Steven Bochco
Hill Street Blues
May 14, 2010
by David Krell
david@davidkrell.com
Hill Street Blues began NBC’s tradition of quality drama in the Thursday night 10:00pm time slot. That tradition ended in 2009 when The Jay Leno Show took over 10:00pm time slot. Now The Marriage Ref owns the time slot.
Airing from 1981 to 1987, Hill Street Blues changed television.
The bad guys didn’t always get caught by the end of the hour.
The good guys weren’t always angels.
And story lines could last for multiple episodes, maybe even a season.
At the heart of Hill Street Blues was Captain Frank Furillo, a recovering alcoholic who guided the Hill Street precinct with compassion, toughness, and experience. He was trusted by his officers, detectives, and the gangs. Jesus Martinez, leader of the Diablos, often called him ‘Frankie’ out of affection, respect, and teasing. In later years, Jesus became a paralegal.
If Frank Furillo was the Hill Street precinct’s heart, Sergeant Phil Esterhaus was its soul. Played by Michael Conrad with a textbook definition of being avuncular, Esterhaus led off each episode in the middle of the morning Roll Call with the phrase Let’s be careful out there. Conrad died in 1983. Robert Prosky replaced him at the Roll Call as Sergeant Stan Jablonski with the less watchful and more bombastic Let’s do it to them before they do it to us.
Veronica Hamel played the sensitive, skilled, and sexy Joyce Davenport of the Public Defender’s office. The advocate shared a bed with Captain Furillo and later married him.
Despite the urban chaos surrounding them, the officers and detectives never stopped in their mission to clean up the streets.
And creators Steven Bochco and Michael Kozoll set a standard for television producing. Multiple story arcs, scenes involving walking and talking, and three dimensional characters are hallmarks seen in St. Elsewhere, L.A. Law, thirtysomething, ER, The West Wing, and Friday Night Lights, to name a few.
david@davidkrell.com
Hill Street Blues began NBC’s tradition of quality drama in the Thursday night 10:00pm time slot. That tradition ended in 2009 when The Jay Leno Show took over 10:00pm time slot. Now The Marriage Ref owns the time slot.
Airing from 1981 to 1987, Hill Street Blues changed television.
The bad guys didn’t always get caught by the end of the hour.
The good guys weren’t always angels.
And story lines could last for multiple episodes, maybe even a season.
At the heart of Hill Street Blues was Captain Frank Furillo, a recovering alcoholic who guided the Hill Street precinct with compassion, toughness, and experience. He was trusted by his officers, detectives, and the gangs. Jesus Martinez, leader of the Diablos, often called him ‘Frankie’ out of affection, respect, and teasing. In later years, Jesus became a paralegal.
If Frank Furillo was the Hill Street precinct’s heart, Sergeant Phil Esterhaus was its soul. Played by Michael Conrad with a textbook definition of being avuncular, Esterhaus led off each episode in the middle of the morning Roll Call with the phrase Let’s be careful out there. Conrad died in 1983. Robert Prosky replaced him at the Roll Call as Sergeant Stan Jablonski with the less watchful and more bombastic Let’s do it to them before they do it to us.
Veronica Hamel played the sensitive, skilled, and sexy Joyce Davenport of the Public Defender’s office. The advocate shared a bed with Captain Furillo and later married him.
Despite the urban chaos surrounding them, the officers and detectives never stopped in their mission to clean up the streets.
And creators Steven Bochco and Michael Kozoll set a standard for television producing. Multiple story arcs, scenes involving walking and talking, and three dimensional characters are hallmarks seen in St. Elsewhere, L.A. Law, thirtysomething, ER, The West Wing, and Friday Night Lights, to name a few.
Philadelphia TV
November 28, 2009
by David Krell
david@davidkrell.com
It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia returned to FX this fall.
The show about four slackers who run a bar in the City of Brotherly Love derives its comedy from a zany, chaotic, and somewhat nonsensical base.
