Bay City Blues

Last updated
Bay City Blues
Bay City Blues.jpg
Genre
Created by
Starring
Composer Mike Post
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes8
Production
Executive producers
  • Steven Bochco
  • Gregory Hoblit
Producers
  • Jeffrey Wallace
  • Rick Wallace
Production location Pacoima, Los Angeles, California
Camera setup Single-camera
Running time45–48 minutes
Production company MTM Enterprises
Original release
Network NBC
ReleaseOctober 25, 1983 (1983-10-25) –
July 8, 1984 (1984-07-08)

Bay City Blues is an American comedy-drama television series that aired on NBC from October 25 to November 15, 1983. [1] The series stars Michael Nouri, Dennis Franz, and Pat Corley, and was created and produced by Steven Bochco. [1] [2] Eight episodes were produced, but only four were aired prior to its cancellation.

Contents

Synopsis

Bay City Blues centers on a Bay City, California minor league baseball team, the Bluebirds. Players varied from young hopefuls to once-great players who were sent to the minors before retirement. Storylines revolve around the players' lives, loves, and problems. Bay City Blues features an ensemble cast of regulars including a then-unknown Sharon Stone, Mykelti Williamson and Dennis Franz.

The series from producer Steven Bochco utilized many actors who had appeared on Hill Street Blues including Franz, Jurasik, Corley and Rodriguez. After the series' cancellation, Ken Olin joined Hill Street Blues cast in the fall of 1984 and Mykelti Williamson appeared in a recurring role. Michael Nouri portrayed Joe Rohner, the Bluebirds' kindly manager. His love interest on the show was played by Kelly Harmon (whose brother, Mark, was starring simultaneously on another NBC drama, St. Elsewhere ).

Franz joined the cast of Hill Street Blues in the fall of 1985, and Michele Greene was cast in another Bocho show, L.A. Law , when it premiered in the fall of 1986.

Filming

Filming took place in a parking lot in Pacoima, a neighborhood town in Los Angeles, California. Production for Bay City Blues was started in August 1983.

Broadcast

Scheduled opposite ABC's Hart to Hart and CBS's Tuesday Night Movies, Bay City Blues drew poor ratings and was pulled from NBC's lineup after airing four of the eight episodes that were produced at 10 pm. [1] The four remaining episodes were aired by selected affiliates in two-hour blocks on Sunday July 1 and Sunday July 8, 1984, after the local news broadcasts.[ citation needed ] The prime-time run ended up ranking 93rd out of 101 programs, averaging only a 10 household rating and a 17 percent audience share. [3]

The remaining four episodes had not been seen again in prime-time until 2011, when ESPN Classic acquired the rights to the series and aired all eight episodes.[ citation needed ]

Cast

US television ratings

SeasonEpisodesStart DateEnd DateNielsen RankNielsen Rating [4] Tied With
1983-848October 25, 1983July 8, 19849210.0"Two Marriages"

Episodes

No.TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air date
1"Pilot" Gregory Hoblit Steven Bochco & Jeffrey Lewis October 25, 1983 (1983-10-25)

Everyone on the minor-league Bay City (California) Bluebirds dreams of baseball's big leagues; team owner Ray Holtz dreams of profits.

Guest stars: Kevin McCarthy and Barry Tubb
2"Beautiful Peoples"Michael Rhodes Thad Mumford & Dan WilcoxNovember 1, 1983 (1983-11-01)

On his own Appreciation Day, Ozzie People strikes out and later is caught stealing; meanwhile, Rohner and Jacoby are on the rebound from losing their wives.

Guest stars: Leonard Stone, E. G. Daily, and Woodrow Parfrey
3"Zircons Are Forever"Allen ReisnerStory by : Steven Bochco & Jeffrey Lewis
Teleplay by : David Milch 		November 8, 1983 (1983-11-08)

Prospect St. Marie signs with a high-powered agent, spawning resentment; Rohner balks at going into business with Hayward; pitcher Mickey Wagner returns to the bluebirds.

Guest stars: Barry Tubb, Rob Kim, David Sage, Shane McCabe, Robert Costanzo, Sunny Johnson, John Furey, Diane Franklin, and Denise Galik-Furey
4"I Never Swung for My Father" Arthur Allan Seidelman Joel Surnow November 15, 1983 (1983-11-15)

Vic and Moe Kreskey fight; Hayward becomes even more insistent about his business proposal and more perplexed by Rohner's resistance; Padillo, Scott, and Jacoby pay a solemn final tribute to a fallen colleague.

