TV by the Decade :: Mar 28•Apr 3

Showtime

Several new series premiered this week in four different decades over the last 70 years. One science-based children’s show had an eight season run, while an animated series ran for ten seasons. Several of this week’s shows ended before their time due to ratings and expenses, but they still live on in reruns. Let’s take a look to see if you remember any of this week’s shows.

1951

March 31 – Watch Mr. Wizard

• Cast: Don Herbert
• Synopsis: Mr. Wizard performed interesting scientific experiments for a young audience using materials found around the home.
• Network: NBC
• Broadcast History: Eight seasons, 547 episodes, last broadcast on June 27, 1965
• Trivia: The show spawned more than 5,000 Mr. Wizard Science Clubs by 1955, and more than 50,000 by 1965. It was briefly revived in 1971 on NBC, and again in the 1980s on Nickelodeon under the title Mr. Wizard’s World. The show was originally broadcast live from Chicago and moved to New York in 1955.

1961

April 2 – The Asphalt Jungle

• Cast: Jack Warden, Arch Johnson, William Smith
• Guest Cast: George Kennedy, Ted Knight, Skip Homeier, Beverly Garland, Philip Carey, John Ireland, Gerald S. O’Loughlin, Robert Vaughn, Fritz Weaver, Vera Miles, Sydney Pollack, Lurene Tuttle, Dabbs Greer, Gavin MacLeod, Morgan Woodward, John Astin, Yvette Vickers, Michael Constantine, Ellen Corby, Everett Sloane, Abraham Sofaer, Joan Staley, Natalie Trundy, David White, Michael Parks, Joe Turkel, Ken Berry
• Synopsis: The police department′s Metropolitan Squad specializes in fighting organized crime in an unnamed Midwestern city.
• Network: ABC
• Broadcast History: One season, 13 episodes, last broadcast June 25, 1961
• Trivia: Inspired by the 1950 film of the same name, although the series had nothing in common with the film. Jack Warden actually had a bit part in the film. The pilot episode was re-edited, lengthened and released theatrically as The Lawbreakers. Douglas Odney starred in the pilot, but was dropped and replaced by William Smith. The pilot was aired as the second episode with the standard series credits even though Smith was not part of the cast. Odney was credited at the end as a guest star.

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

March 28 – My Wife and Kids

• Cast: Damon Wayans, Tisha Campbell-Martin, George Gore II, Parker McKenna Posey, Jennifer Freeman, Noah Gray-Cabey
• Guest Cast: Damon Wayans Jr., Phil Reeves, Meagan Good, Dom Irrera, Kelly Coffield Park, Lauren Tom, Larry Miller, Kym Whitley, David Alan Grier, Katt Williams, Dot-Marie Jones, Nicole Scherzinger, Bill Cobbs, Tyson Beckford, James Widdoes, Amy Hill, Wayne Newton, Anthony Anderson, Gary Coleman, Shaquille O’Neal, Raven-Symoné, Michael Jordan, Al Sharpton, Lou Rawls, Vivica A. Fox, Steve Harvey, Brian McKnight, Charles Robinson, Gedde Watanabe, Serena Williams, Chelsea Handler, Denise Nicholas, Sofia Vergara, Clarence Clemons, David Anthony Higgins, Lou Ferrigno, Taylor Negron, Betty White, James Avery, Jennifer Elise Cox, Terry Crews, Ron Sierra, Steve Schirripa, Flavor Flav, Jessica Szohr, Special Ed, T’Keyah Crystal Keymáh, MC Lyte, Jon Polito, Taylor Lautner, Gabriel Iglesias, Beanie Feldstein, Keenen Ivory Wayans, Bill Macy, Kim Coles, LeBron James, Alan Thicke
• Synopsis: Damon Wayans stars as Michael Kyle, the patriarch of a semi-dysfunctional upper middle class African-American family who rules his household with a unique and distinct parenting style. As he teaches his three children some of life’s lessons, he does so with his own brand of humor.
• Network: ABC
• Broadcast History: Five seasons, 123 episodes, last broadcast on May 17, 2005
• Trivia: Jazz Raycole, who played Claire Kyle, was pulled from the show by her mother who objected to a Season 2 storyline. The fifth season ended with a cliffhanger and was not intended to be the series finale but the show’s cancellation was announced the day before it aired. There were no holiday-themed episodes during the show’s run because Damon Wayans is a devout Jehovah’s Witness. ABC’s then president blamed the show’s drop in ratings on Fox’s American Idol.

