kalbir

Knots Landing was effectively over with Abby departure. The final five seasons were a chore to get through. I feel the final four seasons happened because CBS was in their third place primetime mess era.

@soapfan770 Thank you for the holiday greetings and same to you. Happy holidays everyone. Stay safe 🤗

Maybe that's why Donna Mills walked away when she did, and she was smart to do so.

Yup. Popular daytime star from a show popular with a younger audience brought on to aging primetime soap with the expectation that their huge daytime following would carry over. Notice how most of the former daytime actors/actresses that were on the CBS primetime soaps were from ABC/NBC. CBS had so much of their own daytime talent they could have used on their primetime soaps but for whatever reason that didn't happen and I think demographics played a part in that (CBS daytime skewing older than ABC/NBC).

Knots Landing goes off the rails in the aftermath of Laura's departure. I've brought this up before, but I think the Williams family was added in an attempt to get the African-American audience away from NBC.

@soapfan770 I've pointed this out before, but NBC got away with scheduling garbage shows at Thursday 8:30 pm/9:30 pm in the Seinfeld/ER/Friends era that finished in the Top 10 because CBS and ABC were in their primetime mess eras. It's because of the garbage shows that I don't hold the Seinfeld/ER/Friends era of NBC Thursday to the same regard that I do the The Cosby Show/Cheers era of NBC Thursday.

@Liberty City I missed that, thank you for the additional info.

I doubt that, considering that Jeanne Cooper and Elizabeth Hubbard were only 5 years apart in age.

That was the only episode of Knots Landing to finish #1. Falcon Crest never had an episode finish #1, but the season three finale and season four premiere both finished 2nd. The series high was Lana Turner first episode February 19, 1982.

If we're keeping it real, after watching Falcon Crest episodes I was surprised it made it past season 5. That season 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. Season 6 was an improvement but it was still tanking. Season 7 it started going off the rails and that should have been the end. Seasons 8 and 9 were not necessary and I feel they only happened because CBS was in their third place primetime mess era. When Falcon Crest ended in May 1990, it was CBS's 8th longest-running primetime drama series, after Gunsmoke, Lassie, Dallas, original Hawaii Five-O, Knots Landing, Perry Mason, The Waltons. Since Falcon Crest ended, 12 CBS primetime drama series have had equal or longer runs: NCIS, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Criminal Minds, NCIS: Los Angeles, Blue Bloods; Murder, She Wrote; CSI: Miami, Hawaii Five-0 reboot; Walker, Texas Ranger; Touched by an Angel, JAG, CSI: NY. Time slot hit or not, it's notable that Falcon Crest had the longest run of a CBS primetime drama series that premiered in the 1980s which was not named Murder, She Wrote.

@soapfan770 You're welcome. Re: 1984/85 finales, for some reason CBS had Dallas finale one week before the finales of Knots Landing and Falcon Crest. 1984/85 season finales for the rookie breakout and primetime soaps were spread over three weeks in May 1985. May 6-12, 1985: The Cosby Show (24.1, #1) May 13-19, 1985: Dallas (27.5, #1), Dynasty (25.9, 2nd) May 20-26, 1985: Knots Landing (22.9, #1), Falcon Crest (16.4, 12th)

@soapfan770 1985/86 season finales for NBC Thursday, rookie breakout, new hotness, primetime soaps, sophomore surprise, ABC Tuesday were spread out over three weeks in May 1986. May 5-11, 1986: Family Ties (27.5, 2nd), Night Court (20.1, 9th), The Golden Girls (19.9, 11th), Miami Vice (18.8, 14th) May 12-18, 1986: The Cosby Show (31.8, #1), Dallas (24.9, 3rd), Cheers (24.4, 4th); Murder, She Wrote (21.7, 6th); Knots Landing (20.0, 10th), Moonlighting (19.3, 11th), Who's the Boss? (18.8, 12th), Growing Pains (18.8, 12th) May 19-25, 1986: Dynasty, Falcon Crest The final ratings for these shows were 1. The Cosby Show, 2. Family Ties; 3. Murder, She Wrote; 5. Cheers, 6. Dallas, 7. Dynasty, 7. The Golden Girls, 9. Miami Vice, 10. Who's the Boss?, 11. Night Court, 17. Knots Landing, 17. Growing Pains, 24. Moonlighting, 24. Falcon Crest

Looking at all the comedies and dramas that premiered on the big three broadcast networks in the 1980s that had runs of 5 or more seasons, The Cosby Show is the only show that did not have a time slot change during its run.

