Goodson-Todman Productions
The first week of February through the decades did not yield much in the way of memorable programming but there are two shows that premiered during this week that were very memorable and had very long runs — one a witty and urbane game show, the other a scripted series on PBS that sent chills up and down the spine. Let’s take a look at this week’s new TV series premiere.
1950
- February 2 — Classic game show What’s My Line? premieres on CBS. The classic guessing game featured a panel of celebrities who would question a guest to determine their occupation with only Yes or No answers. If the panelist received a Yes answer they were allowed to continue their line of questions. When a No answer was received, the next panelist would pick up the questioning. Each No answer would score the guest $5.00. If time was short, the show’s moderator would often turn all the cards over to the maximum of $50 and reveal the guest’s occupation. Each episode also featured a well-known celebrity Mystery Guest for which the panel was blindfolded and could generally ask one question each in turn. The Mystery Guest would often disguise their voice to avoid detection. What’s My Line? featured veteran newsman John Charles Daly as the moderator and the first panel included Dorothy Kilgallen, Louis Untermeyer and Richard Hoffman. The panel varied during the first few weeks of broadcast but eventually the regular panel would consist of Kilgallen, Arlene Francis and Bennett Cerf. The fourth panelist’s seat was filled on a semi-regular basis by Steve Allen and Martin Gabel (Francis’ husband). Fred Allen became a regular in 1954 and upon his death in 1956, the fourth seat was never filled on a permanent basis. After Kilgallen’s death in 1965, her seat was also a guest seat for the remainder of the show’s run with Francis and Cerf the two remaining regular panelists. The show was usually broadcast live, debuting on a Thursday then airing alternate Wednesdays and alternate Thursdays before settling into its Sunday at 10:30 PM time slot on October 1, 1950 where it would remain until the end of its run. The show did occasionally pre-tape episodes between 1961 and 1967 when Daly was unavailable, and the cast began taking summer breaks starting in 1961. During the show’s run, Daly’s absence led to a guest moderator on just four occasions with panelist Cerf stepping in for one of them. From 1950 to 1966, the show was broadcast in black and white but by 1966 the networks had switched to color and the show was seen in color during its last year on the air. However, CBS replaced the color videotapes with the black and white Kinescope versions for later syndication so episodes between 1966 and 1967 have only been seen in black and white since their original broadcast (one episode in 1954 was broadcast in color). The show was known for its attention to manners and class, the panelists dressed in suits or tuxedos for the men and formal gowns and often gloves for the women. Daly had a penchant for adhering to the rules of the game, but would occasionally give an amusingly wordy answer to an answer that needed clarifying, often leading the panelists ‘down the garden path’ if they felt he was intentionally misleading them. In early 1967, CBS announced that a number of its primetime game shows would end, and the news was broken in The New York Times before anyone involved with the show was notified. The 876th and final CBS telecast on September 3, 1967 featured clips from the past, a visit from the show’s first contestant, a challenger from the New York unemployment office and the final Mystery Guest — John Daly. Daly had always been on tap as an emergency Mystery Guest if the scheduled celeb was unavailable but the occasion had never arisen. The show’s producers Mark Goodson and Bill Todman, and announcer Johnny Olson, also appeared. What’s My Line? holds the record as the longest running primetime game show. After the show ended on CBS, a new daily syndicated version of the show debuted in 1968 and became a staple of local stations’ afternoon schedules. Journalist Wally Bruner succeeded Daly as the moderator, a title that was changed to host. He left the series in its fourth season, replaced by actor Larry Blyden for the show’s final three seasons. The syndicated version had two permanent panelists, Soupy Sales and Arlene Francis. Cerf appeared on an irregular basis until his death during the show’s fourth season. The syndicated version did not adhere to the formality of the primetime edition. 1,320 episodes were broadcast. Between the CBS and syndicated versions, What’s My Line? produced a total of 2,196 episodes. The What’s My Line? YouTube channel includes all 757 CBS episodes available in the Goodson-Todman archives including some ‘lost episodes’ that have never been reaired in syndication. Reruns of the show have appeared on Game Show Network (GSN) and Buzzr.
1960
- No new series premiered this week in 1960.
1970
- No new series premiered this week in 1970.
