kalbir

1996-1998 there were five pregnancy leaves: Tracey Bregman and Hunter Tylo in Fall 1996, KKL in Spring 1997, Hunter Tylo and Kimberlin Brown in early 1998. Those impacted a good number of storylines I'd say.

3 hours ago, Sapounopera said:

80s mini series names 

 

2 hours ago, Khan said:

stereotypically African-American names

Or named after alcohol or luxury cars.

11 hours ago, soapfan770 said:

I remember the vivid shift of Sheila’s story the jacuzzi fight on B&B brought as it closed one chapter and opened up the second chapter brought. I don’t why the 1995-98 stuff got so ignored and retconned over the years.

B&B started tanking during the second half of 1995, thus that fall Sheila returned and Lauren crossed over. Funny thing is that 1996-1998 Sheila and Lauren were hardly in each other's orbits.

14 minutes ago, soapfan770 said:

“A shocking new show with s very familiar name!!”

Good lord CBS

Falcon Crest final two seasons were not necessary and I feel they only happened because CBS was in their third place primetime mess era. Season 8 was a chore to get through and season 9 had a darkness and sadness surrounding it and it was painful to get through. A good amount of the final two seasons I was like "make it make sense". 

If we're keeping it real, after watching Falcon Crest episodes I was surprised it made it past Spring 1986. 1985/86 was the season tanking was cemented (signs of tanking were showing during the last 10 episodes of 1984/85) as the storylines were so start and stop and most of them didn't really work. I will admit 1986/87 was an improvement but it was still tanking. 1987/88 it started going off the rails and Spring 1988 should have been the end. Spring 1988 to me feels like it should have been the natural end point for 1980s primetime soaps.

Its so funny how the fortunes of CBS daytime and primetime were in opposite directions by Fall 1989: killing it in daytime w/ all four soaps at full strength plus the game show block but an absolute mess in primetime.

26 minutes ago, SoapDope said:

Victoria looked entirely different by the end of her run. She was stunning in 1978, but looked horrible by the time of J.R. & Sue Ellen's second wedding in 1982. 

Victoria Principal denies having anything done, but we all know her second husband was a plastic surgeon so she had access to the best surgery and skincare.

3 hours ago, VelekaCarruthers said:

The entire run of...Bold and Beautiful

Even the Bill Bell years?

We all know Bradley didn't inherit his father's talent.

14 minutes ago, soapfan770 said:

Linda looked so much younger on Melrose a few years later than she did as Sue Ellen during the 88-89 season and her appearance in the finale

I suspect she had a facelift sometime between the end of Dallas and starting on Melrose Place.

1 hour ago, soapfan770 said:

one of the final 1991 episodes of Dallas was titled “90265” as a reference to 90210

Hahaha that's hilarious.

2 hours ago, DRW50 said:

@kalbir Thanks for all these detailed writeups and ratings info. 

You're welcome. 

2 hours ago, DRW50 said:

So much of Dynasty by this point seems built to fail - they are lucky the fall wasn't even steeper.

1985/86 was the tank season, but 1986/87 it went off the rails.

Heading into 1985/86, Aaron Spelling had reached his goal of Dynasty being bigger and better than Dallas. Little did we know that there would be a sophomore slaughtering, a sophomore surprise, and a rookie hit waiting in the wings to take off. Just as I did for 1984/85, I divide 1985/86 into pre-Super Bowl and post-Super Bowl

Pre-Super Bowl

September 25, 1985: The Aftermath (season 6 premiere), rating 28.1 (series high), 3rd for the week. Finished ahead of Murder, She Wrote (September 29: Widow, Weep for Me (season 2 premiere), rating 24.4, 6th); Dallas (September 27: The Family Ewing (Part 1 of season 9 premiere)/Rock Bottom (Part 2 of season 9 premiere), rating 23.9, 7th), and The Golden Girls (September 28: Rose the Prude (episode 3), rating 19.0, 20th). The Cosby Show (September 26: First Day of School (season 2 premiere), rating 31.6) was #1.

October 2, 1985: The Homecoming, rating 23.4, 5th for the week. Finished ahead of The Golden Girls (October 5: Transplant (episode 4), rating 21.8, 12th). The Cosby Show (October 3: The Juicer, rating 30.9) was #1, Dallas (October 4: Those Eyes, rating 23.8) was 3rd; and Murder, She Wrote (October 6: Joshua Peabody Died Here…Possibly, rating 23.5) was 4th.

