SCHEDULES OF THE PAST: 1998-1999 Mondays

On Tuesdays, I take a look at schedules from yesteryear. Here's a look at Mondays in the 1998-99 season!

ABC	8:00	8:30	9:00	10:00
Sep	Monday Night Blast	Monday Night Football
Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan	20/20		Monday Night Movie
Feb
Mar
Apr
May

After years of failed shows leading into Monday Night Football, ABC decided to just abandon a lead-in show for the 1998-99 season. They went with a brief pregame show called Monday Night Blast hosted by Chris Berman and then the game started at 8:20pm. The team at Monday Night Football did not include Frank Gifford for the first time since the inaugural season in 1970. Gifford was replaced (unwillingly) by Boomer Esiason, who joined Al Michaels and Dan Dierdorf in the booth. After experimenting with no movie in the 1998 winter, a movie came back in January to replace Football. Its lead-in was 20/20 as ABC was consolidating all its newsmagazines under the 20/20 moniker at the time.

CBS	8:00	8:30	9:00	9:30	10:00
Sep	Cosby	The King of Queens	Everybody Loves Raymond	The Brian Benben Show	L.A. Doctors
Oct
Nov				Becker
Dec
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May

CBS revamped its Monday night lineup for the 1998-99 season with three new shows. The two comedy anchor slots belonged to Cosby, at 8pm for a third consecutive season, and Everybody Loves Raymond, taking over the 9pm slot. This was the year Raymond really broke out with it becoming one of CBS's top shows and also getting a slew of Emmy nominations after the season. CBS ultimately launched two successful new sitcoms on the night but only one of them started the season. Sandwiched between Cosby and Raymond was The King of Queens, a sitcom that fit like a glove with Raymond as the husband/wife dynamics were very similar. The sitcom, starring Kevin James, Leah Remini and Jerry Stiller was not a breakout hit, but it was a very solid new performer. Things did not start at well at 9:30pm as The Brian Benben Show stumbled out of the gate. Benben had gained some acclaim on HBO's Dream On, but I'm not sure he was a big enough name to have a show titled after him. The series, which starred Benben as a Los Angeles TV anchor, lasted just a couple weeks before CBS pulled it off the lineup. They might have had such a quick hook because they had a show ready to go in its place. Two seasons after Ink was a one and done show, Ted Danson returned to CBS as a Bronx doctor in Becker. Unlike his previous roles, Danson played a grump in this show. However, audiences bought it and the show became a very reliable performer airing after Raymond. CBS had a very stable and strong comedy block for the rest of the season. After the failed cop drama Brooklyn South aired at 10pm in 1997-98, CBS went back to the medical drama well with L.A. Doctors taking the slot once occupied by Chicago Hope and Northern Exposure. L.A. Doctors was exactly what it sounds like as it centered on four Los Angeles doctors, played by Ken Olin, Matt Craven, Rick Roberts and Sheryl Lee. Just like Brooklyn South, the series lasted the entire season but ultimately proved to be a one and done show despite a last minute attempt to add Vanessa Williams to the cast.

NBC	8:00	8:30	9:00	9:30	10:00
Sep	Suddenly Susan	Conrad Bloom	Caroline in the City	Will & Grace	Dateline NBC
Oct
Nov
Dec		Caroline in the City	Mad About You	Conrad Bloom
Jan				Working
Feb		Mad About You	Monday Night Movie
Mar		Caroline in the City	Law & Order		Dateline NBC
Apr			Various Programs
May		Mad About You	Monday Night Movie

Despite mixed results in the 1997-98 season, NBC tried a Monday night comedy block of female skewing shows again for the 1998-99 season. Suddenly Susan and Caroline in the City remained the anchors at 8pm and 9pm to start the season while new shows followed at 8:30pm and 9:30pm. At 8:30pm was Conrad Bloom, a sitcom starring Mark Feuerstein as a New York City copywriter with many women in his life including his mother, sister, ex-girlfriend, boss and co-worker. The series also starred Linda Lavin and Lauren Graham but struggled out of the gate. The news was much better at 9:30pm with the launch of Will & Grace. The sitcom, which famously included two lead gay characters, came not long after Ellen came out on Ellen but it was still a very novel concept to have gay characters in major roles. The show was instantly acclaimed and did better than the rest of the Monday shows. In December, NBC made the decision to rescue Will & Grace from the low-rated night and moved it to a much higher profile slot on Tuesdays to help it really take off in the ratings. In exchange, Mad About You moved over to Mondays. Mad was in its seventh season and winding down so NBC gambled on the show with more upside. Mad About You took over at 9pm while Caroline moved to 8:30pm and Conrad to 9:30pm. Conrad was off the lineup by the end of the calendar year and replaced by briefly by Working. After that, Caroline and Mad ended up basically sharing the 8:30pm slot for the rest of the year while the 9pm hour vacillated between Law & Order repeats and a movie and Dateline NBC continued to air at 10pm when NBC wasn't showing a movie. Suddenly Susan was renewed for a fourth season but also dealt with the sudden death of co-star David Strickland, but it was the end of the road for Mad About You and Caroline in the City. Mad came to an end as stars Paul Reiser and Helen Hunt were ready to move on after seven seasons. The series was sent off with a one hour finale. It was more abrupt for Caroline, which was cancelled after four seasons and left things with a cliffhanger.

