Alive From Off Center to Amos n Andy

A lot of gaps here, with some entries just titles – I’ll try to fix soon. Lots of show titles starting with “America” or “American,” but relatively few of them were series, for whatever significance that has. The Academy sure dodged a bullet that could have come back to haunt it when I Love Lucy beat The Amos ‘n Andy Show for Best Situation Comedy in 1952.

 

Alive from Off Center

PBS Sundays 10:30-11 p.m., July 7, 1985-1990

N: Graphic Design and Title Sequences (Jim Blashfield, Robert Hoffman)

 A series of experimental videos, skits and examinations of other quirky media offerings, this program originally came from KLTA in Minneapolis hosted by Susan Stamberg. Later musician Laurie Anderson hosted as well as composed for the series, which will either dazzle you with its inventiveness or annoy you with its lack of focus. There should be no dispute about the worthiness of its Emmy nomination, though – Blashfield and Hoffman created a kinetic opening that indicated clearly the show’s highbrow yet cockeyed perspective. Too bad the Emmy voters decided not to award them nor the other nominee in the category, Downtown Julie Brown.

 

All Creatures Great and Small 2

A&E Sunday 9-10 p.m., April 2, 1989-Aug. 27, 1989

N: Children’s Program (Bill Sellars, P)

Based on the 1970s best seller written by James Herriot, this was a continuation of the adventures of veterinarian Dr. Wight (Christopher Timothy) and other humans and animals he encountered. The first book appeared in versions on Hallmark Hall of Fame on NBC in 1975 and on PBS in 1979 before a BBC adaptation that aired on A&E in 1988 proved successful enough to warrant this sequel, also produced by the BBC. For a show nominated as a children’s program, this aired rather late in the evening on the East Coast. This was the first program airing on A&E to earn an Emmy nomination.

 

All in the Family

CBS Saturdays 8-8:30 p.m.*, Jan. 12, 1971-Sept. 16, 1979

 W: New Series (Norman Lear, P), 1971; Comedy (Lear, P), 1971 and 1972, (Lear, EP, John Rich, P), 1973, (Mort Lachman, EP; Milt Josefsberg, P), 1978; Actress, Comedy (Jean Stapleton), 1971, 1972, 1978; Writing, Comedy (Burt Styler), 1972, (Lee Kalcheim, Michael Ross, Bernie West), 1973 and (Harve Brosten, Barry Harman, Bob Schiller, Bob Weiskopf), 1978; Actor, Comedy (Carroll O’Connor), 1972, 1977, 1978, 1979; Supporting Actress, Comedy (Sally Struthers), 1972, 1979; Directing, Comedy (Rich), 1972 and (Paul Bogart), 1978; Live or Tape Sound Mixing (Norman H. Dewes), 1972; Supporting Actor, Comedy (Rob Reiner), 1974, 1978 

N: Comedy (Lear, EP; Rich, P), 1974, (Don Nicholl, EP; Ross,West, P), 1975, (Lear, Hal Kanter, Woody Kling, EP; Bill Davenport, Lou Derman, P), 1976, (Lachman, EP; Josefsberg, P), 1977; Actor, Comedy (O’Connor), 1971, 1973, 1974, 1975; Directing, Comedy (Rich), 1971, (Rich, Bob La Hendro), 1973 and (Bogart), 1977; Writing Comedy (Lear, “Meet the Bunkers”), 1971, (Stanley Ralph Ross, “Oh, My Aching Back”), 1971, (Lear, Styler, “The Saga of Cousin Oscar”), 1972, (Phil Mishkin, Alan J. Levitt, “Mike’s Problem”), 1972, (Josefsberg, Schiller, Weiskopf, Phil Sharp, “California, Here We Are, Part Two”), 1979; Single Program, Drama or Comedy (“Sammy’s Visit,” Lear, P), 1972; Supporting Actor, Comedy (Reiner), 1972, 1973, 1975; Actress, Comedy (Stapleton), 1973, 1974, 1975, 1977; Supporting Actress, Comedy (Struthers), 1973, 1974, 1978; Art Direction or Scenic Design, Comedy (Don Roberts), 1977; Videotape Editing, Series (Harvey Berger, Hal Collins), 1979

