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

[Soapsuds]

1983-1984 Season. Top 20

October 31 - November 6  

1. Dallas 26.8

2. Stir Crazy 26.7

3. 60 Minutes 24.6

4. Falcon Crest 23.3

5. Magnum P.I. 23.2

6. The A-Team 23.1

7. Simon & Simon 23.0

8. Dynasty 22.1

9. Hotel 20.8

10. Love Boat 20.4

11. Knots Landing 20.3

12. Hart to Hart 19.7

13. Facts of Life 19.7

14. Newhart 19.6

15. After Mash 19.5

16. Hardcastle & McCormick 19.3

17. Real People  19.1

18. Dukes of Hazzard  18.5

19. Hill Street Blues 18.4

20. Fall Guy 18.2

[kalbir]

CBS fell hard over the course of three seasons. 1984/85 they had 7 out of the Top 10 (technically Top 11) shows and by 1986/87 they were down to only 2 Top 10 shows.

The Top 10 fallouts of Simon & Simon and Falcon Crest can be pinpointed by being head-to-head w/ Cheers (which benefitted from its lead ins The Cosby Show and Family Ties being the top 2 of 1985/86) and Miami Vice (which got alot of hype over summer 1985) respectively. Knots Landing didn't have much competition in 1985/86 (head-to-head w/ critically acclaimed but hardly a ratings winner at that point Hill Street Blues, and 20/20) but there was a writing change that season. Crazy Like a Fox was clearly a time slot hit, as it was done once it no longer had Murder She Wrote as its lead in. Dallas fell out of the Top 10 in the aftermath of the "it was all a dream" resolution in the 1986/87 season premiere.

That leaves Murder She Wrote and 60 Minutes, and they carried CBS through the rest of the 1980s and well into the 1990s. It must have been a surprise to CBS when Murder She Wrote's first season 1984/85 finished ahead of Knots Landing and Falcon Crest but the real shock was probably when Murder She Wrote's second season 1985/86 finished ahead of Dallas and became CBS's highest rated show (1985/86 was also Murder She Wrote's highest finish ever).

Edited February 13, 2022 by kalbir

[BetterForgotten]

Angela Lansbury always said the advertisers never understood the demographics of the people watching MSW, and I think there is a lot of truth to that. It was a very broad appealing show, it wasn't just "old people" or "grandparents" watching that show, it was entire families and a generation of kids who grew up watching it with the elders in the house. 

To this day, MSW has remained a fixture in global syndication, it's bound to be playing in almost any country you visit in the world somewhere. That cannot be said for those big/glossy primetime soaps (which I liked as well when they weren't too stupid), they just don't have the same type of longevity. 

[te.]

I loved Murder She Wrote as a kid and why wouldn't you? It was a great little show that managed to mix mystery, comedy and crime drama. I also enjoy PushingUpRoses (who is around my age) videos on MSW.

To be fair, I'd say the biggest factor there is the fact that you can watch Murder, She Wrote in any order you please without becoming confused. That tends to be the strength of procedurals and comedies in syndication - with serialised dramas it's a lot harder to do that, especially as they aren't written like daytime soaps where they end up recapping a lot that's happened to reel in new viewers.

[Soapsuds]

Does anyone know when the official premiere start date of the 1982-1983 season was?

[Khan]

Agree.  I mean, there ARE subtle differences between the early, Peter S. Fischer-produced ones and the ones after his departure; episodes from the latter seasons tend to be less folksy, more sophisticated, with a greater emphasis on younger guest stars.  Yet, MSW was overall consistent enough that you COULD watch episodes out of order and not feel lost.

Plus, MSW was the type of show that you could watch episodes more than once and still enjoy them.  Conversely, unless you're a real diehard fan of soaps (like we are, lol), once you've watched shows like DALLAS and KNOTS LANDING all the way through, you're not inclined to go back and watch them all over again.

[Soapsuds]

1982-1983 season

March 7-13 

1. Dallas 27.7

3. Dynasty 25.2

4. Falcon Crest 23.7 (season finale- Julia Is revealed the killer of Carlo Agretti and shots are fired).

11. Knots Landing 20.6  season finale

[Khan]

Agree.  The show was always very careful to portray Jessica Fletcher not as a doddering, senile "oldster" who was not up with the times, but as a vital, curious, nonjudgmental woman who could appeal to older and younger viewers alike.

IMO, MSW, along with "The Golden Girls," did a lot to improve the image of senior citizens on TV.

I guess that was FC's finest hour?  I dunno, I still think the resolution to that storyline made no sense.

[Soapsuds]

I really enjoyed the cliffhanger. It was a classic even if it didn't make sense.... Lol

[I Am A Swede]

Very early to have season finales for Falcon Crest and Knots Landing wasn't it?  Was there a particular reason for ending their seasons as early as this?

[Soapsuds]

Since they were newer soaps their episode order was less compared to the more established Dallas. That's my guess why.

[Soapsuds]

This is just sick good! Dallas was such a hit that CBS aired 4 episodes in one week. All four ranked in the top 10.

1980-1981 season

1. Dallas (episode 2 on Sunday night)  40.0 HH/ 59 share

2. Dallas (season premiere) 38.2 HH/61 share

4. Dallas ( Friday- repeat of cliffhanger where JR is shot)  31.8 HH/51 share

8. Dallas (Thursday) episode before JR is shot from previous season- 24.7 HH/42 share

[Soaplovers]

Reruns are where sitcoms and procedurals rank higher...but serials did better once DVD sets became a thing.... and I think the same of streaming.

MSW was a show Hollywood didn't get...according to Angela Lansbury...people in Hollywood watched sitcoms, not shows like MSW.

Guess the disconnect between Hollywood and the rest of America was apparent even in the 80s.

[Khan]

Hollywood didn't "get" MSW, because they don't value anyone over the age of 28.

[Paul Raven]

Sept 27

Some highlights

Mon won by CBS Square Pegs/Pvt Benjamin (Little House NBC won 2nd half hour)/Mpvie 'Drop Out Father'

Tues won by ABC Happy days/Laverne and Shirley/3's Company/Hart to Hart

Wed won by ABC Tales of Gold Monkey (beaten by Real People NBC) /Movie 'Money on the Side'

Thurs won by CBS Magnum PI 2hr ep/Knots Landing (beaten by Hill St Blues NBC and 20/20 ABC)

Fri won by CBS Dukes of Hazzard/Dallas/Falcon Crest

Sat won by ABC TJ Hooker/Love Boat 2hr

Sun won by CBS 60 Minutes/Archie Bunker/Gloria/Jeffersons/One Day at a Time/Trapper John(Beaten by Matt Houston/Movie 'Smokey and the Bandit 2 ABC and Bob Hope/Johnny Carson specials NBC)

Edited February 11, 2022 by Paul Raven