Sitcom: What It Is, How It Works
A History of Comedy on Television:
1970 - 1992
by
Richard F. Taflinger
This
page has been accessed since
31 May 1996.
Continuation of History of Comedy on Television
1970-71
The situation comedy dropped to 24 this year.
This season saw the premiere of a landmark sitcom, THE MARY TYLER MOORE SHOW,
breaking with the tradition of the single woman not being in the regular work
force, nor being happy single (see Landmarks chapter).
The variety show dropped to 17 shows. This
season marked the end of an era as it was the final season of the longest
running comedy show ever on television: THE RED SKELTON SHOW. Red Skelton was
on the air for 18 seasons.
1971-72
There were 24 situation comedies on this
season. The rural comedy came to an end as THE BEVERLY HILLBILLIES, GREEN
ACRES, THE NEW ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW, AND MAYBERRY, R.F.D. all left the air. Among
the new shows was the controversial and ground- breaking ALL IN THE FAMILY. It
was the first of a new type of sitcom, the dramedy,
in this case an advocate dramedy.
The variety show had 12 programs on the air.
The only new show of the four that premiered that lasted was THE SONNY AND CHER
COMEDY HOUR.
1972-73
The situation comedy dropped to 23 shows.
Canceled were the last of the gimmick comedies, BEWITCHED; all three of the
shows created last season for movie stars: THE JIMMY STEWART SHOW, SHIRLEY'S
WORLD with Shirley McLaine, and THE SMITH FAMILY with
Henry Fonda; and MY THREE SONS, the longest running of the domestic comedies.
Among the new shows was the first of a new type of sitcom, the human dramedy M*A*S*H.
The variety show went up to 13 as five new
shows premiered. However, none of the five lasted more than the one season.
1973-74
The situation comedy went back up to 28.
However, none of the 13 new shows survived the season.
The variety show dropped to only 10 as all
five shows from the previous season were canceled, as was LAUGH-IN. In
addition, all three of the new shows were canceled before season's end.
1974-75
The situation comedy plunged to its lowest
level since 1951 with only 15 shows on the air as all 13 new shows from the
1973- 74 seasonwere canceled. However, four of the
eight new shows became hits: CHICO AND THE MAN, GOOD TIMES, RHODA, and HAPPY
DAYS.
The variety show continued its decline to
only seven, the lowest since 1962. Only THE CAROL BURNETT SHOW remained from
previous seasons; all others, including THE DEAN MARTIN SHOW and THE FLIP
WILSON SHOW were canceled.
1975-76
The situation comedy made a violent upswing
as 19 new shows premiered, bring the total up to 29. However, 13 of the 19 new
shows were canceled by season's end. Nonetheless, of the remaining six new
shows, four were big hits: BARNEY MILLER (7 seasons), THE JEFFERSONS(
9 seasons), ONE DAY AT A TIME (9 seasons), and WELCOME BACK, KOTTER (four
seasons).
The variety show dropped to six, but three of
the four news shows were canceled within weeks.
1976-77
The situation comedy rose to 37 as 22 new
shows premiered. Only six of the new shows lasted more than one season, and
only
The variety show rose to 12, but only one of
the 10 new shows, DONNY AND MARIE, lasted out the season.
1977-78
The situation comedy lost one show, down to
36. 19 new shows premiered, including the first T&A comedy, THREE'S
COMPANY, which became the #1 television show in the ratings.
The variety show continued its downward
slide, with 10.
1978-79
The situation comedy dropped to 34. Of the 19 new shows, many werecanceled
within weeks. One, however, became a runaway hit: MORK & MINDY,
starring Robin Williams, a wildly inventive and imaginative comedian, who
played an extraterrestrial trying to learn about Earth. The writers would often
leave gaps in the script simply labeled "Mork
does his thing for three minutes", letting Williams improvise what
wouldn't even occur to them to write for him.
The variety show was down to only six, and to
make matters worse, MARY, starring Mary Tyler Moore, was canceled after the
first show, leaving only five.
