SCHEDULES OF THE PAST: 1986-1987 Fridays

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! I am back with a new week of blog posts. To start, here's a look at Fridays in the 1986-87 season!

ABC	8:00	8:30	9:00	9:30	10:00
Sep	Webster	Mr. Belvedere	Sidekicks	Sledge Hammer!	Starman
Oct
Nov
Dec			Dads	Gung Ho
Jan			Gung Ho	Dads
Feb			Various Programs
Mar	The Charmings	Webster
Apr			Friday Night Movie
May	Webster	Mr. Belvedere

ABC had a rough go of it on Friday nights in 1986-87. They threw a lot at the wall but nothing really stuck. They first continued with a two hour block. The 8pm hour stayed the same with Webster and Mr. Belvedere. The pairing wasn't gangbusters but it kept the lights on in the hour. Late in the season, Webster slid to 8:30pm to make room for The Charmings, a very cheesy fantasy sitcom about Snow White and Prince Charming living in a Los Angeles suburb. Despite critical trashing and middling ratings, it managed to get renewed for another season while Webster was cancelled. However, syndication picked up Webster where it ran for two more years. Mr. Belvedere was almost cancelled as well but gained a last minute reprieve. The Webster/Mr. Belvedere pairing was briefly restored to finish out the season. The 9pm hour was a bigger problem spot for ABC. Two new shows kicked things off. Sidekicks was a martial arts action show based on a Disney film and Sledge Hammer! was a police satire that garnered some critical notice and was originally developed for HBO. Going from family sitcoms to martial arts to satire to a 10pm sci-fi show was a very unnatural lineup for ABC and it did not work. Both Sidekicks and Sledge Hammer! were sent to Saturdays after just a couple months and replaced by two more new comedies that were sitting on the bench. Dads was a sitcom about two single fathers in Philadelphia starring Barry Bostwick and Carl Weintraub while Gung Ho was based on a 1986 film and starred a young Scott Bakula as an American employee working for a Japanese car company and seemed to mostly be one long joke about culture clashes. The show aired for a few weeks in their debut slots and then switched slots for a few more weeks before both were cancelled. Some specials aired for about a month before a movie took over the latter part of the night. Until the movie took the slot, Starman aired at 10pm. The sci-fi drama continued the story from a 1984 film of the same name.

THE FRIDAY FIVE: Top 5 TV News Stories of the Week Ending 11/20/20

Here's a look at this week's Top 5 TV news stories! I'll be taking off next week from the blog for Thanksgiving so look for the posts to continue on Monday, November 30!

#1 - CONAN O'BRIEN DEPARTING LATE NIGHT AFTER 28 YEARS

Late night's elder statesman, Conan O'Brien, is leaving the arena after 28 years with the end of the current season of Conan in June 2021. He hosted Late Night with Conan O'Brien from 1993-2009, had a very infamous short run on The Tonight Show from 2009-2010 and has hosted Conan on TBS since Fall 2010. He will continue to do the Conan Without Borders specials for TBS and host a weekly variety series for HBO Max. This is not surprising as there were rumors about Conan coming to an end a few years ago. While never a ratings king, O'Brien has been a fixture in late night for a very long time. I've never watched him regularly but I thought he handled the awkward Tonight Show debacle with such class and grace and it gave me a lot of respect for him. When he departs, the new longest tenured late night host will be Jimmy Kimmel, who has been on the air since January 2003.

EPISODE GUIDES: That 70s Show Season Two

THAT 70s SHOW: SEASON TWO

1999-2000

26 episodes

Season 2 of That 70s Show introduces several extended arcs that spin their wheels for a lot of the first half of the season. But in the second half of the season, the show really gets moving and has a super strong stretch. As a result, this season graded out as the highest rated one in my scores (by a slim margin) and that's almost entirely due to the second half. The stories that just feel stuck in neutral for the first half of the season finally lead to some excellent moments and character development in the second half. Season two also includes Lisa Robin Kelly as a series regular and introduces Tommy Chong as a recurring character.

