Lifestories: Difference between revisions

*Lifestories*
Lifestories
Genre	Medical drama
Created by	Jeffrey Lewis
Narrated by	Robert Prosky
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	1
Production
Executive producer	Jeffrey Lewis
Running time	45 minutes
Production companies	Jeffrey Lewis Productions; Ohlmeyer Communications Company; Orion Television Entertainment
Original release
Network	NBC
Release	August 20, 1990 –; July 14, 1991

Browse history interactively

← Previous edit

Content deleted Content added

VisualWikitext

Inline

Latest revision as of 20:49, 12 December 2024

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

#	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

"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

^ "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.
^ 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.
^ Weinstein, Steve (November 20, 1990). "NBC Pulls AIDS-Themed 'Lifestories'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2009-11-06.
^ Brenner, Elisa (1992-12-06). "Changing Face of AIDS in the County". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-01-12.
^ ^a ^b Knight-Ridder Service (1990-12-10). "Hunter's Partner Killed". Aiken (SC) Standard. p. 4A.
^ ^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

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.

External links

Lifestories at IMDb

This article relating to a drama television series in the United States is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

[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.

[aiken-5] Knight-Ridder Service (1990-12-10). "Hunter's Partner Killed". Aiken (SC) Standard. p. 4A.

[courant-6] The Hartford Courant (1990-12-18). "NBC series takes close look at AIDS case". The Santa Fe New Mexican. p. B-8.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

@@ Line 20: / Line 20: @@
 | 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, "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.
+'''''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==
@@ Line 29: / Line 29: @@
  |Title=Don Chapin
  |OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1990|8|20}}
- |ShortSummary=Don Chapin ([[Richard Masur]]), an executive in the construction industry, is diagnosed with colon cancer. [[Lisa Banes]], [[George Wyner]], [[Angela Paton]], Kelly Connell, Abdul Salaam El Razzac and [[William Frankfather]] guest-star.
+ |ShortSummary=Don Chapin ([[Richard Masur]]), an executive in the construction industry, is diagnosed with colon cancer.
 }}
 {{Episode list
@@ Line 35: / Line 35: @@
  |Title=Rebecca McManus and Steve Arnold
  |OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1990|9|30}}
- |ShortSummary=Childless couple Rebecca McManus ([[Lindsay Crouse]]) and Steve Arnold ([[Dwight Schultz]]) in their 40s pursue a variety of fertility options. [Jane Daly]] and Gerald Berns also guest-star.
+ |ShortSummary=A childless couple in their 40s ([[Lindsay Crouse]] and [[Dwight Schultz]]) pursue a variety of fertility options.
 }}
 {{Episode list
@@ Line 41: / Line 41: @@
  |Title=Frank Brody
  |OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1990|10|7}}
- |ShortSummary=Following a heart attack, efforts to save businessman and retired Naval officer Frank Brody's ([[Michael Murphy (actor)|Michael Murphy]]) life are counted, on-screen, and in real time. [[Susan Blakely]] also guest-stars.
+ |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
@@ Line 47: / Line 47: @@
  |Title=Beverly Whitestone, Dan Drabowski, Sadie Maxwell, Lois Barnes
  |OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1990|10|14}}
- |ShortSummary=Chronicling four patients--Beverly Whitestone (Nataljia Nogulich), Dan Drabowski ([[Larry Pine]]), Sadie Maxwell (Debra Stipe) and Lois Barnes ([[Micole Mercurio]])--in a day at a plastic surgery clinic on the same day. [[Harrison Page]], Cynthia Bain and Serena Viharo also guest-star.
+ |ShortSummary=Following four patients in a day at a plastic surgery clinic on the same day.
 }}
 {{Episode list
@@ Line 53: / Line 53: @@
  |Title=Wes, Laurie, Georgia
  |OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1990|10|28}}
+ |ShortSummary=
- |ShortSummary=Previously extinct behavior resurfaces unexpectedly in what is described as a spontaneous recovery.
 }}
 {{Episode list
@@ Line 59: / Line 59: @@
  |Title=Jerry Forchette
  |OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1990|11|4}}
+ |ShortSummary=An exterminator has an inoperable brain tumor.
- |ShortSummary=Exterminator [[Louis Giambalvo]] has an inoperable brain tumor hastens to clean up the wreckage of his unsavory past. [[Jennifer Salt]], [[Giancarlo Esposito]], [[Mark L. Taylor]], [[Carol Arthur]] and [[Lisa Kudrow]] also guest-star.
 }}
 {{Episode list
@@ Line 65: / Line 65: @@
  |Title=Art Conforti
  |OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1990|11|11}}
- |ShortSummary=A husband [[Stanley Tucci]] stages an intervention to save his wife [[Finn Carter]] from alcoholism. [[Stephen Tobolowsky]] and Vicki Wauchope also guest-star. Note: Wauchope's performance in this series episode garnered her a [[Young Artist Award]] for [[Young Artist Award|Best Young Actress Guest Starring in a Television Series]] nomination.
+ |ShortSummary=A husband ([[Stanley Tucci]]) stages an intervention to save his wife ([[Finn Carter]]) from alcoholism.
 }}
 {{Episode list
@@ Line 71: / Line 71: @@
  |Title=The Hawkins Family
  |OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1990|12|2}}
- |ShortSummary=Parents ([[Chris Cooper]] and [[Wendy Phillips]] search for a child they gave up for adoption 15 years earlier in hopes of obtaining bone marrow for their son. [[Nicholas Pryor]], [[Joanna Miles]], [[Nicky Katt]], [[Matthew Lawrence]] and Joe Howard also guest-star.
+ |ShortSummary=Parents search for a child they gave up for adoption 15 years earlier in hopes of obtaining bone marrow for their son.
 }}
 {{Episode list
  |EpisodeNumber=9
- |Title=Steve Burdick
+ |Title=[[Steve Burdick]]
  |OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1990|12|18}}
- |ShortSummary=Gay TV anchorman Steve Burdick ([[D.W. Moffett]]) loses his lover to AIDS and is HIV-positive himself. He tells their story on the air. [[Joyce Hyser]], [[Wayne Tippit]], [[Mitchell Laurance]] and [[Juanita Jennings]] also guest-star. Note: this episode of the series won the 1991 [[GLAAD Media Award]] for [[GLAAD Media Award|Outstanding Drama Episode]].
+ |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
  |EpisodeNumber=10
- |Title=Krystal Baker
- |OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1990|12|21}}
- |ShortSummary=A teenage girl discovers that she is pregnant.
-}}
-{{Episode list
- |EpisodeNumber=11
  |Title=Darryl Tevis
  |OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1991|7|14}}
- |ShortSummary=A high school basketball player (Don Barnes) suffers a stroke. [[CCH Pounder]], [[Tim Russ]], [[J. Kenneth Campbell]], [[Nigel Gibbs]], Abdul Salaam El Razzac, [[Montrose Hagins]] and Joe Howard also guest-star.
+ |ShortSummary=A high school basketball player suffers a stroke.
 }}
 |}
 =="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
   | first = Elisa
@@ Line 122: / Line 116: @@
 *{{IMDb title|id=0098847}}
-[[Category:1990s American drama television series]]
 [[Category:1990 American television series debuts]]
 [[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]]