TV by the Decade :: October 25•31

AMC

There weren’t a lot of new shows making their debuts during the last week of October over the last 70 years but there are a few of note that had long, successful runs. The 1950s saw a beloved comedian transition from radio to television; the 1980s saw the launch of a game show that had a short run but has become a favorite, as well as the debut of a sitcom that fared better once it went into syndication than it ever did on the network that launched it. 2010 got into the Halloween season with a scary show for older kids and a terrifying show not for the faint of heart. One of them is still on the air today. Which one? Read on to find out and see if any of your favorite shows premiered this week through the decades. And be sure to click on a highlighted link to make a purchase and help support Hotchka!

1950

October 28 – The Jack Benny Program

• Cast: Jack Benny, Don Wilson, Eddie ‘Rochester’ Anderson, Dennis Day, Mary Livingstone, Mel Blanc, Frank Nelson
• Guest Cast: George Burns, Ross Elliott, Joe Besser, Gisele MacKenzie, Madge Blake, Joseph Kearns, James Stewart, Elvia Allman, Bea Benaderet, Richard Deacon, Howard McNear, Jack Albertson, Barbara Pepper, Bob Hope, Sheldon Leonard, Verna Felton, Harold Gould, Jesse White, Olan Soule, Gracie Allen, Harry Shearer, Sandra Gould, Barbara Nichols, Edgar Bergen, Frances Bergen, Bernie Kopell, Phil Silvers, Vincent Price, George Gobel, George Jessel, Harvey Korman, Ed Sullivan, Milton Berle, Carol Burnett, Raymond Burr, Connie Francis, Louis Nye, Danny Thomas, Nancy Kulp, Lee Meriwether, Vito Scotti, Johnny Carson, Isaac Stern, Mabel Albertson, Fred Allen, Fred Allen, Dan Duryea, Jayne Mansfield, Alan Hale Jr., Hayden Rorke, Marilyn Monroe, Dinah Shore, Barbara Stanwyck, Ronald Colman, Jerry Lewis, Dean Martin, David Niven, Red Skelton, Jack Paar, Joey Bishop, Robert Wagner, Audrey Meadows, Jack Soo, Humphrey Bogart, Dan Dailey, Art Linkletter, Groucho Marx, Ernie Kovacs, Bobby Rydell, Mamie Van Doren, Julie London, Roberta Peters, Mickey Rooney, Lawrence Welk, Frankie Avalon, Robert Goulet, Peter Lorre, Clint Walker, Parley Baer, Nat ‘King’ Cole, Bobby Darin, Wayne Newton, Jack Jones, Kirk Douglas, Ginger Rogers, Tennessee Ernie Ford, Rita Moreno, Lucille Ball, Andy Williams, The Kingston Trio, Liberace, Fred MacMurray, Jackie Gleason, Maurice Chevalier, Sean Connery, Ann-Margret, Joe Flynn, Arte Johnson, Herbert Rudley, Joyce Van Patten, The Smothers Brothers, Van Johnson, Billy Wilder, Richard Dawson, Rod Serling, Dick Powell, Raymond Bailey, Norman Alden, Peter Lupus, Dennis Patrick, Dabbs Greer, Joi Lansing, Claudette Colbert, Faye Emerson, Robert Montgomery, Basil Rathbone, Frank Sinatra, Eddie Cantor, Irene Dunne, Ann Sothern, Bing Crosby, Leo Durocher, Helen Hayes, Gary Crosby, Bert Lahr, William Holden, Spike Jones, Marge & Gower Champion, Robert Culp, John Forsythe, Lassie, Sid Melton, Ken Osmond, Jon Provost, Harry von Zell, Ronnie Burns, Gary Cooper, June Foray, Virginia Gregg, Phil Harris, Marvin Miller, Les Tremayne, Pamela Mason, Harry S. Truman, Jack Webb, Polly Bergen, Dick Clark, Tony Curtis, Nanette Fabray, Betty Furness, Jaye P. Morgan, William Schallert, Mike Wallace, John Wayne, Natalie Wood, Diana Dors, Alan King, Peter Lawford, Sammy Davis Jr., Donna Douglas, High Downs, Rock Hudson, Shari Lewis, Dick Wilson, David Brinkley, Chey Huntley, Danny Kaye, Claudine Longet, Paul Lynde, Doug McClure, Peter Paul & Mary, Pat Priest, Dr. Joyce Brothers, Angie Dickinson, Elaine Joyce
• Synopsis: The format of the Jack Benny Program used a loose show-within-a-show format, wherein the main characters were playing versions of themselves. The show often broke the fourth wall, with the characters interacting with the audience and commenting on the program and its advertisements.
• Network: CBS (1950–1964), NBC (1964–1965)
• Broadcast History: 15 seasons, 260 episodes, last broadcast on April 16, 1965
• Trivia: There were only four episodes in the first season. Season 2 featured one episodes roughly every six weeks. Season 3 broadcast a new episode every four weeks. Season 4 increased the output to every three weeks. From 1954 to 1960 the series aired every other week, rotating with Private Secretary, Bachelor Father and other shows. After Benny’s radio show ended in 1955, he joined the CBS comedy/variety series Shower of Stars which effectively had Benny appearing weekly on the network on one of the two shows. Benny was eternally 39 years of age but he finally turned 40 on an episode of Shower of Stars with large party thrown for the occasion. In the eleventh season, The Jack Benny Program began airing weekly. The show moved to NBC for its final season because Benny wasn’t happy that CBS was pairing his show with the new and untested Petticoat Junction, which turned out to be a huge hit and his ratings remained strong. Benny decided to end his show in 1965 after advertisers complained they paid twice as much to advertise on his show (he delivered an average of 18 million viewers), and because he’d grown tired of the ‘rat race’.

