SCHEDULES OF THE PAST: 1997-1998 Thursdays

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

ABC	8:00	9:00	10:00
Sep	Nothing Sacred	Cracker	20/20
Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan	Prey	Thursday Night Movie
Feb
Mar
Apr	Various Programs
May

ABC programmed several ambitious dramas on Thursdays in the 1990s (My So-Called Life, Murder One, etc) only to get slammed by NBC's comedy lineup. That didn't stop them from doing it again in 1997-98 and they kicked off the night with a show that generated a lot of controversy. Nothing Sacred starred Kevin Anderson as a fairly liberal Jesuit priest. The series was praised by critics and won a Peabody Award but it also received a backlash from the religious right and Catholic League who deemed it "sacrilegious." Check back tomorrow for a One Season Wonder post on Nothing Sacred! It was followed by Cracker, a crime drama based on the British series of the same name. The American version starred Murphy Brown's Robert Pastorelli as a Los Angeles criminal psychologist. The two dramas struggled to find an audience against the dominant NBC lineup and the more gentle drama lineup on CBS. They were pulled for much of November Sweeps and off the lineup by the end of the calendar year with both resurfacing on Saturdays for a brief run. A Thursday edition of 20/20 had aired at 10pm but was dropped for a Monday edition in January as a movie took over the last two hours of the night. The new show in the 8pm hour was Prey, a sci-fi drama starring Debra Messing just months before she hit it big in Will & Grace. It starred Messing as an anthropologist who discovers genetic differences in serial killers that basically makes them a new species. The dark drama was an odd choice for 8pm and it lasted a few months before being cancelled. Specials filled the 8pm hour for the rest of the season as ABC had once again struck out with new dramas on the night.

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

CBS stayed the course on Thursday nights with a moderately rated night of shows that appealed to an older crowd that might not be watching NBC's Must See TV lineup. Diagnosis Murder moved back an hour to 9pm while 48 Hours remained at 10pm. Taking over the 8pm slot was Promised Land. The Touched by an Angel spinoff had aired on Tuesday nights the previous season but was a good fit with Diagnosis Murder and temporarily helped things on Thursday nights.

NBC	8:00	8:30	9:00	9:30	10:00
Sep	Friends	Union Square	Seinfeld	Veronica’s Closet	ER
Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan
Feb		Various Programs
Mar		Just Shoot Me!
Apr
May

NBC's Must See TV lineup continued to dominate in the 1997-98 season but it was the end of an era as the cornerstone of the lineup and top show on TV, Seinfeld, was ending its run after nine seasons. NBC tried to get Jerry Seinfeld to return (they reportedly offered him $5 million per episode) but he decided around the holidays that his hit show would come to an end so NBC pivoted to sending it off in style. The series finale in May, while critically divisive, was watched by 76.3 million viewers making it the fourth highest rated series finale in TV history. Friends and ER were much younger shows and continued to dominate at 8pm and 10pm. The 8:30pm and 9:30pm slots though were becoming increasingly problematic for NBC as they hadn't really found a massive hit since Friends. Their biggest bomb in several years on the night came at 8:30pm with Union Square. Very clearly a Friends knock off, the series was about young single people in Manhattan. It was critically reviled and while it still placed #7 in the ratings for the year, it was losing a large amount of the Friends audience. NBC likely knew what would happen if they moved it elsewhere and so they cancelled it in January. It was eventually replaced by Just Shoot Me!, which was showing signs of life in its second season after a very modest midseason start. It proved to be a good bet to bring the show over to the night as it was continuing to grow its audience. The big question was if it would be a big enough hit to take over the Seinfeld slot for the 1998-99 season. At 9:30pm was Veronica's Closet. The series marked Kirstie Alley's return to TV and NBC Thursday nights after her run on Cheers. The show, which starred Alley as the head of a Victoria's Secret-type lingerie company, was highly anticipated not only because of Alley but also because it came from the creators of Friends. The ratings were spectacular as expected, but it received mixed reviews from critics making it very similar to a highly touted occupant in the slot from the previous season, Suddenly Susan. It wasn't as clear how much of a timeslot hit it was. After all, it was the #3 rated show on TV but how much of that was because it aired between the #1 and #2 shows. That was always the question. NBC renewed it but knew it wouldn't have a Seinfeld lead-in for Season Two.

FOX	8:00	8:30	9:00
Sep	Living Single	Between Brothers	413 Hope St.
Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan	Between Brothers	Ask Harriet	New York Undercover
Feb	Various Programs
Mar
Apr	World’s Wildest Police Videos		Various Programs
May

FOX revamped their Thursday night lineup with Martin cancelled and New York Undercover held to midseason. Living Single was supposed to be held for midseason too and FOX was going to lead the night off with the new Scott Baio sitcom Rewind. But in late August, FOX made a switch and pulled Rewind from the fall schedule and putting Living Single on instead. Rewind was still supposed to air at a later date but it never did. Living Single aired its 13 episode fifth season but was cancelled and aired its series finale on New Year's Day. It was a show that always had ardent fans but struggled to break into the mainstream. At 8:30pm was the new Between Brothers, a sitcom about four black men sharing a Chicago apartment. The series did not make much of a dent in the ratings and was cancelled by FOX partway through the season. It was picked up by UPN for a second season though it did not last much longer there. At 9pm was 413 Hope St., a series about an urban crisis center. The series was created by Damon Wayans, who was (and is) mostly known for his comedic work. The series had good intentions but couldn't find an audience and was also cancelled around New Year's. Ask Harriet also aired briefly on the night before the 8pm hour was given over to specials and then the unscripted World's Wildest Police Videos. Meanwhile at 9pm, New York Undercover came back for a fourth season. The series didn't really fare any better than the failed shows on the night but it still managed to get renewed for a fifth season.

Top Rated Thursday Show of 1997-98: Seinfeld (#1)

Lowest Rated Thursday Show of 1997-98: 413 Hope St. (#134)

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

I would most likely have been glued to Must See TV the whole night though I don't think I would have been thrilled with Union Square or Veronica's Closet. I would have been interested in Nothing Sacred too.

Tomorrow: A One Season Wonder look at Nothing Sacred!

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