1979: WHERE DID MY SHOWS GO?

We’re going back to the days when there were three networks making big hit shows that meant a national shared experience.  If two of your favorite shows were on at the same time, very few people had recording devices so you missed one.  There was also the chance that if there was only one tv in the household, so you were stuck with the choice of whoever got to the tv first.  And, there might not even be a remote control!  Someone get up and walk to the tv!

In the fall of 1979, ABC was on the rise.  Garry Marshall’s hit comedies, HAPPY DAYS and LAVERNE & SHIRLEY had been joined in the top three by MORK & MINDY.  It was no small feat to have the top three shows on television regularly watched by 30 million viewers.  Robin Williams was as big as an overnight star could get.  And, it was certainly a rarity to have a new show land in the top three.  So, when it came time to schedule the new season, ABC decided to make some aggressive moves.  It was not the first time a successful network would do this with a hit show in its second season and it would not be the last.  (See SIMPSONS 1990, FRASIER 1994…)

There was an anecdote that at CBS years earlier in the 1970s, aggressive executives had tried to move hit shows to new time slots on the board.  Chairman William Paley entered the room, saw the changes, and would say “put it back.”

SUNDAY BATTLE: MORK & MINDY VS. ARCHIE BUNKER’S PLACE

The big move in 1979 was taking MORK & MINDY from Thursday to Sunday night.  ABC had had a big-budget failure the previous season on Sundays with BATTLESTAR GALACTICA.  Unlike its successful 2000s reboot, this GALACTICA failed to reach the sci-fi audience while at the height of STAR WARS mania.  Prior to this, THE SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN was successful obtaining a youthful audience with sci-fi themes.  So, it was decided that MORK would go to Sundays at 8:00.  A comedy block was cobbled around it with another sci-fi Garry Marshall show, OUT OF THE BLUE about an angel (Jimmy Brogan) who was cross-promoted with a HAPPY DAYS guest appearance, A NEW KIND OF FAMILY with a teen Rob Lowe, and legal ensemble comedy THE ASSOCIATES with a young Martin Short.   Sounds good, right?

Over at CBS, they had a successful Sunday night comedy block led by the groundbreaking ALL IN THE FAMILY.  After nine seasons and cast departures, CBS convinced series lead Carroll O’Connor to continue in the spin-off, ARCHIE BUNKER’S PLACE.  The barroom comedy certainly wasn’t the legendary AITF but viewers wanted to spend more time with these characters as viewers are wont to do (Jean Stapleton continued in guest appearances in season one).   ARCHIE beat MORK handily, not only keeping the CBS comedy line-up alive but also launching 10 PM drama, TRAPPER JOHN, M.D. (another spin-off of a popular CBS comedy, M*A*S*H).

MORK would go on for a four-season run but would never regain its initial fame.  Two other factors lead to its drop.  To get a more youth-oriented, sci-fi audience, they changed the tone of the show and fired older cast members Conrad Janis and Elizabeth Kerr who gave the show a family feel.  The newer cast members including Jay Thomas were eventually phased out and Janis came back.  Another aspect not to be overlooked is that ABC was never a sitcom destination on Sunday nights and it hasn’t been since.  CBS ruled the genre on that night for years.

It's interesting to see in this promo that shows were being called hits even back in 1979 when they weren’t (“Out of the Blue”).

THURSDAY LEGACY: LAVERNE & SHIRLEY AND BENSON

With the departure of MORK to Thursdays, ABC looked to its #1 comedy, LAVERNE & SHIRLEY to regain their four-comedy block.  It certainly looked like a sure thing.  L&S not only thrived in its post-HAPPY DAYS slot Tuesdays at 8:30, but this spin-off out-rated HAPPY DAYS from its 1976 premiere.  ABC then placed its promising SOAP spin-off, BENSON at 8:30 on Thursdays after L&S.  

But, L&S tumbled out of the top 30 that season.  MORK was restored to Thursdays by January and after a short detour to Mondays at 8, L&S was back in its safe slot of Tuesdays 8:30 by season’s end.  It’s not often that the #1 show in television needs a strong lead-in one year later.  The 1979 moves were become undone.

FRIDAYS OF FANTASY

MORK and LAVERNE were not the only moves that ABC made in 1979.  The dominoes continued to fall.  After DONNY & MARIE finished its run on Fridays, ABC thought they could replace it with its Saturday night hit, FANTASY ISLAND.  On Saturdays, following the enormously successful LOVE BOAT, FANTASY aired at 10 PM resulting in a memorable escapist block.   Perhaps, a family audience would enjoy this show at 8:00.  Not a crazy idea.  But the earlier Friday slot didn’t work and FANTASY was returned to Saturdays by winter.  It was replaced by short-lived flops B.A.D. CATS (with Michelle Pfeiffer and Jimmie Walker) and WHEN THE WHISTLE BLOWS.  For the fall of 1980, BENSON was moved to Fridays at 8 where it had a long run.

