TV by the Decade :: March 1•7

It was a pretty big week across the decades for new program debuts, including new series, TV movies and miniseries. 1956 kicked things off with a short-lived, live variety series. Skipping to 1986, this week saw the premiere of a popular, long-running legal procedural that recently got a gender-swapped reboot, a comedy series that underwent a major cast change and two title changes during its run, and a comedy series based on a hit comedy film that helped make Sean Penn a star. 1996 had several TV movies with big name stars, a Civil War-era miniseries, and a cop show with Steven Spielberg’s fingerprints on it. 2006 saw a series awkwardly bring a character from a related series to its cast, while one network saw the debut of one of its most popular shows at the time. 2016 produced a controversial comedy series, and a dramatic series that continued the story of a classic 1976 horror film. Scroll down to see the programs that debuted this week, and tell us if any of your favorites are celebratine milestone anniversaries.

1956

• March 5 – The Gordon MacRae Show (NBC, One season, last broadcast on August 27, 1956)

The Gordon MacRae Show was set in a replica of the den in MacRae’s home. Phil Harris was the premiere episode guest. Sheila MacRae was the show’s writer. The show was broadcast live on Mondays from 7:30 to 7:45 PM.

1966

• No new shows premiered this week in 1966.

1976

• No new shows premiered this week in 1976.

1986

• March 1 – Valerie (NBC/CBS, Six seasons, 110 episodes)
• March 3 – Matlock (NBC/ABC, Nine seasons, 193 episodes)
• March 5 – Fast Times (CBS, One season, 7 episodes)
• March 5 – Tough Cookies (CBS, One season, 6 episodes)

After a salary dispute, producers killed off the title character of Valerie, played by Valerie Harper, at the start of Season 3, retitled the show Valerie’s Family: The Hogans, and replaced Harper with Sandy Duncan as Valerie’s sister-in-law. The show was retitled again as The Hogan Family beginning with Season 4. NBC opted not to renew the series after Season 5, and CBS picked it up for a sixth and final season. The show is notable for being the first American primetime series to use the word ‘condom’. When the show aired in Syndication, it retained The Hogan Family title for the entire series.

Matlock aired on NBC for six seasons, and moved to ABC for the last three. It was Andy Griffith’s first TV series since Salvage 1 ended in 1979. Lori Lethin played Matlock’s daughter in the pilot movie, and Linda Purl played her when the pilot was picked up to series. Purl left the show after the first season, and was replaced with Nancy Stafford playing lawyer Michelle Thomas. Lari Lizer, who played law student Cassie, departed at the end of Season 2, and Julie Sommars joined the show as Matlock’s legal adversary Julie March. Stafford and Lizer both appeared on Season 1 as clients of Matlock’s before becoming regulars in Season 2 as different characters. Brynn Thayer replaced Stafford at the start of Season 7 with the move to ABC. Sommars also departed after the network change but did return in a recurring capacity. Griffith’s friend Don Knotts made guest appearances as Matlock’s next door neighbor until Season 7. The reason for the cast turnover was because production on the series moved from Los Angeles to North Carolina, which ended Griffith’s cross-country commute. By Season 9, the show had become a series of TV movies, partly due to Griffith’s age and a desire to spend more time with his family. The show spun off Jake and the Fatman, which spun off Diagnosis: Murder.

Fast Times was a sitcom based on the feature film Fast Times at Ridgemont High. It was produced by the film’s director, Amy Heckerling, with the film’s writer, Cameron Crowe, serving as creative consultant. Oingo Boingo provided the theme song. Ray Walston (Mr. Hand) and Vincent Schiavelli (Mr. Vargas) were the only cast members from the movie to reprise their roles.

Tough Cookies starred Robby Benson, Lainie Kazan, Art Metrano, Alan North, Adam Arkin and Elizabeth Peña.

1996

• March 1 – Gold Fever (Outdoor Channel, last broadcast on September 19, 2015)
• March 1 – Heroine of Hell (PBS, TV movie)
• March 2 – Pacific Blue (USA Network, Five seasons, 101 episodes)
• March 2 – Space Cases (Nickelodeon, Two seasons, 26 episodes)
• March 3 – Andersonville (TNT, TV miniseries)
• March 3 – Dalva (ABC, TV movie)
• March 4 – Good Company (CBS, One season, 6 episodes)
• March 4 – High Incident (ABC, Two seasons, 32 episodes)
• March 5 – Buddies (ABC, One season, 13 episodes, 9 unaired)
• March 5 – Dead Man’s Island (CBS, TV movie)
• March 7 – Forgotten Sins (ABC, TV movie)

Heroine of Hell starred Catherine Keener and Dermot Mulroney.

