ABC marks 50 years with reunions, guests

By Mike Hughes
Gannett News Service

For many of its 50 years, ABC has known the liberating feeling of being behind.

"They were always in third place, so they were free to try things," says Don Mischer, producer of "ABC's 50th Anniversary Celebration," airing tomorrow.

ABC tried many great things, from "Monday Night Football" to "NYPD Blue." And loopy things, from "Batman" to "Peyton Place." And stupid things, from "Turn-On" to "Are You Hot?"

Those were the chances a last-place network could take. Its successes were glorious, peaking with "Roots" in 1977.

"The story was so riveting," recalls producer David Wolper. "I knew if anyone put it on, it would be a success."

ABC did, defying all the TV traditions. "They had eight consecutive nights of the same show," Mischer says. "People said, 'What are you guys thinking?"'

The show set ratings records and changed television. At its best, ABC could be serious or silly.

John Ritter — with two hits 25 years apart — attests to the latter.

Back in 1977, Ritter starred in "Three's Company," a show about three single roommates that barely got started.

"It was on again, off again," Ritter says. "We shot it with one blond girl and then another and then (Suzanne Somers). We got an order for three episodes, and then for three more."

Then "Three's Company" became a hit. Alongside others ("Happy Days," "Charlie's Angels," etc.), it defined ABC as fun and frisky.

A quarter-century later, Ritter returned to the network but this time as a father in "8 Simple Rules For Dating My Teenage Daughter," which airs at 8 p.m. Tuesdays. At a time when comedies floundered, the show got a strong boost.

ABC president "Susan Lyne really got behind it," Ritter says. "She has an emotional involvement in it."

The show has been a modest ratings success, one of the few things ABC can cheer about lately.

The network is back in third place in the Nielsen ratings this year, but it still will find a lot to celebrate tomorrow. Guest stars include the casts of "The Brady Bunch," "Welcome Back Kotter," "The Mod Squad," "The Love Boat" and "NYPD Blue."

Also on hand will be Oprah Winfrey, Dick Clark, Susan Lucci, Ryan O'Neal, Roseanne, Henry Winkler, Jennifer Garner, Camryn Manheim, Penny Marshall, Peter Falk, Farrah Fawcett and many others.

"It's got to be entertaining," Mischer says of the special. "The temptation is to make it as complete as possible and list everything. But you have to go for the moments that are more memorable, more humorous, more emotional."

One segment will deal with shows or characters that said goodbye. Others will have great moments in sports, boxing and news; the network has had many of them.

ABC began 55 years ago, but this special conveniently overlooks the first five.

At first, it had no money or hits. The world forgot such prime-time 1948 shows as "Quizzing the News," "Gay Nineties Revue," "Teenage Book Club" and "Wrestling from Washington, D.C."

Then ABC was bought for $25 million by United Paramount Theatres. The deal became official on Feb. 9, 1953.

Now it had money and a chairman, Leonard Goldenson, who believed in the business. "It was plain to me that television would become the leading entertainment medium of the future," he recalled in "Beating the Odds" (1991, Charles Scribner's Sons).

Still, the odds were huge. ABC had 14 stations. It barely reached one-third of American homes; even the DuMont Network, which was extinct by 1955, did better.

Compared with those 14 ABC stations, CBS had 74 stations and NBC had 71.

CBS and NBC also had all the stars. Goldenson recalled telling someone: "All we have is 'Ozzie and Harriet.' So I'm going to try to bring Hollywood into the picture."

But Hollywood didn't want to be involved. For example, Warner Bros. refused to allow the word "television" — in its movies for fear of competition from the newer medium.

ABC persisted. It invested in the Disneyland theme park and was rewarded when Disney created its very own program, "The Wonderful World of Disney," plus "Zorro" and "The Mickey Mouse Club." Much later, the Disney company would buy the network.

It took many chances, from "American Bandstand" to "The Fugitive" to "Wide World of Sports."

And sometimes, it lost its nerve. ABC passed on "All in the Family."

Now ABC is back down to third place. Sometimes, that's an interesting place to be.