FOX	8:00	9:00
Sep	Melrose Place	Ally McBeal
Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May

FOX had one of TV's hottest shows heading into the 1998-99 season. Fresh off a very acclaimed and Emmy nominated first season, Ally McBeal was one of the toasts of the town - populating many magazine covers as one of the most talked about shows. It continued its ascent in its second season with a big jump in the ratings even as the inevitable backlash started (Time Magazine famously asked if feminism was dead with a picture of Ally alongside feminist leaders of the 70s on the cover). Its lead-in was Melrose Place, which was quickly declining in the ratings. Once one of FOX's hottest shows, Melrose was a shell of its former self and FOX cancelled the show after seven seasons and 226 episodes. They saw Melrose as their past and Ally McBeal as their future.

UPN	8:00	8:30	9:00	9:30
Sep	In the House	Malcolm & Eddie	In the House	Malcolm & Eddie
Oct	Guys Like Us	DiResta	The Secret Diary of Desmond Pfeiffer
Nov	Malcolm & Eddie	Guys Like Us	Malcolm & Eddie	DiResta
Dec
Jan
Feb	Dilbert	DiResta	The Sentinel
Mar		Redhanded
Apr
May		Home Movies

After briefly airing the new The Love Boat to end the previous season, UPN went back to a comedy block for the 1998-99 season and their initial lineup included one of the most infamous flops of all time. The lineup didn't start until October and went it did, there were three new shows. The only returning show was the last show of the block, the third season of Malcolm & Eddie. First up was Guys Like Us, a comedy about two bachelors looked after the six year old brother of one of them. The next new show was DiResta, a comedy starring comedian John DiResta as a transit cop. Neither new show broke out but they lasted longer than the one that followed, and were much less controversial. The 9pm newbie was The Secret Diary of Desmond Pfeiffer, a comedy starring Chi McBride as Abraham Lincoln's valet. The series earned a significant amount of controversy before it even premiered as Civil Rights groups protested the cavalier approach to slavery the show took. After protests outside Paramount Studios, UPN relented partly and didn't air the original pilot episode. The uproar and the subsequent very low ratings led to UPN cutting ties with the series quickly as it was gone before the month of October was over. Malcolm & Eddie took over 8pm and 9pm with new episodes at both times while the remaining new shows slid back to airing after Malcolm. In January, Guys Like Us was cancelled and Malcolm & Eddie moved to Tuesdays, leaving DiResta which moved back to its original 8:30pm slot. The 8pm show was a new cartoon - Dilbert, based on the popular office life comic strip by Scott Adams. The series was an easy renewal after posting the best comedy debut rating in UPN's short history. After DiResta was cancelled, two new shows aired in the 8:30pm slot. First up was the unscripted Redhanded, a Candid Camera-type show hosted by Adam Carolla. Late in the season, another cartoon was given a slot after Dilbert. Home Movies was a cartoon about an eight year old filmmaker. Though UPN cancelled it after just five episodes, it was picked up by Cartoon Network to be part of their then new block called Adult Swim. It premiered there in 2001 and ran until 2004. For the second half of the season, the 9pm slot was given to the fourth season of The Sentinel, which had been held until midseason. The Sci-Fi drama had been an early success story for UPN but was cancelled after four seasons and 65 episodes.

WB	8:00	9:00
Sep	7th Heaven	Hyperion Bay
Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan		Various Programs
Feb		Hyperion Bay
Mar		Rescue 77
Apr
May

After a sluggish start in the 1996-97 season, The WB had a surprise hit on their hands with 7th Heaven. The series continued its ascent in its third season to become The WB's highest rated show. The family drama also became more of a cultural touchstone with its increasingly popular teen stars populating the cast. It was initially followed by another gentle drama, Hyperion Bay, which starred Mark-Paul Gosselaar as a man who returned to his hometown (called Hyperion Bay of course) to open a local division of his software company. After low ratings to start the season, The WB wanted it to become more like some of its other edgier dramas leading to the departure of Creator Joseph Dougherty. The series added Carmen Electra to its cast but things didn't get better and it was cancelled in early March. Replacing it at 9pm was Rescue 77, a medical drama about Los Angeles paramedics. The series seemed to be a little bit friendlier to older views than the other teen dramas that were popular on the network. It lasted through the rest of the season but did not live to see a second season so The WB was still looking for a proper lead-out of 7th Heaven.

Top Rated Monday Show of 1998-99: Monday Night Football (#4)

Lowest Rated Monday Show of 1998-99: Home Movies (#163)

Tomorrow: A One Season Wonder look at The Brian Benben Show!

Next Tuesday: A look at Tuesdays in the 1998-99 sason!