Roller-skating hookers.  Need I say more?

12 hours ago, DRW50 said:

I couldn't find a thread for just movies of the week rather than miniseries and I didn't want to start one without seeing if others thought one should be started, so I'll just put this here for the moment. A TV movie with Ben Masters, Morgan Fairchild, John Hillerman. Someone put it up yesterday and I don't see another version on Youtube (just a promo). This aired October 7, 1988.

After all the buffoonery of Julian Crane it's always interesting to see Ben in these straighter roles.

Street of Dreams aired as a CBS Friday movie special in Wk 3 of the season. Because of the strike, the networks were filling timeslots with repeats, TV Movies and specials.

Dallas/Falcon Crest weren't available so CBS pulled this movie out of it's inventory.

Was it a pilot? Anyway it ranked 40th 9.5/17.

The opposition was an NBC movie that ranked which was 25th 14.5/26 and ABC Baseball playoffs 27th 12.5/23.

4 hours ago, Paul Raven said:

Street of Dreams aired as a CBS Friday movie special in Wk 3 of the season. Because of the strike, the networks were filling timeslots with repeats, TV Movies and specials.

Dallas/Falcon Crest weren't available so CBS pulled this movie out of it's inventory.

Was it a pilot? Anyway it ranked 40th 9.5/17.

The opposition was an NBC movie that ranked which was 25th 14.5/26 and ABC Baseball playoffs 27th 12.5/23.

Thanks. The end did make me wonder if it was a pilot.

Obviously, Mariah was a midseason replacement, but this is still such an odd pairing. What did it replace? I don't even know why this show was greenlit...and starring Jaclyn Smith? Was this a remake of that Sissy Spacek prison movie, Marie? I know that was based on a true story. Why not cast someone more suited to the part? 

Mariah was a tryout series in the Hotel timeslot, Wed 10pm following Dynasty.

It was set in a prison. Some AW alumni were in the cast -John Getz (Neil) Wanda De Jesus (Gomez) and Kathleen Latman (MJ).

@DRW50 No Jaclyn Smith- not sure who that lady is that resembles Jaclyn.

Mariah was a non starter. Dynasty was 29th for the week and Mariah was 55th. The opposition was Houston Knights on CBS 28th and The Bronx Zoo on NBC 50th.

7 hours ago, Paul Raven said:

Mariah was a tryout series in the Hotel timeslot, Wed 10pm following Dynasty.

It was set in a prison. Some AW alumni were in the cast -John Getz (Neil) Wanda De Jesus (Gomez) and Kathleen Latman (MJ).

@DRW50 No Jaclyn Smith- not sure who that lady is that resembles Jaclyn.

Mariah was a non starter. Dynasty was 29th for the week and Mariah was 55th. The opposition was Houston Knights on CBS 28th and The Bronx Zoo on NBC 50th.

Thanks. That's what I get for watching a promo and not reading more.

 

Thinking about Mariah, it seems odd for ABC to order  a 10pm show when there was no space for it.

Sunday and Monday were out due to movies, Thurs had 20/20. Fri  and Sat were struggling leaving only Tues and Wed with possibility of launching the show with some sort of stronger lead in.

They chose Max Headroom for Tues and Mariah for Wed. Both shows seemed incompatible with their lead ins and failed.

Edited April 14Apr 14 by Paul Raven

2 hours ago, Paul Raven said:

Thinking about Mariah, it seems odd for ABC to order  a 10pm show when there was no space for it.

Sunday and Monday were out due to movies, Thurs had 20/20. Fri  and Sat were struggling leaving only Tues and Wed with possibility of launching the show with some sort of stronger lead in.

They chose Max Headroom for Tues and Mariah for Wed. Both shows seemed incompatible with their lead ins and failed.

Thanks @DRW50…what an odd concept show to pair with an aging Dynasty while Hotel was just flailing in the wind.

Overall another messy season for ABC for the 86-87 season. Outside of the Tuesday night combo of WTB?, Growing Pains, Moonlighting, and Monday Night Football there wasn’t much going on. Dynasty was sinking to the bottom of the Top 30 and Head of the Class just barely broke into the Top 30.

As Bridger Cunningham summed it up:

“ABC again dropped below the chill factor as its suds sank and most of its sitcom helpings landed in the bottom of the barrel.  Freshman news outlets tanked and were dispensed like an outlandish soap twist.  Revamping and moving struggling shows failed to ignite interests, as well as Friday viewers becoming obsolete.”

