Five Hidden Gem UPN Shows

 

January 16th marks 30 years since the little network that could UPN debuted. Known for hits like Moesha, Girlfriends and fellow Monday night comedies that were staples in Black households (which I wrote a blog about). It was the first home of WWF Smackdown during the height of the Attitude era in 1999 to 2006. It's most famous reality program is America's Next Top Model. Told Chris Rock's life story in Everybody Hate's Chris. Gave the world the teen sleuth classic Veronica Mars. And produced a couple of good Star Trek series for a new generation like Voyager and Enterprise.

Before merging with the CW in the fall of 2006, UPN produced a lot of series in an attempt to branch out their offerings. That were good series that flew under the radar, per usual I'm here to shed some light on those shows. Here are 5 hidden gem shows that aired on UPN.

5. Grown Ups

                                 

This 1999 sitcom was Jaleel White's return to TV after his successful role as Steve Urkel in Family Matters. I didn't realize it at the time, but the title of the show was likely a comment by Jaleel that he was grown now and far different than his Steve Urkel character. Besides that, the sitcom focused on Jaleel's character J. Calvin who goes by J alongside his best friend Gordon and Gordon's wife Shari navigating adulthood.

J deals with relationships, the workplace, and everything that comes with being a twenty something adult in this world. The show wasn't a laugh out loud sitcom by any means, but it had it's fair share of laughs and was in good company with shows like Moesha and The Parkers. So I never quite understood why it did not achieve the same success as other UPN comedies. 

It is available to watch on Tubi currently.

4. Jake 2.0

If Jake 2.0 aired today either on a network or streaming service, it would be a instant hit. That's how good and quite ahead of it's time the show was. Debuting in the fall of 2003, the drama series followed a NSA agent who is a computer wiz Jake Foley. One day Jake is accidentally implanted with nanobots, he suddenly has the ability to control all forms of technology. You know what happens next, there are folks on his tail wanting this human supercomputer and he also set's out to save the day on multiple occasions.

Sadly the series only lasted for 16 episodes with four being unaired. It had some elements of The Six Million-dollar Man, and laid the foundation for the more popular NBC comedy-drama Chuck which debuted a few years later. It's a shame that the show simply was ahead of its time.

3. Kevin Hill

Kevin Hill was a drama series that could be a little sappy, a tad overdramatic, but it had heart and a good story to tell. Looking back now it also was very relevant and shined a light on an often overlooked part of life, the surrogate father. Released in 2004 and starring Taye Diggs, the series followed Kevin Hill a successful and single lawyer enjoying his life as a young man in New York City. His world turns upside down when a cousin of his passes' and he becomes responsible for his 10 month old little cousin.

He soon must balance the responsibilities of being a parent and a working adult. With the help of his support system in the form of coworkers and friends, he does the best he can while learning parenting is not for the weak. Hailed as one of the best new dramas that year, for some reason it only lasted one season. I'm not sure if the ratings just weren't there, or there were other reasons for the show getting cancelled, but it should have lasted a lot longer.

2. Special Unit 2

Debuting in the spring of 2001, Special Unit 2 was a fun, imaginative, sci-fi drama that did not take itself too series. The show's creators also spent a great deal of time developing the world the series inhabited and it's lore before that really was a thing. Set in Chicago, the show followed a secret unit of the Chicago Police Department dubbed Special Unit 2. This group was responsible for policing the "link" population that exist in the city. "Links" were creatures derived from mythology and folk tales that walked amongst common people in plain sight, yet others are oblivious to them. They are called "links" for being the missing link between humans and apes.

This show did manage to last 2 seasons but was cancelled due to change in UPN's management and the desire to go in a different direction. There was so so much potential for more stories to be told and update mythologies for a new audience, and it was a original program not something that was adapted from another medium. It was a highlight of UPN's schedule during it's time on the air, and in today's world may have been a bigger hit. 

1. 7 Days

7 Days in my opinion was must see TV when it aired as it focused on one of my favorite Sci-Fi topics, time travel. This was another show that had a very well thought out plot and backstory, way more than it is given credit for. The series debuted in the fall of 1998 on UPN and follows a secret unit of the NSA who have reversed engineered a time travel device from alien technology found at Roswell. With this device called the Chronosphere aka Backstep sphere a person can go back in time 7 days to prevent a disaster. Due to limitations of the technology 7 days is the cutoff limit, I can't remember if it was explicitly explained why only 7 days, but hey make's for good drama.

