Jumping ahead to March 1989 we have Roseanne winning at #1. Interesting to see Anything But Love here so high. Another example of a timeslot hit with a known star this case Jamie Lee Curtis. Looks like the CBS soaps had all taken the week off due to basketball:

2 minutes ago, soapfan770 said:

Jumping ahead to March 1989 we have Roseanne winning at #1. Interesting to see Anything But Love here so high. Another example of a timeslot hit with a known star this case Jamie Lee Curtis. Looks like the CBS soaps had all taken the week off due to basketball:

Believe it or not, I really enjoyed "Anything But Love" and wish it were out on DVD or streaming. Even if they seemed to revamp that show at the start of every [!@#$%^&*] season, lol.

31 minutes ago, soapfan770 said:

Jumping ahead to March 1989 we have Roseanne winning at #1.

Roseanne was a repeat on March 21, 1989. The Cosby Show was a repeat on March 23, 1989.

Roseanne was the breakout hit of 1988/89 and the first show to threaten The Cosby Show dominance.

1988/89 four new episodes of Roseanne finished ahead of new episodes of The Cosby Show. These episodes were

March 7, 1989: The Slice of Life, rating 27.7, #1. The Cosby Show (March 9: It Comes and It Goes, rating 25.3) was 2nd.

March 14, 1989: Workin' Overtime, rating 26.1, #1. The Cosby Show (March 16: Theo's Women, rating 24.2) was 2nd.

April 11, 1989: Death and Stuff, rating 25.4, #1. The Cosby Show (April 13: A Room with No View, rating 23.0) was 2nd.

May 2, 1989: Let's Call it Quits (season 1 finale), rating 23.8, #1. The Cosby Show (May 4: Day of the Locusts, rating 21.7) was 2nd.

1 hour ago, kalbir said:

Roseanne was the breakout hit of 1988/89 and the first show to threaten The Cosby Show dominance.

I think that happened for two reasons:

1) By 1988/89, the "Cosby kids" were getting older (and less adorable) and the show itself was becoming...how do I put this?...boring. It's great that Cosby wanted to avoid standard half-hour comedy tropes in order to capture realism in regards to family life, but there are episodes where literally nothing happens. Compare that to "A Different World," which was becoming more political by the episode, and would even come to out-perform TCS in the years to come.

2) Also, by 1988/89, America was coming down from the cocaine-and-greed-fueled Reagan years and realizing just how much the administration had crippled our country's middle and working classes.

The Huxtables represented the kind of family many wished they had, but in 1988/89, the Conners represented the kind of family they actually were.

h

3 hours ago, soapfan770 said:

Jumping ahead to March 1989 we have Roseanne winning at #1. Interesting to see Anything But Love here so high. Another example of a timeslot hit with a known star this case Jamie Lee Curtis. Looks like the CBS soaps had all taken the week off due to basketball:

Only Dynasty aired that week. Knots Landing, Dallas, and Falcon Crest were preempted by March Madness.

Mon

ABC MacGyver #33 Movie 'Women of Brewster Place' Pt 2 #2

CBS Live In @8 #41 Heartland @8.30 #44 Murphy Brown @9 #32 Designing Women @9.30 #29 Newhart @10 #37 Kate & Allie @10.30 #47

NBC Alf @8 #12 Hogan Family @8.30 #19 Movie Desperado : Avalanche at Devil's Ridge #46

Tues

ABC Who's The Boss #4 Wonder Years #5 Roseanne #1 Anything But Love #11 Thirtysomething #25

CBS Tour of Duty #60 Movie Purple Hearts #67

NBC Highway to Heaven special ep #43 Heat of the Night #23 AFI Awards #48

Wed

ABC Growing Pains #14 Head of Class # 15 Coach #42 Hooperman #51 China Beach #53

CBS Hard Times on Planet Earth #63 Jake/Fatman #27 Wiseguy #45

NBC Unsolved Mysteries #18 Night Court #22 My 2 Dads #35 Nightingales #39

Thurs

ABC Family Classic Shaggy Dog #68 Dynasty #56 Heartbeat #69

CBS Basketball Pregame #64 Game 355

NBC Cosby #3 Day by Day special #7 Cheers #8 Dear John #16 LA Law #10

Fri

ABC Perfect Strangers #38 Full House #24 Mr Belvedere #28 Ten of Us #34 20/20 #26

