As luck would have it the week of March 14th-20th is filled to the brim with excitement, at least where TV history is concerned. Come on this Throwback Thursday journey with us.
Between Beverly and Murray Goldberg struggling with their children leaving the nest on The Goldbergs, the staff at Chicago Med mourning the loss of one of their own, and Lost taking a trip back in time to 1977, the shows leave us feeling mixed emotions. Sure, we have some fun but there is also a bit of sadness and guilt mixed in.
On the TV premiere landscape, we have so many great shows come to us in our times of need over the past decade. Fantastic dramas that got our blood pumping such as The 100, iZombie, Bates Motel, and Bloodline.
Fasten your seatbelts…it’s going to be a bumpy ride through TV history.
Major TV Moments:
The Island: 1977 (Lost Season 5 Episode 9, “Namaste”) (March 18, 2009)
In one of the most exciting moves for Lost, Jack, Kate, Hurley, and Sawyer all end up in 1977 at the start of the Dharma Initiative, when the island does a jump. (The rest of the castaways are left in the current time on the island.)
1977 is the year that the Dharma Initiative really started to take off and more scientific experimentation began happening to figure out the island’s abilities. Sawyer had arrived in 1977 before the other three so he was already a part of Dharma.
Soon after arriving, Jack, Kate, and Hurley join Dharma in order to seek out answers to their questions. They desperately need to figure out not only how to get back to their time but also what Dharma knows about the island.
Erica and Barry Prepare to Leave the Nest (The Goldbergs Season 4 Episode 18, “Baré”) (March 15, 2017)
It’s never easy when a child grows up and goes off to college. For Beverly and Murray on The Goldbergs, it is especially hard because they are saying goodbye to two of their children at the same time.
Beverly is so proud of Barry for wanting to pursue a career in the medical field, but she becomes upset when Barry lets slip that he may want to switch his plans in order to follow Lainey. Beverly goes all “Momma Bear” on him and smothers him with guilt about giving up his dream just to follow a girl he may not spend the rest of his life with.
Meanwhile, Murray is struggling with the thought that his little girl is leaving the family home behind, and venturing out into the wider world. It’s a feeling, Murray isn’t familiar with and so he struggles to really gain control of it.
Chicago Med Doctors Grapple with Suicide (Chicago Med Season 2 Episode 17, “Monday Mourning”) (March 16, 2017)
Death is never easy, however, an unexpected suicide is even harder. Such is the case when Dr. Wheeler goes up to the roof of the hospital and jumps off it.
The ED doctors on Chicago Med who worked alongside him for years are left with feelings of guilt and sorrow as they try to come to terms with what their friend has done. Many of them question their abilities as doctors because they failed to see the signs.
No one takes his death harder than Dr. Reese who Wheeler had approached for meds and therapies. She failed to realize that what he really needed was her time. She struggles with that guilt for the rest of the season.
TV Premieres:
If you are a TV fanatic then this week is definitely for you! We have so many beloved shows that get their start during the mid-March period.
The 1977 classic, Three’s Company got its start this week and is still enjoyed by many viewers almost 5 decades later. And how could we forget the sci-fi classic Farscape that debuted in 1999?
There are so many other dramas that have captivated us for years, but none quite like October Road and Justified. Also, in 2009, Party Down introduced us to some current TV legends and made us almost die from laughter. Lucky for us Starz just announced a potential revival!
Here are a few TV shows that premiered this week in TV History:
- 1961 – Five Star Justice
- 1973 – Police Story
- 1977 – Three’s Company
- 1980 – Sanford
- 1982 – Herbie, The Love Bug
- 1984 – Kate & Allie
- 1985 – Mr. Belvedere
- 1990 – Baseball Tonight
- 1998 – For Your Love
- 1999 – Farscape
- 2003 – Punk’d
- 2005 – The Suite Life of Zack & Cody
- 2007 – October Road
- 2009 – Better Off Ted
- 2009 – Party Down
- 2010 – Minute to Win It
- 2010 – Justified
- 2013 – Bates Motel
- 2014 – The 100
- 2015 – iZombie
- 2015 – Bloodline
- 2019 – Shrill
Tell-Tale TV Archives:
Back in 2015, our staff provided an older version of a Throwback Thursday with an article about the highlights on TV for that week. Then in 2017, we announced that Emily VanCamp was cast in a leading role on a new show, The Resident.
Finally, in 2019, our own Samantha Coley conjured up a list of TV Couples we want to see get married. Check out these throwbacks and more from our website archives!
2015
This Week In Television: Gotham News, Barack Obama on Jimmy Kimmel, and More
2017
Revenge’s Emily VanCamp Cast in New Fox Drama Pilot ‘The Resident’
2019
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What are some major TV premieres, finales, or moments you remember? Sound off in the comments below and your choice just might be featured in a future Throwback Thursday column.
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The post ‘The 100,’ ‘iZombie,’ ‘Bates Motel,’ and ‘Bloodline’ — Throwback Thursday first appeared on Tell-Tale TV.Loretta Walsh on Why Women’s Voices Make ‘When Calls The Heart’ Timeless [Exclusive Interview]