kalbir

Hahaha, yeah they really are. NCIS is in its 19th season. JAG was on for 10 seasons (1 on NBC, 9 on CBS). It's crazy that the spin off has been on almost double the number of seasons of the parent show.

1982/83 was the first Top 10 season (#8), 1983/84 was the highest-rated season (#7), and 1984/85 was the final Top 10 season (#10). Then the decline: 1985/86 #24, 1986/87 #23, 1987/88 to 1989/90 were below the Top 30.

@yrfan1983 That latest clip set is amazing. Do we dare hope Christmas 1981 might surface soon?

JAG spun off NCIS. NCIS franchise: NCIS, NCIS: Los Angeles, NCIS: New Orleans, NCIS: Hawai'i CSI franchise: CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, CSI: Miami, CSI: NY, CSI: Cyber, CSI: Vegas Criminal Minds had two spin offs, Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior and Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders.

The crime element was always there, but it was amplified in that era. Not the awards, but the best of 1987 and 1988 issues. I think the writeups were posted here before. It really would've been. Spring 1985 was the zenith of primetime soaps as a genre.

In those Lorie edits, Victor seemed really drawn to Lorie. I think she was the one that got away. I'm pretty sure Victor/Lorie was Bill Bell's initial plan until behind the scenes events changed the storylines. Now if Victor/Lorie happened would they have worked as a 1980s high society power couple, with Victor running Newman Enterprises and Lorie writing bestsellers?

Dynasty is a different beast than the CBS big three. That show blew up once Joan Collins arrived and Alexis was the breakout character that became a pop culture phenomenon on the level with JR. Season 2 was the only year where the writing and acting were on point. After that it was as though Aaron Spelling's entire goal was to have Dynasty be bigger and better than Dallas and all storytelling logic and acting ability went out the window.

One would think action shows and primetime soaps would have entirely different audiences yet CBS's Thursday lineup of Magnum, P.I., Simon & Simon, and Knots Landing, and Friday lineup of The Dukes of Hazzard, Dallas, Falcon Crest somehow worked. The action shows weakened and eventually ended (The Dukes of Hazzard) or moved elsewhere in the schedule before ending (Magnum, P.I., Simon & Simon) and the replacement lead ins to the primetime soaps never really worked. Dallas' longest lasting lead in after The Dukes of Hazzard was Beauty and the Beast (1987/88 and 1988/89) and Knots Landing's longest lasting lead in after Simon & Simon was Street Stories with Ed Bradley (1991/92 and 1992/93).

@ironlion The Bell shows in the late 1980s were packed w/ blondes in the 20s/30s age range. Y&R had MTS, LLB, Barbara Crampton, Nina Arvesen, Brenda Epperson. B&B had Joanna Johnson, KKL, Teri Ann Linn.

I think Joanna Johnson announced in December 1989 that she was going to leave when her contract was up in March 1990, but Bill Bell got her to stay until July 1990. Thus Ridge and Caroline's marriage, effectively ending the Ridge/Thorne/Caroline/Brooke quad (which was also derailed by the recasting of Thorne and real-life pregnancy of Katherine Kelly Lang), and later Caroline's illness and death. Around the same time Bill Bell set up Thorne/Macy and Eric/Brooke.

K.T. Stevens has only 3 entries after Y&R on her IMDb page. Maybe she was mostly in theater in the 1980s, who knows. I think K.T. Stevens could have played a 1980s primetime soap matriarch but for whatever reason that didn't happen. The Leslie/Lorie confrontation where Lorie realizes Leslie is pregnant by Lance and is trying to pass the child as Lucas's would've been more powerful without the shrieking. Watching that scene I thought Leslie was going to collapse. Something about Victoria Mallory's acting style from what I've seen makes Leslie come across as so fragile that you just want to protect her from the outside world. I don't know if Janice Lynde was the same way as I've seen very little of 1973-1977 Y&R.

