SCHEDULES OF THE PAST: 1997-1998 Saturdays

On Tuesdays, I take a look at schedules from yesteryear. Here's a look at Saturdays in the 1997-98 season!

ABC	8:00	9:00	10:00
Sep	C-16	Total Security	The Practice
Oct
Nov
Dec	Various Programs
Jan	Nothing Sacred	Cracker	ABC News Saturday Night
Feb	Saturday Night Movie
Mar	Various Programs	Nothing Sacred
Apr	Saturday Night Movie
May

Despite many failed lineups on the night for years, ABC was at it again for 1997-98 with a trio of dramas to compete with CBS's winning lineup of dramas and NBC's "Thrillogy." Leading off at 8pm was C-16, a new drama about a special unit of the FBI. The cast included a lot of solid names including Eric Roberts, Angie Harmon, D.B. Sweeney and Morris Chestnut. It was followed by another new crime drama. Total Security came Steven Bochco and centered on a high tech security agency in Los Angeles. This Bochco production came on ABC even as he was moving to CBS with a new deal and launching the more high profile Brooklyn South. Check back tomorrow for a One Season Wonder look at Total Security! Both new dramas did not find an audience and were off the air by mid-November. Total Security was cancelled while C-16 returned in the summer under the new name C-16: FBI. At 10pm was the second season of The Practice. The series had a promising midseason debut in the 1996-97 season but it seemed to be thrown to the wolves with this timeslot. Creator David E. Kelley was furious about the Saturday move and made his feelings well known to the press. The Practice did not set the world on fire on Saturday nights but it did far better than anything ABC had aired on the night in several years. It was rewarded with a move to Mondays at midseason. ABC was a wasteland on Saturday nights for the rest of the season. They aired a couple episodes of Thursday cast-offs Nothing Sacred and Cracker, some movies and specials and a little-watched newsmagazine called ABC News Saturday Night. Once again, ABC had nothing to show for another valiant Saturday effort.

CBS	8:00	9:00	10:00
Sep	Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman	Early Edition	Walker, Texas Ranger
Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan	The Magnificent Seven
Feb	Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman	The Magnificent Seven
Mar
Apr		Early Edition
May

CBS continued to be the top performer on Saturday nights but it was not as dominant as it had been for a couple years. One of the reasons was the lead-off show, Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman, was getting long in the tooth and running into some creative issues. Some of that was due to CBS, which was asking for edgier stories as the show started to skew older. It was not what the Dr. Quinn fans were looking for though. The series was cancelled at the end of the season after six seasons and 150 episodes. It followed its run with two TV movies and continued to have ardent fans who watched in syndication. Early Edition continued at 9pm while Walker, Texas Ranger remained the night's top show at 10pm. CBS spelled both Dr. Quinn and Early Edition for a time with a new show starting in January. The Magnificent Seven was based on the popular 1960 western film and starred Michael Biehn, Eric Close and Ron Perlman among others. The series did well enough in the ratings to get a second season though CBS decided to hold that second season for midseason, which was less common for returning shows back in those days.

NBC	8:00	9:00	10:00
Sep	Various Programs
Oct
Nov	The Pretender	Sleepwalkers	Profiler
Dec		The Pretender
Jan	TV Censored  Bloopers ‘98
Feb
Mar
Apr
May

NBC had a "Thrillogy" lineup for a second straight season. The lineup was delayed to November due to baseball and other reasons but when it launched, The Pretender moved up an hour to 8pm while Profiler continued to end the night. Replacing the cancelled Dark Skies was Sleepwalkers, a sci-fi drama about a team of researchers who use technology to enter the dreams of their patients. The series starred Bruce Greenwood and Naomi Watts and was an instant bomb in the ratings. NBC cancelled the series after just two episodes. They probably wished they had Dark Skies back, which at least had a cult following. They doubled pumped episodes of The Pretender for a short time but then just moved The Pretender back to its old 9pm slot. At 8pm, they premiered the unscripted TV Censored Bloopers '98. NBC had some moderate success running bloopers specials for years so this was an attempt to make it a weekly series. It didn't do much in the ratings, but it was an improvement over Sleepwalkers and a lot cheaper.

FOX	8:00	8:30	9:00
Sep	Cops	Cops	America’s Most Wanted
Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May

FOX had been trying to be creative on Saturday nights but they were never able to make anything work. So for 1997-98, they just went with the tried and true Cops/Cops/America's Most Wanted lineup, which is what they always reverted to anyway when the bolder attempts didn't work.

Top Rated Saturday Show of 1997-98: Walker, Texas Ranger (#21)

Lowest Rated Saturday Show of 1997-98: Total Security (#134)

What would I have watched on Saturdays in 1997-98?

If I was home, I would probably watch Early Edition at 9pm and then The Practice at 10pm. None of the other dramas on any of the networks would have interested me much.

Tomorrow: A One Season Wonder look at Total Security!

Next Tuesday: A look at Sundays in the 1997-98 season!