A TV Tribute With No Middle

The Museum of Television & Radio’s latest program, “Hello, Good-Bye,� is a three-month series showcasing pilots, premieres and final programs from its vast archive. The screenings include such famous finales as “The Fugitive� and “The Tonight Show With Johnny Carson,� as well as the premiere episodes of “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,� “The Twilight Zone� and “The Monkees.�

The series offers the original pilot of “Leave It to Beaver,� titled “It’s a Small World,� as well as the never-aired pilots of such popular series as “Lost in Space,� “That Girl� and “All in the Family.� Also included are the screen tests for the comedy “Welcome Back, Kotter,� which feature John Travolta and Farrah Fawcett, who was auditioning for the role of star Gabe Kaplan’s wife.

There are also such rarities as the unaired Ben Stiller-created 1999 action spoof “Heat Vision and Jack� and the 1961 Jackie Gleason game show, “You’re in the Picture,� which only lasted two episodes.

“Hello, Good-Bye� curator David Bushman recently talked about the series by phone from his office at the Museum of Television & Radio in New York.

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Question: Is this the first time the museum has showcased pilot episodes and finales?

Answer: Yes. A few years ago we did this survey to look at what people were watching most frequently in the [viewing] library portion of our museum. Almost all of the top programs were either premieres or pilots or final episodes. That was kind of the seed of the idea.

Q: When watching premieres and finales you remember why you got so involved in a series and why you miss the series and its characters.

A: I think they remind people of certain times in their life. You really can get invested in the characters of the show. I know personally for me, whenever someone mentions the last episode of “St. Elsewhere,� that was on the Wednesday before I got married. The next morning I left California to get married. Finales are sad in a lot of ways, but they are usually eventful.

Q: You are showing the pilot for “Leave It to Beaver.� How different is that from the series?

A: It’s partially different. They did it as a pilot and aired it on an umbrella show, and the reaction was good so they picked it up as a series. Harry Shearer is an Eddie Haskell-like character, but he’s actually Beaver’s friend and his name is Frankie. There is also a different Ward and a different Wally.

Q: Where did you get the screen tests for “Welcome Back, Kotter�?

A: It was something we had in our collection for a while. About the time we opened the museum in L.A., [the series’ creator] James Komack came to us and said he had a lot of stuff in his episodes. There were episodes of “Kotter� and “Chico and the Man� and they also included screen tests. Until that time I didn’t know that Farrah Fawcett had tested for the role of Gabe’s wife, so it was a great thing he put in our lap. We had always been looking for a way to get them into a screening series.

Q: How did you choose which finales to air?

A: There are certain ones that you know off the top of your head you want to use like “The Fugitive� and “Newhart�--that was the groundbreaking finale where they actually referred back to the previous show [“The Bob Newhart Show�]. It was fairly easy to decide. It is somewhat personal in tastes, but there are plenty of obvious candidates.

Q: You are also showing the only two episodes of the flop Jackie Gleason game show, “You’re in the Picture.�

A: The show got these horrible reviews. He went on stage the next week and he just sat down and sort of said the show sounded like a good idea. It is just him sitting there with a cigarette making jokes at the expense of the show. It is a well-known thing in TV history but people don’t get the chance to see it very much.

Q: You are screening a pilot called “The TV Show.� What is it?

A: That is sort of an “SCTV�-ish thing with Billy Crystal, Rob Reiner, Harry Shearer and Christopher Guest. It’s just a parody of TV. There are different segments. You have Rob Reiner playing Hitler [whose trial] is on television and you have Harry Shearer playing Tom Snyder and Billy Crystal playing Muhammad Ali, who has just converted to Judaism.

* “Hello, Good-Bye� screens Wednesdays through Sundays at 12:30 p.m. and Thursdays at 6:30 p.m. through Sept. 15 at the Museum of Television & Radio, 465 N. Beverly Drive, Beverly Hills. Admission is free but a contribution of $6 is suggested for adults; $4 for seniors and students; and $3 for children under 13. First segment, Friday-June 24, features “It’s a Small World� (the pilot for “Leave It to Beaver�). “Make Room for Daddy�--�Danny Meets Andy Griffith,� “The Monkees� and “Welcome Back, Kotter� (premiere and screen tests). Information (310) 786-1000 or https://www.mtr.org .