Being Retro

G - Gone... 1980-1984 Part: One

Cancelled TV Shows 1980-1084

Breaking Away – ABC, comedy, Shaun Cassidy, Vincent Gardenia
Enos – CBS, comedy, Sonny Shroyer, Samuel E. Wright
Freebie & The Bean – CBS, crime drama, Tom Mason, Hector Elizondo, William Daniels
Games People Play – NBC, sports, Bryant Gumbel
The Gangster Chronicles – NBC, drama, Joe Penny, Markie Post, Brian Benben
I’m A Big Girl Now – ABC, comedy, Diana Canova, Danny Thomas
Ladies’ Man – CBS, comedy, Lawrence Pressman
Marie – NBC, variety, Marie Osmond
Secrets Of Midland Heights – CBS, soap, Bibi Besch, Mark Pinter, Lorenzo Lamas, Linda Hamilton
Speak Up, America – NBC, human interest, Marjoe Gortner
Steve Allen Comedy Hour – NBC, variety, Steve Allen
Those Amazing Animals – ABC, animals, Priscilla Presley, Burgess Meredith
Walking Tall – NBC, crime drama, Bo Svenson
Best Of The West – ABC, comedy, Joel Higgins
Bret Maverick – NBC, western, James Garner
Code Red – ABC, adventure, Lorne Greens, Adam Rich
Darkroom – ABC, occult anthology, James Coburn
Fitz & Bones – NBC, comedy/drama, 4 episodes, Dick & Tom Smothers
Jessica Novak – CBS, drama, Helen Shaver
Lewis & Clark – NBC, comedy, Gabe Kaplan
Maggie – ABC, comedy, Doris Roberts
McClain’s Law – NBC, crime drama, James Arness
Mr. Merlin – CBS, comedy, Barnard Hughes
The Nashville Palace – NBC, variety, Slim Pickens
Shannon – CBS, crime drama, Kevin Dobson
Strike Force – ABC, crime drama, Robert Stack
Today’s FBI – ABC, crime drama, Mike Connors
Bring ‘Em Back Alive – CBS, adventure, Bruce Boxleitner
The Devlin Connection – NBC, detective drama, Rock Hudson, Jack Scalia
Gavilan – NBC, adventure, Robert Urich
Gloria – CBS, comedy, Sally Struthers
It Takes Two – ABC, comedy, Richard Crenna, Patty Duke Astin
The New Odd Couple – ABC, comedy, Ron Glass, Demond Wilson
The Powers Of Matthew Star – NBC, sci-fi, Peter Barton, Louis Gossett, Jr.
The Quest – ABC, adventure, 6 episodes, Perry King
Seven Brides For Seven Brothers – CBS, adventure, Richard Dean Anderson
Square Pegs – CBS, comedy, Sarah Jessica Parker, Amy Linker
Star Of The Family – ABC, comedy, Brian Dennehy, Kathy Maisnik
Tales Of The Gold Monkey – ABC, adventure, Stephen Collins, Jeff MacKay
Tucker’s Witch – CBS, detective drama, Tim Matheson, Catherine Hicks
Voyagers – NBC, sci-fi, Jon-Erik Hexum; Meeno Peluce
Bay City Blues – NBC, drama, Dennis Franz, Ken Olin, Sharon Stone
Boone – NBC, drama, Tom Byrd
Cutter To Houston – CBS, drama, Alec Baldwin
Emerald Point N.A.S. – CBS, drama, Dennis Weaver, Sela Ward, Susan Dey
For Love & Honor – NBC, drama, Keenen Ivory Wayans
It’s Not Easy – ABC, comedy, Ken Howard, Billy Jacoby
Jennifer Slept Here – NBC, comedy, Ann Jillian, John P. Navin, Jr., Glenn Scarpelli
Just Our Luck – ABC, comedy, T.K. Carter
Lottery – ABC, dramatic anthology, Ben Murphy, Marshall Colt
Manimal – NBC, crime drama/fantasy, Simon MacCorkindale
Mr. Smith – NBC, comedy, Leonard Frey
Oh, Madeline – ABC, comedy, Madeline Kahn
The Rousters – NBC, adventure, Chad Everett, Jim Varney
Trauma Center – ABC, drama, James Naughton, Wendie Malick
We Got It Made – NBC, comedy, Teri Copley, Tom Villard
Whiz Kids – CBS, detective/adventure, A Martinez, Todd Porter
The Yellow Rose – NBC, soap, Cybill Shepherd, Chuck Connors
Call To Glory – ABC, drama, Craig T. Nelson, Elizabeth Shue
Charles In Charge – CBS, comedy, Scott Baio, Willie Aames
Cover Up – CBS, detective drama, Jon-Erik Hexum, Jennifer O'Neill
Dreams – CBS, comedy, 5 episodes, John Stamos
E/R – CBS, comedy, Elliott Gould, George Clooney
Finder Of Lost Loves – ABC, detective drama, Tony Franciosa, Deborah Adair
Glitter – ABC; Dec 1985, ABC late night, drama, David Birney, Morgan Brittany
Hawaiian Heat – ABC, crime drama, Jeff McCracken
Hot Pursuit – NBC, drama, Kerrie Keane
It’s Your Move – NBC, comedy, Jason Bateman, David Garrison
Jessie – ABC, crime drama, Lindsey Wagner
Paper Dolls – ABC drama, Dack Rambo, Morgan Fairchild
Partners In Crime – NBC, detective drama, Lyndia Cater, Loni Anderson
People Do The Crazy Things – ABC, humor, Bert Convy
Three’s A Crowd – ABC, comedy, John Ritter, Mary Cadorette
V – NBC, sci-fi, Mark Singer, Robert Englund

