Moving a hit sitcom to another night is always a risk. When it works, it increases a network’s comedy presence. When it doesn’t, it can damage the show and the lineup from which it moved. In the fall of 1982, it nearly ended the runs of two shows that were red-hot ratings hits the previous season.

Alice vs. The Facts of Life on Wednesday at 9:00 p.m. (ET)

CBS kept its entire Sunday night lineup together from 1979 to 1982. Wanting to include the Archie Bunker’s Place spinoff, Gloria, on the night, the network squeezed longtime hit Alice out of Sunday in the fall of 1982, even though it had just finished 6^th in the ratings the previous season. Now entering its seventh season, it was moved to Wednesday at 9:00, against two shows that had performed well in the timeslot during the 1981-82 season, The Facts of Life (25^th place) and The Fall Guy (27^th).

In addition to the tough competition, Alice would be surrounded by new shows of questionable appeal. Its lead-in, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, was based on a 28-year-old movie. Its scheduled lead-out, Mama Malone, was an offbeat comedy about a cooking show host. The night concluded with Tucker’s Witch, about a psychic detective. At the last minute, CBS pulled Mama Malone and delayed it until 1984, replacing it with summer hit Filthy Rich, which had the advantage of airing for three weeks behind M*A*S*H in August.

The Facts of Life began its season on September 29, finishing in 19^th place. Alice premiered a week later and was soundly beaten by The Facts of Life, which soared to 12^th place, while Alice only placed 39^th. Filthy Rich outpaced Alice with a 28^th-place finish. When The Facts of Life was pre-empted for two weeks, Alice finished a bit higher in 29^th and 37^th place. Filthy Rich dropped to 50^th and 45^th.

When The Fall Guy finally made its season debut on October 27, it landed in 10^th place. The Facts of Life fell all the way to 52^nd, while its lead-out, new sitcom Family Ties, was 58^th. Alice dropped to a shockingly low 63^rd, with Filthy Rich only a little better in 61^st place. The Facts of Life recovered the next week, finishing in 15^th place, not far behind The Fall Guy in 8^th. Family Ties moved up to 30^th, but Alice was only 60^th out of 65 shows. Filthy Rich finished 58^th. The next week, numbers stayed about the same. Seven Brides for Seven Brothers was doing Alice no favors by finishing 57^th as its lead-in. Alice finished 60^th again, and Filthy Rich was 59^th.

CBS then abandoned its part of this sitcom showdown. Alice, Filthy Rich, and Tucker’s Witch all went on hiatus and were replaced by a movie. Filthy Rich and Tucker’s Witch reappeared later in the season but were not renewed. Neither was Seven Brides for Seven Brothers.

Two episodes of Alice aired back on its old night at mid-season and drew huge ratings. Another showing in late February following the 2 and ½ hour M*A*S*H finale also attracted a large number of viewers. Inheriting the old M*A*S*H timeslot the next week, Alice went back to getting so-so ratings. Returning to Sunday again in the late spring, it moved up the charts again. At the end of its up-and-down season, Alice finished 37^th in the overall ratings and was renewed for an 8^th season on Sunday night.

Things continued much the same on Wednesday, as The Fall Guy usually won the timeslot, good for 14^th place for the season. The Facts of Life was frequently a somewhat distant second in the slot, occasionally making the race close. It even soared into 5^th place with its season finale graduation storyline. The Facts of Life finished the season in 35^th place. Family Ties trailed in 56^th, but was renewed anyway. Taxi briefly held the 9:30 slot on NBC but was incompatible with The Facts of Life and was quickly pulled from the lineup.

Winner: The Facts of Life

Too Close for Comfort vs. Cheers on Thursday at 9:00

ABC’s once-popular sitcom lineup continued to fall apart in the 1981-82 season. With veteran shows Mork & Mindy, Barney Miller, and Taxi not returning, ABC put together an all-new sitcom block that included two shows moving over from Tuesday. Happy Days spinoff Joanie Loves Chachi, which was a hit in a brief run the previous spring, took the 8:00 slot. Newcomer Star of the Family would follow. The first hour of ABC’s Thursday block performed poorly, and several shows were tried unsuccessfully throughout the season. Those shows would face non-sitcom competition. CBS continued with the hit Magnum, P.I. in the slot, while NBC renewed the middling but critically acclaimed drama Fame.

