CBS 1971-72: Remaking The Rural Purge - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

Sal · 12-08-2020, 12:11 AM

I love these new "remake" posts that are showing up here and I think that they are very well done. They look like so much fun that I decided to do my own and for my first one I took on a real challenge. In 1971, CBS cancelled many of their rural/country themed shows, or, as they have been famously called, "everything with a tree in it". These series were very popular and highly-rated for many years and viewers were rightfully upset (and many still are!). They were replaced with more mature urban shows which they hoped would appeal to a younger and smarter audience and the results overall were fairly positive. CBS would remain at the top for the next 5 years until ABC took over and dominated around 1975.

So ultimately CBS was proven right in their decision but I still wonder if they could have done even better if they had kept some of the old favorites around even for another year or two before being replaced by shows like "The Bob Newhart Show" the next season that kept their winning streak going. How would both the old and new series co-exist on the schedule? That's what I was hoping to find out and here's what I came up with.

CBS 1971-72

Monday

Real Schedule

8:00 Gunsmoke
9:00 Here's Lucy
9:30 Doris Day
10:00 Sonny and Cher

My Schedule

8:00 Here's Lucy
8:30 Doris Day
9:00 CBS Monday Night Movies

This may be the best you can hope for when you're up against "Laugh-In" at 8 and Monday Night Football at 9.

Tuesday

7:30 Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour
8:30 Hawaii 5-0
9:30 Cannon

My schedule

7:30 Sonny and Cher
8:30 Hawaii 5-0
9:30 Cannon

A definite upgrade in the variety show department.

Wednesday

8:00 Carol Burnett
9:00 Medical Center
10:00 Mannix

My schedule

8:00 Beverly Hillbillies
8:30 Green Acres
9:00 Medical Center
9:30 Mannix

A couple of old favorites return where they belong. Don't worry about Carol. She'll be fine.

Thursday

8:00 Me and the Chimp
8:30 My Three Sons
9:00 CBS Thursday Night Movies

My schedule

8:00 My Three Sons
8:30 Family Affair
9:00 Mayberry RFD
9:30 Hogan's Heroes
10:00 Mission: Impossible

A stronger group overall without resorting to gimmicky farce like "Me and The Chimp". Save the movies for Fridays.

Friday

8:00 O'Hara US Treasury
9:00 CBS Friday Night Movies

My schedule

8:00 Funny Face
8:30 My World And Welcome To It
9:00 CBS Friday Night Movies

Up against "The Brady Bunch" and "The Partridge Family" on ABC and "Sanford and Son" on NBC not much is going to work so you put on some of your weaker efforts and add a movie and hope for the best on other nights.

Saturday

8:00 All In The Family
8:30 Funny Face (Fall)/Mary Tyler Moore (Midseason)
9:00 The New Dick Van Dyke Show
9:30 Mary Tyler Moore (Fall)/Arnie (Midseason)
10:00 Mission: Impossible

My schedule

8:00 All In The Family
8:30 Mary Tyler Moore
9:00 The New Dick Van Dyke Show
9:30 Arnie
10:00 Carol Burnett

That's more like it!

Sunday

6:30 60 Minutes
7:30 CBS Sunday Night Movies
9:30 Cade's County

My schedule

7:00 Hee Haw
7:30 Lassie
8:00 60 Minutes
9:00 Gunsmoke
10:00 Cade's County

A real battle looms here with NBC so you go for the gut. I put "Lassie" against "Disney" and "Gunsmoke" against "Bonanza" and then sit back and watch the fun!

1971-72 Fall Schedule

GentlemanJim · 12-08-2020, 12:55 AM

One aspect that many overlook when debating "the rural purge" was the involvement of the federal government. In a deliberate attempt to encourage development of program material from sources other than the three major networks, the FCC implemented what is called the "Prime Time Access Rule" which intentionally cut back the number of hours of network programming that could be passed through by stations owned or affiliated with the big three networks.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prime_Time_Access_Rule

Faced with the absolute requirement to cut back the number of hours their franchised programming would occupy, the networks were forced into a decision whether to cut new ideas, or older shows nearing the end of their lifespans

Excerpt from the link: -"In surrendering time back to their affiliates, with fewer time slots available, networks issued a higher than normal number of cancellations in the summer of 1971. The networks, CBS in particular, disproportionately removed shows that were popular among rural and older audiences as part of their cancellations, a phenomenon known as the rural purge."-

One of the first stop gap measures used to plug these new holes in the schedule, was the proliferation of early evening game shows. I always wondered why that became a thing, I hated them

SledgeBarone · 12-09-2020, 05:56 PM

All before my time, but interesting to me nonetheless.