Guest stars: Barry Tubb, Ellen Blake, Rob Kim, John Karlen, John Furey, Sunny Johnson, William Lucking, and Erich Anderson
5"Going, Going, Gone" Rick Wallace Steven Bochco & Jeffrey LewisJuly 1, 1984 (1984-07-01)
Guest stars: Barry Tubb, Jeremy Licht, and Eddie Velez
6"Look Homeward Hayward"
"Hurry Home Hayward"		Arthur Allan SeidelmanSteven Bochco & Jeffrey LewisJuly 1, 1984 (1984-07-01)
Guest stars: Barry Tubb, Jeremy Licht, and Eddie Velez
7"Rocky IV-Eyes"Rick WallaceSteven Bochco & Jeffrey LewisJuly 8, 1984 (1984-07-08)

Rocky tries to improve his vision,but his new glasses prove to be a distraction.

Guest stars: Barry Tubb, Ellen Blake, Julius Carry, Mark Patrick Costello, Jay Gerber, Steve Greenstein, Darian Mathias, and Eddie Velez
8"Play It Again, Milt" Thomas Carter Steven Bochco & Jeffrey LewisJuly 8, 1984 (1984-07-08)

At season's end everyone considers their next moves; Ray commits his wife; Milt dies while playing the organ.

Guest stars: Barry Tubb, E. Erick Anderson, Julius Carry, Robert Davi, Robin Gammell, Wiley Harker, Sunny Johnson, and Kevin McCarthy

Related Research Articles

<i>Cop Rock</i> 1990 American crime drama musical television series

Cop Rock is an American police procedural musical television series created by Steven Bochco and William M. Finkelstein for the American Broadcasting Company. It premiered on September 26, 1990, and broadcast eleven episodes before concluding on December 26. It was both a critical and commercial failure when it originally aired.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steven Bochco</span> American television writer and producer (1943–2018)

Steven Ronald Bochco was an American television writer and producer. He developed a number of television series, mostly crime dramas, including Hill Street Blues; L.A. Law; Doogie Howser, M.D.; Cop Rock; and NYPD Blue.

<i>Hill Street Blues</i> American police drama television series (1981–1987)

Hill Street Blues is an American serial police procedural television series that aired on NBC in prime-time from January 15, 1981, to May 12, 1987, for 146 episodes. The show chronicles the lives of the Metropolitan Police Department staff of a single police station located on Hill Street in an unnamed large U.S. city. The "blues" are the police officers in their blue uniforms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Jurasik</span> American actor (born 1950)

Peter Jurasik is an American actor known for his television roles as Londo Mollari in the 1990s science fiction series Babylon 5 and Sid the Snitch on the 1980s series Hill Street Blues and its short-lived spinoff Beverly Hills Buntz. Peter Jurasik also portrayed Oberon Geiger, Diana's boss, in the T.V. series Sliders.

<i>Manimal</i> American superhero television series (1983)

Manimal is an American superhero television series created by Glen A. Larson and Donald R. Boyle, it ran on NBC from September 30 to December 17, 1983. The show centers on the character Jonathan Chase, a shape-shifting man who can turn himself into any animal he chooses. He uses this ability to help the police solve crimes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ken Olin</span> American actor (born 1954)

Kenneth Edward Olin is an American actor, television director, and producer. As an actor, Olin is known for his role as Michael Steadman in the ABC drama series Thirtysomething (1987–1991), for which he received a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Drama nomination in 1990. Olin later began working behind the scenes, as a director and producer. His credits as a producer include Alias (2001–2006), Brothers & Sisters (2006–2011), and This Is Us (2016–2022). Olin is married to actress Patricia Wettig.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Patricia Wettig</span> American actress (born 1951)

Patricia Anne Wettig is an American actress and playwright. She is best known for her role as Nancy Weston in the television series Thirtysomething (1987–1991), for which she received a Golden Globe Award and three Primetime Emmy Awards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mykelti Williamson</span> American actor and director

Mykelti Williamson is an American actor best known for his roles in the films Forrest Gump, 12 Angry Men (1997), Con Air, and Ali, and the television shows Boomtown, 24, and Justified. In 2016, he portrayed Gabriel Maxson in Denzel Washington's acclaimed film adaptation of August Wilson's play Fences, reprising his role from the 2010 Broadway revival.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Milch</span> American TV writer and producer (born 1945)

David Sanford Milch is an American writer and producer of television series. He has created several television shows, including ABC's NYPD Blue (1993–2005), co-created with Steven Bochco, and HBO's Deadwood.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pat Corley</span> American actor (1930–2006)

Pat Corley, born "Cleo Pat Corley," was an American actor who portrayed bar owner Phil on the CBS sitcom Murphy Brown from 1988 to 1996. He also had a recurring role as Chief Coroner Wally Nydorf on the television drama Hill Street Blues (1981–87) and supporting roles in a number of films, including Night Shift (1982), Against All Odds (1984), and Mr. Destiny (1990).

