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Post by topbilled on Feb 1, 2024 13:16:19 GMT
NOVEMBER 1982
6 November 1982
Fame: Gene Anthony Ray & Erica Gimpel
Note: This series was based on the hit 1980 film and initially aired on NBC. Featuring a bunch of dancing hopefuls, it was geared at a youthful demographic. Fame didn’t initially catch on with TV audiences, and NBC cancelled it after two seasons. However, like several other programs from the early 1980s, it found second life in first-run syndication and ran for five more years. A total of 136 episodes were produced.
13 November 1982
The Blue and the Gray
Note: This was CBS’ biggest miniseries of the season. An enormous budget was allocated to dramatically re-present stories from the American Civil War. The special three-night event starred Stacy Keach and featured cameos from big name movie stars like Gregory Peck, Geraldine Page and Sterling Hayden in one of his last screen roles.
20 November 1982
Three’s Company: Priscilla Barnes, John Ritter, Joyce DeWitt & Richard Kline
Note: The popular sitcom was now in its penultimate season. This cover gave supporting player Kline a bit of attention.
27 November 1982
Family Ties: Meredith Baxter
Note: Billed as Meredith Baxter Birney, per her marriage to David Birney, this was first time the actress appeared on the cover of TV Guide for her role as Elyse Keaton on NBC’s sitcom Family Ties. When the series began, she was the only cast member known to TV audiences. But by 1985, her role was eclipsed by breakout star Michael J. Fox, due to his success in teen-themed motion pictures.
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Post by topbilled on Feb 3, 2024 14:56:38 GMT
DECEMBER 1982
4 December 1982
Video Games
Note: Pacman ruled. Yes, in those days, you went to an arcade at the local mall to play video games. Or else, you had your own Atari system at home. This new pastime cut into regular TV viewing.
11 December 1982
Gloria: Sally Struthers
Note: At the end of the previous season of Archie Bunker’s Place, Archie was reunited with his daughter Gloria who was now divorced from Rob Reiner’s character and single. This set-up a spinoff which debuted on CBS in the fall. Though Struthers is featured on this cover with her real-life daughter, the little girl did not have a featured role on the new series. Gloria ran a full year on CBS and had strong enough ratings to be renewed, but CBS felt that both Archie and Gloria belonged in the past. So both series were canceled in the spring of 1983.
18 December 1982
Too Close for Comfort: Nancy Dussault, Lydia Cornell, Ted Knight & Deborah Van Valkenburgh
Note: This was the final cover for the popular ABC sitcom, and the first one to feature Dussault whose 40-something character had just given birth to a little boy. In the spring of 1983, ABC canceled the show, but it moved to first-run syndication for another three seasons. Cornell and Van Valkenburgh left at the end of the fifth season. Dussault remained alongside Knight for the entire run. The infant son was still mentioned but seldom seen in the later seasons.
25 December 1982
Holiday edition
Note: There are no clues on the cover about what sort of articles are featured inside.
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Post by topbilled on Feb 7, 2024 15:20:20 GMT
I will start posting 1983 this weekend...
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Post by topbilled on Feb 11, 2024 19:24:35 GMT
1983
JANUARY 1983
1 January 1983
Newhart: Bob Newhart & Mary Frann
Note: The first cover for Bob Newhart’s second self-titled sitcom. The show would start to hit its stride a year later, and it ran for eight seasons until 1990.
8 January 1983
Football: John Madden
Note: Madden’s popularity was explored in this edition of the magazine. He had become a household name due to his coaching, commentating and countless TV commercials.
15 January 1983
9 to 5: Rita Moreno, Rachel Dennison, Jean Marsh, Peter Bonerz & Valerie Curtin
Note: Based on the hit 1980 film, this series underwent a retooling and several cast members were dropped later, including Moreno who received an Emmy nomination. Dennison was the real-life sister of Dolly Parton who had played her character in the film. Marsh transferred her role over from the movie, but was let go at the end of the second season. Curtin was also dropped at the end of second season, but returned in season 4. Moreno only appeared in the episodes that aired on ABC. When the show switched to first-run syndication for two more seasons, she was replaced by Sally Struthers. Parton’s hit song was used as the theme throughout the entire run. Jane Fonda was an exec producer during the first year. Altogether 85 episodes were produced. It could've been a more substantial hit if there hadn’t been so many behind-the-scenes changes.
