Super Sentai rankings

Wow, it's been a while since I've done a post on this blog!

Anyways, today I will be talking about the team ranking system in Super Sentai.

Now, by ranking, I mean who is the leader (Red, obviously), who is #2, and so on.  Here, I'll be listing the rankings of each of the Super Sentai teams up to Gokaiger.  I'll also note some of the controversies when it comes to ranking them, and giving my opinions on my fan-based rankings.

(notes:  Italicized Sentai Rangers are female.  Also, I am listing only the "core five" Rangers, with a few exceptions.)

Goranger
#1--AkaRanger (red)
#2--AoRanger (blue)
#3--KiRanger (yellow)
#4--MomoRanger (pink)
#5--MidoRanger (green)

JAKQ
#1--Spade Ace (red)
#2--Dia Jack (blue)
#3--Heart Queen (pink)
#4--Clover King (green)
#5--Big One (white; even though he ultimately became team leader)

Why is Big One #5, you ask?  Well, he didn't join the team until midway through the series, so that's why he's #5.

Battle Fever
#1--Battle Japan (red)
#2--Battle France (blue)
#3--Battle Cossack (yellow {I consider him to be yellow, end of discussion})
#4--Battle Kenya (black)
#5--Miss America (pink)

Now, OFFICIALLY, Battle Cossack is considered to be #2, and Battle France #3.  I consider France to be #2 because his uniform is of similar design to Battle Japan (mostly white with their respective primary colors on their uniform).

Denziman
#1--DenziRed
#2--DenziBlue
#3--DenziYellow
#4--DenziGreen
#5--DenziPink

SunVulcan
#1--VulEagle (red)
#2--VulShark (blue)
#3--VulPanther (yellow)

Goggle Five
#1--Goggle Red
#2--Goggle Black
#3--Goggle Blue
#4--Goggle Yellow
#5--Goggle Pink

Dynaman
#1--Dyna Red
#2--Dyna Black
#3--Dyna Blue
#4--Dyna Yellow
#5--Dyna Pink

Bioman
#1--Red One
#2--Green Two
#3--Blue Three
#4--Yellow Four
#5--Pink Five

Changeman
#1--Change Dragon (red)
#2--Change Griffon (black)
#3--Change Pegasus (blue)
#4--Change Mermaid (white)
#5--Change Phoenix (pink)

Flashman
#1--Red Flash
#2--Green Flash
#3--Blue Flash
#4--Yellow Flash
#5--Pink Flash

Maskman
#1--Red Mask
#2--Black Mask
#3--Blue Mask
#4--Yellow Mask
#5--Pink Mask

Liveman
#1--Red Falcon
#2--Yellow Lion
#3--Blue Dolphin
#4--Black Bison
#5--Green Sai

Here's another confusing one.  After Tetsuya (Bison) and Junichi (Sai) join the team, the roll call goes Red, Black, Green, Yellow, Blue.  However, in the official ranking, as well as mine, it goes Red, Yellow, Blue, Black, Green, due to the other three's seniority.

Turboranger
#1--Red Turbo
#2--Black Turbo
#3--Blue Turbo
#4--Yellow Turbo
#5--Pink Turbo

Fiveman
#1--Five Red
#2--Five Blue
#3--Five Black
#4--Five Pink
#5--Five Yelllow

Okay, I want to talk about something before we continue.  In the Hoshikawa family, the birth order goes Gaku (red), Ken (blue), Kazumi (pink), Remi (yellow), and Fumiya (black).  So, why is Fumiya ranked above his sisters, you ask?  Well, maybe it's because of that saying--"In Japan, men come first, women come second."

Jetman
#1--Red Hawk
#2--Black Condor
#3--Yellow Owl
#4--White Swan
#5--Blue Swallow

Okay, let's get this out of the way.  Even though the cast listing is Ryu (red), Kaori (white), Raita (yellow), Ako (blue), Gai (black), the roll call always goes Red, Black, Yellow, White, Blue.  Get it?  Got it?  Good.

Zyuranger
#1--TyrannoRanger, Geki (red)
#2--MammothRanger, Goushi (black)
#3--TriceraRanger, Dan (blue)
#4--TigerRanger, Boi (yellow)
#5--PteraRanger, Mei (pink)

Dairanger
#1--RyuRanger, Tenkasei Ryo (red)
#2--ShishiRanger, Tengensei Daigo (green)
#3--TenmaRanger, Tenjuusei Shouji (blue)
#4--KirinRanger, Tenjisei Kazu (yellow)
#5--HououRanger, Tenpuuseu Lin (pink)

Kakuranger
#1--NinjaRed, Sasuke
#2--NinjaWhite, Tsuruhime
#3--NinjaBlue, Saizou
#4--NinjaYellow, Seikai
#5--NinjaBlack, Jiraiya

Okay, here we go again.  Most of the time, Seikai is ranked above Saizou, due to the shapes on the Kakurangers' visors and coins (Red has a circle, White has an arrow, Yellow has a triangle, Blue has a square, Black has a pentagon).  However, I prefer to rank Saizou above Seikai for two simple reasons...ONE, Saizou is listed first in the opening credits, and TWO, Seikai didn't become a Kakuranger until the second episode (and Jiraiya didn't become one until the third, for those of you keeping score).

Ohranger
#1--OH Red
#2--OH Green
#3--OH Blue
#4--OH Yellow
#5--OH Pink

Carranger
#1--Red Racer
#2--Blue Racer
#3--Green Racer
#4--Yellow Racer
#5--Pink Racer

Now, here's a little something many Sentai fans don't know about.  Green Racer, aho that he is, is actually the subleader of the team, not Blue Racer.  This is due to Blue being the youngest of the team.  However, the ranking that you see here is the official ranking of the Carrangers.

Megaranger
#1--MegaRed
#2--MegaBlack
#3--MegaBlue
#4--MegaYellow
#5--MegaPink

Gingaman
#1--GingaRed, Ryouma
#2--GingaGreen, Hayate
#3--GingaBlue, Gouki
#4--GingaYellow, Hikaru
#5--GingaPink, Saya

GoGo-V
#1--GoRed
#2--GoBlue
#3--GoGreen
#4--GoYellow
#5--GoPink

Timeranger
#1--TimeRed
#2--TimeBlue
#3--TimeGreen
#4--TimeYellow
#5--TimePink

Okay, this might get a bit confusing, so I'll try to make it as simple as I can.  Pink is the actual leader of the Timerangers, not Red.  However, the Super Sentai rule is Red is always ranked #1, no exceptions.  Also, in the series itself, the official ranking seems to be Red, Pink, Blue, Yellow, Green.  However, I rank them the way I list them because of the numbers on the TimeJets.

Gaoranger
#1--GaoRed
#2--GaoYellow
#3--GaoBlue
#4--GaoBlack
#5--GaoWhite

Hurricanger
#1--HurricaneRed
#2--HurricaneBlue
#3--HurricaneYellow
#4--Kabuto Raiger (crimson)
#5--Kuwaga Raiger (navy)

Abaranger
#1--AbaRed
#2--AbareBlue
#3--AbareYellow
#4--AbareBlack
#5--AbareKiller (white)

Dekaranger
#1--DekaRed
#2--DekaBLue
#3--DekaGreen
#4--DekaYellow
#5--DekaPink
#6--DekaBreak (white)
#7--DekaMaster (black)
#8--DekaSwan (orange)
#9--DekaBright (silver)
#10--DekaGold

Break is ranked above Master because Break is considered to be among the primary six Dekarangers.  Master is ranked #7, even though he appears before Break, because he doesn't fight all that often.  DekaSwan only appears twice, while DekaBright and DekaGold only appear once.  Oh, I also ranked Bright above Gold because Gold has an X on her uniform, which is the roman numeral for 10.

Magiranger
#1--MagiRed
#2--MagiYellow
#3--MagiBlue
#4--MagiPink
#5--MagiGreen
#6--MagiShine (navy)
#7--MagiMother (white)
#8--Wolzard Fire (crimson)

The five Ozu siblings (Red, Yellow, Blue, Pink, Green) are ranked in inverse order of age (that is, Red being the youngest and Green being the oldest).  Shine is ranked #6 because he's considered to be part of the main team, as opposed to MagiMother, who only appears at the beginning and the end of the series, and Wolzard Fire, who only appears at the end of the series.

Boukenger
#1--BoukenRed
#2--BoukenBlack
#3--BoukenBlue
#4--BoukenYellow
#5--BoukenPink

Gekiranger
#1--GekiRed
#2--GekiYellow
#3--GekiBlue
#4--GekiViolet
#5--GekiChopper (White)

Go-onger
#1--Go-on Red
#2--Go-on Blue
#3--Go-on Yellow
#4--Go-on Green
#5--Go-on Black

Shinkenger
#1--ShinkenRed, Shiba Takeru
#2--ShinkenBlue, Ikenami Ryunosuke
#3--ShinkenPink, Shiraishi Mako
#4--ShinkenGreen, Tani Chiaki
#5--ShinkenYellow, Hanaori Kotoha
#6--ShinkenGold, Umemori Genta
#7--ShinkenRed, Shiba Kaoru (female)

I rank Kaoru-hime last because she only appeared at the end of the series.

Goseiger
#1--GoseiRed
#2--GoseiPink
#3--GoseiBlack
#4--GoseiYellow
#5--GoseiBlue

I think the reason the Goseigers are ranked the way they are is primarily due to the tribes that they are in (Red and Pink are in the "sky" tribe, Black and Yellow are in the "land" tribe, and Blue is in the "sea" tribe).

Gokaiger

#1--GokaiRed
#2--GokaiBlue
#3--GokaiYellow
#4--GokaiGreen
#5--GokaiPink

Whew!  That took a while.  I promise it won't be an eternity before I come up with another post.  The reasons I haven't been posting is because, A--I've had a bit of a block, and B--my computer acted up, so I had to get a new one.

See y'all later.

The Top 10 History of NBC

Well, here we go again.  This time, I'll be discussing the Top 10 history of the National Broadcasting Company.

NBC has had success, failure, major success, and then major failure.  In the 1950-51 season, it had the highest-rated show with "Texaco Star Theater," which averaged an incredible 61.6 rating! (this was before they changed the rating systems).  Throughout the 1950s, NBC was mostly second in the networks, even after ABC become a full-fledged major network.  It would not have a #1 show until the 1961-62 season, with the western "Wagon Train."  Another popular western during the 1960s on the peacock network was "Bonanza," which was in fact, one of the first full-color shows on television, and also ranked #1 from 1964-65 to 1966-67.  During the late 1960s, NBC hit #1 again with "Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In," which was the #1 show for two consecutive seasons (1968-69 and 1969-70).  The network continued its success in the early 1970s with such hits as "The Flip Wilson Show" (the first variety show hosted by an African-American), "Ironside", "Adam-12", "Sanford and Son", "The NBC Mystery Movie", and "Chico and the Man".

However, by 1975, NBC started to slump, mainly due to the rise of ABC.  The 1978-79 season marked the first (but certainly not the last) time in the network's history that NBC failed to have a show in the top 10.  In fact, the low point in NBC came in the 1981-82 season, when it failed to have a show even in the top 20!

