Blast from the Past: Syndicated TV Showcase

Back in the eighties, there was the strange phenomenon of "syndicated" TV shows. Actually, that's not a great description, since shows still are syndicated. What I mean is, network shows that got cancelled, and then padded their episode runs by running new ones in syndication. Sometimes, shows that never got picked up in the first place made a stab at it in syndication instead. This worked spectacularly for shows like Star Trek: The Next Generation and Babylon 5. But I'm not after the spectacular successes here. Just the cheesily notable.

All of these four shows either got cancelled and then were extended in syndication, or lived nowhere else but syndication. See if you remember any of them.




#1 - Mama's Family - This series--before it was extended into syndication--was actually extended from The Carol Burnett Show in the first place. It was never high art, but Vicki Lawrence was shrewd enough to parlay her much older character into a Vegas act. She's still not old enough to be Thelma Harper, so she's got many years to go. Oh, and adding Alan Kayser as Bubba Higgins was a master stroke. No, uh, pun intended.

#2 - Charles in Charge - Scott Baio made his career with Happy Days. He was good looking, not a bad actor by 80s sitcom standards, and a hot property. So, they gave him a sitcom. And it didn't work. But for some reason, they syndicated it two years after it was cancelled. The theme song is one of the worst ever, by the way.

#3 - It's a Living - This series about T&A waitresses at a swanky restaurant limped through two seasons (with two different titles) on ABC. Later, they syndicated it with some of the same cast, most prominently, Ann Jillian. For some reason I loved this show. Maybe it was the theme song.

#4 - Small Wonder - One of the strangest sitcoms of this genre was Small Wonder. It was a show about a robot disguised as a 10-year-old. It never--not surprisingly--had a network run. But it lasted in syndication for years. Even Edie McClurg (playing a variation of the nosy neighbor she played on The Hogan Family) couldn't save this abomination.

Classic TV Themes: Sitcoms of the 80s

Delving back into the recesses of my mind for another frivolity break. All of these videos are openings to shows that were great at first. . .and then went on for far too long. In their heyday, they were immensely enjoyable, and full of talent.

#1 - It's a Living - This show was only a modest performer in the ratings, but had tons of potential. So, after it was cancelled by the network, it was picked up for syndication, and went on. And on. It was a lot of fun for the first couple of years, and then they rotated casts (and titles) to the point where the show just ran out of gas. It couldn't go on without Ann Jillian. Great theme song, though!

#2 - Perfect Strangers - This was the 80s, male version of Laverne & Shirley. Great physical comedy, outright hilarious sometimes. And then it got stale. Really stale. How long could Balki stay a fish out of water? When they brought in wives, and a (shared) house, and made it part of the childish "TGIF" lineup, it was finally put out to pasture.

#3 - Valerie - A case of a show that was killed by a contract dispute. Valerie Harper is one of the most underrated comedy performers of all time, willing to be the "straight man" to others' hijinks. After a tussle over salary or some such, she was killed off, and replaced by the (inferior for this show, but good otherwise) Sandy Duncan. The show went through three names before it was cancelled--years later. Bonus: Season 1 and 2, plus end credits.

#4 - Family Ties - Definitely the highest rated (by viewers and critics) of this list, Family Ties was one of my favorites at the time. But like most high-rated, long-running shows, the young kid got less cute. So, they brought in a baby and then miraculously aged him four years in a single season. The theme song was great though, and has some of the best editing, with images in time to the music.