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{{Short description|American medical drama television series}}
{{for|the HBO series|Lifestories: Families in Crisis}}
{{for|the HBO series|Lifestories: Families in Crisis}}
{{Infobox television
{{Infobox television
| name = Lifestories
| image =
| image =
| caption =
| caption =
| genre = [[Medical drama]]
| genre = [[Medical drama]]
| creator = Jeffrey Lewis
| creator = [[Jeff Lewis (writer)|Jeffrey Lewis]]
| starring =
| starring =
| narrated = [[Robert Prosky]]
| narrated = [[Robert Prosky]]
Line 20: Line 20:
| company = Jeffrey Lewis Productions<br>Ohlmeyer Communications Company<br>[[Orion Television Entertainment]]
| company = Jeffrey Lewis Productions<br>Ohlmeyer Communications Company<br>[[Orion Television Entertainment]]
}}
}}
'''''Lifestories''''' (originally ''Signs of Life'')<ref>{{Cite web|date=1990-05-22|title=NBC Revamps Schedule for Next Season : Television: The No. 1 network admits that it is vulnerable after all of the series it introduced last fall failed.|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-05-22-fi-278-story.html|access-date=2021-09-04|website=Los Angeles Times|language=en-US}}</ref> is an American [[medical drama]] television series that premiered August 20, 1990, on [[NBC]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://articles.latimes.com/1990-08-20/entertainment/ca-832_1_hull-high?pg=2|title=An Early Fall - Television: NBC will introduce five new series this week. 'Hull High' and 'Lifestories' offer a bizarre pairing tonight.|last=Rosenberg|first=Howard|date=August 20, 1990|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|accessdate=2009-11-06}}</ref> Done in a [[documentary film|documentary]] style with off-screen narration by [[Robert Prosky]], ''Lifestories'' was an attempt to make an extremely realistic medical drama answering questions like, "Exactly what goes on during the first 45 minutes of a [[myocardial infarction|heart attack]]?" "What is it like to be told that you have advanced [[colon cancer]]?"
'''''Lifestories''''' (originally ''Signs of Life'')<ref>{{Cite web|date=1990-05-22|title=NBC Revamps Schedule for Next Season : Television: The No. 1 network admits that it is vulnerable after all of the series it introduced last fall failed.|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-05-22-fi-278-story.html|access-date=2021-09-04|website=Los Angeles Times|language=en-US}}</ref> is an American [[medical drama]] television series that premiered August 20, 1990, on [[NBC]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-08-20-ca-832-story.html|title=An Early Fall - Television: NBC will introduce five new series this week. 'Hull High' and 'Lifestories' offer a bizarre pairing tonight.|last=Rosenberg|first=Howard|date=August 20, 1990|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|access-date=2009-11-06}}</ref> Done in a [[documentary film|documentary]] style with off-screen narration by [[Robert Prosky]], ''Lifestories'' was an attempt to make an extremely realistic medical drama answering questions like, "What is it like to be told that you have advanced colon cancer?", and "Exactly what goes on during the first 45 minutes of a heart attack?", such as in the show's first and third episodes, starring [[Richard Masur]] as the character Don Chapin, and [[Michael Murphy (actor)|Michael Murphy]] as the character Frank Roberts, respectively.


==Episodes==
==Episodes==
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|Title=Rebecca McManus and Steve Arnold
|Title=Rebecca McManus and Steve Arnold
|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1990|9|30}}
|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1990|9|30}}
|ShortSummary=A childless couple in their 40s pursue a variety of fertility options.
|ShortSummary=A childless couple in their 40s ([[Lindsay Crouse]] and [[Dwight Schultz]]) pursue a variety of fertility options.
}}
}}
{{Episode list
{{Episode list
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|Title=Frank Brody
|Title=Frank Brody
|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1990|10|7}}
|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1990|10|7}}
|ShortSummary=Following a heart attack, efforts to save a retired Navy man's life are counted in real time on-screen.
|ShortSummary=Following a heart attack, efforts to save retired Naval officer Frank Brody's ([[Michael Murphy (actor)|Michael Murphy]]) life are counted, on-screen, and in real time.
}}
}}
{{Episode list
{{Episode list
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|Title=Art Conforti
|Title=Art Conforti
|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1990|11|11}}
|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1990|11|11}}
|ShortSummary=A husband stages an intervention to save his wife from alcoholism.
|ShortSummary=A husband ([[Stanley Tucci]]) stages an intervention to save his wife ([[Finn Carter]]) from alcoholism.
}}
}}
{{Episode list
{{Episode list
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|Title=[[Steve Burdick]]
|Title=[[Steve Burdick]]
|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1990|12|18}}
|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1990|12|18}}
|ShortSummary=A gay TV anchorman loses his lover to AIDS and is HIV-positive himself. He tells their story on the air.
|ShortSummary=A gay TV anchorman ([[D.W. Moffett]]) loses his lover to AIDS and is HIV-positive himself. He tells their story on the air.
}}
}}
{{Episode list
{{Episode list
Line 88: Line 88:


