TV by the Decade :: December 6•12

Universal Television

As we inch closer to Christmas, fewer new shows make their debuts but this week did see the start of a new show, delayed this late in the season because of an actors strike. The delay didn’t hurt as the show went on to run for eight seasons. Two shows on the list weren’t that luck, with one having the dishonor of being cancelled after a single episode. One other show did run for four seasons. Let’s see which of these shows you remember. And be sure to visit our Shop page and check out our affiliates for your holiday shopping.

1950

• No new shows premiered this week in 1950.

1960

• No new shows premiered this week in 1960.

1970

• No new shows premiered this week in 1970.

1980

December 6 – Secrets of Midland Heights

• Cast: Bibi Besch, Jordan Christopher, Doran Clark, Linda Hamilton, Robert Hogan, Marilyn Jones / Linda Grovernor, Lorenzo Lamas, William Jordan, Mark Pinter, Martha Scott, Daniel Zippi, Jim Youngs
• Guest Cast: K Callan, Denise Nicholas, Arlene Golonka, Jonathan Prince, Zohra Lampert, Christopher Stone, Henry Darrow
• Synopsis: The wealthy Millington family preside over a quiet university town in the Midwest. Guy is the ruthless patriarch never having enough money or power. Various scandals and affairs occupy the Welsh, Carroll, and Wheeler households.
• Network: CBS
• Broadcast History: One season, eight episodes (2 unaired), last broadcast on January 24, 1981
• Trivia: Produced by Lorimar, which had recently launched the hit series Dallas on CBS. The series was aimed at a teen audience but was scheduled at 10:00 PM on Saturday so it never found its audience. When the show was pulled from the schedule, the producers announced it would be retooled to return at a later date. It never did, but many of the cast and production staff returned for a new series, King’s Crossing on ABC which only aired seven of its ten episodes. Lorenzo Lamas went on to join the cast of Falcon Crest which was much more successful. Lamas’ father Fernando directed two episodes of Secrets of Midland Heights. Linda Grovernor appeared in the pilot but was replaced by Marilyn Jones.

December 11 – Magnum, P.I.

