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Forgotten Network/Syndicated TV Shows of the Past

S

spencerkarter85

Here's some syndicated shows that have been forgotten, but I remember them:

Syndicated:
1.)Superior Court (1986-1989) was one of the best dramatized court shows on TV with real life Judge William D. Burns, Jr. in the first season, replaced by other real life judges Jill Jakes and the late Louis Welsh in the second season. And in the third season, the late character-actor Raymond St. Jacques (Cotton Comes to Harlem) played the fictional Judge Clayton C. Thomas. I love the intro of the third season, I can memorized the opening narration. Too bad it's not on TV since it reran on USA Network in the early 1990s. But fortunately, I've got two episodes from the Clayton Thomas era taped from USA Network.

2.)The Judge (1986-1989?) Who can forget this show produced at CBS affiliate WBNS-TV in Columbus, Ohio. With the late Bob Shield as Judge Robert J. Franklin. Also a courtroom dramazation show, and also reran on USA Network in the early 1990s. I've got around two episodes from 1988 recorded from USA Network.

3.)Divorce Court (1980s incarnation) With Judge William B. Keene and Jim Peck doing the reporting. It was great. But different than the Divorce Court of today.

Network:

1.)Midnight Caller (NBC, 1988-91) Starring Gary Cole as ex-SFPD turned Radio Host Jack Killian. It's been a long time since I watched the whole show. I've got the promos on videotape, loved the promo music, I've memorized it on the guitar. Man, I wished they released it on DVD.

2.)Sirens (ABC, 1993/Syndicated 1994-95) Focus on the female police officers of Pittsburgh, PA. Despite it's setting, it was filmed in Vancouver, Canada.

3.)The Bold Ones (NBC, 1969-73) Was one of the greateast and well forgotten anthology series way before Law & Order with The Doctors starring the late E.G. Marshall as Dr. David Craig (who's the head of a Los Angeles medical institute) with John Saxon as Dr. Ted Stuart (who was replaced in the fourth season by Robert Walden as Dr. Martin Cohen) and pre-GMA David Hartman as Dr. Paul Hunter. On The Lawyers side lead by the late singer Burl Ives as Walter Nichols with his law-firm partners Brian and Neil Darrell (played by Joseph Campanella and James Farrentino). The Law Enforcers lead by the late greats Leslie Nielsen (before Naked Gun movies) and Hari Rhodes. Nielsen was Police Deputy Chief Danforth and Rhodes was D.A. Washburn I think. It was replaced by the short-lived, but also Emmy award winning The Senator with Hal Holbrook (aka Dixie Carter's widower) as Senator Hays Stowe. That was one heck of a series!

What's your favorite well forgotten network and syndicated TV show of the past?
 
spencerkarter85 said:
Here's some syndicated shows that have been forgotten, but I remember them:
1.)Midnight Caller (NBC, 1988-91) Starring Gary Cole as ex-SFPD turned Radio Host Jack Killian. It's been a long time since I watched the whole show. I've got the promos on videotape, loved the promo music, I've memorized it on the guitar. Man, I wished they released it on DVD.

2.)Sirens (ABC, 1993/Syndicated 1994-95) Focus on the female police officers of Pittsburgh, PA. Despite it's setting, it was filmed in Vancouver, Canada.

3.)The Bold Ones (NBC, 1969-73) Was one of the greateast and well forgotten anthology series way before Law & Order with The Doctors starring the late E.G. Marshall as Dr. David Craig (who's the head of a Los Angeles medical institute) with John Saxon as Dr. Ted Stuart (who was replaced in the fourth season by Robert Walden as Dr. Martin Cohen) and pre-GMA David Hartman as Dr. Paul Hunter. On The Lawyers side lead by the late singer Burl Ives as Walter Nichols with his law-firm partners Brian and Neil Darrell (played by Joseph Campanella and James Farrentino). The Law Enforcers lead by the late greats Leslie Nielsen (before Naked Gun movies) and Hari Rhodes. Nielsen was Police Deputy Chief Danforth and Rhodes was D.A. Washburn I think. It was replaced by the short-lived, but also Emmy award winning The Senator with Hal Holbrook (aka Dixie Carter's widower) as Senator Hays Stowe. That was one heck of a series!

What's your favorite well forgotten network and syndicated TV show of the past?
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Boy, all three of those shows rang bells. I enjoyed Gary Cole in that "Midnight Caller" role, which seemed realistic all things considered. I also recall the irony of a show set in a city that itself has become a mecca for film and TV production, but filmed in another country on the other side of the continent (though, let's face it, Vancouver is as much of a "let's play some other city" setting as Pittsburgh can be and often is). And the Bold Ones was an intriguing idea for mini-series treatments that still could be seen at least until recently on weekends on RTV.
 
How about the original Ultraman series from 1966? It's the greatest show that ever aired on kids TV here in the States!
 
Here are two network shows. One I remember, one I've never seen, but really want to. Both lasted one season.

"I'm Dickens, He's Fenster", a sitcom abour carpenters played by John Astin and Marty Ingels. There is an absolutely hilarious episode about a joke that half the cast finds funny and the other half hates. This builds to a "war" between the "It's funny" folks and the "It's not funny" folks. I'll buy the entire series just to see this one episode again!

"Oh, Those Bells". I've never seen this, but based on descriptions, it's reminiscent of The Three Stooges. I'm a big Stooges fan, sooo... I'd buy the entire series if it becomes available, or tape it if one of the Retro TV networks decides to show it. Put if on at 3 in the morning. What's the harm?
 
johnbasalla said:
or tape it if one of the Retro TV networks decides to show it. Put if on at 3 in the morning. What's the harm?
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That's what I don't understand. There are hundreds of series that never get shown on the retro networks..Some of these shows would be good for overnights..

