Looking back...Primetime Ratings from the 80's

[Soaplovers]

The thing about MSW was that there wasn't a lot of graphic violence, no swearing, no nudity nor anything sexual...so younger couples with kids could safely watch the show as a family.

And all the crazy murder mystery movies on Hallmark channel is partly due to the success of MSW.  It was comfort Tv

[kalbir]

Heading into Fall 1984, action shows were the second biggest genre after primetime soaps. Murder, She Wrote was finishing ahead of the big three action shows (The A-Team, Simon & Simon; Magnum, P.I.) from its first episode. 14 of Murder, She Wrote's first 22 episodes finished ahead of a new episode of at least one of the big three action shows. These episodes were

September 30, 1984: The Murder of Sherlock Holmes (series premiere), rating 18.9. Finished ahead of Magnum, P.I. (September 27: Echoes of the Mind (Part 1) (season 5 premiere), rating 18.4) and Simon & Simon (September 27: C'est Simon (season 4 premiere), rating 18.2).

October 7, 1984: Deadly Lady (episode 2), rating 20.3. Finished ahead of Magnum, P.I. (October 4: Echoes of the Mind (Part 2), rating 19.4). 

November 25, 1984: Hit, Run and Homicide (episode 7), rating 19.7. Finished ahead of Simon & Simon (November 22: Almost Completely Out of Circulation, rating 19.5). Magnum, P.I. was a repeat on November 22.

December 9, 1984: We're Off to Kill the Wizard (episode 8 ), rating 22.3. Finished ahead of The A-Team (December 4: The Bells of St. Mary's, rating 21.4) and Magnum, P.I. (December 6 - Luther Gillis: File #001, rating 21.0).

January 13, 1985: Broadway Malady (episode 12), rating 21.8. Finished ahead of Magnum, P.I. (January 10: Professor Jonathan Higgins, rating 20.5). Simon & Simon was a repeat on January 10.

February 3, 1985: Murder to a Jazz Beat (episode 13), rating 22.0. Finished ahead of Magnum, P.I. (January 31: All for One (Part 1), rating 18.9).

February 10, 1985: My Johnny Lies Over the Ocean (episode 14), rating 19.9. Finished ahead of Magnum, P.I. (February 7: All for One (Part 2), rating 18.7).

February 17, 1985: Paint Me a Murder (episode 15), rating 20.5. Finished ahead of Magnum, P.I. (February 14: The Love-for-Sale Boat, rating 19.8).

February 24, 1985: Tough Guys Don't Die (episode 16), rating 21.7. Finished ahead of Magnum, P.I. (February 21: Let Me Hear the Music, rating 18.9). The A-Team was a repeat on February 19.

March 3, 1985: Sudden Death (episode 17), rating 21.6. Finished ahead of The A-Team (February 26: Knights of the Road, rating 19.3). Magnum, P.I. was a repeat on February 28.

March 10, 1985: Footnote to Murder (episode 18), rating 19.7. Finished ahead of Magnum, P.I. (March 7: Ms. Jones, rating 17.7). Simon & Simon was a repeat on March 7.

March 17, 1985: Murder Takes the Bus (episode 19), rating 22.4. Finished ahead of Magnum, P.I. (March 14: The Man from Marseilles, rating 15.8). No Simon & Simon on March 14. The A-Team was a repeat on March 12.

March 31, 1985: Armed Response (episode 20), rating 21.2. Finished ahead of Magnum, P.I. (March 28: Torah, Torah, Torah; rating 16.8). The A-Team was a repeat on March 26.

April 7, 1985: Murder at the Oasis (episode 21), rating 20.4. Finished ahead of Magnum, P.I. (April 4: A Pretty Good Dancing Chicken (season 5 finale), rating 19.4). Simon & Simon season 4 finale March 28. 

On a win-loss basis, Murder, She Wrote's 1984/85 record vs. the action shows was

Magnum, P.I. 12-6

The A-Team 2-13

Simon & Simon 2-13

The tide shifted 1985/86 until the end of the action shows, as Murder, She Wrote began finishing ahead of all three of the action shows. The first Murder, She Wrote episode to finish ahead of a new episode of all three action shows was Joshua Peabody Died Here... Possibly (October 6, 1985, rating 23.5). This episode finished 4th for the week, behind The Cosby Show, Family Ties, and Dallas.

From 1985/86 until the end of the action shows, there was one episode of Murder, She Wrote that finished behind a new episode of one of the action shows. This episode was

May 1, 1988: Deadpan, rating 20.8. Finished behind Magnum, P.I. (May 1: Resolutions (series finale), rating 32.0). Simon & Simon season 7 finale April 7. The A-Team final episode March 8, 1987.

