TV by the Decade :: September 4•10

Goodson-Todman Productions

September 1 marked the beginning of Meteorological Autumn, and while the networks have not yet unveiled their new Fall Primetime schedules — that doesn’t generally happen until after the Emmy Awards — Daytime and Saturday morning have begun to launch a bevy of new cartoons and talk shows. But there are still a handful of new scripted series that got a jump in the hopes that audiences would be able to find them outside of the traditional ‘Premiere Week’. It didn’t often work, however. What did premiere this week? 1952 saw the debut of a surprisingly long-running, and now presumed lost, religious drama anthology that had at least three different titles. 1972 saw the launch of five games show — and one is still on the air today — and thirteen Saturday morning cartoon. 1992 had another animated series, one that many consider one of the best animated series of all time, several game shows and a new sitcom starring Miss Patti Labelle. 2012 gave us five new talk shows, an spin-off from an animated movie franchise, a new reality show, and a charming sitcom that only last a single season. Read on to learn more about this week’s TV shows celebrating premiere anniversaries!

1952

September 6 – Happy’s Party

Host: Ida Mae Maher
Synopsis: Chidlren’s program featuring dog puppet Happy that interacted with host Ida Mae Maher.
Network: DuMont
Broadcast History: One season, last broadcast on May 9, 1953
Trivia: While DuMont only carried one season, the show which originated as a local program out of Pittsburgh, PA debuted on WDTV on March 1, 1951 and ended on August 13, 1955. No episodes were known to exist until a partial episode was discovered in 2015 from February 5, 1955. The footage was digitized and uploaded to YouTube in 2019 and the original film is now held by the UCLA Film and Television Archive.

September 9 – This Is the Life

Cast: Nelson Leigh
Notable Guests: Kathy Garver, Burr DeBenning, Henry Darrow, James Hong, Julie Adams, Ron Masak, Bridget Hanley, Alan Young, Kim Darby, Patrick Labyorteaux, Eddie Foy Jr., Andrew Robinson, Conchata Ferrell, Stanley Livingston, Tommy Rettig, Richard Anderson, Gordon Jump, Lynn Whitfield,Whit Bissell, Rebecca Balding, Brock Peters, Dean Devlin, Rosalind Cash, Phyllis Coates, Leonard Nimoy, Angie Dickinson, Virginia Gregg, Annette O’Toole, Veronica Cartwright, Kathleen Freeman, Christopher Stone, Adam West, Greg Mullavey, Lee Meriwether, William Schallert, Danielle Brisebois, Lara Parker, Mark Lenard, Richard Schaal, Cameron Mitchell, Dick Sargent, Clu Gulager, Glynn Turman
Synopsis: Dramatic anthology series that presented everyday and contemporary problems, and resolving them using a Christian solution.
Network: DuMont-ABC/Syndication
Broadcast History: Thirty-six seasons, last broadcast in 1988
Trivia: Premiered on DuMont and ABC in 1952 as The Fisher Family, and ended its run in the Fall of 1953 when it then entered Syndication and ran until 1956, when it was retitled This Is the Life and retained only the character of Pastor Martin from the original series. In its later years, reruns of the show were reedited and repackaged as Patterns For Living. The show is now considered ‘lost’ but may just be withheld by the current rights holder(s).

September 10 – Stage a Number

Host: Bill Wendell
Synopsis: A live prime-time talent showcase for aspiring writers, dancers, choreographers, actors, singers, and other performers and backstage people.
Network: DuMont
Broadcast History: One season, last broadcast on May 20, 1953
Trivia: The show was a sustaining program that had no sponsors or advertising. No episodes are known to exist.

1962

No new series premiered this week in 1972.

1972

September 4 – Gambit

Host: Wink Martindale
Card Dealers: Elaine Stewart, Beverly Malden, Lee Menning
Synopsis: A question and answer game in which two couples battle for control of the cards, trying to score up to 21 point to win the game and play the bonus round.
Network: CBS
Broadcast History: Four seasons, last broadcast on December 10, 1976
Trivia: The series was revived on NBC as Las Vegas Gambit on October 27, 1980 as a replacement for The David Letterman Show. It ran until November 27, 1981. Five episodes of the CBS version from 1973 are held by the UCLA Film and Television Archive.

