So
this one is going to be a little different format wise, but I figure it
was only right to conclude my look at Must See TV that reigned for
twenty years on NBC. I discussed the beginnings and when it exploded in
1994. But when did it end? And what were these other shows that were on
there over ten years? Let’s run them down.
Now of course Friends was the anchor from 1994-2003. So for this
article, kind of forget that 8:00pm was a thing. And of course Seinfeld
was on at 9:00 until 1998. And yes there was a time when NBC used Must
See TV for every night not just Thursday. But let’s limit this to just
the Thursday night line-up’s. I will go over the more legit shows, the
especially awful one’s I already did a run down of in another article.
After Friends premiered in 1994 on NBC Thursday, it seemed NBC had it in their respective heads that Thursday was a guarantee of success for any new show. Well, that isn’t quite how that worked. Maybe Friends was just a good show? Well that didn’t stop NBC from trying every year for awhile. Here a few of the shows that came, and went.
Suddenly Susan was the Brooke Shields vehicle that never really found its way. It had a strong cast including Kathy Griffin. David Strickland, and Judd Nelson. I think it really could have done better. Oh and of course there was a “will they wont they” relationship. The second season saw a new cast member and the third season they retooled the whole show…before it was gone. This show didn’t last on Thursday long at all, making way for The Naked Truth which was also bad.
Caroline in the City was a mice try, it really was. Leah Thompson was really good but she need a better supporting cast. She was a cartoonist who…dated, I guess. And you wont believe it, there was a “will they or wont they” relationship in the show. I mean, it worked on Frasier so that means it’ll work on every show, right?
The Single Guy was straight up boring. Jonathan Silverman is fine but the show was about a single guy who..was single. Yeah that’s about it. I always thought they wanted this to be a “Friends” spin-off but the best they could do was have Ross appear in an episode on a rating stunt.
Veronica’s Closet was the Kirstie Alley vehicle which, again, needed a much better supporting cast to work. The they tried to retool the show two times before giving up. Obviously a spoof of Victoria’s Secret the show never really knew what it was supposed to be about.
This Christina Applegate shoe was also boring and flat. She was a bartender who lived with her father and two boring all hell brothers. There was also a “will they or wont they” relationship as if we never seen that before. They tried to retool the series between season 1 and 2 buy tossing out the awful supporting cast and give Jesse something interesting to do, but it again went nowhere.
I’ve mentioned this show before as an example of how not to do a “will they or wont they” kind of romance. A lot of shows have that as the focus but no how to make other elements work so that the show can be about other things (Who’s The Boss for instance). This show only cared about the romance, and then they rushed through it before we could really care.
When Seinfeld was finally off the air NBC had Frasier return to Thursday’s for awhile. But it was clear trying new shows on Must See TV was by no means a guarantee of success. As I said, I didn’t even mention the dreadful one’s. Oh and there was the little problem of a certain reality show on CBS you may have heard of competing with NBC. And winning.
So they did something different in 2000-2001:
9:00
Will & Grace
I’m not sure if I’ve talked about this show enough. When it was, it was really good. When it was bad, it was pretty bad. But what made the show work was the four main leads whose chemistry was just incredible.
9:30
Just Shoot Me
I could say the same thing with this show, except that when this show got bad it really got bad. But when it was good it was quite good and I still say its an underrated show.
and in 2002…
When Scrubs came on as a monster hit people thought that it would take over Friends coveted 8:00 tine slot. It didn’t quite work out that way of course.
But despite these huge giving Must See TV some life at the turn of the century, as Friends was winding down the handwriting was on the wall. And nothing signaled the end of Must See TV like this show coming on…
Ok ok putting aside my feelings for Trump right now for a minute, I admit I did watch this show and even liked it. The problem wasn’t the show per se, but the fact that it was a reality show on what had been for twenty years a comedy night. It was a clear sign that Must See TV was floundering. The final nail? When Friends finally ended we had the brilliant spin-off:
which basically was the final nail n the coffin. 2006 saw Will & Grace end and it was the official end of Must See TV and I haven’t watch NBC Thursday since. Yes thet rebranded the night as “Comedy Done Right” and even had some good shows, but that’s a subject for another day. Must See TV was a special entity and I feel fortunate I watched it almost from the beginning right to the end.