October 9, 1985: The Californians, rating 22.5, 5th for the week. Finished ahead of Dallas (October 11: Resurrections, rating 21.8, 7th). The Cosby Show (October 10: Happy Anniversary, rating 30.7) was #1 and Murder, She Wrote (October 13: Murder in the Afternoon, rating 24.9) was 2nd. No The Golden Girls on October 12.

October 16, 1985: The Man, rating 20.6, 15th for the week. Finished ahead of The Golden Girls (October 19: The Triangle (episode 5), rating 18.6, 25th). The Cosby Show (October 17: Cliff in Love, rating 31.1) was #1; Murder, She Wrote (October 20: School for Scandal, rating 23.8) was 3rd, and Dallas (October 18: Saving Grace, rating 22.3) was 9th.

October 23, 1985: Pre-empted for World Series. The Cosby Show (October 24: Theo and the Older Woman, rating 29.0) was 2nd, Dallas (October 25: Mothers, rating 22.7) was 8th; Murder, She Wrote (October 27: Sing a Song of Murder, rating 21.1) was 10th, and The Golden Girls (October 26: On Golden Girls (episode 6), rating 18.6) was 20th.

October 30, 1985: The Gown, rating 22.0, 9th for the week. Finished ahead of The Golden Girls (November 2: The Competition (episode 7), rating 19.6, 15th). The Cosby Show (October 31: Halloween, rating 30.1) was #1; Murder, She Wrote (November 3: Reflections of the Mind, rating 26.2) was 3rd, and Dallas (November 1: The Wind of Change, rating 23.5) was 7th.

November 6, 1985: Pre-empted for North and South. The Cosby Show (November 7: Rudy Suits Up, rating 31.9) was #1; Murder, She Wrote (November 10: A Lady in the Lake, rating 26.9) was 5th, Dallas (November 8: Quandary, rating 22.7) was 11th, and The Golden Girls (November 9: Break-In (episode 8), rating 19.0) was 20th.

November 13, 1985: The Titans, rating 24.2, 5th for the week. Finished ahead of The Golden Girls (November 16: Blanche and the Younger Man (episode 9), rating 23.2, 7th) and Dallas (November 15: Close Encounters, rating 23.1, 9th). The Cosby Show (November 14: Denise Drives, rating 31.7) was #1. No Murder, She Wrote on November 17.

November 20, 1985: The Decision, rating 22.4, 8th for the week. Finished ahead of Dallas (November 22: Suffer the Little Children, rating 22.0, 10th). The Cosby Show (November 21: Clair’s Sister, rating 35.3) was #1; Murder, She Wrote (November 24: Dead Heat, rating 25.0) was 3rd, and The Golden Girls (November 23: Heart Attack (episode 10), rating 23.6) was 6th.

November 27, 1985: The Proposal, rating 20.6, 13th for the week. Murder, She Wrote (December 1: Jessica Behind Bars, rating 26.4) was 4th, The Golden Girls (November 30: The Return of Dorothy’s Ex (episode 11), rating 23.2) was 7th, and Dallas (November 29: The Prize, rating 21.4) was 11th. The Cosby Show was a repeat on November 28.

December 4, 1985: The Close Call, rating 21.8, 8th for the week. Finished ahead of The Golden Girls (December 7: The Custody Battle (episode 12), rating 20.3, 13th). The Cosby Show (December 5: Clair’s Toe, rating 36.2) was #1 and Dallas (December 6: En Passant, rating 22.0) was 7th. No Murder, She Wrote on December 8.

December 11, 1985: The Quarrels, rating 21.4, 12th for the week. The Cosby Show (December 12: Denise’s Friend, rating 35.4) was #1; Murder, She Wrote (December 15: Sticks & Stones, rating 26.5) was 3rd; Dallas (December 13: Goodbye, Farewell, and Amen; rating 22.6) was 9th, and The Golden Girls (December 14: A Little Romance (episode 13), rating 21.9) was 10th.

December 18, 1985: The Roadhouse, rating 20.0, 12th for the week. Finished ahead of The Golden Girls (December 21: That Was No Lady (episode 14), rating 19.3, 14th). Dallas (December 20: Curiosity Killed the Cat, rating 21.1) was 5th. The Cosby Show was a repeat on December 19. No Murder, She Wrote on December 22.

December 25, 1985: The Solution, rating 17.7, 15th for the week. Murder, She Wrote (December 29: Murder Digs Deep, rating 24.0) was 4th. The Cosby Show was a repeat on December 26. No Dallas on December 27. The Golden Girls was a repeat on December 28.

January 1, 1986: Pre-empted for Sugar Bowl. The Cosby Show (January 2: Mrs. Westlake, rating 34.9) was #1; Murder, She Wrote (January 5: Murder by Appointment Only, rating 26.1) was 4th, and Dallas (January 3: The Missing Link, rating 21.9) was 13th. The Golden Girls was a repeat on January 4.

