SCHEDULES OF THE PAST: 1991-1992 Fridays

On Mondays, I take a look at schedules from yesteryear. Here's a look at Fridays in the 1991-92 season!

ABC	8:00	8:30	9:00	9:30	10:00
Sep	Family Matters	Step by Step	Perfect Strangers	Baby Talk	20/20
Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan			Baby Talk	Perfect Strangers
Feb				Billy
Mar
Apr			Dinosaurs	Baby Talk
May

ABC's hit TGIF lineup had a big change for 1991-92 as Full House left the night after four seasons and headed over to Tuesdays. One of the reasons ABC was able to do that was the breakout success of Family Matters, which was entering its third year. Matters took over the 8pm slot and was not as powerful as Full House was in the slot but it proved to be a reliable lead-off for ABC's kid friendly block. It was followed by a new family sitcom from the Miller-Boyett factory. Step by Step was a Brady Bunch-type sitcom starring Patrick Duffy (fresh off of Dallas) and Suzanne Somers. The series received mixed reviews but was a perfect fit for the night as it settled into a long run on the night. The 9pm hour was not as steady as the 8pm hour. It started with Perfect Strangers and Baby Talk. Strangers was starting to seem like a relic from a different era of ABC sitcoms and it was showing its age. It wasn't really capable of being an anchor anymore and was moved to 9:30pm and then Saturdays. Baby Talk was a returning sitcom undergoing a major revamp. Star Julia Duffy (who had replaced Connie Sellecca) left the series and was replaced by Mary Page Keller. George Clooney also left the cast while Scott Baio joined (talk about a downgrade). The series also changed its setting. All these changes didn't turn things around for the show. It moved to 9pm and then back to 9:30pm but was cancelled at the end of the season. Late in the season, Billy aired briefly on the night. Billy was a spinoff of Head of the Class starring Billy Connolly, who had joined Class in its final season. It lasted just a couple months on the night. Dinosaurs returned to the night at the end of the season after an unsuccessful attempt at leading off Wednesdays. Throughout the season, 20/20 continued to air at 10pm of course.

CBS	8:00	8:30	9:00	10:00
Sep	Princesses	Brooklyn Bridge	Friday Night Movie
Oct	Brooklyn Bridge	Princesses	Various Programs	Palace Guard
Nov	Various Programs		The Carol Burnett Show	Various Programs
Dec
Jan			Tequila & Bonetti	Hearts Are Wild
Feb
Mar	Scorch	Fish Police
Apr	Tequila & Bonetti		Friday Night Movie
May	Various Programs

CBS was all over the place on Friday nights in 1991-92 with Dallas gone from the night after over a decade. They had a slow rollout of their planned lineup of all new shows to the point that some of the shows were already off the air by the time others premiered. A comedy block started the night. At 8pm was Princesses, a sitcom about three female roommates (Julie Hagerty, Twiggy & Fran Drescher) in New York City. The series was plagued by bad buzz before it premiered with Hagerty walking off the set after just four episodes. The premiere ranked last in the Nielsen Ratings for the week and the show was immediately in trouble on air and off. It briefly moved to 8:30pm but then was cancelled after five episodes though it did start CBS's relationship with Fran Drescher which resulted in The Nanny two years later. Check back Wednesday for a One Season Wonder post on Princesses! CBS was slightly more successful with Brooklyn Bridge, a gentle coming of age dramedy set in Brooklyn in the 1950s. The series, starring Marion Ross among others, was critically adored and nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series. It was saved from Friday nights pretty quickly but still only lasted two seasons. The next show to premiere on the night was Palace Guard in October. The series was about a reformed cat burglar and jewel thief running security for a luxury hotel. It lasted just three weeks before being cancelled. The 9pm entry didn't even premiere until November when the 8pm comedy hour was gone and the 10pm drama was airing its final episode before cancellation. At 9pm was a revival of The Carol Burnett Show. The series of course had been a huge hit in the 60s and 70s but sensibilities about variety shows had changed by the early 90s and the show felt dated. It was gone after just two months. Two dramas took over at 9pm and 10pm in January. Tequila & Bonetti was a police dramedy starring Jack Scalia as a New York Italian who moves to LA and works with a French mastiff (who talks to the audience). The series also starred Mariska Hargitay. It lasted just 12 episodes but was revived for Italian television in 2000. Another light hearted drama aired at 10pm. Hearts Are Wild came from Aaron Spelling and was set at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas. It was in the style of The Love Boat with different guest stars each week but it lasted even shorter than Tequila. After not having any regular show scheduled in the 8pm hour for months, CBS tried another comedy block at 8pm in March but it lasted just three weeks. Scorch and Fish Police were definitely an attempt to compete for the young crowd but the odds were stacked against them airing against TGIF. Scorch featured a miniature dragon puppet waking up from a 100 year nap and landing in front of a family's apartment. Fish Police was an animated sitcom from Hanna-Barbera about, you guessed it, fish police. It was a little more risque than a typical Hanna-Barbera show and was CBS's attempt to tap into the popularity of The Simpsons. It was definitely back to the drawing board for CBS on Friday nights.

