kalbir

Abby was all about the come up. Even though Abby was considered the villainess, I believe she loved her children and wanted what was best for them.

Would we consider Abby the breakout character in the vein of JR and Alexis? I don't think Abby became a pop culture phenomenon like JR and Alexis though.

@JAS0N47 Thank you for the answers.

Bill Bell also preferred 30 minutes. We know from the 1980s ratings thread that Y&R had a post-expansion slump. I don't know if this was answered earlier, but how long did Bill Bell write for Days after it expanded to 1 hour? Also did Susan Flannery depart from Days around the time it expanded to 1 hour?

ER was the highest-rated drama across the broadcast networks from 1994/95 to 2000/01 and three of those seasons (1995/96, 1996/97, 1998/99) it was the #1 show. ER was the first drama since Dallas to have three seasons as the #1 show. Fun fact, the #1 seasons of Dallas (1980/81, 1981/82, 1983/84) and the #1 seasons of ER are each separated by 15 years. ER 15 season run places it as NBC's third longest-running primetime drama, behind Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and Law & Order. Interestingly all premiered in the 1990s.

Well it was Bradley's first full year. Also it was the year B&B's time slot rival Reilly Days took off. Not to mention the year of OJ.

Also Fox became a legitimate network this season, thanks to them getting NFL broadcasting rights and established affiliates in major media markets. As far as Fox programming goes, 1994/95 was the peak season of Melrose Place. I don't hold the Seinfeld/ER/Friends era in high regard. NBC was fortunate that both CBS and ABC had primetime mess eras and that's how they were able to get away with scheduling garbage shows at Thursday 8:30 pm and 9:30 pm that still finished among the Top 10. 1994/95 ABC was good with Home Improvement, Grace Under Fire, NYPD Blue but their one-time biggest hit Roseanne was weakening. ABC fortunes would change with the sale to Disney in 1996 and the start of their primetime mess era. Poor CBS, 1994/95 was the start of another primetime mess era. It was back to Murder, She Wrote being their only hit. It's so funny that Murder, She Wrote premiered in 1984/85, the best and most pivotal season of the 1980s, and was still going in 1994/95, the most pivotal season of the 1990s. CBS primetime mess era would continue with the sale to Westinghouse in 1995 and arrival of Les Moonves.

Taking @Khan descriptions above and seeing how they apply to each network's line up of dramas that premiered in the 1980s which had runs of 5 or more seasons. Murder, She Wrote (12); Falcon Crest (9); Magnum, P.I. (8); Simon & Simon (8), Cagney & Lacey (7), Jake and the Fatman (5). I think that description fits this list. Dynasty (9), MacGyver (7), The Fall Guy (5), Hotel (5), Moonlighting (5). Moonlighting seems like the only one that fits this description. Thirtysomething and China Beach fit this description but they got four seasons each. L.A. Law (8), Hill Street Blues (7), Hunter (7), St. Elsewhere (6), Matlock (6), Remington Steele (5), The A-Team (5), Miami Vice (5), Highway to Heaven (5), In the Heat of the Night (5), Quantum Leap (5). I would consider L.A. Law innovative as well.

@will81 Thanks for the additional info.

@Maxim You'll love seasons 2 and 3. Those were the peak of the series for me.

1975 a pivotal year in daytime: Another World, Days, As the World Turns expand to 1 hour. How to Survive a Marriage ends. Ryan's Hope premiere. The Edge of Night moves from CBS to ABC. Wheel of Fortune premiere. The Price is Right expands to 1 hour.

Somebody at Lorimar must have liked Barry Jenner as he was on all three CBS primetime soaps. He was on Falcon Crest for two episodes in 1989. For me and many of my generation (1990s teens), Barry Jenner will forever be Lieutenant Murtaugh of Family Matters.

Hahaha.

