Action Pack (TV programming block): Difference between revisions

Revision as of 21:25, 5 July 2023

Revision as of 21:27, 5 July 2023

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==History==

In 1994, the ''Action Pack'' initially ran as a [[wheel series]] of television movies, which were all effectively pilots; if successful, they would become TV series the following season.<ref name=lat>{{cite news|last1=Cerone|first1=Daniel|title=Television : There's Action Off the Beaten Path : The ground is shifting in TV's prime time as a slew of new shows arrive--but don't go looking for them in the usual places|url=http://articles.latimes.com/1994-01-16/entertainment/ca-12369_1_prime-time-programming/2|accessdate=June 8, 2017|newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]]|publisher=[[Times Mirror Company]]|date=January 16, 1994|pages=1–2}}</ref><ref name="ws">[http://www.whoosh.org/issue3/kym1.html Mysteries Surrounding the Creation of the Syndicated Television Show XENA: WARRIOR PRINCESS] Whoosh Online Edition. Issue Three. November 1996.</ref> The initial plan was for four films created from six franchises for the block, including ''[[TekWar]]'', ''[[Smokey and the Bandit]]'', ''[[Midnight Run]]'', ''[[Hercules: The Legendary Journeys]]'', ''[[Vanishing Son]]'' and the working title ''Fastlane'' when offered at programming executive conference in January 1994.<ref name=lat/><ref name="vty">{{cite news|last1=Benson|first1=Jim|title='Action' packs wallop, gives markets a boost|url=https://variety.com/1994/tv/news/action-packs-wallop-gives-markets-a-boost-117597/|accessdate=June 9, 2017|periodical=Variety|publisher=Cahners Business Information|date=January 20, 1994}}</ref>

On January 17 and 18, 1994, a dozen stations showed ''[[TekWar]]'', the premiere TV movie of the programming block. The stations' ratings increased greatly with a 350% increase in [[KOFY-TV|KOFY]] in San Francisco. MCA cut Rob Cohen's ''Midnight Run'' to three films, so that star Christopher McDonald could star in a feature film. Cohen produced ''[[Knight Rider 2010]]'' as a replacement.<ref name="vty"/> The block aired its first season until January 1995 and lost $30 million.<ref name=vty0/> ''TekWar'' was picked up as a regular TV series for the [[USA Network]] instead of Action Pack, starting in January 1995.<ref name="sfts">{{cite book|last1=Garcia|first1=Frank|last2=Phillips|first2=Mark|title=Science Fiction Television Series, 1990–2004: Histories, Casts and Credits for 58 Shows|date=March 28, 2012 |publisher=McFarland & Company |isbn=9780786491834 |page=326 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pQIDAQAAQBAJ&q=%22Captain+Zoom%22+%22Action+Pack%22&pg=PA326|access-date=June 9, 2017|language=en|via=Google Books}}</ref>

From January to June 1995, the block included ''Hercules: The Legendary Journeys'' and ''Vanishing Son''. The ''Hercules'' series became a surprise hit as the third most -watched first-run syndicated action hour.<ref name=vty0/> From September 1995 through January 2000, ''Action Pack'' included ''Hercules: The Legendary Journeys'' and its spinoff, ''[[Xena: Warrior Princess]]''.<ref name="ws"/><ref>[http://www.ee.surrey.ac.uk/Contrib/Entertainment/Xena/welcome.html Bevis King's Xena: Warrior Princess website] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081224095116/http://www.ee.surrey.ac.uk/Contrib/Entertainment/Xena/welcome.html |date=December 24, 2008 }}</ref> After ''Hercules'' ended its run in January 2000, the ''Universal Action Pack'' launched the ''Back2Back Action Hour'' consisting of two thirty-minute series: ''[[Jack of All Trades (TV series)|Jack of All Trades]]'' and ''[[Cleopatra 2525]]''<ref name="pgz">{{cite news|last1=Owen|first1=Rob|title=On the Tube: The ratings dropped with her golden locks - WB says grow it back|url=http://old.post-gazette.com/tv/20000121owen3.asp|accessdate=June 9, 2017|newspaper=[[Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]]|publisher=[[Block Communications]]|date=January 21, 2000}}</ref> to air alongside ''Xena''. The lineup lasted until second quarter 2001. ''Jack of All Trades'' and ''Xena'' were canceled and ''Cleopatra 2525'' was increased to an hour -long show in January 2001.<ref name="abc">{{cite news|title=Xena Canceled|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/story?id=114424&page=1|accessdate=June 9, 2017|website=[[ABC News]]|publisher=[[Disney-ABC Television Group]]|date=October 17, 2000}}</ref>

After ''Xena'', the most successful series on the ''Action Pack'', completed airing its final season's reruns in the summer of 2001,<ref name="abc" /> ''Cleopatra 2525'' also stopped production and the ''Action Pack'' block was discontinued.