We love the 80's, come on some of these we all watched and miss!
-Jeremy [Retro-Zombie]

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Check out the latest reviews, music and scores/soundtracks at Howlin' Wolf Records: On-Line Magazine or find the latest horror sites over at Horror Blogger Alliance. Or last but not least visit My NEATORAMA Store at [Retro-Zombie] there is always something going on and it is one click away!

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F - Firefly and FRIENDS

So I wanted to thank you all for the first week of the A TO Z CHALLENGE... how was it, I know I have met a bunch of very cool people, you know who you are. The rest I am hoping to be able to stop over and say hello on your site, as I am bad about commenting back here on my site. I just get overwhelmed I think I am trying to make to the bottom of the main list.

I wanted to share this worst image that I found on my Facebook page, some time ago... just think about and cringe. It's just wrong... really wrong.

I wanted to give all who comments here on my personal friend post the "ZOMBIE RABBIT AWARD" and you don't have to do anything... except give it to one person and thank the person who gave it. It will spread across the blogs on it's own. I am not even sure it's cool to give out awards anymore, but I ain't cool. If you have one, just give it to someone who you deem worthy... (right-click and save)

You all came looking for Firefly and the lovely Summer Glau, since that is your thinking... right. Well sadly Summer and Firefly was cancelled from this post to better "thank you" for stopping over. Poor Summer, she is always on the show that ends up being cancelled, we still love her? See I am still mad to that this wonderful show was pulled, before it could even take off.
-Jeremy [Retro-Zombie]

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E - Ed

Ed is an NBC television program co-produced by David Letterman's Worldwide Pants Incorporated, NBC Productions (now Universal Television), and Viacom Productions (now CBS Television Studios) that aired from 2000 to 2004. The hour-long comedy-drama starred Tom Cavanagh as Edward Jeremy Stevens, the protagonist, Julie Bowen as his love interest Carol Phyllis Vessey, Josh Randall as his friend Dr. Mike Burton, Jana Marie Hupp as Mike's wife Nancy, Lesley Boone as their friend Molly Hudson, and Justin Long as awkward high-school student Warren Cheswick. Other supporting cast members included Michael Genadry and Ginnifer Goodwin as Warren's friends Mark and Diane, and Michael Ian Black, Mike Starr, Rachel Cronin, and (later) Daryl Mitchell as the employees of Stuckeybowl, Ed's bowling alley. Long term guest stars included John Slattery as Dennis Martino and Sabrina Lloyd as Frankie Hector. The show was created by executive producers Jon Beckerman and Rob Burnett. David Letterman is also credited as one of the show's executive producers.

