World of Wonder
After a burst of activity in January, the winter doldrums hit the networks going into February with fewer new series making their debuts (mainly because of special events like the Super Bowl, the Grammys, and the Oscars all taking place at this time). But three shows that made debuts during this week through the decades are still on the air celebrating major anniversaries. Check it out!
1959
- No new series premiered this week in 1959.
1969
- No new series premiered this week in 1969.
1979
- January 28 — CBS Sunday Morning launches, a 90-minute program conceived to be a braodcast version of a sunday newspaper magazine supplement (like ‘Parade’). The series was originally hosted by Charles Kuralt until 1994. Charles Osgood hosted for 22 years (1994–2016), with Jane Pauley taking over in 2016. The Sunday morning series was spun off from the weekday, hour-long CBS Morning News which focused on more hard news stories. That show’s title was changed to reflect each day of the week after Sunday Morning‘s debut but retained its original title after expanding to two hours in 1982. That show was replaced by short-lived The Morning Program in 1987, which was eventually replaced by CBS This Morning. Through it all, CBS Sunday Morning persisted and continues to this day.(
- February 1 — With three different Animal House-inspired series on the air, ABC decided to pick another hit movie as inspiration a weekly half-hour sitcom. The unlikely choice was the R-rated drama Saturday Night Fever (which was recut to a PG for television broadcast and a subsequent theatrical re-release) which became the family friendly comedy Makin’ It starring the ‘I’m a Pepper’ guy David Naughton (who would go on to become An American Werewolf in London). Unfortunately, the series debuted just as the backlash to disco culture was at its height and the series lasted just eight episodes. It did spawn a Top 5 single with the theme song performed by Naughton. The movie’s producer, Robert Stigwood, was involved in the show’s creation, as was Garry Marshall. The series co-starred Ellen Travolta, sister to the movie’s star John Travolta, as mother to Naughton’s character Billy Manucci.
1989
- January 28 — Spencer: For Hire spin-off A Man Called Hawk debuts on ABC. Avery Brooks reprised his role from the original series which finds Hawk relocating from Boston to Washington DC. The character originally acted as a street source for Spencer but became more of a champion of people that needed help in the spin-off. Hawk debuted after the cancellation of Spencer but lasted just 13 episodes. Brooks reprised the character for four TV movies that were considered sequels to the original series. Star Avery Brooks was notable for having a clean-shaven head and goatee long before it was a popular look, and when he took the lead role on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine he shaved the goatee and grew out his hair to differentiate the look of the two characters. By the fourth season of that series, the hair was gone and the goatee had returned. The character of Hawk appeared in two other TV movies with no relation to either series and two different actors: Shiek Mahmud-Bey in 1999 and Ernie Hudson in 2001.
- January 29 — Children’s series Shining Time Station premieres on PBS. The British/American co-production incorporated segments from the British series Thomas & Friends. Ringo Starr had been providing the voice of the storyteller for the British series and agreed to extend the role for an on-screen character called Mr. Conductor for the American version. When he left the show, George Carlin became the new Mr. Conductor. The series also featured Didi Conn, Brian O’Connor and the Flexitoon Puppets. The series ran for three seasons, producing 75 episodes, ending on June 11, 1993. PBS continued to air reruns until June 11, 1998 and the series moved to Fox Family from 1998 to 1999, and then on Nick Jr in 2000. Elements from the show were incorporated into the film Thomas and the Magic Railroad (2000) which starred Peter Fonda, Mara Wilson and Alec Baldwin.
1999
- January 31 — Animated series Family Guy debuts on Fox. The series focus on the Griffin family who live in the fictional town of Quahog, Rhode Island, with humor derived from metafictional cutaway gags that lampoon American culture. The series was conceived by Seth MacFarlane after developing two animated films, The Life of Larry and Larry & Steve. MacFarlane redesigned the characters and Larry became Peter Griffin with dog Steve becoming Peter’s dog Brian. MacFarlane pitched a seven-minute short to Fox and the show was greenlit. Fox, however, cancelled the show in 2002 with one episode unaired (it eventually ran on Adult Swim). DVD sales and high ratings for syndicated reruns on Adult Swim caused the Fox execs to rethink their decision and the series was renewed in 2004 for a fourth season which debuted on May 1, 2005. Family Guy is currently in its 17th season with more than 320 episodes produced to date. The show has been nominated for 12 Emmy Awards and 11 Annie Awards, winning three of each. It was nominated for the Emmys’ Outstanding Comedy Series in 2009, the first time for an animated series since The Flintstones was nominated in 1961. Despite some unfavorable comparisons to The Simpsons, the series continues strong with new episodes and a host of merchandise, from straight-to-video specials to video games.