Starring
Topher Grace as Eric Forman (26 episodes)
Mila Kunis as Jackie Burkhart (26 episodes)
Ashton Kutcher as Michael Kelso (26 episodes)
Danny Masterson as Steven Hyde (26 episodes)
Laura Prepon as Donna Pinciotti (26 episodes)
Wilmer Valderrama as Fez (26 episodes)
Debra Jo Rupp as Kitty Forman (26 episodes)
Kurtwood Smith as Red Forman (26 episodes)
Lisa Robin Kelly as Laurie Forman (22 episodes)
Don Stark as Bob Pinciotti (16 episodes)
Tanya Roberts as Midge Pinciotti (16 episodes)
Tommy Chong as Leo (5 episodes)

Kevin McDonald as Pastor Dave (1 episode)

26. Garage Sale (9/28/99)
The Formans have a yard sale to help make money with Red about to be out of work. Hyde makes pot-laced brownies for the yard sale. Fez kisses Jackie at the movies.

Season two of That 70s Show picks up right where season one left off with a bunch of the storylines continuing. One of the funniest moments of this episode is putting the four adults in "The Circle" after they try Hyde's "special" brownies and then Red being tripped out while Eric is questioning him about selling the car. It's a really funny flip on the premiere of season one. The other story with Fez kissing Jackie is okay but it's not a super strong B story. This episode is really all about the adults getting high and there's lots of comedy to be mined. It's perhaps the funniest Kurtwood Smith has been yet. Red being so goofy instead of his usual stern self is pretty hilarious.
RATING: 7.5/10

27. Red's Last Day (10/5/99)
Red has his last day working at the plant and ends up getting drunk with co-workers. Kelso buys a van and ends up having sex with Laurie in it.

We have a second straight episode with Red being a little goofy, this time because he is drunk. Although this is funny too, I don't know if I would have put Red in this type of part for two straight episodes. It seems like it would have made this episode funnier if they were spread out a little more. This episode feels more like a set up to future episodes. We have a tease of Eric and Donna taking the next step and a tease of what's going to happen between Kelso and Jackie. However, this episode feels a little transitional and a little unimportant as a result.
RATING: 4.5/10

ONE SEASON WONDERS: Blondie

BLONDIE

Programming Details:

January 4, 1957 - July 5, 1957

26 episodes

NBC

Starring: Arthur Lake, Pamela Britton, Hal Peary, Florenz Ames, Ann Barnes, Stuffy Singer, Mary Lawrence, Lela Bliss

Created by: Chic Young

Plot: Blondie was the first of two attempts to bring the long running comic strip (and at the time, movie series) to TV. Blondie Bumstead (Britton) was a smart housewife who dealt with her bumbling husband, Dagwood (Lake) and children Cookie and Alexander (Barnes & Singer). Dagwood works for Mr. Dithers (Ames). Rounding out the main cast are the neighbors of the Bumsteads, the Woodleys (Peary & Lawrence) as well as Mr. Dither's wife, Cora (Bliss). 

TOP 10 TUESDAY: Top 10 Thanksgiving Episodes (1995-Present)

Last week, I took a look at Thanksgiving Episodes from before 1995. This week is the Top 10 Thanksgiving Episodes (1995-present)!

Close Calls:

How I Met Your Mother "Belly Full of Turkey"

The Goldbergs "A Goldberg Thanksgiving"

Friends "The One where Ross Got High"

10. Everybody Loves Raymond "The Bird" (November 24, 2003)

Towards the end of the run of Everybody Loves Raymond, the series got a nice jolt with the recurring appearances of Fred Willard and Georgia Engel as Amy's parents. The Thanksgiving episodes with the two warring families is one of their best appearances. It's chaos as you might expect and has a lot of funny moments.

9. The West Wing "Shibboleth" (November 22, 2000)

This episode has a lot of plots in it that carry some weight and gravitas but the best part of the episode is the biggest throwaway story: CJ can't deal with the President pardoning only one turkey when she knows the other one is going to be killed. It's a great example of the fun The West Wing had while dealing with serious issues.

SCHEDULES OF THE PAST: 1986-1987 Thursdays

Here's a look at Thursdays in the 1986-87 season!

ABC	8:00	9:00	10:00
Sep	Our World	The Colbys	20/20
Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr		Jack and Mike
May

ABC had a pretty quiet Thursday night lineup in 1986-87 as the night was bookended by newsmagazines. At 8pm was Our World, a show focused on a specific period of history with archival footage and was hosted by Linda Ellerbee and Ray Gandolf. It had some critical acclaim but could struggled mightily to find in audience. In fact, it was the lowest rated show on TV of the shows that qualified for the end of year ratings. Not surprisingly, it was cancelled at the end of the season. 20/20 continued to air at 10pm. At 9pm was season two of The Colbys. The Dynasty spinoff came probably a little too late because primetime soap operas were starting to decline and had some offscreen drama with star Barbara Stanwyck departing before the beginning of season two. With continued critical derision and diminishing ratings, it was cancelled at the end of the season and some of the cast members returned to Dynasty. The Colbys was a pretty high profile failure as far as spinoffs go. Late in the season, it was replaced by reruns of Tuesday failure Jack and Mike.

