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

[j swift]

As I recall That's Incredible owed 80% of its success to ithe voice over/promo guy.  I don't know if it was ABC's Ernie Anderson or some other VO artist, but they could make the most banal story about someone who could fit into a small box seem like the most fascinating thing on the planet.

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Edited March 10, 2022 by j swift

[Khan]

It DOES sound like Ernie Anderson.

[BingCherry]

CBS moved Knots to 9pm at the beginning of the season opposite Cheers; even though they ended up moving it back to 10pm before the end of the year, that led to a sizable ratings drop and it didn't really recover that season.

Edited March 10, 2022 by BingCherry

[Soapsuds]

Ah thanks! That explains it. I had forgotten this. That's why CBS aired Knots season premiere the week before most of the season premieres from NBC.

[Soapsuds]

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[Khan]

I knew CBS had moved up KL's timeslot, but I didn't know which year.

Thanks, @BingCherry!

[Paul Raven]

CBS moved KL to 9pm on 2 occasions

Fall 1981 up against Barney Miller/Taxi on ABC and Diff'rent Strokes/Gimme A Break on NBC'

The new 10 pm show Jessica Novak flopped and Knots went back to 10pm

Fall 1986 up against The Colbys on ABC and Cheers/Night Court on NBC

Again the new 10 pm show Kay O'Brien flopped and Knots moved back to 10pm

Maybe the lesson for CBS is not to name a new show after after the title female character.

[Soapsuds]

Don't recall any of those shows. The two times Knots was moved really hurt them in the ratings. The highest Knots could muster in the fall of 81 was #30 in the ratings.

[Khan]

The exact same thing happened to "Murder, She Wrote."  As long as CBS kept them on Sundays at 8/7c, the show was a powerhouse.  But, the minute Les Moonves moved it to Thursdays (because it skewed too old and he wanted it gone), the ratings sank like a stone.

KL worked for most viewers at 10:00.  It was their opportunity to unwind and watch something enjoyable before their local news or bed.  That's what you call "appointment television."

[Soaplovers]

One of the reasons KL survived into the 90s was because of that timeslot of Thursday 10 PM.

It was a consistent 2nd place in the time slot from the 87 to 93, plus their ratings didn't decline from their lead in (in fact, in the 1988 to 1989 seas9n..their ratings were a lot higher than any show CBS placd in the 9 PM time slot).

 

[kalbir]

CBS should have placed Angela Lansbury front and center in these promos as she was basically carrying their primetime lineup at this point.

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[Soapsuds]

1981-1982 season

 

 

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Edited March 13, 2022 by Soapsuds

[Paul Raven]

Seeing that Suzanne Somers special on CBS - did CBS sign here after leaving 3's Company?

I recall 2 pilots 'She's the Sheriff' and 'Suzie Mahoney' both I think for CBS that weren't picked up.

'She's the Sheriff' ended up as a syndicated sitcom.

[Franko]

Yes, that's correct, Paul, Suzanne had signed with CBS. She was scheduled to start production on her comeback series (playing a flight attendant, not sure if this was "Suzie") the day after the first special aired. It ended up not making it to the 1982-83 season. Suzanne claims that ABC put pressure on CBS, saying they couldn't reuse any of the Chrissy Snow characterization. Which you would think would inspire the writers to want to come up with something different for Suzanne, but I digress. Anyway, in the end, Suzanne ended up having two annual specials ('82 and '83) before she moved on.

And here's most of that first special ...

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Also on YouTube is the pilot to Goodbye, Charlie, from 1985. It's okay, with Suzanne as a womanizer reincarnated as a woman and John Davidson as his/her best friend. The premise dates back to the original Broadway play starring Lauren Bacall and the subsequent Debbie Reynolds movie, but the physical comedy definitely wouldn't be out of place on Three's Company and for whatever reason, I'm getting a Daryl Hannah in Splash kind of vibe.

(I certainly didn't expect to be talking so much about Suzanne Somers tonight, but here we are.)

 

[Khan]

"She's the Sheriff" was a reworking of an earlier pilot, called "Cass Malloy," starring Caroline McWilliams (ex-Janet, GL).

Wow, what was going on on "Little House" for it to land at No. 2 that week?