Blue collar worker Archie Bunker (O’Connor) disliked the changes he faced in America. His bigotry was challenged by his meek, innocent but increasingly liberated wife Edith (Stapleton); daughter Gloria (Struthers 1971-78) and her liberal husband Mike Stivic (Reiner 1971-78), who lived in Archie’s house in Queens, New York until 1975; his black neighbors across the street, the Jeffersons – Louise (Isabel Sanford), her son Lionel (Mike Evans) and her husband George (Sherman Hemsley), who was as prejudiced against Caucasians as Archie was to blacks; and more. His exchanges with all involved resulted in a TV landmark, superb on every level as it humorously yet thoughtfully dissected the human condition and current issues. Based on the British show Till Death Us Do Part (1966-69), All in the Family was so revolutionary – it was the first videotaped sitcom, for one – that it was not until it won the best comedy Emmy in May 1971 that most viewers flocked to it. CBS then put it on Saturdays, where it remained #1 through 1975 and then in the top 10 until it ended voluntarily. It even spun off four sitcoms – Maude, The Jeffersons, Gloria (1982-83) and 704 Hauser (1994; the title was the Bunker home address). Some hated it for being too liberal and crude in its approach (it did have more swearing than in previous sitcoms). But leave that aside and ponder these thoughts: When was the last sitcom that flowed constantly without scene changes from start to end? Or do an episode with virtually just two of its characters speaking, as was done once with Archie and Edith? Or had unexpected moments of tenderness that could make you cry? For those reasons alone, it remains nonpareil. In 1991 the All in the Family 20th Anniversary Special received a nomination for Informational Special. Surprisingly, Struthers and Reiner received their only Emmy nominations here. See also Archie Bunker’s Place.

Lear: Heartsounds, I Love Liberty, Maude. Rich: Dick Van Dyke Show. Lachman: ABC Afternoon Playbreak, Kate & Allie. Josefsberg: Jack Benny Program, Lucy Show. Stapleton: Eleanor First Lady of the World, Grace Under Fire. Styler: Carol Burnett Show. Ross: Three’s Company. West: Three’s Company. Harman: Carol Burnett Show. Schiller: Flip Wilson, I Love Lucy. Weiskopf: Flip Wilson, I Love Lucy. O’Connor: In the Heat of the Night. Bogart: Broadway Bound, CBS Playhouse, The Defenders, Get Smart!, The Golden Girls, The Heidi Chronicles, Look Homeward Angel, Mark Twain Tonight, Nutcracker: Money, Madness & Murder. Nicholl: Three’s Company. Kanter: Academy Awards, George Gobel Show, Julia. Kling: Carol Burnett Show. Sharp: Phil Silvers Show. Berger: American Film Institute, Superstunt. Collins: Bob Hope in a Very Special Special, A Quarter Century of Bob Hope on Television.

 

All My Children

ABC Weekdays 1-2 p.m.*, Jan. 5, 1970-

W:

N:

Art Wallace: ABC Matinee Today.

 

All Quiet on the Western Front – See Hallmark Hall of Fame

 

An All-Star Celebration Honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

NBC Monday 9-11 p.m., Jan. 20, 1986

N: Individual Performance, Musical or Variety (Debbie Allen) and (Stevie Wonder)

 

All-Star Party for “Dutch” Reagan

CBS Sunday 8-9 p.m., Dec. 8, 1985

N: Music and Lyrics (Earl Brown, composer/lyricist, and Toby Martin, lyricist)

One of seven “All-Star Party” specials seen between 1982-87 honoring a specific celebrity to benefit Variety Clubs International, this one stands out for honoring in person a sitting president, Ronald Reagan, joined by his wife Nancy. Given his conservative credentials, most of the guests tended to be what some term as “Old Hollywood” like Charlton Heston, Merv Griffin and Dean Martin, along with the specials’ perpetual fixture Monty Hall, the Variety Clubs International Chairman. Like most of Brown’s other Emmy-nominated compositions, the one heard here (”America Is Changing Back to What She Used to Be”) has pretty much been forgotten after its presentation here.

