Throwback Thursday: ‘The Mandalorian’, ‘Days of Our Lives’, ‘Sesame Street’, and Major Superhero Moments
November may be a time to slow down and really take in the changing of the world around you, but for TV it’s when shows start to really hit their season stride. Throwback Thursday is talking about some major TV moments worth remembering this week, November 8th – November 14th.
All of our TV moments this week fall under the sci-fi genre. We got some very important character development for major characters on both Smallville and Supergirl. Then on The Flash, we see some vulnerability on the part of Barry.
With regards to premieres, there hasn’t been anything extremely memorable — aside from last year’s premiere of The Mandalorian — in years. Some notable premieres this week are Days of Our Lives, Conan, and Murphy Brown.
Fasten your seatbelts…it’s going to be a bumpy ride through TV history.
Major TV Moments:
Clark Realizes He Can’t Save Everyone (Smallville Season 2 Episode 8, “Ryan”) (November 12, 2002)
Fans of Smallville will remember the character of Ryan from the Season 1 episode where Clark helps reunite him with his birth aunt. This is the first character we’ve seen on this show who is similar to Clark in his abilities.
His return during Season 2 starts off being a happy moment because Clark manages to save him from a lab that was performing experiments on him. Unfortunately, Clark soon realizes that there is nothing he can do to save the young boy from death.
A death which is still sad to this day. Ultimately, Ryan is a symbol of childhood innocence, and losing him is like that innocence disappearing.
It’s a lesson that is hard-learned for Clark — he can’t save everyone no matter how much he tries. This is also one of the earliest acting roles for Teen Wolf‘s Ryan Kelley.
Barry & Co Deal with Zoom (The Flash Season 2 Episode 6, “Enter Zoom”) (November 10, 2015)
After dealing with The Reverse Flash in the first season, Barry was becoming more confident in his abilities as a speedster. Not to mention the voiceover you had to listen to at the beginning of every episode about how Barry is the fastest man alive — up until that point.
After being goaded, and coaxed out of the shadows by The Flash, Zoom showed up and handed Barry the most brutal beatdown he’s had yet — severing his spine and dragging his lifeless body around Central City like a rag doll, holding him up as a trophy in front of the people, so they understand that there is no protecting them from him.
It’s one of Barry’s weakest moments to date and it honestly gives his character that much more depth. Knowing The Flash can be defeated makes him and his team more aware and vulnerable — which adds to their strength.
Alex Comes Out to Kara (Supergirl Season 2 Episode 6, “Changing”) (November 14, 2016)
Coming out to your family is never easy. That goes double if your sister is a famous superhero.
For Alex Danvers, coming out to her sister was tough, but ended up being the biggest bonding moment for her and her sister. Kara listens to her live her truth and never judges her for it — in fact it could be said that Kara loves Alex even more after this moment.
In recent TV history, many shows have tackled the subject of coming out and the LGBTQ+ community. What is so great about Alex is that she is coming out in the adult phase of her life and the moment is handled with nothing but love and grace.
It’s not often we get to see characters come out when they aren’t teens — it’ll be nice to see more and more of this as TV continues its onward progression.
Premieres:
While the more modern TV premieres may be a bit scarce this week, the classics are coming out in full force.
We have the premiere of the iconic — still airing to this day — soap opera Days of Our Lives back in 1965. Then, in 1969, Sesame Street made its debut teaching children all about numbers, letters, and kindness.
Other premieres worth noting are Conan, True Jackson, VP, Murphy Brown, and The Mandalorian. All of which made pop culture history in their own ways.
Here are a few TV shows that premiered this week in TV History:
- 1965 – Days of Our Lives
- 1969 – Sesame Street
- 1988 – Knightwatch
- 1988 – Murphy Brown
- 1999 – Courage the Cowardly Dog
- 2001 – The Tick
- 2001 – The Bernie Mac Show
- 2008 – True Jackson, VP
- 2009 – Lopez Tonight
- 2010 – Conan
- 2010 – Auction Hunters
- 2019 – High School Musical: The Musical: The Series
- 2019 – Encore!
- 2019 – The Mandalorian
- 2019 – The World According to Jeff Goldblum
Tell-Tale TV Archives:
We know you need a reprieve from politics after the stressful election week we’ve had. However, a dig through our archives found a list of The West Wing episodes to remind us that politics aren’t always so stressful.
While we are on the subject of The Flash, our team put together an article about the character of Patty Spivot back in 2015. If we want to discuss fantastic female characters, she is the character to present.
Finally, last year one of our own interviewed Dierdre Friel, from New Amsterdam, where she spoke about her character’s future life-changing decision. Check out this interview and then check out this fantastic NBC medical drama.
2015
The Flash: Patty Spivot (Or How to Write a Great Female Character)
2016
22 Episodes of The West Wing That Will Make You Feel Better About Politics
2019
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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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Mads Misasi
Mads is a part-time entertainment journalist and full-time marketing content creator. They love any and all TV Dramas with a few sitcoms mixed in. Join in the fun talking about TV by following them on Twitter: @dorothynyc89.