Throb

Growing up many of us did not stream shows or have 150+ networks to subscribe to. There were three channels (four starting April of 1987) so television viewing was limited. However, there were shows in syndication. Syndication mainly offered reruns of classic shows on independent television stations across the country, but in the late 1980s, first-run TV shows did make their debuts in syndication.

Throb was one such show. Throb centered around Sandy Beatty (Diana Canova best known from Soap), a divorced 30-something mother of a young boy who goes to work for Throb, a record company headed by Zach Armstrong (Jonathan Prince), a yuppyish entrepreneur born long before Shark Tank gave them a place to compete for the big prize.

The show focused on Sandy juggling motherhood with her role at Throb dealing with young 20-something rockers. Jane Leeves, who would go on to find fame in Fraiser, co-starred as Blue a young hipster from across the pond. The late Paul Walker (the Fast and Furious film series) played Sandy's son Jeremy.

Like many shows in syndication Throb was not a stand out series and many today may not remember it, but it was for its time an interesting commentary on the 80s rock scene.

This syndicated show followed the ups and downs of a new single mom played by Diana Canova (of the short-lived "I'm A Big Girl Now" TV series) as an employee of a small fledgling record company. She juggles life as a divorcee while juggling responsibilities at her new job at a small record company.

If you can ever get a chance to view an episode of this mid-eighties series, you can see an improbably young Jane Leeves (fresh from her stint as a "Benny Hill Show" Girl) as "Blue," the de rigueur British import.

The big hairstyles, 80's wardrobes and '80s music would probably make this series seem even more dated now, but not quite seem old enough to be a classic.

It was partly a poorer-man's "W.K.R.P in Cincinnati" mixed with a less-ambitious "Mary Tyler Moore" but wasn't much worse than other 80's syndicated shows. No ground was broken here as the plots were as formulaic as they were predictable, but it had a certain scrappiness.

New York is the home of the Brill Building, a place where songwriters worked their craft in the 1950s, 60s and 70s... and created the hits that would eventually spread across the country and around the world.

New York was (and continues to be) a headquarters for music publishing companies, so it was only natural that there would be a series that touched on that element, and maybe a bit of the flavor of the sound, if I can mix a metaphor.

"Throb" owes a lot to another sitcom. The template is mostly based on "WKRP in Cincinnati," which gave viewers a behind the scenes glimpse of what went on at a rock radio station. Here, we're seeing how things happen at a rock record label ( Throb Records: the Throb of "Throb"). Diana Canova plays Sandy, the person we're seeing the events through, much like Gary Sandy's character, Andy Travis was, for "WKRP:"

This Sandy is a newly divorced, first time hire for the company who is learning the ropes about the music business as she is negotiating New York and dealing with being a single mom.

Her boss (Jonathan Prince) is very much interested in her, her son Jeremy (Paul Walker) is hitting puberty, so he's starting to get interested in all the things related to rock, and her co-workers are there to add some texture and color to the proceedings, most especially Blue, played by Jane Leeves, who is apparently "a favorite" (or maybe I should say "favourite," since she's British) with a number of famous rockers and who eventually moves in with Sandy to provide more hilarity between their two very different lifestyles, with Sandy needing to be a good mom and Blue free to jet off to anywhere for whatever party is happening next!

New York plays a part because of the acts that blow through the office are oh so cutting-edge, there's the scene - nightclubs, restaurants, coffee shops, the fast pace and the action that it promises, all part of the landscape of this record label.

One reason "Throb" hasn't been seen much since the mid 1980s relates to something that also affected "WKRP": the use of music and the royalty rights to allow it as a part of an episode.

"Throb" used actual hit songs on its soundtrack and when it came to working out the rights to use that music on a home video release, that wasn't a consideration back in the 1980s, when the series first aired, but certainly is now, and that's cost prohibitive.

But the likely more important reason why "Throb" is seldom seen is that they didn't quite nail it. Where "WKRP" had a brilliant ensemble of comedic actors, any and all of whom could carry a scene with hilarious ability, "Throb" just didn't. The show's comedy star became Ms. Leeves, who always seemed to have a great line, or a brilliant delivery of a not-so-great line. Had the show centered on her character, I think it might have become a hit, or at least lasted a little longer than it did.

A bright and refreshing comedy. First network then syndicated. It took a look at the day to day of a small record label in a big world. The show was a starring vehicle for Diana Canova. She had previously come to public attention on "SOAP". Her character was a divorced mother with no experience in the music world who gets a job at a small record label and runs with it. Comparisons can always be made to "WKRP In Cincinnati" or any "That Girl" clone, but it still had a freshness of its' own. Well acted and with great sound. The theme was performed by The Nylons and Diana Canova. It always entertained and will be missed. Reruns anyone ???

I remember this show being on Saturday evenings back in the 1980s. That was when syndicated television shows like Throb and Mama's Family aired when it didn't succeed on prime time. Anyhow, Throb was alright. It wasn't bad. The writing was decent and so was the acting of Diana Canova. I swear that Jane Leeves from Frasier was on this show but I could be wrong because I don't see her name anywhere here. Like so many sitcoms of the 1980s, this show was somewhat mediocre for network but had a syndicated audience. I remember those days of syndication when you watched independent sitcoms like Throb and not infomercials. Sadly, they don't make many syndicated programs like they used too. Everybody has a network for them. But I do remember a time when syndicated television thrived and shows like Throb thrived or lasted longer than a few episodes. Sitcoms need time to develop and the networks don't give that time anymore and they don't want that audience neither.