10 hours ago, Paul Raven said:

NBC weren't exactly flourishing with their newer shows.

JJ Starbuck, Crime Story, A Year in the Life, Private Eye and Rags to Riches all failed.

I'm not surprised they weren't flourishing. From what I remember: "Starbuck" was just a folksier "Matlock"; "Crime Story" was even MORE style over substance than "Miami Vice"; "A Year in the Life" worked better as a miniseries than it did as an ongoing one; "Private Eye" really belonged on cable (plus, it just felt like another "Crime Story"); and while "Rags to Riches" was cute family fare, it wasn't exactly appointment television, lol.

On 10/4/2026 at 10:47 PM, Paul Raven said:

NBC weren't exactly flourishing with their newer shows.

NBC primetime drama line up was still solid heading into 1987/88, despite Miami Vice becoming the new coldness and St. Elsewhere not being a hit. Matlock and L.A. Law had successful rookie seasons, Highway to Heaven was decent, Hunter showed growth. Crime Story, Our House, The Bronx Zoo, Rags to Riches returned for their second seasons.

19 hours ago, kalbir said:

NBC primetime drama line up was still solid heading into 1987/88, despite Miami Vice becoming the new coldness and St. Elsewhere not being a hit. Matlock and L.A. Law had successful rookie seasons, Highway to Heaven was decent, Hunter showed growth. Crime Story, Our House, The Bronx Zoo, Rags to Riches returned for their second seasons.

In many ways, "Hunter" was the perfect show for the cocaine- and action-fueled Reagan era, with popcorn escapism (the kind that's affecting H'wood today, with all those ridic superhero franchise movies) taking HUGE precedence over social relevance.

Hunter airing on NBC Saturday nights after shows like The Golden Girls, 227, Amen Facts of Life. is odd to me lol. Of course 85-86 season it was Remington Steele before that. I think a family show like Our House or a Year in the Life would have been a better fit.

I thought Sisters was good fit but the Sat night sitcom block was fading away by that point.

TV ratings from 40 years ago this week:

The two-part TV movie JACQUELINE SUSANN'S VALLEY OF THE DOLLS, 1981, premiered 45 years ago. The first 2-hour installment aired on Oct. 19, 1981, and the next day, a 3-hour conclusion aired. The first part of VOD 1981 was the #6 most-watched TV show of the week, with 23.7 million viewers. The second installment the following night competed with the first game of the World Series (the #1 most-watched show that week, with 29.9 million viewers), but still ranked #20 for the week. Laurence Heath's script updated Jacqueline Susann's novel (which begins in 1945 and ends on New Year's Eve 1965) to the 1980s. Nathan Lane made his TV debut in this "motion picture event." Tom Shales reviewed the miniseries in the Washington Post in 1981: “More may never have been less than in the new five-hour, yes five-hour, CBS production of "Jacqueline Susann's Valley of the Dolls," the kind of undertaking that inspires the mildly tantalizing question: How good could it have been even if it had been any good? The leaden and laborious remake, at 9 tonight and 8 tomorrow night, supposedly "updates" Susann's 1966 novel and the 1967 movie of it, but the '80s Hollywood in which the film is set is one where no one seems to have discovered cocaine and everyone in the film business is running around making movie musicals, which died even before Susann did. Writer Laurence Heath and director Walter Grauman apparently meant this as a kind of pale shadow cast by the first movie, which seemed lousy enough in its day but which looks like truth, beauty, and your favorite easy chair compared to the remake. You watch something like "Valley of the Dolls" and you wonder how much more dehumanized and dull pop pulp can possibly get. It is a shivaree of the living dead.” The NYT’s TV critic John J. O’Connor wrote, “The film, directed by Walter Grauman, moves along determinedly, draped in splashy costumes by Jean-Pierre Dorleac and punctuated every so often with a fairly elaborate musical number. Long sequences feature the making of a Henry Bellamy film that appears to be a musical version of ''The Love Boat.'' Throughout, incidentally, Mr. Coburn's Bellamy sticks close to an uncanny impersonation of John Huston. But Laurence Heath's script loses much of the book's narrative drive. Whatever may be said about Miss Susann's talents--and a lot already has been--her novel captured the almost bitchy energy of the scene she was describing. This film tends to go limp too frequently. Anne, who is the book's central character, recedes in the movie, partly because of a lackluster performance by Miss Hicks, partly because the script is preoccupied with the more melodramatic stories of Neeley and Jennifer. The net result is that ''Valley of the Dolls'' emerges once again as little more than a glossy soap opera.”

14 minutes ago, soapfan770 said:

TV ratings from 40 years ago this week:

Was Dynasty preempted?

1 hour ago, Soapsuds said:

Was Dynasty preempted?

Yes Baseball preempted Dynasty and other shows.

5 hours ago, soapfan770 said:

TV ratings from 40 years ago this week:

Here's what happened on the scripted shows that were in the 1986/87 Top 10 and the soaps during the week of October 13-19, 1986.

The Cosby Show - Man Talk (October 16): Theo is torn between two women. Cliff joins Rudy for a spot of tea.

Family Ties - My Back Pages (October 16): Steven discovers that he's left his radical past behind when he helps an old college friend re-establish a left-wing political magazine.

Cheers - Abnormal Psychology (October 16): Frasier has been invited to be a guest on a talk show. Shortly before his appearance, he brags about it to the others at the pub. However, he then learns that the discussion panel features his ex-girlfriend, Dr Lilith Sternin.

Night Court - Author, Author (October 16): Dan is tormented by a woman with a split personality. Bull's children's story is deemed too frightening for kids.

Murder, She Wrote - One White Rose for Death (October 19): Jessica finds herself in the unusual role of victim when she is kidnapped at a reception for the British prime minister and held hostage by a defecting spy.

Dallas - Enigma (October 17): Miss Ellie orders Wes Parmalee to leave Southfork. J.R. offers Sue Ellen a divorce. Donna calls Ray at home and Jenna answers the phone.

Falcon Crest - The Stranger Within (October 17): Angela hires a detective. Jeff Wainwright takes a sinister interest in Vickie.

Knots Landing - For Appearance's Sake (October 16): Karen wants to meet Mack's daughter. Gary gains on Peter in the senate race. Phil worries Greg by refusing to leave town.

Who's the Boss was pre-empted October 14 for American League Championship Series Pre-Game.

Growing Pains and Moonlighting were pre-empted October 14 for American League Championship Series game 6.

Dynasty was pre-empted October 15 for American League Championship Series game 7.

The Golden Girls was pre-empted October 18 for World Series game 1.

TV Ratings October 31-November 6, 1988