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Show retoolings that have worked....
- Thread starter sathman01
- Start date
You have to be ancient like me, but 77 Sunset Strip is a good example of a 60s series that tanked after retooling. Part of the charm of the show was the ensemble cast - with Efrem Zimbalist Jr,. Roger Smith, and of course Edd "Cookie" Burns who made a big splash as a teen heart throb...not to mention a supporting cast of colorful characters.
The ratings were waning a little, but still decent in 63 when it was decided to jettison the entire cast except Zimbalist. If anything, his character had been the stiffest, and least colorful of the group. Even though Jack Webb was brought in to produce, and William Conrad to direct, the show only lasted one final season.
By comparison, the similar cast-firing and re-tooling on The Practice many years later, and the subsequent morphing into Boston Legal was much more successful
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/77_Sunset_Strip
The ratings were waning a little, but still decent in 63 when it was decided to jettison the entire cast except Zimbalist. If anything, his character had been the stiffest, and least colorful of the group. Even though Jack Webb was brought in to produce, and William Conrad to direct, the show only lasted one final season.
By comparison, the similar cast-firing and re-tooling on The Practice many years later, and the subsequent morphing into Boston Legal was much more successful
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/77_Sunset_Strip
Would sketch comedy shows like Saturday Night Live and In Living Color count? I know both of them have/had gone through many cast/writing/producing shuffles.
-Baywatch Nights went from a simple private investigator series and low ratings in season 1 to an X-Files theme in season 2 (to capitalize on the X-Files popularity) but it didn't help. Cancellation.
-Baywatch itself was cancelled after 1 season on NBC but was very successful in syndication. Not that it was retooled much for syndie.
-Charles in Charge ran for a season on CBS and was cancelled due to low ratings. It came back in syndie with Charles, the same house, the same neighborhood, but a completely different family and stuck around for 3 more seasons. We can thank the syndie gods for Nicole Eggert. ;D
-Baywatch itself was cancelled after 1 season on NBC but was very successful in syndication. Not that it was retooled much for syndie.
-Charles in Charge ran for a season on CBS and was cancelled due to low ratings. It came back in syndie with Charles, the same house, the same neighborhood, but a completely different family and stuck around for 3 more seasons. We can thank the syndie gods for Nicole Eggert. ;D
I dunno, the additions of girls like Pamela Anderson, and Yasmine Bleeth, plus slow motion running could be considered to have had the greatest retooling effect on a show ever. The writing and acting certainly didn't improve.WMC2006 said:
I think the best example of a retooled show that went on to great success would have to be the sitcom Valerie. After its first season, the big star of the show, and the person the show was named after Valerie Harper, was fired. How can a show survive after that? However the show was renamed The hogan family, and lasted a few more season with better ratings I think.
I guess by luck you could count family matters. That show was on its way to getting canned, when Urkel showed up, and the show did a complete format flip.
Similarly the sitcom step by step was a failure of a show about 2 single parent families coming together, until they created a character that was a cross between bill & ted, and beavis & Butthead, and made him a principal character in the shows a story each week.
Irishfl said:
I don't think I ever saw the first network season of Baywatch but I am/was assuming, maybe incorrectly, that girls/jiggly/slow motion were always part of the show.
And Valerie was, at first, renamed Valerie's Family but Valerie Harper sued for use of her name and the show was then renamed The Hogan Family. Very surprising the show lasted as long as it did. I'm sure the tweenies and teenies were hot and heavy for Jason Bateman and even the younger boys who I believe were supposed to be twins but, near the end of the series, looked very different from each other.
Edie McClurg was one hot babe though.
Re "77 Sunset Strip": this dates me, but I seem to recall
that Zimbalist's character, Stu Bailey, was transformed into
a globetrotting detective or spy (don't remember which).
I like to think of "Burke's Law" as a show that collapsed after
a format change: the audience rejected the change from cop
to "Amos Burke, Secret Agent."
I don't think I've ever seen a show (maybe "I Spy") that took
place outside the United States that was successful.
that Zimbalist's character, Stu Bailey, was transformed into
a globetrotting detective or spy (don't remember which).
I like to think of "Burke's Law" as a show that collapsed after
a format change: the audience rejected the change from cop
to "Amos Burke, Secret Agent."
