ONE SEASON WONDERS: The Faculty

THE FACULTY

Programming Details:

March 13, 1996 - June 26, 1996
13 episodes
ABC

Starring: Meredith Baxter, Jenica Bergere, Kurt Fuller, Peter Michael Goetz, Nancy Lenehan, Peter MacKenzie, Constance Shulman
Created by: Neil Thompson and Gary Murphy

Plot: Flynn Sullivan (Baxter) is the stressed out vice principal at Hamilton Middle School. Rather than focusing on classrooms, this series focused primarily on the faculty lounge as other school employees made up the main cast: Principal Herb Adams (Goetz), history teacher Clark Edwards (MacKenzie), new math teacher Amanda Duvall (Bergere), industrial arts teacher Edward Sloan (Fuller), English teacher Shelly Ray (Shulman) and Herb's secretary Daisy Skelnick (Lenehan).

TOP 10 TUESDAY: Top 10 TV Neighbors

My Top 10 today is Top 10 Neighbors! My caveat for this one is they couldn't also be the lead characters. For example, Joey and Chandler are neighbors to Monica and Rachel on Friends, but they all share equal billing as leads of the show. These are neighbors who are secondary characters.

Close Calls:

Eddie Haskell - Leave it to Beaver

Larry, Darryl & Darryl - Newhart

Winnie Cooper - The Wonder Years

10. Wilson (Earl Hindman) - Home Improvement 

One of the classic characters who we never fully see, Wilson provided Tim Taylor lots of sage advice from the other side of the fence and made "Howdy Ho, Neighbor" a common saying. 

9. Lenny & Squiggy (Michael McKean & David L. Lander) - Laverne & Shirley

They were so bizarre and sometimes annoying but Lenny and Squiggy were funny neighbors. They provided some really great comedic moments on the show and made Laverne and Shirley look less crazy by comparsion.

SCHEDULES OF THE PAST: 1985-1986 Thursdays

Here's a look at Thursdays in the 1985-86 season!

ABC	8:00	9:00	10:00
Sep	The Fall Guy	Lady Blue	20/20
Oct
Nov	Shadow Chasers	Various Programs
Dec		The Colbys
Jan
Feb	Ripley’s Believe It  or Not
Mar
Apr
May

With NBC dominating the night with its sitcom lineup, ABC went with two hours of drama to start off the night. At 8pm was The Fall Guy. The action drama had been a decent-sized hit, but was fading away in its fifth season. It was followed by the new Lady Blue, a Chicago-set police drama that was notable for being extremely violent for a network show. It was targeted by some watchdog groups and unlike a later police drama, NYPD Blue, it didn't translate to ratings. Both dramas were yanked off the night in mid-October and sent to Saturdays. Networks were quick to shuffle around their lineup back in those days. The 8pm replacement was Shadow Chasers, a sci-fi drama about a Paranormal Research Unit. It had the dubious distinction of being the lowest rated show on TV in 1985-86 but managed to last 10 episodes before it was replaced by a transplanted Ripley's Believe it or Not for the rest of the season. ABC went with a pretty strong effort for 9pm in late November by launching The Colbys, a spinoff of Dynasty. The show was incredibly similar down to the opening credits. It premiered on Wednesday, November 20 after a Dynasty episode and did well. It was supposed to air the next night but was preempted for an address by President Reagan. Reportedly, star Charlton Heston called Reagan to try to convince him to reschedule his address but it did not work. When it did premiere on Thursday a week later, it was already not nearly as strong as Dynasty. It was still an improvement for Thursdays and got renewed, but it was not the next great soap opera for the network. Throughout the entire season, 20/20 aired in the 10pm slot. The still-running newsmagazine was less than a decade old at that point.

THE FRIDAY FIVE: Top 5 TV News Stories of the Week Ending 9/25/20

Here's a look at this week's Top 5 TV news stories!