=="Steve Burdick" controversy==
=="Steve Burdick" controversy==
"Steve Burdick" was originally scheduled to air on December 2, 1990.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://articles.latimes.com/1990-11-20/entertainment/ca-5109_1|title=NBC Pulls AIDS-Themed 'Lifestories'|last=Weinstein|first=Steve|date=November 20, 1990|work=Los Angeles Times|accessdate=2009-11-06}}</ref> Had it aired on that date it would have been one of several programs relating to AIDS airing in early December, which has been designated as World AIDS Month (December 1 being [[World AIDS Day]]).<ref>{{cite news
"Steve Burdick" was originally scheduled to air on December 2, 1990.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-11-20-ca-5109-story.html|title=NBC Pulls AIDS-Themed 'Lifestories'|last=Weinstein|first=Steve|date=November 20, 1990|work=Los Angeles Times|access-date=2009-11-06}}</ref> Had it aired on that date it would have been one of several programs relating to AIDS airing in early December, which has been designated as World AIDS Month (December 1 being [[World AIDS Day]]).<ref>{{cite news
| last = Brenner
| last = Brenner
| first = Elisa
| first = Elisa
Line 105: Line 105:
| work = The Santa Fe New Mexican
| work = The Santa Fe New Mexican
| page = B-8
| page = B-8
| date = 1990-12-18 }}</ref> Series producer [[Jeffrey Lewis (producer)|Jeffrey Lewis]] also believed there was an economic motive, saying "I suspect a show about AIDS would not be popular with advertisers — particularly (when it focused on) a gay person with AIDS."<ref name = courant /> NBC changed ''Lifestories'' from a weekly series to a monthly one in December and on December 5 confirmed that "Steve Burdick" would be the first of the monthly episodes aired.<ref name = aiken />
| date = 1990-12-18 }}</ref> Series producer [[Jeff Lewis (writer)|Jeffrey Lewis]] also believed there was an economic motive, saying "I suspect a show about AIDS would not be popular with advertisers — particularly (when it focused on) a gay person with AIDS."<ref name = courant /> NBC changed ''Lifestories'' from a weekly series to a monthly one in December and on December 5 confirmed that "Steve Burdick" would be the first of the monthly episodes aired.<ref name = aiken />


==Notes==
==Notes==
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*{{IMDb title|id=0098847}}
*{{IMDb title|id=0098847}}


⚫
[[Category:1990s American drama television series]]
[[Category:1990 American television series debuts]]
[[Category:1990 American television series debuts]]
[[Category:1991 American television series endings]]
[[Category:1991 American television series endings]]
[[Category:1990s American medical television series]]
[[Category:1990s American medical drama television series]]
[[Category:NBC original programming]]
[[Category:NBC television dramas]]




Latest revision as of 20:49, 12 December 2024

For the HBO series, see Lifestories: Families in Crisis.
Lifestories
GenreMedical drama
Created byJeffrey Lewis
Narrated byRobert Prosky
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
Production
Executive producerJeffrey Lewis
Running time45 minutes
Production companiesJeffrey Lewis Productions
Ohlmeyer Communications Company
Orion Television Entertainment
Original release
NetworkNBC
ReleaseAugust 20, 1990 (1990-08-20) –
July 14, 1991 (1991-07-14)

Lifestories (originally Signs of Life)[1] is an American medical drama television series that premiered August 20, 1990, on NBC.[2] Done in a documentary style with off-screen narration by Robert Prosky, Lifestories was an attempt to make an extremely realistic medical drama answering questions like, "What is it like to be told that you have advanced colon cancer?", and "Exactly what goes on during the first 45 minutes of a heart attack?", such as in the show's first and third episodes, starring Richard Masur as the character Don Chapin, and Michael Murphy as the character Frank Roberts, respectively.