I don't think I've ever seen a show (maybe "I Spy") that took
place outside the United States that was successful.
bpatrick said:
Yes - you're officially "dated" - like me. You're right - Stu Bailey became a globe-trotting detective, which was also a mistake. The show had been very light - really almost a comedy - but the re-tooling made it darker, with Bailey walking around alone at night, and so forth. It made the viewer miss the rest of the cast, and it made the title of the show irrelevant. Also - Warner Bros was too cheap to pay for location shooting, so every place Stu globe-trotted to looked suspiciously like Los Angeles.
landtuna said:
If you consider a show that took place in fictional Eastern European and Latin America dictatorships like "San Cordoba" - which were really the sound stages and back-lot at Paramount Studios to be "outside the United States,' then I guess you're right.
As I remember, I Spy was actually shot on location in other countries. I guess because producer Sheldon Leonard had some juice with the networks.
Sliders was a promising series when it first debuted on Fox. However, the quality starting to tank after the network starting retool it from a "What if?" series to the action movie parody mess that became season three. It got a little bit better in the fourth season when Scifi picked it up, but the fifth and last season was awful in my opinion.
I was referring to shows set outside the U.S.,
even though they may be filmed in Los Angeles.
I didn't think about "Mission: Impossible"; the IMF
"traveled" to foreign countries, even though they
probably actually stayed on the Paramount lot.
I seem to recall that "Trapper John, M.D." went
through some adjustments in its first season, then
went on to a long run (1979-86).
One other that definitely comes to mind is "The
Adventures Of Superman." Not only did Noel Neill
replace Phyllis Coates, but the scripts went from
being reasonably believable (as these things go),
with more violence and more threatening villains,
to the kid-oriented near-comedy of the later seasons.
But it didn't hurt the show's ratings one bit.
even though they may be filmed in Los Angeles.
I didn't think about "Mission: Impossible"; the IMF
"traveled" to foreign countries, even though they
probably actually stayed on the Paramount lot.
I seem to recall that "Trapper John, M.D." went
through some adjustments in its first season, then
went on to a long run (1979-86).
One other that definitely comes to mind is "The
Adventures Of Superman." Not only did Noel Neill
replace Phyllis Coates, but the scripts went from
being reasonably believable (as these things go),
with more violence and more threatening villains,
to the kid-oriented near-comedy of the later seasons.
But it didn't hurt the show's ratings one bit.
Facts of Life was retooled from 7 girls to three girls plus new girl Jo. Then it was retooled to Edna's Edibles. Then it was two more minor retools when Edna's Edibles became Over Our Heads. Then of course when Charlotte Rae left.
Lucy was retooled, when it moved West. Toward to the end Lucy was becoming almost a sketch show with one episode barely maintaining continuity from the last.
My Three Sons was retooled a bit here and there due to cast changes.
Doris Day was retooled 4 times in 5 years
Andy Griffith was retooled and retitled Mayberry RFD
Lucy was retooled, when it moved West. Toward to the end Lucy was becoming almost a sketch show with one episode barely maintaining continuity from the last.
My Three Sons was retooled a bit here and there due to cast changes.
Doris Day was retooled 4 times in 5 years
Andy Griffith was retooled and retitled Mayberry RFD
Spin City is another show. When Michael J Fox left, Charlie Sheen was brought in. The show started out as a vehicle for Michael J Fox. It ended up being an ensemble show. It continued to get good ratings after Fox left.
Another show that somewhat got rebooted was Newhart. The first season was videotaped and not really that great. It really hit its stride when it went to film and Larry, Daryl, and Daryl joined the show.
Another show that somewhat got rebooted was Newhart. The first season was videotaped and not really that great. It really hit its stride when it went to film and Larry, Daryl, and Daryl joined the show.
tlyle said:
L, D & D were in the first episode, and showed up at least once more in the first year.
The show started to pick up steam the next year, when Stephanie (who had also been a one-time guest in season 1) replaced her cousin as the maid. Then, toward the end of season 2, the annoying next-door neighbor who owned the restaurant sold it to the Larry and the 'Brothers Darryl'. Finally, Peter Scolari came aboard starting with season 3, and 'Newhart' as we remember it was complete.
B
BobSacamano
Guest
Even though it was'nt cancelled, Newhart went through quite a few changes after the 1st season; the change from video to film, the phasing out of Kirk, the addition of Stephanie...the 3rd season bears little resemblance to season 1
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