Were the movie nights big moneymakers for the networks? I'm not that interested in the rural comedies (aside from Beverly Hillbillies in small doses), but I never was a huge movie fan either, so sacrificing one for the other is a push for me. With 3 movie nights left on the schedule, it seems like the urban shows were undeserving scapegoats of the rural purge.

I'm sad that I missed the emergence of those later game shows - that's my type of programming.

cnnbcbs · 12-13-2020, 04:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GentlemanJim

One aspect that many overlook when debating "the rural purge" was the involvement of the federal government. In a deliberate attempt to encourage development of program material from sources other than the three major networks, the FCC implemented what is called the "Prime Time Access Rule" which intentionally cut back the number of hours of network programming that could be passed through by stations owned or affiliated with the big three networks.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prime_Time_Access_Rule

One of the first stop gap measures used to plug these new holes in the schedule, was the proliferation of early evening game shows. I always wondered why that became a thing, I hated them

I hate them too, but they were cheap programming, same reason ABC and Fox have all those competition and game shows in Primetime.

GentlemanJim · 12-13-2020, 04:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SledgeBarone

Were the movie nights big moneymakers for the networks?

Just my personal opinion, but I always felt like "XYZ Network Night at the Movies" was something a network did to fill time against a juggernaut show on a competing network that had the time slot sewn up..

Such as the Super Bowl, or World Series games, or when ABC gave up trying to compete with Bonanza, stuff like that.

James28 · 12-22-2020, 11:36 PM

That's too bad. On my "What if The Rural Purge Never Happened?" thread, I would let CBS just program 7:30 timeslots on Tuesdays and Thursdays and renewed just two shows from 1970-71 (Mayberry R.F.D. and Family Affair).

Mayberry R.F.D. would be moved to Tuesdays at 7:30, and The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour*, Hawaii Five-O, and Cannon would each be shifted back an hour. Family Affair retains the 7:30 slot it held in seasons 4 and 5. Both Mayberry R.F.D. and FA would end their runs after 1971-72 (the former gets a full season, the latter gets a shortened run).

Now, regarding the Thursday schedule on Sal's own version, I think it would be crazy and unprecedented to have one night be composed entirely of sitcoms in their final season (None of them have a realistic shot of coming back for 1972-73). I already said I wasn't going to renew Hogan's Heroes for 1971-72 due to it having been out of the Nielsen Top-30 for the longest time by then (only in seasons 1 and 2). You may have to go with a freshman on Thursdays at 9:30 instead (probably Bearcats!?). And what do you mean "That's the best you can hope for" regarding Here's Lucy if Laugh-In's ratings were already on the decline at this point? Weren't Here's Lucy's ratings for 71-72 higher than Laugh-In? And where would The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour go, first-run syndication?

I think your Rural Purge remake effort looks far better than what I would have done.

*-Or The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour in Sal's version, at least that one would be a Top-10 show much earlier than just its final season in 1973-74.

Yong Fang · 12-24-2020, 11:27 AM

I think a lot of the so called “rural shows” were on the wane by 1971 anyway and were losing viewers and viewers wanted to see more relevant television by then. It wasn’t like the shows that were cancelled had much more of a shelf life anyway. The Beverly Hillbillies for example about ran out of gas. Mayberry RFD lost Francis Bavier the last remaining links to TAGS. These shows lost their audience. Jim Nabors wanted out of his show to go touring as a singer.

Gunsmoke remained popular because people liked the show and the show was moved to Monday nights where it remained viable to the mid 1970’s. The network is not going to can a show which still has viewers.

Sal · 12-24-2020, 12:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Yong Fang

I think a lot of the so called “rural shows” were on the wane by 1971 anyway and were losing viewers and viewers wanted to see more relevant television by then. It wasn’t like the shows that were cancelled had much more of a shelf life anyway. The Beverly Hillbillies for example about ran out of gas. Mayberry RFD lost Francis Bavier the last remaining links to TAGS. These shows lost their audience. Jim Nabors wanted out of his show to go touring as a singer.

Gunsmoke remained popular because people liked the show and the show was moved to Monday nights where it remained viable to the mid 1970’s. The network is not going to can a show which still has viewers.

Gunsmoke should have been canned in 1967 when CBS cancelled Gilligan's Island instead. That was a serious mistake on their part.

