25 NEW SHOWS OF FALL TV 1972

28 if you count the three that are missing, the investigative documentary series NBC Reports and the historical documentary America, as well as the comedy-variety hour The New Bill Cosby Show, though a brief segment from it with Groucho Marx can be found on KZbin.

[@chazm3]

The Bob Newhart show was must-see family viewing every week. The group counseling sessions were the funniest thing every time. And Suzanne Pleshette was probably the best TV wife ever. Peter Bonerz who played the dentist friend went on to become one of the most respected TV directors.

[@peterwyetzner5276]

There was a wonderful bit where Bob is telling Emily about a woman he went to school with who was so bright that he expected great things from her, but in the end he'd heard she only became "a school--" (at which point he stops himself because Emily herself is a schoolteacher). "She became a school?" Emily asks? "That's right," Bob says. Then later on he mentions someone else being a baker, and Emily looks him straight in the eye and says "Don't you mean he was a bakery?" and again, he has to agree.

[@scottlarson1548]

Even in 1972 all Quinn Martin productions still had an announcer reading the credits to the viewer as if it were a radio show.

[@don4321]

The best part of the Quinn Martin shows were the incredibly over-dramatic episode titles, replete with terms such as die, death, dead etc.. "Tonight's episode: Death Chain! Tonight's episode: Requiem for a Dead Man!" All read with a super serious tone for added drama!

[@robertvarisco2196]

They had a graphic style common to all of their shows that worked well for them

[@emmaduncan2991]

the Bob Newhart show, easily one of the 5 best sitcoms the 70's produced, and unlike a lot of other sit-coms from the decade, it still holds up.

[@Laceykat66]

I would say one of the five of all time. Pitty about Sandy Duncan. If it were not for her accident she might have made more of an impact of television history.

[@jondeare]

Everyone LOVED Kung Fu!

[@hollyking2580]

I was born in January 1972 and was curious how many of these shows lasted long enough for me to remember watching them as a kid: Maude, MASH and The Waltons.

[@SMtWalkerS]

SO FUN to see these old intros! Takes me back to watching TV with my Dad and Mom and my many siblings. Lots of arguments over what to watch and then we'd watch.... whatever Dad wanted! Good memories! Fun to see so many great old stars. Thanks for this!

[@bigbabysld]

OMG...1972 pumped out sum CLASSICS!!!

[@rbraxley]

MASH. Really cannot do better than that--it's TV of the highest order. It's one of the shows (along w/ All in the Family and MTM) that helped kickstart what I consider to be the Golden Age of the Sitcom, running from here through Frasier. MASH, AitF, Bob Newhart, Maude, Good Times, MTM, Sanford and Son, Taxi, Cheers, Family Ties, and winding down with Fraiser. There are probably a couple of others that could be included. The above were all great examples of the form. Pretty strong year when you add The Waltons, Kung Fu, Maude, Newhart, and Streets to MASH.

[@mga7076]

Adrienne Barbeau and Suzanne Pleshette in the same season--so easy on the eyes!

[@kronos5385]

Hec Ramsey was a pretty good show. Richard Boone was excellent as an old west detective who used science and forensics to solve crimes way before it became standard to do so. There are a bunch of those episodes available on KZbin. His long running earlier western series "Have Gun - Will Travel" still runs daily on the Heroes and Icons channel.

[@SMtWalkerS]

I agree! Richard Boone was such an enjoyable actor to watch, whether he was playing a good guy or a bad guy.

[@ernestcruz6316]

Last I knew, it still aired on MeTV on Saturdays as part of their Western Roundup.

[@gogreen7794]

I was a senior in high school in the fall of 1972. If I didn't have anywhere to go or was babysitting on a Saturday night, there was always Mary Tyler Moore, Bob Newhart, and The Carol Burnett Show to look forward to.

