This Week in Television History: September 2017 PART IV

As always, the further we go back in Hollywood history,
the more that fact and legend become intertwined.
It's hard to say where the truth really lies.

September 26th, 1982

The first episode of Knight Rider was aired. 

Knight Rider is an American television series created and produced by Glen A. Larson. The series was originally broadcast on NBC from 1982 to 1986. The show stars David Hasselhoff as Michael Knight, a high-tech modern crime fighter assisted by KITT, an advanced artificially intelligent, self-aware and nearly indestructible car.

Self-made billionaire Wilton Knight rescues police Detective Lieutenant Michael Arthur Long after a near fatal shot to the face, giving him a new identity (by plastic surgery) and a new name: Michael Knight. Wilton selects Michael to be the primary field agent in the pilot program of his public justice organization, the Foundation for Law and Government (FLAG). The other half of this pilot program is the Knight Industries Two Thousand (KITT), a heavily modified, technologically advanced Pontiac Firebird Trans Am with numerous features including an extremely durable shell and frame, controlled by a computer with artificial intelligence. Michael and KITT are brought in during situations where "direct action might provide the only feasible solution".

Heading FLAG is Devon Miles, who provides Michael with directives and guidance. Dr. Bonnie Barstow is the chief engineer in charge of KITT's care, as well as technical assistant to Devon (April Curtis fills this role in Season 2).

September 26th, 1987

Jake and the Fatman first aired. 

The television crime drama starring William Conrad as prosecutor J. L. (Jason Lochinvar) “Fatman” McCabe and Joe Penny as investigator Jake Styles. The series ran on CBS for five seasons from 1987 to 1992. Diagnosis: Murder was a spin-off of this series. Conrad guest starred as an aging prosecutor in a two-part episode of Matlock during its first season on NBC. Executive producers Fred Silverman and Dean Hargrove decided to use this character as a model for one of the main characters in a new show they were creating for CBS. Penny also guest starred in these episodes, but his character was not on the same side as Conrad’s character in the storyline’s legal case.

Following the departure of Hargrove, executive producers David Moessinger and Jeri Taylor were brought on to run the series with Silverman. They also hired J. Michael Straczynski as story editor and, later, co-producer. Taylor and Moessinger ran the show for two years before finally leaving in a dispute over control over the show.

September 28, 1987

The first episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation aired.

Star Trek: The Next Generation (abbreviated as TNG and ST:TNG) is an American science fiction television series in the Star Trek franchise created by Gene Roddenberrythat ran between 1987 and 1994. Roddenberry, Maurice Hurley, Rick Berman, Michael Piller and Jeri Taylor served as executive producers at different times throughout its production.

The series involves a starship named Enterprise and is set in the nearby regions of the Milky Way galaxy, the Alpha Quadrant. The first episode takes place in the year 2364, 100 years after the start of the five-year mission described in the original series, which began in 2264. It features a new cast and a new starship Enterprise, the fifth to bear the namewithin the franchise's storyline. An introductory statement, performed by Patrick Stewartand featured at the beginning of each episode's title sequence, stated the starship's purpose in language similar to the opening statement of the original series, but was updated to reflect an ongoing mission, and to be gender-neutral:

Space: the final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. Its continuing mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no one has gone before.

TNG premiered the week of September 28, 1987, drawing 27 million viewers, with the two-hour pilot "Encounter at Farpoint". In total, 176 episodes were made, ending with the two-hour finale "All Good Things..." the week of May 23, 1994.

The series (1987–94) was broadcast in first-run syndication with dates and times varying among individual television stations. Three additional Star Trek spin-offs followed The Next Generation: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993–99), Star Trek: Voyager (1995–2001), and Star Trek: Enterprise (2001–2005). The series formed the basis for the seventh through to the tenth of the Star Trek films, and is also the setting of numerous novels, comic books, and video games.

In its seventh season, Star Trek: The Next Generation became the first and only syndicated television series to be nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series. The series received a number of accolades including 19 Emmy Awards, two Hugo Awards, five Saturn Awards, and a Peabody Award.

September 29, 1992

The 100th episode of "Roseanne" aired on ABC.

September 29, 2002

The first pilot episode of "American Chopper" aired. 

A second pilot was aired on January 19, 2003.

September 30, 1982

The first episode of “Cheers” aired on NBC. 

Cheers is an American sitcom television series that ran for 11 seasons from 1982 to 1993. 

