Throwback Thursday: ‘Mad Men,’ ‘Teen Titans,’ and a ‘Pretty Little Liars’ Proposal

The summer months are always a slower time for TV, but we have still managed to find some big moments to talk about for this week’s edition of Throwback Thursday. 

We’re covering a range of topics from the Moon Landing in 1969 to a major death for the Torchwood fandom in 2009. There is even a significant moment from the ever-popular Pretty Little Liars to discuss.

For our archives this week we dived into an interview with Devon Sawa as well as another one of our first features to grace the site.

Fasten your seatbelts…it’s going to be a bumpy ride through TV History.

Major TV Moments:

The Moon Landing (July 20th, 1969)

On last week’s Throwback Thursday we discussed the launch of the Apollo 11 space shuttle and it’s importance to the space program as a whole. This week, we look at the televised landing on the moon.

On the program, we can hear Neil Armstrong famously say, “It’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” It has been 51 years since this landing and it still has the awe and prestige today that it did back in 1969.

Ianto’s Death (Torchwood, Children of Earth: Day 5) (July 24, 2009)

The Children of Earth season of the popular Doctor Who spin-off, Torchwood is one of the most memorable seasons of the whole series. On this season, Captain Jack, Gwen, and Ianto have to save the world from the alien race: the 456.

Day 5 comes down to a major face-off between Jack and the 456 where he has to sacrifice a few in order to save the many. Jack realizes he has to sacrifice his grandson but doesn’t realize that he will lose his lover, Ianto as well.

Ianto’s death is a major gut punch to the whole fandom because he was such a beloved character. To this day, fans haven’t gotten over his demise. Some even created a shrine/memorial to him in Cardiff at the location of Torchwood.

#Ezria Proposal (Pretty Little Liars Season 7 Episode 5, “Along Comes Mary”) (July 19, 2016)

One of the most popular couples on Pretty Little Liars is hands down Ezra and Aria or #Ezria. So, when Ezra proposes to Aria after six seasons of ups and downs with their relationship fans were over the moon excited. This proposal goes down as one of the most memorable moments of the whole show — which is saying a lot considering the shock value engrained into its formula.

Aria may not say yes until the next episode, but everyone knows from this proposal that these two are going to end up together forever by the end of the series. After all, it has always been Ezra for Aria and vice versa.

Premieres:

This week in television is an interesting one with a wide variety of programming that premiered. It ranges from a popular talk show back in 1996 (The Daily Show with Jon Stewart) to the 2007 premiere of everyone’s favorite 60’s ad agency drama (Mad Men) to popular reality shows in 2005 — So You Think You Can Dance? and Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations.

There is even a bit of fun this week for the children with the premieres of The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius, Teen Titans, and Pocoyo.

Here are a few TV shows that premiered this week in TV History:

• 1996 – The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
• 2000 – The Brothers Garcia
• 2000 – Strong Medicine
• 2000 – The War Next Door
• 2002 – The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius
• 2003 – Teen Titans
• 2003 – Nip/Tuck
• 2003 – Reno 911!
• 2004 – Rescue Me
• 2005 – Miami Ink
• 2005 – So You Think You Can Dance?
• 2005 – Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations
• 2007 – Mad Men
• 2007 – Saving Grace
• 2007 – Damages
• 2009 – Pawn Stars
• 2011 – Awkward.
• 2011 – Pocoyo
• 2016 – Fleabag
• 2017 – Somewhere Between

Tell-Tale TV Archives:

This week we dived into the archives and chose an interesting interview actor Devon Sawa from 2017, which previewed the series Somewhere Between. Even more exciting is the feature that we found from 2014 about how Parenthood really dives into the relationships we have as human beings. Check out all the fun content we found!

2014

Relationships, Television, and NBC’s Parenthood

2015

Fixated on Fear: Scary TV Shows and Why We Can’t Get Enough of Them

2017

Devon Sawa Talks ‘Somewhere Between’ and Reflects on His Experience as a Child Actor [Exclusive Interview]

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What are some major TV premieres, finales, or moments you remember? Sound off in the comments below and your choice just might be featured in a future Throwback Thursday column.

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