Throwback Thursday: ‘Virgin River,’ ‘Leverage,’ ‘Magnum, P.I.’ and 200th Episode of ‘Bones’

Well, the weather outside is getting frightful, so let’s curl up under the covers and dive into another Throwback Thursday. This week we look at events from the week of December 6-12.

For TV moments we found the Psych movie event, a coming-out on Brooklyn Nine-Nine, and an alternate universe for the 200th episode of Bones. All of these TV moments are still talked about today amongst TV lovers.

Many younger TV viewers may know Tom Selleck because of his role on Blue Bloods however, in the ’80s he was known for the original Magnum, P.I. — which premiered this week. Other important premieres this week include Leverage, Teen Mom, and Virgin River.

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

Major TV Moments:

Bones Takes on 50s Hollywood Glam (Bones Season 10 Episode 10, “The 200th in the 10th”) (December 11, 2014)

In a fun twist of events, Bones commemorated their 200th episode with a trip back in time.

The episode is set in 1950s Hollywood, Brennan is a female cop who has to fight prejudice just to do her job during a time when women didn’t really join law enforcement. Transversely, Booth is a jewel thief. 

The fun part about this episode is the slight deviation from the characters’ normal roles. Booth is framed for murder and Brennan helps to exonerate him — which is something she normally would do, but this time her role is slightly different.

Also, who doesn’t love Booth and Brennan in 1950s attire? It’s all so glamorous and a nice change of pace from the routine while staying true to the show we all know and love.

Gus and Shawn Go to the Movies (Psych: The Movie) (December 7, 2017)

Psych may have ended in March 2014, but fans were excited to revisit the gang when a two-hour TV movie special was released on December 7, 2017. This film reunited the main cast for another fun, insanity filled mystery.

During this TV movie event, the gang comes together to help Juliet, and despite the formatting being slightly different the vibe of this movie was similar to that of the series. It is a movie that fans still talk about to this day because it expanded on the world they already knew and loved in ways that couldn’t be properly explored on the show.

Psych: The Movie was so successful they came back for a second film earlier this year. 

Diaz Comes Out to her Parents (Brooklyn Nine-Nine Season 5 Episode 10, “Game Night”) (December 12, 2017)

Coming out stories on television have always been either really good or really bad. There doesn’t really seem to be any in-between option. 

When Brooklyn Nine-Nine‘s Detective Diaz decides it is time to come clean about her bisexuality to her family she asks Detective Peralta to help her out. She invites him over for a family game night so that she doesn’t lose her nerve.

The event is well written and Diaz is shown to only be supported by her father, but that keeps it real. Having Jake there with her serves to show that even if they had rejected her she would still have a support system within her precinct family.

Diaz’s coming out meant the world to so many fans who finally got to see themselves represented through her. The best part about it is her sexuality has never defined her and her coming out story doesn’t either. 

Premieres:

Ah, December, the weather is colder and we have a tendency to curl up under a blanket and consume more of our favorite shows.

This week marked the beginning of Tom Selleck’s rise to fame on Magnum, P.I., and introduced us to a team of con artists on Leverage. There is also the unmistakable impact of reality programs such as Cash Cab and Teen Mom on the TV viewing landscape during this time.

Last year, Netflix launched the first season of Virgin River, and viewers fell head over heels very quickly. Meanwhile, six years ago, Noah Wyle came back to the land of television with a new drama called The Librarians.

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

• 1980 – Magnum, P.I.
• 1987 – Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
• 1995 – Ace Ventura: Pet Detective
• 2005 – Cash Cab
• 2007 – The A-List
• 2007 – Snoop Dogg’s Father Hood
• 2008 – Adventure Time
• 2008 – Leverage
• 2009 – Men of a Certain Age
• 2009 – Teen Mom
• 2009 – American Ninja Warrior
• 2014 – The Librarians
• 2019 – Virgin River
• 2019 – The L Word: Generation Q
• 2019 – Work in Progress

Tell-Tale TV Archives:

Looking through our archives for this week we found some really great moments to relive. Like the 2014 announcement that Len Goodman would be leaving Dancing With the Stars.

Then in 2016, we created a list of the top scene stealers of the year. A list which included characters from shows such as This is Us, Game of Thrones, and Stranger Things.

Finally, in 2018, we spoke with Elias Harger about Season 4 of Fuller House. Check out our fun little interview below.

2014

Len Goodman to Leave Dancing with the Stars

2016

Television’s Top 16 Scene-Stealers of 2016

2018

Elias Harger Previews ‘Fuller House’ 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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