When CBS unveiled its Fall of 1971 prime time schedule in March of 1971, they originally planned to have All in the Family occupy the Mondays at 10:30 timeslot, My Three Sons on Saturday at 8:00, and Arnie on Mondays at 10:00.

But in August of 1971, CBS decided to reposition AitF, MTS and Arnie to new timeslots. AitF was relocated to Saturdays at 8:00, MTS was moved to Mondays at 10:00, and Arnie was switched to Mondays at 10:30. It was said in an old issue of Broadcasting Magazine that the purpose of the moves was to give the network sequential family programming on Monday nights, and AitF "presumably would inject a jarring break in this sequence of programming".

What do you think? How would all three of AitF, MTS and Arnie have fared if CBS had stuck with its original plan for Fall of 1971? AitF getting low ratings on Mondays at 10:30 and ending up cancelled after Season 2? An old, tired show like MtS starting off Saturdays at 8:00?

If ATF was on Mondays at 10:30, then I wouldn't have been allowed to watch it, as I was 6 years old at the time. As it was on Saturday, my parents allowed me to watch it. Generation X was born from that move by CBS.

One does wonder though, if it did have the late time slot, would the show have been allowed to be even more racy than it was already?

If AITF had run on Mondays, there's no telling what would have happened to the comedies that ran at 8:00 Saturday on the other networks, "The Partners" [NBC], which I liked, and "Getting Together" [ABC]. At least one of them probably would've lasted the season and maybe saw a second one.

If AITF had run on Mondays, there's no telling what would have happened to the comedies that ran at 8:00 Saturday on the other networks, "The Partners" [NBC], which I liked, and "Getting Together" [ABC]. At least one of them probably would've lasted the season and maybe saw a second one.
Yeah, from what I read, NBC was really banking on "The Partners" to be a big hit.

In fact, it scared Fred Silverman at CBS so much that he claims that's the reason he moved "All In The Family" to Saturdays at 8.

"All In The Family" destroyed "The Partners", probably to much frustration to the folks at NBC, who thought they had a sure-fire hit.

Someday I'd like to see "The Partners" get released to DVD. But from what I've heard Universal says there's not enough interest. A relative of one of the cast members told me this on YouTube once.

Yeah, from what I read, NBC was really banking on "The Partners" to be a big hit.

In fact, it scared Fred Silverman at CBS so much that he claims that's the reason he moved "All In The Family" to Saturdays at 8.

"All In The Family" destroyed "The Partners", probably to much frustration to the folks at NBC, who thought they had a sure-fire hit.

Someday I'd like to see "The Partners" get released to DVD. But from what I've heard Universal says there's not enough interest. A relative of one of the cast members told me this on YouTube once.

If NBC had high hopes for The Partners then they should have moved it to Friday after Sanford and Son, you can't go against show with 50 share but even CBS didn't expect AITF to become such huge hit.

If NBC had high hopes for The Partners then they should have moved it to Friday after Sanford and Son, you can't go against show with 50 share but even CBS didn't expect AITF to become such huge hit.
It debuted before Sanford and Son. Maybe they could have moved it to Fridays after Sanford debuted mid-season, but they didn't.

Was the Partners a show with Don Knotts and Rupert ?? If it was , i saw it and didn't think much of it.

Was the Partners a show with Don Knotts and Rupert ?? If it was , i saw it and didn't think much of it.
Don Adams and Rupert Crosse

The Partners did return briefly to NBC in summer 1972 in S&S' time slot with five episodes. Not sure if they were reruns or as yet unaired shows.

Thought I'd add a little sidebar. Larry Hagman in a book he wrote circa 1996-the title escapes me-claimed that his 1971 show "The Good Life", which followed "The Partners" at 8:30, was on opposite "All In The Family". It actually ran opposite "Funny Face" with Sandy Duncan. Maybe he misremembered the scheduling or something.

One does wonder though, if it did have the late time slot, would the show have been allowed to be even more racy than it was already?

I think probably as racy as the CBS standards and practices department would have allowed it to be at the time. Would that kind of raciness have been enough for it to be applied a TV-14 content rating if it were reran today? I have no idea.

Also, if AitF had been cancelled after Season 2 due to low ratings in that late-Monday slot, would The Mary Tyler Moore Show have become CBS's new flagship sitcom instead, maybe even soaring to #1 in the Nielsen Ratings for a couple of years?

Hey, look at what Broadcasting magazine reported (https://worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Magazines/Archive-BC-IDX/71-OCR/1971-11-08-BC-OCR-Page-0020.pdf#search=%22my%20three%20sons%22) in its November 8. 1971 issue:

"CBS is said to be considering a move of My Three Sons from Monday (10-10:30) to Saturday at 8:30 to replace Funny Face should that show be forced off the schedule at midseason. "

Why would CBS consider something like having tired-a$$ (ratings-wise) My Three Sons in the timeslot after All in the Family when younger options were available? Bad idea. Frankly, it was a good idea for CBS to put The Mary Tyler Moore Show in the hammock slot between AitF and The New Dick Van Dyke Show after Funny Face was terminated after its lead, Sandy Duncan, underwent eye surgery. Arnie was also young (debuting in the same year as The MTM Show); What if that one had been put in the post-AitF timeslot? I'm guessing whatever followed AitF at that time would've had ratings exceeding, like, 26.0 every week no matter what.

Maybe CBS had more respect for shows like M3S and Gunsmoke than you do. "Tired" is your opinion, which you've stated at least 3 times now for those series. I get that you dislike them. What I don't get is why you want to persist with "tired-a$$" and "tired-a$$ed" practically every time you refer to them. It's unnecessary and offensive.

