TV by the Decade :: September 17•23

Belisarius Productions

This was a huge week across six decades — only 1953 had no new series premieres — with many long-running shows making their debuts … and just as many blink-and-you-miss-them shows, many barely lasting a season. This week also featured many award-winning shows from drama to comedy, and a collection of Saturday morning shows and classic game shows. Interestingly, there are also three shows specifically about parents, as the titles indicate, two focused on mothers and one on fathers (a second about a father and son also premiered but doesn’t mention, specifically, the patriarch in the title). This week also gave us two Patty Dukes, a one-armed man, a cheesy sci-fi cult classic, the Whammy, a talking orangutan, a kiddie horror show, a gritty cop drama, the third longest-running drama on TV today, a cop comedy and James Spader in primetime. Read on to learn more about these and other shows celebrating their premieres this week, and tell us if your favorites are on the list!

1953

• No new series premiered this week in 1953.

1963

• September 17 – The Fugitive (ABC, Four seasons, 120 episodes)
• September 18 – The Patty Duke Show (ABC, Three seasons, 104 episodes, 1 unaired pilot)
• September 20 – Burke’s Law (ABC, Three seasons, 81 episodes)

The Fugitive‘s first three seasons were in black-and-white, the last switched to color. The series was nominated for five Emmy Awards, winning for Outstanding Dramatic Series in 1966. The Patty Duke Show was abruptly cancelled following its third season because ABC wanted all of its series for the 1966-1967 season to be filmed in color, and producers United Artists Television refused, saying it would be too expensive particularly with the extensive special effects needed to feature two Patty Dukes in the same scene. Burke’s Law was retitled Amos Burke Secret Agent for its third season, and the series was revived by CBS for the 1994-1995 season with star Gene Barry reprising his role.

1973

• September 21 – Needles and Pins (NBC, One season, 14 episodes, 4 unaired)
• September 22 – The Starlost (Syndication, One season, 16 episodes)

Needles and Pins star Deirdre Lenihan was a newcomer to television, and her appearance in the show’s opening credits was twice as long as the other featured actors.

The Starlost was a Canadian sci-fi series created by Harlan Ellison. It aired on CTV in Canada. The series was originally pitched as an eight-episode series for the BBC but the pitch was rejected. The show was intended to use Douglas Trumbull’s Magicam process which would use one camera to film actors against a blue screen while another filmed a miniature set, with both cameras synchronized. The process did not work so only the blue screen process was used which meant static shots. The studio space was too small to build sets. Partial sets were built but the cramped space hampered production. Ellison grew disenchanted by the budget cuts, the dumbing down of the story, and the title change of his pilot script from ‘Phoenix Without Ashes’ to ‘Voyage of Discovery’. During production of the pilot, he had his screen credit changed to ‘Cordwainer Bird’. Ironically, Ellison won a WGA Award for Best Original Screenplay for the pilot, but it was the original script he wrote, not the one that was filmed. A novelization of the script with its original title was published in 1975, and that was adapted into a comic in 2010.

1983

Carruthers Company

• September 17 – Alvin and the Chipmunks (NBC, EIght seasons, 102 episodes)
• September 17 – Mister T (NBC, Three seasons, 30 episodes)
• September 17 – Benji, Zax & the Alien Prince (CBS, One season, 13 episodes)
• September 17 – The Biskitts (CBS, One season, 13 episodes)
• September 17 – The Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show (CBS, Two seasons, 18 episodes)
• September 17 – Dungeons & Dragons (CBS, Three seasons, 27 episodes)
• September 17 – Saturday Supercade (CBS, Two seasons, 26 episodes)
• September 18 – Hardcastle and McCormick (ABC, Three seasons, 67 episodes)
• September 19 – Love Connection (Syndication/FOX, Fourteen seasons, 2,148 episodes)
• September 19 – Press Your Luck (CBS/ABC, Eight seasons, 800 episodes to date)
• September 19 – Wheel of Fortune (Syndication, 40 seasons, 7,000-plpus episodes to date)
• September 20 – Just Our Luck (ABC, One season, 13 episodes, 1 unaired)
• September 21 – Hotel (ABC, Five seasons, 114 episodes)
• September 23 – Mr. Smith (NBC, One season, 13 episodes)

Alvin and the Chipmunks was renamed The Chipmunks for its sixth and seventh seasons, and then retitled again to The Chipmunks Go to the Movies for its eighth and final season. During the show’s fifth season, the animated feature film The Chipmunk Adventure was released.

