Tank Jobs and Sabotage

[soapfan770]

I can respect that

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I will say that the era of neurotic NY’ers in every sitcom was overkill, however it was a heck of a lot better than the era of crude sitcoms that always featured an obese man and his skinny wife. Now that was a bleak era lol.

[Khan]

It's as if the networks said, "Well, if it worked for Jackie Gleason and Audrey Meadows...!".

[soapfan770]

@dragonflies mention of Lois & Clark in the four seasons and done thread made me remember the tank and sabotage job done to that show during the fourth season.

Tank: Lois & Clark had a successful third season coming in a #44, the show’s highest rated season yet. After the much anticipated wedding finally occurred, the show weakened in its time-slot due increased fierce competition in the 8PM Sun slot from Touched by an Angel breaking out in that spot, 3rd Rock From the Sun, and a resurgent Simpsons. So ABC flip-flopped the and AHV around on the Sunday night line-up. The show tanked in the 7PM slot.

Sabotage: With the Disney takeover and the collapsing of the show, ABC then shipped the show to Saturday nights with little to no promotion and of course viewership fractured in half. Although ABC had agreed to a two season renewal at the end of Season 3, ABC/Disney changed their mind about the WB-owned show and promptly cancelled it. I recall ABC later green-lit some other short lived WB-owned show to make up from the loss. 

[Vee]

Prey, with Debra Messing and Roger Howarth.

[soapfan770]

Thanks! Was thinking it was the doomed Timecop series but wasn’t sure if that was right. 
 

Prey looks like it had its own tank/sabotage job done by getting scheduled at 8PM Thursday….

 

Of course ABC threw so many, many dramas on Thursday nights in the mid-late 90’s but nothing was able to stick at all and ABC was impatient. Eventually Thursday nights became another movie night for the network for a few years there. 

[dragonflies]

ABC also did a lot of interference, they made the show hold off on the L&C wedding cause they wanted it to iine up with the wedding in the comics. the show never recovered from the "Frog eating clone arc" people were pissed off cause they felt like they got an FU. Hence the "Swear to God, This Time We're Not Kidding" title for their actual wedding 

[Paul Raven]

ABC placed 9 to 5 b/w 3's Company #6 and Hart to Hart #17 for Fall 82. It finishes #15.

So for Fall 83 ABC moves it to Thurs @9 up against Simon & Simon # 5. It's yanked off a few weeks into the season.

Did ABC really think it was worth moving after just one season?

[soapfan770]

That’s too bad because the original series with Rita Moreno along with Jean Marsh as the female antagonist was pretty good from later the reruns I watched.  I think though there was already BTS issues between Jane Fonda and ABC about the show’s direction so Fonda quit and the show revamped, people didn’t like it and it collapsed.

It later resurfaced in syndication with Sally Struthers taking over Rita Moreno’s role and ran a couple years that I watched but was just average compared to the original.

Looking at ABC’s 1983-84 schedule I think this is where, as @kalbir has mentioned before,  ABC’s mid-80’s mess era began. Sure Dynasty and Hote were hot,  MNF and movies helped out, and shows like Benson, Webster and Fall Guy filled some gaps but the rest of the schedule wasn’t looking too hot at all.

Edited April 7 by soapfan770

[Paul Raven]

Not sure how to classify this one:

ABC Spenser for Hire.

After a couple of well regarded but low rated seasons in various 10 o'clock timeslots, ABC moves it to the prime  8pm Sunday up against MSW and Family Ties. It was certainly counter programming but very odd nonetheless.

Especially when ABC was launching Dolly @9. Of course, SFH provided no lead in numbers to Dolly and by mid season Dolly has flopped and SFH is sent back to 10 o'clock Saturday.

[te.]

My understanding is that at least a part of it was because Spenser was quite expensive, so airing it in a time slot that got lower ad rates might've been not been practical in order to make a profit on the show. I don't think it was a tank job as much as they were trying to find a way to keep an expensive, but moderately rated series, going.

Edited April 13 by te.

[Paul Raven]

Dolly Parton's  1987 variety show seemed sabotaged from the get go.

Putting it Sun @9 seemed misguided. Having a terrible lead in with Spencer for Hire and knowing it would battle the strongest theatrical and TV movies on the opposition placed it on the back foot from Day 1. And having an unknown lead out with Buck James didn't help either.

Wk 1

8pm

CBS Murder She wrote #12
NBC Family Ties #11/ My Two Dads #19
ABC Spenser For Hire #60

9pm - 11pm

CBS Movie The Law and Harry McGraw #48
NBC Movie  The Terminator #30
ABC Dolly #5 Buck James # 27

Wk 2

8pm

CBS MSW #9
NBC Family Ties # 10/My 2 dads # 16
ABC Spenser #55

9-11

CBS Movie #20
NBC Movie #17
ABC Dolly # 21 Buck James # 55

And from then on Dolly continued to slip. ABC shipped it off to Sat night to quietly expire.

Perhaps Dolly should have aired Sun @8 with a movie @9? Although the 8pm competition was fierce.

My other thought was the 2hr Disney movie Sun 7-9, Dolly @ 9 and Hotel @ 10. Slightly stronger leadin/lead out.

Where else would you have placed Dolly on the schedule?

Edited April 14 by Paul Raven

[Franko]

Supposedly, ABC wanted Dolly to go head to head against The Cosby Show, which she vetoed. 

I feel like Dolly would have had its best chance at 9 p.m. Tuesday. The problem is, even though I know in 2024 that Moonlighting's going to go down the tubes, 1987 me can't justify moving it off the Tuesday night schedule. That means that I have to put it at 10 p.m., and now I run into the issue of what to do with Thirtysomething. I guess I'd put it at 9 p.m. Sunday, but keep an eye on the 10 p.m. Tuesday slot.

 

[Paul Raven]

@Franko thirtysomething Sun @9? can't see that working well. It was a very niche show.

Variety shows have traditionally aired at 8pm Sonny & Cher, Ed Sullivan, Donny & Marie or 10 pm Dean Martin, Carol Burnett, Jackie Gleason

So maybe Dolly could have aired Fri @8 up against Rags to Riches and Beauty &the Beast or Sat @8 up against Facts of Life and My Sister Sam.

I could see it doing better there, although it was costly and I can't see them putting it on Sat (even though that's where it ended up.)

There just weren't many timeslots available that suited that show.

[Franko]

Yeah, I wasn't especially fond of putting thirtysomething at 9 p.m. on Sunday. It also wouldn't flow that great between Spenser and Buck James. I stand by my assertion that ratings-wise, Dolly would have been at its best at 9 p.m. on Tuesdays. Schedule-wise, I could put it at 8 p.m. Saturday, with Once a Hero in the 9 p.m. Sunday slot. I'm avoiding 8 p.m. Friday because I don't want to put Full House/I Married Dora on Saturday and have a three-way sitcom standoff.

[Khan]

I, myself, might have been tempted to schedule "Dolly" against DALLAS or FC on Friday nights, if only because both shows were beginning to decline in the ratings.