On a win-loss basis, Murder, She Wrote's overall records vs. the action shows were

Magnum, P.I. 50-7

Simon & Simon 51-13

The A-Team 26-13

I don't think anyone that watched the broadcast networks in 1984/85 expected this comforting drama to take down the big three action shows and big four primetime soaps from the beginning and then the following season become the highest rated drama across the broadcast networks, ahead of all the primetime soaps and action shows, and even ahead of the new hotness Miami Vice (or as Angela Lansbury referred to it in a 1985 Los Angeles Times interview, Miami Heat). In fact, new episodes of Miami Vice never finished ahead of new episodes of Murder, She Wrote. On a win-loss basis, Murder, She Wrote's overall record vs. Miami Vice was 76-0, a clean sweep.

Edited February 17, 2023 by kalbir

[Paul Raven]

 

 

CBS collapsing on Sundays with only The Jeffersons making an appearance after 60 Minutes at #2.

Fortunately MSW was around the corner.

ABC strong with movies.

Monday saw CBS start strong with Scarecrow and After Mash but the latter faded. Late in the season Kate and Allie/Cagney and Lacey scored.

But NBC got a midseason hit from Bloopers as did ABC movie.

Tuesday at last NBC scored a hit with A Team taking 8pm away from ABC after many years. All of ABC Tues was weakened and mid season NBC found a hit with Riptide at 9.

ABC gained on Wed by moving Fall Guy and Dynasty up an hour and inserting Hotel. 

CBS continued to win Thurs with Magnum/Simon/Knots

CBS won Friday but unable to come up with an 8pm hit to lead into Dallas/Falcon

ABC won Sat on strength of Love Boat.

1 Dallas      2 60 Minutes 3 Dynasty 4 The A-Team 5 Simon & Simon 6 Magnum, P.I. 7 Falcon Crest 8 Kate & Allie 9 Hotel 10 Cagney & Lacey 11 Knots Landing 12 (Tie) ABC Sunday Movie 12 (Tie) ABC Monday Movie 13 TV's Bloopers & Practical Jokes 14 AfterMASH 15 The Fall Guy 16 The Love Boat 17 Riptide 18 The Jeffersons 19 Scarecrow & Mrs. King

[kalbir]

1983/84 the last season Dallas would finish #1 and the peak season for The A-Team, Simon & Simon, Falcon Crest, Kate & Allie, Hotel, Cagney & Lacey.

Knots Landing was excellent in 1983/84 and it missed the Top 10 by very little. 

From what I've seen of 1983/84 Hotel it was The Love Boat on land but a little soapier. I don't feel that it was a better show than Knots Landing that season though. Hotel was discussed in the Time Slot Hits thread and even though it doesn't fall into the time slot hit group, I can't help but think that it's first season Top 10 finish was the result of being the lead out of Dynasty when that show was at the height of its popularity.

Edited December 22, 2022 by kalbir

[Paul Raven]

Same strategy CBS used when they moved Dukes and Dallas up an hour to place Falcon Crest at 10 and place a similar show in a time period they were already winning.

But it didn't work when CBS tried it when Magnum and Knots moved up an hour.

CBS lost interest in AfterMash, renewing it, but placing it up against A Team where it fizzled.

[kalbir]

Tuesday 8 pm/8:30 pm vs. The A-Team is where The Jeffersons and Alice ended their runs in 1985, so that time slot was where CBS sent the sitcoms they no longer had interest in.

[soapfan770]

Hotel’s rankings by season lol what a mess:

1983-84: #9

1984-85: #12

1985-86: #22

1986-87: #47

1987-88: #91 

I never paid attention to it much growing up and wasn’t impressed by any reruns I saw especially when I tried watching it again on SoapNet years later. 

[Paul Raven]

Hotel's fortunes were directly tied to Dynasty. As that show slipped in the ratings so did Hotel. When Dynasty got moved back to 10pm, Hotel was discarded to Saturday, which by then was a poor night for ABC.

I think ABC wanted to be rid of it, as often happens with shows from an old regime.

I believe the budget was cut, as the guest stars were more run of the mill.

 

[kalbir]

ABC was sold to Capital Cities in 1985 and Brandon Stoddard became president of ABC that year. By Fall 1985, Aaron Spelling was losing his clout at ABC as he was down to only four shows on the network (The Love Boat, Dynasty, Hotel, The Colbys). I have a feeling Brandon Stoddard was not a fan of Aaron Spelling and wanted the Spelling shows gone from ABC. It wasn't until Robert Iger became president of ABC in 1989 that the Spelling shows were totally gone from ABC with the ending of Dynasty and HeartBeat in Spring 1989.

