This Day in Pop Culture for September 30

1960: ‘The Flintstones’ Debuts

In 2013, TV Guide ranked a number of animated cartoons. The Simpsons made the top spot which isn’t surprising. But what is surprising is that a much older cartoon series, The Flintstones was ranked #2.

Created by Hanna-Barbera, The Flintstones (originally called The Flagstones) was one of the first animated prime-time cartoons to air on TV. (The first were The Huckleberry Hound Show and the Quick Draw McGraw Show, but those only attracted kids.) William Hanna said that the show imitated the popular sitcom The Honeymooners, but Joseph Barbera said that if the Jackie Gleason show was used an inspiration, he didn’t remember it.

At first, Hanna-Barbera tried out the formula with different characters like hillbillies, Romans, pilgrims and native Indians before settling on the now famous stone-age characters. (All of those themes have been used in other franchises.) (Image: Warner Bros./Hanna-Barbera)

1939: The First Televised Football Game

*(Background: Pixabay, TV screen: Wikipedia)*

NBC had the honor of televising the very first football game on this day back in 1939. Played at Triborough Stadium on Randall’s Island in New York City, the game was between college teams the Fordham Rams and the Waynesburg Yellow Jackets. It is estimated that 1,000 households sat down to watch the game. In case you were planning on watching the game, here’s a spoiler alert: Fordham won 34 to 7.

One month later, the first professional football game was shown on TV between the Brooklyn “Football” Dodgers and the Philadelphia Eagles.

1984: Angela Lansbury Writes About Murder

The granddaddy (or grandmommy) of all TV series about amateur sleuths is Murder She Wrote. For 12 seasons, 264 episodes and four full-length movies, Angela Lansbury played the murder mystery writer Jessica Fletcher on CBS.

The widowed and former schoolteacher became so famous as a writer, nearly everyone she ever met in the series was familiar with the author’s work (and many of them were fans as well). However, Jessica had the nasty habit of being nearby when terrible murders occurred. Whether it be in her seaside home of Cabot Cove, Maine or the various cities that she visited either for a family reunion or a book signing event, it’s a wonder why she wasn’t accused of committing the crimes more often.

Murder She Wrote was so popular, CBS tried numerous backdoor pilots on show, but only one, The Law & Harry McGraw, was made (and failed after one season). Though hardly realistic and with amazing storylines (Jessica did everything except travel in space) Lansbury was a champ making the series extremely popular.

After the show completed its run, four made-for-TV Murder She Wrote movies aired from 1997 and 2003.

In 2013, it was reported that NBC was in the beginning stages of rebooting the series with Octavia Spencer wearing the writer’s shoes. When Lansbury heard the news, she politely pointed out that she was a fan of Spencer’s, but felt that the series should be renamed since in her mind, Murder She Wrote would always be about Cabot Cove. NBC listened and stated that Spencer’s character would be renamed (since there could only be one Jessica Fletcher) but by January 2014, the planned reboot had been cancelled.