TV by the Decade :: September 13•19

MTM Enterprises

Premiere month is in full force throughout the decades with dozens of new shows making their first appearances. For many, it was also their last with new series lasting anywhere from three episodes to a single season. But there were a few notable exceptions in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s with the premieres of a hit history-making variety show, a beloved classic sitcom, a show about the hottest music, and the second longest-running scripted drama on television. Those and more premiered this week, so let’s take a look to see which ones you remember. And you can own any of the shows highlighted in red, just click the link to make a purchase and help support Hotchka!

1950

September 19 – Danger

• Cast: Dane Clark, Olive Deering
• Guest stars: Leslie Nielsen, E.G. Marshall, John Cassavetes, Ben Gazzara, Grace Kelly, Walter Slezak, Cloris Leachman, Jayne Meadows, Lee Grant, Kim Stanley, Rod Steiger, Steve Allen, Anne Bancroft, Jackqueline Susann, Walter Matthau
• Network: CBS
• Synopsis: Live psychological and murder mystery dramas
• Broadcast run: Five seasons, 242 episodes, ending on May 31, 1955
• Trivia: One of the first US TV dramas to make effective use of background music. The final episode was an adaptation of The Birds four years before the release of the Alfred Hitchcock movie.

1960

September 13 – Thriller

• Cast: Boris Karloff (host)
• Guest stars: Leslie Nielsen, Natalie Trundy, Jessie Royce Landis, Mary Astor, Rip Torn, Richard Anderson, Alan Napier, Martin Gabel, Richard Chamberlain, Rhodes Reason, Cloris Leachman, Ellen Corby, Victor Buono, Elisha Cook, Jr., Whitney Blake, Mary Tyler Moore, Ed Nelson, Jeanne Cooper, Beverly Garland, Warren Oates, Mort Sahl, Werner Klemperer, Jack Weston, William Shatner, Russell Johnson, Donna Douglas, Susan Oliver, James Gregory, Morgan Brittany, Richard Kiel, Robert Vaughn, Marlo Thomas, Edward Platt, MacDonald Carey, Pippa Scott, Jeanette Nolan, Les Tremayne, Virginia Gregg, Reggie Nalder, Lloyd Bochner, Marion Ross, Henry Silva, Natalie Schafer, Elizabeth Montgomery, Tom Poston, John Carradine, Ursula Andress, Dick York, Sue Ane Langdon, Jim Davis, George Kennedy
• Network: NBC
• Synopsis: An anthology series with host Boris Karloff introducing a mix of macabre horror tales and suspense thrillers.
• Broadcast run: Two seasons, 67 episodes, ending on April 30, 1962
• Trivia: Also known as Boris Karloff’s Thriller and Boris Karloff Presents. The series originally began with a focus on crime stories with trappings of Gothic horror added after producer Fletcher Markel was let go after eight episodes, replaced by Maxwell Shane, who was also replaced after nine episodes. New producer William Frye moved the series firmly into the horror realm. Psycho author Robert Bloch was one of the many series writers. Karloff appeared in five episodes in addition to his hosting duties. Alfred Hitchcock was partially responsible for the show’s demise as an expanded version of his show, now titled The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, joined the schedule and he did not want two similar shows airing on the network. A comic book version of the show debuted in October 1962, with the title changed to Boris Karloff’s Tales of Mystery after the TV series ended, lasting until the end of 1979, long after Karloff’s death.

September 14 – The Aquanauts

• Cast: Keith Larsen, Jeremy Slate, Ron Ely, Charles Thompson
• Guest stars: Dyan Cannon, Russ Conway, Donna Douglas, Peter Falk, Sam Levene, Carroll O’Connor, Burt Reynolds, Inger Stevens, Jane Withers, Keenan Wynn, James Coburn, Jim Davis, Larry Pennell and Ken Curtis
• Network: CBS
• Synopsis: The series focuses on the adventures of two Southern California divers, Drake Andrews (Larsen) and Larry Lahr (Slate), who made their living salvaging sunken wrecks.
• Broadcast run: One season, 32 episodes, last broadcast on June 7, 1961
• Trivia: Guest stars Pennell and Curtis would go on to star in the 1961 series Ripcord. Larsen left the series in Januuary 1961 due to health issues and was replaced by Ely. The cast change also changed the show’s format as Mike Madison (Ely) and Larry open a shop in Malibu, with storylines shifting from underwater dangers to situations on dry land. The new format also forced a title change: Malibu Run. The series was scheduled opposite NBC’s highly popular Wagon Train and was unable to compete, ending after one season. A Buffalo, NY TV station programmer loved the series so much, it was aired every day at the same time … but the same episode aired for two weeks before anyone noticed. The series was adapted into a comic book by Dell Comics. A paperback novel adaptation was published in February 1961 that featured the Drake Andrews character.