1960

• No new shows premiered this week in 1960.

1970

• No new shows premiered this week in 1970.

1980

October 27 – Blockbusters

• Host: Bill Cullen
• Synopsis: Contestants answered trivia questions to complete a path across or down a game board of hexagons.
• Network: NBC
• Broadcast History: Two seasons, 372 episodes, last broadcast on April 23, 1982
• Trivia: One of two game shows (the other was a revival of Gambit) premiering on the same day to replace the David Letterman morning show. The show was revived in 1987 with Bill Rafferty hosting, but it lasted for just five months. Blockbusters was one of the first Goodson-Todman game shows, along with Card Sharks, to be rerun on cable TV, predating the launch of Game Show Network by ten years. Bill Cullen received his first ever Daytime Emmy Award nomination for Best Game Show host for Blockbusters.

October 30 – It’s a Living

• Cast: Barrie Youngfellow, Gail Edwards, Marian Mercer, Paul Kreppel (Seasons 1-6), Ann Jillian (Seasons 1-3), Susan Sullivan, Wendy Schaal, Bert Remsen (Season 1), Louise Lasser, Earl Boen (Season 2), Crystal Bernard, Richard Stahl (Seasons 3-6), Sheryl Lee Ralph (Seasona 4-6)
• Guest Cast: Richard Kline, Phil Morris, Willie Garson, Jennifer Salt, Danny Thomas, K Callan, Warren Berlinger, Dennis Dugan, Gregory Sierra, Alan Oppenheimer, John Phillip Law, Christopher McDonald, Michael Richards, Kurtwood Smith, Jeff Altman, Carmine Caridi, Ernie Hudson, Paul Sand, George Wyner, Barbara Cason, Joseph Gian, Jack Jones, Nita Talbot, Lyle Waggoner, Kathleen Freeman, Nedra Volz, Richard Schaal, Granville Van Dusen, Joe Mantegna, Joel Brooks, Walter Olkewicz, Jonathan Frakes, Matthew Laurance, Timothy Stack, Dustin Diamond, Regis Toomey, Yakov Smirnoff, Peter Frechette, Bob Saget, Jed Whedon, Patty Duke, Severn Darden, Philip Baker Hall, John de Lancie, Graham Jarvis, Jane Kean, Terry Kiser, Donnelly Rhodes, Susan Ruttan, Frank Stallone, Stuart Pankin, Nana Visitor, James Hong, Amy Hill, Leslie Easterbrook, Michael Feinstein, Jane Leeves, Nancy Wilson, David Leisure
• Synopsis: The show follows the lives of the waitresses at the posh restaurant Above the Top, located at the top of the Bonaventure Hotel in Los Angeles, California
• Network: ABC (1980–1982), Syndication (1985–1989)
• Broadcast History: Six seasons, 120 episodes, last broadcast on April 8, 1989
• Trivia: A victim of the SAG-AFTRA strike of 1980, the first season only completed 13 episodes and was not a ratings success. ABC retooled and retitled the show Making a Living for its second season, but it was not a hit either and was cancelled after 27 episodes total. New episodes were produced for syndication, reverting back to the original title, running for four seasons and producing an additional 93 episodes. The second season is broadcast under the original title in syndication.