Luckily, NBC found a top 10 hit in "The A-Team" in the 1982-83 season, and was NBC's most popular show the following season as well.  In 1984-85, two situation comedies, the debuting "Cosby Show" and the third-season show "Family Ties" broke into the Top 10, and in the following season, these shows would rank #1 and #2 respectively (with "The Cosby Show" ultimately ranking or sharing #1 for five consecutive seasons).  In the 1985-86 season, "Cheers," which had struggled in its first two years, and hit the top 20 in the previous season, became a top 10 show, along with the debuting "Golden Girls," and "Miami Vice."  Perhaps the most successful point for NBC during this period came in the 1986-87 season, when all four of its Must-See TV sitcoms ranking in the top 10:  "The Cosby Show", "Family Ties", "Cheers", and "Night Court".  Cosby, Family Ties, and Cheers ranked #1, #2, and #3, respectively, and Cosby & Family Ties had ratings of 34.9 and 32.7, respectively!  No other show has come even CLOSE to getting those ratings, primarily due to the increasing competition from newer networks and cable television.

NBC's success continued throughout the late 1980s with such hits as "A Different World" (originally a spin-off of "The Cosby Show"), "ALF", and "Empty Nest", but by the early 90s, the network was no longer in the top spot, with "Cheers" being the only Top 10 NBC show during the 1991-92 and 1992-93 seasons, the latter season being Cheers' last on the air.  However...

NBC would bounce back in the mid-1990s with such shows as "Seinfield" (which took over Cheers' timeslot on Thursday nights, and was the #1 show during its final season, 1997-98), "Frasier" (a spin-off/sequel of "Cheers"), "ER", "Friends" (which was a top 10 hit during all ten seasons on the air), "Caroline in the City", "The Single Guy", "Suddenly Susan", "The Naked Truth", "Fired Up", "Veronica's Closet", "Union Square", and "Jesse".  However, most of these shows wouldn't last as long as the Must-See sitcoms of the 1980s, and "Union Square," in fact, was canceled after only 13 episodes because the audience from "Friends" didn't hold over to Square.

In the early 2000s, NBC had top 10 hits like "Law & Order", "The West Wing", "Will & Grace", "Leap of Faith" (which was canceled after only SIX episodes despite tying at #9 with "Will & Grace" in 2001-02), and "The Apprentice", but after "Friends" ended its run in the 2003-2004 season, NBC as not had even ONE show in Top 10.

Despite having such hot sports events such as the Olympics and the Super Bowl, NBC overall has been going downhill since then.  Some of its shows even ranked lower than The CW's shows (and that's a MINOR network, mind you).  In fact, former NBC Universal President/CEO Jeff Zucker once said that he believed NBC could no longer be #1.

In conclusion, I believe we should find Brandon Tartikoff's remains and clone him.  Either that, or find someone like him, because we need another man like him to turn the peacock network around.

The Top 10 History of CBS

Okay, I lied.  I'm going to do THREE more posts on the top ten of the "big four" of the U.S. television networks, since in recent years, Fox has broken through into the top ten, but I'll get to that later.  For now, I'm going to talk about the network that has pretty much dominated network television for most of its history, the Columbia Broadcasting System.

From 1951-52 to 1975-76, with a few exceptions, CBS has had the #1 show in television.  In fact, on several occasions, CBS has had nine of the Top 10 shows on TV.  Now, THAT'S dominance!

I Love Lucy, The Jack Benny Show, Arthur Godfrey, The Jackie Gleason Show, The Ed Sullivan Show, The $64,000 Question, I've Got a Secret, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Gunsmoke, The Danny Thomas Show, Have Gun Will Travel, Perry Mason, The Andy Griffith Show, Candid Camera, The Beverly Hillbilles, The Lucy Show, The Dick Van Dyke Show, Petticoat Junction, Gomer Pyle USMC, Hogan's Heroes, Green Acres, Family Affair, Mayberry RFD, Here's Lucy, Hawaii Five-O, Medical Center, All in the Family, Mannix, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Maude, The Waltons, M*A*S*H, Kojak, The Jeffersons, Rhoda, and Good Times were among the many Top 10 hits for the "Eye" network during this period of time.  In fact, "All in the Family" was the #1 show for five consecutive seasons (1971-72 to 1975-76), a record that has since been broken (I'll get to that later).

By the mid-70s, however, ABC started to break through and become #1, but by the early 1980s, CBS was back on top with such shows as "60 Minutes," "Alice," "Dallas," "The Dukes of Hazzard," "One Day at a Time," "House Calls", "Magnum P.I.", "Simon and Simon," and "Falcon Crest."  But the success couldn't last forever...

In the 1984-85 season, CBS had seven of the top ten shows (actually top 11, since Falcon Crest and Crazy Like a Fox tied for #10), but in the following season, it only had three of the top 10 shows (Murder She Wrote, 60 Minutes, and Dallas).  This was due to NBC's resurgence (which I will get into next time), as well as ABC's comeback after a slump in the mid-to-late-80s.  CBS would come back in the early 1990s with such shows as "Murphy Brown," and "60 Minutes" returned to the top for three straight years (1991-92 to 1993-94), but CBS's fortunes changed forever after FOX won the rights to broadcast the National Football Conference of NFL football.  As a result, many long-time CBS affiliates switched to FOX, leaving CBS with some low-rated stations in numerous markets (such as Atlanta, Milwaukee, and especially Detroit).

"Touched by an Angel" proved to be CBS's most popular show during the late 1990s, but the network would return to dominance in 2000 with "Survivor."  And that's all I'm going to say about "Survivor" in this post.  Other popular shows in the early 2000s for CBS included "Everybody Loves Raymond," and the first of numerous versions of "CSI."  By 2005, "Raymond" was off the air, and since then "Two and a Half Men" has proven to be the network's most popular comedy, though it has only cracked the top 10 only once (2008-09) in its run.  Since the 2000s, Fox and CBS have been dueling it out for first place.

I'll look at the rise, fall, rise, and major fall of the peacock network next time.

The Top 10 History of ABC

For this post, and the next two, I've decided to give you a history of Top 10 shows on the "big three" networks of the United States.  Today, I'm starting with the alphabet network, ABC-TV.

Although ABC had a top 10 show in the 1950-1951 season (that being "The Lone Ranger," #7), the year in which Nielsen began its television ratings system, it wasn't considered to be a 'major' network until its merger with United Paramount Theaters in 1953.  It first post-merger top ten hit was "Disneyland," an anthology series hosted by Walt Disney that was partially used to promote his then-new California theme park.  Disneyland was in the top 10 for the 1954-55  (#4) and the 1955-56 (#6) seasons.  ABC's biggest season in the 1950s was the 1958-59 season, which had four top ten shows in "The Rifleman" (#4), "Maverick" (#6), "The Real McCoys" (#8), and "The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp" (#10).  The following season (1959-60), ABC had seven shows in the top 20.

Despite its successes, ABC was still #3 in the ratings throughout the 1950s and most of the 1960s.  In the mid-1960s, "Bewitched" was a top ten hit in its first three seasons (#2 in the 1964-65 season, tied for #7 in the 1965-66 season, and tied for #7 in the 1966-67 season), "Batman" had two of the top ten spots in its initial 1965-66 mid-season run, and "The Fugitive," "Combat," and "Peyton Place" were top 10 hits in the 1964-65 season.  However, soon afterwards, ABC would drop out of the top 10 until the debut of "Marcus Welby, M.D." in the 1969-70 season, in which it ranked #8.  The following year, it became the first ABC show to rank #1 in the full season ratings.  Other top 10 shows during the early 70s for ABC were the "Movie of the Week," and "The F.B.I."

However, the network didn't really get to the top until the mid 1970s, with such shows as "Rich Man, Poor Man," "Laverne & Shirley," "The Bionic Woman," "The Six Million Dollar Man," and the "Monday Night Movie" being top 10 hits in the 1975-76 season.  In 1976-77, "Happy Days" was the #1 show, and the network had six other top ten hits in "Laverne & Shirley" (#2), "The ABC Monday Night Movie" (#3), "Charlie's Angels" (#5), "The Six Million Dollar Man" (#7), and "The ABC Sunday Night Movie" and "Baretta" tied at #8.  "Laverne & Shirley" ranked #1 in the 1977-78 and 1978-79 seasons, and ABC's peak of popularity during the 70s came in the 78-79 season with such shows as "Three's Company" (#2), "Mork & Mindy" and "Happy Days" (both tied at #3), "Angie" (#5, midsason), "The Ropers" (#8, midseason), and "Taxi" (#10).

But ABC made several dumb decisions in the 1979-1980 season which cost them the top spot.  The first was moving several Top 10 shows into new time slots, most of which failed (in fact, both "Angie" and "The Ropers" were canceled at the end of the year, and "Mork and Mindy" was almost canceled had it not moved back into its familiar timeslot, and going back to the slapstick stories which had made it a hit in the first place).  Another dumb move was the firing of Kate Jackson from "Charlie's Angels," from which the show never truly recovered.  But despite this, nearly half of the top 30 shows on network television were on ABC.  Oh, by the way, the number one show on network TV during this season?  "60 Minutes" on CBS.

ABC was no longer #1 on TV, but was still a solid #2 during the early 1980s (due to NBC being rock bottom at #3).  However, by 1984, despite having the #1 show in "Dynasty," ABC had no other Top 10 shows.  It wouldn't be until 1988-89 in which ABC would have a show in the upper regions of the Top 10, with "Roseanne" being #2.  The following year, "Roseanne" tied #1 in the ratings with "The Cosby Show" on NBC, which had been the #1 show in the past four years.

ABC was still near the top during the early 90s, with such shows as "Roseanne," "Home Improvement," "Full House," "Coach," "Grace Under Fire," and "NYPD Blue," but the network started to slip again in the mid-90s, around the time Disney purchased the network (I'm not bashing Disney...yet).  ABC would not reach the top again until the end of the century with "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?", but its success would be short-lived, as the show burned itself out by 2001, and was off the network by 2002, leaving ABC with few hits.  However, it turned around by the middle of the 2000s decade, with the success of such shows as "Desperate Housewives," "Grey's Anatomy," and "Dancing With the Stars."  However, by the end of the decade, the only top 10 hit for ABC was "Dancing With the Stars," although all three of the aforementioned shows are still on the air. (I will go on the record here...I haven't really watched any of those three shows, as I haven't really watched primetime programming nowadays)

And that's it for now.  Tomorrow (for sure), I will go into the top 10 history of CBS.

Super Mario Bros. 25th Anniversary

I know, I haven't been here in a while, and I know this post is probably a few weeks late, but as a celebration of Nintendo announcing the American release of "Super Mario All-Stars" for the Wii (FINALLY!), I've decided to do this particular post.

On September 13, 1985, Nintendo released "Super Mario Bros." for the Family Computer system in Japan.  It soon became one of the best-selling video games of all time, and it was one of the earliest games for the Nintendo Entertainment System upon its release in North America.  Not only is "Super Mario Bros." one of the best-selling video games of all-time, it is one of the most innovate games of all time.  I mean, think about it.  How would video games be today had it not been for "Super Mario Bros."?  Thought so.

