TV by the Decade :: November 22•28

Paramount Television

Only four new series premiered this week in two different decades, and only one of them — a now classic 1980 sitcom — made it past a single season … and even the sitcom barely made it through two seasons but it did help make a star out of one of the leads. 2010 saw one short-lived animated series and two even shorter-lived reality shows. Let’s take a look at this week’s TV premieres and don’t forget to check out the highlighted links to help support Hotchka.

1950

• No new shows premiered this week in 1950.

1960

• No new shows premiered this week in 1960.

1970

• No new shows premiered this week in 1970.

1980

November 27 – Bosom Buddies

• Cast: Tom Hanks, Peter Scolari, Wendie Jo Sperber, Holland Taylor, Donna Dixon, Telma Hopkins, Lucille Benson
• Guest Cast: Edie Adams, Charles Aidman, Ernie Hudson, Stepfanie Kramer, Joe Reglabuto, Jerry Hardin, Russell Johnson, Philip Charles MacKenzie, Joe Mantegna, Rita Wilson, Adrian Zmed, K Callan, Bob Sagat, Susan Ruttan, Bruce Vilanch, Joanna Gleason, Penny Marshall
• Synopsis: Aafter their own apartment is demolished while they are still asleep in it, two men disguise themselves as women in order to live in the dirt-cheap Susan B. Anthony Hotel, which happens to be female-only.
• Network: ABC
• Broadcast History: Two seasons, 37 episodes, last broadcast on March 27, 1982
• Trivia: Reruns of the series ran in the Summer of 1984 on NBC after Hanks had become a major star with Splash and Bachelor Party. Hanks and Scolari were known for their improvisation on set. The show was barely renewed for a second season. To cut costs and give the format a revision, Lucille Benson’s character was written out of the show, and the main characters started their own advertising firm. On the second season premiere, the ruse of Kip and Henry living in drag in the hotel was revealed, but they are allowed to continue their residence with new hotel manager Isabelle (Hopkins) agreeing to go along with the ruse and not tell the other residents. The drag element of the series then became de-emphasized, moving the show closer to a traditional buddy comedy which was the original intention, a male version of Laverne & Shirley. When the show was pitched to ABC as a sophisticated Billy Wilder-type comedy, the execs asked what they meant and the example of Some Like It Hot was given. Because of that, ABC bought the show on the condition it would include men in women’s clothing, which was not what was pitched and caused a bit of panic with the show’s creators. Showrunner Chris Thompson, said he only took the job for the money but it ended up being his completely favorite experience because the network basically left them alone to do what they wanted to do. The show was taped on the same stage on the Paramount lot as The Lucy Show, and would later be home to Frasier. The show’s first season was shortened by the 1980 actors strike, and the show had trouble maintaining its ratings because of ABC’s constant shuffling of the schedule. The pilot was shot on film but the rest of the series was shot on videotape. The show’s theme song was a re-recorded version of Billy Joel’s ‘My Life’ with Gary Bennett providing the vocals, but the DVD episodes have replaced the song with a vocal version of the end credits song ‘Shake Me Loose’ by Stephanie Mills. Many musical numbers from the series have also been removed for the home video release. Hanks, Scolari and Billy Joel make cameo appearances in Season 5 Episode 20 of 30 Rock where Hanks references Bosom Buddies by singing a few lines of ‘My Life’.

1990

• No new shows premiered this week in 1990.

2000

• No new shows premiered this week in 2000.

2010

November 22 – Skating with the Stars

• Hosts: Tanith Belbin, Vernon Kay
• Judges: Dick Button, Johnny Weir, Laurieann Gibson
• Skaters: Sean Young & Denis Petukhov, Vince Neil & Jennifer Wester, Brandon Mychal Smith & Keauna McLaughlin, Jonny Moseley & Brooke Castile, Bethenny Frankel & Ethan Burgess, Rebecca Budig & Fred Palascak
• Synopsis: Skating with the Stars features celebrities paired with professionals from the world of figure skating, basically Dancing With the Stars on Ice.
• Network: ABC
• Broadcast History: One season, 6 episodes, last broadcast on December 21, 2010.
• Trivia: The second celebrity skating competition after Skating With Celebrities aired on FOX in 2006. Rebecca Budig was the winner of the competition.

November 26 – G.I. Joe: Renegades

• Voice Cast: Jason Marsden, Matthew Yang King, Kevin Michael Richardson, Natalia Cigliuti, David Kaye, Tatyana Yassukovich, Charlie Adler, Charlie Schlatter, Nika Futterman, Johnny Messner
• Guest Voice Cast: Khary Payton, Clancy Brown, Brian Bloom, Lee Majors, Danny Cooksey, Keith Szarabajka, Danica McKellar, Phil LaMarr, Ja’net DuBois, Michael Emerson, Daniel Dae Kim, Peter MacNichol, Jerry O’Connell, Fred Willard
• Synopsis: A group of young Joes are forced to become fugitives after a spy mission goes horribly wrong that involves the explosion of Cobra Industries’ Pharmaceuticals. Now branded as renegades by the media for crimes they didn’t commit, they’re forced to fight. Pursued by the military and Cobra mercenaries, they must use all their skills to prove their innocence and to expose the true face of Cobra Industries and its mysterious leader, Adam DeCobray.
• Network: The Hub
• Broadcast History: One season, 26 episodes, last broadcast on July 23, 2011
• Trivia: The series main characters are homages to the characters from The A-Team. The series was put on hiatus after completion of the first season but was never formally cancelled. Four comic book adaptations of the series episodes were release in 2012, but out of episode order.

November 28 – Bridalplasty

• Host: Shanna Moakler
• Plastic Surgeon: Dr. Terry Dubrow
• Synopsis: The show followed 12 engaged or already married women competing for the wedding of their dreams and their dream plastic surgery procedure. Each woman had a plastic surgery wishlist, and the winner of each week’s wedding-themed challenge would win one plastic surgery procedure from her list. The winner of the competition received the wedding of her dreams, and had her entire wishlist fulfilled. The husband-to-be did not see his fiancée until she revealed her new look on their wedding day.
• Network: E!
• Broadcast History: One season, 10 episodes, last broadcast on January 30, 2011
• Trivia: The show was criticized for ‘pushing the limits of medical ethics’. The American Society of Plastic Surgeons prohibits surgeons from performing procedures as the prize for a contest. The show was described as ‘unhealthy’ and a ‘dangerous’ self-parody of reality TV.