Stephen J. Cannell Productions
The end of January is a virtual television wasteland with just a handful of new shows premiering through the decades and only one of them having a substantial amount of success. One short-lived show has developed a bit of a cult following and brought Jeff Goldblum his first regular TV series role. Let’s see if you remember any of this week’s new shows.
1950
- No new series premiered this week in 1950.
1960
- No new series premiered this week in 1960.
1970
- January 30 — Sitcom The Tim Conway Show premieres on CBS. Conway returned to TV sitcoms with his former McHale’s Navy co-star Joe Flynn in a series that may have been the inspiration for Wings. Conway played Tim ‘Spud’ Barrett, a well-meaning but bumbling pilot — the only pilot — and part owner of Triple A Airlines, a charter service in Los Angeles. Flynn plays inept and cranky business partner Herb Kenworth who is prone to airsickness. Triple A’s competition is the more successful Crawford Airlines, run my Mrs. K.J. Crawford (Anne Seymour) who also owns the airfield where both companies are stationed. She also holds the mortgage on Triple A’s aircraft, Lucky Linda. Her son Ronnie helps run the airport and is always trying to put Triple A out of business. Spud also has a romantic interest in a Crawford employee, Becky Parks, who helps him whenever she can. The airport also features a diner where Spud and Herb often eat. CBS aired five episodes of the series through February, then pulled it until April with the remaining eight episodes airing until June 12. The show was cancelled after the 13 episode season, and Conway almost immediately accepted an offer to host a new variety show, The Tim Conway Hour, that aired in the Fall of 1970.
1980
- January 27 — Bobby Jones Gospel, aka The Bobby Jones Gospel Hour, premieres on BET. The series, hosted by Dr. Bobby Jones, featured performances by famed Gospel artists as well as new and up and coming artists. The series debuted two days after the BET network’s launch and became the network’s longest running series at 35 years, ending on July 31, 2016.
- January 27 — Tenspeed and Brown Shoe premieres on ABC. The series was created by Stephen J. Cannell, and most of the show’s creative team were veterans of Cannell’s
which ended its run about two weeks prior to the new show’s debut. Ben Vereen and Jeff Goldblum starred as detectives E. L. ‘Tenspeed’ Turner and Lionel ‘Brown Shoe’ Whitney respectively. Tenspeed was a hustler working as a detective to satisfy his parole requirements while Brown Shoe was the more buttoned-down accountant type who saw himself as a 1940s Bogart P.I. A running gag featured Whitney reading a series of crime novels, ‘A Mark Savage Mystery’ by Stephen J. Cannell, although Cannell had never written such a series of novels. The show was the first to come from Cannell’s company as an independent production company, and is the only series from the company to not carry the famous Cannell logo (which was introduced a year later at the end of The Greatest American Hero). The series was dramatic with comedic moments featuring the two dissimilar detectives, and Cannell recycled the basic premise in a watered-down form for the more successful Hardcastle & McCormick in 1983. Richard Romanus and Larry Manetti co-starred. The series enjoyed substantial ratings for its first few episodes, but viewership dropped and ABC pulled the show from the schedule after the ninth episode on March 30. The show returned on May 20 and completed its 14-episode run on June 27. ABC did not renew the show for a second season.
1990
- January 27 — Comedy series Pirate TV premieres on MTV. The series, set on a boat, featured skits and parodies of commercials and television programs including ‘Rastapiece Theater’ and ‘Reejock’ (jockstraps with inflatable pouches). The series originally aired as 13 one-hour episodes, and was later edited down to 30 minute episodes. The crew included Boyd Hale, James Rosenthal, Gena Rositano, Spruce Henry and Gregory & James Wolfe. Some episodes featured special guests including Sgt. Slaughter, Maury Povich, Clarence Clemons and Tim Blake Nelson as ‘Scab O’Hooley’. Many of the show’s concepts were carried over to creators Dave Kolin and Steve Kerper’s HBO series Hardcore TV (1992).
2000
- January 31 — Family game show You Lie Like a Dog premieres on Animal Planet. Similar in concept to the classic To Tell the Truth, the first round introduces three people who claim to own the same pet with the panel attempting to find out who is ‘lying like a dog’ by quizzing them about their lives with the pet. Guessing the true owner earns the panelist 25 points. Round two features two ‘pet professionals’ who try to convince the panel they are the true expert. Finding the expert also earns the panelist 25 points. In the final round, each panelist is teamed with a liar and must get the liar to say an animal-related phrase in 30 seconds. The panelist receives 50 points and the liar gets $200 if they succeed. The show ran for two seasons, ending on December 1, 2000.
2010
- February 1 — Reality series Kell on Earth premieres on Bravo. The series followed Kelly Cutrone, the founder of public relations, branding and marketing firm People’s Recolution, as she juggles Fashion Weeks in New York and London with being a single mother. Also featured were Robyn Berkley, Emily Bungert, Stefanie Skinner, and Andrew Mukamal. The first eight-episode season averaged 574,000 viewers and was not renewed for a second.
Did you or do you watch any of these show? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section below!
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