September 17 – Checkmate

• Cast: Anthony George, Sebastian Cabot, Doug McClure, Ken Lynch, Jack Betts
• Guest stars: Dana Andrews, Eve Arden, John Astin, Anne Baxter, Jack Benny, Bill Bixby, Lloyd Bridges, Ellen Burstyn, Cyd Charisse, Sid Caesar, James Coburn, Joseph Cotten, Angie Dickinson, Donna Douglas, Buddy Ebsen, Norman Fell, Joan Fontaine, Beverly Garland, James Gregory, Celeste Holm, James Hong, Jeffrey Hunter, David Janssen, Martin Landau, Charles Laughton, Cloris Leachman, Julie London, Jack Lord, Peter Lorre, Tina Louise, Lee Marvin, Vera Miles, Ricardo Montalban, Elizabeth Montgomery, Mary Tyler Moore, Patricia Neal, Dan O’Herlihy, Susan Oliver, Eleanor Parker, Walter Pidgeon, Tony Randall, Madlyn Rhue, Mickey Rooney, Barbara Rush, George Sanders, Dean Stockwell, Robert Vaughn, James Whitmore, William Windom, Jane Wyman, Keenan Wynn
• Network: CBS
• Synopsis: The program chronicles the cases of the San Francisco detective agency called Checkmate, Inc. Don Corey (George) and Jed Sills (McClure) run the agency, which specializes in preventing crimes before they happen.
• Broadcast run: Two seasons, 70 episodes, ending on June 20, 1962
• Trivia: The series was produced by Jack Benny’s production company, JaMco Productions. Many exteriors were shot in San Fransciso. Anthony George left his recurring role on The Untouchables for this series. The first season aired on Saturdays and finished 21st among all shows. It was moved to Wednesdays against The Perry Como Show on NBC and fell in the ratings, replaced by The Beverly Hillbillies. John Williams composed the show’s opening and closing theme music. A two-issue comic was published by Dell Comics in 1962.

September 18- National Velvet

• Cast: Lori Martin, Arthur Space, Carole Wells, Joey Scott, Ann Doran, James McCallion
• Guest stars: Parley Baer, Beau Bridges, Edgar Buchanan, Richard Deacon, Jack Elam, Harold Gould, Susan Seaforth Hayes, Bill Mumy, J. Pat O’Malley, Denver Pyle
• Network: NBC
• Synopsis: Lori Martin starred as Velvet Brown, a girl living on a dairy farm with her parents, brother and sister, and ex-jockey. Velvet owned the thoroughbred stallion King which she hoped to run in the Grand National Steeplechase one day.
• Broadcast run: Two seasons, 58 episodes, last broadcast on April 2, 1962
• Trivia: Based on the 1935 novel and 1944 film of the same name.

September 18- Pete and Gladys

• Cast: Harry Morgan, Cara Williams
• Guest stars: Jack Albertson, Morey Amsterdam, Raymond Bailey, Majel Barrett, Bea Benaderet, Whitney Blake, Frank Cady, Richard Deacon, Donna Douglas, Gale Gordon, Sterling Holloway, Ron Howard, Marty Ingels, Ted Knight, Nancy Kulp, Charles Lane, Strother Martin, Cesar Romero, Reta Shaw, Doris Singleton
• Network: CBS
• Synopsis: A spin-off of popular CBS sitcom December Bride in which Morgan played neighbor Pete who was always complaining about his scatterbrained and unseen wife Gladys. The new series introduced Gladys, and the happy couple lived in Westwood, CA.
• Broadcast run: Two seasons, 72 episodes, last broadcast on September 10, 1962
• Trivia: December Bride character Hilda Crocker (Verna Felton) appeared in 23 of the first season’s 36 episodes. Frances Rafferty, also from December Bride, appeared in seven episodes but as a different character than on the original series. Barbara Stuart recurred in the first season as Gladys’ friend Alice. Ernest Truex appeared in six episodes as Gladys’ father. The show never cracked the Top 30 during its run. Williams was nominated for an Emmy in 1962 for Outstanding Continued Performance by a Lead Actress in a Comedy Series, but she lost to Shirley Booth for Hazel.

September 18- The Tab Hunter Show

• Cast: Tab Hunter, Richard Erdman, Jerome Cowan, Reta Shaw
• Guest stars: Mary Tyler Moore, Elizabeth Montgomery, John McGiver, Nita Talbot, Spring Byington, Nancy Walker, Jackie Coogan, Doodles Weaver, Gena Rowlands, Tuesday Weld, Joe Flynn, Jack Albertson, Ruta Lee, Suzanne Pleshette, Raymond Bailey, Norman Fell, Charles Lane, Mabel Albertson, Ellen Corby
• Network: NBC
• Synopsis: Hunter played Paul Morgan, a cartoonist who draws the daily strip ‘Bachelor at Large’, which is essentially based on his own life as a bachelor in Malibu, CA, perpetually surrounded by beautiful young women and trying to get out of relationships when they turn too serious. His best friend Peter Fairfield III is a rich-but-stingy playboy who loves beautiful women, fashion, and fast cars and often is mixed up in Paul’s romantic romps.
• Broadcast run: One season, 32 episodes, last broadcast on April 30, 1961
• Trivia: Hoping to counter criticism that the network aired too many violent series, NBC created a four-hour family block on Sundays, replacing live comedies and variety shows that previously filled the 8:00 PM hour with National Velvet and The Tab Hunter Show. NBC hoped the casting of Hunter would bring young female viewers to the network, while filling guest spots with beautiful young women would hopefully bring in young male viewers. NBC originally announced the series as Bachelor at Large. Hunter was at the peak of his movie career but wanted to take on a TV series to allow him more freedom to act. This was his first comedic role. Critics noted that the show’s premise was very similar to The Bob Cummings Show and that Hunter lacked Cummings’ talent for comedy. Programmed against The Ed Sullivan Show on CBS, the series was unable to compete, leading to its cancellation after a single season.