But it works. And it benefits from veteran actor Danny DeVito playing the father of two of the characters.
Before Sunny rose on FX, Philadelphia served as the setting for other television shows, all of which were short-lived but of solid quality.
Angie aired on ABC in the late 1970’s. This sitcom features a post-Saturday Night Fever Donna Pescow in the title role as working class waitress Angie Falco.
Angie’s paramour was Dr. Brad Benson, member of an old-line, wealthy Philadelphia family. Robert Hays plays Brad.
And before she found fame as Raymond’s mother, Marie Barone, Doris Roberts played Angie’s mom, Theresa Falco.
Angie was a sweet sitcom with likable leads, but despite ABC’s build-up, it did not last more than a couple of seasons.
Neither did The Tony Randall Show, another late 1970’s entry based in Philadelphia. Randall plays Judge Walter O. Franklin in this offering from MTM Productions. Like Mary Tyler Moore, The Tony Randall Show focuses on the home life and work life of its star’s character.
thirtysomething lasted four seasons, from 1987 to 1991. The show’s stories about Philadelphia yuppies in their thirties showed us the true depths of emotions during the time in our lives when we reach adulthood but yearn for our youth.
Shannon’s Deal stars Jamey Sheridan as Philadelphia lawyer Jack Shannon, a former big-time lawyer with a big-time gambling problem. After losing his job and his marriage, Shannon starts over as a solo practitioner.
While Shannon battles the District Attorney, he has a solid support system -- a secretary who works for him in exchange for legal services concerning her boyfriend, a fellow solo practitioner in his office building, and a daughter approaching her teenage years.
Shannon’s Deal was a 1989 pilot. It lasted less than a full season in 1990 on NBC.
The aptly named Philly from Steven Bochco Productions lasted a single season -- 2001-2002.
Philly stars NYPD Blue alumnae Kim Delaney as attorney Kathleen Maguire, a woman trying to balance her work life with a personal life after the ending of her bad marriage to an Assistant District Attorney.
david@davidkrell.com
It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia returned to FX this fall.
The show about four slackers who run a bar in the City of Brotherly Love derives its comedy from a zany, chaotic, and somewhat nonsensical base.
But it works. And it benefits from veteran actor Danny DeVito playing the father of two of the characters.
Before Sunny rose on FX, Philadelphia served as the setting for other television shows, all of which were short-lived but of solid quality.
Angie aired on ABC in the late 1970’s. This sitcom features a post-Saturday Night Fever Donna Pescow in the title role as working class waitress Angie Falco.
Angie’s paramour was Dr. Brad Benson, member of an old-line, wealthy Philadelphia family. Robert Hays plays Brad.
And before she found fame as Raymond’s mother, Marie Barone, Doris Roberts played Angie’s mom, Theresa Falco.
Angie was a sweet sitcom with likable leads, but despite ABC’s build-up, it did not last more than a couple of seasons.
Neither did The Tony Randall Show, another late 1970’s entry based in Philadelphia. Randall plays Judge Walter O. Franklin in this offering from MTM Productions. Like Mary Tyler Moore, The Tony Randall Show focuses on the home life and work life of its star’s character.
thirtysomething lasted four seasons, from 1987 to 1991. The show’s stories about Philadelphia yuppies in their thirties showed us the true depths of emotions during the time in our lives when we reach adulthood but yearn for our youth.
Shannon’s Deal stars Jamey Sheridan as Philadelphia lawyer Jack Shannon, a former big-time lawyer with a big-time gambling problem. After losing his job and his marriage, Shannon starts over as a solo practitioner.
While Shannon battles the District Attorney, he has a solid support system -- a secretary who works for him in exchange for legal services concerning her boyfriend, a fellow solo practitioner in his office building, and a daughter approaching her teenage years.
Shannon’s Deal was a 1989 pilot. It lasted less than a full season in 1990 on NBC.
