TV SERIES THAT COULD HAVE HAD A DIFFERENT NAME

[gregg75]

series.............could have been

Bonanza........The Ponderosa
Leave It To Beaver......The Cleavers
Petticoat Junction.......The Shady Rest
Green Acres.......The Douglases Of Hooterville
Beverly Hillbillies.......The Clampet Clan
That Girl.........The Marlo Thomas Show
Bewitched............Darin & Samantha
Star Trek..............Voyage Beyond
The Odd Couple.......My Friend Felix

 

[wrsg915fm]

"Seinfeld" into "The Show About Nothing"

 

[oldiesfan6479]

series.............could have been
Bonanza........The Ponderosa

Wasn't Bonanza originally syndicated under the title Ponderosa?

 

[cd637299]

I cannot recall, but I believe "Bonanza" repeats were called "Ponderosa" while the NBC Bonanza was still first-run; kinda like "Gunsmoke" reruns were called "Marshal Dillon."

As to "Leave It to Beaver," I had read and/or heard that the working title was to be called "Wally and Beaver," but somebody (either network or sponsor) felt that W&B sounded like a nature series. of course, the pilot was called "It's a Small World."

How about---

The Bob Newhart Show---"Hi Bob!"
Good Times---"Hard Times"
The Untouchables----"Rat-a-tat-a-Tat"
Get Smart---"Sorry About That, Chief" (okay I missed it by that much)
Supertrain---"Sorry About That, America"
Burns & Allen Show---"Huh?!?!"
Perry Mason---"No Need to Watch, I Always Win"
The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis---"TheManyLovesofDobieGillis" (that sitcom had to set a record for words per minute)
The Honeymooners--"Bang! Zoom!!"
Judge Judy---(see Perry Mason)

cd

 

[rnigma1]

"Seinfeld" into "The Show About Nothing"

The pilot was titled "The Seinfeld Chronicles."

The working title for "21 Jumpstreet" was "Jump Street Chapel."
"All in the Family" would have been called "Justice for All" because Archie Bunker was named Archie Justice in an early pilot.

series.............could have been
Bonanza........The Ponderosa

Wasn't Bonanza originally syndicated under the title Ponderosa?

Yup. Syndication titles are another thing entirely. Up until around 1980, off-net shows that went into syndication would be given a different title. I never understood why. I presume it was to keep the syndicated episodes separate from the current network episodes for ratings reasons. Best known examples of this:

Badge 714 (Dragnet - the '50s episodes)
Susie (Private Secretary)
Andy of Mayberry (The Andy Griffith Show)
If You Had a Million (The Millionaire)
Federal Men (Treasury Men in Action)
Follow That Man (Man Against Crime)
Jet Jackson (Captain Midnight) - this was because Ovaltine, the original sponsor, owned the name Captain Midnight
Marshal Dillon (Gunsmoke - the early half-hour episodes)
Major Adams, Trailmaster (Wagon Train)
Ponderosa (Bonanza)
The Raymond Burr Show (Ironside)
Jim Rockford, Private Investigator (The Rockford Files)
Emergency! One (Emergency!)
Happy Days Again (Happy Days)
CHiPs Patrol (CHiPs)

 

[easttxtv]

I think I heard once that Dynasty's working title was "Oil".

'Did you see Alexis on "Oil" last night?' Uhhh, not the same ring to it.

But great topic though....

 

[gregg75]

Gilligan's Island.........The Castaways
Brady Bunch........Six Kids Equals Trouble
Gunsmoke.........Dodge City
Daniel Boone.......History Rewritten

 

[Markxxx]

Until the end of the 70s, a show typically didn't go into syndication till after 7 years or it finished.

The title was changed because even as late as the 70s not all areas of the USA had 3 network affiliates and some had two and cherry picked the third.

Way back in the 50s and into the 60s it was common for a show not to be seen in areas till it was off the air. Kind of like if you didn't have cable you wouldn't have seen "Sex In The City" or Showtime's "Brothers" till they were syndicated OTA.

The reason the names were changed was to prevent a station from airing an old rerun show as first run.

So let's say you lived in an area without Bonanza, and the local ABC station picked it up for syndication in reruns. By making them air it as "Ponderosa" viewers would instantly know it was the reruns not the first run network airing.

So you had odd titles like "The Dick Van Dyke Daytime Show," "Andy Of Mayberry," "Happy Days Again," "Laverne & Shirley & Company," "Carol Burnett & Company" even "M*A*S*H" was briefly syndicated as "M*A*S*H*II"

But at the 70s closed it was easy to tell between first runs and reruns and most areas (certainly not all) were getting all networks, either by new UHF or cable TV, so the idea was dropped. Especially when syndication moved from 7 years to 4 years.