September 19 – The Barbara Stanwyck Show

• Cast: Barbara Stanwyck
• Guest stars: Dana Andrews, Michael Ansara, Lew Ayres, Ralph Bellamy, Milton Berle, James Best, Joan Blondell, Edgar Buchanan, Joseph Cotten, Yvonne Craig, Hume Cronyn, Robert Kulp, Andy Devine, Dan Duryea, Buddy Ebsen, Peter Falk, Virginia Gregg, Dennis Hopper, Julie London, John McGiver, Lee Marvin, Vic Morrow, Jack Nicholson, Lloyd Nolan, Susan Oliver, Michael Rennie, Marion Ross, Anna May Wong
• Network: NBC
• Synopsis: Anthology drama hosted by Barbara Stanwyck, who also starred in all but four of the 36 episodes.
• Broadcast run: One season, 36 episodes, last broadcast on September 11, 1961
• Trivia: Stanwyck won the Emmy in 1961 for Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Series. The four episodes in which Stanwyck did not appear were pilot episodes for potential new series. Three of the episodes with Stanwyck were also attempts at spinning off a dramatic series for Stanwyck as the character Josephine Little, an American woman running an import-export shop in Hong Kong. The series was produced at Desilu Studios.

1970

September 15 – The Don Knotts Show

• Cast: Don Knotts, Elaine Joyce, Gary Burghoff
• Network: NBC
• Synopsis: Variety series featuring Knotts, his cast of regulars and special guests presenting the standard fare of the era. One recurring skit was about the effort to put a weekly television series on the air. Another, ‘The Front Porch’, featured Knotts and a guest sitting in rocking chairs, discussing their philosophies of life.
• Broadcast run: One season, 24 episodes, last broadcast on July 6, 1971

September 16 – McCloud

• Cast: Dennis Weaver, J.D. Cannon, Terry Carter, Ken Lynch, Diana Muldaur
• Recurring cast: Ken Lynch, Teri Garr
• Network: NBC
• Synopsis: The series focused on Deputy Marshal Sam McCloud (Weaver) of the small western town of Taos, New Mexico who is on loan to the New York City Police Department as a special investigator.
• Broadcast run: Seven seasons, 45 episodes + one TV movie, last broadcast on April 17, 1977
• Trivia: Fess Parker was the first choice for McCloud but he turned down the role. For six of its seven seasons, the show aired as part of the NBC Mystery Movie rotating ‘wheel series’ which also featured Columbo and McMillan and Wife. The idea for the series was adapted from the 1968 film Coogan’s Bluff starring Clint Eastwood. The first season consisted of 60-minute episodes and was part of the Four in One wheel series. The show was expanded to 90-minutes and made part of the new Mystery Movie wheel series. The series originally aired on Wednesdays but moved to Sundays for its third season, becoming an even bigger hit. Episodes were expaned to two hours starting with the fifth season, but dropped back to 90-minutes for the final season. The final episode was titled ‘McCloud Meets Dracula’. Weaver received Emmy nominations for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series in 1974 and 1975. Weaver reprised the role for the TV movie The Return of Sam McCloud in 1989. Muldaur also returned as his love interest Chris Coughlin.

September 16 – Storefront Lawyers

• Cast: Robert Foxworth, Sheila Larkin, David Arkin, A Martinez, Gerald S. O’Loughlin
• Guest cast: Edward Andrews, Dean Jagger, Barry Morse, Melinda Dillon, James Stacy, Dana Elcar, J. Pat O’Malley, Joyce Van Patten, William Conrad, Murray Hamilton, Lou Antonio, Sharon Farrell, Tony Roberts, Kenneth Tobey, Anne Archer, Lloyd Bochner, David Doyle, Kurt Russell, Anthony Zerbe, Dan Travanty (aka Daniel J. Tavanti), Jack Cassidy, Nina Foch, Sue Lyon, Glynn Turman, Jeanne Cooper, Harry Guardino, Meg Foster, John Rubinstein, Jean Hale, Cloris Leachman, David Wayne, Marilyn Maxwell, Kay Medford, Wayne Rogers, Lee Grant, John Vernon, Martin E. Brooks, Tom Skerritt, Fritz Weaver, William Shatner, Jan-Michael Vincent
• Network: CBS
• Synopsis: David Hansen (Foxworth) leaves expensive his law firm to start a non-profit firm called Neighborhood Legal Services with his associates Deborah Sullivan (Larken) and Gabriel Kay (Arkin), and law clerk Roberto (Martinez).
• Broadcast run: One season, 23 episodes, last broadcast on April 14, 1971
• Trivia: After 13 weeks, CBS decided to retool the show so the lawyers could take on wealthy clients as well, retitling the show Men at Law, and moving the main characters back to their former law firm.

