Welcome to this weeks “Way Back Wednesday”, the “Top Cop Edition”. We have three entries for this weeks entries.
SWAT 1975-1976
S.W.A.T. was a TV series about the adventures of the WCPD’s Special Weapons And Tactics (S.W.A.T.) team. It ran on ABC from 1975 to 1976. The show starred Steve Forrest as the unit’s leader, Lt. ‘Hondo’ Harrelson, and Rod Perry as Hondo’s second-in-command “Deke.” The show also featured an early starring role by Robert Urich as Jim Street, one of the young team members. Though the show lasted only 30 or so epidoses it is widly remember for its theme music.
T. J. Hooker (1982-1985)
T. J. Hooker was a weekly drama starring William Shatner. The series premiered in 1982 on ABC and ran through 1985. The show centered on 15-year veteran police sergeant T. J. Hooker (Shatner). The supporting cast included Adrian Zmed as rookie Officer Vince Romano, Heather Locklear as Officer Stacy Sheridan. They were members of the fictional LCPD.
Hunter (1984-1991)
Hunter was a police drama television series starring Fred Dryer which ran on NBC from 1984 to 1991. The main character, Sgt. Rick Hunter, a very “Dirty Harry like” physically imposing, and often rule-breaking homicide detective (badge# 089) with the Los Angeles Police Department. Stepfanie Kramer co-starred as Hunter’s female partner Sgt. Dee Dee McCall. They have attempted revivals of the show in both the mid and late 90’s with no success.
And that’s our “Top Cops” for this weeks edition of Way Back Wedneday. We will be back next week with yet another edition. See you then!
Thanks for joining us for this weeks “Way Back Wednesday“, “A Special Report” edition. This week take a different road, than other weeks. Today we will look at news Special Reports, as they were broadcast, and how they shaped our lives.
I must note, that these clips may be emotionally charged. These clips are to remind us of how fragile our world truly is, and what our responsibility as citizens of the world are.
With that, we “Interrupt this Broadcast to bring you a Special Report.”
Assasination Of Martin Luther King Jr. (March 29, 1968)
This short clip is of Dan Rather informing the public of Dr. King’s assassination in Memphis Tennessee, on the evening of March 29, 1968. A grifter named James Earl Ray confessed to the crime, and later recanted. in 1997 the King family won a civil suit against Loyd Jowers, when a jury found sufficient proof that he was a conspirator in the assassination. Questions remain today into the death of Dr. King.
The Challenger Explosion (January 28, 1986)
The Space Shuttle Challengerexploded 73 seconds after launch, on the morning of January 28, 1986. The cause of the explosion was the failure of an “O” ring, and the oddly cold temperatures, that impacted the performance of the “O” rings. One of the crew killed, was New Hampshire teacher Christa McAuliffe. The mission was STS-51. The other members of the crew were Michael J. Smith, Dick Scobee, Ronald McNair; Ellison Onizuka, Gregory Jarvis, and Judith Resnik.
The 2000 Presidential Election Dubbed the “Election that Wouldn’t Die” the presidential election of 2000 was one of legend. A race between Texas Governor George W. Bush, and Vice President Al Gore, ended in a virtual tie. The outcome of the election hindering on the State of Florida. After multiple recounts, the vote difference was only about 300 votes. While Al Gore led in the popular vote, Governor Bush led in the Electoral College. On December 12, 2000 the United State Supreme Court voted 7-2 to stop the recounts, which effectively ended the race, and gave the presidency to Bush.
September 11, 2001
This date has gone down as the worst act of terrorism on US soil. Al-Qaeda a middle eastern terrorist organization staged attacks using commercial aircraft on both the World Trade Center in New York, the Pentagon, in Virginia, and and unverified target, that was never hit thanks to heroic passengers over Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
Both of the Trade Towers were destroyed, and about 2,974 people lost their lives. This brought terrorism to the forefront, and showed the world that we must work together to defeat it.
That is Way Back Wednesday for this week. Please let me know if there is a topic you would like to see on Way Back Wednesday!
Today for Way Back Wednesday, we are “Flying the Friendly Skies“. You remember those days right? The days when air travel was an experience. It was exciting to get those pilots wings, feel like you were doing something special. There were three companies that helped define that era, airlines extraordinaire. With deregulation came a loss of service, and now the cattle call, and who cares attitudes of today. So let’s step back and remember, “Flying the Friendly Skies“.
