TV Time Capsule

Erasable ‘Ink’

On October 21, 1996, CBS introduced “Ink,” a Ted Danson-Mary Steenburgen comedy plagued by backstage drama.

Originally, the couple played Jack and Carrie, two recently divorced journalists who work together at a New York City newspaper.

CBS filmed a pilot and three episodes – then decided “Ink” wasn’t working. The network delayed the show’s debut by five weeks and replaced the original producer with “Murphy Brown” impresario Diane English, who reinvented the show from scratch.

Danson and Steenburgen still played journalists, but now they were named Mike Logan and Kate Montgomery. The New York Times explained other changes:

Instead of being recently divorced and still fiercely angry at each other, they are now reunited in the workplace 10 years after their breakup, and plagued by renewed bursts of passion for each other. Instead of being childless, they have a 15-year-old daughter. Instead of working in a dingy failing newspaper, they circulate through a bright, modern newsroom.

The supporting cast was also overhauled. Example: Charlie Robinson – a crusty barber in the original setup – became a crusty crime reporter.

“Ink’s” debut was seen in 11.5 million homes, ranking 20th in the weekly ratings.

Viewers drifted away as the season progressed; CBS finally cancelled the show after 22 episodes.

 

On TV

Here’s the prime-time lineup for Monday, October 21, 1996:

8: “Dangerous Minds” (ABC), “Cosby” (CBS), “Melrose Place” (Fox), “The Jeff Foxworthy Show” (NBC)

8:30: “Ink” (CBS), “Mr. Rhodes” (NBC)

9: “Monday Night Football” (ABC), “Murphy Brown” (CBS), “When Disaster Strikes” (Fox), “Danielle Steel’s The Ring” (NBC)

9:30: “Cybill” (CBS)

10: “Chicago Hope” (CBS)

 

The Record

For the week of October 20, 1995:

Top novel: “Desperation” by Stephen King

Top song: “Macarena” (Bayside Boys Mix)” by Los Del Rio

Top movie: “Sleepers”

Top TV show: World Series, Game 5 (Fox)

In the news: Apple Computer planned a comeback

Captions: “Ink” stars Ted Danson and Mary Steenburgen in a photograph from TV Guide’s September 14, 1996, fall preview issue (top, photos by Fergus Greer and Greg Lavy); CBS’s advertisement for the series premiere, from the magazine’s October 19, 1996, edition.

When ‘Murphy Brown’ Met Kelly Green

On October 16, 1989, CBS aired “TV or Not TV?,” a “Murphy Brown” episode that satirized the blurring line between journalism and entertainment.

The plot: Murphy (Candice Bergen), one of the stars of the TV newsmagazine “FYI,” becomes the reluctant role model for Julia St. John (guest star Morgan Fairchild), an actress researching her starring role on the sitcom “Kelly Green.”

Or as Tom Hill described it in his 2001 book “TV Land to Go:”

It’s an episode of a TV series (“Murphy Brown”) about a TV series (“FYI”) becoming an episode of a TV series (“Kelly Green”).

When Murphy tapes a cameo on “Kelly Green,” Connie Chung – who had recently made a much-publicized move from NBC to CBS – visits the “FYI” newsroom to chastise her friend.

“It’s wrong for a journalist of your stature to do a sitcom,” Chung says. “Once you cross that line, you undermine your credibility. I feel so strongly about that.”

Hill ranked “TV or Not TV?” 39th on his book’s list of the 100 best sitcom episodes.

The episode was seen in 12.7 million homes, ranking 26th among the week’s 81 prime-time broadcasts.