September 17 – The Flip Wilson Show

• Cast: Flip Wilson
• Guest cast: Ella Fitzgerald, James Brown, Louis Armstrong, Lena Horne, Stevie Wonder, The Jackson 5, The Chi-Lites, Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, Gladys Knight & the Pips, The Pointer Sisters, Charley Pride, Johnny Mathis, The Temptations, The Supremes, Bobby Darin, Bing Crosby, Roy Clark, Joan Rivers, The Osmonds, Johnny Cash, Roger Miller, Pat Boone, Roberta Flack, Sandy Duncan, Lily Tomlin, George Carlin, Bill Cosby, Richard Pryor, Albert Brooks, Lola Falana, Melba Moore
• Network: NBC
• Synopsis: 60-minute variety show featuring a ‘theatre-in-the-round’ stage format.
• Broadcast run: Four seasons, 94 episodes, last broadcast on June 27, 1974
• Trivia: The first successful network variety series starring an African-American performer. The first two seasons, the show was the second most watched series in the nation. Wilson was famous for his creation Geraldine Jones (Wilson in drag) who had a boyfriend named killer and popular one-liners including ‘The Devil made me buy this dress’ and ‘What you see is what you get’. During its run, the show was nominated for 18 Emmy Awards and won two, both in 1971 for Outstanding Variety Series and Outstanding Writing Achievement in Variety or Music. Wilson also won the Golden Globe in 1971 for Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series — Musical or Comedy. Gospel legend Mahalia Jackson made one of her last public appearanced on the show in 1971. A massive ratings decline and Wilson’s demands for salary increases causing the show to go over budget led to the show’s cancellation.

September 17 – Nancy

• Cast: Renne Jarrett, John Fink, Celeste Holm, Robert F. Simon, Frank Aletter, William Bassett, Eddie Applegate
• Network: NBC
• Synopsis: Presidential daughter Nancy Smith meets and marries veternarian Adam Hudson while vacationing in Center City, Iowa.
• Broadcast run: One season, 17 episodes, last broadcast on January 7, 1971
• Trivia: The series was created by producer and author Sidney Sheldon, who wrote every episode under various pseudonyms. A novel based on the series was released to coincide with the premiere of the show to generate interest. Jarrett, Fink and Holm appeared on the cover of TV Guide to promote the wedding episode. Neither helped draw in viewers.

September 17 – Headmaster

• Cast: Andy Griffith, Jerry Van Dyke, Claudette Nevins, Parker Fennelly
• Guest cast: Jeff Corey, James Gregory, Mark Hamill, Ron Howard, Lani O’Grady, Butch Patrick, Rob Reiner, Olan Soule, Mary Wickes
• Network: CBS
• Synopsis: A dramedy focused on the relationship between the headmaster of an elite California private school and his students and faculty.
• Broadcast run: One season, 14 episodes, last broadcast on January 1, 1971
• Trivia: Marked the return to series television for Griffith, who had just signed a three-picture deal with Universal. Not happy with the first film, Angel in my Pocket, the other two films under his contract were never made. Both Van Dyke and Fennelly had also appeared in the film. Griffith took the role because the character was something other than a ‘rural bumpkin’ dispensing folksy wisdom. Griffith admitted the new series was ‘a very bad show’ and it was routinely beaten in the ratings by ABC’s The Partridge Family and NBC’s The Name of the Game. After the series was cancelled, it was replaced by The New Andy Griffith Show which debuted a week later and ran for just 10 episodes, and was replaced by reruns of Headmaster. The series has never been rerun in syndication, has had no DVD release, is not on YouTube and rarely turns up with private collectors. The fifth episode, ‘One for the Gipper’, is archived at the Paley Center for Media.

September 18 – The Interns

• Cast: Broderick Crawford, Mike Farrell, Skip Homeier, Christopher Stone, Stephen Brooks, Hal Frederick, Elaine Giftos, Sandra Smith, Simon Scott
• Guest cast: Bert Convy, William Devane, Albert Salmi, Meg Foster, Bridget Hanley, Pete Duel, Malachi Throne, Ron Rifkin, Viveca Lindfors, Georg Stanford Brown, Billy Dee Williams, Martin Sheen, Lois Nettleton, Frank Gorshin, Diana Hyland, John Davidson, Peter Haskell, Meredith MacRae, Lew Ayres, Shelley Fabares, Pat Carroll
• Network: CBS
• Synopsis: The series focused on the work of Dr. Pete Goldstone (Crawford) and his five medical interns at New North Hospital in Los Angeles. The stories dealt with issues of the day including racism directed at one of teh African American interns.
• Broadcast run: One season, 24 episodes, last episode aired on March 26, 1971
• Trivia: Based on the 1962 film The Interns and its 1964 sequel The New Interns. Most reviews for the series were critical of the predictable and formulaic storytelling.