THE FRIDAY FIVE: Top 5 TV News Stories of the Week Ending 11/13/20

Here's a look at this week's Top 5 TV news stories!

#1 - RIP ALEX TREBEK

A legend in TV has passed away. Jeopardy host Alex Trebek died on Sunday at the age of 80 and after a courageous battle with pancreatic cancer. Trebek, who has been hosting the popular game show since 1984, was working on the show as recently as late October and his final episode is scheduled to air on Christmas. Trebek has been an icon who has seen his stature only rise in recent years. In January, a "Greatest of All Time Tournament" featuring Ken Jennings, Brad Rutter and James Holzhauer earned huge ratingsi n primetime for ABC. While it perhaps has been in the news more with events like that and Trebek's cancer battle, Jeopardy has been a fixture in people's homes for a very long time and part of the evening routine for millions. For people like me and younger, there has never been a time in our lives without Alex Trebek as the Jeopardy host. He will be very missed. I'm sure the show will let a little time pass but then will announce a replacement. Any of the three GOATs seem like possibilities, especially Jennings, to host the show. But no one will ever be able to top Alex Trebek's incredible run. 

EPISODE GUIDES: That 70s Show Season One

It's time to kick off a new episode guide! Over the next couple months, I will be looking at That 70s Show during my weekly Thursday episode guide! A reminder about my breakdown in ratings of episodes:

9-10: Exceptional

7-8: Strong

5-6: OK

3-4: Mediocre

1-2: Terrible

THAT 70s SHOW: SEASON ONE
1998-1999
25 episodes

That 70s Show kicked off its run with a season that establishes its large ensemble cast very well. For a show with this many characters, it really does a nice job giving everyone their times in the spotlight throughout the run. This season did not grade out as the highest but it was certainly the one that was most in tune with its 70s setting. There are more 70s-themed storylines and more attention to the detail of its time period than any future season.

Starring
Topher Grace as Eric Forman (25 episodes)
Mila Kunis as Jackie Burkhart (25 episodes)
Ashton Kutcher as Michael Kelso (25 episodes)
Danny Masterson as Steven Hyde (25 episodes)
Laura Prepon as Donna Pinciotti (25 episodes)
Wilmer Valderrama as Fez (25 episodes)
Debra Jo Rupp as Kitty Forman (25 episodes)
Kurtwood Smith as Red Forman (25 episodes)
Don Stark as Bob Pinciotti (19 episodes)
Tanya Roberts as Midge Pinciotti (18 episodes)
Lisa Robin Kelly as Laurie Forman (9 episodes)

1. That 70s Pilot (8/23/98)
Eric gets his parents' Vista Crusier, but then disobeys them by taking it out of town where the car breaks down.

While it's a little hard to judge since I know the show well before this re-watching, I think the pilot of That 70s Show does a great job of world building. The plot really isn't even that important here, the character development is. We really get to know the personalities of so many of the characters within the first couple minutes of the pilot. I also think it was a little gutsy of them to do a "getting high scene" in the pilot. I know that would become a staple of the show, but it could have been a turn off in the pilot and instead they went for it. It's handled with a lot of humor and the scene with high Eric talking to his parents is pretty funny. The episode loses some momentum when the kids head to the concert, but it still does a good job of building the 70s culture.
RATING: 7/10

2. Eric's Birthday (8/30/98)
Eric can't stop his mother from throwing a surprise birthday for him while he and Donna wrestle with their feelings for each other after their kiss.

Let me just say, the Petticoat Junction discussion is hilarious at the beginning of this episode even though most people watching it today probably don't even know what they're talking about in that scene. This episode is more consistently funny than the pilot as Kitty trying to hide the obvious fact that she's throwing a party for Eric. We also get to meet Lisa Robin Kelly as Eric's older sister, Laurie, in this episode. Although it's a little sad to watch Kelly now knowing what happened to her life, she is perfect for this part. Something that doesn't work in this episode (and didn't work in the pilot either) is the adults doing a voice-over for the kids (or vice-versa in the pilot). It is cheap laughs and brings the episode's momentum to a halt.
RATING: 8/10

ONE SEASON WONDERS: Welcome to New York

WELCOME TO NEW YORK

Programming Details:

October 11, 2000 - January 17, 2001

13 episodes

CBS

Starring: Christine Baranski, Jim Gaffigan, Anthony DeSando, Mary Birdsong, and Sara Gilbert, with Rocky Carroll

Created by: Barbara Wallace and Thomas R. Wolfe

Plot: Marsha Bickner (Baranski) is a larger than life producer of a morning show in New York City, "AM New York." She welcomes new weatherman Jim Gaffigan (Gaffigan) from Indiana to the station which also includes anchor Adrian Spencer (Carroll), Jim's assistant Vince (DeSando) and Marsha's assistant, Amy (Gilbert).