Pretty much everyone knows how the game is played--Mario has to rescue Princess Peach from the clutches of the evil King Bowser Koopa.  He can jump on platforms, jump on numerous enemies, swim, and can even use fireballs to defeat certain baddies.  There are eight worlds, each with four levels, with each world having a different theme.  World 1 is pretty easy.  Chances are, if you've played the game numerous times, like myself, you'll be able to get through this world in your sleep.  Of course, we all know about the Warp Zones, which were another innovation at the time.  I mean, think about it--back in 1985, there were no save files or password systems for video games, so if you wanted to pick up from where you left off after turning off the game, you'd have to go to World 1-2, jump on the up-moving elevator platforms, jump over the ceiling, and run over until you see three pipes, which will take you to Worlds (from right-to-left) 2, 3, or 4, depending on which pipe you take.  There was, however, a secret continue code should you lose all your lives.  By simply holding the "A" button and pressing start on the title screen, you can go back to the beginning on the world in which you last died at (ex., if you died at World 6-2, if you used the code, you'd restart the game at World 6-1).

If you managed to complete the game and save the princess, you were given a second quest, which made the game harder (Goombas were replaced by Buzzy Beetles, moving platforms were shorter, etc.), and if you beat that quest...well, that was it, you played the second quest again.

Quite frankly, anyone who has ever touched a video game controller should play "Super Mario Bros."  It's still just as fun as it was when it came out back in the day.

Night Court--All You Need is Love (OAD January 4, 1984)

I'm going to do a little something different for this particular blog entry.  Here, I'm going to do a synopsis of a television episode of one of my favorite television series.  In this case, it is the premiere pilot episode of "Night Court," a key member of NBC's Must-See Thursday Lineup during the mid 1980s.  Now, in these synopses, I'm going to reveal some of the plot, so if you haven't seen the show yet, read at your own risk.  I'm also going to be giving out random bits of trivia about the episode, cast members, crew members, etcetera.  So, let's bring up the first case on the docket.

We're introduced to our first major character, Lana Wagner, the court clerk.  Get a good look at her, folks.  You won't be seeing her after the first few episodes.  She enters the judge's office and sees the guy who is supposed to be painting his office watching a naked couple in a building across the alley.  She quickly sends him out, and in comes out next main character, Bull Shannon, the towering bailiff, played by Richard Moll.  There's no sign of the new judge, and Bull wonders what this new judge is like.  Lana says that she doesn't know, since the ex-mayor filled all the vacancies in court on his last day in office.  Bull thinks it's mercurial.  For those that don't know what "mercurial" means Volatile; erraticl unstable; flighty; fickle or changeable in temperament.  This was one of Bull's earlier character traits--trying to make up for a lack of education, every month, he picks a word out of the dictionary and tries to use it all that month.

Lana:  My, how...
Bull:  Minimifidian? (minimifidian--having smallest possible degree of faith)
Lana:  Is that a real word?
Bull:  Does a bear extravasate in the forest? (extravasate--to force out or cause to escape from a proper vessel or channel {such as blood or urine})

Bull then takes a quick phone call from the mayor, and tells Lana to tell the judge that the mayor called before leaving.  We're now introduced to some guy named Harry carrying a box with random junk into the office.  Then we're introduced to our two attorneys--Sheila Gardiner of Legal Aid, played by Gail Strickland, and Assistant District Attorney Dan Fielding, played by John Larroquette.  They, too, are wondering about the new judge.  Sheila hopes he has a background in criminal law, while Dan hopes he plays chess.  He also hopes that his first name is not Shecky.  A messenger then comes into the office with a package for Judge Stone.  Lana says that he's not here, while Harry is now watching the naked couple from the window, also revealing that he is their new judge.  Judge Harold T. Stone to be exact.

Messenger:  YOU are really a judge?
Harry:  Hey, if I weren't the judge, could I do this...(he then shoots those take snakes from a bazooka)...in his office?
Messenger:  No, I guess not.

Harry signs for the package, but doesn't tip him, feeling he might spend it on a Barry Manilow album.  The court officials then introduce themselves to their new judge, and they're all wondering how this man is a judge.


Now that the cold opening is over, let me give a little background on some of the cast.  Harry Anderson, who plays Judge Harry Stone, was a comedian who also performed magic tricks as part of his act.  Prior to appearing in "Night Court," he also made appearances on fellow Must-See Thursday show "Cheers," playing conman Harry the Hat.  Some fans have even theorized that Harry Stone was really Harry the Hat, but I can dismiss that theory with one fact--the fact that Cheers was produced by Paramount, and Night Court was produced by Warner Bros., and it would be highly unlikely that the same character could be on two shows produced by two different studios.  John Larroquette, who plays Fielding, was known for his roles in the TV show "Baa Baa Black Sheep," as well as his notable role in the film "Stripes."  Richard Moll, a.k.a. Bull, came to the show's audition with a shaved head, since he had shaved it for a film role, and the producers liked the look so much, they asked him to keep it.  He was also 6'8", which definitely makes him easily noticeable in the courtroom. 

Now let's get to the first act.  Harry enters the courtroom now wearing the official judges' robe as Bull begins the session.

"All rise.  Criminal Court, Part Two, City of New York, is now in session.  The honorable...(checks left hand)...Harold T. ...(then the right)...Stone presiding."

And here's our first look at what kind of judge this man is.  Just as he's about to sit down, he quickly stands back up, making everyone else stand up as well.  "GOTCHA!"  Needless to say, he's already testing Lana's patience.  Before she can hand him the first case on the docket, one of the spectators in the gallery recognizes Harry, and Harry recognizes him as Hacksaw, one of his friends who was practicing Three Card Monte.  Harry asks Lana to prepare Hacksaw's file, even though it's not the first case, and informs Sheila that her client's pleading guilty to a misdemeanor, which will cost him $50.  Before Lana and Sheila can get all their papers to Judge Stone, the case is closed.  Now, we get to the main case of the show, which involves a quarreling married couple.  It's here we're introduced to our last main character, Selma Hacker, the other bailiff, who helps the wife call her husband a scuzzball.  Bull then yells to stop the argument, before saying "Let's put a lid on this assiduousness". (assiduousness--Conscientious and unremitting diligence) Lana hands Harry the file on State v. Kerr, where the husband and wife were married for 27 years, the wife catches him with a prostitute, fires a couple of shots, misses them both by a mile, so the DA files for attempted murder.  Philip Kerr, the husband, Louise Kerr, the wife, and the prostitute, Carla Bouvoir, who prefers to be called Carla B., who's charged with attempted solicitation.  Harry is prepared to listen to the testimony, cross-examine the witnesses, consider the precedents that both attorneys have prepared, but he doesn't think it'll be necessary.  He calls for a short recess, during which time he orders the plaintiff, defendant, and the attorneys to go to a restaurant, sit down, and try to work it out.  Needless to say, it's highly irregular.  As soon as Harry leaves, Lana says that she can't work with him, while the lawyers point out that it's virtually impossible to remove a sitting judge from the bench, which means only one thing...Dan says they have to kill him.  End of Act One.

Act Two begins in Harry's office with him doing judge stuff.  Lana enters the office and tells him that she considers his actions impulsive, unorthodox, and totally irresponsible.  However, Harry's more concerned with the couple doing it again.  Lana honestly thinks that the judge is crazy, since there's an attempted murder charge, and he sends the plaintiff and the defendant out for a cup of coffee.  "What do murderers get, lunch?"  Harry admits his methods are informal, but he's optimistic that it'll work.  That is, before he sees Sheila and Dan coming into the office with disshelved clothing.  Obviously, no settlement with the Kerrs.  Harry honestly thought it would work, but Lana says it was predictable.

Back in court, the Kerrs are still fighting, with Bull keeping them separated with his arms.  Harry orders them to sit down and said that he ordered them to try and work it out, and members of the gallery being arguing on both sides before Harry shuts them up.  However, oohs and aahs are acceptable.  Court is soon back in session, and Harry points out that there are those that think he is not fit to be a judge (Lana), and those that think that he is crazy (Dan).  Frankly, he doesn't know.  He soon does a little palming trick on Lana and pulls the Coin of Justice from behind her ear.  He decides to film--heads, he's still a judge; tails--he resigns.  It comes up heads, so he's still a judge.  Lana decides to call for an ambulance, but Harry calls her back into the courtroom.  Harry then asks Phil if his marriage was a living hell.  Phil says yes, but early on, it was okay.  Romance has since been replaced by a really good night's sleep.  And so he goes to...the other woman (Carla B.).  He flips again for solicitation:  heads--I just fine you, tails--you go to jail.  It comes up heads again (I think you can see where this is heading).  Dan protests for the record, and Harry asks if he had a happy childhood.  Dan doesn't want to answer, but Harry threatens contempt, so Dan admits that he didn't.  Harry asks the crowd if they see what he's trying to do.  Even Bull. "I don't know what the hell's going on."  He's just talking.  You talk to people, you find out about them, and maybe you reveal a little about themselves in the process, but the main thing is, you get to know them, go inside their heads, etc.  Harry decides to flip again...

Sheila:  The defense wants heads, your honor! (jumping the gun, aren't we?)

And here's the jist--heads, Louise goes to jail for seven yars; tails, she's let go.

Just before the flip, Louise admits that she wouldn't have hurt him since she nursed him through three bouts of pneumonia and a gallbladder operation.  Phil admits that she loves her, and she the same.  Harry still wants to flip, but Phil points out that every time he flips, it comes up heads, and Harry admits that it's a double-headed coin (told ya).  So, therefore, by the power vested in him by the State of New York, Harry pronounces them...a little better off than they were before.  Phil and Louise make up, and the case is dismissed.

Selma:  I had a husband just like that.
Bull:  Oh, yeah?
Selma:  Yeah.  I had to shoot him, too.

Harry's about to call a recess when Dan asks how he got appointed to the bench.  Turns out that Harry was at the bottom of the list of candidates, and he was the only one that answered his phone because it was a Sunday, and no one else was home.

After court has ended, Harry's listening to his walkman when Lana walks in.  He says that he owns every Mel Torme record ever made and he's going to marry the girl who's impressed by that.  Lana points out that they're ready to lock up, and Harry thanks Lana for being patient with him since he's new, and that his name was at the bottom of the list, since he doesn't have much experience.  And every candidate goes through a thorough screening process, so no matter what everyone else thinks, he was still on the list.  Lana admits that what Harry did tonight was beautiful, saving that marriage, and decides to keep working with him, calling it an honor to call him Harry.  "Then it's fortunate I have that name."

It's a great start to a great series, and I should point out that early on in the run, Night Court was considered to be the most accurate legal show on television.  Yes, you heard that right.  Even with all the crazies in the courtroom.  Eventually, the show abandoned its "real world" setting and became more of a real-life cartoon (and even cartoon characters showed up in the courtroom).  The show's creator, Reinhood Weege, had experience in writing craziness in a legal setting as he was once a writer on "Barney Miller," which dealt with a police precinct dealing with crazy criminals.  "Night Court" also had several cast changes in its early seasons, which I will go into more detail into in future posts.

Night Court is owned by Starry Night Productions and Warner Bros. Television.  No challenge to their ownership is intended.

