u/XThePlaysTheThingX

Friday the 13th: The Series (no relation to the popular Crystal Lake set horror franchise of the same name) was a horror-drama series that ran 72 episodes from October 1987-May 1990 in first-run syndication.

Focusing on Vendredi’s Antiques a curio shop set in an unspecified US city (despite being filmed entirely in the Vancouver BC area) owner Lewis Vendredi (RG Armstrong) makes a deal with the devil to sell cursed objects to unsuspecting victims in exchange for wealth & magical powers. After years of being the devil’s puppet Lewis breaks the contract, is killed and the devil claims his soul. The shop is passed onto niece Miki (Louise Robey, credited simply as “Robey“ a stage name she used for most of her career) who immediately discovers that she must collect all the cursed artifacts her uncle sold if she wishes to lead a normal life.

Miki enlists the help of her terminally optimistic cousin Ryan (John LeMay) and Jack (Chris Wiggins) Lewis’s friend & confidante who is also an expert in the occult. Episodes consisted of the trio tracking down the objects using Lewis’ records and sealing them safely away in a magic vault. The endless array of artifacts included murderous dolls, a garden mulcher that turned victims into money, a kamikaze jacket that made the wearer invisible, car keys that gave you any car you desired, a World Series ring that told you sports scores and a sentient Cassandra-like radio that predicted events. The only cost of using these items was human sacrifice.

For a first-run syndication series it debuted to very strong ratings. Famously coming in #2 after the behemoth that was Star Trek: The Next Generation. It made a name for itself by airing a lot of horror related gore & violence typically reserved for R-rated movies of the time. Ultimately declining ratings in its 2nd season, budget (each episode cost around $500k which was very high for the time) and unpopular cast changes meant cancellation was looming. So looming in fact that the cast & crew was not told until they were filming a late 3rd season episode. It aired its final episode (a sexy Maquis de Sade time travel outing involving a double-sided painting) on May 26th 1990. The series larger narrative arc of finding all the objects remaining unsatisfied.

Oh Madeline was an ABC sitcom that ran for a single season in 1983-84. Madeline Kahn portrayed bored suburban Chicago housewife Madeline Wayne. After a decade of marriage to her sweet but dull husband Charlie (James Sloan) Madeline decides she needs more fun in her life. Each episode revolved around Madeline‘s attempts to spice things up with unusual activities & hobbies such as fad diets, joining a gym, male strip clubs, community theater, costume parties…you get the idea. Wacky shenanigans ensued.

The writers used I Love Lucy as a template for much of the broad comedy leaning into physical slapstick & “hilarious” misunderstandings. Unsurprisingly Kahn excelled at much of this kind of comedy despite the stories being very standard-issue sitcom tropes.

The show was critically lauded but struggled in its Tuesday night timeslot against ratings powerhouse Remington Steele and was canceled after a single season. Interestingly there were two attempts at reviving it for syndication. Once after it was initially canceled with Madeline divorcing Charlie and discovering even more wacky shenanigans as a newly single woman and a second time in the early 90s when USA aired reruns in an attempt to gauge the audience for a potential revival.

Our House was an NBC family sitcom that debuted September 11th 1986. The series focused on recently widowed Jessi Witherspoon (Deidre Hall) who uproots her Indiana family (which included Shannon Doherty & Chad Allen) following the death her husband John (played in a singular flashback by Patrick Duffy). Jessi’s gruff father-in-law Gus (Wilford Brimley) offers his suburban Los Angeles home to help ease their financial struggles.

Stories bounced between intergenerational strife between the cantankerous Gus and his tweenage grandkids to the down-to-earth Witherspoon family being thrust into the drug fueled bright lights of suburban LA. Jokes aside most episodes involved Gus imposing strict rules on his young charges only to realize that maybe he didn’t need to be such an asshole.

The series used an unusual visual conceit throughout each episode where each scene would end in an artistic rendering of a room within the Witherspoon house. The final scene (usually involving a resolution to the episodes plot) completing the full picture of “our house”. Get it?

Despite some very positive initial reviews the show did not find great success in its Sunday 7pm time slot. It faced stiff competition from such powerhouses as 60 Minutes, The Disney Sunday Movie and frequent interruptions from NFL games. Despite low ratings the show went into its second season running 46 episodes til it’s final episode aired May 8th 1988.

Room For Two was an ABC sitcom airing 2 seasons between 1992-1993. Patricia Heaton starred as Jill Kurland producer of NYC morning show Wake Up New York. Through a series of wacky circumstances Jill’s mouthy & opinionated mother Edie (Linda Lavin) lands a job on (wait for it) the exact same morning show as her daughter. Edie declines to go back to her hum-drum life in Ohio deciding to move to the Big Apple. With many reservations Jill decides to allow her obnoxi……I mean charmingly combative mother move in with her.