#1 - "SCHITT'S" SWEEPS THE EMMYS

For the first time in Emmy history, a series swept every major award in drama or comedy series categories (series, all four acting awards, writing & directing) and that series was Schitt's Creek. The little show that could from Pop TV was a leading contender going into the Emmy Awards but no one expected an across the board sweep. After never being an Emmys player before this season, the show's popularity exploded after it arrived on Netflix last year. It won awards for legends Catherine O'Hara and Eugene Levy as well as three awards for co-creator and star Dan Levy and his on screen sister, Annie Murphy (who was probably the longest shot before the ceremony). The Emmys received low ratings as expected but largely pulled off the super weird, socially distanced version they had to present. The other big winners, to no surprise, were Succession and Watchmen while 24 year old Zendaya shocked many by winning the Lead Actress in a Drama Series. I didn't do as well as I hoped on my predictions so I will have to work on that for next year! As far as whether the winners were desergving, I'm happy for the Schitt's team but there were also other comedies, mainly some performances in The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and the writing for the series finale of The Good Place that were deserving. I'm also not sure Schitt's Creek should own the distinction of sweeping an entire Emmys when some better comedies in history could not. And while Zendaya easily elevated Euphoria to a level it could not have reached without her, I was still pulling for either Jennifer Aniston or Laura Linney.

EPISODE GUIDES: Bewitched Season Three

Welcome to the next week of Episode Guides! This week looks at the third season of Bewitched. A reminder of what the scores mean:

9-10: Exceptional

7-8: Strong

5-6: OK

3-4: Mediocre

1-2: Terrible

BEWITCHED: SEASON THREE
1966-1967
33 episodes

Bewitched moves to color in season three and it's pretty smooth sailing early on. While the show takes a small step away from being the romantic comedy it was in seasons one and two and a step closer to being a silly 60s fantasy comedy, it straddles that line pretty well here. I think an argument could be made that this season is funnier than the first two, just not quite as well-crafted. The loss of Alice Pearce (replaced by Sandra Gould) and addition of Bernard Fox late in the season is a sign of bad things to come for the show, but this season still feels like the show is in its creative sweet spot. It's just not as magical to me as the black and white run.

Starring
Elizabeth Montgomery as Samantha Stephens (33 episodes)
Dick York as Darrin Stephens (31 episodes)
Agnes Moorehead as Endora (22 episodes)
David White as Larry Tate (27 episodes)
Erin Murphy as Tabitha Stephens (18 episodes)

Marion Lorne as Aunt Clara (11 episodes)
Kasey Rogers as Louise Tate (10 episodes)
Sandra Gould as Gladys Kravitz (8 episodes)
George Tobias as Abner Kravitz (8 episodes)
Jill Foster as Betty (2 episodes)
Paul Lynde as Uncle Arthur (2 episodes)
Mabel Albertson as Phyllis Stephens (1 episode)
Maurice Evans as Maurice (1 episode)
Bernard Fox as Dr. Bombay (1 episode)
Robert F. Simon as Frank Stephens (1 episode)

75. Nobody's Perfect (9/15/66)
Samantha discovers that baby Tabitha is a witch and tries to keep Darrin from finding out at the wrong time as he excitedly includes Tabitha in an ad campaign.

I've always had mixed feelings about Bewitched's transition to color. On one hand, a show as fantastical as this seems perfect for color. But it's also an end of an era: the end of the 74 black and white episodes I fell in love with on Nick at Nite long before I saw most of the color episodes. However, this is the start of a great three episode arc that explores the reveal that Tabitha is a witch. It's a funny episode and it gives the show a jolt to start its third season with some fresh new stories to tell. I can imagine how exciting it was to see this show in color for the first time back in 1966.
RATING: 8.5/10

76. The Moment of Truth (9/22/66)
Darrin finds out Tabitha is a witch on their anniversary during a party with the Tates.

The next episode in the "Tabitha is a witch" arc features the triumphant return of Marion Lorne as Aunt Clara. A heart attack had sidelined Lorne for nearly 30 episodes but she's back and as funny as ever in this episode. This also marks the first episode for Kasey Rogers as Louise Tate. I think she's superior to Irene Vernon, but it's interesting in these early episodes that they try to make her look and act like Vernon. This episode is pretty funny and the reveal to Darrin is a good and honest moment. Samantha using witchcraft to convince Larry he's drunk is pretty funny too.
RATING: 9/10

