TV Time Capsule

For ‘The Nanny,’ Hanukkah is a Time for Miracles!

“Eight Crazy Nights,” a celebration of Hanukkah-themed episodes, continues.

Night No. 7: December 16, 1998, when CBS aired “The Nanny” episode “The Hanukkah Story,” which opens with Fran explaining that Jewish holidays begin at sundown “because God realized that before 5, to wear sequins is gauche.”

In a flashback, a bored Fran (Jamie Renee Smith) asks her mother Sylvia (Drescher) why Hanukkah has no parades. Says Sylvia: “After all that walking we did in the desert, we like to sit on the holidays!”

Fran’s husband Maxwell (Charles Shaughnessy) is driving home through a blizzard when his car gets stuck.

Several frantic hours later, he returns, explaining his car’s gas lasted eight hours – long enough for the police to rescue him.

“That’s like Hanukkah!” Fran exclaims. “The oil lasted for eight days!”

The crisis over, Sylvia (Renee Taylor) announces she’s going home.

Fran rejoices: “Another miracle!”

See for yourself: “The Hanukkah Story” isn’t (legally) online or on video. “Eight Crazy Nights” will conclude tomorrow.

 

On TV

Here’s the prime-time lineup for Wednesday, December 16, 1998:

8: “Dharma & Greg” (ABC), “The Nanny” (CBS), “Beverly Hills 90210” (Fox), “Dateline NBC,” “Seven Days” (UPN), “Dawson’s Creek” (WB)

8:30: “Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place” (ABC), “Maggie Winters” (CBS) 

9: “The Drew Carey Show” (ABC), “To Have & To Hold” (CBS), “Party of Five” (Fox), “3rd Rock From the Sun” (NBC), “Star Trek: Voyager” (UPN), “Charmed” (WB)

9:30: “Whose Line Is It Anyway?” (ABC), “Encore! Encore!” (NBC)

10: “20/20” (ABC), “Chicago Hope” (CBS), “Law & Order” (NBC)

 

The Record

For the week of December 13, 1998:

Top novel: “A Man in Full” by Tom Wolfe

Top song: “I’m Your Angel” by R. Kelly and Celine Dion

Top movie: “Star Trek: Insurrection”

Top TV show: “ER” (NBC)

In the news: Impeachment neared

 

 

Captions: In “The Hanukkah Story,” a young Sylvia (Fran Drescher) fills a menorah and explains the holiday’s meaning to her bored daughter Fran, who’ll grow up to become “The Nanny.”

‘Treehouse of Horror V’

“Treehouse of Horror Week,” a celebration of “The Simpsons’” Halloween episodes, continues.

The episode: “Treehouse of Horror V”  

Airdate: October 30, 1994

The trilogy: The Simpsons become caretakers for Mr. Burns’ haunted mansion (“The Shinning”), Homer’s attempt to fix a broken toaster sends him hurtling through time (“Time and Punishment”) and Principal Skinner introduces a new menu at Springfield Elementary (“Nightmare Cafeteria”).

The Kang and Kodos kameo: The aliens laugh at Homer for being “totally unprepared for the effects of time travel;” then – poof! – they turn into Mr. Peabody and Sherman.

Great moment: In “The Shining” parody, Homer doesn’t just say “Heeere’s Johnny,” he also recites the signature introductions for David Letterman and “60 Minutes.”

Trivia: In 2003, Entertainment Weekly ranked “Treehouse of Horror V” ninth on its list of the top 25 “Simpsons” episodes of all time.

The audience: 11.6 million households watched; the episode ranked 27th in the weekly ratings.

“Treehouse of Horror V” is part of “The Simpsons: The Complete Sixth Season” and “Treehouse of Horror” DVD sets.

 

On TV

Here’s the prime-time lineup for Sunday, October 30, 1994:

7: “America’s Funniest Home Videos”* (ABC), “60 Minutes” (CBS), “The Simpsons”* (Fox), “Angels II: Beyond the Light” (NBC)

7:30: “On Our Own” (ABC), “The Simpsons”* (Fox)

8: “Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman” (ABC), “Chicago Hope”* (CBS), “The Simpsons” (Fox)

8:30: “The Simpsons”* (Fox)

9: “Against Their Will: Women in Prison” (ABC), “Without Warning” (CBS), “Married … With Children” (Fox), “The Addams Family” (NBC)

9:30: “The George Carlin Show” (Fox)

* Repeat

 

The Record

For the week of October 30, 1994:

Top novel: “Insomnia” by Stephen King

Top song: “I’ll Make Love to You” by Boyz II Men

Top movie: “Stargate”

Top TV show: “Home Improvement” (ABC)

In the news: President Clinton tried to prevent major election-year losses for Democrats

 

  

 

 

Captions: No beer and no TV make Homer go crazy in “The Shinning” (top); a clip from “Time and Punishment” (courtesy of Hulu, middle); Fox’s advertisement for “Treehouse of Horror V,” from TV Guide’s October 29, 1994, issue (bottom).