September 4 – The Joker’s Wild

Cast: Jack Barry
Synopsis: Contestants answer questions based on categories determined randomly by a mechanism resembling a slot machine.
Network: CBS
Broadcast History: Three seasons, 686 episodes, last broadcast in 1975
Trivia: Jack Barry was not the original choice to host due to his involvement in the 1950s quiz show scandals. Allen Ludden hosted the first two pilots. Tom Kennedy and Wink Martindale were also under consideration, but all three were committed to other shows. Dennis James was also offered the job even though he was the favorite to host the revival of The Price is Right, which went to Bob Barker instead. Barker actually offered to host Joker’s Wild, but the head of CBS wanted him on TPIR. James was given the hosting duties on the syndicated nighttime version of TPIR, and Barry was accepted as the host of Joker’s Wild. The show was revived in Syndication from 1977 to 1986 with Barry hosting and Jim Peck acting as a guest host when needed. Barry was set to retire and hand the show over to Peck at the start of the 1984 season but he died suddenly in May 1984 and producer Dan Enright gave the hosting job to Bill Cullen instead. Peck guest hosted for one week in 1986. The show was revived again for the 1990-1991 season with host Pat Finn. A children’s version titled Joker! Joker!! Joker!!! aired in Syndication from 1979-1981 and was also hosted by Barry. A 2017 revival on TBS ran for two seasons and was hosted by Snoop Dogg until March 27, 2019. It was thought for many years that only the third season of the original series existed but original master tapes were discovered in 2000 which restored the entire 686 episode series.

September 4 – The Parent Game

Host: Clark Race
Synopsis: Three couples were asked a series of multiple-choice questions about their children. Their job was to match answers with a resident child psychologist.
Network: Syndication
Broadcast History: One season, last broadcast in September 1973
Trivia: Produced by Chuck Barris Productions. At least 23 episodes are known to exist. A revival of the series titled Wait ’til You Have Kids, hosted by Tom Parks, aired on The Family Channel from September 30, 1996 – January 30, 1997.

September 4 – The Price Is Right

Host: Bob Barker, Drew Carey
Synopsis: Contestants play pricing games to win cash and prizes with the two top winners heading to the Showcase (later the winners were determined by the spin of the Big Wheel in the Showcase Showdown).
Network: CBS
Broadcast History: 50 seasons to date, over 9,000 episodes
Trivia: Originally premiered as The New Price is Right to distinguish it from the 1956-65 version, and ran for 30 minutes. The word ‘New’ was dropped in June 1973 due to the show’s popularity. During the show’s Third Anniversary Week, CBS experimented with a 60-minute version which proved so popular that the show permanently expanded to an hour on November 3, 1975. Longest running game show in the US, and one of the longest running network TV programs. Bob Barker hosted the show for 35 years, which coincided with his 50th year as a television host. During his tenure, Barker only missed one taping of four shows, with nighttime version host Dennis James filling in. Drew Carey’s first show aired on October 15, 2007. A weekly syndicated 30-minute version (which followed the daytime show’s original format for its entire run) premiered the week after the daytime version and aired in the early evening hours with Dennis James as host. As ratings declined, James was let go in 1977 and Barker was brought in to host until the show’s 300th and final episode was taped on March 12, 1980. A new daily syndicated version began in 1985 with Tom Kennedy hosting, and it also followed the original 30-minute format. Daytime models Janice Pennington, Holly Hallstrom, and Dian Parkinson appeared on this version of the show as well. Johnny Olsen was the announcer for both versions until his death, replaced by Gene Wood who was then replaced by Rod Roddy. At the time, local networks were crowded with syndicated game shows and TPIR had trouble booking desirable early evening time slots. This version produced 170 episodes and ended on May 30, 1986. September 12, 1994 saw the premiere of The New Price is Right hosted by Doug Davidson of The Young and the Restless. The show was significantly different from the daytime version and had a much larger budget which allowed contestants to win bigger prizes. It had an even harder time finding an audience and ended on January 27, 1996 after just 16 weeks. Some stylistic elements and many music cues were eventually incorporated in to the daytime version and its nighttime specials. Several nighttime versions of the daytime show have aired on CBS either as limited series or special events since August 1986. A special version of The Price is Right aired as part of CBS’ Gameshow Marathon on May 31, 2006 with Ricki Lake hosting. Streaming service Pluto TV launched a ‘The Price is Right: The Barker Era’ channel on December 24, 2020. Many of the episodes have never been seen since their original run. Other streaming services like The Roku Channel have since added the channel to their line-ups. Due to the agreement Freemantle, the show’s owner, has with Paramount Global (which also owns Pluto TV), episodes of the show are not available to air on Freemantle’s BUZZR channel and cannot be licensed to other networks. The streaming episodes do not include early seasons of the show which included furs as prizes due to Bob Barker’s animal rights advocacy. Four documentaries about the series have been produced.

September 9 – The ABC Saturday Superstar Movie

Notable Voice Actors: Richard Long, Daws Butler, Juliet Mills, Kim Richards, Larry Storch, Howard Morris, Pamelyn Ferdin, Richard Dawson, Paul Winchell, Mel Blanc, Barry Williams, Lassie, Willie Mays, Marlo Thomas, Jonathan Harris, Maureen McCormick, Ted Knight, Al Lewis, Christopher Knight, Paul Frees, Eve Plumb, Mike Lookinland, Susan Olsen, David L. Lander, Jean Vander Pyl, Vincent Van Patten, Arnold Stang, Frank Welker, Pat Harrington Jr., Janet Waldo
Synopsis: A series of one-hour animated made-for-television films (some of which also contained live action sequences).
Network: ABC
Broadcast History: Two seasons, 20 episodes, last broadcast on November 17, 1983
Trivia: Retitled The New Saturday Superstar Movie for its second season. Mostly contained features based on popular cartoon characters and TV shows of the time, such as Yogi Bear, The Brady Bunch and Lost in Space. Some of the films served as pilots for new TV series. The Lost in Space episode was included on the complete series Blu-ray.

