A Year in the Life

I think about this show often and wish so much I could watch it again!

It's hard for me to remember this show - I only saw that one season the one time, some sixteen years ago - and I can't be sure it's as good as I think it was. But with Brand and Falsey at the helm I have to assume my memory serves me. This was one of the better shows of its era - fine writing, storylines and terrific acting. It was small scale, nothing briliant, but just good quality. It was also occasionally very funny (I remember the mother getting aversion therapy to quit smoking). I guess it's lying in a vault somewhere and is never repeated (certainly not where I am in New Zealand). But if you ever get the chance to see the show, do watch it, it was nice.

Although it may now be a bit dated, in fact two of the stars of the show (Kiley and Oliver) have passed away, this show would definitely be a hit on Lifetime or A&E. Trouble is, they don't want a series that only has 25 or so episodes to air. The ratings for this show were actually pretty good, in fact its 20-shares would be considered phenomenal in today's ratings game. But it aired at a time when cable was just emerging, network TV ratings were askew and indecipherable, and NBC just plain gave up on it. I can still remember Richard Kiley accepting his Emmy award that year, scolding "the network myopia that killed a fine show". A YEAR IN THE LIFE is still the best television series that I have ever enjoyed.

This was a mini-series that became a television show. It was a great series that I felt was not given a fair shake by the network. I loved watching it, but the time slot changed about three times during a six-month period which made it difficult for even faithful watchers to keep up with.

It was a warm, well-written dramatic series that also had it's funny moments. It was about a family and their daily lives. I am a big fan of the series "Family" and felt that same sort of warmth toward this show. It was so well done and it seemed criminal that it really wasn't given a chance to gain a following.

I too thought the series was well done and I believe it was gathering steam until the Sarajevo Winter Olympics started on ABC. It lost viewership to the Games for those couple weeks causing NBC to move it a less desirable time slot further causing a slide. It's a shame but all the major networks make the same business decision - appealing to the masses to sell more soap instead of finding and keeping niche audiences with quality programming (such as Byrds of Paradise (ABC) and Now and Again (CBS)). However, with the advent of niche cable channels (Lifetime, Oxygen, BET, etc...), more diverse programming can be aired. That trend could be accelerated if the FCC will allow us to choose only those cable channels we wish to subscribe. Then the market could work and quality programming may get a chance. Until then, the lowest common denominator will win out (Fox's recipe for success).