Throwback Thursday: ‘Bones,’ ‘Law & Order,’ ‘Supernatural,’ and ‘Brooklyn Nine-Nine’

What a week! With September in full swing, the week of September 13th through the 18th is filled to the brim with exciting TV content to look back on. Let’s go on another Throwback Thursday adventure!

Several iconic shows that premiered this week throughout the years. All of them are seminal favorites such as Bones, Law & Order, Community, and The Golden Girls. 

Even long time favorites that are still on the air today started this week. Shows like Supernatural and Brooklyn Nine-Nine.

When it comes to memorable TV moments, we have a tragic diagnosis on Parenthood alongside the introduction of a central character on Supernatural. All TV lovers remember the wonderful moment we got to meet Robin Williams on our TV screens for the first time.

Meanwhile, the comedy that got us high on drama and laughs, Weeds, aired its final episode during this week back in 2012.

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

Major TV Moments:

Introducing Mork from Ork (Mork and Mindy Season 1 Episode 1, “Pilot”) (September 14, 1978)

While TV watchers really got their first glimpse of Mork from Ork on an episode of Happy Days, this pilot episode from 1978 is the first time we really get to know this alien. It is also what would be the beginning of our love affair with the acting style of the late Robin Williams. 

Meeting Mork means we were forever changed and saw that sometimes aliens just want to be like us and adapt to our customs. Mork’s signature “Nanu Nanu” would become a staple part of our TV culture. 

Since his introduction in 1978, Mork has inspired us to create a more diverse range of alien life-forms as well as explore the idea in more genres than just sci-fi.

Castiel and the Existence of Angels (Supernatural Season 4 Episode 1, “Lazurus Rising”) (September 18, 2008)

One of Supernatural‘s most memorable season premieres over the last 15 seasons has been the Season 4 premiere. On this episode, viewers and The Winchesters are introduced to the existence of angels through Castiel’s arrival on the scene.

Season 15 Castiel is lightyears away from Season 4 Castiel in temperament and personality. When we first meet Castiel to say he is a dick would be an understatement. At the time, he is only interested in pulling Dean from perdition per his official orders. 

Back then, Dean wasn’t aware of the validity of heaven, God, or angels. Then, Castiel comes along and pulls him out of hell and suddenly the Winchesters’ whole world is thrown topsy turvy. 

Who would’ve guessed that a decade later, Castiel would be a huge fan favorite and willing to sacrifice his whole being for the Winchester Brothers? 

Kristina Braverman Cancer Diagnosis (Parenthood Season 4 Episode 2, “Left Field”) (September 18, 2012)

One of the biggest storylines on all of Parenthood is Kristina’s fight against breast cancer. This is because she fights the terrible disease with strength, poise, and grace — no matter what.

So it’s extremely emotional to watch the ending montage of “Left Field” because despite not having any dialogue we all know exactly what her doctor is telling her. Kristina is floored and we are too as we watch her tear up and hug Adam close as she tells him.

It’s always a toss-up when a show opts to do a silent scene to really highlight the emotional content, but for this scene is works flawlessly. Words are not necessary for the scene to pack the biggest punch and knock the wind out of our sails. 

Premieres:

Once again there were so many premieres over the years that we had to limit ourselves. It’s just an exciting time on the TV landscape.

We get to witness great shows like The Lone Ranger, M*A*S*H, and Mork & Mindy for the first time back in the earlier days of TV. It is even the heyday of TV reality court shows with the premieres of both The People’s Court and Judge Judy.

The ever-popular dramas: Everwood, Law & Order, Bones, and The Red Band Society premiered all throughout the 90s and 2000s. And we’d be remiss if we didn’t mention the classic sitcoms of Punky Brewster, Frasier, and Everybody Loves Raymond.

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

• 1949 – The Lone Ranger
• 1964 – Bewitched
• 1964 – The Addams Family
• 1965 – Green Acres
• 1965 – I Dream of Jeannie
• 1969 – Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?
• 1972 – The Walton’s
• 1972 – M*A*S*H
• 1978 – Mork & Mindy
• 1978 – Battlestar Galactica
• 1981 – Entertainment Tonight
• 1981 – The People’s Court
• 1984 – Punky Brewster
• 1985 – The Golden Girls
• 1990 – Law & Order
• 1991 – Home Improvement
• 1993 – Animaniacs
• 1993 – Late Night with Conan O’Brien
• 1993 – Frasier
• 1995 – The Drew Carey Show
• 1996 – Everybody Loves Raymond
• 1996 – Judge Judy
• 2001 – The Proud Family
• 2002 – Everwood
• 2002 – The Twilight Zone
• 2005 – Bones
• 2005 – Supernatural
• 2009 – Community
• 2013 – Brooklyn Nine-Nine
• 2014 – The Red Band Society
• 2019 – The Politician

Finales:

Weeds – September 16, 2012

This Showtime show really turned heads when it first premiered back in 2005. However, like many other shows that run beyond 5 seasons, the show started to fizzle out there toward the end.

Fortunately for the fans who stuck around for the whole series, they were rewarded with a halfway decent finale when the series finally ended in 2012 after 8 seasons. 

With the classic time jump tactic, Weeds closed out their story with a look at where the Botwin family and company are at when the youngest son, Stevie, celebrates his Bar Mitzvah. As any fan would imagine, Nancy’s life is still a mess of lies and poor decisions, but at least now her two older sons are able to distance themselves from it. 

This finale leaves Nancy Botwin where she belongs — surrounded by a family that only tolerates her and all the marijuana product she could ever want.

Tell-Tale TV Archives:

This week we look at a few articles that center on the TV drama. Back in 2015 we discussed how the landscape of the procedural drama is changing. Then in 2016 and 2017 we looked at interviews that discussed popular drama series.

After all, who doesn’t love a good drama? As long as it stays on our TV screens.

2015

The New Age of Procedural Dramas

2016

Designated Survivor: Maggie Q, Kal Penn, and Simon Kinberg Preview ABC’s New Drama

2017

Kevin Michael Martin Talks ‘The Last Ship’ Season 4 [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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