September 9 – The Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan

Voice Cast: Keye Luke, Cynthia Adler, Gene Andrusco, Jodie Foster, Lisa Gerritsen, John Gunn, Robert Ito, Beverly Kushida, Cherylene Lee, Don Messick, Michael Morgan, Brian Tochi, Janet Waldo, Lennie Weinrib, Hazel Shermet
Synopsis: Charlie Chan investigates mysteries with ‘help’ from his 10 children and pet dog.
Network: CBS
Broadcast History: One season, 16 episodes, last broadcast on December 30, 1972
Trivia: Keye Luke is (to date) the only actor of Chinese ancestry to play the part in any screen adaptation. Early on it was decided most of the kids’ accents were too thick for American audiences and all but the characters of Alan and Henry were recast. With a new cast in place, earlier episodes were re-recorded.

September 9 – Around the World in Eighty Days

Voice Cast: Alistair Duncan, Ross Higgins, Max Osbiston
Notable Voice Actors: Janet Waldo
Synopsis: To marry Belinda Maze and win a 20,000 pound bet with her father, Phileas Fogg must journey around the world in 80 days. To help him is his servant Passepartout. Hindering them at every turn is Mr. Fix, hired by Maze’s father to stop him.
Network: NBC
Broadcast History: One season, 16 episodes, last broadcast on December 30, 1972
Trivia: The first Australian-produced cartoon to be shown on American network television.

September 9 – The Barkleys

Cast: Henry Corden, Joan Gerber, Gene Andrusco, Julie McWhirter, Steve Lewis
Notable Voice Actors: Frank Welker
Synopsis: Animated series inspired by All in the Family that featured anthropomorphic dogs as the main characters.
Network: NBC
Broadcast History: One season, 13 episodes, last broadcast on December 2, 1972
Trivia: The series has streamed on the Classic Toons channel on Pluto TV.

September 9 – The Brady Kids

Voice Cast: Eve Plumb, Mike Lookinland, Susan Olsen, Larry Storch, Jane Webb, Barry Williams, Maureen McCormick, Christopher Knight, Lane Scheimer, Erika Scheimer, David E. Smith
Notable Voice Actors: William Conrad, Lennie Weinrib
Synopsis: The Brady kids form a pop group and go on adventures with their newfound friends: two pandas, a shaggy dog and a magical bird.
Network: ABC
Broadcast History: Two seasons, 22 episodes, last broadcast on October 6, 1973
Trivia: The live-action The Brady Bunch was still in production when this series began. The animated series did not include the parents or housekeeper Alice. The child actors from the series voiced their animated characters for the first season, but refused to voice five additional episodes for a second season (Season 1 had 17 episodes, the extra five were needed for Syndication). Threatened with lawsuits, Mike Lookinland, Eve Plumb and Susan Olsen returned, but Barry Williams, Maureen McCormick and Christopher Knight were replaced with the children of the show’s producer (Lane and Erika Scheimer for Williams and McCormick) and David E. Smith for Lookinland. The series included appearances by three DC Comics characters — Superman, Lois Lane and Wonder Woman, marking the first animated appearance of Wonder Woman. Much of the show’s animation was copied from Filmation’s The Archie Show, including scenes of the kids playing in a band. The dog Mop Top was just Archie’s dog Hot Dog with a different color palette. The character of Fleetwood was a copy of Rudy from Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids. The pilot aired as a one-hour episode of The ABC Saturday Superstar Movie, and then was split into two 30-minute episodes for the series. The series did contain a laugh track.

September 9 – Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids

Voice Cast: Bill Cosby, Michael Gray, Lou Scheimer, Jan Crawford, Gerald Edwards, Eric Suter, Jay Scheimer, Erika Scheimer, Catero Colbert, Keith Allen, Lane Vaux, Pepe Brown, Dementra McHenry
Synopsis: The educational adventures of a group of Afro-American inner city kids, based on Bill Cosby’s remembrances of his childhood gang.
Network: CBS/Syndication
Broadcast History: Eight seasons, 110 episodes plus 5 specials, last broadcast on August 10, 1985
Trivia: This was Filmation’s last Saturday morning cartoon. NBC turned the show down because it was ‘too educational’ after airing an animated/live-action primetime special, Hey, Hey, It’s Fat Albert. NBC did air repeats of the show in 1989. The series was in production for twelve years, but it was not continuous. The final season aired in Syndication. Three primetime holiday specials were produced for Halloween, Christmas and Easter. The first seven seasons included a laugh track. Cosby hinted in 2013 that the series may come back but there has been no further news. Kim Carnes performed background vocals on the show’s theme song. A live-action film starring Kenan Thompson was released in 2004 which served as a sequel to the series.

