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Question about reruns
- Thread starter Kurt Toy
- Start date
"The Cosby Show" may have been the biggest failure in reruns,
given it was number one for most of the '80s. The primetime
soaps ("Dallas," "Dynasty," etc.) also failed in syndication, coming
in too soon after their network demises (most people already knew
the storylines). And several hour-long drama series: "Ironside,"
"Marcus Welby, M.D.," "Medical Center," and (most notoriously)
"Lou Grant," which may have been a victim of Ed Asner's politics
(just as sponsors withdrew from the show in its last year on CBS
for that reason).
given it was number one for most of the '80s. The primetime
soaps ("Dallas," "Dynasty," etc.) also failed in syndication, coming
in too soon after their network demises (most people already knew
the storylines). And several hour-long drama series: "Ironside,"
"Marcus Welby, M.D.," "Medical Center," and (most notoriously)
"Lou Grant," which may have been a victim of Ed Asner's politics
(just as sponsors withdrew from the show in its last year on CBS
for that reason).
on the subject of reruns, when a local station or a network like TBS for example picks up a show, do they leave out a certain episode on purpose?
I know for years the Christmas edition of I Love Lucy wasn't a part of the syndicated package but I have heard in the past that when TBS aired Mama's Family there was an episode or two that TBS refused to air. One of which I heard was the "Aunt Gert" episode that took place in a nursing home. I read on other sites the debate about that one why TBS just won't show that one episode.
I remember back in the early 90s reading in the paper about how the Bee Gees wanted the one episode of Gimmie A Break, the one with Andy Gibb taken out of syndication. I don't recall if they were sucessful with that one of not.
It seems there is a much longer list of shows that failed one way or another in syndication than they did when they were on the networks than shows that did well. Facts of Life, Diff'rent Strokes, One Day At A Time, Alice, Maude, and The Love Boat I don't think ever did all that well in syndication even though all were hits when they were on the networks.
Over the years I heard a variety of reasons why. From a death of a major character to the humor being dated.
I believe Too Close for Comfort did quite well for a few years in syndication, but when Ted Knight died in 1986, I don't think that show was seen in syndication or anywhere else since.
I know for years the Christmas edition of I Love Lucy wasn't a part of the syndicated package but I have heard in the past that when TBS aired Mama's Family there was an episode or two that TBS refused to air. One of which I heard was the "Aunt Gert" episode that took place in a nursing home. I read on other sites the debate about that one why TBS just won't show that one episode.
I remember back in the early 90s reading in the paper about how the Bee Gees wanted the one episode of Gimmie A Break, the one with Andy Gibb taken out of syndication. I don't recall if they were sucessful with that one of not.
It seems there is a much longer list of shows that failed one way or another in syndication than they did when they were on the networks than shows that did well. Facts of Life, Diff'rent Strokes, One Day At A Time, Alice, Maude, and The Love Boat I don't think ever did all that well in syndication even though all were hits when they were on the networks.
Over the years I heard a variety of reasons why. From a death of a major character to the humor being dated.
I believe Too Close for Comfort did quite well for a few years in syndication, but when Ted Knight died in 1986, I don't think that show was seen in syndication or anywhere else since.
bpatrick said:
I wouldn't call that a "failure" -- it might not have performed in a way the producers hoped, , but it did have staying power.
One rerun "failure" was "Murphy Brown" -- the series was a big hit on CBS, yet it miserably flopped in reruns. Even when it was on Nick-at-Nite, it didn't last long. And even on DVD, it didn't go beyond the first season.
It is odd that shows that didn't do too well in the ratings on the networks became bigger hits in syndication. The Brady Bunch, Leave It To Beaver, The Odd Couple, That Girl, Ozzie And Harriet, and I Dream Of Jeannie come to mind.
Add Northern Exposure, The Wonder Years, and Beverly Hills 90210 as other shows that didn't do too well in syndication.
Add Northern Exposure, The Wonder Years, and Beverly Hills 90210 as other shows that didn't do too well in syndication.
bpatrick said:
The CW station where I live still airs The Cosby Show on weekend mornings, and I think it's still on Nick @ Nite.
With almost every classic TV show of note being available on DVD, the days of off-network reruns being a huge ratings success are gone.
bpatrick said:
Too liberal for CBS. Wow. Scary.
K
KML0224
Guest
Significant since Pamela Anderson wasn't on the NBC run in 1989-90.
Braves2005 said:
Don't forget the original (1966-69) Star Trek, the #1 example of a show that had mediocre ratings as a network show and thrived (and then some!) in syndication.
Ozzie & Harriet & The Brady Bunch didn't do well as network shows? Those shows are always mentioned as the ultimate examples of '50s and '70s (respectively) family sitcoms.
KeithE4 said:
Of the whole 14 season run of Ozzie and Harriet, there was only 1 season that it was top 30 and that was the 1963-1964 season when it finished 29th. The Brady Bunch never ranked in the top 30 for the year for the entire time it was a show on ABC. I have read that the 1971-1972 season was the highest ranking of the show when it finished in 34th place.
C
chuckydoll
Guest
A very Brady question indeed
"The Brady Bunch" was a moderate hit on ABC from 1969-74. As everyone here agrees, it became a bigger hit in syndication. That led to all those spinoffs and made-for-TV movies. Read "Growing Up Brady" by Barry Williams for the full story.
