TV by the Decade :: February 7•13

ABC

There is not a lot to write home about as far as this week’s TV premieres go. The FOX network debuted one drama and one comedy that lasted for just 13 episodes, and Matthew Perry created a series for himself that produced 13 episodes but not all of them made it to air. Larry the Cable Guy’s own reality series had the longest run of any of this week’s new series. Let’s take a look to see if you remember any of them.

1951

• No new shows premiered this week in 1951.

1961

February 9 – Gunslinger

• Cast: Tony Young, Preston Foster, Midge Ware, Dee Pollock, John Pickard, Charles H. Gray
• Guest Cast: Royal Dano, Jim Davis. Buddy Ebsen, Jack Elam, Jock Mahoney, George Kennedy, Harry Dean Stanton, Anne Helm, Phyllis Coates, BarBara Luna, Stafford Repp, William Schallert, Jay Silverheels
• Synopsis: Cord is a young gunfighter who works undercover for the local army garrison commander, acting as a secret law enforcement agent in the territory.
• Network: CBS
• Broadcast History: One season, 12 episodes, last broadcast on June 3, 1961
• Trivia: Frankie Laine sang the show’s theme song.

1971

• No new shows premiered this week in 1971.

1981

• No new shows premiered this week in 1981.

1991

• No new shows premiered this week in 1991.

2001

• No new shows premiered this week in 2001.

2011

February 7 – The Chicago Code

• Cast: Jason Clarke, Jennifer Beals, Matt Lauria, Devin Kelley, Todd Williams, Billy Lush, Delroy Lindo
• Guest Cast: Steven Culp, Adam Arkin, John Heard, Aldis Hodge, Tamlyn Tomita, Betty Buckley, Frederick Koehler, Stacy Haiduk, Channon Roe
• Synopsis: Detective Jarek Wysocki, one of Chicago’s toughest cops, struggles to clean up the town’s violence and corruption.
• Network: FOX
• Broadcast History: One season, 13 episodes, last broadcast on May 23, 2011
• Trivia: The series was filmed on locations in Chicago. The original title was Ride-Along, and the concept was to make the audience at home feel like they were in the police cars with the officers. The title of each episode referenced either a historical event or figure with ties to Chicago.

February 8 – Only in America with Larry the Cable Guy

• Host: Larry the Cable Guy
• Synopsis: Larry the Cable Guy travels America and experiences a variety of different life styles that occur ‘only in America’ – the comedian explores the country, immersing himself in different lifestyles, jobs and hobbies
• Network: History Channel
• Broadcast History: Three seasons, 50 episodes, last broadcast on August 28, 2013

February 8 – Traffic Light

• Cast: David Denman, Nelson Franklin, Kris Marshall, Liza Lapira, Aya Cash
• Guest Cast: Rob Huebel, Kathryn Hahn, Blake Anderson, Malcolm Barrett, Larry Wilmore, Roger Bart, Daryl Mitchell, Paul Scheer, Maz Jobrani, Riki Lindhome, Jimmie Walker, Adam Devine, Jason Mantzoukas, Adam Goldberg, Anders Holm, Kumail Nanjiani
• Synopsis: A comedy about how friendships and romances both enhance and complicate our lives, which centers on three longtime friends and their attempts to navigate the demands of their relationships.
• Network: FOX
• Broadcast History: One season, 13 episodes, last broadcast on May 31, 2011
• Trivia: Based on the Israeli TV series Ramzor. The series was a mid-season replacement for Running Wilde.

February 9 – Mr. Sunshine

• Cast: Matthew Perry, Andrea Anders, James Lesure, Nate Torrence, Allison Janney, Portia Doubleday, David Pressman
• Guest Cast: Jorge Garcia, Richard Kind, Gregg Henry, Nick Jonas, Michael Learned, Lindsay Sloane, Toby Huss, Jimmy Connors, Fay DeWitt, Kathy Najimy, Ray Wise, Ronny Cox, Lizzy Caplan
• Synopsis: Ben Donovan (Perry) is the operations manager for the Sunshine Center, a second-tier arena in San Diego, who has to deal with the unusual demands of his job and his unpredictable boss (Allison Janney).
• Network: ABC
• Broadcast History: One season, 13 episodes (4 unaired), last broadcast on April 6, 2011
• Trivia: Perry created the show which sparked a bidding war among the networks. ABC won but the deal came with heavy financial penalties if the pilot did not go to series. Janney was the first actor added to the cast. Perry and Janney appeared together in three episodes of The West Wing, and one episode of Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. Andrea Anders had co-starred with Matt LeBlanc on the Friends spin-off Joey. Perry wrote a role for Jorge Garcia because he was a fan of the actor’s work on Lost. The Sunshine Center in the show is based on The Forum in Los Angeles and had the exact number of seats, 17,505. The series was released on DVD, including the four unaired episodes.

February 12 – Must Love Cats

• Host: John Fulton
• Synopsis: In each episode, Fulton travels through different parts of the United States and explores various aspects of the cat lovers lifestyle.
• Network: Animal Planet
• Broadcast History: Two seasons, 13 episodes, last broadcast on September 1, 2012
• Trivia: The second season featured countries outside of the US, including Japan, England, Germany and Russia.