How Many Of These Are Still In Your Memory?
Everybody remembers the really big TV dramas of the 70s. But television schedules were packed with plenty of other shows that once had millions of people watching...and then somehow, were totally forgotten. Seriously, how many of these do you remember?
"Owen Marshall, Counselor At Law" (1971-1974)
Arthur Hill starred as respected California attorney Owen Marshall, with a young Lee Majors among the lawyers working alongside him. The legal drama wasn't some blink-and-you-missed-it failure, either. ABC kept it around for three seasons and more than 60 episodes. Yet today, even the title draws plenty of blank stares.
Screenshot from Owen Marshall, Counselor at Law, NBCUniversal (1971-1974), enhanced
"Lucan" (1977-1978)
Now this was a premise. Kevin Brophy played Lucan, a young man who had supposedly spent much of his childhood living wild in Minnesota after being raised by wolves. He eventually enters civilization and goes searching for answers about his past. ABC somehow only produced a handful of episodes.
Screenshot from Lucan, ABC (1977)
"The Rookies" (1972-1976)
Before Kate Jackson became one of Charlie's Angels, she spent four seasons on this ABC police drama. The Rookies followed three young officers learning their jobs in a fictional California city. It ran for more than 90 episodes, which makes how rarely anyone talks about it today a little surprising.
Screenshot from The Rookies, ABC (1972–1976)
"Petrocelli" (1974-1976)
Barry Newman played Tony Petrocelli, a Harvard-educated lawyer who leaves the big city and sets up a practice in the fictional town of San Remo, Arizona. The NBC series lasted two seasons and even grew out of Newman's earlier movie The Lawyer. Today, Petrocelli has largely vanished from the conversation.
Screenshot from Petrocelli, NBC (1974-1976), Modified
"Dan August" (1970-1971)
Before Burt Reynolds became one of America's biggest movie stars, he played Detective Lieutenant Dan August. The ABC crime drama lasted only one season, but there was a strange second life waiting for it. After Reynolds became famous, CBS brought the old episodes back to prime time.
ABC Television, Wikimedia Commons
"Family" (1976-1980)
This one lasted long enough that you'd think more people would remember it. Family followed the Lawrence family of Pasadena, California, and starred Sada Thompson, James Broderick, Gary Frank, Kristy McNichol, and Meredith Baxter. ABC aired it for five seasons, and McNichol became one of television's biggest young stars.
ABC Television, Wikimedia Commons
"Switch" (1975-1978)
Robert Wagner and Eddie Albert teamed up for this CBS crime drama about a former police officer and an ex-con who become private investigators. Sharon Gless was also a regular. The show ran for three seasons and 70 episodes, yet it rarely seems to come up alongside other 70s detective series.
CBS Television, Wikimedia Commons
"Nakia" (1974)
Robert Forster played Nakia Parker, a Native American deputy sheriff working in a small Southwestern community. The series tried to balance conventional police stories with conflicts involving Nakia's heritage and the people around him. It was an unusually distinctive idea for network television, but ABC ended it after one short season.
Screenshot from Nakia, ABC (1974)
"Police Story" (1973-1978)
This wasn't just another forgotten cop show. Created by former LAPD officer Joseph Wambaugh, Police Story used an anthology-style format to focus on different officers and cases. NBC kept it running for five seasons, and plenty of recognizable actors appeared. Somehow, the title itself has become surprisingly obscure.
Screenshot from Police Story, NBC (1973–1978)
"Movin' On" (1974-1976)
Claude Akins and Frank Converse played independent truckers Sonny Pruitt and Will Chandler, hauling cargo across America and inevitably finding trouble wherever they stopped. NBC gave the series two seasons, plus a television movie that came first. For something that once had a respectable run, Movin' On doesn't get mentioned much anymore.
NBC Television, Wikimedia Commons
"Amy Prentiss" (1974-1975)
Jessica Walter starred as Amy Prentiss, who becomes San Francisco's first female chief of detectives. The character originated on Ironside, and Walter even won an Emmy for the role. But instead of becoming a long-running spinoff, Amy Prentiss consisted of just three feature-length installments.
Screenshot from Amy Prentiss, NBC (1974–1975)
"Harry O" (1974-1976)
David Janssen played Harry Orwell, a former police detective who becomes a private investigator after being injured on duty. Unlike the flashier detective shows of the decade, Harry O had a more restrained, weary hero at its center. ABC kept it around for two seasons before canceling it.
ABC Television, Wikimedia Commons
"The White Shadow" (1978-1981)
Ken Howard played a former professional basketball player who becomes the coach at an inner-city Los Angeles high school. The CBS drama tackled serious social issues and ran for three seasons. It still has devoted fans, but compared with other major shows of its era, The White Shadow has become surprisingly easy to forget.
