TV by the Decade :: January 12•18

Paramount Network Television

The second week of January was another big one with just one decade sitting out 1955 saw the debut of two anthology series with big name guest stars and 1965 produced a groundbreaking musical showcase series. 1975 had two major scripted series debuts, one an Emmy-winning police drama, the other an Emmy-winning sitcom spin-off that outlasted its originator. 1995 saw the ill-fated revival of a classic 1960s comedy, the debut of one of the longest running historical docuseries on television, and the launch of a highly rated Syndicated fantasy series, as well as the debut of a new space-set series in a long-running franchise. 2005 gave us a reality series for frazzled parents, and 2015 gave us two different sci-fi/fantasy series, one set in an alternate universe and the other looping through time. Scroll down to see the shows that premiered this week and tell us if any of your favorites are celebrating milestone anniversaries.

1955

• January 13 – Pond’s Theater (ABC, One season, 25 episodes)
• January 17 – TV Reader’s Digest (ABC, Two seasons, 39 episodes)

Pond’s Theater was originally titled Kraft Television Theatre until Kraft dropped the Thursday night version of the series on ABC. Pond’s took over sponsorship and retitled the series. Sidney Poitier, Joanne Woodward, John Cassavetes, Gena Rowlands, Roddy McDowall, Gene Raymond, Sylvia Sidney, Buster Crabbe, E.G. Marshall, Eva Gabor, Ed Begley, and Mildred Dunnock were among the stars who appeared on the show.

TV Reader’s Digest was an anthology series with episodes based on true story articles that appeared in the magazine. Hugh Reilly was the original host, with Gene Raymond taking over in January 1956. Clint Eastwood made his first Western appearance on the show. Chuck Connors, Peter Graves, Lee Marvin, Claude Akins, Leon Askin, Jean Byron Martin Milner, Jerry Paris, and Max Showalter were among the show’s guest stars.

1965

• January 12 – Hullabaloo (NBC, Two seasons, 48 episodes)

Hullabaloo was a musical showcase for the popular acts of the day, with a different host each week including Sammy Davis Jr., Jerry Lewis, Gary Lewis, Petula Clark, Paul Anka, Liza Minnelli, Jack Jones, David McCallum and Frankie Avalon. The acts that appeared on the show included Simon and Garfunkel, The Mamas & The Papas, Dionne Warwick, Gary Lewis and the Playboys, The Lovin’ Spoonful, The Rolling Stones, The Yardbirds, Sonny & Cher, The Supremes, Herman’s Hermits, Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, The Animals, Roy Orbison and Marianne Faithfull. The first thirteen episodes included segments pre-taped in London, hosted by The Beatles’ manager Brian Epstein, to showcase up and coming UK music acts for the American audience. Peter Matz, later known for The Carol Burnett Show, was the orchestra leader. The show’s color episodes were transferred to Kinescopes on black-and-white film. The production company declined to own the original color masters so NBC wiped the tapes for reuse. Only three half-hour episodes are known to exist in color. Later known for their work on Broadway, Michael Bennett and Donna McKechnie were dancers on the show.

1975

T.A.T. Communications Company

• January 17 – Baretta (ABC, Four seasons, 82 episodes)
• January 18 – The Jeffersons (CBS, Eleven seasons, 253 episodes)

Baretta was a revised and toned-down version of the detective series Toma, starring Tony Musante. When Musante left the show after one season, the concept was re-tooled as Baretta, with Robert Blake starring. Blake was given creative control over most aspects of the series. The show’s theme song, ‘Keep Your Eye on the Sparrow’, was sung by Sammy Davis Jr., and was a chart hit for two other artists. Blake claimed network execs did not want Davis’ voice for the theme song for fear audiences would think it was a ‘Black show’. Blake threatened to walk if Davis’ recording was rejected. The show ended when Blake’s contract with the series ended, and he claimed because of his efforts it was the only mid-season series to win an Emmy Award, but he also called it a terrible experience. The show was nominated for seven Emmy Awards during its run, winning two total for Blake as Best Actor in a Drama Series (1975) and Best Cinematography for a Series (1976).

