The Terrible Catsafterme

SEASON 1 – NBC

Created by Irving Brecher

NOTE: This series is a spin-off from the radio series of the same name which aired on the Blue Network (later ABC) from 1944-45, and then on NBC from 1945-1951, with William Bendix in the title role. Bendix also starred in a film of the same title in 1949, and consequently could not star in the first season of the series because of his contract with RKO Radio Pictures. In 1948 two ‘live television test programs’ were aired, the first with Herb Vigran (April 13), the second with Buddy Gray (April 20). 

• 001. Tonsils – 10/4/1949
  • Chester A. Riley (Jackie Gleason), a wing riveter for Cunningham Aircraft plant in western Los Angeles, California, visits Dr. Harvey (Harry Harvey) when he chokes on a fish bone, only to find out that he actually needs his tonsils removed. He sullenly heads home and breaks the news to his wife Peg (Rosemary DeCamp), son Junior (Lanny Rees), and daughter Babs (Gloria Winters). Riley is scared to death of the operation and discusses it with his friend and next-door neighbor Jim Gillis (Sid Tomack), who suggest that he speak to Mrs. Bennett (Marlo Dwyer), who had recently had her tonsils taken out. Mrs. Bennett mistakenly thinks that Riley’s wife will be having a baby, so Riley is confused by her description of the ‘tonsils’. Before leaving for the hospital, Riley reads his will to his family, confessing that he has stashed away $15 in the radio. In the hospital the nurse (Marie Blake) sedates him and he falls asleep, but Dr. Harvey has to delay the operation. When his family greets him in the waiting room, Riley thinks the operation is over and initially complains of the pain, but then realizes that it was painless. He freaks out again when the doctor shows up and tells him that he is now going to now operate. Dian Fauntelle is Mrs. Bennett’s maid Matilda. 9/21/16

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SEASON 1 – NBC

Theme song: “Thank You for Being a Friend” written by Andrew Gold and sung by Cynthia Fee

• 001. The Engagement (aka The Pilot) – 9/14/1985
  • Substitute teacher and brassy divorcee Dorothy Zbornak (Bea Arthur) and obtuse widow Rose Nylund (Betty White) live as tenants in the Miami, Florida home of man-hungry southern belle widow Blanche Devereaux (Rue McClanahan). In their employ is a live-in gay cook named Coco (Charles Levin). Rose, who misses her husband Charlie and now works at a grief counseling center, fears that Blanche is going to accept the proposal of her boyfriend Harry (Frank Aletter) after finally being happy in her arrangement. Meanwhile Dorothy’s mother Sophia, who has had a stroke and no longer has any filter on what she says, finds herself homeless when her nursing home burns down, and comes to stay with the ladies as well. Blanche accepts the proposal, but Rose has a strong suspicion about Harry and minutes before the wedding tries to tell Blanche, but Dorothy stops her. As they wait for Harry to show up for the wedding, and officer (Meshach Taylor) arrives and tells them that Harry has been arrested for bigamy. After a week of mourning, Blanche realizes that her friends have made her happy again. As they head out to celebrate, Sophia heads out for a date at the dog track. F. William Parker is the minister. NOTE: This is the only appearance of Coco. 9/20/16

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SEASON 1

Theme music by Shelly Palmer. 

• 001. Pilot – 9/17/1996
  • The daily operations of the New York City mayor’s office are supervised by Deputy Mayor Mike Flaherty (Michael J. Fox). Mayor Randall Winston’s (Barry Bostwick) staff also includes Press Secretary Paul Lassiter (Richard Kind), to whom everyone lies and plays jokes on, City Hall chief of staff Stuart Bondek (Alan Ruck), speech writer James Hobert (Alexander Chaplin), Mike’s secretary Janelle Cooper (Victoria Dillard), and office worker Nikki Faber (Connie Britton). With the city in the midst of a garbage strike, the Mayor makes it even worse when he tells a report that he ‘must be drunk’ when he asks the Mayor if he would march in the gay pride parade. Amidst a barrage of bad press, Mike also contends with his personal life when he realizes that his girlfriend, reporter Ashley Schaeffer (Carla Gugino), has let her lease lapse on her apartment. Although she has been staying with Mike for a year and a half, he becomes paralyzed with fear at the thought of living together. She responds by saying they should take a break from each other.  Mike’s idea to combat the bad press for the mayor is to have James’s claim to be a gay staffer. When the Mayor is deeply criticized by gay activist Carter Heywood (Michael Boatman), Mike decides to give him a job on the mayor’s staff to help be the conservative Mayor’s liberal voice. Mike decides to not only live with Ashley but to get their own new apartment together. Taylor Stanley is the young cheerful intern Karen. 9/21/16