1980
- February 5 — Anthology series Mystery! premieres on PBS, a mystery, police and crime drama spin-off of the established Masterpiece Theatrre. The series aired mostly British crimes series between 1980 and 2006 either purchased from or co-produced with the BBC and ITV. Pressure in 2002 to include more American material led to the production of a series of episodes based on the mystery novels of Tony Hillerman. Well-known characters of British mystery were featured on the series including Rumpole of the Bailey, Sherlock Holmes, Miss Marple, Cadfael, Dalgliesh, Father Brown, Hetty Wainthropp and Inspector Morse. The series launched with Gene Shalit as host in 1980. He was replaced in 1981 with Vincent Price, who came to Boston twice a year to tape openings and closings for the episodes. He had to step down in 1989 due to failing health. Diana Rigg took over in 1989 and had the opportunity to introduce two mysteries in which she starred, Mother Love and The Mrs. Bradley Mysteries. She left the series in 2003. Beginning in 2004 the series aired without a host. In 2008, Mystery! was combined with Masterpiece Theatre under the umbrella title Masterpiece with Alan Cumming enlisted to host. The original version of the show was known for its animated opening titles based on the drawings of Edward Gorey, whose first attempt at creating the titles was said to have run for 10 minutes. Needed a 75 second piece, executive producer Joan Wilson asked Gorey to hand over the drawings to animator Derek Lamb who then used the work as inspiration for what eventually aired. Not everyone was happy with the genre division of Masterpiece Theatre and Mystery!, with MT host Alistair Cooke bemoaning the fact that his show could no longer include a change of pace and tone they once had. Mystery! was parodied in Sesame Street‘s ‘Mysterious Theatre’ sketches in the early 1990s with host Vincent Twice.
1990
- February 5 — Game show Rodeo Drive premieres on Lifetime. Three contestants were pitted against each other in a game based on the street of the same name. Game play consisted of two rounds, the first featuring words related to a celebrity. The celebrity was described and if the chosen word was said, points were awarded. A two-way tie at the end of the round would result in a toss-up question with the first to buzz in scoring one point. In Round Two, contestant were seated in the order in which they finished the first round and had to identify a statement as either true or false, earning 100 points for each right answer. An incorrect answer gave control to the next player in line. The contestant with the most points at the end of the round won $500 and advanced to the Rodeo Drive Bonus Round. Before the Bonus Round, the contestant could increase their bank by answering five questions correctly. Two celebrity names were given and a statement that applied to one of them. A correct guess earned the contestant $1000 for the first answer and $200 for each correct answer after that. The Bonus Round saw the contestant walking down ‘Rodeo Drive’, which included four stores and a bank. The contestant stopped at each store and listened to gossip about a celebrity. For each correct answer, the contestant advanced to the next store. If the contestant was successful in getting through the four stores and the bank within 60 seconds, they won all the prizes featured in the stores and the money in the bank. If they ran out of time, they were allowed to choose a prize from one of the stores that had been passed successfully and the bank would be carried over to the next show. A champion would remain on the show until defeated or until winning five consecutive matches. Comedian and impressionist Louise DuArt hosted, and employed her celebrity impersonations for certain questions, and Burton Richardson was the announcer. The show ran for a single season, producing 65 episodes, ending on May 4, 1990 with reruns continuing until August 31, 1990.
2000
- February 8 — Sketch comedy series The Lyricist Lounge Show premieres on MTV. The series combined comedic skits with lyrical sketches, an innovative convergence of hip-hop music and theatrical narrative. Comedy pushed the boundaries of political correctness while the lyrical acts showcased the talent of the show’s resident rappers and guests including Q-Tip, Mos Def, Cee-lo, Common, Snoop Dogg, Erykah Badu, Slick Rick, MC Lyte and others. The ensemble cast included rappers Wordsworth, Master Fuol and Baby Power (aka BabeePower), who all created, wrote and produced the lyrical sketches. The comedic side of the cast included Tracee Ellis Ross, Heather McDonald and Jordan Black. Due to the show’s high production costs, the series lasted just two seasons, ending on January 1, 2001.
2010
- February 2 — Reality series The Michael Vick Project premieres on BET. The series followed football player Vick, chronicling his widely publicized and criticized fall as one of the NFL’s highest paid players, and his search for personal and professional redemption while exploring his past. The series ran for a single season, producing ten episodes which concluded on April 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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