Friends doesn't really take off until February 1995, when NBC moved it from Thursday 8:30 pm to Thursday 9:30 pm. The following season Friends moved to Thursday 8 pm and that's when it blew up and we know the rest.

I know, I can't wait!

Oh, you mean the final 15 years? 1979-1982 are spotty, as are 1983-1988. A good portion of 1989-1993 is online.

@vetsoapfan AFAIK, no 1976 episodes have surfaced but two 1977 episodes and a partial 1978 episode are online.

It's too bad so little of the Potter/Dobsons era has surfaced. I've accepted we'll probably never see 1976-1978.

There was so much momentum from the unveiling of the original ranch and the 13,000th episode but it didn't last, and now it seems we're back to garbage time.

@soapfan770 Re: 1986/87, the main new shows I remember that season were Amen, Matlock, L.A. Law, ALF but they weren't exactly breakout hits. ALF and L.A. Law would take off the following season though.

@vetsoapfan The ratings that disappoint me the most is the drop during the Calhoun era. 1988/89: 6.2 (7th). EP change from Joe Willmore to Robert Calhoun in June 1989. 1989/90: 5.4 (tied w/ Days for 7th). Kim Zimmer departure July 1990. 1990/91: 5.2 (tied w/ Days for 7th). HW change from Pamela Long to Nancy Curlee in January 1991. EP change from Robert Calhoun to JFP in July 1991. The ratings then went up briefly but the momentum didn't last. 1991/92: 5.6 (5th). Beverlee McKinsey departure August 1992. 1992/93: 5.4 (7th). Maureen Bauer killed off January 1993. Buzz arrives March 1993. 1993/94: 5.4 (8th). Nancy Curlee leaves as HW in March 1994. 1994/95: 4.4 (8th). EP change from JFP to Michael Laibson in May 1995.

1984/85 was the start of the ratings drop. I dug up the annual ratings from 1982/83 to 1985/86 and noted key events. 1982/83: 7.4 (6th). HW change from Douglas Marland to Pat Falken Smith in October 1982. HW change from Pat Falken Smith to L. Virginia Browne in November 1982. EP change from Allen Potter to Gail Kobe in February 1983. HW change from L. Virginia Browne to Richard Culliton and Pamela Long in February 1983. 1983/84: 8.1 (5th). Pamela Long becomes sole HW in September 1983. Kim Zimmer joins the cast in November 1983. Beverlee McKinsey joins the cast in February 1984. 1984/85: 7.5 (4th) 1985/86: 6.8 (6th). EP change from Gail Kobe to Joe Willmore in January 1986. HW change from Pamela Long to Jeff Ryder in January 1986. Mary Ryan Munisteri becomes co-HW in February 1986.

Whether we liked Gail Kobe/Pamela Long era or not, it can't be denied that Spring 1983-Summer 1984 saw the ratings go up from the post-Marland slump and set in motion characters and storylines that carried GL through its final 25 years. Yes, it was too much chasing 1980s trends which wasn't sustainable and caused long-term damage. The ratings from Fall 1984 onward reflected this.

So the only watchable eras encompassing the 1980s would be Potter/Dobsons/Marland (1976-1982) and Calhoun/Long/Curlee (1989-1991)? June 1994 GL was not in a good place creatively (Nancy Curlee departed three months earlier) and from what we saw in the 1990s Ratings thread, GL was effectively over in the aftermath of OJ. Did you think that GL limped along in its final 15 years?

Yes, it is.