September 19 – The Mary Tyler Moore Show

• Cast: Mary Tyler Moore, Edward Asner, Valerie Harper, Gavin MacLeod, Ted Knight, Cloris Leachman, Georgie Engel, Betty White
• Network: CBS
• Synopsis: Moore starred as Mary Richards, an unmarried, independent woman focused on her career as associate producer at the fictional WJM news program in Minneapolis.
• Broadcast run: Seven season, 168 episodes, series finale aired on March 19, 1977
• Trivia: The series broke new ground by depicting a single, successful female character who was not dependent on a man, a rarity on 1970s television. The series earned 29 Primetime Emmy Awards during its run, a record unbroken until Frasier won its 30th in 2002, including Outstanding Comedy Series three years in a row (1975-1977). Moore won three Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series Emmy’s as well. The show spawned three spin-offs: sitcoms Rhoda and Phyllis, and hour-long drama Lou Grant. The series expertly wove social issues like equal pay for women, pre-marital sex and homosexuality into its comedic plots. In a fifth season episode, Mary is jailed for contempt of court after not revealing a news source. The series made history with a sixth season appearance by Betty Ford, the first First Lady to make a cameo appearance on a TV sitcom. Other episodes dealt with death (the classic ‘Chuckles Bites the Dust’), infertility, Ted Baxter’s heart attack, and Mary’s addiction to sleeping pills. Mary is engaged twice during the series’ run but never marries. One of the show’s running jokes is Mary’s terrible parties. During one such gathering, the power goes out just before the guest of honor, Johnny Carson, arrives. In the darkness Carson’s voice is heard but he’s never seen. Moore was at first unsure about taking on the character, fearing viewers who so closely identified her as Laura Petrie from The Dick Van Dyke Show would think the couple had gotten a divorce, especially as the Mary Richards character was initially conceived as a divorcee. Van Dyke never guested on the show but his brother Jerry did. The show had a major impact on television with its modern approach to characters and storytelling. Tina Fey cites the show as the inspiration for 30 Rock, and the writers of Friends said the show’s finale inspired their own series finale.

September 19 – Arnie

• Cast: Herschel Bernardi, Stephanie Steele, Del Russel, Sue Ane Langdon, Roger Bowen, Elaine Shore, Herb Voland, Tom Pedi, Olan Soule
• Network: CBS
• Synopsis: The series focused on Arnie Nuvo (Bernardi), a blue collar worker who is promoted to an executive position, with stories focusing on his fish-out-of-water situation, his relationship with his boss (Bowen), and his home life with wife Lilian (Langdon).
• Broadcast run: Two seasons, 48 episodes, last episode aired on March 6, 1972
• Trivia: The show was the lead-in for The Mary Tyler Moore Show during its first season, but despite an Emmy nomination for best comedy series the ratings were so-so. For the second season, CBS replaced Dick Van Patten as the Nuvos’ neighbor with Charles Nelson Reilly as a TV chef known as ‘The Giddyap Gourmet’. The show was also moved from Saturday to Monday at 10:00 PM as a lead-in to new sitcom also struggling in the ratings, All in the Family. At the last minute, CBS moved My Three Sons to the 10:00 PM slot with Arnie now at 10:30 PM, sinking both shows in the ratings. All in the Family thrived in the new 8:00 PM Saturday time slot, while My Three Sons moved to Thursdays at mid-season and Arnie returned to Saturdays, but the damage had been done and both shows ended at the end of the season.

1980

September 13 – Solid Gold

• Hosts: Dionne Warwick (1980-81, 1985-86), Marilyn McCoo (1981-84, 1986-88), Andy Gibb (1981-82), Rex Smith (1982-83), Rick Dees (1984-85), Nina Blackwood (1986-88), Arsenio Hall (1986-88)
• Dancers included Darcel Wynne, the principle dancer for the first five seasons, Deborah Jenssen, Paula Beyers, Alexander Cole, Gayle Crofoot, Lucinda Dickey, Cooley Jaxson, Pam Rossi, Macarena Gandarillas, Chelsea Field, Steve La Chance, Mark Sellers, Gigi Hunter, Darrell Wright, Paul Michael Thorpe, Betsy Harris
• Network: Syndication
• Synopsis: Usually airing on Saturdays, the series focused on the popular music of the week, with appearances by the performers and an in-house crew of dancers, the Solid Gold Dancers, that performed routines to the week’s featured songs.
• Broadcast run: Eight seasons, 332 episodes, last broadcast on July 23, 1988
• Trivia: Dionne Warwick chose Michael Miller to be the show’s musical director at the start of the first season and he remained with the show until the end, and co-wrote the show’s opening theme song. The last appearance of the Solid Gold Dancers was not on the series, but in the movie Scrooged, which was filmed before the show was cancelled. One of the show’s choreographers was Lester Wilson, the choreographer for Saturday Night Fever. Most of the artist performances were lip-synched, with some live performances backed by a pre-recorded track. All the duets with Warwick, McCoo, Gibb and Smith performed with a guest host were done live.

