The most interesting thing about this is Leslie Nielsen--after "The Protectors" segment of THE BOLD ONES was dropped, he went over to BRACKEN'S WORLD to play...Mr. Bracken. In the first season the character was never seen.
Even with him, the network pulled the show midway through the second year.
@pmanis09 What's so amazing about THEN CAME BRONSON was that MGM-TV developed it and NBC gave it a place on the schedule before anyone in Hollywood could even imagine EASY RIDER would be such a smash hit and cultural totem.
When James Thurber wrote his story "If Grant Had Been Drinking At Appomattox", he MEANT "if", 'cmguy'. The idea behind that satiric discourse was that Grant, who was well known for being a heavy drinker, might have "blown" the Civil War for the North if he HAD been inebriated enough to reverse the terms of surrender...
The networks were 20 years behind the times when it came to representing the youth or hippie movement of the 1960's. No wonder there was a counter culture movement that culminated with the Woodstock 1969 concert. I love Debbie Reynold's, however, the show looked very much like "I Love Lucy".
@cmguy777 For a simple reason...it was created and produced by the man who originated I LOVE LUCY, Jess Oppenheimer. NBC was so high on it, they signed Reynolds to a two year contract. After one season, they decided to pay her off and drop the show.
I wouldn't say the network "bombed" that year, 'ratpack'- their "established" series {including "'ROWAN & MARTIN'S LAUGH-IN", "THE KRAFT MUSIC HALL", "THE DEAN MARTIN SHOW", "IRONSIDE", "THE HIGH CHAPPARAL", "THE NAME OF THE GAME", "ADAM-12", "THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF DISNEY", '"BONANZA"| were more successful than most of the new ones. Those that vanished after this season were "I DREAM OF JEANNIE", "DANIEL BOONE", and "DRAGNET". The network was starting to atrophy- and the reckoning came in 1975.
@fromthesidelines Actually, by January 1970, NBC was ahead of CBS in the overall ratings, and it took Herculean efforts by Mike Dann, the programming VP of CBS, to pull out a victory by the end of the season. You can read the full story in TELEVISION:THE BUSINESS BEHIND THE BOX by Les Brown (TV editor of VARIETY), or an abbreviated one in CBS:REFLECTIONS IN A BLOODSHOT EYE by Robert Metz.
At the time, Hugh Downs was host of "THE TODAY SHOW", with co-anchor Joe Garagiola (who was also "moonlighting" as emcee of NBC's daytime game show "SALE OF THE CENTURY" AND Goodson-Todman's syndicated celebrity game "HE SAID, SHE SAID" {later reworked as "TATTLETALES"}). Despite what Hugh says about "having just finished another 'TODAY' program", the clock on the desk in front of them is at the 15 minute mark- it would have been after the top of the hour had they actually finished the show...
@fromthesidelines Garagiola didn't host SALE OF THE CENTURY until the summer of 1971. For its first two years it was fronted by Jack Kelly, who previously was Bart Maverick to James Garner's Beau on that ABC series.
NBC's 1969-'70 schedule was quite bland- unless you considered it "exciting" that Andy Williams returned to weekly TV after two years. "MY WORLD...AND WELCOME TO IT" won an Emmy as "Best Comedy Series", but was clobbered in the ratings by "GUNSMOKE", and cancelled after one season, as was "THEN CAME BRONSON". "THE BILL COSBY SHOW" (the one without a laugh track) lasted two seasons. "THE BOLD ONES"- rotating series about doctors, lawyers, cops, and a Senator {during 1970-'71)- lasted into 1973.
"Her lord and master" You get picketed for saying that these days.
driver3464 3 days ago
Loved Then Came Bronson! That was the epitome of cool to my tween self.
Sammerkona 3 days ago
William Windom, one of the greatest character actors
caroleargo 1 month ago
Karen Jensen is beautiful at 11:30 in Bracken's World.
spider9137 2 months ago
Damn, my grammar sucks. But you know what I meant. :)
hysangearring 2 months ago
The girl in the Then Came Bronson? Bonnie Bedelia, better know to most of us as Holly Genero/McClane.
hysangearring 2 months ago
The worst of these shows beats most of the crap on tv today
farnumbp 2 months ago
The most interesting thing about this is Leslie Nielsen--after "The Protectors" segment of THE BOLD ONES was dropped, he went over to BRACKEN'S WORLD to play...Mr. Bracken. In the first season the character was never seen.