Screenshot from The White Shadow, 20th Century Fox Television (1978-1981)
"The Delphi Bureau" (1972-1973)
Laurence Luckinbill played Glenn Garth Gregory, an intelligence operative with a photographic memory working for a mysterious government agency. That sounds like the setup for a long-running spy show. Instead, after a television movie pilot, ABC aired only eight additional episodes before The Delphi Bureau disappeared.
Screenshot from The Delphi Bureau, Warner Bros. Television (1972–1973)
"Project U.F.O." (1978-1979)
Long before UFO television became practically its own genre, NBC aired this Jack Webb-produced drama about two Air Force investigators examining reports of unidentified flying objects. The stories were inspired by files from Project Blue Book. Remarkably, the show actually lasted two seasons...and is still barely remembered today.
Screenshot from Project U.F.O., NBC (1978-1979)
"Cannon" (1971-1976)
William Conrad starred as Frank Cannon, a former police officer turned private detective who took on cases involving everything from kidnappings to corporate intrigue. This was no short-lived curiosity. Cannon ran for five seasons and 122 episodes, which makes its disappearance from today's TV conversations pretty remarkable.
Screenshot from Cannon, CBS (1971-1976), Modified
"The Paper Chase" (1978-1979)
John Houseman recreated his Oscar-winning role as intimidating law professor Charles Kingsfield in this acclaimed CBS drama. The network canceled it after one season, but that wasn't the end. Years later, Showtime revived The Paper Chase, allowing the supposedly finished series to continue into the 80s.
Screenshot from The Paper Chase, 20th Century Fox Television (1978-1986), Enhanced
"Apple's Way" (1974-1975)
Created by The Waltons creator Earl Hamner Jr., Apple's Way followed a Los Angeles family that moves to small-town Iowa in search of a simpler life. Ronny Cox headed the cast, with a young Kristy McNichol among the children. CBS kept the family around for two seasons.
Screenshot from Apple's Way, CBS (1974–1975)
"Vega$" (1978-1981)
Robert Urich played private detective Dan Tanna, who cruised Las Vegas in a red Thunderbird while solving cases for casino owners and other clients. The show lasted three seasons and had one of the most unmistakably late-70s settings imaginable. Yet younger viewers may have never heard of it.
Screenshot from Vega$, ABC (1978–1981)
"Barnaby Jones" (1973-1980)
Buddy Ebsen starred as retired private investigator Barnaby Jones, who returns to detective work after a family tragedy and works alongside his daughter-in-law Betty, played by Lee Meriwether. CBS kept the series going for eight seasons and 178 episodes. Somehow, a show that successful now feels strangely forgotten.
Screenshot from Barnaby Jones, CBS (1973-1980)
"Cade's County" (1971-1972)
Another major movie star who quietly did a forgotten 70s television series: Glenn Ford. He played Sam Cade, sheriff of a sprawling fictional Southwestern county. The series mixed police procedural stories with modern Western elements and lasted 24 episodes before CBS brought the experiment to an end.
Screenshot from Cade's County, CBS (1971–1972)
"James At 15" (1977-1978)
Lance Kerwin starred as teenager James Hunter in this unusually serious coming-of-age drama. After the character had a birthday, NBC even renamed the show James at 16. It tackled subjects that weren't normally handled so directly on teen television, but the series disappeared after a single season.
Screenshot from James At 15, 20th Century Fox Television (1977-1978), Enhanced
"Man From Atlantis" (1977-1978)
Before Dallas made Patrick Duffy famous, he played Mark Harris, a mysterious web-footed man who could breathe underwater and was believed to be the last survivor of Atlantis. NBC began with several television movies before turning the premise into a weekly series. The weekly version didn't last long.
NBC Television, Wikimedia Commons
"Toma" (1973-1974)
Tony Musante starred as real-life-inspired New Jersey detective David Toma, who frequently used disguises while working undercover. The show didn't end simply because nobody liked it. Musante declined to continue after the first season under the arrangement producers wanted. ABC subsequently reworked the concept, and that eventually helped produce a much better-remembered series: Baretta.
ABC Television, Wikimedia Commons
"McMillan & Wife" (1971-1977)
Rock Hudson played San Francisco police commissioner Stuart McMillan, while Susan Saint James starred as his clever wife Sally. Part mystery, part comedy, McMillan & Wife became a fixture of NBC's Mystery Movie lineup. It ran five seasons under that title, followed by a sixth season renamed simply McMillan.
Screenshot from McMillan & Wife, NBC (1971–1977)
"Banacek" (1972-1974)
George Peppard starred as Thomas Banacek, a wealthy Boston insurance investigator who specialized in solving seemingly impossible thefts and collecting hefty fees for recovering what had vanished. The series ran for two seasons as part of NBC's rotating mystery lineup and remains one of the decade's more forgotten detective shows.
Silver Screen Collection, Getty Images
Seriously...Did You Get Five?
Some of these shows lasted a few months. Others were on television for three, four, five, six, or even eight years. And yet somehow they all ended up in roughly the same place in our collective TV memories. But, how many did you actually remember?
Screenshot from McMillan & Wife, NBC (1971–1977)
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