NBC	8:00	8:30	9:00	9:30	10:00
Sep	Real Life with Jane Pauley	Expose	Dear John	Flesh ‘N’ Blood	Reasonable Doubts
Oct	Matlock		Flesh ‘N’ Blood	Dear John
Nov
Dec			Pacific Station
Jan			Various Programs
Feb					Various Programs
Mar			I’ll Fly Away		Nightmare Café
Apr					The Fifth Corner
May					Various Programs

Just like CBS, NBC was somewhat of a mess on Friday nights. The original plan lasted just a couple weeks as newsmagazines Real Life with Jane Pauley and Expose lasted just three weeks before being cancelled. They were replaced by Matlock, which had been sitting on NBC's bench. The long running legal drama lasted the rest of the season on Fridays but cancelled it at the end of the season. It ended up being picked up by ABC and lasting three more seasons. 9pm started off as a comedy block with the returning Dear John paired with Flesh 'n' Blood, a sitcom about a Baltimore ADA looking for her birth family. The two comedies were not a great fit out of the newsmagazines or Matlock. They flipped places temporarily before Flesh was cancelled and Sunday transplant Pacific Station took over. The comedy block was gone entirely by the new year and there was no set 9pm show until the acclaimed but low-rated I'll Fly Away moved to the night in March. There were several new shows that aired in the 10pm hour over the course of the season. First up was Reasonable Doubts, a crime drama starring Mark Harmon and Marlee Matlin. The series earned some critical acclaim (including a couple Emmy nominations) and did well enough in a tough Friday slot to get an upgrade to Tuesdays which helped it get renewed for a second season. Its Friday replacement was Nightmare Cafe, a sci-fi/horror show from Wes Craven. The series lasted just six episodes but, like so many shows like it, it has become a cult favorite. The last 10pm entry lasted just two weeks. The Fifth Corner, a drama about a man who lost his memory, had a two hour premiere and then one more episode before getting a quick cancellation.

FOX	8:00	9:00	9:30
Sep	America’s Most Wanted	The Ultimate Challenge
Oct
Nov		Best of the Worst	Totally Hidden Video
Dec		Totally Hidden Video	Best of the Worst
Jan
Feb		Various Programs
Mar		Totally Hidden Video	Totally Hidden Video
Apr		Sightings
May

FOX went completely unscripted on Friday nights. America's Most Wanted had moved to the night in 1990 when FOX added Friday programming and it was a solid lead-off show. A wide variety of other unscripted shows aired in the 9pm hour including returning shows like Totally Hidden Video and new shows like Best of the Worst, The Ultimate Challenge, and Sightings. Ironically, Best of the Worst, which was hosted by Greg Kinnear and celebrated the worst things in life, finished last in the ratings for the season so it perhaps was the worst of the worst.

Top Rated Friday Show of 1991-92: 20/20 (#20)

Lowest Rated Friday Show of 1991-92: Best of the Worst (#102)

What would I have watched on Fridays in 1991-92?

Perfect Strangers and maybe off and on with the other ABC shows. Brooklyn Bridge and I'll Fly Away for sure. Palace Guard sounded mildly interesting too if I managed to catch it in the three weeks it was on.

Tomorrow: Top 10 Mom Characters!

Next Monday: A look at Saturdays in the 1991-92 season!