Jump to content

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


Paul Raven

Recommended Posts

  • Members

From what I remember, CLAF was like "Magnum, P.I." and "Simon & Simon," with the emphasis placed more on the quirky, father-and-son dynamics between Jack Warden and John Rubinstein than on actual detective work.  It wasn't good or bad; it was just "okay."  But it definitely was a "time slot hit."  It needed a strong lead-in, such as MSW, to be successful.  When CBS dislodged it (and "Trapper John, M.D.") to make room for "The CBS Sunday Movie," CLAF was as good as gone.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 996
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Top Posters In This Topic

Posted Images

  • 3 weeks later...
  • Members

40 years ago this month, the best and most pivotal television season of the 1980s came to an end. Here’s how the rookie breakout and the four soaps wrapped up the season.

The Cosby Show – Cliff’s Birthday (season 1 finale, May 9): Clair and the children surprise Cliff by planning a birthday celebration around a Lena Horne concert.

Dallas – Deliverance (May 10): Bobby seeks evidence to free Jenna. The Ewings go confidently to court. Mitch asks Lucy to move in. J.R. wants Sue Ellen hospitalized.

Dynasty - The Heiress (May 8): Krystle learns Daniel is dead. King Galen courts Alexis. Amanda sees Michael with Elena. Sammy Jo learns Krystle will handle her money and is furious about the decision.

Knots Landing – One Day in a Row (May 9): Ben aids in Karen's search for Val's babies. Mack replies to the governor's offer. Ruth uses Abby to break up Laura and Greg.

Falcon Crest – Cold Comfort (May 10): Fugitive Lance desperately searches for Lorraine, who lies comatose in a San Francisco hospital. Robin returns with startling news.

 

Dallas – Swan Song (season 8 finale, May 17): Jenna's release from jail depresses Pam. Sue Ellen thinks she saw Dusty. Donna tells Ray about her pregnancy. Cliff consults an attorney about an annulment. Lucy and Mitch remarry. Sudden tragedy strikes Bobby.

Dynasty – Royal Wedding (season 5 finale, May 15): Sammy Jo makes her roommate look like Krystle. Elena reassures Amanda about her upcoming marriage. Terrorists come for the royal wedding of Prince Michael and Amanda.

Falcon Crest – Confessions (May 17): Melissa confesses to framing Lance. Pamela gives Maggie proof that Richard bribed Judge Holder. Connie reveals her love for Chase.

Knots Landing – Vulnerable (May 16): Ruth wants Abby to break up Greg and Laura. Karen makes a breakthrough in her hunt for Val's babies. Joshua hampers Val's recovery.

Knots Landing – The Long and Winding Road (season 6 finale, May 23): Abby fears being linked to the disappearance of Val's babies. Laura leaves Greg. The Fishers are determined to keep Val's babies.

Falcon Crest – The Avenging Angel (season 4 finale, May 24): Lorraine dies. Angela throws a victory party. Cassandra's mother arrives. An explosion rips through Richard's house.

1984/85 was the season the primetime soaps pulled out all the stops to out-do each other and everything culminated in the spring. May 1985 was the zenith of primetime soaps as a genre.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members
Posted (edited)

I apologize to any Kate Vernon/Lorraine fans out there for my last post, but, dear Lord, was I ever glad to see her gone from the show.  Aside from Melissa, in fact, I don't think any of Lance's love interests worked.

Edited by Khan
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

@Soapsuds You posted the week April 23-29, 1984.

Dynasty was the only soap that aired a new episode that week.

Knots Landing was a repeat as their season finale was March 29.

Dallas and Falcon Crest were pre-empted for Borderline.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Thanks @kalbir what a time to have enjoyed the peak of the primetime soaps.

Haha you’re good. The only complaint I have with Lorraine’s death as I mentioned recently in the FC thread was it was overkill, and all we got Apollonia. If a pregnant woman had to be killed off, I would’ve chosen just killing off Robin instead in some freak accident or in the explosion at Richard’s to save us from us that disaster lol. 
 

Did Hotel have a cliffhanger that year? I imagine if Hotel had been soapier we would’ve had cliffhangers like the hotel catching on fire or bombed by an ex-lover of Christine. Peter pisses everyone off and is shot in his office. Or a major Golden age star like a Olivia de Havilland shows and tells how she originally owned the Hotel and how Victoria Cabot & Laura Trent stole it from her but now she owns it etc.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

I was wondering what week it was, and it explains the low rating for Knots Landing.

I was also wondering what preempted Dallas and Falcon Crest.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members
Posted (edited)

Or Megan is shot as retaliation for Dave's unpaid gambling debts...while Julie confesses she's the biological mother of Special Guest Star Barry Bostwick's little boy.