The aptly named Philly from Steven Bochco Productions lasted a single season -- 2001-2002.
Philly stars NYPD Blue alumnae Kim Delaney as attorney Kathleen Maguire, a woman trying to balance her work life with a personal life after the ending of her bad marriage to an Assistant District Attorney.
Thursday Nights at 10pm
November 27, 2009
by David Krell
david@davidkrell.com
Now that The Jay Leno Show is in the 10 pm time slot on NBC, a look back at Thursday nights at 10 on the Peacock Network reveals an amazing consistency of quality for nearly thirty years.
Hill Street Blues debuted in 1981 and changed the production of television drama.
Story lines became story arcs and lasted several episodes.
Moving cameras shifted seamlessly from one set of characters having a conversation to another set of characters. Gone were standard cuts.
And sometimes the good guys lost.
Hill Street Blues focused on the gritty, tough, and somewhat chaotic life in an unnamed metropolitan precinct, specifically, an area known as ‘The Hill.’ However, early visual evidence indicates Chicago and early dialogue indicates New York City.
Created by Steven Bochco and Michael Kozoll, Hill Street Blues ended its run in 1987.
Just a year prior, L.A. Law premiered in the Friday at 10 pm time slot following Miami Vice. Steven Bochco teamed with Terry Louise Fisher to create this show about yuppie lawyers in Los Angeles.
When Hill Street Blues ended, L.A. Law took its Thursday at 10 pm time slot and enjoyed a successful tenure until its end in 1994. Eight years of serious legal issues, comical legal issues, and everyday legal issues.
ER continued the tradition of quality drama. It captivated the audience immediately upon its debut in September 1994. And it secured the NBC Must See TV Thursday night programming block.
Revived from an old movie script by Michael Crichton, the ER pilot showed life in a Chicago emergency room on Saint Patrick’s Day.
Casts changed. Characters died. Quality continued.
For fifteen years.
An astounding record for a television show.
Hill Street Blues, L.A. Law, and ER won several Emmy awards, broke ground in the issues they covered and how they covered them, and captured our hearts.
For twenty-eight years, from 1981 to 2009
From Captain Frank Furillo’s leadership to Sergeant Phil Esterhaus’ avuncular delivery at Roll Call.
From Arnie Becker’s sleazy tactics as McKenzie Brackman’s family law attorney to Arnie Becker’s heart of gold in acting like a big brother at times to mentally retarded office worker Benny.
From Mark Greene’s quiet determination to practice emergency medicine in the face of massive bureaucracy, office politics, and budget concerns to John Carter’s slow emergence from clueless intern to confident ER chief.
And hey, one more thing -- Let’s be careful out there.
david@davidkrell.com
Now that The Jay Leno Show is in the 10 pm time slot on NBC, a look back at Thursday nights at 10 on the Peacock Network reveals an amazing consistency of quality for nearly thirty years.
Hill Street Blues debuted in 1981 and changed the production of television drama.
Story lines became story arcs and lasted several episodes.
Moving cameras shifted seamlessly from one set of characters having a conversation to another set of characters. Gone were standard cuts.
And sometimes the good guys lost.
Hill Street Blues focused on the gritty, tough, and somewhat chaotic life in an unnamed metropolitan precinct, specifically, an area known as ‘The Hill.’ However, early visual evidence indicates Chicago and early dialogue indicates New York City.
Created by Steven Bochco and Michael Kozoll, Hill Street Blues ended its run in 1987.
Just a year prior, L.A. Law premiered in the Friday at 10 pm time slot following Miami Vice. Steven Bochco teamed with Terry Louise Fisher to create this show about yuppie lawyers in Los Angeles.
When Hill Street Blues ended, L.A. Law took its Thursday at 10 pm time slot and enjoyed a successful tenure until its end in 1994. Eight years of serious legal issues, comical legal issues, and everyday legal issues.
