Heading into Fall 1984 it was all about the big four primetime soaps and big three action shows (The A-Team, Simon & Simon; Magnum, P.I.). Sitcoms were considered creatively exhausted. NBC was a mess in primetime. The Cosby Show comes along and revives sitcoms as a genre and the fortunes of NBC primetime. Right out of the gate The Cosby Show is finishing ahead of the primetime soaps and action shows. Season 1 can be broken down in three tiers when compared to the primetime soaps and action shows.
Episodes that did not finish #1 but finished ahead of at least one of the big four primetime soaps or a new episode of at least one of the big three action shows:
September 27, 1984: Goodbye, Mr. Fish (episode 2), rating 22.5, 3rd for the week. Finished ahead of Dynasty (September 26: Disappearance (season 5 premiere), rating 22.2), The A-Team (September 25: The Bend in the River, rating 21.7); Magnum, P.I. (September 27: Echoes of the Mind (Part 1) (season 5 premiere), rating 18.4); and Simon & Simon (September 27: C'est Simon (season 4 premiere), rating 18.2). No Knots Landing on September 27. Dallas (September 28: Killer at Large (season 8 premiere), rating 26.4) was #1 and Falcon Crest (September 28: Requiem (season 4 premiere), rating 23.4) was 2nd. Goodbye, Mr. Fish was repeated December 27, 1984; rating 23.4, 4th for the week.
October 4, 1984: Bad Dreams (episode 3), rating 21.9, 5th for the week. Finished ahead of The A-Team (October 2: Fire, rating 21.8), Knots Landing (October 4: Buying Time (season 6 premiere), rating 21.1), Falcon Crest (October 5: Father's Day, rating 20.0); and Magnum, P.I. (October 4: Echoes of the Mind (Part 2), rating 19.4). No Dynasty on October 3. Dallas (October 5: Battle Lines, rating 24.7) was #1 and Simon & Simon (October 4: A Little Wine with Murder, rating 22.0) was 4th.
October 11, 1984: Is That My Boy? (episode 4), rating 20.6, 9th for the week. Finished ahead of Magnum, P.I. (October 11: Mac's Back, rating 20.3) and Falcon Crest (October 12: Strangers, rating 18.5). No The A-Team on October 9. No Simon & Simon and Knots Landing on October 11. Dynasty (October 10: The Mortgage, rating 25.1) was 5th and Dallas (October 12: If at First You Don't Succeed, rating 24.0) was 7th. Is That My Boy? was repeated March 7, 1985; rating 28.0, #1.
October 18, 1984: A Shirt Story (episode 5), rating 21.3, 7th for the week. Finished ahead of Simon & Simon (October 18: The Dark Side of the Street, rating 21.2); Magnum, P.I. (October 18: The Legacy of Garwood Huddle, rating 20.3); Knots Landing (October 18: Calculated Risks, rating 19.7), and Falcon Crest (October 19: The Outcasts, rating 19.4). Dynasty (October 17: Fallon, rating 26.1) was #1, Dallas (October 19: Jamie, rating 24.6) was 2nd, and The A-Team (October 16: Timber!, rating 24.3) was 3rd. A Shirt Story was repeated January 3, 1985; rating 21.8, 11th for the week.
October 25, 1984: Breaking with Tradition (episode 6), rating 21.2, 8th for the week. Finished ahead of Knots Landing (October 25: Hanging Fire, rating 20.5) and Falcon Crest (October 26: Shadows, rating 19.9). Dynasty (October 24: The Rescue, rating 26.3) was #1, Dallas (October 26: Family, rating 25.9) was 2nd, The A-Team (October 23: Double Heat, rating 24.5) was 3rd, Simon & Simon (October 25: Manna From Heaven, rating 24.2) was 4th; and Magnum, P.I. (October 25: Under World, rating 22.2) was 7th. Breaking with Tradition was repeated March 21, 1985; rating 25.9, #1.
November 1, 1984: One More Time (episode 7), rating 20.0, 8th for the week. Finished ahead of Knots Landing (November 1: A Little Help, rating 19.2); Magnum, P.I. (November 1: Fragments, rating 18.7); and Simon & Simon (November 1: What Goes Around Comes Around, rating 18.7). Dallas (November 2: Shadow of Doubt, rating 27.1) was #1, Dynasty (October 31: The Trial, rating 24.9) was 2nd, Falcon Crest (November 2: Lord of the Valley, rating 21.9) was 4th, and The A-Team (October 30: Trouble on Wheels, rating 21.2) was 7th. One More Time was repeated January 24, 1985; rating 24.3, 5th for the week.