1990

September 13 – Babes

• Cast: Wendie Jo Sperber, Susan Peretz, Lesley Boone, Rick Overton, Nedra Volz
• Guest cast: Brandon Maggart, Dena Dietrich, Jeff Corey, Gretchen Wyler, Cesar Romero, Matt McCoy, Tracey Walter, William Windom, Wolfgang Puck, Barbara Barrie, Leslie Jordan, Christopher Rich, Sal Viscuso
• Network: FOX
• Synopsis: The series follows a trio of obese sisters who had other things on their mind besides their weight: like work, relationships, popularity, and starting a family. The ladies also shared a small one-bedroom apartment in New York City, which added to the comic friction.
• Broadcast run: One season, 22 episodes, last episode aired on May 19, 1991
• Trivia: The show faced controversy in early episodes as many saw the show making fun of the characters’ weight, but that faded as later episodes put a more positive spin on the characters, who at one point vowed never to use the word ‘fat’ in an argument. The show followed The Simpsons lead-in but was unable to retain a large enough percentage of the audience and that plus the controversy led to the show’s cancellation. Rick Overton’s last appearance as a series regular was in Episode 10 while Nedra Volz joined the series as a regular in Episode 11.

Universal Television

September 13 – Law & Order

• Cast (partial): Chris Noth, Dann Florek, Richard Brooks, Michael Moriarty, Steven Hill, Jerry Orbach, S. Epatha Merkerson, Jill Hennessey, Sam Waterston, Benjamin Bratt, Angie Harmon, Jesse L. Martin, Dianne Wiest, Elisabeth Rohm, Dennis Farina, Jeremy Sisto, Linus Roache, Anthony Anderson
• Network: NBC
• Synopsis: The series follows a two-part approach: the first half-hour is the investigation of a crime (usually murder) and apprehension of a suspect by New York City Police Department detectives; the second half is the prosecution of the defendant by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office. Plots are often based on real cases that recently made headlines, although the motivation for the crime and the perpetrator may be different.
• Broadcast run: Twenty seasons, 456 episodes, last episode aired on May 24, 2010
• Trivia: Law & Order is the second longest running live-action scripted drama on television. Spin-off Law & Order: Special Victims Unit is first at 21 seasons and counting. After NBC announced the series would be ending, creator Dick Wolf attempted to shop the show to other networks but failed to find it a new home. Wolf’s original title for the show was Night & Day. When Wolf presented the concept to the head of Universal Television, it was pointed out there was a similarity to a 1963 series titled Arrest and Trial that lasted for a single season. Wolf originally sold the series to FOX with a 13-episode order but the network head reversed the decision saying he didn’t think it was a ‘FOX show’. CBS then ordered a pilot, but did not take it to series because there were no ‘breakout stars’. In the summer of 1989, NBC exes saw the pilot but were concerned that the show’s intensity could not be maintained week after week. They had enough confidence that it would be accepted by a wide audience and ordered a full season. Nearly two years passed between production of the pilot and production of the series. Roy Thinnes, who was cast as District Attorney Alfred Wentworth, had taken a role on NBC’s Dark Shadows revival and declined to return. George Dzundza was one of the first actors to be cast, but became disappointed with the series when he saw it was more of an ensemble piece. He was also under stress from commuting from his home in Los Angeles to New York, making the cast feel uncomfortable. He quit after the first season, his character killed off in the line of duty. Paul Sorvino replaced him but grew tired of the exhausting schedule and quit after a season and a half, replaced by Jerry Orbach who was requested to replicate his performance of a character he played in the 1981 film Prince of the City. By the end of Season 3, NBC felt the show needed more female characters and threatened cancellation or a move to Fridays if producers did not comply. Chris Noth was let go at the end of his Season 5 contract as Wolf felt his and Orbach’s characters had become too similar. Noth was also disgruntled by Wolf’s firing of Florek and Brooks, saying he was not a friend to his actors. Orbach left the show after 12 years, stating that he was joining the spin-off Law & Order: Trial By Jury. Orbach did not reveal at the time that he’d been battling prostate cancer and the new role was designed to be less taxing on him. Orbach died on December 28, 2004 and only appeared in the first two episodes of the new series. The character was written off has having died off screen, but it wasn’t until a Season 18 episode of the original series that the character’s death was addressed. After Orbach’s departure from the show at the end of Season 14, ratings began to decline, fans did not like Dennis Farina, and NBC felt the cast was not meshing well forcing more replacements, some just as unpopular as Farina, and cast departures. The show was cancelled in favor of spin-off Law & Order: Los Angeles and a 12th season renewal for SVU. Wolf tried to pressure NBC to make a deal with TNT, which aired reruns in syndication, but TNT was not interested in producing a 21st season. AMC considered a revival, but attempts failed. NBC did consider bringing the show back in 2015 as a 10-episode limited series. The show won the Emmy in 1997 for Outstanding Drama Series.