Brown: All Commercials - A Steve Martin Special, Cher, Donny and Marie, Fame, Liberty Weekend, Motown Returns to the Apollo, People’s Choice Awards, The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour.

 

All Star Revue

NBC Saturdays 8-9 p.m.*, Oct. 4, 1950-April 18, 1953

N: Variety Show, 1951, 1952

Airing in its first season as Four Star Revue in honor of its rotating hosts Jimmy Durante, Ed Wynn, Jack Carson and Danny Thomas, All Star Revue offered your standard comedy variety hour of the 1950s, with an opening monologue by the host, singing and dancing by guests and a couple of sketches. The turnover in hosts led to its new name in 1951, and that led it to have an uneven quality overall depending on who was headlining. The best of these that I have seen have been the Durante shows - he was one oldtimer who seemingly made the transition to TV while keeping his charm intact without much effort at all, and in fact he was the only host to last through all three seasons. Although it was doing well in its last season, finishing at #26, NBC noticed that the competing Jackie Gleason Show on CBS was coming on strong and decided a change was needed to fight it. This series lost both times to the program that followed it, Your Show of Shows.

 

An All-Star Toast to the Improv

HBO p.m., Jan. 30, 1988

N: Individual Performance, Musical or Variety (Billy Crystal)

 

An All-Star Tribute to Johnny Cash

TNT , 1999

N: Sound Mixing, Variety or Music Series or Special (Susan Pelino, production mixer; Thom Cadley, sound mixer)

 

All the Way Home

 

Ally McBeal

Fox

 

Almost Golden: The Jessica Savitch Story

Lifetime, Sept. 4, 1995

N: Made for Television Movie (Bernard Sofronski, EP; Adam Haight, line P); Lead Actress, Miniseries or Special (Sela Ward); Directing, Miniseries or Special (Peter Werner)

 

Almost Grown

CBS Mondays 10-11 p.m., Nov. 27, 1988-Feb. 27, 1989

N: Hairstyling, Series (Susan Schular-Page, Sharleen Rassi)

 

The Amazing Howard Hughes

CBS p.m., April 13, 1977

W: Film Sound Editing, Special (Michael Corrigan, Donald Higgins, William Jackson, John Kline, Richard Le Grand, Jerry Pirozzi, Jerry Rosenthal, John Strauss, James Yant)

N: Makeup (Hank Edds, Lynn Reynolds, Michael G. Westmore)

An expansive yet not really gripping TV-movie detailing the life of the (in)famous billionaire recluse from childhood to death, this effort benefits greatly from Tommy Lee Jones’ sturdy performance in the lead, with great support from Ed Flanders as Howard’s longtime assistant Noah Dietrich (whose book “Howard: The Amazing Mr. Hughes” provided the source material for this production). While Hughes’ life was fascinating in many respects, writer John Gay and director William A. Graham tried to cover virtually every major event, and the result was often strained and uneven, and that includes the acting (for example, Tovah Feldshuh does not resemble Katharine Hepburn and has trouble maintaining her accent). Making matters worse, the DVD consists of a poorly edited distillation of the original that drops 90 minutes or so of material and makes it hard to follow. Still, you can see by the work done of aging Jones to play Hughes’ disturbing later years why at least the makeup deserved its nomination. This was Edds’ first Emmy nomination and the only Emmy nomination for Reynolds.

Corrigan: Charlie’s Angels, Eleanor and Franklin. Higgins: Dallas: The Early Years, The Legend of Lizzie Borden. Jackson: The Boy in the Plastic Bubble, Entourage, Kenny Rogers as the Gambler: The Adventure Continues, Who Will Love My Children? Kline: 20 nominations. Le Grand: Batman, The Legend of Lizzie Borden. Pirozzi: The Boy in the Plastic Bubble. Rosenthal: The Boy in the Plastic Bubble, Charlie’s Angels, The Dark Secret of Harvest Home, QB VII. Strauss: The Boy in the Plastic Bubble. Yant: The Boy in the Plastic Bubble, The Commish, To Dance With the White Dog. Edds: Highway to Heaven, Little House on the Prairie, Son of the Morning Star, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: The Next Generation. Westmore: ABC Wide World of Entertainment, Amazing Stories, The Annihilator, The Babe Ruth Story, David, The Day After, Eleanor and Franklin, Highway to Heaven, A Love Affair: the Eleanor and Lou Gehrig Story, MacGyver, The Million Dollar Rip-Off, Once Upon a Brothers Grimm, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Enterprise, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Voyager, The Three Wishes of Billy Grier, Why Me?

