My Journey Through 1970s TV: Sunday Nights, 1977

We start a new year in our journey through the 1970s on a happy note for all three networks, all of whom placed at least one show among the season’s top 30. Once again I’ve seen all the shows listed so no additions to the 'missing' file. You probably have too – except perhaps for one short-lived newcomer in the middle of a powerful CBS lineup.

ABC
The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries
The Six Million Dollar Man
ABC Sunday Night Movie


If you assumed it was The Six Million Dollar Man that finished high in the ratings, think again. It was #7 the previous year but dropped precipitously in its final season. At least that weak lead-in did not stop the Sunday Night Movie from ranking at #20.

Hollywood rediscovers the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew about every 20 years. For my generation, the characters were personified by Shaun Cassidy, Parker Stevenson and Pamela Sue Martin on The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries (1977-1979). Theoretically this likable series should have found an audience among teens who thought they were too old for The Wonderful World of Disney on NBC, and too young to watch the grumpy old men on CBS’s 60 Minutes.

That didn’t happen, and even now it’s hard to figure out why. Cassidy and Stevenson could not have been more poster-ready, with Cassidy’s teen idol status amplified by a string of hit singles that not surprisingly found their way into the show.

And while Martin seemed to always get the weaker stories, she tried to capture some of the intelligence, resourcefulness and New England pluck that made Nancy so appealing in the books.

No, it wasn’t a great show, but quality has never been a pre-requisite for TV success. I’m happy to have the DVDs on my shelf, and look forward to watching the Christmas-themed Nancy Drew episode sometime this month.


NBC
The Wonderful World of Disney
The Big Event

In its second season The Big Event was still big enough to finish at #30 in the Nielsen ratings. As previously mentioned here, this wasn’t so much a show as a title, under which the network could present popular theatrical films like Gone With the Wind and 2001: A Space Odyssey, as well as original fare like Sybil with Sally Field and Jesus of Nazareth.


CBS
60 Minutes
Rhoda
On Our Own
All In the Family
Alice
Kojak

CBS may have been losing its grip on Saturday nights, but the network still owned prime time on Sundays. 60 Minutes and All in the Family tied at #4 for the 1977 seasons, with Alice also in the top ten at #8 and Rhoda at #25.

Hoping to make a similar splash was On Our Own, a sitcom about two young career gals seeking a way up the corporate ladder at a New York advertising agency. The show was like a female version of Bosom Buddies, without the cross-dressing. 

It only lasted one full season, but stars Bess Armstrong, Lynnie Greene and Dixie Carter all went on to better projects.

Shows Missed:
The Don Knotts Show (1970)
San Francisco International Airport (1970)
Nancy (1970)
The Headmaster (1970)
The Man and the City (1971)
Search (1972)
Assignment: Vienna (1972)
The Delphi Bureau (1972)
Jigsaw (1972)
The Little People (1972)
The Sixth Sense (1972)
Tenafly (1973)
Faraday & Company (1973)
Kodiak (1974)
The New Land (1974)
McCoy (1975)
Joe and Sons (1975)
Beacon Hill (1975)
Mobile One (1975)
Big Eddie (1975)
Executive Suite (1976)
Ball Four (1976)