ER continued the tradition of quality drama. It captivated the audience immediately upon its debut in September 1994. And it secured the NBC Must See TV Thursday night programming block.
Revived from an old movie script by Michael Crichton, the ER pilot showed life in a Chicago emergency room on Saint Patrick’s Day.
Casts changed. Characters died. Quality continued.
For fifteen years.
An astounding record for a television show.
Hill Street Blues, L.A. Law, and ER won several Emmy awards, broke ground in the issues they covered and how they covered them, and captured our hearts.
For twenty-eight years, from 1981 to 2009
From Captain Frank Furillo’s leadership to Sergeant Phil Esterhaus’ avuncular delivery at Roll Call.
From Arnie Becker’s sleazy tactics as McKenzie Brackman’s family law attorney to Arnie Becker’s heart of gold in acting like a big brother at times to mentally retarded office worker Benny.
From Mark Greene’s quiet determination to practice emergency medicine in the face of massive bureaucracy, office politics, and budget concerns to John Carter’s slow emergence from clueless intern to confident ER chief.
And hey, one more thing -- Let’s be careful out there.
Three Blind Mice
October 02, 2009
by David Krell
david@davidkrell.com
In the 1980’s, America’s three television networks changed hands.
ABC to Capital Cities.
NBC to General Electric.
CBS to Loews.
Ken Auletta’s 1991 book Three Blind Mice: How the TV Networks Lost Their Way chronicles the takeovers, trials and travails of the players involved.
In a ratings game dominated by numbers, the 1980’s saw the rise of the Video Cassette Recorder and the increased attention paid to demographics.
Auletta goes through a tremendously detailed approach to bring the reader the thoughts, strategies, and fears of the media moguls in television’s executive suites.
In the chapter NBC: Tartikoff In His Sandbox, 1987, Auletta writes about a favorite son of the television industry -- NBC Entertainment President Brandon Tartikoff. Auletta zeroes in on the programming wunderkind’s observations of the obstacles for network television.
Nor was Tartikoff sure that with the explosion of buyers -- from cable, Fox, and first-run syndication, among others -- there was sufficient talent to stock a twenty-two hour prime-time schedule. Tartikoff knew that success in network television often came when a producer believed passionately in a project -- be it Norman Lear with All in the Family, James Brooks with The Mary Tyler Moore Show, or Steven Bochco with Hill Street Blues. But Tartikoff also knew the network television production system was a sausage factory.
In addition, the Big Three also faced the VCR, an affordable device by the mid-1980’s that allowed viewers to tape shows off the air and watch them at their leisure. No longer viewers tied to air times.
If viewers could shift the viewing times of their favorite shows, they would probably fast forward through the commercials. Consequently, advertisers become unhappy. Networks become worrisome about the prospect of ad dollars decreasing or disappearing.
In a world where viewers are no longer captive, advertisements can lose their impact.
The Big Three faced another challenge in the upstart FOX network. In its nascent days in the mid-1980’s, FOX did not have seven nights of programming each week. It did not have a network news division. And it did not have recognizable stars, save for one.
Its first programming attempt was The Late Show starring Joan Rivers in November 1986 followed by Sunday night programming in Spring 1987.
But it did have sister companies in other areas of media. A movie studio. A publishing house. Newspapers.
This synergy was attractive. And great ideas have to start somewhere. With the edgy sitcom Married With Children, the innovative cartoon show The Simpsons, and the funny sketch comedy program The Tracey Ullman Show, FOX began to make pinpricks in the armor of the Big Three. Their invulnerability proved to be a fallacy in the 1990’s when FOX attracted the highly valuable younger demographic of teenagers and twentysomethings with nighttime soap operas -- Beverly Hills 92010 and Melrose Place.
In the chapter ABC: More Sancho Panza Than Machiavelli, September to December, 1986, Auletta summarizes the impact of FOX chieftain Rupert Murdoch’s initial foray into network television.