Mister T marked the voice acting debut for Phil LaMarr, who would go on to appear on Mad TV and voice Green Lantern in Justice League and Justice League Unlimited, and Hermes on Futurama. The Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show aired 13 episodes during its first season, but due to lower than expected ratings, only five episodes were ordered for the second, and the show was cancelled as ratings further eroded. The show was retitled You’re On Nickelodeon, Charlie Brown when reruns were aired on Nickelodeon.

A final episodes of Dungeons & Dragons was planned to conclude the story and reimagine the show if it was renewed for a fourth season, but the show was cancelled before the episode was produced. The script has been published online and was performed as an audio drama as a special feature for the DVD relesase of the series. Saturday Supercade was composed of short animated segments featuring video game characters Frogger, Donkey Kong, Mario, Donkey Kong Jr., Qbert, Pitfall Harry, Kangaroo and Space Ace.

In an early 1980s interview, Hardcastle and McCormick producer Stephen J. Cannell referred to the show as Rolling Thunder. Love Connection originally aired for eleven seasons in Syndication, hosted by Chuck Woolery, ending in 1994. The series was revived in 1998 for one season with Pat Bullard as host. A second revival on the FOX network aired for two seasons in 2017-2018 hosted by Andy Cohen.

Press Your Luck was a revival of a 1977 ABC game show titled Second Chance, hosted by Jim Peck. The new version aired for three seasons on CBS, hosted by Peter Tomarken. A Game Show Network revival, Whammy! The All-New Press Your Luck hosted by Todd Newton, aired for one season (2002-2003). ABC revived the format again for primetime in 2019 with Elizabeth Banks as host for four seasons, with a fifth set to premiere in 2023. Wheel of Fortune had already been a long-running daytime series, launched in 1975 on NBC with host Chuck Woolery and Susan Stafford turning the letters. Woolery left the show in 1981 and was replaced by Pat Sajak, who left the daytime version in 1989 to host his own ill-fated late night talk show, but he remained with the Syndicated version, announcing his retirement after the 41st season beginning in September 2023. Vanna White joined the show in 1982, and will remain after Sajak’s retirement with new host Ryan Seacrest.

Just Our Luck was seen as a modernized version of I Dream of Jeannie, with Richard Gilliland as the mortal and T.K. Carter as a hip, fun-loving, 3,000-year-old genie. The show was attacked by the NAACP for promoting negative stereotypes of African-Americans, and after a campaign to have the show cancelled, the organization settled for a degree of creative control in the show’s development, including changes to Carter’s dialogue, the hiring of Black staff writers, and the addition of Leonard Simon to the cast.

Hotel was based on Arthur Hailey’s 1965 novel of the same name, which also inspired a 1967 feature film. Mr. Smith was a sitcom about a talking orangutan, played by the same animal actor featured in Every Which Way But Loose and the sequel Any Which Way You Can.

1993

Steven Bochco Productions

• September 18 – Biker Mice from Mars (Syndication, Three seasons, 65 episodes)
• September 18 – Exosquad (Syndication, Two seasons, 52 episodes)
• September 18 – Martha Stewart Living (Syndication, last broadcast in September 2004)
• September 18 – CityKids (ABC, One season, 13 episodes)
• September 18 – Cro (ABC, Two seasons, 21 episodes)
• September 18 – Sonic the Hedgehog (ABC, Two seasons, 26 episodes)
• September 18 – Tales from the Cryptkeeper (ABC/CBS, Three seasons, 39 episodes)
• September 18 – Café Americain (NBC, One season, 18 episodes)
• September 18 – The Mommies (NBC, Two seasons, 38 episodes)
• September 18 – Rocko’s Modern Life (Nickelodeon, Four seasons, 52 episodes)
• September 18 – All-New Dennis the Menace (CBS, One season, 13 episodes)
• September 18 – Cadillacs and Dinosaurs (CBS, One season, 13 episodes)
• September 18 – Marsupilami (CBS, One season, 13 episodes)
• September 20 – Danielle Steel’s Star (NBC, TV movie)
• September 20 – Dave’s World (CBS, Four seasons, 98 episodes, 1 unaired)
• September 21 – NYPD Blue (ABC, Twelve seasons, 261 episodes)
• September 23 – Eye to Eye with Connie Chung (CBS, last broadcast in 1995)

Animated series Exosquad had been renewed for a third season, but the show was cancelled after one Season 3 episode was produced. Martha Stewart Living debuted as a weekly half-hour program, expanding to weekdays in 1997 with 60-minute episodes, and a 30-minute weekend edition. The show was forced into hiatus when Stewart was convicted in her stock trading case.