Edited by Khan
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Hotel was The Love Boat on land but a little soapier. I will forever maintain that Hotel was a time slot hit. I don't believe that 1983/84 Hotel was a better show than Knots Landing.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

I don't believe it either, @kalbir.  Ironically, I think KL's first producer, Joseph B. Wallenstein, ended up producing "Hotel" as well.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Hotel no doubt benefited from the Dynasty lead in and didn't move until it was jettisoned to Sat night wasteland to play out a final season.

Maybe it should have been moved earlier to perhaps bolster another night and allow ABC to nurture another show in the post Dynasty timeslot when the former was still a ratings winner.

 

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

    • Its realistic for Dani and  true of how the character thinks and operates
    • Random takes: - What was even the point of that jeweler guy? Also—Dani was borderline harassing him. - I know I’m probably in the minority here, but I want Jacob and Kat to happen. I need something messy to completely dismantle the Duprees—and Katomas just isn’t cutting it.  - I officially can’t stand Jacob and his wife. Same goes for Anita and Vernon. - Hayley’s corset was just as ugly as it looked uncomfortable. - I genuinely don’t remember when or how Derek and Ashley reconciled—and I’m someone who didn’t even mind their storyline! LMAO. - Tuesday’s episode was a mess. - Dani finding out about Hayley’s pregnancy and immediately thinking, “She’s faking it”—huh?! What writer thought that was a realistic reaction? I get denial, but that leap was absurd. I agree the ‘Leslie Victorious’ moment was way OTT. But hey, at least I wasn’t yawning. The following episode, where she handed over her daughter’s last few belongings was much better. - I can’t with the constant back-and-forth between Orphey Gene’s and the Country Club. I forgot this was such a soap trope, but even back in my loyal viewer days (late ‘90s, early 2000s), it wasn’t this bad. While GH has a ton of beautiful sets, we’re stuck with the same three—and half of them are ugly. Also: it’s been way too long since we had a party, gala, or any kind of event. I know the Richardsons’ anniversary gala (back in late April) has had a big ripple effect, but I was kinda getting used to those large-scale episodes. Fingers crossed they don’t go with Guza.  
    • The horrific comments execs and writers make when they justify rape storylines or keeping rapists as love interests is just so icky. I remember Ron Carlivati's comments about the reraping of Marty storyline on OLTL. Made my skin crawl.  No matter what you think of her, Susan Lucci could have demanded front burner storylines but she never did. She was happy to be part of an ensemble. I never got that vibe from Zimmer.  For me, Reva was just not a character I cared that much about after a certain point no matter how talented Zimmer is/was. I think Zimmer had a keener eye for what made a good storyline, but she was less willing to take a backseat if it meant someone else got to shine. I'm trying to recall if she ever mentions Michelle Forbes in her book--one of the few times the viewers did not care about Reva in a storyline. My sense is if she did, it was probably some backhanded remark about how she had to show Forbes the ropes.    
    • GH was good? I havent watched since Joss went away to do her traininig and Lulu had just called Brooklyn out for having Dante's baby and not telling him
    • BTG: A-  DAYS: B+  Eastenders: C
    • There was a rumor that Jean will die and that’s probably why she’s back then
    • There has been some confusion about Michael & facial burns. Please see this post: https://bsky.app/profile/shallotpeel.bsky.social/post/3lqkrryu54226 I've chosen to put this here instead of the Classic Thread because it is now with the appearance of recast Michael that this has come up. Different places online, including at least one podcast, remarks have been made about how remarkable it is that he is without facial scarring. Other fans say it was clear from the first that he did not have facial burns. What is included in this post is 2 screengrabs where you can see his face at the hospital & a very quick edit of that day in the hospital. 
    • Put me in the LOVE KMH camp. As a poster alluded to above, her detractors seem to come from people who first experienced the 80s Emily actress. And that's often the case with soaps, myself included. I enjoy the original actor so much that I just never take to the recast. However, KMH played Emily far longer than the original - for almost 20 years - and when she had great material, she was great. I get the sense she didn't like playing the whiny oh-woe-is-me Emily which was all the material she got from about 1996 until she took over the Intruder in late '99/early '00 and got to play a stronger kiss-ass woman who didn't care what anyone thought of her. (Some would call that a bitch but, if a man was in that role, he'd just be called a smart and savvy businessman.) Her relationship with Hal was great. The transformation was done realistically and I thoroughly enjoyed those years the best out of all. Once the writers decided to break up those two, they went back to writing Emily half the time as whiny and pathetic. I preferred when the writers made her stronger.
    • Hahaha - I do. I've always been the type, though, that can't miss anything. I get FOMO, so I'll not skip episodes or fast forward anything. There are only a few TV shows I've dropped because they got so bad vs. sticking it out to the end.  The promise that GL 1997 is better is what keeps me going. I especially want to see the fallout of Blake's lie about her twins and then Annie's descent which I believe won Watros's Emmy.
    • Rita's rape is an episode i constantly search on YouTube hoping one day that it will show up. I always feel like I may have seen it, but I was only 6 at the time and can never figure any of the things I have vague recollection of 
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

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