 This is the SF Productions podcast network That wonderful TV year 1981 from the pop culture bunker I'm Mindy and I'm Mark you can check out our audio podcast how I got my way free comics on iTunes or on our website SFpodcastnetwork.com I've collected TV guide fall preview issues over the years and Thought it would be fun to talk about which shows made it which didn't in which ones we actually watched I Do have to give a credit who can read TV guidance counselor podcast for this idea Now we're talking about 1981 which as always had a few hits and many failures I'm gonna tell you right up front. I didn't watch much TV in 1981 That fall was my first year college. Yeah, and so I was a little busy. Yeah, that'll be the same for me in a couple years here So starting with Saturday Kings crossing on ABC another in a long line of nighttime soaps inspired by Dallas The only recognizable names here are Linda Hamilton who moved from soap to soap that each failed until Terminator and Mary Fran soon to being the wife on Newhart 10 episodes only seven of which actually aired never watched it Walt Disney presents on CBS after decades on NBC the show moved temporarily to the Tiffany network Disney used it to show backdoor pilots and it ran for two years Do you know if there were any pilots that were shown here that made it or not that I'm aware of okay? the Nashville Palace on NBC a Country variety show produced by the same people as he ha keep in mind. This was during the urban cowboy craze And it was quickly canceled Sunday Code red on ABC Lauren green but Anza returns the TV and you're gonna hear that a lot Returns the TV as a fire chief Sam J. Jones later the highway man if you remember that syndicated series Also stars. This was one of those one and done one season and it's out. Okay today's FBI ABC Mike Connors Manics returns the TV The FBI was directly involved in producing this series the same way they were in the earlier Ephraim Zimbalist junior series. I was gonna say are they related and apparently they were and another one and done the powers of Matthew star NBC Alien teenage prince Peter Barton is sent to earth for his own safety But his psionic powers get in the way I don't know if I ever watched this but I heard about it I think it sounds familiar Lewis Gossett Jr. played his bodyguard the show was actually delayed one year It was announced in 81 but delayed until 82 because there was an accident in production that burned Peter Barton badly And then it only ran for one season once it actually rests. So And then Peter Barton kind of disappeared Well, if I'd been badly burned on Robert's TV show, I'd probably yeah, probably Moving to Tuesday because there were no new shows on Monday. Wow, because I think this was between Of course the behemoth that is Monday night football Uh-huh and Monday was a huge night for CBS a lot of their comedies were on But we do start with Simon and Simon CBS two brothers are PIs in this long-running series Jameson Parker and Gerald McRaney star guess which one had a long-running career after that Yes In fact, uh, Gerald McRaney is going to be in This Is Us That just started this season With tim reed as the stereotypical black guy It ran for eight seasons. I never regularly watched that but I did catch a few episodes here and there I wonder if it's dreams anywhere that might be worth. Oh, I bet it does. I wouldn't be surprised if hulu doesn't have it Father Murphy at NBC Merlin Olsen he of the pick me up bouquets Played a priest in the 1870s who helps orphans Produced by Michael Landon along with little house on the prairie Which Olsen had previously appeared on but not as the same character. Yes Remembered mostly for trickly storylines One of NBC's rare hits at this time it ran for two years two years Yeah, that was considered a hit for NBC because this is the pre Cosby show years And they weren't doing well. Oh, yeah Brett Maverick NBC James Garner returns to tv. Do you sense a pattern here in the role he made famous? He settles down in an old west town, but still gets into scrapes One and done. This was one that I did watch or at least tried to watch I really wanted to like it because I love the old Maverick and I love James Garner But as I recall I just never really got into it and part of that might have been I couldn't really regularly watch evening tv. This was pre DVr pre streaming Pre vcr pre vcr. Yeah, yeah Yeah, you know, you were lucky if you had a vcr. Yeah, and certainly as a college student You didn't have a vcr. You wouldn't have a vcr. You didn't have a tv in your dorm room. Yeah, so All right, moving on to wednesday night Mr. Merlin on cbs san francisco garage owner bernard hues is the merlin of myth He's even got a sword in the stone a crowbar in concrete which teenager clark brandon pulls out So merlin takes him on as an apprentice to help people in need Elaine joist also stars as a fellow mystic It's one and done Yeah, yeah, and I think you notice here the whole returns