SCHEDULES OF THE PAST: 1994-1995 Thursdays

On Mondays, I take a look at schedules from yesteryear. Here's a look at Thursdays in the 1994-95 season!

ABC	8:00	9:00	10:00
Sep	My So-Called Life	McKenna	Primetime Live
Oct		Matlock
Nov
Dec
Jan			Day One
Feb	Matlock	The Commish
Mar	Extreme
Apr	Matlock
May		Various Programs

ABC made an attempt with scripted dramas on Thursday nights throughout the 1994-95 season but it did not work out well for them at any point. They made a bold attempt at 8pm with teen drama My So-Called Life. Now considered one of the greatest one and done shows in TV history, the critics embraced the show at the time as well with breakout teen star Claire Danes winning a Golden Globe for Lead Actress in a Drama. The series debuted early, in late August, to get a jump on the fall season but the ratings were very poor. Despite that, ABC continued to give it a chance and it lasted all the way until the end of January. There were lots of conversations about bringing the show back but it ultimately didn't happen mostly due to the ratings but there was also the revelation later than Danes didn't want to continue with the show. Still, if the ratings had been a little better, I'm sure it would have come back. It aired on MTV for a time and was one of the first shows to have a passionate online following and it remains beloved to this day. There was not as much love for the 9pm entry. McKenna was an Oregon-set family drama starring Chad Everett, Eric Close and Jennifer Love Hewitt. It lasted just three weeks before being pulled from the lineup. After the quick hook for McKenna, Matlock returned to the night and the very old skewing drama was an odd pair with the youthful So-Called Life. Still, it was a stabilizing force on the night even though ABC wanted to go younger. That led to it ending at the end of the season after nine seasons (three on ABC) and 193 episodes. When So-Called ending its season early in January, Matlock moved to 8pm and The Commish came over from Saturdays. The series had always been a steady Saturday performer but it was losing steam. It managed to get renewed but ended up airing a very short final season. Matlock was replaced briefly in March by Extreme, a Rocky Mountains-set adventure drama that had aired its first episode out of the Super Bowl. The Super Bowl episode delivered high ratings, of course, but the audience did not check back in when it appeared on Thursdays at 8pm a month later. It was cancelled after airing on the night for just over a month and Matlock returned to the slot. Throughout the season, newsmagazines shared the 10pm hour with Primetime Live airing through December before moving to Wednesdays and then Day One taking over.

CBS	8:00	9:00	10:00
Sep	Due South	Eye to Eye with Connie Chung	Chicago Hope
Oct		Chicago Hope	Eye to Eye with Connie Chung
Nov
Dec
Jan		Eye to Eye with Connie Chung	48 Hours
Feb
Mar
Apr
May	Various Programs

One of the big stories heading into the 1994-95 season was the battle of the new medical dramas on Thursday nights. Two of the highest profile new dramas were Chicago Hope on CBS and ER on NBC. They were both hospital dramas set in Chicago and for some reason, they both ended up in the Thursday 10pm slot. Neither network blinked in the summer and moved their show but it didn't take long for CBS to blink. In fact, it took just two weeks of Hope getting crushed by ER and CBS moved the show to 9pm, flipping it with newsmagazine Eye to Eye with Connie Chung. Chicago Hope didn't fare much better at 9pm with NBC also dominating in that hour and CBS finally made the decision to save Hope. It shipped it off to Mondays which proved to be the best thing for the show as it went on to have a nice, long run. Meanwhile, CBS just ended up going with two newsmagazines - Eye to Eye and 48 Hours. There were a glut of newsmagazines in the 1994-95 season and the era of OJ Simpson dominating the news daily. Eye to Eye dropped with "with Connie Chung" part of its title late in the season when Chung left the network, due in part to a controversial interview with then-House Speaker Newt Gingrich's mother. A scripted drama did air at 8pm for most of the year. Due South was the first Canadian-produced drama to have a regular slot on a broadcast network. After airing a full first season, CBS opted not to continue with the show but it did continue to be produced for CTV in Canada and CBS actually did end up airing a few more episodes late in 1995 after a lot of their new fall shows failed.