At 9:00, ABC slotted Too Close for Comfort, which finished 7^th in the previous season’s Nielsen ratings, with the show drawing particularly large numbers late in the season. It would be followed by It Takes Two, a new Susan Harris-created series that starred Patty Duke, Richard Crenna, Helen Hunt, Anthony Edwards, and elderly scene-stealer Billie Bird.

NBC countered with Gimme a Break, which surged in the ratings in reruns late in the previous season at 9:30 on Thursday. It would be followed by Cheers, a series much admired within NBC. However, before the season began, NBC beat out HBO for the rights to air a fifth season of Taxi. NBC decided to pair it with Cheers, which would now air at 9:00. Gimme a Break was rescheduled on Saturday. NBC touted its lineup of Fame, Cheers, Taxi, and Hill Street Blues as “The Best Night of Television on Television.” In the Spring of 1982, CBS aired a few reruns of failed Tuesday series Simon & Simon at 9:00, and it surprisingly found an audience airing after Magnum, P.I. So CBS awarded it the 9:00 timeslot for fall.

On September 30, 1982, Magnum, P.I. led the night’s ratings with a 3^rd place finish for a two-hour episode. An hour-long season premiere that saw the birth of a baby helped Too Close for Comfort place 8^th. Cheers opened poorly, despite great reviews. It was just 60^th of 63 programs. Taxi fared only slightly better, finishing 56^th.

The first time all of the regular 9:00 shows went head-to-head, Simon & Simon won the slot in 12^th place, edging 13^th-place Too Close for Comfort and 23^rd-place It Takes Two. Cheers and Taxi continued to struggle, in 62^nd and 60^th, respectively. Subsequent weeks were similar, with Simon & Simon beating Too Close for Comfort by a small but growing amount and Cheers landing near the bottom of the ratings. It Takes Two usually retained a respectable amount of its Too Close for Comfort lead-in, with Taxi stealing a few viewers to finish a bit higher than Cheers. NBC foolishly wasted a new episode of Cheers on Thanksgiving evening, and it finished dead last in 68^th place.

Things changed at mid-season when NBC returned to its original plan. Gimme a Break took the 9:00 slot on January 6, with Cheers following and Taxi moving to Saturday. While NBC’s ratings only rose a little right away, Too Close for Comfort (48^th place) and It Takes Two (52^nd) sank immediately, barely besting NBC’s new sitcom duo. Simon & Simon dominated the slot for the rest of the season.

The next week, NBC shocked ABC by finishing second in the timeslot. Gimme a Break was 50^th and Cheers an encouraging 46^th, while Too Close for Comfort fell to a concerning 59^th place, with It Takes Two slightly better in 56^th. The following week, Gimme a Break and Cheers rose to 33^rd and 40^th, respectively, once again ahead of their ABC competition.

ABC got some relief when Too Close for Comfort and It Takes Two beat NBC’s comedies on February 17 and 24, and often returned to the top 40 the rest of the season. However, NBC finished second again multiple times in March, with Cheers climbing to 36^th on March 17 and March 31.

For the season, Simon & Simon finished 8^th, Too Close for Comfort 40^th, It Takes Two 44^th, Cheers 73^rd, and Gimme a Break 62^nd. In a surprise move, ABC dropped both Too Close for Comfort and It Takes Two. Their replacements in the fall of 1983, 9 to 5 and It’s Not Easy were quick flops. Too Close for Comfort went on to run for three more seasons in first-run syndication, finishing under the name The Ted Knight Show.

For the fall of 1983, NBC scheduled a two-hour comedy block led by Gimme a Break, which the network always seemed to move whenever it gained momentum. Cheers’ critical acclaim and increasing ratings earned it a second season. It would continue in the 9:30 slot, led in by a Three’s Company imitation, We Got it Made. Cheers gained viewers during summer reruns in 1983 and outrated its lead-in that fall. It would soon take over the 9:00 slot and remain there for the rest of its 11-year run.

Winner: Cheers (But only in the long run.)