[@maryroberts2099]

That was the best line up

[@lelandframe6927]

For many years I had a cassette tape that had many of these theme songs, recorded when I was 13. I remember I took it out one day in the 90's and listened to it--and there were 3 shows I couldn't identify. Thanks to this video I now remember--they were "The Paul Lynde Show", "Temperatures Rising" and "Bridget Loves Bernie"! I remember my favorite new show that year was "Search" (a combination of "Star Trek" and James Bond! What 13-year-old-boy wouldn't love THAT?!) "The Sandy Duncan Show" was actually the second try at the same series. The year before, it had made its debut as "Funny Face" (with the same theme, I believe). It had been put on hiatus after a few episodes after Ms. Duncan underwent surgery to remove a benign brain tumor behind her left optic nerve. As a result, she lost vision in the eye (It was not replaced with a prosthetic eye, as some urban myths claim).

[@OutOnTheTiles]

leland frame Awesome! I used to do the same in the mid-late seventies. Hold the tape recorder up to the TV. So many great tv theme songs in the 70/80’s. Cheers.

[@toshiojohnston3732]

So true even at the time everyone kept saying she was given a glass eye thanks I forgot about that myth about her eye the weird stuff we make up in our heads at that age.

[@ernestcruz6316]

​@@OutOnTheTilesGrowing up near Boston in the early '70s we were lucky enough to have an AM/FM portable radio with a built-in cassette player/recorder, and on our FM dial we could get an audio simulcast of the Rhode Island ABC affiliate, Channel 6. I was able to record tapes of ABC themes from 1971-1973. Wish I still had those tapes today.

[@MySpace662]

Takes you down memory lane, and back into the golden era of entertainment..

[@Laceykat66]

So true, but did ANY of us think the 1970s were the "Golden era of Entertainment" back then ? LOL

[@QJby1Hod]

The Paul Lynde Show was a pisser! He was hysterical! Almost every scene at home began him at the bar in the house mixing then pounding down a drink!

[@barbaraiverson2035]

Paul was better in Hollywood Squares and Bewitched. To many one liners to be a main character

[@lesliechatburn8968]

Aaaaa

[@robertgadziola1601]

He must have selected the actor that played his daughters boyfriend.

[@robertvarisco2196]

A hilarious and very talented actor stuck in a very bad show. The format was all wrong for him.

[@tommyd.743]

No "Real Housewives of... " no "Kardashian's". When television was watchable.

[@WineNationTV100]

Ah wow! MAude, I used to watch that with my parents all the time! And MASH, these shows are great! Thanks for posting!

[@gheilers]

The intro shown for "The Waltons" is from Season Two, or later. Season One's intro showed live action footage.

[@smilinmoo]

I remember that! The family was excited about the new radio that John Sr. was taking out of the car, they all came running to join him on the porch steps. It was led in by a slow guitar and autoharp intro before the familiar waltz-tempo horn-solo theme comes in.

[@ronaldbaldwin4505]

Maude theme is 1 of my all time faves

[@pbcoop62]

Sung by the great Donny Hathaway!

[@ernestcruz6316]

​@@pbcoop62He had several hit records, but that's the song he's best known for.

[@teptime]

So many of the greats from Hollywood's Golden Age were still with us at that time, and many frequently turned up in TV guest spots. There's but a small handful left today, and at their advanced age, they'll be gone soon, too.

[@SlapthePissouttayew]

That's the truth! Like your avatar. Big Basil Wolverton fan.

[@kevinmeerschaert9487]

Maude theme sung by the late great Donny Hathaway.

[@flyguyinmotion]

What a great year of new shows,. MASH, Kung Fu, The Waltons, Streets of San Francisco, Bob Newhart Show, etc

[@Laceykat66]

I really wish Universal would release their Wednesday Mystery Movie line up in original form. These were good shows and sure beat 3/4 of what is on today.

[@MrPaladin123]

okay, so some are forgotten, some were just lousy....but they beat the reality show crap we have today in 2015

[@jordanthomas7304]

Fuck yeah.

[@julymiller2308]

It's worse now in 2019.

[@herc150]

Back in the day when they made good TV shows which are a lot better than what is on TV today-better acting,plots themes and better theme music-I miss these good old TV shows

[@karenford9797]

RIP Robert Conrad, one of the toughest and coolest actors to grace the small screen. Assignment: Vienna was his fourth show, following Hawaiian Eye, The Wild Wild West and The D.A.