October 31 – I’m a Big Girl Now

• Cast: Diana Canova, Danny Thomas, Rori King, Sheree North, Martin Short, Deborah Baltzell, Michael Durrell
• Guest Cast: James Cromwell, Joanna Kerns, Terry Kiser, Philip Charles MacKenzie, Lyle Alzado, Earl Boen, Carmine Caridi, Corey Feldman, Jonathan Frakes, Sheldon Leonard, Dick O’Neill, Joe Regalbuto, Dolph Sweet, Adrian Zmed
• Synopsis: Diana Cassidy is a young divorcee and mother who, along with her daughter Becky, moves back home with her recently single father and dentist Benjamin.
• Network: ABC
• Broadcast History: One season, 19 episodes, last broadcast on May 8, 1981
• Trivia: The series was developed by the creators of Soap for Diana Canova to capitalize on her success in the role of Corinne Tate Flotsky. Canova sings the theme song with words by Leslie Bricusse and music by George Aliceson Tipton.

1990

October 26 – Over My Dead Body

• Cast: Edward Woodward, Jessica Lundy, Jill Tracy, Rick Fitts, Peter Looney
• Guest Cast: Gregory Itzen, Vernee Watson, Alan Rosenberg, Alex Hyde-White, Alan Oppenheimer, Edward Winter, Joseph Campanella, Mary Jo Catlett, Nan Martin, Caitlin O’Heaney, Ian Ogilvy, Nicolas Surovy, Leigh Taylor-Young, Brian Bloom, David James Elliott, Barbara Rhodes
• Synopsis: Edward Woodward starred as Maxwell Beckett, an aging mystery novelist whose three successful early novels were starting to be overshadowed by the reputation his two most recent works had developed as being ‘bombs.’ He was approached by young, struggling reporter Nikki Page (Jessica Lundy) who wrote for the San Francisco Union, and who came to him for help after witnessing a murder through her window and because he was her favorite author. After they solved this mystery, they became fast friends and began to work together in the ‘amateur sleuth’ tradition to solve crimes.
• Network: CBS
• Broadcast History: One season, 11 episodes (1 unaired), last broadcast on June 20, 1991
• Trivia: The series was created by William Link, who also created the far more successful Murder, She Wrote. CBS pulled the series after the eighth episode aired on December 21, and burned off two more episodes in June, 1991, leaving one unaired.

2000

October 25 – As Told by Ginger

• Cast: Melissa Disney, Jeannie Elias, Tress MacNeille, Aspen Vincent, Jackie Harris Greenberg, Laraine Newman, Liz Georges, Cree Summer, Kenn Michael, Kath Soucie, Grey Griffin, Susan Krebs
• Guest Cast: Jerry Houser, John Kassir, Kathleen Freeman, Dan Castellaneta, Ja’net Dubois, Patti Deutsch, Adam Wylie, Tom Kenny, Ben Stein, Carol Kane, John Astin, Nora Dunn, Billy West, Mary Gross, Jennifer Coolidge, Tara Strong, Michael McKean, Loey Lauren Adams, Robbie Rist, Neil Patrick Harris, Pamela Adlon, Lukas Haas, Beth Howland, Stuart Pankin, Jane Wiedlin, April Winchell, Christina Pickles, Mindy Sterling, Danny Cooksey, Sam McMurray, Sally Struthers, Rita Rudner, Bernie Kopell, Pat Harrington Jr., Tony Plana, Chris Parnell, Valerie Harper, Lauren Tom, Gregory Jbara, Estelle Harris, Larry Drake
• Synopsis: The animated series focuses mainly on the life of junior high school student Ginger Foutley (voiced by Melissa Disney). Ginger and her friends Darren Patterson (voiced by Kenny Blank), Deirdre Hortense ‘Dodie’ Bishop (voiced by Aspen Miller), and Macie Lightfoot (voiced by Jackie Harris), try to rise from the position of school geeks as they solve many conflicts that come their way.
• Network: Nickelodeon
• Broadcast History: Three seasons, 60 episodes (80 segments), last broadcast on November 14, 2006
• Trivia: The series was nominated for three Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Animated Program (less than one hour). The series was notable for its ongoing stories that showed the characters aging throughout the series. Also notable was that characters changed clothes in every episode. The fictional town of Sheltered Shrubs, Connecticut is based on Larchmont, NY where series creator Emily Kapnek moved when she was in junior high. The series dealt with themes such as betrayal, depression, breakups, health issues, addiction and death (Kathleen Freeman, who voiced teacher Mrs. Gordon, died before completing the episode ‘No Hope for Courtney’ and the script was rewritten to honor the actress). Four TV movies were also produced during the show’s run. Nickelodeon asked for the ending of the fourth movie, ‘The Wedding Frame’, to be left open-ended in case they wanted to order more but the producers felt that was unlikely and the original ending was retained. In the movie, Ginger’s family are driving to their new home and pass a cemetery where one tombstone can be seen with ‘ATBG’ on it (representing the show’s title) with another bearing the inscription ‘RIP’, a reference to this being the end of the series. While the third season consisted of 20 episodes like the first two, only 12 were broadcast on Nickleodeon. Six more were shown on Nicktoons and two went unaired.