November 8, 1984: Play it Again, Vanessa (episode 8 ), rating 21.2, 7th for the week. Finished ahead of Falcon Crest (November 9: The Intruder, rating 21.1); Magnum, P.I. (November 8: Blind Justice, rating 19.8); and Knots Landing (November 8: Ipso Facto, rating 19.4). No The A-Team on November 6. Dallas (November 9: Homecoming, rating 26.2) was #1, Dynasty (November 7: The Verdict, rating 25.7) was 2nd, and Simon & Simon (November 8: Who Killed the Sixties, rating 21.7) was 6th. Play it Again, Vanessa was repeated April 18, 1985; rating 26.0, #1.
November 15, 1984: How Ugly is He? (episode 9), rating 22.5, 6th for the week. Finished ahead of Magnum, P.I. (November 15: Murder 101, rating 21.8); Knots Landing (November 15: Truth and Consequences, rating 20.7), Falcon Crest (November 16: Pain and Pleasure, rating 20.5), and The A-Team (November 13: The Island, rating 20.3). Dallas (November 16: Oil Barons Ball III, rating 26.5) was 2nd, Simon & Simon (November 15: Break a Leg, Darling; rating 23.6) was 4th, and Dynasty (November 14: Amanda, rating 23.5) was 5th. How Ugly is He? was repeated April 11, 1985; rating 27.5, #1.
November 22, 1984: Bonjour Sondra (episode 10), rating 16.7, 18th for the week. Finished ahead of Knots Landing (November 22: Love to Take You Home, rating 16.3). Magnum, P.I. was a repeat on November 22. Dynasty (November 21: The Secret, rating 24.3) was 3rd, Dallas (November 23: Shadows, rating 22.6) was 5th, The A-Team (November 20: Showdown!, rating 20.2) was 7th, Simon & Simon (November 22: Almost Completely Out of Circulation, rating 19.5) was 10th, and Falcon Crest (November 23: The Trump Card, rating 18.8) was 11th.
December 6, 1984: You're Not a Mother Night (episode 11), rating 23.1, 4th for the week. Finished ahead of Simon & Simon (December 6: Deep Cover, rating 22.6), The A-Team (December 4: The Bells of St. Mary's, rating 21.4); Magnum, P.I. (December 6 - Luther Gillis: File #001, rating 21.0); Falcon Crest (December 7: Going Once, Going Twice; rating 20.7), and Knots Landing (December 6: We Come Together, rating 20.2). Dynasty (December 5: Krystina, rating 25.3) was #1 and Dallas (December 7: Barbecue Five, rating 24.7) was 3rd.
December 13, 1984: Rudy’s Sick (episode 12), rating 21.3, 6th for the week. Finished ahead of Simon & Simon (December 13: Revolution #9 1/2, rating 20.6), The A-Team (December 11: Hot Styles, rating 20.5), Falcon Crest (December 14: The Triumvirate, rating 20.4), Knots Landing (December 13: Message in a Bottle, rating 20.3); and Magnum, P.I. (December 13: Kiss of the Sabre, rating 18.4). Dynasty (December 12: Swept Away, rating 26.5) was #1 and Dallas (December 14: Do You Take This Woman, rating 25.2) was 2nd. Rudy's Sick was repeated April 25, 1985; rating 24.6, #1.
December 20, 1984: Father’s Day (episode 13), rating 21.7, 6th for the week. Finished ahead of Knots Landing (December 20: Distant Locations, rating 20.9) and Falcon Crest (December 21: Winner Take All, rating 18.4). Magnum, P.I. was a repeat on December 20. Dynasty (December 19: That Holiday Spirit, rating 25.9) was #1, Simon & Simon (December 20: Yes, Virginia, There is a Liberace; rating 23.4) was 3rd, Dallas (December 21: Deja Vu, rating 23.0) was 4th, and The A-Team (December 18: Breakout!, rating 21.8) was 5th.