So I’ve done a few of these now and covered most of my favorite line up’s. So I’m wondering, is there a great lineup that you loved that you think deserves attention? Let me know and I can feature it here.
After Friends premiered in 1994 on NBC Thursday, it seemed NBC had it in their respective heads that Thursday was a guarantee of success for any new show. Well, that isn’t quite how that worked. Maybe Friends was just a good show? Well that didn’t stop NBC from trying every year for awhile. Here a few of the shows that came, and went.
Suddenly Susan was the Brooke Shields vehicle that never really found its way. It had a strong cast including Kathy Griffin. David Strickland, and Judd Nelson. I think it really could have done better. Oh and of course there was a “will they wont they” relationship. The second season saw a new cast member and the third season they retooled the whole show…before it was gone. This show didn’t last on Thursday long at all, making way for The Naked Truth which was also bad.
Caroline in the City was a mice try, it really was. Leah Thompson was really good but she need a better supporting cast. She was a cartoonist who…dated, I guess. And you wont believe it, there was a “will they or wont they” relationship in the show. I mean, it worked on Frasier so that means it’ll work on every show, right?
The Single Guy was straight up boring. Jonathan Silverman is fine but the show was about a single guy who..was single. Yeah that’s about it. I always thought they wanted this to be a “Friends” spin-off but the best they could do was have Ross appear in an episode on a rating stunt.
Veronica’s Closet was the Kirstie Alley vehicle which, again, needed a much better supporting cast to work. The they tried to retool the show two times before giving up. Obviously a spoof of Victoria’s Secret the show never really knew what it was supposed to be about.
This Christina Applegate shoe was also boring and flat. She was a bartender who lived with her father and two boring all hell brothers. There was also a “will they or wont they” relationship as if we never seen that before. They tried to retool the series between season 1 and 2 buy tossing out the awful supporting cast and give Jesse something interesting to do, but it again went nowhere.
I’ve mentioned this show before as an example of how not to do a “will they or wont they” kind of romance. A lot of shows have that as the focus but no how to make other elements work so that the show can be about other things (Who’s The Boss for instance). This show only cared about the romance, and then they rushed through it before we could really care.
When Seinfeld was finally off the air NBC had Frasier return to Thursday’s for awhile. But it was clear trying new shows on Must See TV was by no means a guarantee of success. As I said, I didn’t even mention the dreadful one’s. Oh and there was the little problem of a certain reality show on CBS you may have heard of competing with NBC. And winning.
So they did something different in 2000-2001:
9:00
Will & Grace
I’m not sure if I’ve talked about this show enough. When it was, it was really good. When it was bad, it was pretty bad. But what made the show work was the four main leads whose chemistry was just incredible.
9:30
Just Shoot Me
I could say the same thing with this show, except that when this show got bad it really got bad. But when it was good it was quite good and I still say its an underrated show.
and in 2002…
When Scrubs came on as a monster hit people thought that it would take over Friends coveted 8:00 tine slot. It didn’t quite work out that way of course.
But despite these huge giving Must See TV some life at the turn of the century, as Friends was winding down the handwriting was on the wall. And nothing signaled the end of Must See TV like this show coming on…
Ok ok putting aside my feelings for Trump right now for a minute, I admit I did watch this show and even liked it. The problem wasn’t the show per se, but the fact that it was a reality show on what had been for twenty years a comedy night. It was a clear sign that Must See TV was floundering. The final nail? When Friends finally ended we had the brilliant spin-off:
which basically was the final nail n the coffin. 2006 saw Will & Grace end and it was the official end of Must See TV and I haven’t watch NBC Thursday since. Yes thet rebranded the night as “Comedy Done Right” and even had some good shows, but that’s a subject for another day. Must See TV was a special entity and I feel fortunate I watched it almost from the beginning right to the end.
So I’ve done a few of these now and covered most of my favorite line up’s. So I’m wondering, is there a great lineup that you loved that you think deserves attention? Let me know and I can feature it here.
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