The series managed to last 3 seasons on the network ending in the spring of 2001, and for a time aired on a few cable channels. It had it's flaw's but hindsight is always 20/20 and 25 plus years later you can see just how well produced the show was, despite limited budgets and time travel hiccups. However, any time travel story has some hiccups. This was one of the better shows on the network and was well worth it's time on the air.

Read More

Five WB Network Hidden Gems

 

January 11th marks 30 years since the WB network was founded.

Before merging with UPN to create the CW, the WB network built it's foundation on youth oriented dramas. For every 7th Heaven, Wayans Brothers, Steve Harvey Show, Dawson's Creek, Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Charmed, and One Tree Hill there were several dramas and comedies that aired on the network over the years, no one gave a chance. 

5. Do Over

Do Over was a 2002 comedy that took advantage of one of my favorite subjects time travel. It follows Joel Larsen a 30-something who experiences a defibrillator shock and wakes up as his teenage self in 1981, complete with his memories from the past 20 some odd years. He does with anyone with the knowledge of the future would do in the past, do things differently to change the course of his life. Each episode featured a point where using his knowledge he changed something about his life. It only lasted for 11 episodes with 4 episodes going unaired. It was a lot funnier and smarter than it had a chance to be, and was very underrated.

4. For Your Love

Technically For Your Love isn't a WB original, it premiered on NBC in 1998. After 11 episodes it was cancelled, and the WB network picked it up that fall. It achieved great success on the WB running for four seasons on the network. It follows three groups of friends who are all couples and them navigating life and relationships as people do. It was a dry situation comedy, but it was funny and looking at life now as a 30 something. Very very relatable, it is a hidden gem and its a shame it is not available to stream anywhere. 

3. Birds Of Prey

Birds Of Prey debuted in the fall of 2002, although Smallville was a hit on the WB at the time. This show just may have been ahead of its time. In a time the city has been dubbed New Gotham City, the city is left without a protector. In come's Diana Gordon and Selina Kyle's daughter Helena, who take the mantle of Oracle and Huntress respectively. Rounding out the trio is Dinah Redmon also known as Black Canary, who is the catalyst in the series for metahumans. Metahumans are born with super powers and no two metahumans have the same power.

Along with a GCPD detective Jesse Reese and reliable Alfred Pennyworth they work to take down  new age criminals of Gotham City. And the criminal mastermind Dr. Harleen Quinzel who is in the shadows but responsible for most of the crime in the city. The show added new crinkles to the Batman lore which maybe why it wasn't accepted along with additional sci-fi elements. It debuted a good 10 years before Arrow and The Arrowverse took over the network and should be given move credit.

Birds Of Prey is currently available on Tubi.

2. Jack & Bobby

Jack & Bobby was a interesting show in concept, retelling the story of a future U.S. president and his brother both named after members of the Kennedy family. It debuted in the fall of 2004 right before the presidential election that year. The series used interviews conducted by members of the future presidents Cabinet in the form of a documentary, and how their formative years framed their presidency years later.  The show also focused on their single mother Grace a college professor who navigates life while maintaining a steady hand over her son's lives.

The premise while not entirely unique had so much potential. It's a shame it only lasted one season before being cancelled. If given a chance it would have been a future WB classic.

1. Grosse Pointe

This comedy is one that definitely was ahead of it's time, created by Darren Star who created shows like Beverly Hills 90210, Melrose Place and Sex In The City. The show is full of meta humor before that was honestly a thing. It followed the cast of a fictional soap opera called Grosse Pointe and the misadventures of love, fame, and dealing with management navigating life. With many jokes and scenes based on Beverly Hills 90210, and the drama that occurred behind the scenes of that TV show. It may have been too behind the scenes for most people which likely contributed to it not gaining a following.

Legend has it TV producer Aaron Spelling was pissed about a character loosley based on his daughter Tori and called the network about it. Some changes were made after that, which also likely did not help the show gain traction. However it was still a gem, and besides the jokes and the plot it also had a very catchy theme song performed by one Tom Jones

Read More