March 28 – Boot Camp

• Drill Instructors: Leo McSweeny, Tony Rosenbum, Dave Francisco, Annette Taylor
• Synopsis: The show involved sixteen civilian contestants, known as recruits, participating in a real life military style boot camp 24 hours a day.
• Network: FOX
• Broadcast History: One season, 9 episodes, last broadcast on May 23, 2001
• Trivia: Participants were not allowed to address each other by their first names or refer to themselves in the first person.

March 30 – The Fairly OddParents

• Cast: Tara Strong, Susanne Blakeslee, Daran Norris, Carlos Alazraqui, Grey Griffin, Jim Ward
• Guest Cast: Rob Paulsen, Frankie Muniz, Kevin Michael Richardson, Tom Kenny, Jay Leno, Jane Carr, Laraine Newman, Adam West, Chris Kirkpatrick, Charlie Schlatter, Brendan Fraser, Gilbert Gottfried, Brian Dunkleman, Patrick Warburton, Tony Sirico, Cheri Oteri, Tom Arnold, Justin Berfield, Michael Clarke Duncan, Scott Hamilton, Queen Latifah, Patton Oswalt, Redman, Alec Baldwin, Method Man, Rick Fox, Jackie Mason, Phil LaMarr, Jason Bateman, Julie Chen Moonves, Norm MacDonald, Dana Carvey, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Diana DeGarmo
• Synopsis: The Fairly OddParents tells the story of a miserable 10-year-old boy named Timmy Turner who is neglected by his parents and abused by his babysitter, Vicky. One day, he is granted two fairy godparents, Cosmo and Wanda, who grant his every wish to improve his miserable life. However, these wishes usually backfire and cause a series of problems that Timmy must fix.
• Network: Nickelodeon
• Broadcast History: Ten seasons, 172 episodes, last broadcast on July 26, 2017
• Trivia: The series originated from shorts on the animation showcase Oh Yeah! Cartoons. Creator Butch Hartman was going to name the lead character Mike, after his brother but the two had a fight that day so he named the character Timmy after his other brother. Hartman came up with the show’s concept in about fifteen minutes and pitched it to Hanna-Barbera and Cartoon Network, both of which turned it down. The series was originally titled The Fairy GodParents, then Oh My GodParents. The series ended after the fifth season in January 2006, but after a year it was announced the show was returning. In honor of the show’s tenth anniversary, a live-action TV movie was broadcast on July 9, 2011 titled A Fairly Odd Movie: Grow Up, Timmy Turner!, which spawned two sequels. A live-action remake of the series is currently being developed for Paramount Plus.

March 30 – Invader Zim

• Cast: Andy Berman, Richard Steven Horvitz, Rikki Simons, Melissa Fahn, Jhonen Vasquez, Rodger Bumpass, Lucille Bliss, Mo Collins, Wally Wingert, Kevin McDonald
• Guest Cast: Fred Tatasciore, Phil LaMarr, Danny Cooksey, Jeffrey Jones, Michael McDonald, Olivia d’Abo, Kevin Michael Richardson, Dwight Schultz, John de Lancie, Ted Raimi, Kerru Kenney, Billy West, Dee Bradley Baker, James Gleason, Frank Conniff, R. Lee Ermey, Mindy Sterling
• Synopsis: An alien named Zim from the planet Irk is sent on a secret mission to conquer Earth, not realizing that his leaders were just trying to get rid of him and hoped that he would die. Once there, Zim manages to disguise himself as a human child, but one boy named Dib sees through his disguise.
• Network: Nickelodeon
• Broadcast History: Two seasons, 27 episodes, last broadcast on August 19, 2006
• Trivia: The show was cancelled midway through the second season, leaving several episodes unfinished. A monthly comic book continuation of the series was released on July 8, 2015. A film based on the series and comic, Invader Zim: Enter the Florpus, debuted on Netflix on August 16, 2019. Series creator Jhonen Vasquez came up with the show’s concept in about an hour. As one of the first animated series to merge 2D and CGI animation, the director consulted with the crew of Futurama to learn how to integrate the two mediums. An average 11-minute animated TV show usually has 80-120 pages of storyboards, but Invader Zim had 250-250 pages due to the intense attention to detail. Billy West replaced Mark Hamill as the voice of Zim in the pilot because Nickelodeon didn’t feel his voice was right for the character. West was replaced for the series by Richard Steven Horvitz because they felt West’s voice was too well-known and he was also a voice actor on Futurama at the time. The show faced challenges with the network as some characters were meant to be killed off but Nickelodeon refused to allow that to happen.