By coincidence "The Brady Bunch", "Star Trek" and "The Odd Couple" are all from the same distributor, Paramount.
"The Brady Bunch" was a moderate hit on ABC from 1969-74. As everyone here agrees, it became a bigger hit in syndication. That led to all those spinoffs and made-for-TV movies. Read "Growing Up Brady" by Barry Williams for the full story.
By coincidence "The Brady Bunch", "Star Trek" and "The Odd Couple" are all from the same distributor, Paramount.
It seems that the trend of shows that didn't do so well on the networks becoming hits in syndication while the top shows don't work in reruns has been reversed. The top syndicated off-net shows now (Seinfeld, Friends, Raymond, CSI) were/are all major network hits.
Is this because shows that don't do so well on the networks don't get enough episodes to make syndication viable?
Is this because shows that don't do so well on the networks don't get enough episodes to make syndication viable?
WMC2006 said:I realize this isnt the same thing but I'll bring it up anyway:
Baywatch was cancelled by NBC after 1 season and it was then picked up in syndication and was hugely successful worldwide. Baywatch (and Baywatch Hawaii) ran for a total of 11 seasons.
Baywatch Nights ran for 2 seasons. :
...not quite the same but going in that direction, "SheSpies" ran for only three episodes on NBC (they were supposed to have run four but bailed out) in the summer of 2002; the series was put by MGM Television into its planned first-run syndication the following autumn (including airings on the NBC O&Os) and was produced for two seasons; some stations (including WXOW/19 in La Crosse) went an additional year in reruns, ending in September 2005. MGM was bought out by Sony about halfway through the rerun season, with their logo distribution tag being placed on the programs after the MGM logo in later screenings that season...
tlyle said:
Unfortunately, all of the episodes of Hawaii 5-0 are not in syndication, especially the last few years of the show(only random episodes of the last few years have been shown, especially where McGarrett finally gets Wo Fat in the last episode of the show). I have never seen many episodes from the last season or the episode where Chin Ho dies in a gunfight. In other words, all of the episodes have not been shown in its entirety. The first 4 seasons are shown in full, but after that all of the episodes from 1972 to 1980 are not shown in full.
> Unfortunately, all of the episodes of Hawaii 5-0 are not in syndication, especially the last few years of the show(only random episodes of the last few years have been shown, especially where McGarrett finally gets Wo Fat in the last episode of the show).
Not correct. Per the Paramount Syndication website, 283 of the 284 produced episodes are available in syndication. What is true is that the episodes have been split into two separate packages (one accounting for remastered episodes, and the second accounting for episodes that haven't been remastered) for a number of years, which means that local stations haven't had to buy the full package of 283 episodes...and probably most of them haven't.
An interesting sidenote: Paramount is apparently now remastering "Hawaii 5-0" in high definition, and their website notes that the first season is available to stations in high definition.
Not correct. Per the Paramount Syndication website, 283 of the 284 produced episodes are available in syndication. What is true is that the episodes have been split into two separate packages (one accounting for remastered episodes, and the second accounting for episodes that haven't been remastered) for a number of years, which means that local stations haven't had to buy the full package of 283 episodes...and probably most of them haven't.
An interesting sidenote: Paramount is apparently now remastering "Hawaii 5-0" in high definition, and their website notes that the first season is available to stations in high definition.
I think some of it might be due to the fact some of these shows that weren't hits on networks were obviously seen by less people. When they went to off-network status, they were "found" by people.
Some of the bigger hits like "Cosby" had been seen by so many people already.
I never watched "The Simpsons" till it came on into syndication. They I started watching it in prime time.
Certain shows like "Seinfeld" weren't popular when they first ran so when they hit syndication people who wtatched it now wanted to see how it began.
Also some show do well in some markets and not others. For instance Chicago's "ME-TV" Channel 23 is a low power station. It benefits from broadcasting from the top of the Sears Tower. More African Americans do not have cable. But their shows of on the 8pm-10:30p block of "The Jeffersons," "Sanford and Son," and "Good Times," are doing extremely well bringing in African Americans. This is because more African Americans live in the city proper and don't have cable, so they can get ME-TV.
Some network shows jump into cable without getting syndicated like "Wings" or "Ellen."
I think it's sad when the sitcom "Life According To Jim" gets a 6pm M-F aring on WGN just because it's new and that truly shows how much the sitcom had declined.
Some of the bigger hits like "Cosby" had been seen by so many people already.
I never watched "The Simpsons" till it came on into syndication. They I started watching it in prime time.
Certain shows like "Seinfeld" weren't popular when they first ran so when they hit syndication people who wtatched it now wanted to see how it began.
Also some show do well in some markets and not others. For instance Chicago's "ME-TV" Channel 23 is a low power station. It benefits from broadcasting from the top of the Sears Tower. More African Americans do not have cable. But their shows of on the 8pm-10:30p block of "The Jeffersons," "Sanford and Son," and "Good Times," are doing extremely well bringing in African Americans. This is because more African Americans live in the city proper and don't have cable, so they can get ME-TV.
Some network shows jump into cable without getting syndicated like "Wings" or "Ellen."
I think it's sad when the sitcom "Life According To Jim" gets a 6pm M-F aring on WGN just because it's new and that truly shows how much the sitcom had declined.
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