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After a disastrous 1973-1974 season, NBC canceled half of its primetime schedule and developed a new schedule that included nine new programs for 1974 fall television season. In terms of new show retainment, 1974 was a good year: all but three of the nine new programs returned in 1975. Two of those shows would last until at least 1980, whilst another two would reach 1978 before cancellation. NBC was also the only network to premiere a full night's worth of new shows.

NOTE: No new Tuesday, Saturday or Sunday programming was introduced by NBC during the fall of 1974.

The very first new series of the season to premiere was NBC's Born Free, which premiered on September 9th at 8:00PM. The hour-long drama aired opposite The Rookies on ABC and Gunsmoke on CBS. By November, the ratings were low enough to justify canceling the series and replacing it with The Smothers Brothers Show [1]. A total of thirteen episodes were aired; the final episode was broadcast December 30th.

An adventure series with an emphasize on preserving wildlife, Born Free starred Gary Collins as George Adamson, a game warden, and Diana Muldaur (who also provided the show's narration) as his wife Joy, a painter. The couple lived in Kenya with their adopted lioness Elsa, where they protected the animals in the surrounding area from all sorts of danger, both natural and human.

The series was filmed entirely on location in East Africa and was based on a movie of the same name, which in turn was based on a two books written by the real Joy Adamson. Hal Frederick appeared as the Adamson's scout, Makedde. Elsa, the "born free" lioness, was the focal point of several episodes, including one segment that involved a female pilot who crashed in Kenya without any fresh water.

NBC's Wednesday night line-up was all new in the fall of 1974, with three hour-long dramas all premiering on September 11th, 1974. Little House on the Prairie was the first new show, airing from 8:00PM-9:00PM against Sons and Daughters on CBS and That's My Mama and the first half-hour of The Wednesday Movie of the Week on ABC.

Little House on the Prairie's premiere ranked ninth for the week [2]. Overall, for the 1974-1975 season the series ranked thirteenth. It would not go off the air until 1983. A made-for-TV movie, also called Little House on the Prairie aired on March 30th, 1974 and served as a pilot for the new series. Both the telefilm and the series were based on Laura Ingalls Wilder's "Little House" books.

Michael Landon, famous for playing Little Joe on Bonanza, played the father, Charles Ingalls (he was also executive producer), while Karen Grassle played the mother, Caroline Ingalls. The stories were seen through the eyes of middle daughter Laura, played by Melissa Gilbert. The two other daughters, Mary and Carrie, were played by Melissa Sue Anderson and Lindsay and Sidney Green Bush, twins, respectively. Over the course of its run the series would go through countless cast changes and even a name change.

The second new series, Lucas Tanner, aired from 9:00PM-10:00PM. It was the only new Wednesday series and one of only three overall not to return the next season on NBC. David Hartman starred as Lucas Tanner, a jack of all trades.

Following the death of his wife and son, the former sportswriter and professional baseball player decided to become a teacher. He moved to St. Louis and found a position at Harry S Truman Memorial High School, located in Webster Groves, Missouri. The town and the school building were real but the name was fake.

Tanner taught English, coached the basketball team, was an avid jogger and saxophone player. However, due to his unorthodox teaching style, he often found himself facing stern opposition from his fellow teachers, the school administration, and parents. The students, of course, loved him and the principal, Mrs. Margaret Blumenthal, appreciated his success at getting through to the students.

Lucas Tanner

Also appearing on the show was Robbie Rist as Glendon, a young boy who lived next door to Tanner and would drop by to visit every now and again. The series lasted almost a full year, until August of 1975, although Principal Blumenthal was replaced in January by John Randolph as John Hamilton, the new principal.

Although the premiere was ranked sixteenth for the week, competition from Cannon on CBS and Wednesday Movie of the Week on ABC led to cancellation after a full season [3]. In April of 1975, NBC pre-empted the series several times due to low ratings [4]. Also in April, Lucas Tanner was one of several NBC programs charged with promoting an anti-gun bias by irate viewers, who wrote the network to complain [5].

The final NBC offering, Petrocelli, ran from 10:00PM-11:00PM against Get Christie Love on ABC and The Manhunter on CBS. Although not a massive hit, the series did return for the 1975-1976, and ran for a total of 48 episodes before being cancelled in April of 1976.

The series was based on a made-for-TV movie entitled Night Games, which aired March 16th, 1974, following a theatrical film called The Lawyer, released in 1970. Barry Newman starred in all three incarnations as Anthony Petrocelli, an Italian, Harvard-educated lawyer living in San Remo. Susan Howard appeared as his wife, Maggie Petrocelli. Albert Selmi played Pete Ritter and David Huddleston appeared as Lt. Ponce.

Two NBC shows aired on Thursdays. The first, Sierra, was broadcast from 8:00PM - 9:00PM against both The Waltons and The Odd Couple. The series starred Ernest Thompson as Ranger Matt Harper and James G. Richardson as Ranger Tim Cassidy, members of the National Park Service. The two patrolled the Sierra National Park, charged with keeping the park clean and supervising the ever-growing number of tourists who came to enjoy it.

The series, filmed at Yosemite National Park with the help of the real National Park Service, also starred Jack Hogan as Chief Ranger Jack Moore, Mike Warren as Ranger P.J. Lewis, and Susan Foster as Ranger Julie Beck. An average episode involved protecting campers from bears, rescuing lost campers and enforcing regulations. The most frequently seen, and most troublesome, bear on the show was Cruncher. Much like ABC's Paper Moon, Sierra was crushed by The Waltons was canceled in October, replaced by The Mac Davis Show starting December 19th, 1974 [6].

A total of thirteen weeks episodes were broadcast. Sierra was produced by Mark VII, Ltd. (Jack Webb's production company) and in early April, reports indicated that it would be titled "The Rangers" [7]. On Tuesday, December 24th at 8:30PM, NBC broadcast a ninety-minute telefilm entitled Park Rangers, starring James G. Richardson as Tim Cassidy, the same character he played in Sierra. However, Colby Chester appeared as Matt Harper, not Ernest Thompson [8].

The second NBC series, Movin' On, aired from 10:00PM - 11:00PM, opposite both Harry O and The CBS Thursday Night Movies. A made-for-TV movie, entitled In Tandem, served as a pilot for the series, and aired May 8th, 1974. Movin' On starred Claude Akins as Sonny Pruett, a rough and tumble veteran of the road and the owner of the big-rig that he and Will Chandler (Frank Converse) operated.

Will was the younger of the two and also happened to be a graduate of law school. Together, the two crisscrossed the country hauling freight, getting into fights, and of course, helping people in need. Movin' On managed to hang on for two seasons, but cancellation found the series in 1976.

All three of NBC's shows became either hits of halfway hits. Chico and the Man lasted through the death of Freddie Prinze early in 1977 until mid-1978. Police Woman also survived until 1978 and The Rockford Files aired until 1980.

Chico and the Man starred Jack Albertson as Ed "The Man" Brown and Freddie Prinze as Chico Rodriguez. The series was set in East Los Angeles and focused on a garage owned by Brown where Chico aspired to work. The two didn't get along that well but they respected each other.

James Garner appeared as Jim Rockford in The Rockford Files, as a former convict turned private detective. He could usually be found working on cases that everyone else believed were solidly shut, only to bust them straight open and surprise just about everyone.

Angie Dickinson portrayed Sgt. Suzanne Anderson in Police Woman, working undercover for the Los Angeles Police Department, along with Ed Bernard as Detective Joe Styles and Charles Dierkop as Detective Pete Royster. Earl Holliman appeared as Lieutenant Bill Crowley, to whom the three reported.

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