[@jonimichalski9193]

And later on bye bye Black sheep on NBC

[@davidbaise5137]

Conrad played a big part in a multi episode story arc in Michener’s Centennial on NBC. Sure you remember.

[@chrisw6164]

Michael Douglas has had the same haircut for 50 years. That’s gotta be a record.

[@zacharyzapata8559]

Some of these intro themes are really quite lovely. What can I say? One senses that the composers were thinking about their legacy in music.

[@stvitalkid7981]

That shot of Val De Vargas at 14:07 had to be the visual inspiration for Joe Flaherty’s Guy Caballero character on SCTV!

[@missstargazer79]

So we have MASH, Maude, The Bob Newhart Show, Kung Fu, The Waltons, The Streets of San Francisco (my personal favorite), The Rookies, and Banacek as ones you could call a success. 8 out of 25...sounds better than what's been happening lately, especially at NBC.

[@bradburks696]

To be 11 years old and 5th grade, what a great time, just didn't know what the next 50 years would be like or what was in store. The Streets of San Francisco, what a great opening. And the beautiful Kate Jackson on The Rookies. MASH, one of the great series of all time and The Bob Newhart Show was a Saturday night watch with the hilarious Jack Reilly as Mr. Carlin. Robert Conrad post The Wild Wild West and before Baa Baa Black Sheep. But where is Cannon? May have been 1971.

[@jknuttel]

TEMPERATURES RISING was a wonderful show. Nancy Fox was so pretty and adorable! (Update (4/10/19): I met Nancy in NY in August 2018. She is STILL pretty and adorable!)

[@SD1Chargers]

I loved MASH..still do

[@julymiller2308]

Don't get me wrong, it's a good show... Just done to death on MeTV. Think it's like on every. Single. Day. For an hour. *Sigh*

[@napoleonsolo5929]

@@julymiller2308 It was done to death long before that network came along. During the 1980s if a channel need to fill 30-60 minutes of air(usually late at night), MASH was the go-to show. (EDIT: I love MASH, but the truth is the truth)

[@PhaQ2]

Kung Fu had such an influence on my entire life. I still walk attempting to leave no footprints on the rice paper.

[@FlavioGirl]

i didnt know david carradine was in the tv show, shane, 6 years earlier

[@don4321]

Ironically, right before the MASH intro--The Brian Keith Show co-starring Roger Bowen, who played Lt. Col Henry Blake in the MASH film 2 years earlier. Never thought he did anything else...

[@mga7076]

In between the two he played Hershel Bernardi's boss in "Arnie", on CBS from 1970 through 1972.

[@mga7076]

In between he played Hershel Bernardi's boss on "Arnie", which ran on CBS for two seasons, 1970 to '72.

[@catmandude1800]

I almost wish some shows now would do the Quinn Martin - style intros just we can get acquainted with the newer generation of actors who aren't so famous yet. Might be too time- consuming in some cases though.

[@robertvarisco2196]

Sorry gotta squeeze more ads in. $$$$$

[@stevebayt145]

great series and very useful for a tv activist providing more than just a wikipedia description but an aesthetics. It's facinating how many people failed, some more than once before finding success.

[@johnpendarvis7885]

I swear most of these shows sound like parodies of 70's shows.

[@IronWoode]

Banacek was the best detective show of the 1970's. Hell, it's still a great show today.

[@miz_logo_lee]

I used to see the actress who played Elizabeth Walton when I was a barista in San Francisco in the early 90s. She was living, from what I could tell, a voluntarily spartan lifestyle, semi on the streets. She was very nice.

[@moorek1967]

For my dad, CBS was the channel he would watch the most and it was WHIO 7 from Dayton, Ohio. But he did sometimes watch ABC. Yes, I remember watching Kung Fu at nights because it was his absolute favorite show. I remember him making popcorn and my brother and I lying on the floor in front of the tv and cringing every time Caine picked the burning pot up with his arms. We used to go around calling each other "grasshopper". Even today, we might still call each other that. MASH, yes, EVERYBODY I knew watched that.