1979-80
The situation comedy jumped to its highest
point in history, before or since. There were 45 sitcoms on the air, 50% of
prime- time, with 30 new shows, the largest number of new programs ever.
However, 16 of those 30 new shows were canceled within weeks, and seven more
lasted only the season. Two, BENSON and FACTS OF LIFE, were hits.
The variety show had seven programs, but
three of the four new shows were canceled after only a few nights, including
Mary Tyler Moore, her second flop in two seasons.
1980-81
The situation comedy began a decline this
season, to 39 from last season's incredible high of 45. Sixteen of the nineteen
new shows were canceled by season's end, and the remaining three ended within
two years.
The variety show held steady at seven shows,
but two of the five new shows lasted only weeks.
1981-82
The situation comedy continued down to 34.
Only three of the 15 new shows were canceled quickly, butonly
one, GIMME A BREAK!, became a hit.
The variety show dropped to only three on the
air. This was the first season that there was no new variety show.
1982-83
The situation comedy had 38 shows on the air
this season, but of the 19 new shows, only five lasted longer than the season.
However, of those five four were hits: CHEERS, FAMILY TIES, NEWHART, and SILVER
SPOONS.
The variety show started with four, but was
down to one in weeks.
1983-84
There were 34 situation comedies this season,
but only one of the 19 new shows, WEBSTER, lasted out the season. This year
also marked the end of one of the most popular situation comedies of all time,
M*A*S*H. According to the Neilson's, the final two- hour episode of M*A*S*H was
the most watched program of all time, gaining a 60.3 rating and a 77 share, or
77% of all televisions that were turned on in the country were tuned to the
show. In its 11 year run, M*A*S*H consistently ranked in the top fifteen
programs in the Neilson ratings.
The variety show was down to one, THE LOVE
BOAT. The only new show, THE 1/2 HOUR COMEDY HOUR, lasted only one month.
1984-85
Twenty shows were canceled this season,
including ten of the thirteen new shows. Only KATE & ALLIE and NIGHT COURT
and one other survived, leaving only 25 on the air. The one other was THE COSBY
SHOW, starring Bill Cosby. THE COSBY SHOW immediately shot to the top of the
ratings, a position it continued to maintain. The rumor was that the situation
comedy was dead, that theaudience didn't want it
anymore. THE COSBY SHOW, as well as the rest of the NBC Thursday night schedule
(FAMILY TIES, CHEERS, and NIGHT COURT), changed that idea.
The variety show was basically a dead form.
Only THE LOVE BOAT remained, and there were no new shows.
1985-86
The situation comedy was at its lowest point
since 1974, with only 23 programs on the air. Because the situation comedy was
considered a passe form of show, only seven new
programs premiered. However, three of them, 227, GOLDEN GIRLS and GROWING
PAINS, were hits.
The variety show was still at one, THE LOVE
BOAT.
1986-87
Because of the success of THE COSBY SHOW and
the rest of NBC's Thursday night line-up of situation comedies, the sitcom was
back in style and 22 new shows premiered, bringing the total to 37. Although
some of the new shows, including the highly-touted and sure-to-be-smash-hit
LIFE WITH LUCY starring Lucille Ball, were canceled almost immediately, others
became hits. Those included AMEN, DESIGNING WOMEN, VALERIE, and WHO'S THE BOSS?.
The variety show died this season when THE
LOVE BOAT was canceled and there were no new programs. The only example of
comedy-variety show left was the syndicated HEE HAW.
1987-88
The situation comedy continued to increase.
Eighteen new shows were added, bringing the total to 43, only two shy of the
all-time high of 45 in 1979. Most of the new shows were cancelled by season's
end.
This was the year that a fourth network, Fox,
challenged the Big Three (ABC, NBC, CBS) and began assemblying
nightly schedules. Fox presented three new sitcoms, DUET, MARRIED . . . WITH
CHILDREN, and IT'S GARRY SHANDLING'S SHOW. THE COSBY
SHOW was the most popular show on the air, emphasizing family values. Now they
came out with the antithesis of COSBY's ideal family
-- MARRIED...WITH CHILDREN. Instead of warmth and wit, MARRIED had heat and
halfwits with a totally dysfunctional family. The show appeared to be so anti
family-values that a Midwestern woman named Terry Rakolta
tried to start a sponsor boycott to get the show off the air. Her campaign
backfired: the show got so much publicity that its ratings skyrocketed,
guaranteeing it a slot on the Fox schedule.
