Welcome to the Television Obscurities, home to an ever-expanding collection of oddities, curiosities and relics from television's past and present. Inside these pages you'll find some fifty articles covering subjects like short-lived programs, unsold pilots, lost television promos and much, much more.

With over three hours of streaming audio and video Television Obscurities offers an unique look at forgotten aspects of American broadcast television. If this is your first time visiting us, please take a moment to read our About Us page. And be sure to take a look at our Frequently Asked Questions page.

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Three more articles have been converted to flash and expanded:

• "It's About Time"
• "Camp Runamuck"
• Star Wars on Network Television

No longer just about the ill-fated "Star Wars Holiday Special," our article Star Wars on Network Television now covers the history of the Star Wars franchise on broadcast television, from 1977 to 2005. And our article on "It's About Time" now has an extensive section on the theme song/opening credits, with lyrics and everything.

Variety.com is reporting that actress Lois Nettleton passed away on Friday, January 18th at the age of 80. During a long career that included roles in theater, film and television, Nettleton appeared in a classic episode of The Twilight Zone ("The Midnight Sun") and was a regular on You Can't Take it With You (syndicated, 1987), In The Heat of the Night (NBC, 1988) and, of course, Accidental Family (ABC, 1967) alongside Jerry Van Dyke.

Nettleton often signed autographs for fans with the phrase "Happiness to you." A sincere "happiness to you," Ms. Nettleton, and thanks for the memories.

More articles have been updated to Flash:

• Fall 1974
• "Sons and Daughters"
• Batgirl and the Batman Phenomenon
• Wonder Woman: An Early Attempt

Our article on the Batgirl promotional short has been retitled Batgirl and the Batman Phenomenon and expanded to include information on Batman's rise and fall.

Three more articles have been updated to Flash video:

• "The Baileys of Balboa"
• Blondie On Television
• "Cliffhangers"

We've added flash video to the following articles:

• "Accidental Family"
• Red Dwarf USA
• "Freedom"
• "The Rebel"
• "The Young Rebels"

These five articles have also been expanded slightly and generally cleaned up/tweaked.

New Article:  "A Brief History of Television Writers: 1949-1979"

The television industry is heavily unionized. Nearly every person involved with the production of a television program is part of a union, including writers. When broadcast television first began in the late 1940s, it was little more than a combination of radio and theater performed in front of a camera. As the medium grew in popularity, the stories became more intricate and in order to gain the recognition they rightly deserved, television writers began to unionize. It was a long and drawn-out battle, one that took over a decade and even then had to be fought each time a contract was up for renegotiation.

New Article:  "Irwin Allen's Swiss Family Robinson"

Based on the classic Johann David Wyss novel, Swiss Family Robinson was Irwin Allen's second-to-last television series (Code Red in 1981 was his last). Unlike the successful science-fiction shows he produced in the 1960s (Lost in Space, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea), Swiss Family Robinson was poorly recieved by viewers and barely lasted a season. Mostly forgotten today, it is occasionally mentioned in relation to Helen Hunt, as one of her early television roles.

During the first round of this evening's episode of Jeopardy!, most of the categories were named for short-lived television shows: The Rich List, After Mash, "M"animal, Cop Rock and Hello, Larry. The final category was TV Shows That Bombed, although it was about shows that involved explosions. Kudos to the clue writers for such a fun bunch of categories for TV buffs. Now how about a category about shows that only aired once?

We've updated our article on the 1960s sitcom "The Good Guys" with Flash video and an expanded section on the theme song(s).

New Article:  "Janet Dean, Registered Nurse"

This syndicated, half-hour drama starred Ella Raines as a recently discharged Army nurse who traveled the country filling in at hospitals wherever and whenever she was needed. But Janet Dean wasn't just a nurse; she was a problem solver with a kind soul, trying to do more than heal her patients' physical ills. The series ran for a single season from 1954-1955 and was probably the first television show to have a nurse as the main character.