The future also belonged, some feared, to Rupert Murdoch’s scheme to make Fox a fourth network by acquiring stations in six of the top ten markets, lining up affiliated stations, and setting up a programming department, just as the three networks did.
Auletta delves deeply beneath the surface to get to the heart of the matter for television networks. Really, it is the heart of the matter for business. Money.
Auletta frequently writes about the costs of contracts and programming. He shows that programs may be part creativity, part talent, and part instinct. But it is part dollars and cents, too.
david@davidkrell.com
In the 1980’s, America’s three television networks changed hands.
ABC to Capital Cities.
NBC to General Electric.
CBS to Loews.
Ken Auletta’s 1991 book Three Blind Mice: How the TV Networks Lost Their Way chronicles the takeovers, trials and travails of the players involved.
In a ratings game dominated by numbers, the 1980’s saw the rise of the Video Cassette Recorder and the increased attention paid to demographics.
Auletta goes through a tremendously detailed approach to bring the reader the thoughts, strategies, and fears of the media moguls in television’s executive suites.
In the chapter NBC: Tartikoff In His Sandbox, 1987, Auletta writes about a favorite son of the television industry -- NBC Entertainment President Brandon Tartikoff. Auletta zeroes in on the programming wunderkind’s observations of the obstacles for network television.
Nor was Tartikoff sure that with the explosion of buyers -- from cable, Fox, and first-run syndication, among others -- there was sufficient talent to stock a twenty-two hour prime-time schedule. Tartikoff knew that success in network television often came when a producer believed passionately in a project -- be it Norman Lear with All in the Family, James Brooks with The Mary Tyler Moore Show, or Steven Bochco with Hill Street Blues. But Tartikoff also knew the network television production system was a sausage factory.
In addition, the Big Three also faced the VCR, an affordable device by the mid-1980’s that allowed viewers to tape shows off the air and watch them at their leisure. No longer viewers tied to air times.
If viewers could shift the viewing times of their favorite shows, they would probably fast forward through the commercials. Consequently, advertisers become unhappy. Networks become worrisome about the prospect of ad dollars decreasing or disappearing.
In a world where viewers are no longer captive, advertisements can lose their impact.
The Big Three faced another challenge in the upstart FOX network. In its nascent days in the mid-1980’s, FOX did not have seven nights of programming each week. It did not have a network news division. And it did not have recognizable stars, save for one.
Its first programming attempt was The Late Show starring Joan Rivers in November 1986 followed by Sunday night programming in Spring 1987.
But it did have sister companies in other areas of media. A movie studio. A publishing house. Newspapers.
This synergy was attractive. And great ideas have to start somewhere. With the edgy sitcom Married With Children, the innovative cartoon show The Simpsons, and the funny sketch comedy program The Tracey Ullman Show, FOX began to make pinpricks in the armor of the Big Three. Their invulnerability proved to be a fallacy in the 1990’s when FOX attracted the highly valuable younger demographic of teenagers and twentysomethings with nighttime soap operas -- Beverly Hills 92010 and Melrose Place.
In the chapter ABC: More Sancho Panza Than Machiavelli, September to December, 1986, Auletta summarizes the impact of FOX chieftain Rupert Murdoch’s initial foray into network television.
The future also belonged, some feared, to Rupert Murdoch’s scheme to make Fox a fourth network by acquiring stations in six of the top ten markets, lining up affiliated stations, and setting up a programming department, just as the three networks did.
Auletta delves deeply beneath the surface to get to the heart of the matter for television networks. Really, it is the heart of the matter for business. Money.
Auletta frequently writes about the costs of contracts and programming. He shows that programs may be part creativity, part talent, and part instinct. But it is part dollars and cents, too.
Dennis Franz
July 15, 2009
by David Krell
david@davidkrell.com
Dennis Franz stayed with NYPD Blue for its entire 12-year run from 1993 to 2005.
But before his Emmy-winning turn as Detective Andy Sipowicz, Franz starred in some television series that are long gone and perhaps forgotten.