Duster76 · 12-25-2020, 11:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sal

Gunsmoke should have been canned in 1967 when CBS cancelled Gilligan's Island instead. That was a serious mistake on their part.

Some mistake, a person can only pray to make a mistake like this.

Gunsmoke went on to spend the next 6 TV seasons in the Nielsen top 10, and four of those seasons the show was a top 5 hit. Gilligan's Island was 18, 22, and 49 in the three seasons it was on.

Yong Fang · 01-10-2021, 11:16 PM

Not to argue and knowing you have Gillian as your avatar but Gilligan’s Island was one of the stupidest shows of all time and wouldn’t have lasted another season or two anyway, while Gunsmoke was moved to Monday Nights and got back in the Top Ten ratings for about eight more years.

So it was arguably a much better decision to keep Gunsmoke and cancel that insipid Gilligan’s Island.

12-08-2020, 12:11 AM	#1
Sal Member Forum Veteran Join Date: Jul 20, 2001 Location: Oakville, Ont. Canada Posts: 6,166	CBS 1971-72: Remaking The Rural Purge I love these new "remake" posts that are showing up here and I think that they are very well done. They look like so much fun that I decided to do my own and for my first one I took on a real challenge. In 1971, CBS cancelled many of their rural/country themed shows, or, as they have been famously called, "everything with a tree in it". These series were very popular and highly-rated for many years and viewers were rightfully upset (and many still are!). They were replaced with more mature urban shows which they hoped would appeal to a younger and smarter audience and the results overall were fairly positive. CBS would remain at the top for the next 5 years until ABC took over and dominated around 1975. So ultimately CBS was proven right in their decision but I still wonder if they could have done even better if they had kept some of the old favorites around even for another year or two before being replaced by shows like "The Bob Newhart Show" the next season that kept their winning streak going. How would both the old and new series co-exist on the schedule? That's what I was hoping to find out and here's what I came up with. CBS 1971-72 Monday Real Schedule 8:00 Gunsmoke 9:00 Here's Lucy 9:30 Doris Day 10:00 Sonny and Cher My Schedule 8:00 Here's Lucy 8:30 Doris Day 9:00 CBS Monday Night Movies This may be the best you can hope for when you're up against "Laugh-In" at 8 and Monday Night Football at 9. Tuesday 7:30 Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour 8:30 Hawaii 5-0 9:30 Cannon My schedule 7:30 Sonny and Cher 8:30 Hawaii 5-0 9:30 Cannon A definite upgrade in the variety show department. Wednesday 8:00 Carol Burnett 9:00 Medical Center 10:00 Mannix My schedule 8:00 Beverly Hillbillies 8:30 Green Acres 9:00 Medical Center 9:30 Mannix A couple of old favorites return where they belong. Don't worry about Carol. She'll be fine. Thursday 8:00 Me and the Chimp 8:30 My Three Sons 9:00 CBS Thursday Night Movies My schedule 8:00 My Three Sons 8:30 Family Affair 9:00 Mayberry RFD 9:30 Hogan's Heroes 10:00 Mission: Impossible A stronger group overall without resorting to gimmicky farce like "Me and The Chimp". Save the movies for Fridays. Friday 8:00 O'Hara US Treasury 9:00 CBS Friday Night Movies My schedule 8:00 Funny Face 8:30 My World And Welcome To It 9:00 CBS Friday Night Movies Up against "The Brady Bunch" and "The Partridge Family" on ABC and "Sanford and Son" on NBC not much is going to work so you put on some of your weaker efforts and add a movie and hope for the best on other nights. Saturday 8:00 All In The Family 8:30 Funny Face (Fall)/Mary Tyler Moore (Midseason) 9:00 The New Dick Van Dyke Show 9:30 Mary Tyler Moore (Fall)/Arnie (Midseason) 10:00 Mission: Impossible My schedule 8:00 All In The Family 8:30 Mary Tyler Moore 9:00 The New Dick Van Dyke Show 9:30 Arnie 10:00 Carol Burnett That's more like it! Sunday 6:30 60 Minutes 7:30 CBS Sunday Night Movies 9:30 Cade's County My schedule 7:00 Hee Haw 7:30 Lassie 8:00 60 Minutes 9:00 Gunsmoke 10:00 Cade's County A real battle looms here with NBC so you go for the gut. I put "Lassie" against "Disney" and "Gunsmoke" against "Bonanza" and then sit back and watch the fun! 1971-72 Fall Schedule
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12-22-2020, 11:36 PM	#6
James28 Member Forum 3000 Club Member Join Date: Apr 14, 2007 Posts: 3,976	That's too bad. On my "What if The Rural Purge Never Happened?" thread, I would let CBS just program 7:30 timeslots on Tuesdays and Thursdays and renewed just two shows from 1970-71 (Mayberry R.F.D. and Family Affair). Mayberry R.F.D. would be moved to Tuesdays at 7:30, and The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour, Hawaii Five-O, and Cannon* would each be shifted back an hour. Family Affair retains the 7:30 slot it held in seasons 4 and 5. Both Mayberry R.F.D. and FA would end their runs after 1971-72 (the former gets a full season, the latter gets a shortened run). Now, regarding the Thursday schedule on Sal's own version, I think it would be crazy and unprecedented to have one night be composed entirely of sitcoms in their final season (None of them have a realistic shot of coming back for 1972-73). I already said I wasn't going to renew Hogan's Heroes for 1971-72 due to it having been out of the Nielsen Top-30 for the longest time by then (only in seasons 1 and 2). You may have to go with a freshman on Thursdays at 9:30 instead (probably Bearcats!?). And what do you mean "That's the best you can hope for" regarding Here's Lucy if Laugh-In's ratings were already on the decline at this point? Weren't Here's Lucy's ratings for 71-72 higher than Laugh-In? And where would The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour go, first-run syndication? I think your Rural Purge remake effort looks far better than what I would have done. -Or The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour* in Sal's version, at least that one would be a Top-10 show much earlier than just its final season in 1973-74.
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12-08-2020, 12:55 AM	#2
GentlemanJim Concerns, Support, & Feedback Forum Veteran Join Date: Dec 26, 2019 Location: The back country Posts: 5,443	One aspect that many overlook when debating "the rural purge" was the involvement of the federal government. In a deliberate attempt to encourage development of program material from sources other than the three major networks, the FCC implemented what is called the "Prime Time Access Rule" which intentionally cut back the number of hours of network programming that could be passed through by stations owned or affiliated with the big three networks. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prime_Time_Access_Rule Faced with the absolute requirement to cut back the number of hours their franchised programming would occupy, the networks were forced into a decision whether to cut new ideas, or older shows nearing the end of their lifespans Excerpt from the link: -"In surrendering time back to their affiliates, with fewer time slots available, networks issued a higher than normal number of cancellations in the summer of 1971. The networks, CBS in particular, disproportionately removed shows that were popular among rural and older audiences as part of their cancellations, a phenomenon known as the rural purge."- One of the first stop gap measures used to plug these new holes in the schedule, was the proliferation of early evening game shows. I always wondered why that became a thing, I hated them

