TLC
July is ending, August is beginning, and the new Fall season is approaching so there isn’t a lot of new programming coming our way as viewers grab whatever the rest of the summer can give them. If it weren’t for cable TV, the major networks would be a vast wasteland of reruns. But ABC did surprise in 1979, debuting a new series ahead of the Fall season hoping the gambit would pay off … it didn’t. Let’s see if you remember any of these show through the decades.
1959
1969
- No new series premiered this week in 1969.
1979
- July 31 – Sitcom Detective School premieres on ABC. Either the network thought debuting a new series in the dead of summer would help it gain viewers as the Fall season launched, or they knew it was a stinker and started the burn off early. The series centered around a night school were an assortment of students learned basic detective skills but kept getting caught up in real cases, getting themselves and their teacher (an inept PI) into trouble. The series starred James Gregory, Douglas Fowley, Randolph Mantooth, Melinda Naud, Taylor Negron, LaWanda Page and Pat Proft. The series was created by Jeff Harris and Bernie Kukoff, the team behind NBC hit Diff’rent Strokes. Mantooth was coming off of a seven year run on NBC’s drama Emergency which had just ended its run. The series took a break after its first three episodes then resumed on September 15. In all, it lasted just 13 episodes, ending on November 24, 1979.
1989
- No new series premiered this week in 1989.
1999
- August 1 — Sitcom Grown Ups debuts on UPN. The series was created by Matthew Miller and based on a story written by Jaleel White, who starred. The series focuses on three post-college friends coming to terms with adulthood. White stars as J. Calvin Frazier, a 24-year-old whose roommate moves out, leaving him homeless. J learns that his high school crush is engaged to another man, and with the help of his friend Gordon and Gordon’s wife Shari, J attempts to adjust to life as a grown up. Soleil Moon Frye appeared in the pilot as J’s new roommate who wrongly assumed he was gay, but the series was retooled and her character was dropped. Co-starring with White were Dave Ruby and Marissa Ribisi with Patrick Bristow, Bumper Robinson and Tammy Townsend in recurring roles. Initial ratings for the show were good following The Parkers on Monday nights, but they declined quickly and the show ended with an unresolved cliffhanger on May 22, 2000 after 22 episodes.
- August 3 — Animated series Downtown premieres on MTV. The show looks at urban life through interviews with real people. The characters are a diverse and multiracial group of New Yorkers going through their everyday lives. The show was nominated for an Emmy in 2000 for Outstanding Animated Program for the episode ‘Before and After’. The series lasted just 13 episodes, ending on November 8, 1999.
2009
- August 2 — Reality dating series Megan Wants a Millionaire premieres on VH1. The series featured Megan Hauserman who had been a contestant on Rock of Love and was a cast member of Rock of Love: Charm School where she made a comment that she would like to become a ‘trophy wife’. The men cast for the series were requested to have a net worth of over $1 million. VH1 suspended broadcast of the show after the third episode aired on August 16 when one of the bachelors, Ryan Jenkins, was being sought for questioning in connection to the murder of Jasmine Frye, who he had married after the shoe had concluded taping. On August 23, Jenkins was found dead in a motel in British Columbia, an apparent suicide. VH1 officially cancelled the show on Auugst 24. It was confirmed later by one of the other contestants that Jenkins had placed third in the competition. VH1 removed all mention of the show from its website, On Demand service and iTunes Store. In addition to the cancellation, VH1 was also forced to withdraw the third season of I Love Money from its upcoming schedule as Jenkins was also a contestant on that show and rumored to have won the grand prize (although another contestant claims Jenkins was eliminated on the third episode). A rumor emerged that VH1 was going to construct a new series for Megan but the network denied that and it never happened.
- August 3 — Baking competition Ultimate Cake Off premieres on TLC. The competition featured three teams of bakers who have nine hours to make cakes for a particular client, with height and food content guidelines. During the competition, a taste test is conducted by the host and judges, and the winning team gets to select a rival team to sit out for 30 minutes. When time is up, the cakes are judges on client satisfaction, technical difficulty and aesthetic appeal. The winning team gets $10,000 and a display at the client’s event. Baker Dana Herbert competed in Season 1 but did not win. He went on to compete in TLC’s Next Great Baker, becoming the first champion and an intern for Buddy Valastro at Carlo’s Bake Shop. The series aired for two seasons, producing an 8-episode first season and a 12-episode second season. The final episode aired on May 31, 2010.
Did you watch any of these show? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section below!
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