On Mondays, I take a look at schedules from yesteryear. Here's a look at Thursdays in the 1988-89 season!
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ABC
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8:00
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9:00
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10:00
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Sep
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Various Programs
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Oct
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Nov
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Knightwatch
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Dynasty
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Various Programs
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Dec
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Jan
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HeartBeat
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Feb
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A Fine Romance
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Mar
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Thursday Night Movie
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Apr
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Various Programs
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May
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ABC was back to the drawing board on Thursday nights as no show that aired on the night in 1987-88 returned to the network. Of course, it got a delayed start thanks to the Writer's Strike. Part of the regular lineup launched in November but the 10pm hour didn't get a regular occupant until January. At 8pm was
Knightwatch. Starring Benjamin Bratt, the drama was about a volunteer group called "Knights of the City" and made up mostly of ex-gang members that was set up to help law enforcement. It was very low rated and lasted just a couple months. It was replaced by
A Fine Romance, a romance drama about divorced hosts of a travel show. Filmed in various places of Europe,
A Fine Romance was originally slated to air on Sunday nights but was replaced by the quickly put together reboot of
Mission: Impossible in light of the Writer's Strike. It never got to air on Sundays and was instead thrown to the wolves on Thursdays where it lasted just seven episodes and was one of the lowest rated shows on TV. When it was yanked, ABC aired family movies often broken into two parts for the rest of the season. At 9pm was
Dynasty. Once the #1 show on TV, the show moved over from its long time Wednesday home but the writing was on the wall. Co-star Linda Evans had departed the series and it had dropped tremendously in the ratings in its final season. ABC made the decision to cancel the show after nine seasons and 220 episodes. It was not a sure thing that it was going to end as it ended on a cliffhanger. A miniseries aired in 1991 to tie-up loose ends. It's interesting that a show that was so associated with the Reagan era of opulence ended just a few months after Reagan left office. As already mentioned, no regular show aired at 10pm until January when season two of
HeartBeat returned. The medical drama had been a surprise renewal the previous season but like many reach renewals, it did not do any better in year two. Various specials returned to occupy the slot for the rest of the season. It was once again back to the drawing board for ABC on Thursday nights.
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CBS
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8:00
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9:00
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10:00
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Sep
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48 Hours
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Thursday Night Movie
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Oct
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Nov
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Paradise
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Knots Landing
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Dec
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Jan
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Feb
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Mar
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Apr
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The Equalizer
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May
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CBS did not have big ratings on Thursday nights in 1988-89, but they did have a pretty steady and stable lineup. At 8pm all season was
48 Hours, a newsmagazine in its second season that struggled to find a mass audience but kept the lights on in the difficult Thursday 8pm slot. The two drama hours that followed got a delayed start due to the Writer's Strike. At 9pm was the new
Paradise, a western family drama set in 1890. The drama had a small but loyal following and did get renewed for a second season. It moved to Saturday late in the season and was replaced by
The Equalizer, which moved over from Wednesday. The night ended with the tenth season of
Knots Landing. The iconic primetime soaps from the 80s were quickly declining in the ratings and starting to end but
Knots was the highest rated of them in the 1988-89 season and not declining as quickly. It also managed to still place in the Top 30 even as it faced NBC's popular
L.A. Law.
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NBC
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8:00
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8:30
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9:00
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9:30
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10:00
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Sep
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Summer Olympics
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Oct
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The Cosby Show
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A Different World
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Various Programs
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Nov
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Cheers
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Dear John
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L.A. Law
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Dec
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Jan
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Feb
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Mar
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Apr
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May
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Like every lineup, NBC's top rated Thursday lineup was delayed but it was fully back by November and continued to dominate. The night also boasted both series to win the major Emmy Awards.
Cheers won Outstanding Comedy Series for the first time since the 1983-84 season while
L.A. Law won Outstanding Drama Series for the second time in three years.
The Cosby Show remained at 8pm and was the #1 show on TV for a fourth consecutive year. Its lead-out and spinoff,
A Different World, went through a major re-tooling for its second season. Series star Lisa Bonet announced she was pregnant in the Summer of 1988. There was talk of writing it into the series but executive producer Bill Cosby objected to having Bonet's character Denise Huxtable be a young and unwed pregnant college student. It's always odd in retrospect to see Cosby taking such stands on morals given what we know now. As a result, Bonet returned to
The Cosby Show but was absent for a long portion of the 1988-89 season so her character did not have to be pregnant. Co-star Marisa Tomei also left
A Different World so it shifted to more of an ensemble show and many fans seemed to think that change ultimately was for the better as the show found its own voice and was not as connected to
Cosby. There was only one change in the lineup from the previous season and that was at 9:30pm. The new
Dear John starred Judd Hirsch as a teacher whose wife leaves him for his best friend. Hirsch's first return to TV comedy since
Taxi was in a slot that couldn't miss and indeed it didn't miss, finishing at #11 in the ratings. It was definitely a "timeslot hit" though as it struggled in later seasons when it left its comfy slot. It also doesn't seem to be remembered all that much today compared to other shows that were at the top of the ratings.
Top Rated Thursday Show of 1988-89: The Cosby Show (#1)
Lowest Rated Thursday Show of 1988-89: A Fine Romance (#103)
What would I have watched on Thursdays in 1988-89?
The Cosby Show and Cheers. Probably the rest of the lineup too - A Different World, Dear John and L.A. Law. I don't think I would have been too interested in any show on the other two networks.
Tomorrow: Top 10 TV Apartments!
Next Monday: A look at Fridays in 1988-89!
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