It was produced by Charles/Burrows/Charles Productions in association with Paramount Network Television for NBC and created by the team of James Burrows, Glen Charles, and Les Charles. The show is set in a bar named Cheers (named after the popular toast) in Boston, Massachusetts, where a group of locals meet to drink, relax, and socialize. 

The show’s theme song, written and performed by Gary Portnoy, and co-written with Judy Hart Angelo, lent its famous refrain, “Where Everybody Knows Your Name“, as the show’s tagline.

October 1, 1927

Thomas Edward Bosley is born. 

Among his early television appearances was in 1962 as Assistant District Attorney Ryan in the episode "The Man Who Wanted to Die" on James Whitmore's legal drama The Law and Mr. Jones on ABC.

Bosley's best known role is the character Howard Cunningham, Richie Cunningham's father, in the long-running television sitcom Happy Days. Bosley is also known for portraying Sheriff Amos Tupper on Murder, She Wrote. He also portrayed the titular Father Frank Dowling on the TV mystery series, Father Dowling Mysteries. In 2004, Bosley guest starred as a toy maker named Ben-Ami on the series finale of the Christian video series K10C: Kids' Ten Commandments. Among myriad television appearances, one notable early performance was in the "Eyes" segment of the 1969 pilot episode of Rod Serling's Night Gallery, directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Joan Crawford. In 2008, Bosley starred in the Hallmark Channel television movie Charlie & Me.

Also notable as a voice actor due to his resonant, fatherly yet expressive tone, Bosley hosted The General Mills Radio Adventure Theater, a 1977 radio drama series for children. He went on to voice many animated cartoon characters, including Harry Boyle in the animated series Wait Till Your Father Gets Home. He provided the voice of the title character in the 1980s cartoon The World of David the Gnome, and the shop owner Mr. Winkle in the children's Christmas special The Tangerine Bear. He also narrated the movie documentary series That's Hollywood. Additionally, he played the narrator B.A.H. Humbug in the Rankin/Bass animated Christmas special The Stingiest Man In Town. Bosley was also the voice of Gepetto, Pinocchio's 'dad' in Filmation's Pinocchio and the Emperor of the Night, released in 1987.

October 1, 1952

This is Your Life began airing on NBC-TV. 

This Is Your Life was an American reality documentary series broadcast on NBC radio from 1948 to 1952, and on NBC television from 1952 to 1961. It was originally hosted by its creator and producer Ralph Edwards. In the program, the host would surprise guests and then take them through a retrospective of their lives in front of an audience, including appearances by colleagues, friends, and family. Edwards revived the show in 1971–1972, and Joseph Campanella hosted a version in 1983. Edwards returned for some specials in the late 1980s, before his death in 2005.

October 1, 1962

Johnny Carson becomes the new host of The Tonight Show. 

Ed McMahon was Carson's announcer. The Tonight Show orchestra was for several years still led by Skitch Henderson. After a brief stint by Milton DeLugg, beginning in 1967 the "NBC Orchestra" was then headed by trumpeter Doc Severinsen who played in the Tonight Show Band in the years that 'Skitch' Henderson conducted. For all but a few months of its first decade on the air, Carson's Tonight Show was based in New York City. 

In May 1972 the show moved to Burbank, California into Studio One of NBC Studios West Coast (although it was announced as coming from nearby Hollywood), for the remainder of his tenure. Carson is often referred to as "The King of Late-Night" because of the great influence he has had on so many well-known talk show hosts and comedians. Carson started each show with a monologue and continued with sketches in which he played recurring characters "Carnac the Magnificent". 

In 1965, Carson insisted on delivering his monologue at 11:30 instead of 11:15, the show's official starting time, because many stations ran news until 11:30 and didn't join The Tonight Show until the half hour. In 1967, Carson walked out over contract differences, returning several weeks later when the network allegedly offered him a contract worth more than $1 million a year-an exorbitant salary at that time. The show moved to Burbank in 1972. In March 1978, Carson received a contract reportedly worth $3 million. Frequent guest hosts included Joan Rivers, who became "permanent guest host" from 1983 to 1986, and Jay Leno, who became permanent guest host in 1987. David Letterman also served as guest host, appearing more than 50 times.

When Carson announced he would retire in 1992, a highly publicized battle for the job ensued between top contenders Jay Leno and David Letterman. When Letterman lost, he accepted CBS's offer for his own show and launched Late Show with David Letterman in 1993. Carson died at the age of 79, in 2005.

