TV by the Decade :: August 22•28

Warner Bros. Television

As the Summer winds down, only four new series made their premieres this week across the decades, two scripted and two reality. 1991 gave us a groundbreaking comedy-drama series that broadcast live for a time, while 2001 saw Chris Hardwick quipping his way through a dating series, and delivered an animated series that outlasted all of this week’s shows, running for six seasons. Let’s take a look to see if you remember any of these shows.

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

August 24 – Roc

• Cast: Charles S. Dutton, Ella Joyce, Rocky Carroll, Carl Gordon, Alexis Fields
• Guest Cast: Garrett Morris, Jamie Foxx, Tone Loc, Loretta Devine, Joan Pringle, Heavy D, Richard Roundtree, Luis Antonio Ramos, En Vogue, Rosalind Cash, Heidi Swedberg, Debbi Morgan, Charles Cyphers, Countess Vaughn, Samuel L. Jackson, James Avery, Kadeem Hardison, Rhea Perlman, Lela Rochon, Sinbad, Corbin Bernsen, T’Keyah Crystal Keymáh, Tisha Campbell, Tommy Davidson, Chip Fields, George Wendt, Kelsey Grammer, Vernee Watson, Lou Rawls, Tracey Ross, Robert DoQui, Kim Fields, Toni Braxton, Dick Anthony Williams, Shar Jackson, Queen Latifah, Reg E. Cathey, Dick Miller, Jenifer Lewis, Mitch Pileggi, Eddie Griffin
• Synopsis: Roc chronicled the ups and downs of Baltimore garbage collector Charles ‘Roc’ Emerson, a tightwad who constantly brought home ‘perks’ (i.e. items thrown away by residents on his route); his wife Eleanor, a registered nurse; his womanizing younger brother Joey, a ne’er-do-well musician who had recently returned to the neighborhood; and his father Andrew, a retired Pullman porter.
• Network: FOX
• Broadcast History: Three seasons, 72 episodes, last broadcast on May 10, 1994
• Trivia: The entire second season was broadcast live, the first American TV series since the 1950s to do achieve that feat (and would not be repeated until the third season of NBC’s Undateable was broadcast live in 2015). The series began as a traditional sitcom but as it went on it became more dramatic in tone. ‘Roc’ is Charles S. Dutton’s real nickname. The series was finally made available to stream on Amazon Prime and BET Plus in July 2021.

2001

August 22 – Small Shots

• Cast: Chris Cox, Matt Sloan
• Synopsis: Reality TV program about two young filmmakers traveling across the country, going to small towns and using real people to make short movie spoofs.
• Network: The New TNN
• Broadcast History: Two seasons, 7 episodes, last broadcast in 2003

August 24 – The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy

• Voice Cast: Greg Eagles, Richard Steven Horvitz, Grey Griffin, Vanessa Marshall, Jennifer Hale, Jane Carr, Rachael MacFarlane, Phil LaMarr, Dee Bradley Baker, Armin Shimerman, Frank Welker
• Guest Voice Cast: Tom Kenny, Diedrich Bader, Billy West, John Kassir, Fred Tatasciore, Dwight Schultz, Henry Gibson, Rob Paulsen, Dawnn Lewis, Jodi Benson, John Vernon, ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic, David Warner, Dorian Harewood, Jim Cummings, David L. Lander, Tara Strong, Fred Willard, Earl Boen, Michael Dorn, Alan Oppenheimer, Kevin Michael Richardson, Ronnie Schell, Mark Hamill, aurice LaMarche, Kurtwood Smith, Wayne Knight, Joan Van Ark, Malcolm McDowell, Carol Kane, Louie Anderson, Mary Jo Catlett, Gilbert Gottfried, Charlie Brill, Jennifer Darling, Hamilton Camp, Billie Hayes, Rip Taylor, R. Lee Ermey, Bill Fagerbakke, George Dzundza, Andrea Martin, Jim Rash, April Winchell, Mako, Michael McKean, Kari Wahlgren, Clyde Kusatsu, Laraine Newman, John DiMaggio, Robert Picardo, Edward Asner, Betty White, Mary Gross, Christopher Lloyd, Cree Summer, Ian Abercrombie, William Daniels, Kath Soucie, Mitzi McCall
• Synopsis: The ill-tempered Grim Reaper gets into a wager that forces him to become the life-long companions of two scheming youngsters after he loses.
• Network: Cartoon Network
• Broadcast History: Six seasons, 77 episodes, last broadcas on November 9, 2007
• Trivia: The show began as a series of segments on Grim & Evil. The series won two Emmy Awards and one Annie Award. The series is currently streaming on HBO Max. The show was originally pitched to Nickelodeon. Creator Maxwell Atoms originally wanted Grim to speak in a ‘British’ accent and had Jonathan Harris in mind, but after Greg Eagles auditioned with a Jamaican accent, the character was retooled.

August 27 – Shipmates

• Host: Chris Hardwick
• Synopsis: Participants in the show were sent on a blind date on a Carnival Cruise ship, with camera crews following the couple around the clock.
• Network: Syndication
• Broadcast History: Two seasons, last broadcast in 2003

2011

• No new series debuted in 2011.