Members kalbir Posted January 9, 2023 Members Share Posted January 9, 2023 Looking back, 1988/89 wasn't a very good season. So many shows felt off. I chalk it up to after effects of the writer's strike and changing times. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Paul Raven Posted January 9, 2023 Author Members Share Posted January 9, 2023 1984-85 Cosby an instant hit that brings all 4 Thurs sitcoms to Top 20. Highway to Heaven, another hit for NBC. Crazy Like A Fox-looks like restoring CBS Sunday dominance. Out of the Top 20 AfterMash After a strong start it did struggle a little as the season wore on and Kate & Allie did far better, but CBS seemed to give up by putting it up against The A Team this season, where it was canned. Love Boat-the only Saturday show in that was Top 20. Fall Guy- Highway to Heaven took over the timeslot. The Jeffersons after a long run Scarecrow and Mrs King-already dropping in its second season-not a good sign. ABC Sunday and Monday Movie-NBC took over with their Monday movie. TV Bloopers- failed to maintain its appeal. 1 Dynasty 2 Dallas 3 The Cosby Show 4 60 Minutes 5 Family Ties 6 The A-Team 7 Simon & Simon 8 Murder, She Wrote 9 Knots Landing 10 (Tie) Falcon Crest 10 (Tie) Crazy Like a Fox 10 (Tie) Hotel 10 (Tie) Cheers 11 Riptide 12 Magnum, P.I. 13 Newhart 14 Kate & Allie 15 NBC Monday Night Movie 16 Highway to Heaven 17 Night Court 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kalbir Posted January 9, 2023 Members Share Posted January 9, 2023 (edited) 1984/85 was probably the best and most pivotal television season of the 1980s. The premieres of The Cosby Show; Murder, She Wrote; Miami Vice; Who's the Boss; Moonlighting. The zenith of primetime soaps as all four were in the Top 10. The peak season of Dynasty and Knots Landing. Dallas lost #1 to Dynasty. Falcon Crest dropped from its peak the previous season. The action shows weakened a bit. The A-Team and Simon & Simon dropped from their peaks the previous season. Magnum, P.I. fell out of the Top 10. Sitcoms were gaining ground again, with the breakout success of The Cosby Show pulling up the rest of NBC's Thursday sitcom lineup Family Ties, Cheers, Night Court. CBS Sunday rebounded with the surprise success of Murder, She Wrote. Crazy Like a Fox was able to retain the Murder, She Wrote audience which The Jeffersons and Alice could not do. Despite Dallas dropping from #1 to 2nd, CBS was #1 for the 6th consecutive season. NBC moved up to 2nd. ABC dropped to 3rd. Little did we know at the time the impact that the breakout success of The Cosby Show and the surprise success of Murder, She Wrote would have on their respective networks, and that impact is still being felt today. Edited January 10, 2023 by kalbir 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Paul Raven Posted January 10, 2023 Author Members Share Posted January 10, 2023 (edited) CBS must have been surprised/disappointed that Crazy Like A Fox was a shortlived success. Despite the strong MSW lead-in the opposing movies proved too strong the following season. Although CBS could boast of all its Thursday lineup in the Top 20, it was not to last. No other night had all shows in the Top 20 although CBS Sunday came close with only Trapper John missing out. ABC turned down Cosby because there was no pilot or script and I think they wanted a full season commitment. How different things would have been had ABC picked it up. But where would it be scheduled? Against A Team? Or to boost Wed @8? Edited January 10, 2023 by Paul Raven 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kalbir Posted January 10, 2023 Members Share Posted January 10, 2023 I had no idea The Cosby Show was originally offered to ABC. The Cosby Show on ABC might have gotten Thursday 8:30 pm where Who's the Boss was originally scheduled. ABC was a mess in 1984/85 despite Dynasty reaching #1, so The Cosby Show may not have had the same success on ABC that it did on NBC. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Paul Raven Posted January 10, 2023 Author Members Share Posted January 10, 2023 NBC saw some potential and wisely used it as lead-in to it's previously lower rating comedy block. They didn't use it as lead out for Gimme A Break for example. Hopefully ABC would have done the same-maybe Friday @8 to boost that night. Then again, they obviously didn't see much potential in Who's the Boss? Viewers found that show, even though it was buried on Thurs night. ABC quickly moved it to Tues and the ratings began to grow. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kalbir Posted January 11, 2023 Members Share Posted January 11, 2023 Who's the Boss first two episodes were Thursday 8:30 pm, then moved to Tuesday 8:30 pm. Fall 1985 moved up to Tuesday 8 pm where it took off and ABC Tuesday rebounded. Who's the Boss was ABC's only new show from Fall 1984 to return Fall 1985. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Paul Raven Posted January 11, 2023 Author Members Share Posted January 11, 2023 Who's The Boss ranked 21st in it's first Tuesday episode outranking lead-in Three's a Crowd which was 37th . that was a good showing up against A Team 3rd. As stated 84/85 was peak for nightime soaps but NBC was nowhere to be seen. Maybe Bare Essence and Yellow Rose had put them off. They had Berrengers in the wings but scheduled it for Saturday where Secrets of Midland Heights and Yellow Rose had shown there wasn't much appetite for soaps on Saturday. Maybe they should have placed Berrengers Tues @10 with the strong Riptide lead-in and no real competition. But I guess Remington Steele was doing OK and they didn't want to risk it. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kalbir Posted January 11, 2023 Members Share Posted January 11, 2023 NBC tried primetime soaps with Flamingo Road, Bare Essence, Yellow Rose, Berrengers but none of them worked. It also didn't help that NBC was a mess in primetime for most of the time primetime soaps as a genre was at its peak. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kalbir Posted January 27, 2023 Members Share Posted January 27, 2023 (edited) Heading into Fall 1984 it was all about the big four primetime soaps and big three action shows (The A-Team, Simon & Simon; Magnum, P.I.). Sitcoms were considered creatively exhausted. NBC was a mess in primetime. The Cosby Show comes along and revives sitcoms as a genre and the fortunes of NBC primetime. Right out of the gate The Cosby Show is finishing ahead of the primetime soaps and action shows. Season 1 can be broken down in three tiers when compared to the primetime soaps and action shows. Episodes that did not finish #1 but finished ahead of at least one of the big four primetime soaps or a new episode of at least one of the big three action shows: September 27, 1984: Goodbye, Mr. Fish (episode 2), rating 22.5, 3rd for the week. Finished ahead of Dynasty (September 26: Disappearance (season 5 premiere), rating 22.2), The A-Team (September 25: The Bend in the River, rating 21.7); 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). No Knots Landing on September 27. Dallas (September 28: Killer at Large (season 8 premiere), rating 26.4) was #1 and Falcon Crest (September 28: Requiem (season 4 premiere), rating 23.4) was 2nd. Goodbye, Mr. Fish was repeated December 27, 1984; rating 23.4, 4th for the week. October 4, 1984: Bad Dreams (episode 3), rating 21.9, 5th for the week. Finished ahead of The A-Team (October 2: Fire, rating 21.8), Knots Landing (October 4: Buying Time (season 6 premiere), rating 21.1), Falcon Crest (October 5: Father's Day, rating 20.0); and Magnum, P.I. (October 4: Echoes of the Mind (Part 2), rating 19.4). No Dynasty on October 3. Dallas (October 5: Battle Lines, rating 24.7) was #1 and Simon & Simon (October 4: A Little Wine with Murder, rating 22.0) was 