Forgotten Network/Syndicated TV Shows of the Past

[garn91]

Short lived series' from the 80's:

MacGruder and Loud
Code Red
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers

 

[johnnya2k6]

Countdown at the Neon Armadillo (syndicated, 1993), which (sadly for me) replaced WWF Superstars on KTVF here in Fairbanks

This was when country music was gaining mainstream popularity.

And you should thank Garth Brooks for that; he set the genre ablaze while Taylor Swift and Carrie Underwood were in preschool and elementary school respectively!

 

[rnigma1]

"The Life and Times of Eddie Roberts" (aka "LATER"), with Renny Temple (who?) as the title character, a college professor. Stations aired it late at night, and it had a kind of a soap format like "Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman."

"The Baxters" was an experiment from Norman Lear that ran in the late '70s: the studio audience was invited to comment on the predicaments of the Baxter family. Production was moved to Canada in the second season with a new set of Baxters (including Megan Follows). I recall certain stations had their own audience-comment segments.

 

[jwgreek8606]

"People Will Talk" (NBC, 1963): Few remember that "Hollywood Squares" had its roots in
this Dennis James-hosted game... Later revived on CBS primetime as "Celebrity Game" with Carl
Reiner as host.

"Celebrity Game" came out around 1964 -- following the success of "The Hollywood Squares", creators Heatter-Quigley would revive "Celebrity Game" again for CBS in 1967, this time with Bert Parks as host.

I may be the only one who liked "All Star Blitz" in 1985 from Merrill Heatter Productions. It had a Q-&-A similar to Squares, but only with 4 celebrities (not quite Squares' A-list), and basically the object was to solve a word-puzzle with 6 sections.....some sections had only 1 letter, some as many as 4 (maybe more?), which made it either easy or extremely difficult to guess, unless more letters had to be revealed.

cd

Well, a lot of game show fans remember it. You are the only one outside the game show community

 

[cd637299]

"People Will Talk" (NBC, 1963): Few remember that "Hollywood Squares" had its roots in
this Dennis James-hosted game... Later revived on CBS primetime as "Celebrity Game" with Carl
Reiner as host.

"Celebrity Game" came out around 1964 -- following the success of "The Hollywood Squares", creators Heatter-Quigley would revive "Celebrity Game" again for CBS in 1967, this time with Bert Parks as host.

I may be the only one who liked "All Star Blitz" in 1985 from Merrill Heatter Productions. It had a Q-&-A similar to Squares, but only with 4 celebrities (not quite Squares' A-list), and basically the object was to solve a word-puzzle with 6 sections.....some sections had only 1 letter, some as many as 4 (maybe more?), which made it either easy or extremely difficult to guess, unless more letters had to be revealed.

cd

Well, a lot of game show fans remember it. You are the only one outside the game show community

^ No I am not outside the community at all. I even have "The Encyclopedia of TV Game Shows (Vol 2)."

cd

 

[johnnya2k6]

Now that this thread is bumped up again:

Hype (The WB, 2000)
Gonzo Games (USA Network, 1992)
The Dating Experiment (ABC, 2003), also from Vin Di Bona
Street Match (ABC, 1993)
High Incident (ABC, 1996), Dreamworks's first TV series
L.A. Dragnet (ABC, 2003), the modern-day version of the "Dragnet" franchise starring Ed O'Neill and Eva Longoria; thankfully for Eva, it would be her last project before some show about Housewives came along the following year.
Runaround (NBC, 1972), a children's game show produced by Heatter-Quigley; unfortunately, no episodes are known to exist.
Wickedly Perfect (CBS, 2005), hosted by Joan Lunden
Swingin' Country (NBC 1966), another gem brought to us by Dick Clark Productions

 

[EricStein]

One more long-forgotten show:

"Scramble" (syndicated, 1993): Randall Cunningham, then-QB for the Philadelphia Eagles, hosts this "Double Dare"-esque kids game show, with a football theme. Only lasts the length of the 1993 NFL season.