Erasable ‘Ink’

On October 21, 1996, CBS introduced “Ink,” a Ted Danson-Mary Steenburgen comedy plagued by backstage drama.

Originally, the couple played Jack and Carrie, two recently divorced journalists who work together at a New York City newspaper.

CBS filmed a pilot and three episodes – then decided “Ink” wasn’t working. The network delayed the show’s debut by five weeks and replaced the original producer with “Murphy Brown” impresario Diane English, who reinvented the show from scratch.

Danson and Steenburgen still played journalists, but now they were named Mike Logan and Kate Montgomery. The New York Times explained other changes:

Instead of being recently divorced and still fiercely angry at each other, they are now reunited in the workplace 10 years after their breakup, and plagued by renewed bursts of passion for each other. Instead of being childless, they have a 15-year-old daughter. Instead of working in a dingy failing newspaper, they circulate through a bright, modern newsroom.

The supporting cast was also overhauled. Example: Charlie Robinson – a crusty barber in the original setup – became a crusty crime reporter.

“Ink’s” debut was seen in 11.5 million homes, ranking 20th in the weekly ratings.

Viewers drifted away as the season progressed; CBS finally cancelled the show after 22 episodes.

 

On TV

Here’s the prime-time lineup for Monday, October 21, 1996:

8: “Dangerous Minds” (ABC), “Cosby” (CBS), “Melrose Place” (Fox), “The Jeff Foxworthy Show” (NBC)

8:30: “Ink” (CBS), “Mr. Rhodes” (NBC)

9: “Monday Night Football” (ABC), “Murphy Brown” (CBS), “When Disaster Strikes” (Fox), “Danielle Steel’s The Ring” (NBC)

9:30: “Cybill” (CBS)

10: “Chicago Hope” (CBS)

 

The Record

For the week of October 20, 1995:

Top novel: “Desperation” by Stephen King

Top song: “Macarena” (Bayside Boys Mix)” by Los Del Rio

Top movie: “Sleepers”

Top TV show: World Series, Game 5 (Fox)

In the news: Apple Computer planned a comeback

Captions: “Ink” stars Ted Danson and Mary Steenburgen in a photograph from TV Guide’s September 14, 1996, fall preview issue (top, photos by Fergus Greer and Greg Lavy); CBS’s advertisement for the series premiere, from the magazine’s October 19, 1996, edition.

Turning On ‘Charmed’

On October 7, 1998, the WB introduced “Charmed,” a supernatural series about sibling witches who fight evil.

In “Something Wicca This Way Comes,” the first episode, the three Halliwell sisters – who live in modern-day San Francisco – discover they are actually powerful witches, each with a special gift: Prudence (Shannen Doherty), the oldest, is telekinetic; Piper (Holly Marie Combs), the middle sister, can freeze time; and Phoebe (Alyssa Milano) is psychic.

The sisters also learn they are the target of witch-hunting warlocks, murderous demons and other evil-doers.

Aaron Spelling produced “Charmed,” selling the series with a 28-minute pilot, which was never broadcast and featured Lori Rom as Phoebe.

“Charmed” represented a comeback for Doherty, who – four years earlier – had walked away from Spelling’s “Beverly Hills, 90210” amid tabloid reports of on-set tantrums, off-screen partying and other bad behavior.

Critics couldn’t resist commenting on Doherty’s new role – USA Today’s Robert Bianco wrote that “the idea of Shannen Doherty as a witch does have a certain intuitive appeal” – but most reviewers welcomed the actress back to prime time. One exception: the Washington Post’s Tom Shales, who described her as being destined to “play fat-faced Monica Lewinsky somewhere down the road.”

“Charmed” itself received mixed reviews: Cox News Service’s Kevin D. Thompson compared the series to Spelling’s earlier hit “Charlie’s Angels,” calling the new show “funny, spooky and entertaining,” while Bianco concluded “‘Charmed’ has witchcraft but precious little magic.”

