Why on "Family Affair"

[Rezny@gmail.com]

1)Why Did the powers that be at CBS and the producers decide to add the character of Emily,the cleaning lady,(the late Nancy Walker)to the show in the 1970-1971 final season? 2)And a second question:The series did very well ratingswise for the 1966-1967,1967-1968,1968-1969 and 1969-1970 seasons,but how did it do in the 1970-1971 season? I never cared much for the last season episodes.What about the rest of you?

[TV Knowledge Fan]

...the idea of adding Nancy Walker to the series in its final season was merely a way of "freshening up" the format a bit [a similar "tweak" happened on producer Don Fedderson's "MY THREE SONS" by having Beverly Garland become Fred MacMurray's "permanent" girlfriend by 1969, then marrying each other]. The series did quite well on Mondays at 9:30pm(et)- following "THE ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW" and its successor "MAYBERRY R.F.D."- but when it moved to Thursdays at 7:30pm in season four, the ratings dipped a little, even though it was the lead-in for "THE JIM NABORS HOUR", which was a success in its first season. However, after NBC's "FLIP WILSON SHOW" premiered opposite the two in the fall of 1970, there was ratings trouble for both. That, and the fact that CBS no longer had to schedule a 7:30pm show after the fall of 1971 (from then on, prime-time began at 8pm, by request of the FCC), and an effort to move away from shows with "rural appeal" and less sophistication, made "FAMILY AFFAIR" a liability, even though daytime repeats continued on CBS through 1972.

[treky]

oh, thats when the start of prime time moved to 8:00!

[TV Knowledge Fan]

As of September 13, 1971, nightly prime-time network TV schedules were limited from 8 to 11pm(et)- although there were "waivers" granted for 1971-'72 to ABC on Tuesdays, and NBC and CBS on Sundays and Tuesdays, to allow them to start their schedules at 7:30 [NBC and CBS continued to do so on Sundays until 1975]. By the fall of 1975, it was firmly established that the networks began prime-time at 8, Monday through Saturday, and 7 to 11pm(et) on Sundays {with the provision that the 7-8pm hour would feature news and public affairs programming, or programs appealing to children and their families: this is how CBS "60 MINUTES" became the #1 newsmagazine by early 1976}.

[treky]

that's right; now that I think about it, "MASH" was on at 7:30 its first season (but I'm sure you already knew that)

[TV Knowledge Fan]

..."M*A*S*H" was initially on CBS' Sunday night schedule at 8pm(et), following another 20th Century-Fox TV adaptation of one of their theatrical features, "ANNA AND THE KING" (actually, it was a mix of the original 1946 film and the 1956 musical adaptation, "The King and I"- it lasted 13 episodes), directly opposite NBC's "WONDERFUL WORLD OF DISNEY" and ABC's "THE FBI". But it was successful enough for the network to move it to Saturdays, right after "ALL IN THE FAMILY", in the fall of '73.

[treky]

right, then they moved it to wednesdays, then the next season to fridays at eight opposite "SANFORD & SON" on NBC (the season premiere was against "SANFORD & SON" and "CHICO & THE MAN" since it was an hour. But "S & S" clobbered it in the ratings so they moved it to mondays at 9 where it stayed until the very end in febuary of 83. (I'm also a big "MASH" fan )

But, we're getting away from the main topic of this thread-"FAMILY AFFAIR".

[biffbronson]

I just wanted to add that the producers of the other big Fedderson sitcom, My Three Sons, were very involved or hands on regarding the addition of Beverly Garland to the M3S cast in 1969 (as covered in this thread by TV Knowledge Fan). They intervened and worked with Beverly directly to ensure her character acted as they'd planned when they felt her Barbara character was coming on a bit strong. So with Nancy signing on to Family Affair in 1970, we might surmise that once again the producers looked to decide carefully in adding an experienced, top actress that would be a real asset to the series.