Heel and Toe Films
A very slow week sees the premiere of just two new scripted dramas in two different decades, one a medical drama that had a multi-season run and became a cultural and global sensation, picking up a few awards in the process. Three TV movies also premiered this week, one focusing on the short life and career of a popular R&B singer, along with an animated series, a cooking show, a science show and a reality dating show. Scroll down to see the series and movies that premiered this week across the decades and tell us if any of your favorites are celebrating milestone anniversaries.
1954
- No new series premiered this week in 1954.
1964
- No new series premiered this week in 1964.
1974
- November 12 – All the Kind Strangers (ABC, TV movie)
All the Kind Strangers was an ABC Movie of the Week, also known as Evil in the Swamp. Robby Benson, who starred in the movie, performed the title song.
1984
- No new series premiered this week in 1984.
1994
- November 16 – Essence of Emeril (Food Network, Twenty-four seasons)
Essence of Emeril aired on weekends and featured a more toned-down Emeril and had no studio audience.
2004
Williams Street
- November 14 – Tom Goes to the Mayor (Adult Swim, Two seasons, 30 episodes, 2 pilots, 1 special)
- November 15 – Date My Mom (MTV, Three seasons, 101 episodes)
- November 16 – House, M.D. (FOX, Eight seasons, 177 episodes)
Tom Goes to the Mayor began as a web cartoon on timanderic.com. The show features a crude but distinctive limited animation style made by taking photos of the cast with different facial expressions and body language. The photos are then filtered using the ‘photocopy’ image filter in Adobe Photoshop, resulting in the show’s unique monochromatic blue and white images resembling Ditto machine copies.
House was the most-watched program in the world in 2008. During its run it earned five Emmy Awards, two Golden Globes and a Peabody Award. When the show was pitched to FOX, the network told producers they wanted a medical show but did not want to see white coats going down hallways, which led to the show’s ultimate form. The show’s working title was Chasing Zebras, Circling the Drain. As the premise became more about the lead character rather than a team making diagnoses, the character’s name became the title of the show. Producer Bryan Singer had no intention of casting anyone other than an American actor for the title role, and after seeing Hugh Laurie’s audition tape he felt he had found the perfect ‘American actor’, unaware that Laurie was a Brit who nailed the American accent. Denis Leary, David Cross, Rob Morrow and Patrick Dempsey were also in the running. Laurie initially thought House was a supporting character until he received the full script. Laurie’s father was a doctor, and Laurie felt guilty being paid more to play a fake doctor than his father made as a real one. The show’s special effects of interior body shots were often composed of miniatures and motion control photography rather than CGI effects.
2014
New Pictures
- November 12 – Strip the Cosmos (Science Channel, Four seasons, 30 episodes)
- November 15 – Aaliyah: The Princess of R&B (Lifetime, TV movie)
- November 15 – The Missing (Starz, Two seasons, 16 episodes)
- November 15 – Northpole (Hallmark Channel, TV movie)
Strip the Cosmos was based on the concept of the earlier Strip the City, stripping away layers from celestial objects through the use of computer generated imagery.
Aaliyah: The Princess of R&B is based in part on the biography Aaliyah: More than a Woman by Christopher John Farley. Aaliyah’s family did not approve of Lifetime as the venue for the film, and her record label did not allow Lifetime access to her recordings, resulting in covers needing to be recorded. Zendaya was originally cast as Aaliyah, but the choice was met with criticism for Zendaya being too light-skinned and not resembling the singer. Alexandra Shipp was cast instead. Zendaya says she dropped out because of the issues with the music rights and the production values were not up to par. She also says she tried to reach out to the family to no avail.
The Missing was first broadcast in the UK on BBC One beginning October 28, 2014. Each season focused on a different story of a missing child with a new cast. Tchéky Karyo starred in both series as Julien Baptiste. A spin-off series starring Karyo, Baptiste, was broadcast on BBC One in February 2019. While series one is set in France and the UK, it was filmed mostly in Belgium. Series two filmed in Morocco, Belgium and Germany.
Northpole was followed in 2015 by a second TV movie, Northpole: Open for Christmas.
Share this post
