606: Staying Up For The Late Shift

About this episode

The episode explores the TV landscape during February sweeps in 1996, focusing on notable events and shows from that week.

This is an un-vaulting of EEHG 376. For this year's special This Week In TV History episode, we're journeying back to 1996 for February sweeps -- specifically, the week of February 21-27 -- and investigating all the starry stunts the networks AND premium cable channels were busting out to capture audiences. Leading (with its chin) is The Late Shift , HBO's TV movie take on Bill Carter's nonfiction book about Jay Leno and David Letterman's battle to replace Johnny Carson as host of The Tonight Show . Did these stupid human tricks enthrall us? Adam Sternbergh returns to talk about it. Around The Dial takes us to an all-CBS-Monday-sitcoms event featuring Elizabeth Taylor, a string of black pearls, and her new Black Pearls fragrance; the many non- Friends and Seinfeld sitcoms NBC tried to launch on Thursday nights in the 90s; ER 's Season 2 episode "The Healers"; and the sci-fi drama Nowhere Man . Dave pitches "Homer The Smithers" from The Simpsons for induction into The Canon. Then, after naming the week of February 21-27's biggest Winner and Loser, it's on to a VERY questionable game time. Listen in -- you don't have to do it crouched next to a phone playing it in the next room…

People in this episode

Guest: Adam Sternbergh

Topics covered

• TV history
• February sweeps
• The Late Shift
• CBS sitcoms
• NBC sitcoms
• ER
• Nowhere Man

Keywords

• TV history
• February sweeps
• The Late Shift
• Adam Sternbergh
• CBS sitcoms
• NBC sitcoms
• ER
• Nowhere Man

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: The Late Shift, Friends, Seinfeld, ER, Nowhere Man

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