TV by the Decade :: July 18•24

MTV

It’s our 150th episode! And for a week in the dead of summer, there are a surprising number of new series premiering which were actually successful, running for multiple seasons. A 1991 series brought classic sitcoms back to life with a twist, and 2011 had three scripted cable series that had runs for three, four and five seasons. One game show was not so lucky, and a hybrid reality-competition-murder mystery series ended with an unfortunate legacy. Read on to see if your favorite show premiered this week!

1951

• No new series debuted in 1951.

1961

• No new series debuted in 1961.

1971

• No new series debuted in 1971.

1981

• No new series debuted in 1981.

1991

July 19 – Hi Honey, I’m Home!

• Cast: Charlotte Booker, Stephen C. Bradbury, Peter Benson, Julie Benz, Danny Gura, Eric Kushnick, Susan Cella
• Guest Cast: Gale Gordon, Ann B. Davis, Al Lewis, Audrey Meadows, Jim Nabors, Georgia Engel, Eva Gabor, Dwayne Hickman, Rose Marie, Ken Osmond, Joyce Randolph, Barbara Billingsley, Doug Llewelyn
• Synopsis: A 1950s American sitcom family participates in the Sitcom Relocation Program, and are transported to 1990s Suburbia.
• Network: ABC / Nick at Nite
• Broadcast History: Two seasons, 14 episodes (1 unaired pilot), last broadcast on July 12, 1992
• Trivia: ABC aired the first season on Friday nights as part of its TGIF block which Nick at Night then re-aired on Sunday, with the show being billed as ‘TV’s First Instant Rerun’. ABC did not carry the second season. The unaired pilot featured Dee Hoty as Elaine Duff, who was replaced by Susan Cella. Future Backstreet Boy A.J. McLean played Sidney Duff but was replaced by Eric Kushnick. The pilot was reshot with the new actors. The original pilot aired during Nickelodeon’s anniversary marathon on June 27, 1999 as part of a before-they-were-stars showcase highlighting McLean’s work. The actors who guested on the series reprised previously established characters from the series in which they appeared (i.e. Gale Gordon played Mr. Mooney from The Lucy Show, Ann B. Davis played Alice from The Brady Bunch, etc.). Some point to the show as being an influence on WandaVision.

2001

July 24 – Murder in Small Town X

• Host: Gary Fredo
• Contestants: Shirley King, Andrew Landan, Stacey Carmona, Brian Porvin, Kristen Kirchner, Katie Kloecker, Jeff Monroe, Alan Frye, Angel Juarbe Jr.
• Synopsis: The premise of the show was to bring 10 contestants from around the United States of America to the small fishing village of Eastport, Maine (called ‘Sunrise’ in the show) to act as amateur investigators to solve a series of fictional murders.
• Network: FOX
• Broadcast History: One season, 8 episodes, last broadcast on September 4, 2001
• Trivia: The town of Eastport, Maine was named ‘Sunrise’ for the series as it is the first part of the United States to be touched by sunlight every day. The show’s working title was Water’s Edge. One week after the finale, which was won by Angel Juarbe Jr., FDNY veteran Juarbe was killed while acting as a first responder to the 9/11 attacks. Juarbe and a lieutenant from Ladder 12 were attempting to rescue another firefighter and were caught in the collapse of the Marriott Hotel adjoining the World Trade Center. His body was recovered from the rubble on November 28, 2001. The show’s icon, the fisherman statue, now serves as a memorial to Juarbe.

2011

July 19 – Awkward.

• Cast: Ashley Rickards, Beau Mirchoff, Jillian Rose Reed, Brett Davern, Molly Tarlov, Nikki Deloach, Desi Lydic, Greer Grammer, Mike Faiola
• Guest Cast: Erinn Westbrook, Anthony Michael Hall, Jonathan Bennett, Tuc Watkins, Kristoffer Polaha, Lochlyn Munro, Niall Cunningham, Adam Huber, John Michael Higgins, Ione Skye, Alexandra Shipp, Amy Okuda, Lea DeLaria, Lisa Rinna
• Synopsis: An unpopular 15-year-old gains immediate, yet unwanted, popularity at her high school when the student body mistakes an accident she has for a suicide attempt.
• Network: MTV
• Broadcast History: Five seasons, 89 episodes, last broadcast on May 24, 2016
• Trivia: Series creator Lauren Iungerich spent time with actual high school students to elaborate the teen dialogue of the show. Iungerich has cited Friday Night Lights as an inspiration for her writing on the series. Ashley Rickards, Beau Mirchoff, Jillian Rose Reed, & Brett Davern have appeared in every episode. ‘Yummy Yogurt’ and ‘Red Onion’, referenced on the show, are real restaurants in Palos Verdes.

July 19 – It’s Worth What?