April 1 – Mall Masters

• Host: Chris Harrison
• Synopsis: Contestants compete in this Q&A show, based on general knowledge and polls, taped at the Mall of America.
• Network: Game Show Network
• Broadcast History: One season, 65 episodes, last broadcast on June 29, 2001
• Trivia: The show had a special premiere run in December 2000 before the series launched in April 2001.

April 1 – The Oblongs

• Cast: Pamela Adlon, Will Ferrell, Jean Smart, Randy Sklar, Jason Sklar, Jeannie Elias, Billy West
• Guest Cast: Lea DeLauria, Laraine Newman, Maurice LaMarche, Jim Cummings, Mark Hamill, Susan Krebs, Phil LaMarr
• Synopsis: The series focuses on the antics of a family who live in a poor valley community, and as a result of pollution and radiation exposure, are all disabled or deformed. The pollution is the direct result of the lavish lifestyle of the rich community known as ‘The Hills’, whose residents exploit and harm the valley residents with absolutely no regard for their safety or well-being.
• Network: The WB / adult swim
• Broadcast History: One season, 13 episodes, last broadcast on October 20, 2002
• Trivia: The WB only aired 8 of the 13 produced episodes (and aired them out of order, airing the second episode as the finale). All 13 episodes were finally aired on Cartoon Network’s late night adult swim block in 2002. The series is loosely based on a series of characters introduced in a picture book entitled Creepy Susie and 13 Other Tragic Tales for Troubled Children. The show’s creator, Angus Oblong, disliked the show, accusing producers of making it a clone of The Simpsons.

April 1 – Undergrads

• Cast: Pete Williams, Josh A. Cagan, Rob Tinkler, Jene Yeo, Yannick Bisson, James Kee
• Guest Cast: Good Charlotte, Carson Daly
• Synopsis: The animated misadventures of a group of childhood friends who keep in touch even while they go to separate colleges.
• Network: MTV
• Broadcast History: One season, 13 episodes, last broadcast on August 12, 2001
• Trivia: The show’s location was never revealed although it was hinted that it was set in New England. Every episode contains at least one reference to Star Wars. The show never attracted an audience and MTV pulled its funding before the second season could begin production. The show was shopped to Comedy Central but was not picked up (both networks are part of the same company). Creator Pete Williams wanted to continue the show and urged fans in 2006 to bombard Cartoon Network with requests as the show’s Canadian producer offered to cover half of the production costs. By 2008, all funding had dried up, and Williams has been discussing continuing the series as a comic book or webisodes. A new campaign to revive the series was started in 2013, and Williams told a convention audience that they were close to securing permission from MTV to continue the series (MTV holds the rights). Williams announce he had secure the rights from MTV on June 3, 2018 to make an Undergrads film. Funding was secured through a Kickstarter campaign and a first draft of the script was completed in January 2021.

April 2 – Bands on the Run

• Cast: Flickerstick, Harlow, Josh Dodes Band, Soulcracker
• Synopsis: Competition series that featured four unsigned bands competing for a prize package which included $50,000 in cash, $100,000 in musical equipment from Guitar Center, a showcase in front of recording executives, and a fully produced music video to be aired on VH1.
• Network: VH1
• Broadcast History: One season, 18 episodes, last broadcast on July 15, 2001
• Trivia: Flickerstick won the competition.

