SCHEDULES OF THE PAST: 1993-1994 Sundays

On Mondays, I take a look at schedules from yesteryear. Here's a look at Sundays in the 1993-94 season!

ABC	7:00	7:30	8:00	9:00	10:00
Sep	America’s Funniest Home Videos	America’s Funniest People	Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman	Sunday Night Movie
Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May

Life Goes On had been cancelled after four seasons so ABC was looking for a new drama for Sunday night and they went with one that was very different from the family drama. First up though, America's Funniest Home Videos and America's Funniest People continued in the 7pm hour. They had moved there from 8pm during the previous season and were no longer ratings phenomena. The new drama was Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman. The series, starring Dean Cain and Teri Hatcher, was a sort of crossbreed between a superhero show and a romance drama. It came at a time when superhero shows were few and far between. The show generated a lot of buzz and some critical attention but it was not a ratings smash. It finished behind the competing dramas on CBS and NBC despite getting many more magazine covers. Still, the attention was enough to get it a second season. As usual, a movie closed out Sunday nights. 

CBS	7:00	8:00	9:00	10:00
Sep	60 Minutes	Murder, She Wrote	Sunday Night Movie
Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May

Once again, CBS had the status quo on Sunday night and why not? 60 Minutes was the #1 show on all of TV for a third straight season. Murder, She Wrote skewed old but was still a hit and their movie easily trounced the competing movies on ABC and NBC. CBS had no reason to mess with Sunday nights.

NBC	7:00	8:00	9:00	10:00
Sep	I Witness Video	SeaQuest DSV	Sunday Night Movie
Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr	Various Programs
May

After spending 1992-93 with cheaper options on Sunday night, NBC took a much bigger swing in 1993-94 with a high profile new drama. First up though, I Witness Video continued on the night though it tried to get a little more gravitas by adding John Forsythe as its host. It didn't work though and the series was cancelled after two seasons. At 8pm was SeaQuest DSV, a big gamble from NBC for the night. The sci-fi drama was set in the then-distant future of 2018 and took place aboard a submarine. The show counted Steven Spielberg among its executive producers and touted that often in ads despite Spielberg's spotty track record with TV. The series had some behind the scenes troubles and middling ratings and reviews for a show this big, but it still managed to get renewed for a second season. The movie at 9pm came in third place in the era of movies on the big three networks every Sunday.

FOX	7:00	7:30	8:00	8:30	9:00	9:30
Sep	Townsend Television		Martin	Living Single	Married With Children	Daddy Dearest
Oct
Nov
Dec						Various Programs
Jan	Code 3	Code 3				The George Carlin Show
Feb
Mar
Apr	Various Programs
May

After many shows struggled on the night in 1992-93, FOX either cancelled or moved every show on the night except for Married... With Children heading into the 1993-94 season. Its new lineup included three new series in the fall. At 7pm was Townsend Television, a sketch comedy series led by comedian Robert Townsend. When it was cancelled (after being the lowest rated show on the air), it was replaced by cheap unscripted option Code 3 for much of the rest of the season. Martin moved over from Thursdays to become the 8pm anchor and it did alright, though not as well as when it was following The Simpsons. New comedy Living Single followed at 8:30pm. The hangout comedy that included Queen Latifah in its cast built on its Martin lead-in and became enormously popular with black audiences. There has been a lot of talk in recent years how Friends ripped off the formula for Living Single and while that may be far-fetched (neither was the first hangout sitcom, they were just two of the more high profile ones), it is true that Friends got a lot more attention from the media and its production studio, Warner Bros. Married... with Children continued at 9pm in its eighth season and still a flagship show for FOX. A new show also followed at 9:30pm. Daddy Dearest starred Don Rickles and Richard Lewis as a father and son sparring in New York. There was some tension behind the scenes between Rickles and Lews and the series wasn't able to find a big audience and was cancelled by the end of the calendar year. It was replaced by The George Carlin Show, one of Carlin's two forays into scripted TV in his run (the other was children's show Shining Time Station). The series received positive reviews and fared better than Daddy, earning it a second season.

Top Rated Sunday Show of 1993-94: 60 Minutes (#1)

Lowest Rated Sunday Show of 1993-94: Townsend Television (#105)

What would I have watched on Sundays in 1993-94?

Call me an old person but Murder, She Wrote would have interested me more than SeaQuest DSV or Lois & Clark. But honestly, not much would have interested me on the night. Guess I would have caught up from the previous week!

Tomorrow: Top 10 7th Heaven Characters!

Next Monday: A look at Mondays in the 1994-95 season!