 

On TV

Here’s the prime-time lineup for Monday, October 16, 1989:

8: “MacGyver” (ABC), “Major Dad” (CBS), “21 Jump Street,” “ALF” (NBC)

8:30 “The People Next Door” (CBS), “The Hogan Family” (NBC)

9: “Monday Night Football” (ABC), “Murphy Brown” (CBS), “Alien Nation” (Fox), “Roxanne: The Prize Pulitzer” (NBC)

9:30: “The Famous Teddy Z” (CBS)

10: “Designing Women” (CBS)

10:30: “Newhart” (CBS)

 

The Record

For the week of October 15, 1989:

Top novel: “Clear and Present Danger” by Tom Clancy

Top song: “Miss You Much” by Janet Jackson

Top TV show: “Cheers” (NBC)

At the movies: “Look Who’s Talking”

In the news: A group of newly released South African political prisoners called for Nelson Mandela’s release

 

 

Caption: CBS’s advertisement for the “TV or Not TV?” episode of “Murphy Brown,” from TV Guide’s October 14, 1989, issue.

‘Adam’ Draws Praise, Sparks Change

On October 10, 1983, NBC aired “Adam,” a wrenching TV movie that propelled the problem of missing children into the spotlight.

“Adam” dramatized the case of 6-year-old Adam Walsh, who was kidnapped from a Florida shopping mall in 1981, and later found murdered.

The movie starred Daniel J. Travanti and JoBeth Williams as Adam’s parents, John and Reve Walsh, who – in the hours after his abduction – discover the FBI will help find a stolen car, but not a stolen child.

Following Adam’s murder, the Walshes become activists, persuading lawmakers to create a national registry for missing children.

The New York Times’ John J. O’Connor praised the “scrupulous honesty” Travanti and Williams brought to “Adam,” which was seen by 38 million viewers, ranking seventh in the weekly ratings.

At the end of the movie, which aired on a Monday, the Walshes appeared and showed pictures of 55 missing children. By week’s end, three of the kids were reunited with their families.

NBC aired a sequel, “Adam: His Song Continues,” in 1984. The Walshes have continued their activism; since 1988, John Walsh has hosted Fox’s “America’s Most Wanted.”

Convicted serial killer Ottis Toole confessed to Adam’s murder before dying in 1996. Police closed the case in 2008.

 

Also on TV

On October 10, 1983, NBC also aired the family drama “Boone;” CBS broadcast “Scarecrow and Mrs. King,” “AfterMASH,” and the “17th Annual Country Music Association Awards,” in which Alabama was named Entertainer of the Year; and ABC showed “That’s Incredible” and “Monday Night Football,” in which the Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the Cincinnati Bengals, 24 to 14.

 

The Record

During the week of October 9, 1983, the number ones were James A. Michener’s “Poland” (novel), Bonnie Tyler’s “Total Eclipse of the Heart” (song) and “Never Say Never Again” (movie). In Washington, embattled Interior Secretary James Watt quit.

 

 

Caption: NBC’s advertisement for “Adam,” from TV Guide’s October 8, 1983, issue. 

‘MacGyver’!

On September 29, 1985, ABC debuted “MacGyver,” the adventure series that inspired the popular “MacGruber” sketches on “Saturday Night Live” – and this spring’s less-than-popular “MacGruber” movie.

“MacGyver’s” untitled pilot, which ABC aired as the series premiere, introduced Richard Dean Anderson as the title character, a secret agent who draws upon his extensive scientific knowledge to get out of jams.

In the episode’s opening moments, for example, MacGyver defuses an armed missile with a paper clip. Later, he prevents a dangerous acid leak and rescues two scientists trapped in an underground laboratory using a pack of cigarettes, a cold capsule and some chocolate bars.

The pilot also finds MacGyver resorting to conventional gadgetry when he fires a rifle at the bad guys. After the episode was filmed, the producers decided to make the character non-violent, making this the only time MacGyver uses a gun during the show. (Later, a flashback episode shows how a childhood accident turned young MacGyver off guns.)

Critics weren’t all that impressed when “MacGyver” debuted: The New York Times’ John J. O’Connor dismissed it as “children’s adventure fare,” while the Washington Post’s Tom Shales described it as “about as thrilling to watch as a seventh-grade shop class making bookends for Father’s Day.”

ABC initially aired “MacGyver” on Sunday nights at 8, where it ranked 54th in the ratings during its first week. In its second season, the network moved the show to Mondays, where it proved an ideal lead-in to “Monday Night Football” and remained for the rest of its seven-season run.

The show’s cultural impact is undeniable: In recent years, “MacGyver” has become a kind of verbal shorthand for juryrigging.

In the pilot of USA’s medical drama “Royal Pains,” for example, a character performs life-saving surgery on an injured basketball player using a sandwich baggy, Vodka, a knife, a pen and duct tape, prompting another character to ask: “Who are you, MacGyver?”

MacGyver’s iconic status has been further solidified by Will Forte’s “MacGruber” skits, which “SNL” began airing in 2006; Anderson appeared in one segment, revealing himself as MacGruber’s father.

The “MacGruber” movie, though, was a critical and box-office disappointment.

“MacGyver’s” untitled pilot can be streamed for free on YouTube’s CBS channel and downloaded for $1.99 at iTunes. The episode is also part of the “MacGyver: The Complete Series” DVD set.

 

Also on TV

On September 29, 1985, ABC also aired “Ripley’s Believe It or Not!” and the broadcast premiere of “Tootsie;” CBS showed “60 Minutes,” “Murder, She Wrote” and “Amos,” a TV-movie starring Kirk Douglas as a feisty widower who battles a tyrannical nurse (Elizabeth Montgomery) in a senior citizens’ home; and NBC offered “Punky Brewster” and “Silver Spoons,” the first episodes of “Amazing Stories” and its “Alfred Hitchcock Presents” revival and the broadcast premiere of “First Blood.”

 

The Record

During the week of September 29, 1985, the number ones were Garrison Keillor’s “Lake Wobegon Days” (novel), Dire Straits’ “Money for Nothing” (song) and “Invasion U.S.A.” (movie). In Washington, President Reagan welcomed a Soviet proposal to slash nuclear arsenals.

 

  

 

 

 

Captions: “MacGyver” star Richard Dean Anderson in a photograph from TV Guide’s September 14, 1985, fall preview issue (top); ABC’s advertisements for the series premiere from the magazine’s September 21, 1985, and September 28, 1985, editions (bottom).

‘Family Ties Vacation:’ Have Alex, Will Travel

“Sitcoms Go to the Movies,” a retrospective of TV-movies based on sitcoms, begins today and continues through Sunday.

On September 23, 1985, NBC aired “Family Ties Vacation,” a two-hour TV-movie that finds the Keatons summering in England.

The plot: Alex (Michael J. Fox) wins a summer scholarship to Oxford University, so the family uses it as an excuse for a vacation. A spy secretly plants a piece of microfilm in their luggage and before they know it, the Keatons are being pursued by the CIA, the KGB and MI5.

A romantic subplot has dashing Lord William Clive-Hopkins (John Moulder-Brown), Alex’s Oxford roommate, falling for the Keatons’ eldest daughter, Mallory (Justine Bateman).

“It’s quite different for us. It’s more of a romp, a Hitchcockian farce,” Fox told the Associated Press.

NBC commissioned the movie during the previous season, after “Family Ties” shot into Nielsen’s top 10 on the coattails of “The Cosby Show,” the blockbuster freshman sitcom that preceded it on Thursday nights.

“Being behind ‘Cosby’ is not a bad place to be,” Fox told the AP. “I’m not defensive, but we keep the audience from his show. We’re proud of the work we do and don’t feel we’re a success because of charity. We’re in the Top 10 because of the audience we inherit from ‘Cosby,’ but we certainly hold our own.”

Fox and the “Family Ties” cast filmed “Vacation” in June 1985, a few weeks before the release of “Back to the Future” and “Teen Wolf,” two flicks that gave the actor, then 24, back-to-back box-office hits during the summer of 1985.

