Sí TV
It’s mid-July and there are more new series premiering this week than you might expect, including two on NBC. Unfortunately, even with some multiple season runs for a few of the shows, most are barely remembered today outside of the hardcore fans with some having been released on DVD but are no longer in print, and others never given a home video release. The longest running of this week’s series was six seasons, so let’s see if we can jog your memory about that and the others.
1950
- No new series premiered this week in 1950.
1960
- No new series premiered this week in 1960.
1970
- No new series premiered this week in 1970.
1980
- July 19 — Sitcom Good Time Harry premieres on NBC. The series starred Ted Bessell of That Girl fame in his first regular series since 1972’s Me and the Chimp. Bessell played Harry Jenkins, a sportswriter for the San Francisco Sentinel, whose playboy lifestyle often got in the way of his professional life. The series also starred Eugene Roche as Jimmy Hughes, Harry’s editor, Marcia Strassman, a year after Welcome Back, Kotter ended, as Carol, another reporter, Steven Peterman as Martin, the copy boy, Ruth Manning as Sally, Hughes’ secretary, and Jesse Welles as Billie Howard. The series ran for just seven episodes, ending on September 13, 1980.
1990
- No new series premiered this week in 1990.
2000
- July 23 — Teen sitcom The Brothers García premieres on Nickelodeon. The series followed the lives of a Latino-American family, and was narrated by the adult version of one of the sons, Larry, who recounts his life with George, Carlos and Lorena (two brothers and twin sister), and how they deal with every day problems like school, work and growing up, all in one house in San Antonio, Texas. The series made television history as the first English language sitcom with all Latino cast, diectors and producers. It was among the first projects from Sí TV, which strove to produce programming featuring Latino characters and aimed at a diverse audience. Since that time, the company has launched its own cable network. The main cast included Carlos Lacámara, Ada Maris, Jeffrey Licon, Bobby Gonzalez, Vaneza Pitynski, Alvin Alvarez, and John Leguizamo as the adult Larry. Penn Badgley and George Lopez each appeared in two episodes. The series won an ALMA Award in 2001 for Outstanding Director of a Comedy Series, and another in 2002 for Maria Canais-Barrera as Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Television Series. Notable directors for the series included Georg Stanford Brown, Ted Lange, Tony Plana, Elizabeth Pena and Alfonso Ribeiro. The series aired for four seasons, producing 52 episodes with the last broadcast on August 8, 2004.
- July 23 — Comedy series Manhattan, AZ premieres on USA Network. The series focused on Los Angeles Vice Cop Daniel Henderson who loses his wife in a bizarre sea accident — swept up in a tuna net while working with Greenpeace to save dolphins and canned in spring water. Daniel moves he and his son to Manhattan, AZ where he becomes the new sheriff. The town is full of colorful characters and houses Area 61, an eerie Air Force base that doesn’t officially exist and is the cause of many mysterious events. While the stories seem far-fetched, the plots are derived from the headlines of the day, with hilarious dialog delivered completely deadpan. Each episode ends with one of the actors speaking directly to the camera to describe something in the episode and closing with the line ‘We work in television and we know better than you.’ The main cast was comprised of Brian McNamara, Vincent Berry, Chace Paddack and Chad Everett. Recurring cast members included Mindy Sterling, Robin Gammell, Kate Hodge and Stephen Tobolowsky. 13 episodes were produced but only eight were broadcast. The last episode aired on September 24, 2000.
- July 23 — Medical drama Strong Medicine premieres on Lifetime. The series focused on two completely different doctors, Dr. Luisa ‘Lu’ Delgado, a single mother running a free clinic in the inner city, and Dr. Dana Stowe, a Hatvard graduate and top female health specialist. The two come together with Dr. Lydia Emerson wants to combine Rittenhouse Hospital’s practice with Lu’s financially failing clinic to provide the best care for the racially, politically and economically diverse patients of both doctors. Storylines tend to be driven by comparisons and contrasts — and cooperation — between the more liberal Delgado and the more conservative Stowe, often placing the characters in ironic, soul-searching situations, questioning their personal beliefs that cause them to fight for what they feel is right. The series starred Rosa Blasi as Delgado, and Janine Turner as Stowe. Turner exited the series in Season 3 and Patricia Richardson was brought in as Dr. Andy Campbell. The main cast also included Chris Marquette, Jenifer Lewis, Joshua Cox, Philip Casnoff, Brennan Elliott, Tamera Mowry and Nestor Carbonell. Rick Schroder joined the cast in Season 6 as Dr. Campbell’s replacement, Dr. Dylan West. Recurring cast members included Whoopi Goldberg, Grant Show, Gregory Harrison, Richard Biggs and Brian Kerwin. The series ran for six seasons, producing 132 episodes. The last was broadcast on February 5, 2006. Near the end of the fifth season, the episode ‘First Response’ aired which introduced three new characters and was meant to serve as a backdoor pilot for a spin-off series, the first for a Lifetime original. That plan was scrapped when ratings for the episodes failed to match expectations. The show was remade in Russia in 2012.
