Forgotten Network/Syndicated TV Shows of the Past

[CrankyYankee]

"The Tortellis"

 

[johnnya2k6]

Regarding Small Wonder - no, not forgotten...certainly not on this board - people go on about that show all the time. I think you had to be a kid when it was first run. If you were an adult (as I was) at the time, you realize what an awful show it was.

I was an adult as well, and I just thought it was the cheesiest show to ever run on major market otherwise-network TV stations like WJW, our local CBS affiliate at the time (now Fox). It was low-budget with capital L. No, wait, they can't afford capitals.

WJW wasn't alone; KTVF (also then-CBS, now NBC) paired it with Out Of This World on Saturday afternoons.

 

[spencerkarter85]

There was THE SUNDAY COMICS (FOX 1991-92) that was reran on VH1 in the mid 1990s. VH1 STAND UP SPOTLIGHT (VH1 late 1980s/early 1990s) first hosted by Rosie O'Donnell. LONDON UNDERGROUND (HA! now Comedy Central 1990-91) featured British comedians like Jack Dee and Jim Tavare. TEXAS CONNECTION (TNN now Spikie in early 1990s) was a country music show.

 

[EricStein]

I was an adult as well, and I just thought it was the cheesiest show to ever run on major market otherwise-network TV stations like WJW, our local CBS affiliate at the time (now Fox). It was low-budget with capital L. No, wait, they can't afford capitals.

I believe the production of "Small Wonder" was funded by a number of station groups at the time working together to create new programming. Metromedia, Storer (WJW's owner) and Gannett (the show aired on their KPNX-12 Phoenix in the '80s) were among the groups. The odd thing was the only independent stations in the Storer and Gannett chains at the time were both in Boston.

 

[EricStein]

Remember these:

Mike Hammer: Private Eye (syndicated, 1997-98): Stacy Keach returns as the private investigator in new mysteries.
High Tide (syndicated, 1994-96) Singer Rick Springfield starred in this Baywatch knockoff.
Game Warden Wildlife Journal (syndicated, 1998-2000): The name says it all.
Beach Clash (syndicated, 1994-95): An "American Gladiators" type show, but with beach activities.
Wild West Showdown (syndicated, 1994-95) A western-themed spinoff of "American Gladiators"
Shirley (syndicated, 1994-96): One of Canada's most popular talk shows at the time unsuccessfully tried to gain an audience in the U.S.
The Dance Show (syndicated, 1984): An "American Bandstand"/"Soul Train" type show focusing on rhythmic dance music of the time. One of Madonna's first TV appearances was on this show.
TV 2000/Love Songs (syndicated, 1985): Music video shows produced by the same people who created USA Network's "Night Flight" and "Radio 1990"

 

[only1moore]

How about "Electric Circus" which aired on Much USA. Couldn't get enough of seeing those dancers on top of that CHUMcitytv studio in downtown Toronto every Friday night.

 

[WMC2006]

Saved By The Bell
Saved By The Bell: The College Years
Saved By The Bell: The New Class
Charles In Charge (at least that gave us Nicole Eggert ;D )
Captain Marvel (Shazam!) and the beautiful Isis on Satruday mornings.

 

[johnnya2k6]

Saved By The Bell
Saved By The Bell: The College Years
Saved By The Bell: The New Class
Charles In Charge (at least that gave us Nicole Eggert ;D )
Captain Marvel (Shazam!) and the beautiful Isis on Satruday mornings.

Saved By The Bell is far from forgotten; and the original series is still being shown worldwide.