• Host: Cedric the Entertainer
• Synopsis: Two contestants work together as a team to “discern” the prices of antique items, either appraised value or sale price at auction.
• Network: NBC
• Broadcast History: One season, 9 episodes, last broadcast on September 13, 2011
• Trivia: The show was originally set to debut on July 12, 2011 but was pushed back a week.

July 19 – Web Therapy

• Cast: Lisa Kudrow, Dan Bucatinsky, Jennifer Elise Cox, Victor Garber
• Guest Cast: Lily Tomlin, Alan Cumming, Michael McDonald, Maulik Pancholy, Rashida Jones, David Schwimmer, Selma Blair, Billy Crystal, Steve Carell, Rosie O’Donnell, Chelsea Handler, Dax Shepard, Megan Mullally, Natasha Bedingfield, Calista Flockhart, Christina Applegate, Minnie Driver, Darren Criss, Craig Ferguson, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Matthew Perry, Conan O’Brien, Sara Gilbert, Lauren Graham, Jon Hamm, Steven Weber, Gwyneth Paltrow, Molly Shannon, Meryl Streep, Nina Garcia, Allison Janney, Meg Ryan, Matt LeBlanc, Mae Whitman, Bob Balaban, Courteney Cox, Patrick Curran, Jane Lynch, Julia Louis-Dreyfus
• Synopsis: The series follows Fiona Wallice, a therapist who has conceived of a new form, or as Fiona pretentiously calls it a new ‘modality’, of therapy: the titular ‘web therapy’. In her estimation, the traditional ’50 minute hour’ version of therapy gives people too much leeway to talk about irrelevant things. By dramatically shortening session time, she hopes to get results more quickly. The sessions are taped in the hope of attracting investors into promoting her new technique as a worldwide therapy option.
• Network: Showtime
• Broadcast History: Four seasons, 43 episodes, last broadcast on January 28, 2015
• Trivia: Based on the web series of the same name. Jennifer Aniston had been approached by Kudrow to guest on the series, and agreed to do it, but it was cancelled making Aniston the only Friends cast member not to appear. Showtime ran the online episodes with new material added to fill a 30 minute time slot. The series featured more of Fiona’s private life than the web series did. The series has been remade under various titles in Spain, the UK, Israel and Poland. There were no scripts, just detailed outlines from which the actors improvised.

July 21 – NTSF:SD:SUV::

• Cast: Paul Scheer, Brandon Johnson, June Diane Raphael, Kate Mulgrew, Martin Starr, Peter Blaine, Peter Serafinowicz, Rebecca Romijn
• Guest Cast: Rob Riggle, Karen Gillan, Ed Helms, Rob Huebel, Adam Pally, Kerri Kenney, Matt Walsh, Jon Daly, Echo Kellum, Taylor Orci, Eliza Dushku, Jayma Mays, Julian Sands, Max Carver, John Cho, Jeff Goldblum, Robert Picardo, Adam Scott, J.K. Simmons, Diedrich Bader, Carly Chaikin, Rob Corddry, John de Lancie, Michael Gross, Moon Bloodgood, Tony Hale, Martin Kove, Jerry O’Connell, Gabrielle Union, Wilmer Valderrama, Casey Wilson, Aziz Ansari, Ike Barinholtz, Max Greenfield, Bob Odenkirk, Xander Berkeley, Drew Droege, Robert Forster, Kate Micucci, Mark Hamill, Lorenzo Lamas, Alison Brie, Sandy Helberg, Caity Lotz, Kathryn Hahn, Paul Feig, Jake Johnson, Ellie Kemper, Jason Ritter, Mo Gaffney, Summer Glau, Thomas Lennon, Bill Hader, Stacy Keibler, Hal Linden, Ray Liotta, Jackson Rathbone, Lance Reddick, Michaela Watkins, Brie Larson, Natasha Leggero, Joe Lo Truglio, Jack McBrayer, Nick Searcy, Jason Mantzoukas, Natasha Lyonne, Alia Shawkat, Aubrey Plaza, Alan Tudyk, Horatio Sanz, Larry Wilmore, Damon Wayans Jr., Kristen Schaal, Abigail Spencer, Steven Williams, Steven Yeun, Anthony Head
• Synopsis: Never forget? Terrorism hasn’t, and neither will the NTSF:SD:SUV. In a world where threatening danger looms large and Homeland Security won’t secure itself, San Diego’s citizens can’t afford not to trust in the NTSF.
• Network: Adult Swim
• Broadcast History: Three seasons, 39 episodes, last broadcast on December 13, 2013
• Trivia: The title is an acronym for ‘National Terrorism Strike Force: San Diego: Sport Utility Vehicle’. The series was developed from a collection of mock promos created by Paul Scheer that were developed as a backdoor pilot. The show has never officially been cancelled. Scheer stated it’s on an indefinite hiatus with no immediate plans to return.