 

[Markxxx]

Also I do recall "Married With Children" went under the working title "Not the Cosbys" but that caused FOX too much worry. Also "My Two Dads" was "Who's The Dad" but it was deemed too close to "Who's The Boss."

 

[RicoGregg]

M*A*S*H..............................The Alan Alda Show
Roseanne..............................Fat, Ugly Broad Somehow Makes Good
Fox & Friends.........................Fox Uber Alles
Glee......................................No Testosterone Zone
Friday Night Lights..................The Too Many "B" Plots Show
Eight is Enough.......................Enough is Too Much! or, Once is Enough
The Dick van Dyke Show..........Don't Blame Me For Mary Tyler Moore
The Mary Tyler Moore Show......Don't Blame Me For Valerie Harper
Rhoda....................................Please, Please Forgive Me, I'm So Sorry!
Kukla, Fran, & Ollie..................Bert & Ernie Got the Suspicion Off of Us

 

[rnigma1]

Until the end of the 70s, a show typically didn't go into syndication till after 7 years or it finished.

The title was changed because even as late as the 70s not all areas of the USA had 3 network affiliates and some had two and cherry picked the third.

Way back in the 50s and into the 60s it was common for a show not to be seen in areas till it was off the air. Kind of like if you didn't have cable you wouldn't have seen "Sex In The City" or Showtime's "Brothers" till they were syndicated OTA.

The reason the names were changed was to prevent a station from airing an old rerun show as first run.

So let's say you lived in an area without Bonanza, and the local ABC station picked it up for syndication in reruns. By making them air it as "Ponderosa" viewers would instantly know it was the reruns not the first run network airing.

So you had odd titles like "The Dick Van Dyke Daytime Show," "Andy Of Mayberry," "Happy Days Again," "Laverne & Shirley & Company," "Carol Burnett & Company" even "M*A*S*H" was briefly syndicated as "M*A*S*H*II"

But at the 70s closed it was easy to tell between first runs and reruns and most areas (certainly not all) were getting all networks, either by new UHF or cable TV, so the idea was dropped. Especially when syndication moved from 7 years to 4 years.

Ah, that makes sense. I noticed that the late '70s syndicated off-net shows had just one or two words added to the original title, so they would not have to completely re-do the graphics. For instance on "Emergency! One," the word "Emergency!" zoomed on-screen, then the word "One" faded in slowly.

 

[Robnoxious]

CHiPs -- Tune in 12 minutes before the top of the hour to see a car flip ridiculously in the air after rolling over a piece of LEGO and explode just as Ponch & John save the hapless passenger from certain death.

Night Flight -- Hope you are good and stoned. Trip out on THIS!

Elvira's Movie Macabre -- What movie? Holy cow, look at the size of her rack!

Alice -- Linda Lavin, Phoenix Singer

That's Incredible! -- That's Mostly Improbable!

Password -- Betty White Wins Some People Money

Match Game '7x -- Richard Dawson Says Something Snarky And Wins Some People Money

Countdown With Keith Olbermann -- Where Are My Matches? Confessions Of A Bridge-Burner

The Tonight Show With Jay Leno -- The Stilted And Awkward Celebrity Interview Show

Too Close For Comfort -- Too Much Monroe For Watchability

Three's Company -- Misunderstandings

The Ropers -- No Takebacks! We All Ready Hired Don Knotts!

Three's A Crowd -- Your Career Is Over Joyce DeWitt!

Lost In Space -- And We Haven't Killed Dr. Zachary Smith Yet, Because?

2 Broke Girls -- Ejaculation Joketime

Community -- The Internet Hype Doesn't Equal Eyeballs To Watch Show AKA Hype!

Undercover Boss -- CEO Blowhard Of A Soulless Corporation Makes Sappy Keynote Speech To His/Her Underlings

The McLaughlin Report -- Eleanor Cliff Is Rightfully Talked Over And She Gets Butthurt About It

NHL on NBC's Game Of The Week -- Any Team West Of The Mississippi (Or Not Named Rangers/Bruins/Capitals/Devils/Penguins/Flyers/Red Wings) Does Not Exist

ESPN's Monday Night Countdown -- The Jets/Giants/Tom Brady Ego Stroke Show

FOX NFL Sunday -- The Chuckle F*%k Hut and/or Frank Caliendo Is Painfully Unfunny Network Time Sink

NFL On CBS -- The Morgue and/or What The Hell Did Shannon Sharpe Say?

Cannon -- Fat Cop That Can Deadeye a Kill Shot From His Hip EVERYTIME!

Magnum P.I. -- Dolphin Shorts And Shirtless Selleck Show

Moonlighting -- Once They Do It The Show Is Over, You Know This Right, Why Are You Rushing It?

Archie Bunker's Place -- Archie Bunker's Really Annoying Kid

Any Soap Opera -- Fade To White With Pensive Stare Videography 101