The 1988-89 television season was delayed by the longest writers’ strike in the history of the Writers Guild of America. Production of prime-time series didn’t ramp up until after the strike was settled in August of 1988. Most shows didn’t premiere until October or November. Once the season started, there were a few (mostly one-sided) sitcom showdowns.
Growing Pains/Head of the Class vs. The Van Dyke Show/Annie McGuire on Wednesday from 8:00-9:00 p.m. (ET)
In the spring of 1988, ABC moved its top five hit Growing Pains from Tuesday at 8:30 to Wednesday at 8:00. The move was successful as Growing Pains won the timeslot and boosted the already solid Head of the Class at 8:30.
CBS hadn’t had a hit in the timeslot in more than a decade. This year, it tried pairing new shows starring Dick Van Dyke and Mary Tyler Moore. While the pairing seemed like a good promotional gimmick, their shows were nothing alike. The Van Dyke Show was a multi-camera series that occasionally showcased Van Dyke’s physical comedy skills. Moore’s Annie McGuire was a quiet, single-camera dramedy.
As if ABC’s sitcoms weren’t competition enough, NBC debuted Unsolved Mysteries in the timeslot that fall. It finished in a near tie for the season with 17th-ranked Growing Pains. Head of the Class was not far behind in 19th place. The Van Dyke Show and Annie McGuire never had a chance. CBS dropped Van Dyke’s series after just six weeks. Moore’s show only lasted two weeks longer. Both series had several unaired episodes. They tied for 92nd place for the season.
Winners: Growing Pains/Head of the Class
Newhart/Coming of Age vs. Alf/The Hogan Family on Monday from 8:00-9:00
CBS also took on a successful sitcom block on another network on Mondays. Top 20 shows Alf and The Hogan Family easily won the slot the previous season and would return this fall on NBC. CBS moved Newhart, still successful at 9:00 the previous season, up to 8:00 to make room for Murphy Brown at 9:00. Coming of Age, a low-rated show in a terrible Tuesday timeslot the previous spring, was moved to 8:30. Despite its low ratings, the show was well done and had sensibilities similar to those of Newhart.
Alf and The Hogan Family were undisturbed. They won the timeslot handily and finished the season in 12th and 23rd place, respectively. Against tough competition in a too-early timeslot, Newhart slipped to 54th place in the ratings for the season. Coming of Age was pulled from the schedule after just four weeks. Its remaining episodes were burned off over the summer or remained unaired. It finished 65th for the season. CBS had long-running hit Kate & Allie in reserve to replace Coming of Age. It performed considerably better, finishing 46th for the year. In the spring, CBS moved Newhart to 10:00 and Kate & Allie to 10:30. The later timeslot helped Newhart but hurt Kate & Allie, which ended its run at season’s end, while Newhart returned for a final season.
Winners: Alf/The Hogan Family
227/Amen vs. Dirty Dancing/Raising Miranda on Saturday from 8:00-9:00
NBC’s long-running hit The Facts of Life ended in the spring of 1988. No problem. The network simply moved 8:30 series 227 up to 8:00, and 9:30’s Amen took the 8:30 slot. NBC continued to win the timeslot with ratings similar to the previous season. 227 finished the season in 39th place, while Amen was good for 29th.
CBS failed badly the previous season in this slot with the sitcom duo of My Sister Sam and Everything’s Relative. It was like de ja vu all over again, as this year’s combo of Dirty Dancing (based on the hit movie of the same name) and an obscurity called Raising Miranda were this year’s basement dwellers. Raising Miranda, which had a similar premise to future hit Blossom, was gone by the end of 1988. Dirty Dancing lasted a couple of weeks longer. For the season, Dirty Dancing did slightly better (95th) than Raising Miranda (104th), which was in the season’s bottom five shows.
Winners: 227/Amen
The Wonder Years/Hooperman vs. Night Court/Baby Boom on Wednesday from 9:00-10:00
With no series dominating the Wednesday at 9:00 timeslot in the 1987-88 season, ABC and NBC each moved big hits into the slot. ABC scheduled spring sensation The Wonder Years in the slot, while NBC moved huge Thursday hit Night Court to Wednesday at 9:00. The Wonder Years was followed by the John Ritter dramedy Hooperman, which got okay ratings in the 9:00 slot the season before. NBC scheduled a single-camera comedy, Baby Boom, based on the movie of the same name, at 9:30.
Night Court and The Wonder Years ran neck and neck, with Night Court coming out slightly ahead in 21st place, with The Wonder Years in 23rd. Oddly, ABC moved The Wonder Years back to Tuesday in the spring.
Neither Hooperman nor Baby Boom did well at 9:30. NBC dropped Baby Boom after just seven episodes, with the remaining episodes burned off in the summer or left unaired. NBC had My Two Dads waiting in the wings. For some reason, NBC left that successful sitcom off its fall schedule. Its ratings, a 46th-place finish, were an improvement over Baby Boom’s 61st place. Hooperman didn’t improve and was cancelled after finishing in 60th for the season.
Winner: Tie
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