“Vacation” aired three days before “Family Ties” opened its fourth season with “The Real Thing,” the classic two-part episode in which Alex memorably professes his love for girlfriend Ellen Reed (Tracy Pollan) to the tune of Billy Vera’s “At This Moment.”

“Family Ties Vacation” was seen in 19 million homes, ranking 11th for the week – a strong showing, but not as good as the first installment of “The Real Thing,” which drew viewers in 25 million homes and ranked second.

The week’s most-watched broadcast, of course, was “The Cosby Show’s” second-season premiere, which was seen in 27 million homes.

“Family Ties Vacation” is part of the “Family Ties: The Complete Fourth Season” DVD set.

 

Also on TV

On September 23, 1985, NBC also aired the season premiere of “TV’s Bloopers & Practical Jokes;” ABC broadcast the season premiere of “Hardcastle and McCormick” and “ABC Monday Night Football,” in which the Los Angeles Rams defeated the Seattle Seahawks, 35 to 24; and CBS showed the season premiere of “Scarecrow and Mrs. King” and “Izzy and Moe,” a TV-movie that reunited “Honeymooners” stars Jackie Gleason and Art Carney in a new table about Prohibition-era con artists.

 

The Record

During the week of September 22, 1985, the number ones were Garrison Keillor’s “Lake Wobegon Days” (novel), Dire Straits’ “Money for Nothing” (song) and “Back to the Future” (movie). In New York, the World Health Organization reported the number of worldwide AIDS cases surpassed 15,000.

 

  

Captions: Michael J. Fox on TV Guide’s September 21, 1985, cover (top, photo by Peter Kredenser); NBC’s advertisement for “Family Ties Vacation,” also from that issue (bottom).

Undercover Woman, Exposed: ‘The Betty White Show’

TV Time Capsule begins “Betty, White Hot!,” a series of periodic flashbacks to key moments in Betty White’s amazing television career.

On September 12, 1977, CBS introduced “The Betty White Show,” the fourth – and so far, final – series to carry that title.

The first “Betty White Show” was a local Sunday afternoon series that aired in 1951 on Los Angeles TV station KLAC (now KCOP). The show’s eclectic format was befitting of a medium still inventing itself: the actress sang, read the station’s viewer mail and offered romantic advice to the lovelorn.

Three years later, NBC hired White to host a weekday afternoon talk show – also called “The Betty White Show” – in which she interviewed guests and interacted with bandleader Frank DeVol, the famed composer who went on to write the theme music for “The Brady Bunch” and many other sitcoms.

The third “Betty White Show,” a syndicated sketch comedy, aired in 1957 and featured a small company of regular players, including DeVol and Irene Ryan, who later played Granny on “The Beverly Hillbillies.”

CBS’s 1977 “Betty White Show” was different still – a sitcom that cast White as Joyce Whitman, a middle-aged actress who stages a comeback when she lands the lead role in a TV police drama.

The title of Joyce’s show: “Undercover Woman” – a spoof of “Police Woman,” NBC’s popular Angie Dickinson drama. (White, a “Star Trek” fan, had suggested making Joyce the star of a science fiction series; producers rejected the idea.)

White’s supporting cast was led by John Hillerman as John Elliot, Joyce’s ex-husband and sparring partner, whom the network hires to direct “Undercover Woman;” and Georgia Engel as her spacey friend and roommate, Mitzi Maloney.

“The Betty White Show” was initially conceived as a vehicle for Sue Ann Nivens, the sex-obsessed, insincere “Happy Homemaker” hostess White played on “The Mary Tyler Moore Show.”

But as White recalled in her 2005 memoir, “Here We Go Again: My Life in Television,” two other “MTM” spinoffs – “Rhoda” and “Phyllis” – were fading in the ratings by 1977.

The producers also “felt it might be pressing their luck to send Sue Ann out alone. They thought she might be a little much to take every week, and if they knocked some of the edge off of her, they would destroy the character,” White wrote.