 

[Obtuse1]

Of course there were all those "new" series:

The New Monkees
The Munsters Today
The New Gidget
The New Addams Family
The New WKRP In Cincinnati

 

[71dude]

Bustin' Loose (Adam Arkin, 1977 and Jimmie Walker, 1987-1988 - two different shows)
We've Got Each Other (1977-1978)
Szysznyk (1977)
The Ted Knight Show (1978)
The Betty White Show (1977-1978)
Apple Pie (1978)

The Mclean Stevenson post-MASH library:
Mclean Stevenson Show (1975-1976)
Celebrity Challenge of the Sexes (1978)
In the Beginning (Sept-Oct 1978)
Hello Larry (1979-1980)
Condo (1983)
America (1985)
Dirty Dancing (Oct 1988-Jan 1989)

 

[OhioMediaWatch]

Saved By The Bell is far from forgotten; and the original series is still being shown worldwide.

The original, perhaps...the follow-on series could fit into "forgotten".

Well, not here, for radio listeners. Akron, OH talker WNIR/100.1's afternoon drive host is none other than "Saved By The Bell: The College Years" star Bob Golic.

("Star" may be pushing it, of course.)

Bob doesn't talk about it much, and is usually pretty self-deprecating when it gets brought up. Of course, he's much better known locally as a defensive star for theNFL's Cleveland Browns in their 1980s playoff runs.

 

[crainbebo]

Eric, speaking of Night Flight it was syndicated after it's USA run in the late 80s/early 90s.

A few more
In Person from The Palace (CBS, 1987) A Friday night show, it was produced by Dick Clark and featured concerts from the Palace Theater in Hollywood. Very short-lived, only aired in the summer during CBS Late Night.
Late Friday (NBC, 2001-02) Semi-forgotten show that replaced Friday Night (and before that FNV). It was all stand-up comedy.
What a Dummy (syndicated, 1990) This sitcom only lasted a full season. Starred Stephen Dorff.
Susan Powter Show (syndicated, 1994-95) Susan Powter, a TV diet guru, hosted this talk show with discussions on women's topics, as well as current events.
The Last Word (syndicated, 1989-90) Wink Martindale hosted this game show, taped in Vancouver, British Columbia and also aired on the Global network in Canada, where a celebrity and a contestant tried to guess a series of words in common to win prizes.
Listen Up! (CBS, 2004-05) Sitcom that lasted one season with Jason Alexander (populary known as George Costanza on Seinfeld).
New York News (CBS, 1995) Short-lived drama series about a struggling tabloid newspaper in the New York area. Mary Tyler Moore starred as editor-in-chief. Axed after two months.

-crainbebo

 

[azumanga]

Saved By The Bell is far from forgotten; and the original series is still being shown worldwide.

The original, perhaps...the follow-on series could fit into "forgotten".

Of course, the Disney Channel series that preceded "Save By the Bell", "Good Morning Miss Bliss", which starred Hayley Mills in the titular role, is definitely forgotten.

 

[johnnya2k6]

Susan Powter Show (syndicated, 1994-95) Susan Powter, a TV diet guru, hosted this talk show with discussions on women's topics, as well as current events.
New York News (CBS, 1995) Short-lived drama series about a struggling tabloid newspaper in the New York area. Mary Tyler Moore starred as editor-in-chief. Axed after two months.

Um, those two were already mentioned.

But there was also...
Bob Patterson (ABC, 2001), another short-lived comedy starring Jason Alexander
Watching Ellie (NBC, 2001), starring another Seinfeld alum, Julia Louis-Dreyfus
Joey (NBC, 2004), short-lived Friends spinoff starring Matt LeBlanc
Sex Wars (syndicated, 2000), which was really forgettable for host JD Roth (Jennifer Cole was his co-host).
Strip Poker (syndicated/USA Network, 2000)

And the cable game shows:
Contraption (Disney Channel, 1983)
Fandango and Top Card (Spike TV, 1983 and 1988 respectively)
Jackpot! (USA Network/Global (Canada), 1986); the syndicated 1989 revival with original host Geoff Edwards was a little alright
Teen Win, Lose, or Draw (Disney Channel, 1990)
Love Me, Love Me Not (USA Network, 1986)
Sports on Tap (ESPN, 1994)

 

[cd637299]

Saved By The Bell is far from forgotten; and the original series is still being shown worldwide.