M3S is my all-time favorite series. I really get weary of people putting down the late seasons. Beverly Garland was only in her 3rd season of M3S when it was cancelled, and Ronne Troup in only her second. Yes, it was an old series. But there was enough going on that it wasn't "tired" in my opinion. The 3 seasons prior to what proved to be the final one all finished no lower than #19 in the rankings -- very strong showings considering how old the series was by then.

End of rant. You may resume.

^^"Unnecessary and offensive"? Man, why should I care?

I'm thinking you must have wanted My Three Sons to get the post-All in the Family timeslot in the middle of the 1971-72 season. The point I'm making here is CBS wouldn't have needed to do that (because it would have meant The Mary Tyler Moore Show and Arnie getting held back), and a fresh and young program would be a far better choice for a lead-out than MTS. I guess CBS had to do something to bury My Three Sons during that '71-'72 season, and some CBS execs must not have wanted MTS to stay first-run after Spring 1972, especially in light of the Rural Purge a year prior.

If MTS really did air on Saturdays at 8:30 after All in the Family, how much would its ratings have risen?

My Three Sons did look to be about done because it was moved to Thursday nights after December and finishing #42

^^I agree, BiffBronson just wants to be an All in the Family hater.

^ ^
Just because he dislikes the reference to My Three Sons as "tired", it doesn't follow that he dislikes AITF.

This thread has an 8 year gap, the original series of posts started at the beginning of 2015 and ending in March of that year picking up in September of 2023.

With respect to what happened here I'm very surprised no one mentioned the 800 pound gorilla in the room, Monday Night Football. 71-72 would be its second season and if 70-71 was any indication CBS was in for some trouble. Mayberry RFD had fallen from 4 to 15 in the ratings for 70-71, Doris Day from 10-20, Carol Burnett from 12-25. Robert Wood the President of CBS was a very big proponent of All in the Family, there was no way he was going to place that that series on Monday night at 10 pm. All in the Family was a midseason replacement series for the 70-71 season, this would be its proof of concept season, could it survive the critics, could it survive the audience outrage, could it survive affiliates not wanting to carry the show, obviously it cleared those hurdles with flying colors. Anything happening as early as March with respect to the series meant nothing, if it survived it was destined for bigger and better things.

It made perfect sense to move it to Saturday which CBS was developing as a big night, The Mary Tyler Moore Show was the embodiment of where CBS wanted to be, big name Dick Van Dyke coming back on board and Sandy Duncan who believe it or not was a hot property in 71. All in the Family which showed steady audience growth in its first half season was a natural fit for the 8pm slot.

By the 71-72 season CBS had cleared most of the shows that worked well with My Three Sons so burying the series at 10pm Monday and hoping it might hold its own with legacy stars on female friendly series like Lucy and Doris Day made better sense, those shows were more about yesterday, the Saturday night line-up was more about tomorrow.

Arnie was a mistake. The series had performed poorly the first season, it was actually on the bubble, it was a toss-up between Arnie and Mayberry RFD, Richard Linke the manager of Ken Berry, Jim Nabors and Andy Griffith flew to New York in a desperate bid to save Mayberry but to no avail. Arnie never found an audience after half a season on Monday night it was moved to Saturday at 9:30 where it continued to flounder and died at the end of the season. It should never have been renewed for a second season, there was no justification for it.

^^I agree, BiffBronson just wants to be an All in the Family hater.

Yeah right, that's why I have AITF on DVD and also the 1st season of Archie Bunker's Place. I always watched AITF in primetime when it aired. And a lot in later years. I don't remember what brought this on, likely because you dissed my favorite series M3S and I went on a rant.

Maybe it's rare to be a fan of both series, but I am. I'm not going to waste my time any further, I'll have to put you on "ignore." Sorry but this site has too much negativity regarding shows that are now half-a-century or more old. M3S was still a worthwhile series, look at soaps that ran for decades longer. I've never said anything negative about AITF in all the years I've been here, and if anyone can prove otherwise, I'd like to see the quote. Does that sound like a "hater"-?

Most of us are here to get enjoyment, not endless arguments that final season DVD sets MUST have a number on them. Crazy. :crazy:

Yeah right, that's why I have AITF on DVD and also the 1st season of Archie Bunker's Place. I always watched AITF in primetime when it aired. And a lot in later years. I don't remember what brought this on, likely because you dissed my favorite series M3S and I went on a rant.

Maybe it's rare to be a fan of both series, but I am. I'm not going to waste my time any further, I'll have to put you on "ignore." Sorry but this site has too much negativity regarding shows that are now half-a-century or more old. M3S was still a worthwhile series, look at soaps that ran for decades longer. I've never said anything negative about AITF in all the years I've been here, and if anyone can prove otherwise, I'd like to see the quote. Does that sound like a "hater"-?

I got personal with you because I think you were indicating that My Three Sons should have stayed in first-run longer than season 12. That would have come at the expense of The Bob Newhart Show, Maude, Good Times, and even Bridget Loves Bernie, because primetime schedules have limited space, and shows like MTS needed to make room for newer and fresher shows on CBS, even if it meant burying MTS in undesirable timeslots. You shouldn't have called my opinion "unnecessary", because that is grounds for a flip-out. THE NETWORKS WANTED YOUNG AND FRESH, NOT OLD AND TIRED. And I'm guessing you probably agreed with any decision to move My Three Sons back to Saturdays at midseason after All in the Family (which wouldn't have made sense because it would've meant a ratings recovery for MTS, and CBS must not have wanted that, so The Mary Tyler More Show after AitF made far better sense.

Bump

Bump

Why are you bumping a thread and not saying nothing

It has to do with a private message. As it turns out, I never got around to putting him on ignore, but he thought I'd done so and it was detrimental.