TV by the Decade :: October 2•8

Stage Five Productions

The first full week of October across the decades is, for the most part, the final major ‘premiere week’ for the networks. We won’t be seeing the same number of new shows making debuts now until at least ‘mid-season’ but this week did produce many well-known, and classic, TV series particularly in the early years represented. 1952 saw the debut of a show that, until recently, was the longest running network comedy series. The decade also saw the debut of another classic sitcom that was spun off into a feature film, and the local television debut of a classic music series that danced its way to a national network and ran for nearly 40 years. 1962 had a classic war drama, and a comedy series based on a movie that brought Gene Kelly to series television for the first and only time. 1972 saw the debut of what would become an award-winning benchmark for children’s television. 1982 saw the premiere of a show that has gained a cult following, mainly because of the tragedy surrounding the show’s star. 1992 produced a long-running fantasy series based on a popular movie franchise, while 2002 saw a short-lived revival of a classic speculative series that dealt with mysterious phenomena. 2012 was the launch pad for several reality series featuring chefs, an airport, wrestlers, sketch comedy and Oprah. Check out this week’s list of television debuts and tell us about your favorites celebrating anniversaries this week!

1952

• October 3 – The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet (ABC, Fourteen seasons, 435 episodes)
• October 3 – Dark of Night (DuMont, last broadcast on May 1, 1953)
• October 3 – Gulf Playhouse (NBC, One season, 24 episodes)
• October 3 – Mr. and Mrs. North (CBS/NBC, Two seasons, 57 episodes)
• October 3 – Our Miss Brooks (CBS, Four seasons, 130 episodes)
• October 3 – Wheel of Fortune (CBS, last broadcast on December 25, 1953)
• October 5 – Doc Corkle (NBC, 3 episodes)
• October 6 – Football Sidelines (DuMont, last broadcast on December 22, 1952)
• October 6 – One Man’s Experience (DuMont, last broadcast on April 10, 1953)
• October 6 – One Woman’s Experience (DuMont, last broadcast on April 3, 1953)
• October 7 – American Bandstand (WFIL/ABC/Syndication/USA Network, 37 seasons, 3,000 episodes)
• October 7 – The Buick Circus Hour (NBC, One season)
• October 7 – Ramar of the Jungle (Syndication, Two seasons, 52 episodes)

1962

Arena Productions

• October 2 – Combat! (ABC, Five seasons, 152 episodes)
• October 3 – The Eleventh Hour (NBC, Two seasons, 62 episodes)
• October 3 – Going My Way (ABC, One season, 30 episodes)
• October 3 – Our Man Higgins (ABC, One season, 34 episodes)
• October 5 – The Gallant Men (ABC, One season, 26 episodes)

1972

• October 4 – ABC Afterschool Special (ABC, Twenty-five seasons, 154 episodes)
• October 5 – The Men: The Delphi Bureau (ABC, One season, 8 episodes)
• October 8 – The NBC Sunday Mystery Movie: Hec Ramsey (NBC, Two seasons, 10 episodes)

1982

James D. Parriott Productions

• October 2 – The Devlin Connection (NBC, One season, 13 episodes)
• October 3 – Voyagers! (NBC, One season, 20 episodes)
• October 6 – Tucker’s Witch (CBS, One season, 12 episodes)

1992

• October 2 – ToonHeads (Cartoon Network, Eight seasons, 102 episodes, 2 unaired)
• October 3 – Highlander: The Series (Syndication, Six seasons, 119 episodes)
• October 4 – Ghostwriter (PBS, Three seasons, 74 episodes)
• October 4 – Great Scott! (FOX, One season, 13 episodes, 7 unaired)
• October 4 – Shadetree Mechanic (TNN, Eight seasons, 190 episodes)
• October 5 – Born Lucky (Lifetime, One season, 130 episodes)

2002

• October 4 – Hotel Erotica (Cinemax, Two seasons, 26 episodes)
• October 4 – In Search of… (Sci-Fi Channel, One season, 8 episodes)
• October 5 – Endurance (Discovery Kids, Six seasons, 86 episodes, 19 specials)
• October 5 – Scout’s Safari (Discovery Kids/NBC, Two seasons, 26 episodes)
• October 6 – Bram & Alice (CBS, One season, 9 episodes, 5 unaired)

2012

BYU Broadcasting

• October 2 – Airport 24/7: Miami (Travel Channel, Three seasons, 25 episodes)
• October 2 – Oprah: Where Are They Now? (OWN, Nine seasons, 108 episodes)
• October 3 – Life After Top Chef (Bravo, One season, 8 episodes)
• October 3 – WWE Main Event (Ion/Hulu/WWE Network/Peacock, Eleven seasons, 518 episodes to date)
• October 6 – See Dad Run (Nick at Nite, Three seasons, 51 episodes)
• October 7 – Larrymania (Universo, Eight seasons, 115 episodes to date)
• October 8 – Crash & Bernstein (Disney XD, Two seasons, 39 episodes)
• October 8 – Studio C (BYU TV, 15 seasons, 162 episodes to date)
• October 8 – To Catch a Smuggler (National Geographic, Three seasons, 28 episodes to date)