CBS Basketball #52 #54

NBC Peter Pan (1st time airing in 16 years) # 21 Super Bloopers #49

Sat

ABC Mission Impossible #66 Man Called Hawk #65 Men #71

CBS Bugs Bunny #58 TV101 #76 West 57th #70

NBC Bob Hope #36 Golden Girls #6 Empty Nest #9 Hunter #20

FOX Reporters #74 Cops #72 Beyond Tomorrow #78

Sun

ABC The Ten Commandments #31

CBS 60 Minutes #13 Murder She Wrote #17 Crazy Like a Fox Movie #40

NBC Disney #62 Quantum Leap movie #30

FOX 21 Jump St #73 Americas Most wanted #59 Married W/Children #57 Garry Shandling #75 Tracey Ullman #77 Duet #79

Edited Friday at 04:46 AM2 days by Paul Raven

On 3/26/2026 at 9:21 PM, Khan said:

By 1988/89, the "Cosby kids" were getting older (and less adorable) and the show itself was becoming...how do I put this?...boring.

1988/89 was the writer's strike delayed season and so many shows felt off.

1988 Keshia Knight Pulliam was 9 years old so she was still the cute kid. It was the following season that her cute kid days met their natural end thus we got Raven.

On 3/26/2026 at 9:21 PM, Khan said:

Also, by 1988/89, America was coming down from the cocaine-and-greed-fueled Reagan years and realizing just how much the administration had crippled our country's middle and working classes.

The Huxtables represented the kind of family many wished they had, but in 1988/89, the Conners represented the kind of family they actually were.

Roseanne was the anti-Reagan era family sitcom and it's success was a sign of the times.

Those Bob Hope specials were ratings dynamite throughout the 60's and 70's but lost their appeal as the 80's wore on as evidenced by being scheduled on Sat @8. Bob won the timeslot but #36....

When did his last special air? I wonder how much interest there was from both sides by this stage?

5 hours ago, Paul Raven said:

Those Bob Hope specials were ratings dynamite throughout the 60's and 70's but lost their appeal as the 80's wore on as evidenced by being scheduled on Sat @8. Bob won the timeslot but #36....

When did his last special air? I wonder how much interest there was from both sides by this stage?

Bob's last special, explicitly promoted as his last, aired in November 1996. By that point, he was averaging 1-2 specials a year, usually a Christmas one and a birthday one. There was a special in 2003 to celebrate his turning 100, but that was just a straight best of.

...

Was DALLAS done for the season, or just preempted that week?

Every time I see these old ratings reports, and I see how high "Murder, She Wrote" is on the list compared to the rest of CBS' primetime lineup, it just makes me angry all over again knowing how Les Moonves dismissed the show to a night he knew it could not win just to get rid of it.

Edited 3 hours ago3 hr by Khan

Dallas was preempted for a Kenny Rogers special which only ranked #38.

2 minutes ago, Soapsuds said:

Dallas was preempted for a Kenny Rogers special which only ranked #38.

Oof, that brings to mind all those "Gambler" movies he made. Talk about not knowing when to fold.

@Soapsuds Week ending March 29, 1987 had lots of repeats: The Cosby Show, Family Ties, The Golden Girls, Growing Pains; Murder, She Wrote; Moonlighting, Who's the Boss. Dallas was off that week.

Here's what happened on the other big NBC comedies and the soaps that week:

Cheers - Norm's First Hurrah (March 26): Norm brags about getting a lucrative job with a prestigious Boston accounting firm. However, everyone at the bar soon learn first-hand that Norm might have overstated the situation.

Dynasty - The Dress (March 25): Suspicions about Adam continue to grow after he calls off the wedding. Sammy Jo and Steven give in to their passionate desires for each other, whilst Blake feels Sarah's attachment to Krystina is getting way out of hand.

Night Court - Here's to You, Mrs. Robinson (March 25): Harry tries to administer the oath of citizenship to Quon Le before she gives birth.

Knots Landing - Deadly Combination (March 26): Anne connives to be with Mack. Laura refuses to speak to Val. Ben has a security system put in the house.

The Colbys - The Dead End (March 25): Jason hopes to settle a score. Sable believes she's close to winning Jason back. Kolya and Bliss announce wedding plans. Zach plots with Phillip.

Falcon Crest - Cold Hands (March 27): Tony and Lance face murder charges. Maggie and Chase find out who adopted their baby.

The Colbys - Crossroads (series finale; March 26): Phillip kidnaps Francesca. Channing opposes the pregnancy. Sable tries to keep Scott in California. Fallon becomes mesmerized.

3 hours ago, Khan said:

Every time I see these old ratings reports, and I see how high "Murder, She Wrote" is on the list compared to the rest of CBS' primetime lineup, it just makes me angry all over again knowing how Les Moonves dismissed the show to a night he knew it could not win just to get rid of it.

Les Moonves straight up sabotaged Murder, She Wrote.