@Khan As far as the CBS big three primetime soaps go, 1985/86 was when they started declining and the end should have been 1987/88. We would've been spared budget mode and storylines going off the rails. CBS was such a mess in the second half of the 1980s that they hung on to shows that were well past their peak. Even their one-time big action dramas Magnum, P.I. and Simon & Simon lasted a couple seasons too long. Back to CBS's second half of the 1990s identity crisis, 1997/98 to 1999/2000, they turned Welcome Home into The Address is CBS. 1997/98 CBS's Top 10 shows were Touched by an Angel at 5th (it's highest finish ever), 60 Minutes at 8th, and CBS Sunday Movie at 9th, and its Top 30 shows were Walker Texas Ranger at 21st, Diagnosis Murder at 26th, and Cosby at 28th. The new fall shows were a disaster, w/ none returning in 1998/99 (I don't count Unsolved Mysteries as 1997/98 was its first season on CBS after moving over from NBC). Midseason only saw two returns, Kids Say the Darndest Things and The Magnificent Seven. 1997/98 was the final seasons for Cybill, Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman, and Murphy Brown (I don't count Family Matters and Step By Step as 1997/98 was their first and only season on CBS after moving over from ABC). 1998/99 CBS's Top 10 shows were 60 Minutes at 7th, Touched by an Angel at 8th, and CBS Sunday Movie at 9th, and its Top 30 shows were Everybody Loves Raymond at 11th, JAG at 16th, Becker (first season) and CBS Tuesday Movie tied at 19th, Walker Texas Ranger at 25th, and 60 Minutes II (first season) and Diagnosis Murder tied at 30th. The new fall shows returning for 1999/2000 were 60 Minutes II, Becker, The King of Queens, and Martial Law. No midseason returns. 1998/99 was the final seasons for The Magnificent Seven, The Nanny, Promised Land, and Unsolved Mysteries. 1999/2000 CBS's Top 10 shows were 60 Minutes at 8th and Touched by an Angel at 10th, and its Top 30 shows were Everybody Loves Raymond at 12th, CBS Sunday Movie at 14th, Becker at 18th, Judging Amy (first season) at 19th, JAG at 20th, 60 Minutes II at 23rd, Family Law (first season) at 27th, and CBS Wednesday Movie at 30th. The new fall shows returning for 2000/01 were Family Law, Judging Amy, and Ladies Man. Only midseason return was City of Angels. Summer 2000 was the first editions of Big Brother and Survivor, and we all know how the latter show played a big part in CBS's comeback in the 2000s. 1999/2000 was the final seasons for Chicago Hope, Cosby, Early Edition, Kids Say the Darndest Things, and Martial Law. As we all know 2000/01 saw Survivor at #1, Everybody Loves Raymond enter the Top 10, the start of CSI, and the rest is history.

Sally Spectra arrives in December 1988 and it's a turning point. Building a business and family around her was genius. The Spectra gang pretty much replaces the Logans by 1991.

I never thought of it that way, but breaking it down, it's so true. 1982/83: Y&R becomes CBS's top rated daytime drama, finishing 4th behind General Hospital, All My Children, One Life to Live. CBS primetime has 6 shows in the Top 10 (technically Top 11): 60 Minutes (#1 overall), Dallas, M*A*S*H (final season), Magnum, P.I., Simon & Simon, Falcon Crest. CBS's sitcoms are weakening, with the Top 10 fallouts of The Jeffersons, Alice, One Day at a Time. 1983/84: Y&R moves up to 3rd, behind General Hospital and All My Children. CBS primetime has 7 shows in the Top 10: Dallas (#1 overall), 60 Minutes, Simon & Simon, Magnum, P.I., Falcon Crest, Kate & Allie (first season), Cagney & Lacey. 1984/85: Y&R remains in 3rd, behind General Hospital and All My Children. CBS primetime has 7 shows in the Top 10 (technically Top 11): Dallas, 60 Minutes, Simon & Simon, Murder She Wrote (first season), Knots Landing, Falcon Crest, Crazy Like a Fox (first season). After Kate & Allie fell out of the Top 10, CBS wouldn't have another Top 10 sitcom entry until Murphy Brown and Designing Women in 1990/91. Magnum, P.I. Top 10 fallout pinpointed to being head-to-head w/ The Cosby Show. Primetime soaps are at their peak, with the CBS big three all in the Top 11. 1985/86: Y&R moves up to 2nd, behind General Hospital. CBS primetime is down to 3 shows in the Top 10: Murder She Wrote, 60 Minutes, Dallas. Top 10 fallouts of Simon & Simon and Falcon Crest pinpointed to being head-to-head w/ Cheers and Miami Vice respectively. Knots Landing had a writing change. Crazy Like a Fox was done once it no longer had Murder She Wrote as its lead in. 1986/87: Y&R remains in 2nd, behind General Hospital. CBS primetime is down to 2 shows in the Top 10: Murder She Wrote and 60 Minutes. Dallas drops to 11th, the Top 10 fallout pinpointed to the aftermath of the "it was all a dream" resolution in the 1986/87 season premiere. 1987/88: Y&R ties General Hospital for #1. 60 Minutes and Murder She Wrote remain CBS primetime's only Top 10 shows. Dallas drops to 22nd and Knots Landing and Falcon Crest are below the Top 30. I would've ended the CBS big three primetime soaps at this point. 1988/89: Y&R overtakes General Hospital for #1. 60 Minutes and Murder She Wrote remain CBS primetime's only Top 10 shows.