(Another distinction: “The Betty White Show” was the first MTM Enterprises’ production to be videotaped; “MTM,” “Rhoda” and “Phyllis” were filmed, giving them a higher-quality look.)

Joyce may not have been as much fun to watch as bitchy Sue Ann, but critics still loved White and her new sitcom; several declared it one of the season’s best new shows.

The Washington Post’s Tom Shales described “The Betty White Show” as “a tart, bright, cheering comedy with characters and performances firmly in the ‘Mary Tyler Moore’ tradition,” adding that the new series “deserves to be a hit and will be.”

“It would be understandable if quite a lot of people wound up loving ‘The Betty White Show,’” wrote the New York Times’ John J. O’Connor.

CBS aired the series on Monday nights at 9, pairing it with Bea Arthur’s “Maude,” which was entering its final season.

“The Betty White Show’s” premiere was the week’s seventh most-watched show; ratings remained solid throughout the fall, but CBS dropped the sitcom in a midseason schedule shakeup.

White took the cancellation in stride.

In “Here We Go Again,” she wrote that the sitcom “was not outstanding. I can’t even say it was one of my all-time favorites, but we had given it our best shot.”

The next “Betty, White Hot!” installment will be posted Tuesday.

 

Also on TV

On September 12, 1977, CBS also aired the debut of the adventure series “Young Dan’l Boone,” the season premiere of “Maude” and the second episode of “Rafferty,” a Patrick McGoohan medical drama; ABC broadcast the debut of “Lucan,” a drama about a boy raised by wolves, and a college football game in which the University of Houston Cougars defeated the University of California, Los Angeles’ Bruins, 17 to 13; and NBC showed the season premiere of “Little House on the Prairie” and “Billy: Portrait of a Street Kid,” a TV-movie starring LeVar Burton.

 

The Record

During the week of September 11, 1977, the number ones included Colleen McCullough’s “The Thorn Birds” (novel) and the Emotions’ “Best of My Love” (song). “Star Wars” was still popular at the movies and in Washington, President Carter’s budget chief was urged to resign amid corruption charges; he did and was acquitted.

 

  

Captions: Betty White in a photograph from TV Guide’s September 10, 1977, fall preview issue (top, photo by Douglas Kirkland); White and John Hillerman on the magazine’s September 24, 1977, cover (middle, photo by Peter Kredenser); and CBS’s advertisement for “The Betty White Show’s” premiere, also from the September 10 edition (bottom).

Sunday, January 30, 1994

TV Time Capsule continues “Super Bowl Fumbles Week”, seven days of flashbacks to the critical and ratings failures that have aired after the big game.

The game: Super Bowl XXVII, in which the Dallas Cowboys ran roughshod over the Buffalo Bills, 30 to 13.

The network: NBC.

The shows: “The Good Life” and “The John Larroquette Show,” two freshmen sitcoms, aired at about 10 p.m. and 10:30 p.m., respectively. “Life” starred John Caponera as a family man who worked in a warehouse; Drew Carey played his best friend and coworker, a bachelor. “Larroquette” was a “dark comedy” (by broadcast standards) about a recovering alcoholic who was night manager at a bus station.

The reviews: Since both series had already debuted, their Super Bowl Sunday episodes didn’t get much ink from critics. The Boston Herald’s Mike Hughes reviewed the episodes, though, calling Caponera’s show “odd and goofy and sometimes hilarious” and Larroquette’s “merely odd.”

The competition: ABC’s lineup included reruns of “America’s Funniest Home Videos,” “America’s Funniest People” and “Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman.” CBS gave viewers three hours of Angela Lansbury – reruns of “Murder, She Wrote” and her 1992 TV movie “Mrs. ’Arris Goes to Paris.” Fox showed reruns of its “Code 3” reality series and sitcoms.