 

The Amazing Race

CBS Sundays 8-9 p.m.*, Sept. 5, 2001-

W: Reality Series ( ), 200

An exhilarating hopscotch

 

Amazing Stories

NBC Sundays 8-8:30 p.m.*, Sept. 29, 1985-May 15, 1987

 

Amber Waves

Cornwell: Attica, Blue and the Gray, Capture of Grizzly Adams, Crazy Horse, Evita Peron, Inside the Third Reich, Marian Rose White, Murder of Mary Phagan, A Whale for the Killing, White Mile, The Women’s Room. Harrison: Attica, Capture of Grizzly Adams, Crazy Horse, Evita Peron, Ike, Inside the Third Reich, Murder of Mary Phagan, Plutonium Incident, White Mile, The Women’s Room. Herbert: Attica, Plutonium Incident. Judkins: Attica, Blue and Gray, Capture of Grizzly Adams, Children in the Crossfire, Day After, Desperation, Embassy, Marian Rose White, Women’s Room. Tinsley: Alice in Wonderland, Attica, Blue and the Gray, Buffalo Girls, A Bunny’s Tale, Capture of Grizzly Adams, Children in the Crossfire, David, Day Lincoln Was Shot, Embassy, Evita Peron, Fire Next Time, Gypsy, Heart of Darkness, the Hunley, Ike, Inside the Third Reich, Into the West, Joseph, Julius Caesar, Lost Battalion, Marian Rose White, Monte Walsh, NetForce, OP Center, Out on a Limb, Plutonium Incident, Positively True Adventures of the …, Raid on Entebbe, Rough Riders, Stalin, Steal the Sky, Uncommon Valor, Under Siege, Whale for the Killing, Who Will Love My Children?, Women’s Room.

 

Ambulance Girl

Lifetime

N: (Kathy Bates), 2006

 

Amelia Earhart: The Final Flight

TNT, June 12, 1994

 

America: A Tribute to Heroes

Most Networks, Sept. 21, 2001

W:

A star-studded but somber tribute to

 

America Picks the #1 Songs

ABC Wednesday 9-11 p.m., May 28, 1986

N: Music and Lyrics (Ray Charles)

Based on the first edition of The Billboard Book of Number One Hits by Fred Bronson (an excellent resource, by the way), this special from executive producer and co-host Dick Clark had viewers vote on their three favorite chart-topping records by decade since 1955 among five contenders. Augmenting the voting were performances by several of the hitmakers, including co-host Tony Orlando, reuniting with backup singers Dawn for the event. This was to be an annual show, but despite decent ratings it did not become one.  Charles’ nomination came for his tune “Take It to the People.”

 

America Salutes Richard Rodgers: The Sound of His Music

CBS , Dec. 9, 1976

W: Music Direction (Ian Fraser)

Fraser: Andy Williams and the NBC Kids, more

 

American Bandstand

ABC Saturdays 12:30-1:30 p.m.*, Aug. 5, 1957-Sept. 5, 1987 (also syndication 1987-89 and USA 1989)

 

American Bandstand’s 30th Anniversary Special

ABC p.m., Oct. 30, 1981

W: Videotape Editing, Limited Series or Special (Bill Breshears, Pam Marshall, Tucker Wiard)

Breshears: Barry Manilow Special, Neil Diamond: Love at the Greek. Marshall: American Bandstand’s 33-1/3 Celebration, Ben Vereen: His Roots, French-Canadian Christmas, John Schneider: Back Home Again. Wiard: Alice, Carol Burnett Show, Murphy Brown, Scarlet Letter.