ONE SEASON WONDERS: Mary

MARY

Programming Details:
December 11, 1985 - April 8, 1986
13 episodes
CBS

Starring: Mary Tyler Moore, James Farentino, John Astin, David Byrd, Katey Sagal, James Tolkan, Carlene Watkins
Created by: Ken Levine and David Isaacs

Plot: Mary Brenner (Moore) is a Chicago divorcee working for a high profile women's magazine but then forced to work for a tabloid after her magazine goes out of business. She tries to deal with her sense of journalism with a boss (Farentino) who values sensationalism. At her new job she also has to deal with columnist Jo (Sagal), theater critic Ed (Astin) and copy editor Tully (Byrd). Rounding out the main cast Mary's neighbor Susan (Watkins) and Susan's fiance, Lester (Tolkan).

TOP 10 TUESDAY: Top 10 TV Teachers/Coaches

We are Back to School, in one form or another, so today's Top 10 is Top 10 TV Teachers/Coaches!

Close Calls:

Mr. Garvey - Key and Peele

CB Brown - Schooled

Helen Crump - The Andy Griffith Show

10. Cameron Tucker (played by Eric Stonestreet) - Modern Family

We didn't get to see a ton of Cam as a gym teacher and football coach on Modern Family, but I love that the show turned a stereotype on his head by making someone who often appeared flamboyantly gay a competent and effective football coach. And they were never preachy or heavy-handed about it.

9. Charlie Moore (played by Howard Hesseman) - Head of the Class

An anti-Mr. Kotter teaching the anti-Sweathogs, Charlie Moore was the perfect teacher for a group of pretentious straight A students because he was a little bit pretentious himself. As a musical director myself, I love that he was also the musical director at the school.

SCHEDULES OF THE PAST: 1985-1986 Wednesdays

Here's a look at Wednesdays in the 1985-86 season!

ABC	8:00	9:00	10:00
Sep	The Insiders	Dynasty	Hotel
Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan	MacGyver
Feb
Mar
Apr
May

ABC was in good shape on Wednesdays heading into 1985-86 because they had the reigning #1 show on TV at 9pm - Dynasty. In the time of Reagan-era opulent 1980s soaps, Dynasty stood on top of the mountain. It also ended the previous season on a massive cliffhanger - "The Moldavian Massacre" that was seen by over 25 million viewers. However, that was the peak of Dynasty's popularity. The 1985-86 season started on an ominous note with star Joan Collins missing the first episode back due to tense contract negotiations. The follow-up to the cliffhanger, while even more highly viewed, was seen as a creative disappointment that left a bad taste in viewers' mouths. Dynasty was still popular, but it fell to #7 in the ratings. For a third season in a row, Dynasty was followed by Hotel. Another opulent, though less ridiculous, soap opera, Hotel was known for being a more serious version of The Love Boat with a weekly parade of guest stars. The night started off with a new drama, The Insiders. Centered on magazine reporters investigating criminal organizations, the show tried awfully hard to be hip and was ABC's answer to Miami Vice, but it didn't find a big audience. It was yanked from the schedule in December and replaced by MacGyver, another freshman series that had been finding more success on Sunday nights. It did better than The Insiders, but was not really a fit with the rest of the night and it headed off to Mondays after its first season.

THE FRIDAY FIVE: Top 5 TV News Stories of the Week Ending 9/18/20

Here's a look at this week's Top 5 TV news stories!

#1 - THE EMMYS ARE THIS SUNDAY!

The Emmys, in a very different form, will air this Sunday. Here's my official predictions & commentary on the major awards in drama, comedy and limited series:

Outstanding Drama Series

Will Win: Succession

Should Win: Succession

Should Have Been Nominated: The Morning Show

Outstanding Comedy Series

Will Win: Schitt's Creek

Should Win: The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel

Should Have Been Nominated: Never Have I Ever

EPISODE GUIDES: Bewitched Season Two

Welcome to the next week of Episode Guides! This week looks at Bewitched Season Two. A reminder of what the scores mean: 

9-10: Exceptional

7-8: Strong

5-6: OK

3-4: Mediocre

1-2: Terrible

BEWITCHED: SEASON TWO

1965-1966
38 episodes

Season two of Bewitched is the last of its years in glorious black and white. I have a special place in my heart for the 74 black and white episodes as they were the ones I watched religiously on Nick at Nite back in the 90s when they only had the rights to those episodes. Season 2 is an unbelievable 38 episodes long. It's amazing that the show spends what seems like an entire season on Samantha's pregnancy and the birth of Tabitha only to have a whole second half of the season left to go. It's also the best season of the series overall with some absolute gems and crisp performances all around. With both Marion Lorne and Alice Pearce still with us and the cast settling into their roles, it is the show at its absolute peak.

