Although ABC gets credit for the "second
season," because of its massive schedule
shakeup in January 1966 (and the promotional
campaign which introduced the term), the
real beginning of the idea was a year earlier--
at CBS.
ABC had scored big in the fall of 1964 with
Bewitched, Peyton Place, The Addams Family,
Shindig, 12 O'Clock High, and Voyage To The
Bottom Of The Sea. By contrast, CBS had only
three new hits--Gomer Pyle, USMC, Gilligan's
Island, and The Munsters--while some of CBS's
veterans, such as The Beverly Hillbillies, were
down a bit in the ratings. Faced with possibly
losing the season, CBS president Jim Aubrey
overhauled the schedule at midseason. CBS won
the 1964-65 season, but it wasn't enough to
save his job (that and other reasons we've
discussed in the past). Neither, IIRC, did CBS
promote this in any special way.
Here is a comparison of CBS's fall 1964 lineup
with the revised midseason 1965 one. All times
Eastern, source is Castleman and Podrazik's
"The TV Schedule Book."
FALL 1964
MON 7:30 To Tell The Truth
8 PM I've Got A Secret
8:30 Andy Griffith
9 PM The Lucy Show
9:30 MANY HAPPY RETURNS (new shows are in CAPS)
10 PM SLATTERY'S PEOPLE
TUE 7:30 (Local)
8 PM WORLD WAR I
8:30 Red Skelton
9:30 Petticoat Junction
10 PM The Doctors And The Nurses
WED 7:30 CBS Reports
8:30 Beverly Hillbillies
9 PM Dick Van Dyke
9:30 CARA WILLIAMS
10 PM Danny Kaye
THU 7:30 THE MUNSTERS
8 PM Perry Mason
9 PM Password
9:30 THE BAILEYS OF BALBOA
10 PM The Defenders
FRI 7:30 Rawhide
8:30 THE ENTERTAINERS
9:30 GOMER PYLE, USMC
10 PM THE REPORTER
SAT 7:30 Jackie Gleason
8:30 GILLIGAN'S ISLAND
9 PM MR. BROADWAY
10 PM Gunsmoke
SUN 7 PM Lassie
7:30 My Favorite Martian
8 PM Ed Sullivan
9 PM MY LIVING DOLL
(pre-Catwoman Julie Newmar as
a robot named Rhoda)
9:30 Joey Bishop
10 PM Candid Camera
10:30 What's My Line?
MIDSEASON 1965
MON 7:30 To Tell The Truth
8 PM I've Got A Secret
8:30 Andy Griffith
9 PM The Lucy Show
9:30 Many Happy Returns
10 PM CBS Reports (stripped of all
advertising so it wouldn't
be counted in the ratings)
TUE 7:30 (Local)
8 PM Joey Bishop
8:30 Red Skelton
9:30 Petticoat Junction
10 PM The Doctors And The Nurses
WED 7:30 Mr. Ed
8 PM My Living Doll
8:30 Beverly Hillbillies
9 PM Dick Van Dyke
9:30 Cara Williams
10 PM Danny Kaye
THU 7:30 The Munsters
8 PM Perry Mason
9 PM Password
9:30 Celebrity Game
10 PM The Defenders
FRI 7:30 Rawhide
8:30 ON BROADWAY TONIGHT (replaced
in late spring by reruns of
The Great Adventure)
9:30 Gomer Pyle, USMC
10 PM Slattery's People
SAT 7:30 Jackie Gleason
8:30 Gilligan's Island
9 PM The Entertainers (replaced by
Secret Agent by the summer)
10 PM Gunsmoke
SUN 7 PM Lassie
7:30 My Favorite Martian
8 PM Ed Sullivan
9 PM FOR THE PEOPLE (the reason
William Shatner wasn't in
the Star Trek pilot)
10 PM Candid Camera
10:30 What's My Line?
Also, World War I was moved to Sunday at 6:30,
following The 20th Century and replacing Mr. Ed.
The next year was ABC's turn; it hadn't moved as
fast on color as NBC and CBS had, and its black-
and-white hits began to drop in the ratings. In
the fall of '65 NBC had just two primetime shows in
black-and-white: I Dream Of Jeannie and the short-
lived Convoy; CBS was at the 50% mark; ABC, 40%.
