1986
Return of Television Legends
July 03, 2010
by David Krell
david@davidkrell.com
In the 1986 song Modern Woman, Billy Joel sings, And after 1986, what else could be new?
Nothing if you consider the return of two television legends to the small screen
Their television personas were extraordinarily familiar to us.
Andy Griffith appeared as Atlanta-based attorney Ben Matlock in Matlock. The show aired on NBC from 1986 to 1992 and then switched to ABC where it aired from 1992 to 1995.
Matlock was a Harvard-educated but folksy defense attorney who had strong friendships with his staff and opposing counsel.
In the spring of 1986, Griffith reprised his hallmark role of Sheriff Andy Taylor in the NBC tv-movie Return To Mayberry. Its tremendous success, nostalgic appeal, and safe familiarity undoubtedly influenced NBC and Griffith to find a new but familiar television vehicle for him.
Simply, Matlock is Perry Mason by way of Sheriff Andy Taylor.
Former Andy Griffith Show co-stars Aneta Corsaut and Don Knotts made guest appearances on Matlock.
Unfortunately, Lucille Ball did not fare so well in the Fall of 1986.
She returned to television with the sitcom Life with Lucy on ABC. Co-starring with Ball was her familiar foil, Gale Gordon. He played her in-law. On the show, the daughter of Ball’s character was married to the son of Gordon’s character.
Life With Lucy only lasted a couple of months.
Aaron Spelling produced Life with Lucy with Douglas Cramer and E. Duke Vincent. The sitcom starring an aging but appealing legend contrasted with Spelling’s shows based in adventure, glitz, and glamour. Vega$. Charlie’s Angels. Hotel. The Love Boat. Hart to Hart.
During the mid-1980’s, nostalgia abounded. In the 1985 box office blockbuster Back to the Future, the story recaptured a slice of life in 1955, complete with fashion, music, and popular culture indicators.
Return to Mayberry recalled a simpler time when a transistor radio was the groundbreaking technology achievement for teenagers compared to the 1980’s Sony Walkman or today’s iPod.
Life with Lucy brought back the biggest comedienne of the 20th century in a pre-TGIF family sitcom.
Lucy was a grandmother in the show, not the young or middle-aged housewife or mother we remembered fondly from decades past. Was the show a mistake? Were the physical antics of a 75 year-old woman frightening rather than entertaining for the audience?
Maybe. Maybe not.
But there’s nothing wrong with bringing back a legend to recapture previous glory. The failure of Life With Lucy doesn’t make Ms. Ball’s work on the program any less significant compared to her other work on more popular shows.
She was, indeed, the same Lucy. She gave 1000 percent for her fellow castmates and the audience.
As Peter Allen once sang, Quiet please. There’s a lady on the stage. She may not be the latest rage. But she’s singing. And she means it.
david@davidkrell.com
In the 1986 song Modern Woman, Billy Joel sings, And after 1986, what else could be new?
Nothing if you consider the return of two television legends to the small screen
Their television personas were extraordinarily familiar to us.
Andy Griffith appeared as Atlanta-based attorney Ben Matlock in Matlock. The show aired on NBC from 1986 to 1992 and then switched to ABC where it aired from 1992 to 1995.
Matlock was a Harvard-educated but folksy defense attorney who had strong friendships with his staff and opposing counsel.
In the spring of 1986, Griffith reprised his hallmark role of Sheriff Andy Taylor in the NBC tv-movie Return To Mayberry. Its tremendous success, nostalgic appeal, and safe familiarity undoubtedly influenced NBC and Griffith to find a new but familiar television vehicle for him.
Simply, Matlock is Perry Mason by way of Sheriff Andy Taylor.
Former Andy Griffith Show co-stars Aneta Corsaut and Don Knotts made guest appearances on Matlock.
Unfortunately, Lucille Ball did not fare so well in the Fall of 1986.
She returned to television with the sitcom Life with Lucy on ABC. Co-starring with Ball was her familiar foil, Gale Gordon. He played her in-law. On the show, the daughter of Ball’s character was married to the son of Gordon’s character.
Life With Lucy only lasted a couple of months.
Aaron Spelling produced Life with Lucy with Douglas Cramer and E. Duke Vincent. The sitcom starring an aging but appealing legend contrasted with Spelling’s shows based in adventure, glitz, and glamour. Vega$. Charlie’s Angels. Hotel. The Love Boat. Hart to Hart.
