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{{for|the [[HBO]] series|Lifestories: Families in Crisis}}
{{for|the HBO series|Lifestories: Families in Crisis}}
{{Infobox television
'''''Lifestories''''' was a 1990 [[medical drama]] broadcast in the [[United States]] by the [[NBC]] [[television network]].
| show_name = Lifestories

| image =
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]]?"
| caption =

| genre = [[Medical drama]]
Apparently, the realism was too much for the program to find a mass audience; its [[Nielsen ratings]] were abysmal for it had to compete with the Top 10 hit [[America's Funniest Home Videos]], the Top 20 hit [[America's Funniest People]] both on ABC, and CBS's Top 20 hit [[Murder, She Wrote]] and it was cancelled after less than four months on the air.
| creator = Jeffrey Lewis
| starring =
| narrated = [[Robert Prosky]]
| country = [[United States]]
| language = {{English}}
| num_seasons = 1
| num_episodes =
| executive_producer = Jeffrey Lewis
| producer =
| runtime = 45 minutes
| network = [[NBC]]
| first_aired = {{Start date|1990|8|20}}
| last_aired =
}}
'''''Lifestories''''' is an [[United States|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]]?"


==Episodes==
==Episodes==
{| class="wikitable"
{| class="wikitable"
! width="20"|# !! Title !! width="120"|Original airdate
! style="background: #E9E9E9;" | Episode number
{{Episode list
! style="background: #E9E9E9;" | Title
|EpisodeNumber=1
! style="background: #E9E9E9;" | Original airdate
|Title=Don Chapin
! style="background: #E9E9E9;" | Synopsis
|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1990|8|20}}
|-
|ShortSummary=Don Chapin ([[Richard Masur]]), an executive in the construction industry, is diagnosed with colon cancer.
| 1
}}
| "Don Chapin"
{{Episode list
| August 20, 1990
|EpisodeNumber=2
| An executive in the construction industry is diagnosed with colon cancer.
|Title=Rebecca McManus and Steve Arnold
|-
|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1990|9|30}}
| 2
|ShortSummary=A childless couple in their 40s pursue a variety of fertility options.
| "Rebecca McManus and Steve Arnold"
}}
| September 30, 1990
{{Episode list
| A childless couple in their 40s pursue a variety of fertility options.
|EpisodeNumber=3
|-
|Title=Frank Brody
| 3
|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1990|10|7}}
| "Frank Brody"
|ShortSummary=Following a heart attack, efforts to save a retired Navy man's life are counted in real time on-screen.
| October 7, 1990
}}
| Following a heart attack, efforts to save a retired Navy man's life are counted in real time on-screen.
{{Episode list
|-
|EpisodeNumber=4
| 4
| ""Beverly Whitestone, Dan Drabowski, Sadie Maxwell, Lois Barnes""
|Title=Beverly Whitestone, Dan Drabowski, Sadie Maxwell, Lois Barnes
|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1990|10|14}}
| October 14, 1990
| Following four patients in a day at a plastic surgery clinic on the same day.
|ShortSummary=Following four patients in a day at a plastic surgery clinic on the same day.
}}
|-
{{Episode list
| 5
|EpisodeNumber=5
| "Wes, Laurie, Georgia"
|Title=Wes, Laurie, Georgia
| October 28, 1990
|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1990|10|28}}
|
|ShortSummary=
|-
}}
| 6
{{Episode list
| "Jerry Forchette"
|EpisodeNumber=6
| November 4, 1990
|Title=Jerry Forchette
| An exterminator has an inoperable brain tumor.
|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1990|11|4}}
|-
|ShortSummary=An exterminator has an inoperable brain tumor.
| 7
}}
| "Art Conforti"
{{Episode list
| November 11, 1990
|EpisodeNumber=7
| A husband stages an intervention to save his wife from alcoholism.
|Title=Art Conforti
|-
|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1990|11|11}}
| 8
|ShortSummary=A husband stages an intervention to save his wife from alcoholism.
| "The Hawkins Family"
}}
| December 2, 1990
{{Episode list
| Parents search for a child they gave up for adoption 15 years earlier in hopes of obtaining bone marrow for their son.
|EpisodeNumber=8
|-
|Title=The Hawkins Family
| 9
|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1990|12|2}}
| "[[Steve Burdick]]"
|ShortSummary=Parents search for a child they gave up for adoption 15 years earlier in hopes of obtaining bone marrow for their son.
| December 18, 1990
}}
| A gay TV anchorman loses his lover to AIDS and is HIV-positive himself. He tells their story on the air.
{{Episode list
|-
|EpisodeNumber=9
| 10
|Title=[[Steve Burdick]]
| "Darryl Tevis"
|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1990|12|18}}
| July 14, 1991
|ShortSummary=A gay TV anchorman loses his lover to AIDS and is HIV-positive himself. He tells their story on the air.
| A high school basketball player suffers a stroke.
}}
{{Episode list
|EpisodeNumber=10
|Title=Darryl Tevis
|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1991|7|14}}
|ShortSummary=A high school basketball player suffers a stroke.
}}
|}
|}


=="Steve Burdick" controversy==
=="Steve Burdick" controversy==
"Steve Burdick" was originally scheduled to air on December 2, 1990. 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=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
| last = Brenner
| last = Brenner
| first = Elisa
| first = Elisa
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*{{imdb title|id=0098847}}
*{{imdb title|id=0098847}}


[[Category:NBC network shows]]
[[Category:1990s American television series]]
[[Category:1990s American television series]]
[[Category:1990 television series debuts]]
[[Category:1991 television series endings]]
[[Category:Medical television series]]
[[Category:Medical television series]]
[[Category:NBC network shows]]

{{drama-tv-prog-stub}}


[[pt:Lifestories]]
[[pt:Lifestories]]


{{drama-tv-prog-stub}}

Revision as of 17:16, 6 November 2009

For the HBO series, see Lifestories: Families in Crisis.
Lifestories
GenreMedical drama
Created byJeffrey Lewis
Narrated byRobert Prosky
Country of originUnited States
Original languageTransclusion error: {{En}} is only for use in File namespace. Use {{langx|en}} or {{in lang|en}} instead.
No. of seasons1
Production
Executive producerJeffrey Lewis
Running time45 minutes
Original release
NetworkNBC
ReleaseAugust 20, 1990 (1990-08-20)

Lifestories is an American medical drama television series that premiered August 20, 1990, on NBC.[1] 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, "Exactly what goes on during the first 45 minutes of a heart attack?" "What is it like to be told that you have advanced colon cancer?"

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 pursue a variety of fertility options.
3"Frank Brody"October 7, 1990 (1990-10-07)
Following a heart attack, efforts to save a retired Navy man's life are counted in real time on-screen.
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 stages an intervention to save his wife 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 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.[2] 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).[3] Gay and AIDS activists accused NBC of pulling the episode out of fear of advertiser backlash, a charge that NBC denied.[4] 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".[5] 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."[5] 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.[4]

Notes

  1. ^ 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.
  2. ^ Weinstein, Steve (November 20, 1990). "NBC Pulls AIDS-Themed 'Lifestories'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2009-11-06.
  3. ^ Brenner, Elisa (1992-12-06). "Changing Face of AIDS in the County". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-01-12.
  4. ^ a b Knight-Ridder Service (1990-12-10). "Hunter's Partner Killed". Aiken (SC) Standard. p. 4A.
  5. ^ 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

Brooks, Tim and Marsh, Earle, The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows


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