Which of the most watched Spelling shows did you watch?

[bchristmastree9]

T.J. Hooker
Hart to Hart
Vega$
Matt Houston

(have finished all of them on DVD)

 

[Avery Merry Christmas]

I recall watching Hart to Hart as a pre-teen and thinking it was so sophisticated. The leads were so cosmopolitan and witty. When reruns started popping up about ten years later I was horrified at how cheesy and self-reverential it all was, and how thin the storylines were. Yes, the leads had mad chemistry but the show itself was not at all what I'd originally thought of it.

 

[bchristmastree9]

I recall watching Hart to Hart as a pre-teen and thinking it was so sophisticated. The leads were so cosmopolitan and witty. When reruns started popping up about ten years later I was horrified at how cheesy and self-reverential it all was, and how thin the storylines were. Yes, the leads had mad chemistry but the show itself was not at all what I'd originally thought of it.

I never saw it originally on ABC (only on DVD), and to be honest, only 6 of its 110 outings (two first-season ones, three third-season ones, and one fifth-and-final-season one) have actually truly held up for me-- those outings are:

"Too Many Cooks are Murder"
"Death Set"
"Hartless Hobby"
"Vintage Harts"
"Harts and Fraud"
"Pandora Has Wings"

 

[Jock Ewing Fan]

There is no one like Aaron Spelling today, no one who can make entertaining hour long series with appealing actors and actresses,
Aaron Spelling's shows also had a "feel-good" , which is certainly absent now.
The series on streaming are all so serious - not complaining about it, but it is nice
to have some balance

 

[Carrie Fairchild]

Melrose Place and Beverly Hills 90210 - the two best Aaron shows of all time!

These are the two that I would’ve watched as they aired. I wasn’t born or was a child when the rest of them were on their original runs but I got to know Dynasty and The Colbys through reruns, DVD’s and streaming.

I rewatched Beverly Hills 90210 in my 30s and actually loved the show even more on that rewatch than I did as a teenager!

I always thought that if I were to rewatch 90210, I’d probably skip the high school years but in hindsight, I think I’d be missing a lot of the “classic” episodes.

Vega$

I’m interested to check out this series as it was created by Michael Mann, although I think he’s stated that whatever idea that he had originally pitched, was quickly “Spelling-ed” when it went into production.

There is no one like Aaron Spelling today, no one who can make entertaining hour long series with appealing actors and actresses,
Aaron Spelling's shows also had a "feel-good" , which is certainly absent now.
The series on streaming are all so serious - not complaining about it, but it is nice
to have some balance

In terms of volume of output, Ryan Murphy is probably the closest thing to Spelling today. But while some of his ventures like Feud, Doctor Odyssey and Hollywood are akin to Spelling’s soapier fare, his other series like AHS or Monster wouldn’t be considered “feel good” by any stretch.

 

[bchristmastree9]

I’m interested to check out this series as it was created by Michael Mann, although I think he’s stated that whatever idea that he had originally pitched, was quickly “Spelling-ed” when it went into production.

It was a good show (not as good as Hooker or Hart to Hart, though); I think the only really bad episodes were the two expanded episodes ("The Golden Gate Cop Killer" and "Aloha, You're Dead" [the first from Season 2, the other at the top of Season 3]). I didn't like 'em because not only were they, IMO, very boring, they also IMO weren't that well-written.

They were, on the other hand, very well advertised, as in this ad from the Wednesday, November 5, 1980 Chicago Sun-Times for "Aloha, You're Dead" from WLS in Chicago:

 

[Festive Englishboy]

These are the ones I’ve seen.

Charlie’s Angels
Dynasty
The Love Boat
Starsky & Hutch
Fantasy Island
Hart to Hart
T J Hooker
Matt Houston

I also used to watch “Charmed“ (not on the list) which I think was an Aaron Spelling production.

 

[bchristmastree9]

I also used to watch “Charmed“ (not on the list) which I think was an Aaron Spelling production.

It was packaged by him, yes, but was created by Constance M. Burge (never heard of her).

 

[GillesDenver]

It was packaged by him, yes, but was created by Constance M. Burge (never heard of her).

She also created "Savannah", another show from Aaron Spelling.

 

[bchristmastree9]

Other Spelling shows were packaged by him as well, while created by others:

--Hart to Hart, packaged by him and Leonard Goldberg (w/Rona II, and Columbia Pictures Television [1982-84]); created by Sidney Sheldon
--T.J. Hooker, also packaged by him and Goldberg IAW CPT; created by Rick Husky

 

[Treeviewer]

Did Spelling actually create anything? I thought his greatest talent was seeing what would work for a mass audience.

 

[Monzo]

Did Spelling actually create anything?

Aaron Spelling created five shows in his early days as a producer: Johnny Ringo, The Lloyd Bridges Show, The Smothers Brothers Show, The Guns of Will Sonnett, The New People.

Unlike the other shows mentioned, he created Johnny Ringo entirely on his own and is credited as one of the writers on every episode.

 

[Treeviewer]

Aaron Spelling created five shows in his early days as a producer: Johnny Ringo, The Lloyd Bridges Show, The Smothers Brothers Show, The Guns of Will Sonnett, The New People.

Unlike the other shows mentioned, he created Johnny Ringo entirely on his own and is credited as one of the writers on every episode.

Is The Smothers Brothers Show the one where Tommy was an angel? I used to like that when I was a kid. I don't think I've ever seen any of the others, though.

 

[Monzo]

Is The Smothers Brothers Show the one where Tommy was an angel?

Yes, that's the one! I haven't watched any of the shows Aaron Spelling created, the one I'd be most interested in is short-lived The New People. From today's perspective, it seems like Lost with hippies. The pilot is on YouTube and it's promising, but who knows how interesting life on the island would have been in the long run?

Aaron Spelling's last self-written episode for a series was for The Rookies.

For Family, it is claimed that creative control of the show was split among executive producers Leonard Goldberg, Aaron Spelling and Mike Nichols, but I don't know how much creativity Spelling really brought to the table.

 

[AndyB2008]

Other Spelling shows were packaged by him as well, while created by others:

--Hart to Hart, packaged by him and Leonard Goldberg (w/Rona II, and Columbia Pictures Television [1982-84]); created by Sidney Sheldon
--T.J. Hooker, also packaged by him and Goldberg IAW CPT; created by Rick Husky

Sunset Beach, although he was an executive producer on the show, was created by Charles Pratt Jr, Josh Griffith and Robert Guza Jr.

 

[AndyB2008]

Yes, that's the one! I haven't watched any of the shows Aaron Spelling created, the one I'd be most interested in is short-lived The New People. From today's perspective, it seems like Lost with hippies. The pilot is on YouTube and it's promising, but who knows how interesting life on the island would have been in the long run?

Aaron Spelling's last self-written episode for a series was for The Rookies.

For Family, it is claimed that creative control of the show was split among executive producers Leonard Goldberg, Aaron Spelling and Mike Nichols, but I don't know how much creativity Spelling really brought to the table.

The New People never got a chance to catch on with viewers.

ABC paired it in a block on Monday nights with another 45 minute show, The Music Scene, a sort of US version of Top of The Pops. (The Music Scene aired at 7.30pm, followed by The New People at 8.15)

Unfortunately neither show couldn't compete with the competition - they aired against Gunsmoke and Here's Lucy on CBS and Rowan and Martin's Laugh In on NBC.

The Music Scene and The New People lasted just 17 episodes.