What Might've Been: Supertrain (1979)

It is considered one of the most expensive flops in television history. If you want to compare Supertrain to a similar failure in movies, I'd say it'd rank up there with the likes of "Heaven's Gate" & "Ishtar", both of which came after Supertrain.

Some say it nearly bankrupted NBC, which was struggling to find a hit show not named Little House on The Prairie for their primetime lineup. They were hoping that with Dan Curtis, the brains behind Dark Shadows, on board, their Love Boat on rails would work when it launched in February 1979. Unfortunately, Curtis hadn't developed a series since the original Shadows ended a few years earlier, and was specializing in TV-movies instead.

After the 2-hour premiere and a few episodes, NBC sent Supertrain for repairs. Curtis was excused, and the cast was overhauled. That didn't work, and the show was cancelled outright by the end of the season.

Unlike Love Boat, Supertrain lacked one important element. Their crew couldn't connect with viewers. Edward Andrews hadn't been a lead since Broadside, and was another of these character actors that was out of place in a lead role. Harrison Page was given less to do than when he was opposite Don Rickles on CPO Sharkey. Robert Alda being cast as the train's physician (?) was meant to probably get people thinking son Alan would take a break from M*A*S*H and do a guest shot, just as Robert had appeared twice on his son's show. Nita Talbot might still be better known for a recurring gig on Hogan's Heroes. Charlie Brill would later land a more significant dramatic role on Silk Stalkings, but here tried his best not to look lost without wife Mitzi McCall by his side.

Here's the opener:

Rating: D.