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The ABC Movie of the Week
Big Movies for the Small Screen
Authors:
Publisher:
2013
Summary
On September 23, 1969, five years after the first made-for-television movie premiered, the ABC network broadcast Seven in Darkness. This was the first television film for an anthology show called the Tuesday Night Movie of the Week. Dedicating ninety minutes of weekly airtime to a still-emerging genre was a financial risk for the third-place network—a risk that paid off. The films were so successful that in 1972 the network debuted The Wednesday Movie of the Week. Although most of the movies are no longer remembered, a handful are still fondly recalled by viewers today, including Duel, Brian’s Song, and The Night Stalker. The series also showcased pilot films for many eventual series, such as Alias Smith and Jones, The Six Million Dollar Man, and Starsky and Hutch. By the end of both shows’ regular runs in the spring of 1975, the network had broadcast more than 200 made-for-television films.
In The ABC Movie of the Week: Big Movies for the Small Screen, Michael McKenna examines this programming experiment that transformed the television landscape and became a staple of broadcast programming for several years. The author looks at how the revolving films showcased the right mixture of romantic comedy, action, horror, and social relevance to keep viewers interested week after week. McKenna also chronicles how the ratings success led to imitations from the other networks, resulting in a saturation of television movies.
As a cultural touchstone for millions who experienced the first run and syndicated versions of these films, The ABC Movie of the Week is a worthy subject ofstudy. Featuring a complete filmography of all 240 movies with credit information and plot summaries, a chronology, and a list of pilots—both failed and successful—this volume will be valuable to television historians and scholars, as well as to anyone interested in one of the great triumphs of network programming.
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Bibliographic data
Copyright year
2013
ISBN-Print
978-0-8108-9156-2
ISBN-Online
978-0-8108-9157-9
Publisher
Rowman & Littlefield, Lanham
Language
English
Pages
365
Product type
Book Titles
Table of contents
ChapterPages
Contents No access
Acknowledgments No access
Introduction No access
Prologue No access
Chapter One: Season One: An Expensive Experiment No access Pages 1 - 22
Chapter Two: Season Two: Ratings and Relevance No access Pages 23 - 48
Chapter Three: Season Three: From Brian’s Song to The Night Stalker—Something for Everyone No access Pages 49 - 80
Chapter Four: Season Four: Feeding the Beast Twice a Week No access Pages 81 - 112
Chapter Five: Season Five: Every Night of the Week: TV Movie Saturation No access Pages 113 - 144
Chapter Six: Season Six: Diminishing Returns No access Pages 145 - 178
Epilogue No access Pages 179 - 184
Appendix A: Chronological List of ABC Movies of the Week No access Pages 185 - 192
Appendix B: Alphabetical Filmography No access Pages 193 - 344
Appendix C: Pilot Films No access Pages 345 - 354
Appendix D: A Comment on Available Sources No access Pages 355 - 356
Bibliography No access Pages 357 - 360
Index No access Pages 361 - 364
About the Author No access Pages 365 - 365
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