''Love Story'' is an American

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has b ...

tic anthology

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed be ...

focused on stories of romance. It aired from October 3, 1973, to January 2, 1974, on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

.Alex McNeil, ''Total Television: The Comprehensive Guide to Programming From 1948 to the Present'', New York: Penguin Books, 1996, p. 497.Tim Brooks and Earle Marsh, ''The Complete Directory to Prime-Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946-Present, Sixth Edition'', New York: Ballantine Books, 1995, , p. 614. ''Love Story'' was the second American television series of the name, the first having been the DuMont Television Networks anthology series '' Love Story'', which aired in 1954.

Synopsis

Each episode of ''Love Story'' told a story of romance and was an independent drama, unrelated to any other episode. The episodes were set in various locations around the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

, and told a wide variety of stories, each about problems faced by a heterosexual couple in love.

Cast

As an anthology series, ''Love Story'' had no regular cast. Each episode had a different cast as noted in the episodes list below.

Production

In 1970, the novel '' Love Story''; the movie based on the novel, also called '' Love Story''; and the movie's theme song, " Where Do I Begin," all were major hits. Hoping to capitalize on this success,

aired the television series ''Love Story'' three years later. Although the show shared its name with the novel and movie and used "Where Do I Begin" as its theme song, it otherwise was completely unrelated to the novel and movie, each of its episodes being an entirely original story with an entirely different cast. Generally, less well-known actors and actresses appeared in the show. Episode directors included Michael Landon and Donald Wrye. Writers included Landon and Elinor Karpf.

Broadcast history

''Love Story'' premiered on NBC on October 3, 1973. It faced tough competition in its time slot from

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

s ''

Kojak ''Kojak'' is an American action crime drama television series starring Telly Savalas as the title character, New York City Police Department Detective Lieutenant Theodopolis "Theo" Kojak. Taking the time slot of the popular ''Cannon'' series, ...

'', and sharing its title and theme song with the movie ''Love Story'' did not help it to garner much of an audience, given that it had no characters or storylines in common with either the novel or the movie. With low ratings, it was cancelled after the broadcast of its 12th episode on January 2, 1974. The show aired at 10:00 p.m. on Wednesday throughout its run. It ranked 63rd out of 80 shows that season, with a 14.2 rating.

Episodes

References

External links

"(Where Do I Begin?) Love Story" – Theme from the television series ''Love Story'' (audio)
*{{imdb title, id=0069604, title=Love Story

NBC original programming 1973 American television series debuts 1974 American television series endings 1970s American anthology television series 1970s American drama television series English-language television shows Television series by CBS Studios Television shows set in Philadelphia