The ratings: Almost 43 million households tuned into Super Bowl XXVII, ranking it first among the week’s 92 prime-time broadcasts. “Life” drew 13.3 million homes, tying with NBC’s “The Fresh Prince of Bel Air” for 21st. “Larroquette” was seen in 11.5 million homes, tying with NBC’s “Unsolved Mysteries” for 34th.

The next episodes: Two nights after the game, “Life” and “Larroquette” returned to their usual Tuesday time slots. They didn’t bring many football fans with them: Back-to-back episodes of “Life” averaged about 7 million households, ranking 83rd and 84th among that week’s 94 broadcasts; “Larroquette” attracted viewers in 9.7 million homes, ranking 58th.

The result: “The Good Life” died in April, four months after its debut. “The John Larroquette Show” hung around until October 1996.

 

From the Pages of TV Guide

Also airing January 30, 1994:

9 PM FOX MARRIED … WITH CHILDREN (CC)

When women take over his bowling night and his nudie bar, Al (Ed O’Neill) springs into action to lead a takeover of a feminist talk show hosted by Jerry Springer. (Repeat)

Sunday, January 29, 1995

TV Time Capsule continues “Super Bowl Fumbles Week,” seven days of flashbacks to the critical and ratings failures that have aired after the big game.

The game: Super Bowl XXIX, in which the San Francisco 49ers lived up to their name, defeating the San Diego Chargers, 49 to 26.

The network: ABC.

The show: “Extreme,” a one-hour action   series starring James Brolin as the head of mountain-rescue team of hip Generation Xers, debuted at about 10 p.m.

The reviews: The Washington Post’s Tom Shales described “Extreme” as a ripoff of the 1993 Sylvester Stallone movie “Cliffhanger.” USA Today’s Matt Roush suggested the series was a ripoff of Fox’s “Melrose Place.” The Los Angeles Times’ David Kronke dismissed “Extreme” as a ripoff of “Cliffhanger” and “Melrose Place.”

The competition: NBC reran all four hours of “Diana: Her True Story,” a TV movie that aired in two installments in 1993. CBS’s lineup included “The Man Upstairs,” a 1992 Katherine Hepburn-Ryan O’Neal TV movie. Fox showed sitcom reruns and a fresh episode of its “Get Smart” revival.

The ratings: Super Bowl XXIX was seen in 39.4 million homes, ranking first among the week’s 92 prime-time broadcasts. “Extreme” was seen in 13.5 million homes, ranking 15th.

The next episode: “Extreme” didn’t join ABC’s weekly lineup until March 2, 1995, when the network began airing the Thursday nights at 8, opposite NBC’s “Friends.” This installment was seen in 7.2 million homes, ranking 72nd among that week’s 96 broadcasts.

The result: “Extreme” expired after six weeks.

 

From the Pages of TV Guide

Also airing January 29, 1995:

7 PM CBS 60 MINUTES (CC) 2:00

Charles Kuralt hosts an edition that combines portraits of the correspondents with clips from past reports to celebrate the series’ silver anniversary. Included: Mike Wallace recalls how his son Peter’s accidental death 30 years ago spurred him to “do [work] that would make Peter proud”; Ed Bradley talks about his other “freer” self; Steve Kroft shows a sequence originally edited out of his 1992 Superbowl Sunday chat with then-Presidential candidate Bill Clinton and his wife, Hillary. (Repeat)

Sunday, January 28, 1990

TV Time Capsule continues “Super Bowl Fumbles Week,” seven days of flashbacks to the critical and ratings failures that have aired after the big game.

The game: Super Bowl XXIV, in which the San Francisco 49ers busted the Denver Broncos, 55 to 10.

The network: CBS.

The show: “Grand Slam,” an action series   starring John Schneider and Paul Rodriguez as mismatched bounty hunters, debuted with a 90-minute pilot at 9:18 p.m.

The reviews: Dismal. The Washington Post’s Tom Shales called the show “worthless trash.” The Los Angeles Times’ Howard Rosenberg described it as “mindless, plotless, witless, pointless.” USA Today’s Matt Roush dismissed it as “less than zero.”

