SCHEDULES OF THE PAST: 1987-1988 Wednesdays

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

ABC	8:00	8:30	9:00	9:30	10:00
Sep	Perfect Strangers	Head of the Class	Hooperman	The Slap Maxwell Story	Dynasty
Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan
Feb
Mar	Growing Pains
Apr				Just in Time	HeartBeat
May					China Beach

Dynasty had aired Wednesday nights at 9pm since 1983 but it was showing its age so ABC moved in to 10pm to make room for a longer comedy block. Once again the first hour was led by Perfect Strangers and Head of the Class, two shows that were pretty compatible with each other and while not as strong as the 8pm hour on Tuesdays, they were still a potent combo. Two new comedies followed at 9pm and they were a much less compatible pair. First up was Hooperman, a dramedy starring John Ritter as a San Francisco police inspector. It was actually one of the first shows to be deemed a "dramedy" and received critical acclaim. Though its ratings were modest, it did get as second season. It was followed by The Slap Maxwell Story, starring Dabney Coleman as a sportswriter. It also had its supporters but was cancelled at the end of the season. Late in the year, there were some changes to the sitcom lineup. Perfect Strangers was moved to anchor Friday night and Growing Pains came over from Tuesday as the new Wednesday lineup. I think this was more about strengthening both nights than an indictment of Strangers. Also, a new sitcom premiered at 9:30pm. Just in Time starred Tim Matheson as a magazine news editor and lasted just six episodes. Dynasty held down the 10pm slot for most of the year but continued to quickly decline in the ratings. It dropped to #41 just four years after being #1. It ended its season early and two new dramas took over each for a short time. First up was HeartBeat, a medical drama about a women's health center starring Kate Mulgrew. It was notable for being one of the first shows to feature a lesbian character and couple. The ratings were modest but it did get renewed for a second season. The same was true for the show that followed it, China Beach. Set at an evacuation hospital during the Vietnam War, China Beach earned significant critical praise which helped it run longer than the ratings ever warranted. It starred Dana Delany and Marg Helgenberger among many others and is often regarded as one of the best dramas of its era.

CBS	8:00	9:00	10:00
Sep	The Oldest Rookie	Magnum P.I.	The Equalizer
Oct
Nov
Dec		Various Programs
Jan	The Law and Harry McGraw	Magnum P.I.
Feb
Mar	Various Programs	Jake and the Fatman
Apr	The New Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour
May

CBS had a lot going on in the first two hours and stability at 10pm in the 1987-88 season. They started the season with a trio of dramas, leading off with the new The Oldest Rookie at 8pm. Similar to the plot of ABC's The Rookie, The Oldest Rookie starred Paul Sorvino as a veteran cop who wanted to become a street cop and was assigned with a rookie partner. The show did not catch on with viewers and was cancelled after 14 episodes and replaced for a brief time with The Law and Harry McGraw, which had been struggling on Tuesdays. At 9pm was the long running Magnum P.I. Once a Top 10 hit for CBS, the show was fading and was cancelled after eight seasons and 162 episodes. Of course it remained in the public consciousness thanks in no small part to Tom Selleck's mustache and was rebooted by CBS in 2018. Its final season was only half a season and it was replaced by Jake and the Fatman, moving over from Tuesday, in March. Meanwhile, there was a new 8pm entry late in the season. The Smothers Brothers made their return to TV almost two decades after the abrupt end of their hit 60s show due to warring with the network over content. By the late 1980s however, networks had become more relaxed on some of the humor the Smothers Brothers had been trying to do so they came back with The New Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour. They did not capture the cultural zeitgeist again but they did get renewed, perhaps in part due to the 1988 WGA Strike that made a show like Smothers Brothers easy to air. Despite the instability earlier in the night, the 10pm stayed the same all season as The Equalizer held down the fort and did decently in the ratings though it wasn't a huge hit.

NBC	8:00	9:00	10:00
Sep	Highway to Heaven	A Year in the Life	St. Elsewhere
Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan
Feb
Mar	Aaron’s Way	Highway to Heaven	A Year in the Life
Apr		A Year in the Life	The Bronx Zoo
May		Highway to Heaven	St. Elsewhere

After experimenting with comedies at 9pm the previous season, NBC went back to a trio of dramas on Wednesdays for the 1987-88 season. At 8pm was season four of Highway to Heaven. The gentle drama slid some in the ratings but still was a decent performer. It was followed by a new drama that seemed like a very compatible partner on paper.  A Year in the Life had been a successful miniseries back in December 1986 and then became a weekly series. The Seattle-set family drama was centered on a family over the course of a year and starred Richard Kiley, Eva Marie Saint, Adam Arkin and Sarah Jessica Parker among others. Although the show received some acclaim it could not capture the attention the miniseries captured and was cancelled after one season. At 10pm was St. Elsewhere, which had become one of NBC's longest running shows. The medical drama was never a huge ratings hit but had a six year run before ending in this season after 137 episodes. The finale was notorious and divisive as it implied that perhaps the entire series was actually in the mind (and snow globe) of an autistic boy. Late in the season, there was a lot of shifting around of the dramas at 9pm and 10pm including the return of The Bronx Zoo for a second season before it was cancelled. The new 8pm entry was Aaron's Way, a gentle drama about an Amish family who moves to California to help the pregnant widow of their son who had left the Amish community. The show did decently but did not get renewed for a second season and was condemned by the actual Amish.

Top Rated Wednesday Show in 1987-88: Growing Pains (#5)
Lowest Rated Wednesday Show in 1987-88: The Bronx Zoo (#83)

What would I have watched on Wednesdays in 1987-88?
A lot actually. Perfect Strangers, Head of the Class, St. Elsewhere, A Year in the Life, China Beach. Probably The Bronx Zoo and Growing Pains too and I would have sampled Aaron's Way and Hooperman.

Tomorrow: Top 10 Theme Songs of the 70s!

Next Monday: A look at Thursdays in the 1987-88 season!