Falcon Crest key episodes by ratings

December 4, 1981: In His Father’s House (series premiere), rating 21.8

Season highs

February 19, 1982: Family Reunion, rating 25.2

January 28, 1983: Deliberate Disclosure, rating 23.8

December 9, 1983: The Betrayal, rating 24.4

September 28, 1984: Requiem (season 4 premiere), rating 23.4 (2nd for the week)

December 13, 1985: Strange Bedfellows, rating 19.7

January 9, 1987: Dark Passion, rating 20.2

October 9, 1987: Obsession, Possession; rating 16.4

October 28, 1988: Changing Times (season 8 premiere), rating 14.1

October 13, 1989: Flesh and Blood, rating 11.0

Season lows

December 25, 1981: The Harvest, rating 15.7

February 11, 1983: Separate Hearts, rating 15.4

October 14, 1983: Conspiracy, rating 19.4

May 24, 1985: The Avenging Angel (season 4 finale), rating 16.4

March 14, 1986: In Absentia, rating 16.4

May 9, 1986: Consumed, rating 16.4

October 10, 1986: Living Nightmare, rating 15.1

March 11, 1988: False Faces, rating 12.1

March 18, 1988: Dirty Tricks, rating 12.1

March 10, 1989: The Vigil, rating 11.6

May 3, 1990: The Return, rating 8.0

Ten highest-rated episodes of the series

February 19, 1982: Family Reunion, rating 25.2

December 9, 1983: The Betrayal, rating 24.4

February 17, 1984: The Aftermath, rating 23.9

January 1, 1982: Tony Comes Home, rating 23.8

January 28, 1983: Deliberate Disclosure, rating 23.8

March 11, 1983: Climax (season 2 finale), rating 23.7

November 18, 1983: Solitary Confinements, rating 23.7

May 18, 1984: Ashes to Ashes (season 3 finale), rating 23.7 (2nd for the week)

January 22, 1982: Lord of the Manor, rating 23.6

November 11, 1983: The Last Laugh, rating 23.5

Eleven lowest-rated episodes of the series

May 3, 1990: The Return, rating 8.0

April 26, 1990: Crimes of the Past, rating 8.1

March 16, 1990: Dark Streets, rating 8.6

March 9, 1990: Vigil, rating 9.1

May 10, 1990: Danny’s Song, rating 9.3

May 17, 1990: Home Again (series finale), rating 9.3

February 16, 1990: Finding Lauren, rating 9.5

December 8, 1989: Merry Christmas, Charley; rating 9.9

November 17, 1989: Doctor Dollars, rating 10.0

October 6, 1989: Charley, rating 10.0

February 2, 1990: Brotherly Love, rating 10.0

Thanks @kalbir for sorting that all out!

I feel bad Jane’s return in “The Return” ranked lowest as did the finale…although of course by then the show was in a dead slot on Thursdays. 

The Avenging Angel aired without Dallas in front of it and still ranked #12  (same week Knots finale went to #1 the night before). The earthquake finale which aired on a Thursday night fared better year later I believe. 
 

We talked about the show’s syndication misses and SOD took notice with this 1997 article:

FALCON CREST: Time to Uncork a Classic Soap Opera Digest, November 11, 1997

KNOTS LANDING, DYNASTY and DALLAS have all become a familiar fixture on the cable-TV landscape. But one soap is missing. We think it's time for FALCON CREST (which was bought for syndication by TBS in 1986) to be dug out of mothballs and put back on the air.

Although overshadowed by it's megahit lead-in, DALLAS, FALCON CREST consistently delivered first-rate entertainment. The stars: Jane Wyman as sour grapes queen Angela, Susan Sullivan as long-suffering Maggie and David Selby as black sheep Richard, provided a strong back-bone. They were supported by a wide assortment of celeb guests: Gina Lollobrigida, Lana Tumer, Morgan Fairchild and even Apollonia visited the winery.
The plots were fun and often outrageous: tires, explosions, shootings, plañe crashes, eqrthquakes, ¡Ilegitímate kids who became priests, legitímate offspring who joined convents ... not to mention Melissa, the slumming socialite with a lounge act. Plus, FALCON CREST had a wicked sense of humor that surfaced in acerbic dialogue.
So let's get this vintage drama back on the air where it belongs. The wine has aged long enough.

31 minutes ago, soapfan770 said:

We talked about the show’s syndication misses and SOD took notice with this 1997 article:

FALCON CREST: Time to Uncork a Classic Soap Opera Digest, November 11, 1997

KNOTS LANDING, DYNASTY and DALLAS have all become a familiar fixture on the cable-TV landscape. But one soap is missing. We think it's time for FALCON CREST (which was bought for syndication by TBS in 1986) to be dug out of mothballs and put back on the air.

Although overshadowed by it's megahit lead-in, DALLAS, FALCON CREST consistently delivered first-rate entertainment. The stars: Jane Wyman as sour grapes queen Angela, Susan Sullivan as long-suffering Maggie and David Selby as black sheep Richard, provided a strong back-bone. They were supported by a wide assortment of celeb guests: Gina Lollobrigida, Lana Tumer, Morgan Fairchild and even Apollonia visited the winery.
The plots were fun and often outrageous: tires, explosions, shootings, plañe crashes, eqrthquakes, ¡Ilegitímate kids who became priests, legitímate offspring who joined convents ... not to mention Melissa, the slumming socialite with a lounge act. Plus, FALCON CREST had a wicked sense of humor that surfaced in acerbic dialogue.
So let's get this vintage drama back on the air where it belongs. The wine has aged long enough.