September 9 – The Flintstone Comedy Hour

Voice Cast: Alan Reed, Mel Blanc, Carl Esser, Gay Hartwig, Don Messick, Mitzi McCall, Jay North, Sally Struthers, John Stephenson, Mickey Stevens, Jean Vander Pyl, Lennie Weinrib, Tom Bahler, Ron Hicklin, Sally Stevens, Jackie Ward
Synopsis: A spin-off of The Flintstones and The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show that included two shorts with Fred and Barney, and one short with the cast of The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show, jokes and songs in the first half-hour, and four new episodes and reruns of The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show in the second half-hour.
Network: CBS
Broadcast History: One season, 18 episodes, last broadcast on January 26, 1974
Trivia: The series was cut to 30-minutes for a second season of reruns, dropping The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show episodes, and retitled The Flintstone Comedy Show. Mickey (or Mikki) Stevens replaced Sally Struthers as the voice of Pebbles as she was fully committed to the role of Gloria on All in the Family by that time. This was the final Flintstones spin-off featuring Alan Reed as Fred before his death in 1977. David Gates of Bread, a Screen Gems staffer at the time, contributed music to the show. A laugh track was included.

September 9 – The Houndcats

Voice Cast: Aldo Ray, Michael Bell, Arte Johnson, John Stephenson, Daws Butler, Joe Besser, Bob Holt, Stu Gilliam, Joan Gerber, Don Messick
Synopsis: A combined team of three dogs and two cats go on spy missions in 1914 America.
Network: NBC
Broadcast History: One season, 13 episodes, last broadcast on December 2, 1972
Trivia: The series was inspired by the TV series Mission: Impossible and Bearcats (1971). A laugh track was included.

September 9 – The New Scooby-Doo Movies

Hanna-Barbera

Voice Cast: Don Messick, Casey Kasem, Frank Welker, Heather North, Nicole Jaffe
Notable Voice Actors: Don Adams, John Astin, Joe Besser, Daws Butler, Ted Cassidy, Sonny & Cher, Tim Conway, Jackie Coogan, Phyllis Diller, Sandy Duncan, Dick Van Dyke, Cass Elliot, Jodie Foster, Larry Harmon, Pat Harrington, Cindy Henderson, Casey Kasem, Don Knotts, Carolyn Jones, Davy Jones, Jim MacGeorge, Jerry Reed, Olan Soule, Janet Waldo, Jonathan Winters
Synopsis: The Mystery Inc. gang investigate more supernatural sightings with various guest stars and characters.
Network: CBS
Broadcast History: Two seasons, 24 episodes, last broadcast on October 27, 1973
Trivia: The second series of the Scooby-Doo franchise. It was the only hour-long Scooby-Doo series. The last Scooby-Doo series to air on CBS, and the last to feature Nicole Jaffe as Velma due to her retirement from acting. Many of the guest actors played themselves. When the show entered Syndication, it was split into two half-hour episodes. The show did contain a laugh track. When the series was to be released on DVD in 2005, Warner Home Video was unable to negotiate rights with several of the voice actors and only 15 episodes were released under the title The Best of The New Scooby-Doo Movies. The show’s opening titles had to be re-edited to omit images of The Addams Family, Batman & Robin, the Harlem Globetrotters, the Three Stooges, and Laurel & Hardy. Eight of the nine missing episodes were finally released on DVD in 2019 as The Best of The New Scooby-Doo Movies: The Lost Episodes, and were combined with the original 15 episodes as The New Scooby-Doo Movies: The (Almost) Complete Collection. The episode ‘Wednesday is Missing’, featuring The Addams Family, has not been released on DVD in the US, but has been released on VHS in Australia as Scooby-Doo Meets the Addams Family, and in the UK with the Three Stooges episode under the title Scooby-Doo Meets the Three Stooges. Mark Hamill did his first voice acting work on the series. The Harlem Globetrotters were the only guest characters to appear in three episodes. Don Knotts voiced himself in two episodes.

September 9 – The Osmonds

Voice Cast: Paul Frees, Alan Osmond, Donny Osmond, James A. Osmond, Jay Osmond, Merrill Osmond, Wayne Osmond
Synopsis: The Osmond brothers travel and perform around the world, with young Jimmy’s antics usually the driving force of each episode.
Network: ABC
Broadcast History: One season, 17 episodes, last broadcast on December 23, 1972
Trivia: The Osmonds’ songs were featured prominently in the series. Marie Osmond was only briefly depicted in one episode as she did not make her professional debut until 1973.

September 9 – The Roman Holidays

Voice Cast: Dom DeLuise, Daws Butler, Pamelyn Ferdin, Stanley Livingston, Shirley Mitchell, Harold Peary, Hal Smith, John Stephenson, Judy Strangis, Janet Waldo, Dave Willock
Synopsis: The series was centered around another ‘modern family’ living in Ancient Rome.
Network: NBC
Broadcast History: One season, 13 episodes, last broadcast on December 2, 1972
Trivia: The show was a failed attempt by Hanna-Barbera to replicate the success of The Flintstones and The Jetsons.

