SCHEDULES OF THE PAST: 1987-1988 Tuesdays

On Mondays, I take a look at schedules from yesteryear. Here's a look at Tuesdays in the 1987-88 season!

ABC	8:00	8:30	9:00	10:00
Sep	Who’s the Boss?	Growing Pains	Moonlighting	Thirtysomething
Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan
Feb
Mar		The Wonder Years
Apr
May		Just the Ten  of Us

1987-88 was probably the peak of ABC's Tuesday dominance in the 1980s with four of their Tuesday entries in the Top 12 shows of the year. The comedy block was led off by Who's the Boss?, which had become a very strong anchor and was in the prime of its run. For a second straight year, Growing Pains built on its lead-in to become ABC's top show. ABC finally decided to move Pains to let it become an anchor elsewhere in March as it headed to Wednesdays. The new 8:30pm entry was a show that had premiered following the Super Bowl - The Wonder Years. The coming of age dramedy was instantly a huge hit with viewers and critics. It delivered big ratings and its six episode first season won the Emmy for Outstanding Comedy Series while star Fred Savage became the youngest actor to ever be nominated for Lead Actor in a Comedy Series at 13 years old. It's still one of the shining examples of a show launching out of the Super Bowl but the actual run didn't happen until a month and a half later. Since it only had six episodes, another new show took over at the very end of the season. Just the Ten of Us was a backdoor spinoff of Growing Pains about a California teacher/coach with eight children. It aired just four episodes in its first season but airing in a very protected timeslot, it did well and got a second season. Moonlighting continued at 9pm. Though it was still doing well in the ratings, the critical acclaim was losing its luster and stars Cybill Shepherd and Bruce Willis did not share as much screen time together with Shepherd pregnant with twins and Willis filming Die Hard. At 10pm was a new drama that struggled to find a mass audience but was a darling with critics and winner of the Outstanding Drama Series Emmy Award. Thirtysomething was about a bunch of yuppies in Philadelphia. The show was somewhat divisive with some extremely loyal fans and others who found the angsty show and characters irritating. Despite ranking well behind the other Tuesday ABC shows, it was one of the most talked about new shows of the season.

CBS	8:00	8:30	9:00	9:30	10:00
Sep	Houston Knights		Jake and the Fatman		The Law and Harry McGraw
Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan	48 Hours				Cagney & Lacey
Feb
Mar	Frank’s Place	Trial and Error	My Sister Sam	Coming of Age
Apr	Houston Knights		Tuesday Night Movie
May

After stabilizing the night the previous season with a movie, CBS was all over the place on Tuesdays for a lot of the 1987-88 season before resorting to a movie again at the end of the season. They started with a trio of dramas including two new ones. First up was the returning Houston Knights. The crime drama had been a borderline renewal and wasn't really capable of being a lead-off show. It was followed by the new Jake and the Fatman, a show that would probably have a different title today. The crime drama marked the return of William Conrad to TV after his successful 1970s crime drama Cannon. While not a breakout hit, it was the most successful drama of the night for CBS in the fall. At 10pm was another new drama, The Law and Harry McGraw. The drama starred Jerry Orbach and Barbara Babcock and was a spinoff of Murder, She Wrote. Despite the huge success or Murder, Harry McGraw could not find a wide audience and was cancelled after 17 episodes. Perhaps it would have done better if it had been able to follow the mothership. Orbach made a few more appearances on Murder, She Wrote before hitting the jackpot in the crime drama realm with Law & Order in 1990. The night was revamped in January with a new newsmagazine taking over at 8pm. 48 Hours was originally hosted by Dan Rather and focused on exploring events that lasted 48 hours but that has changed over time. Little did CBS know that the show would last for decades. Meanwhile at 10pm, Cagney & Lacey moved over from its longtime Monday home for a short time before returning to Mondays. In March, both 48 Hours and Jake and the Fatman moved to other nights and the first two hours were replaced with a comedy block that lasted all of three weeks. It included Frank's Place, moved over from Mondays, and the return of My Sister Sam which had been on hiatus since October. There were also two new shows: Coming of Age and Trial and Error. Coming of Age was set in a retirement community and had a cast full of veterans of stage and screen: Paul Dooley, Phyllis Newman, Alan Young and Glynis Johns. Trial and Error was about two Latino roommates in Los Angeles and its most notable claim is it featured the first on screen appearance by Brad Pitt as a bellboy in its second episode. While both new shows were pulled after three episodes, Coming of Age was actually granted a reprieve and renewed. My Sister Sam and Frank's Place were also cancelled with a sad postscript to Sam being the tragic death of star Rebecca Schaeffer a year later at the hands of a stalker. Houston Knights returned to 8pm to finish out the season while CBS went back to a movie at 9pm.

NBC	8:00	9:00	10:00
Sep	Matlock	J.J. Starbuck	Crime Story
Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan		Hunter
Feb
Mar		In the Heat of the Night
Apr
May

NBC had a good thing going to start off Tuesday nights with Matlock. The second year drama had developed quite a loyal audience (albeit an old one) and was a success story but they couldn't figure out a good lead-out until the end of the season. Their first attempt was J.J. Starbuck, a crime drama starring Dale Robertson as a billionaire Texan. In January, NBC swapped J.J. Starbuck with Saturday night drama Hunter. I'm not really sure what the reasoning was as Hunter had developed a loyal audience on Saturday nights and there seemed to be no need to mess with it. NBC seemed to feel that way too because it was quickly sent back to Saturdays a couple months later. The last 9pm entry was easily the most successful one. While Matlock had brought back sitcom star Andy Griffith to TV in a drama, In the Heat of the Night brought Carroll O'Connor back to TV a few years after the end of All in the Family and Archie Bunker's Place. Set in Mississippi, In the Heat of the Night was a crime drama based on the 1960s novel and film. It was a perfect fit with the Southern-set crime drama that preceded it and easily outrated the dramas that previously aired in the 9pm slot. All season, the 10pm belonged to season two of Crime Story. On paper, it seemed like it might also fit in well. The acclaimed drama was a period piece but couldn't find a mass audience. Despite NBC giving it the entire season to try to break out, it was cancelled at the end of the season.

Top Rated Tuesday Show in 1987-88: Growing Pains (#5)
Lowest Rated Tuesday Show in 1987-88: Trial and Error (#104)

What would I have watched on Tuesdays in 1987-88?
Who's the Boss and The Wonder Years. Probably Thirtysomething and Frank's Place. Maybe Coming of Age, Growing Pains and Crime Story.

Tomorrow: Top 10 Theme Songs of the 60s!

Next Monday: A look at Wednesdays in 1987-88!