The original, perhaps...the follow-on series could fit into "forgotten".

Of course, the Disney Channel series that preceded "Save By the Bell", "Good Morning Miss Bliss", which starred Hayley Mills in the titular role, is definitely forgotten.

The GMMB episodes, though, are part of "Bell"'s rerun package, no? I am sure I have seen them mixed in, and not having Disney Channel, I wondered what in the world that was.

cd

 

[therealjm12]

Speaking of Jason Alexander, how about DUCKMAN -I think on USA. I'm surprised Adult Swim hasn't picked it up.

Another oldie on syndication in the early 60's, The Everglades starring Ron Hastings.

 

[milwaukee_dave]

...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...

The USA Network used to do this in the 80s. I saw, "Good Morning World," "He and She," "Bridget Loves Birney," "The Girl With Something Extra." Remember USA's Up All Night, with really bad movies?

My favourite short lived shows include, "Open All Night," with the late Sam Whipple, "Oh Madeline," with the late Madeline Kahn and the best NBC show that was cancelled, "It's Your Move," with the NOT LATE Jason Bateman. I believe the creators (or producers) went on to make "Married With Children."

I remember NBC used to show network pilots that never made it. One of them was funny, it was a Gale Gordon (sans Lucille Ball) where he was an abbot.

Speaking of USA Network overnights, I recall a campy series that was rerun on the network in the wee hours of the night: "Madame's Place," a sitcom that starred a talking puppet. It initially ran in syndication in the early 1980s. (I was too young to remember the initial run, but the reruns caught my eye as a teenager because it was so offbeat.)

 

[milwaukee_dave]

Fibber McGee and Molly (NBC) in 1959-60..Based on the 1935-59 Radio series of the same name..Jim Jordan (Fibber) and Marian Jordan (Molly) did a pilot for sponsor Johnson's Wax that 1949 that did'nt sell..NBC eventually bought the rights to the series. The Jordans did'nt think that the show translated well to television so they declined to do the TV series..

NBC decided to do the Series without The Jordans..Bob Sweeney and Cathy Lewis, two very capable comedy actors were cast as Fibber and Molly, but without the Jordan's writer, Don Quinn the show ws just another late 50's bland sitcom..Scheduled Tuesday Nights at 8:30 the show bombed and was gone by January 17, 1960. Except for a few months on NBC's late afternoon lineup, the show hasnt been seen in syndication. There are 5 episodes in the Internet Archive.

I recall the national version of WGN carrying reruns of "Fibber McGee and Molly" in January 1990 -- the very first month the national version split from the local one (in response to the then new SyndEx regulations that gave local stations the authority to allow duplicate programming covered up on out-of-market stations). "Fibber McGee and Molly" only lasted a month on what today is known as WGN America and eventually was replaced with less obscure programming. As I recall, it was part of a rotating wheel of old sitcoms that initial month. Others included "Captain Nice," and "My World and Welcome to It."

 

[Tim L]

Saved By The Bell is far from forgotten; and the original series is still being shown worldwide.

The original, perhaps...the follow-on series could fit into "forgotten".

Of course, the Disney Channel series that preceded "Save By the Bell", "Good Morning Miss Bliss", which starred Hayley Mills in the titular role, is definitely forgotten.

The GMMB episodes, though, are part of "Bell"'s rerun package, no?  I am sure I have seen them mixed in, and not having Disney Channel, I wondered what in the world that was.

cd

The Good Morning Miss Bliss Episodes ar introduced by Mark-Paul Gosselear (Zach Morris) as being a "flashback to Junior High"
The College Years in primetime are also in the original Saved By The Bell mix, but subsequent series with "new" students have been pretty much shelved.

 

[Tim L]

Fandango and Top Card were both originally done by The Nashville Network-Long before Spike TV was thought of..