The “Charmed” debut was seen in 7.7 million homes, tying with its Wednesday night lead-in – “Dawson’s Creek” – for 78th in the weekly ratings, making it the most-watched series premiere in the WB’s history.

Doherty departed the show at the end of “Charmed’s” third season – this time amid rumors of backstage tension with Milano. Prudence was killed off and replaced by Rose McGowan as Paige – the Halliwell siblings’ long-lost half-sister – who remained with the series through the end of its eighth and final season.

“Something Wicca This Way Comes” is part of the “Charmed: The Complete Series”  DVD set.

 

Also on TV

On October 7, 1998, the WB also aired the season premiere of “Dawson’s Creek;” ABC broadcast “Dharma & Greg,” “Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place,” “The Drew Carey Show,” and “The Secret Lives of Men,” a sitcom starring Peter Gallagher and Bradley Whitford, as well as “20/20;” CBS showed “The Nanny,” the Faith Ford sitcom “Maggie Winters,” the romantic comedy “To Have and to Hold” and “Chicago Hope;” on Fox, the New York Yankees beat the Cleveland Indians, 4 to 2, in a National League baseball playoff; NBC’s lineup consisted of “Dateline NBC,” “3rd Rock From the Sun,” “NewsRadio” (featuring Jon Lovitz’s first appearance as the late Phil Hartman’s replacement) and “Law & Order;” and UPN introduced the action show “7 Days” with a two-hour premiere.

 

The Record

During the week of October 4, 1998, the number ones were Tom Clancy’ “Rainbow Six” (novel), Monica’s “The First Night” (song) and “Antz” (movie). In Washington, Democrats rallied around President Clinton as Republicans moved closer to impeaching him.

  

Captions: “Charmed” cast members, from left, Shannen Doherty, Alyssa Milano and Holly Marie Combs in a photograph from TV Guide’s September 12, 1998, fall preview issue (top; Doherty and Combs by Fergus Greer, Milano by Kate Garner); the WB’s advertisement for the series premiere, from the October 3, 1998, edition (bottom).

Monday, March 13, 1995

ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy” isn’t the first weekly TV drama to depict the lives and loves of impossibly attractive medical professionals in the Pacific Northwest.

It isn’t even the second.

In January 1995, Aaron Spelling introduced “University Hospital,” a short-lived syndicated soap opera about four student nurses in fictional Seaside, Washington.

Two months later, on March 13, 1995, Fox introduced “Medicine Ball,” which focused on seven young doctors beginning their residencies at fictional Bayview Hospital in Seattle.

Both series had the misfortune of debuting during the same season that brought viewers the better-received NBC’s “ER” and CBS’s “Chicago Hope” – a fact that critics couldn’t bring themselves to overlook.

“[W]hat the world doesn’t need now is one more medical drama,” the Seattle Times’ John Vorhees wrote in his “Medicine Ball” review.

“It has a fresh young attractive cast, familiar hospital crises and humor – but it’s just too late out of the starting gate. Only hypochondriacs need apply.”

The “Medicine Ball” cast included mostly unknown actors, although Donal Logue, who portrayed neurotic Dr. Danny Macklin, would later star in Fox’s “Grounded for Life” sitcom.

USA Today’s Matt Roush described the “Medicine Ball” characters as “an anemic crew, almost completely colorless as they fill stock roles: a babe hound, a man-eater, a by-the-books idealist who can’t handle the hands-on pressure, a cocky female surgeon whose personal life is a wreck.”

The Washington Post’s Tom Shales noted the show’s sense of humor as being firmly lodged in the pelvis. One patient has checked into the hospital for a circumcision at the age of 42, prompting jokes about ‘taking a little off the top,’ unwanted erections and ‘smegma buildup.’ A man with a hernia is asked if he has ‘any swelling in the groin area’ and then drops dead of a heart attack. A doctor jokes about having his ‘mm-mm’ cut off. … This isn’t cheerful bedpan humor a la ‘Benny Hill’ or the relatively sophisticated operating room banter of ‘M*A*S*H.’ It’s just more smutty Fox pap.”

“Medicine Ball” last three months. Perhaps the show was simply ahead of its time: “Grey’s Anatomy,” which also mixes humor with soapy storylines at a Seattle hospital, debuted in March 2005 and became an instant hit.