4th. October 11, 1984: Is That My Boy? (episode 4), rating 20.6, 9th for the week. Finished ahead of Magnum, P.I. (October 11: Mac's Back, rating 20.3) and Falcon Crest (October 12: Strangers, rating 18.5). No The A-Team on October 9. No Simon & Simon and Knots Landing on October 11. Dynasty (October 10: The Mortgage, rating 25.1) was 5th and Dallas (October 12: If at First You Don't Succeed, rating 24.0) was 7th. Is That My Boy? was repeated March 7, 1985; rating 28.0, #1. October 18, 1984: A Shirt Story (episode 5), rating 21.3, 7th for the week. Finished ahead of Simon & Simon (October 18: The Dark Side of the Street, rating 21.2); Magnum, P.I. (October 18: The Legacy of Garwood Huddle, rating 20.3); Knots Landing (October 18: Calculated Risks, rating 19.7), and Falcon Crest (October 19: The Outcasts, rating 19.4). Dynasty (October 17: Fallon, rating 26.1) was #1, Dallas (October 19: Jamie, rating 24.6) was 2nd, and The A-Team (October 16: Timber!, rating 24.3) was 3rd. A Shirt Story was repeated January 3, 1985; rating 21.8, 11th for the week. October 25, 1984: Breaking with Tradition (episode 6), rating 21.2, 8th for the week. Finished ahead of Knots Landing (October 25: Hanging Fire, rating 20.5) and Falcon Crest (October 26: Shadows, rating 19.9). Dynasty (October 24: The Rescue, rating 26.3) was #1, Dallas (October 26: Family, rating 25.9) was 2nd, The A-Team (October 23: Double Heat, rating 24.5) was 3rd, Simon & Simon (October 25: Manna From Heaven, rating 24.2) was 4th; and Magnum, P.I. (October 25: Under World, rating 22.2) was 7th. Breaking with Tradition was repeated March 21, 1985; rating 25.9, #1. November 1, 1984: One More Time (episode 7), rating 20.0, 8th for the week. Finished ahead of Knots Landing (November 1: A Little Help, rating 19.2); Magnum, P.I. (November 1: Fragments, rating 18.7); and Simon & Simon (November 1: What Goes Around Comes Around, rating 18.7). Dallas (November 2: Shadow of Doubt, rating 27.1) was #1, Dynasty (October 31: The Trial, rating 24.9) was 2nd, Falcon Crest (November 2: Lord of the Valley, rating 21.9) was 4th, and The A-Team (October 30: Trouble on Wheels, rating 21.2) was 7th. One More Time was repeated January 24, 1985; rating 24.3, 5th for the week. November 8, 1984: Play it Again, Vanessa (episode 8 ), rating 21.2, 7th for the week. Finished ahead of Falcon Crest (November 9: The Intruder, rating 21.1); Magnum, P.I. (November 8: Blind Justice, rating 19.8); and Knots Landing (November 8: Ipso Facto, rating 19.4). No The A-Team on November 6. Dallas (November 9: Homecoming, rating 26.2) was #1, Dynasty (November 7: The Verdict, rating 25.7) was 2nd, and Simon & Simon (November 8: Who Killed the Sixties, rating 21.7) was 6th. Play it Again, Vanessa was repeated April 18, 1985; rating 26.0, #1. November 15, 1984: How Ugly is He? (episode 9), rating 22.5, 6th for the week. Finished ahead of Magnum, P.I. (November 15: Murder 101, rating 21.8); Knots Landing (November 15: Truth and Consequences, rating 20.7), Falcon Crest (November 16: Pain and Pleasure, rating 20.5), and The A-Team (November 13: The Island, rating 20.3). Dallas (November 16: Oil Barons Ball III, rating 26.5) was 2nd, Simon & Simon (November 15: Break a Leg, Darling; rating 23.6) was 4th, and Dynasty (November 14: Amanda, rating 23.5) was 5th. How Ugly is He? was repeated April 11, 1985; rating 27.5, #1. November 22, 1984: Bonjour Sondra (episode 10), rating 16.7, 18th for the week. Finished ahead of Knots Landing (November 22: Love to Take You Home, rating 16.3). Magnum, P.I. was a repeat on November 22. Dynasty (November 21: The Secret, rating 24.3) was 3rd, Dallas (November 23: Shadows, rating 22.6) was 5th, The A-Team (November 20: Showdown!, rating 20.2) was 7th, Simon & Simon (November 22: Almost Completely Out of Circulation, rating 19.5) was 10th, and Falcon Crest (November 23: The Trump Card, rating 18.8) was 11th. December 6, 1984: You're Not