Today in TV History: Tuesday, May 18, 2021

Television:
Six series of note concluded: 1) Robert Blake crime solver “Baretta” on ABC on 1978; 2) syndicated musical drama “Fame” in 1987; 3) CBS’ “Murphy Brown” in 1998; 4) syndicated action/adventure “V.I.P.” starring Pamela Anderson in 2002; and two in 2006: 5) NBC’s “Will & Grace” and 6) “That ’70s Show” on Fox. The reboot of “Murphy Brown,” featuring Candice Bergen, Joe Regalbuto, Grant Shaud and Faith Ford, ran for one season in 2018, taking the sitcom to a total of 10 seasons. “Will & Grace”, meanwhile, ran an additional three seasons (from 2017 to 2020), bringing its total to 11 seasons…Reunion movie “Return To Green Acres” aired on CBS in 1990. The original sitcom ran for six seasons, from 1965 to 1971…An assailant walked into the Ewing Oil offices and fired three bullets into the back of J.R. Ewing’s chair; but it was Bobby Ewing (Patrick Duffy) who was shot in the seventh season finale of CBS’ “Dallas” in 1984. It was later revealed the shooter was Katherine Barnes Wentworth (Morgan Brittany), who got caught by trying to inject poison into Bobby in the hospital…In 1988, Fox late night talk show “The Late Show” featured the reunion of the original “Gilligan’s Island” cast, marking it the final time the seven actors would all appear together…Donna Mills made her final regular appearance as villainess Abby on the CBS prime time soap “Knots Landing” during the 10th season finale in 1989. She returned to the role for the 1997 reunion “Knots Landing: Back to the Cul-de-Sac”…The two-part mythology-adventure miniseries “The Odyssey” began on NBC in 1997. It starred Armand Assante, Greta Scacchi, Isabella Rossellini, Vanessa Williams and Bernadette Peters…Game show “National Bingo Night” began its brief six-episode run on ABC in 2007…Seven short-lived series concluded: 1) CBS superhero drama “The Flash” in 1991; 2) The WB sitcom “Brotherly Love” in 1997; 3) MTV sketch comedy “The Andy Dick Show” in 2002; 4) UPN legal drama “Kevin Hill” in 2005; 5) CW comedy “Aliens in America” in 2008; 6) Lifetime Movie Network crime drama “Those Who Kill” in 2014; and 7) CBS thriller “Stalker” in 2015…Crime thriller “The Following” starring Kevin Bacon concluded its three-season run on Fox in 2015…In 2015, 25 male participants competed for the TV love of two women to start the 11th season of “The Bachelorette” on ABC. The two females were Kaitlyn Bristowe and Britt Nilsson who had been part of “The Bachelor” season 19. The majority of men voted to keep Bristowe as the lone Bachelorette. This fall, Bristowe will host the upcoming 18th edition of “The Bachelorette”, which features “Bachelor” season 25 contestant Michelle Young…Although general sentiment believed fellow Final Three members Aubry Bracco and Tai Trang had played better games. the jury awarded Michele Fitzgerald to be the million dollar Sole Survivor on the 32nd edition finale of CBS’ “Survivor” in 2016 in the season entitled “Survivor: Kaôh Rōng — Brains vs. Brawn vs. Beauty.” The cast included former NBA player Scot Pollard and “Big Brother” 16 contestant Caleb Reynolds. Fitzgerald returned for “Survivor: Winners At War” four years later and finished in third place; she’s also competing on the upcoming 37th season of MTV’s “The Challenge”…Superhero series “Stargirl” starring Brec Bassinger and Luke Wilson debuted on the DC Universe steaming service in 2020. Its debut on The CW occurred one night later. The series was renewed for a second season.

Movies:
“Braveheart”, directed by Mel Gibson and starring Gibson and Sophie Marceau premiered at the Seattle Film Festival in 1995. It won five Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director…DreamWorks Pictures “Shrek”, featuring the voices of Eddie Murphy, Mike Myers and Cameron Diaz, opened in 2001.

Music:
The final single from “The Beatles”, “Let it Be”, was released in the United States in 1970…K-pop boy band BTS released their album “Love Yourself: Tear” in 2018.

Sports:
Arizona Diamondbacks starter Randy Johnson blanked the Atlanta Braves 2-0 in 2004 and became 16th pitcher in MLB history to throw a perfect game.
 
News:
Mount St Helens erupted in Washington state 1980, causing the largest landslide in history. A total of 57 people were killed and the damage was an estimated $1 billion.

Celebrity Birthdays:
Actress Priscilla Pointer (“Dallas,” ″Carrie,” ″Blue Velvet”) is 97; actor Robert Morse is 90; actor Dwayne Hickman (“The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis”) is 87; legendary Baltimore Orioles third baseman Brooks Robinson is 84; actress Candice Azzara (“In Her Shoes,” ″Caroline in the City,” ″Rhoda”) is 80; bluegrass singer-guitarist Rodney Dillard of The Dillards is 79; Hall of Fame slugger Reggie Jackson is 75; country singer Joe Bonsall of the Oak Ridge Boys is 73; singer Mark Mothersbaugh of Devo is 71; actor James Stephens (“Paper Chase,” ″Father Dowling Mysteries”) is 70; country singer George Strait is 69; actor Chow Yun-Fat (“Anna and the King,” ″The Replacement Killers”) is 66; French tennis player Yannick Noah is 61; singer-actress Martika (“Wiseguy”) is 52; comedian Tina Fey (“30 Rock,” ″Saturday Night Live”) is 51; musician Jack Johnson is 46; country singer David Nail is 42; former University of Texas star quarterback Vince Young is 38; actress Violett Beane (“God Friended Me”) is 25.

-Did You Know?:
“Baretta” was a retooled version of crime drama “Toma,” which ended abruptly on ABC when Tony Musante left the series after one season…During “Murphy Brown’s” initial 10-season run, Candice Bergen as Murphy had a total of 93 secretaries. One was Marcia Wallace playing her Carol Kester character from “The Bob Newhart Show”…Contrary to common belief, “Green Acres” was not a spin-off from “Petticoat Junction.“ While both were set in the fictional town of Hooterville and there were several crossovers between the two series, the characters of Oliver (Eddie Albert) and Lisa Douglas (Eva Gabor) were not introduced on “Petticoat Junction”…“Fame” moved into first-run syndication when NBC canceled it after two seasons in 1982