Primetime ratings from the 70's

[dragonflies]

 The year I was born

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[Khan]

Agree.

[Paul Raven]

Could you elaborate?

That show seemed to have hit written all over it. CBS scheduled it for Mon @9 and early ratings were good.

WTH happened???

[Khan]

Well, the premise was intriguing enough.

In "The Betty White Show," Betty portrayed Joyce Whitman, a middle-aged actress, who lands the lead role in a new series, "Undercover Woman," that parodied "Police Woman," starring Angie Dickinson.  Unfortunately, for Joyce, the director for her new series turns out to be her ex-husband, played by a pre-"Magnum, P.I." John Hillerman.  Subsequently, episodes revolved around Betty and John's characters, as they learned to co-exist again, while navigating the ins and outs of producing a new, weekly TV series.

Again, a fairly solid premise.  EXCEPT...much of the supporting cast was forgettable; Georgia Engel, who WASN'T forgettable, nevertheless had a very inconsequential role as Betty's BFF (they should have made her character one of Joyce's UW co-stars instead); the "Undercover Woman" scenes played like rejected Carol Burnett skits; and the choice to shoot episodes on videotape rather than film seemed to blunt much of the show's humor, too.  (Not that there was much humor, mind you.  You know your show is crap when even David Lloyd can't turn out a decent script.)

Edited February 14, 2022 by Khan

[Paul Raven]

Did Betty play a Sue Ann type character or was she softer?

I guess the Undercover Woman premise was meant to be part of the humor as Betty is along way from Angie Dickinson.

The videotape is a surprise as viewers were used to MTM shows being filmed.

Anyway, Betty had a couple of weeks of good numbers but once the season was truly underway, CBS was clobbered by the NBC Monday movie which was feeding off the Little House lead-in.

When CBS programmed an Elvis special at 8pm (#2 for the week) Betty jumped back into the Top 10 but that was it. It then swapped timeslots with lead out Maude before being dropped.

CBS which was suffering on Tues as Three's Company was hurting MASH moved its Tues 9-11 shows to Monday and put in a movie on Tues. That immediately worked and MASH was saved and prospered Mon at 9 till it finished.

Maybe if Betty was put Sat @9 it might have stood more of a chance in the familiar MTM slot.

[Khan]

From what I recall, Joyce Whitman wasn't man-hungry like Sue Ann, but she was definitely sarcastic.

On the one hand, procedural shows like "Police Woman" were still very popular, so I get why the producers of "The Betty White Show" would make their show-within-a-show a takeoff on that genre.  But, on the other hand, I think it would have made more sense to have Joyce work as a nurse on a medical show (think "Trapper John, M.D.") or even a perennially low-rated soap opera, like GH or THE DOCTORS. 

For the early part of her career, Betty White had an almost saccharine image; something which "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" wisely subverted with Sue Ann, the "Happy Homemaker," who was more like the Happy Home-WRECKER.  They could have done the same thing on Betty's own show, with Joyce's image as a benevolent, saintly nurse serving as a dichotomy to how she was in her own, personal life.

Edited February 14, 2022 by Khan

[BetterForgotten]

The hilarious thing with Betty's career after Sue Ann was that she would go on to play more characters like that vs. Rose on The Golden Girls, or the sickeningly sweet characters she played in early TV. 

[Paul Raven]

Funny I thought the same thing.

Betty as a nurse or maybe a Waltons/Little House type wife would have been more believable and offscreen perhaps not as bitchy as Sue Ann but nonetheless with an edge to contrast her fictional character.

[Paul Raven]

WK 1 76-77 season.

ABC had it's best premiere  week ever.

1. Happy Days ABC 34.7/53

2.Sunday Movie 'Butch Cassidy and Sundance Kid ABC 31.9/51

3. Movie Airport 75 NBC 31.6/46

4.  Bionic Woman ABC 28.1/46

5. Movie 'Earthquake Pt. 1 ' NBC 27.8/41

6. All in the Family CBS 27.3/41

7. Rich Man Poor Man Book 2 ABC 26.7/42

8. Charlie's Angels ABC 26.4/45

9. MASH CBS 23.5/43

10. Six Million Dollar Man ABC 23.2/34

[Khan]

Between Aaron Spelling and Marshall/Miller/Milkis/Boyett, ABC really struck gold in the late '70's.

[Paul Raven]

The 79/80 season was the beginning of ABC losing it's grip on 1st place.

It was a tight race but CBS just slipped ahead.

ABC had the top six shows in 78/79

1. Laverne & Shirley dropped to 42nd in 79/80

ABC moved it from Tues 8.30 after Happy Days to Thurs @8 replacing Mork & Mindy. When Mork faltered it was moved back to its old slot and Laverne was moved to Mon @8 where it bombed before returning to Tues @8.30.

2. Three's Company. Held that spot in 79/80

3. Happy Days dropped to 17th in 79/80. Sheriff Lobo on NBC  provided some competition but overall viewers just seemed to lose interest.

4. Mork & Mindy dropped to 27th. ABC moved it to Sunday @ 8 up against Archie Bunker. archie began winning regurlarly so ABC returned it to Thurs but the ratings weren't as high as before.

5. Angie dropped to 39th. Scheduled after Mork the previous season it was a late season hit but then moved to follow Happy days before being exiled to Saturday night .

6. The Ropers. Earned that position in a limited run following 3's Company and Taxi. For 79/80 it was sent to Sat to lead off the night and failed.

Meanwhile CBS shows improved their standing.

7. MASH moved to 4th

8. 60 Minutes move up to #1

13. Alice moved up to # 5

18. One Day at a Time moved up to #10

20. Dukes of Hazzard moved up to #9

40. Dallas moved up to #6

49. Jeffersons moved up to #8

 

 

[Khan]

"The Ropers" has to be the worst spin-off ever created.  There is not one redeeming quality about that entire series.  Not. One.

"Mork & Mindy"'s swift decline is generally attributed to two factors: a time slot change, and too many changes to the show's cast after the first season.

[Paul Raven]

I remember CBS exec saying at one time 'Never move a hit, only a show that is struggling'

Of course, that was never followed but in ABC's case that was sage advice.

Mork, Laverne, Angie,The Ropers were moved and probably should have stayed put.

ABC also moved Fantasy Island that season to Fri at 8 where it flopped and was quickly returned to Sat at 10 and the ratings rebounded.

[Khan]

Actually, I think "Angie" was doomed no matter what.  Once she and Brad had married, the life was drained from the series.

And "The Ropers" was just...oh God, lol.

Edited March 4, 2022 by Khan

[Soapsuds]

1977-1978 season

 

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1978-1979 season

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