a Mother Night (episode 11), rating 23.1, 4th for the week. Finished ahead of Simon & Simon (December 6: Deep Cover, rating 22.6), The A-Team (December 4: The Bells of St. Mary's, rating 21.4); Magnum, P.I. (December 6 - Luther Gillis: File #001, rating 21.0); Falcon Crest (December 7: Going Once, Going Twice; rating 20.7), and Knots Landing (December 6: We Come Together, rating 20.2). Dynasty (December 5: Krystina, rating 25.3) was #1 and Dallas (December 7: Barbecue Five, rating 24.7) was 3rd. December 13, 1984: Rudy’s Sick (episode 12), rating 21.3, 6th for the week. Finished ahead of Simon & Simon (December 13: Revolution #9 1/2, rating 20.6), The A-Team (December 11: Hot Styles, rating 20.5), Falcon Crest (December 14: The Triumvirate, rating 20.4), Knots Landing (December 13: Message in a Bottle, rating 20.3); and Magnum, P.I. (December 13: Kiss of the Sabre, rating 18.4). Dynasty (December 12: Swept Away, rating 26.5) was #1 and Dallas (December 14: Do You Take This Woman, rating 25.2) was 2nd. Rudy's Sick was repeated April 25, 1985; rating 24.6, #1. December 20, 1984: Father’s Day (episode 13), rating 21.7, 6th for the week. Finished ahead of Knots Landing (December 20: Distant Locations, rating 20.9) and Falcon Crest (December 21: Winner Take All, rating 18.4). Magnum, P.I. was a repeat on December 20. Dynasty (December 19: That Holiday Spirit, rating 25.9) was #1, Simon & Simon (December 20: Yes, Virginia, There is a Liberace; rating 23.4) was 3rd, Dallas (December 21: Deja Vu, rating 23.0) was 4th, and The A-Team (December 18: Breakout!, rating 21.8) was 5th. January 10, 1985: Independence Day (episode 14), rating 25.4, 3rd for the week. Finished ahead of The A-Team (January 8: Cup A' Joe, rating 22.6), Falcon Crest (January 11: Insult and Injury, rating 21.8); Magnum, P.I. (January 10: Professor Jonathan Higgins, rating 20.5); and Knots Landing (January 10: #14 With a Bullet, rating 18.6). Simon & Simon was a repeat on January 10. Dallas (January 11: Winds of War, rating 27.8) was #1 and Dynasty (January 9: The Will, rating 27.7) was 2nd. January 17, 1985: Physician of the Year (episode 15), rating 27.9, 3rd for the week. Finished ahead of Dynasty (January 16: The Treasure, rating 27.0), The A-Team (January 15: The Big Squeeze, rating 24.0), Simon & Simon (January 17: Enter the Jaguar, rating 22.5), and Knots Landing (January 17: Inside Information, rating 20.4). Magnum, P.I. was a repeat on January 17. No Dallas and Falcon Crest on January 18. February 21, 1985: Clair’s Case (episode 19), rating 25.1, 3rd for the week. Finished ahead of Dynasty (February 20: The Collapse, rating 24.6), Simon & Simon (February 21: Mummy Talks, rating 22.4), Falcon Crest (February 22: Recriminations, rating 20.2); Magnum, P.I. (February 21: Let Me Hear the Music, rating 18.9); and Knots Landing (February 21: The Emperor's Clothes, rating 18.8). The A-Team was a repeat on February 19. Dallas (February 22: Shattered Dreams, rating 25.8) was #1. Episodes that finished #1 but not all the primetime soaps or new episodes of all the action shows aired those weeks: September 20, 1984: Pilot, rating 21.6. Dynasty was a repeat on September 19. Magnum, P.I. and Simon & Simon were repeats on September 20. No Knots Landing on September 20. No Dallas and Falcon Crest on September 21. Pilot was repeated November 29, 1984; rating 23.2, 7th for the week. February 28, 1985: Back to the Track, Jack (episode 20); rating 27.0. Magnum, P.I. was a repeat on February 28. No Falcon Crest on March 1. March 14, 1985: The Younger Woman (episode 21), rating 28.3. The A-Team was a repeat on March 12. No Simon & Simon and Knots Landing on March 14. March 28, 1985: The Slumber Party (episode 22), rating 30.1 (season high). The A-Team was a repeat on March 26. May 2, 1985: Mr. Quiet (episode 23), rating 25.5. Simon & Simon season 4 finale March 28. Magnum, P.I. season 5 finale April 4. The A-Team was