 

[cd637299]

Runaround (NBC, 1972), a children's game show produced by Heatter-Quigley; unfortunately, no episodes are known to exist.

Swingin' Country (NBC 1966), another gem brought to us by Dick Clark Productions

I saw Runaround.....as I recall, score was shown *not* by numbers, but rather rubber balls placed down a tube. The winner had the highest stack.

Basically there were questions with a multiple choice answer, one of three. Each answer had a platform to where kids would "run around" to the right answer. Some kids tried to purposefully run to the wrong answer, to deceive the others. When the host yelled "Last Chance!" it meant that time to run to the correct answer was nearly running out, and the kids who knew the answer would run to the right one.

"Swingin' Country" was truly an oddball placement of a show; 12:30 pm EST M-F, and running only 25 minutes (5 more for an NBC News report). I saw that one briefly as a 6 or 7 year old, maybe subconsciously wondering where my game show was! It sure didn't last long.

cd

 

[chris12]

A few forgotten syndicated talk shows:
Home Team With terry Bradshaw (1997)
Dr. Joy Browne (1999)
Dr. Laura (2000)
Chuck Woolery (1991)

A few game shows:
Catch Prase- attempted american version in 1985 only lasted a half season and the last work of Art James
Perfect Match- Newly wed Game knockoff with Bob Goen in 1986 that replaced Ctach Phrase in most markets
Break The Bank- unrealted to the 1977 game show with Gene Rayburn and then Joe Farage, changed formats a few times in one season
Sweethaerts (1988) hosted by longtime pannelist Charles Nelson Reilly
Also, the dreaded 1986 Life With Lucy which got cnacelled after only eight episodes along with Ellyn Burnstyn which had a young Megan Mullally which was also cancelled quickly.

 

[milwaukee_dave]

Short lived series' from the 80's:

MacGruder and Loud
Code Red
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers

I recall watching reruns of "MacGruder and Loud" on Lifetime in 1990. The TV nerd in me misses cable's infancy. You could catch reruns of short-lived series that almost certainly wouldn't have been shown once their regular network runs ended.

 

[bpatrick]

Or how about:

The Gong Show 1988 revival with Don Bleu as host, or
Extreme Gong! with George Gray.

"Matchmaker," with Los Angeles radio personality Dave Hull
questioning three men and three women (none of whom he
could see) about their psyches, then eliminating one member
of each gender, until he had two players he thought might make
a good match.

"Relatively Speaking," with John Byner, in which a celebrity panel
tried to guess a contestant's famous relative.

"Anything For Money," with Fred Travalena, in which two contestants
tried to predict the outcome of pre-filmed setups (Art Linkletter did
something like this, only with a celebrity panel doing the guessing, on
his 1963 NBC show, also a candidate for "forgotten shows of the past").

 

[johnnya2k6]

Oh, I forgot The Honeymoon Race (ABC, 1967), the short-lived successor to the original Supermarket Sweep with Bill Malone still host.

 

[jwgreek8606]

Countdown at the Neon Armadillo (syndicated, 1993), which (sadly for me) replaced WWF Superstars on KTVF here in Fairbanks

This was when country music was gaining mainstream popularity.

And you should thank Garth Brooks for that; he set the genre ablaze while Taylor Swift and Carrie Underwood were in preschool and elementary school respectively!

Garth Brooks was influenced by George Strait and at the time country music was beginning to be popular with Urban Cowboy.

 

[jwgreek8606]

Short lived series' from the 80's:

MacGruder and Loud
Code Red
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers

I recall watching reruns of "MacGruder and Loud" on Lifetime in 1990. The TV nerd in me misses cable's infancy. You could catch reruns of short-lived series that almost certainly wouldn't have been shown once their regular network runs ended.