I remember seeing Dickens/Fenster on WEWS-Channel 5 when it was briefly in syndication..Very funny as I recall..
 
Tim L said:
I remember seeing Dickens/Fenster on WEWS-Channel 5 when it was briefly in syndication..Very funny as I recall..
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Not to quote myself, but I went through the Cleveland Plain Dealer Archives..It seems that WEWS began airing Dickens/Fenster in Syndication the next week-September 14, 1963 after ABC (WEWS is the Cleveland affiliate) Canceled the show..WEWS had the show scheduled in one time slot or another at least once a week until September 18, 1965..
 
MeTV shows "Honey West", and that's a one season show. I think there are a precious few one and two season shows that they figure merit airing, and the other ones don't. I know that all 32 episodes of "I'm Dickens, He's Fenster" exist because the main producer said so on his website. He was also banging for donations to try to get the series issued on DVD. I wonder if getting some of these type of shows are too troublesome (i.e. right issues) or are too costly (poor r.o.i.).
 
spencerkarter85 said:
Here's some syndicated shows that have been forgotten, but I remember them:

2.)The Judge (1986-1989?) Who can forget this show produced at CBS affiliate WBNS-TV in Columbus, Ohio. With the late Bob Shield as Judge Robert J. Franklin. Also a courtroom dramazation show, and also reran on USA Network in the early 1990s. I've got around two episodes from 1988 recorded from USA Network.
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This show is not totally forgotten. I got a chance to see a portion of current syndicated show We the People with Gloria Allred recently and thought, this is like The Judge, only the latter had better acting, even if it was taped at a mid-market TV station.

spencerkarter85 said:
What's your favorite well forgotten network and syndicated TV show of the past?
Click to expand...

As for a weekly syndicated show that I rarely missed, was Fight Back with David Horowitz. He was a "consumer reporter" for KNBC-TV in Los Angeles and he would test advertising claims (i.e. the Timex watch ads, Krazy Glue, etc) to see if they "held up."
 
^ Aw, Tim beat me by 7 minutes!

I was 4 when Dickens/Fenster was axed.....however, Shokus Video had one episode, apparently the pilot.

Otherwise, Dickens/Fenster would only have "survived" via a constantly-run "Leave it to Beaver" rerun in its final season----I cannot recall what started it, but Eddie Haskell made a wisecrack (to Wally maybe?), "Who are you, Dickens or Fenster?"

cd
 
I only remember Dickens/Fenster from the 1965 reruns on WEWS..I thought it was pretty funny then..Based on Newspaper accounts in 1962-63, the critics loved the show..The story goes that they actually were beating Mitch Miller and Route 66 in the ratings during the Spring rerun cycle, but ABC canceled the show too early, by which time cast and crew went on to other things..
 
Pretty much anything on NBC primetime roughly during about 1976-September 19, 1984 that wasn't named "Sanford and Son," "Little House on the Prairie," "Gimme a Break," "A-Team," "Diff'rent Strokes," "Facts of Life," "Family Ties," "Mama's Family," "Cheers," "TV's Bloopers and Practical Jokes," "Tonight Show," and SNL. ;D

Then we all know what premiered on Sept. 20, 1984 and how NBC's fortunes changed that day: "The Cosby Show."
 
Remember, there was a Divorce Court back in the 1950s and 1960s. I think it was produced at KTLA, but I could be wrong.
 
Michael Bayus said:
Remember, there was a Divorce Court back in the 1950s and 1960s. I think it was produced at KTLA, but I could be wrong.
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Maybe at one time, but it was also produced at KTTV for some years. The judge in that version was Voltaire Perkins. Towards the end of its run, WOR-TV in New York was the venue for airing in that city.

One forgotten show in the recesses of my little grey cells is Bonkers! (1978-79), a syndicated British-produced show for the American market, hosted by The Hudson Brothers with Bob Monkhouse as one of the regulars (co-produced by ATV/ITC which also brought us The Muppet Show during this time). Each edition had a different big-name guest (one I remember was John Ritter doing a Tom Jones impression singing "It's Not Unusual" whilst stripping to nothing, in a parody of Jones' Vegas act of the time). Started out in NYC Fridays at 7:30 at WCBS-TV, but by year's end and up to the end of its run was relegated to late Saturday night/early Sunday morning, sandwiched in-between Late Show movie presentations and right after the slides-only early morning news updates read by staff announcers (I can still, in my head, hear either Don Robertson or Pat Connell intone, "Stay tuned for [movie title here], the next feature on The Late Show II following the A.M. news and Bonkers!).

Another was the 1973-74 syndicated version of It Pays to Be Ignorant. That seems to be one show GSN, in all the years they ran old game shows, glossed over.

Yet another show that seems to have been forgotten was the very short-lived 1976 ABC series Mr. T and Tina which, for some odd reason, I thought at the time the title was an oblique reference to Ike and Tina Turner.

Also . . . The Now People, a 45-minute drama aired on ABC after The Music Scene in the early months of the 1969-70 season.
 
Tim from Springfield said:
Pretty much anything on NBC primetime roughly during about 1976-September 19, 1984 that wasn't named "Sanford and Son," "Little House on the Prairie," "Gimme a Break," "A-Team," "Diff'rent Strokes," "Facts of Life," "Family Ties," "Mama's Family," "Cheers," "TV's Bloopers and Practical Jokes," "Tonight Show," and SNL. ;D
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So you're saying that "Real People", "The Midnight Special", "Friday Night Videos", "Late Night with David Letterman", "The Tomorrow Show" and "Wheel of Fortune" are forgotten?
 
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