September 9 – Runaround

Host: Paul Winchell
Synopsis: Children’s game show where children answer multiple choice questions by running to their chosen answer.
Network: NBC
Broadcast History: One season, 13 episodes, last broadcast on September 1, 1973
Trivia: Ventriloquist Paul Winchell frequently included his dummies Jerry Mahoney and/or Knucklehead Smiff into the program. The show was adapted for international versions in the UK, the Netherlands and Germany.

September 9 – Sealab 2020

Voice Cast: Ross Martin, John Stephenson, Josh Albee, Pamelyn Ferdin, William Callaway, Jerry Dexter, Ann Jillian, Ron Pinkard, Olga James, Gary Shapiro, Mike Road, Casey Kasem, Don Messick
Synopsis: Cartoon adventure series that focused on a group of Oceanauts in their experimental complex on the ocean floor.
Network: NBC
Broadcast History: One season, 15 episodes (2 unaired), last broadcast on December 2, 1972
Trivia: A ‘Complete Series’ DVD was released in 2012 but it did not include the two unaired episodes. The show was parodied on the Adult Swim series Sealab 2021 from 2000 to 2005.

September 10 – Festival of Family Classics

Voice Cast: Carl Banas, Len Birman, Bernard Cowan, Peg Dixon, Keith Hampshire, Peggi Loder, Donna Miller, Frank Perry, Henry Raymer, Billie Mae Richards, Alfie Scopp, Paul Soles
Synopsis: A series of television versions of famous folk tales and classic literature.
Network: Syndication
Broadcast History: One season, 20 episodes, last broadcast on march 4, 1973
Trivia: 16 of the 18 episodes ran 20 minutes. Two episodes ran 40 minutes but were split into two-part episodes making 20 episodes total.

1982

No new series premiered this week in 1982.

1992

September 5 – Batman: The Animated Series

Warner Bros. Animation

Cast: Kevin Conroy, Efrem Zimbalist Jr., Bob Hastings, Loren Lester, Robert Costanzo, Mari Devon, Mark Hamill, Richard Moll
Notable Voice Actors: Lloyd Bochner, Arleen Sorkin, John Vernon, Adrienne Barbeau, Brock Peters, Paul Williams, Melissa Gilbert, Frank Welker, Edward Asner, David Warner, Diana Muldaur, Marilu Henner, Helen Slater, William Sanderson, Ron Perlman, Roddy McDowall, Linda Gary, Clive Revill, Kate Mulgrew, John Glover, Ed Begley Jr., Marc Singer, Michael Ansara, Julie Brown, Harry Hamlin, John de Lancie, Kenneth Mars, Peter Scolari, Alan Rachins, Richard Dysart, Leslie Easterbrook, Dick Gautier, Vernee Watson, Scott Valentine, Rene Auberjonois, Walter Olkewicz, Meredith MacRae, Dick Miller, Michael York, Treat Williams, Tim Matheson, Tom Wilson, Tim Curry, William Windom, Bud Cort, Bill Mumy, John Rhys-Davies, Robby Benson, Heather Locklear, Lindsay Crouse, Dorian Harewood, Bess Armstrong, Michael Gross, Joseph Campanella, Brad Garrett, Henry Silva, Dan O’Herlihy, Malcolm McDowell, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Adam Ant, Ernie Hudson, Kevin McCarthy, Micky Dolenz, Kimmy Robertson, David L. Lander, Gary Frank, Denny Dillon, Elisabeth Moss, Matt Frewer, Joe Piscopo, Roscoe Lee Browne, Jeffrey Jones, Roy Dotrice, Loretta Swit, Adam West, Lynne Marie Stewart, LeVar Burton, Marcia Wallace, Megan Mullally, William Katt, Nichelle Nichols, Hector Elizondo, Katherine Helmond, Robert Picardo, Andrea Martin, Tress MacNeille, Nicholas Guest, Franklin Cover, Melissa Manchester, Jean Smart, Maurice LaMarche, Paul Winfield, Elizabeth Montgomery, Seth Green, Jeffrey Tambor, Stephanie Zimbalist, Grant Shaud, Alan Young
Synopsis: The Dark Knight battles crime in Gotham City with occasional help from Robin and Batgirl.
Network: FOX Kids
Broadcast History: Two seasons, 85 episodes, last broadcast on September 15, 1995
Trivia: The series won four Emmy Awards including Outstanding Animated Program. The first series of the shared DC Animated Universe. The look of the show was influenced by Tim Burton’s Batman movies and the Fleischer Studios Superman shorts from the 1940s. Backgrounds for the series used light colors painted on black paper instead of the industry norm of dark colors on white paper. An episode titled ‘Silent Night’ was written without dialogue and was to explore Batman’s sexual life but it was never produced. If Tim Curry hadn’t developed bronchitis during the intial recording sessions, Mark Hamill would not have had the opportunity to voice The Joker. John Glover had auditioned for the role, and he eventually voiced The Riddler. Hamill’s Joker laugh came from the laugh he developed on stage in the lead role of Amadeus. Recording sessions were done with all of the actors in the studio instead of separately, as is typical. Al Pacino was offered the role of Two-Face but he declined. Harley Quinn was invented for the series and became so popular she was incorporated into the DC Comics continuity. Detective Renee Montoya, Simon Trent, Condiment King, and ninja Kyodai Ken were also original creations that became characters in the comics. Ronald Daggett was also an original creation but did not appear outside of the series, however the character was reimagined as John Daggett in The Dark Knight Rises. The series spawned the theatrical feature film Batman: Mask of the Phantasm, and the direct-to-video feature Batman & Mr. Freeze: Sub-Zero. It was Kevin Conroy’s idea to create two distinctive voices for Bruce Wayne and Batman. Conroy has since become the signature voice of the animated character, and made a live-action appearance as Bruce Wayne in the Batwoman episode of The CW’s ‘Crisis on Infinite Earths’ Arrowverse crossover event. FOX refused to allow the use of the character Firefly because they did not want a depiction of anyone threatened by fire. The WB network continuation of the series was the first time the character was used. Firefly did eventually appear on the FOX live-action series Gotham. FOX also insisted that Robin be incorporated into the series to draw in more kid viewers. The series was in production at the same time as Batman Returns, and when The Penguin was being incorporated into the series Warner Bros. insisted the design be based on the movie’s character. However, they would not release any photographs so producer Bruce Timm had to go to the film’s set and sketch the character. The look of Harley Quinn was inspired by Arleen Sorkin’s harlequin costume in her role as Calliope Jones on an episode of Days of Our Lives, which also inspired the casting of Sorkin as the voice of the character. The Riddler wasn’t included much in the series because he was hard to write for and made plots too complicated. The look of Jim Gordon was modeled on Tom Atkins, who almost played the role in Tim Burton’s Batman, but lost out to Pat Hingle.