 

American Bandstand’s 33-1/3 Celebration

ABC p.m., 1986

W: Editing, Miniseries or Special, Multi-Camera Production (Pam Marshall)

Another anniversary, another special. The reason why Clark saluted the show being a third of a century old was that

Marshall: American Bandstand’s 30th Anniversary Special, Ben Vereen: His Roots, French-Canadian Christmas, John Schneider: Back Home Again.

 

American Dreamer

NBC Saturdays 10:30-11 p.m.*, Sept. 13, 1990-June 22, 1991

 

American Dreams

NBC Sundays 8-9 p.m.*, Sept. 29, 2002-March 30, 2005

 

An American Family – Journey of Dreams

PBS

2004

 

The American Film Institute

Berger: All in the Family, Superstunt.

 

American Gothic

CBS Fridays 10-11 p.m.*, Sept. 22, 1995-July 11, 1996

N:

 

American Idol

Fox Tuesdays and Wednesdays Various Times (usually January through May), Jun 11, 2002-

W:

N: Reality Series

 

The American Music Awards

Younger: Academy of Country Music Awards, Arista Records’ 25th Anniversary Celebration, Body and Soul, Liberty Weekend, Muppets Tonight, Three Tenors in Concert 1994, Three Tenors in Paris 1998.

 

American Playhouse

PBS, 199 -

 

An American Story – See Hallmark Hall of Fame.

 

The American Teacher Awards – See The Walt Disney Company Presents the …

 

The American Woman: Portraits of Courage

ABC Thursday 1:30-3 p.m., May 20, 1976

W: Daytime Drama Special (Gaby Monet, P and writer; Anne Grant, writer; Lois Nettleton, performer)

In honor of the nation’s upcoming bicentennial, ABC presented this dramatized salute to prominent females in U.S. history, including Susan B. Anthony (Nettleton). Patricia Neal narrated the special. Nettleton, an appealing actress since the 1950s, won another Emmy in 1983 for Best Performer in a Religious Program for Insight but is better remembered for Emmy-nominated roles as a character based on Kim Hunter in Fear on Trial and Dorothy’s lesbian college friend on The Golden Girls. She scored a Tony nomination for Actress in a Featured Role in They Knew What They Wanted in 1976.

Monet: The Halloween That Almost Wasn’t. Nettleton: ABC Afternoon Playbreak, Golden Girls, Fear on Trial.

 

America’s Dance Honors

ABC p.m., July 5, 1990

 

Amerika

ABC Sunday-Wednesday 9-11 p.m. (8:30-11 p.m. Tuesday), Feb. 15-18, 1987

To make amends with conservative critics who felt The Day After was leftist propaganda

 

Amos

CBS, 1986

 

The Amos ‘n Andy Show

CBS Thursdays 8:30-9 p.m., June 28, 1951-June 11, 1953

N: Situation Comedy, 1952

This actually was The Kingfish ‘n Andy Show, as George “Kingfish” Stevens (Tim Moore) constantly conned gullible Andy Brown (Spencer Williams Jr.), a fellow member of the Mystic Knights of the Sea social club in New York City. Taxi driver Amos Jones (Alvin Childress) usually just appeared to chastise Andy for working with the Kingfish, who nevertheless would be found out and wind up a loser at the end of each show. Also seen were the Kingfish’s nagging wife Sapphire (Ernestine Wade), Sapphire’s mother (Amanda Randolph), and lawyer Algonquin J. Calhoun (Johnny Lee). This hit version of a popular radio series created and voiced by Caucasians Freeman Gosden and Charles Correll since 1929 ended production due to the NAACP’s protests about its racial stereotyping, and those continuing complaints led to its withdrawal from reruns in 1966 (it has been released on home video). Some argue controversy has overshadowed its merits, but the corny plots and jokes reveal it is not a classic. The NAACP did have a point in that no other TV characters regularly spoke such bad grammar as “I is” the way the Kingfish and Andy did, and dimwitted janitor Lightnin’ (Nick Stewart, billed as “Nick O’Demus”) is indefensible. Gosden and Correll later voiced a so-so ABC nighttime cartoon based on their creation, Calvin and the Colonel (1961-62).