After the critically acclaimed debut of Hill Street Blues in 1981, NBC aired an even more ambitious ensemble program in 1982 -- Chicago Story.
Each episode was 90 minutes in length.
The stories centered on doctors, cops, and the justice system.
Naturally, Franz played a tough Chicago cop -- Officer Joe Gilland.
Chicago Story did not last, perhaps because of the length of each episode and despite an outstanding cast -- Craig T. Nelson, Maud Adams, Vincent Baggetta, Molly Cheek, Kristoffer Tabori, Daniel Hugh Kelly, Richard Lawson.
In 1983, Franz was part of Steven Bochco's attempt at a baseball-themed ensemble drama. Set in fictional Bay City, California, the short-lived Bay City Blues focused on a AA minor league team, the Bluebirds.
Bay City Blues starred Michael Nouri, Ken Olin, Sharon Stone, and Bernie Casey. Franz played pitching coach Angelo Carbone.
In Bochco's more successful 1980's ensemble drama Hill Street Blues, Franz played two roles.
He first guest starred as dirty cop Sal Benedetto in a multi-episode story arc. After Benedetto's story line ended with his suicide, Bochco brought Franz back to Hill Street Station as Detective Norman Buntz.
Buntz' informant was Sid the Snitch, played by another Bay City Blues alumnus, Peter Jurasik.
The pair offered comic relief and gained enough confidence from NBC to star in a spinoff -- Beverly Hills Buntz.
The show lasted a few episodes in 1987 and featured Buntz opening a private investigation agency in the glamorous southern California locale of Beverly Hills.
In 1989, Franz starred in a 2-hour NBC tv-movie entitled Nasty Boys. The theme song was the popular eponymous song of the day.
Nasty Boys featured an elite undercover narcotics squad in Las Vegas led by Franz' Lieutenant Krieger.
In 1990, NBC expanded Nasty Boys into a television series. Benjamin Bratt of Law & Order also starred.
In addition to these starring roles, Franz' resume includes numerous guest spots -- Hunter, Matlock, The A-Team, Riptide, Simon & Simon, Street Hawk, T.J. Hooker.
Dennis Franz' work on NYPD Blue secured his place in the annals of television history.
But his earlier television work ought not be overlooked.
And the aforementioned shows starring Franz have a common thread with NYPD Blue -- the ensemble.
david@davidkrell.com
Dennis Franz stayed with NYPD Blue for its entire 12-year run from 1993 to 2005.
But before his Emmy-winning turn as Detective Andy Sipowicz, Franz starred in some television series that are long gone and perhaps forgotten.
After the critically acclaimed debut of Hill Street Blues in 1981, NBC aired an even more ambitious ensemble program in 1982 -- Chicago Story.
Each episode was 90 minutes in length.
The stories centered on doctors, cops, and the justice system.
Naturally, Franz played a tough Chicago cop -- Officer Joe Gilland.
Chicago Story did not last, perhaps because of the length of each episode and despite an outstanding cast -- Craig T. Nelson, Maud Adams, Vincent Baggetta, Molly Cheek, Kristoffer Tabori, Daniel Hugh Kelly, Richard Lawson.
In 1983, Franz was part of Steven Bochco's attempt at a baseball-themed ensemble drama. Set in fictional Bay City, California, the short-lived Bay City Blues focused on a AA minor league team, the Bluebirds.
Bay City Blues starred Michael Nouri, Ken Olin, Sharon Stone, and Bernie Casey. Franz played pitching coach Angelo Carbone.
In Bochco's more successful 1980's ensemble drama Hill Street Blues, Franz played two roles.
He first guest starred as dirty cop Sal Benedetto in a multi-episode story arc. After Benedetto's story line ended with his suicide, Bochco brought Franz back to Hill Street Station as Detective Norman Buntz.