Episodes

[edit]
# Title Original airdate
1"Don Chapin"August 20, 1990 (1990-08-20)
Don Chapin (Richard Masur), an executive in the construction industry, is diagnosed with colon cancer.
2"Rebecca McManus and Steve Arnold"September 30, 1990 (1990-09-30)
A childless couple in their 40s (Lindsay Crouse and Dwight Schultz) pursue a variety of fertility options.
3"Frank Brody"October 7, 1990 (1990-10-07)
Following a heart attack, efforts to save retired Naval officer Frank Brody's (Michael Murphy) life are counted, on-screen, and in real time.
4"Beverly Whitestone, Dan Drabowski, Sadie Maxwell, Lois Barnes"October 14, 1990 (1990-10-14)
Following four patients in a day at a plastic surgery clinic on the same day.
5"Wes, Laurie, Georgia"October 28, 1990 (1990-10-28)
6"Jerry Forchette"November 4, 1990 (1990-11-04)
An exterminator has an inoperable brain tumor.
7"Art Conforti"November 11, 1990 (1990-11-11)
A husband (Stanley Tucci) stages an intervention to save his wife (Finn Carter) from alcoholism.
8"The Hawkins Family"December 2, 1990 (1990-12-02)
Parents search for a child they gave up for adoption 15 years earlier in hopes of obtaining bone marrow for their son.
9"Steve Burdick"December 18, 1990 (1990-12-18)
A gay TV anchorman (D.W. Moffett) loses his lover to AIDS and is HIV-positive himself. He tells their story on the air.
10"Darryl Tevis"July 14, 1991 (1991-07-14)
A high school basketball player suffers a stroke.

"Steve Burdick" controversy

[edit]

"Steve Burdick" was originally scheduled to air on December 2, 1990.[3] Had it aired on that date it would have been one of several programs relating to AIDS airing in early December, which has been designated as World AIDS Month (December 1 being World AIDS Day).[4] Gay and AIDS activists accused NBC of pulling the episode out of fear of advertiser backlash, a charge that NBC denied.[5] A network spokesperson also denied that network schedulers were aware of World AIDS Month and, in a perhaps unfortunate choice of phrase, characterized the decision to pull the episode as a "straight programming decision".[6] Series producer Jeffrey Lewis also believed there was an economic motive, saying "I suspect a show about AIDS would not be popular with advertisers — particularly (when it focused on) a gay person with AIDS."[6] NBC changed Lifestories from a weekly series to a monthly one in December and on December 5 confirmed that "Steve Burdick" would be the first of the monthly episodes aired.[5]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ "NBC Revamps Schedule for Next Season : Television: The No. 1 network admits that it is vulnerable after all of the series it introduced last fall failed". Los Angeles Times. 1990-05-22. Retrieved 2021-09-04.
  2. ^ Rosenberg, Howard (August 20, 1990). "An Early Fall - Television: NBC will introduce five new series this week. 'Hull High' and 'Lifestories' offer a bizarre pairing tonight". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2009-11-06.
  3. ^ Weinstein, Steve (November 20, 1990). "NBC Pulls AIDS-Themed 'Lifestories'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2009-11-06.
  4. ^ Brenner, Elisa (1992-12-06). "Changing Face of AIDS in the County". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-01-12.
  5. ^ a b Knight-Ridder Service (1990-12-10). "Hunter's Partner Killed". Aiken (SC) Standard. p. 4A.
  6. ^ a b The Hartford Courant (1990-12-18). "NBC series takes close look at AIDS case". The Santa Fe New Mexican. p. B-8.

References

[edit]
  • Tim Brooks; Earle Marsh (2003). The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows 1946–Present (8th ed.). New York: Ballantine Books. p. 687. ISBN 978-0-345-45542-0.
[edit]


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