kalbir

Rakia all around!

CBS was really shaken in 1980. Love of Life ended, Y&R expanded to 1 hour, the new soap schedule did not work.

August and September there might be a drop off on some shows since the kids start returning to school.

And that's why to this day Angela Lansbury has a fanbase of all walks of life. I know Angela's career ranged from Golden Age Hollywood to Broadway to television, but for me and many of my generation (1980s kids/1990s teens) her two signature roles will always be Jessica Fletcher and Mrs. Potts.

The Simpsons was on Thursdays from 1990/91 to 1993/94. It did the job that Fox wanted it to do (finish off The Cosby Show) but notice how the final Thursday season was the same season that Seinfeld blew up. I think Fox sensed that NBC Thursday was about to make a comeback so The Simpsons returned to Sunday in Fall 1994. Imagine The Simpsons head-to-head with Friends during the second half of the 1990s. The 1992/93 attempt to compete with TGIF? We know the 1997/98 Block Party was an epic failure.

Like I pointed out before, bad Lifetime movie.

I had forgotten that Felicia was also gone in 1992 but she would return in 1997. Kristen returned again in 1993 and 1994. B&B's cast in that era had several females in the early 30s age range (Brooke, Macy, Taylor, Karen, Sheila) so maybe Bill Bell thought there wasn't enough room on the canvas for the Forrester daughters.

Roseanne was the first show that threatened The Cosby Show's dominance but it was The Simpsons that finished off The Cosby Show.

1991/92 CBS owned Sunday (60 Minutes; Murder, She Wrote) and Monday (Murphy Brown, Designing Women, Major Dad), and ABC owned Tuesday (Roseanne, breakout hit Home Improvement, Full House, Coach). NBC Thursday and Saturday had weakened in 1991/92. Cheers was still going strong but The Cosby Show, A Different World, The Golden Girls, and Empty Nest all fell out of the Top 10. NBC also made the mistake of changing the time slots of The Golden Girls (9 pm to 8 pm) and Empty Nest (9:30 pm to 9 pm).

@Paul Raven June would have kids home on summer break.

1992 was also the exits of Margo, Jake, and Clarke. As we all know, Clarke returned four years later.

JR was never meant to be an anti-hero/romantic leading man, he was a clear-cut villain.

Audra was brought on to replace Imani.

The Dallas finale was the highest-rated episode since October 9, 1987: Gone with the Wind, rating 20.2. Prior to the finale, the last Dallas episode to finish ahead of a new episode of Murder, She Wrote was October 23, 1987: Tough Love, rating 18.2. Prior to the finale, the last Dallas episode to finish ahead of a new episode of The Cosby Show was February 22, 1985: Shattered Dreams, rating 25.8.

B&B international money comes through.

Any 1970s/1980s Y&R that shows up is a treat.

@Khan Exactly. Murder, She Wrote was bookended by two very different eras in broadcast network drama series. It began when primetime soaps and action shows were the big genres and ended when grittier dramas (ie. ER, NYPD Blue) became popular. I think Murder, She Wrote became popular because it gave its audience comfort and warmth at a time when the world around us was changing so much. Even watching today it still has that same feeling.

World Series Game 7 was Sunday October 27, thus Murder, She Wrote having their 1985/86 season low that week. 1985/86 Murder, She Wrote became the highest-rated drama series across the broadcast networks and CBS's highest-rated scripted program. Who would've thought sweet unassuming Angela Lansbury would beat the diva of all divas of 1980s primetime soaps Joan Collins, knock big bad Larry Hagman off the throne at CBS, and clean sweep the new hotness Miami Heat, I mean Miami Vice.

Hopefully this is good. Jerry Douglas deserves to be recognized for what he brought to Y&R.

That was across all three CBS primetime soaps. Granted, Dallas was the only one of the three that had no long-time female cast members left in the final season. Falcon Crest would have been that way too if Jane Wyman hadn't returned for the final three episodes.

If Josh/Tangie worked, there might not have been Annie Dutton.

May 2, 1991 was The Cosby Show season 7 finale, Theo and the Kids (Part 2). Rating 15.2, 15th for the week.

I don't know what episode it was, but I'd guess it was an episode from before Super Bowl week. ETA: Got the answer from Google News Archive. Episode was Play it Again, Vanessa (episode 8 ), original broadcast November 8, 1984. The original broadcast rating 21.2, 7th for the week.

I refer to the week of April 21, 1985 as pivotal in CBS primetime history because it was the first time that Murder, She Wrote finished ahead of Dallas. Here's what happened on the soaps and the two rookie hits that week. The Cosby Show was a repeat on April 18. Murder, She Wrote - Funeral at Fifty-Mile (season 1 finale): At a Wyoming rancher's grave, a man shocks mourners -- including the deceased's daughter -- by claiming to be the true heir. This episode was also the season high. Dallas - The Ewing Connection: J.R. presents Jack's deal to Bobby and Ray. Lucy and her ex-husband Mitch meet. John Ross is rushed to the hospital for appendicitis. Falcon Crest - The Decline...: Angela alienates the Giobertis by offering Maggie the post of acting publisher of The New Globe. Lorraine and Emma search for Lance.

The kids were off school. Clearly the momentum carried through the fall.