Was There A Reason Why The MTM Finale Aired In March?!? - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

Brian Damage · 04-08-2012, 10:25 PM

I just found out that the finale, "The Last Show" aired on March 19th, 1977. Is there a reason why that is? Were there no May Sweeps back in the late 70's? It seems so sudden that it would be in March.

dakert · 04-08-2012, 11:12 PM

If I am not mistaken a lot of shows in the 70s had the last episode in March--dont know why, and I dont remember hearing much about sweeps week back then.

Leslie Eckhardt · 04-09-2012, 12:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dakert

If I am not mistaken a lot of shows in the 70s had the last episode in March--dont know why, and I dont remember hearing much about sweeps week back then.

Each season of The Mary Tyler Moore Show ran for 24 episodes. If the series was not preempted for any reason, it should have run a bit shy of six months. If the show started in September, as was the norm, it should then have ended in March. The way shows are scheduled today, there is no way of calculating when a season might begin or end.

James28 · 04-09-2012, 12:41 AM

Should have asked how M*A*S*H aired its series finale in 28 February 1983. The police drama Adam-12 aired its series finale in May of '75. In modern times, Boston legal aired its series finale in December of 2008. Now if a show gets cancelled and airs its last episode in February, would that indicate cancellation at midseason?

Mr. Television · 04-09-2012, 09:18 AM

I'm not sure about the 70's but I know in the 80's, the tv season ended officially in April although there were a handful of episodes held back for May Sweeps.

Leslie Eckhardt · 04-09-2012, 11:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by James28

Should have asked how M*A*S*H aired its series finale in 28 February 1983. The police drama Adam-12 aired its series finale in May of '75. In modern times, Boston legal aired its series finale in December of 2008. Now if a show gets cancelled and airs its last episode in February, would that indicate cancellation at midseason?

Forgot about M*A*S*H. I went to a party to watch that. At least the networks ran the seasons in a somewhat straightforward manner back then. I was a fan of the late ABC series V which had a lousy schedule. Four episodes run, then off the air for three months, then four more shows; etc. How can any show, espcially one with a continuous story line be expected to hold an audience with a schedule like that?

AKA · 04-09-2012, 12:43 PM

Didn't they run fewer repeats during the season back then? I always thought that's why season and series finales used to air earlier in the year.

LittleRickyII · 04-09-2012, 11:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brad

Didn't they run fewer repeats during the season back then? I always thought that's why season and series finales used to air earlier in the year.

I don't remember repeats being run at all during the regular season back in the '70s. I think it happened occasionally, but it was rare. Prime time television was pretty predictable in those days. Returning series would have their season premiere in September -- and pretty much every show had their premiere within the same week or two -- and new episodes would be rolled out for the next six months, then after that there would be six months of reruns. I always dreaded the end of the summer because it meant going back to school, but the silver lining was that shortly after the school year began, new episodes of my favorite shows would be on the air.

TVFactFan · 04-09-2012, 11:34 PM

I think I have the repeat of the Finale on CBS that aired in September of 1977.

But that was way too early for a tv season to end back in the 70's.

Dianne3 · 04-12-2012, 03:42 PM

Back in the first half of the 1960's, TV seasons went into early June.
Then around the 65-66 Season, the TV season started ending around April.
When you got to the 1970's, the TV season ended in early March.

I read something on these boards a while back about cigarette commercials (or lack of) being the reason for the shorter TV seasons. I didn't get what was being talked about since I read the posts very quickly. Would anybody here know anything about this?

As for MTM, if you check the air dates, you will see that MTM season usually ended the first week of March.

TVFactFan · 04-12-2012, 06:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dianne3

Back in the first half of the 1960's, TV seasons went into early June.
Then around the 65-66 Season, the TV season started ending around April.
When you got to the 1970's, the TV season ended in early March.

I read something on these boards a while back about cigarette commercials (or lack of) being the reason for the shorter TV seasons. I didn't get what was being talked about since I read the posts very quickly. Would anybody here know anything about this?

As for MTM, if you check the air dates, you will see that MTM season usually ended the first week of March.

So that means it shouldn't have been many repeats during the season since it ended so early.

Willbo · 04-16-2012, 03:00 PM

I do think there were fewer reruns during the regular season than today. Also Mash had a shortened final season of only 16 episodes which is why it ended in February that year.

Family Ties Forever! · 04-18-2012, 12:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Willbo

I do think there were fewer reruns during the regular season than today.

That might be why some tv shows had flashback episodes. Since there were fewer repeats, it gave those who had not seen certain episodes the chance to.

04-08-2012, 10:25 PM	#1
Brian Damage I'm Rich Bitch Forum Icon Join Date: Feb 03, 2002 Location: What Ain't No Country I Ever Heard Of...They Speak English in What? Posts: 63,107	Was There A Reason Why The MTM Finale Aired In March?!? I just found out that the finale, "The Last Show" aired on March 19th, 1977. Is there a reason why that is? Were there no May Sweeps back in the late 70's? It seems so sudden that it would be in March.
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04-09-2012, 12:41 AM	#4
James28 Member Forum 3000 Club Member Join Date: Apr 14, 2007 Posts: 3,981	Should have asked how MAS*H aired its series finale in 28 February 1983. The police drama Adam-12 aired its series finale in May of '75. In modern times, Boston legal aired its series finale in December of 2008. Now if a show gets cancelled and airs its last episode in February, would that indicate cancellation at midseason?
	__________________ "When the run of a network TV show has ended, some go out with a bang, some with a whimper, but all are...Future Endeavored." "Stay Safe"? More like "Stay Sad". #2020Hurts

04-09-2012, 09:18 AM	#5
Mr. Television 23 Years at Sitcoms Online Forum Icon Join Date: Jun 06, 2003 Location: Somewhere you're Not Posts: 62,132	I'm not sure about the 70's but I know in the 80's, the tv season ended officially in April although there were a handful of episodes held back for May Sweeps.
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04-08-2012, 11:12 PM	#2
dakert Member Forum 3000 Club Member Join Date: May 10, 2007 Location: Altoona PA Posts: 3,411	If I am not mistaken a lot of shows in the 70s had the last episode in March--dont know why, and I dont remember hearing much about sweeps week back then.

04-09-2012, 12:43 PM	#7
AKA Member Forum Star Join Date: Dec 17, 2001 Posts: 15,746	Didn't they run fewer repeats during the season back then? I always thought that's why season and series finales used to air earlier in the year.

04-09-2012, 11:34 PM	#9
TVFactFan Member Forum Junkie Join Date: Aug 17, 2002 Posts: 99,064	I think I have the repeat of the Finale on CBS that aired in September of 1977. But that was way too early for a tv season to end back in the 70's.

04-12-2012, 03:42 PM	#10
Dianne3 Member Senior Member Join Date: Aug 07, 2002 Posts: 1,057	Back in the first half of the 1960's, TV seasons went into early June. Then around the 65-66 Season, the TV season started ending around April. When you got to the 1970's, the TV season ended in early March. I read something on these boards a while back about cigarette commercials (or lack of) being the reason for the shorter TV seasons. I didn't get what was being talked about since I read the posts very quickly. Would anybody here know anything about this? As for MTM, if you check the air dates, you will see that MTM season usually ended the first week of March.

04-16-2012, 03:00 PM	#12
Willbo Member Forum Regular Join Date: Feb 10, 2012 Location: Chattanooga, TN Posts: 863	I do think there were fewer reruns during the regular season than today. Also Mash had a shortened final season of only 16 episodes which is why it ended in February that year.