Thursday Throwback

Thursday Throwback


Long before I found other extracurricular activities to get into, and some of these, well before I turned 21, or 18, even, I was getting my TV watch on. I am actually doing this blog in part in honor of Mwabi, considering she is indeed, a fan of television so much. I am going to skip the regular, if I may, "Black Shows", (i.e, Cosby, Different World), for the most part because that was a given (again, for the most part) So, without further adieu, I would like to talk about the shows that gave me warm fuzzies. I loved them. And Still do.



New York Undercover

Created by Dick Wolfe (Law and Order), New York Undercover was a gritty detective show that followed the personal and professional lives of two officers, played by Micheal Delorenzo and Malik Yoba. They also had a 'Take No Prisoners' supervisor, played by Patty D'Arbanville. After the third season, I want to say, they added (with much chagrin, initially), a third partner, played by Lauren Velez. Remember how if you missed the beginning of the show, you were like "Dang, what happened?" But really, that wasn't often, cuz Mart-en & Living Single came on right before that. And you would always wait to see who was going to be the guest singer on there, playing at "Natalie's" ("ooh, girl, Mary J gone be on thare tonight") The show was deliciously entertaining, with everything from the close camraderie with the partners, to the touching relationship between Malik Yoba and his son. You cried when his on screen girlfriend, played by Michael Michele, was brutally murdered as she opened up the door to a bed of flowers. We were also equally miffed at the (Exit, Stage Right) death of Michael Delorenzo. That turned out to be a bust. Then they started replacing folks we won't get into the specifics, but when Tommy from Martin showed up on the show and we were supposed to believe THAT, that's when I knew the show had jumped the shark.

LA Law - Can't you hear the music, now (da, daaaa, da, da, daaaaaaa) What a show! What else can you say about it? Thursday at ten p.m. At that age, I wasn't old enought to do much else but watch. It is what made me equally fall in and out of love with law enforcement. With it's seedy and quirky subplots, and enough sordid escapades to make a teenager blush, this was the show - and the place to be, thursdays at ten. An instant classic. Plus, you were quasi amazed that Susan Dey was on anything else except for the Partridge Family. Iknowwhatchathinkin when you see that license plate. You remember when it used to slam down on the show.


Thirtysomething - This used to be my number one SPOT! I was FIXATED on this show for some reason, I was like seventeen or something when this came out. I partially imagined myself being like this (I'm not), living in an area like the lived in (I don't), and being in a family structure like that (Hell to the naw). I was sooo devastated when Peter died on there. What a plot twist. I was in junior college then and I was unable to concentrate. This show was the bomb.

Hart to Hart - Jonathan and Jennifer Hart. The show used to start off "This is Jonathan Hart, a self made millionaire. . .He's quite a guy". . .I could never figure out how they ended up getting in so many 'sitiations' as a couple. I mean, they were rich and wealthy, she had all the money she could ever want as well as flyaway hair that could give Farrah Fawcett-Majors, as she was called then, a run for her money. They always ended up being on some mystery/murder expedition. They were not even private eyes, but they managed to be super sleuths. The end result always ended with them kissing and making it all better. And they had a butler, Max, and a dog, Freeway.

Trapper John M.D. - I am sooo dating myself, I know.

Okay, I didn't really know what was going on with this show, I was only about nine, but I did have a crush on Gregory Harrison, who played Gonzo on the show. They almost made me wanna be a doctor but I never felt that type of urge. It was my first memory of a show, and I just thought that Trapper John was the cat's meow. I never figured out why Gonzo lived in a trailer on the hospital parking lot. Even as a kid, I was like 'If he's a doctor, can't he afford more?" But he was just a "G" like that.

Miami Vice - Honorable mention: Listen, I didn't really watch this, watch this, but this is what was hot on the streets at the time. The whole Miami Vice look, those ridiculous songs that Don Johnson and Phillip Michael Thomas came out with. This was the business right here. I was utterly confused, however, at why the LAPD detectives did NOT look as dapper as Crockett and Tubbs. And that woman that was on there, Olivia Brown, she put my little 16 year old body to shame her body was bangin!

Cagney and Lacey - Aaah, Chris Cagney and Mary Beth Lacey (played by Sharon Gless and Tyne Daly, respectively) I may have to stand corrected. Perhaps it was THESE women that made me fall in love with law enforcement. Tough as nails, and hard as steel, these women meant business on the frontline, and kept it personal in their love lives. Mary Beth, I believe was actually pregnant on the show (her husband was real like actor/brother George Stanford Brown). Mary BethLacey was the married one, trying to be a wife and amother to three children, as well as a New York City police officer. Chris Cagney was single, ambitious,and a recovering alcoholic. They were partners, as well as best friends. They have both turned into two well fed women, but it was a Great Show.

Law and Order - My beloved, my love, my one and only. The show that sets the standard. My criminal justice professor told me this is the most technically accurate show you can review in respects to law and order (NO, it is NOT CSI) - Eww! Had to be said, enough said. Slam the gavel.

Knight Rider - You wanted the car when you grew up. You loved the car. If you say it's not true y'all all liars! And I really thought the car worked like that. (this was PRE-Technology age, pre GPS, Lojack, etc). I didn't miss it. KITT was the bom car, and David Hasselhoff WORKED it, babeee.

Silk Stalkings - Rob Estes and Mitzi Kapture, babee! This was shown on USA, and came on late (at least late to my standards - 11:30 - midnight-ish), and was probably the first quasi-erotic crime drama. I enjoyed it because it had a 90's progressive flair, with a throwback to the 80's self absorbed era. A true guilty pleasure!

Midnight Caller - I was TOO THROUGH when I found out about this show. At the time, I was at junior college at LA Southwest, and was majoring in Administration of Justice, commonly called now Criminal Justice. Anywho, my classmate Donna told me about the show, and I was hooked. The premise of the program is that the guy was an ex-cop who left the force after accidentally killing his partner; he accepts a job as a late night talk show host, and of course, he ended up just getting caught up in STUFF! It didn't stay on long, but this is a cult classic y'all ain't knowin!

Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman - Yeah, okay I might get some flack for this but like that girl Tam said, Yeah, I said it, so what. I ended up watching this show because I used to work the swing shift (3-11 pm) when I was in college, and my mother was telling me about it, but of course, I didn't pay it any mind because she was older, and I thought that was the kind of stuff they watched, yanno? But then my schedule shifted to Saturdays from 7am to 3pm. Better for me. I didn't particularly go out on Saturdays, because I was so used to being off on Sundays and Mondays, and that's when I planned my activities. So when I would be home on Saturday, nothing was really on except for the HBO movie of the week, so finally I decided to tune in - I was hooked. The show was set in late 1800's Colorado Springs, Colorado with a female doctor, the resident bar/hooker establishment, the banker, minister, etc. Kind of a modern day "Little House on the Prairie". Imma say it again, the show was the bomb.

Any of your favorites on here?

What are some of your famous shows, and why?