Things I dislike about the WWE today

Sorry I haven't been here in a while.  I've been having trouble thinking of what to write for this blog, but after the events of the past few weeks, I think I've figured out what to write.

This is a list of things that I dislike in World Wrestling Entertainment today.

Besides the PG Rating, of course.  Every true wrestling fan hates that.

Here they are in no particular order.

The Miz
Let me go on the record.  I do not like The Miz.  I haven't liked him since I first saw him on SmackDown! when I truly got into wrestling in 2006.  I didn't like him when when he had his "undefeated streak" (but I did like it when he got wormed by The Boogeyman at WWE Armageddon).  I didn't like him when he paired with John Morrison (then again, I didn't really watch ECW).  And I especially don't like him now since he's had that stupid catchphrase of his (which I will not repeat on this blog).  I will say this...the day Mike Mizanin (that's his real name, BTW) has his ring name entitled on a world championship is the day I stop watching new episodes of WWE programming.

Michael Cole
Yeah, everyone hates Michael Cole, but I will say this...I actually tolerated him.  That is, until he was drafted to Raw back in 2008.  I've especially started hating him since Jim Ross stopped announcing, and even more since he started dissing Daniel Bryan and backing The Miz on NXT, and EVEN MORE when they started that ABSOLUTELY STUPID ANONYMOUS GENERAL MANAGER GIMMICK!!!  Okay, I'm calm down.  Bottom line, I think Edge said it best this past Monday on Raw, "I'd rather listen to a recording of Jim Ross than hear Michael Cole live."

Justin Roberts
I'm sorry, but I don't really like him as ring announcer.  For one thing, he speaks too fast when announcing the stipulations, but I don't really like his voice.  Also, he was somewhat responsible for Daniel Bryan being fired from WWE for a brief period in the summer of 2010 (when Bryan accidentally choked Roberts with his own tie).  I miss Lillian Garcia on Raw (yes, I admit it), and I especially miss The Fink ring announcing on WWE programming (instead of introducing the WWE Hall of Famers at WrestleMania).

Drew McIntyre
I first saw him when I went to a WWE event in 2007 at Joe Louis Arena, when he was just starting to get his foot in the door, but he didn't really become a "regular superstar" until last year, but what really irritates me about him was when he was named "the chosen one" by Vince McMahon.  His mike work is sup-par, and his in-ring work is...okay at best.  Thankfully, Vince hasn't interfered with Teddy Long's job since he got taken out by Nexus in June, but unfortunately, he's still on the show.  Guess I'll have to deal with Sleepy Drew for a little while longer.

LayCool
Oh, boy...where do I begin?  The whole reason I've hated LayCool (Layla El and Michelle McCool) is because of the whole controversial "Piggy James" angle.  With the release of Mickie James and the injury of "The Glamazon" Beth Phoenix (PLEASE COME BACK SOON, BETH!!), I have had no real reason to watch the divas of SmackDown! (hell, I haven't really had a reason to watch the Divas at all, except for the recently returned Melina, the only other Diva I really enjoy).  Quite frankly, the sooner the Divas Championship belts are off LayCool, the better.

Todd Grisham
I liked him better as an interviewer, but since he moved to the announce table, it's been harder to watch SmackDown!, even more since Jim Ross left the booth due to his third Bell's Palsy attack.  IMHO, the only really good play-by-play man is Josh Matthews, who mainly does the interviewing for Raw and SmackDown!  Please...but Grisham back behind the curtain and Matthews behind the table.  I'll feel a whole lot better then.

Vickie Guerrero
She definitely tops the list, no question about it.  I haven't liked her since she started becoming more prominently featured in the WWE back in 2006, one year after the death of her husband, the increíble Eddie Guerrero (Viva La Raza!)  But she broke my "hate-meter" after she started pairing with Edge (who I like), and subsequently stole the position of General Manager (during the period between September 2007 and May 2008, when Teddy Long left SmackDown! for ECW, I considered T'Lo the true GM of SmackDown!).  When she quit in June of 2009, I praised every deity out there, but my praises were short-lived as she came back three months later.  And I haven't even mentioned her annoying "EXCUSE ME!"  The second I hear that, I change the channel.  When Vickie does leave the WWE for good, I'm throwing a wild party, and everyone's invited!

The Departure of Several Big-Name Superstars within the past year or so
Quite frankly, WWE has not been as fun since the departure of many top stars since 2009...

• John "Bradshaw" Layfield--I liked his commentary, a throwback to Jesse "The Body" Ventura, and I really wish he hadn't gone back into the ring (which obviously wasn't as good as his first run, which included a 10-month run as WWE champion {which was a little too long in my book})  Still, I miss him, and it would be good to see him in the WWE for a guest appearance soon.
• Tazz--I loved him on commentary, and from what I've seen, he is definitely one of the toughest wrestlers out there.  When he left shortly before WrestleMania, I enjoyed SmackDown! a little bit less since then.
• Jim Ross--He hasn't left the company, but due to his third attack of Bell's Palsy, he's no longer announcing.  I didn't like it when he got bumped down to analyst and Todd Grisham (see above) got promoted to play-by-play man of the blue brand.  JR is a true legend in the sports entertainment broadcasting business, and that's the bottom line.
• Shawn Michaels--No question about it, WWE will never recover from the departure of The Showstopper, The Headliner, The Main Event, Mr. WrestleMania.  It's nice to see him do the occasional YouTube video, but I would love to see him in the WWE for a guest spot at least once (not wrestling, obviously.  I've accepted the fact that he no longer wants to put his body on the line like that).
• Batista--While his popularity wasn't as big as it was in 2005 (when he was really big, no pun intended), I still miss the Animal, and I have to say his heel turn in late 2009 was LONG overdue.
• Triple H--He's still with the company, but after his latest injury, it's starting to look unlikely that he's going to return to the ring.  I mean, even though he is in his early 40s, he's still one of the best in the business, not to mention one of the funniest superstars out there (he's one of the few that can really pull off being a hilarious face and a dangerous heel).

To end my blog, when the Undertaker decides to call it quits, that is when I will DEFINITELY stop watching wrestling on a regular basis.  There will never be another Phenom in wrestling, period.

Thank you, and good night.

Dumb Daytime Moves--NBC Daytime since 1993

Since 1993, NBC has had the shortest daytime schedule of any of the three networks (ABC, CBS, NBC).  Part of the reason has been the more lucrative syndicated program which had truly emerged since the start of the decade (I'm referring to the 90's here).  Not counting the "Today Show," NBC currently has only ONE HOUR of daytime programming, "Days of our Lives."  How has the once-mighty NBC daytime lineup fallen so low?  Well, let's find out.

On January 18, 1993, NBC's schedule looked something...like this.

• 7:00 a.m.-9:00 a.m.--The Today Show
• 11:00 a.m.-11:30 a.m.--Classic Concentration reruns (hosted by Alex Trebek)
• 11:30 a.m.-12:00 noon--A Closer Look (news/talk show hosted by Faith Daniels)
• 12:00 noon-12:30 p.m.--Scrabble (game show hosted by Chuck Woolery)
• 12:30 p.m.-1:00 p.m.--Scattergories (game show hosted by Dick Clark)
• 1:00 p.m.-2:00 p.m.--Days of our Lives (soap opera)
• 2:00 p.m.-3:00 p.m.--Another World (soap opera)

On March 22, "A Closer Look" was replaced by "Family Secrets" (I mentioned this show in a previous show).  On June 11, "Secrets," "Scrabble," and "Scattergories" were all canceled, replaced by "John and Leeza from Hollywood" (a talk show hosted by John Tesh and Leeza Gibbons) at 11:00 a.m., "Classic Concentration" moving to 12:00 noon, and "Caesars Challenge" debuting at 12:30 p.m.  This lineup lasted until New Years Eve, 1993.  The next two weeks of a full hour of "Caesars Challenge" (a rerun followed by a new episode) until that show was canceled on January 14, 1994.

On January 17, 1994, the re-titled "Leeza" now aired at 10:00 a.m., and the new "Jane Whitney Show" aired at 11:00 a.m.  This lasted until October 7, when Jane Whitney was replaced by "The Other Side."  "The Other Side" lasted until October 13, 1995, when it was soon replaced by reruns of "Leeza."  The reruns lasted until March 1, 1996, and the 10:00 a.m. hour of programming disappeared for over a decade.

On January 6, 1997, "Sunset Beach", a soap opera produced by Aaron Spelling (yes, THAT one), debuted at 12:00 noon (with some markets either airing the show at a different timeslot, on different stations, or not at all).  The NBC schedule would remain the same for over two years until "Another World" was canceled on June 25, 1999.  On July 5, the soap opera "Passions" replaced AW at 2:00 p.m. (as mentioned before, some markets aired the show at different timeslots, different stations, or not at all).  "Leeza" was finally canceled on September 3, and on September 13, the ill-fated "Later Today" debuted at 9:00 a.m. (thought some stations delayed it by an hour or two).  Then on October 2, 2000, "Later Today" permanently became the third hour of the full "Today" show.  This schedule would remain the same until September 7, 2007, when "Passions" left the network (and would air on DirectTV for another year or so), and the 2:00 hour was given to local affiliates.

However...(brace for it)...at 10:00 a.m., a FOURTH hour of "Today" was added to the schedule on September 10.  I'm sure many viewers thought that even the third hour of "Today" was too much.

And now you see how much the once-mighty NBC has crashed and burned.

Somewhat Dumb Daytime Moves--NBC's game shows from 1991 to 1994

As I mentioned back in my "Wheel of Fortune (Post-Sajak)" entry, on September 20, 1991, NBC cleared the last of its game shows ("Wheel of Fortune" and "Classic Concentration") from its schedule.  However, one month later, on October 28, "Classic Concentration" returned...in rerun form, that is.  In my honest opinion, if NBC really wanted to have the show on the air, they should have made new episodes instead or rerunning shows from 1987.

For over a year, this was the only game show on NBC, but that changed on January 18, 1993, with the debut of two new game shows on the schedule--"Scrabble", a revival of the 1984-1990 series hosted by Chuck Woolery, and "Scattergories," based on the board game of the same name, hosted by Dick Clark.  Both of these shows were okay, however they had a number of problems, which I will mention for each show individually.

Scrabble

• The show's new set was smaller, as well as cheaper.  Instead of the octagonal stoppers displays from the original series, we now had three horizontal lights stacked on top of each other.  Also, the "Scrabble Cube" didn't rotate as the previous version did, with all of the gameplay action (both main game and Sprint rounds) being played on the central monitor.
• The Pink and Blue Bonus Squares were back, but instead of directly winning the money after guessing the word, the money which represented that particular square ($500--Blue, $1000--Pink) was added to the Bonus Sprint Jackpot, which started at $1,000.  This, by the way, was the only way money was added to the jackpot.
• Despite this, this version of "Scrabble" had the highest Bonus Sprint jackpot in the show's history--$20,500 (which wasn't bad money for 1993).

Scattergories 

• The five guest celebrities only appeared on prerecorded video from either various locations (mainly either Los Angeles or New York).  They never appeared live in the studio.
• The jackpot for the bonus round was $4,000.  Yes, you read that right.  FOUR THOUSAND DOLLARS.  Now, for those of you that fell asleep during economics class, $4,000 in 1993 buys a lot less than it did in 1973.  However, the show did add $1,000 for each day it was not won, but still!!

