Jump to content

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


Paul Raven

Recommended Posts

  • Members

In a way, I think pitting “Knight Rider” against “Dallas” on Friday nights was smart counter-programming.  On the one hand, I’m sure a lot of male viewers enjoyed watching Larry Hagman/J.R.  But, on the other hand, there might’ve been just as many men out there who weren’t comfortable with watching a soap opera.  For those viewers, therefore, KR was a perfect antidote.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 969
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Top Posters In This Topic

Posted Images

  • Members
Posted (edited)

Knight Rider scheduling

1982/83: Friday 9 pm, head-to-head w/ Dallas. No episode finished ahead of Dallas. Final rating below the Top 30, but renewed for season 2.

1983/84: Sunday 8 pm. Final rating 25th, tied w/ CBS Tuesday Movie, Webster (first season), Alice, Hardcastle and McCormick (first season).

1984/85: Sunday 8 pm, head-to-head w/ Murder, She Wrote (first season). September 30, 1984 Knight Rider season 3 premiere tied w/ Murder, She Wrote series premiere. Final rating below the Top 30.

1985/86: September-December 1985 Friday 8 pm. January-April 1986 Friday 9 pm, head-to-head w/ Dallas. No episode at Friday 9 pm finished ahead of Dallas. Final rating below the Top 30. Cancelled.

Edited by kalbir
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Here's what happened on the soaps and two rookie hits the week of March 11-17, 1985.

The Cosby Show - The Younger Woman (episode 21, March 14, rating 28.3, #1): Cliff's widowed friend has found a new girlfriend who is young enough to be his daughter.

Dynasty - Photo Finish (March 13, rating 24.2, 2nd): Sammy Jo is revealed as the person behind the incriminating photos being sent to Krystle and Blake. Prince Michael asks Amanda to marry him. Sammy Jo meets a woman who looks very much like Krystle.

Dallas - The Verdict (March 15, rating 22.7, 5th): Ewing 17 is shut down for contaminating drinking water. Jamie rebuffs Cliff's advances. A verdict is handed down in Jenna's trial.

Murder, She Wrote - Murder Takes the Bus (episode 19, March 17, rating 22.4, 6th): Jessica and Sheriff Amos Tupper are on their way to Portland when the sheriff's car breaks down. Anxious to reach their destination, they take a bus - not knowing that a killer is on board. This episode was the first time Murder, She Wrote finished right behind Dallas and at the time it was the smallest ratings point separation between the two (0.3).

Falcon Crest - The Trial (March 15, rating 17.6, 20th): Richard bribes the judge presiding over Lance's trial. Melissa considers hiring a surrogate mother. Melissa's cousin Robin arrives.

No Knots Landing on March 14.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

You could tell Dallas ratings were already slipping due to too much focus on Jenna and Bobby, and JR sending Pam on another wild goose chase to find Mark.

 

"Murder Takes a Bus" is one of my all-time favorite Murder, She Wrote episodes. I'm not surprised it did so well.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members
Posted (edited)

@Soapsuds I broke down Dallas 1984/85 ratings in its thread. There was a ratings drop starting March 1985.

Five weeks after "Murder Takes the Bus" was broadcast, Murder, She Wrote would shock the world.

Edited by kalbir
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

I'm not surprised either.  "Bus" has all the hallmarks of first-season MSW: a veritable feast of guest stars (Michael Constantine, Rue McClanahan, Larry Linville, David Wayne, Linda Blair, Terence Knox, Albert Salmi, Don Stroud), an ominous-feeling locale (a roadside diner during a violent thunderstorm at night) and one of the most ingenious solutions you'll come across in the show's entire history.  

Kristin Shepard might have shot J.R., but Jessica Fletcher was the lady who killed DALLAS (with an able assist from none other than Steve Urkel, lol).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

1985/86 Murder, She Wrote beat Dallas to become CBS's highest-rated scripted show. Also 1985/86 Murder, She Wrote beat Dynasty to become the highest-rated drama across the broadcast networks.

We think of Angela Lansbury as sweet and unassuming but she knocked big bad Larry Hagman off the throne at CBS and beat the diva of all divas of 1980s primetime soaps Joan Collins. That's just straight up savage. 

