TV by the Decade :: March 14•20

Stephen J. Cannell Productions

Only four new series premiered this week over the last 70 years, but believe it or not a beloved series about a hapless superhero — with a hit theme song — made its debut 40 years ago this week. Let’s take a look to see if any of your favorite shows are on the list!

1951

• No new shows premiered this week in 1951.

1961

March 17 – Five Star Jubilee

• Hosts: Rex Allen, Snooky Lanson, Tex Ritter, Carl Smith, Jimmy Wakely
• Guest Performers: Roy Acuff and the Smoky Mountain Boys, June Carter, The Carter Family, Jimmy Dean, Flatt and Scruggs, The Foggy River Boys, Red Foley, Don Gibson, Grandpa Jones, Barbara Mandrell, Les Paul and Mary Ford, Minnie Pearl, Ray Price, Faron Young
• Synopsis: Country music variety series spun off from ABC’s Jubilee USA
• Network: NBC
• Broadcast History: One season, episode count unknown, last broadcast on September 22, 1961
• Trivia: The first network color television series to originate outside of New York City or Hollywood, the show was broadcast live from Springfield, Missouri. The show began its broadcast in black and white but switched to color on May 12, which featured all five of the rotating hosts. The first two color episodes had to be videotaped at 1:30 AM Friday for broadcast that evening due to interference from the nearby KTTS-AM transmitter with the color TV picture. The may 26 episode was the first live episode in color. Barbara Mandrell made her network television debut on the series. The final episode was hosted by Red Foley.

1971

• No new shows premiered this week in 1971.

1981

March 18 – The Greatest American Hero

• Cast: William Katt, Robert Culp, Connie Sellecca, Michael Paré, Faye Grant, Jesse D. Goins, Don Cervantes Don Cervantes, William Bogert
• Guest Cast: Paul Carafotes, Red West, Bob Hastings, Benny Medina, Jeremy Kemp, June Lockhart, Ferdy Mayne, Nicholas Worth, Blake Clark, E.J. Peaker, Joe Santos, Judson Scott, John Vernon, William Windom, Duncan Regehr, Dick Butkus, Pepe Serna, Alan Fudge, James Hampton, Richard Herd, Markie Post, Edward Winter, Joseph Wiseman, Dixie Carter, Jon Cypher, Barbara Hale, Claude Earl Jones, Jean LeClerc, Chuck McCann, Ron O’Neal, James Shigeta, Glynn Turman, Keenan Wynn, Norman Alden, Bruce Kirby, Paul Koslo, Robin Riker, G.D. Spradlin, Luke Askew, Joseph Culp, Clayton Moore, Gregory Sierra, Marc Alaimo, Jason Culp, Stefan Gierasch, Mako, David Paymer, Bernard Behrens, Mike Douglas, Marianne Muellerleile, Hilary Farr, Terrence McNally, Mel Stewart, Frank Doubleday, Bob Saget, Michael Billington, Hoke Howell, Dabbs Greeg, Joe Mantegna, Danny Glover, Rick Dees, Dennis Haskins, William Zabka, André the Giant
• Synopsis: The series chronicles Ralph Hinkley’s adventures after a group of aliens gives him a red and black suit that grants him superhuman abilities. Unfortunately for Ralph, who hates wearing the suit, he immediately loses its instruction booklet, and thus has to learn how to use its powers by trial and error, often with comical results.
• Network: ABC
• Broadcast History: Three seasons, 45 episodes (5 unaired), last broadcast on February 3, 1983
• Trivia: Ralph Hinkley’s name was briefly changed to Hanley in the latter part of the first season following the attempted assassination of Ronald Reagan by John Hinckley Jr. The name reverted back to Hinkley in Season 2. Like his character, William Katt hated wearing the suit, and schedules were arranged so he didn’t have to wear it all day during a shoot. The symbol on the suit was based on a pair of scissors that has been sitting on creator Stepher J. Cannell’s desk. The bilateral symmetry of the symbol allowed editors to flip stock footage. Unfortunately, Ralph wore a watch so it would alternate between wrists during flying scenes. Cannell’s original intent with the show when first purchased by ABC was to emphasize real-life problems, but a change in management after the sale insisted on more ‘save the day’, fantastical storytelling that appealed to a younger audience, something Cannell did not want to do. This was Cannell’s second TV series, but the first to feature the ‘Stephen J. Cannell Productions’ logo. The theme song, sung by Joey Scarbury, peaked at Number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and hit Number 1 on the Record World chart. Warner Bros. felt the powers of the suit were similar enough to Superman’s powers (in reality the premise was closer to that of the Green Lantern) to file a lawsuit against ABC, which was ultimately dismissed. The principal cast reunited for an NBC TV movie pilot titled The Greatest American Heroine, but it was never broadcast. The film was re-edited and included in the syndicated package for the original series as the final episode. Attempts to remake the series were announced in 2014 (Fox) and 2017 (ABC) but neither attempt made it to air. William Katt’s mother Barbara Hale played Ralph’s mother in several episodes. Katt and Culp did not get along at the start of the series, and they were able to use that to reflect their characters’ relationship. They eventually resolved their differences and became good friends. Ralph had a son during the first season but the character was phased out. The character of Pam was only meant to appear in the pilot, with Ralph having a different girlfriend in each episode, but producers were so impressed with Connie Selleca that she was made a regular. The series marked Michael Paré’s first TV credit and second acting role.

1991

March 18 – Get the Picture

• Host: Mike O’Malley
• Synopsis: Two teams of two players, one wearing orange jumpsuits and one wearing yellow jumpsuits, competed. The object of the game was to correctly guess hidden pictures on a 16-square video wall and to answer general-knowledge trivia questions to earn opportunities to guess. This was done in two separate rounds.
• Network: Nickelodeon
• Broadcast History: Two seasons, 115 episodes, last broadcast on December 6, 1991
• Trivia: The show was taped at Nickelodeon Studios at Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida. Season 1 consisted of 40 episodes while Season 2 had 75. Nickelodeon UK had its own version hosted by Peter Simon, and it was the first series to be aired on the network. Nickelodeon Netherlands also had a local version titled Snap Het.

2001

March 14 – The Job

• Cast: Denis Leary, Lenny Clarke, Diane Farr, Bill Nunn, John Ortiz, Adam Ferrara, Julian Acosta
• Guest Cast: Wendy Makkena, Keith David, Janet Hubert, Rory Culkin, Scott Wolf, Zeljko Ivanek, Lea DeLaria, Cameron Mathison, Ellen Pompeo, Gina Gershon, Glenn Howerton, Elizabeth Hurley, Kelly Overton, Peter Tolan, John Kassir, Donovan Leitch Jr., Eli Wallach
• Synopsis: New York detective Mike McNeil is well-known for his unconventional approach of fighting crime. But it also takes a toll in his personal life complicated by his wife and girlfriend on the side.
• Network: ABC
• Broadcast History: Two seasons, 19 episodes, last broadcast on April 24, 2002
• Trivia: Many of the principal cast went on to star or guest star on Leary’s FX series Rescue Me. On Rescue Me‘s seventh Season 2 episode, Leary’s character wears a The Job T-shirt. After the series was cancelled, the costumes were sold to the wardrobe department for the film In the Cut for $400.

2011

• No new shows premiered this week in 2010.