22 January 1983
TV news reporters
Note: This cover focused on investigative reporters like Mike Wallace from CBS’ 60 Minutes; Geraldo Rivera from ABC’s 20/20; and Brian Ross from NBC Nightly News. Rivera was just starting to become popular...he would have success with sensational news specials of his own, as well as his own daytime talk show.
29 January 1983
The Winds of War: Robert Mitchum & Ali MacGraw
Note: The Super Bowl is mentioned in the upper right hand corner, but this is one of the few times it did not get its own cover. Instead, ABC’s mega expensive adaptation of Herman Wouk’s The Winds of War receives prominence. Notice how much larger Mitchum’s image is than MacGraw’s. It is obvious who is the bigger, more highly paid star of this TV miniseries.
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Post by topbilled on Feb 12, 2024 14:04:30 GMT
FEBRUARY 1983
5 February 1983
Princess Grace: Cheryl Ladd
Note: Following in the footsteps of fellow Angel Jaclyn Smith, Cheryl Ladd turned towards reinventing herself with roles in TV movies. Here, she played the late princess of Monaco whose rise to fame and subsequent royal romance were on display.
12 February 1983
MASH cast
Note: Fans knew the eleventh season would be the long-running show’s last one. Instead of the usual full season, the order was shortened to just 16 episodes…which meant they were ending early, in February, instead of in May. The final broadcast, entitled ‘Goodbye Farewell and Amen’ was a two-and-a-half hour sendoff, preceded by a special rerun of the show’s very first episode from 1972. This finale would not be included in MASH’s syndication package and instead would be marketed as a standalone movie on home video. It received CBS’ highest ratings for the 1982-83 season and outdid the landmark ‘Who Shot J.R.?’ episode from Dallas. A follow-up series called AfterMASH would debut on CBS in the fall and run for two seasons, featuring Harry Morgan, Jamie Farr and William Christopher who continued their characters from MASH.
19 February 1983
Rage of Angels: Armand Assante, Jaclyn Smith & Ken Howard
Note: Smith was back in her latest telefilm, this one more bulked up and resembling a miniseries. Based on Sidney Sheldon’s bestselling novel, Rage of Angels did well enough in the ratings for Smith to return in a sequel.
26 February 1983
All My Children: Kim Delaney, Laurence Lau & Susan Lucci
Note: A rare cover devoted to one of ABC’s most popular daytime soaps.
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Post by topbilled on Feb 14, 2024 14:16:06 GMT
MARCH 1983
5 March 1983
One Day at a Time: Valerie Bertinelli
Note: It was time for TV Guide’s yearly edition with Valerie Bertinelli on the cover. One Day at a Time was nearing the end of its eighth season on CBS. It would be back in the fall for one last lap around the track.
12 March 1983
Hill Street Blues: Bruce Weitz
Note: Despite the ensemble nature of Hill Street Blues, there were several breakout characters. Weitz’s role, Belker, was one of the more popular ones.
19 March 1983
Diff’rent Strokes: Gary Coleman & Nancy Reagan
Note: Some of the network sitcoms did what were called “very special episodes” back in the 1980s. Diff’rent Strokes had a few of these over the course of its long run on NBC and ABC. At this point, Coleman’s character Arnold Drummond was used to create a talking point about the dangers of kids getting involved with drugs. First Lady Nancy Reagan made a cameo appearance on the series to extol the virtues of the ‘Just Say No’ to drugs campaign.
26 March 1983
The Thorn Birds: Richard Chamberlain & Rachel Ward
Note: ABC aired this big budget extravaganza. Adapting Colleen McCullough’s novel, the miniseries starred Chamberlain as a priest who broke his vows with a young woman (Ward) and had a child by her. TV Guide’s article examining these themes was written by Father Andrew Greeley, a Chicago based Catholic priest who had become a bestselling novelist.
