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First-run syndicated television dramas from the late 80s-90s

Aragorn

Aragorn

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Anyone have fond memories this era of first-run syndication? Production costs for one-hour dramas were up and profits from one-hour reruns were down. So syndication became a pretty popular model during this time.

Everyone on this board already knows about Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Highlander and Babylon 5. And Baywatch was the top show in the world.

We had everything from Hercules and Xena to Forever Knight, Earth: Final Conflict and Andromeda. And a lot of stuff in between. Probably a lot more shows than we even know about, both short-lived and successful, and some that were pretty awful.

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=URByn3rdQbI[/yt]

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUA1lVXEw2o[/yt]

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BvEpEGWw-5k[/yt]

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDV8Vaz7ymI[/yt]

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-F_Tk3Ep8oU[/yt]

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SCtL0NH1X8w[/yt]

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SUZZwG0Shck[/yt]

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OinoZW2abB0[/yt]

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2A7_MimN3Q8[/yt]

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5tcn3Y2PM8[/yt]

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slOxN92RYsk[/yt]

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnscR_K0Glw[/yt]

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4bsoTvdGrMQ[/yt]

I have a soft spot for the Action Pack lineup:

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RLs4GDCugg4[/yt]
 
Man this thread brings back some memories... I watched a LOT of those shows when I was a kid.
 
I watched far more of these shows than I did what was on the main broadcast networks. In the days before infomercials took over local stations, these shows often aired in non-primetime slots in my area when nothing else was on. Sure, they were campy as hell, but that's what I liked about them.
 
IndyJones said:
Bonus points for remembering The Cape. :techman:
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When I saw it, they were airing it in the middle of the night here if I recall correctly.

I remember enjoying it a lot and probably still have at least some of them recorded on tape somewhere.
 
Looks like they're making a comeback:

Dolph Lundgren To Star In Emmett/Furla’s ‘Rescue 3?; Tribune Gives
Show 2-Year Order

Now the company has found an U.S. distributor in Tribune Broadcasting, which will launch Rescue 3 on its stations in primetime in fall 2013.
Tribune has picked up the series with a massive two-year order with a 104-week guarantee. “We are very happy that first-run scripted programming is back in syndication,” said Sean Compton, President of
Programming and Entertainment at Tribune. Indeed, Rescue 3 is a throwback to old times, when action-adventure series like Baywatch, Xena, Hercules and Andromeda heated up the syndication market.
Click to expand...
 
That'sa good to hear. I really miss solidly-based action-adventure shows on TV.

But I guess in hindsight what really made these types of shows somewhat unnecessary in syndication was the influx of so many shows from the various broadcast and cable networks. Unlike the networks, local stations could buy reruns of proven shows with built-in audiences rather than take any kind of chance on unknown shows that could be hit or miss with viewers.
 
I think the only ones I watched regularly were War of the Worlds and Time Trax.

I was never able to get into Hercules and Xena, and got tired of Earth: Final Conflict after the first season.

And most of those "action" shows were just lame as hell.
 
I only saw a few episodes, but I couldn't help but like V.I.P.E.R.. It's kind of funny how it was viewed as a rip-off of Knight Rider, but the recent Knight Rider series kind of ripped it off with K.I.T.T.'s ability to morph.

Speaking of which, I only saw one or two episodes, but there was also T.K.R. (Team Knight Rider).
 
LOTS of memories. But you left out a few like Time Cop and Tek War.

Secret Adventures of Jules Verne and Arthur Conan Doyle's: The Lost World came in at the very tail end of the 1st run syndie era.
 
Ian Keldon said:
LOTS of memories. But you left out a few like Time Cop and Tek War.
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Timecop was on ABC, unless you're thinking about Time Trax. The TekWar TV movies were syndicated, but the series was on USA.

This wasn't meant to be a comprehensive list, because obviously a ton of shows weren't mentioned (many of them godawful), just a refresher for anyone who watched syndicated shows back then.
 
I've been trying to remember but it's a bit fuzzy, wasn't there a show where a theme song sequence featured a speed boat (Not Baywatch) that was part of the network that brought Kung Fu: The Legend Continues and Babylon 5? The only other show I remember was Time Trax, which I actually never saw. Still, the 90s first run syndication was very memorable.
 
tomalak301 said:
I've been trying to remember but it's a bit fuzzy, wasn't there a show where a theme song sequence featured a speed boat (Not Baywatch) that was part of the network that brought Kung Fu: The Legend Continues and Babylon 5? The only other show I remember was Time Trax, which I actually never saw. Still, the 90s first run syndication was very memorable.
Click to expand...

I posted the Thunder in Paradise opening. Is that what you're thinking of?
 
Aragorn said:
tomalak301 said:
I've been trying to remember but it's a bit fuzzy, wasn't there a show where a theme song sequence featured a speed boat (Not Baywatch) that was part of the network that brought Kung Fu: The Legend Continues and Babylon 5? The only other show I remember was Time Trax, which I actually never saw. Still, the 90s first run syndication was very memorable.
Click to expand...

I posted the Thunder in Paradise opening. Is that what you're thinking of?
Click to expand...

Yeah. That's another thing I miss. The Cheesy songs in the intros. I'm listening to this theme song and it is so close to the Baywatch theme it's not funny. I didn't know Hulk Hogan was in this show.

I guess they had two songs. The one I listened to sounded close to Baywatch. The one you posted, Aragorn, sounds nothing like the Baywatch theme.
 
Drago-Kazov said:
Pensacola was downright awfull.
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I've never really watched it, but I've heard how bad it was. Not just in quality, but also accuracy (in regards to both Pensacola itself and Pensacola NAS).

I've lived here for 18 years. I can assure you there are no mountains or deserts in Pensacola! :lol:
 
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