TMC
05-26-2004, 01:38 AM
http://forums.comicbookresources.com/showthread.php?p=46028#post46028
I used to do these with wrestlers.I called them profiles.Others called them a waste of time.I however like doing them and decided to do one concerning the Rise of the America Broadcasting Network.Or as Norm McDonald used to call It "The ABC".
It was the Best of Times...........-Its really hard to Imagine that 10 years ago that ABC was In Its glory.In fact they had a lock on almost 4 Nights of TV.
ABC owned Sundays,Mondays,Tuesdays,Wednesdays, and Fridays at points In the mid 90's.So what happened to cost them those 4 to 5 nights?Well lets look at the High points 1st and we'll go from there.
TGIF Takes Over!-In the early 90's ABC started out with Its TGIF lineup.The Network rolled out a spinoff of "Perfect Strangers" called "Family Matters" and then they hit a HR!
Paired with "Full House" , "Family Matters" took over after a kid named Urkel launched the TGIF machine.Other shows followed and TGIF would be ABC's Friday Night powerhouse.With shows like "Step by Step", "Boy Meets World.", and "Sabrina the Teenage Witch" , ABC seemed destined to build a great night of shows.
ABC wanted to win Tuesday so they moved "Full House" there to pair It with "Roseanne" and "Home Improvement." The Idea worked and they would soon own that night of TV.
Sundays would be a Night that ABC would be given.CBS would cancel "Murder She Wrote" In 1994 and give ABC that spot for 2 seasons."Lois & Clark" would win that slot til CBS realized what they had lost and would shedule a strong show to face It.
Wednesdays would be a night luckily won by ABC when they sheduled the "Drew Carey Show" there In the mid 90's.No one gave the wierd show a chance but It would power ABC on that night for years.
Decline and Who Hates a Millionaire!!-ABC was on a hot streak by the late 90's but cracks began to emerge.In fact they would soon hit water on Fridays.
In 2000 ABC decided that Urkel had ran his course.They let "Family Matters" and "Step By Step" jump to CBS.This seemed like a great Idea but In hindsight It sped up TGIF's decline. "Boy Meets World" was aging and "Sabrina...." would jump to the WB the next year!
By 2002 TGIF was D.O.A.ABC tried moving the promising sitcom "The Norm Show" to Fridays but It Died quickly.ABC would lose that night to NBC after years of winning It.
"The Drew Carey Show" was slowly fading on Wednesdays after NBC finally delievered a solid alternative on that Night.ABC In thier stupiedity would In 2001 renew "The Drew Carey Show" for 2 more years.The last episodes still haven't aired and should air this summer finally!
Tuesday also hit bumps.In 2000 they tried to lure Tim Allen back for a 10th season of "Home Improvement".But Allen saw the writing on the wall and knew his show was fading."Home Improvement" won Its timeslot 9 straight years and Its loss hurt ABC more than anything!
ABC In the mid 90's also decided that "Full House" had ran Its course.The Network cancelled the show even though a huge out cry followed.The result was a weakened Tuesday Night but at the time not many really considered It a blow!
By 2000 ABC had found a New Gold Mine.Its name was Regis Philbin!His Show would hit Ratings Gold and the Network went Nuts!But In their haste to grab Instant Ratings they over did "Millionare."
end of part 1#
http://forums.comicbookresources.com/showthread.php?p=46028#post46028
ABC In the mid to late 90's appeared to rule overe almost all Networks.They had dramas like "NYPD Blue" and "The Practice." and comedies like "The Drew Carey Show" and "Home Improvement."
But network mis-steps would soon falter the ABC Network.Shows were renewed to long.Others like "The Job." and "The Norm Show" were showed the exit sign early.
ABC In 1996 would gamble and roll the dice on "Hudson Street" starring Tony Danza.In effect they would also gamble on "The Dania Carvey Show."
By doing so they let a show In developement go to NBC.That show?Well It was "3rd Rock From the Sun." The show did so well at 8:30pm that it was flipped with "Wings" and drew big numbers!
It also killed the promising "Hudson Street" sitcom starring Danza.Til that point Danza's show was winning that 8:30pm slot.
"The Dana Carvey Show" was a ratings hit.But the downside was the fact that Carvey pissed off advertisers.ABC at 1st held on hoping Carvey could at least keep some sponsers.After Ratings softened a bit ABC finally pulled the plug on him.
"Who Wants to be a Millionaire" mania hit In 2000.And ABC wanted to cash In.They would start airing "Millionaire..." up to 4 to 5 nights a week.The Unique Game show drew great ratings for 2 years and finally over-exposure killed it.
In this time span ABC didn't use the Game Show to grow any Network Shows.In fact their Comedy Line-ups suffered badly.By 2002 and new order came In....
Restore TGIF!!-ABC wanted to get back to the basics In 2002.So they went out and tried luring Family Shows.Family Shows like "According To Jim." and "Life With Bonnie."
The result has been lukewarm at best.At the moment ABC Is In a rebuilding phase and odds are Its gonna take at least 2 to 3 seasons to rebuild thier Network Shows.
But with "NYPD Blue" slowly fading towards Its 12th and final season odds are, ABC will need New Talents and New Ideas asap.Can ABC Rebuild?Well In the mid 90's CBS faced huge obstacles In thier way.
And odds are CBS will end up winning the 2003-2004 TV Season.So miracles can happen.ABC could return to dominace soon enough!
