Memorable TV Line-Up’s:NBC Monday Night (Fall 1997)

So I’ve done a few of these now, talking about lineup’s that were so solid and strong that people still talk about them today! But I got to thinking, has the opposite ever happened? Has a network ever done a lineup so bad that people never forget them? And I don’t mean the early days of FOX or the WB when they were struggling and put anything on. I mean one of the big network’s just flat out giving up and producing a line up which even they had to know, NO ONE WOULD WATCH. Well, I dug and found a line up that makes a good example. From NBC in 1997.

 

As I’ve said NBC was on top of the world in the 80’s and 90’s. They were solid on Monday’s with Alf, Hogan Family and later The Fresh Prince of Bel Air and Blossom– until 1996. When Fresh Prince ended NBC was determined to keep Monday a “must see TV night” for comedy. The 1996 lineup was so lame I wont even dignify it. So in 1997 they decided to take their crappy “time slot hits” (you know, shows that were only successful because they aired opposite Seinfeld or Friends) and give them a night all of their own. The result? You can probably guess!

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Suddenly Susan

I’ve discussed this before, probably more than it deserves. This is the Brooke Shields show which struggled to find an identity. First it was about a magazine writer who was suddenly single. Then in the second season she had a nemesis and a love interest. The third season saw such a dramatic retooling that it lost its audience very fast. The supporting cast was ok but the writing was never there.

Memorable TV Line-Up’s:ABC/NBC Tuesday Night (Fall 1995)

Today I wanted to do something a little different. I don’t know if it’s such a big deal anymore in our age of DVR’s and streaming shows, but back in the day networks would fiercely compete over time slots. Oh sure you had the “Cosby”‘s and “Seinfeld”‘s which nothing could beat no matter how hard the other networks tried. But once in awhile they would try and we’d get not one, but two solid line-up’s from two networks on the same night. Which did you watch? That was the question!

 

Let’s take a look at one of the more extreme network battles back in 1995. Tuesday night’s were not a blockbuster night, but NBC was working to make it a second night of “Must See TV”.  Since ABC always owned Tuesday’s (as I discussed elsewhere) it was easy to see why ABC would to counter NBC’s solid schedule. They did with  a move which was pretty controversial at the time. Both networks taking two of their best shows…and seeing which one wins!




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ABC                                                  NBC

So which do you watch, the successful if underrated NBC comedy in its final years or the ABC hit which at the tome was at the prime of its run? In 1994 Roseanne was moved from its prime slot on Wednesday’s to Tuesday’s to make for a stronger competitor against what NBC was trying to build. Of course these were very different series and it really depended on your tastes to decide what to watch.

Memorable TV Line-Up’s:ABC Friday Night (Fall 1985)

Some line-ups are monster successes. Not only are they enormously popular with massive ratings, but the lineup is remembered years (even decades) later for how amazing it was. Then you have line-ups that are just, well, there. They are good line-ups with good shows but they aren’t monster hits or cherished years later. They just, were. Here is an example of what I mean. A few years before ABC discovered TGIF, the seeds were planted with this memorable lineup.

 

Friday’s on ABC in the early 80s weren’t solid. Things changed in 1985. This was the year ABC started to realize that targeting the kid demographic would work. Two years later TGIF was born, but we went over that. So let’s take a look where that lineup began.

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Webster

This show had quite a history. It was supposed to a vehicle for Alex Karras and Susan Clark. Then the network decided to jam a cute kid in (thanks to Gary Coleman’s success) and so Emmanuel Lewis was added . Thus, “Another Ballgame” became “Then Came You” and finally “Webster”.  A show about two newlyweds having to raise an orphaned boy. And, well, hi jinks!  It was a pretty harmless show but managed some memorable episodes. Like when Webster burned the apartment down. Or when Katherine miscarried (which was rare on a sitcom). Who here knows the reason Webster called Katherine “Ma’am” all the time? It was also my introduction to Ben Vereen. Back in my articles on actors who hated their shows I didn’t mention the tension on set, as Webster didn’t quite end up being what Karras or Clark wanted. Thankfully that didn’t last forever and the cast did eventually enjoy each other. The show managed six seasons.

Memorable TV Line-Up’s:CBS Monday Night (Fall 1990)

Some networks just kind of owned certain nights. NBC had Thursday’s. ABC owned Friday’s. And CBS for some reason reigned on Monday’s. I already went over what their schedule looked like in the late 90’s, but their reign started at least a whole decade earlier. Let’s look back at a schedule that paved the way for a reemrgence for the, at the time time, struggling CBS network.

Through the 80’s CBS had managed some decent successes on Mondays with hits like Newhart and Kate & Allie, when you’re losing to Bloopers & Practical Jokes then there’s a problem. A Problem that was finally worked out with a little magic in the fall of 1990 when the network finally found the right combination. With NBC airing teen oriented shows (Fresh Prince & Blossom) and ABC showing football, CBS scored with a lineup aimed at the more mature audience.