<i>The Yellow Rose</i> 1983 American TV series or program

The Yellow Rose is an American soap opera television series that was broadcast on NBC from October 2, 1983, until May 12, 1984. The series was produced by Paul Freeman and was at least partly inspired by the more coltish elements of the soap opera Dallas, and dealt with the intrigues of the Texas-based Champion family who owned a 200,000-acre cattle and oil ranch called "The Yellow Rose".

<i>Bare Essence</i> American soap opera television series

Bare Essence is an American prime time soap opera television series which aired on NBC from February 15 to June 13, 1983, during the 1982–83 season. It starred Genie Francis as Tyger Hayes, and explored the intrigues of the perfume industry.

<i>Kidnapped</i> (American TV series) American crime drama television series

Kidnapped is an American crime drama television series created by Jason Smilovic and produced by Sony Pictures Television, which aired on NBC from September 20, 2006, to August 11, 2007.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">20th Television</span> American television production company

20th Television, Inc. is an American television production company which is a division of Disney Television Studios, part of the Disney Entertainment division of The Walt Disney Company. Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment distributes the television series produced by 20th Television in home media formats through the 20th Century Home Entertainment banner.

<i>Chicago Story</i> American crime drama television series

Chicago Story is an American crime drama television series that aired for 13 episodes on NBC from March 6 to June 11, 1982, following a 2-hour television film pilot that was broadcast earlier on March 15, 1981.

<i>NYPD Blue</i> season 2 Season of television series

The second season of NYPD Blue, an American television police drama set in New York City, aired as part of the 1994-95 United States network television schedule for ABC, premiering on October 11, 1994 and concluding on May 23, 1995. The show explores the internal and external struggles of the fictional 15th precinct of Manhattan. Each episode typically intertwines several plots involving an ensemble cast.

<i>Father Murphy</i> American western drama television series

Father Murphy is an American Western drama television series that aired on the NBC network from November 3, 1981 to September 18, 1983. Michael Landon created the series, was the executive producer, and directed the show in partnership with William F. Claxton, Maury Dexter, Victor French, and Leo Penn.

Gavilan is an American adventure drama television series that aired on NBC from October 26, 1982 until March 18, 1983.

"Hill Street Station" is the first episode of the first season of the American serial police drama Hill Street Blues. "Hill Street Station" originally aired in the United States on NBC on Thursday January 15, 1981, at 10:00 pm Eastern Time as part of a two-week five-episode limited-run pilot airing on Thursdays and Saturdays. The episode won numerous Primetime Emmy Awards, a Directors Guild of America Award, a Writers Guild of America Award, and an Edgar Award as well as Emmy Award nominations for film editing, music composition, and art direction. The episode was directed by Robert Butler and written by Michael Kozoll and Steven Bochco.

"Hearts and Souls" is the fifth episode of the sixth season and 115th overall of the American crime drama NYPD Blue. "Hearts and Souls" originally aired in the United States on ABC on Tuesday November 24, 1998, at 9:30 pm Eastern time as a 90-minute special. The episode was directed by Paris Barclay and written by Steven Bochco, David Milch, Bill Clark and Nicholas Wootton. It was the culmination of months of public speculation on the method of closure that would be employed to write Jimmy Smits's critically acclaimed Bobby Simone character out of the regular cast and clear the way for Smits' replacement, Rick Schroder. "Hearts and Souls" was a critical and commercial success, achieving both high ratings and positive critical feedback and is now regarded as one of the greatest episodes in television history. It marked the second high-profile replacement of the partner for lead character Detective Andy Sipowicz, played by Dennis Franz.

References

Citations

  1. 1 2 3 Brooks, Tim; Marsh, Earle (2007). The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows 1946–Present (9 ed.). New York: Random House Publishing. p. 111. ISBN   978-0-345-49773-4 . Retrieved 2024-06-07.
  2. ↑ Terrace 2011, p. 80.
  3. ↑ J Clawson (May 27, 1984). "1983-84 Ratings History -- The Networks Are Awash in a Bubble Bath of Soaps". The TV Ratings Guide. United States: Arlina Design. Akron Beacon Journal. Archived from the original on 2018-01-18. Retrieved March 16, 2018.
  4. ↑ "1983-84 Ratings History -- The Networks Are Awash in a Bubble Bath of Soaps". Archived from the original on 2018-01-18. Retrieved 2017-12-04.

Sources

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.