There are many popular shows that debuted as midseason replacements (the greatest of which was “Airwolf”). Now, with NBC’s “The Cape” replacing “Heroes,” Warming Glow Listmaker-in-Chief Josh Kurp gives you a rundown of ten notable midseason replacements — and the forgotten shows that they replaced. Put your trivia caps on, people.
In one of my favorite bits from one of my favorite episodes of The Simpsons, “Bart Gets an Elephant,” Marge asks Homer to get rid of the hundreds of old calendars and TV Guides taking up space in their basement. Homer is outraged, and says, “Are you mad, woman? You never know when an old calendar might come in handy. Sure, it’s not 1985 now, but who knows what tomorrow will bring? And these TV Guides, so many memories. ‘Gomer upsets Sergeant Carter’… Oh, I’ll never forget that episode.” He then pictures Carter repeatedly shouting “Pyle!” and Gomer responding, “Shazam!”
Heh, “shazam.”
I would have loved to been in that basement to make this list. Below are ten memorable shows that were midseason replacements and the generally crappy shows they replaced. The Internet has provided us many a great resource, but outside of the “American Network Television Schedule” pages on Wikipedia, I can’t find a reliable archive of what shows aired when. Because of that, there are certain shows—mainly Hill Street Blues and Seinfeld—that I would have loved to include, but there’s so much conflicting information out there that I’d run the risk of being wrong, getting sued for libel, or – worst of all – causing an indignant blog comment.
1. Savannah—Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Constance M. Burge is the creator of Charmed, and has written for Ally McBeal, Boston Public, Royal Pains, and other successful if not particularly good shows. And speaking of popular, crappy shows: Aaron Spelling is largely responsible for Charlie’s Angels and T.J. Hooker, among other, um, classics that fill up the schedule on TV Land. Together, Burge and Spelling brought us Savannah about three promiscuous girls—Shannon Sturges, Robyn Lively, and Jamie Luner—living in the Georgia city of the same name. It was the kind of show that would be described as “steamy.” The show was a minor hit in its first season, but ratings decreased sharply in its sophomore year—so much so that, according to the book Buffy Goes Dark, “the WB fought hard to save Savannah, even sponsoring a contest offering seven days and nights in a Southern mansion, complete with maids and servants.” Not even the prospect of free slaves could save the show; on March 10, 1997, Savannah was bumped for Buffy. The sluts were slayed, and history was made.
2. Dr. Vegas—Numb3rs
Before we knew of Amy Adams as the Perfect Woman, which she totally is, she played Alice Doherty on Dr. Vegas, alongside Rob Lowe and Joe “I Have Come to Reclaim Rome for My People” Pantoliano. Unlike Doctor Who, Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman, Doctors, and even Doctor Doctor, Dr. Vegas lasted less than a season. Numb3rs took over its Friday night deathslot, and actually aired for 118 episodes. As for why it’s included in this list: my dad hasn’t watched a TV show in about, oh, 30 years, but he recently discovered Numb3rs, and likes it a lot. He thinks Jay Baruchel (who appeared in two episodes) is charming, and y’know, I don’t disagree.
[Editor’s note: Jay Baruchel is terrible.]
3. The Young Riders—Twin Peaks
The first episode of Twin Peaks aired on April 8, 1990, a Sunday night, taking the timeslot of the critically adored ABC Sunday Night Movie. The pilot was such a big hit that ABC put the show on its Thursday night schedule, bumping The Young Riders to Monday night, replacing…eh, who cares? The Young Riders ain’t Twin Peaks.
4. The World’s Funniest—Futurama—Malcolm in the Middle
Futurama is the perfect example of a network messing with a good thing. The first episode premiered in March 1999, then eight episodes aired in April and May, then one in September, then one in October, followed by two more in November. Season two made even less sense, especially in a pre-DVR era, as it began in November 1999 and didn’t end until December 2000. At the beginning, it had a nice post-Simpsons time slot, which made too much sense for Fox, so the network put Malcolm (a decent enough show, but no Futurama) there instead, and moved Futurama 90 minutes earlier, to 7 p.m., previously filled by NFL games running too late/The World’s Funniest, hosted by the world’s second most famous James Brown.
5. The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet/Shindig!—Batman
Four hundred and thirty-five episodes. That’s how long The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet ran for. The favorite show of grandparents everywhere is the longest-running live-action show of all-time, meaning that while It’s Polka Time and Ozark Jubilee came and went on ABC, Ozzie and Harriet remained strong—until the Caped Crusader came along and introduced America to camp and irony. But because every Batman was a two-parter (“Tune in tomorrow—same Bat-time, same Bat-channel”), the show that dared to ask “how do you make a dishonest shortcake?” also replaced Shindig!, which is actually kind of a shame. Just a few of the special guests on Shindig! were the Beatles, Sam Cooke, and the Who.
6. Totally Hidden Video—The Simpsons
There are times in life where we just have to take a leap of faith with Wikipedia (see: intro), and this is one of them. According to their television schedule page from 1989-1990, we can see that The Simpsons shared a timeslot with Totally Hidden Video, the most literally named show ever. It seems plausible; after all, Fox only aired three nights out of the week during this era. But on their Midseason Replacement page, it says the animated series replaced Booker, a short-lived 21 Jump Street spin-off. All we know is: The Simpsons certainly didn’t replace Alien Nation.
7. Ferris Bueller—Blossom
I know there’s a perfect joke here, a joke that sums up the 1990s, irony, Generation X, slackers, and feminism. But all I’ve got is one about Charlie Schlatter, Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, and Jennifer Aniston that’s so painfully unfunny that it’s not even worth it. Instead, with apologies to Drew Magary’s Jamboroo, here’s a Gratuitous Simpsons Quote: “And she looks like Blossom!”
8. Hudson Street—3rd Rock from the Sun
It’s amazing that a show starring Tony Danza and Lori “Aunt Becky” Loughlin about a divorced detective living in Hoboken didn’t become a huge hit. What replaced it, though, did. Thanks to winning performances by John Lithgow and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, 3rd Rock ran for 139 episodes and won eight Emmys. Danza’s career would continue to spiral until he found the part he was born to play: a garbage picking, field goal kicking Philadelphia phenomenon in The Garbage Picking Field Goal Kicking Philadelphia Phenomenon.
9. The Sketch Show—American Dad!
What a lineup Fox had in 2003-2004: King of the Hill, Malcolm in the Middle (again, it was good, but no Futurama), The Simpsons, Family Guy, and The Sketch Show. Well, maybe not that last one so much. Based on a British show, the Kelsey Grammer-produced Sketch Show was like Whose Line Is It Anyway? without any of the jokes, and lasted just six episodes, only four of which aired. When the show was put out of its misery, it was replaced by the far superior American Dad! Then again, even Jake and the Fatman was far superior than anything produced by Grammer, i.e. In-Laws, Girlfriends, Back to You, Hank, etc.
10. To Rome with Love—All in the Family
The only reason All in the Family made it to the air in the first place was due to the “rural purge,” where American networks in the early 1970s canceled rural-themed shows, like Petticoat Junction and Green Acres. They were about five years too late, but oh well. Corny pilots were still being greenlit, though, and there are very few shows cornier than To Rome with Love, about a recently widowed college professor who takes his three daughters from Iowa to Rome with him. Hilarity did not ensue, and the show was bumped to another night (and soon canceled) in favor of Archie Bunker’s casual racism [The best kind of racism! – Ed.].