Starring
Elizabeth Montgomery as Samantha Stephens (38 episodes)
Dick York as Darrin Stephens (38 episodes)
Agnes Moorehead as Endora (20 episodes)
David White as Larry Tate (21 episodes)

George Tobias as Abner Kravitz (12 episodes)
Alice Pearce as Gladys Kravitz (11 episodes)
Irene Vernon as Louise Tate (8 episodes)
Marion Lorne as Aunt Clara (5 episodes)
Jill Foster as Betty (3 episodes)
Mabel Albertson as Phyllis Stephens (1 episode)
Maurice Evans as Maurice (1 episode)
Paul Lynde as Uncle Arthur (1 episode)
Elizabeth Montgomery as Serena (1 episode)
Robert F. Simon as Frank Stephens (1 episode)

37. Alias Darrin Stephens (9/16/65)
Aunt Clara accidentally turns Darrin into a chimpanzee on his first anniversary with Samantha. Samantha finds out she is pregnant.

I'm not typically a fan of animal-themed episodes of Bewitched or any sitcom, but I really enjoy this one. Maybe it's because the chimpanzee actor playing Darrin has so much personality. The season two premiere brings back all the favorites with Samantha, Darrin, Endora, Larry, Aunt Clara, and the Kravitzes all appearing in this episode to great effect. It's an excellent way to kick off a season in general, but the sweetest moment is when Samantha finally gets to tell Darrin, back in human form, that they're going to have a baby. It kicks into gear the long and strong season two story arc of Samantha's pregnancy.
RATING: 9.5/10

ONE SEASON WONDERS: The New Andy Griffith Show

THE NEW ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW

Programming Details:
January 8, 1971 - March 12, 1971
10 episodes
CBS

Starring: Andy Griffith, Lee Meriwether, Ann Morgan Guilbert, and Lori Rutherford & Marty McCall
Created by: Aaron Ruben

Plot: Andy Sawyer (Griffith) returns to his hometown of Greenwood, North Carolina as the new mayor pro tem. Joing him are his wife, Lee (Meriwether), children Lori & TJ (Rutherford & McCall) and sister, Nora (Guilbert).

TOP 10 TUESDAY: Top 10 First Episodes of Dramas

Welcome to another Top 10 Tuesday! Last week, I looked at the first episodes of comedy series. Today is the Top 10 First Episodes of Dramas!

Close Calls:

American Dreams "Pilot"

House of Cards "Chapter 1"

Party of Five "Pilot"

10. Revenge "Pilot" (September 21, 2011)

The first episode of Revenge started with an interesting flash forward and then did a tremendous job of world building. The lavish Hamptons setting and the very intriguing revenge plot in the pilot probably would have ranked higher if it had been able to stick the landing.

9. Damages "Get Me a Lawyer" (July 24, 2007)

This was also a pilot with a flash forward that actually managed to stick the landing. So often flash forwards can end up disappointing but Damages kept things interesting and introduced us to a marvelous Glenn Close performance.

SCHEDULES OF THE PAST: 1985-1986 Tuesdays

Here's a look at Tuesdays in the 1985-86 season! If you're on a mobile device and the formatting looks weird for a grid, try it on a desktop or laptop!