As you've noticed by both of those shows, the main problem was that they were CHEAP.  Then again, I've heard that they were mainly placeholders until Leeza Gibbons' talk show would debut on the network, so NBC probably didn't really give a damn.

Two more game shows debuted in 1993 on NBC, but not at the same time.  The first was "Family Secrets," hosted by Bob Eubanks, which debuted on March 22, 1993.  The show, which was taped at the then-Disney-MGM Studios at Walt Disney World, was a show that I have to admit, I never actually watched when it first came on, and there was also a controversial moment coming from the show.  According to the "Television Game Show Hosts: Biographies on 32 Stars" book written by David Baber, one team competing on the show turned out to not be a real family.  It was actually a father, his daughter, and his girlfriend posing as the girl's mother.  The team won $6,000 in prizes, but when the real girl's mother discovered the deception, the show was pulled from the airways and replaced with a rerun.  In a major irony, the father and his girlfriend married on June 11, 1993, the same day "Family Secrets" went off the air.  June 11th was also the day that "Scrabble" and "Scattergories" were canceled as well.

The other new 1993 game was "Caesars Challenge," emanating from Caesars Palace in fabulous Las Vegas, Nevada.  Debuting on June 14, 1993, the show was hosted by then-NBC sportscaster Ahmad Rashad (also then-husband of Phylicia Rashad), and featured a male model dressed in Roman attire (regularly Dan Doherty) serving as assistant.  "Caesars Challenge" was known for its giant slot machine which displayed up to nine letters for the scrambled-up words, plus the incredible rapport between Rashad and Doherty.  "Challenge" lasted until January 14, 1994, when it became the last daytime game show (besides "The Price is Right") to air for 15 years.  During that time, "Classic Concentration" went off the air on New Years Eve, 1993.

Although I enjoyed "Caesars Challenge", the one problem I had with it was in its early episodes, contestants bought merchandise with their cash earnings, like the older episodes of "Wheel of Fortune".  However, unlike "Wheel," in which the prizes were of a decent amount, the prizes on "Caesars Challenge" consisted of more high-end prizes (close to the $10,000 range), which means that they could only get one prize.  This later changed to a more suitable prize package that valued the amount of money that they earned during the game.  Also, of the two bonus games the show had, I kinda liked the first one a little better.

I also have to say this.  For some stupid, stubborn reason, NBC has refused to air or relinquish the rights to "Classic Concentration" since 1993.  They also hold the rights of the Jack Narz syndicated version of "Concentration" (they leased the format to Goodson-Todman Productions, and later Mark Goodson Productions, during that time).  And you wonder why NBC's daytime schedule has been under rock bottom for so long...

Dumb Daytime Moves--Wheel of Fortune (post-Sajak)

For those of you that don't remember, or for those that just don't know, "Wheel of Fortune" actually made its debut in the daytime...on NBC to be exact.  Monday, January 6, 1975, 10:30 a.m. Eastern Standard Time.  The show debuted during the Bolen era of NBC daytime, and was the only new show that debuted during that time to last for more than three years.  In fact, it lasted for over 16 years overall on daytime television.  I say sixteen years overall because...well, we'll get to that later.

The show was originally hosted by Chuck Woolery (making his game show host debut), and turning the letters (remember, this was 1975) was Susan Stafford.  Woolery remained the show's host until December 25, 1981, when he left the show due to a salary dispute. (Merry Christmas, Chuck!!)  His replacement?  Some little-known weatherman named Pat Sajak.

It should also be pointed out that Sajak's early months as host of "Wheel" was at a time when the show was the ONLY game show on NBC's daytime lineup (look up my "Texas" post to see what I mean).  Susan Stafford, who had been with the show from day one, left on October 22, 1982 to move on with her career.  On-air auditions were held over the next several weeks, former Miss USA Summer Bartholomew (who would later go on to be co-host of "Sale of the Century" from December 31, 1984 to March 24, 1989), former Playboy playmate Vicki McCarthy, and Price is Right First Four Breakfast Club member Vanna White.  Guess who ended up getting the job on December 13, 1982?

As you all know, the went into syndication in 1983, and despite a slow start (with only a few stations airing the show), it soon skyrocketed and became the #1 syndicated show on television.  The success of the nighttime "Wheel" allowed the daytime "Wheel" to remain on NBC for an extended period.

But now we're getting into what you really wanted to see in this particular blog entry.  In 1988, CBS was planning a late night talk show in another attempt to challenge Johnny Carson's "Tonight Show" in the ratings.  Their choice to host the show?  Pat Sajak.  Sajak's last "Wheel" aired on January 9, 1989 (I think it was preempted due to some news story), and the big question was who would replace him as host the following day?  Well, fasten your seat belts, folks, because it's going to be a bumpy ride.

Taking over as host was Rolf Benirschke, a former kicker for the San Diego Chargers best known for kicking the game-winning field goal in the famous playoff game against the Miami Dolphins on January 2, 1982, and surviving ulcerative colitis.  However, from day one, viewers knew that Merv Griffin might have made a mistake in hiring the former football player.

Here were the problems with Benirschke's run as host.

• Rolf had ZERO television experience prior to his stint on "Wheel."
• Rolf had never seen a complete episode of "Wheel" prior to his stint on the show.  This would be proven when, in one episode, two players tied at the end of the game.  Rolf stared into the camera and admitted to the world that he had no idea what to do at that point. (for those that are wondering what would happen if a game ends in a tie on the daytime version, there is no bonus game, and all three players come back on the next show to continue from where they left off)

Although #6 would improve as his time on "Wheel" went on, the ratings still went down.  By 1989, game shows on daytime television were in decline.  "Sale of the Century" and "Super Password" had been canceled earlier in the year, and the odds were that "Wheel" would soon bite the dust as well.  Well...it would happen.  "Wheel" was canceled after its June 30, 1989 broadcast, and that was the end of daytime "Wheel".

But not for long...

CBS brought back "Wheel" for its daytime schedule on July 17, 1989, airing at 10:30 a.m. (between "Family Feud" and "The Price is Right.")  The show was now hosted by Bob Goen, who had hosted "Blackout" for the network one year earlier (and had shaven off that hideous mustache that he had during his early hosting career), and a significant improvement over Benirschke.  Shopping, which had been a staple of daytime "Wheel" since the beginning (and the nighttime version until 1987), had been eliminated, and unfortunately, the Wheel was significantly cheapened, with $50 and $75 spaces, and the top value being only $500 for rounds 1 & 2, $1000 for round 3, and $1250 for round 4 and afterwards.  Prizes were added to the Wheel, and the bonus round now had a $5000 cash prize (which, in this blogger's opinion, should have been an accumulating jackpot) in addition to several other bonus prizes.  I think the main reason the show was cheapened was due to CBS's winning limits of $75,000, with players being allowed to keep up to $100,000 (unlike NBC, which had no winnings limits whatsoever).

"Wheel" only lasted 18 months on CBS, before it returned to NBC on January 14, 1991.  Despite being back on the peacock network, the show still taped at Television City (Studio 33, to be exact), and still had the cheapened wheel (although the $50 and $75 spots were gone by this time).  The show lasted until September 20, 1991, when the network cleared the last of its game shows from the schedule (Classic Concentration would return a month later with reruns for the next two years.  I'll get to that one later.).


And as for Sajak's talk show?  That only lasted about a year before it was canceled.  But don't worry, he still did (and is still doing) the nighttime version of "Wheel."

Dumb Daytime Moves--CBS Morning News

CBS has never been too successful with its early morning programs, even though ABC was the last of the "three networks" to join in the fray.  The Eye network's first morning show, "The Morning Show," began on March 15, 1954, hosted by Walter Cronkite (yes, THAT one), and ran for two hours (like "The Today Show" on NBC).  It was cut back to one hour (7-8) on October 3, 1955, to make room for a little kids' show called "Captain Kangaroo," and on February 27, 1956, the show was retitled "Good Mornin'," but the show was still beaten soundly by "Today."  It was canceled on April 5, 1957.  CBS would not attempt an early morning show again until 1965.

On August 16, 1965, the CBS Morning News (which had debuted at 10:00 a.m. on September 2, 1963) aired for 25 minutes from 7:05 a.m. to 7:30 a.m.  It expanded to a full hour from 7 a.m. to 8 a.m. on March 31, 1969, and remained at that length for over a decade.  In January of 1979, it was retitled "Morning," and used the format of its "CBS Sunday Morning" show.  On September 25, 1981, the show expanded to 90 minutes (7:30 a.m.-9:00 a.m., and to two hours (7-9) on January 18, 1982.  Despite numerous changes to the show, it never topped "Today."

But the worst occurred on January 12, 1987, when it was transferred from the News to the entertainment division, and became "The Morning Program."  It shrunk back to 90 minutes (7:30 a.m.-9:00 a.m.), and was how hosted by Rolland Smith and Mariette Hartley, with Mark McEwan at weather, and comedian Bob Saget doing comedy bits (this was shortly before he started doing "Full House").  "The Morning Program" soon became the joke of the industry, bring the show its lowest ratings in five years.  In fact, ratings were SO bad, that one long-time producer said...

"Everyone thought we had the lowest ratings you could have in the morning.  The Morning Program proved us wrong."

On November 30, 1987, it was transferred back to the news division, and became "CBS This Morning," now back at two hours from seven to nine, and hosted by Harry Smith (no relation to Rolland) and Kathleen Sullivan.  The show still stayed at the bottom of the morning ratings, to the point where several stations dropped the program and replaced it with their own local morning newscast.

On November 1, 1999, the show became "The Early Show", now hosted by Bryant Gumbel (formerly of "The Today Show") and newcomer Jane Clayson, but the show was STILL in third place.  Even with all the changes to the show, it seems that CBS will be forever destined to have the lowest-rated morning show on the networks.

Dumb Daytime Moves--Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara has the distinction as being the last show NBC aired in its 3:00 p.m. timeslot, which was once hot (as it was the long-time home of "Another World" during the 70s and 80s), but quickly turned cold (as "General Hospital" started dominating the hour with the "Luke and Laura" storyline).  It lasted from July 30, 1984 to January 15, 1993.

Despite being near the bottom of the ratings throughout its run, the show did win three consecutive Daytime Emmys for Outstanding Drama Series (1988, 1989, 1990).  The first of these happened in the same year the show's creators, Jerome and Bridget Dobson, were fired by NBC.  Though the two were eventually allowed to return to the show a few years later, it was never the same afterwards.

By the early 1990s, many stations either moved the show to early morning timeslots (WNBC-TV in particular aired it at 12:00 noon) or just outright canceled it altogether.  Its final shot (that of the show's final Executive Producer, Paul Rauch, crushing his cigar on a bare soundstage and walking away) has earned major scorn from soap critics.