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Post by topbilled on Feb 16, 2024 7:54:09 GMT
APRIL 1983
2 April 1983
Knots Landing: Donna Mills
Note: By this point, Donna Mills was the breakout star of Knots Landing. She had proven to be a veritable scene stealer as a cunning businesswoman that would have given Dynasty’s Alexis (Joan Collins) a run for her money! Mills didn’t join the sudser until it’s second season, and she wouldn’t even last till the end, exiting in 1989, four years before the last episode aired. But she was in her heyday, and so was Knots Landing, during the 1980s.
9 April 1983
Elvis Presley
Note: Elvis was still in the hearts of many, and his image on the cover helped sell TV Guide.
16 April 1983
60 Minutes hosts
Note: Interestingly, the cover says these men are the co-editors of CBS’ popular Sunday evening newsmagazine. But most viewers considered them reporters or hosts.
23 April 1983
Happy Days: Linda Purl & Henry Winkler
Note: During the 1982-83 season, the producers decided to bring Linda Purl on to the show, to give Fonzie a more grown-up romantic relationship. They also introduced a cute young daughter for Purl’s character, played by Heather O'Rourke of Poltergeist fame. This move didn’t sit well with long-time viewers who weren’t exactly ready for the Fonz to become domesticated. Purl and Rourke would be let go at the end of the season. Meanwhile, Erin Moran & Scott Baio’s spinoff Joanie Loves Chachi was sinking in the ratings, and ABC would axe that series, which facilitated the return of Moran & Baio back to Happy Days in the fall after Purl and O'Rourke were gone. During the final season of Happy Days, the Fonz went back to being single; while Moran & Baio’s characters were married.
30 April 1983
Magnum P.I.: Tom Selleck
Note: Magnum is referred to as TV’s sexiest detective. But compared to old-time favorites, Barnaby Jones and Cannon, I think Magnum could have worn a sack over his head, and he still would have been the sexiest.
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Post by topbilled on Feb 19, 2024 15:35:02 GMT
MAY 1983
7 May 1983
Silver Spoons: Ricky Schroeder, Erin Gray & Joel Higgins
Note: While not a ratings juggernaut, this NBC sitcom did respectably well and Schroeder was quite popular with young kids and teens. He’d already appeared in feature films with Jon Voight and William Holden. The show ran for five years and ended up moving into first-run syndication during its last season. The venerable supporting cast included John Houseman, Ray Walston and Jason Bateman.
14 May 1983
Dynasty: Kathleen Beller & John James
Note: Beller & James were in the middle of a huge storyline on the popular Aaron Spelling drama. Their characters had recently married, but as is often the case on primetime soaps, true happiness eluded the couple and the marriage didn’t last long. Incidentally, Beller & James had previously been featured on Search for Tomorrow in the 1970s when they were starting their acting careers. So they were already old pros at this stuff!
21 May 1983
Bob Hope Special
Note: NBC was celebrating Hope’s 80th birthday. The well-loved comedian would make it to 100.
28 May 1983
Dallas: Audrey Landers, Ken Kercheval & Larry Hagman
Note: Landers was the subject of this cover. Her character’s relationship with Kercheval’s character had caught on with viewers. Though she was never upgraded to main cast member, she had a decent run on the show. Eventually, she was written out but later returned in one of the final seasons to produce a long-lost daughter for Kercheval. They would both reprise these roles on the Dallas reboot in the early 2010s.
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Post by topbilled on Feb 21, 2024 12:04:31 GMT
JUNE 1983
4 June 1983
The Fall Guy: Lee Majors; Douglas Barr & Heather Thomas
Note: This ABC action adventure series had just finished its first season. It would run for a total of five years with Majors, Barr & Thomas appearing in every episode. While not as big a hit as Majors’ previous series The Six Million Dollar Man, it was nevertheless fairly popular with viewers.
11 June 1983
Stars and acting
Note: This is an interesting cover, suggesting the article inside is an in-depth analysis of acting talent. Of course, it’s also an excuse to put Valerie Bertinelli back on the cover. She would appear in several more series. Evans would basically retired from acting after Dynasty. Estrada found work on Mexican telenovelas (soap operas). And Alda did not star in another series, though he continued to work in motion pictures.
18 June 1983
Simon & Simon: Jameson Parker & Gerald McRaney
Note: Simon & Simon was still going strong on CBS, helped by a good lead-in on Thursday nights— Magnum P.I. The cover indicates there was an article about the ‘explosion’ of cable channels. But 35 channels doesn’t seem like much compared to what we have now!