Lifetime was great then, you could watch a lot of reruns of short-lived shows such as E/R, Macgruder and Loud, She's the Sheriff, E/R, etc

 

[jfrancispastirchak]

Has anyone mentioned Hail To The Chief, starring Patty Duke as the first female president? Ran in the '90s.

 

[Dighton Rockhead]

Forgive me (just in case one of these has already been covered):

* "Due South", a co-production of CBS and one of the Canadian networks. An RCMP officer (Mountie) is on loan to the Chicago P.D., hence the title. Unsure of the date...possibly sometime during the 1980's.

* "Flamingo Road", a late 70's/early 80's attempt by NBC to cash in on the trend for prime time soap operas. Cast included Howard Duff, Morgan Fairchild, and Mark Harmon.

* "Beane's of Boston", a mid 70's attempt by CBS to americanize the British hit comedy "Are You Being Served". Cast included John Hillerman as "Captain Peacock", Charlotte Rae ("Facts of Life") as the Molly Sugden character "Mrs. Slocumbe", and Alan Sues ("Laugh-In"), as the closeted Gay menswear salesman "Mr. Humphries".

* "Baby, I'm Back", late 70's, CBS. Demond Wilson ("Sanford & Son") stars as a deadbeat dad who returns to his wife and family after having abandoned them for a number of years. Wife was played by Denise Nicholas ("Room 222").

* 1976-77 saw a brief syndicated revival of "Howdy Doody", featuring an aging Buffalo Bob Smith, surrounded by a supporting cast of young unknowns.

* In I believe it was 1980 or 81, NBC tried to revive the "Maverick" franchise with James Garner's character having retired and running a saloon he won in a poker game in the Arizona town of "Sweetwater". Ed Bruce starred as the sherriff who always had his eye on Maverick.

 

[BD Sullivan]

Short lived series' from the 80's:

MacGruder and Loud
Code Red
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers

I recall watching reruns of "MacGruder and Loud" on Lifetime in 1990. The TV nerd in me misses cable's infancy. You could catch reruns of short-lived series that almost certainly wouldn't have been shown once their regular network runs ended.

Lifetime was great then, you could watch a lot of reruns of short-lived shows such as E/R, Macgruder and Loud, She's the Sheriff, E/R, etc

CBN was even better, showing shows from the 50's and 60's that probably haven't been seen since then.

 

[azumanga]

Forgive me (just in case one of these has already been covered):

* "Beane's of Boston", a mid 70's attempt by CBS to americanize the British hit comedy "Are You Being Served". Cast included John Hillerman as "Captain Peacock", Charlotte Rae ("Facts of Life") as the Molly Sugden character "Mrs. Slocumbe", and Alan Sues ("Laugh-In"), as the closeted Gay menswear salesman "Mr. Humphries".

Actually, this series never made it past the pilot stage.

* In I believe it was 1980 or 81, NBC tried to revive the "Maverick" franchise with James Garner's character having retired and running a saloon he won in a poker game in the Arizona town of "Sweetwater". Ed Bruce starred as the sherriff who always had his eye on Maverick.

The series was actually the second attempt to revive the Maverick franchise the first was CBS's "Young Maverick", which starred Charles Frank as Ben Maverick; it lasted eight episodes. This was followed in 1981 with "Bret Maverick", which starred Garner following the cancellation of "The Rockford Files"; that series ran 18 episodes.

 

[onairb]

Forgive me (just in case one of these has already been covered):

* "Beane's of Boston", a mid 70's attempt by CBS to americanize the British hit comedy "Are You Being Served". Cast included John Hillerman as "Captain Peacock", Charlotte Rae ("Facts of Life") as the Molly Sugden character "Mrs. Slocumbe", and Alan Sues ("Laugh-In"), as the closeted Gay menswear salesman "Mr. Humphries".

Actually, this series never made it past the pilot stage.

