SCHEDULES OF THE PAST: 1996-1997 Thursdays

On Tuesdays, I take a look at schedules from yesteryear. Here's a look at Thursdays in the 1996-97 season! Also, after this week of posts, I will be taking a one week break for Thanksgiving!

ABC	8:00	9:00	10:00
Sep	High Incident	Various Programs	Turning Point
Oct		Murder One
Nov
Dec
Jan
Feb		Thursday Night Movie
Mar		Vital Signs	Turning Point
Apr
May		Thursday Night Movie

Thursdays belonged to NBC so the other networks sort of threw up their hands with no one really going after the Peacock as they tried at the beginning of previous seasons. ABC went with a pair of modest second year dramas. At 8pm was High Incident. The police drama had aired on Monday the previous spring and was sent to the wolves against Friends on Thursday. It lasted the whole season but the ratings were poor and the show was cancelled at the end of the season. At 9pm was Murder One, which had been ABC's big swing the previous season. They had put it head-to-head against ER where it quickly failed and then they tried to save face by moving the acclaimed drama to Mondays. It got renewed for a second season, mostly based on prestige, but was no longer a high priority for the network. Unlike the innovative approach to the first season of one trial over the course of an entire season, the second season, which added Anthony LaPaglia to the cast, tackled three different trials. It was pulled from the night in February and eventually replaced by the reality show Vital Signs, hosted by Robert Urich. Newsmagazine Turning Point rounded out the night.

CBS	8:00	9:00	10:00
Sep	Diagnosis Murder	Moloney	48 Hours
Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May

CBS's version of counter programming against NBC was to put on shows that appealed to much older viewers and it worked to an extent as they had more success than ABC even though the ratings paled in comparison to NBC. At 8pm was Diagnosis Murder, which moved over from Fridays. It really held its own against Friends, coming in at #45 in the ratings which was not bad at all. At 9pm was new drama Moloney, a drama starring Peter Strauss as a Los Angeles cop/psychiatrist. The series quietly stayed in the 9pm slot all season and did so-so in the ratings but it was cancelled after one full season. Check back tomorrow for a One Season Wonder post on Moloney! At 10pm was 48 Hours as both CBS and ABC decided to air a newsmagazine against ER following big swings and misses in previous seasons that had to be quickly moved in order to survive (Chicago Hope in 1994-94 and Murder One in 1995-96). The other networks basically waved the white flag in the 10pm hour.

NBC	8:00	8:30	9:00	9:30	10:00
Sep	Friends	The Single Guy	Seinfeld	Suddenly Susan	ER
Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan				The Naked Truth
Feb
Mar		Suddenly Susan			Law & Order
Apr				Fired Up	ER
May

NBC was the place to be on Thursday nights with its Must See TV lineup that boasted the six top rated shows on TV for the 1996-97 season. There was nothing even close to this night in terms of success. The three tentpoles continued to dominate with Friends at 8pm, Seinfeld at 9pm and TV's top show, ER, at 10pm. Those three were so strong that everything that touched them was also strong. That included the second season of The Single Guy at 8:30pm which was absolutely a fraud of a show but protected by the timeslot. It was the weak link of the lineup though - it was all the way down at #8 for the season! It eventually moved to Wednesdays where it was exposed quickly and dropped hard in the ratings. A very buzzy new sitcom arrived at 9:30pm. Suddenly Susan starred Brooke Shields as a new single San Francisco woman working at magazine. Shields was sort of an "it" girl at the time and had just had a well regarded guest appearance on Friends the previous season. Though the reviews were mixed for Susan, it was a big hit in a slot where it couldn't miss. It actually outperformed Friends in the ratings for the season. NBC knew how good that slot was so they eventually moved Susan to 8:30pm and tried out two different shows at 9:30pm. First up was The Naked Truth, which had been cancelled by ABC after the 1995-96 season. The Tea Leoni sitcom was also set at a magazine (quite the trend for 1990s sitcoms!) with George Wendt joining the cast. After it was done with its season, one more show turned up on Thursday nights. Fired Up starred Sharon Lawrence as a promotions executive and Leah Remini as her assistant. Like everything else, it did well in the slot between Seinfeld and ER. All those hammock shows, except The Single Guy, were renewed and sent to Monday nights to start up a new night. However, NBC quickly learned that things weren't going to be as smooth once the series left their comfortable Thursday night homes. For a brief time, Law & Order replaced ER at 10pm when NBC tried out Prince Street on Wednesdays.

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

FOX did its best to counter program NBC with shows that appealed to a different demographic but all three shows were getting older so there wasn't much upside with the lineup. Martin and Living Single flipped slots from the previous spring with Martin taking the 8pm slot and Living Single airing at 8:30pm while New York Undercover continued at 9pm. Martin was dealing with behind the scenes issues as co-star Tisha Campbell filed a lawsuit against star Martin Lawrence and the producers alleging sexual harassment and assault. Campbell barely appeared in the season though she returned for the series finale as long as she didn't have to share scenes with Lawrence and the show went off the air under a cloud of controversy. Living Single and New York Undercover were both renewed for another season.

Top Rated Thursday Show of 1996-97: ER (#1)

Lowest Rated Thursday Show of 1996-97: Murder One (#113)

What would I have watched on Thursdays in 1996-97?

I would have been one of those people who probably watched NBC the entire night. Nothing on the other networks really interested me so I would certainly have watched the big tentpole shows on NBC and probably stuck around for the hammock shows.

Tomorrow: A One Season Wonder look at Moloney!

Tuesday in Two Weeks: A look at Fridays in the 1996-97 season!