Even with him, the network pulled the show midway through the second year.
tomservo56954 2 months ago
Gone are the days when TV show characters smoked cigars and rode motorcycles without a helmet.
pmanis09 6 months ago 2
@pmanis09 What's so amazing about THEN CAME BRONSON was that MGM-TV developed it and NBC gave it a place on the schedule before anyone in Hollywood could even imagine EASY RIDER would be such a smash hit and cultural totem.
tomservo56954 2 months ago
When James Thurber wrote his story "If Grant Had Been Drinking At Appomattox", he MEANT "if", 'cmguy'. The idea behind that satiric discourse was that Grant, who was well known for being a heavy drinker, might have "blown" the Civil War for the North if he HAD been inebriated enough to reverse the terms of surrender...
fromthesidelines 6 months ago
The networks were 20 years behind the times when it came to representing the youth or hippie movement of the 1960's. No wonder there was a counter culture movement that culminated with the Woodstock 1969 concert. I love Debbie Reynold's, however, the show looked very much like "I Love Lucy".
cmguy777 7 months ago
@cmguy777 For a simple reason...it was created and produced by the man who originated I LOVE LUCY, Jess Oppenheimer. NBC was so high on it, they signed Reynolds to a two year contract. After one season, they decided to pay her off and drop the show.
tomservo56954 2 months ago
Grant depicted as a drunkard. Not historically accurate.
cmguy777 7 months ago
I wouldn't say the network "bombed" that year, 'ratpack'- their "established" series {including "'ROWAN & MARTIN'S LAUGH-IN", "THE KRAFT MUSIC HALL", "THE DEAN MARTIN SHOW", "IRONSIDE", "THE HIGH CHAPPARAL", "THE NAME OF THE GAME", "ADAM-12", "THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF DISNEY", '"BONANZA"| were more successful than most of the new ones. Those that vanished after this season were "I DREAM OF JEANNIE", "DANIEL BOONE", and "DRAGNET". The network was starting to atrophy- and the reckoning came in 1975.
fromthesidelines 11 months ago
@fromthesidelines Actually, by January 1970, NBC was ahead of CBS in the overall ratings, and it took Herculean efforts by Mike Dann, the programming VP of CBS, to pull out a victory by the end of the season. You can read the full story in TELEVISION:THE BUSINESS BEHIND THE BOX by Les Brown (TV editor of VARIETY), or an abbreviated one in CBS:REFLECTIONS IN A BLOODSHOT EYE by Robert Metz.
tomservo56954 2 months ago
NBC had more bombs that year than WWII
ratpackvegas 1 year ago 7
@ratpackvegas still do!
tonytarheel55 3 months ago
At the time, Hugh Downs was host of "THE TODAY SHOW", with co-anchor Joe Garagiola (who was also "moonlighting" as emcee of NBC's daytime game show "SALE OF THE CENTURY" AND Goodson-Todman's syndicated celebrity game "HE SAID, SHE SAID" {later reworked as "TATTLETALES"}). Despite what Hugh says about "having just finished another 'TODAY' program", the clock on the desk in front of them is at the 15 minute mark- it would have been after the top of the hour had they actually finished the show...
fromthesidelines 1 year ago
@fromthesidelines Garagiola didn't host SALE OF THE CENTURY until the summer of 1971. For its first two years it was fronted by Jack Kelly, who previously was Bart Maverick to James Garner's Beau on that ABC series.
tomservo56954 2 months ago
@fromthesidelines My bad...I was thinking BRET Maverick, but wrote Beau, played by Roger Moore before returning to England to do THE SAINT.
tomservo56954 2 months ago
NBC's 1969-'70 schedule was quite bland- unless you considered it "exciting" that Andy Williams returned to weekly TV after two years. "MY WORLD...AND WELCOME TO IT" won an Emmy as "Best Comedy Series", but was clobbered in the ratings by "GUNSMOKE", and cancelled after one season, as was "THEN CAME BRONSON". "THE BILL COSBY SHOW" (the one without a laugh track) lasted two seasons. "THE BOLD ONES"- rotating series about doctors, lawyers, cops, and a Senator {during 1970-'71)- lasted into 1973.
fromthesidelines 1 year ago