[Paul Raven]

It's interesting to see how networks can dominate a night, but then have it slip away by not being able to update the schedule. That juggling of the schedule, knowing when to make moves and finding the right shows ...

ABC dominated Tuesdays throughout the late 70's and into the 80's.

Happy Days/Laverne & Shirley/3's Company/Taxi then Hart to Hart

They moved L&S in the 79/80 season but failed to find a hit to replace it. The propsed show 'Hart in San Francisco' never made it to the schedule in fall and Angie was used as a fill in. L&S flopped elsewhere and was brought back to 8.30

At 9.30 Taxi was moved and Too Close for Comfort successfully filled the 9.30 slot

In 81/82 all those shows were Top 20

Joanie Loves Chachi was hit at 8.30 in a tryout but was moved to Thurs the following season as was Too Close. Both were cancelled soon after.

In 82/83 The A Team came along and Happy/Laverne were crushed down to #25/#28

3's Company #6/9to5 #15/Hart to Hart #17 were hanging on.

83/84

Laverne was gone and ABC tried Just Our Luck as 8pm leadin in with Happy Days moved  to 8.30.They flopped up against A Team

3's Company/Oh Madeline/Hart  to Hart were now on their last legs as they were ageing and didn't have a strong lead in.  NBC took over 9-10 with Riptide . So they all were cancelled

By 84/85 

Foul Ups/3's a Crowd/Paper/Dolls/Jessie all flopped.

ABC failed to refresh along the way, relying on Happy Days and 3's Company for too long.

But what should they have done? Maybe nurtured Joanie Loves Chachi and Too Close for Comfort to take over at 8/9 pm? 

Moved Hart to Hart to establish a new 10 pm show?

[kalbir]

@Paul Raven ABC Tuesdays only seemed to stumble from 1982/83 to 1984/85, which overlaps w/ the peak seasons of The A-Team. ABC Tuesdays would rebound in 1985/86 when Who's the Boss took off and would be really cemented by 1988/89 with the breakout success of Roseanne.

Edited January 4, 2023 by kalbir

[Paul Raven]

Yes, noted.

Who's the Boss and Moonlighting were waiting in the wings and ABC quickly took back dominance.

Had those two shows been around a season earlier, NBC may have struggled more.

[kalbir]

Going back to networks dominating a specific night, how about CBS Fridays from 1981-1985?

December 4, 1981: CBS launches their new Friday lineup 8 pm The Dukes of Hazzard (moved up from 9 pm, replacing The Incredible Hulk which was pulled from the schedule), 9 pm Dallas (moved up from 10 pm), 10 pm new drama Falcon Crest. The Dukes of Hazzard drops from 2nd to 6th (it's final Top 10 season), Dallas has its second consecutive season at #1, Falcon Crest finishes 13th and is the highest rated new scripted series in 1981/82.

No ABC and NBC Friday shows finish in the Top 30 in 1981/82.

1982/83: The Dukes of Hazzard drops to 30th (this was the cast switch season), Dallas drops to 2nd (60 Minutes is #1 this season), Falcon Crest moves up to 8th. 

No ABC and NBC Friday shows finish in the Top 30.

1983/84: The Dukes of Hazzard falls below the Top 30, Dallas moves up to #1 (it's final #1 season), Falcon Crest moves up to 7th (it's highest finish ever).

ABC has a Friday show in the Top 30, Webster first season (25th). No NBC Friday shows finish in the Top 30.

1984/85: The Dukes of Hazzard finishes below the Top 30 in what would be its final season, Dallas drops to 2nd (Dynasty is #1 this season), Falcon Crest drops to 10th (it's final Top 10 season).

ABC has a Friday show in the Top 30, Webster (25th). No NBC Friday shows finish in the Top 30. A notable drama that premieres on NBC Friday this season: Miami Vice.

Fall 1985, the tide is starting to shift.

1985/86: The Dukes of Hazzard replaced by new drama The Twilight Zone, which finishes below the Top 30. Dallas drops to 6th (it's final Top 10 season) and Falcon Crest drops to 24th. 

No ABC Friday shows in the Top 30. Over on NBC, Miami Vice blows up and finishes 9th, it's highest finish ever.

1986/87: The Twilight Zone moves to Saturday 10 pm and is replaced on Fridays by Scarecrow and Mrs. King (moved from Monday 8 pm), which falls below the Top 30 in what would be its final season. Dallas drops to 11th and Falcon Crest moves up to 23rd.