Space Cases was co-created by Lost in Space star Bill Mumy, and revolves around a group of misfit students and two adults who are stranded far from home aboard an alien ship. Due to budgetary constraints, props from Are You Afraid of the Dark? and other Nickelodeon series were re-used. In one instance, compact disks were glued to a chair to give it a ‘futuristic’ look. In addition to Mumy, guest stars included George Takei, Mark Hamill, Katey Sagal, and Michelle Trachtenberg.

Andersonville was nominated for seven primetime Emmy Awards, winning for Outstanding Directing for a Miniseries or Special for John Frankenheimer. Farrah Fawcett was the only actor credited in the opening credits of Dalva, but on home video releases co-stars Powers Boothe and Carroll Baker received below-the-title billing.

Good Company starred Wendie Malick, Jason Beghe, Jon Tenney, Seymour Cassel, Lauren Graham and Terry Kiser. Steven Spielberg was one of the creators of police drama High Incident. NBC shifted the show opposite Friends and The Single Guy on NBC, and Diagnosis: Murder on CBS for its second season, and was cancelled due to low ratings. Buddies was a Home Improvement spin-off.

Dead Man’s Island starred Barbara Eden, William Shatner, Roddy McDowall, Morgan Fairchild, Traci Lords, David Faustino, Christopher Atkins, Olivia Hussey, Jameson Parker, Don Most and Christopher Cazenove. Forgotten Sins starred William Devane, Bess Armstrong, John Shea, Lisa Dean Ryan, and Dean Norris.

2006

• March 1 – Free Ride (FOX, One season, 6 episodes)
• March 3 – Conviction (NBC, One season, 13 episodes)
• March 3 – Wonder Pets! (Nick Jr., Three seasons, 62 episodes)
• March 7 – 8th & Ocean (MTV, One season, 10 episodes)
• March 7 – The Unit (CBS, Four seasons, 69 episodes)
• March 7 – Sons & Daughters (ABC, One season, 11 episodes, 1 unaired)

Stephanie March reprised her Law & Order: SVU role of Alexandra Cabot on Conviction, added to the show at the last minute. Anson Mount and Eric Balfour also starred. The show used many of the sets from Law & Order: Trial by Jury, which aired one year earlier. The show was cancelled due to low ratings against CBS’ Numb3rs.

The Unit was created by David Mamet. At the time of broadcast, it was one of CBS’ most successful series. It received one Emmy nomination for Outstanding Stunt Coordination in 2006.

Sons & Daughters used a partly scripted, partly improvisational format, and had no studio audience or laugh track. Despite being liked by ABC executives and having a loyal fan base, the show could not perform against FOX’s House and was cancelled.

2016

• March 1 – Tour Group (Bravo, One season, 10 episodes)
• March 2 – Hap and Leonard (Sundance TV, Three seasons, 18 episodes)
• March 2 – Lab Rats: Elite Force (Disney XD, One season, 15 episodes)
• March 2 – The Real O’Neals (ABC, Two seasons, 29 episodes)
• March 3 – The Family (ABC, One season, 13 episodes)
• March 3 – Rachel Dratch’s Late Night Snack (truTV, Two seasons, 57 episodes)
• March 4 – LEGO Bionicle: The Journey to One (Netflix, One season, 5 episodes)
• March 4 – LEGO Friends: The Power of Friendship (Netflix, One season, 4 episodes)
• March 7 – Little People (Sprout, Two seasons, 52 episodes)
• March 7 – Damien (A&E, One season, 10 episodes)

James Purefoy and Michael Kenneth Williams starred in Hap and Leonard.

Lab Rats: Elite Force was a combined spin-off of Lab Rats and Mighty Med, with Billy Unger and Kelli Berglund reprising their roles from Lab Rats, and Bradley Steven Perry, Jake Short and Paris Berelc returning from Mighty Med.

The Real O’Neals received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Choreography. Radical right wing, ultra-conservative groups American Family Association and Family Research Council urged boycotts against ABC and sponsors due to the show’s LGBTQ+ content, and yet the world did not end because the show existed. Oddly enough, neither group boycotted The Family, which centered on Republican politicians and their seedy secrets.

Damien was based on classic horror film The Omen, serving as a direct sequel to the 1976 film and ignoring the subsequent film sequels. The series uses footage from the film in flashback sequences. The Daggers of Megiddo props were recreated for the production referencing the original 1976 film props for details.