrence was fired, while others said she quit.

September 1 – Going to Extremes

• Cast: Erika Alexander, June Chadwick, Roy Dotrice, Camilo Gallardo, Joanna Going, Daniel Jenkins, Charles Keating, Andy Lauer, Carl Lumbly, Robert Duncan McNeill
• Notable Guests: Gil Bellows
• Synopsis: American medical students undergo their training on a tropical island.
• Network: ABC
• Broadcast History: One season, 17 episodes, last broadcast on January 27, 1993
• Trivia: Eric Laneuville directed the pilot.

September 3 – Middle Ages

• Cast: Peter Riegert, William Russ, Amy Brenneman, James Gammon, Ashley Crow, Michael O’Keefe, Alex McKenna
• Notable Guests: Michael Rapaport, Kyle Secor, Lisa Zane, Ruby Dee, Diane Ladd, Kevin Tighe, Frances Bay, Barbara Harris, Bill Macy, Candice Azzara
• Synopsis: Residents of a suburb of Chicago deal with their mid-life traumas.
• Network: CBS
• Broadcast History: Six episodes, last broadcast on October 1, 1992

2002

September 2 – Beat the Clock

• Host: Gary Kroeger
• Synopsis: Game show that involves people trying to complete challenges to win prizes while faced with a time limit.
• Network: PAX TV
• Broadcast History: One season, last broadcast on September 4, 2003
• Trivia: Third revival of the classic game show that originally debuted in 1950. The bonus round’s ‘Swirling Whirlwind’ was first used on The Diamond Head Game.

September 2 – The Caroline Rhea Show

• Host: Caroline Rhea
• Synopsis: Daytime talk/variety show.
• Network: Syndication
• Broadcast History: One season, 195 episodes, last broadcast on May 21, 2003
• Trivia: The successor to The Rosie O’Donnell Show. O’Donnell had selected Rhea as her replacement. Some stations that aired O’Donnell’s show moved Rhea’s show to the undesirable late night slot and gave the time period to The Wayne Brady Show.

September 2 – Celebrity Justice

• Hosts: Holly Herbert, Carlos Diaz
• Synopsis: Syndicated magazine show focusing on the legal issues facing celebrities.
• Network: Syndication
• Broadcast History: Three seasons, last broadcast on September 9, 2005
• Trivia: Produced by Harvey Levin, the series is seen as a precursor to Levin’s TMZ.

September 2 – Gay Weddings

• Synopsis: The series followed two lesbian and two gay couples as they prepared for their wedding ceremonies.
• Network: Bravo
• Broadcast History: Eight episodes, last broadcast on September 5, 2002
• Trivia: Bravo re-aired the entire series on January 26, 2003 as counter-programming to the Super Bowl, and the ratings success lead to the creation of other LGBTQ-programming on the network including Queer Eye for the Straight Guy and Boy Meets Boy. Bravo inadvertently ran an ad for Appleby’s during the premiere episode even though the restaurant chain had requested its ads not run during the show. Focus on the Family criticized the chain for being a sponsor, Bravo apologized for the error, and GLAAD suggested the request to not run ads during the show could alienate a significant customer base.

September 2 – Liberty’s Kids

DIC Entertainment

• Voice Cast: Walter Cronkite, Kathleen Barr, Reo Jones, Chris Lundquist
• Notable Voice Guests: Billy Crystal, Annette Bening, Jason Connery, Michael Horse, Tom Poston, Andrew Rannells, Charles Shaughnessy, Dustin Hoffman, Ben Stiller, Maria Shriver, Michael York, Aaron Carter, Warren Buffett, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Michael Douglas, Liam Neeson, Whoopi Goldberg, Norman Schwarzkopf, Sylvester Stallone, Ralph Fiennes
• Synopsis: Benjamin Franklin and four fictional associates of his in their experiences during the American Revolution.
• Network: PBS Kids
• Broadcast History: One season, 40 episodes, last broadcast on April 4, 2003
• Trivia: Received two Daytime Emmy nominations, in 2003 and 2004, both for Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program (Walter Cronkite, playing Benjamin Franklin). Walter Cronkite’s final performance.