“Pan Am”
Pan American World Airways, commonly known as Pan Am, was the principal international airline of the United States from the 1930s until its collapse on December 4, 1991. Founded as a seaplane service out of Key West, Florida in 1927 for the US Postal Service FFAR contract to Cuba, the airline is credited with many innovations that shaped the international airline industry, including the use of jet aircraft, jumbo jets, and computerized reservation systems. They were instrumental in the development of the 747, paying for almost 50% of the development. The founder Juan Trippe, invented the idea of economy class in the airline industry. Trippe quickly recognized the opportunities presented by jet aircraft Pan Am was first in Transatlantic jet flight on October, 1958 by a 707 out of Idlewild International Airport (now JFK) to Paris. Deregulation and inflation as well as a poor decision to purchase National Airlines in the early 80’s helped contribute to the Demise of Pan Am. They were featured in 2001:A Space Oddessy.
TWA
Trans World Airlines (TWA) was an airline with hubs in St. Louis, New York (JFK), and Paris, France The airline started in 1925 as Western Air Express, and became TWA in 1934 when purchased by Leman and Hertz. By 1941 the company was controlled by Howard Hughes until the 1960’s when he was forced out by the company creditors. The airline grew in size and efficiency throughout the sixties and seventies. Not prepared for deregulation, they too suffered a downturn, and declared Bankruptcy in 1992. One of the few carriers to survive, they emerged intact, only to declare bankruptcy again in 1995. With the aftermath of TWA flight 800, and continued financial weakness they again declared bankruptcy and was acquired by American Airlines in 2001.
Braniff International
Braniff International Airways existed from 1928 until 1982. It operated in the central Midwest America, Panama, Asia and Europe. Founded by the Braniff brothers in 1928 the carrier. Almost failing multiple times, Braniff’s long-term survival was assured when Paul Braniff, then General Manager, flew to Washington, D.C., to petition for the Chicago-Dallas airmail route. The United States Post Office granted Braniff its first airmail route, in the wake of the 1934 Air Mail Scandal. The airline continued to grow when Thomas Braniff was killed in a private plane crash in 1954, and then the death of Paul Braniff. Headed by Charles Beard the company continued to expand. In the 1960’s Lawrence Harding took over the head role for the company and set about re-imaging them to a new market. The sixties market. Calling for the end of the “Plain Plane”, the company became known for such gimmicks as “The Air Strip”, and brightly colored aircraft. With deregulation Braniff attempted to expand as opposed to many of their competitors. This proved to be a miscalculation. The airline ceased operations on May 12, 1982, a victim of escalating fuel prices, aggressive expansion, and fierce competition.
And that’s Way Back Wednesday for this week! Please contact me with any suggestions for future installments.
Welcome to the July 2, 2008 Edition of “Way Back Wednesday“, “These Words from Our Sponsor” edition. We will be revisiting the land of the 80’s, big hair, and toy marketing for the Generation X group. (Those born between 1965 and 1982). This was a huge time of both technological advances such as Cell phones, and the birth of more and more interactive toys. Toys and TV became synced up so that if you watched it, someone would build a toy. Commercials also worked on your heart strings. They tried to give you that warm and fuzzy feeling such as our first two entries this week.
“Peeper”, Bell Telephone 1982
This commercial for the Bell Telephone system was to remind you how with the Bell system you could “reach out and touch someone”. Bell was broken up by the United States in 1984.
“Birthday’s” Kleenex (1984)
Kleenex in the 80’s tugged our heart strings. I swear some of these commercials were only geared to make you cry…and use Kleenex. Kleenex has been making tissues and toilet paper since 1924.
Then there are the all famous toys commercials.
Teddy Ruxpin (1985)
This cuddly animatronic bear was introduced by WOW toys in 1985. He was a bear with an animated face, which would talk and tell stories via a cassette deck in his back. With the fold of WOW Toys the bear was made by Playschool from 1991 until 1996. He was then reintroduced twice. In 1996 by YES toys, and in 2005 by Backpack toys, and the current version uses digital cards, as opposed to the old fashioned cassette deck. A’int technology grand!
WWF Action Figures (1984)
With the rise in popularity of “Sports Entertainment” in the 80’s the WWF (now WWE), introduced action figures to promote the wrestling brand. The industry is much more adult oriented today, and the characters much left colorful. Oh Yeah!
