Created by former "Bob Newhart Show" writer/producers Tom Patchett & Jay Tarses, it had a stellar cast of people who were either already familiar to viewers (Dabney Coleman, John Fiedler), or would go on to more success: Joanna Cassidy ("Blade Runner"; "Six Feet Under"), Max Wright ("ALF"; "Norm"), Charlie Robinson ("Night Court"), Meshach Taylor ("Designing Women") and Geena Davis. Rounding out the cast in recurring roles were Claude Earl Jones and stage veteran Pippa Peartree.
The show debuted in the summer of 1983 with 11 episodes airing at 9:30 p.m. Wednesdays, after the terrible lead-in of "The Facts of Life." (A 12th episode was unaired at the time, for some reason). The show returned in the fall, on Thursdays after the much-more compatible "Cheers," running 14 episodes until March '84.
The first five episodes qualified for the 1982-83 Emmys, where "Buffalo Bill" was nominated for five awards: best comedy, best lead actor (Coleman), best writing and directing for the pilot, and another directing nod for the episode "Woody Quits." The next year, they got six nominations: series, lead actor, lead actress (Cassidy), writing and directing (for "Jo-Jo's Problem: Part 2"), and another writing nod for "Wilkinson's Sword" (aka "Buffalo Bill Gets M*A*S*H*E*D") - which had actually aired in July '83.
"Cheers," "Taxi" and "Kate & Allie" dominated the awards at the time, and "BB" went winless, though Cassidy picked up a Golden Globe in 1984.
Critics loved the show and one episode ("Jerry Lewis Week") was ranked #69 on TVGuide's 1997 list of the 100 greatest television episodes of all-time. (Fittingly, Coleman would appear on "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson" on March 21, 1984, alongside Lewis). In 1999, TV Guide ranked Bill Bittinger #42 on its 50 Greatest TV Characters of All-Time.
The creative team included Mitch Markowitz, Carol Gray, Ellen Falcon, Jim Drake and Dennis Klein (who would be a major force behind the similar "Larry Sanders Show"). One episode was written by Merrill Markoe, head writer for "Late Night with David Letterman." When Coleman guested with Dave on May 31, 1983, he briefly mentioned the connection. Another episode, "Miss WBFL," was written by Geena Davis, fresh off working with Coleman on 1982's "Tootsie."
However, airing on NBC in the early '80s meant the show was poorly promoted and low-rated. All 26 episodes fell within the 1983-84 rating season, and the show ranked #72. NBC President Brandon Tartikoff canceled it, a move he later said was his biggest professional regret (in his 1992 book "The Last Great Ride"). At the same time, he did renew "St. Elsewhere" (#70) and "Double Trouble" (#71), from the team behind "Punky Brewster." My guess is that Tartikoff's boss, Grant Tinker, knew that Patchett and Tarses were at odds, and it wasn't worth renewing a show that was going to have a major creative shakeup. Tinker actually gave the duo their big break, when he was running MTM Productions, and they later produced his wife's short-lived 1978 variety show, "Mary."
The 9:30 p.m. slot then went to "The Duck Factory," starring Jim Carrey, from MTM itself, and also featured Tarses in an on-camera role. That's fitting, since Carrey had an uncredited role in the "Jerry Lewis Week" episode.
"Buffalo Bill" feels very much like an MTM show, except that it was shot on a closed set, single-camera, with a laugh track. The creators talk about that decision (and how BB led to their split as a team) in this 2010 article. (Veteran MTM writer Earl Pomerantz even makes a cameo as stuntman "Crazy Eddie" Finsek in one episode).
Patchett went on to create "ALF" (co-starring Wright). Tarses created another one-season wonder, "The Slap Maxwell Story," which Coleman briefly discussed during a return visit with Letterman on Oct. 1, 1987. The reruns of "Buffalo Bill" that Dave mentions were on A&E at the time. Later, in 2003, Trio's "Brilliant But Canceled" also included "Buffalo Bill" (as did the companion documentary).
The series finally came to DVD in 2005, but with one small change: Ray Charles' "Hit the Road Jack" was removed from the episode "Hit the Road, Newdell." The excised clip is available here. It's usually described as a hilarious sequence that was removed due to copyright issues... but I tend to think it was removed for being potentially offensive. Below are links to the entire run. Two episodes, "Hero" and "The Tap Dancer," are presented with their original commercials.
Buffalo Beat, 8-Jun-83
Woody Quits, 15-Jun-83
Buffalo Bill and the Movies, 22-Jun-83
Mrs. Buffalo Bill?, 29-Jun-83
Wilkinson's Sword, 13-Jul-83
Guess Who's Coming to Buffalo?, 20-Jul-83
Below the Belt, 27-Jul-83
Ratings, 3-Aug-83
True Love, 10-Aug-83
The Fan, 17-Aug-83
Hackles, unaired
Hit the Road, Newdell, 22-Dec-83
Jerry Lewis Week, 5-Jan-84
The Interview, 12-Jan-84
Company Ink, 19-Jan-84
Jo-Jo's Problem (parts 1-2), 26-Jan / 2-Feb-84
Miss WBFL, 9-Feb-84
The Big Freeze, 16-Feb-84
The Girl on the Jetty, 23-Feb-84
Buffalo Bill Versus the Kremlin, 1-Mar-84
A Hero, 8-Mar-84
The Tap Dancer, 15-Mar-84
Have Yourself a Very Degrading Christmas, 22-Mar-84
Church of the Poisoned Mind, 29-Mar-84
