Members Paul Raven Posted February 12, 2022 Author Members Share Posted February 12, 2022 The following week CBS aired People's Choice Awards Thurs 9-11 , filling the Knots timeslot and on Friday Wizard of Oz 8-10, pushing Dallas to 10pm, taking Falcon Crest timeslot. The week after CBS debuted 'The Missippippi' Fri @10 and it was an immediate hit. Thurs @10 saw 'Tucker's Witch' take Knots timeslot. It had bombed earlier in the season Wed @10 and was given another chance. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members soapfan770 Posted February 12, 2022 Members Share Posted February 12, 2022 When exactly did Fischer stop producing the show? I fondly remember it being a Sunday night staple in our household in the late 80's. Then came a slew of episodes of Jessica presenting us with other detective stories and well next thing you know we were watching Fox on Sunday nights instead lol. I think the last actual live run MSW episode I watched was Jessica getting kidnapped by Cuban & Russian smugglers at a book fair in Miami it seemed all seemed so cheesy and comical I flipped over to Lois & Clark instead. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Khan Posted February 12, 2022 Members Share Posted February 12, 2022 (edited) Peter S. Fischer left after the seventh (1990-91) season. David Moessinger ("Quincy," "In the Heat of the Night," "Jake & the Fatman") replaced him for a year as EP/showrunner before Angela Lansbury and her brother, Bruce, took over. According to Fischer, those "bookend episodes," where Jessica would introduce and then wrap up the stories, were created after the fifth season, because Angela complained about the toll that the production schedule was taking on her. All she had to do for those episodes was show up, tape her bits that would, well, bookend the stories, and then go home. People worried that the ratings would suffer, but -- again, according to Fischer -- some episodes actually performed as well as or better than shows where Jessica/Angela was featured all the way through. Nevertheless, when Fischer left the series, they found a way to shorten the production schedule so that Angela could work more regularly, thereby eliminating the need for the "bookend episodes." Unfortunately, I think that happened often on MSW, especially after the Lansbury/Shaws assumed control. There are some episodes during the last four or so seasons that were/are just plain awful. Edited February 12, 2022 by Khan 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members soapfan770 Posted February 12, 2022 Members Share Posted February 12, 2022 Thanks! Years ago I do remember watching MSW reruns on A&E and whenever I saw 90's episodes they clearly weren't up to par in quality. The first MSW movie in '97 flopped in ratings against the X-Files season premiere although CBS did still air additional MSW movies. By that point in time I think CBS' biggest shows were what, Touched by An Angel and Walker Texas Ranger? CBS definitely went threw some growing pains in the 90's. The early '90s bounced back with Murphy Brown, Evening Shade, Northern Exposure and to some extent Picket Fences but as the Tisch years waned on the network really faltered, especially when their biggest night was Saturday nights lol. ABC faltered badly during the Jamie Tarses years that by 2000 both networks were fighting not to fall into fourth place. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Soapsuds Posted February 12, 2022 Members Share Posted February 12, 2022 (edited) I didn't know we had such a huge MSW fan base here. Please register in order to view this content Edited February 12, 2022 by Soapsuds 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Khan Posted February 12, 2022 Members Share Posted February 12, 2022 Let's put it this way: whenever I'm in the mood to watch MSW reruns, if I see I'm coming up on one set in Ireland or anywhere outside the U.S., I run for the proverbial hills. I think so. IIRC, too, "Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman," also on Saturday nights, was one of CBS' few hit series at the time as well -- and even THAT show was aging fast. Reportedly, the network ordered the show's creator/EP/showrunner, Beth Sullivan, to make the show grittier in order to appeal to a younger demographic, which resulted in some really dark and depressing stories in its' last couple seasons. I think a big problem for CBS was that the era of allowing "prestige series" time to flourish and maybe attract an audience had passed, and now it was all about finding the next "Friends" or whatever so that they didn't lose more viewers to cable. That was especially true for "Picket Fences," a show that might have had a bigger impact, had it been on NBC during the previous decade. At its' best, MSW featured tightly constructed plots that reminded you of the best storytelling on soaps. Plus, former and current soap actors were frequently cast in guest roles. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kalbir Posted February 12, 2022 Members Share Posted February 12, 2022 (edited) Lets be real here, CBS was a mess in primetime from 1986/87 season (when Dallas fell out of the Top 10) to 2000/01 season (the start of Survivor and CSI). The only Top 10 drama series CBS had in that era were Murder She Wrote and Touched by an Angel. Sure CBS had these drama series with 3+ season runs that launched between 1985 and 1999: The Equalizer, Beauty and the Beast, Jake and the Fatman, Wiseguy, Tour of Duty, Northern Exposure, Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman, Picket Fences, Walker Texas Ranger, Diagnosis Murder, Chicago Hope, Nash Bridges, JAG, Early Edition, Promised Land, Family Law, Judging Amy, but none of these shows were ratings-grabbers or pop culture phenomenons. Edited March 20, 2022 by kalbir 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Soapsuds Posted February 12, 2022 Members Share Posted February 12, 2022 (edited) 1986-1987 season Week 8 1. Cosby Show 35.6 2. Family Ties 34.6 3. Cheers 29.8 4. Moonlighting 25.9 5. Murder She Wrote 25.8 6. Golden Girls 25.3 7. Who's The Boss 25.2 8. Night Court 25.1 9. Growing Pains 24.8 10. Dallas 23.7 18. Falcon Crest 18.8 29. Dynasty 16.2 47. Knots Landing 14.2 63. The Colbys 10.0 Edited February 12, 2022 by Soapsuds 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Soapsuds Posted February 12, 2022 Members Share Posted February 12, 2022 1986-1987 season Week 11 1. Cosby Show 38.6 2. Family Ties 36.4 3. Cheers 28.4 4. Night Court 26.1 5. Murder She Wrote 24.8 6. Golden Girls 23.6 7. 60 Minutes 22.8 8. Barbara Walters Special 22.2 9. Dallas 21.9 10. Newhart 21.2 18. Falcon Crest 18.4 32. Dynasty 16.7 32. Knots Landing 16.7 Dynasty and Knots Landing tied for 32nd place. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Soapsuds Posted February 12, 2022 Members Share Posted February 12, 2022 1986-1987 season Week 12 1. Cosby Show 36.5 2. Family Ties 33.7 3. Cheers 28.2 4. Night Court 27.7 5. Murder She Wrote 24.2 6. Golden Girls 23.8 7. Smoky Mountain Christmas 23.2 8. 60 Minutes 22.1 9. Anastasia II 20.9 10. Dallas 20.8 26. Knots Landing 17.3 27. Dynasty 17.2 34. Falcon Crest 16.6 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Paul Raven Posted February 12, 2022 Author Members Share Posted February 12, 2022 Maybe someone needs to start a Murder She wrote thread. I wonder how the show would have done with Jean Stapleton in the lead. It would have a totally different feel for sure. MSW saved CBS on Sunday. All their 70's sitcoms found there way to Sunday night-Archie Bunker, Alice, The Jeffersons and One Day at a Time and with the 60 Minutes lead in, they thrived. Any attempts to slip in some new shows to build a hit failed (Gloria, Goodnight Beantown) But they were aging, MSW came along and revitalized Sunday night. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Soapsuds Posted February 12, 2022 Members Share Posted February 12, 2022 1986-1987 season Week 15 1. Murder She Wrote 27.9 2. Golden Girls 27.0 3. Fiesta Bowl 25.1 4. The Sunday Night Movie CBS 23.3 5. 60 Minutes 23.1 6. Growing Pains 21.9 7. Dallas 21.8 8. Who's The Boss 21.7 9. Moonlight 21.6 10. Amen 20.5 11. Knots Landing 18.9 18. Falcon Crest 17.4 34. Dynasty 13.7 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Khan Posted February 13, 2022 Members Share Posted February 13, 2022 That lineup (Archie Bunker's Place/Alice/The Jeffersons/One Day at a Time) was probably CBS' best comedy lineup since the Saturday night one with All in the Family/MASH/The Mary Tyler Moore Show/The Bob Newhart Show/The Carol Burnett Show. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Paul Raven Posted February 13, 2022 Author Members Share Posted February 13, 2022 It's always difficult when there is such a solid lineup for the network to know when to make changes that will revitalize the night before it fades. CBS moved MASH but had the Jeffersons ready to fill the gap. Then AITF was moved till 9pm Mondays and Jeffersons took over at 8pm. But the night was weakened by Doc at 8.30. And when MTM departed things went awry. Bob Newhart was moved to 8 and Jeffersons to 9pm with We've Got Each Other at 8.30 and Tony Randall at 9.30 and suddenly CBS Saturday was severely weakened .It took years for them to be competitive. ABC launched LoveBoat/Fantasy Island and NBC had a rare hit at 8pm with Chips. Maybe CBS should have put Betty White at 9pm Sat instead of Mon. That show started strong on Monday but soon weakened and was cancelled. Has anyone seen it? Was it any good? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Soapsuds Posted February 13, 2022 Members Share Posted February 13, 2022 (edited) 1983-1984 season Week 3 1. After Mash 31.0 2. Dallas 27.5 3. Dynasty 27.2 4. Hotel 26.1 5. Falcon Crest 23.4 6. Simon & Simon 23.3 7. The A-Team 23.0 8. Love Boat 22.7 9. Magnum P.I. 22.7 10. Fall Guy 22.4 12. Knots Landing 21.0 Edited February 13, 2022 by Soapsuds 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.