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.