SCHEDULES OF THE PAST: 1985-1986 Tuesdays

Here's a look at Tuesdays in the 1985-86 season! If you're on a mobile device and the formatting looks weird for a grid, try it on a desktop or laptop!

ABC	8:00	8:30	9:00	10:00
Sep	Who’s the Boss?	Growing Pains	Moonlighting	Our Family Honor
Oct
Nov				Spenser: For Hire
Dec
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr		Perfect Strangers
May		Growing Pains

ABC was the dominant network on Tuesday nights with a solid lineup, especially from 8-10pm. Who's the Boss? was a modest success in its first year but it took over the 8pm lead-off slot for its second season and became a breakout hit, vaulting into the Top 10. The Tony Danza-Judith Light sitcom settled into a very long run in this slot as one of ABC's most successful sitcoms of the 1980s. It was followed by a new sitcom, the wholesome Growing Pains starring Alan Thicke and Joanna Kerns. It fit like a glove out of Who's the Boss? for a family friendly hour. For a brief time in the spring, Growing Pains went on hiatus to make room for midseason entry Perfect Strangers. The comedy, centered on a Chicago man and his foreign cousin was somewhat of an afterthought with a late March premiere, but it ended up being a big success in its short run. It was renewed and became a long running hit for ABC. The 9pm entry was Moonlighting, a critically acclaimed dramedy that had aired just six episodes the previous season. Starring Cybill Shepherd and Bruce Willis, it was a buzzy form-busting show that built an audience as it went along in its second season and ended with a slew of Emmy nominations. The 10pm hour started off with Our Family Honor, a sweeping drama about two New York City families - one involved with the NYPD and one involved with organized crime. The show struggled out of the gate ABC very quickly decided that they did not want to keep it in this prime slot. So, they swapped it with their new and promising Friday drama Spenser: For Hire, starring Robert Urich as a Boston Private Eye. Spenser was a better fit on the night and made to a strong lineup from beginning to end.

CBS	8:00	8:30	9:00	9:30	10:00
Sep	Hometown		Tuesday Night Movie
Oct
Nov	Various Programs
Dec	Stir Crazy
Jan	Melba	Charlie & Company	Trapper John M.D.		Various Programs
Feb	Trapper John M.D.		Tuesday Night Movie
Mar
Apr	Morningstar/Eveningstar		Mary	Foley Square	The Equalizer
May			Various Programs

CBS was a mess on Tuesday nights and it was a disaster to begin with thanks in part to a decision that backfired on CBS. Hometown was a loose adaptation of the hit movie The Big Chill and centered on a group of friends that reunited in their small town after being out in the world. CBS gave it an early platform by premiering it on Thursdays at 10pm starting in late August. By the time premiere week rolled around it already had aired four episodes and was not doing well. It moved to Tuesdays at 8pm when the season officially started and lasted only four more episodes before being yanked in favor of specials that aired for much of the rest of the year, save for a couple burnoff episodes of Stir Crazy around the holidays. The idea of yuppies in the 80s that Hometown was trying to create found more success on ABC two years later with Thirtysomething. A movie aired for the rest of the night. CBS had plans to revamp Tuesday nights with the new sitcom Melba starring Melba Moore and time changes for Charlie & Company and Trapper John M.D.. The lineup was supposed to start January 28, 1986, but that was the day of the Challenger disaster and Reagan's famous speech at night. Needless to say, that wasn't an easy way to get a new lineup started and CBS yanked it immediately. Melba only aired one episode in season and the rest were burned off in the summer while Charlie & Company re-emerged on Fridays later in the season. Trapper John M.D. moved to 8pm. It had been a long running show for CBS but was bouncing around the lineup in its seventh season and ended up being pulled in mid-March. Despite its long run, it had a very quiet end with burnoff episodes in the summer of 1986. Late in the season, the 8pm slot was turned over to Morningstar/Eveningstar, a little remembered drama about an orphanage (Morningstar) that burns down and forces its residents to join up with a senior living home (Eveningstar). A movie continued off and on at 9pm but for a brief time, the lineup was turned over to three new shows that had previously aired on Wednesdays: comedies Mary and Foley Square and drama The Equalizer. Mary and Foley Square were struggling (Mary was already in the process of retooling) but The Equalizer, despite being jerked around the lineup, was one of the only new shows in 1985-86 renewed by CBS and it went on to have a nice run. Mary and Foley Square lasted just three episodes on Tuesdays before being yanked for good (though Foley Square did air reruns in the summer).

NBC	8:00	9:00	10:00
Sep	The A-Team	Riptide	Remington Steele
Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan
Feb
Mar		Hunter	Stingray
Apr
May

NBC had an all drama lineup throughout the season. It started with the same lineup as 1984-85, but the second two hours shifted in March. The 8pm hour all season belonged to The A-Team. The action drama is still in the public conscience today probably thanks mainly to Mr. T but this was the beginning of the end for it. It tumbled from being in the Top 10 for two years to #30 this season. 9pm originally belonged to Riptide, a detective drama that was in its third season but hadn't been able to break out. It moved to Fridays before being cancelled at the end of the season. Its Tuesday replacement was Hunter, a drama that had been doing decently on Saturday nights so I'm not really sure why it was moved to Tuesdays. NBC must not have been sure either because they ended up moving it back to Saturday nights for season three. At 10pm was season four of Remington Steele, a PI drama starring Pierce Brosnan. In the drama musical chairs game that NBC played at midseason, Steele was moved to Saturdays to make room for the new Stingray. Just like every show that aired on Tuesday nights except for Remington Steele, Stingray was created by prolific showrunner Stephen J. Cannell. It had aired a movie in the Summer of 1985 that led to the series order. Starring Nick Mancuso as a mysterious crimefighter, Stingray was not a big success but it did do enough to get a second season that premiered at midseason.

Top Rated Tuesday Show in 1985-86: Who's the Boss? (#10)
Lowest Rated Tuesday Show in 1985-86: Our Family Honor (#81)

What would I have watched on Tuesdays in 1985-86?
Who's the Boss for sure. Maybe Growing Pains and Moonlighting. Hometown looks pretty interesting and like something I would have tried and I certainly would have watched Mary. Maybe Remington Steele too?

Tomorrow: Top 10 First Episodes of Dramas!

Next Monday: Wednesdays in 1985-86!