And finally, one of the best commercials of the 80’s. Wendy started a series of commercials asking “Where’s the beef?” using an elderly lady named Clara Peller. She was 81 at the time. She was fired by Wendy’s in 1985 after appearing in a Prego ad, claiming, she “Found the Beef”. So without any further Adou:
“Fluffy Bun”, Wendy’s 1984
And that is the Way Back Wednesday for July 2, 2008, “These words from our Sponsor” Edition. Join us next week for another “Way Back Wednesday”
~Aslan
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Welcome to the Fond Farewell edition of Way Back Wednesday. This week we are highlighting the farewell scenes from some of TV’s memorable shows.
Cheers
The Finale of Cheers entitled “One for the Road“, has been named one of the best television finales of all time, as well as one of the highest rated ever on record. It aired on May 20, 1993 bringing 11 seasons to a close. The series aired on NBC from 1982 until 1993.
The show revolved around a group of patrons and employees at a fictional Boston Bar named “Cheers”. The main character was that of retired major league relief pitcher Sam “Mayday” Malone, played by Ted Danson. Sam purchased the bar while an alcoholic, but kept it once recovered to keep it as a reminder. The bar itself was molded after the “Bull & Finch Pub” in Boston. The actual pub has since been remained Cheers in honor of the sitcom.
It also Starred Shelly Long as Diane Chambers, Rhea Perlman as Carla Tortelli, Kirstie Alley as Rebecca Howe, Woody Harrelson as Woody Boyd, George Wendt as Norm Peterson, John Ratzenberger as Cliff Clavin, Kelsey Grammer as Frasier Crane, Nicholas Colasanto as “Coach” Ernie Pantusso, and Bebe Neuwirth as Lilith Sternin.
Originally the part of Sam Malone was offer to actor Fred Dryer (Hunter), and was to be a retired football player. Fred Dryer became unavailable, and the part was offered to Ted Danson, and changed to a retired baseball player.
The Wonder Years
The episode “Independence Day (part II)” aired on May 12, 1993, bringing the show to a close after Six Seasons. The Show began in 1988, and aired on ABC. I told the story of a boy named Kevin Arnold growing up in the late sixties and early seventies. The show was narrated by Daniel Stern as a grown up Kevin retelling the story of his life.
The show starred Fred Savage as Kevin Arnold, Dan Lauria as Jack Arnold, Alley Mills as Norma Arnold, Josh Saviono as Kevin’s best friend Paul, Olivia d’Abo as Karen Arnold, Jason Hervey as Wayne Arnold, and Dancia McKellar as Kevin’s childhood girlfriend Gwendolyn “Winnie” cooper.
The final episode tells the outcome of the characters lives after the ending of the TV Series.
Friends
The second part of the finale titled “The Last One” aired on May 6, 2004. The episode wrapped up the story lines for the majority of all of the characters. The series aired on NBC from 1994 until 2004 and ended after it’s 10th season. The show revolved around a group of friends living in New York, and though panned by critics after it’s initial airing in 1994 became one of the most successful television comedies of the 1990’s and early 2000’s.
The Show Starred Jennifer Aniston, as Rachel Green, Matthew Perry as Chandler Bing, David Schwimmer as Ross Geller, Courtney Cox-Arquette as Monica Geller-Bing, Lisa Kudrow as Pheobe Buffay, and Matt LaBlanc as Joey Tribbiani.
The West Wing
The show Finale titled “Tomorrow“, aired on May 14, 2006 ending a seven season run on NBC. The show premiered in 1999. It was a critically acclaimed drama series created by Alan Sorkin.
The show revolved around the fictional two terms of the presidential administration of Josiah Bartlett. The show made definitive that he was a democrat from New Hampshire. During the shows run many issues were tackled that were mirrors of real world events.
The Show Starred Martin Sheen as President Bartlett, Stockard Channing as Abby Bartlett, John Spencer as Leo McGarry, Allison Janney as CJ Craig, Rob Lowe as Sam Seaborn, Janel Maloney as Donna Moss, Bradley Whitford as Josh Lyman, Richard Schiff as Toby Zeigler, and Dule Hill as Charlie Young. Other cast members joined and left the ensemble cast during its seven seasons. The series ended with the election of President Matthew Santos portrayed by Jimmy Smitts.
That is the fond farewell edition of Way Back Wednesday! Stay tuned for the next episode of Way Back Wednesday!