October 27 – Level 9

• Cast: Fab Filippo, Kate Hodge, Michael Kelly, Romany Malco, Kim Murphy, Susie Park, Esteban Powell, Max Martini
• Guest Cast: Miguel Sandoval, Willie Garson, Tim Guinee, Mark Hildreth, William Russ, Martin Cummins, Tucker Smallwood, Alan Rosenberg, Howard Hesseman, Kim Coates, Kandyse McClure, Anne Lockhart
• Synopsis: A top-secret government agency staffed with computer techs and field agents investigates cybercrimes in an attempt to take down an international cyber-terrorist named Crazyhorse.
• Network: UPN
• Broadcast History: One season, 13 episodes (3 unaired), last broadcast on January 26, 2001
• Trivia: Tim Guinee appeared in the first episode as Det. John Burrows but declined to remain with the series. The function of his character was essentially taken over by Max Martini’s character Jack Wiley. SciFi Channel acquired syndication rights to the series in June 2007, with the unaired episodes getting their first broadcast in February 2008.

2010

October 25 – Robotomy

• Cast: Patton Oswalt, John Gemberling, Dana Snyder, Michael Sinterniklaas, Jessie Cantrell
• Guest Cast: Kate McKinnon, Lil Jon, Gilbert Gottfried, Jack McBrayer, Thomas Middleditch, Lewis Black, Eliza Dushku, Lisa Lampinelli
• Synopsis: Two teenage robot outcasts coast through life on the planet Insanus, which is inhabited by super violent murderous robots who are always trying to destroy each other, for no reason.
• Network: Cartoon Network
• Broadcast History: One season, 10 episodes
• Trivia: The working title for the series was Horrorbots. After a year-and-a-half of pitching ideas to the network, Cartoon Network finally accepted the pitch for Robotomy: ‘Superbad meets the Transformers meets WWE.’

October 26 – Auction Kings

• Cast: Paul Brown, Cindy Shook, Jon Hammond, Delfino Ramos
• Guest Cast: Bob Brown, Elijah Brown, Steve and Ernie Garrett, Dr. Lori
• Synopsis: Reality series set in the Gallery 63 auction house in Georgia. Employees often rely on experts to appraise items of which historical background is provided to the viewer. Sellers offer comments regarding the merchandise at hand both before and after the auction.
• Network: Discovery Channel
• Broadcast History: Four seasons, 89 episodes, last broadcast on May 16, 2013

October 28 – Police Women of Dallas

• Cast: Sergeant Tracy Jones (Seasons 1 & 2), Senior Corporal Melissa Person, Officer Sara Ramsey, Officer Mia Shagena, Officer Beth Burnside (Season 1), Senior Corporal Cheryl Matthews, Detective Angela Nordyke, Officer Yvette Gonzales (Season 2)
• Synopsis: Reality documentary series, which follows three police officers and a detective of the Dallas Police Department in Dallas, Texas.
• Network: TLC (Season 1), OWN (Season 2)
• Broadcast History: Two seasons, 21 episodes, last broadcast on January 12, 2014.
• Trivia: TLC cancelled the series after a single season. Oprah Winfrey’s OWN ordered a second season which debuted on October 13, 2013. Only Sergeant Tracy Jones appeared on both seasons.

