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

[BetterForgotten]

 

Yes, that opening sticks out, good or not, lol. 

Season 6 was TCS's last season at #1 (tied with Roseanne that season). This was the opening:

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[kalbir]

@soapfan770 You posted the 1988/89 opening. The Cosby Show was still #1 but its dominance was threatened by the breakout success of Roseanne. 1989/90 The Cosby Show and Roseanne tied for #1. 1990/91 Cheers was #1 and The Cosby Show dropped to 5th.

I loved the first four seasons of The Cosby Show. Something felt off during season 5 (then again 1988/89 alot of shows felt off due to after effects of the writers strike and changing times), season 6 I started losing interest (mainly due to Olivia being a replacement for Rudy. In 1989 Keshia Knight Pulliam was 10 years old so her cute kid days had met their natural end and Raven was 4 years old.), and the final two seasons I didn't watch at all in real time except for the series finale (I did see bits and pieces of the final two seasons in reruns. Cousin Pam was a replacement for both Denise (her role was reduced then eliminated) and Vanessa (her role was reduced) plus an attempt to attract the urban audience that was gravitating to the Fox shows.)

[BetterForgotten]

The last 2 seasons were awful with Olivia and Cousin Pam overload. Too much cutesy kid sh!t with Olivia, and Pam had like no reason whatsoever to be on this show. 

In fact, I was so bored by Erika Alexander, and was surprised by how much I enjoyed her on Living Single later. 

[Khan]

LOL!!

Watching that opening sequence, you think, "When did the Huxtables move to the Caribbean," lol.

I agree.

I tend to agree with those who insist that the first season of TCS was its' best.  The writing during that season was sharper and had more purpose.  Subsequent seasons just seemed to be a weekly, half-hour excuse for Bill Cosby to act goofy around kids.

Edited September 20, 2024 by Khan

[BetterForgotten]

Cheers kind of became the anti-timeslot hit. While Cosby brought eye balls to it, it later flourished on its own and had its own unique dedicated following. 

[Khan]

On the whole, I hate TCS' opening sequences, because I'm always sensitive to African-Americans being portrayed as smiling, dancing "colored folks."  It's very "coon show" to me.  I mean, all that's missing from those sequences is the cast chomping down on some fried chicken or watermelon.

Edited September 20, 2024 by Khan

[BetterForgotten]

Would Watermelon Jello count?

Edited September 20, 2024 by BetterForgotten

[Khan]

LOL!!

I can't believe the number of Jell-O Pudding Pops that I ate as a child on account of that sleazy bastard.

[BetterForgotten]

These old commercials are the gift that keeps on giving...

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[soapfan770]

Does TVOne also air A Different World? I haven’t seen that show in several years and don’t know if it’s even streaming or not. 

Yeah although I enjoyed the show in its earlier seasons I never cared for the opening as well. The dancing always came off as awkward to me and unlike other 80’s openings none of them were too memorable except for that strange and unusual 88-89 one I shared. 
 

As @kalbir pointed out the show definitely had a creative decline as it hit the 90’s at which point I myself was watching The Simpsons instead and just causally moved on. 

The Season 8 opening definitely feels like it was trying to be a tv show on Fox instead:

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[Soapsuds]

@soapfan770

A Different World does air on TVOne. The Pilot and season 1 will be shown on Sunday at 6am eastern. It airs the rest of the week at various times.

@BetterForgotten and @Khan

Thanks for the laughs!!

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[soapfan770]

Article on ratings for that week in September 1984, Cosby ended up being #1:

ABC won the prime time ratings for the second...
 

Sept. 25, 1984
 

NEW YORK -- ABC won the prime time ratings for the second consecutive week last week, as the three networks continued to roll out their new offerings for the 1984-85 TV season.

The A.C. Nielsen prime time ratings for the week ending Sept. 23 gave ABC a 15.3 rating and a 27 percent share of the audience, NBC a 14.8 rating with a 26 share and CBS a 14.2 rating with a 25 share.
 

The premiere of the critically acclaimed new situation comedy on NBC 'The Bill Cosby Show' was the No. 1 show of the week, and several other new programs bumped the season's premiere of some of last year's favorites, at least temporarily, off the Top 10 list.

ABC's new show 'Glitter,' which ranked 12th when it premiered the previous week, came in a poor 30th last week, and the network's 'Hawaiian Heat,' which was 7th when it premiered was 14th.

NBC's new 'Punky Brewster,' 38th when it premiered against the runover NFL football game and '60 Minutes' on CBS, slipped to 48th last week.

Other new programs that got off to less than hot starts were CBS's 'Cover-up' (33rd), NBC's 'Partners in Crime' (36th), ABC's 'Who's the Boss' (39th), ABC's 'Finders of Lost Loves' (40th), NBC's 'Hot Pursuit' (50th) and ABC's 'People Do the Craziest Things' (55th).

The new CBS sitcom 'E-R,' starring Elliot Gould plunged from first place the previous week to 51st last week when it was competing with the season's premiere of NBC's hottest show 'The A-Team.'

The Emmy awards program placed 13th.
 

In the evening news category, 'CBS Evening News with Dan Rather' was No. 1 for the 126th consecutive week with a 10.8 rating and a 23 share.

ABC's 'World News Tonight' had a 9.9 rating with a 22 share and 'NBC Nightly News' had an 8.2 rating with an 18 share.

