TBS CANCELS HOUSE OF PAYNE AFTER 172 EPISODES

[wdb2003]

Thats one reason why I dont watch VH1 anymore because of that bull crap tv. I give more credit to BET and TV One trying to fill the void after UPN went off the air. Most of the new shows are not even filmed in Los Angeles. Atlanta GA mainily due to the tax breaks and giving people jobs. Why there is not any black shows on network tv anymore I think we all know why but Im not gonna go there. Just keeping it freindly and moving on. Thank god for cable tv

 

[ShawtyBlack_ATL]

House of Payne was a great sitcom. Im glad Peachtree TV here in ATL runs both Payne and Browns beginning at 8pm weeknights.

 

[brian4]

People may remember an African-American sitcom ruled the ratings on NBC for a large portion of the 80's and a little of the 90's before FOX moved "The Simpsons" to Thursday nights...

Did The Simpsons ratings ever beat Cosby Show? I know Simpsons put a dent it them, but I thought the first time Fox won a ratings period was for "Who Wants to Marry a Multi-Millionaire

 

[wdb2003]

People may remember an African-American sitcom ruled the ratings on NBC for a large portion of the 80's and a little of the 90's before FOX moved "The Simpsons" to Thursday nights...

Did The Simpsons ratings ever beat Cosby Show? I know Simpsons put a dent it them, but I thought the first time Fox won a ratings period was for "Who Wants to Marry a Multi-Millionaire

Seasons 2 through 6 The Cosby Show ranked #1. The 6th Season it was tied with Roseanne's ground breaking series. The Simpsons was Fox first show to be in the Top 30 Nelsion ratings during the 89-90 season. NBC was the top choice for Thursday night. Fox tried to beat them at their own game with Thursdays Martin Living Single and New York Undercover which targeted african american viewers. Those 3 shows on Fox made their debut after The Cosby Show ended its run.

 

[gregg75]

A lot of people watched THE COSBY SHOW just because everybody else was watching
.........a snowball effect. 20 years later the show does not stand up as well for me. I'll
only watch if there is absolutely nothing else better on. I think that is why it is on limited
channel(s). Today more stations are showing Andy Griffith than Cosby, because Andy has
held up better over time.

 

[DToTheJ]

Incidentally, "Matlock" reruns appear to have held their own more than "I Spy" reruns these days... :

 

[LKellerIII]

A lot of people watched THE COSBY SHOW just because everybody else was watching
.........a snowball effect. 20 years later the show does not stand up as well for me. I'll
only watch if there is absolutely nothing else better on. I think that is why it is on limited
channel(s). Today more stations are showing Andy Griffith than Cosby, because Andy has
held up better over time.

Many shows from the 80s do not stand up. Hill Street Blues was considered 'cutting edge' at the time, but a few years ago, the reruns seemed silly and laughably naive compared to current police dramas. I'm curious how St.Elsewhere would hold up. I suspect that it would seem equally dated compared to ER, and more recent hospital dramas.

I suspect that 50s and 60s series actually seem to "hold up" better because we already assume they are from a more innocent and naive era. Nobody expects The Andy Griffith Show to be relevant to current life in the 21st century. Please remember that in the mid-60s, there was controversy because Jeannie initially showed her belly-button. Many people were scandalized by this, so NBC Standards and Practices decreed that Barbara Eden's 'bottom' costume must be raised to cover the 'offending' body area.

With that perspective, 80s TV series must have seemed daring by comparison. But by any modern (new millenium) standard, they seem ridiculous.

Does anybody remember David Caruso on Hill Street Blues playing the Irish gang-member with the shamrock hat? That would seem silly and laughable by current standards.

 

[kilamanjero]

A lot of people watched THE COSBY SHOW just because everybody else was watching
.........a snowball effect. 20 years later the show does not stand up as well for me. I'll
only watch if there is absolutely nothing else better on. I think that is why it is on limited
channel(s). Today more stations are showing Andy Griffith than Cosby, because Andy has
held up better over time.

I have to disagree with that assessment. Andy Griffith hasn't held up well either, but most programmers consider it a choice pick because it takes some of their core audience back to an "ideal" time. Andy Griffith is just a corny as the Cosby Show, but it's not considered a niche show like the latter.

 

[quadraphonic]

A lot of people watched THE COSBY SHOW just because everybody else was watching
.........a snowball effect. 20 years later the show does not stand up as well for me. I'll
only watch if there is absolutely nothing else better on. I think that is why it is on limited
channel(s). Today more stations are showing Andy Griffith than Cosby, because Andy has
held up better over time.

I have to disagree with that assessment. Andy Griffith hasn't held up well either, but most programmers consider it a choice pick because it takes some of their core audience back to an "ideal" time. Andy Griffith is just a corny as the Cosby Show, but it's not considered a niche show like the latter.

Yeah, it's not really the content of "Andy Griffith" that stands up for the past 50 years (especially the last 3 years of color), it's what it reminds people of today. They'll overlook holes in the presentation to see what they want to see.
Maybe in 30 years, Cosby will be looked at just as favorably. And maybe those Cosby fashions will be back in style by then, to make the syndicators' pitches sweeter (if there's even tv by then). ;D