Here is an example of a fun show... I know many of the actors have moved onto better shows and it just reminds us good people can act... whatever the heck that really means.

-Jeremy [Retro-Zombie]

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D - Disappeared Without Explanation

15 TV Characters That Disappeared...

Without Explanation

Happy Days - In the first season of happy days the lovable and adorable Ritchie had a brother named Chuck. He wasn't really a part of the integral cast like the "Fonz" or Ralph Malph, but hey he was definitely there. One episode he went to his room and apparently never came out. Interestingly enough this phenomenon of disappearing cast members has come to be known as "Chuck Cunningham Syndrome".

Family Matters - Judy Winslow on "Family Matters" was the adorable little sister who's departure from this prime time show was never mentioned by its cast. The writers could have at least told us that she got hit by a car, or that she joined a traveling circus, but her mysterious disappearance has always left viewers dumbfounded. This is perhaps exacerbated by the fact that her father (Carl) was a cop, and should have had the resources available to find a missing adolescent. By the way, Jaime Foxworth (Judy) has since went into making adult films under the stage name CRAVE.

Saved By The Bell - "Saved by the Bell" might have been one of the worst offenders for this sort of thing. Apparently the turnover rate at Bayside was so fast that they were only able to hang onto students and teachers for several days at a time. But, somehow the same six were the only regulars. Notable is Max from The Max, the gang's local hang out. Early on he gave advice and performed magic tricks for the kids, but suddenly Max was gone (insert making himself disappear joke). Additionally, Tori Spelling showed up a few times as a nerdy character only to vanish without explanation.

That 70's Show - On "That 70's Show", you may remember Eric Foreman had a sister named "Laurie" who was originally on the show quite a bit. Eventually she was re-cast with a different actress and slowly lost all of her camera time. This is too bad, because her ditzy character really was Fez's only chance at getting a dumb girl drunk enough to get laid.

The Simpsons - Waylon Smithers on "The Simpsons" hasn't disappeared, but on the first incantation of the show he appears to be black, or brown, or something - at least not yellow like most of the characters. Who knows why they changed it, maybe the nation just wasn't ready for a black, closeted homosexual character. But with the recent election proving the US to be more progressive than the world thought, maybe Smithers can un-Michael Jackson himself and go back to his true ROOTS.

Step By Step - While this examples is one everyone can be thankful for, but whatever happened to Cody on "Step By Step"? One day he was a fun-loving adorable goofy character who was dumber than a brick. Basically he was Joey Lawrence's character from "Blossom", but with a flat top. Eventually Sasha Mitchell beat up some girl in real life, and was unceremoniously kicked off the show. The show then replaced him with a campy hairdresser played by Brosnan Pinchot (Balki), for no apparent reason.

Friends - "Friends" is unashamedly guilty of trying to pull the wool over the viewers eyes. You may remember Giovanni Ribisi as Phoebe's crazy half-stupid brother - not that far of a stretch really. Well, the crazy thing was that he was on the show a few seasons earlier, and played a weird teenager that left a condom in her guitar case. Wouldn't she recognize her own brother, I guess not. Also what is Foreman's mom doing there?

Fresh Prince of Bel Air - Another move that shows are guilty of is replacing actors without any explanation. "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" had aunt Vivian's character replaced after only the second season. Apparently the original actress violated her contract by getting pregnant in real life. To whoever she is, "it's the only paying acting job you'll probably ever have, and it's in YOUR CONTRACT. Have the dude slip on a rubber or get on the pill. Whoops, now you're in the unemployment line. Congrats." In the end, uncle Phil got the good end of that deal, the old Vivian kind of looked like Scottie Pippen.

Rosanne - Becky on the white trash sitcom "Rosanne" also went through an interesting switch, which in a way was referred to on the show. The family is sitting around watching "Bewitched" and Rosanne makes a comment about it being crappy when shows change actors. They then zoom out to reveal a new Becky. But wow what an upgrade, the old one was beat up from the feet up, but the new one was at least an 8.5. Later in the series, the old Becky would return for the rest of the show's run. And when she first appears on-screen, Rosanne simply says, "Where the hell have you been?"