January 10, 1985: Independence Day (episode 14), rating 25.4, 3rd for the week. Finished ahead of The A-Team (January 8: Cup A' Joe, rating 22.6), Falcon Crest (January 11: Insult and Injury, rating 21.8); Magnum, P.I. (January 10: Professor Jonathan Higgins, rating 20.5); and Knots Landing (January 10: #14 With a Bullet, rating 18.6). Simon & Simon was a repeat on January 10. Dallas (January 11: Winds of War, rating 27.8) was #1 and Dynasty (January 9: The Will, rating 27.7) was 2nd.
January 17, 1985: Physician of the Year (episode 15), rating 27.9, 3rd for the week. Finished ahead of Dynasty (January 16: The Treasure, rating 27.0), The A-Team (January 15: The Big Squeeze, rating 24.0), Simon & Simon (January 17: Enter the Jaguar, rating 22.5), and Knots Landing (January 17: Inside Information, rating 20.4). Magnum, P.I. was a repeat on January 17. No Dallas and Falcon Crest on January 18.
February 21, 1985: Clair’s Case (episode 19), rating 25.1, 3rd for the week. Finished ahead of Dynasty (February 20: The Collapse, rating 24.6), Simon & Simon (February 21: Mummy Talks, rating 22.4), Falcon Crest (February 22: Recriminations, rating 20.2); Magnum, P.I. (February 21: Let Me Hear the Music, rating 18.9); and Knots Landing (February 21: The Emperor's Clothes, rating 18.8). The A-Team was a repeat on February 19. Dallas (February 22: Shattered Dreams, rating 25.8) was #1.
Episodes that finished #1 but not all the primetime soaps or new episodes of all the action shows aired those weeks:
September 20, 1984: Pilot, rating 21.6. Dynasty was a repeat on September 19. Magnum, P.I. and Simon & Simon were repeats on September 20. No Knots Landing on September 20. No Dallas and Falcon Crest on September 21. Pilot was repeated November 29, 1984; rating 23.2, 7th for the week.
February 28, 1985: Back to the Track, Jack (episode 20); rating 27.0. Magnum, P.I. was a repeat on February 28. No Falcon Crest on March 1.
March 14, 1985: The Younger Woman (episode 21), rating 28.3. The A-Team was a repeat on March 12. No Simon & Simon and Knots Landing on March 14.
March 28, 1985: The Slumber Party (episode 22), rating 30.1 (season high). The A-Team was a repeat on March 26.
May 2, 1985: Mr. Quiet (episode 23), rating 25.5. Simon & Simon season 4 finale March 28. Magnum, P.I. season 5 finale April 4. The A-Team was a repeat on April 30. No Dynasty on May 1.
May 9, 1985: Cliff’s Birthday (season finale), rating 24.1. No Magnum, P.I. and Simon & Simon on May 9 as their seasons were already completed.
Episodes that finished #1 and all the primetime soaps and new episodes of all the action shows aired those weeks:
January 31, 1985: Jitterbug Break (episode 16), rating 27.8.
February 7, 1985: Theo and the Joint (episode 17), rating 26.1.
February 14, 1985: Vanessa’s New Class (episode 18), rating 26.6.
On a win-loss basis, The Cosby Show 1984/85 records vs. the primetime soaps and action shows were
Knots Landing 20-0
Magnum, P.I. 16-1
Falcon Crest 18-3
The A-Team 13-5
Simon & Simon 12-6
Dynasty 10-11
Dallas 8-14
The tide shifted in 1985/86 when sitcoms made a comeback, primetime soaps tanked, action shows got clobbered, and The Cosby Show (and NBC primetime) became #1. During the remainder of The Cosby Show's run, there were two episodes that finished behind either a primetime soap or an action show. These episodes were
April 28, 1988: Gone Fishin' (season 4 finale), rating 23.2. Finished behind Magnum, P.I. (May 1: Resolutions (series finale), rating 32.0).
May 2, 1991: Theo and the Kids (Part 2) (season 7 finale), rating 15.2. Finished behind Dallas (May 3: Conundrum (series finale), rating 22.0).
I know we don't really talk about The Cosby Show given what we now know about it, but the impact it had in terms of television history, from being the breakout hit of 1984/85 to being a killer show that destroyed everything in its path (time slot wise and overall) from 1985/86 to 1987/88, is still being felt even today.