Not every TV show can be a successful one — just ask Martin Landau, whose 1975 big budget outer
space adventure was a disaster on par with a moon thrown out of orbit. From supernatural detectives
to cheesy sci-fi, these shows may have failed in the ratings, but they're still worth the watch.
The 1970s were filled with spin-offs. One of the least successful was Mrs. Columbo, an extension
of the popular detective show Columbo. The original series often mentioned Columbo's wife,
though she was never seen. But then Kate Mulgrew arrived to play her on her own show.
Premiering in 1979, Mrs. Columbo sees intrepid news reporter Kate Columbo
following in her husband's footsteps. She's a whip-smart amateur sleuth who
can solve all sorts of crimes. But it seems like audiences simply weren't
interested. NBC gave the show another shot despite dismal ratings in its first year,
by retooling the show as Kate the Detective in its second and final season in 1980.
While Mrs. Columbo couldn't quite match the quality of the original,
there's still lots to love about it. Most notably, there's Mulgrew,
who in her first leading role showed signs of the Emmy-nominated actor
she would later become, even if audiences couldn't quite appreciate it at the time.
Running just eight episodes, Hawkins was basically a series of sometimes-monthly mini-movies. It
starred one of the biggest names of yesteryear in the latter days of his career, as Jimmy
Stewart took on the title role of lawyer Billy Jim Hawkins. The show wasn't your typical hard-nosed
legal drama, and that's largely thanks to Stewart. With his endless charisma, Billy Jim is a country
bumpkin type who hides his craftiness under a thick layer of old-fashioned Southern charm.
"Miss, do you think you could make me a chicken sandwich,
white meat and lettuce, a little butter, on white bread, a glass of buttermilk?"
"Yes, sir."
Each of the eight stories typically ran about 75 minutes. The series' biggest
flaw was the rather straightforward nature of the plots, though it was elevated by its
impressive cast. While ratings were never stellar and it ended after less than a year,
Hawkins was essentially the blueprint for Matlock, one of the biggest hits of the following decade.
It may be best known today for the 2003 Sci-Fi Channel series that it inspired,
but the original Battlestar Galactica got its start back in 1978. Set in the far reaches of
space, the series opens with the destruction of the 12 Colonies of Kobol by a race of evil
robots called Cylons. Led by the noble Commander Adama and hotshot pilots Apollo and Starbuck,
the Battlestar Galactica takes command of the surviving civilian fleet. But the Cylons are
hot on their tail as they set out on a mission to find the long-lost thirteenth colony: Earth.
Alas, Battlestar Galactica failed to catch on with audiences. It did manage a second season of sorts,
as it was reformatted as Galactica 1980. Still, it offered some of the best science fiction of
the era, with thoughtful stories, social messages, and exciting space battles. Whether you're a fan
of the reboot or not, the original BSG is a real treat that transcends its failure.
A spin-off of the smash hit sitcom Barney Miller, Fish followed the
adventures of Detective Phil Fish, played by the legendary Abe Vigoda. This was no police drama,
but rather an otherwise ordinary sitcom about the home life of a New York cop and his wife Bernice.
Phil and Bernice have become foster parents to a group of children in need. The family was also
joined by Charlie, a child psychologist who helps the Fish clan from getting in over their heads.
Alas, Fish couldn't quite survive in a crowded sitcom landscape. So
when Vigoda demanded a raise, it was an easy decision to cancel the series,
even though it was a solid show with a strong cast capable of delivering plenty of laughs.
"Go on, Abe. Come on, Abe, go be with your own kind. That’s it Abe!"
The 1970s saw the anthology format creep into spine-tingling horror, including the criminally
underrated and dreadfully short-lived Ghost Story. It was hosted by the character Winston Essex,
played by Family Affair star Sebastian Cabot. He's the proprietor of a gothic
mansion called the Mansfield House who introduces stories of the supernatural.
The 23 episodes ran the gamut of traditional horror stories with tales of ghostly hauntings,
demonic possession, bloodthirsty vampires, and sinister individuals
with otherworldly powers. The show also featured plenty of popular guest stars,
including Janet Leigh, Martin Sheen, and Angie Dickinson.
Struggling in the ratings in 1972, Ghost Story was retitled Circle of Fear for the
second half of its run, but that wasn't enough to save it. And that's too bad,
because it remains among the best horror anthologies ever made.
In 1978, the comedy magazine National Lampoon released its first successful movie,
Animal House. After it lit up the box office, it came to TV the following
year in the form of Delta House. Director John Landis and star John Belushi weren't involved,
but several other original cast members returned. While the series lacked the bite of the movie
due to the restrictions of network TV, it's still a laugh riot, with plots that see the
gang involved in all kinds of antics, including an episode set during the Cuban Missile Crisis.
But what makes Delta House even more compelling is the fact that it's some of the first work
from writer-director John Hughes, who would go on to make beloved movies like
Sixteen Candles and Ferris Bueller's Day Off. And speaking of future stars,
it also featured an early appearance from a young Michelle Pfeiffer.
Before she achieved sitcom fame on Family Ties, Meredith Baxter starred opposite her
future husband David Birney on Bridget Loves Bernie, a CBS sitcom about a Catholic woman
who marries a Jewish man. The show explored the problems and joys of an interfaith union,
creating as much thoughtful discussion as it did comic mix-ups. This kind of mixed marriage was
still controversial in some circles at the time, and sadly, that's precisely why the show failed.