Boy Meets World - "Boy Meets World" is another show with more than one disappearance. Most notable is the not-so-lovable nerd, Minkus. He was an integral part of the first seasons of the show, but once Cory got to high school he simply vanished into thin air. Also disappearing was Morgan who was Cory's little sister. She left sometime in season 2 and mysteriously reappeared in season 3 played by a different actress. The writers did give her a nod by her saying, "...that's the longest time out I ever had". Slow clap, brilliant explanation.

Can you think of anyone else who suddenly disappeared from your favorite shows?

-Jeremy [Retro-Zombie]

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C - Chuck

Chuck is an American action-comedy/spy-drama television series created by Josh Schwartz and Chris Fedak. The series is about an "average computer-whiz-next-door" named Chuck, played by Zachary Levi, who receives an encoded e-mail from an old college friend now working for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA); the message embeds the only remaining copy of the United States' greatest spy secrets into Chuck's brain. As the second season closed, flagging ratings put Chuck in danger of cancellation, but fans mounted a successful campaign to encourage NBC to renew the show. The campaign was unique in that fans specifically targeted a sponsor of the show, the Subway restaurant chain, and the chain struck a major sponsorship deal with NBC to help cover costs of the third season. The series' renewal was uncertain in each subsequent season. The fifth season was the last; it began on October 28, 2011, moving to Friday nights at 8pm/7 Central. The series concluded on January 27, 2012 with a two-hour finale

If you know me you know I loved this show, with a mixed reaction to the series finale... leaves me to keep punching myself... over and over again. Extra: "Guy" video... way at the bottom, another reason I loved, loved this show...
-Jeremy [Retro-Zombie]

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B - Battlestar Galactica and Be My....

Tricia Helfer [Number Six]

Battlestar Galactica (BSG) is an American military science fiction television series, and part of the Battlestar Galactica franchise. The show was developed by Ronald D. Moore as a re-imagining of the 1978 Battlestar Galactica television series created by Glen A. Larson. The series first aired as a three-hour miniseries (comprising four broadcast hours) in December 2003 on the Sci-Fi Channel, and ran for four seasons thereafter, ending its run on March 20, 2009. The series features Edward James Olmos and Mary McDonnell, and garnered a wide range of critical acclaim, which included a Peabody Award, the Television Critics Association's Program of the Year Award, a placement inside Time's 100 Best TV Shows of All-TIME, and Emmy nominations for its writing, directing, costume design, visual effects, sound mixing, and sound editing, with Emmy wins for both visual effects and sound editing. In 2013 TV Guide included it in its list of The 60 Greatest Dramas of All Time.

I am going to do my challenge this year and make it simple, television shows that I loved and these shows cancelled before I think they were ready. What are your thoughts, did you watch this show... do you miss it and why? And as a bonus a song from a band/group that fits with the letter and may not have anything to do with the show above.

So the WALKING DEAD Season III is over and I didn't watch one episode, I know I should be shot, hanged or dragged by my toes in the village square. I hope those who watched it, enjoyed it... I will catch up sooner or later... I wanted to say... if you like this place, feel free to join my family. I am going to make some needed changes after the challenge is complete, it will be new place.

-Jeremy [Retro-Zombie]

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A - Andromeda and to Arlee... Hail to the Chief!!

Lexa Doig [Andromeda Ascendant]

Andromeda (formally titled Gene Roddenberry's Andromeda) is a Canadian/American science fiction television series, based on unused material by Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry (1921-91), developed by Robert Hewitt Wolfe, and produced by Roddenberry's widow, Majel Barrett (1932-2008). It starred Kevin Sorbo as High Guard Captain Dylan Hunt. The series premiered on October 2, 2000 and ended on May 13, 2005.

Also wanted to send a great message, while you all are here today... I wanted to thank my great friend Arlee Bird of "Tossing It Out" a man of many things... and the creator of the "A to Z Challenge". Without his help and guidance to me and all of his followers... we might not be here today. I thank you... you are the man, period!

MAYBE A FEW SURPRISES?

-Jeremy [Retro-Zombie]

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G - Gone... 1980-1984 Part: One

F - Firefly and FRIENDS

E - Ed

D - Disappeared Without Explanation

C - Chuck

B - Battlestar Galactica and Be My....

A - Andromeda and to Arlee... Hail to the Chief!!