Top 10 prime time shows for the week ending Sept. 23, according to the A.C. Nielsen Co., were:

1. The Bill Cosby Show (NBC)

2. 60 Minutes (CBS)

3. Highway to Heaven (NBC)

4. Hunter (NBC)

5. The A-Team (NBC)

6. NBC Sunday Night Movie (The Enforcer)

7. ABC Sunday Night Movie (Paper Dolls)

8. AfterMASH (CBS)

9. Three's Company (ABC)

10.

The soaps and other dramas didn’t return to air until the following week along with MSW’s premiere:

 

NEW YORK -- CBS won the prime time ratings for the first week of the 1984-85 TV season last week and NBC, long the No. 3 network, came in second, well ahead of ABC.

The A.C. Nielsen prime time ratings for the week ending Sept. 30 gave CBS a 17.5 rating and a 29 percent share of the audience, NBC a 16.1 rating with a 27 share and ABC a 14.5 rating with a 24 share.
 

The CBS win was accomplished chiefly by the strong performance of returning series, with the premieres of 'Dallas' and 'Falcon Crest' at the top of the heap and '60 Minutes' placing sixth. Only one new CBS series 'Murder She Wrote' made the list of the top 10 programs.

NBC's critically acclaimed new situation comedy 'The Bill Cosby Show,' which was the No. 1 show when it premiered the previous week, placed a strong third last week and knocked the premiere of CBS's popular 'Magnum, P.I.' out of its usual place among the 10 most popular programs.

With the strong 'Cosby' lead-in, the season's premiere of NBC's 'Family Ties' also managed to push the premiere of CBS's 'Simon and Simon' off the most popular list.
 

ABC had only one program on the top 10 list, 'Dynasty,' which placed fourth.

Although the networks began showing sneak-preview, pilot specials of the new season's shows as early as three weeks ago, last week was the official start of the new season.

CBS marked the occasion with a miniseries 'Mistral's Daughter,' but the three-part film failed to grab the audience size network's usually hope for with such a production.

Part I of 'Mistral' placed 18th, the viewing audience being split by 'Monday Night Football' on ABC and the NBC movie 'Secrets of a Married Man,' while Part 2 placed 12th, getting zapped by NBC's 'The A-Team.' Part 3 was 25th.

New shows that failed to place among the top 40 list -- a sign of rocky times ahead -- included NBC's 'Miami Vice,' 'Partners in Crime,' 'Hunter' and 'Hot Pursuit'; ABC's 'Paper Dolls,' 'Jessie,' 'Glitter,' 'Call to Glory,' 'Who's the Boss, 'Hawaiian Heat' and 'People Do the Craziest Things,' and CBS's 'E-R.'

In the evening news category, 'CBS Evening News with Dan Rather' was No. 1 with an 11.7 rating and a 24 share. ABC's 'World News Tonight' had a 10.5 rating with a 21 share and 'NBC Nightly News' had an 8.7 rating with an 18 share.

Top 10 prime time shows for the week ending Sept. 30, according to the A.C. Nielsen Co., were:

1. Dallas (CBS)

2. Falcon Crest (CBS)

3. The Bill cosby Show (NBC)

4. Dynasty (ABC)

5. The A-Team (NBC)

6. 60 Minutes (CBS)

7. Cheers (NBC)

8. Family Ties(NBC)

9-10 tie. Murder She Wrote (CBS)

9-10 tie. Knight Rider (NBC)

 

[kalbir]

Here's what happened on the primetime soaps and two rookie hits the week of September 24-30, 1984.

Dallas - Killer at Large (season 8 premiere): Bobby is blinded by a bullet wound. An attempt is made on J.R.'s life. Cliff strikes oil. J.R. realizes the killer is still at large.

Falcon Crest - Requiem (season 4 premiere): The families are united in tragedy as survivors of the plane crash mourn the dead. A new threat to the winery arises.

The Cosby Show - Goodbye, Mr. Fish (episode 2): Cliff arranges a funeral ceremony for Rudy's goldfish.

Dynasty - Disappearance (season 5 premiere): Jeff goes after Fallon and finds her car wrecked from a collision with a truck, but Fallon is nowhere to be found. Alexis has to pay two million dollars bail. Dominique's husband, Brady Lloyd, comes to Denver.

Murder, She Wrote - The Murder of Sherlock Holmes (series premiere): Former English teacher Jessica Fletcher travels to New York to celebrate the success of her debut novel. But when an unwanted guest is murdered by gunfire at a costume party, she wishes she'd stayed home.

No Knots Landing on September 27, 1984.

Edited September 21, 2024 by kalbir

[Paul Raven]

ABC would have killed to have Glitter at #30 and Hawaiian Heat at #14 keep those ratings.

I might compile a list of premiere episodes that scored big ratings pre season and then dropped like a stone.

The network couldn't use the 'the show got lost in the schedule and never had a chance'.

These shows got great ratings and were then soundly rejected.

[soapfan770]

Thanks @kalbir

The highlight of that Dallas episode for me was Afton dumping Cliff LOL. 

I had to smirk a little with the rocky times ahead line with Miami Vice, Who’s The Boss, and Hunter for their initial struggles.

Poor Paper Dolls I always felt that show had promise.

That said…I had to laugh at Glitter bombing in the 9PM Thursday night slot against Cheers, Night Court and Simon & Simon. What a terrible recycled show, and the opening credits lasted longer than some of the actual scenes

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@Paul Raven @Khan