Let The Sunshine In (1969-70)
"But in the field of television, the strongest constant has been Miss Lucille Ball. She entered this decade one of the medium's biggest stars, and that is exactly how she will depart it - though in a very different role. In 1960, she continued to appear on the "Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour" specials with her now ex-husband, and co-stars Vivian Vance and the late William Frawley, as an actress and comedienne. Today, she is the sole chief executive of Desilu, the studio she co-founded with Desi Arnaz, which has remained one of the most successful in Hollywood. Desilu's programming has helped to define this era in which we Americans are living, and the challenges we're facing ahead. We see no reason that she won't continue to be as firm a fixture in the coming decade as she has been in the last two."
- Excerpt from The 1960s in Review, in the December 15 - 21, 1969, edition of Variety
There was no doubt about it – as the 1960s came to a close – Desilu was the toast of the town. In addition to the critical acclaim and awards recognition bestowed upon the series produced there, this season marked the apogee of their ratings success - all three ranked in the Top 30 for the 1969-70 season, with one of them cracking the Top 10. But such astonishing success did not come without its own price. Star Trek and “Mission: Impossible”, the twin triumphs that had turned the studio into “The House that Paladin Built”, both found themselves facing troubles with their respective casts, though very divergent ones.
The husband-and-wife team of Martin Landau and Barbara Bain, hot off their Emmy wins as Outstanding Actor and Actress in a Dramatic Series, wanted more money to stay with “Mission: Impossible”. It was no bluff, either; the two of them were fully prepared to walk. In an 11th-hour meeting, Desilu and CBS agreed that the two were worth keeping, and signed the pair to a two-year contract extension. [1] (Landau and Bain had initially insisted on taking extensions on a season-by-season basis, but made this concession as a compromise.)
The situation on Star Trek was more complicated. Most of the supporting cast – led by James Doohan, who played Scotty – demanded credit in the opening titles, alongside stars William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, and DeForest Kelley, rather than in the end credits. Obviously, the five actors (Doohan, Nichelle Nichols, George Takei, Walter Koenig, and John Winston [2] – with Majel Barrett, Gene Roddenberry’s mistress, remaining conspicuously silent on the issue) could not all be added there, or the opening would run too long. In the end, a surprisingly simple compromise took a surprisingly long time to reach: the supporting actors who appeared in each episode would be listed in Act I, on the episode's title card, under the heading “Co-Starring”, followed by the writer and director credits on the next card.
These issues, however, were minor speed bumps on the otherwise very smooth ride for Desilu. Lucille Ball, having ended her onscreen career, was free to focus on running the studio, a responsibility she handled with aplomb. But Paramount had made good on the deal she had signed in 1967, and were now beginning to produce programs of their own, using her studio space. Conferring with her right-hand man, Herb Solow, the two agreed that Desilu could produce four shows – as the studio had done in the 1967-68 season – rather than just three, and allow Paramount carte blanche to the rest of their lot. Financially, it suited Desilu's needs just fine; Ball was a champion of allowing her shows the greatest amount of creative expression possible, but the extra costs had to come from somewhere.
One of the first producers to approach them when the word went out was a distinguished veteran, and longtime friend of Ball: Rod Serling. He had been thoroughly impressed with the high quality of the studio's product, the creative freedom afforded to producers, and the reputation for furthering and legitimizing "genre" television. He pitched a macabre anthology series idea he had called "Night Gallery". Ball and Solow both loved the idea, and immediately set to work in the pilot: this would be picked up by NBC and air as a television movie in late 1969, ahead of the series proper, which would begin airing in the 1970-71 season. [3]
In contrast to the established Desilu, Paramount Television failed to make much of an impact with its first two shows: "Room 222" and "Barefoot in the Park", both of which aired on ABC. This did not discourage Division President Grant Tinker, who still had an ace up his sleeve: his wife, Mary Tyler Moore. She had co-starred in "The Dick Van Dyke Show", and remained extremely popular. A vehicle for his wife would be just what Paramount needed to get a sure-fire hit on its hands. Tinker consulted the creator of "Room 222", James L. Brooks, who was commissioned to write a pilot script with his partner, Allan Burns. [4] The decision was also made to adapt another Neil Simon play (that had also been adapted into a film), "The Odd Couple", to join "Barefoot" on the studio's roster. This had been Paramount owner Charles Bluhdorn's idea; he supported synergy between Paramount's film division (which had produced the movie) and its television division.