The Jeffersons was the second spin-off of All in the Family after Maude. The show shared continuity with the sitcom E/R, which featured Lynne Moody who made a guest appearance on one episode of The Jeffersons, while Sherman Hemsley’s George Jefferson guested on two episodes of Moody’s show. The cancellation of The Jeffersons allowed Marla Gibbs to star in NBC’s 227 a year earlier than scheduled. The show’s cancellation was extremely controversial as CBS had not informed the cast or crew ahead of time, leaving the show without a proper finale, and the stars learning the news through tabloids and family. Hemsley and co-star Isabel Sanford guested as George and Louise Jefferson on two episodes of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, including the series finale as the buyers of the Banks family home. Hemsley and Gibbs reprised their roles on a 2011 episode of Tyler Perry’s House of Payne. Hemsley and Sanford also reprised their roles on the Italian comedy series Grand Hotel, with their voices dubbed by the same actors who dubbed their voices for the original series. When the Jeffersons made their first appearance on All in the Family, Hemsley — for whom Normal Lear created the role of George — was unavailable as he was appearing on Broadway in Purlie. Lear substituted Mel Stewart as his younger brother Henry but playing as George when Louise was embarrassed that George would not go to the Bunker house due to prejudice. The real George was introduced in the episode ‘Henry’s Farewell’, the only time Hemsley and Stewart shared any screen time, and the last time Henry was seen. The Willises also appeared on All in the Family, but the roles were recast for The Jeffersons. Roxie Roker, who played Helen Willis, was asked if she would be comfortable having a white husband on TV, and she pulled out a picture of her own husband, Sy Kravitz, who was white. The Jeffersons last appeared on All in the Family on Janaury 11, 1975 in the episode ‘The Jeffersons Move Up’, with the series premiering the next week. Marla Gibbs, as housekeeper Florence, did not become a regular until Season 4. She left the show in 1981 for her own spin-off, Checking In, which was cancelled after four episodes. Florence returned to work for the Jeffersons, explaining that the hotel where she was employed burned down. Zara Cully portrayed George’s mother Olivia, better known as ‘Mother Jefferson’, but the character was written out in Season 4 after her death from cancer. No episode addressed her death, but future episodes did mention her passing. Mike Evans played son Lionel in the first season, but left and was replaced with Damon Evans (no relation) until halfway through Season 4. Mike Evans returned during the 1979-1980 season. Lionel and his wife Jenny were written out in the Season 8 premiere in a two-part episode that addressed their marital problems, though Jenny (Berlinda Tolbert) guested for the rest of the show’s run. Season 8 was the first since Sanford and Son for an African-American sitcom to reach the Top 5. The series became one of the longest-running sitcoms in TV history, and managed to survive with at least fifteen different time slot changes, though it most-often aired on Sunday nights. The series earned 14 Emmy nominations during its run, with five consecutive noms for Gibbs, one for Hemsley, and seven for Sanford, with one win making her the first Black actress to win the Emmy for Best Actress in a Comedy Series, and the second to win any Emmy Award. Sanford also received five of the show’s eight Golden Globe nominations.

1985

• No new series premiered this week in 1985.

1995

• January 14 – Fudge (ABC, Two seasons, 24 episodes)
• January 15 – Get Smart (FOX, One season, 7 episodes)
• January 15 – Modern Marvels (The History Channel, 21 seasons, 691 episodes to date)
• January 16 – Hercules: The Legendary Journeys (Syndication, Six seasons, 111 episodes, 5 pilot TV movies)
• January 16 – Vanishing Son (Syndicated, One season, 13 episodes, 4 TV movies)
• January 16 – The Puzzle Place (PBS Kids, Three seasons, 75 episodes)
• January 16 – Star Trek: Voyager (UPN, Seven seasons, 172 episodes)
• January 17 – Marker (UPN, One season, 13 episodes)
• January 18 – The Parent ‘Hood (The WB, Five seasons, 90 episodes)

Fudge was a Saturday morning series based on a series of novels by Judy Blume. It was preceded by the primetime TV movie Fudge-a-Mania on January 7, 1995. The show was cancelled in 1996 after The Walt Disney Company acquired ABC. Reruns of the series ran in CBS from September to December 1997.

Get Smart was a revival of the classic 1965-1970 comedy series, with Don Adams and Barbara Feldon reprising their roles of Maxwell Smart and Agent 99, and Andy Dick as their son Zach. As with Agent 99, Zach’s twin sister’s name was never revealed. With the FOX revival, Get Smart became the first television franchise to air on all four major networks. NBC aired the first four seasons of the original series, with CBS airing the last season. The 1989 reunion movie Get Smart, Again aired on ABC, and inspired the 1995 series. By the time the show aired, Andy Dick had already moved on to NewsRadio, and Feldon felt as soon as she stepped foot on the set that it would be a failure as something that was ‘taken out of its time’. Steve Carell starred as Maxwell Smart in a 2008 feature film.

