TV by the Decade :: January 13•19

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It’s Week 20 of the season and there are more premieres to look at but not many of them had much longevity. Looking down the list, how many of these new shows can you say you remember?

1959

• No new series premiered this week in 1958.

1969

• No new series premiered this week in 1958.

1979

• January 18 — ABC’s TV adaptation of the 1978 (now classic) comedy Animal House premieres, but with a new name: Delta House. The series had many things going against it right from the start. It was an adaptation of a raunchy, R-rated movie, so much of the humor had to be watered down for television. In addition, ABC scheduled the show at 8 PM on Saturdays, what was then the ‘Family Hour’ so it lost even more of its bite. CBS and NBC also rushed their own Animal House-inspired series to air (Co-Ed Fever and Brothers and Sisters respectively), although Delta House was the one authorized version. In the show’s favor, actors from the movie reprised their roles including John Vernon (Dean Wormer), Stephen Furst (Flounder), Bruce McGill (D-Day), James Widdoes (Hoover), and Priscilla Lauris who played the Dean’s secretary (now with the name Miss Leonard). The series also starred Josh Mostel as ‘Blotto’ Blutarsky, brother to John Belushi’s movie character Bluto, and featured Michelle Pfieffer as ‘The Bombshell’. The series performed well in the ratings but constant battles over content between the network and producers led to the series’ cancellation after 13 episodes.

1989

• No new series premiered this week in 1958.

1999

• January 13 — CBS spun off its revered newsmagazine 60 Minutes as 60 Minutes II with the intention to replicate the style and content of the original, just on a different night (the original continued to air on Sundays). The series started out on Wednesdays then moved to Fridays. In 2004, the show was renamed 60 Minutes because the network felt the Roman numeral left viewers with the impression this was a watered down version of the original. The show was moved back to Wednesday and renamed 60 Minutes Wednesday, then reverted to the original title in July 2005 when it moved back to Fridays where it completed its run on September 2, 2005. The show became infamous for a report filed by correspondent Dan Rather that alleged President George W. Bush had not been fit for duty while serving in the Texas Air National Guard. Rather and his team stood by the report for two weeks, but CBS could not verify the claims. Rather apologized for the incident but the event led to his unceremonious departure from the network. Despite that one incident, the series won several Emmys and three Peabody Awards.
• January 15 — RollerJam debuts on The Nashville Network (which became Spike and is now Paramount Network). It was the first attempt to bring roller derby back to television since RollerGames. The format was based on the original roller derby but the skaters here used inline skates to modernize the sport (although some of the older skaters used traditional four-wheel skates). The series was taped at Universal Studios RollerJamArena in Orlando (now the Impact Wrestling Zone) for the first two seasons, and at the former American Gladiators arena for the final season. In addition to the actual skaters who competed in the fictional World Skating League, the series emplpoyed actors in non-skating roles. Tom Nowicki played WSL general manager Kenneth Loge III and his twin brother Leonard. Kenneth replaced Jerry Seltzer, the real-life son of roller derby creator Leo Seltzer, who quit the show after becoming disillusioned with the focus on storylines and fictitious characters over skating. Jason Bates played The Prophet, a lackey for Kenneth, and Lindsey Alley, a former Mouseketeer, played Liza Seltzer, the ‘grand-daughter’ of Leo, who tried to form an all-star team to travel overseas. The series ended in 2001.
• January 16 — The Cat & Birdy Warneroonie Pinky Brainy Big Cartoonie Show, or The Big Cartoonie Show for short, makes its debut on Kids’ WB. The 90-minute program featured Looney Tunes shorts with new title cards, as well as short segments originally aired on Animaniacs, The Sylvester and Tweety Mysteries Pinky and the Brain, and Pinky, Elmyra & the Brain. After four episodes, the show was reduced to 30-minutes, omitting the Looney Tunes and The Sylvester and Tweety Mysteries segments. The series was notable for spotlighting the segments from Pinky, Elmyra & the Brain, which fell victim to low ratings when it aired in 1998 and was cancelled after 13 episodes. Despite being a collection of previously aired material, the series was popular enough to garner a second season with the new title The Cat & Bunny Warneroonie SuperLooney Big Cartoonie Show and featured segments from Tiny Toon Adventures and Animaniacs. The series was also aired weekday afternoons, and ended on August 24, 2000 with Tiny Toon Adventures, Animaniacs, Pinky and the Brain and the Looney Tunes short permanently removed from the Kids’ WB block.
• January 17 — Teen sitcom Zoe, Duncan, Jack and Jane debuts on The WB Network. The series centers on four eccentric high school friends — Zoe Bean (Selma Blair), Duncan Milch (David Moscow), Jack Cooper (Michael Rosenbaum) and Jane Cooper (Azure Skye) — who attend Fielding-Mellish Prep (named after Woody Allen’s character in Bananas). Mary Page Keller played Zoe’s mother in the first season, and Scott Foley played Zoe’s love interest in the pilot, but by the time the series had been picked up, he had moved on to Felicity. The series was heavily retooled in the second season, moving the friends from high school to college, with Zoe’s mother out of the picture and Omar Gooding joining the cast as a new friend to the group. The title had also been shortened to Zoe… (pronounced on air as ‘Zoe Dot Dot Dot’)