 

Elsewhere on Television

TV Guide listings for March 13, 1995:

8:30 NBC BLOSSOM (CC)

Talia Shire (who appears as herself) asks Blossom (Mayim Bialik) to play the lead in a new movie she’s directing – but the part requires Blossom to appear in the nude. Nick: Ted Wass. Carol: Finola Hughes.

 

For the Record

Also on March 13, 1995:

Madonna’s “Take a Bow” was in the midst of its long run atop the music charts. O.J. Simpson’s “I Want to Tell You” is the week’s best seller. The bioterrorism thriller “Outbreak,” starring Dustin Hoffman, was the week’s box-office champ. And in the news, Jonathan Schmitz is arraigned in the murder of Scott Amedure, who had revealed his attraction to Schmitz during a taping of “The Jenny Jones Show” one week earlier.

Monday, February 17, 1997

“Digging Deeper” is a closer look at notable TV moments from the past four decades.

Maybe you loved Ted Kennedy, maybe you didn’t, but you can’t say the late Democratic lawmaker didn’t work hard for the causes in  which he believed.

Take health-care reform, Kennedy’s signature issue.

Thirteen years ago tonight, a few months after he introduced legislation to create government insurance for poor children, the Massachusetts senator appeared on CBS’s “Chicago Hope” to highlight the issue.

The episode, “Mother May I?,” is a typically uneven installment from the hospital drama, which was never as good as it should have been.

Kennedy probably recognized the script was weak, but he also knew an appearance in prime time was too valuable a platform to pass up.

In the episode, Chicago Hope Hospital owner Tommy Wilmette (Ron Silver) and his ex-wife, Kate Austin (Christine Lahti), the hospital’s chief surgeon, come to Washington to testify on health care before a Senate subcommittee.

Of course, this wasn’t “The West Wing,” so the episode is less about health care than it is about Tommy and Kate’s relationship. The story finds the two agreeing to finally forgive each other for the failure of their marriage; the congressional testimony is merely the plot device that brings them together.

Meanwhile, back at Chicago Hope, the subplots concern a pregnant teenager (guest star Julia Stiles) arranging to give up her child for adoption and a difficult elderly patient who exasperates Dr. Jack McNeil (Mark Harmon).

Kennedy’s brief appearance comes near the episode’s end, when he gavels the Senate hearing to order and delivers opening remarks about the government’s obligation to insure the 10 million children who “have no health care coverage whatsoever.”

“These are the sons and daughters of working families, men and women who work 40 hours a week, 52 weeks of the year,” Kennedy says. “And the critical issue that is before this committee: Do we have the political will to provide a health insurance to cover those 10 million Americans?”

The senator’s remarks are striking, not because of their eloquence – Kennedy, who was known for his passionate rhetoric, is surprisingly restrained – but because of their specificity. At no other point in the episode is children’s health care mentioned; in all of Tommy and Kate’s previous scenes, they only discuss “health care reform.”

When Kennedy finishes speaking and Tommy’s testimony begins, he speaks of reform in general terms. “We need to disconnect profit from care. There should be no profit from the pain and misfortune of others,” Tommy says. “The marketplace may be efficient, but it is amoral.”

(Tommy also refers repeatedly to his testimony as his “speech,” one of many anachronisms in this episode that would probably go unnoticed by anyone but creatures of Washington.)

According to newspaper accounts at the time, Kennedy’s “Chicago Hope” cameo happened after Silver met the senator at President Clinton’s second inaugural and invited him to appear on the show. Kennedy reportedly leapt at the opportunity, even writing his own lines for the scene in which he appears.

Watching the episode today, one can’t help but think the whole thing was a missed opportunity.

Wouldn’t the episode have been more interesting if the issue Kennedy addressed in his remarks – children’s health care – had been a recurring theme throughout the episode? Wouldn’t it have packed more emotional punch to see a storyline about an uninsured child who required treatment playing out back at Chicago Hope while Tommy and Kate dealt with the policy side of the equation during their scenes in Washington?

“Mother May I?” was seen in 9.7 million homes the night it aired, ranking 28th among the week’s 106 prime-time broadcasts. (The era’s other hospital drama, NBC’s “ER,” drew 23 million households that week with an episode about Nurse Hathaway being held hostage during a convenience store robbery.)

It seems unlikely the “Chicago Hope” episode did much to help advance Kennedy’s cause. Then again, he probably didn’t need it.

By the end of 1997, Kennedy’s legislation to create government insurance for poor kids was enacted. Within 10 years, 7 million children from low-income families were enrolled in the program; last year, President Obama signed a bill to allow an additional 4 million kids to sign up.