September 5 – Double Up

Host: J. D. Roth
Synopsis: Saturday morning kids’ version of The Dating Game. Two siblings attempted to find dates for each other. Each sibling had three dates to pick from, each identified by a nickname. Each date sat on a collapsible seat suspended over a giant trash can full of confetti. The two dates not chosen were ‘dumped’ into the trash cans.
Network: NBC
Broadcast History: Seven episodes, last broadcast on October 17, 1992
Trivia: Jennifer Love Hewitt was one of the ‘dumped’ contestants.

September 5 – Goof Troop

Cast: Bill Farmer, Dana Hill, Frank Welker, Jim Cummings, April Winchell, Rob Paulsen, Nancy Cartwright, Corey Burton, Jerry Houser, Pat Fraley, William Windom, Joe Piscopo, Patrick Duffy, Conor Duffy, Brian Cummings, S. Scott Bullock, Candi Milo, Charles Nelson Reilly, Michael Bell, Jennifer Darling
Notable Voice Actors: Michael Gough, Kath Soucie, Gary Owens, Andrea Martin, Dorian Harewood, Eddie Deezen
Synopsis: The classic Disney character Goofy is a single father raising his son, Max, in Spoonerville. Pete, a frequent antagonist from the old cartoons, lives next door with his family.
Network: Syndication/ABC
Broadcast History: Two seasons, 78 episodes, last broadcast on December 5, 1992
Trivia: 65 ‘Season 1’ episodes aired in Syndication from September 5 to December 4, 1992, while 13 ‘Season 2’ episodes aired on ABC from September 12 to December 5, 1992. A Christmas special aired in Syndication in late 1992. Two films served as follow-ups to the series: the theatrical A Goofy Movie and the direct-to-video An Extremely Goofy Movie, which also served as the series finale. The series was originally previewed on The Disney Channel between April and July 1992. The first Disney cartoon to be a situation comedy. The character Peg-Leg Pete, depicted in the series as Goofy’s friend and neighbor (and also the closest the show has to a protagonist) is one of the Disney Studios’ oldest villains, appearing in 67 shorts between 1925 and 1954.

September 6 – Behind the Scenes

Hosts: Penn & Teller
Synopsis: Miniseries for children presenting various aspects of the arts, illuminating the creative process underlying the working of artists.
Network: PBS
Broadcast History: 10 episodes, last broadcast on November 8, 1992
Trivia: Featured artists include David Hockney, Bobby McFerrin, Matt Groening, Julie Taymor, Max Roach, M.C. Lyte and The Blue Man Group.

September 7 – You Bet Your Life

Hosts: Bill Cosby, Robbi Chong
Synopsis: Second revival of the classic Groucho Marx quiz show.
Network: Syndication
Broadcast History: One season, last broadcast on June 4, 1993
Trivia: Sidekick Robbi Chong was referred to as ‘Renfield’. Due to low ratings, many of the local stations carrying the show in the early evening moved it to late night or dropped it altogether.

