But what ABC achieved on Tuesdays in 1977 is arguably more impressive. For the first time, and I would guess the only time in television history, one network aired the year’s three highest-rated shows in one programming bloc on the same night. Let’s start there.
ABC
Happy Days
Laverne & Shirley
Three’s Company
Soap
Family
Laverne & Shirley surpassed the series from which it was spun to take the #1 spot in 1977, with Happy Days finishing at #2.
I can only speak for myself, but in the ensuing years I find my appreciation for Laverne & Shirley steadily rising, as my interest in Happy Days dwindles.
Both series floundered in their later seasons from location changes and cast departures. But here in their respective heydays (and taking nothing away from the eternally iconic status of The Fonz), L&S blended the nostalgic appeal of its predecessor with elaborate physical comedy stunts not seen in prime time since the glory days of Lucy and Ethel. I don’t think we appreciated the talent and timing involved in creating those moments as much as we should have at the time – but then I can say the same for just about everything back then.
Speaking of Lucy, Three’s Company was one of Lucille Ball’s favorite shows. It was the third highest-rated series of 1977, despite (or perhaps because of) its scandalous depiction of a man cohabitating with two attractive women. No one would blink an eye at that now, but Jack masquerading as gay to fool the landlords, complete with lisping voice and limp wrist, would get the show canceled. Times do change.
How does it hold up nearly 50 years later? It’s not in my DVD collection, but as a drawing room farce with a slapstick chaser it was often better than its shallow sex comedy reputation. Plus, Norman Fell’s smirks at the camera still make me laugh.
And if we’re talking controversy, Soap made Three’s Company look like Little House on the Prairie. Thousands of letters poured into ABC demanding its cancelation before the first episode aired. Such movements tend to generate more interest in a show, and that campaign combined with strong lead-ins elevated Soap to #13 that season.
As for Family (#26) I’ve said it before in this blog and I’ll likely say it again: one of the best shows of the 1970s or any decade.
CBS
The Fitzpatricks
MASH
One Day at a Time
Lou Grant
CBS more than held its own against ABC’s powerhouse line-up, placing two shows in the top ten: MASH at #8 and One Day at a Time at #10. And scheduling Lou Grant against Family was just unfair – why make viewers choose between two such excellent shows?
I know I was watching Lou Grant, a show that had a profound impact on my teenage self. I already knew I was probably going to be a writer, but this show steered me toward journalism – and taught me how that trade was supposed to be practiced. Now how can we get more of today’s “journalists” to study the DVDs – they could use a refresher in objectivity – not to mention ethics.
The Fitzpatricks was a show I had been curious about for a long time. It sounded like CBS’s version of Eight is Enough – the joys and sorrows of a large Irish-Catholic family in the Michigan suburbs.
I thought it was destined for the “missed shows” list but a few months ago a full episode turned up on YouTube, and that’s when my excitement turned to disappointment. Nothing about it worked for me except for Helen Hunt as the girl next door with her eye on the Fitzpatrick boys, one of whom was played by Jimmy McNichol. The series was canceled after 13 episodes, while Jimmy’s sister Kristy ascended into 1970s stardom on Family.
NBC
The Richard Pryor Show
Mulligan’s Stew
Police Woman
Once again we find NBC struggling to keep up with the competition and failing miserably. Viewers enjoyed Police Woman for a couple of years but here, in its final season, the ratings dropped into the 70s. As for The Richard Pryor Show, it was likely doomed from the start given the censorship battles between the star and the network.
Mulligan’s Stew goes on the “missed shows” list, which is unfortunate because I’m as curious about this series about a large family as I was about The Fitzpatricks. I’m sure the cast alone assures it would be better.
NBC
The Richard Pryor Show
Mulligan’s Stew
Police Woman
Once again we find NBC struggling to keep up with the competition and failing miserably. Viewers enjoyed Police Woman for a couple of years but here, in its final season, the ratings dropped into the 70s. As for The Richard Pryor Show, it was likely doomed from the start given the censorship battles between the star and the network.
Mulligan’s Stew goes on the “missed shows” list, which is unfortunate because I’m as curious about this series about a large family as I was about The Fitzpatricks. I’m sure the cast alone assures it would be better.
As the Mulligan patriarch, Lawrence Pressman has one of those faces that is instantly recognizable from Doogie Howser, MD and a hundred guest appearances on other shows. This was his first shot at series stardom, but it lasted just seven episodes. Father Know Best’s Elinor Donahue played his wife, and among their blended family brood were former Partridge Family tambourine virtuoso Suzanne Crough and future Facts of Life castoff Julie Anne Haddock. That’s got to be worth a look for any Comfort TV fan, right?
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)
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)
Young Dan’l Boone (1977)
Rafferty (1977)
Mulligan’s Stew (1977)
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