25 June 1983
Knight Rider: David Hasselhoff
Note: NBC’s action adventure series with David Hasselhoff and a car that talked was an immediate hit with viewers. An example of classic 80s TV, it ran for four seasons. William Daniels, who was also appearing on NBC’s medical drama St. Elsewhere, voiced KITT (which stood for Knight International Two Thousand).
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Post by topbilled on Feb 23, 2024 15:02:47 GMT
JULY 1983
2 July 1983
The Best and Worst
Note: TV Guide began annual covers on the best and worst of the year, usually in the summer after the most recent TV season had ended. In 1983 they singled out the best as being the MASH finale and The Thorn Birds miniseries.
9 July 1983
Falcon Crest: Ana-Alicia, Lorenzo Lamas & Jane Wyman
Note: Falcon Crest had just finished it second season with a very dramatic cliffhanger (in which Lana Turner’s guest character was killed off).
16 July 1983
TV hunks
Note: The hottest men on TV at this point were: Tom Selleck from CBS’ Magnum P.I.; Lee Horsley from ABC’s Matt Houston; Gregory Harrison from CBS’ Trapper John M.D.; and Pierce Brosnan from NBC’s Remington Steele.
23 July 1983
Knots Landing: Ted Shackleford, Donna Mills & Joan Van Ark
Note: Shackleford was the focus of the article inside this edition.
30 July 1983
The Jeffersons: Isabel Sanford & Sherman Hemsley
Note: A thought-provoking article about The Jeffersons discussed whether the show was becoming too white. The hit sitcom had just finished its ninth season and was still very popular with viewers. However, plots no longer focused on the racial issues that it first explored when spun off from All in the Family.
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Post by topbilled on Feb 24, 2024 17:28:01 GMT
AUGUST 1983
6 August 1983
Female news reporters
Note: This issue asked why there weren’t any women in the nightly news anchor chair. That would change by the 1990s. On the cover— Lesley Stahl from CBS; Anne Garreis from ABC; and Judy Woodruff from NBC.
13 August 1983
Days of Our Lives: Deidre Hall & Wayne Northrop
Note: A rare cover for the hit NBC soap opera. Hall’s character had just wed Northrop’s character on the show, and they were deemed a “super couple.” The two actors would depart the soap to take roles on primetime— Northrop departed in 1984, and Hall departed in 1987. Both would return to Days of Our Lives in the 1990s.
20 August 1983
Hart to Hart: Robert Wagner & Stefanie Powers
Note: The hit mystery-crime show had just finished its fourth season on ABC and would be back for one more season.
27 August 1983
Another cover focusing on news
Note: This time the editors looked at the relationship network news departments had with the White House.
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Post by topbilled on Feb 25, 2024 16:29:58 GMT
SEPTEMBER 1983
3 September 1983
All in the Family/Archie Bunker’s Place cast
Note: Before the new TV season got underway, TV Guide said goodbye to Carroll O’Connor’s iconic character Archie Bunker. CBS had not renewed Archie Bunker’s Place for another season. So after nine years on the parent series, and another four years on the continuation series, O’Connor was bowing out. He wrote an article about his feelings over having played the role on TV since early 1971. Incidentally, none of O’Connor’s cast mates from Archie Bunker’s Place are featured on the cover. Jean Stapleton had only appeared during the first season on a recurring basis, before her character Edith was killed off. Rob Reiner & Sally Struthers who played Archie’s son-in-law and daughter Mike and Gloria had appeared on a holiday episode during the first season, then Reiner was never seen again. Struthers reappeared at the end of season 3 to set up a spinoff called Gloria which had a one-season run but was canceled at the same time that Archie Bunker’s Place was given the heave-ho.