September 10 – Nickelodeon Guts

Hosts: Mike O’Malley, Moira Quirk
Synopsis: Action sports competition series featuring three young athletes competing against each other in four ‘extreme’ versions of athletic events culminating in a fifth and final round which set the three competitors on a race up an artificial ‘mountain’ to decide the victor.
Network: Nickelodeon
Broadcast History: Four seasons, 160 episodes, last broadcast on December 10, 1995
Trivia: Filmed at Universal Studios Florida. Reruns of the show stream as part of the Nick Games block on Pluto TV’s ‘No Parents Allowed’ channel.

September 10 – Out All Night

Cast: Patti LaBelle, Morris Chestnut, Vivica A. Fox, Duane Martin, Simon O’Brien
Notable Guests: Tahj Mowry, TLC, Loretta Devine, Johnny Brown, Beverly Johnson, Jurnee Smollett, Kadeem Hardison, Mary J. Blige, Gladys Knight, Dionne Warwick, Luther Vandross, M.C. Hammer, Boyz II Men, Mark Wahlberg, Michael Dorn, Lela Rochon, Bobby Brown, Natalie Cole, Robert Hooks, Johnny Gill
Synopsis: Sitcom about a singer who runs an L.A. nightclub, a young graduate and his irresponsible best friend and roommate who help her, her daughter, and their Scottish neighbor.
Network: NBC
Broadcast History: One season, 20 episodes (1 unaired), last broadcast on July 9, 1993
Trivia: Set in the same universe as The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. One of the show’s creators was satirist Andy Borowitz.

2002

No new series premiered this week in 2002.

2012

September 4 – Joy Behar: Say Anything!

Host: Joy Behar
Notable Guests: Darrell Hammond, Al Gore, Judy Gold, Melisssa Etheridge, Lewis Black, Carrie Fisher, Dee Snider, Colin Quinn, Jesse Ventura, Susie Essman, Tony Danza, Melissa Leo, Wyclef Jean, Cyndi Lauper, Suzanne Somers, Tim Conway, Vicki Lawrence, Gloria Steinem, Mario Cantone, Carole King, Richard Belzer, Andy Cohen, Deepak Chopra, Alfre Woodard, Tyne Daly, Regis Philbin,Lorraine Bracco, Kathleen Turner, Valerie Bertinelli, Nate Berkus, Dr. Ruth Westheimer, Bob Sagat, Yvette Nicole Brown, Kathy Najimy, Penny Marshall, Parker Posey, Rosie Perez, Tamar Braxton, Tommy Davidson, Jeffrey Ross, Dan Savage, Ty Pennington, Whoopi Goldberg, Liza Minnelli, Salman Rushdie, Debi Mazar, Fran Drescher, Annie Potts, Janet Hubert, Carson Kressley, Cheri Oteri, Mandy Patinkin, Kevin Nealon, Peter Billingsley, Olivia Newton-John, Betty White, Carl Reiner, Mel Brooks, Jerry Springer, George Takei, Cheryl Hines, Rachel Dratch, Pia Zadora, Gavin Newsom, Jackie Collins, Lily Tomlin, Toni Braxton, Nia Vardalos, Curtis Stone, Paul Anka, Joe Pantoliano, Christina Crawford, Sherri Shepherd, Marilu Henner, Isabella Rossellini, Niecy Nash, Alison Sweeney, Tabatha Coffey, Jo Frost, Neil Sedaka
Synopsis: News program and talk show.
Network: Current TV
Broadcast History: One season, 156 episodes, last broadcast on August 1, 2013
Trivia: The show was a reformatted version of The Joy Behar Show which originally aired on HLN between 2009 and 2011. The premiere guests were Darrell Hammond, Al Gore, Judy Gold and Rob Shuter. Shuter was also the final guest.

September 4 – Steve Harvey

Host: Steve Harvey
Synopsis: Daytime talk show.
Network: Syndication
Broadcast History: Five seasons, 920 episodes, last broadcast on July 13, 2017
Trivia: Harvey won the People’s Choice Award for Favorite New Talk Show Host in 2013, and the Outstanding Informative Talk Show Host Emmy in 2017. The show won the Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Talk Show Informative in 2014 and 2015.