TOP 10 TUESDAY: Top 10 Thanksgiving Episodes (Pre-1995)

Thanksgiving is coming up soon and since I will be taking a week off from posting during Thanksgiving Week, the Thanksgiving Episodes lists start this week with the Top 10 Thanksgiving Episodes (pre-1995)!

Close Calls:

Happy Days "The First Thanksgiving"

The Brady Bunch "The Un-Underground Movie"

The Bob Newhart Show "An American Family"

10. Newhart "Don't Rain on My Parade" (November 21, 1983)

Thanksgiving episodes have a little bit less of a bar to clear to get on the list than Halloween because there's less of them but Newhart still had a fun enough one to place #10 which centers on Dick inviting all the Thanksgiving parade workers to dinner at the inn without telling his wife.

9. That Girl "Thanksgiving Comes But Once a Year, Hopefully" (November 23, 1967)

Any episodes of That Girl than involve Ann's parents interacting with Ann and Donald are fun and this one is extra fun with Donald's parents involved. We've all been there with everyone having their own customs and preferences for Thanksgiving dinner, this is a fun tribute to that.

SCHEDULES OF THE PAST: 1986-1987 Wednesdays

Here's a look at Wednesdays in the 1986-87 season!

ABC	8:00	8:30	9:00	10:00
Sep	Perfect Strangers	Head of the Class	Dynasty	Hotel
Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan
Feb
Mar		Harry
Apr		Head of the Class		Mariah
May

ABC revamped the first hour on Wednesday nights with a comedy hour. Though it only aired six episodes late in the spring of the previous season, Perfect Strangers did well enough to earn ABC's confidence that it could be a lead off show. It's a little surprising they picked Strangers instead of Growing Pains. Although it didn't do as well as it did on its brief Tuesday run, it did turn the lights on for ABC in a troubled slot. It was followed by Head of the Class, a new sitcom starring Howard Hesseman as a teacher of gifted students in Manhattan. The reverse Welcome Back Kotter sitcom built on its lead-in and was ABC's top rated new show. It was briefly replaced in the spring with Harry, a hospital-set sitcom starring Alan Arkin that lasted just four episodes before ABC cut its run early and went back to Class. At 9pm was Dynasty. Just two years removed from being the #1 show on TV, Dynasty dropped all the way to #25 this season. It was very clearly a show on the decline by this point. It was followed, as usual, by Hotel. The drama was also dropping in the ratings like its lead-in. It was put on hiatus late in the season although it went back to Wednesdays for the summer. Its replacement was Mariah, a drama set in a prison that lasted seven episodes.

THE FRIDAY FIVE: Top 5 TV News Stories of the Week Ending 11/6/20

Here's a look at this week's Top 5 TV news stories!

#1 - ELECTION NIGHT RATINGS

It was a pretty quiet week for TV news with so much other news going on in the country. So the top story is the closest TV news can get to the election - the ratings! The Tuesday night election coverage was down 30% from 2016 election coverage across the broadcast and cable news networks. As usual, FOX News was on top as far as individual networks. This could be for a couple reasons. Perhaps people realized we weren't going to know on election night and turned it off (that was me, finally, at 12:30am). But the bigger reason is the main reason sports and everything else is down. People are just consuming TV differently. It affected scripted shows first but now even live events are being watched online. Maybe people were on YouTube getting news or any number of sites or apps. TV is being watched as much as it ever has been, if not more. But it's not being watched in the traditional way and that's only going to be more prominent as the years go on. It would be nice if there was a way to quantify things but it's hard with so many streamers refusing to release numbers in any sort of normalized way. 

EPISODE GUIDES: A Recap of Bewitched

Here is a summary of Bewitched! Next week we go forward in time with a look at That 70s Show but before that, here is a look at all eight seasons including the ultimate countdown of Bewitched's best and worst episodes!

