TVFactFan
06-20-2022, 11:15 PM
Article by Gary Deeb, Philadelphia Daily News, February 15, 1980
"Last week Steven Kampmann was talking about WKRP in Cincinnati.". The As story editor of the CBS comedy series, Kampmann is proud the program's quality, its popularity, and particularly the way "WKRP" trounces Laverne and Shirley in the battle for viewers each Monday night. "By beating that show, we're doing America a tremendous favor" he declared.
He didnt swagger when he said it. He didnt even smile. Indeed, his voice carried a low-key ring of the sincerity, not to mention a hint of relief. The fact that Laverne and Shirley, is one of the loudest, most lamebrained comedies to every make it big on television, is dying a slow, painful death this season and its a mighty pleasant sight.
Penny Marshall, a 40 year old woman attempting to portray a girl barely past 20, finally has worn out finally her welcome with the mass Tv audience. The way things shape up, "Laverne and Shirley" will probably limp along for another year or so before fading into oblivion and reruns. The fall from grace came unexpectedly for L&S. Two years ago it was TV's most popular program, last year it ranked 2nd to only Three's Company, this season its battling desperately to stay in the top 40.
The precise reasons behind the plummet are difficult to pinpoint. Obviously, ABC program executives outguessed themselves last September when they moved Laverne and Shirley from its longtime Tuesday night slot(After Happy Days) to Thursday Nights. Against the seemingly easy competition of the tired "Waltons" series on CBS and newcomer "Buck Rogers" on NBC, L&S surprisingly just managed to hold its own.
With an audience falloff of 35 percent from last year, the program was sinking fast. So ABC recently moved it to Monday nights opposite "WKRP" and the "Little House on the Prairie." The result: a complete cave in. Laverne and Shirley now finishes dead-last in its Monday night time period, attracting less than half the number of viewers registered by "Little House." The ABC comedy has also yet to come close to "WKRP" in the audience tally.
The switching of Laverne and Shirley away from Tuesday Night certainly may account for part of its current dip in the ratings, a rival network executive said. "But I think there's more to it than that. A superpoular program doesn't get wiped out overnight simply because of a change of timeslot. I think what's happened is the overall TV audience has become fed up the high-decibel, pratfall style of comedy that's been popular since the mid 1970's."
By way of illustrating his theory, the programmer pointed to "Happy Days" which remained in its Tuesday Night time slot and nevertheless has lost 25 percent of its audience since last year, and to Mork and Mindy, now back in its old Thursday Night slot and still down nearly 30 percent from its 1979 high point. "Viewers are now rejecting the comedy formulas they embraced as recently as 8 or 9 months ago, " the network official insisted. "I don't know why but the knockabout, slapsticky comedies just aren't cutting it anymore."
But ABC refuses to give up. Starting later this month, the network will return Laverne and Shirley to its old home--the 830pm Tuesday slot (Eastern time) immediately following Happy Days. Clearly, the former No. 1 network, which is now runner up to CBS in the night time audience ratings. is praying for a return to days past.
It doesn't seem likely, however, Laverne and Shirley is a low rent comedy that always goes for the easy cheap laugh. The lead characters constantly chew gum, fall down, shout, behave like morons, and resort to a pattern of verbal insults that the Hollywood production crowd apparently believes is representative of blue-collar America.
"Last week Steven Kampmann was talking about WKRP in Cincinnati.". The As story editor of the CBS comedy series, Kampmann is proud the program's quality, its popularity, and particularly the way "WKRP" trounces Laverne and Shirley in the battle for viewers each Monday night. "By beating that show, we're doing America a tremendous favor" he declared.
He didnt swagger when he said it. He didnt even smile. Indeed, his voice carried a low-key ring of the sincerity, not to mention a hint of relief. The fact that Laverne and Shirley, is one of the loudest, most lamebrained comedies to every make it big on television, is dying a slow, painful death this season and its a mighty pleasant sight.
Penny Marshall, a 40 year old woman attempting to portray a girl barely past 20, finally has worn out finally her welcome with the mass Tv audience. The way things shape up, "Laverne and Shirley" will probably limp along for another year or so before fading into oblivion and reruns. The fall from grace came unexpectedly for L&S. Two years ago it was TV's most popular program, last year it ranked 2nd to only Three's Company, this season its battling desperately to stay in the top 40.
The precise reasons behind the plummet are difficult to pinpoint. Obviously, ABC program executives outguessed themselves last September when they moved Laverne and Shirley from its longtime Tuesday night slot(After Happy Days) to Thursday Nights. Against the seemingly easy competition of the tired "Waltons" series on CBS and newcomer "Buck Rogers" on NBC, L&S surprisingly just managed to hold its own.
With an audience falloff of 35 percent from last year, the program was sinking fast. So ABC recently moved it to Monday nights opposite "WKRP" and the "Little House on the Prairie." The result: a complete cave in. Laverne and Shirley now finishes dead-last in its Monday night time period, attracting less than half the number of viewers registered by "Little House." The ABC comedy has also yet to come close to "WKRP" in the audience tally.
The switching of Laverne and Shirley away from Tuesday Night certainly may account for part of its current dip in the ratings, a rival network executive said. "But I think there's more to it than that. A superpoular program doesn't get wiped out overnight simply because of a change of timeslot. I think what's happened is the overall TV audience has become fed up the high-decibel, pratfall style of comedy that's been popular since the mid 1970's."
By way of illustrating his theory, the programmer pointed to "Happy Days" which remained in its Tuesday Night time slot and nevertheless has lost 25 percent of its audience since last year, and to Mork and Mindy, now back in its old Thursday Night slot and still down nearly 30 percent from its 1979 high point. "Viewers are now rejecting the comedy formulas they embraced as recently as 8 or 9 months ago, " the network official insisted. "I don't know why but the knockabout, slapsticky comedies just aren't cutting it anymore."
But ABC refuses to give up. Starting later this month, the network will return Laverne and Shirley to its old home--the 830pm Tuesday slot (Eastern time) immediately following Happy Days. Clearly, the former No. 1 network, which is now runner up to CBS in the night time audience ratings. is praying for a return to days past.
It doesn't seem likely, however, Laverne and Shirley is a low rent comedy that always goes for the easy cheap laugh. The lead characters constantly chew gum, fall down, shout, behave like morons, and resort to a pattern of verbal insults that the Hollywood production crowd apparently believes is representative of blue-collar America.