Dumb Daytime Moves--Loving

Created by Agnes Nixon (responsible for such ABC soaps as "One Life to Live" and "All My Children"), Loving lasted for over a decade, despite its low ratings and low critical acclaim.  Initially airing as a TV movie on June 26, 1983, which featured big stars such as Lloyd Bridges and Geraldine Page, the soap proper began on June 27, 1983, at 11:30 a.m., up against "The Price is Right" on CBS.  I mentioned during the "Texas" post that soap operas almost never succeed in the mornings.  I should also point out that before then, ABC aired reruns of "The Love Boat" for three years (except for a three-month period in the Summer of 1981 where they aired back-to-back reruns of "Three's Company") at the 11:00 hour.  I may talk about ABC's success (or lack throughout the 80s and the early 90s) during the 11:00 hour in a future post.

Anyways, "Loving" lasted only one year at 11:30 a.m., moving to 12:30 p.m. on October 8, 1984.  This time, the soap was against "The Young and the Restless," which had pretty much been a powerhouse on CBS from day one (March 26, 1973).  ABC must have had faith in the show, since it bumped "Ryan's Hope" (which had been at 12:30 for over 7 years) back to 12:00 noon and gave the 12:30 slot to "Loving."  Still, the show was either near or at the bottom of the ratings during its entire run.  Changes in writing staff, changes in producers, nothing really worked.  Perhaps the show's best storyline occurred as the show was being canceled...the Corinth serial killer...

This is the sound of trouble. The kind that caresses lives, even as it steals them away. That delicately unravels the fabric of entire towns like Corinth, Pennsylvania. When the trouble comes, it will sound like this. And Loving, will never be the same again. Trouble, with a capital 'L.' Figure it out.

"Loving" ended on November 10, 1995, replaced the following Monday by a 'sequel' series, "The City," which starred Morgan Fairchild.  Like "Loving" before it, "The City" spent most of its run at rock bottom, and was ultimately canceled on March 20, 1997 (Fairchild had left the show before then).

I will say this about "Loving," though.  It did have higher ratings in its first year than "Edge of Night" and "Search for Tomorrow" (then again, those shows were on life support), and it also outdrew "Santa Barbara" when that particular show debuted in 1984 (I'll be getting to Santa Barbara soon enough).  It didn't officially hit rock bottom until the 1990s, after "Ryan's Hope" had been canceled, and NBC's "Generations" (which ran against Loving) had come and gone.  I did like the last theme song of the show, though, and that's about all the praise I'm going to give it now.

Dumb Daytime Moves--Death Slots

Whenever a network moves a show to either 12:00 noon or 4:00 p.m., chances are the show's days are numbered.  The reason a show at 12:00 noon has little-to-no chance of succeeding, at least since the 1970s, is that most stations air newscasts at that time.  And at the 4:00 timeslot, most stations, especially by the 1980s, would air more lucrative syndicated programming instead (whether it be reruns, a talk show, etcetera).  Whenever a show was preempted, it would either air at a different time slot, air on a different station altogether, or not air on a station in that particular market at all.  This would especially be true as the years went on.

Here's a list of shows that have aired at the 12:00 noon and 4:00 p.m. timeslots since 1970.

ABC (12:00 noon-12:30 p.m.)

• The Best of Everything (soap opera; March 30, 1970-September 25, 1970)
• That Girl (sitcom reruns; September 28, 1970-March 17, 1972)
• Password/Password All-Stars (game show hosted by Allen Ludden; March 20, 1972-June 27, 1975)
• Showoffs (game show hosted by Bobby Van; June 30, 1975-December 26, 1975)
• Let's Make a Deal (game show hosted by Monty Hall; December 29, 1975-July 9, 1976)
• Hot Seat (game show hosted by Jim Peck; July 12, 1976-October 22, 1976)
• The Don Ho Show (talk show; October 25, 1976-March 4, 1977)
• Second Chance (game show hosted by Jim Peck; March 7, 1977-July 15, 1977)
• The Better Sex (game show hosted by Bill Anderson and Sarah Purcell; July 18, 1977-January 13, 1978)
• The $20,000 Pyramid (game show hosted by Dick Clark; January 16, 1978-June 27, 1980)
• Family Feud (game show hosted by Richard Dawson; June 30, 1980-October 5, 1984)
• Ryan's Hope (soap opera; October 8, 1984-January 13, 1989)
• Growing Pains (sitcom reruns; January 16, 1989-August 25, 1989)
• Perfect Strangers (sitcom reruns; August 28, 1989-July 13, 1990)
• Match Game (game show hosted by Ross Schafer; July 16, 1990-July 12, 1991)
• The Home Show (talk show which began at 11:00 a.m.; July 15, 1991-September 18, 1992)
• Local Programming (since September 21, 1992)

ABC (4:00 p.m.-4:30 p.m.)

• Dark Shadows (soap opera; July 15, 1968-April 2, 1971)
• Password (game show hosted by Allen Ludden; April 5, 1971-September 3, 1971)
• Love, American Style (comedy reruns; September 6, 1971-May 3, 1974)
• The $10,000 Pyramid (game show hosted by Dick Clark; May 6, 1974-December 20, 1974)
• The Money Maze (game show hosted by Nick Clooney {father of George}; December 23, 1974-July 4, 1975)
• You Don't Say (game show hosted by Tom Kennedy; July 7, 1975-November 28, 1975)
• The Edge of Night (soap opera: December 1, 1975-December 28, 1974)
• Local Programming (since December 31, 1984)

CBS (12:00 noon-12:30 p.m.)

• Where the Heart Is (soap opera; September 8, 1969-March 23, 1973)
• The Young and the Restless (soap opera; March 26, 1973-February 1, 1980)
• Local Programming (since February 4, 1980)

CBS (4:00 p.m.-4:30 p.m.)

• Gomer Pyle, USMC (sitcom reruns; September 8, 1969-March 24, 1972)
• Amateur's Guide to Love (game show hosted by Gene Rayburn; March 27, 1972-June 23, 1972)
• Unknown, but probably Local Programming (June 26, 1972-September 1, 1972)
• Family Affair (sitcom reruns; September 4, 1972-January 12, 1973)
• The Vin Scully Show (talk show; January 15, 1973-March 23, 1973)
• The Secret Storm (soap opera; March 26, 1973-February 8, 1974)
• Local Programming (week of February 11, 1974)
• Tattletales (game show hosted by Bert Convy; February 15, 1974-June 13, 1975, December 1, 1975-December 16, 1977, and January 18, 1982-June 1, 1984)
• Musical Chairs (game show hosted by Adam Wade {first African-American host of a national game show}; June 16, 1975-October 31, 1975)
• Give-n-Take (game show hosted by Jim Lange; November 3, 1975-November 28, 1975)
• Match Game (game show hosted by Gene Rayburn; December 19, 1977-April 20, 1979)
• Love of Life (soap opera; April 23, 1979-February 1, 1980)
• One Day at a Time (sitcom reruns; February 4, 1980-September 25, 1981)
• Up to the Minute (news show; September 28, 1981-January 15, 1982)
• Body Language (game show hosted by Tom Kennedy; June 4, 1984-January 3, 1986)
• Press Your Luck (game show hosted by Peter Tomarken; January 6, 1986-September 26, 1986)
• Local Programming (since September 29, 1986)

NBC (12:00 noon-12:30 p.m.)

• Jeopardy! (game show hosted by Art Fleming; September 27, 1965-January 4, 1974)
• Jackpot (game show hosted by Geoff Edwards; January 7, 1974-July 4, 1975)
• The Magnificent Marble Machine (game show hosted by Art James; July 7, 1975-November 28, 1975 and January 19, 1976-June 11, 1976)
• High Rollers (game show hosted by Alex Trebek; December 1, 1975-January 16, 1976)
• The Fun Factory (game show hosted by Bobby Van; June 14, 1976-October 1, 1976)
• 50 Grand Slam (game show hosted by Tom Kennedy; October 4, 1976-December 31, 1976)
• Name That Tune (game show hosted by Tom Kennedy; January 3, 1977-June 10, 1977)
• Shoot for the Stars (game show hosted by Geoff Edwards; June 13, 1977-September 30, 1977)
• To Say the Least (game show hosted by Tom Kennedy; October 3, 1977-April 21, 1978)
• Sanford and Son (sitcom reruns; April 24, 1978-July 21, 1978)
• America Alive (60-minute talk show hosted by Jack Linkletter; July 24, 1978-January 5, 1979)
• The All-New Jeopardy! (game show hosted by Art Fleming; January 8, 1979-March 2, 1979)
• Password Plus (game show hosted by Allen Ludden {1979} and Tom Kennedy {1981-1982}; March 5, 1979-August 10, 1979 and October 26, 1981-March 26, 1982)
• Mindreaders (game show hosted by Dick Martin; August 13, 1979-January 11, 1980)
• Chain Reaction (game show hosted by Bill Cullen; January 14, 1980-June 20, 1980)
• Card Sharks (game show hosted by Jim Perry; June 23, 1980-October 23, 1981)
• The Doctors (soap opera; March 29, 1982-December 31, 1982)
• Just Men (game show hosted by Betty White; January 3, 1983-April 1, 1983)
• The New Battlestars (game show hosted by Alex Trebek; April 4, 1983-July 1, 1983)
• The Facts of Life (sitcom reruns; July 4, 1983-September 30, 1983)
• Go (game show hosted by Kevin O'Connell; October 3, 1983-January 20, 1984)
• Hot Potato (game show hosted by Bill Cullen; January 23, 1984-June 29, 1984)
• Diff'rent Strokes (sitcom reruns; July 2, 1984-September 21, 1984)
• Super Password (game show hosted by Bert Convy; September 24, 1984-March 24, 1989)
• Local Programming (March 27, 1989-January 15, 1993, January 17, 1994-January 3, 1997, and since January 3, 2000)
• Scrabble (game show hosted by Chuck Woolery; January 18, 1993-June 11, 1993)
• Classic Concentration (reruns of game show hosted by Alex Trebek; June 14, 1993-December 31, 1993)
• Caesars Challenge (reruns of game show hosted by Ahmad Rashad; January 3, 1994-January 14, 1994)
• Sunset Beach (soap opera; January 6, 1997-December 31, 1999)

NBC (4:00 p.m.-4:30 p.m.)

• Somerset (soap opera; March 30, 1970-December 31, 1976)
• The Gong Show (game show hosted by Chuck Barris; January 3, 1977-December 2, 1977)
• Local Programming (since December 5, 1977)

As you can clearly see, with a few exceptions, if a show is put into any of these slots, it's going to end up being canceled within less than a year.  I might talk about some of these shows in the near future.

Dumb Daytime Moves--The Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour

"The Match Game" and "The Hollywood Squares" were two of the most popular game shows in the 1960s and 70s.  Both of them featured celebrities and both of them were well-known for their comedic answers.  In 1983, NBC decided to marry these two shows together for a one-hour show.

That show has the distinction of being one of the worst game shows in television history.  And here's why.

The first problem was the hosts.  Now, I have nothing against Gene Rayburn, who has been known as one of the most talented individuals in show business (besides his game show hosting, he was also the original announcer of "The Tonight Show" hosted by Steve Allen).  The main host problem was with Jon Bauman, also known as "Bowzer" of Sha Na Na.  The fact is, he had never hosted a game show before (although he was also hosting "The Pop and Rocker Game" around this time, a musical game show that he was probably more suited for), and he...was awful, let me put it at that.  I think you can mention him in the same sentence as Patrick Wayne, Rossi Morreale, and Rolf Benirschke (I'll get to the last one later).

