NBC experimented with ‘wheel’ programming
Q. I recall a program during the early ’70s that rotated three different shows (at least I think it was three) each week. One was “Columbo,” another was “McMillan and Wife,” but I cannot remember the third. Could you help jog my memory? A. NBC tried several experiments with so-called “wheel” programming in the 1960s and ’70s, rotating specific shows in a single time slot. One effort was an “NBC Mystery Movie,” which originally consisted of “Columbo,” “McMillan and Wife” and “McCloud,” the last a drama starring Dennis Weaver. According to “The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows,” that lineup proved so successful that NBC moved it from Wednesdays to Sundays and tried a different Wednesday set: “Madigan” with Richard Widmark, “Banacek” with George Peppard and “Cool Million” with James Farentino.
Over the years, the mystery wheel also included shows such as “Hec Ramsey,” “The Snoop Sisters,” “Tenafly,” “Faraday & Company” and “Amy Prentiss.” But the only show to come near the success of the three original mystery movies was “Quincy, M.E.,” with Jack Klugman, which went from part of the wheel to a separate hourlong drama. Q. On the TV series “Bones,” I have noticed that at certain times you see this beautiful garden outside the doors of where the show is supposed to take place in Washington, D.C. Looking closer at the quick scan of the gardens I seem to remember that those look like the same garden that was used in the Barbra Streisand film “On a Clear Day You Can See Forever.” Is this possible?
A.
Yes. While the bulk of the Streisand film was shot in New York, some scenes were shot in the rose garden in Los Angeles’ Exposition Park. The same area, including the California Science Center there, has been used by “Bones.”