Silver Fox anniversary

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The Bernie Mac Show

TV preview

Fox's 25th Anniversary Special

• Hosted by Ryan Seacrest
• Featuring Hugh Laurie, Kiefer Sutherland, Ashton Kutcher, Shannen Doherty, Jason Priestley, Calista Flockhart, Ed O'Neill, Christina Applegate, Jennifer Lopez, Steven Tyler, David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson

• Sunday at 7 p.m.
• Fox

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24

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The Simpsons (CNS CR: FOX)

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Married... With Children

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X-Files

It's hard to pinpoint when Fox Broadcasting fully completed the transition from experiment to upstart to full-fledged TV network, but all it takes is a quick look at its library of prime-time titles to confirm that it has, as it passes its 25th birthday, become equally as formidable as the old-school U.S. broadcasters it was launched to challenge.

The fourth American network, which arrived as a prime-time player on April 5, 1987, with the debuts of Married... With Children and The Tracey Ullman Show, can rightfully be described as the home of some of the most influential and culturally significant programs -- for better and worse -- in television history.

Beginning as a loose-knit collection of independent stations that carried Fox-produced programs just one night per week (Sundays), the system gradually added shows and evenings to its schedule until it became a seven-night-a-week entity in 1993.

From The Simpsons and Beverly Hills 90210 to American Idol and Glee, Fox has been a network that challenged pop-culture attitudes, flirted with (and, at times ventured beyond) the boundaries of taste, redefined genres and created new programming categories.

Fox will mark its on-air milestone this weekend with Fox's 25th Anniversary Special (Sunday at 7 p.m.), a celebrity-filled celebration hosted by Ryan Seacrest and featuring appearances by stars from many of the network's most popular and influential shows.

Fox will also re-air the pilot of Married... With Children (Sunday at 6 p.m.), followed by a rebroadcast of the recently aired milestone 500th episode of The Simpsons (6:30 p.m.).

In preparation for Fox's big quarter-century blowout, here's a look back at the timeline and titles that made the home of Homer what it is today:

Post-partum impression (1987-90)

• Married... With Children (1987-97) -- clearly intended to serve as the anti-Cosby sitcom, this coarse and emphatically dumbed-down comedy made it clear that Fox was staking out new territory.
• 21 Jump Street (1987-90) -- an ambitious cop drama that offered an early indication of Fox's youth-serving strategy; launched the career of a youngster named Johnny Depp.
• The Tracey Ullman Show (1987-90) -- a better-than-average sketch-comedy offering that's mostly remembered now as the show that spawned The Simpsons.
• It's Garry Shandling's Show (1988-90) -- a boundary-breaking effort that created the template for all those sitcoms that break the fourth wall and speak directly to the audience.
• The Simpsons (1989-present) -- redefined TV comedy; revived prime-time animation; simply put, Fox's most important contribution to television programming.
• Beverly Hills 90210 (1990-2000) -- combined youthful soapiness with serious-issue exploration, and by doing so, created the blueprint for two generations of teen/20s dramas.
• In Living Color (1990-94) -- edgy and racially inclusive sketch comedy that created a career springboard for Jim Carrey, Jennifer Lopez and pretty much everyone named Wayans.

OTHER NOTEWORTHY TITLES: America's Most Wanted, Cops, Parker Lewis Can't Lose

The (sometimes) terrible toddler years (1991-2000)

• Melrose Place (1992-99) -- a struggling, sombre 90210 spinoff that became a pop-culture phenomenon when Heather Locklear joined the cast and turned it into an over-the-top soapfest.
• The X-Files (1993-2002) -- perhaps the first cult-favourite sci-fi show to develop a significant mainstream following; combined complex storylines and detailed mythology with modern-day whodunit casework and just the right measure of Mulder/Scully sexual tension.
• King of the Hill (1997-2010) -- demonstrated that The Simpsons' success wasn't just a fluke; set the foundation for Fox's long-running Sunday-night Animation Domination block.
• Ally McBeal (1997-2002) -- weird, wacky, absurd, sexy and unapologetically silly; one of the '90s most successful generators of next-day water-cooler discussion.
• That '70s Show (1998-2006) -- Fox's first hugely successful mainstream sitcom; launched the careers of a handful of previously unknown teen actors, including Ashton Kutcher, Mila Kunis and Wilmer Valderrama.

OTHER NOTEWORTHY TITLES: Ned and Stacey, Martin, Party of Five, Millennium, Malcolm in the Middle, Futurama, Boston Public, MADtv

Adolescent angst to all grown-up (2001-present)

-- Family Guy (1999-2002; 2005-present) -- a unique cartoon phenomenon; cancelled after three ratings-challenged seasons, then revived after box-set DVD sales proved there was still an appetite for more.

• 24 (2001-10) -- a ticking-clock thriller that almost ended before it began; 24's original premiere date (Oct. 30, 2001) had to be pushed back when real-life events on 9/11 made the notion of a terrorism-driven drama a bit questionable. When it arrived, Jack Bauer turned out to be a very addictive character.
• Temptation Island (2001-2003) -- makes this list for notoriety, not quality; prime example of Fox's ongoing effort in the early 2000s to continually lower the bar with tasteless reality-TV titles, including the likes of Joe Millionaire, Married By America, Who Wants To Marry a Multi-Millionaire?, My Big Fat Obnoxious Fiancé and The Swan.
• American Idol (2002-present) -- the 900-lb. gorilla of the reality/competition genre; has pretty much guaranteed Fox victory in the post-Christmas ratings every season since its arrival; launched the careers of Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, Chris Daughtry and others.
• Arrested Development (2003-2006) -- never achieved the ratings it deserved, but still ranks as one of the best sitcoms of the 21st century.
• House (2004-present) -- by transforming a dithering Brit comedy player into a huge prime-time drama star, created one of the most compelling medical shows of the past few decades; headed for a sure-to-be-fitting sendoff next month.
• Glee (2009-present) -- producers who had tried before to create a prime-time musical (Cop Rock, Viva Laughlin) were basically laughed out of prime time; this fresh, often-campy effort hit all the right notes and became a TV/iTunes phenomenon.
• New Girl (2011-present) -- Zooey Deschanel became 2011's sitcom "It" girl; huge critical buzz and solid ratings earned this promising sitcom an early renewal for 2012-13.
• The X Factor (2011-present) -- nowhere near the earth-shaking success its producer, Idol alumnus Simon Cowell, predicted, but still gives Fox a formidable full-season presence in the reality/competition field.

OTHER NOTEWORTHY TITLES: Undeclared, The Bernie Mac Show, The Tick, Firefly, Wonderfalls, Bones, Prison Break, The O.C., So You Think You Can Dance, Prison Break, Fringe, Raising Hope, Touch

brad.oswald@freepress.mb.ca

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition April 21, 2012 G1