October 1, 1962

The Lucy Show aired for the first time. 

The Lucy Show is an American sitcom that aired on CBS from 1962–68. It was Lucille Ball's follow-up to I Love Lucy. A significant change in cast and premise for the 1965–66 season divides the program into two distinct eras; aside from Ball, only Gale Gordon, who joined the program for its second season, remained. For the first three seasons, Vivian Vance was the co-star.

The earliest scripts were entitled The Lucille Ball Show, but when this title was rejected by CBS, producers thought of calling the show This Is Lucy or The New Adventures of Lucy, before deciding on the title The Lucy Show. Ball won consecutive Emmy Awards as Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for the series' final two seasons, 1966–67 and 1967–68.

October 1, 1982

NBC aired the first episode of Remington Steele. 

Remington Steele is an American television series co-created by Robert Butler and Michael Gleason. The series, starring Stephanie Zimbalist and Pierce Brosnan, was produced by MTM Enterprises and first broadcast on the NBC network from 1982 to 1987. The series blended the genres of romantic comedy, drama, and detective procedural. Remington Steele is best known for launching the career of Pierce Brosnan.

Remington Steele's premise is that Laura Holt, a licensed private detective played by Stephanie Zimbalist, opened a detective agency under her own name but found potential clients refused to hire a woman, no matter how qualified. To solve the problem, Laura invents a fictitious male superior she names Remington Steele. Through a series of events in the first episode, "License to Steele," Pierce Brosnan's character, a former thief and con man (whose real name even he proves not to know, and is never revealed), assumes the identity of Remington Steele. Behind the scenes, a power struggle ensues between Laura and Steele as to who is really in charge, while the two carry on a casual romantic relationship.

To quote the Bicentennial Minute, "And that's the way it was".

Stay Tuned

Tony Figueroa

Your Mental Sorbet: 'Despacito' neighborhood

‘Despacito’ made this neighborhood famous. Hurricane Maria left it in ruins
Read the full article at CNN WIRE

Here is another "Mental Sorbet" 

A little spark of madness

that we could use to momentarily forget about those

things that leave a bad taste in our mouths

Join us and show your support by donating to:

unidosporpuertorico.com

Stay Tuned

Tony Figueroa

This Week in Television History: September 2017 PART III

As always, the further we go back in Hollywood history,
the more that fact and legend become intertwined.
It's hard to say where the truth really lies.

September 18, 1917

June Foray is born. 

The voice actress, best is known as the voice of many popular animated characters (particularly Rocky the Flying Squirrel, Cindy Lou Who and Granny). Her long and prolific career has encompassed radio, theatrical shorts, feature films, television, record albums (particularly with Stan Freberg), video games, talking toys and other media. Foray was also one of the founding members of ASIFA-Hollywood, the society devoted to promoting and encouraging animation.

September 18, 1957

The Big Record premiered on CBS-TV. The show only lasted one season.

September 21, 1957

The first episode of Perry Mason aired on CBS. 

The character of Perry Mason was adapted for motion pictures and a long-running radio series. These were followed by its best-known adaptation, the CBS television series Perry Mason (1957–66) starring Raymond Burr. A second television series, The New Perry Mason starring Monte Markham, ran from 1973 to 1974; and 30 Perry Mason television films ran from 1985 to 1995, with Burr reprising the role of Mason in 26 of them prior to his death in 1993.

September 21, 1972

ABC-TV debuted In Concert. 

Alice Cooper appeared in the first episode.

September 22, 1987

ABC aired the first episode of Full House. 

Full House is an American sitcom created by Jeff Franklin for ABC. The show chronicles the events of widowed father, Danny Tanner, who enlists his brother-in-law and best friend to help raise his three daughters. It aired from September 22, 1987, to May 23, 1995, broadcasting eight seasons and 192 episodes.

While never a critical favorite, the series was consistently in the Nielsen Top 30 (from 1988 onward) and gained even more popularity in syndicated reruns. It has also had tie-in merchandise marketed, such as a series of paperback books. A sequel series, Fuller House, premiered on Netflix on February 26, 2016.

September 22, 1992

MTV Unplugged renamed one episode MTV Plugged when Bruce Springsteen played an electric set on the show.

September 23, 1952

The first Pay Television sporting event took place. 

The Marciano-Walcott fight was seen in 49 theaters in 31 cities. 

September 23, 1992

The first episode of Mad About You aired. 

