I just listened to the 56 podcast. Necessity requires me to get this up right now - before you can re-record the show with your wife.
This is what actually happened to cause the cancellation of Ellery Queen after only one season. Throughout '75-'76, EQ was what would nowadays be called a "bubble show": in those three-network days, if you ran a good-enough second place in your time-slot to a Big Hit, you could generally manage a renewal. At schedule time, EQ was running a good-enough second to Six Million Dollar Man on ABC; on CBS, Cher's variety hour was barely hanging on. It was at this point that the CBS brass mandated that Cher reunite on-camera with her newly-divorced hubby, Sonny Bono. The Eye People accompanied this with a hype buildup worthy of the Second Coming. This was at the onset of the Tabloid Era, which played its part in this to the hilt. In any event, the S&C "reconciliation" was (excuse the expression) a Ten Days Wonder - and those were the Ten Days when they were taking the ratings. The Bionic Guy at ABC was still winning the Sunday numbers, but the ex-Bonos skewed the remaining crowd, and EQ fell - and there you are.
I had a couple of fantasy ideas for a second EQ season. My favorite was a two-hour season premiere that would have featured as guests every actor who had played Ellery in other media in years past (and who was still alive in '76). Imagine the publicity ops: Jim Hutton and David Wayne posing for pix with the old movie Ellerys (we'd be kind and include Eddie Quillan), the old TV Ellerys (we'd be forgiving and include Peter Lawford), the old radio Ellerys (we'd be indulgent and include Bill Owen from the Minute Mysteries). As a capper, maybe we might have gotten Fred Dannay (EQ's creator) to do a cameo - that would have been something … Alas, the past - - and to this day I still blame Cher - in toto. So There Too.
At age 68, I'm in Public Domain. Use any and all of what I send you for your own nefarious purposes. And that includes what I have to tell you about Green Hornet/Batman and Bourbon Street Beat in the new post above (which see). You Have Been Warned …
I just listened to the 56 podcast.
ReplyDeleteNecessity requires me to get this up right now - before you can re-record the show with your wife.
This is what actually happened to cause the cancellation of Ellery Queen after only one season.
Throughout '75-'76, EQ was what would nowadays be called a "bubble show": in those three-network days, if you ran a good-enough second place in your time-slot to a Big Hit, you could generally manage a renewal.
At schedule time, EQ was running a good-enough second to Six Million Dollar Man on ABC; on CBS, Cher's variety hour was barely hanging on.
It was at this point that the CBS brass mandated that Cher reunite on-camera with her newly-divorced hubby, Sonny Bono.
The Eye People accompanied this with a hype buildup worthy of the Second Coming. This was at the onset of the Tabloid Era, which played its part in this to the hilt.
In any event, the S&C "reconciliation" was (excuse the expression) a Ten Days Wonder - and those were the Ten Days when they were taking the ratings. The Bionic Guy at ABC was still winning the Sunday numbers, but the ex-Bonos skewed the remaining crowd, and EQ fell - and there you are.
I had a couple of fantasy ideas for a second EQ season.
My favorite was a two-hour season premiere that would have featured as guests every actor who had played Ellery in other media in years past (and who was still alive in '76).
Imagine the publicity ops: Jim Hutton and David Wayne posing for pix with the old movie Ellerys (we'd be kind and include Eddie Quillan), the old TV Ellerys (we'd be forgiving and include Peter Lawford), the old radio Ellerys (we'd be indulgent and include Bill Owen from the Minute Mysteries).
As a capper, maybe we might have gotten Fred Dannay (EQ's creator) to do a cameo - that would have been something …
Alas, the past -
- and to this day I still blame Cher - in toto.
So There Too.
Thank you, Mike! Do you mind if I read some of that (giving you full credit) when we re-record? That's a much better story than what I'd heard.
DeleteAt age 68, I'm in Public Domain.
DeleteUse any and all of what I send you for your own nefarious purposes.
And that includes what I have to tell you about Green Hornet/Batman and Bourbon Street Beat in the new post above (which see).
You Have Been Warned …