September 3 – Pyramid

• Host: Donny Osmond
• Synopsis: Revival of the classic word association game show, where teams attempt to convey a category of words and/or phrases within a time limit.
• Network: Syndication
• Broadcast History: Two seasons, 194 episodes, last broadcast on September 10, 2004

2012

September 3 – Coma

• Cast: Lauren Ambrose, Steven Pasquale, Geena Davis, James Woods, Ellen Burstyn, Richard Dreyfuss, James Rebhorn, Joe Morton, Michael Weston, Joseph Mazzello, Brian J. Smith
• Synopsis: A young medical student discovers that something sinister is going on in her hospital after routine procedures send more than a few seemingly healthy patients into comas on the operating table.
• Network: A&E
• Broadcast History: Two episodes, last broadcast on September 4, 2012
• Trivia: The mini-series was produced by Ridley and Tony Scott. It was dedicated to Tony, who died just weeks before its premiere. Lauren Ambrose was born the same year the original film was released, 1978.

September 3 – Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood

Fred Rogers Productions

• Voice Cast: Jake Beale, Devan Cohen, Keegan Hedley, Asher Bolducas, Kira Gelineau, Heather Bambrick, Ted Dykstra, François Klanfer, Zachary Bloch, Stuart Ralston, Parker Lauzon, Benjamin Hum, Tony Daniels, Amariah Faulkner, Jenna Weir, Teresa Pavlinek, Nicholas Kaeg, Jaxon Mercey, Callum Shoniker, Jamie Watson, Catherine Disher, Tommy Lioutas, Matilda Gilbert, Laaibah Alvi, Miku Graham, Bryn McAuley, Elizabeth Hanna, Shawne Jackson, Israel Thomas-Bruce, Mikaela Blake, Desmond Zavier-Sivar, John Filici, Derek McGrath, Laara Sadiq, Samantha Wan
• Notable Voice Guests: Johnny Mathis
• Synopsis: The adventures of the children of the characters of Fred Rogers’ Neighborhood of Make-Believe.
• Network: PBS Kids
• Broadcast History: Five seasons, 113 episodes to date
• Trivia: The series is produced with Flash animation (now Adobe Animate). The fifth season premiered on August 17, 2020 with Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood: Won’t You Sing Along with Me?, a musical special that deals with the COVID-19 pandemic. A sixth season has been ordered. A one-hour television movie titled Daniel Visits a New Neighborhood aired on June 20, 2022. Winner of the 2019 Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Pre-School Children’s Animated Program.

September 3 – Girlfriend Confidential: LA

• Cast: Denyce Lawton, Eva Marcille, Kelly Marie Dunn, Nikki Chu
• Synopsis: The reality series follows a group of friends as they navigate through the treacherous waters of the Hollywood entertainment industry.
• Network: Oxygen
• Broadcast History: 6 episodes, last broadcast on October 8, 2012

September 3 – Slugterra

• Voice Cast: Sam Vincent, Andrew Francis, Lee Tockar, Shannon Chan-Kent, Vincent Tong, Mark Oliver, Adrian Petriw
• Notable Guests:
• Synopsis: A threat appears to the underground world of Slugterra, and Eli Shane must step up as the new guardian and with the help of the slugs stop the threat.
• Network: Disney XD Canada
• Broadcast History: Six seasons, 63 episodes, last broadcast on October 25, 2016
• Trivia: The series premiered in the US a month after its Canadian premiere.

September 3 – Tough Grit – The Rural America Challenge

• Hosts: Shannon Reilly, Caleb Reagan
• Synopsis: The series combines expert information on rural subjects with humor to help viewers complete common rural-based DIY projects quickly, correctly and safely.
• Network: RFD-TV
• Broadcast History: 14 episodes, last broadcast March 4, 2013