NBC	8:00	8:30	9:00	9:30	10:00
Sep	Mad About You	Friends	Seinfeld	Madman of the People	ER
Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan
Feb				Various Programs
Mar		Hope & Gloria		Friends
Apr
May

NBC stabilized its Must See TV lineup in the 1993-94 season but they decided to move their shows in the half hour slots (Wings and Frasier) to become new anchors on Tuesdays. Mad About You and Seinfeld continued as the anchors and were big hits with Seinfeld actually taking the crown as the #1 show on TV for the season. In between the two comedy anchors was a little show called Friends. For a show that became one of TV's all time biggest hits, it had an unassuming start. Critics were mixed on the show and while most assumed it would be a hit due to its timeslot, it wasn't considered one of the fall's best series in a fall that included several high profile new dramas. There was actually a little more enthusiasm for the 9:30pm newbie, Madman of the People. That series starred Dabney Coleman as an outspoken newspaper columnist and Cynthia Gibb as his daughter trying to rein him in. Coleman had starred in three flops in the 80s and 90s that each had their share of fans: Buffalo Bill, The Slap Maxwell Story and Drexell's Class. Many assumed this would break the streak but it did not. Madman received high ratings, but it was losing too much of the Seinfeld audience and NBC made the decision to cancel it in January. NBC moved Friends to 9:30pm to give its burgeoning hit the best possible slot on TV and it responded with huge ratings. The 9:30pm move and high rated repeats in the summer helped it become a breakout hit after its good but not great start. Replacing it at 8:30pm was Hope & Gloria, a Pittsburgh-set sitcom starring Cynthia Stevenson and Jessica Lundy as friends and neighbors. The series did pretty well in its winning slot and was renewed for a second season but it wasn't a cultural hit like Friends. The other big cultural hit was, of course, ER. ER premiered with a two hour movie on the first Monday of the fall season and it was off and running from there. The show became a ratings monster and was a huge part of the cultural conversation. The series created stars out of actors like Noah Wyle, Anthony Edwards, Julianna Margulies and especially George Clooney and was an instant hit for the network making them quickly forget about the old dinosaur that was previously in the slot for many years, L.A. Law. The Fall of 1994 was very, very good to NBC thanks to Friends and ER.

FOX	8:00	8:30	9:00
Sep	Martin	Living Single	New York Undercover
Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May

FOX had carved out a presence on Thursdays since the 1990-91 season when they boldly moved The Simpsons to the night. But in 1994-95, they moved The Simpsons back to its original (and still current) Sunday home. As a result, Thursdays got a revamp with a lineup that was designed to appeal to a black audience. Comedies Martin and Living Single moved over from Sundays to make up the 8pm hour. Both shows did alright but weren't anywhere as powerful as The Simpsons was on the night. Living Single at 8:30pm actually slightly outperformed Martin. At 9pm was new drama New York Undercover. The police drama came from Dick Wolf and drew comparisons to Wolf's NBC drama Law & Order though this had a younger and more urban appeal. The series received solid critical notices (yet another new drama with decent critical buzz on the night, joining ER, My So-Called Life and Chicago Hope). It did pretty poorly in the ratings but was renewed for a second season. FOX made a decision in 1994-95 to stick with two low-rated dramas that had some buzz between this and Party of Five and both went on to have decent runs, albeit neither one ever became a big hit.

Top Rated Thursday Show of 1994-95: Seinfeld (#1)

Lowest Rated Thursday Show of 1994-95: My So-Called Life (#116)

What would I have watched on Thursdays in 1994-95?

Quite a lot including the entire NBC lineup. I would have even given Madmen of the People and try and though ER was a little before my time, I think I would have been in on the buzz at the time. I also would have watched My So-Called Life and maybe Chicago Hope though I tend to only like one medical drama at a time. Maybe New York Undercover too. My VCR would have been busy.

Tomorrow: An Emmys Preview of the Supporting Actor categories!

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