[@jakespoon5549]

Shame how David Carradine died. HaHa.

[@SMtWalkerS]

My family watched Kung Fu together and I was a David Carradine fan. My older brothers were always calling us younger ones "grasshopper'!

[@philipkruger563]

MASH old friends, when Alan Alda passes I gonna take a days off just to watch and say goodbye

[@timothydriscoll]

James Farentino and James Franciscus were constantly on the tube in short-lived series "back in the day." I often get the two confused.

[@lp-xl9ld]

Somebody actually wrote a "conspiracy theory" back in the 80s that James Franciscus, Tony Franciosa, and James Farentino were really the same person. So were Lee Horsley and Tom Selleck. And there may have been several others. BS to be sure, but...?

[@oakhillfound847]

The difference was James Franciscus could act.

[@gogreen7794]

​@@oakhillfound847He was also blond.

[@Argonaut9]

Great video quality!

[@georgeyoes3130]

Kung Fu was damn good. David Carradine did great work in 70s TV. Great performance in Night Gallery.

[@molinalong3468]

In 1972 25 new tv shows featuring Sanford and son

[@elaineandjohn9599]

Well put together and thanks who’s ever you are!

[@lp-xl9ld]

THE KING AND I without the music? It...is...a...PUZZLEMENT!

[@robertvarisco2196]

Great content! 1972 was quite the banner year for some of the best and longest running shows of the decade, mixed in of course with the usual assortment of mediocrity. It's cool to see actors I know in unfamiliar roles.

[@ruraladventurer1884]

The editing in The Streets of San Francisco intro is capable of triggering epileptic seizures lol

[@floycewhite6991]

Tip: don't watch the Bourne trilogy.

[@wdh47211]

Thanks for posting

[@brianthomas2434]

I remember when he was alive reading that Harry Morgan had been a featured player in ten TV series. Robert Urich about the same. Robert Conrad has to be pretty close.

[@HaveCheetahWillView]

Robert Urich only did 2 shows that lasted more then one season despite his popularity.

[@chrisw6164]

@@HaveCheetahWillViewI thought SWAT lasted longer, but no, only two years.

[@Mia7189]

Wow. I had no idea that they tried to turn 'The King And I' into a TV show 20 years later. I'm guessing Yul Brenner needed the money.

[@gheilers]

I remember the show, although I remember it being titled simply "Anna and the King." Perhaps it was re-titled once regular production began. However, I was not aware that Yul Brynner was actually involved.

[@citygirl5705]

And Ghost Story changed its name to Circle of Fear. That show freaked me out as a 5 - 6 year old.

[@imfreviews]

So many of these shows are clearly just vehicles for actors/actresses who were under contract and some executive said "give them something to do".

[@salventi5665]

Quite a few huge successes this season.

[@JohnMiller-oz7gv]

The Bob Newhart show was awesome.

[@dr.hookyeah2883]

I think I know why Hec Ramsey didn't catch-on. One, by the time the intro was done , there were 3 minutes left for the show itself. Two, it required a supporting cast of 50 to 100 people.

[@kevinmeerschaert9487]

+Dr.hookyeah It was part of the second version of the NBC Mystery Movie. Only Banacek lasted more than one season. It couldn't come close to the Columbo, McColud, McMillan and Wife trio.

[@crowtrobot17]

@@kevinmeerschaert9487 Actually, Hec Ramsey aired as part of the Sunday Mystery Movie, along with Columbo and the rest. The ratings were good enough for it to last longer than 2 seasons, but conflicts between the higher ups and Richard Boone killed it.

[@dorothydromgoole8040]

So far the only show that I have not seen yet is Emergency! It came out in 1972 , January 15th. Love from Marysville, California KMG 365

[@RwDt09]

You'll find it here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/kKKyg52Yfbuhf5Y

[@CTback]

8:02 The voice of Garfield was responsible for the Bob Newhart Show?

[@robinjohnson8149]

Started HS in '72. Freshman year was rough. But somehow I finished.