NOT EVERYTHING FAILED, THERE WERE SOME GOOD MOVES

With FANTASY ISLAND back on Saturdays, newcomer HART TO HART lost its post-LOVE BOAT lead.  But it was moved after the Tuesday comedy block at 10 PM where it continued to be a hit.

CBS, in addition to launching TRAPPER JOHN, M.D. on Sundays, put its DALLAS spin-off (there’s that word again), KNOTS LANDING on Thursdays at 10 PM where it ran for over a decade.

NBC shifted its second season hit (at a time where it was the ONLY hit NBC comedy) DIFF’RENT STROKES from Fridays at 8 to Wednesdays at 9.  This hour became a new destination for NBC comedy.  STROKES was later paired with its spin-off (bingo) THE FACTS OF LIFE which inherited the 9 PM slot eventually.

How rough was it for NBC that season?  One of its hits was in its fourth season but in late night.  The original SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE was called to the rescue (sound familiar?)   BEST OF SNL ran Wednesdays at 10:00.   By the end of the season, the entire original cast left SNL so by 1980, even late night had big problems.

ABC launched THAT’S INCREDIBLE! Monday nights that spring, joining REAL PEOPLE in an early reality-show boom.

THE LOSERS

Something had to be sacrificed.  With LAVERNE & SHIRLEY restored eventually to Tuesdays at 8:30, another Garry Marshall comedy, ANGIE was displaced and then cancelled.  As a 1978-1979 midseason replacement, ANGIE ran after MORK on Thursdays at 8:30, ranking fifth for the season. 

Yes, Marshall had four of the top five shows for 1978-1979!!  (THREE’S COMPANY was in 2^nd place.)  However, HAPPY DAYS dropped to #20 in 1979-1980, MORK to #27, LAVERNE out of the top 30 and ANGIE off the schedule.

Another hold-over hit from 1978-1979, and yet another spin-off, THE ROPERS was sacrificed to Saturdays at 8 after a big launch after its parent show THREE’S COMPANY earlier that spring (see promo below).  After being yanked from Saturdays, it later had a run on Thursdays at 9:30 but wasn’t renewed for season 3.  Norman Fell and Audra Lindley weren’t allowed to return to THREE’S COMPANY after being replaced by Don Knotts on the #2 show.  

ABC did not only spin-offs but gave familiar faces their own shows.  BARNEY MILLER’s James Gregory became the lead of DETECTIVE SCHOOL which had a short run in summer 1979, only to die after THE ROPERS on Saturday nights.  They were replaced by WHAT’S HAPPENING!!’s Shirley Hemphill in ONE IN A MILLION.  You can guess what happened to Shirley after 13 weeks.

Helicopter action show, 240-ROBERT was highly-promoted during the summer of ’79 and previewed after HAPPY DAYS.  It’s probably best known as one of Mark Harmon’s earliest series.  When the show was re-tooled in 1981, Harmon didn’t return nor did viewers.

The aforementioned ASSOCIATES, from the producers of hit ABC show TAXI, got a short run on Thursdays at 9:30 in the spring but didn’t survive.

The poster child for time-slot moves, WKRP IN CINCINNATI began 1979 on CBS after M*A*S*H on Mondays at 9:30.  In order to launch M*A*S*H alumnus Wayne Rogers’ new comedy HOUSE CALLS, WKRP was moved off Mondays.   The classic comedy bounced around to Mondays at 8 then slots on Saturday, Wednesday and back to Mondays before getting cancelled in season 4.

Let’s say “spin-off” again.  FLO with Polly Holliday was a spin-off of ALICE which had a shot at Mondays at 9:30 that spring.  It was renewed but quickly flamed out in 1980.

NBC continued to have an awful year.  Theorizing that even weak shows might get sampled because they were familiar, B.J. AND THE BEAR, SHERIFF LOBO, HELLO, LARRY and MRS. COLUMBO among others were brought back in 1979, to no avail.  Long-time hit THE ROCKFORD FILES literally wore James Garner out physically and cut its season short.  The show was moved from its longtime Fridays 9:00 slot to fade away on Thursdays.  And let’s not even bring up replacement shows like PINK LADY.