CityKids featured new Muppet characters created for the show by Jim Henson Productions. It was the only late Saturday morning series on ABC to cater to a teenage audience. Cro was an educational animated series produced by Children’s Television Workshop. After ABC cancelled the series, CTW created its own network, Noggin, so it would not have to rely on other companies to air its shows. Reruns of Cro aired on Noggin from its launch in 1994 until 2004. From 2000 to 2002, reruns also aired on Nickelodeon. Sonic the Hedgehog was a follow-up to the syndicated Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, featuring more dramatic and darker storylines. A third season was planned, but ABC cancelled the show leaving it with a cliffhanger ending. Tales from the Cryptkeeper was a kid-friendly version of the live-action horror series Tales from the Crypt. The first two seasons aired on ABC, with the third moving to CBS in 1999 rebooted as The New Tales from the Cryptkeeper.

Lila Kaye played the role of Margaret in the pilot for Café Americain but was replaced with Marion Ross when the series was picked up. Within a month, Ross left the show and Kaye agreed to return. The role was also offered to Rue McClanahan but she turned it down. The Mommies was cancelled after one season, but as ratings grew over the Summer, NBC revived the series for midseason with tweaks to the format and a titled shortened to Mommies, but the ratings dropped again, the series was cancelled again in the Spring of 1995, its final episode burned off during the Summer.

Rocko’s Modern Life, to this day, is controversial for its adult humor, double entendres, innuendo and satirical social commentary. The show launched the careers of voice actors Carlos Alazraqui, Mr. Lawrence and Tom Kenny. Much of the staff regrouped to work on SpongeBob SquarePants after the show’s cancellation. Cadillacs and Dinosaurs was based on Xenozoic Tales by Mark Schultz. Marsupilami originated as a segment of 1992’s Raw Toonage before being spun off as a stand-alone series. It was based on the character from the popular comic book by Belgian artist André Franquin.

Dave’s World was based on the writing of Miami Herald columnist Dave Barry, specifically the books Dave Barry’s Greatest Hits and Dave Barry Turns 40. The series was a hit for CBS on Monday nights, but the show was moved to Wednesday for the third season where ratings declined. By the fourth season it was moved to the Friday night ‘death slot’ with the final episode unaired. NYPD Blue was ABC’s longest-running drama until Grey’s Anatomy surpassed it in 2016. The show drew controversy for its graphic, by broadcast television standards, nudity and alcoholism. Aside from some NYC exteriors, the series was filmed in Los Angeles. The series was shot on film and framed for a 16:9 aspect ratio but was not broadcast in HD until Season 9. The first eight seasons were remastered in 2016 for future Syndication and streaming releases, however the episodes ‘Lost Israel, Part 2’, ‘Honeymoon at Viagra Falls’ and ‘Hearts and Souls’ are only available in 4:3 format. The series earned 84 Emmy nominations, winning 20 including one for Outstanding Drama Series and four for Dennis Franz as Outstanding Lead Actor.

Eye to Eye with Connie Chung earned notoriety for an interview Chung conducted with Newt Gingrich’s mother in which she whispered an answer to Chung about how her son felt about Hillary Clinton. The mic was turned up so viewers could hear, sparking immediate reaction and leading to Chung being dropped as co-anchor for CBS Evening News, prompting her to leave the network altogether. The show dropped Chung’s name from the title and aired until August 1995.

2003

• September 18 – Threat Matrix (ABC, One season, 16 episodes, 2 unaired)
• September 19 – Like Family (The WB, One season, 22 episodes, 1 unaired)
• September 19 – Luis (FOX, One season, 10 episodes, 6 unaired)
• September 20 – Lilo & Stitch: The Series (Disney Channel, Two seasons, 65 episodes plus pilot and finale films)
• September 20 – Clifford’s Puppy Days (PBS Kids, Two seasons, 39 episodes)
• September 22 – Las Vegas (NBC, Five seasons, 106 episodes)
• September 22 – Two and a Half Men (CBS, Twleve seasons, 262 episodes)
• September 23 – NCIS (CBS, Twenty seasons, 457 episodes to date)
• September 23 – I’m with Her (ABC, One season, 22 episodes)
• September 23 – One Tree Hill (The WB/The CW, Nine seasons, 187 episodes)

Luis, starring Luis Guzmán, was scheduled in the ‘Friday night death slot’ on FOX and was the first series of the 2003-2004 season to be cancelled.

Lilo & Stitch: The Series was a sequel to the animated 2002 feature film. The show featured four crossover episodes during its second season. Three of the series were airing on Disney Channel at the time — American Dragon: Jake Long, The Proud Family, Kim Possible — and one that had ended before the show’s production began (Recess). Clifford’s Puppy Days was a prequel series to Clifford the Big Red Dog. Henry Winkler was nominated for two Daytime Emmy Awards for his voice performance as Norville, winning one in 2005.