That would not happen today. Kristian Alfonso on Falcon Crest was the late 1980s equivalent of Vanessa Marcil on Beverly Hills 90210. Popular daytime stars brought on to fading primetime soaps in the hopes that their huge daytime followings would carry over with them.

Falcon Crest was the last to arrive of the 1980s big four and it seems to be the least remembered and least talked about. I think alot of it is due to the Dallas with grapes reputation (after the first season which felt like wealthy Waltons in modern day California wine country), perception as a time slot hit due to being Dallas's lead out, and that there was really no breakout character that became a pop culture phenomenon in the vein of JR/Alexis. A unique concept was there (California wine country backdrop, the connected families, their wine businesses, the family/business conflicts), the acting talent was there, the soap ingredients were there, but the execution somehow wasn't. There was no need to venture into James Bond/Miami Vice territory with some of the storylines. This was a show with so much potential that got squandered.

@Chris B March-August 1988 was the writer's strike. I agree that Ridge taking advantage of an intoxicated Caroline was horrible, especially since she had been raped a year earlier.

Remember when CBS tried to be young and cool in 1995/96? This was another low point in their primetime mess era 1986/87 to 2000/01. CBS's only Top 10 show in 1995/96 was 60 Minutes at 9th and their Top 30 shows were The Nanny at 16th, Walker Texas Ranger and Murphy Brown tied for 18th, Chicago Hope at 23rd, and CBS Sunday Movie and Can't Hurry Love (first and only season) tied for 24th. CBS's only new fall show to return in 1996/97 was Almost Perfect and their only midseason show to return in 1996/97 was Nash Bridges. 1995/96 was also the final seasons for Due South, Murder She Wrote, Picket Fences, and Rescue 911. 1996/97 CBS tried to be comforting and homey. CBS's only Top 10 show in 1996/97 was Touched by an Angel at 10th and their Top 30 shows were 60 Minutes at 11th, CBS Sunday Movie at 14th, Cosby (first season) at 21st, Walker Texas Ranger at 23rd, Chicago Hope and Cybill tied for 30th. At least the new fall shows were a bit more successful, w/ Cosby, Early Edition, Everybody Loves Raymond, and Promised Land returning for 1997/98. Midseason saw JAG move to CBS from NBC. 1996/97 was the final seasons for Almost Perfect and Dave's World.

Nina Arvesen would've made a good Ashley recast. I can't picture Brenda Epperson as Cassandra though. Lauren Koslow as Jill in 1983 instead of Brenda Dickson, I could see that.

Brooke was never a heroine. Bill Bell wrote Brooke as a Jill/Lorie hybrid.

@AbcNbc247 I loved Family Matters back in the day. I would've loved a Perfect Strangers/Family Matters crossover where Balki met Urkel 😂

@BetterForgotten I think Dynasty fell worse and much quicker: #1 in 1984/85, #7 in 1985/86, #24 in 1986/87, and below the Top 30 in 1987/88 and 1988/89. Dallas's decline was a bit more gradual: #1 in 1983/84, #2 in 1984/85, #6 in 1985/86, #11 in 1986/87, #22 in 1987/88, #29 in 1988/89, and below the Top 30 in 1989/90 and 1990/91.

Any 1970s and 1980s Y&R that surfaces is a treat.

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I wonder what Bradley has planned for the 35th anniversary.