Today, “Mother May I?” is more historical oddity than anything else – and not just because of its lackluster approach to health-care reform.

Somewhat eerily, the three principals in the Washington storyline – Silver, Kennedy and 1996 GOP vice presidential nominee Jack Kemp, who also had a cameo – each died within months of each other last year.

 

Elsewhere on Television

TV Guide listings for February 17, 1997:

9 PM CBS MURPHY BROWN (CC) – Comedy

Murphy resorts to desperate measures when Kay threatens to move the team to L.A., but they soon become allies against a double-crossing Andrew (Paul Reubens), who’s scheming to split up “FYI.”

 

… And in the News

New York Times excerpts from February 17, 1997:

Panel Chairman Says Inquiry Into Fund Raising Is Expanding

WASHINGTON, Feb. 16 – The Republican who heads the House investigation into influence peddling by foreigners said today that his panel was sharply expanding its scope.

Dan Burton of Indiana, chairman of the House Committee on Government Reform and Oversight, said on the NBC News program “Meet the Press” that the investigation was “going to be much broader than I would like.”

Thursday, Nov. 3, 1994

Fifteen years ago tonight, NBC aired “Blackout Thursday,” threading together three of the evening’s four Manhattan-set sitcoms with a plot about a citywide power failure.

The story began at 8 on “Mad About You,” where Jamie (Helen Hunt) triggers the outage by illegally installing cable TV in her bedroom.

At 8:30, the blackout spread to “Friends,” trapping Chandler (Matthew Perry) in an ATM vestibule with supermodel Jill Goodacre, who portrayed herself.

Fellow freshmen sitcom “Madman of the People” picked up the storyline at 9:30, when Dabney Coleman’s character is jailed after being mistaken for a post-blackout looter.

Appropriately, nothing – or at least nothing to do with electricity – happened at 9 on “Seinfeld,” which didn’t participate in NBC’s stunt.

Instead, “Seinfeld” aired “The Gymnast,” the episode in which Jerry dates a Romanian athlete and George’s girlfriend’s mother catches him eating an éclair from a trash bin.

NBC heavily promoted “Blackout Thursday,” even recruiting “Today” weatherman Al Roker to provide “news” updates on the power failure during that evening’s commercial breaks.

The network probably hoped to recreate its success from Nov. 9, 1991, when “The Golden Girls,” “Empty Nest” and “Nurses” scored their highest ratings of the season with a seamless storyline about a hurricane striking Miami, where each show took place.

On Feb. 29, 1992, a similar stunt – this one about a full moon causing Miamians to act strangely – also scored big ratings.

How did the gimmick work in 1994?

Each “Blackout Thursday” sitcom won its time slot and landed in that week’s top 20: “Mad About You” was 11th, “Friends” was 12th and “Madman of the People” was 17th.  

But “Seinfeld” – the lone “Blackout” holdout – turned out to be the evening’s most-watched show, ranking second for the week.

 

From the Pages of TV Guide

Also airing Nov. 3, 1994:

8 PM FOX MARTIN (CC)

Martin’s efforts to impress his future mother-in-law (Judyann Elder) may be in vain when he gets a visit from a boy claiming that he’s Martin’s son. Martin Lawrence. Angie: Kimberly Brooks. Mr. Jim: John Wesley.

8:30 FOX LIVING SINGLE (CC)

Fired by passion – and full of advice from nosy friends – Synclaire and Overton (Kim Coles, John Henton) take their relationship to a new level. Meanwhile, Khadijah (Queen Latifah) learns the power of a chain letter.

9 PM CBS CHICAGO HOPE (CC) – Drama 1:00

Dr. Geiger (Mandy Patinkin) performs a risky heart operation on an overweight mob killer (Ron Karabatsos) who’s a key witness for the FBI; two weary residents plot to get even with Geiger for his dour temperament; and the budding relationship between Dr. Shutt (Adam Arkin) and Dr. Antonovich (Margaret Colin) takes an alarming turn. Dr. Carney: Jon Favreau. Dr. Bradley: Taylor Nichols.

10 PM ABC PRIMETIME LIVE (CC) – Donaldson/Sawyer 1:00

Scheduled: An interview with former President George Bush, his wife Barbara, and sons George Jr. and Jeb (who are gubernatorial candidates in Texas and Florida). Also: a segment considering the extent of cheating on college campuses.