because the network felt the original title was a turn off to viewers. After the show’s cancellation, Michael Rosenbaum expressed his disappointment in the title change that removed his character’s name. (For the record, the show’s original title was to be Zoe Bean.) The series produced 26 episode and ended on June 11, 2000.

• January 18 — Disney Channel’s American-Canadian co-production So Weird debuts as a mid-season replacement. It was one of the first Disney series to be shot in a 16×9 widescreen format. The first two seasons focused on teenager Fiona Phillips (Cara DeLizia) and her rock-star mom (Mackenzie Phillips) as they toured and encountered paranormal activity along the way, garnering comparisons to The X-Files for its darker-than-usual tone for a Disney series. Disney replaced DeLizia, who wanted to pursue other projects, with Alexz Johnson as Annie Thelen, a family friend of the Phillips’. DeLizia’s departure was a first for an actor leaving a Disney series still in production, and her cameo appearance in season 3 was created with past vocal footage and a look-alike with DeLizia having no part in the production. As with most Disney series at the time, the show ended after 65 episodes on September 28, 2001. The series was removed from the Disney Channel schedule in 2003 and has not been aired since.

2009

• January 15 — Crime drama The Beast premieres on the A+E Network. The series starred Patrick Swayze and Travis Fimmel. Swayze played FBI agent Charles Barker, an undercover expert, with Fimmel as Ellis Dove, a rookie and Barker’s trainee. Barker’s methods at gaining information are questionable — and perhaps illegal — and Dove’s loyalty to his mentor is tested when the head of internal affairs approaches him to gather information. Dove then learns of darker secrets in Barker’s past. The series received largely positive reviews but ratings were low and the series was cancelled on April 23, 2009 after 13 episodes. It was Swayze’s final acting role. He died in September 2009.
• January 15 — Celebrity Rehab Presents Sober House debuts on VH1, a spin-off of the popular Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew. The series followed celebrities from the original series as they transitioned to a sober living home for 30 days. The series ran for two seasons, producing 17 episodes but Pinksy announced in December 2010 that production would cease as it was too intrusive and interfered with the treatment plan. The season 1 cast included Andy Dick and Rodney King. Season 2 featured Dennis Rodman, Heidi Fleiss, Seth Binzer (aka Shifty Shellshock from rap rock band Crazy Town), who also appeared on season 1 and two seasons of Celebrity Rehab, and Tom Sizemore (who was arrested on January 5, 2019 for possession of meth and heroin after a routine traffic stop). The series ended its run on April 29, 2010.
• January 18 — United States of Tara premieres on Showtime. The dramedy, whicih was created by Diablo Cody, starred Toni Collette as a suburban housewife and mother coping with dissociative identity disorder (or multiple personalities). The series was based on an idea by executive producer Steven Spielberg. Some of Tara’s personalities include a wild teenager, a 1950s housewife, and a loud, male Vietnam vet, with more personalities emerging in subsequent seasons. The series also starred Rosemarie DeWitt, John Corbett and Brie Larson, and ran for three seasons, producing 36 episodes and ending on June 20, 2011.
• January 19 — Will Work for Food debuts on Food Network. The series starred Adam Gertler, one of the final three contestants on the fourth season of The Next Food Network Star, and exposes him to the world of little-known food jobs, including taking honey from three million bees, sculpting ice with a chainsaw, foraging for truffle or digging a wine cave, all in the name of food. The series ran for a single season of 13 episodes.

 
Do you remember any of these shows? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section below!