kalbir

I'm getting a Summer 1984 vibe from this.

@Paul Raven I remember it being posted in another thread that The Mississippi was a starring vehicle for Ralph Waite after The Waltons ended as CBS had some sort of deal with him they had to fulfill. I wonder if the move to a dead zone time slot was sabotage to get that deal to a quicker end. Dukes of Hazzard, for whatever reason CBS chose not to tank job it, instead they left it at Friday 8 pm to limp along in its final two seasons. When Dukes of Hazzard ended, Friday 8 pm became another dead zone.

Remember that one of the big 1980s trends was action/adventure.

That came back to bite them, and that's how we got the third place primetime mess era 1987/88 to 1990/91. CBS struggled w/ sitcoms from 1982/83 (the end of M*A*S*H and the Top 10 fallouts of The Jeffersons, Alice, One Day at a Time) until 1989/90 (Designing Women and Murphy Brown started showing growth). The only bright spots among sitcoms in that era were Newhart and Kate & Allie, but they got lost in the shuffle when sitcoms made a comeback in 1985/86. Newhart was up-and-down in the ratings and got overshadowed by the big workplace/friendship sitcoms Cheers, The Golden Girls, Night Court. Kate & Allie started good but couldn't maintain its momentum and got overshadowed by the big family sitcoms The Cosby Show, Family Ties, Who's the Boss, Growing Pains. On the drama side, Dallas, Knots Landing; Magnum, P.I.; Simon & Simon, Falcon Crest were at their peak, The Dukes of Hazzard was fading; Trapper John, M.D. was middle of the pack but about to fade; Cagney & Lacey took time to show growth but couldn't maintain its momentum. The new dramas launched in that era had varying degrees of success: The surprise success of Murder, She Wrote. Another surprise success Crazy Like a Fox but counter-programming killed its momentum. Middle of the pack Scarecrow and Mrs. King. The Mississippi started good but couldn't maintain it's momentum. Airwolf and Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer showed no growth. 1985/86 was the turning point for the drama lineup as Dallas, Knots Landing, Falcon Crest tanked; Magnum, P.I. got slaughtered by The Cosby Show, and Simon & Simon got clobbered by Cheers. That's really when CBS should have looked at their drama line up and started making moves.

1980 and 1981 just come across as a mess. So many storylines that were cut short or derailed because of the expansion, cast changes, and writer's strike.

USA vs. Serbia in men's basketball today. LeBron James got beat by Nikola Jokic in the NBA playoffs this past season, their Olympic face off should be good. No surprise, Kevin Durant and LeBron James dominated. Steph Curry had a nice closing shot though. Up next for USA is South Sudan on Wednesday and Puerto Rico on Saturday. On paper those games should be cakewalks but South Sudan is the feel good story so far of these Olympics so I wouldn't underestimate them. The group with Australia, Canada, Greece, Spain is going to be tough. The group with Brazil, France, Germany, Japan seems middle of the pack to me.

I watched the opening on mute. Celine Dion was the highlight. First day of competition. Basketball starts today, athletics starts in four days.

Not just you. Bill Bell used a similar intro for the Reed sisters and the Barber sisters: new doctor in town that has a troublemaking younger sister. A Bill Bell element was educated professional that has a troublemaking sibling: Casey/Nikki, Tyrone/Jazz, Olivia/Dru, Neil/Malcolm. Early Nikki and early Dru had some similarities. Both encountered shady characters when they tried to start modelling careers, and both were involved in the adult entertainment business. Nikki joined Rose DeVille's "agency" which was really a front for prostitution. Dru signed up with "agents" that tried to feature her in a porn film. Nikki later climbed the pole. Dru later appeared in a men's magazine.

100% this. The cult storyline from summer 1980 was rewritten to result in Dylan's birth, which would have been spring 1981. We know that spring 1981 Nikki was climbing the pole.

@Paul Raven Thank you for the additional info re Simon & Simon/Cagney & Lacey. 1979-1982 CBS was successful in replacing a good number of aging and fading shows. Hawaii Five-O, Barnaby Jones, The White Shadow, The Waltons, The Incredible Hulk, Lou Grant gave way to Trapper John, M.D.; Knots Landing; Magnum, P.I.; Simon & Simon, Falcon Crest, Cagney & Lacey. Unfortunately when the new shows of 1979-1982 started to age and fade, many of the new offerings weren't as successful: The Equalizer, The Twilight Zone, Houston Knights, Beauty and the Beast, Jake and the Fatman, Tour of Duty, Wiseguy, Paradise.

@Paul Raven Re Simon & Simon, Cagney & Lacey 1981/82 Simon & Simon 13 episode first season was Tuesday 8 pm head-to-head w/ Happy Days and Laverne & Shirley. Q.E.D. took over Tuesday 8 pm when Simon & Simon first season ended and it's run was 6 episodes. Cagney & Lacey 6 episode first season was Thursday 9 pm. 1982/83 CBS moved Simon & Simon to Thursday 9 pm and Cagney & Lacey to Monday 10 pm.

Olympics start Friday. https://www.usmagazine.com/entertainment/news/2024-paris-olympics-opening-ceremony-everything-to-know/

Hahaha, yes! In all seriousness EB is carrying the show on his back.

