Maude Murdered the Cartwrights

[LittleRickyII]

http://news.google.com/newspapers?id...dq=maude&hl=en

http://news.google.com/newspapers?id...dq=maude&hl=en

[TVFactFan]

And Monday Night Football killed Maude.

[Mr. Television]

Maude clearly helped end it but it was Dan Blocker's death that put a nail in it's coffin. It wasn't the same without him. More than likely , that's what caused the show to fall after it's big season premiere.

[TVFactFan]

Originally Posted by Stuck In The '70's

Maude clearly helped end it but it was Dan Blocker's death that put a nail in it's coffin. It wasn't the same without him. More than likely , that's what caused the show to fall after it's big season premiere.

I just figured it was a new era

[Mr. Television]

Originally Posted by TVFactFan

I just figured it was a new era

It was and westerns were going out of favor. But Bonanza was still ranked #20 the year before. Dan Blocker's death was a surprise to the whole cast and I think it took the wind right out of them. I don't think they had the heart to continue much longer anyway.

[TVFactFan]

Originally Posted by Stuck In The '70's

It was and westerns were going out of favor. But Bonanza was still ranked #20 the year before. Dan Blocker's death was a surprise to the whole cast and I think it took the wind right out of them. I don't think they had the heart to continue much longer anyway.

Westerns would have never survived if cable was around in the 50's-lol

[LittleRickyII]

Yes, I agree Dan Blocker's death made a big impact. But also Maude was a force to be reckoned with early on. But Bonanza in its prime was a great show. So was Gunsmoke, which survived a few more years.

[old grouch]

Being moved from its long time Sunday night time slot to Tuesday also played a factor in 'Bonanza' losing viewers and being cancelled.

[TVFactFan]

I think up until the 70's, the Westerns didn't have any competition

[LittleRickyII]

Originally Posted by TVFactFan

I think up until the 70's, the Westerns didn't have any competition

Um, hardly. Westerns were hugely popular, beginning with movie serials like The Lone Ranger and Roy Rogers in the '30s and '40s, and on radio. And there was no bigger star than John Wayne, who had one of the most successful movie careers in history, thanks mostly to westerns. My dad grew up in those days and went to Saturday matinees primarily to see his favorite western serials. The television western was just a continuation of that hugely popular genre. Powerhouse westerns like Bonanza and Gunsmoke had everything thrown up against them -- big dramas like Perry Mason, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., The Avengers; comedies such as the perennial Jack Benny, Joey Bishop, The Real McCoys, The Monkees; variety shows like the trailblazing The Smothers Brothers Show and Judy Garland, The Hollywood Palace; theatrical movies -- but nothing could bring them down, or even outdo them FOR YEARS. Not until they were old and every possible plot had been written and rewritten, done and redone and re-redone. Heck, Gunsmoke was one of my favorite shows growing up. I watched it every week, not because there was nothing else on, but because I liked it. Westerns had a very, very long and successful run in American popular culture.

[hawkeye123]

I like Bonanza,Gunsmoke,Lone ranger.Still watch them on a rair ocasion.But i admit i liked them a lot more, when i was a kid then i do now.One kind of westerns i love though,would be John Wayne movies.I have never seen a episode of Maude.But i will have to check it out.Because I am a big fan of her from Golden girls.