Mad About You is an American sitcom that aired on NBC from September 23, 1992 to May 24, 1999. The show starred Paul Reiser and Helen Hunt as a newly married couple in New York City.

The series focuses mainly on newlyweds Paul Buchman, a documentary filmmaker, and Jamie Stemple Buchman, a public relations specialist, as they deal with everything from humorous daily minutiae to major struggles. Near the end of the show's run, they have a baby daughter, whom they name Mabel.

September 23, 2002

The first season of CSI: Miami began. 

CSI: Miami (Crime Scene Investigation: Miami) is an American police procedural drama television series that premiered on September 23, 2002, on CBS. Starring David Carusoas Lieutenant Horatio Caine, Emily Procter as Detective Calleigh Duquesne, and Kim Delaney as Lieutenant Megan Donner, the series is the first direct spin-off of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, "transplanting the same template and trickery — gory crimes, procedural plot and dazzling graphics — into while retaining the essence of the original idea".

September 24, 1977

The Love Boat debuted on ABC. 

The Love Boat (Love Boat in its final season) is an American television series set on a cruise ship, which aired on the ABC Television Network from September 24, 1977, until May 24, 1986. The show starred Gavin MacLeod as the ship’s captain. It was part of ABC’s popular Saturday night lineup that included Fantasy Islanduntil that show ended in 1984. Gavin MacLeod, Bernie Kopell, and Ted Lange are the only cast members to appear in every episode of the series, including the last three made-for-TV movies. Fred Grandy was in every episode throughout the run of the series, but missed the last of the TV movies. MacLeod was not the captain in the first two TV movies, however. The viewers are told in Love Boat II that Gopher, Doc, Isaac, and the captain served together in Vietnam, but no reference to this is ever made to their shared history again. However, when MacLeod’s character was introduced, there was mention of him being “the new captain.”

September 24, 1987

The series A Different World debuted on NBC. 

A Different World is an American sitcom (and a spin-off of The Cosby Show) that aired for six seasons on NBC from September 24, 1987 to July 9, 1993. The series originally centered on Denise Huxtable (Lisa Bonet) and the life of students at Hillman College, a fictional historically Black college in Virginia. It was inspired by student life at Hampton University, Spelman College, and Howard University. After Bonet's departure in the first season, the remainder of the series primarily focused more on Southern belle Whitley Gilbert (Jasmine Guy) and math whiz Dwayne Wayne (Kadeem Hardison).

September 24, 1997

ABC began airing the series Dharma and Greg. 

Dharma and Greg is an American television sitcom that aired from September 24, 1997, to April 30, 2002.

The show starred Jenna Elfman and Thomas Gibson as Dharma and Greg Montgomery, a couple who married on their first date despite being polar opposites. The series was co-produced by Chuck Lorre Productions, More-Medavoy Productions and 4 to 6 Foot Productions in association with 20th Century Fox Television for ABC. The show's theme song was written and performed by composer Dennis C. Brown.

Created by executive producers Dottie Dartland and Chuck Lorre, the comedy took much of its inspiration from culture-clash "fish out of water" situations. The show earned eight Golden Globe nominations, six Emmy Award nominations, and six Satellite Awardsnominations. Elfman earned a Golden Globe in 1999 for Best Actress.

September 24, 2007

The pilot episode of The Big Bang Theory aired. 

The Big Bang Theory is an American television sitcom created by Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady, both of whom serve as executive producers on the series, along with Steven Molaro. All three also serve as head writers. 

The show premiered on CBS on September 24, 2007. The series' tenth season premiered on September 19, 2016. In March 2017, the series was renewed for two additional seasons, bringing its total to twelve, and running through the 2018–19 television season. The eleventh season is set to premiere on September 25, 2017.

To quote the Bicentennial Minute, "And that's the way it was".

Stay Tuned

Tony Figueroa

Your Mental Sorbet: The Interrogator from The Carol Burnett Show

Here is another "Mental Sorbet" 

A little spark of madness

that we could use to momentarily forget about those

things that leave a bad taste in our mouths

A prisoner of war (Lyle Waggoner) is being held for questioning by some German soldiers (Harvey Korman and Tim Conway).