September 15 – Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure

• Voice Cast: Keanu Reeves, Alex Winter, George Carlin, Bernie Casey, Danny Cooksey, Peter Renaday
• Guest cast: Ken Berry, Roscoe Lee Browne, Hamilton Camp, Keene Curtis, Dick Gautier, Phil Hartman, Arte Johnson, Maurice LaMarche, Little Richard, Dave Madden, Kenneth Mars, Clive Revill, Kimmy Robertson, William Schallert, Kath Soucie, Jeffrey Tambor, Jonathan Winters
• Network: CBS (Season 1); FOX Kids (Season 2)
• Synopsis: Based on the 1989 film, the show features two dim-witted teenage musicians, Bill and Ted, who are visited by Rufus, a man from the future, who needs them to graduate from high school in order to start a rock band that inspires the people of the future. They travel to various time periods, making sure that history happens as it should, more or less.
• Broadcast run: Two seasons, 21 episodes, last episode aired on November 16, 1991
• Trivia: Hanna-Barbera produced the first season with most of the film’s original cast providing voices. The second season switched production companies and networks, with FOX also planning a live-action series as well. The actors protraying Bill & Ted on the series replaced Reeves and Winter on the animated show. Rick Overton replaced Carlin, and Tara Strong joined the second season as Mary Jane.

September 15 – Captain Planet and the Planeteers

• Voice Cast: David Coburn, LeVar Burton, Joey Dedio, Kath Soucie, Janice Kawaye, Scott Menville, Frank Welker, Whoopi Goldberg, Margot Kidder
• Guest cast: Ed Asner, Charlie Schlatter, John Ratzenberger, Jeff Goldblum, Dean Stockwell, Meg Ryan, David Rappaport, James Coburn, Dick Gautier, Martin Sheen, Sting, David Warner, Malcolm McDowall
• Network: TBS
• Synopsis: Gaia, the spirit of the Earth, can no longer stand the destruction plaguing the planet and send five magic rings to five special young people who, when the rings are combined, can summer the Earth’s greatest champion, Captain Planet.
• Broadcast run: Six seasons, 113 episodes, last episode aired on May 11, 1996
• Trivia: Captain Planet appeared in a special crossover episode of OK K.O.! Let’s Be Heroes on Cartoon Network. The first three seasons were produced by DIC Entertainment, and the last three by Hanna-Barbera with a title change to The New Adventures of Captain Planet. The series birthed the Captain Planet Foundation, which was nearly shut down in 2001 due to the Time Warner merger with AOL, but series producers worked with the corporation to transition the foundation to a public charity that is still active today.

September 16 – E.A.R.T.H. Force

• Cast: Gil Gerard, Joanna Pacula, Clayton Rohner, Tiffany Lamb, Robert Knepper, Stewart Finlay-McLennan, Robert Coleby
• Network: CBS
• Synopsis: The series is about an elite group, the Earth Alert Research Tactical Headquarters (E.A.R.T.H.), that was brought together by a dying millionaire to prevent environmental disasters around the world.
• Broadcast run: One season, 6 episodes (3 unaired), last episode aired on September 29, 1990
• Trivia: The series was filmed in Queensland, Australia. The working title for the show was The Elite (under which it aired internationally) and The Green Machine.

September 17 – The Trials of Rosie O’Neill

• Cast: Sharon Gless, Dorian Harewood, Ron Rifkin, Georgann Johnson, Lisa Rieffel, Robert Wagner, Ed Asner (Season 2)
• Network: CBS
• Synopsis: The series focuses on Rosie, a lawyer working for the public defender’s office in Los Angeles. Each episode opens with Rosie talking with her therapist (Gless’ husband Barney Rosenzweig), whose face was never seen on camera. Rosie had been at the receiving end of an unwanted divorce, after her attorney husband had an affair.
• Broadcast run: Two seasons, 34 episodes, last episode aired on May 30, 1992
• Trivia: David Rasche joined the series in Season 2 as Rosie’s ex-husband, who was never seen in Season 1. Harewood was billed as ‘Special Guest Star’ for the second season, having been squeezed out of the regular cast with the arrival of Asner. The first episode caused some controvery with the use of the word ‘tits’. The series was notable as being one of the few on television to portray an observant Jew, with the religious identity treated casually and without overt mention. The show’s theme song was written by Carole King and performed by Melissa Manchester. The vocals were removed for Season 2 but replaced shortly before the show’s cancellation.