Even though Angela beat Joan in the ratings, Joan showed love to Angela on social media when Angela passed away. That was very classy of Joan to do so.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members
Posted (edited)

And she (and everyone else at MSW) did it without resorting to violence or melodrama, too.  Just good, old-fashioned, thinking-person's mysteries.  

Edited by Khan
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...
  • Members

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/denis-arndt-dead-heisenberg-david-e-kelley-shows-1236175515/

The recent passing of Arndt reminded me of Annie McGuire, a few episodes of which are on Youtube. This isn't a bad show, but beyond this premise (liberal wife/conservative husband) rarely working for viewers in such explicit terms, I wonder how much Mary Tyler Moore at this point in her career was hurt by people just seeing her as Mary Tyler Moore. That the very first episode is so heavily about a guest character (who is more compelling than any of the regulars) kind of says it all.

Please register in order to view this content

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Definitely. Knight Rider was by no means a hit in it's first season but did better against Dallas than anything previously. But NBC were short of hits and Chips was flailing on Sun night so NBC moved it there and it finished #29.

NBC tried to counter Dallas with Manimal but it bombed. They must have hoped the kids would have taken to it like KR.

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

    • Ohh, interesting. I instantly gravitated towards her in that episode. Of course I'm already hooked and want to know why she was trying to poison that older lady, but then how did the older lady know to switch the mugs so Susan drank her own poison...  but I have too many timelines I'm watching right now haha.  Oh, Bolger is definitely hot. I didn't realize he was on GL haha. I knew him from OLTL and other primetime stuff.
    • This is a effin shame. Eff Trump and eff the bastards that enable him.
    • I 100% agree but I think this is due to how the show is structured. It's a one family show which means there are no people in her age range that could be used as friends or contemporaries of her. The show definitely needs a second main family. I am glad someone finally said this. Especially now that the cast is gelling in their roles, he stands out like a sore thumb. No energy, no chemistry with anybody. He is just there.  I thought that was odd as well! The previous scene would've worked better as a tag for the credits.
    • That's the one and only Carrie Nye (Mrs. Dick Cavett) as Susan Piper, a deadly realtor. I don't want to spoil a lot if you ever want to see those episodes. She returns as another character in 2003. I think Grant has aged well and he always did a good job at being ripped without going too far, but he was never entirely my cup of tea either. I did think John Bolger was hot.
    • Totally agree. KKL looks great! It makes the Widge groveling so bizarre. Brooke needs to leave FC and with $B's/Liam's funding launch a rival fashion house with Hope, Rick, Katie and a secret designer. The best scenario is that Rick has been absent because he's been with very much alive C2, who is revealed on the runway as the secret designer. It'll never happen because B&B is comfortable just focusing on FC and the Forresters Marones v. Logans. But it'd been so much more interesting if the Spencers/Logans united.
    • Please register in order to view this content

       
    • Haha that scarf thing did go on a bit too long, very odd. And what a young Rick!  I know this is an unpopular opinion, but I just never got the physical appeal of Grant Aleksander, but he's definitely a great actor. Who is the older lady around the 8:30 mark, and also ends the episode, alone and in pain? She seems like a really interesting character. I love the smoky voice and sultry, snaky vibe she seems to have.
    • I can't remember exactly but I think she lives in or is part of the cottage story with Carrie. Carrie poisons her in this episode.  I forgot Teresa was on the show. (I see that AI is insisting she wasn't - well they're wrong) Poor Maeve. I can how even she had her limits. 
    • It pisses me off that the other Duprees are making this incident all about them as well. They are playing a family of victims, acting as if Ted cheated on all of them. They should be supportive, but not like this. I have a family that makes anything that happens to me personally all about them, and seeing the same thing on TV is rage-inducing.
    • There are the makings of good Emmy reels in these past couple of episodes, but the industry is still going to favor even the most mediocre stories and performances on the older soaps. And with the pressure from the government over race I can see the academy shutting out Beyond The Gates to avoid criticism from the administration and the far right media.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

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