A second straight television season was delayed in 1981-82, this time by a writers’ strike. There was just one sitcom showdown that fall, but it pitted two two-hour sitcom blocks against each other.
Mork & Mindy, Best of the West, Barney Miller, and Taxi vs. Harper Valley, Lewis & Clark, Diff’rent Strokes, and Gimme a Break on Thursday at 8:00-10:00
ABC saw a considerable drop in its ratings on Thursdays during the 1980-81 season, as anchors Mork & Mindy at 8:00 and Barney Miller at 9:00 fell to 49th and 34th in the ratings, respectively. CBS won the night with the veteran series The Waltons taking the 8:00 slot and newcomer Magnum, P.I. winning at 9:00. NBC wasn’t a factor on the night.
Sensing ABC’s weakness, NBC built its own comedy block on the night. A revised version of Harper Valley PTA, now titled Harper Valley, moved from Friday to lead off the night. Mills Watson of the recently departed Lobo joined the cast as Barbara Eden’s uncle, even though he was several years younger than the actress. A new Gabe Kaplan comedy, Lewis & Clark, would follow. NBC’s boldest move sent its hit Wednesday comedy Diff’rent Strokes to Thursday at 9:00, where it was followed by a new Nell Carter sitcom, Gimme a Break.
ABC retained Mork & Mindy, Barney Miller, and its 9:30 comedy, Taxi, for the new season. Bosom Buddies, which held the 8:30 slot the previous season, was not on the fall schedule despite drawing higher ratings than Mork & Mindy and Taxi. ABC eventually ordered new episodes and aired the series a few times at 9:00 until Barney Miller’s new season was ready. It then moved to Friday. Best of the West, an offbeat sitcom set in the Old West, took the 8:30 slot. CBS dropped The Waltons after nine seasons, even after it won its timeslot. Magnum, P.I. moved up to 8:00, and Knots Landing also moved up an hour to take the 9:00 slot.
Best of the West was one of the few shows ready in September, premiering on the 10th. With reruns as competition, the new sitcom opened strongly in 4th place. The ratings slowly dropped to 7th, then 16th, and 23rd before any other Thursday sitcom debuted for the season. ABC’s whole two-hour sitcom block aired for the first time on October 8. Mork & Mindy opened in 28th place, Best of the West dropped to 33rd, Bosom Buddies finished 36th, and Taxi started in 35th. Best of the West’s lower number was due to new competition from Magnum P.I., which finished in 18th place.
Numbers remained similar the next week, although Mork & Mindy (24th) beat Magnum P.I. (27th) with a wedding episode. The wedding storyline led to a high for ABC the next week as Mork & Mindy (13), Best of the West (24), Bosom Buddies (25), and Taxi (26) all saw increases, while Magnum P.I. fell to 37th.
The next week finally saw the sitcom showdown begin. Magnum P.I. (20) won the 8:00 slot, while Mork & Mindy (24) and Best of the West (36) finished second, and NBC’s duo of Harper Valley (54) and Lewis & Clark (57) flopped. The 9:00-10:00 hour was disappointing for both ABC and NBC. Barney Miller opened in 46th place, with Taxi in 41st. Diff’rent Strokes (45th) and Gimme a Break (51st) pulled shockingly low ratings.
Over the next three weeks, Magnum P.I. continued to win the 8:00 slot, finishing in the top 20 each time, going as high as 7th place. Mork & Mindy and Best of the West continued to finish second in the timeslot. Harper Valley fell into the bottom ten of the ratings two out of the three weeks. Lewis & Clark dropped as low as 69th, making it the second-lowest rated show one week. Barney Miller and Taxi saw their ratings increase, while Diff’rent Strokes and Gimme a Break continued to disappoint. Premiering in mid-November, CBS’ 9:00 entry, Knots Landing, finished in 30th place its first two weeks.
Handicapped by its opening hour, NBC moved Harper Valley and Lewis & Clark to Saturday, where Lewis & Clark, which finished in last place among all shows one week, was quickly cancelled, and Harper Valley was dropped at season’s end. While Magnum P.I. continued to thrive, ABC’s comedy block began to weaken. NBC’s Diff’rent Strokes and Gimme a Break showed signs of life, ascending to 9th and 23rd place, respectively, on December 10.
In January, Magnum P.I. and Knots Landing won the night. Mork & Mindy and Best of the West fell badly, with both shows hitting the bottom 10 one week. They consistently fell behind NBC’s new 8:00 entry, the drama Fame. Alarmed by the drop in numbers for Best of the West, ABC moved it to Friday and replaced it with Bosom Buddies on Thursday. Best of the West continued its ratings slump on the new night.
Diff’rent Strokes and Gimme a Break began a ratings surge in February, both hitting the top 20 on February 11, while all of ABC’s sitcoms struggled. Hoping to give the night a jump start, ABC debuted Police Squad in the 8:00 timeslot on March 4. It finished second in the timeslot with a 26th-place finish in its debut. Unfortunately, it didn’t lift ABC’s other comedies, and gradually fell from week to week. ABC pulled it when its fourth episode finished in 57th place. While the show was beloved by critics and its cult fans, ABC claimed viewers had to pay too much attention to the clever show.
ABC got a brief boost on March 25 when it debuted 9 to 5 at 9:00, a new sitcom based on the hit movie. Its debut finished in 14th place, easily beating CBS’ spring series Cagney & Lacey. A week later, it dropped to 24th place, bested by Diff’rent Strokes’ 22nd-place finish. By the end of its four-week run, it was down to 37th place. ABC’s new 8:00 show, No Soap, Radio, a sitcom even odder than Police Squad, landed with a thud in 54th place.
Magnum P.I. continued to grow, topping the ratings on April 22. Diff’rent Strokes and Gimme a Break also saw their ratings rise, even though Gimme a Break was now in reruns. Both shows hit the top ten in May.
Season rankings:
33. 9 to 5
35. Diff’rent Strokes
45. Gimme a Break
53. Taxi
54. Barney Miller
57. Polic Squad
60. Mork & Mindy
71. Best of the West
73. Bosom Buddies
76. No Soap, Radio
78. Harper Valley
95. Lewis & Clark
ABC predictably cancelled Mork & Mindy, Police Squad, No Soap, Radio, Best of the West, and Bosom Buddies. Less predictably, it also dropped Taxi. Barney Miller was not cancelled, but left the air voluntarily. 9 to 5 was renewed, but moved to Thursday.
Despite Diff’rent Strokes edging Knots Landing in the 9:00 slot, NBC moved it to Saturday at 8:00 the next season. Based on its late-season ratings surge, Gimme a Break was set to take over the Thursday at 9:00 slot. However, NBC picked up the cancelled Taxi and scheduled it in its usual Thursday at 9:30 slot, bumping up a new series, Cheers, into the 9:00 slot. Gimme a Break was moved to Saturday at 9:00.
Winners: Diff’rent Strokes and Gimme a Break
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