- July 23 — Comedy series The War Next Door premieres on USA Network. The series revolved around super secret agent Kennedy Smith (Linden Ashby) who just wants to retire. But his seemingly indestructible nemesis Allan Kriegman (Damian Young) wants to make his life hell so he moves into the suburbs and becomes Smith’s next door neighbor and evil opponent. The series used non-canon humor as one of the two main characters died at the end of each episode, only to reappear in the next episodes as if nothing had happened. Like its network companion Manhattan, AZ, the show lasted for just eight of its 13 produced episodes, also concluding with five unaired on September 24, 2000.
- July 23 — Sci-fi drama Mysterious Ways premieres on NBC. Adrian Pasdar starred as Declan Dunn, a professor of anthropology at the Northern University of Oregon. Declan’s passion for miraculous events and the search for explanations and evidence was rooted in his own miraculous survival from an avalanche. Declan’s friends Dr. Peggy Fowler (Rae Dawn Chong) and Miranda Feigelsteen (Alisen Down) are always ready to help with his research, reluctantly in some cases. The pair act as sceptics to Declan’s ‘miracles’ and in many cases the episodes end with a valid and rational explanation then disproven at the last minute, leaving open the question of paranormal activity. While the first eight episodes aired on NBC beginning in July 2000, the series also began airing on the PAX network, in which NBC had 32% interest, in August. The show returned to NBC from January 1 to February 6, 2001 with the Season 1 finale airing on May 1. The show returned to NBC for a second season on July 13, 2001 and was pulled after the August 3 episode (#204). The remainder of the second season’s 18 episodes aired exclusively on PAX beginning September 4, 2001. The final episode aired May 14, 2002 giving the series a total of 44 episodes. While Dunn’s survival after the avalanche is referenced several times throughout the series, the episodes were self-contained so continuity was not impacted by airing wildly out of production order. While remaining popular after its cancellation and despite fan requests, the series has never been released on DVD.
2010
- July 18 — Reality competition 24 Hour Restaurant Battle premieres on Food Network. Two teams of two or three people compete for a shot at their own restaurant. Each team must turn a blank space into a working restaurant in 24 hours, including creating the concept, choosing the decor and planning the menu which must include one Appetizer, Entrée and Dessert, with no maximum limit as long as it fits within their $4000 budget. Teams also get a painter, sous chef and waiters. After the 24 hours are up, diners get to choose which restaurant they would like to attend based on the decor and menu. Four judges eat at both restaurants and host Scott Conant determines the winner based on concept, execution and viability of the restaurant. The winning team got $10,000 to put into creating their own restaurant. In the second season, teams were given $5000 to create their restaurant experience, and Chef Geoffrey Zakarian was designated the head judge. The show ran for two seasons, producing 18 episodes, the last of which aired on June 23, 2011.
- July 20 — Reality series If You Really Knew Me premieres on MTV. The series focused on youth subculture and cliques in high school with students from each clique taking part in Challenge Day, a program designed to break down stereotypes and unite students. Each student is assigned to a group and must reveal something personal about themselves starting with the line ‘If you really knew me…’ The goal is to demonstrate to the students the possibility of love and connection through the celebration of diversity, truth and full expression. Various high schools across the country participated in the series. Only one season of 12 episodes was produced with the last episode broadcast on October 12, 2010. An international version of the show was produced in The Netherlands called Over de Streep and ran for three seasons.
Did you or do you watch any of these shows? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section below!
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