Jump to content

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


Paul Raven

Recommended Posts

  • Replies 974
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Top Posters In This Topic

Posted Images

  • Members

The week of the 'Who Shot JR? reveal. Nov 1980

1. Dallas CBS 53.3/76 

2. Dukes of Hazzard 32.0/48 2

3. 60 Minutes 29.8/45 

4. Three's Company 26.3/39 

5. Alice 26.1/36 

6. Jefferson  26.1/36 

7. One Day at a Time  25.7/36 

8. Happy Days 25.4/37 

9. Too Close for Comfort  25.1/37 

10. Love Boat 25.0/39 24.7/36 

11. Archie Bunker's Plan 24.7/36 

12. Laverne & Shirley 24.7/36 

13. MASH 23.8/33 

14. Little House on the Prairie 23.8/33 

15. The Enforcer (movie)23.4/34 

16. Skyward (movie) 22.0/34 

17. Trapper John MD. (Premiere) 21.8133 

18. Hart to Hart 21.7/34 21.5/33 ABC 21.3/35

19. Kenny Rogers Special 21.5/33 ABC 21.3/35

20. NFL Monday Night Football(Raiders v. Seahawks) 21.3/35 

Edited by Paul Raven
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

One would think action shows and primetime soaps would have entirely different audiences yet CBS's Thursday lineup of Magnum, P.I., Simon & Simon, and Knots Landing, and Friday lineup of The Dukes of Hazzard, Dallas, Falcon Crest somehow worked. The action shows weakened and eventually ended (The Dukes of Hazzard) or moved elsewhere in the schedule before ending (Magnum, P.I., Simon & Simon) and the replacement lead ins to the primetime soaps never really worked. Dallas' longest lasting lead in after The Dukes of Hazzard was Beauty and the Beast (1987/88 and 1988/89) and Knots Landing's longest lasting lead in after Simon & Simon was Street Stories with Ed Bradley (1991/92 and 1992/93).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

1986-1987

Week 10

 

Please register in order to view this content

I've noticed for the most part that knots struggled during this season. Was this season that bad? I don't recall it being that bad.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Here's that season's rundown (courtesy of wikipedia).  No, it wasn't one of their better seasons, lol.  

Karen's kidnapper is revealed to be Phil Harbert (guest star Louis Giambalvo), an old friend of Greg and Mack's from law school, who had become bitter towards Mack, having blamed him for causing the death of his wife. Karen escapes and Phil is killed after being hit by a car. Ben returns to Valene, promising to make their marriage work but faces problems from Jean Hackney (Wendy Fulton), who tries to trick Ben into doing a mission for an underground organization to kill Greg. When Valene's babies are threatened, Ben reluctantly agrees to assist Jean. With Mack's help, Ben foils the plan, although Jean continues to threaten him and his family which prompts Ben to leave the country at the end of the season. Laura angrily blames Valene for not telling her about the plot to kill Greg. Laura also tells Greg that she is pregnant, but he is not enthusiastic about it, and she refuses to have an abortion. In the meantime, Paige reveals that she faked her death in order to escape the control of her wealthy grandparents, although Karen doubts the story, believing her to be an impostor. Also, Paige had developed a romantic relationship with Michael, Karen's son, but she soon tires of him and starts romancing Peter. Abby's daughter Olivia's drug addiction has worsened, eventually leading to the injuring of Lilimae in a car accident, and Abby resorts to desperate measures to get her clean. When her drug dealer beats up her younger brother Brian, Olivia finally admits to her addiction and decides to get clean. Olivia then becomes friends with Peter, and develops a crush on him, although he is interested in Paige. Peter, having become state senator with Greg's support, goes to the extreme to hide the fact that Jill is his sister, who has started a relationship with Gary. When Jill and Peter have an argument, Jill is injured in a fall from and Peter flees the scene to avoid any link to her or the accident. Paige's mother, Anne Matheson (Michelle Phillips), whom Paige had said was dead, appears and tries to rekindle her love affair with Mack. When Mack refuses her advances, she turns her attention to Greg, who also turns her down, and she therefore leaves town. At the end of the season, Abby finds Olivia standing over Peter's dead body. With both assuming the other had killed Peter, Abby frantically buries his body under the soil at Lotus Point where cement is to be poured the following day. Some weeks later, believing she had successfully hid Peter's body, Abby is informed by Karen that there is a crack in the cement foundations and that it has to be pulled up and redone.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Unfortunately, your content contains terms that we do not allow. Please edit your content to remove the highlighted words below.
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.



  • Recent Posts

    • Please register in order to view this content

       
    • First, let me say I love reading all of your takes and thoughts. They always provide a different point of view... a breath of fresh air... in this sometimes stuffy topic. 

      Please register in order to view this content

      You've inspired me to add my 2 cents about this product placement debacle.  I absolutely HATE the way they are doing product placement in BTG. I really hope this doesn't catch on or evolve into more and more of these moments. It's incredibly off-putting to place them in a highly dramatic moment where we are still on the emotional journey with the character. What is next - Dani spraying the house while having a nervous breakdown? It makes me not want to buy the product they're selling. LOL. That's just me.   
    • I always get the vibe that Martin/Smitty have an emotional abusive relationship set up... but I doubt the show will really go there with that element given that Martin is a Dupree (and we can't have the Duprees be portrayed in a negative light), and because it's a gay male relationship.   Even though abuse in the physical or emotional sense is a huge thing in a lot of gay and lesbian relationships. The Ashley/Naomi scene reads off to me for one reason....  Ashley was talking about the new scandal without any sort of mention and/or subtext.. considering she knew both Silk Press Sheila and Eva.  I'm not sure if the writers have forgotten, if Jen Jacobs isn't able to play subtext, or what.   It's just apparent the writers do not know how to write a young white millennial couple.. and perhaps they need to get a younger white script writer to be on staff... or let the actors play around with the lines to make them more natural/realistic.
    • This is as good a time as any to point out that the 90 minute show was, what I like to call  "cockamamie idea" of Fred Silverman, head of NBC Daytime Programming. He did so well at ABC & CBS but not so NBC. We learned this from a WOST interview with Pete Lemay, 2006, can be found on YouTube, audio only. Now, to be clear, Rauch was completely behind it. Only Lemay fought against it & eventually quit over it.   
    • She was so wonderful. Glad your handle has been a tribute to her.
    • Hopefully Alan has learned to not interrupt or interject with pointless information while someone is in the middle of telling a story. I almost think it would be better if Alan was a producer behind the scenes.. and he just had the actors on screen talking and asking one another questions.  Those interviews tend to work better.
    • It was only recently announced that Denise Alexander passed away on March 5, 2025. She was my all time favorite actress and role model. She will be dearly missed.  Denise Alexander, ‘General Hospital' and ‘Days of Our Lives' Actress, Dies at 85
    • Hopefully Alan will actually read the book beforehand.
    • https://x.com/RaisedOnGH/status/1632759410886950916  
    • Am I the only one who immediately thinks of this every time someone mentions Smitty?   

      Please register in order to view this content

      Please register in order to view this content

       
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy