SCHEDULES OF THE PAST: 1990-1991 Wednesdays

On Mondays, I take a look at schedules from yesteryear. Here's a look at Wednesdays in the 1990-91 season!

ABC	8:00	8:30	9:00	9:30	10:00
Sep	The Wonder Years	Growing Pains	Doogie Howser M.D.	Married People	Cop Rock
Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan					Equal Justice
Feb				Anything But Love
Mar
Apr					Gabriel’s Fire
May					American Detective

Wednesday nights on ABC in 1990-91 was the home of one of TV's most notorious flop. But more on that in a little bit. First up was a comedy block. The Wonder Years entered its fourth season. The series had gone from Tuesdays to Wednesdays then back to Tuesdays and now was back on Wednesdays in the lead-off slot. At 8:30pm was Growing Pains, sliding back half an hour. Both shows were solid performers but not runaway hits anymore. The top performer of the night was at 9pm as the second season of Doogie Howser M.D. continued to do well. At 9:30pm was Married People, a sitcom about three different couples at different stages of life in the same New York City apartment building. The cast included Jay Thomas and Bess Armstrong and lasted just half a season. It was replaced by Anything But Love, which had been cancelled the previous May before getting "un-cancelled" a month later. Its third season lasted just 11 episodes but it cheated death yet again with another renewal. At 10pm came that notorious flop I mentioned - Cop Rock. The cop drama came from noted drama mind Steven Bochco in a genre he was very familiar with. But the twist was it also included musical numbers. And it was musical numbers of all styles - pop, rock, gospel, showtunes, etc. While the show is known as a huge flop and ill-conceived disaster now, it's interesting to note that it wasn't completely panned by in the Fall of 1991. There was a lot of apprehension but also some pretty genuine interest from TV critics. Of course it was a ridiculous premise that wasn't going to work though and the tide quickly turned especially once the ratings started coming in. The show was cancelled in December of that year but is still remembered whenever a list of Biggest TV Flops of All Time is published. Check back Wednesday for my One Season Wonders post on Cop Rock! It was replaced by the second season of Equal Justice, which had been held for midseason. The series was cancelled after its second season but did win its second straight Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing of a Drama Series. There were two more shows that aired in the 10pm hour: a brief run for Gabriel's Fire on the night at the end of its first season and the unscripted American Detective.

CBS	8:00	8:30	9:00	10:00
Sep	Lenny	Doctor, Doctor	Jake and the Fatman	Top Cops
Oct	48 Hours			WIOU
Nov
Dec
Jan
Feb				Various Programs
Mar				WIOU
Apr	Various Programs			48 Hours
May

CBS's Wednesday lineup started with a comedy hour that lasted all of three weeks. It included a new comedy, Lenny, and the third season of Doctor, Doctor. Lenny was a family sitcom starring Lenny Clarke and Doctor, Doctor kept getting surprising renewals. They were both gone from the night in early October with Lenny going on hiatus and Doctor, Doctor moving to Thursday. The comedy hour was replaced by 48 Hours. At 9pm was Jake and the Fatman, which moved its setting from Hawaii to Los Angeles for its fourth season (the first season had also been set in LA). The setting change and tonal change of the series irked star William Conrad but the show still got renewed for a fifth season. At 10pm was a new drama, WIOU, set at a fictional TV station. CBS was very high on the show, screening its entire pilot at Upfronts in the spring of 1991. Despite CBS's enthusiasm about the series and generally good reviews, it struggled to find an audience. It was put on hiatus for February Sweeps and returned for a short time in March before being cancelled. 48 Hours moved to 10pm to end the season while various programs and specials aired in the 8pm hour.

NBC	8:00	9:00	9:30	10:00
Sep	Unsolved Mysteries	The Fanelli Boys	Dear John	Hunter
Oct		Dear John	The Fanelli Boys
Nov
Dec			Working It Out
Jan		Night Court	Seinfeld
Feb
Mar			Dear John	Quantum Leap
Apr
May

NBC had a similar setup to the previous season on Wednesday nights with Unsolved Mysteries followed by a comedy hour and then a drama. Unsolved Mysteries continued to be a big success for the network and was Wednesday's top show across all the networks. NBC tried a new sitcom at 9pm - The Fanelli Boys, which was centered on a family funeral home business and starred Joe Pantoliano, Christopher Meloni and Ann Morgan Guilbert among others. The series struggled to get off the ground and quickly flipped timeslots with the 9:30pm occupant, third year sitcom Dear John. By December, Fanelli was off the lineup and briefly replaced by another struggling freshman, Working It Out. In January, both comedies were replaced as Night Court returned to the night after airing on Fridays and was paired with Seinfeld, which had aired just four episodes in the Summer of 1990 after a pilot preview a full year before that. This was the first in-season airing for Seinfeld as the now iconic show famously had a slow start in the ratings. It aired for a few weeks on Wednesday before getting a tryout on Thursday which of course became its longtime home. When it moved to Thursdays, Dear John came back to the night. Finally at 10pm, NBC started things off with a drama that had spent most of its run on Saturdays. Hunter was entering its seventh season and had lost co-star Stepfanie Kramer who left to pursue other opportunities and amid disagreements with star Fred Dryer. The series tried to replace Kramer with a couple different female partners (who also clashed with Dryer in ways that might had gotten Dryer fired in the post #MeToo era) and the series had lost steam. It was moved to Fridays before being cancelled. It was replaced on Wednesdays with Quantum Leap, which had been airing on Fridays but returned to its old night. It continued to leap around the lineup and never got big ratings but also was staying away from the chopping block.

Top Rated Wednesday Show of 1990-91: Unsolved Mysteries (#14)

Lowest Rated Wednesday Show of 1990-91: Lenny (#115)

What would I have watched on Wednesdays in 1990-91?

The Wonder Years for sure. Maybe Growing Pains and Doogie Howser M.D. too. I'm sure I would have checked out Cop Rock out of sheer curiosity. I would have probably sampled WIOU and The Fanelli Boys too. While I've never been a huge Seinfeld fan, I'm sure I would have checked that out too.

Tomorrow: Top 10 The Wonder Years Characters!

Next Monday: A look at Thursdays in the 1990-91 season!