On the broadcasting front, since the collapse of the DuMont Network in 1956, there had only been the three networks on television: ABC, NBC, and CBS. The nearest thing to a “fourth network” was the publicly-owned National Educational Television, or NET. However – contrary to what was the case in the Commonwealth countries – in the USA, the public broadcaster was not dominant – far from it. Indeed, it had barely been viable for the last several years, teetering on the edge of going the way of DuMont. That changed with the election of President Humphrey, who – in one of his first acts in office – earmarked the funding necessary to utterly revamp NET. The new network to be established from its ashes would be called the Public Broadcasting System, or PBS. It would begin broadcasting in 1970. [5]
With regards to ratings for the three networks, CBS had 14 shows in the Top 30; the same amount as in the previous year. NBC had been reduced to 10, with ABC seeing their numbers rise to 6. However, NBC had five of the Top 10 shows, with CBS having only four. ABC had their first Top 10 hit since the heyday of the aging “Bewitched”, with the brand-new series “Marcus Welby, M.D.” Once again, “Laugh-In” was the #1 show of the year, though viewership numbers were down. Monday night continued to be the most-watched night of the week, with a whopping five of the Top 10 airing on that night alone (three on CBS and two on NBC). A further four shows airing that night placed in the Top 30, for a total of nine. Friday, on the other hand, continued to be the only day of the week shut out from the Top 30.
At the Emmy Awards that summer, Star Trek won Outstanding Drama Series for the second time, making it the fourth consecutive year that a Desilu series had taken home the big prize. Leonard Nimoy also won his second trophy for Supporting Actor; and for the fourth consecutive year, Barbara Bain won the Emmy for Lead Actress. Winning for Outstanding Comedy Series was one of Paramount’s new shows, the fledgling “Room 222”, which also picked up the Emmys for Supporting Actor and Actress in a Comedy Series. [6] The Emmy win proved a boon to the struggling series, and marked a triumphant end to an uneven first season for Paramount…
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[1] IOTL, Paramount wasn’t willing to hand out the extra money, resulting in the pair’s departure. Here, the added cachet of an Emmy win for Landau, coupled with the more accommodating brass at Desilu, means that most of their demands are met, and they stay. Interestingly, Landau’s OTL replacement was the recently-unemployed Leonard Nimoy – obviously Nimoy would not be available ITTL even if Landau did leave. (The show lasted an additional four seasons without Bain and Landau IOTL.)
[2] Winston, as Transporter Chief Kyle, has appeared in 28 episodes, putting him up three on Barrett, as Nurse Chapel. IOTL, the character of Kyle appeared in the animated series (though not voiced by Winston) and made a cameo in Star Trek II, so obviously the creators liked the character (and/or actor) and wanted him around, but couldn’t afford to keep another regular given the budget problems.
[3] Serling, IOTL, partnered with a production team that did not respect his control-freak nature and creative genius; therefore, the resulting show suffered. Here, he's smart enough to pair with a studio that has a reputation for letting creators off their leash, and with whom he already has an "in" to begin with, as Desilu was involved in the early development of The Twilight Zone. The airing schedule is as per OTL; "pilot movies" were very common in this era. This will also give Desilu two shows on NBC, and two shows on CBS.
[4] Brooks and Burns created "Mary Tyler Moore" IOTL. Accordingly, this show's development will follow the same trajectory.
[5] IOTL, Nixon wanted to slash funding for public broadcasting from $20 million to less than half that – effectively strangling PBS in the cradle. The prospective network was saved by the most unlikely candidate: a mild-mannered, soft-spoken man of faith, by the name of Mister Fred Rogers. His arguments before Sen. John Pastore rescued PBS from oblivion. ITTL, that won’t be necessary, alas.
[6] The Emmy Awards have historically been very kind to critically-acclaimed but struggling shows, and have been known to award them (as a kind of advocacy). IOTL, the 1969 Emmy for Dramatic Series was almost certainly awarded to "NET Playhouse" because Nixon's funding cuts were threatening the end of public television altogether. Since that wasn't a threat ITTL with the election of Humphrey, it instead went to "Mission: Impossible" (over the more controversial choice of Star Trek).
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And with this update, we have finally arrived in the 1970s! Welcome to the "Me" Decade, everyone!