ABC	8:00	8:30	9:00	10:00
Sep	Who’s the Boss?	Growing Pains	Moonlighting	Our Family Honor
Oct
Nov				Spenser: For Hire
Dec
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr		Perfect Strangers
May		Growing Pains

ABC was the dominant network on Tuesday nights with a solid lineup, especially from 8-10pm. Who's the Boss? was a modest success in its first year but it took over the 8pm lead-off slot for its second season and became a breakout hit, vaulting into the Top 10. The Tony Danza-Judith Light sitcom settled into a very long run in this slot as one of ABC's most successful sitcoms of the 1980s. It was followed by a new sitcom, the wholesome Growing Pains starring Alan Thicke and Joanna Kerns. It fit like a glove out of Who's the Boss? for a family friendly hour. For a brief time in the spring, Growing Pains went on hiatus to make room for midseason entry Perfect Strangers. The comedy, centered on a Chicago man and his foreign cousin was somewhat of an afterthought with a late March premiere, but it ended up being a big success in its short run. It was renewed and became a long running hit for ABC. The 9pm entry was Moonlighting, a critically acclaimed dramedy that had aired just six episodes the previous season. Starring Cybill Shepherd and Bruce Willis, it was a buzzy form-busting show that built an audience as it went along in its second season and ended with a slew of Emmy nominations. The 10pm hour started off with Our Family Honor, a sweeping drama about two New York City families - one involved with the NYPD and one involved with organized crime. The show struggled out of the gate ABC very quickly decided that they did not want to keep it in this prime slot. So, they swapped it with their new and promising Friday drama Spenser: For Hire, starring Robert Urich as a Boston Private Eye. Spenser was a better fit on the night and made to a strong lineup from beginning to end.

THE FRIDAY FIVE: Top 5 TV News Stories of the Week Ending 9/11/20

Welcome to the Friday Five! Every Friday will take a look at current TV news with the five biggest TV news stories of the week! I should mention that this is based mostly on shows airing, not necessarily corporate moves. So while the departure of Netflix's Cindy Holland is huge news for TV but not the kind of news stories I will cover here. So here is the Friday Five for this week!

#1 -ANNA FARIS IS LEAVING "MOM"

The news is a week old now but there was a bombshell last Friday afternoon that Anna Faris would be leaving Mom after seven seasons. The CBS series has evolved quite a bit from its original premise with Faris as a recovering alcoholic and dealing with both her recovering alcoholic mom (Allison Janney) and children (Sadie Calvano & Blake Garrett Rosenthal). Calvano and Rosenthal eventually left the cast and the show has morphed pretty significantly from a family sitcom to a friendship sitcom about a group of women who are all recovering alcoholics. While Faris has been the centerpiece of the show, Janney has received more acclaim (including two Emmy Awards). Although this has reportedly been in the works for a couple months, it still seems like there's more to the story since Faris won't even be given a proper conclusion to her character. If it was as amicable a split as they are trying to pretend it was, I can't imagine that Faris wouldn't have had a chance to get a send-off the way America Ferrera is on Superstore. Maybe someday we will find out more to the story. Mom is entering its eighth season and has had some tough negotiations for renewal before especially since it comes from an outside studio. I would not be surprised at all if this ends up being the final season.

EPISODE GUIDES: Bewitched Season One

Today is the first day of my Episode Guides on Thursdays! I will regularly put this caveat that each episode is scored and then an average for each season given at the end of the season. It is exceedingly hard to get an average in the 8-10 range (for a 10 average, every single episode of the season would have to get a perfect score, which is never going to happen). 

So I look at it this way for overall scores:

9-10: Exceptional

7-8: Strong

5-6: OK

3-4: Mediocre

1-2: Terrible

Here we go!

BEWITCHED: SEASON ONE

1964-1965
36 episodes

The first season of Bewitched is delightful. The show in its early years was a sentimental, romantic comedy with sophisticated writing and sharp performances. The show isn't afraid to shy away from some major themes, most specifically prejudice. Bewitched so often gets lumped in with the silly sitcoms of the 1960s and it lives up to that generalization in its later years. But in these early years, it is closer to the sophistication of The Dick Van Dyke Show than those other 60s sitcoms. It takes a few episodes after a great pilot for the show to really find its footing, but it doesn't take long.

Starring
Elizabeth Montgomery as Samantha Stephens (36 episodes)
Dick York as Darrin Stephens (36 episodes)
Agnes Moorehead as Endora (22 episodes)
David White as Larry Tate (19 episodes)

Alice Pearce as Gladys Kravitz (16 episodes)
George Tobias as Abner Kravitz (16 episodes)
Irene Vernon as Louise Tate (5 episodes)
Marion Lorne as Aunt Clara (3 episodes)
Mabel Albertson as Phyllis Stephens (2 episodes)
Robert F. Simon as Frank Stephens (2 episodes)
Maurice Evans as Maurice (1 episode)

1. I Darrin, Take This Witch, Samantha (9/17/64)
On their wedding night, Darrin finds out that Samantha is a witch. Darrin takes Samantha to his ex-girlfriend's house for a dinner party and Samantha can't resist using witchcraft.