During the mid-1980’s, nostalgia abounded. In the 1985 box office blockbuster Back to the Future, the story recaptured a slice of life in 1955, complete with fashion, music, and popular culture indicators.
Return to Mayberry recalled a simpler time when a transistor radio was the groundbreaking technology achievement for teenagers compared to the 1980’s Sony Walkman or today’s iPod.
Life with Lucy brought back the biggest comedienne of the 20th century in a pre-TGIF family sitcom.
Lucy was a grandmother in the show, not the young or middle-aged housewife or mother we remembered fondly from decades past. Was the show a mistake? Were the physical antics of a 75 year-old woman frightening rather than entertaining for the audience?
Maybe. Maybe not.
But there’s nothing wrong with bringing back a legend to recapture previous glory. The failure of Life With Lucy doesn’t make Ms. Ball’s work on the program any less significant compared to her other work on more popular shows.
She was, indeed, the same Lucy. She gave 1000 percent for her fellow castmates and the audience.
As Peter Allen once sang, Quiet please. There’s a lady on the stage. She may not be the latest rage. But she’s singing. And she means it.
Beverly Hills 90210
October 15, 2009
by David Krell
david@davidkrell.com
In the Summer of 1991, FOX showed us what high school students do during summer vacation.
They work.
They party.
They go to summer school.
Beverly Hills 90210 premiered in the Fall of 1990.
During its freshman season, 90210 added value to the youth-oriented programming on FOX. But the show about privileged kids in the country’s most famous zip code did not overwhelm the competition with its counter-programming content.
Enter the summer.
A time when networks traditionally burn off unsold pilots, episodes of unsold shows, and regular programming in reruns for a third broadcast.
But FOX is not a traditional network. And it certainly wasn’t a traditional network in its nascent days.
When FOX started in 1986, it was not airing a full slate of programming, so it legally, logically, and historically could not be called a “television network.”
In any case, FOX saw an opening in the summer schedule.
Airing new episodes of 90210 in the summer would be true counter-programming.
Original episodes against burned off pilots and reruns.
And perfectly logical.
High school students have lives from late June to early September.
90210 reflected that reality.
Summer relationships.
Summer jobs.
Summer vacation.
The six original episodes of 90210 in the Summer of 1991 helped launch the show into the stratosphere.
It helped stretch story lines across multiple episodes, contrary to the self-contained episodic story line format in the first season.
And it helped open up new story lines for the second season.
The programming exercise was successful and FOX repeated it in the Summer of 1992 with six new episodes.
By this time, 90210 was a Goliath.
It also spawned a spinoff in the Summer of 1992 -- Melrose Place.
The CW presently airs revived versions of both shows.
david@davidkrell.com
In the Summer of 1991, FOX showed us what high school students do during summer vacation.
They work.
They party.
They go to summer school.
Beverly Hills 90210 premiered in the Fall of 1990.
During its freshman season, 90210 added value to the youth-oriented programming on FOX. But the show about privileged kids in the country’s most famous zip code did not overwhelm the competition with its counter-programming content.
Enter the summer.
A time when networks traditionally burn off unsold pilots, episodes of unsold shows, and regular programming in reruns for a third broadcast.
But FOX is not a traditional network. And it certainly wasn’t a traditional network in its nascent days.
When FOX started in 1986, it was not airing a full slate of programming, so it legally, logically, and historically could not be called a “television network.”
In any case, FOX saw an opening in the summer schedule.
Airing new episodes of 90210 in the summer would be true counter-programming.
Original episodes against burned off pilots and reruns.
And perfectly logical.
High school students have lives from late June to early September.
90210 reflected that reality.
Summer relationships.
Summer jobs.
Summer vacation.
The six original episodes of 90210 in the Summer of 1991 helped launch the show into the stratosphere.
It helped stretch story lines across multiple episodes, contrary to the self-contained episodic story line format in the first season.
And it helped open up new story lines for the second season.
The programming exercise was successful and FOX repeated it in the Summer of 1992 with six new episodes.
By this time, 90210 was a Goliath.
It also spawned a spinoff in the Summer of 1992 -- Melrose Place.
The CW presently airs revived versions of both shows.