Stay Tuned

Tony Figueroa

Peter Onorati: Next on TVC

Actor Peter Onorati and entertainment journalist Hillary Atkin will join us this weekend on TV CONFIDENTIAL, airing Sept. 15-18 at the following times and venues:

Share-a-Vision Radio
San Francisco Bay Area
Friday 9/15
7pm ET, 4pm PT
10pm ET, 7pm PT
Click on the Listen Live button at KSAV.org
Use the TuneIn app on your smartphone and type in KSAV
Hear us on the KSAV channel on CX Radio Brazil
Hear us on your cell phone or landline number by dialing 712-432-4235

Indiana Talks
Marion, IN
Saturday 9/16
8pm ET, 5pm PT
Sunday 9/17
10am ET, 7am PT
Click on the player at IndianaTalks.com
or use the TuneIn app on your smartphone and type in Indiana Talks

WON 920 The Apple
Brooklyn, NY
Saturday 9/16
10pm ET, 7pm PT
Streaming at www.920won.caster.fm

KSCO AM-1080 and FM-104.1
San Jose, Santa Cruz and Salinas, CA
KOMY AM-1340
La Selva Beach and Watsonville, CA
Sunday 9/17
9am ET, 6am PT
Also streaming at KSCO.com
or use the TuneIn app on your smartphone and type in KSCO

CROC Radio
Kimberley, British Columbia, Canada
Sunday 9/17
1pm ET, 10am PT
Streaming at CROCRadio.com
or use the TuneIn app on your smartphone and type in CROC

KHMB AM-1710
KHMV-LP 100.9 FM
Half Moon Bay, CA
Sunday 9/17
9pm PT
Monday 9/18
Midnight ET
Click on the Listen Live button at KHMBRadio.com

RadioSlot.com
San Francisco, CA
Monday 9/18
10pm ET, 7pm PT
with replays Tuesday thru Friday at 10pm ET, 7pm PT
Click on the Talk Slot button at RadioSlot.com

PWRNetwork
A member of the Truli Media Group
Ann Arbor, MI ~ Boston, MA ~ Chicago, IL ~ Melrose, FL ~ Los Angeles, CA
Various times throughout the week
on the Entertainment Channel on PWRNetwork.com
and the PWR channel on TuneIn

One of the most visible actors on network and cable television over the past three decades, Peter Onorati has appeared in such popular films and TV series as Goodfellas, Rocketman, The Last Ride, Postcards from the Edge, Kate and Allie, Murder One, Sons of Anarchy, How to Get Away with Murder, Castle, Rizzoli & Isles, Desperate Housewives, 24, Everybody Hates Chris, Boston Legal, NYPD Blue, CSI, NCIS, Monk, Crossing Jordan, and Sex and the City, plus leading roles in such shows as Civil Wars, Murder in the First, and the cult classic Cop Rock.

Peter Onorati is one of the stars, along with Shemar Moore, of the reimagining of S.W.A.T. that will premiere on Thursday, Nov. 2 on CBS. He also has a recurring role as Jack’s father, Stanley, on This Is Us, which starts its second season on NBC on Tuesday, Sept. 26. We’ll ask Peter about both shows, plus we’ll talk about how his career in acting “accidentally” came about, when he joins us in our second hour.

Speaking of the fall TV season, Hillary Atkin will join us in our first hour for a sneak peek at some of the new shows that will premiere over the next few weeks on broadcast, cable and digital television. An award-winning entertainment journalist, Hillary publishes The Atkin Report,™ which covers pop culture, travel, dining, fashion, and arts and entertainment, while her articles on the entertainment industry have appeared in USA Today, Entertainment Weekly, People, Hollywood Reporter, Daily Variety, Weekly Variety, Premiere, Television Week and other leading publications.

TV CONFIDENTIAL: A radio talk show about television
Fri 7pm ET and PT on Share-a-Vision Radio, KSAV.org and CX Radio Brazil
Sat 8pm ET, 5pm PT and Sun 6pm ET, 3pm PT on Indiana Talks (Marion, IN)
Sat 10pm ET, 7pm PT on WON 920 The Apple (Brooklyn, NY)
Sun 9am ET, 6am PT KSCO-AM 1080 (San Jose, Santa Cruz and Salinas, CA)
Sun 9am ET, 6am PT KOMY-AM 1340 (La Selva Beach and Watsonville, CA)
Sun 1pm ET, 10am PT CROC Radio (British Columbia, Canada)
Sun 9pm PT, Mon Mid ET on KHMB-AM and FM (Half Moon Bay, CA)
Mon 10pm ET, 7pm PT on The Radio Slot Network (San Francisco, CA)
Replays various times throughout the week on the Entertainment Channel at PWRNetwork
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