October 29 – R.L. Stine’s The Haunting Hour

• Guest Cast: Jeny Cassady, Dan Payne, Brendan Meyer, Emma Grabinsky, Karin Konoval, Ariel Winter, Jean-Luc Bilodeau, Christopher Lloyd, Joey King, Dylan Minnette, William B. Davis, Michael Ironside, Booboo Stewart, Callum Worthy, Tom Kenny, Sean Giambrone, Martin Cummins, Margot Kidder
• Synopsis: Episodes features a different cast in a scary situation that would involve ghosts, aliens, witches, zombies, and monsters.
• Network: Hub Network (2010–2014), Discovery Family (2014)
• Broadcast History: Four seasons, 76 episodes, last broadcast on November 29, 2014
• Trivia: Based on the 2007 movie R.L Stine’s The Haunting Hour: Don’t Think About It and the anthologies The Haunting Hour and Nightmare Hour. The Hub aired only three of the fourth season’s ten episodes with the remaining seven moving to Discovery Family. Storylines were much darker than those in the Goosebumps series. The threat of death was clear and permanent, with some stories featuring the main protagonist being killed at the end. The series won the Emmy for Outstanding Children’s Series in 2013, 2014 and 2015. Margot Kidder also won an Emmy in 2015 for Outstanding Performer in a Children’s or Pre-School Children’s Series. Jeny Cassady appeared in eight episodes, more than any other actor.

October 31 – The Walking Dead

• Cast: Andrew Lincoln, Jon Bernthal, Sarah Wayne Callies, Laurie Holden, Jeffrey DeMunn, Steven Yeun, Chandler Riggs, Norman Reedus, Lauren Cohan, Danai Gurira, Michael Rooker, David Morrissey, Melissa McBride, Scott Wilson, Michael Cudlitz, Emily Kinney, Chad L. Coleman, Lennie James, Sonequa Martin-Green, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Alanna Masterson, Josh McDermitt, Christian Serratos, Seth Gilliam, Ross Marquand, Katelyn Nacon, Tom Payne, Khary Payton, Samantha Morton, Ryan Hurst
• Synopsis: The series features a large group survivors of a zombie apocalypse, trying to stay alive under near-constant threat of attacks from zombies, colloquially known as ‘walkers’. However, with the fall of humanity, these survivors also face conflict from other living survivors who have formed groups and communities with their own sets of laws and morals, often leading to hostile conflict between the human communities.
• Network: AMC
• Broadcast History: Ten seasons, 147 episodes to date
• Trivia: The series was recently renewed for an 11th and final season which will conclude in 2022. An additional six episodes were ordered for the 10th season. With a pilot officially announced on January 20, 2010, AMC ordered a six-episode first season based on the strength of the comic book series, the television scripts and the participation of Frank Darabont (who left after the first season due to a dispute with AMC). Five cast members — Laurie Holden, Jeffrey DeMunn, Melissa McBride, Sam Witwer and Juan Pereja — also appeared in Darbont’s feature film The Mist (2007). Thomas Jane, who starred in the film, was originally set to star on the series when it was pitched to HBO, and he was later in talks to make a guest appearance, but with Darabont’s departure from the series that never happened. Holden also appeared in Darabont’s The Majestic, and DeMunn appeared in The Majestic, The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile, all directed by Darabont. Witwer was supposed to reprise his character from Season 1’s ‘Days Gone By’ episode in the second season premiere and in a webisode but the plans were discarded. After Darabont left the series, Glen Mazzara took over as showrunner with Season 2 but departed at the end of Season 3 after creative differences with AMC arose over the direction of the series. He was replaced with Scott Gimple, who was promoted to Chief Content Officer of the entire Walking Dead franchise with Angela Kang assuming showrunner position with Season 9. The series is completely shot on 16mm film. Four Walking Dead web series have been released on AMC’s website, there are currently two spin-offs in production (Fear the Walking Dead and The Walking Dead: World Beyond), with at least two more in the development stages, one focusing on the characters of Daryl and Carol and the other an anthology series, Tales of the Walking Dead. A series of three TV movies are also planned focusing on the character of Rick Grimes, who left the series during the ninth season.