CBS had the best promos BITD, especially Summer promos 1985-1987. Feel the Heat, The Heat of Heat, Addicted to Love.

There's a Julia scene from 1983 where she mentions being married to Victor for 10 years. Julia and Victor divorced in 1981 so that puts their marriage in 1971 and I would think Julia went from high school graduation to marriage, so birth year 1953. When we first learned about Cora in spring 1984, Victor mentioned it was Christmas night 35 years earlier that Cora took him to the orphanage and Victor was 7 years old at the time. Victor at 7 years old in 1948, birth year 1941 (that's also EB's birth year). Casey was introduced in 1978 as a new resident doctor. I would guess she was 26 then, so birth year 1952. Nikki was introduced as a high school student in 1978, I would guess she was 17 then so birth year 1961. The Vietnam rewrite contradicted established history. Dina abandoned the family in 1971 when Jack was 16. The Vietnam rewrite had Jack serving until 1972 when he was 20 years old. I guess origin story could say that Jack was devastated over his mother leaving the family, leading to his enlisting in the military. When we met Dru in 1990, I believe she was about 19 or 20 years old, so yes on a visit to Genoa City in the early 1970s Lillie Belle could have confided to her sister Mamie that she got pregnant from a marital rape.

Possible tank job 1983/84: Midseason CBS moves One Day at a Time twice, from Sunday 8:30 pm to Wednesday 8 pm (head-to-head w/ The Fall Guy) then Monday 9 pm. One Day at a Time falls out of the Top 30 and is cancelled.

Neither can I. Maureen Garrett being a redhead set her apart from the sea of blondes that permeated CBS Daytime in the late 1980s and early 1990s. CBS didn't step up their promo game until Summer 1985 Feel the Heat, which to me will forever be the GOAT of soap promos.

@Joseph Thank you for posting the episode. @DRW50 Thank you for the tag. Loved seeing a pre-Y&R Meg Bennett. 1970s episodes of P&G shows are rare AFAIK so whenever one surfaces its a treat.

Agree. The abrupt ending to the war crimes storyline derailed all the momentum that had been built during the course of the series.

Looks like a tank job but it could be a move to fill space. 1988/89: Midseason CBS moves The Equalizer from Wednesday 10 pm to dead zone Thursday 9 pm, replacing new drama Paradise which moved to Saturday 8 pm. The Equalizer run ends at four seasons. Yes, The Equalizer wasn't a hit and didn't show growth during its run but CBS was in the midst of its third place primetime mess era so it really wasn't in a position to have any tank jobs.

RIP Bob Newhart and thank you for all the years you entertained us.

Season 1 felt like wealthy Waltons in modern day California wine country and it was a good start that built the foundation. CBS should have realized that Earl Hamner was not David Jacobs or Aaron Spelling or Bill Bell. Family drama was more Earl Hamner style, not soap opera. I thought seasons 2 and 3 were Falcon Crest peak even though it became Dallas with grapes/James Bond hybrid and that lasted through season 4. Season 5 became Dallas with grapes/Miami Vice hybrid because if you can't beat the new hotness might as well join it.

I parallel Pamela Sue Martin departure from Dynasty to Shannen Doherty departure from 90210. After their respective departures the cast dynamics were off on both shows and both shows were never the same, despite Dynasty lasting 5 more seasons and even having a season at #1 and 90210 lasting 6 more seasons. Fun fact, their departures are separated by 10 years 16 days (Dynasty season 4 finale May 9, 1984 and 90210 season 4 finale May 25, 1994).

The Equalizer original series was not a big hit yet it became a movie franchise and got a reboot series. The Equalizer reboot season 5 starts this fall, so the reboot will have a longer run than the original.

2024/25 Season Premieres Dramas Matlock - Series premiere Sunday September 22, 8 pm. May be delayed due to NFL coverage. Will be rebroadcast Thursday October 10, 9 pm. NCIS - Season 22 premiere Monday October 14, 8 pm NCIS: Origins - Series premiere Monday October 14, 9 pm FBI - Season 7 premiere Tuesday October 15, 8 pm FBI: International - Season 4 premiere Tuesday October 15, 9 pm FBI: Most Wanted - Season 6 premiere Tuesday October 15, 10 pm Elsbeth - Season 2 premiere Thursday October 17, 10 pm S.W.A.T. - Season 8 premiere Friday October 18, 8 pm Fire Country - Season 3 premiere Friday October 18, 9 pm Blue Bloods - Part 2 of Season 14 premiere Friday October 18, 10 pm. First of the final eight episodes. Tracker - Season 2 premiere Sunday October 27, 8:30 pm. May be delayed due to NFL coverage. The Equalizer - Season 5 premiere Sunday October 27, 9:30 pm. May be delayed due to NFL coverage. Comedies Georgie & Mandie's First Marriage - Series premiere Thursday October 17, 8 pm Ghosts - Season 4 premiere Thursday October 17, 8:30 pm The Neighborhood - Season 7 premiere Monday October 21, 8 pm Poppa's House - Series premiere Monday October 21, 8:30 pm