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.

Live Shot | UPN | 1995

August 1995 - November 1995

UPN | 13 episodes | Drama

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WHO'S IN IT? Jeff Yagher, Cheryl Pollak, Bruce McGill, Wanda De Jesus, Hill Harper, Sam Anderson, et. al.

SYNOPSIS: "In the television news business, there's one hard and fast rule: you're only as good as your next...LIVE SHOT"

Live Shot is a fast-paced ensemble drama focusing on the staff of a Los Angeles television newsroom. As the series opens, Alex Rydell is about to begin his first day as KXZX Channel 3's news director. He's moved from Boston to Los Angeles with his young son in tow, leaving behind a dissolving marriage in the process. 

In the first episode, the team uncover a police cover-up involving the murder of a local socialite (which was followed over in a story-arc not resolved by the end of the show), later on in the episode a bomb goes off in the newsroom - nicknamed "the chopped liver bomb" - the origins of which were also carried over into a later episode.

VERDICT: The ensemble cast is interesting, although a little busy. The show has major network quality, although very mid-90s: full-screen graphics of the show's title in/out of each commercial break, and flashy jump cuts set to a pop music soundtrack (The "Do be do be do do dos" from Annie Lennox's "No More I Love You's" play through the episode, then later changing to her 1995 single "I Can't Get Next To You", and then the episode closing with "Why" also by Lennox - I guess someone was a fan!). The storyline of Alex and his son is a little boring, but the episode otherwise makes up for it.

At the time of the show's launch, UPN was a fairly brand new network and attempting to branch out into different genres - it's most successful show at the time was Star Trek Voyager. In the case of Live Shot, it's cancelation was more that viewers were not aware of the show, rather than a testament to the quality of the show.

CANCELLED BEFORE ITS TIME? Yes! Deserved much better. Thankfully, all episodes are on YouTube.

L.A. Firefighters | FOX | 1996

June - July 1996

FOX | 6 episodes | Drama

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WHO'S IN IT? Jarrod Emick, Christine Elise, Miguel Sandoval, et. al.

SYNOPSIS: L. A. Firefighters follows the lives of the members of Fire Company 132 in Los Angeles.

The show was burned by critics and real-life firefighters called for a boycott of the show (they even held a press conference to denounce it), saying it made them look unprofessional and that "just about every scene is rife with sexual innuendo". The show was supposed to return in the fall and a further seven episodes were produced but were never aired in the US.

VERDICT: The show opens with a baby in a crib - thick smoke pouring out of the air vent, the building soon a raging inferno. Minutes later, a fireman tackling the blaze, and not wearing proper protective equipment, quips: "Is it me, or do you smell something burning?" (the baby does survive, btw). The action scenes are good, but the dialogue between the firefighters when they're not on the scene is just so clunky and cliché - for example, asking whether a female colleague is gay, or delivering doubly cliché lines such as: 

"I've been protecting you since we were kids!"

"You always have to be a hero, don’t you, Jack?"

CANCELLED BEFORE ITS TIME? No, not a forgotten gem. I could barely get through the episode.

High Incident | ABC | 1996

March 1996 - May 1997

ABC | 32 episodes | Drama

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WHO'S IN IT? Matt Beck, Matt Craven, Cole Hauser, David Keith, Louis Mustillo, et. al.

SYNOPSIS: High Incident, created by Steven Spielberg and apparently set within the same fictional universe and neighbourhood as "E.T." (Spielberg's 1982 blockbuster), takes a gritty look at life for the officers of the El Camino Police Department where the war on crime is being fought, one criminal at a time, and the casualties are mounting up. 

The show returned for a 2nd season, but for some reason it went out at 8pm on Thursday nights - this was opposite Friends, which was already in its third season, so High Incident didn't stand a chance.

VERDICT: Typical routine police fare, but done well. I can see why it didn't experience success, though - this type of show isn't really suited for an 8pm time slot. A lot of the action takes place in the police cars - radio chatter in the background, officers engaged in conversation - the scene then quickly jumps to a high action incident; chasing a suspect across the road, pulling up to an all-out brawl between residents of an apartment building, or attending to a routine traffic stop that ends with the the fatal shooting of one of their own officers.

CANCELLED BEFORE ITS TIME?  Yes, I would watch more episodes (and it has a great theme tune).

First Time Out | The WB | 1995

September - December 1995

The WB | 16 episodes | Sitcom

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WHO'S IN IT? Jackie Guerra, Leah Remini

SYNOPSIS: First Time Out follows Jackie, a Yale graduate who, while owning a trendy hair salon in Los Angeles, attends law-school classes at night, and longs to find a man and not have to settle and return to her scumbag ex-boyfriend Mario "that stupid macho malhecho"

.

Jackie shares an apartment with her friends Dominique, a cynical assistant at Ventura Records, and Susan, who's about to get her psychotherapist license and is neurotic herself. Rounding out the cast are Madeline, a yuppie executive who lives across the hall, and Nathan, Jackie's klutzy, sex-obsessed childhood friend.

The show started off well and The WB ordered a full season of 22 episodes, but later cut it back to 16 episodes, then left four unaired.

VERDICT: A little bit predictable, almost trying to prove itself, but still enjoyable nonetheless. Jackie Guerra is a bit overweight and some of the comedy stems from this - "The only people I ever meet are middle aged Beverly Hills women who walk up to me and say "You have such a pretty face, have you ever tried the Atkins diet? You know, my daughter lost 870-THOUSAND-pounds!". Leah Remini plays her typical type here as Jackie's somewhat constantly pissed off roommate, Dominique.

CANCELLED BEFORE ITS TIME? I'd say so, Jackie Guerra carried the show well. I would have called it "Jackie!"

Charlie Grace | ABC | 1995

September - October 1995

ABC | 9 episodes | Drama

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WHO'S IN IT? Mark Harmon, Leelee Sobieski

SYNOPSIS: Charlie Grace is a former LA cop turned private eye raising a 12-year-old daughter. In the first episode, Charlie finds out that "Mad Dog", a con he put away eight years ago, is out of prison and seeking revenge. To crack the case, Charlie needs to rely on the cops that he blew the whistle on.

Nine episodes of the show were produced, but only six were broadcast.

VERDICT: "I'm Charlie Grace, and I'm a private detective..." opens the show, with Mark Harmon in the midst of a back alley fist fight with a bunch of thugs (who later turn out to be Police officers). The narration continues throughout and adds enough without being annoying.  It's from 1995 but feels older, but then again, it is from 25 years ago. 

CANCELLED BEFORE ITS TIME? The story had a few twists and turns. I'd watch more episodes. More the kind of show you would watch on Sunday night.