As I sit in front of the television seeing if anything interesting is on (which most days there is not), I am browsing through all these streaming services I subscribe to, a seemingly endless minefield of shows and movies that either I don't find promising or I once liked them and my mind moved on.
Does anyone else get this way? Well, let's put it this way: do you find Police Academy just as nonstop laughs as you did in 1984? Wait, I'm sorry, I totally forgot this is intended for people born in the second half of that ancient era called the 20th century...yes those years that begin with a 19! Sorry for the confusion!
Wait, maybe I'm not so sorry! For what am I here to do besides educate and write complete sentences?
Yes, young ones, you can always learn.
Anyhow, back to those former classics...they were made for their time, be it comedy or action or drama. My DVD/BluRay bins are full of movies and TV show box sets that I love or once loved. Yes, I do have some of those Police Academy movies because sometimes I just need a cheap and easy laugh.
Going back to those two little words in paragragh one...streaming services! Yes, I have gone from surfing TV channels to surfing streaming services. The only difference is that when you surfed TV channels, you were going from playing show to playing show. The streaming services just give you titles and maybe a picture...kind of like going into...check this out...VIDEO STORES!
There is so much choice now that you can almost get sick in the glut.
If you are one of the few that tune in to the networks anymore, what is there? There's some drama for sure, some comedies that are less likely to contain a laugh track anymore (an improvement I admit), some elimination shows, talent shows, and revamps of classic game shows.
There was actually a time when there was something known as the BIG 3: CBS, NBC, and ABC. These were the major commercial network providers of daily and nightly programming. If you're thinking WHAT ABOUT FOX?, that was a part time network when it started in late 1986 and wasn't a full nightly competitor until the 1990s. Even then, it stuck mainly to nighttime and offered no daytime soaps or game shows.
You also had what were known as independent stations. These channels were actually favorites of kids as they played cartoons and older off-network series. For example: The Brady Bunch ran on ABC from 1969-74, then was syndicated to the independent stations in 1975, from where it enjoyed a few decades of endless reruns. The same went for many other color and black and white programs. However, those stations were not what people were generally watching at night.
No, the BIG 3 held the majority of viewers during the "prime time" hours, which were mostly 8pm-11pm, although in the early days it began at 7:30pm.
Here is a huge question: which network was the best?
There might have been network loyalists, but they were few and far between. Our family would certainly watch something on one network, then change channels to another one when a favorite was coming on. I think most of America was like this.
And what does best mean when it comes to a network? Is it ratings? Quality? Maybe both?
When it comes to overall quality, my opinion is that CBS held it together more consistently. I say this because not only was it a ratings powerhouse more than once, but the shows that held those ratings were of good quality. Plus, CBS knew something was in the air change-wise in 1971. This was when All in the Family arrived and the idea of social issues in sitcoms was a novelty. By the end of the 1970-71 season, all of CBS's rural-appeal and 60s stay-overs were terminated...and when you think about it, a lot of those shows were old BEFORE 1971. Some examples are Mayberry RFD, Green Acres, Hogan's Heroes, The Beverly Hillbillies, Hee Haw (but that continued in syndication to great Saturday night success), Lassie, and Family Affair. Was CBS perfect? No, they juggled a few good shows too many times around the schedule...WKRP in Cincinnati comes to mind. CBS also was the home to many a hit daytime and nighttime soap opera, and its crown game show jewel The Price is Right has been with us since 1972. They DID cancel The Edge of Night, but luckily another network picked that right up in 1975.
Let's come to ABC. What I always remember about ABC was that it was trying to be cool in the minds of its viewers, and it catered to lots of whims. Batman was really what put ABC on the map in early 1966...the only problem was that it was its only prime time powerhouse that year and that show burnt out in 3 seasons. Skip forward to 1978 and ABC was a maniac! Happy Days, Laverne and Shirley, Charlie's Angels, Mork and Mindy, The Love Boat, and Fantasy Island were the talk of the town. The 1980s leveled that field a bit when many of those shows ended...actually many of those shows overstayed the public welcome. That said, ABC knew how to overdo the glitz that was the 80s with Dynasty and Moonlighting.
And then we come to NBC. Now, I have to be honest, I've come to be a bit jaded with NBC over time, based on what I've read. NBC will always have the famous peacock, even though they dropped their mascot from 1975-79. Some of their programming from the late 70s to early 80s were complete flops, others held on a season or two, and others, like Diff'rent Strokes, overstayed their welcome. They did manage to hold onto The Hollywood Squares for 14 years, a record for any celebrity game show. Plus, their super Thursday nights in the mid to late 1980s made them a draw, and those shows were good quality from 1984-88. Of course we have Days of our Lives, which has lasted since 1965. And then there is the 50 year old Saturday Night Live, which has been through many ups and downs. As long as Lorne Michaels is alive, so will that show. The reason I am a bit jaded toward NBC is in how they treat some of their talent. For example, sometime in the 90s, there was a clause in an SNL performer's contract that they could be pulled out to do a sitcom. Also, some of their owners canceled shows depsite high ratings just because they didn't like the show...Fred Silverman killing Hollywood Squares is a prime example.
All that said, those 3 networks, no matter the shows' quality and ratings from season to season, were the main game in town from the 1950s to the early 2000s. The only alternatives were leaving the house, listening to music, or playing a family game. To me it is amazing those 3 are still around, and they might just outlast me, who knows?
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