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

[SFK]

My heart! I watched this when it first aired as a child and many many times since then. I didn't remember it being only two nights, probably because of the loads of commercials when it's reaired on BET. But even moreso, because of the sweeping story itself that plays out over decades. 

Does anyone remember the short-lived series? @DRW50 posted about Ketty Lester yesterday and she had a memorable guest appearance. I've seen some bootleg versions available online, I'd like to revisit it.

[kalbir]

Also add

CBS

Master of the Game: February 19-21, 1984; 9 hours

Mistral's Daughter: September 24-26, 1984; 8 hours

Robert Kennedy and His Times: January 27-29, 1985; 7 hours

Fresno: November 16-20, 1986; 6 hours

I'll Take Manhattan: March 1-4, 1987; 8 hours

Lonesome Dove: February 5-8, 1989; 8 hours

NBC

Marco Polo: May 16-19, 1982; 10 hours

A.D.: March 31-April 4, 1985; 12 hours

Peter the Great: February 2-5, 1986; 8 hours

Noble House: February 21-24, 1988; 8 hours

[Paul Raven]

Amerika managed a 19.0/29 for 14 and 1/2 hours.ABC was in 3rd place for the week.

Pt 1 Sun 24.7/38 #7

Pt 2 Mon 20.9/31 #9

pt 3 Tues 17.7/26  #25 beaten by CBS Miss USA #7

Pt 4  Wed 17.8/28 #24

Pt 5 Thurs 15.6/23 #41 beaten by LA Law #10 Knots Landing # 32

Pt 6  Fri 15.4/24 #44 beaten by Dallas #16 Falcon Crest #28

Pt 7  Sun 19.6/30 #13 beaten by 90 min Murder She Wrote #4

 

Edited February 6, 2023 by Paul Raven

[Soapsuds]

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[Paul Raven]

Two flop mini series in that list

Fresno, the Carol Burnett sendup which dived after the first episode and Monte Carlo,Joan Collins' second and final mini series. The first Sins did well, but no such luck 2nd time around. Joan's moment was coming to an end.

Poor Lucy, a sad ending to her career. She should have taken a leaf out of Angela's book and played a nosy amateur sleuth in a comedy mystery.

[soapfan770]

I thought Fresno was well-received as remember watching it on YouTube many years ago but as it was a parody I suppose it probably didn’t attract the attention of the most famous epic mini series dramas.

For sure I don’t think Lucille Ball fully understood her style hadn’t evolved and wasn’t up to par with the times. Neither Ball or Gale Gordon needed to star in a physical comedy at their age, and trying to use the same writers from the Lucy Show and Here’s Lucy was doomed from the start as was Spelling relinquishing full control. Maybe Ball should have done a short stint on Falcon Crest in 1986 instead as that was the height of the show’s parade of Hollywood Golden Age stars coming and going.

[kalbir]

AFAIK Fresno is the only comedy mini series ever attempted.

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[Contessa Donatella]

I'm sure you're correct. My first thought was well SOAPDISH ... movie. Next thought TOOTSIE ... movie. Heheh I just found it hilarious. 

[Paul Raven]

Re Fresno

After a solid start on Sunday #13 following MSW #5 , it was downhill for the rest of the week.

Part 2 Mon #36 15.2/22 beaten by NBC Family Ties special # 8 24.5/36 and Alf #13 21.5/31

Part 3 Tues # 50 12.8/19 beaten by ABC Who's The Boss #12 21.7/33 and Growing Pains #11 22.2/33

Part 4 Wed # 52  12.5/24 beaten by NBC Highway to Heaven # 41 14.5/22 and ABC Head of the Class #47 13.5/21

Part 5 # 51 12.6/18 beaten by Cosby #1 34.7/50 and Family Ties #2 32.0/46

Not sure what CBS expectations were. Running an hour a night at 8pm was not the traditional format for a mini series but I guess as it was unique in content and scheduling.

[soapfan770]

Wow thanks for sharing the exact details.

Mini series were always weird affairs to me growing up I definitely remember being forced to watch The Day After repeats and Lonesome Dive as a family. By the 1990’s miniseries were such sorry affairs lol. CBS did a multi day Gone with the Wind sequel with Timothy Dalton and offered up a Titanic miniseries ahead of Titanic. ABC did a lot of Stephen King stuff and a Cleopatra series, while NBC pretty much mimicked whatever blockbuster was about to come out for the two part Sunday & Monday night movies save for 1997’s The Odyssey which I still like to this day. 

LOL only thing is I couldn’t imagine what Wyman and Ball would have thought about each other although both had worked as Goldwyn Girls together in the 1930s 

[kalbir]

I loved those big 1980s mini series based on best-selling novels. Agree that by the 1990s mini series were mostly a sad state. One memorable 1990s mini series you didn't mention, Alex Haley's Queen.

You are killing me 

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[Paul Raven]

Lucy had success with her first TV movie 'Stone Pillow', in Nov 85 playing a bag lady. It ranked #9 for the week up against North & South Part 2 which was #8. So the public was interested in seeing Lucy in a different type of role.

The Golden Girls made Lucy look even more out of date. Instead of doing the same thing again, she should have tried a different format.

Imagine her as a snoopy older woman, maybe with a police officer son/daughter stumbling into crimes.There would be room for some Lucy shtick as she goes undercover/ gets herself in over her head but tailored for her age and showing off some of the dramatic chops she honed in the 30's and 40's.

[BetterForgotten]

It was said Lucy took the failure of ‘Life With Lucy’ quite personally and it effected her though her death at the end of that decade. Ultimately, it was her who insisted on employing the same creative team she had pretty much worked with since the 50’s and playing a variation of the same character. That failure definitely rested with her.

Lucy was a strange one though - it seemed she publicly supported sitcoms that weren’t cut from the same cloth as hers (like Three’s Company and Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman) and green lit her production company producing Star Trek, but she was always afraid to step out of her comfort zone whenever she led a series. Perhaps the widespread critical and box office failure of her starring turn as Auntie Mame (played by Angela Lansbury in a Tony winning performance on Broadway) soured her from trying newer things in big projects in her latter years.

[DRW50]

Lucy should have just retired, aside from game show or talk show appearances. Her efforts in the '70s and '80s were beneath her (Stone Pillow may have been more of a success but it further wrecked her health). She probably should have tried being a game show host, or producing a game show, as she loved them. It's just that she was, supposedly, incredibly lonely at home, so kept trying and trying.

[Paul Raven]

North & South was a biggie for ABC in Nov 85 All episodes in the Top 10. ABC won the week.

Part 1 Sun #4 25.6/37

Part 2 #8 Tues 23.6/34

Part 3 #4 Wed 28.0/42

Part 4 #7 Thurs 26.6/38

Part 5 #10 Sat 23.2/37

Part 6 #2 Sun 29.4/42

It won every time period except the final hour of Part 2 which lost to the Lucille Ball movie Stone Pillow on CBS.

The Tues and Wed eps played in time periods ABC was already strong in but on Thurs it beat Cheers, Night Court and Hill St Blues and Sat Golden Girls,227 and Hunter

Oddly they skipped Fri night giving Dallas and Falcon Crest a free run.