Bewitched gets off to a great start with this tone-setting pilot. Aside from the narration, which is dropped after a few episodes, it really does evoke the early seasons feeling of the show from the jump. Elizabeth Montgomery and Dick York have instant chemistry including the romantic opening sequence showing Samantha and Darrin's courtship and marriage. Samantha's conversation with Endora is emblematic of the central premise and conflict of the show with underlying themes about prejudice. And that's just the beginning of the episode. The real humor comes when Samantha and Darrin go to Sheila's (guest star Nancy Kovack) dinner party. Sheila's snobbery and Samantha's reactions are excellent. The only thing I don't like at all, and they don't keep it up thank goodness, is when Darrin talks directly to the camera with his "so what if my wife is a witch?" bit. It feels completely out of place in a show that is surprisingly grounded considering its premise.
RATING: 9/10

ONE SEASON WONDERS: My Mother the Car

MY MOTHER THE CAR

Programming Details:
September 14, 1965 - April 5, 1966
30 episodes
NBC

Starring: Jerry Van Dyke, Maggie Pierce, Also Starring Ann Sothern, Featuring Avery Schreiber, Cindy Eilbacher, Randy Whipple
Created by: Allan Burns & Chris Heyward

Plot: 

David Crabtree (Van Dyke) sees a 1928 Porter in a used car lot and when he gets in it, he finds out that it's his mother (Sothern) who has come back from the dead as a car. David has to deal with his incredulous wife, Barbara (Pierce) and Captain Manzini (Schreiber) who is determined to get the car. Rounding out the main cast are David's two children, Cindy and Randy (Eilbacher and Whipple).

TOP 10 TUESDAY: Top 10 First Episodes of Comedies

Tuesday is Top 10 day! Every list is based on personal opinion and shows I have watched.

Fittingly, the Top 10 to kick things off is Top 10 First Episodes of Comedies!

Close Calls: 

Brooklyn Nine-Nine "Pilot"

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel "Pilot"

Rhoda "Joe"

10. Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt "Kimmy Goes Outside!" (March 6, 2015)

A pilot that was completely unique and different, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt made great use of its very unusual plot with a pilot that was hilarious and a perfect showcase for the title character.

9. Bewitched "I, Darrin, Take This Witch, Samantha" (September 17, 1964)

An enchanting start to an enchanting sitcom that really captures the romanticism of the early seasons of the show. Check back Thursday for more on this episode and the whole first season of Bewitched!

SCHEDULES OF THE PAST: 1985-1986 Mondays

Welcome to Day 1 of the Blog Relaunch! On Mondays, I will take a look at schedules of the past starting with the 1985-86 season. If you're on a mobile device and the formatting looks weird for the grid, try it on a desktop or laptop! Here's a look at Mondays in the 1985-86 season!

ABC	8:00	9:00	10:00
Sep	Hardcastle & McCormick	Monday Night Football
Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan		Monday Night Movie
Feb
Mar
Apr
May

ABC went all-in on the male audience on Monday nights in the Fall of 1985 with the third season of action drama Hardcastle and McCormick continuing at 8pm leading into Monday Night Football. Hardcastle centered on the unlikely pairing of a judge (Brian Keith) and ex-con race car driver (Daniel Hugh Kelly). They, along with a totally awesome car, go after criminals. Playing like a buddy cop comedy and with a pulsing 80s soundtrack, the show was only a modest performer. It had dropped from #15 its first season to #39 in season two and now to #52, which resulted in a cancellation at the end of the season. Monday Night Football was just two years removed from the departure of the legendary Howard Cosell and had an ill-fated attempt at adding famed Jets quarterback Joe Namath to the broadcast booth alongside Frank Gifford and, yes, OJ Simpson. Namath only lasted one year in the booth as both he and Simpson were replaced for 1986. As was often the case, a movie replaced football for the winter and spring.