New York News | CBS | 1995

September - November 1995

CBS | 13 episodes (5 unaired) | Drama

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WHO'S IN IT? Mary Tyler Moore, Madeline Kahn, Melina Kanakaredes

SYNOPSIS: New York News is the story of the fictional New York Reporter, a struggling tabloid in the US's largest, most competitive newspaper market - New York City.

VERDICT: ★★★☆☆

The saxophone theme tune, the fashion, the newsroom as a setting...could this be anymore 90s?! 

Mary Tyler Moore, the woman who can “turn the world on with her smile,” leads the cast as the tough-as-nails newspaper editor Louise Felcott, so disliked that she’s universally known as “the Dragon.” Mary apparently felt that her character's storylines were not fully fledged and wanted out of her contract, though she enjoyed the opportunity to play against type.

In this episode, Madeline Kahn's character, gossip columnist Nan Chase, sets up a date with the uber-90s media personality Fabio so he can give his side of the story after she writes in her column: "Shirley MacLaine last night with Fabio twisted around each other like two pretzels!". After she's schmoozed by Fabio and a correction submitted, she's later stood up. Furious, Nan dashes into Louise's office to demand that they stop the presses so she can edit her column into a vicious Fabio evisceration, even offering to "pull the lever" herself. Looking for support, she asks Louise the last time she was stood up. "I'm not sure I ever was stood up," she answers. Nan takes a beat, and then says, "Oh...thank you for that." Of course, "The Dragon" is having none of it and tells her: “If Jesus himself were to walk through that door to announce his second coming, I wouldn’t stop the press.”

CANCELLED TOO SOON? I liked it but there may have been too much going on at one point. There were about 3-4 different storylines running at the same time - the Fabio one, one about sweatshops in Chinatown, another about a cross-dressing congressman, and then Louise being forced to submit to an efficiency evaluation from a new middle manager. Not only that, another character was shot at the end of the episode. Was it drama? Comedy? Comedy-drama? I wasn't sure. The show was aired on the same night as Seinfeld during its 7th season, yes The Soup Nazi season, so it's no wonder it didn't catch on.

Ned and Stacey | FOX | 1995

September 1995 - January 1997

FOX | 46 episodes (11 unaired) | Sitcom

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WHO'S IN IT? Debra Messing, Thomas Haden Church, Greg Germann

SYNOPSIS: He wants a promotion. She wants a new place to live. She hates his self-righteous attitude. He doesn't like her re-decorating his living room. Will their fake marriage actually result in love? 

VERDICT: ★★★☆☆

Ned and Stacey are two people that, on the surface, absolutely despise each other. He's an unscrupulous ad executive and she's a liberal journalist. They come together to advance each others goals - he wants the promotion, she wants to get out of her parents house. Cue constant bickering and already it's like a real marriage! Debra Messing is very Grace, like the character she later played in Will & Grace. Thomas Haden Church is well...I don't know, as I'm not sure what I've seen him in. His acting style is a bit off. Maybe that is his style?

CANCELLED TOO SOON? On it's original broadcast, the first season ran for 24 episodes, and although not a "hit" even for FOX, the show was renewed for a second season. Only 11 episodes were aired before it was cancelled. 

I've seen the show in its entirety and I'd say yes, cancelled too soon but maybe it wasn't quite the right fit for FOX - more of an NBC kind of show. However, had it not been cancelled we may not have ended up with Debra Messing starring in Will & Grace. Every cloud!

You can buy the full series on DVD.

Murder One | ABC | 1995

September 1995 - May 1997

ABC | 41 episodes | Crime Drama

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WHO'S IN IT? Daniel Benzali, Mary McCormack, Michael Hayden, Stanley Tucci, Jason Gedrick.

SYNOPSIS: Murder One, from the mind of Steven Bocho, centers on a prominent defense attorney, Theodore "Teddy" Hoffman, and his associates. For the first season, when an arrogant young actor with a track record of drug-and-alcohol problems is accused and tried for murder, it's up to Teddy to save him, and not for the first time.

VERDICT: ★★★★☆

Inspired by the sensational O.J. Simpson murder trial of the mid-1990s, Murder One was high quality drama that was hindered by poor scheduling. Rather than letting the show pick up an audience in an unchallenged slot, Murder One was pitched against ER (which was then entering its second season). Due to the nature of the show - an extremely detailed view of one central case - it was important that viewers had seen the episode the week before. Despite retooling in its second season (focussing on several cases rather than the one season-long cases), and moving the show to a different night, the show was cancelled after 41 episodes.

CANCELLED TOO SOON? Yes definitely - will seek out more episodes! The show is available on DVD and on streaming. I think had the show been made in the 2020s, the issue of viewers not catching every episode on a weekly set timeslot would not be an issue. Another one of those shows that was groundbreaking at the time, but the TV market and viewership at the time just could not keep up.

Malibu Shores | NBC | 1996

March - June 1996

NBC | 10 episodes | Primetime Soap Opera

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WHO'S IN IT? Keri Russell, Charisma Carpenter, Essence Atkins, et. al.

SYNOPSIS: Zack, a working-class kid from the San Fernando Valley, meets and falls in love with Chloe, a girl from wealthy Malibu shores. Nobody thinks the relationship will work - but then an earthquake throws the Valley kids and the Malibu Shores crowd together.

VERDICT: ★☆☆☆☆

Just over 26 years ago to the day that the final episode aired, I am re-watching the first episode. Well, I say re-watching but I've never actually seen the show before and I can imagine many people are in the same boat. 

Aaron Spelling, who produced the show, touted it as: "Romeo and Juliet with a little West Side Story thrown in" but really it's just boring rich kids facing another existential crisis: shitty dialogue - "They're tresspassing on our private beach!" - over a trendy soundtrack with sweeping shots of the shore. At a party at the beach one of the rich kids pulls out a huge knife and that is the most dramatic moment.

The show debuted as a mid-season replacement and was cancelled 10 episodes later. Critics at the time described the show as "pretentious lowbrow junk". It's an NBC show but feels very The WB or FOX.

CANCELLED TOO SOON? No - not a loss that it was cancelled early.