Room For Two was heavily promoted as Lavin’s big return to prime-time comedy after portraying scrappy Arizona waitress Alice on her namesake show several years earlier. Patricia Heaton on the other hand would bounce around to several failed shows (spoilers, including this one) and guest spots before eventually landing in the role that would make her a household name.

Critics were divided. Despite some positive reviews (mostly praising Lavin’s performance) many reviewers found the mother/daughter comedy to be tired & cliched. Despite that the show did solid ratings in its first season and was renewed. Though by S2 the ratings plummeted and was canceled before its final handful of episodes could air.

https://www.westword.com/arts-culture/downtodenver-1up-arcade-bar-closed-downtown-40902899/

Baby Bob was a short-lived CBS sitcom that aired 2 truncated seasons between March 2002 to June 2003. the show centered on new parents Walter & Lizzy Spencer (Adam Arkin & Joely Fisher) who discover their 6 month old can speak like an adult. The cast was rounded out by Holland Taylor & Elliott Gould playing Lizzy & Walter’s parents respectively.

This terrib…I mean wacky premise was born out of a series of wildly popular ads for FreeInternet.com in early 2000 starring the titular baby. Suits at CBS took notice and decided they wanted Bob for a series.

Baby Bob was brutalized by critics upon its release. Despite receiving across-the-board scathing reviews the show debuted to strong ratings. Those numbers continued and a second season was ordered. That summer however CBS decided to pour money into its new series My Big Fat Greek Life (based on the Greek Wedding movie) which it had high hopes for. Suddenly Baby Bob’s budget was slashed and its order reduced to a mere 8 episodes. The completed second season sat on the shelf til June 2003. It bombed in the ratings and only 3 of its 8 episodes aired until it was swiftly cancelled. Shortly after Baby Bob found himself eating footlongs in a series of popular ads for Quizno’s.

Brothers & Sisters was an ABC family drama that produced 100+ episodes from September 2006 to May 2011. It followed the affluent (and enormous) Walker family led by matriarch Nora (Sally Field) as she deals with the fallout after the death of her husband (Tom Skerritt). Plotlines were dominated by soap opera style tropes involving familial conflicts, substance abuse, romantic entanglement, military trauma, family business maneuvering, LGBT acceptance, political intrigue, martial infidelity and general interpersonal discord.

The series main focus were the 5 Walker Children: Grounded elsest daughter Sarah (Rachel Griffiths), conservative political activist Kitty (Callista Flockhart), scheming middle child Tommy (Balthazar Getty), gay corporate lawyer Kevin (Matthew Rhys) and troubled serviceman Justin (Dave Annable). The sprawling cast was rounded out by a host of too-many-to-mention-here established & up-and-comer performers playing various children, grandchildren, extended family, business associates, and friends. Some notables included Patricia Wettig, Danny Glover, Amy Aquino,Ron Rifkin, Emily Van Camp, Rob Lowe, Max Burkholder, Steven Weber and Luke Grimes. The show also featured extensive location filming in a variety of Southern California locales.

While never a ratings powerhouse the show was a prestige piece for the network. It was critically lauded nominated & winning a number of Emmy, Golden Globe, SAG, and GLAAD awards and was popular with audiences for its star studded cast. As ratings slumped in its 5th season (and reportedly being a very expensive production) ABC decided to pull the plug.

Edit - I’m usually the first one to call out posts on this sub where shows aren’t forgotten and y’all are right. it’s one I haven't thought about in years and I let that personal bias fuel a late night posting when I couldn’t sleep.

Cover Up was a CBS adventure thriller that ran one full season between September 1984 to April 1985. Former model & long-time CoverGirl spokesperson Jennifer O’Niell played Dani Reynolds a fashion photographer recruited by special forces to go undercover to expose various criminal organizations. She was partnered with Mac Harper (Jon-Erik Hexum) a soldier assigned to assist Reynolds on her various missions. Halfway through the season Hexum was replaced with Australian ballerina Anthony Hamilton after Hexum accidentally shot himself on-set while playing a game of Russian roulette while “bored “ in-between filming scenes. The gun contained a single blank bullet. Hexum jokingly spun the chamber, put the firearm straight to his temple and pulled the trigger causing the blank to push a large skull fragment into his brain. After several days in a coma he was eventually declared dead. The network decided to cancel the series. Not because of the deadly incident but because of proverbial low ratings.