The Val/Gary/Abby triangle ushered in Knots Landing peak era and drove so many storylines for years. The triangle worked not because of the triangle itself (let's keep it real here, Gary was no prize) but because of the character arcs it lead to. Val moved on with her life after losing her first love, Gary manned up, and Abby got the come up that she was all about.

Saw that. Thank you. Yeah, there was way too much garbage time.

NBC had four attempts at a primetime soap (Flamingo Road, Bare Essence, The Yellow Rose, Berrenger's) but none worked. CBS struggle with sitcoms began with the end of the M*A*S*H and the Top 10 fallouts of The Jeffersons, Alice, One Day at a Time. Newhart and Kate & Allie were bright spots but they got overshadowed by the big NBC/ABC sitcoms. Designing Women and Murphy Brown started showing growth at the end of the 1980s and became hits in the early 1990s. Major Dad had brief success in the early 1990s. Also with ABC dramas, MacGyver ran 7 seasons and China Beach ran 4 seasons but neither showed growth. Of note is that MacGyver was ABC's longest-running drama that premiered in the 1980s which was not produced by Aaron Spelling.

@soapfan770 Yeah, that seems right. Sticking to 1980s primetime for the big three. CBS began the decade riding high, got complacent in the middle of the decade, and was an absolute mess by the end of the decade. ABC began the decade still good, then had a mess era in the middle of the decade, but rebounded by the end of the decade. NBC began the decade an absolute mess, had a comeback then rode high in the middle of the decade, and ended the decade still going strong but getting a little complacent.

@JAS0N47 Thank you for the info.

@Paul Raven ABC really seemed to struggle with dramas with the weakening of the Aaron Spelling hit factory. Moonlighting was a brief hit, but backstage drama lead to network sabotage. Once the Spelling shows and Moonlighting were gone from ABC, I don't think they had a big hit drama until NYPD Blue.

@JAS0N47 When factoring in the 1980s and 1990s threads, am I correct in that 1977-1995 are complete?

We think alike re CBS 1989/90. That season was CBS 1980s primetime nadir, yet I thought that season CBS was killing it in daytime. NBC was still a mess in 1983/84. The A-Team was really the only hit they had. ABC 1984/85 Aaron Spelling hit factory was showing signs of weakening despite Dynasty reaching #1 plus ABC had a good number of one season and done shows. ABC 1985/86 the only highlight was Tuesday rebound with Who's the Boss? taking off, new comedy Growing Pains having a good start, and Moonlighting showing growth. We know 1985 ABC was sold to Capital Cities, Brandon Stoddard became in charge, and Brandon Stoddard was not a fan of Aaron Spelling and wanted the Spelling shows gone from ABC.

CBS 1989/90 wasn't any better as far as scripted shows go. Returning dramas: Dallas (aging and fading), Knots Landing (aging and fading), Falcon Crest (aging and fading); Murder, She Wrote (still a hit); Beauty and the Beast (not a hit), Jake and the Fatman (not a hit), Tour of Duty (not a hit), Wiseguy (not a hit), Paradise (not a hit). Returning comedies: Newhart (aging and fading), Designing Women (not yet a hit), Murphy Brown (not yet a hit), Doctor Doctor (not a hit). Another season of way too many one season and done shows to list. No new fall dramas returned in 1990/91. The only new fall comedy to return for 1990/91 was Major Dad.

Seasons 1-3 build the foundation but yes, there are some episodes that are a chore to get through.

Remember that Dynasty is a product of the Reagan era (it's run began just before Reagan took office and ended shortly after Reagan left office and to me it was the epitome of Reagan era excess and greed) so what we see on screen reflects the mindset of society at that time. You have to watch Aaron Spelling shows and 1980s primetime soaps with the mindset that they are products of their time and alot of things have not held up well through a 2024 lens.

Peak for me were seasons 4-6, and I rank them 6, 5, 4. In terms of episodes, the peak of the series culminates for me during the final 10 episodes of season 6.