The competition: It was a night for old movies on the other networks. NBC aired a double feature: reruns of 1982’s “Annie” and “Spies Like Us,” a 1985 Chevy Chase-Dan Aykroyd vehicle. ABC’s lineup included a rerun of “Star Trek III: The Search for Spock,” originally released in 1984. Fox aired mostly reruns, although it did show a fresh episode of its four-week-old hit, “The Simpsons.”

The ratings: Super Bowl XXIV attracting viewers in 35.9 million households, ranking first among the week’s 78 prime-time broadcasts. “Grand Slam” was seen in 17.1 million households, ranking 15th.

The next episode: Three nights after the game, “Grand Slam” struck out in its regular time slot – Wednesdays at 8, where it was seen in just 7.5 million homes, ranking 68th among the week’s 81 broadcasts. Schneider’s “Dukes of Hazzard” co-star Tom Wopat had bombed earlier in the season in the same time slot with his zoo drama “A Peaceable Kingdom.”

The result: CBS pulled “Grand Slam” off the field after six weeks.

 

From the Pages of TV Guide

Also airing January 28, 1990:

8 PM ABC LOVE WITH A TWIST (CC); 60 min.

Bruce Boxleitner hosts a collection of real-life dramatic re-creations. Included: two residents of a nursing home find romance after a lost “Dear John” letter is found; a Vietnam veteran returns on a dangerous mission to find the woman he left behind; an adopted child tracks down her biological parents, who renew their vows after 30 years.

Sunday, January 27, 1991

TV Time Capsule continues “Super Bowl Fumbles Week,” seven days of flashbacks to the critical and ratings failures that have aired after the big game.

The game: Super Bowl XXV, in which the New York Giants defeated the Buffalo Bills, 20 to 19 – a down-to-the-wire win and the  smallest margin of victory in Super Bowl history.

The network: ABC.

The show: “Davis Rules,” a family sitcom starring Randy Quaid, debuted at 10:14 p.m. Quaid portrayed Dwight Davis, an elementary school principal and widower raising three sons with help from his dad, played by Jonathan Winters. “Davis Rules” was the latest offering from Marcy Carsey and Tom Werner, who also produced three of the season’s top five shows – ABC’s “Roseanne” and NBC’s “A Different World” and “The Cosby Show.”

The reviews: Critics went wild for Winters. The Washington Post’s Tom Shales called him “a joy to behold and a wonder to watch.” Added USA Today’s Matt Roush: “[W]hat a treat to see scenes mercilessly stolen by a grown-up, not by the shrill nerdwinks of a pipsqueak like ‘Family Matters’’ Steve Urkel.”

The competition: NBC’s lineup included the 1989 TV movie “Little White Lies,” a romantic comedy starring Ann Jillian and Tim Matheson. CBS repeated another 1989 TV movie: “The Fulfillment of Mary Gray,” a brooding historical starring Cheryl Ladd.

The ratings: Super Bowl XXV was seen in 39 million homes, finishing first among the week’s 89 prime-time broadcasts. “Davis Rules” was seen in 14.4 million homes, tying with a rerun of CBS’s “Lonesome Dove” for 16th.

The next episode: Two nights after the game, “Davis Rules” moved to its regular time slot – Tuesdays at 8:30, after “Who’s the Boss.” The second episode achieved almost identical ratings as the premiere – 14 million households and an 18th place finish among the week’s 88 programs.

The result: ABC dropped “Davis Rules” after 13 episodes; the following season, CBS picked up the series for an additional 16 installments.

 

From the Pages of TV Guide

Also airing January 27, 1991:

8 PM NBC REAL LIFE (CC); 60 min.

Scheduled reports in this expanded edition include a profile of Caldecott-winning author William Steig (“Sylvester and the Magic Temple”); and a September segment on dieting trends among preteen girls.