Fun
Frisky
Nostalgic
Intense
Adventurous
Choked Up
Curious
Romantic
Weird
Of all the great things about television, the greatest is that it’s on every single day. TV history is being made, day in and day out, in ways big and small. In an effort to better appreciate this history, we’re taking a look back, every day, at one particular TV milestone.
IMPORTANT DATE IN TV HISTORY: November 11, 1964
WHY IT’S IMPORTANT: The brouhaha that arose around the premiere of Ally McBeal in 1997 should not be underestimated. The culture went nuts for this show about a young woman whose pursuit of her brand new lawyer job became entwined with her love life. Questions are openly asked about whether America was ready for such a woman. Full paragraphs written about how short her skirts were, how flighty her hallucinations were, and whether or not it made women — like, all women — look bad to have a representative on TV who was this … who was this. You have to figure all of that “Is Feminism Dead?” talk would have weighed on the actress at the center, Calista Flockhart.
Flockhart when from almost no profile at all (unless you were a big fan of her as the 7th lead in The Birdcage) to being the most high-profile actress on television. A show like Ally McBeal was never going to be able to hold up to such scrutiny; it’s not a flimsy show exactly, but it’s got that David E. Kelley lightness to it that feels fun in the moment but seems insane if you even take half a step back. And while Ally doesn’t get a ton of retroactive respect these days, the show’s willingness to blend music, romance, fantasy, comedy, and hot-button topics feels at least a little bit influential in our modern TV landscape.
In the years after Ally McBeal burned out, it would have been natural for Flockhart to fade into the kind of obscurity that awaits formerly buzzy TV stars. But as it turns out, she’s one of those natural TV talents who should always have a place on the small screen. Her turn as Kitty Walker on ABC’s Brothers & Sisters was a perfect fit, and was all the more impressive for how well she fit at the head of an ensemble without having to be the capital-S “Star.” Her recent success on Supergirl makes the point again: she really pops on that small screen. Maybe she won’t ever have the kind of notoriety that Ally McBeal brought her. Maybe she wouldn’t ever want it again. But in a perfect world, Calista Flockhart is on a TV show every year for the rest of her career.