Despite good reviews, scandal erupted when religious groups tried to get the show to
ditch its entire premise. Network executives scoffed at this idea,
but then protests intensified and the show was pulled from the air entirely.
The remarkable thing about the cancellation of Bridget Loves Bernie is that it's not
quite a flop in the traditional sense. It enjoyed solid ratings, as it managed to be
the fifth most-watched show of the season, and it absolutely deserved that popularity.
"Are you bitter about it?"
"No, as a matter of fact, I mean it really was an interesting time for both of us, I think."
Gerry Anderson is best known for the British kids show Thunderbirds. But that was just one in a long
line of programs he created, and in the 1970s, several of them made their way to the United
States. Unfortunately, though, they rarely found success. One of the best of these flops was UFO,
which may have been a little too far ahead of its time to find success in America.
Set in the far-off future of 1980, UFO centered on a clandestine organization called,
which stood for Supreme Headquarters Alien Defense Organization. Composed
of members from around the globe, their task was to monitor outer space and stop
an invasion by a race of alien beings who have been secretly visiting Earth for years.
Smartly written sci-fi stories and some impressive special effects for the era
helped UFO become a favorite among both kids and adults. Over the years,
it's become a bona fide cult classic. Although the initial ratings were poor,
for many viewers, it's as much of a classic as Doctor Who or the original Star Trek.
When UFO ended its American syndication run, that wasn't the end of the franchise. Networks clearly
liked the show even if it wasn't enough of a hit to remain on the air. Creator Gerry Anderson had
originally envisioned a new series to act as a direct sequel. But after UFO was canceled,
that sophomore season was retooled into something entirely different called Space: 1999.
"And then we use the transporters to transfer everyone to the new planet."
The show was headlined by Mission: Impossible stars Martin Landau and Barbara Bain,
who were also married at the time. They played the leaders of Moonbase Alpha,
a lunar research station that's thrown into chaos when a nuclear disaster sends Earth's
biggest natural satellite spinning off into space. Like UFO, the show featured high-quality
special effects, while its impressive cast helped elevate it beyond the ordinary sci-fi of the era.
Despite all that, Space: 1999 wasn't exactly a massive hit. To make matters worse,
it was incredibly expensive to produce, and while a second season attempted to retool the
show to better appeal to American audiences, it was ultimately canned after 48 episodes.
Hollywood is always trying to reinvent a classic with a modern twist. And that trend goes back
further than you might expect. Case in point: the 1975 series The Invisible Man. Loosely based on
the novel of the same name by H.G. Wells, the show revolved around the exploits of scientist
Daniel Westin, whose latest experiments for the Klae Corporation involve teleportation. But when
he inadvertently stumbles upon the secret to invisibility, he decides to test it on himself.
Before Westin can convince the company about the practical applications of his invention,
he learns that Klae is actually being funded by the government, and that they'll use his research
as a weapon. After destroying his own research, Westin mistakenly becomes permanently invisible
and must use a series of lifelike masks to be seen. To fund the research needed to regain his
visibility, he utilizes his newfound power to become an intelligence agent of sorts.
A mix of fantasy, sci-fi, and espionage, The Invisible Man takes Wells' original concept
in a bold and surprising new direction. While it's not quite as good as the shows
it's clearly influenced by, it's still a fun little series that's worth a watch.
Back in the '70s, it was much less common than it is today for
TV shows to blend disparate genres like horror and crime fiction. But in 1974,
ABC tried to pull that tricky formula off with the occult crime drama Kolchak:
The Night Stalker. It centered on the exploits of mercurial investigator Carl Kolchak, whose cases
involve otherworldly elements. The series kicked off with a pair of TV movies, called "The Night
Stalker" and "The Night Strangler," both of which saw Kolchak tracking down supernatural killers.
"Let me finish my lunch!"
"Where you going?"
The two films were written by the legendary Richard Matheson, and the character was based
on a novel by Jeff Rice, with TV icon Darren McGavin in the lead role. Across 20 episodes,
Kolchack faced down everything from zombies and aliens to ancient spirits and devilish cults.
While the initial two stories might have done well as primetime movies of the week,
the show proved to be a bit too grim for a network series. It was never a hit,
plummeting to 74th in the ratings in its first and only season.
Kolchak was truly something fresh and new, but audiences simply may not have been ready
for it. Eventually, though, it would garner a passionate fanbase, and X-Files creator Chris
Carter has also acknowledged that he was heavily inspired by Kolchak. It was remade
in 2005 with Stuart Townsend in the lead, but that version was even shorter-lived.
Gritty crime dramas were all the rage in the '70s, with movies like Serpico and The French
Connection on the big screen and plenty of police and detective dramas on TV. In 1974,
CBS tried something a little bit different with the genre by airing a period piece set during the
Great Depression in the 1930s. The Manhunter followed Dave Barret, a former Marine from
Idaho who returns home after fighting overseas and decides to take up a new role as a bounty hunter.
A solid procedural that fits well alongside similar shows of the era,
The Manhunter takes Barret across the countryside as he tracks down bank robbers,
killers, kidnappers, and extortionists. It was quite action-packed, as it boasted
fast-paced car chases, guns-blazing shootouts, and bare-knuckle brawls.
The problem with The Manhunter wasn't that it wasn't good. It just wasn't among the best of
the very best. In a crowded field, it failed to stand out and was ultimately cut short after
just one season. But if you love '70s crime dramas, this should be right up your alley.