20th Century Fox Television
As Christmas and the New Year get ever closer, the number of new shows to premiere gets smaller, especially for the broadcast networks. But this week did see one scripted series premiere 30 years ago that is still on the air today! Let’s take a look!
1959
- No new series premiered this week in 1959.
1969
- No new series premiered this week in 1969.
1979
- December 17 — Sitcom House Calls premieres on CBS, based on the 1978 feature film of the same name. While the movie starred Walter Matthau, Art Carney, Richard Benjamin and Glenda Jackson, the series starred Wayne Rogers, David Wayne, Ray Buktenica and Lynn Redgrave. Redgrave played a hospital administrator with three unruly doctors to cope with, with Rogers’ Dr. Michaels her main problem as they developed a romantic relationship. Redgrave’s Ann Atkinson had to suddenly return to England, and Sharon Gless replaced Redgrave for the show’s last 13 episodes as Jane Jeffreies, who had a similar relationship with Dr. Michaels. Controversy dogged the series after Redgrave was fired following the birth of her daughter whom she insisted on bringing to work with her so she could breast feed on schedule. Universal Television saw this as a ploy for more money and was disruptive to shooting the show. Redgrave sued for Universal breaking her contract but the suit was dismissed several years later. Gless was under a ten year contract to the studio, but the ratings suffered by the badly handled transition (Ann’s departure came in a letter read out loud by Dr. Michaels) and the series was cancelled in 1982 even though it still finished the season in the Top 25. Redgrave had been nomintated for an Outstanding Lead Actress Emmy in 1981, and both she and Rogers were nominated for Golden Globes. 57 episodes were produced over three seasons with the final airing of the series on September 13, 1982.
1989
- December 17 — Animated comedy The Simpsons premieres on FOX. The show began as a series of shorts on sketch series The Tracy Ullman Show in 1987 but proved so popular that the network ordered a full-length series for the animated comedy centered around Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie Simpson. The show was the first FOX series to land in the Top 30 for a season (1989-1990), and has become TV’s longest running American sitcom, and the longest running American scripted primetime series. A feature film, The Simpsons Movie, was released in 2007 and grossed over $527 million worldwide. The 30th season began airing on September 30, 2018 and FOX renewed the show through its 32nd season, which will include the show’s 700th episode, on February 6, 2019. Due to the series’ floating timeline, the characters have never aged, and while there is canon, there is very loose continuity between episodes. Special episodes like the annual ‘Treehouse of Horror’ are not considered canon and do not have any continuity to the main episodes. The Simpson family was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on January 14, 2000, and the show has won dozens of awards including 34 Primetime Emmy Awards, 30 Annie Awards and a Peabody Award. The show’s memorable theme song was composed by Danny Elfman, who had scored big with his music for Tim Burton’s Batman released in the Summer of 1989, and plays over the show’s opening ‘couch gag’ which features different elements from one episode to the next including what Bart writes on the blackboard at school. The success of The Simpsons in a genre that most TV pundits considered for children led to a rebirth of adult-themed animated series in the 1990s including Beavis and Butt-Head, South Park, Family Guy, King of the Hill, Futurama and The Critic. The Simpsons even crossed-over with four other animated shows: The Critic, South Park, Futurama and Family Guy, and influenced live-action series like Malcolm in the Middle, The Office (Ricky Gervais’ UK version) and Edgar Wright’s Brit-com Spaced. Many have criticized the show’s decline in quality over the last 20 years, and producers have hinted that it may be coming to an end soon, but there’s no denying The Simpsons has been one of the most influential shows in television history.
1999
- No new series premiered this week in 1999.
2009
- December 19 — CHRISJayify debuts on Lifetime, and while only ten years old, the show seems lost to history.
- December 21 — Reality series Little Chocolatiers debuts on TLC. The show featured the chocolate shop of Steve Hatch and his wife Katie Masterson with each episode showing how they make their chocolates for special orders. The show premiered with a special episode on December 21, with the regular series premiering on January 31, 2010. The show was put on hold in May of 2010, but has never resumed production. 12 episodes aired between December 21, 2009 and August 6, 2010.
Did you or do you watch any of these show? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section below!
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