Buntz' informant was Sid the Snitch, played by another Bay City Blues alumnus, Peter Jurasik.
The pair offered comic relief and gained enough confidence from NBC to star in a spinoff -- Beverly Hills Buntz.
The show lasted a few episodes in 1987 and featured Buntz opening a private investigation agency in the glamorous southern California locale of Beverly Hills.
In 1989, Franz starred in a 2-hour NBC tv-movie entitled Nasty Boys. The theme song was the popular eponymous song of the day.
Nasty Boys featured an elite undercover narcotics squad in Las Vegas led by Franz' Lieutenant Krieger.
In 1990, NBC expanded Nasty Boys into a television series. Benjamin Bratt of Law & Order also starred.
In addition to these starring roles, Franz' resume includes numerous guest spots -- Hunter, Matlock, The A-Team, Riptide, Simon & Simon, Street Hawk, T.J. Hooker.
Dennis Franz' work on NYPD Blue secured his place in the annals of television history.
But his earlier television work ought not be overlooked.
And the aforementioned shows starring Franz have a common thread with NYPD Blue -- the ensemble.
Michael Jackson
June 25, 2009
by David Krell
david@davidkrell.com
In the 1980's, three revolutions took place in the entertainment industry.
Steven Bochco and Michael Kozoll changed a major production techniques of television drama with their show Hill Street Blues. They favored story arcs instead of self-contained episodes. Producers continued that technique with Hall of Fame television dramas -- St. Elsewhere, L.A. Law, thirtysomething, ER, The Shield, The Sopranos, and Rescue Me.
Television networks went the conglomerate route. Loews, GE, and Capital Cities took over Network Row as they incorporated CBS, NBC, and ABC respectively into their massive corporate families. Gone were the days of network chiefs like William Paley, David Sarnoff, and Leonard Goldenson being synonymous with the networks they founded.
And Michael Jackson, for all intents and purposes, made the marriage of music and television complete with his numerous music video plays on MTV. Before he danced on a car and made a mockery of court proceedings concerning child molestation allegations, before he underwent massive plastic surgery that drastically altered his appearance, and before his deep money troubles, Michael Jackson had it all -- fame, money, adoration of fans.
Jackson's 1982 album Thriller gave him terrific fodder for music videos. He defined the genre by creating visual stories to match the songs. He set the bar higher for bands and singers who wanted rotation on MTV. And he formed the center for USA For Africa's We Are the World in 1985 by singing the first chorus. Forty-five singers comprised an inspirational unit to sing this song that raised money for Ethiopian famine sufferers, but Michael Jackson was arguably a keystone to the song's success.
It all happened back in the day described eloquently by Bowling For Soup in its song 1985: Way before Nirvana, there was U2 and Blondie and music still on MTV.
david@davidkrell.com
In the 1980's, three revolutions took place in the entertainment industry.
Steven Bochco and Michael Kozoll changed a major production techniques of television drama with their show Hill Street Blues. They favored story arcs instead of self-contained episodes. Producers continued that technique with Hall of Fame television dramas -- St. Elsewhere, L.A. Law, thirtysomething, ER, The Shield, The Sopranos, and Rescue Me.
Television networks went the conglomerate route. Loews, GE, and Capital Cities took over Network Row as they incorporated CBS, NBC, and ABC respectively into their massive corporate families. Gone were the days of network chiefs like William Paley, David Sarnoff, and Leonard Goldenson being synonymous with the networks they founded.
And Michael Jackson, for all intents and purposes, made the marriage of music and television complete with his numerous music video plays on MTV. Before he danced on a car and made a mockery of court proceedings concerning child molestation allegations, before he underwent massive plastic surgery that drastically altered his appearance, and before his deep money troubles, Michael Jackson had it all -- fame, money, adoration of fans.