January 8, 1986: Suspicions, rating 21.1, 18th for the week. The Cosby Show (January 9: The Auction, rating 35.9) was #1; Murder, She Wrote (January 12: Trial by Error, rating 28.5 (season high)) was 3rd, The Golden Girls (January 11: In a Bed of Rose’s (episode 15), rating 24.0) was 8th, and Dallas (January 10: Twenty Four Hours, rating 22.1) was 12th.

January 15, 1986: The Alarm, rating 20.4, 17th for the week. The Cosby Show (January 16: Vanessa’s Bad Grade, rating 38.5) was #1; Murder, She Wrote (January 19: Keep the Home Fries Burning, rating 28.1) was 3rd, The Golden Girls (January 18: The Truth Will Out (episode 16), rating 24.2) was 7th, and Dallas (January 17: The Deadly Game, rating 23.2) was 8th.

January 22, 1986: The Vigil, rating 24.2, 5th for the week. Finished ahead of Dallas (January 24: Blame it on Bogota, rating 22.0, 11th). The Cosby Show was a repeat on January 23. The Golden Girls was a repeat on January 25. Murder, She Wrote was a repeat on January 26.

On a win-loss basis, Dynasty pre-Super Bowl was 0-11 vs. new episodes of The Cosby Show, 1-10 vs. new episodes of Murder, She Wrote; 5-9 vs. Dallas, and 7-5 vs. new episodes of The Golden Girls. Dynasty has no chance of another #1 season, it’s jockeying for position in the Top 10.

Post-Super Bowl

January 29, 1986: The Accident, rating 23.9, 4th for the week. Finished ahead of The Golden Girls (February 1: Nice and Easy (episode 17), rating 22.8, 10th) and Dallas (January 31: Shadow Games, rating 20.9, 13th). The Cosby Show (January 30: Theo and Cockroach, rating 36.0) was #1 and The Cosby Show special episode (February 2: The Dentist, rating 27.6) was 3rd. No Murder, She Wrote on February 2.

February 5, 1986: Souvenirs, rating 20.2, 15th for the week. Murder, She Wrote (February 9: Powder Keg, rating 25.9) was 3rd; Dallas (February 7: Missing, rating 22.2) was 8th, and The Golden Girls (February 8: The Operation (episode 18), rating 21.5) was 12th.  The Cosby Show was a repeat on February 6.

February 12, 1986: The Divorce, rating 22.5. 6th for the week. Finished ahead of The Golden Girls (February 15: Second Motherhood (episode 19), rating 21.7, 10th) and Dallas (February 14: Dire Straits, rating 21.0, 12th). The Cosby Show (February 13: Play it Again, Russell; rating 35.2) was #1 and Murder, She Wrote (February 16: Murder in the Electric Cathedral, rating 26.5) was 3rd.

February 19, 1986: The Dismissal, rating 22.6, 9th for the week. Finished ahead of Dallas (February 21: Overture, rating 20.8, 15th). The Cosby Show (February 20: A Touch of Wonder, rating 36.4) was #1; Murder, She Wrote (February 23: One Good Bid Deserves a Murder, rating 26.4) was 3rd, and The Golden Girls (February 22: Adult Education (episode 20), rating 25.2 (season high)) was 5th.

February 26, 1986: Ben, rating 19.8, 15th for the week. The Cosby Show (February 27: Full House, rating 39.0 (season high)) was #1, The Golden Girls (March 1: Flu Attack (episode 21), rating 24.6) was 5th, and Dallas (February 28: Sitting Ducks, rating 20.6) was 10th. Murder, She Wrote was a repeat on March 2.

March 5, 1986: Masquerade, rating 22.0, 7th for the week. Finished ahead of Dallas (March 7: Masquerade, rating 20.9, 13th). Murder, She Wrote (March 9: If a Body Meet a Body, rating 26.4) was 3rd and The Golden Girls (March 8: Job Hunting (episode 22), rating 22.3) was 6th. The Cosby Show was a repeat on March 6.

March 12, 1986: The Subpoenas, rating 22.6, 6th for the week. Finished ahead of Dallas (March 14: Just Deserts, rating 19.9, 14th). The Cosby Show (March 13: Close to Home, rating 34.8) was #1. The Golden Girls was a repeat on March 15. No Murder, She Wrote on March 16.