8:00pm
Evening Shade

If you follow my stuff you know this show was not a favorite. At all. But just because I didn’t like doesn’t mean it should be ignored for the huge success it was. Especially in getting Burt Reynolds some well needed publicity (not to mention an Emmy). Reynolds played an ex football player who returned to coach in a high school team in the very rural Evening Shade, Arkansas. What was my problem with the show? I saw a couple episodes and it never worked for me. Course I was alone on that one since it even topped The Cosby Show at one point. The show also starred Marilu Henner and Michael Jeter.

Memorable TV Line-Up's:ABC Friday Night (Fall 1971)

Was our trip back to 1973 not back far enough? Well why don't we take a look at one of the grooviest TV line ups ever, from ABC in 1971.

Several years ago Nick@Nite did a stunt which I wish they had dome more of. They recreated a popular line-up, and aired the shows as they would have back in the day. Even included some retromercials. My wife and I had a lot of fun revisiting this line up from before we were born. So what was on ABC Friday's in 1971? Glad you asked!

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The Brady Bunch

Considering all  the articles I've done about this show there really isn't much point in me saying much about it. I grew up watching the re-run's and still love to turn it on to this day.

Memorable TV Line-Up’s:The Fall of Must See TV

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.

Memorable TV Line-Up’s:NBC Thursday Night (Fall 1984)

It’s time to go back to NBC Thursday's and a look at 20 years of Must See TV. Today let’s discuss the greatest line up in history. How is this the greatest line-up in history? A couple reasons we will discuss as we go. But first, we have already talked about when Must See TV really took off in 1994. But how did it get started ten years earlier?

 

 

 

Technically in started in 1982 when NBC started pairing shows like Fame, Taxi (acquired from ABC) and Gimme a Break! on to Thursday’s. This included a new show I will discuss below. It’s easy to forget how awful NBC was doing all around as the 80’s began. Then in 1984, it all changed.

 

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The Cosby Show

Say what you want about the bad things Cosby did in his personal life, but it shouldn’t cancel out the amazing work he did in his professional life. Well ok his movie career was hardly “amazing”. But what he did with this series, was. It was a game changer, in many ways. It showed you could have a family sitcom where the parents are normal parents and the kids aren’t wisecracking wiseguys. It revived the sitcom format that had been going stale as the 70’s turned into the 80’s. It saved NBC which was a floundering network. And of course, it portrayed an upscale African American family which believe it or not was rare. It seemed to a rule that African American’s has to be butlers or maid’s, or dirt poor. This was one of the first time’s America saw that yeah African American families can be successful too. And finally, the best thing was how relatable this show was. Yeah the show was about an African American family, but it was relatable to every family in the country. That’s why it was a massive hit and why it still holds up to this day.

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.

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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.

Memorable TV Line-Up’s:Fox Sunday Night (Spring 1986)

I’ve done a few of these now and you may have noticed a little something missing. FOX! Yeah the fourth network which came along in 1986, and didn’t get much attention. At the time the idea of having a successful network compete with the big three was simply laughable (DuMont anyone??). And FOX didn’t disappoint, starting with the horrible Late Show with Joan Rivers. But over time it did finally gain and audience, and respect. The respect was cemented in 1994 when they aquired the NFL (people today will never know how stunning that was). They did a fantastic job and still have the rights today (check out and old SNL sketch about what what people thought FOX would turn NFL broadcasts into).

 

So Fox originally aired two nights a week of original programming. What did they start off with? Let’s take a look, and I should mention that I never watched these shows, or the network frankly, so I wont have much to say here but even so this is still worth a review.

 

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21 Jump Street

So who remember that Johnny Depp started his career on a popular TV show? Yep. This was a cop show but given a Stephen J Cannell dramatic slant. The fact that the cops were youthful officer undercover at schools and other places kids hung out pretty much explains its popularity to the teen demographic. The show had a nice run and even spawned a movie.

Memorable TV Line-Up’s:ABC Tuesday Night (Fall 1978)

Back when I talked about TGIF I noted that as great a line up as that was, ABC had even better line up’s in its history. Let’s go back about ten years earlier to look at one of them.

 

While sitcoms were starting to wane in the late 70’s, there was definitely something special about the Tuesday night line up on ABC. They had spent the 70’s trying to make Tuesday a solid night, but never quite got it right. The Harvey Korman Show?? Then in 1978 they finally nailed it. The awesome lineup featured some monster shows starting with this one known as :

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Happy Days

Is there really anything else I can say about this show that hasn’t been said? This show was one of the best lead in’s for any night because EVERYONE watched this show. Even when it wasn’t worth watching. Ayyyyy!