2011

March 29 – Body of Proof

• Cast: Dana Delany, Jeri Ryan, Geoffrey Arend, Windell Middlebrooks, Mary Mouser, John Carroll Lynch, Nic Bishop, Sonja Sohn
• Guest Cast: Joanna Cassidy, Mark Valley, Nathalie Kelley, Jeffrey Nordling, Richard Burgi, Luke Perry, Lorraine Toussant, Jamie Bamber, Cliff Curtis, Henry Ian Cusick, Shawn Hatosy, Annie Wersching, Dean Norris, Khandi Alexander, Jeff Ward, Jill Eikenberry, Tony Plana, Dennis Boutsikaris, Alan Dale, Ivan Sergei, Ray Wise, Marc Blucas, Sam Robards, Aaron Tveit, Brett Cullen, Marcia Gay Harden, Peter Stormare, Craig Bierko, Kenneth Mitchell, Jay O. Sanders, Jessica Tuck, Cody Christian, Brendan Hines, Donna Pescow, James Urbaniak, Rita Wilson, Jonathan Banks, Gregory Harrison, Sherri Saum, Khary Payton, Christina Hendricks, Justina Machado, Chrishell Stause, Jason Beghe, Pedro Pascal, Michael Nouri, Robert Irvine, Ann Cusack, RObert Picardo, Kurtwood Smith, Christopher Cousins, Rick Fox, Marianne Muellerleile, Jeff Yagher, Steven Culp, Sharon Lawrence, Christopher McDonald, Mary Beth Evans, Diane Guerrero
• Synopsis: Medical examiner Megan Hunt’s unique approach to solving crimes puts her at odds with her superiors. The show focuses on Hunt’s efforts to balance the demands of her professional life, dealing with solving cases and analyzing bodies, with her personal life, trying to reconnect with her estranged daughter.
• Network: ABC
• Broadcast History: Three seasons, 42 episodes, last broadcast on May 28, 2013
• Trivia: Though set in Philadelphia, the first season was filmed in Providence, Rhode Island. The medical examiner’s office was the GTECH HQ at the Providence Warwick Visitors Bureau. The second season moved to Los Angeles to take advantage of a $7 million tax credit. The series’ original title was Body of Evidence. This was the third ABC with Dana Delaney in a starring role. Joanne Cassidy played Delaney’s mother, even though the two are just 11 years apart in age. The series was originally to premiere on October 22, 2010 but was held after the quick cancellations of My Generation and The Whole Truth. The series replaced Detroit 1-8-7. After the show’s cancellation, there was speculation it may be picked up by another network with TNT, USA and WGN America showing interest, but ABC Studios confirmed it would not move to a new network. In October 2013, with much of ABC’s programming under-performing, it was reported the show might be revived, but Delaney confirmed it November that it would not.

April 1 – CHAOS

• Cast: Freddy Rodríguez, Eric Close, James Murray, Carmen Ejogo, Christina Cole, Kurtwood Smith, Tim Blake Nelson, Matthew Harrison
• Guest Cast: Rick Overton, Michael Badalucco, Molly Hagan, Margo Martindale, Ed Begley Jr., Illeana Douglas, Patrick Bauchau, Tony Amendola, Bruce Boxleitner, Bill Duke, Robert Foxworth, Gregg Henry, C. Thomas Howell, Cynthia Stevenson
• Synopsis: Threats to national security are investigated by a group of rogue CIA spies in the division of Clandestine Homeland Administration and Oversight Services (CHAOS), also trying to keep their jobs from being eliminated due to budget cuts.
• Network: CBS
• Broadcast History: One season, 13 episodes, last broadcast on July 16, 2011
• Trivia: Freddy Rodriguez was the first actor cast. Stephen Rea was cast as NCS Director H.J. Higgins, but was replaced by Kurtwood Smith when CBS ordered the show to series. The city of Vancouver stood in for exotic locations around the world. Due to low ratings, CBS placed the series on hiatus after the third episode aired but production continued to complete the 13-episode order. The ratings woes may have been due to CBS airing the first three episodes out of order — the pilot, Episode 3 and Episode 6. The series returned to air its final ten episodes, with only the last four airing in production order, beginning May 28, 2011.

