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PART
III: As the Eighties
unfolded, the question became: can NBC's
new program exec Brandon
Tartikoff
stop the massive viewer erosion caused by his predecessor, Fred Silverman,
and his disastrous decisions? At the start, Tartikoff had an inauspicious
crop to till.
The
1981-1982 season, marked by the ironic slogan Our
Pride is Showing, had few solid hits to bring forward from the
previous year - typical was the struggling Benji wannabe Here's Boomer
which was returning for a third season before being quietly put to sleep.
Reruns
of The Flintstones were slotted to fill primetime airtime when
an on-set accident postponed the premiere of The Powers of Matthew
Star. NBC Magazine, without David Brinkley, returned for
one more year and Father Murphy began a two-year run.
Lewis
and Clark, starring Gabe Kaplan, was a Thursday night dud. McClain's
Law, Cassie & Company, Nashville Palace, Fitz & Bones (the year's
lowest-rated show), and a variety show with Billy Crystal all came and
went without leaving much of a mark on the annals of TV history.
Love,
Sidney starring Tony Randall and Swoozie Kurtz premiered - interesting
because it was based on a movie where Randall's character was gay, but
he had no apparent sexual orientation by the time the series aired.
Gimme a Break, which introduced Nell Carter (a Tony Award winner
for Ain't Misbehavin') to the TV viewing public, debuted and
was modestly successful.
Bret
Maverick, a follow-up to the 1960s western Maverick, was
a flop. Fame, based on the 1980 movie of the same name, premiered
in January and was a low-rated darling of the critics. Midseason shows
included the unsuccessful One of the Boys starring Mickey Rooney,
Teachers Only with Lynn Redgrave, and Chicago Story.
Facts
of Life, in its third season, appeared to be a solid hit for the
network, often doing better in the ratings than its parent series (Diff'rent
Strokes). Harper Valley PTA with Barbara Eden and Barbara
Mandrell and the Mandrell Sisters were both canceled after this
season.
The
1982-1983 season brought the slogan Just Watch
us Now, a phrase that can be likened to a recovering
alcoholic hoping to get his life back on track. NBC was like that drunk
but the network's drug of choice was failed TV series - and their exuberant
on-air delusions of grandeur, as reflected in elaborate ad campaigns,
did not a number-one network make.
Still,
1982 promised to be different and indeed it was. The 'Just
Watch Us Now' slogan emphatically stated that NBC would
soon be back on track and wow-ing audiences again.
The
peacock finally had some things to be proud of, beginning with Cheers,
which was adored by the critics but only 74th in the ratings in 1982,
Family Ties, a generation gap sitcom, Silver Spoons, a
star vehicle for child actor Ricky Schroder, St. Elsewhere, a
medical drama that got even lower ratings than Cheers initially
but was loved by critics, Knight Rider, an escapist show where
David Hasselhoff was consistently upstaged by a talking car, Remington
Steele, about two private detectives, and Voyagers, staring
male pin-up Jon-Erik Hexum and child actor Meeno Peluce.
All
but Voyagers
made it into next year.
Taxi
moved to NBC from ABC without helping its sagging ratings at all and
was gone for good at the end of the 1981-82 season. The other new shows
on the fall schedule, Gavilan, The Powers of Matthew Star and
The Devlin Connection were one-season wonders.
Midseason
brought The A-Team, a huge hit,
Mama's Family, a sitcom
based on a sketch from The Carol Burnett Show, The Family Tree,
a retooled Teachers Only, Bare Essence, and the acclaimed Buffalo
Bill.
CHiPs,
Quincy, Fame, Father Murphy, Love, Sidney, and Little House:
A New Beginning were canceled that season. The lowest rated show
of the season was the newsmagazine, Monitor, which, surprisingly,
was renewed by NBC for the next season - retooled and retitled First
Camera.
All
in all, 1982-83 was not a spectacular season for the network, but it
was a start.
1983-1984
was the second year on NBC's road to recovery from rock bottom. Hiring
Steve Sohmer, formerly of CBS, to be in charge of promotions, they came
up with the simple slogan "Be There."
New
on-air promos featured NBC stars such as Nell Carter, Conrad Bain and
Bruce Weitz asking you to be there for NBC's programs. Hill Street
Blues, Diff'rent Strokes, The Facts of Life and Gimme a Break
all matured into hits, while sophomore offerings Family Ties, Cheers,
St. Elsewhere, Knight Rider and Silver Spoons were building
up considerable audiences as well.
The
A-Team was NBC's biggest hit in 1983, however no one would 'be there'
for any of the new shows on the network's fall lineup: Boone, Bay
City Blues, We Got it Made, Mr. Smith, Jennifer Slept Here, Manimal,
For Love and Honor, The Rousters, and The Yellow Rose.
Midseason
replacements, such as Night Court, Riptide, and TV's
Bloopers and Practical Jokes fared somewhat better. The same
can't be said for Legmen, The Master, Double Trouble, The New Show
and People are Funny (they weren't, apparently). The end of the
season was the end for Real People, First Camera, and Buffalo
Bill. Mama's Family was canceled also, but would resurface
two years later in first-run syndication.
Mighty
Brandon still hadn't struck out yet.
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AND WATCH:
Instrumental version of the 1981 jingle - Our Pride Is Showing Instrumental version of the 1982 jingle - Just Watch Us Now
Video clip of Brandon Tartikoff at the NBC Affiliates Convention in 1982
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