March 19, 1986: The Trial (Part 1), rating 21.3, 10th for the week. Finished ahead of Dallas (March 21: Nothing’s Ever Perfect, rating 19.4, 15th). The Cosby Show (March 20: An Early Spring, rating 36.4) was #1. The Golden Girls was a repeat on March 22. No Murder, She Wrote on March 23.

March 26, 1986: The Trial (Part 2), rating 20.2, 12th for the week. Murder, She Wrote (March 30: Christopher Bundy Died on Sunday, rating 23.7) was 4th and The Golden Girls (March 29: Blind Ambitions (episode 23), rating 21.8) was 7th. The Cosby Show was a repeat on March 27. No Dallas on March 28.

April 2, 1986: The Vote, rating 21.1, 11th for the week. Finished ahead of Dallas (April 4: J.R.’s Rising, rating 19.8, 16th). The Cosby Show (April 3: Theo’s Holiday, rating 34.3) was #1 and Murder, She Wrote (April 6: Menace, Anyone?; rating 25.7) was 3rd. The Golden Girls was a repeat on April 5.

April 9, 1986: The Warning, rating 21.0, 9th for the week. Finished ahead of Dallas (April 11: Serendipity, rating 20.0, 14th). The Cosby Show (April 10: The Card Game, rating 34.6) was #1 and Murder, She Wrote (April 13: The Perfect Foil, rating 25.8) was 3rd. The Golden Girls was a repeat on April 12.

April 16, 1986: The Cry, rating 19.2, 13th for the week. The Cosby Show was a repeat on April 17. No Dallas on April 18. The Golden Girls was a repeat on April 19. No Murder, She Wrote on April 20.

April 23, 1986: Pre-empted for Alex: The Life of a Child. The Cosby Show was a repeat on April 24. No Dallas on April 25. The Golden Girls was a repeat on April 26. Murder, She Wrote was a repeat on April 27.

April 30, 1986: The Rescue, rating 19.5, 12th for the week. The Golden Girls (May 3: Big Daddy (episode 24), rating 21.7) was 5th and Dallas (May 2: Thrice in a Lifetime, rating 19.7) was 11th. The Cosby Show was a repeat on May 1. Murder, She Wrote was a repeat on May 4.

May 7, 1986: Pre-empted for North and South: Book II. The Cosby Show (May 8: Off to the Races, rating 28.3) was #1, The Golden Girls (May 10: The Way We Met (season 1 finale), rating 19.9) was 11th, and Dallas (May 9: Hello-Goodbye-Hello, rating 18.6) was 15th. Murder, She Wrote was a repeat on May 11.

May 14, 1986: The Triple-Cross, rating 20.5, 9th for the week. The Cosby Show (May 15: Denise’s Decision (season 2 finale), rating 31.8) was #1, Dallas (May 16: Blast from the Past (season 9 finale), rating 24.9 (season high)) was 3rd; and Murder, She Wrote (May 18: If the Frame Fits (season 2 finale), rating 21.7) was 6th.

May 21, 1986: The Vendetta (season 6 finale), rating 21.9, 4th for the week.

On a win-loss basis, Dynasty post-Super Bowl was 0-9 vs. new episodes of The Cosby Show, 0-8 vs. new episodes of Murder, She Wrote; 8-4 vs. Dallas, 2-6 vs. new episodes of The Golden Girls.

At the end of the season, The Cosby Show was #1; Murder, She Wrote was 3rd (the highest-rated drama), Dallas was 6th, and Dynasty and The Golden Girls tied for 7th.

1985/86 would be Dynasty last season as a Top 10 show. As we saw earlier in the thread 1986/87 was the big ratings drop resulting in a Top 10 fallout.

In CBS drama history, Dallas 14 season run ties it w/ Knots Landing, NCIS: Los Angeles, Blue Bloods, and places it behind NCIS, Gunsmoke, Lassie, CSI, Criminal Minds.

If Dallas had continued into the 1990s, it would have looked old school next to Beverly Hills 90210, Melrose Place, NYPD Blue, ER. It's so funny that Dallas final season overlapped w/ Beverly Hills 90210 first season, Dallas ended Spring 1991, and Beverly Hills 90210 blew up with the Summer 1991 episodes.

The natural end point I think was Spring 1988 but when watching the episodes Dallas was effectively over Spring 1989 w/ Sue Ellen departure. The final two seasons I don't feel were necessary and they only happened because CBS was in their third place primetime mess era.

I recognize Dallas place in television history as the most successful primetime soap and as Larry Hagman's career resurgence that became his second signature role or some may say his career-defining role, plus the influence it had on the daytime soaps.

Thank you for the answers @j swift and @NothinButAttitude.

On 4/28/2024 at 10:10 AM, j swift said:

reaction to Y&R changing time slots and the need to create an event to lure away viewers from CBS. 

