20th Century Fox
Now that the major September premieres are out of the way, things are going to slow down a bit as we move into October. This week across the decades didn’t yield much in the way of memorable programming but there are still a couple of very well-known titles hidden among the almost forgotten. Let’s take a look!
1959
- October 6 — Anthology series Startime (aka Ford Startime — TV’s Finest Hour or Lincoln–Mercury Startime depending on the week’s sponsor) debuts on NBC, one of the first American TV series to be broadcast in color. The content of the hour-long series varied from week to week, and occasionally extended to 90 minutes. Through a unique deal with the show’s ‘packager’, Music Corporation of America (MCA), the series featured stars who normally did not make appearances on television programs at a reduced rate. For example, Ingrid Bergman commanded a salary of $750,000 per film but appeared on Startime for $100,000. MCA received a 10% commission on her salary and 10% of the series’ budget ($7.24 million), in the end receiving $724,000 for providing her services. Other on camera talent included Polly Bergen, Maurice Chevalier, Ernie Kovacs, Rosalind Russell, Kate Smith, Jerry Lewis, Ed Wynn, Vincent Price, Richard Nixon, Frank Sinatra, Mickey Rooney, Alec Guiness, George Burns, Jack Benny, Bobby Darin, Ethel Merman, Tab Hunter, Red Buttons, James Stewart, Cyd Charisse, Eve Arden, Thelma Ritter, Lloyd Nolan, Bert Lahr, Ronald Reagan, Joan Fontaine, John Ireland, Maureen O’Hara, Joan Crawford, Anne Francis, Ricardo Montalban, Jane Wyman, Rex Harrison, Tony Curtis, George Peppard, Jack Albertson, Eddie Albert, Celeste Holm, Jaye P. Morgan, Margaret Hamilton, Tennessee Ernie Ford, Nanette Fabray and Tony Randall. Alfred Hitchcock directed the 27th episode, ‘Incident at a Corner’ with Peppard, Albertson and Vera Miles. The series was also a sort of ‘try-out’ for entertainers who would go on to host their own shows including Dean Martin, Mitch Miller and Art Linkletter. Despite the star-power, the series ran for just one season of 33 episodes, concluding on May 31, 1960.
- October 7 — Detective series Hawaiian Eye debuts on ABC. Anthony Eisley starred as P.I. Tracy Steele who, with his half-Hawaiian partner Tom Lopaka (Robert Conrad), owned the detective agency/ security firm Hawaiian Eye in Honolulu with the principal client the Hawaiian Village Hotel. With the help of photographer Cricket Blake (Connie Stevens) an cab driver Kim Quisado (Poncie Ponce), the partners investigate mysteries and protect clients. Engineer-turned-detective Greg McKenzie (Grant Williams) joins the agency later as a full-time partner while hotel social director Philip Barton (Troy Donahue) chips in after Steele departs. Tina Cole joined the show in Season 4 after Stevens left temporarily due to a contract dispute. The series was one of several detective series from ABC and Warner Bros. Television that were set in exotic locales (77 Sunset Strip, Surfside 6 and Bourbon Street among them) all shot on the WB lot in Hollywood. The show benefited from Hawaii’s newly granted statehood on August 21, 1959 and mass tourism to the islands with the introduction of jetliners for commercial flights. Over the course of its four seasons, 134 episodes were broadcast and the series ended on April 2, 1963.
- October 9 — Western The Man from Blackhawk premieres on ABC. Robert Rockwll starred as Sam Logan, an insurance investigator for the Blackhawk Insurance Company, scouring the West investigating claims, verifying their accuracy, seeking to root out fraud and dishonesty. Unlike most Westerns of the time, Logan usually dressed in a suit and was more apt to use his fists than a gun. The show was designed to take advantage of the popularity of the crop of private eye shows popping up in the television landscape. Not all episodes were set in the West, with one set in New Orleans, another in coastal New England, one in New York City’s Bowery district and another in Montreal. Guest stars included Joanna Barnes, Virginia Gregg, Alan Hale Jr., Denver Pyle, Harry Dean Stanton, Beverly Garland, Ruta Lee, Tommy Rettig and Nita Talbot. The series ran for one season, producing 37 episodes, ending on September 9, 1960.
- October 11 — Cartoon compilation series Matty’s Funday Funnies premieres on ABC. The Sunday afternoon series featured theatrical cartoons from Famous Studios with character that included Casper the Friendly Ghost, Baby Huey, Little Audrey. The ‘Matty’ of the title was Matty Mattel, the animated mascot of the Mattel Toy Company, the show’s original sponsor. The series ran until 1961 and was replaced with Matty’s Funnies with Beany and Cecil on January 6, 1962.
1969
- No new series premiered this week in 1969.
1979
- No new series premiered this week in 1979.
1989
- No new series premiered this week in 1989.