a repeat on April 30. No Dynasty on May 1. May 9, 1985: Cliff’s Birthday (season finale), rating 24.1. No Magnum, P.I. and Simon & Simon on May 9 as their seasons were already completed. Episodes that finished #1 and all the primetime soaps and new episodes of all the action shows aired those weeks: January 31, 1985: Jitterbug Break (episode 16), rating 27.8. February 7, 1985: Theo and the Joint (episode 17), rating 26.1. February 14, 1985: Vanessa’s New Class (episode 18), rating 26.6. On a win-loss basis, The Cosby Show 1984/85 records vs. the primetime soaps and action shows were Knots Landing 20-0 Magnum, P.I. 16-1 Falcon Crest 18-3 The A-Team 13-5 Simon & Simon 12-6 Dynasty 10-11 Dallas 8-14 The tide shifted in 1985/86 when sitcoms made a comeback, primetime soaps tanked, action shows got clobbered, and The Cosby Show (and NBC primetime) became #1. During the remainder of The Cosby Show's run, there were two episodes that finished behind either a primetime soap or an action show. These episodes were April 28, 1988: Gone Fishin' (season 4 finale), rating 23.2. Finished behind Magnum, P.I. (May 1: Resolutions (series finale), rating 32.0). May 2, 1991: Theo and the Kids (Part 2) (season 7 finale), rating 15.2. Finished behind Dallas (May 3: Conundrum (series finale), rating 22.0). I know we don't really talk about The Cosby Show given what we now know about it, but the impact it had in terms of television history, from being the breakout hit of 1984/85 to being a killer show that destroyed everything in its path (time slot wise and overall) from 1985/86 to 1987/88, is still being felt even today. Edited July 28, 2023 by kalbir 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Soapsuds Posted February 1, 2023 Members Share Posted February 1, 2023 Since I'm watching the 1984-1985 seasons of Dallas, Dynasty, Falcon Crest and Knots Landing. December ratings for that season Please register in order to view this content 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Paul Raven Posted February 1, 2023 Author Members Share Posted February 1, 2023 85-86 Season Mon ABC leads early in the season due to football but Kate & Allie/Newhart strong at 9 all season Tues Who's The Boss Top 10 in second season and Growing Pains gives ABC the 8pm timeslot defeating A Team. Wed NBC takes the lead with Highway to Heaven but Dynasty still strong at 9 Thurs NBC has all Thursday sitcoms Top 10 but can't sweep the night as Knots Landing proves itself by beating Hill St Blues to claim 10pm. Fri Dallas wins at 9 but Falcon Crest falls to Miami Vice Sat NBC again with Golden Girls/227 toppling Love boat. Sum CBS sweeps the night as midseason Sunday movie benefits from MSW lead in Out of Top 20 A Team fell #6 to #30 Simon & Simon #7 to #29 Falcon Crest #10 to #24 Crazy Like A Fox #10 to below Top 30 Hotel #10 to below Top 30 Riptide #11 to below Top 30 Magnum #12 to below Top 30 In Golden Girls Ist season Miami Vice 1st season Who's The Boss 2nd season Growing Pains 1st season CBS Sunday Movie ist season You Again late season entry Mon @8 227 ist season 1 The Cosby Show 2 Family Ties 3 Murder, She Wrote 4 60 Minutes 5 Cheers 6 Dallas 7 (Tie) Dynasty 7 (Tie) The Golden Girls 8 Miami Vice 9 Who's The Boss? 10 Night Court 11 CBS Sunday Night Movie 12 Highway to Heaven 13 Kate & Allie 14 NFL Monday Night Football 15 Newhart 16 (Tie) Knots Landing 16 (Tie) Growing Pains 17 You Again? 18 227 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kalbir Posted February 1, 2023 Members Share Posted February 1, 2023 (edited) @Paul RavenCorrection, 1985/86 was Miami Vice second season. 1985/86 was the turning point season of the 1980s. Sitcoms made a comeback, primetime soaps tanked, and action shows got clobbered by counter-programmed sitcoms. The Cosby Show moved up from 3rd to #1 and it was a killer show that destroyed everything in its path (time slot wise and overall). 