Sunday, October 31, 2010

Saturday Morning's Forgotten Heroes: Fillmore! (2002)

Sometimes, you don't know a good thing when you see it until it's gone. Disney certainly knows this feeling. They had a real winner with Fillmore!, which bowed as part of ABC's One Saturday Morning block in 2002. Series creator Scott Gimple developed the series as a homage to the crime dramas of his youth, particularly the Quinn Martin family of shows (i.e. Streets of San Francisco, Barnaby Jones) by breaking each episode down into acts. However, unlike those classics, which had individual "act" cards, the late announcer Don LaFontaine would be heard as each act began. Here's the open:



As a fan of detective dramas, I made it a point to make Fillmore! appointment television on Saturdays whenever possible. Unfortunately, ABC pulled the plug in February 2005, rather abruptly, after 2 1/2 seasons. Fillmore! has rarely been seen since, and currently languishes in Disney's vaults, as apparently they don't think it fits in with the boycentric DisneyXD channel (formerly Toon Disney), which actually serves as an outlet to repurpose shows also airing on Disney Channel (i.e. Suite Life on Deck, Phineas & Ferb), in addition to airing shows exclusive to the channel (at least for now). Their loss.

Rating: A.

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