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THESE FRIENDS OF MINE – SEASON 1 – ABC

NOTE: This series began under the title “These Friends of Mine” for the first season, before changing the title to “Ellen” to avoid confusion with the TV series “Friends.”

Created by Neal Marlens, Carol Black, and David S. Rosenthal.

Theme music composed by W.G. Snuffy Walden

• 001. Pilot – 3/29/1994
  • Ellen Morgan (Ellen Degeneres) works at the bookstore Buy the Book in Los Angeles, where she lives with her male roommate friend Adam Green (Arye Gross). While waiting at the California DMV with Ellen, her friend Holly Jamison (Holly Fulger) meets a man in line named Roger Konig (William Bumiller) and gets a date with him. Ellen is unsatisfied with her license photo because she was talking while it was taken. Their other friend Anita (Maggie Wheeler) works with Roger’s roommate and gives her inside information on Roger, including the fact that he barks during sex. When a cashier (Giovanni Ribisi) mistakes Ellen’s license for her husband’s, she decides to return for another photo, this time dressed nicely. This too goes awry when the photographer (Matt Landers) gets a phone call while taking it, and again captures her talking. Ellen rips up both licenses. Anita continues to gather information, first that Holly had broccoli on her face during dinner, and then that Roger plans to leave her after sleeping with her. Ellen leaves a message on her answering machine telling her that he is a slimeball and that she needs to leave him, and then she, Anita, and Adam head over to stop her. When they arrive, they hear Roger barking, but then overhear him tell her that he had planned to leave him, but now is falling in love. They then knock on the door and Ellen attempts to take the answering machine, but she ends up playing the message. Holly then throws Roger out, but admits to her friends that she planned to dump Roger after sleeping with him anyway. Shaun Duke and Lois Viscoli are customers in line. 9/20/16

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SEASON 1 – CBS

Created by Chuck Lorre

Theme song: “Nice Work if You Can Get It” by George and Ira Gershwin, sung by Cybill Shepherd

• 001. Virgin, Mother, Crone – 1/2/1995
  • Los Angeles actress Cybill Sheridan (Cybill Shepherd) is being relegated to small roles as she gets older, including a vampire film in which she can’t stop laughing at Stefan (Victor Rivers) playing the vampire. Cybill lives with her sixteen-year-old daughter Zoey (Alicia Witt), whose father, author Ira Woodbine (Alan Rosenberg), has recently divorced Cybill, and now he is in the process of trying to win her back. Cybill’s first ex-husband is stuntman Jeff Robbins (Tom Wopat), and they have an adult daughter Rachel Blanders (Dedee Pfeiffer) who is married to Kevin and has just announced that she is pregnant. Cybill accepts a date with a man named Teddy (Tim Matheson) whom she meets while in traffic. Cybill’s best friend is alcoholic Maryann Thorpe (Christine Baranski), who has also recently divorced her husband Dr. Dick. Despite trying to win Cybill back, Ira is dating a much younger woman named Cat (Cindy Ambuehl) and they plan to take Zoey to a rap concert. Zoey is dating an college boy named Kelly (Ivan Sergei), which Cybill is against and warns Zoey vehemently about. As it starts to sink in that she is becoming a grandmother, Cybill decides to sleep with Teddy on the third date to prove her vitality… but Teddy is unable to perform. Cybill is then called to pick up Zoey who has been dumped by Kelly when he finds out how old she is. Cybill decides to be more grandmotherly and not give her a big speech but be more compassionate. Cybill gets a bit on Hart to Hart, acting with Robert Wagner (himself) and Stefanie Powers (herself). Tim Maculan is the waiter. John David Conti is the detective in Hart to Hart. 9/19/16 Read the rest of this entry »