10 September 1983
Fall preview
Note: It was time for the annual fall preview. On the cover is an image of AfterMASH, a continuation series of MASH that followed the ongoing adventures of Colonel Potter (Harry Morgan), Max Klinger (Jamie Farr) and Father Mulcahy (William Christopher). Since Farr’s character had been married in the MASH finale, his new wife (Rosalind Chao) was also included in the cast. The show did fairly well during its first season but then took a nosedive the second year and was cancelled halfway through season 2. Also on the cover is an image of Aaron Spelling’s new ABC drama Hotel, which was dubbed The Love Boat on land. Based on Arthur Hailey’s bestselling novel, it starred James Brolin and Connie Sellecca. Bette Davis, seen here, only appeared in the two-part pilot. Health issues forced her to decline a regular role, so she was replaced in the third episode by Anne Baxter, her costar from All About Eve.
17 September 1983
Miss America Pageant
Note: This year’s winner was actress-singer Vanessa Williams from New York. Much was made of the fact that she was the pageant’s first African American winner. A scandal the following summer would cause Williams to resign, meaning the runner-up, Suzette Charles from New Jersey, would be crowned her successor and serve out the rest of the term.
24 September 1983
Three’s Company: Priscilla Barnes, John Ritter & Joyce DeWitt
Note: ABC’s popular sitcom was heading into its final season. Ritter’s character would appear on the continuation series Three’s a Crowd.
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Post by topbilled on Feb 27, 2024 17:54:21 GMT
OCTOBER 1983
1 October 1983
Trapper John M.D.: Gregory Harrison
Note: The article suggests that Harrison was anxious to spread his wings beyond his role on the show. However, he would continue to play Dr. Gonzo Gates for another two years. He left midway through the final season.
8 October 1983
Country Music’s Willie Nelson & Anne Murray
Note: Nelson had gone ‘Hollywood’ for awhile, to do movies. But he was now back making music in Nashville.
15 October 1983
Larry Hagman & Joan Collins
Note: Is it which show is better, or which star is better at being bad on TV?
22 October 1983
Mr. Smith
Note: This NBC sitcom wasn’t quite the hit everyone expected it to be. The talking orangutan had previously appeared in two Clint Eastwood movies and developed a cult following. But apparently not enough of a following to garner strong ratings. NBC axed the show in mid-December after just 13 episodes.
29 October 1983
Hotel: James Brolin & Connie Sellecca
Note: It didn’t take long for Aaron Spelling’s new series to find its groove. The show was an immediate hit with viewers and ran for five seasons on ABC.
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Post by topbilled on Feb 28, 2024 16:06:23 GMT
NOVEMBER 1983
5 November 1983
Princess Daisy: Marete Van Kamp
Note: Danish actress Marete Van Kamp beat out a slew of hopefuls to win the lead roles (she plays two characters) in this lavish miniseries adaptation of Judith Krantz’s bestseller. The three hour event aired on NBC and costarred Linsday Wagner, Robert Urich and Rupert Everett. Reviewers compared Krantz’s novel to Shirley Conran’s Lace, which was being adapted by ABC and would hit the airwaves in the spring of 1984.
12 November 1983
Kennedy Assassination
Note: It was time to commemorate the 20th anniversary of JFK’s assassination.
19 November 1983
The Day After
Note: November sweeps continued to heat up with ABC’s controversial nuclear war telefilm The Day After. I remember the priest of our church delivering a full sermon about this.
26 November 1983
The Gambler II: Linda Evans & Kenny Rogers
Note: During her recent summer hiatus from Dynasty, Evans managed to make this sequel with Rogers. Evans hadn’t done much work in the western genre since her days on The Big Valley in the mid-to-late ‘60s.
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Post by topbilled on Feb 29, 2024 7:53:39 GMT
DECEMBER 1983
3 December 1983
Barbara Walters special
Note: Walters was interviewing Johnny Carson for her latest ABC special.
10 December 1983
Magnum P.I.: Tom Selleck
Note: Selleck’s character was chosen by a group of women as one of TV’s most appealing stars.
17 December 1983
Silver Spoons: Erin Grey
Note: This cover spotlighted Silver Spoons as a show that parents should let their kids watch.
24 December 1983
The Love Boat cast
Note: It was time to celebrate the holidays again, this time aboard the Princess Cruise ship.
31 December 1983
Farrah Fawcett
Note: Ex-angel Farrah had not been on screen in any film or television program in three years. But she was preparing a comeback. In 1984, she would have two new TV movies. In one, she played a prostitute; and in the other, she played an abused woman.
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