kalbir

40 years ago

40 years ago tonight (I couldn't find an ABC promo)

@BoldRestless Do not give Josh Griffith ideas.

Doug's not dead. It's a set up to flush out Joey. Hahaha, dead. That's just as good as when Dani described Ashley as "she makes vanilla look spicy".

Y&R was in their post-expansion slump from February 1980 to May 1982 and this was reflected in the ratings. The cast changes plus the 1981 writers strike didn't help matters either. June 1982 Y&R rebounded and 1983 Y&R blew up. 1984 is the year Y&R became Y&R as we know it. Y&R's golden era was 1984 through first half of 1986, and H. Wesley Kenney played just as big a part of that as Bill Bell did.

October 1985-January 1986 Sunday 9 pm NBC and ABC had some big miniseries/movies, specials, and sports. NBC had The Long Hot Summer, I Dream of Jeannie: 15 Years Later, Crime of Innocence, 48 Hrs network premiere, Perry Mason Returns, Bob Hope Christmas Show, Blacke's Magic pilot movie. ABC had Toughlove, World Series, North & South, American Bandstand 33 1/3 Celebration, The Toy network premiere. No wonder CBS launched Sunday movie in January 1986 and as we all know that move paid off. Crazy Like a Fox got sent to Wednesday 9 pm head-to-head with Dynasty. That move wasn't tank job or sabotage, it was more to fill space on the schedule from new Wednesday shows Stir Crazy and George Burns Comedy Week being one season and done early in the season. I think a better home for Crazy Like a Fox might have been Friday 8 pm. Twilight Zone didn't work Friday 8 pm but Crazy Like a Fox could've worked as a Dallas lead in.

John Conboy built the foundation but H. Wesley Kenney laid the groundwork for Y&R as we know it today.

@alwaysAMC You're getting close to Annie exit. I didn't watch any clips/episodes past that. @GL Oldtimer Any 1979 and 1980 episodes featuring Roger/Holly that surface are such a treat because those episodes set in motion everything we saw a decade later in the Calhoun era.

1986/87 Dynasty went off the rails and it remained so for the rest of its run.

1986/87 Dynasty had a huge drop, going from 7th to 24th. Magnum, P.I. even won the time slot some weeks.

1986/87 Magnum, P.I. moved to Wednesday 9 pm, head-to-head with Dynasty.

There was a Dani/Andre scene where the dialogue implied a certain bedroom activity. I'm sure so many grandmas clutched their pearls at that scene. Andre/Dani over Andre/Ashley all day every day.

1984/85 Magnum, P.I. got weakened by new time slot rival The Cosby Show.

Week of January 6-12, 1986. The first CBS Sunday movie. The entire CBS Sunday line up is in the Top 10.

That I don't know.

The World Series going to seven games lead to The Cosby Show new episode #1 streak ending. Murder, She Wrote new episode was head-to-head with game 7, thus this episode being the season low and second episode this season that finished behind Dallas.

Cassandra Rawlins and Mari Jo Mason both reminded me of those film noir shady ladies.

I think was the actors strike, not the writers strike. July 21-October 23, 1980 was the actors strike. Knots Landing season 2 was November 20, 1980 to March 26, 1981. April 11-July 12, 1981 was the writers strike.

October 7-13, 1985. Murder, She Wrote continued to shock the world by finishing ahead of both Dynasty and Dallas for the first time. NBC broadcast a new episode of The Cosby Show but the rest of Thursday as well as all of Saturday was pre-empted for National League Championship Series. NBC Friday was pre-empted for American League Championship series.

Hahaha yes! Between Scruples, Bare Essence miniseries, Y&R, Falcon Crest, and his one episode of Dynasty itself, Frank M. Benard spent the bulk of the 1980s playing characters that were way too Dynasty. Father Chris was more plot device than fully developed character. That lake scene, he was trying to purify himself but I don't think that lake was as purifying as Lake Minnetonka. I liked Li-Ying and it looked like she was going to be paired with one of the young men from the main families but I have a feeling the writers chickened out, possibly afraid of backlash from older conservative CBS viewers.

Then again, Kyle was pretty much a replacement for both Alan and Josh, and the returns of Chris Bernau and Robert Newman made Larkin Malloy redundant. How many real-life pregnancies were part of GL storylines in the 1980s? I know Kim Zimmer's two sons resulted in Reva giving birth to Marah and Shayne. Maeve Kinkead was pregnant in 1981 but Vanessa was not. I don't think Maeve Kinkead was pregnant in 1985 when Vanessa gave birth to Little Billy. I think one or both of Lisa Brown's pregnancies were part of Nola's storyline but I'm not certain on that.

I've pointed this out before but after watching Falcon Crest episodes I was surprised it made it past season 5. Tanking was cemented (signs of tanking were showing during the last 10 episodes of season 4) and the storylines were so start and stop plus most of them didn't really work. Dallas weakening as a lead in and being head-to-head with the new hotness Miami Vice didn't help matters either. We know Apollonia was brought on to get the Miami Vice demographic because if you can't beat the new hotness might as well join it. Funny thing is, Miami Vice did not do the job NBC wanted it to and that's finish off Falcon Crest.

You're welcome @soapfan770 re 1985/86. NBC Thursday had The Cosby Show slaughtering Magnum, P.I. (then again The Cosby Show slaughtered everyone) and Cheers taking off clobbered Simon & Simon. CBS Thursday 8-10 pm would be a dead zone until Survivor/CSI. ABC Tuesday made a comeback with Who's the Boss taking off, new comedy Growing Pains being a hit, and Moonlighting showing growth. Who's the Boss clobbered The A-Team and Moonlighting killed off Riptide. CBS Friday suffered with 8 pm becoming a dead zone, Dallas tanking, and Falcon Crest losing the time slot to new hotness Miami Vice.

All the BTS drama at Reilly Days yet the ratings weren't impacted. We know Reilly Days shot up to 2nd in summer 1995 and came within 0.3 of Y&R in summer 1997.

Two shows featuring 50+ females as the leads yet they appealed to viewers of all walks of life. 1985/86 Angela Lansbury let us all know that she was straight up savage. Shading the new hotness Miami Vice by calling it Miami Heat. Knocking big bad Larry Hagman off the throne at CBS. Beating the diva of all divas of 1980s primetime soaps Joan Collins to become the highest-rated drama across the broadcast networks. The Golden Girls was the breakout hit of 1985/86 and its success lead to NBC having the sitcom game on lock for the remainder of the decade.