My Journey Through 1970s TV: Monday Nights, 1977

We're just up to day two in our journey through 1977, and I have a feeling it’s going to be an interesting year.

I saw a YouTube video about how this was one of the worst years for television, and that probably means more than a few short-lived series that I’ll have to add to my “missed” list. But quality is in the eye of the beholder, and from what I’ve watched and read about some of these quickly canceled efforts I’d bet they were a whole lot better than what their networks are serving up these days. Let’s take a closer look.


CBS
Young Dan’l Boone
The Betty White Show
Maude
Rafferty

Don’t expect to see any of these shows again when we get to Monday nights in 1978.

Daniel Boone, starring Fess Parker as the famed frontiersman, was a hit for NBC in the 1960s, running six seasons and 165 episodes. CBS gambled that audiences would return for a new series about Boone’s early years, with Rick Moses in the title role. They were wrong – only eight episodes were made, and only half of them aired before the plug was pulled.

After The Mary Tyler Moore Show ended its storied run, Betty White and Georgia Engel reteamed for The Betty White Show, with White playing Joyce Whitman, an actress who lands the starring role in a police action series called “Undercover Woman.” Engel played her best friend, and John Hillerman costarred as the show’s director – and Joyce’s ex-husband.

It was created by the same team who launched Taxi, and had some of that show’s acerbic wit, but even the outsized public affection for Betty White was no match for the popularity of Monday Night Football. A schedule change might have kept the series around longer, but CBS opted instead to cut its losses and cancel it after 14 episodes.

Maude was already on life support in its final season – an attempt to revive interest by Maude being appointed to a congressional post by the governor did little to stimulate ratings.

As for Rafferty, I have to confess that I had either never heard of it or completely forgotten about it. But from the description it was basically House before House: Patrick McGoohan starred as a gruff but brilliant doctor who was able to diagnose and treat rare medical conditions. 

McGoohan apparently called it “the most miserable job I’ve ever done in my life,” but I’ll be checking YouTube regularly in hopes of finding a full episode to watch. The clips that are there already suggest this was a series worth watching despite its star’s frustrations.



ABC
The San Pedro Beach Bums
Monday Night Football

The one-hour sitcom is a television anomaly. It’s been tried occasionally but never with lasting success, as evidenced by The San Pedro Beach Bums, which lasted all of ten episodes before being canceled.

Aaron Spelling had a magic touch in the ‘70s but this series was a rare misfire. He stacked the deck in its favor with guest spots from all three of Charlie’s Angels in the first episode – Jaclyn Smith, Kate Jackson and Cheryl Ladd. That’s one reason I still remember it – the other is the phrase “Football, you bet!” spoken repeatedly in episode two, “The Shortest Yard.” Not sure why that stuck in so many viewers’ memory banks, but for those of a certain age it’s just one more useless nugget taking up space that could be occupied by a Psalm or a Shakespeare sonnet.


NBC
Little House on the Prairie
NBC Monday Night Movie

Not as much to talk about here but let’s give the Peacock network its due, as Monday night was a rare ratings win in a decade dominated by CBS and then ABC.

Now in its fourth season, Little House finished the year at #7, followed by the Monday Night Movie at #15. Looking down the list of episodes it’s impressive how many were either written or directed (or both) by star Michael Landon, making this series as much a product of one man’s vision as Jack Webb’s Dragnet or Ozzie Nelson’s suburban adventures. The season’s final episode, the two-part “I’ll Be Waving as You Drive Away,” was ranked by TV Guide among the 100 greatest episodes of all time.


Shows Missed:
The Don Knotts Show (1970)
San Francisco International Airport (1970)
Nancy (1970)
The Headmaster (1970)
The Man and the City (1971)
Search (1972)
Assignment: Vienna (1972)
The Delphi Bureau (1972)
Jigsaw (1972)
The Little People (1972)
The Sixth Sense (1972)
Tenafly (1973)
Faraday & Company (1973)
Kodiak (1974)
The New Land (1974)
McCoy (1975)
Joe and Sons (1975)
Beacon Hill (1975)
Mobile One (1975)
Big Eddie (1975)
Executive Suite (1976)
Ball Four (1976)
Young Dan’l Boone (1977)
Rafferty (1977)