Would IAL have lasted longer on ABC...

[TMC]

had it not been for the Screen Actors Guild strike of 1980? Because of that, the first season only consisted of 13 episodes. I know that also, they were virtually getting killed in the ratings by Magnum, P.I. and ABC then kept moving IAL (not to mention the ridiculously pointless name change to Making a Living, to get shut people up who thought that the waitresses must be hookers) around the schedule. But still, it's safe to assume that it was naturally going to be harder for a show to pick up steam if you're only given 13 weeks instead of 22.

[MIKEPR]

Well think of all the new shows that did debut during that season and succeeded inspite of the strike.

Plus what do you mean by ABC moving IAL?

If they were moving it around maybe they were trying to make sure it would remain on the air.

[TMC]

Originally Posted by MIKEPR

Well think of all the new shows that did debut during that season and succeeded inspite of the strike.

Plus what do you mean by ABC moving IAL?

If they were moving it around maybe they were trying to make sure it would remain on the air.

If a network keeps moving one particular show around the schedule, then common sense indicates that it's going to be much harder for viewers to find and follow a show. That's what pretty much killed WKRP in Cincinnati. It never had a consistent time-slot during its four year run on CBS.

[MIKEPR]

Well WKLP ran 4 years so moving it around doesn't mean anything.

Plus when a show changes time slots it's not like they don't announce it or it isn't mentioned in TV listings.

[TMC]

Originally Posted by MIKEPR

Well WKLP ran 4 years so moving it around doesn't mean anything.

Plus when a show changes time slots it's not like they don't announce it or it isn't mentioned in TV listings.

And what's not to say that WKRP couldn't have had more than four seasons? The show as it would soon prove in syndication (even though it wasn't able to reach 100 episodes), was very popular. Also, WKRP for the record, changed its timeslot at least 12 times in the four years that it was on the air. It's very presumptuous to start assuming that literally everybody should be well aware of the countless timeslot changes right from the start. To give you some better context:

WKRP in Cincinnati: CBS changed the show's time slot a dozen times in four years, leading to its early cancellation. Although the show was getting decent ratings on Monday nights at 9:30 PM following M*A*S*H, CBS moved it out of that slot as they wanted to free it up for House Calls, which starred former M*A*S*H regular Wayne Rogers, and they also felt that the rock n' roll music and the sex appeal of Loni Anderson were better-suited to an earlier slot, which at that time was thought of as mostly aimed at young people. During the third and fourth seasons, CBS continued to move the show around repeatedly, so much so that cast and crew members claimed that even they didn't know when the show aired. This time slot shuffling hurt the show's ratings and it was eventually canceled in 1982. It probably didn't help matters, however, that MTM co-founder and president Grant Tinker had left the company to become chairman and CEO of NBC the year before.

[MIKEPR]

And what's wrong with 4 seasons?


It could have been canceled after 1 if they ratings were bad so drop it!

[TMC]

Originally Posted by MIKEPR

And what's wrong with 4 seasons?


It could have been canceled after 1 if they ratings were bad so drop it!

The point is that as WKRP's ratings in syndication proved to indicate, CBS may have been premature in ending the show when they did. It was pretty much to sitcoms what the original Star Trek was to one hour drama (or in that case, science fiction). Of course it would be better for a show to last four seasons instead of one. But it would also be better for a show to be allowed to reach its natural conclusion if it turned to be more popular than what the network initially perceived it to be.