Comic Book Resources Forums > Miscellaneous Forums > TV/Film
A Network profile:"The Rise & Fall of ABC "
(http://forums.comicbookresources.com/showthread.php?p=46028#post46028)
I used to do these with wrestlers.I called them profiles.Others called them a waste of time.I however like doing them and decided to do one concerning the Rise of the America Broadcasting Network.Or as Norm McDonald used to call It "The ABC".
It was the Best of Times...........-Its really hard to Imagine that 10 years ago that ABC was In Its glory.In fact they had a lock on almost 4 Nights of TV.
ABC owned Sundays,Mondays,Tuesdays,Wednesdays, and Fridays at points In the mid 90's.So what happened to cost them those 4 to 5 nights?Well lets look at the High points 1st and we'll go from there.
TGIF Takes Over!-In the early 90's ABC started out with Its TGIF lineup.The Network rolled out a spinoff of "Perfect Strangers" called "Family Matters" and then they hit a HR!
Paired with "Full House" , "Family Matters" took over after a kid named Urkel launched the TGIF machine.Other shows followed and TGIF would be ABC's Friday Night powerhouse.With shows like "Step by Step", "Boy Meets World.", and "Sabrina the Teenage Witch" , ABC seemed destined to build a great night of shows.
ABC wanted to win Tuesday so they moved "Full House" there to pair It with "Roseanne" and "Home Improvement." The Idea worked and they would soon own that night of TV.
Sundays would be a Night that ABC would be given.CBS would cancel "Murder She Wrote" In 1994 and give ABC that spot for 2 seasons."Lois & Clark" would win that slot til CBS realized what they had lost and would shedule a strong show to face It.
Wednesdays would be a night luckily won by ABC when they sheduled the "Drew Carey Show" there In the mid 90's.No one gave the wierd show a chance but It would power ABC on that night for years.
Decline and Who Hates a Millionaire!!-ABC was on a hot streak by the late 90's but cracks began to emerge.In fact they would soon hit water on Fridays.
In 2000 ABC decided that Urkel had ran his course.They let "Family Matters" and "Step By Step" jump to CBS.This seemed like a great Idea but In hindsight It sped up TGIF's decline. "Boy Meets World" was aging and "Sabrina...." would jump to the WB the next year!
By 2002 TGIF was D.O.A.ABC tried moving the promising sitcom "The Norm Show" to Fridays but It Died quickly.ABC would lose that night to NBC after years of winning It.
"The Drew Carey Show" was slowly fading on Wednesdays after NBC finally delievered a solid alternative on that Night.ABC In thier stupiedity would In 2001 renew "The Drew Carey Show" for 2 more years.The last episodes still haven't aired and should air this summer finally!
Tuesday also hit bumps.In 2000 they tried to lure Tim Allen back for a 10th season of "Home Improvement".But Allen saw the writing on the wall and knew his show was fading."Home Improvement" won Its timeslot 9 straight years and Its loss hurt ABC more than anything!
ABC In the mid 90's also decided that "Full House" had ran Its course.The Network cancelled the show even though a huge out cry followed.The result was a weakened Tuesday Night but at the time not many really considered It a blow!
By 2000 ABC had found a New Gold Mine.Its name was Regis Philbin!His Show would hit Ratings Gold and the Network went Nuts!But In their haste to grab Instant Ratings they over did "Millionare."
end of part 1#
http://forums.comicbookresources.com/showthread.php?p=46028#post46028
ABC In the mid to late 90's appeared to rule overe almost all Networks.They had dramas like "NYPD Blue" and "The Practice." and comedies like "The Drew Carey Show" and "Home Improvement."
But network mis-steps would soon falter the ABC Network.Shows were renewed to long.Others like "The Job." and "The Norm Show" were showed the exit sign early.
ABC In 1996 would gamble and roll the dice on "Hudson Street" starring Tony Danza.In effect they would also gamble on "The Dania Carvey Show."
By doing so they let a show In developement go to NBC.That show?Well It was "3rd Rock From the Sun." The show did so well at 8:30pm that it was flipped with "Wings" and drew big numbers!
It also killed the promising "Hudson Street" sitcom starring Danza.Til that point Danza's show was winning that 8:30pm slot.
"The Dana Carvey Show" was a ratings hit.But the downside was the fact that Carvey pissed off advertisers.ABC at 1st held on hoping Carvey could at least keep some sponsers.After Ratings softened a bit ABC finally pulled the plug on him.
"Who Wants to be a Millionaire" mania hit In 2000.And ABC wanted to cash In.They would start airing "Millionaire..." up to 4 to 5 nights a week.The Unique Game show drew great ratings for 2 years and finally over-exposure killed it.
In this time span ABC didn't use the Game Show to grow any Network Shows.In fact their Comedy Line-ups suffered badly.By 2002 and new order came In....
Restore TGIF!!-ABC wanted to get back to the basics In 2002.So they went out and tried luring Family Shows.Family Shows like "According To Jim." and "Life With Bonnie."
The result has been lukewarm at best.At the moment ABC Is In a rebuilding phase and odds are Its gonna take at least 2 to 3 seasons to rebuild thier Network Shows.
But with "NYPD Blue" slowly fading towards Its 12th and final season odds are, ABC will need New Talents and New Ideas asap.Can ABC Rebuild?Well In the mid 90's CBS faced huge obstacles In thier way.
And odds are CBS will end up winning the 2003-2004 TV Season.So miracles can happen.ABC could return to dominace soon enough!
Comic Book Resources Forums > Miscellaneous Forums > TV/Film
A Network profile:"The Rise & Fall of ABC "
(http://forums.comicbookresources.com/showthread.php?p=46028#post46028)