12-09-2020, 05:56 PM	#3
SledgeBarone Member Senior Member Join Date: Apr 01, 2020 Posts: 1,930	All before my time, but interesting to me nonetheless. Were the movie nights big moneymakers for the networks? I'm not that interested in the rural comedies (aside from Beverly Hillbillies in small doses), but I never was a huge movie fan either, so sacrificing one for the other is a push for me. With 3 movie nights left on the schedule, it seems like the urban shows were undeserving scapegoats of the rural purge. I'm sad that I missed the emergence of those later game shows - that's my type of programming.

12-24-2020, 11:27 AM	#7
Yong Fang Member Forum 3000 Club Member Join Date: Aug 04, 2009 Location: Memphis Tennessee Posts: 3,073	I think a lot of the so called “rural shows” were on the wane by 1971 anyway and were losing viewers and viewers wanted to see more relevant television by then. It wasn’t like the shows that were cancelled had much more of a shelf life anyway. The Beverly Hillbillies for example about ran out of gas. Mayberry RFD lost Francis Bavier the last remaining links to TAGS. These shows lost their audience. Jim Nabors wanted out of his show to go touring as a singer. Gunsmoke remained popular because people liked the show and the show was moved to Monday nights where it remained viable to the mid 1970’s. The network is not going to can a show which still has viewers.

01-10-2021, 11:16 PM	#10
Yong Fang Member Forum 3000 Club Member Join Date: Aug 04, 2009 Location: Memphis Tennessee Posts: 3,073	Not to argue and knowing you have Gillian as your avatar but Gilligan’s Island was one of the stupidest shows of all time and wouldn’t have lasted another season or two anyway, while Gunsmoke was moved to Monday Nights and got back in the Top Ten ratings for about eight more years. So it was arguably a much better decision to keep Gunsmoke and cancel that insipid Gilligan’s Island.