Modern Marvels originally premiered on A&E on December 10, 1993 as Time Machine. It aired for one season before being retitled and moved to History, where it has become the network’s longest-running series.

Hercules: The Legendary Journeys was one of the highest-rated Syndicated TV series in television history, and ended midway through its sixth season after star Kevin Sorbo refused to renew a three-year extension on his contract. The show spawned the spin-offs Xena: Warrior Princess and Young Hercules (which shared recurring character with the original series). The shows were produced in New Zealand with mostly local actors using American accents.

Like Hercules, Vanishing Son was part of the Universal Television Action Pack block of Syndicated series. It is regarded as the first American dramatic series to feature an Asian lead. The series was preceded by four TV movies.

Star Trek: Voyager was the fourth Star Trek series in the franchise, commissioned by Paramount after the cancellation of Star Trek: The Next Generation to accompany Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and help launch the new UPN network, also owned by Paramount. Voyager was the first Trek series to feature a female commanding officer. Seeds for the show’s development were placed in TNG and DS9 episodes, including the origin of the Maquis, a faction of Starfleet and ex-Federation colonists. It was the first Trek series to use CGI for exterior space shots, but continued to use models for the ships because they felt more realistic. However, the opening visuals were all CGI and won an Emmy Award. The character of Captain Janeway was originally named Elizabeth and was played by actress Geneviève Bujold, but the seasoned movie actress was not used to the hectic pace of TV production and quit after two days. Kate Mulgrew, who was previously under consideration for the role, was cast immediately to keep production rolling, and she suggested changing the first name to Kathryn. Robert Duncan McNeill had played Nicholas Locarno on TNG and the character was to carry over to Voyager, but was changed to Tom Paris with casting notes looking for a ‘Robert Duncan McNeill type’. McNeill’s agent go wind of the casting and suggested he go for it since his name was literally in the casting notes. Robert Picardo originally auditioned for the role of Neelix, but it went to his friend Ethan Phillips, sparing Picardo hours in the make-up chair. It was suggested he read for the Doctor, which he feared would be endlessly and unfavorably compared to TNG‘s Data, being more grouchy and less lovable, but after all of his lines had been said during the reading, Picardo ad-libbed, ‘I believe someone has failed to terminate my program. I’m a doctor, not a nightlight,’ which made the crew laugh and he was cast a few hours later. For only the second time in Trek history, a new character was added mid-stream, the first being Worf on DS9 but he was an existing character carried over after the end of TNG. Jeri Ryan was added to Voyager as former Borg Seven of Nine. Producers initially toyed with the idea of bringing Data to the show, a robot who wanted to be human, but went with a character whose humanity was taken away and turned into a machine that faces a new humanity. Jerry Goldsmith, who composed the music for Star Trek: The Motion Picture (whose theme was re-used for TNG), composed and conducted an all-new theme for Voyager, winning Goldsmith an Emmy in the process. The company which produced the DS9 documentary What We Left Behind, announced a Voyager documentary in 2021 titled To The Journey: Looking Back at Star Trek: Voyager, which will include (pending approval from CBS) remasterd HD footage from the series. Mulgrew, DS9‘s Nana Visitor, TNG‘s Jonathan Frakes and William Shatner himself contributed to the fundraising campaign.

The Parent ‘Hood was originally titled Father Knows Nothing, a parody of the title of the 1950s sitcom Father Knows Best. It was one of four sitcoms that launched UPN’s Wednesday night comedy block.

2005

• January 13 – Jonny Zero (FOX, One season, 13 episodes, 5 unaired)
• January 17 – Supernanny (ABC/Lifetime, Eight seasons, 133 episodes)
• January 17 – Auto-B-Good (Syndication, Two seasons, 63 episodes)

FOX in typical form aired episodes of Jonny Zero out of order resulting in confusion among viewers, particularly when Jonny’s best friend was murdered, then showed up two episodes later alive and well and introduced as a new character.

Supernanny aired on ABC for seven seasons, ending in 2011, and was revived by Lifetime for a 20 episode eighth season in 2020.

