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Soapsuds Grand Master

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Patrick's return was already in motion before the March episodes because I recall being excited about his return in February. I believe the news of his return was announced in January.

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kalbir Grand Master

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November 20, 1987: Miami Vice

January 6, 1989: Mr. Belvedere 

January 13, 1989: Mr. Belvedere

March 17, 1989: Mr. Belvedere 

1989/90 Friday 9 pm Dallas was usually 2nd to Perfect Strangers. They tied on November 3, 1989 and November 10, 1989 and Dallas won the time slot on November 17, 1989 and December 15, 1989.

March 16, 1990 Dallas was 3rd at Friday 9 pm to a repeat of Perfect Strangers and a new episode of Nasty Boys. After the NCAA Basketball break, CBS moved Dallas to Friday 10 pm.

March 30-April 13, April 27-May 11, November 2-December 21, 1990 Friday 10 pm Dallas was usually 2nd to 20/20. Dallas won the time slot on November 2, 1990.

January 4, 1991 Dallas returned to Friday 9 pm and it remained there until the series finale May 3. It was usually 2nd to Perfect Strangers except for

January 4, 1991: 3rd to Perfect Strangers and Night Court

January 18, 1991: 3rd to Perfect Strangers and a repeat of Cheers

March 8, 1991: 2nd to Family Matters 

April 26, 1991: 2nd to Family Matters

May 3, 1991 (series finale): wins time slot and 2nd for the week. 

Wow, Dallas near the end got beat twice by Family Matters. I can only imagine how Larry Hagman reacted to that. When Urkel beats you, yeah it's time to go.

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Khan Grand Master

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I don't mean to be childish about it, but between the repetitive storylines and the hammy acting, with Barbara Bel Geddes being the show's one saving grace, DALLAS tried my patience as a soaps fan.  Maybe not as much as DYNASTY tried my patience, or FALCON CREST, but it certainly gave my nerves a good workout or several, lol.

On the whole, I enjoyed the dream season.  Maybe it wasn't the DALLAS that fans were used to.  Maybe it was trying too hard to compete with DYNASTY.  Nevertheless, I give Peter Dunne and his team props for trying to shake up the show and add dimensions or layers to characters that, by that point, had become awfully shallow.

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kalbir Grand Master

kalbir

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I don't think you're being childish at all.

We can't hold 1980s primetime soaps to the same standards that we hold the daytime soaps. Those of us that were spoiled by watching the best of the daytime soaps are going to find flaws in the 1980s primetime soaps from a writing and acting standpoint.

The 1980s primetime soaps are very much products of their time and I think its a genre that you've had to have watched in real time in order to appreciate. When you watch them in 2024, you have to have the mindset that they are products of their time and alot of things are not going to hold up well through a 2024 lens.

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BetterForgotten Veteran

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In all fairness though, by the late 80’s/early 90’s, networks had long considered Friday night as a graveyard or filler night. The ratings certainly reflected that as a whole - I don’t think Family Matters, for example, ever finished a season in the top 20. Dallas was really the last show that brought such a significant audience to that night, and when that started to fizzle, so did network programming for that night largely. 

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Paul Raven Grand Master

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So really, it took another few seasons for Dallas to be beaten-not a bad acheivement.

Another factor was the demise of Dukes of Hazzard. That Dukes/Dallas combo was a strong 1-2 punch for CBS, who failed to come up with a viable replacement.

So Dallas lost that stronger lead in which would have accounted for a certain percentage of viewers.

Had CBS had a better lineup, Dallas could have been moved to 10pm earlier.

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kalbir Grand Master

kalbir

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1989/90 ABC launched their TGIF Friday comedy block and it was a 1990s staple. Dallas was not a Top 30 show in its final two seasons but two TGIF comedies were in the Top 30 those seasons: Full House 22nd in 1989/90 and 14th in 1990/91, Family Matters 15th in 1990/91.

The Dukes of Hazzard never recovered from the 1982/83 cast switch and it was not a Top 30 show in its final two seasons yet CBS left it at Friday 8 pm.

After The Dukes of Hazzard ended, Friday 8 pm was a CBS dead zone for the remainder of Dallas run. The longest-running post-The Dukes of Hazzard lead in was Beauty and the Beast for two seasons.

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BetterForgotten Veteran

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Those shows were more niche successes though as a whole, no? Full House didn’t really seem to catch fire until it was moved to ABC’s more successful Tuesday night lineup, and was the 90/91 season the only season Family Matters ever made it that high? 

I think the TGIF block was more of a niche programming block. That probably made the downfall for Dallas look more severe given it was much more of a mainstream success than the niche counter programming that was now beating it in its timeslot. Oddly, Lorimar/Warner-Brothers produced both Dallas and many of those corny Miller-Boyett shows on the TGIF lineup. 

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kalbir Grand Master

kalbir

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Full House moved to Tuesday in 1991/92 and became a Top 10 show that season and the following season. Family Matters had two Top 30 seasons in 1991/92 (27th) and 1993/94 (30th).

I had forgotten that Miller-Boyett was part of Lorimar/Warner Brothers. 

It's so funny that Patrick Duffy went from Dallas to TGIF sitcom Step by Step.

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Paul Raven Grand Master

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I think the Fri sitcoms had much younger demos- so were winners from that point of view, even if the household numbers weren't as strong.

Fri CBS was a classic example of a network not replenishing the night and letting it ultimately wither.'

At some point Falcon Crest should have moved elsewhere and a new 10pm show inserted and of course a new 8pm hit. Easier said than done of course.

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Chris 2 Rising Star

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Duffy’s return was announced on April 9, 1986 according to Barbara Curran’s book. That aligns with my memory - it was announced relatively late in the season and I was wondering how they’d work him into the story at such a late date.

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