The short answer is the shows were well-written, well-acted, well-produced, and engaging.
I don't think it was a show about a doctor being chased by police.
My thought is TF was an anthology show. The stories each week were about the guest stars than Kimball and Gerad. K & G were the connectors for the stories. Route 66 was a similar format: two guys driving around the country getting involved in people's lives. Gunsmoke evolved into an anthology series. Sometimes credited cast members weren't in episodes.
A number of early TV shows were anthologies: Twilight Zone, Alfred Hitchcock, etc. Somewhere along the line anthology shows went out of fashion. There was an attempt to bring them back in the mid-80's, but they didn't have success on broadcast TV. Syndication and cable had better luck with them.
reply
share