As we saw in the 1980s ratings thread, June 1981 to May 1982 Ryan's Hope was competitive vs. Y&R, even winning the time slot in some weeks. The tide shifted June 1982 when Y&R rebounded from their post-expansion slump and Ryan's Hope began to fall. 1983 Y&R blew up and the rest is history.

On 4/28/2024 at 10:10 AM, j swift said:

There's also a ton that's missing. 

Did Tichina Arnold contribute anything or was she mentioned? In past interviews she spoke positively of Michael Levin and she posted a memoriam to him on social media.

@j swift You're welcome. I don't know of any site where TV Guide articles are posted though.

@j swift It was TV Guide, not SOD

TV Guide Magazine: The Cover Archive 1953 - today! | 1986 | August 30, 1986

What a time to have been alive when Dallas was the biggest television show on the planet. Four episodes in one week is crazy.

2 minutes ago, soapfan770 said:

May 2020: The best one, especially when that episode from 1981 aired. Oh wait

You are killing me 

Knowing Josh Griffith, I'm expecting May 2024 to be 10% good, 90% garbage time.

7 hours ago, BoldRestless said:

His last nomination was in 2004 and he hasn't submitted his name in over 10 years.

I wonder if EB didn't submit his name for most of the 1980s/first half of the 1990s. His previous nominations were 1987, 1990, 1996-2000, 2004, with the win in 1998.

May 6 marks 30 years since Shemar Moore debut on Y&R

Among solo artists, Taylor Swift has moved past Whitney Houston and is now tied with Madonna.

The next solo artists in line for her to tie with are Michael Jackson (13), Drake (13), and Rihanna (14).

Among all artists, Taylor Swift is the 8th artist to reach 12 #1s on the Billboard Hot 100, joining The Beatles (20), Mariah Carey (19), Rihanna (14), Michael Jackson (13), Drake (13), The Supremes (12), Madonna (12).

Comparing Taylor Swift to the other female solo artists w/ 12+ #1s to see where she ranks in terms of length between first #1 and 12th #1. The dates are when each song reached #1.

Rihanna: 6 years 202 days, between SOS (May 13, 2006) and Diamonds (December 1, 2012).

Mariah Carey: 7 years 40 days, between Vision of Love (August 4, 1990) and Honey (September 13, 1997).

Taylor Swift: 11 years 246 days, between We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together (September 1, 2012) and Fortnight (May 4, 2024).

Madonna: 15 years 269 days, between Like a Virgin (December 22, 1984) and Music (September 16, 2000).

14 hours ago, Rmodelboy said:

I look forward to seeing that. Did they have good chemistry ? I wonder why the decision was made to drop them ?

I thought it was more fun and games/diversion on Jill's part than a potential serious relationship.

2 hours ago, Soapsuds said:

Dallas 1986 Cliffhanger- Bobby in the shower

24.9/42

Ranked #3 for the week

This episode was Dallas highest-rated episode of 1985/86.

The week of May 12-18, 1986 other big season finales were The Cosby Show (that week's #1), Cheers; Murder, She Wrote; Knots Landing. Family Ties, Night Court, breakout hit The Golden Girls, new hotness Miami Vice had their season finales one week earlier. Dynasty and Falcon Crest had their season finales the following week.

I consider 1985/86 to be the turning point season of the 1980s. Sitcoms made a comeback, primetime soaps tanked, the once-big action shows got clobbered.

Hunter Tylo left four times from 1994-1998.

1994 she left to film a miniseries and Taylor was believed to have died in a plane crash, which lead to Taylor the desert princess.

1996 she left for Melrose Place and Taylor left town but Melrose Place fell through and she was back. That same year was a pregnancy leave but I can't recall the exit story, maybe attending a medical conference.

1998 was another pregnancy leave and I think the exit story was Taylor and baby Thomas visit Taylor's father.

With Hunter Tylo being so in and out from 1994-1998, it felt like so many storylines were derailed.

17 hours ago, Soapsuds said:

Dallas 1985 Cliffhanger

27.5 average  ...hits #1

This was the last episode of Dallas that would finish #1.

The week of May 13-19, 1985 another big season finale was The A-Team. The other big action shows Simon & Simon and Magnum, P.I. had their season finales earlier in the spring. Rookie hit Murder, She Wrote had their season finale in April. Breakout hit The Cosby Show had their season finale one week earlier. Knots Landing and Falcon Crest had their season finales the following week.

1984/85 was the best television season of the 1980s.

Meg Bennett got an In Memoriam at the end of today's show. We should see one for Marla Adams soon.