Wheel series
A wheel series, wheel show, wheel format or umbrella series is a television series in which two or more regular programs are rotated in the same time slot. Sometimes the wheel series is given its own umbrella title and promoted as a single unit instead of promoting its separate components.
The most successful example of a wheel series on American television was the
History
The concept debuted in 1955 with
In 1959 ITV in the United Kingdom introduced The Four Just Men, a 39 episode series linking the common purpose of four characters: Jeff Ryder (Richard Conte), Tim Collier (Dan Dailey), Ben Manfred (Jack Hawkins) and Ricco Poccari (Vittorio De Sica). Each episode (after the first) featured a different principal, but frequently included one or more of the others.[3]
In ABC's 77 Sunset Strip (1958-64) the two detectives would typically alternate as leads, with a Stuart Bailey case being featured one week, and a Jeff Spencer case the next.[4]
In NBC's 90 Bristol Court (1964-65), three unrelated comedy programs set in the same place were shown consecutively in one evening. They were tied together by a single character, handyman Cliff Murdoch (Guy Raymond). [5]
NBC began working with the mystery crime drama wheel format in 1968 with the 90-minute The Name of the Game.[1] Based on the successful 1966 telefilm, Fame Is the Name of the Game, the first of the long-running World Premiere Movie series, it featured three main characters who worked for the same media corporation in different capacities, each character serving as a springboard for a different type of story.[6]
NBC launched a wheel show each year for the subsequent three years:
Attempts at reviving the format were made in 1989 with the Mystery Wheel of Adventure, a series of made-for-syndication TV movies including six installments of a new version of
List of wheel series
NBC
- The Name of the Game (1968–1971)
- The Bold Ones (1969–1973)
- Four in One (1970–1971)
- The NBC Mystery Movie / NBC Sunday Mystery Movie (1971–1977)
- NBC Wednesday Mystery Movie / NBC Tuesday Mystery Movie (1971–1974)[1]
- Search (1972–1973)
- The NBC Friday Night Mystery (1993–1994)[13]
ABC
- Warner Bros. Presents (1955–1956)[1]
- The Men (1972)[1]
- The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries (January 1977–February 1978). This wheel included The Brady Bunch Hour (January 23–February 27, 1977). The two remaining shows were combined, but later the Drew character was dropped.[14]
- The ABC Mystery Movie (1989–1990), later split into the ABC Monday Mystery Movie (February 6–May 1989) and ABC Saturday Mystery Movie (August 1989–August 1990)[9]
CBS
- The New CBS Tuesday Night Movies (1973)[1] rotating two series with made-for-TV films[1]
Hallmark Channel
- Hallmark Channel Mystery Wheel (2005–2008)[11]
Hallmark Movies & Mysteries
- Mystery Wheel (2015–present)[12]
Syndication
- Fred Flintstone and Friends (1977–1978)
- Hanna–Barbera's World of Super Adventure (1978–1979)
- The Comic Strip (1987-88)
- Action Pack (1994–1995) initially a wheel series of telefilms before becoming a programming block of action series[15]
- Mystery Wheel of Adventure (1989–1990[7]) six The Saint telefilms along with three telemovies featuring Dick Francis's detective David Cleveland[7]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h Gunzerath, David. "NBC Mystery Movie, The". In Newcomb, Horace (ed.). Encyclopedia of Television. Fitzroy Dearborn. Retrieved February 1, 2018 – via The Museum of Broadcast Communications.
- ^ Anderson, Christopher. "Warner Brothers Presents". In Newcomb, Horace (ed.). Encyclopedia of Television. Fitzroy Dearborn. Retrieved February 1, 2018 – via The Museum of Broadcast Communications.
- ^ 'In Vision: If Only All the New Shows Had the Shine of "Four Just Men"', The Stage, 17 September 1959, p. 12.
- ^ Laurence, Marcus (26 January 2019). "77 SUNSET STRIP 1958 UNITED STATES". Television Heaven. Retrieved 20 October 2020.
- ^ "Karen". Nostalgia Central. 25 March 2014. Retrieved 20 October 2020.
- ^ Anderson, Christopher. "The Name of the Game". In Newcomb, Horace (ed.). Encyclopedia of Television. Fitzroy Dearborn. Retrieved February 1, 2018 – via The Museum of Broadcast Communications.
- ^ a b c Letofsky, Irv (October 13, 1989). "TV Review : 'The Saint' First Up on the Mystery Wheel". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 1, 2018.
- ^ "A Sainted Circle Of Private Eyes". Chicago Tribune. October 13, 1989. Retrieved February 2, 2018.
- ^ ISBN 9780307483201. Retrieved February 3, 2018.
- ^ Lawler, Sylvia (May 23, 1993). "Nbc Aims To Reverse The Trend". The Morning Call. Tribune Publishing. p. 2. Retrieved February 2, 2018.
- ^ a b "Another Cable Network Turns to Crime". Ad Age. Retrieved January 19, 2018.
- ^ a b Lewis, Hilary (March 13, 2014). "Hallmark Movie Channel Rebranding". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved March 14, 2014.
- ^ Lawler, Sylvia (May 23, 1993). "Nbc Aims To Reverse The Trend". The Morning Call. Tribune Publishing. p. 2. Retrieved February 2, 2018.
- ISBN 9780307483201. Retrieved February 2, 2018.
- ^ Cerone, Daniel (January 16, 1994). "Television : There's Action Off the Beaten Path". Los Angeles Times. pp. 1–2. Retrieved June 8, 2017.