Copyright Screen Rant
The 1970s came with several iconic TV shows, but some of the least memorable still deserve some attention. Every decade comes with new TV trends, and the '70s are no exception. These were the years of family-focused sitcoms, urban dramas, and variety shows, many of which are still popular today. Still, some shows were essentially forgotten. Modern viewers are likely still familiar with 1970s hits like The Waltons, Happy Days, Three's Company, and All in the Family. This decade also saw the popularization of female-led action projects like Charlie's Angels and Wonder Woman. Today, 1970s shows are revered and even remade, but you're unlikely to see these forgotten gems discussed in quite the same way. Flatbush (1979) Created by David Epstein and starring William Asher, Mel Ferber, Harvey S. Laidman, and Tony Mordente, Flatbush first arrived on CBS in February 1979. The series followed a group of recent high school graduates who roam Brooklyn in search of fun, excitement, and purpose. Flatbush was canceled only a month after its premiere. The central gang was supposed to be lovable, but it seemed that '70s audiences simply didn't buy it. While the series still has some glaring issues, distance and nostalgia make it far more endearing. Mrs. Columbo (1979 - 1980) Mrs. Columbo, set up as a spinoff of the hit TV show Columbo, premiered on NBC in 1979. It ran for 13 episodes and followed the wife of Lieutenant Columbo, Kate, a news reporter with a knack for solving crimes (all while raising her daughter). Mrs. Columbo struggled to find its audience. NBC even renamed the series and the central character in a desperate attempt to improve ratings, but it just never happened. This led to Mrs. Columbo's cancellation and general obscurity. Still, this series is worth remembering for its lead star, Kate Mulgrew, best known as Captain Kathryn Janeway in Star Trek: Voyager and Red in Orange is the New Black. Holmes & Yoyo (1976 - 1977) Police comedy Holmes & Yoyo ran for a single season between 1976 and 1977 on ABC. It followed police detective Alexander Holmes, who is notorious for getting his colleagues injured. Therefore, he is assigned a new partner, high-tech android Gregory "Yoyo" Yoyonovich. Holmes & Yoyo was executive produced by Leonard Stern, the writer of the 1960s series Get Smart, which also featured an android named Yoyo. Obviously, Holmes & Yoyo is entirely ridiculous, and this contributed to its short run. Still, with several episodes directed by John Astin and stars like John Schuck, it can't be denied that this 1970s TV show has some rare golden moments. Grady (1975 - 1976) NBC sitcom Sanford and Son remains one of the most memorable TV shows of the 1970s, but the same cannot be said for its spin-off series, Grady. The project followed Fred Sanford's friend, Grady Wilson (Whitman Mayo), a recent widower who moves in with his daughter in Westwood. Grady struggled with ratings, and it was canceled in March 1976, only a few months after its December 1975 premiere. Today, the cult-classic success of Sanford and Son makes Grady a must-watch for any die-hard fan of the franchise. It's not perfect, but it certainly has its place. Space Academy (1977 - 1979) The success of Star Trek, beginning in the 1960s, led to a wave of science fiction TV shows in the 1970s, among them 1977's Space Academy. The series, set in 3732, explored the goings on at the titular Space Academy, where the galaxy's most talented young minds came to expand their unique abilities. Space Academy was a Saturday morning children's television show and was therefore relatively low-budget for a sci-fi series. The 15 filmed episodes fulfilled the show's overall plans, so it wasn't technically canceled. Still, Space Academy is primarily remembered by those who grew up watching reruns on CBS. Makin’ It (1979) 1979's Makin' It had a surprising number of prominent minds behind it. Created by Mark Rothman (Laverne and Shirley) and Garry Marshall (The Dick Van Dyke Show), it should have been a real hit. Makin' It was set up as a sort of Saturday Night Fever follow-up. It starred David Naughton as Billy Manucci, a regular patron of a New Jersey disco club. Unfortunately, 1979 was not the right year for Makin' It to premiere. The disco craze was all but dead as society entered the 1980s, so Makin' It was seen as more cringy than trendy. Today, however, disco nostalgia is at an all-time high, so we can reflect on this series more positively. Bearcats! (1971) CBS's 1971 Western television series Bearcats! is another product of the decade that, on paper, should have been a hit. Produced by Filmways Inc. (The Addams Family, The Beverly Hillbillies, Green Acres), Bearcats! was directed by Richard Donner and starred Rod Taylor (Young Cassidy) and Dennis Lee Cole as troubleshooters in the later years of the American Wild West. Bearcats! was promoted as a massive new project, and, as a result, it quickly developed a loyal fanbase. The premiere had high viewership, but this dropped off sharply with each episode—it simply couldn't compete with other programming. By the series' end, most had already forgotten about Bearcats!. A Year At The Top (1977) A Year at the Top is a fantasy sitcom created by musician Heywood Kling and starring David Letterman's musical director, Paul Shaffer, and Broadway star Greg Evigan. The story is based on the Faust legend, and revolves around two musicians who make a deal with the devil for a year of fame and success. The creatives behind A Year at the Top expected the series to be a hit, so a great deal of money was invested in the show's soundtrack by Casablanca Records. Unfortunately, the series was canceled after only five episodes. Regardless, the music and unique story make A Year at the Top entirely worth reviving. Salvage 1 (1979) Unlike many of the forgotten TV shows on this list, Salvage 1 actually managed to stay on air for nearly a full year. The series starred Andy Griffith, Joel Higgins, and Trish Stewart as a trio who build a spaceship with the goal of making a fortune off scrap metal retrieved from space. Salvage 1 was canceled just after the release of the first two episodes of season 2, leaving four episodes unaired. However, those remaining installments eventually arrived on Nostalgia Television in 1990. This led to a renewed appreciation for Salvage 1, though the series remains largely obscure today. Adam’s Rib (1973) MGM's Adam's Rib premiered in September 1973 and starred Ken Howard and Blythe Danner as a husband-wife duo, both of whom were lawyers. The pair often ended up on opposite sides during legal proceedings, placing their marriage at odds, especially as Danner's Amanda fought for women's rights.