September 18 – Married People

• Cast: Ray Aranha, Bess Armstrong, Megan Gallivan, Barbara Montgomery, Jay Thomas, Chris Young
• Network: ABC
• Synopsis: The series follows three couples in different stages of their relationships who lived in the same building in New York City.
• Broadcast run: One season, 18 episodes, last episode aired on March 16, 1991
• Trivia: The series was a critical hit but had trouble catching on with viewers due to frequent pre-emptions of news coverage of the Persian Gulf War.

2000

• No new series premiered this week in 2000.

2010

September 14 – Sextuplets Take New York

• Cast: Victor Carpio, Digna Carpio
• Network: TLC
• Synopsis: The series follows the family through their daily lives, focusing on the challenges of raising multiple children in a modest home in Queens, New York.
• Broadcast run: One season, 8 episodes, last episode aired on October 5, 2010
• Trivia: The Carpio sextuplets were the first Latino set born in the United States. The family originally appeared on an episode of Multitude of Multiples. The sextuplets were 22 months old when production started.

September 15 – Outlaw

• Cast: Jimmy Smits, David Ramsey, Ellen Woglom, Carly Pope, Jesse Bradford, Melora Hardin
• Network: NBC
• Synopsis: The legal drama starred Smits as a Supreme Court Justice, Cyrus Garza, who resigns from the bench and returns to private practice in an elite law firm where Claire Sax (Hardin), love interest to Garza, is a powerful senior partner. As part of the deal, the firm has an ex–Supreme Court Justice on their staff of lawyers and Garza is allowed to pick his team and the cases he works.
• Broadcast run: One season, 8 episodes, last episode aired on November 13, 2010
• Trivia: The series premiered on a Wednesday, moved to Friday for the next three episodes, and was cancelled with the four remaining episodes airing on Saturday. Original show titles were Rough Justice and Garza. Jesse Bradford was the first actor cast.

September 15 – Top Chef: Just Desserts

• Cast: Gail Simmons, Johnny Iuzzini, Hubert Keller, Dannielle Kyrillos
• Network: Bravo
• Synopsis: Reality competition spin-off of Top Chef featuring pastry chefs competing in a series of culinary challenges, focusing on pastries and desserts.
• Broadcast run: Two seasons, 20 episodes, last episode aired on October 26, 2011

September 17 – Sym-Bionic Titan

• Voice Cast: Kevin Thoms, Tara Strong, Brian Posehn, Don Leslie, John DiMaggio, Tim Russ, Kari Wahlgren
• Network: Cartoon Network
• Synopsis: The series follows the lives of Lance (Thoms), Ilana (Strong) and Octus (Posehn), two alien teens and a robot in the form of humanoids who arrive on Earth, an ‘identical’ planet to Galaluna, while fleeing an evil general who has taken over their home planet with the help of monstrous creatures called Mutraddi.
• Broadcast run: One season, 20 episodes, last episode aired on April 9, 2011
• Trivia: A preview of the series was screened at the 2009 San Diego Comic-Con. The series was inspired by mecha-anime series such as Speed Racer, Macross and Voltron, and films Sixteen Candles and The Breakfast Club. The series was reportedly cancelled after failing to secure a license to create toys based on the show. Characters Ilana and Octus made cameo appearances on OK K.O.! Let’s Be Heroes with Strong reprising the role of Ilana.

September 19 – Boardwalk Empire

• Cast: Steve Buscemi, Michael Pitt, Kelly Macdonald, Michael Shannon, Shea Whigham, Michael Stuhlbarg, Paz de la Huerta, Dabney Coleman, Jack Huston, Gretchen Mol, Charlie Cox, Bobby Cannavale, Ron Livingston, Jeffrey Wright
• Recurring Cast: Geoff Pierson, Dominic Chianese, Julianne Nicholson, Stephen Root, Brian Geraghty, James Cromwell, Christopher McDonald, William Forsythe, Max Casella, Billy Magnussen, Patricia Arquette
• Network: HBO
• Synopsis: Boardwalk Empire is a period drama focusing on Enoch ‘Nucky’ Thompson (based on the historical Enoch L. Johnson), a political figure who rises to prominence and controls Atlantic City, New Jersey, during the Prohibition period of the 1920s and 1930s. Nucky interacts with historical characters in both his personal and political life, including mobsters, politicians, government agents, and the common folk who look up to him. The federal government also takes an interest in the bootlegging and other illegal activities in the area, sending agents to investigate possible mob connections as well as Nucky’s lifestyle — expensive and lavish for a county political figure. The final season jumps ahead seven years, to 1931, as Prohibition nears its end.
• Broadcast run: Five seasons, 56 episodes, last episode aired on October 26, 2014
• Trivia: Martin Scorsese directed the pilot episode which cost $18 million. The series earned 57 Primetime Emmy nominations during its run, winning 20. The series also won the Golden Globe in 2011 for Best Dramatic Television Series.