(Castleman and Podrazik, "Watching TV.") Thus the
big 1966 push, centered around Batman, the highest-
rated new show of the 1965-66 season.
season," because of its massive schedule
shakeup in January 1966 (and the promotional
campaign which introduced the term), the
real beginning of the idea was a year earlier--
at CBS.
ABC had scored big in the fall of 1964 with
Bewitched, Peyton Place, The Addams Family,
Shindig, 12 O'Clock High, and Voyage To The
Bottom Of The Sea. By contrast, CBS had only
three new hits--Gomer Pyle, USMC, Gilligan's
Island, and The Munsters--while some of CBS's
veterans, such as The Beverly Hillbillies, were
down a bit in the ratings. Faced with possibly
losing the season, CBS president Jim Aubrey
overhauled the schedule at midseason. CBS won
the 1964-65 season, but it wasn't enough to
save his job (that and other reasons we've
discussed in the past). Neither, IIRC, did CBS
promote this in any special way.
Here is a comparison of CBS's fall 1964 lineup
with the revised midseason 1965 one. All times
Eastern, source is Castleman and Podrazik's
"The TV Schedule Book."
FALL 1964
MON 7:30 To Tell The Truth
8 PM I've Got A Secret
8:30 Andy Griffith
9 PM The Lucy Show
9:30 MANY HAPPY RETURNS (new shows are in CAPS)
10 PM SLATTERY'S PEOPLE
TUE 7:30 (Local)
8 PM WORLD WAR I
8:30 Red Skelton
9:30 Petticoat Junction
10 PM The Doctors And The Nurses
WED 7:30 CBS Reports
8:30 Beverly Hillbillies
9 PM Dick Van Dyke
9:30 CARA WILLIAMS
10 PM Danny Kaye
THU 7:30 THE MUNSTERS
8 PM Perry Mason
9 PM Password
9:30 THE BAILEYS OF BALBOA
10 PM The Defenders
FRI 7:30 Rawhide
8:30 THE ENTERTAINERS
9:30 GOMER PYLE, USMC
10 PM THE REPORTER
SAT 7:30 Jackie Gleason
8:30 GILLIGAN'S ISLAND
9 PM MR. BROADWAY
10 PM Gunsmoke
SUN 7 PM Lassie
7:30 My Favorite Martian
8 PM Ed Sullivan
9 PM MY LIVING DOLL
(pre-Catwoman Julie Newmar as
a robot named Rhoda)
9:30 Joey Bishop
10 PM Candid Camera
10:30 What's My Line?
MIDSEASON 1965
MON 7:30 To Tell The Truth
8 PM I've Got A Secret
8:30 Andy Griffith
9 PM The Lucy Show
9:30 Many Happy Returns
10 PM CBS Reports (stripped of all
advertising so it wouldn't
be counted in the ratings)
TUE 7:30 (Local)
8 PM Joey Bishop
8:30 Red Skelton
9:30 Petticoat Junction
10 PM The Doctors And The Nurses
WED 7:30 Mr. Ed
8 PM My Living Doll
8:30 Beverly Hillbillies
9 PM Dick Van Dyke
9:30 Cara Williams
10 PM Danny Kaye
THU 7:30 The Munsters
8 PM Perry Mason
9 PM Password
9:30 Celebrity Game
10 PM The Defenders
FRI 7:30 Rawhide
8:30 ON BROADWAY TONIGHT (replaced
in late spring by reruns of
The Great Adventure)
9:30 Gomer Pyle, USMC
10 PM Slattery's People
SAT 7:30 Jackie Gleason
8:30 Gilligan's Island
9 PM The Entertainers (replaced by
Secret Agent by the summer)
10 PM Gunsmoke
SUN 7 PM Lassie
7:30 My Favorite Martian
8 PM Ed Sullivan
9 PM FOR THE PEOPLE (the reason
William Shatner wasn't in
the Star Trek pilot)
10 PM Candid Camera
10:30 What's My Line?
Also, World War I was moved to Sunday at 6:30,
following The 20th Century and replacing Mr. Ed.
The next year was ABC's turn; it hadn't moved as
fast on color as NBC and CBS had, and its black-
and-white hits began to drop in the ratings. In
the fall of '65 NBC had just two primetime shows in
black-and-white: I Dream Of Jeannie and the short-
lived Convoy; CBS was at the 50% mark; ABC, 40%.
(Castleman and Podrazik, "Watching TV.") Thus the
big 1966 push, centered around Batman, the highest-
rated new show of the 1965-66 season.