1999
- October 6 — Young adult sci-fi series Roswell debuts on The WB. The series was based on the ‘Roswell High’ novels by Melinda Metz and Laura J. Burns, who became staff writers on the series. The plot revolved around the romantic entanglements of humans and aliens that had been in a state of suspended animation since the infamous Roswell UFO crash, while local and federal authorities attempt to track down the aliens who are trying to fit in as average teenagers. The show starred Jason Behr, Katherine Heigl and Brendan Fehr as the alien teens with Shiri Appleby Majandra Delfino, Colin Hanks and Nick Wechsler as their human counterparts. William Sadler was the Roswell sheriff and father of Wechsler’s character who suspected something was not right with the new kids in town. Adam Rodriguez joined the show in Season 3 as a love interest for Heigl’s character and Emilie De Ravin came on board as another alien full-time in Season 2 after recurring in Season 1 (she made guest appearances in Season 3). Recurring cast members included Mary Ellen Trainor, John Doe, Jo Anderson, Julie Benz, Richard Schiff, Desmond Askew and Miko Hughes. The guest cast included Carroll Baker, Genie Francis, Jason Dohring, Morgan Fairchild and Joe Pantoliano. Jonathan Frakes, Nelly Furtado and John Billingsley made appearances as themselves. The series was originally developed for the FOX Network, but moved to The WB with a full 22-episode season commitment. The second episode was the first to use the full title sequence with the theme song ‘Here With My’ by Dido. The show quickly developed a vocal fanbase but ratings did not reflect that. The series quickly threw out the stand-alone relationship episodes of the early part of Season 1 for more serialized arcs and science fiction themes. While the show was facing cancellation, fans bombarded the network with bottles of Tabasco, a favorite condiment of the aliens, and Ronald D. Moore was brought in to join the show’s creator Jason Katims to further develop the show’s sci-fi elements. Not all the fans were happy with the shift and The WB cancelled the show after the second season on May 15, 2001. 20th Century Fox Television was able to persuade UPN to pick up the series for a third season as part of a package with the new series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Roswell aired after Buffy during the 2001-2002 season but was unable to retain that show’s ratings and the show was cancelled against after its third season ended on May 14, 2001. A total of 61 episodes were produced and a reboot series, Roswell, New Mexico began airing on The CW at the beginning of the 2018-2019 season. Original Roswell star Behr has been cast in a multi-episode arc for that show’s second season in a top secret role, with his co-star Appleby directing at least one of his episode.
- October 8 — Sci-fi series Harsh Realm premieres on FOX. Created by The X-Files‘ Chris Carter, the series focused on humans trapped inside a virtual reality simulation and was loosely based on a comic book by James D. Hudnall and Andrew Paquette. The cast included Scott Bairstow, D.B. Sweeney, Max Martini, Rachel Hayward, Saraj-Jane Redmond, Samantha Matthis and Terry O’Quinn. While the pilot was well-received, ratings were terrible and FOX pulled the series after airing the first three of the nine produced episodes. The remaining six episodes eventually aired on the FX Network, with the last broadcast on May 19, 2000.
- October 8 — Sitcom Love & Money premieres on CBS. The plot involved Alice Conklin, who has misgivings about the success of her impending marriage on her wedding day. Locking herself in a bathroom and claiming the door is stuck, the family calls building super Eamon McBride to get her out. Getting inside the bathroom, it is revealed Allison and Eamon are former lovers and the incident reignites that flame, causing Allison to throw caution to the wind and pursue that relationship while Allison’s father attempts to bribe Eamon to leave his daughter alone. The series starred Brian Van Holt, Paget Brewster, Brian Doyle-Murray, Judy Greer, Swoosie Kurtz and David Ogden Stiers. CBS cancelled the series after airing five of the 13 produced episodes, three in October 1999 and two in July 2000.
- October 9 — Animated series Angela Anaconda premieres on Canada’s Teletoon. The series aired in the US on Fox Family Channel and Starz Kids and Family. The show revolves around the adventures of the title character, an eight-year-old girl, in the fictional town of Tapwater Springs. The show began as a series of short comedy sketches on Nickelodeon’s Kablam! which was then developed into a long-form series featuring cutout animation in which the characters were created using black and white photographs, then superimposing the models’ faces onto CGI bodies in CGI backgrounds. The series was nominated twice, in 2000 and 2001, for Outstanding Special Class Animated Program Emmys, and won an Annecy Award in 2000 for Best TV Animation Program and a Gemini Award for Best Animated Program or Series. The show ran for three seasons, producing 65 episodes, ending on December 10, 2001.
- October 12 — Action drama The Strip debuts on UPN. The show starred Sean Patrick Flanery and Guy Torry as former Las Vegas detectives hired by the owner of Caesar’s Palace to serve as ‘troubleshooters’ protecting his interests. Ten episodes were produced with the network airing nine, starting with the second episode, before cancelling the show with the January 11, 2000 episode. The network finally aired the pilot episode on July 7, 2000.
2009
- October 6 — Paranormal reality series Ghost Lab premieres on the Discovery Channel. The series was narrated by Dirty Jobs host Mike Rowe and followed ghost hunting brothers Brad and Barry Klinge, founders of Everyday Paranormal, as they investigate the most haunted places in America, find evidence and test new theories to probe the existence of the afterlife. The team also included Steve Harris, Hector Cisneros, and Katie Burr. The series originally aired Thursday nights but was moved to late Friday – early Saturday due to low ratings. The series was cancelled after the conclusion of its second season with 26 episodes under its belt.
- October 7 — Sitcom Secret Girlfriend debuts on Comedy Central. Originally created as a web series, the show features the viewer as the ‘star’ of the show, a dating satire, with the actors addressing the camera as if it were the lead character. The main cast included Derek Miller, Michael Blaiklock, Alexis Krause and Sara E. R. Fletcher, with Taylor Cole, Italia Ricci, Tonya Kay and Dawan Owens in recurring roles. The series debuted to mostly scathing reviews, and while there was no formal cancellation announcement after the first season’s six episodes aired, the show;s co-creator Ross Novie announced on Twitter on April 29, 2010 that there would be no second season. The final episode aired November 11, 2009.
- October 9 — Reality series I’m Alive premieres on Animal Planet. The series featured death-defying stories of people determined to survive animal attacks, although not all of the subjects had survived. Actors were used to reenact the dangerous scenarios. 22 episodes were produced over two seasons, with the last episode aired on May 19, 2011.
Did you or do you watch any of these show? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section below!
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