April 3 – The Borgias

• Cast: Jeremy Irons, François Arnaud, Holliday Grainger, Peter Sullivan, Sean Harris, Joanne Whalley, Lotte Verbeek, Colm Feore
• Guest Cast: Mickey Sumner, Jemima West, Emmanuelle Chriqui, Derek Jacobi, Edward Hogg, Noah Taylor
• Synopsis: The series follows the rise of the Borgia family to the pinnacle of the Roman Catholic Church and their struggles to maintain their grip on power.
• Network: Showtime
• Broadcast History: Three seasons, 29 episodes, last broadcast on June 16, 2013
• Trivia: The series was intended for a four-season run, but Showtime cancelled it after the third season due to the cost of producing the show. Plans for a two-hour TV movie to wrap things up were also scrapped due to the expense. The movie script was eventually released as an e-book titled The Borgia Apocalypse. Conflicting reports suggest it was Neil Jordan who ended the series after the third season because he didn’t have the energy to tackle another 10-episodes, and Showtime turned down the suggestion of ending with a two-hour movie due to costs, saying the third season finale worked as a series finale. The first season was to have ten episodes, but they ran out of money and had to settle on nine. Series creator Neil Jordan had tried to make a feature film based on the Borgias with Colin Farrell and Scarlett Johansson attached. Steven Spielberg suggested it be turned into a series for cable television with his DreamWorks Pictures producing. The project was taken to Showtime which wanted to fill the gap left by the conclusion of The Tudors. The series received 16 Emmy nominations during its run, winning twice for Costume Design and once for Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Music. Jeremy Irons was nominated for a Golden Globe in 2012 for Best Actor in a Television Series — Drama. François Arnaud broke his left elbow during the second season and much of the last half of the season his arm is bent, hidden underneath his costumes, or resting on something. His left arm is clearly thicker than the right during the last two episodes of the season. Michel Muller, an actor in his 40s, played King Charles VIII of France, who only lived to be 27. David Oakes plays Cesare’s younger brother Juan, but is two years older than Arnaud. The series shares personnel with The Tudors, and a shot of Natalie Dormer as Anne Boleyn can be seen in both series’ opening credits.

April 3 – The Killing

• Cast: Mireille Enos, Joel Kinnaman, Billy Campbell, Liam James, Michelle Forbes, Brent Sexton, Kristin Lehman, Eric Ladin, Jamie Anne Allman, Evan Bird, Seth Isaac Johnson
• Guest Cast: Gregg Henry, Brendan Sexton III, Amy Seimetz, Elias Koteas, Peter Sarsgaard, Jewel Staite, Mark Moses, Callum Keith Rennie, Joan Allen, Alan Dale, Nicholas Lea, Lee Garlington, Grace Zabriski, Frances Fisher, Tahmoh Penikett, Patti Smith, Jonathan Cake, Janet Kidder, Martin Cummins, Stefan Arngrim
• Synopsis: A police investigation, the saga of a grieving family, and a Seattle mayoral campaign all interlock after the body of 17-year-old Rosie Larsen is found in the trunk of a submerged car.
• Network: AMC / Netflix
• Broadcast History: Four seasons, 44 episodes, last broadcast on August 1, 2014
• Trivia: Based on the Danish television series Forbrydelsen (The Crime). AMC cancelled the series after the second season, but after renegotiations with Fox Television Studios and Netflix, a third season was ordered. Billy Campbell, Michelle Forbes, and Brent Sexton did not return for the third season. AMC cancelled the series again after the third season, but Netflix announced it had commissioned a fourth of six episodes to conclude the series. Reviews of the series have noted comparisons to Twin Peaks. Patty Jenkins (Wonder Woman) directed the pilot and earned an Emmy nomination. Jenkins also directed the Season 2 finale, opening and closing the Rosie Larson murder mystery. The first season scored six Emmy nominations total. Mireille Enos earned a Golden Globe nomination in 2012. Joel Kinnaman was ecstatic that he could drop the ‘F-bomb’ during the show’s final season on Netflix. Frans Bak composed the music for both the Danish and American series.