The Reign of Brandon Tartikoff

Brandon Tartikoff saw the best of times and the worst of times during his reign as the programming chief for NBC in the 1980s. The best of times:  Hill Street Blues, L.A. Law, Miami Vice, Cheers, St. Elsewhere, Family Ties, The Cosby Show, Hunter, Late Night with...

The Peacock Becomes a Phoenix

In the 1980s, NBC’s peacock rose like a phoenix after startling programming disasters, including Pink Lady and Jeff, Supertrain, and the departure of the original Not Ready for Prime Time cast of Saturday Night Live.  Under programming guru Brandon Tartikoff and...

“L.A. Law” Retrospective (Part 1 of 8)

Media historians will likely document the 1980s as the Decade of the Peacock.  As television approached its 40th anniversary since Milton Berle launched the medium into mass status in 1948 with Texaco Star Theatre, NBC’s avian emblem emerged like a phoenix,...

“Brooklyn Bridge”

To be a Brooklyn Dodgers fan in the 1950s was to realize that Brooklyn is a heritage thing, rooted firmly in the cornerstone of family. Throughout the borough, several generations of a family lived in the same neighborhood.  In some cases, they lived in the same...