Memorable TV Line-Up’s:NBC Saturday Night (Fall 1986-1990)

So when I talked about CBS Saturday in 1973, I noted that it was rare to have a solid line up on a Saturday. This is because most people go out on Saturday’s, except maybe older people. In the early 80’s NBC tried to shake their line up by putting comedies on Saturday. And it was OK, but in 1987-1988 this seriously took off with a solid line up anchored by one of the best TV show’s ever to air on TV. Let’s take a closer look:

This started in the early 80’s with show’s like Diff’rent Strokes, Gimmee a Break and Mama’s Family. It was 1985 the big hit came around, and in 1987 the line up caught fire.

8:00
The Facts of Life


This show had several time slots I think but it was the Saturday night one that most remember. I’ve talked about this show elsewhere so there really isn’t much else to say. It was one of those shows which was cast perfectly, and everyone loved Natalie, Tootie, Blair and JO. And Mrs.Garrett of course. This show was one of the last from the early 80’s era of sitcoms, where sitcoms were good but also flat and lifeless. I did a whole article on this for more information on that.

8:30
227

I am amazed at how remembered this show is. This feels like a Marla Gibbs spin-off from The Jefferson’s, except of course it’s not and her character here is very different. It was a good show and gave us Jackee who was an icon for a little while. Also among the cast was a very young Regina King, whatever happened to her?

9:00
The Golden Girls

Of course this is the show I was teasing before. This is the show that ignited the Saturday night lineup and was massive hit. I’m sure that it was put on Saturday’s because historically the only people watching TV on a Saturday are old people. But this show was so well written and so well acted that it attracted a large audience outside that demographic. Bea Arthur, Betty White, Rue McLanahan and Estelle Getty had the kind of chemistry casting agents only dream of. They were four pro’s who always knocked it out the park. I can’t talk enough about this series, one of the best shows ever.

9:30
Amen

I brought this up before when I mentioned TV openings that were memorable but often forgotten. And I never watched this show, well hardly ever. It was fine, I just never got into it. This was Sherman Helmsley’s “other” show and managed a decent run.

And at 10:00….

For a few years anyway



But the shows I think most remember on this nights was…

Sisters fit into Saturday’s perfectly! Even if it was kinda, ok. Sela Ward won an Emmy fot it and I amit, I watched it in college. My friends wanted to OK, I swear!!!





So what happened after Facts of Life was cancelled?

Yeah I’ve discussed Empty Nest a lot ore than it deserves. This Golden Girls spin-off kept the evening lineup alive, until Golden Girls left in 1992.




But it was 1990 when 227 and Amen vanished that the trouble started, oh sure The Golden Girls was going strong but finding suitable shows to air around that monster was not easy.But NBC was determined to keep it alive. A lot of shows came, and went. From The Fannelli Boys to Down Home to The Torkelsons to The Mommies to The Powers That Be. Never heard of them? Don’t feel bad. Here a couple notable examples:








The Torkelsons became:

It didn’t work.

Carol & Company was the Carol Burnett show everyone forgets. Which is a shame because it wasn’t bad. It was vignettes every weak featuring different stories and characters.







And of course….

Nurses was the unofficial spin-off from Emote Nest and Golden Girls. I say that because the show was clearly set in the same universe as these shows, even if it wasn’t officially a spin-off. It tried, it really really did. And that theme song was as awful as you thought it was. They re did it later, and even added Loni Anderson to the cast, but the show never found an audience.

By the mid 90’s the comedy block was fading fast and once Empty Next finally left the air in 1994, NBC’s Saturday reign also ended.By 1996 all the comedies were gone and the network only aired drama’s, and NBC never had comedies there again.