kalbir

@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.

GL was fortunate to avoid cancel territory in the 1980s, and that was mainly due to Capitol not showing growth and B&B not being a hit right away. Despite GL becoming CBS's lowest-rated daytime drama in 1989, it didn't enter cancel territory until 1995. We know from the 1980s Ratings thread that GL lost CBS's highest-rated daytime drama to Y&R in 1983, then As the World Turns moved past GL in 1986, and B&B moved past GL in 1989. Was there a point from 1986-1989 that you thought cancellation might have been on the way?

Lorimar had four short-lived primetime soaps in the 1980s. Secrets of Midland Heights (CBS December 6, 1980-January 24, 1981): 7 episodes Flamingo Road (NBC January 6, 1981-May 4, 1982): 37 episodes King's Crossing (ABC January 16-February 27, 1982): 7 episodes Berrenger's (NBC January 5-March 9, 1985): 12 episodes

Also Pamela Long returned as HW in July 1987.

Budget mode also played a part in casting. Hiring on the cheap.

I love that Constance McCashin has always kept it real by saying she was salary dumped. The final five seasons were Paige practically eating the show and for me they were a chore to get through. I've said this before but in the grand scheme of things Donna Mills was smart to walk away when she did.

For me Knots Landing goes off the rails in the aftermath of Laura's departure. Laura was the heart and candor of the show. She kept everyone in check and would not hesitate to call anyone out and put them on blast.

I don't know the timeline for when Donna Mills departure was announced, but perhaps lapsed viewers returned for Abby's exit story.

The Cosby Show saved both sitcoms as a genre and NBC primetime line up. The breakout success of The Cosby Show and the breakout success of The Golden Girls the following season lead to NBC having the sitcom game on lock for the rest of the decade. 1982/83 was CBS transition season for sitcoms. M*A*S*H ended; The Jeffersons, Alice, One Day at a Time fell out of the Top 10; and Newhart premiered. CBS would struggle with sitcoms until 1989/90 when Designing Women and Murphy Brown started showing growth.

I've pointed this out before, but Knots Landing season 15 in Fall 1993 would have looked old school next to peak 90210, Melrose about to take off, and new drama NYPD Blue. Not just that, but budget mode would probably still be in place. If by some miracle there was season 16 in Fall 1994, Knots Landing would have been killed by ER. Knots Landing was effectively over in Spring 1989 with Abby departure. I feel the final four seasons of Knots Landing only happened because CBS was in their primetime mess era.

During the Jabot/Newman crossover Bradley didn't give us a scene with two of his father's greatest creations Victor and Stephanie. Seeing Victor and Stephanie in a scene together would be like watching two gladiators facing off and sizing each other up, each one recognizing the other as someone not to mess with, plus Stephanie would not dare to bitch slap Victor. A Victor and Stephanie scene would've been so epic and Eric Braeden and Susan Flannery would've given us a master class in acting. Susan Flannery herself even said in an interview it was a missed opportunity that Stephanie and Victor did not interact during the Jabot/Newman crossover.