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.