It's been said that Gene didn't like working with Bauman during the show, and, according to legendary announcer Gene Wood, Rayburn was "dragged kicking and screaming into the hour."  I should also point out that the show replaced "Fantasy" (debuted on September 13, 1982), an audience participation show hosted by Peter Marshall (the Master of the Hollywood Squares), which makes me think...if they were canceling "Fantasy," why didn't they just ask Peter to co-host the show along with Gene?  Or maybe even better, why didn't Gene just host the entire show himself?

The other problem with the show was with the "Hollywood Squares" segment.  Besides Bowzer hosting it, all of the questions were multiple choice, and the celebrities were not supplied with "zingers".  Also, players could win "by default," meaning that if one player was going for a block, and they made an incorrect judgment, the opponent would automatically win (in the more normal versions of Squares, a player could not win the game on an opponent's mistake, they would have to earn the square him/herself).

Now, there were two good points to the show.  One, it had a large video board which showed the show's logo, displayed the names of the stars (as well as the hosts), as well as showing the amount of money the winner played for in the Super Match (up to $30,000).  The other was its theme song, which can still be heard today as a car theme for "The Price is Right."

I will say this--this was the worst revival of "Hollywood Squares" ever (they got better as the years went on), but not the worst revival of "Match Game" (you'd have to wait until 1998 to see that; I might be covering that in a future entry).  But that's just my opinion.  The show debuted on Halloween, 1983, and lasted until July 27, 1984.  If you want to see it for yourself, check out a few episodes on YouTube, because that's the only way you'll see this show (unless you taped the episodes back in the way), due to the cross-ownership (the show was produced by Mark Goodson Productions and Orion Television {the then-owners of Hollywood Squares}), and possibly due to the aforementioned Rayburn not liking Bauman.

Dumb Daytime Moves--Texas

Although not too many people have heard of "Texas," it is historic for a number of reasons.

• It was the first American soap opera to be an hour show from its inception (as opposed to previous soaps that had expanded to a full hour from a shorter length).
• It was one of the rare soap spin-offs (in this case, "Texas" spun off from "Another World". {This was actually the second soap to spin off from AW, the first being "Somerset".})
• It was one of the rare soap operas to credit an actor in its opening title sequence. (in this case, Beverlee McKinsey)

Despite all this, the show flopped.  Big time.

The first problem with the show was Beverlee McKinsey as Iris Carrington (obviously, no relation to the Carrington family of "Dynasty").  Now, on AW, her character was known for being a villainess, but on "Texas," critics say that she had become too tame.  Another problem was that many other roles were poorly cast or suffered from poor writing.  One of the biggest mistakes the series made was luring "General Hospital" star Kin Shriner to the show at great expense...only to give him almost nothing to do until he eventually left.

It also didn't help that at the time, "Texas" was up against ABC's "General Hospital," in which the Luke and Laura storyline was in full steam.  In fact, the wedding of Lucas Spencer and Laura Webber occurred on November 16, 1981, making it the highest-rated hour in soap opera history.  "Guiding Light" on CBS was also in a revival around that time as well.

On April 26, 1982, the show moved from 3:00 p.m. to 11:00 a.m., in a desperate attempt to raise the ratings.  I should point out that by this time, Brandon Tartikoff (the man who would save NBC) taken over the head of the network job from Silverman.  Anyways, there were two major problems with this move...

• Soap operas almost never succeed in the morning time slots. (despite the fact that CBS's "Love of Life" lasted for a decade at 11:30 a.m., its ratings were mainly lukewarm during this time)
• "The Price is Right" was on CBS.  Enough said.

The show was eventually canceled on New Year's Eve, 1982, after 2 years and 4 months on the air.  Thankfully, NBC never tried any more soaps in the morning afterwards (although another network would air a soap in the mornings for about a year or so {I might get to that later}).

Dumb Daytime Moves--Black Friday, 1980 and David Letterman

Oh, boy...

Game show fans know what I'm going to be talking about next.

The year is 1980.

NBC is last in the ratings.  I would have said "dead last," but even that's saying too much.

Its morning and early afternoon lineup consists of six game shows of varying popularity...

• 10:00 a.m.--Card Sharks (hosted by Jim Perry; debuted April 24, 1978)
• 10:30 a.m.--The Hollywood Squares (hosted by Peter Marshall; debuted October 17, 1966)
• 11:00 a.m.--High Rollers (hosted by Alex Trebek; debuted April 24, 1978)
• 11:30 a.m.--Wheel of Fortune (hosted by Chuck Woolery and Susan Stafford; debuted January 6, 1975)
• 12:00 noon--Chain Reaction (hosted by Bill Cullen; debuted January 14, 1980)
• 12:30 p.m.--Password Plus (hosted by Allen Ludden; debuted January 8, 1979)

In June of 1980, NBC made the decision to cancel three of these shows to make room for a new talk show hosted by David Letterman.  Let's look at each of the shows that were axed on June 20, 1980. (what would have made it worse was if they were axed a week earlier)

The Hollywood Squares
Perhaps the flagship game show of NBC at the time, Hollywood Squares' decline started in October of 1976, when it was moved from its long-time time slot of 11:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m., up against "The Price is Right."  But it really started going downhill after it moved to 1:00 p.m. (up against "All My Chlidren"), with some stations preempting it for newscasts or other syndicated programming.  More moves to 12:30 p.m. (in March of '79), and back to 10:30 a.m. (in August of '79), plus the departure of Paul Lynde in 1979 ultimately sealed the show's fate.  The show, which was still popular in its weekly syndicated version, would expand to five days a week, and move to Las Vegas (I'll probably get back to this later), which would end up being its last season, ending its long run in 1981.

High Rollers
If I was running NBC back then, I would not have canceled this show...at least not on Black Friday.  Like "Card Sharks", which debuted on the same day, it allowed players to win a fortune in cash and prizes by luck.  In this case, the roll of the dice determined a player's destiny, and champions could end up winning over $30,000 in a single game.  Of course, by the end of this run, the prizes started to get a bit strange, including the infamous $10,000 fishbowl in the show's finale (whether or not Alex Trebek is intoxicated, I'll let you be the judge of that).  Speaking of Trebek, he would not have a regular hosting job for another year (in which he got two--"Battlestars" for NBC, and "Pitfall" in his native Canada...just don't mention that latter show to him if you meet him face-to-face)

Chain Reaction
"Chain Reaction" was a show that, I think, would have lasted a little longer if the bonus round wasn't so messed up.  Now, I don't have a problem with the game itself (where celebrities ask a question by forming one word at a time).  The problem was with the payoffs.  In its first week, players had only 60 seconds to get 8 answers.  Starting at $1, each answer was worth half-a-zero, with every second answer completing the zero.  They changed this after the top payoff for the week was only $100 (in fact, the very first episode had only a $10 payoff).  The second week greatly increased the bonus round winnings, with 90 seconds to get 9 words with each word getting more money ($1 for the first, then adding a zero for the next three, then each of the next four worth an extra $1,000, and the ninth and final answer worth the full $10,000).  The third format had the more normal $100 per answer, and $10,000 for all ten answers, which was changed AGAIN a few weeks later to having the player start with $100, and only needing nine answers to win the money.

Now that we've gotten that out of the way, those shows were replaced by "The David Letterman Show," broadcast live from New York from 10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. ("Card Sharks" moved to 12:00 noon to accommodate this).  While critical reception was good, audience response was lukewarm at best, and by August, the show was cut to sixty minutes (with "Wheel" moving back to 11:00 a.m., and "Password Plus" moving to 11:30 a.m.).  The show's ratings continued to decline and was ultimately axed on October 24, 1980.  However, this would not be the last time we would see David Letterman on NBC.

Now, there was even talk of axing "Wheel of Fortune" to make room for Letterman, but somebody must have informed Silverman that "Wheel" was the highest-rated show in its daytime lineup (and probably the highest-rated show on the network overall), so "Wheel" was thankfully spared.

Dumb Daytime Moves--expanding Another World to 90 minutes

On January 6, 1975, "Another World" became the first soap opera to expand from 30 minutes to a full hour.  As I mentioned earlier, AW was NBC's top show around this time, and continued to be the top show for the peacock network until around 1978, when the "Luke and Laura" storyline on "General Hospital" began.  Desperate for ratings, NBC decided to expand "Another World" to 90 minutes beginning on March 5, 1979.

I bet you can guess what happened afterwards.

Long story short, the show (as well as NBC's one-mighty soap lineup) hit rock bottom.  It was cut back to 60 minutes beginning on August 4, 1980, but the show was never the same.  Although they did recover some of the lost ratings, it ultimately limped along until June 25, 1999, when it was finally canceled.

I honestly do not know what the National Broadcasting Company and Procter & Gamble (the producers of "Another World") were thinking when they expanded the show to 90 minutes.  That's like making a TV movie every weekday.  Eventually, the quality's going to suffer, and that's exactly what happened.

As I mentioned earlier, the expansion of "AW" to 90 minutes had long-term affects on other NBC shows.

• "The Doctors" was part of NBC's "powerhouse" soap opera block.  Settled between "Days of our Lives" and "Another World", the three soaps popular were throughout the 1960s and 70s.  When AW expanded to 90 minutes, "The Doctors" was bumped to 2:00 p.m., beginning its terminal decline (pun intended).  More timeslot changes to 12:30 p.m. in August of 1980 and 12:00 noon in March of 1982 further weakened the show, and the plug was pulled on December 31, 1982.
• "Days of our Lives" settled into its 'permanent' timeslot of 1:00 p.m.  Since 1980, it as been NBC's most popular soap opera (and ONLY soap opera since 2007).

I have one more question to ask before I leave you for now.

WHY?!

Dumb Daytime Moves--Fred Silverman

Fred Silverman is one of the most famous (and infamous, depending on your point of view) television executives in history.  During his runs at CBS and ABC, he was responsible for bringing us such classics as "All in the Family," "The Mary Tyler Moore Show", "Cannon", "The Bob Newhart Show", "M*A*S*H", "Maude", "The Waltons," "Barnaby Jones", "Kojak," "The Sonny & Cher Hour," "Good Times," "Happy Days," "Laverne & Shirley," "Family," "Charlie's Angels," "Donny & Marie," "Eight is Enough," "Three's Company," "The Love Boat," "Soap," "Fantasy Island," "Good Morning America," and the award-winning miniseries "Roots."  However, he's also indirectly responsible for nearly destroying the NBC television network during his run there from 1978 to 1981.  True, there were some good shows such as "Diff'rent Strokes," "Real People," "The Facts of Life," and "Hill Street Blues," but the flops, especially the super-flops, outnumbered the hits.  In fact, Silverman's time at NBC was so notorious that the same company that made the "Proud as a Peacock" campain also made a parody version of the same campaign entitled "We're Loud!"  But I'm getting a bit off-track here.

There were definitely some dark times in the daytime department, as the once-mighty lineup of NBC crashed and burned during his run.  And some of the things I mention here may get their own entries in this blog.  Yeah, they're THAT notorious.