Dolly Parton tried a new variety show. After
a rocky start she revamped the format, using more music and less glitz and
production. However, the show was cancelled in a matter of weeks. It appeared to
be the true end of the variety show.
1988-89
The situation comedy made a slight
readjustment, falling back to 39 on the air. Nineteen new shows premiered,
including new shows for Mary Tyler Moore (ANNIE McGUIRE)
and Dick Van Dyke (THE VAN DYKE SHOW). However, they seemed unable to capture
the audience the way they had in the past, and both shows were cancelled within
weeks. DAYS AND NIGHTS OF MOLLY DODD, starring Blair Brown, was also soon
cancelled, but was picked up by a syndication company that continued making new
episodes and placing the show on the independent cable network Lifetime.
The two big hits of this season were ROSEANNE
and THE WONDER YEARS. ROSEANNE violated virtually every principle of network
television: the lead was a fat, raucous woman who bad-mouthed anything and
everybody, but always with an undercurrent of affection and tenderness.
THE WONDER YEARS was a nostalgic look back at
the 1960s, but avoided the slapstick and pat situations and answers that were
the hallmark of HAPPY DAYS (1974-84). It became almost a kid's-view dramedy, involving the lead, a 12-year-old boy with
bullies, first love, going steady, and death in the Vietnam War. It used a
mixture of humor, pathos and poignancy without every getting raucous or
maudlin.
1989-90
There were 50 sitcoms on the air durng this year, 29 from previous seasons and 21 permieres. By the end of the season 21 shows were
cancelled, including 15 of the premieres.
One of the premieres was a show that Fox felt
could challenge the Thursday night dominance of THE COSBY SHOW -- THE SIMPSONS,
a cartoon sitcom featuring a nine-year-old brat named Bart, a genius named
Lisa, Maggie, a pacifier-sucking baby, Homer, a dumb fat slob father, and
Marge, the tender-loving-care mother with a three-foot blue beehive hairdo. For
those people who were finding COSBY a bit cloying and plotless,
THE SIMPSONS was a perfect alternative.
1990-91
Twenty-four shows carried over from 1989-90,
and were joined by 22 premieres. Thirteen shows ended their runs, but only one,
UNCLE BUCK, was cancelled before New Year's. However, of the new shows, only
two could be considered hits: THE FRESH PRINCE OF BEL AIR and SEINFELD. The
latter starred Jerry Seinfeld, a stand-up comic who played -- Jerry Seinfeld, a
stand-up comic. As Seinfeld himself said, all the other actors on the show play
characters; he's just himself. The show concentrated its plots around little
things, like parking spaces and answering machines, with which the audience
could identify. This was a break from the usual problem-solution plots of the
average sitcom.
1991-92
Thirty-three shows carried over from previous
seasons, but ten of the 22 new shows from last season weren't around this fall.
In addition, 20 new shows premiered, of which eight were soon cancelled. One of
the new shows, BROOKLYN BRIDGE, a gentle family comedy set in 1956, was almost
cancelled, but fans, aided and abetted by a TV GUIDE magazine campaign, got it
a reprieve.
There was also an attempt to revive the
comedy-variety show. Oneof the most popular C-V shows
was THE CAROL BURNETTE SHOW (1967-78). However, this season's effort
(imaginatively titled THE CAROL BURNETTE SHOW) died a quick death.
SUMMARY
Although there have been great fluctuations
in the situation comedy over the years, from a low of 11 in 1950 up to 37 in
1964 to 16 in 1974 to an all-time high of 44 in 1979, it has nonetheless
continued as a staple of the network programming schedule since its inception.
Not so the comedy variety
show. Since 1950 and its high of 25 it has shown a continually and
basically steady decline to the present day when it is no longer in evidence as
a part of network scheduling.
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