There's been a lot of great shows cut down in their prime: Freaks and Geeks and Firefly instantly come to mind. It got me thinking about all the shows that came and went in the 1970s - how many actually were good, or had the potential to be good?
As much TV as I watched in the 70s, I'm surprised at how many shows I don't remember, or only have vague recollections of. Here's some examples of gone and all but forgotten TV shows from the 70s that passed under my radar. I wonder how many were actually good.... leave a comment if you remember any of these, and whether they were any good or not.
Note: I'm just covering shows that started with the letter "A" in this post - otherwise, this would turn into a book.
All That Glitters (1977)
A Norman Lear show similar to Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman, but the roles of women and men in this alternate universe are reversed. Sounds kinda gimmicky. Also, Linda Gray played a transsexual..... You may need to read that last sentence twice for it to sink in.
All's Fair (1976)
Richard Crenna played the conservative political columnist and Bernadette Peters played the liberal photographer. (yawn) All in the Family did the conservative vs. liberal thing perfect - this show sounds like just another copycat.
Another Day (1978)
This one sounds awful. It starred David Groh (Rhoda's man) as the dad who doesn't like his wife (played by the late Joan Hackett) having to work to pay the bills. Meanwhile, there's the cranky, overly critical mother in law..... ugh.
Apple Pie (1978)
Another Norman Lear flop. This one took place in the 1930s and starred Rue McClanahan as a hairdresser who puts an ad in the paper to recruit people to serve as her family to cure her loneliness. One of the faux family members is Dabney Coleman as Fast Freddy the hustler...... I think I feel sick.
Arnie (1970)
Arnie was just your normal blue-collar guy, until he gets put in a high level management position. I never like these "fish out of water" storylines - and this show probably grew stale quick. Of course, I could be wrong.
The Associates (1979)
This one involves a bunch of young lawyers all working for a prestigious law firm. The fact that it stars Martin Short and the bald guy from Murphy Brown gives me hope that this might've been halfway decent.