2015

Scott Free Productions

• January 12 – Little Charmers (Nickelodeon, Two seasons, 57 episodes)
• January 12 – Eye Candy (MTV, One season, 10 episodes)
• January 13 – Wrestling with Death (WGN America, One season, 12 episodes)
• January 13 – Big Giant Swords (Discovery Channel, One season, 6 episodes)
• January 14 – Man Seeking Woman (FXX, Three seasons, 30 episodes)
• January 15 – The Man in the High Castle (Amazon Prime Video, Four seasons, 40 episodes)
• January 16 – 12 Monkeys (Syfy, Four seasons, 47 episodes)
• January 16 – The Adventures of Puss in Boots (Netflix, Six seasons, 78 episodes)
• January 16 – World’s Funniest Fails (FOX, Two seasons, 18 episodes)
• January 17 – Bella and the Bulldogs (Nickelodeon, Two seasons, 39 episodes)
• January 18 – K.C. Undercover (Disney Channel, Three seasons, 75 episodes)
• January 18 – Star vs. the Forces of Evil (Disney XD/Disney Channel, Four seasons, 77 episodes)

Eye Candy was based on the 2004 novel of the same name by R.L. Stine. An unaired pilot was produced and when the show was picked up to series it was reshot and all roles were recast except those played by Victoria Justice and Harvey Guillen.

Man Seeking Woman is based on Simon Rich’s short story compilation, The Last Girlfriend on Earth.

The Man in the High Castle is based on Philip K. Dick’s 1962 novel of the same name. The series was originally announced in 2010 as a four-part adaptation of the novel for the BBC. In 2013, it was reported that Syfy was producing a four-part miniseries based on the book. In October 2014, Amazon Studios began production on a pilot for a potential series. Ridley Scott’s Scott Free Productions was involved in every iteration announced. The pilot was streamed on January 15, 2015 to gauge audience interest, and the series was announced in February and premiered in November. The pilot was filmed in Seattle, with the city standing in for San Francisco and New York locations. Roslyn, Washington was also used for filming. Filming for the series took place in Vancouver. The series was nominated for eight Creative Arts Emmy Awards, winning for Cinematography and Main Title Design in 2016.

12 Monkeys was loosely based on the 1995 film of the same name, which was inspired by the 1962 short La Jetée. Aaron Stanford, Amanda Schull and Emily Hampshire play reimagined versions of the characters played by Bruce Willis, Madeleine Stowe and Brad Pitt in the film. Stowe appeared in a small but pivotal role in a Season 2 guest appearance. The series’ pilot script was initially an original time travel story titled Splinter, and it made its way to the company that produced the movie, which had been wanting to develop a TV series based on the movie. After some deliberations, writers Terry Matalas and Travis Fickett agreed to transform Splinter into 12 Monkeys, with the film Looper inspiring the time travel visual effects. Three seasons were plotted out, with plans for more, but the creators said they needed four seasons to tell a complete story. The first episode of Season 3 was the directorial debut for Matalas. The pilot was filmed in Detroit, with the bulk of the series filmed in Toronto. The Republic of North Macedonia stood in for Chechnya, and the Dominican Republic stood in for Haiti. Ten days of filming for Season 2 took place in Budpest, and three weeks were spent in Prague for Season 3 with production returning there for Season 4.

The Adventures of Puss in Boots was a spin-off from the Shrek film series, with Eric Bauza voicing the titular cat, taking over from Antonio Banderas in the films.

World’s Funniest Fails, hosted by Terry Crews, was renamed to just World’s Funniest for its second season because as Crews stated, not everything funny is a fail. Season 2 also eliminated a panel of judges who nominated favorite videos. The show has never been formally cancelled.

K.C. Undercover was first announced in November 2013 as a pilot with the title Super Awesome Katy, starring Zendaya. Disney gave a series order in May 2014 with the new title K.C. Undercover.

Star vs. the Forces of Evil is the first Disney XD series created by a woman, Daron Nefcy. The first episode aired on the Disney Channel, then moved to Disney XD for its first three seasons, and back to Disney Channel for its fourth season. The character of Star did not have magical powers when the series was pitched to Disney, but the execs suggested she have powers and Nefcy incorporated the idea into her concept. The series earned five Annie Awards nominations during its run and one Daytime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Animation, which it won.