Fox
The second week of February offered up a couple of new series through the decades, nothing that stuck around too long but a few have developed cult followings over the years. It’s also interesting to see how reality TV shows began to permeate the landscape in the 2000s. Let’s take a look at the new series debuts for the week of February 10 and see how many you remember.
1959
- No new series premiered this week in 1959.
1969
- No new series premiered this week in 1969.
1979
- February 10 — B.J. and the Bear premieres on NBC. The comedy series starring Greg Evigan was born at a time when the CB radio craze was at its peak, following the TV series Movin’ On, the song ‘Convoy’ (which spun off a movie of the same name in 1978), White Line Fever, Smokey and the Bandit, and Every Which Way But Loose. Evigan also performed the show’s titular theme song. The premise centered on B.J. McKay, a trucker who travels the country with his pet chimpanzee Bear. You read that right. The pair typically uncovered or got mixed up with crime in the area they were traveling through, and a local resident (usually a beautiful young woman) needing help. Claude Akins was a frequent guest star during the first season as Sheriff Elroy P. Lobo who was spun off into his own series The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo. Two season two episodes were designed to act as pilots for a failed spin-off featuring private detectives Heather Fern and Carline Capoty, with the second episode also tying into another NBC hit series (also produced by Glen A. Larson as was B.J.), Quincy, M.E.. Though the series ran for just 48 episodes over three seasons, it has become a pop culture touchstone, referenced in Trailer Park Boys, Mallrats, Mr. Show with Bob and David, My Name is Earl, 30 Rock, South Park and Death Proof.
1989
- February 13 — B.L. Stryker premieres on ABC as part of the ABC Mystery Movie anthology that included Gideon Oliver, Columbo and Kojak (the latter two resurrected after their series runs on NBC and CBS respectively). The series starred Burt Reynolds as a private investigator in Palm Beach who lives on a houseboat, scraping up a new client while trying to avoid losing his slip due to unpaid fees. The series also starred Rita Moreno and Ossie Davis. The series was a return to television for Reynolds after a string of unsuccessful movies with a deal set in two days. Reynolds was attracted by the six months time off the series afforded him as well as it being filmed in Florida where he lived. The series alternated with the other shows in the group over the span of two seasons, producing 12 episodes.
- February 15 — Just Say Julie premieres on MTV. The comedy series featured Brown (not to be confused with Downtown Julie Brown) as an exaggerated version of herself, an MTV veejay who often made scathing commentary on the music videos played on her show, often mocking artists like Debbie Gibson, Tiffany, Madonna and Sheena Easton (who was reportedly outraged about a comment suggesting Easton slept with Prince to have him write songs for her … although she did appear as herself on one episode). Brown also mocked the MTV viewers for things like personal hygiene. The episodes also usually contained a plot to tie the videos together, such as the time she claimed to be Jon Bon Jovi’s girlfriend and only played Bon Jovi videos, with JBJ appearing at the end to thank her for her support (but confusing her with the other Julie Brown). Brown even got to play her own music video, ‘The Homecoming Queen’s Got a Gun’, that had been banned from MTV. The cast, who played multiple parts during the series’ run, included Larry Poindexter, Stacey Travis, Charlie Coffey and Jodi Carlisle. In 2006, Brown bought the rights to the series and released a ‘Best of’ DVD through her website. The series ran for three seasons.
1999
- No new series premiered this week in 1959.
2009
- February 10 — Documentary series How the Earth Was Made debuts on the History Channel. The series actually began as a two-hour special on December 16, 2007 exploring the geological history of Earth that was narrated by Edward Herrmann. The series expanded on that premise, with each episode focusing on different geological features of the planet. The series ran for two seasons, producing 26 episodes, ending on March 2, 2010.
- February 10 — Reality series T.I.’s Road to Redemption debuts on MTV, focusing on the 45 days prior to the rapper’s sentencing with the overall message encouraging teens to avoid a life of crime by showing them there is another way. The title of the series changed each week as it marked down the days to the sentencing with the ninth and final episode titled ‘The Reckoning’. T.I. was sentenced to one year and one day behind bars, starting March 27, 2009, for two felony gun charges from 2007, and 1500 hours of community service. The series began filming in June 2008 and concluded before he went to prison with the series concluding the week after he entered prison. After T.I.’s ‘redemption’, he was given a new series on VH1, T.I. and Tiny: The Family Hustle, which ran for six seasons beginning on December 5, 2011.
- February 12 — Documentary series Animal Armageddon debuts on Animal Planet. The series looked at the planet’s prehistoric era, what made up the Earth, its prominent inhabitants, and the theories behind the disasters that threatened the survival of those creatures and the planet itself. The series produced eight episodes over a single season.
- February 13 — Sci-fi series Aaron Stone launched the Disney XD network in 2009, the first original series on the network. The story centered around teenager Charlie Landers who is enlisted to become the real-life version of his gaming avatar Aaron Stone from the fictional video game ‘Hero Rising’. Disney XD renewed the series for a second season on May 5, 2009, three months after the first season premiere, and then cast members revealed on November 11, 2009 that the series would not get a third season as the network decided to focus more on comedy programming. 35 episodes were produced. In the 2015 Disney Channel movie Descendants, the character Carlos can be seen playing the ‘Hero Rising’ video game as Aaron Stone.
- February 13 — Joss Whedon’s sci-fi series Dollhouse premieres on the Fox network. The show revolved around a corporation running underground facilities, ‘Dollhouses’, that program individuals called Actives (or ‘Dolls’) with temporary personalities and skills who are hired by wealthy individuals for various activities from sexual encounters to assassinations. Eliza Dushku starred as Echo, a ‘Doll’ who is on a journey to self-awareness. Despite the show’s low ratings, it had improved enough during the first season, and had a very strong fan base, to get a renewal from Fox. One additional Season 1 episode was produced solely for the DVD release which contractually required 13 episodes (Fox had decided not to air the series first episode, instead incorporating elements from that into other episodes, which resulted in a 12-episode season). Season 2 did include 13 episodes, all of which aired, but the network declined to air any during the important November sweeps, followed by back-to-back episodes in December, and the final three in January. After the finale, Fox announced the series was cancelled. The main cast also included Harry Lennix, Fran Kranz, Tahmoh Penikett, Enver Gjokaj, Dichen Lachmann and Olivia Williams. Recurring cast members included Amy Acker (now on Fox’s The Gifted), Reed Diamond, Kevin Kilner, Alexis Denisof, Keith Carradine, Summer Glau and Alan Tudyk.
- February 15 — Sports comedy series Eastbound and Down debuts on HBO. Danny McBride starred as Kenny Powers, a former pro baseball pitcher who is forced to return to his hometown middle school in Shelby, North Carolina as a substitute phys ed teacher. Powers tries to reclaim his fame only to sabotage his own efforts. While not based on him, the show’s creators cite baseball player John Rocker as an inspiration for Powers. Regular cast members included Steve Little, Katy Mixon, John Hawkes, Jennifer Irwin, Andy Daly and Michael Pena with Adam Scott, Will Ferrell, Craig Robinson, Don Johnson, Matthew McConaughey, Deep Roy, Jason Sudeikis, Ike Barinholtz, Lili Tomlin, Ken Marino and Jillian Bell in recurring roles. The series ran for four seasons, producing 29 episodes.
Do you remember any of these shows? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section below!
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