Let's begin with "America Live," a one-hour talk show hosted by Jack Linkletter (son of Art).  Debuting on July 24, 1978, the show was soundly beaten by "The $20,000 Pyramid" & "Ryan's Hope" on ABC, and "The Young and the Restless" & "Search for Tomorrow" on CBS, and as a result, the show ended at the end of the first week of January.

"The All-New Jeopardy!" debuted on October 3, 1978, and as a result of its debut, the long-running "Hollywood Squares" was bumped to 1:00 p.m. (Squares had been bumped from it's long-time time slot of 11:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. two years earlier).  This version of J! was infamous for eliminating the lowest-scoring player after the "Jeopardy!" round, and replacing the "Final Jeopardy!" round with a "Super Jeopardy!" (no connection to the 1990 tournament that aired on ABC primetime) bonus round.  This version was canceled on March 2, 1979.

January 8, 1979 brought two new game shows to replace the departing "America Alive"--"All Star Secrets," hosted by Bob Eubanks, which had contestants guessing which of five guest celebrities had a particular secret, and "Password Plus," the revamped revival of "Password" hosted by Allen Ludden.  Secrets lasted until August, while Password lasted until 1982 (Ludden would be forced to leave the show in October of 1980 due to illness, and passed away on June 9, 1981; Bill Cullen subbed for Ludden for a four-week period in 1980, and Tom Kennedy became the permanent host after Ludden's departure {both from the show and from life}).

March 5, 1979 brings us to the first of the most notorious moments to happen during this period of NBC daytime--the expansion of "Another World" to 90 minutes.  This caused three shows to be bumped back 30 minutes as a result ("Hollywood Squares" to 12:30 p.m., "Days of our Lives" to 1:00 p.m., and "The Doctors" to 2:00 p.m.), and had a long-term affect on most of NBC's shows.

"All-Star Secrets" would be replaced by "Mindreaders," an ESP game (ESP was popular during the 70s).  Hosted by Dick Martin, the show only lasted 23 weeks, being replaced by "Chain Reaction," hosted by Bill Cullen, on January 14, 1980.  Chain only lasted until June 20, 1980, bringing down two other game shows with it (we'll get to that moment eventually).

"The David Letterman Show" debuted on June 23, 1980, and was such a flop that on August 4, it was shrunk from 90 minutes to 60 minutes, and canceled altogether on October 24.  During this time, the first hour-long soap opera from inception, "Texas" debuted on August 4, bumping "Another World" back to 60 minutes in the process.

The shows that replaced Letterman in the morning was "Las Vegas Gambit," a revival of the CBS game show hosted by Wink Martindale, and "Blockbusters," a Bill Cullen-hosted show which had a solo player playing against a family pair to see if two heads were really better than one.

"Card Sharks" ended its 3-and-a-half year run on October 23, 1981, replaced the following Monday by "Battlestars," a Hollywood Squares-clone produced by Merrill Heatter (one of the co-producers of "Hollywood Squares"), and hosted by Alex Trebek (hosting his first show since the cancellation of "High Rollers").  Battlestars only lasted 26 weeks, being canceled along with Blockbusters on April 23, 1982.  "Las Vegas Gambit" had ended on November 27, 1981, replaced the following Monday by "The Regis Philbin Show," which was then canceled on April 9, 1982.  I already mentioned in a previous post that "Search for Tomorrow" moved to NBC in March of 1982.  "Password Plus" was the victim of this move, and "The Doctors" (which had moved to 12:30 when "Texas" debuted) was bumped to 12:00 noon.  "Texas," meanwhile, moved to 11:00 a.m. in a desperate attempt for ratings, but found none, and both "The Doctors" and "Texas" ended their runs on New Year's Eve, 1982.  Thankfully, NBC would start to recover shortly afterwards.

I know Silverman left NBC in 1981, but I just had to mention some of the stuff that happened in late-1981 and 1982 as well.  Trust me, you'll be hearing much more about some of the aforementioned stuff very soon.

Dumb Daytime Moves--Cancelling the #2 Game Show

On April 12, 1976, ABC debuted "Break the Bank," a revival in name only of the 1950s game show.  The new "Break the Bank" was another clone of "Hollywood Squares" that popped up during the mid-1970s, and proved to be very popular.  So popular that it was the #2 game show during the 1976 season.  However, it was canceled after only 15 weeks to make room for the expansions of "One Life to Live" and "General Hospital" for 45 minutes.

As I said in an earlier post, I said I would be a bit biased towards game shows in this series, since I am a huge fan of game shows, and I just have one question to ask ABC.

WHY?!

Then again, Fred Silverman was running ABC at the time, and he seemed to lean more towards soap operas than game shows, but that's just how I see it.

And trust me when I say this, folks.  This would be NOTHING compared to what would happen when Freddy took over NBC in 1978...

Dumb Daytime Moves--Moving Match Game to the Mornings

When "Match Game '73" debuted on July 2, 1973, it soon became the number one show on daytime television.  Yes, you read that right.  The NUMBER ONE SHOW IN DAYTIME TELEVISION!!  What made the show so popular was the unpredictable answers coming from the celebrities with whom the civilian contestants tried to match their answers with.  It made Gene Rayburn (who had hosted the previous NBC version back in the 1960s), Brett Somers, Charles Nelson Reilly, and especially Richard Dawson (who had been known for his six-year stint on "Hogan's Heroes") into household names.

On November 7, 1977, CBS expanded "Guiding Light" to a full hour, moving "Match Game" to 11:00 a.m. in the process.  This proved to be a fatal blow to the popular game show, as most of its audience consisted of high schoolers who caught the show after class.  Realizing their mistake, they moved the show to 4:00 p.m. six weeks later, but the damage was done.  The show was now being pre-empted by some stations airing more lucrative syndicated programming in the time slot instead.  "Match Game" limped along (even adding a "Star Wheel" which increased the potential bonus round jackpot to $10,000 as well as the departure of Richard Dawson, who was now also doing "Family Feud" for ABC) until April 20, 1979, when it was canceled.

The show was quickly brought back for daily syndication the following fall, and lasted for three more years.  "Match Game" would be revived three more times in the next two decades (1983, 1990, and 1998), but none of them, especially the most recent version, have been able to capture the charm of the 70s version.

(I'll be talking about the '83 version of the "Match Game" {and its "sister" show} later on.)

Dumb Daytime Moves--Unneccessarily adding Celebrities to Game Shows

Sometimes, in an attempt to increase ratings, either the producers or the network add celebrities to a game show.  Most of the time...actually, all of the time, this actually results in the exact opposite happening, and the show ultimately being canceled.  Now, these are game shows which had civilian contestants at first, before being switched to either an all-celebrity format, or adding celebrities as their partners.  Here are some examples.

Password All-Stars
The ABC revival of the popular game show "Password" debuted on April 5, 1971, replacing the cult soap opera "Dark Shadows."  The show proved to be a hit for the alphabet network, but by 1974, the ratings started to slide, so they decided to change the format to "Password All-Stars," which had six celebrities each week competing for charity, with the highest-scoring star winning a $5,000 bonus for their favorite charity.  Two $25,000 "Grandmaster Tournaments" were held during the run, which ended on February 14, 1975.  The civilians returned the following Monday in a revamped format, but the change came too little, too late, and the show ended on June 27.

The Magnificent Marble Machine
I mentioned this show back in my "Lin Bolen, Part II" entry.  When the show came back from its hiatus in January of 1976, the show's format changed to having two teams of celebrities playing for home viewers, and a studio audience member playing the machine.  Needless to say, the ratings didn't go up.  The last original episode aired eight weeks later on March 12, 1976, and reruns of the show aired until June 11, due to a technical strike at NBC (technicians seemed to go on strike a lot during the 70s.  Just watch the 1972 episode of "The New Price is Right" that aired after the 2000 Pillsbury Bake-Off, and you'll see what I mean).

"All-Star Beat the Clock" and "Whew!"
Because these shows aired around the same time for the same network, CBS, I decided to include them both here at once.

"Whew!", hosted by Tom Kennedy, has the distinction of being one of the most fast-paced game shows on the air.  Perhaps it was too fast-paced, as it struggled in the ratings.  I should also point out that "Whew!" replaced the 70s edition of "Match Game" on April 23, 1979, on CBS (I'll be getting to that one soon enough).

Meanwhile, the "All-New Beat the Clock" debuted on CBS on September 17, 1979, hosted by Monty Hall, and announced by Jack Narz (Tom Kennedy's older brother and a former host of Beat the Clock).  That show struggled as well, so on November 5, 1979, both shows switched to celebrity formats.

"The All-New Beat the Clock" because "All-Star Beat the Clock," where both teams of celebrities played for their respective rooting sections (the red team played for the red section, and the green team for the green section; this format was similar to the popular 70s game show "Tattletales," where three celebrities and their mates played for their respective sections of the audience {blue, banana [yellow], and red}), and "Whew!" became "Celebrity Whew!" (which Jack had to fully pronounce in his end-of-show plugs every day), with a celebrity partner joining the civilian contestant.  Clock ended on February 1, 1980, while "Whew!" lasted until May 30, 1980.  Game shows wouldn't return to the 10:00 hour of CBS daytime until 1982 ("The Price is Right" was, and still is, airing at 11:00 a.m. at this time).

Bullseye
I know, this wasn't a network game show, but I just HAD to include this on the list.

"Bullseye" was produced by Jack Barry and Dan Enright, who had also created and produced the popular "The Joker's Wild" and "Tic-Tac-Dough," two of the top syndicated game shows during the late 70s and early 80s.  "Bullseye," hosted by former Dating Game emcee Jim Lange, was considered by many to be a combination of the two shows, and had perhaps THE most stylish set of all game shows on the air at the time (there's even an urban legend where the set received a thumbs-up from Johnny Carson, of all people).  However, midway through the show's second season, they changed the format to having celebrity playing for charity, but that was only the first change.  Questions were now primarily multiple choice, and matches were now a best two-out-of-three, resulting in the Bonus Island game not being played in some episodes.  Needless to say, the show wasn't renewed for a third season, but Barry and Enright (mainly the latter) would not seem to learn their lesson, as shown here...

Hot (hiss) Potato
I had to do that.

"Hot Potato", hosted by "Uncle Bill" himself, has got to be one of the most underrated and under-appreciated game shows of all time.  True, it was a bit of a rip-off of "Family Feud," but what made it unique was that all three contestants on a team had something in common (Moms-to-be, teachers, waitresses, clowns, dentists, etc...).  However, on April 23, 1984, exactly three months after its debut, "Hot Potato" became "Celebrity Hot Potato," with the teams now consisting of two celebrities and one civilian (who still wore whatever uniform fitted his/her occupation).  Some weeks even had both teams consisting of all three celebrities, with the winnings going to charity.  Adding celebrities just seemed to drag the game down more than one notch, especially since some of the celebrities were comedians who deliberately gave wrong answers in a pathetic attempt to be funny.  The show as canceled on June 29, 1984.  Oh, and the people that produced this show?  Barry and Enright (this turned out to be Jack Barry's last show that he created/produced, as he passed away on May 2, 1984).

For those that want to produce a game show, I have this piece of advice.  If you plan to have an all-celebrity format for your show, save it for sweeps periods.