[@michaelscheel9533]

Missed the 1972 Season, went into the Marines and didn't have time for tv for about a year till I joined a regular unit. Didn't see the first season of MASH till around 1982. A friend had a early vcr and recorded Banacek. Tapes were expensive.

[@dovegrey1]

Another great season! The only reason I remember Anna and the King of Siam is because it was on the same night as M*A*S*H, Sunday I believe, and maybe the slot right before.

[@sergioalpert66]

What a good year for new shows

[@briggscharleton6139]

Watched most of these shows when I was 7. Paul Lynde Show was one of my favorites 22:57 , but they kept switching time slots. Saturday nights on murder row 😂

[@alexandermacdougall7873]

Wow. A pretty decent year!

[@Scyllax]

Hex Ramsey revealed it one episode that he was Paladin ("Have Gun Will Travel).

[@b.j.thomas9754]

Lots of hits !

[@skipcampbell4328]

How I wish I could go back to 1972 for even an hour. This country has changed in some ways better. But a whole lot worse in the scope of things going on now.

[@gogreen7794]

It was better than 1968, but the Watergate break-in occurred and Nixon was reelected. On the other hand, I went to Europe for five weeks with several classmates on a pre-senior year trip.

[@Dodger2204]

Event he clunkers from '72 are better than the "reality" garbage of today!

[@jordanthomas7304]

I agree. James Farentino, Richard Widmark were part of NBC Mystery Movie? Damn.

[@xray86delta]

Search was one of my favorite shows, although a short-lived one, from the seventies. It was way ahead of its time, probably the reason it didn't last.

[@spiff2268]

I think it would be a shorter list to tell which shows Quinn Martin wasn't involved with back in the 70s.

[@ernestcruz6316]

During the Kung Fu intro, from 10:16-10:40, that's David Carradine's younger brother Keith as Caine (or is it Cain?) during the training sequence.

[@ericsteel173]

A Quinn Martin production.

[@barrywilliams5324]

Kung Fu and Six Million Dollar Man were a kid's dream back in the day. Barnaby Jones was funny at times because he was too old so he wouldn't run so he would shoot you in the leg like Frank Cannon would. LoL!

[@Ptpop]

Barry Williams Frank Cannon. I forgot about that show. He would waddle around with his S&W 38 lol

[@ferociousgumby]

9:10 Keye Luke was the best part of that show. Without him, it would've fallen flat.

[@georgesenda1952]

Search kept being pre-empted for specials on the oil & other crises. It killed the show.

[@emmashoesmith576]

Omg Streets of San Francisco I can't even describe how much I loved this show. We were sooo lucky!!! Thank you Quinn Martin! !!!

[@lindaeasley5606]

Wow.The best they could do for Yul Brenner was put him in a series that was like The King And I .Sort of typecasting. It seems they did that with alot of film stars of the past in the 1970s .Jimmie Stewart had 2 or 3 series attempts playing simple average nice guys and James Garner got western roles till The Rockford Files

[@maundamartin59]

Watching, well NOT WATCHING MASH as a kid born in 1973, by 1978 I was 5 and MASH was syndicated re-runs everyday. The MASH theme song SOUNDED SO DEPRESSING, I immediately went to the TV and turned that ARCHAIC KNOB. AND FIDDLED WITH THE ANTENNAE TO get a proper ANALOG SIGNAL.

[@maundamartin59]

It was ALL ABOUT THEM HORNS AND STRINGS IN THE 70'S.

[@a1wireless1964]

yes definitely a lot of great television this is what we grew up with this is what we watched we didn't need other forms of entertainment... Also really enjoyed watching this the only thing that I could criticize the opening credits for The Waltons are not from the 1972 season the original Waltons episode began with a picture of the Blue Ridge Mountains in The Waltons bring home a new radio

[@robertvarisco2196]

The Waltons show was given the green light after the unexpectedly high ratings for the one-off Waltons Christmas special that ran the previous year. The only difference in the cast in the Christmas special was that Olivia was portrayed (quite effectively) by Patricia Neal. All the others reprised their roles.

[@carseye1219]

Some of these shows were just bad, but with sitcoms, there is a short period in which to find its audience, otherwise, it got axed. They say "Cheers" was maybe one episode away from cancellation before enough people found it and liked it.