BEWITCHED

September 17, 1964 - March 25, 1972
254 episodes

Starring

Elizabeth Montgomery as Samantha Stephens (254 episodes)
Dick York as Darrin Stephens, Seasons 1-5 (156 episodes)
Dick Sargent as Darrin Stephens, Seasons 6-8 (84 episodes)
Agnes Moorehead as Endora (147 episodes)
David White as Larry Tate (166 episodes)
Erin Murphy as Tabitha Stephens (98 episodes)

Alice Pearce as Gladys Kravitz, Seasons 1-2 (27 episodes)
Sandra Gould as Gladys Kravitz, Seasons 3-7 (29 episodes)
George Tobias as Abner Kravitz (54 episodes)
Irene Vernon as Louise Tate, Seasons 1-2 (13 episodes)
Kasey Rogers as Louise Tate, Seasons 3-8 (33 episodes)
Marion Lorne as Aunt Clara (27 episodes)
Elizabeth Montgomery as Serena (24 episodes)
Mabel Albertson as Phyllis Stephens (18 episodes)
Bernard Fox as Dr. Bombay (18 episodes)
David and Greg Lawrence as Adam Stephens (17 episodes)
Alice Ghostley as Esmeralda (15 episodes)
Maurice Evans as Maurice (12 episodes)
Robert F. Simon as Frank Stephens, Seasons 1-3, 7 (5 episodes)
Roy Roberts as Frank Stephens, Seasons 4-6 (7 episodes)
Paul Lynde as Uncle Arthur (10 episodes)
Jill Foster as Betty (10 episodes)

ONE SEASON WONDERS: Charlie Grace

CHARLIE GRACE

Programming Details:
September 14, 1995 - October 19, 1995
6 episodes
ABC

Starring: Mark Harmon, Cindy Katz, Leelee Sobieski and Robert Costanzo
Created by: Robert Singer

Plot: Charlie Grace (Harmon) is a former Los Angeles police officer who was kicked off the force for busting his fellow officers. Now divorced, he has opened a private investigation business while also taking care of his daughter, Jenny (Sobieski). Rounding out the main cast is lawyer Leslie Loeb (Katz) and a police officer who remains a rival, Artie Crawford (Costanzo).

TOP 10 TUESDAY: Top 10 TV Elected Officials

With today being Election Day, this week's Top 10 is Top 10 TV Elected Officials! Note, these are not the ten I would most like to have running my town or country. But I find them to be the most entertaining.

Close Calls:

Claire Underwood - House of Cards

Mellie Grant - Scandal

Tom Kirkland - Designated Survivor

10. Charles Logan (Gregory Itzin) - 24

Certainly not the most moral on this list, the season of 24 featuring Gregory Itzin as President Logan is its best crafted and most thrilling season. Itzin is just wonderful as the weasel-y and morally bankrupt president.

9. Robert "Bob" White (voice of Greg Lee) - Doug

Doug had such a great population of townspeople and adults including their slimy mayor who was so obviously concerned about his image over everything else. I think an adult-themed spinoff based on him could be enjoyable.

SCHEDULES OF THE PAST: 1986-1987 Tuesdays

 Here's a look at Tuesdays in the 1986-87 season!

ABC	8:00	8:30	9:00	10:00
Sep	Who’s the Boss?	Growing Pains	Moonlighting	Jack and Mike
Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr				Max Headroom
May

ABC had a killer Tuesday night lineup for the first two hours with all three of their shows back in the Top 10 and placing in the Top 10 of the ratings. Who's the Boss? had quickly become a reliable and strong anchor while Growing Pains actually built on Boss for its second season. At 9pm was Moonlighting, which spent another year in the Top 10 but only produced 15 episodes. The show was notorious for being behind schedule and they often had to throw a repeat up at the last minute. Considering the average TV season is 35 weeks and the show aired in the slot the whole season, only 15 episodes means they had to repeat or preempt a lot. Moonlighting also consumated the relationship between its two main characters in this season which was a big event but the beginning of the end creatively for a show built on sexual tension. Despite the success of the first two hours, things did not go as well at 10pm. For most of the season, Jack and Mike aired in the slot. Centered on a married working couple in Chicago, it was definitely an attempt at finding a compatible show for Moonlighting. However, it only placed at #60 in the ratings despite the first two hours all placing in the Top 10. It was cancelled in March after 16 episodes. The late season entry was Max Headroom, a very odd sci-fi satire set in a future dystopia where an oligarchy of TV networks is in charge. Despite the very unusual concept and the very late start in the season, it was renewed for a second season.