* In I believe it was 1980 or 81, NBC tried to revive the "Maverick" franchise with James Garner's character having retired and running a saloon he won in a poker game in the Arizona town of "Sweetwater". Ed Bruce starred as the sherriff who always had his eye on Maverick.

The series was actually the second attempt to revive the Maverick franchise the first was CBS's "Young Maverick", which starred Charles Frank as Ben Maverick; it lasted eight episodes. This was followed in 1981 with "Bret Maverick", which starred Garner following the cancellation of "The Rockford Files"; that series ran 18 episodes.

I've read that Garner only did 'Bret Maverick' as a result of the settlement of the bitter lawsuit involving him, NBC, and Universal in the final days of 'The Rockford Files'. NBC committed to what I assume was a full season(slightly shorter due to a writer's strike that year), but had no intention of continuing beyond that season, which in effect replaced the never-made seventh season of 'Rockford'.

 

[bpatrick]

Funny thing is, "Bret Maverick" would have been renewed a few years
later, when a show didn't have to command as big a rating. BTW, Marion
Hargrove, who wrote many of the episodes of the original "Maverick," wrote
a script for a final episode of "Bret Maverick" that would have done Bob Newhart
proud. Bret has acquired the local telephone franchise, and people are coming
in to pay their bills. Suddenly, in rushes Bret's sidekick, played by Luis Delgado,
exclaiming, "Jimbo! Jimbo!" Staying in character, Garner says, "It's Bret...Bret
Maverick." "Not anymore," says Delgado, "our show's been canceled."

Something like that happened on another forgotten show, "I Married Dora." Daniel
Hugh-Kelly's character has taken an oil-connected job in the Middle East; suddenly,
as his plane is about to take off, it stops and all the passengers get out. Why?
"Our show's been canceled," he explains.

How about these forgotten ABC shows from 1965 and 1966:

The Legend Of Jesse James
A Man Called Shenandoah (Robert Horton tried to cash in
on the "man on the run" fad--as an amnesiac looking for
his identity. CBS's "Coronet Blue" did it better.)
The Long Hot Summer (tried to cash in on "Peyton Place"'s
popularity)
Tammy
Court-Martial (Peter Graves starred in this one, IIRC.)
The Double Life Of Henry Phyfe (Red Buttons was no Don Adams
in this "Get Smart" ripoff.)
The Tammy Grimes Show
Rango (a poor man's "F Troop" and one good reason Tim Conway
was meant to be a second banana and not a star)
Hawk (a bust for Burt Reynolds)
Shane (David Carradine proved to be no Alan Ladd; his success
would come later with "Kung Fu.")
The Rounders
ABC Stage 67 (an attempt to revive the playhouse shows of the '50s,
but a hodgepodge of dramas, musicals, variety shows, and documentaries--
besides, NBC was leading the way with a new format--made-for-TV movies--
which would eventually work for ABC as "Movie Of The Week")
Iron Horse (Dale Robertson inherited a railroad, IIRC, and most episodes seemed
to have him and Gary Collins trying to make the trains run on time.)
The Pruitts Of Southampton/The Phyllis Diller Show (One of the most improbable
setups of all time: Phyllis is the widowed head of a fabulously wealthy Long
Island family that has spent itself broke; now the IRS is demanding back taxes
but will not publicize that fact lest it cause a panic on Wall Street. So every
week Phyllis tries some new moneymaking scheme. The second half of the season
is better; she turns her mansion into a boardinghouse, with a fabulous collection of
comic actors: John Astin, Marty Ingels, Louis Nye, Paul Lynde, Richard Deacon, and
Billy DeWolfe. I've said before that I'd have given anything to sit in on a rehearsal
for that version of the show.)

Speaking of Billy DeWolfe, he was on another forgotten series (this one on CBS):
"The Queen And I," set aboard a cruise ship. I can still hear him telling Larry Storch,
"Don't touch an of-fi-cer," the last word enunicated syllable by syllable.