to tv thing I think if you were a big enough star you got a commitment for one season Yes, you know or I'm not coming back unless you give me a season. So they're like, okay. There's your season. You're done. Get out The fall guy on abc lee majors saying with me Returns to tv as a stuntman and bounty hunter Douglas bar Heather thomas and marky post also star as eye candy Plenty of stunt work provides the action. This ran for five seasons. Yes This was a big hit for abc Love sydney and nbc tony randall returns to you know the drill Based on a backdoor pilot where tony played a gay man who invites a young actress down in her lock Suzy Kurtz and her daughter to live with him Except that the gay part never made it to series It was very much downplayed maybe late in the series It they kind of more inferred it a little bit But they he's just a confirmed bachelor because america's not ready for a gay man as a main character Yeah, you know, they were ready for you know, jim j bullock As the wacky gay side character, but not as a main character Of course, they this didn't stop the moral majority from boycotting it It did run for two seasons though Shannon cbs kevin dobson Kojak moves from supporting two main character as a tv detective. This did not work out He wasn't a big enough star. So he only got 10 episodes. Yeah Thursday best of the west abc the creators of taxi created this weird parody of westerns And i remember watching this A decent easterner moves west and finds out things aren't as romantic as he is expected about the old west Joe Higgins from silver spoons tom ewell from the seven-year itch carleen wattkins from bob Valerie bromfield from sc tv and christopher loyds star Despite this cast it was a one-and-done series Because basically he was very naive and everyone's like well, we could just kill him You know And there's like what bad guys are doing stuff and he kind of inadvertently stops them and And Moving on to lewis and clark nbc Gabe kaplan welcome back codder moves to texas with his family to open a country music club urban cowboy remember This ran eight episodes and they burned off the rest in the summer So he probably had a one-year season commitment, but they're like this is so bad We're not we're gonna wait till the summer to burn off these Give me a break NBC Broadway star nell codder comes to tv as a feisty housekeeper to a widowed police captain Dolph sweet and his kids Sweet died during the show's run And so carter became a surrogate mother to them Possibly remembered as joey lorenz's breakout role as the wacky teen with his catchphrase whoa It ran for six seasons. I I don't think I ever watched this at all. Of course. I'm familiar with it. Yeah, it wasn't when I watched jessica novak cbs Helen shaver who later became a tv director and is doing orphan black person of interest She's mostly a director now Plays a human interest tv reporter in this drama only lasted seven episodes. Hmm. Okay Friday Open all night abc and mostly forgotten sitcom about a convenience store Only jay tarsis who's mostly known as a producer slash writer slash director For the bob newheart show and days of nights in molly dod as the only recognizable cast member It ran for 13 episodes Maggie abc based on and produced by ermma bombbeck About a date in ohio housewife miriam flinn who copes with her family Doris roberts everybody loves raymond also stars only made it to eight episodes So fairly ermma did not get a a one season guarantee Mcclain's law nbc james arnes Gunsmoke returns to tv As a retired cop who rejoins the force after his friend is murdered he gets a young partner There's no miss kitty to be found so it's one and done for yet Strike force robert stack returns as a special police squad in color In la who solves crimes too difficult for regular cops So it's like um The closer before uh the closer one and done falcon crest cbs another soap based in it's actually placed in the catbird seat Following dallas. So of course it gets a good Yes, it did. Yeah, jane wyman lorenzo lamas susan sullivan rod taylor ken oland gregory harrison and half of hollywood stars It kind of replaced oil with wine as the driving force of the show Ran for nine seasons those soap operas can do really really good if they catch on They'll just basically run on autopilot. I mean even now because you look at something like gray's anatomy That's a soap opera basically Finally we have the devlin connection on nbc rock hudson returns Who's the dad and jack scalia is the son? their detectives Only 13 episodes produced so apparently rock hudson not big enough to get the one-year contract Yeah, okay Maybe he wanted out that that's good possibilities like i'm done Well, I don't know seeing that list of shows makes me glad that I am now in the era of peak tv So watch tv or check out our audio podcast how I got my wife to read comics on itunes Or on our website as a podcast network.com from the pop culture bunker. I'm indy at our mark. Thanks for watching