Jackson's 1982 album Thriller gave him terrific fodder for music videos. He defined the genre by creating visual stories to match the songs. He set the bar higher for bands and singers who wanted rotation on MTV. And he formed the center for USA For Africa's We Are the World in 1985 by singing the first chorus. Forty-five singers comprised an inspirational unit to sing this song that raised money for Ethiopian famine sufferers, but Michael Jackson was arguably a keystone to the song's success.
It all happened back in the day described eloquently by Bowling For Soup in its song 1985: Way before Nirvana, there was U2 and Blondie and music still on MTV.
Television Cartoon Shows
May 29, 2009
by David Krell
david@davidkrell.com
Who was the voice of Harry Boyle, the father in Wait Til Your Father Gets Home?
When did The Jetsons initially air?
What was the name of the prime time cartoon series that Steven Bochco produced?
The answers to these and just about any other cartoon questions can be found in Hal Erickson's 1995 book -- Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 through 1993.
Erickson provides painstaking detail on the genre.
From Abbott & Costello to Zorro, it's all here.
From the well-known to the obscure.
The Funky Phantom.
Speed Buggy.
Frankenstein, Jr. and the Impossibles.
The Smurfs.
Super Friends.
Josie and the Pussycats.
The Pac-Man Show.
Inspector Gadget.
The Gary Coleman Show.
Erickson goes beyond titles and dates. He gives a thorough background on each program.
The history, genesis, and syndication information is detailed, where available. Fans, collectors, and historians will be in their glory.
Beyond the detail of individual shows, Erickson takes a true historian's look at the genre with its roots dating back to the 1920's debuts of Mickey Mouse and Felix the Cat.
For nearly fifty pages, Erickson tracks the evolution of cartoons and television.
Erickson matches his information with opinions and sets out a caveat in his introduction.
As much as I had intended an impersonal, scholarly work, I confess that my opinions run rampant throughout the book.
Erickson also warns against the inevitable television vs. film debate.
The first rule I learned was not to condemn television animation outright simply because it is not up to the standards of theatrical cartoons. Plagued as they are by attenuated budgets, precious little production time, and the added creative handicaps imposed by sponsors and network censors, it is miraculous that the makers of television cartoons can get anything done at all, either good or bad.
By the way, the answers to the questions that started this commentary:
Tom Bosley. 1962-63 television season. Capitol Critters.
david@davidkrell.com
Who was the voice of Harry Boyle, the father in Wait Til Your Father Gets Home?
When did The Jetsons initially air?
What was the name of the prime time cartoon series that Steven Bochco produced?
The answers to these and just about any other cartoon questions can be found in Hal Erickson's 1995 book -- Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 through 1993.
Erickson provides painstaking detail on the genre.
From Abbott & Costello to Zorro, it's all here.
From the well-known to the obscure.
The Funky Phantom.
Speed Buggy.
Frankenstein, Jr. and the Impossibles.
The Smurfs.
Super Friends.
Josie and the Pussycats.
The Pac-Man Show.
Inspector Gadget.
The Gary Coleman Show.
Erickson goes beyond titles and dates. He gives a thorough background on each program.
The history, genesis, and syndication information is detailed, where available. Fans, collectors, and historians will be in their glory.
Beyond the detail of individual shows, Erickson takes a true historian's look at the genre with its roots dating back to the 1920's debuts of Mickey Mouse and Felix the Cat.
For nearly fifty pages, Erickson tracks the evolution of cartoons and television.
Erickson matches his information with opinions and sets out a caveat in his introduction.
As much as I had intended an impersonal, scholarly work, I confess that my opinions run rampant throughout the book.
Erickson also warns against the inevitable television vs. film debate.
The first rule I learned was not to condemn television animation outright simply because it is not up to the standards of theatrical cartoons. Plagued as they are by attenuated budgets, precious little production time, and the added creative handicaps imposed by sponsors and network censors, it is miraculous that the makers of television cartoons can get anything done at all, either good or bad.
By the way, the answers to the questions that started this commentary:
Tom Bosley. 1962-63 television season. Capitol Critters.