 

"Mariah" was an AWFUL name for that kind of show.  I'm just saying.

On 6/7/2023 at 5:05 PM, Soapsuds said:

 

40 years ago. Week of April 15-21, 1985. A pivotal week in CBS primetime history. Murder, She Wrote shocks the world by finishing ahead of Dallas for the first time.

Angela Lansbury let us think for an entire season that she was sweet and unassuming but at the end of the season she let us all know that she could be savage when she took down big bad Larry Hagman.

Here's what happened on the soaps and the two rookie hits that week.

The Cosby Show was a repeat of Play it Again, Vanessa (episode 8 ), original broadcast November 8, 1984.

Murder, She Wrote - Funeral at Fifty-Mile (season 1 finale): At a Wyoming rancher's grave, a man shocks mourners -- including the deceased's daughter -- by claiming to be the true heir. This episode was also the season high.

Dallas - The Ewing Connection: J.R. presents Jack's deal to Bobby and Ray. Lucy and her ex-husband Mitch meet. John Ross is rushed to the hospital for appendicitis.

Falcon Crest - The Decline...: Angela alienates the Giobertis by offering Maggie the post of acting publisher of The New Globe. Lorraine and Emma search for Lance.

Dynasty was pre-empted for a repeat of Hotel.

Knots Landing was pre-empted for Space (Part 5).

1 hour ago, kalbir said:

40 years ago. Week of April 15-21, 1985. A pivotal week in CBS primetime history. Murder, She Wrote shocks the world by finishing ahead of Dallas for the first time.

I definitely think MSW came along at the right time.  People, I think, were just growing tired of the primetime soaps, especially as the plots grew more and more outrageous just to hold onto viewers.  MSW represented a nice return to television that was more down-to-earth.

24 minutes ago, Khan said:

growing tired of the primetime soaps, especially as the plots grew more and more outrageous just to hold onto viewers. 

1984/85 the primetime soaps pulled out all the stops to out-do each other. That played a part in them all tanking the following season.

Thanks @kalbir I knew you recently hinted on this announcement 🙂

14 minutes ago, Khan said:

I definitely think MSW came along at the right time.  People, I think, were just growing tired of the primetime soaps, especially as the plots grew more and more outrageous just to hold onto viewers.  MSW represented a nice return to television that was more down-to-earth.

Yeah you can see this a bit with Falcon Crest, who of course had their whole Season 4 story plans for better or worse get derailed; to go from a James Bond/Indiana Jones style storyline to excessive melodrama overkill: here they rank at #17.

But you’re right and I know we’ve said before but MSW was the perfect show for a Sunday evening with all its charm, wit, and intrigue. As the 80’s economy improved viewer habits changed—-that’s when MSW and all the 80’s family sitcoms took off (whether one liked it or not lol). And by 1987 Friday night became a night to go out for a change after the dreary early 80’s. 
 

10 minutes ago, soapfan770 said:

Thanks @kalbir I knew you recently hinted on this announcement 🙂

You're welcome

10 minutes ago, soapfan770 said:

MSW and all the 80’s family sitcoms took off (whether one liked it or not lol).

1985/86 was the turning point season of the 1980s. That season in real life, s--- got real with the AIDS crisis, Space Shuttle Challenger, Chernobyl. With the world around us changing so much, television viewers sought comfort and warmth and Murder, She Wrote and the big family and workplace/friendship sitcoms gave us that.

3 hours ago, Khan said:

I definitely think MSW came along at the right time. 

Definitely for CBS in terms of scheduling. They had been leading Sunday night for years with 60 Minutes leading into the sitcom block. But Archie Bunker ran out of steam, bringing the rest of the lineup down and their attempts to refresh with new sitcoms -Goodnight Beantown, The Four Seasons and Maggie Briggs all failed. 

So they took a calculated risk by going with MSW and it paid off. But Alice and The Jeffersons were the next to falter and they seemed to have solved the problem with Crazy Like A Fox at 9pm.

But CLAF was a short lived success and CBS went with a movie which was a winning formula for years.

Anyone have any thoughts on Crazy Like A Fox? Never saw it. Was it just not good enough or not compatible with MSW or both? 

Edited April 16Apr 16 by Paul Raven