• Cast: Tom Selleck, Roger E. Mosley, Larry Manetti, John Hillerman
• Recurring Cast: Lance LeGault, Kathleen Lloyd, Kwan Hi Lim, Gillian Dobb, Jeff MacKay, Walter Chotzen, Elisha Cook Jr., Glenn Cannon, Marta DuBois, Jean Bruce Scott, Eugene Roche, Joe Santos
• Guest Cast: Jenny Agutter, Lew Ayres, Ernest Borgnine, Roscoe Lee Brown, Carol Burnett, Dick Butkus, Carol Channing, Margaret Colin, Scatman Crothers, Tyne Daly, Ted Danson, Phyllis Davis, Dana Delany, Shannen Doherty, Tate Donovan, James Doohan, Samantha Eggar, Morgan Fairchild, Norman Fell, José Ferrer, Miguel Ferrer, Robert Forster, Beverly Garland, Erin Gray, Alan Hale Jr., Melora Hardin, Dana Hill, Pat Hingle, John Ireland, Henry Jones, Joanna Kerns, Angela Lansbury (in a Murder, She Wrote cross-over with Jessica Walter and Dorothy Loudon), Geoffrey Lewis, Anne Lockhart, June Lockhart, Robert Loggia, Patrick Macnee, Meredith MacRae, Mako, Andrea Marcovicci, Kenneth Mars, Mercedes McCambridge, Darren McGavin, Gerald McRaney and Jameson Parker (in a Simon & Simon cross-over), Ian McShane, Vera Miles, Cameron Mitchell, Belinda Montgomery, Pat Morita, Vic Morrow, Kathleen Nolan, Nehemiah Persoff, Annie Potts, John Ratzenberger, Joe Regalbuto, Judge Reinhold, Alfonso Ribeiro, Kim Richards, Mimi Rogers, Barbara Rush, Jill St. John, John Saxon, Sylvia Sidney, Frank Sinatra, Julie Sommars, Louise Sorel, Sharon Stone, Leslie Uggams, Barry Van Dyke, Marcia Wallace, Fritz Weaver, Dennis Weaver, William Windom, Dana Wynter, Amy Yasbeck
• Synopsis: Private investigator Thomas Magnum lives in the Hawaiian guest house of Robin Masters, the unseen author of lurid novels, in exchange for Magnum’s services in security. Magnum enjoys his lifestyle but has to deal with Masters’ aide Higgins. The pair have a thorny relationship early in the series, but grow to like and respect each other as the series progressed. Magnum’s friends and associates on the island are T.C. and Rick
• Network: CBS
• Broadcast History: Eight seasons, 162 episodes, last broadcast on May 8, 1988.
• Trivia: The series was originally developed at ABC where creator Glen Larson also had Battlestar Galactica and The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries. When those shows were cancelled, development on Magnum was as well, driving the series to CBS. Orson Welles provided the voice of Robin Masters in four episodes. The fifth and last ‘appearance’ by Masters was voiced by Red Crandell. Welles died in 1985. T.C. and Rick are former Marines, and the series was one of the first to deal with Vietnam veterans as human beings rather than shell-shocked killers, earning praise from veterans’ groups. Magnum was to be killed off at the end of the seventh season to end the series but fan outcry forced an eighth season to be produced, bringing Magnum ‘back to life’ to give fans a more satisfactory ending. Many interiors for the series were filmed at the former Hawaii Five-O soundstage as CBS did not want the facility to go to waste after that series ended. Fans have noted that Magnum and Hawaii Five-O seem to exist in the same TV Universe. The producers tried, unsuccessfully, to get Five-O star Jack Lord to make an appearance. A 2013 episode of the Hawaii Five-O reboot featured the characters ‘singing’ the original Magnum theme song, discussing who resembled the characters from that show. However, when Magnum was rebooted, the two series did produce a cross-over episode, placing them both in the same TV universe. Tom Selleck famously lost the role of Indiana Jones due to his contractual obligation to Magnum which was due to start filming in March 1980. But the actors strike delayed production until December 1980, which would have allowed Selleck to take the role but Harrison Ford had already by cast. The show aired on Thursdays for six seasons but was moved to Wednesday to improve its ratings which had taken a hit from NBC’s The Cosby Show. The cross-over episodes had different endings for overseas and syndication broadcasts which wrapped up the story in a single episode, allowing for ‘stand-alone’ repeats. Producers wanted to do another cross-over with The Equalizer, but that show’s producers were opposed to the idea. Selleck won the Best Actor in a Drama Series Emmy in 1984, and co-star Hillerman won for Supporting Actor in a Drama Series in 1987. Hillerman won the Golden Globe in 1982, while Selleck won in 1985. A proposed 2016 reboot/sequel series for ABC would recast Thomas Magnum as Lily ‘Tommy’ Magnum.

1990

• No new shows premiered this week in 1990.

2000

December 8 – Dot Comedy

• Cast: Melissa Disney, Katie Puckrik, Randy Sklar, Jason Sklar, Annabelle Gurwitch
• Synopsis: An early attempt to bring the humor of the internet to mass television audiences.
• Network: ABC
• Broadcast History: One season, five episodes (four unaired), last broadcast on December 8, 2000.
• Trivia: The show replaced The Trouble With Norman, which had been part of ABC’s post-TGIF attempt to reprogram Friday nights. The show was cancelled after 4.1 million viewers watched the premiere.

2010

December 6 – Next Great Baker

• Host: Buddy Valastro
• Synopsis: Reality competition series where contestants participate in baking challenges with one contestant eliminated each week. The winner receives a grand prize that varied from season to season.
• Network: TLC
• Broadcast History: Four seasons, 41 episodes, last broadcast on August 19, 2014
• Trivia: The first season was taped at a special studio kitchen set up at the Hudson County Community College Culinary Arts Institute in Jersey City, NJ. The following seasons were taped at the new Carlo’s Bakery facility at Lackawanna Center in Jersey City. The final season featured ten pairs of teams instead of individual bakers.