Week of 12/5: Whatever Happened To the Class Of '72?

Here's a link to a treat from YouTube; the CBS rookie Class of 1972:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Q-3rGavp1g

Class is right. From those shows, four - "M*A*S*H," "The Bob Newhart Show," "The Waltons" and "Maude" - went on to become television immortals.

A little bit about two that didn't quite succeed:

*"Anna and the King" was, of course, a serial version of the great musical "The King and I." Yul Brynner decided to try series television in the role that made him a legend, while Samantha Eggar played Anna Leonowens. The show is worth mentioning because the pilot episode, which also featured character actor Keye Luke, is one of the extras on the DVD release of "The King and I."

*"The New Bill Cosby Show" was show number 4 of 8 series he's done (so far, and counting the animated ones). It was a variety show, won a Golden Globe, but never really caught on. Cosby didn't have long to cry, though; he was already in a featured role on the PBS program "The Electric Company," and he had a Saturday morning hit with "Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids." Hey, hey, hey!

Now on to the ones that did succeed:

*"Maude": I believe the clip in the YouTube video is from an episode of "All In the Family," where the character of Maude Findlay, Edith Bunker's feminist (at least in her mind) cousin, originated. Beatrice Arthur played Maude with guts through many controversial episodes, including one in which the character has an abortion. Bill Macy played Maude's long-suffering husband, Walter, Adrienne Barbeau played her equally much-married daughter, Carol, and Rue McClanahan and Conrad Bain played their neighbors, Vivian and Arthur Harmon. Esther Rolle's character of Florida Evans ("Good Times") originated on this show as well. And then there's Donny Hathaway's great version of the theme song. ("Lady Godiva was a freedom rider....")Norman Lear continued his magic. The first season is available on DVD.

*"The Waltons": I talked about this show last week; the clips on the preview come from 1971's "The Homecoming: A Christmas Story," which featured the actors who played the Walton children in the series.

*"The Bob Newhart Show": Interesting clip on YouTube, because children were never part of the show, and Bob Newhart famously told a story that when the writers wanted Suzanne Pleshette's character of Emily to be pregnant, he told them, "Who are you going to get to play Bob?" It definitely is not from the show's very funny first episode, "Fly the Unfriendly Skies," (available, along with the show's first three seasons, at Hulu.com) in which Bob tries to get Emily to take a plane flight.
But the YouTube scene does show them in bed; interesting when one remembers the hilarious ending to "Newhart," in which Dick Loudon, the Vermont innkeeper, and all the characters around him turn out to have been a dream of Bob Hartley, who ate too much Japanese food. Much of "The Bob Newhart Show" is also available on DVD.

*"M*A*S*H": The clip on YouTube is from the pilot episode, but the show would really start to hit its stride halfway through the first season and go on to 251 episodes, including the highest-rated program in television history, the finale "Goodbye, Farewell and Amen." The entire series is available on DVD; the "Medicine and Martinis Collection," which includes the series, the movie and all televised retrospectives, is a good bargain buy.

See you next week. Until then, Happy Viewing!