September 5 – DreamWorks Dragons

Cast: Jay Baruchel, America Ferrer, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Zack Pearlman, T. J. Miller, Nolan North, Chris Edgerly, David Tennant, Lucas Grabeel, Angela Bartys, Stephen Root, Thomas F. Wilson, Tim Conway, Tom Kenny, Michael Goldstrom, Hakeem Kae-Kazim, Alfred Molina, JB Blanc, Paul Rugg
Notable Voice Actors: Mark Hamill, Mae Whitman, David Faustino, Adelaide Kane, Rose McIver
Synopsis: Taking place between How to Train Your Dragon and How to Train Your Dragon 2, DreamWorks Dragons follows Hiccup as he tries to keep balance within the new cohabitation of Dragons and Vikings.
Network: Cartoon Network/Netflix
Broadcast History: Eight seasons, 118 episodes, last broadcast on February 16, 2018
Trivia: The first DreamWorks series to air on Cartoon Network. The first season carried the subtitle ‘Riders of Berk’. Season 2 was subtitled ‘Defenders of Berk’. The remainder of the series was subtitled ‘Race to the Edge’. The series moved to Netflix with the third season. The series won a Primetime Emmy in 2013 for Outstanding Individual Achievement In Animation – Character Design, and a 2016 Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Sound Editing – Animation.

September 9 – Breaking Amish

TLC

Cast: Abe Schmucker, Jeremiah Raber, Kate Stoltzfus, Rebecca Byler, Sabrina High, Mary Schmucker, Katie Ann Schmucker, Andy Schmucker
Synopsis: The series revolves around five young Anabaptist adults (four Amish and one Mennonite) who move to New York City in order to experience a different life and decide whether to return to their communities or remain outside them and face ostracism by their families and friends. The show introduced a new cast with Season 3 which was set in Los Angeles (with Andy Schmucker and Jeremiah’s ex-girlfriend Iva the only connections to the original cast), and Season 4 which was set in Brooklyn, New York.
Network: TLC
Broadcast History: Four seasons, 44 episodes, last broadcast on November 20, 2014
Trivia: The second season is subtitled ‘Brave New World’, and takes place mostly in Florida. Season 4 cast member Matt would make appearances in the continuation/spin-off series Return to Amish.

September 9 – Texas Car Wars

Synopsis: The series follows four auto body shops who participate in bidding wars in order to find the most valuable junk cars and refurbish them into jackpots.
Network: Discovery Channel
Broadcast History: 8 episodes, last broadcast on October 25, 2012

September 10 – The Jeff Probst Show

Host: Jeff Probst
Co-Host: Lisa Whelchel, Yvette Nicole Brown
Synopsis: Daytime talk show.
Network: Syndication
Broadcast History: One season, 170 episodes, last broadcast on September 4, 2013
Trivia: While the series finale aired on May 22, 2013, unaired episodes were played during the Summer until the show’s last broadcast.

September 10 – Katie

Host: Katie Couric
Synopsis: Daytime talk show.
Network: Syndication
Broadcast History: Two seasons, 327 episodes, last broadcast on July 30, 2014
Trivia: Couric and distributor Disney–ABC Domestic Television mutually agreed to end the show after two seasons. It was initially a lifestyle show with news components. The show was originally slated to take over the time slot of ABC soap General Hospital on the ABC stations that carried the show, which would have resulted in the cancellation of the soap. ABC instead cancelled another talk show, The Revolution, which had stagnant ratings, and moved General Hospital to the 2:00 time slot. While the ABC affiliates airing the show were encouraged to run it in the 3:00 PM time slot, the air time varied from market to market.

September 10 – The New Normal

20th Century Fox Television

Cast: Justin Bartha, Andrew Rannells, Georgia King, Bebe Wood, NeNe Leakes, Jayson Blair, Ellen Barkin
Notable Guests: John Stamos, Jackie Hoffman, Ravi Patel, John Benjamin Hickey, Cheri Oteri, Mary Kay Place, Shannen Doherty, Leslie Grossman, Barry Bostwick, Marlo Thomas, Nicole Richie, Matt Bomer, Mel Rodriguez, George Takei, James Urbaniak, Mark Consuelos, Constance Zimmer
Synopsis: The series follows a happy gay couple who move their surrogate and her 9-year-old daughter into their home.
Network: NBC
Broadcast History: One season, 22 episodes, last broadcast on April 2, 2013
Trivia: The series was based on creator Ryan Murphy and husband David Miller’s own path to start a family through surrogacy. Gwyneth Paltrow appeared uncredited in one episode. Jayson Blair was originally to have a recurring role on the series but after the pilot was filmed he was promoted to a series regular. Andrew Rannells and Ellen Barkin were the first two actors cast. The Halloween episode (Episode 7) which had been scheduled to air on October 30, 2012 was pre-empted by news coverage of Hurricane Sandy. The episode finally aired on March 5, 2013. The series won the GLAAD Award for Outstanding Comedy Series in 2013.

September 10 – The Ricki Lake Show

Host: Ricki Lake
Synopsis: Daytime talk show.
Network: Syndication
Broadcast History: One season, 186 episodes, last broadcast on September 19, 2013
Trivia: This marked Lake’s return to television after her previous talk show ended in 2004. The topics for the new show were not as sensational as the previous show’s topics. Lake’s performance on Dancing With the Stars spurred interest in the new show, which had been cleared in 90% of the country. Lake was also nominated as Favorite New Talk Show Host by the People’s Choice Awards but lost to Steve Harvey. She was also nominated for the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Talk Show Host.

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