23 out of 25 episodes finished #1 in the week of their original broadcast, 1 episode finished 2nd, and 1 episode finished 3rd. The Cosby Show once again pulled up the rest of the NBC Thursday comedy block: Family Ties moved up from 5th to 2nd, Cheers moved up from 12th to 5th, Night Court moved up from 20th to 11th. Murder, She Wrote continued to defy expectations and moved up from 8th to 3rd, becoming CBS's highest-rated scripted program and the highest-rated drama across the broadcast networks. Murder, She Wrote finished ahead of all the primetime soaps and action shows, and it even finished ahead of the new hotness Miami Vice. I don't think any CBS primetime viewer back then would've thought that sweet unassuming Angela Lansbury would be the one to knock big bad Larry Hagman off the throne at CBS. The Golden Girls was the breakout hit of the season and it breathed new life into NBC's Saturday lineup. With the Thursday comedy block and The Golden Girls, NBC had the sitcom game on lock for the rest of the decade. Who's the Boss moved to the lead 8 pm time slot for ABC Tuesday and it took off, giving ABC it's first Top 10 comedy since Three's Company. New comedy Growing Pains benefitted from the Who's the Boss lead in and finished in the Top 20 and second season drama Moonlighting (which had moved up from 10 pm to 9 pm) also benefitted from it's new lead ins and finished in the Top 30. ABC Tuesday had rebounded that season. 1985/86 saw NBC move up to #1, CBS drop to 2nd, and ABC once again finish 3rd. With the 1985/86 drop to 2nd, CBS needed to start fixing their lineup. This season they ended one fading and aging drama (Trapper John, M.D.), a drama that showed no signs of growth during its run (Airwolf), and a short-lived drama that couldn't maintain it's initial success due to counter-programming (Crazy Like a Fox). With the drop of Dallas from 2nd to 6th, the Top 10 fallouts of Simon & Simon, Knots Landing, and Falcon Crest, and the Top 30 fallout of Magnum, P.I., CBS should have realized that primetime soaps and action shows were no longer the big genres and given the shows an end date to have enough time to wrap up all their storylines. CBS continued to struggle with sitcoms as 1985/86 was the second consecutive season where they didn't renew any of their new sitcoms. Newhart and Kate & Allie were their only successful sitcoms since the end of the M*A*S*H/Sunday comedy block era and they were being overshadowed by the big NBC and ABC sitcoms. Edited February 16, 2023 by kalbir 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Paul Raven Posted February 4, 2023 Author Members Share Posted February 4, 2023 Thanks for the correction re Miami Vice ABC had an awful season. Apart from Boss/Pains/Moonlighting on Tues every other night was failing. Hardcastle &McCormack was moved to Monday and didn't work there. The Insiders replaced Fall Guy on Wed and failed. Dynasty and Hotel were dropping. The Colbys did not help Thursday The Fri sitcom block was falling,bringing over Diff'rent Strokes was no help Saturday was a disaster with new shows like Hollywood Beat and Lime Street. CBS was competitive Sunday and Monday but Tues Hometwon was another in along line of 8pm failures. Wed Stir Crazy/Charlie& Co/George Burns/Equalizer failed to fire and previous strong nights Thurs and Fri were dropping as was Saturday. NBC were pretty much making all the right moves. The only misfires were Helltown Wed @9 Misfits of Science which failed to strengthen Fri and the much vaunted Amazing stories on Sun. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kalbir Posted February 4, 2023 Members Share Posted February 4, 2023 Remember too that ABC was sold to Capital Cities in 1985 and Brandon Stoddard became president of ABC that year, so the business end was probably affecting the programming end. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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