Other than Soapnet I am trying to remember if I ever even saw it in syndication. I know I saw Dallas, Knots and Dynasty in syndication before Soapnet.

26 minutes ago, DRW50 said:

Other than Soapnet I am trying to remember if I ever even saw it in syndication. I know I saw Dallas, Knots and Dynasty in syndication before Soapnet.

I vaguely recall it surfaced on either TNT or TBS around 1993 or so but I could be wrong about the channel.

By 1997 when this article was written Knots was still airing on TNT, Dallas was on the old TNN network (which today is Paramount), and Dynasty was on…well I don’t even recall now but feel like it was either E!  or Bravo.

TNN ran Dukes of Hazzard and Dallas together in the evenings for years surprised they didn’t just pick up FC to resurrect the trifecta. 

29 minutes ago, soapfan770 said:

I vaguely recall it surfaced on either TNT or TBS around 1993 or so but I could be wrong about the channel.

By 1997 when this article was written Knots was still airing on TNT, Dallas was on the old TNN network (which today is Paramount), and Dynasty was on…well I don’t even recall now but feel like it was either E!  or Bravo.

TNN ran Dukes of Hazzard and Dallas together in the evenings for years surprised they didn’t just pick up FC to resurrect the trifecta. 

I wonder if Falcon Crest wasn't seen as macho enough for them. 

I first saw Dynasty on FX around 1994 or 1995. I think it ran for a few years, although I may be off as I moved and lost the channel for a while.

Edited May 3, 2025May 3 by DRW50

IIRC, FC reruns aired for awhile on Lifetime, way before the network became the Women in Peril Channel, lol.

4 hours ago, soapfan770 said:

Thanks @kalbir for sorting that all out!

I feel bad Jane’s return in “The Return” ranked lowest as did the finale…although of course by then the show was in a dead slot on Thursdays. 

You're welcome

Jane Wyman return episode was head-to-head w/ Cheers season 8 finale.

4 hours ago, soapfan770 said:

We talked about the show’s syndication misses and SOD took notice with this 1997 article

Falcon Crest broadcast syndication began Fall 1986, which overlapped w/ Oprah going national.

AFAIK cable broadcasts were Lifetime and Soapnet. I have no memory of cable broadcasts on TBS, TNT, TNN, E!, FX.

3 hours ago, Khan said:

IIRC, FC reruns aired for awhile on Lifetime, way before the network became the Women in Peril Channel, lol.

Thanks. I must have missed that period entirely for Lifetime. 

2 hours ago, kalbir said:

Falcon Crest broadcast syndication began Fall 1986, which overlapped w/ Oprah going national.

I think Jason might've posted some numbers for the syndication a while ago and the numbers for Falcon Crest was horrible. Like 1.5 rating or something, which was terrible. 

 

ETA: it was actually Paul Raven:

 

New to syndication 60 min

Fall Guy 67 markets 3.1/8

Falcon Crest 110 markets 1.1/5

To get into the top 40, you needed a 4.6/9 rating for reference - and Falcon Crest managed to get into a lot of markets to begin with.

In the fall of 1985 Dynasty, Dallas and Knots were syndicated (show / rating / share / coverage % / markets):

Dallas 3.4 10 51.7 92

Dynasty 3.4 10 48.7 47 

Knots Landing 3.3 10 12.5 20 

So, Knots as an example trippled Falcon Crest's rating with 20 markets - I'm sure those were major ones but it just goes to show you how much Falcon Crest bombed in syndication. 

Edited May 3, 2025May 3 by te.

I'm surprised Dallas, with its new HD look, hasn't been put back in syndication.

35 years ago tonight was the series finale.

Promo at 11:43

 

Thanks @kalbir

 

Would that ad even appeal to people who watched Falcon Crest at any point? By that point, did anyone really care about the show? I remember people loathing the last season and especially hating Alfonso's character.

21 minutes ago, soapfan770 said:

Thanks @kalbir

You're welcome @soapfan770 

13 minutes ago, chrisml said:

 especially hating Alfonso's character.

Kristian Alfonso was a popular daytime star from a show popular with a younger audience that was brought on to an aging primetime soap with the expectation that their huge daytime following would carry over. I don't think she has spoken much about her time on Falcon Crest despite being the show's new pet that became front-burner lead right away. I also don't believe she was hired on the cheap given her daytime popularity and following. 

Notice how most of the former daytime actors and actresses that were on the CBS primetime soaps were from ABC or 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).

Edited May 18, 2025May 18 by kalbir

10 minutes ago, kalbir said:

You're welcome @soapfan770 

Kristian Alfonso was a popular daytime star from a show popular with a younger audience that was brought on to an aging primetime soap with the expectation that their huge daytime following would carry over. I don't think she has spoken much about her time on Falcon Crest despite being the show's new pet that became front-burner lead right away. I also don't believe she was hired on the cheap given her daytime popularity and following. 

I remember the articles and fan letters complaining about Alfonso so I wouldn't be surprised if Alfonso didn't want to talk about her time on the show. She was probably used to being the fan favorite. She got a lot of flack for being the "Ana Alicia replacement" and that hurt her from the beginning. 

It's odd that CBS would think that hiring Alfonso would lure Days viewers to the show, but they kept doing that to their daytime soaps (as did NBC with ABC actors) and it rarely worked.