2009
- January 27 — Reality series Toddlers & Tiaras debuts on TLC. The series follows the lives of contestants and their families who participate in child beauty pageants. The series faced controversy for dressing children in what were considered ‘provocative’ clothing and ‘trained to resemble their adult counterparts.’ One mother was criticized for padding her daughter’s chest to resemble Dolly Parton, while another was taken to task for asking her daughter to smoke fake cigarettes on stage. One mother, June Shannon, made headlines for the concoction of ‘Go-Go Juice’ she gave to boost her daughter Alana’s energy before going on stage. That controversy only helped ratings and led to two spin-offs, Eden’s World and Here Comes Honey Boo-Boo, which focused on Mama June, Alana, aka Honey Boo-Boo, and their family. That show ended with more controversy (June was dating a registered sex offender), but they came back with a new show on a new network, Mama June: From Not to Hot which chronicles June’s weight loss and attempts to get back into the pageant circuit. Toddlers & Tiaras ran for seven seasons, producing 108 episodes.
- February 2 — VH1 rolls out another ‘celebrity’ dating series, For the Love of Ray J, featuring hip hop singer Ray J (brother of singer/actress Brandy) in a format similar to the previous VH1 shows like Flavor of Love and I Love New York. Apparently Ray J did not find love with ‘winner’ Cocktail (all the women were given silly screen names), with a second season premiering on November 2, 2009 (that ‘winner’ was Mz. Berry). The series ended on February 8, 2010 and was quickly followed by spin-off series Brandy and Ray J: A Family Business which ran for two seasons beginning April 11, 2010.
- February 2 — Groundbreaking competition series RuPaul’s Drag Race premieres on the LGBT-themed network Logo (part of the Viacom family). The show documents the challenge of finding ‘America’s Next Drag Superstar’ through various competitions that culminate with the bottom two contestants lip-syncing for their lives (on the show), the winner being told ‘Shantay, you stay’ and the loser told to ‘Sashay away.’ Each episode usually consists of a Mini Challenge and a Maxi Challenge with the Maxi Challenges involving tasks such as making over a straight man, appearing in a scripted comedy scene, or impersonating a celebrity on the ‘Snatch Game’. In addition to RuPaul, who has the final say on who stays or sashays, judges have included Merle Ginsberg (seasons 1 & 2), Santino Rice (Seasons 1-6), Ru’s bestie Michelle Visage (Season 3 to present), Billy B (Seasons 3-4) and Ross Matthew and Carson Kressley (Season 7 to present). Guest judges have included Paula Abdul, Pamela Anderson, Ariana Grande, Neil Patrick Harris, Kathy Griffin, Debbie Harry, Adam Lambert, Demi Lovato, Olivia Newton-John, Rebecca Romijn, Dan Savage, John Waters, Natalie Cole, Debbie Reynolds, Wilmer Valderrama, Leah Remini, The B-52’s, Kesha, Shania Twain, Graham Norton, Christina Aguilara and Lady Gaga. A companion behind-the-scenes series, Untucked (which began in season one as a webseries titled Under the Hood of RuPaul’s Drag Race) premiered on Logo during Season 2 and ran through Season 6. The show moved back to the web for the seventh season of Drag Race. As the popularity of Drag Race grew, Viacom moved the series to sister network VH1 because of its larger viewership for the ninth season and quickly became one of the network’s highest rated series. With that success, VH1 expanded each episode to 90 minutes and brought Untucked back to television to fill the 30-minute slot after the show. Digital series Whatcha Packin, which features interviews with the eliminated contestants, and The Pit Stop (episode reviews, or ‘Ru-views’) can be found on YouTube and the VH1 website and app. The series has earned RuPaul three consecutive Emmy Awards (2016-2018) as Outstanding Host for a Reality or Reality-Competition Program, and the series won for Outstanding Reality-Competition Program in 2018. The 11th season (along with Untucked) is set to begin in Spring 2019 following the fourth season of RuPaul’s Drag Race All-Stars, and casting has already begun for Season 12.
Do you remember or still watch any of these shows? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section below!
Share this post