Despite ABC’s troubles, one of the first cancellations of 1979 was CBS’s WORKING STIFFS.  The sitcom’s stars were Jim Belushi and Michael Keaton.  WORKING STIFFS had been paired with BAD NEWS BEARS, the movie spin-off which had premiered the previous spring.  More bad news.  Comedies were failing on Saturdays for CBS where it dominated only a couple of years earlier.

BACK TO THE FUTURE

So, does any of this mean anything to a 21^st century audience?   I will say that the broadcast networks entered 2017-2018 with a very conservative schedule.  In 1979, it was questionable that three networks had enough hit shows to thrive.  Now, even though audiences have eroded, nets have brought back many returning shows.  Many of the shows were left where fans can find them.  Strategic moves like BLACK-ISH to Tue at 9, EMPIRE to an hour earlier Wed at 8 and CRIMINAL MINDS an hour later to Wed at 10 were easy to follow.  NBC even reversed its plans to move its #1 new hit THIS IS US to Thursdays, where networks get movie advertising dollars.  Keeping THIS IS US on Tuesdays in that crucial sophomore season paid off.   The restoration of its four-comedy block on Thursdays anchored by the return of WILL & GRACE makes sense for the brand.  There may be something to the idea that if you move a show too far away from where it's usually found, it can get lost.

1979 was a haven for spin-offs whereas 2017 is Peak Revival season.  ROSEANNE will return on ABC, WILL & GRACE on NBC, in addition to many other shows like GILMORE GIRLS and FULLER HOUSE on Netflix.  CBS went prequel in its spin-off of THE BIG BANG THEORY showing us YOUNG SHELDON. Kevin James and Leah Remini reunited on KEVIN CAN WAIT. 

Television characters are old friends and unless you embarrass them, we want to catch up with them.

Other similarities between 1979 and 2017:

• HAWAII FIVE-O then, HAWAII FIVE-O now.
• 60 MINUTES essential to Sunday nights then and now.
• The HAPPY DAYS gang crossed over two nights later in the season premiere of LAVERNE & SHIRLEY.  Today, the DC heroes on the CW have multi-night crossovers.
• Marvel’s THE INCREDIBLE HULK on Friday nights then.  Marvel’s THE INHUMANS and AGENTS OF SHIELD on Fridays this season.
• SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE is so important that it now airs live coast-to-coast so 8:30 PM on the west coast.  In its 43^rd season, it is still a destination for NBC.
• The 1980s were an exciting new time for television then.  The 1980s were an exciting new time for television now (THE GOLDBERGS, THE AMERICANS, STRANGER THINGS, YOUNG SHELDON plus remakes of DYNASTY and LETHAL WEAPON).

NEXT TIME ON THE SQUARES:  IN THE YEAR 2000.

WELCOME TO THE SQUARES!

"The Squares" are the daily schedules that television programmers build in planning a network's future, while keeping an eye on what the competition is doing.

Now, you're probably going to say why does that matter in today's "Peak TV" world with hundreds of shows available at your fingertips?  While it's true that there is more competition than ever, it is still important to make viewers aware of how to find shows.  If scheduling weren't important, there would be more broadcast network shows premiering on Fridays and Saturdays.  But, over the decades, viewers have become conditioned not to look for new shows there.  We are also seeing a drop in 10:00 PM shows, often because of competition and time-shifting shows from earlier in the evening.  Some people don't get around to watching their 8:00 and 9:00 shows until that hour.

Even Netflix and its streaming counterparts get the word out when their shows are premiering.  How about all those billboards and bus ads?  While it's not always important for viewers to show up for episode one, and shows sometimes still build, look at it like the opening weekend for a movie.  The early reception a program gets can be key to its survival.  Waiting to stream the first season later if it survives may mean there won't be a second season.   There needs to be a reason for the show to continue.  Sometimes, network executives see a spark and believe in a show because they have read future scripts.  Sometimes, they've seen unaired episodes and now there is a downhill trajectory.  Sharpen the axe.  Critical reception and who owns the show can also play a part.

It is harder than ever to gain loyal viewers for new shows.  We've all had favorite shows cancelled quickly.  Similarly, it can be daunting for returning shows to keep afloat.

I hope this will be a fun time-travel back to great television of the past.   The first deep-dive will be on the 1979 FALL SEASON.  It was a year where, in a three-network universe, veteran networks were losing ground.   The hot, youth-oriented ABC was "Still the One" as you will see from this legendary image promotion campaign.   Big stars and hit shows lead the upstart network to take some chances, but those scheduling moves endangered the future of even Top 5 series.  

I promise to get to the 21st century soon after. 

Stay tuned.