TV by the Decade :: February 13•19

Lorimar

The TV networks took a week off this week with no new series making their debuts. So this week we’ll take a look at the most popular shows of the seasons over the past 70 years. By the end of the 1951-1952 season, Arthur Godfrey’s Talent Scouts was the number one show in the country, drawing nearly 54 million viewers compared to the Number 1 show for the 2011-2012 season topping out at just over 12 million. Of course in the 1950s there were just three major networks and DuMont, which is similar to today’s The CW but less successful, lasting only ten years on the air. I Love Lucy finished at Number 3 for its first season, but held on to the Number 1 spot for the next three seasons.

The 1961-1962 Number 1 series, Wagon Train, drew in 32 million viewers. All in the Family topped the chart in 1971-1972, its second season, after barely making waves at Number 34 for its first season. It retained the Number 1 spot through its sixth season. The Mary Tyler Moore Show, in its second season, and Here’s Lucy in its fourth, tied for tenth place with nearly 24 million viewers. Dallas held on to the Number 1 spot in 1981-1982 after hitting that high the previous season, while The Dukes of Hazzard dropped from Number 2 and Too Close For Comfort rose from Number 15 the previous season to tie at Number 6 in 1981-1982. ABC sitcom Room for Two debuted in March 1992, aired seven episodes and landed at Number 10 for the entire 1991-1992 season with Doogie Howser MD as its lead-in. For some reason, the network moved the hit series’ second season after new sitcom Delta instead of using it as a lead-in and killed the show, which didn’t even crack the Top 30 for its second season.

In 2001-2002, Friends was the Number 1 show on television in its eighth season, so NBC ran the new comedy Leap of Faith in the 8:30 time slot starting in March 2002. Despite tying for ninth place with Will & Grace, NBC apparently wasn’t happy with the loss of 4 million viewers after Friends ended at 8:30 and Leap of Faith did not get a second season. In 2011-2012, six of the Top Ten spots were taking up by reality competition shows (American Idol and Dancing With the Stars aired two nights a week) and football, and two more were filled by the NCIS franchise, making many wonder if scripted series still had a place on network television.

Did any of your favorites crack the Top Ten?

CBS

1951-1952

1. Arthur Godfrey’s Talent Scouts – CBS
2. Texaco Star Theater – NBC
3. I Love Lucy – CBS
4. The Red Skelton Show – NBC
5. The Colgate Comedy Hour – NBC
6. Arthur Godfrey and His Friends – CBS
7. Fireside Theatre – NBC
8. Your Show of Shows – NBC
9. The Jack Benny Show – CBS
10. You Bet Your Life – NBC

1961-1962

1. Wagon Train – NBC
2. Bonanza – NBC
3. Gunsmoke – CBS
4. Hazel – NBC
5. Perry Mason – CBS
6. The Red Skelton Show – CBS
7. The Andy Griffith Show – CBS
8. The Danny Thomas Show – CBS
9. Dr. Kildare – NBC
10. Candid Camera – CBS

Tandem Productions

1971-1972

1. All in the Family – CBS
2. The Flip Wilson Show – NBC
3. Marcus Welby, M.D. – ABC
4. Gunsmoke – CBS
5. ABC Movie of the Week – ABC
6. Sanford and Son – NBC
7. Mannix – CBS
8. Funny Face – CBS
9. Adam-12 – NBC
10. The Mary Tyler Moore Show / Here’s Lucy (tie) – CBS

1981-1982

1. Dallas – CBS
2. 60 Minutes – CBS
3. The Jeffersons – CBS
4. Three’s Company – ABC
5. Alice – CBS
6. The Dukes of Hazzard – CBS / Too Close for Comfort – ABC (tie)
7. ABC Monday Night Movie – ABC
8. M*A*S*H – CBS
9. One Day at a Time – CBS

1991-1992

1. 60 Minutes – CBS
2. Roseanne – ABC
3. Murphy Brown – CBS
4. Cheers – NBC / Home Improvement – ABC (tie)
5. Designing Women – CBS
6. Full House – ABC
7. Murder, She Wrote – CBS
8. Major Dad – CBS
9. Coach / Room for Two – ABC (tie)

Warner Bros. Television

2001-2002

1. Friends – NBC
2. CSI: Crime Scene Investigation – CBS
3. ER – NBC
4. Everybody Loves Raymond – CBS
5. Law & Order – NBC
6. Survivor – CBS
7. Monday Night Football – ABC
8. The West Wing – NBC
9. Will & Grace / Leap of Faith – NBC (tie)

2011-2012

1. Sunday Night Football – NBC
2. NCIS – CBS
3. Dancing with the Stars – ABC
4. American Idol — Wednesday – FOX
5. American Idol — Thursday – FOX
6. Dancing with the Stars — Results – ABC
7. NCIS: Los Angeles – CBS
8. The Big Bang Theory – CBS
9. The Mentalist – CBS
10. The Voice – NBC