No ABC Friday shows in the Top 30.

Perhaps a little overconfident from Miami Vice success the previous season, NBC launches their new Friday lineup 8 pm The A-Team (moved from Tuesday 8 pm), 9 pm Miami Vice (moved up from 10 pm), 10 pm new drama L.A. Law. That lineup didn't work as The A-Team falls below the Top 30 in what would be its final season and Miami Vice drops to 26th. L.A. Law was not doing the job I think NBC wanted it to do (clobber Falcon Crest) so NBC replaces L.A. Law on Fridays with Crime Story (moved from Tuesday 9 pm) and moves L.A. Law to Thursday 10 pm (replacing Hill Street Blues, which moved to Tuesday 9 pm) where it would take off (there's also the factors of having NBC's Thursday comedy block as its lead ins and being head-to-head with a weakened Knots Landing). L.A. Law finishes 21st while Crime Story is below the Top 30.

1987/88: Scarecrow and Mrs. King replaced by new drama Beauty and the Beast, which finishes below the Top 30. Dallas drops to 22nd and Falcon Crest falls below the Top 30.

No ABC and NBC Friday shows in the Top 30. A notable sitcom that premieres on ABC Friday this season: Full House.

1988/89: Beauty and the Beast is below the Top 30, Dallas drops to 29th, Falcon Crest is below the Top 30. 

No ABC and NBC Friday shows in the Top 30. 1988/89 is the final season for Miami Vice.

Fall 1989, the tide fully shifts.

1989/90: Beauty and the Beast moves to Wednesday 8 pm and CBS keeps changing Friday 8 pm because nothing works. Dallas falls below the Top 30 and Falcon Crest is below the Top 30 in what would be its final season.

No NBC Friday shows in the Top 30.

Over on ABC, they launch the TGIF brand for their Friday comedy block and the first TGIF lineup is Full House, new comedy Family Matters, Perfect Strangers, Just the Ten of Us. Full House gets their first Top 30 finish (22nd).

As we all know ABC's TGIF Friday comedy block was a 1990s staple while CBS struggled on Fridays during that decade.

Edited January 8, 2023 by kalbir

[soapfan770]

I forgot L.A. started on Friday nights. In spite of it’s breakout success on Thursday nights it still faced some pretty healthy competition from a still Top #30 Knots Landing for just about all of its run, even as the rest of CBS Thursday night line-up withered and died. 
 
Neither show available for streaming and scare on DVD’s at the moment interestingly enough.

At some point NBC shipped Night Court to Friday nights and later Dear John. 

I know the Jeff Freilich era of Falcon Crest is polarizing (I’ve seen a mix of people who loved it and hated it) but it became a fast-paced action driven show with Mark Snow’s electrifying scoring, obviously in response to Miami Vice, all the while the parade of Hollywood Golden Age stars came in and out lol. It worked for the 86-87 season; the 87-88 season was affected by Dallas’ dismal woes, loss of two original actors, wayyy too many guest stars, and that out of nowhere James Bond plot about a secret organization overthrowing the US government lol.

As for future of CBS and Friday nights, well they had major critical success with Picket Fences, but not in ratings. So instead of advertising it better and moving it to a more watched time slot, they left there until they decided to move Picket Fences up an hour to go head to head with Fox’s X-Files in what would be its final season. 
 

Of course CBS this past 10 years now has had some top 30 hits air on Friday nights, just don’t ask them what those demos are lol. 

 

Edited January 7, 2023 by soapfan770

[Paul Raven]

CBS first mistake was not replacing Dukes of Hazzard with a stronger show. I know hindsight is 20/20 but they owned that timeslot with Dukes and even with flop replacements, nothing on ABC/NBC took off so the opportunity was there.

They launched The Mississippi with Ralph Waite in the Falcon Crest timeslot and it finished in the Top 10. So maybe instead of moving it to Tuesday at 8 where they hadn't had a hit in years and it flopped, Mississippi should have been moved up to 8pm for the 83/84 season and Dukes used as a Saturday at 8pm lead in.

The other issue was holding on to Falcon Crest for too long. It should have been moved to another 10pm slot-say Monday, instead of Emerald Point and something new be launched at 10 to benefit from the Dallas lead in and refresh the night.

At some point Dallas could be moved back to 10pm with a strong new show placed at 9pm.

All wishful thinking as coming up with hit shows isn't easy. And CBS had many other timeslots to worry about, so left Dallas and Falcon Crest where they were.