[@senorkaboom]

Any one of these shows beats ten of The Real Wives of.......

[@dflf]

4:00 Temperatures Raising and The Odd Couple has very similar theme songs

[@dereckabackus8281]

Television in 1972 was the best was All in the family, Sonny & Cher: comedy hour, Sanford & Son and Maude.

[@emmaduncan2991]

...and MASH back when it was good and funny.

[@ricksantana1016]

This is when television was “pure magic” if you will with cutting edge writing coupled hard hitting method acting, granted there are some exceptions like breaking bad and a very select few, although what happened to this lost art form? This has to be the fault of the networks? Right!…

[@maryroberts2099]

I live in Chicago. One day my friends and I found the Hartleys apartment building

[@Ptpop]

Is this video of 1972 TV shows a Quinn Martin Production? Lol

[@77hodag]

Kinda digging the theme songs!

[@tomripsin730]

3:02 I remember seeing this intro sequence to MASH for the first time as a teenager, and assuming by the tone that it was a drama, and I'd be bored by it. It wasn't til I saw it in syndicated reruns that I realized what a well written comedy it was.

[@robertvarisco2196]

One of those shows that's funnier without the laugh track.

[@spankyharland9845]

Hec Ramsey- the introduction song tells the whole story.

[@bayareaartist999]

72 rocked. Jesus...

[@maryroberts2099]

I had a crush on David Birney !

[@TJ52359]

Pretty sure I saw "Sandy" in the 71 video... and now The Sandy Duncan Show here in '72... is the new Title hair enough to split ... or was it a distinct show that recycled the Pictures in the credits...

[@alanoldham1700]

Her show in '71 was called "Funny Face." After a hiatus it came back in '72 as "The Sandy Duncan Show."

[@schnarre0]

Say did the show Emergency also start in 1972?

[@RwDt09]

It began in January as a mid-season replacement during the 1971-72 season.

[@jalaneperry7643]

What a line up The paul Lynde show I loved that as a kid Kung Fu Every thursday night my Eldest brother in his gee With the orange belt on Watching those kung Fu episodes That entro where he sais When you take the pebble from my Hand it will be time for you to leave My eldest brother died Dec 6 1990 I wish he here to watch kung Fu. How i miss this tv line up from 1972 temperature's rising With james Whitmore

[@mlongpre100]

6:00 you shouldn't stick your head out of a moving vehicle ; you could lose an eye!

[@dflf]

mlongpre100 The bus driver would’ve yelled at her!

[@mlongpre100]

@@dflf cause that actress has a glass eye ...sandy duncan

[@jakespoon5549]

Don't stick your elbow out to far,or it may go home in another car.

[@EmbreeWalkerII]

1972 was a good year-MASH, Bob Newhart, spy shows, Julie Andrews, and Richard Boone. Throw in George Peppard and Richard Widmark-decisions.

[@WineNationTV100]

I was going to be 6! :)

[@hoss73ford]

Embree Walker II George Peppard was banacek. Richard Widmark was Madigan. Remember them well, decent shows.

[@don4321]

Banacek is pretty interesting when seen today. He dealt with racism every now and then (in one ep. some bad guy called him a "damn pollock"). Also I remember an episode where the old "viewer discretion advised" announcement came on at the beginning--which was rare back then. The reason? A woman called someone a "bastard"!!!

[@monkeyboy4746]

The MASH intro must have cost a bundle to shoot since they used it the entire series, or they were just cheap.

[@don4321]

Actually, they edited it when BJ replaced Trapper, cutting in Mike Farrell at the chopper pad. They also updated the musical theme at one point as well. The intro was lifted from the film's great opening scene and was quite effective--no need to mess with perfection...

[@chefp1472]

I remembered all of the western shows. They were my favorite. I get a little nostalgic when I watch Tarantino movies and see John Carradine from Kung Fu and Michael Parks from Then Came Bronson. I also think of in the movie Dragon: The Bruce Lee story (1993) how they said that Bruce Lee looked 'too asian' to be allowed to be in Kung Fu.