Las Vegas was filmed primarily at Culver Studios in California, with some occasional location filming in Las Vegas. The series marked James Caan’s first starring role in a TV series. He left the series after the fourth season to resume his film career. Nikki Cox was also let go after Season 4 as a means to cut the budget and secure a fifth season renewal. Tom Selleck was added for Season 5 to replace Caan. The series originally aired on Monday night but was moved to Friday in 2006, causing ratings to decline. The series ended with several cliffhangers.

Production on Two and a Half Men was suspended during its eighth season after star Charlie Sheen made disparaging remarks about series creator Chuck Lorre and entered a drug rehabilitation program. Sheen was fired the following month and was killed off the show, replaced by Ashton Kutcher as a new character for the ninth season. Angus Jones was reduced to a recurring role for the eleventh season as he was attending college, but did not appear again until the series finale. Jones also converted to Christianity and condemned the show as ‘filth’ and begged viewers to stop watching it. Sheen blamed Lorre for Jones’ outburst and said it wasn’t an isolated incident, but a symptom of the toxic environment on set. Jones issued an apology the next day, but his role as youngest family member was filled by Amber Tamblyn, as the long-lost illegitimate daughter of Sheen’s character, and then by Edan Alexander as the adopted son of Kutcher’s character. Jones again criticized the show, announcing his departure, then apologizing again to Lorre, making a cameo in the series finale.

The NCIS characters were originally introduced in two Season 8 episodes of JAG. The series is currently the third longest-running scripted, non-animated primetime series on US television behind Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and Law & Order. The show spun off NCIS: Los Angeles during its sixth season, and NCIS: New Orleans during Season 11. A third spin-off, NCIS: Hawai’i debuted in 2021, and the international version NCIS: Sydney will premiere in Australia on November 10, 2023, followed by the US broadcast on CBS on November 13 to fill the schedule due to the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes.

The One Tree Hill theme song ‘I Don’t Want to Be’, by Gavin DeGraw, was removed after the fourth season to reduce costs and add more time to the show’s story. Producers also felt it more represented the core characters’ adolescent lives than their present maturity, but it was restored for the eighth season due to audience demand, performed by a different artist each week. Chad Michael Murray and Hilarie Burton left the series after the sixth season. Murray returned for a guest appearance during the final season.

2013

Fremulon

• September 17 – Dads (FOX, One season, 19 episodes)
• September 17 – Brooklyn Nine-Nine (FOX/NBC, Eight seasons, 153 episodes)
• September 17 – The New Atlanta (Bravo, One season, 8 episodes)
• September 17 – I Dream of NeNe: The Wedding (Bravo, One season, 7 episodes)
• September 23 – Mom (CBS, Eight seasons, 170 episodes)
• September 23 – Hostages (CBS, One season, 15 episodes)
• September 23 – The Blacklist (NBC, Ten seasons, 218 episodes)
• September 23 – Paternity Court (Syndication, Seven seasons, 840 episodes)

Brooklyn Nine-Nine was cancelled by FOX after the fifth season. NBC picked up the series, from parent company NBCUniversal, for the final three seasons. The first season won the Golden Globe for Best Comedy Series, with Andy Samburg winning for Best Comedy Series Actor. Andre Braugher received four Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series Emmy nominations.

I Dream of NeNe: The Wedding was the third spin-off from The Real Housewives of Atlanta.

Mom starred Anna Faris and Allison Janney, and was the third highest-rated comedy on broadcast television in the US. Janney won two consecutive Emmy Awards for Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series in 2014 and 2015. She was also nominated in 2016, and then was nominated in 2017, 2018 and 2019 as Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series. Faris exited the series after its seventh season.

Hostages was based on the Israeli series of the same name created by Omri Givon and Rotem Shamir. The Blacklist was nominated for seven Emmy Awards, winning one Creative Arts Emmy during its run. It was also nominated for two Golden Globes. It spawned the short-lived spin-off, The Blacklist: Redemption in 2017. The lead role of Raymond Reddington was intended for Kiefer Sutherland. Three days before filming, the role was offered to James Spader. Spader insisted the character wear a hat, which the producers rejected but when he tried on a fedora while screening the pilot, the crew felt it enhanced the character’s image and it was incorporated into the show. Spader said that to get into the role, he spent a considerable amount of time alone and not appearing on the set. While set in Washington D.C., the series was filmed in New York, with some actual locations filmed in D.C. The series was filmed in 4K with a minimum of three cameras used at one time, and as many as six. The series finale aired on April 24, 2023.

Paternity Court was retitled Lauren Lake’s Paternity Court beginning with the second season, with production moving from Los Angeles to Atlanta. The series received a Daytime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Legal/Courtroom Program following its sixth season.