An interesting irony (re: DS' cancellation in 1971)

[Charles_Ellis]

Tonight, Entertainment Tonight did a piece on the new version of Password being hosted by Regis Philbin, and they showed clips from the classic 1960s CBS version.  It was then I remembered two things.  First, this was the program that replaced DS on the ABC schedule, and second (this is the delicious part), only a few tapes from the ABC years were saved as opposed to DS itself!  The reuns on GSN are mostly from the CBS years or the later 1980s incarnations of Password.  So in a way DS has managed to survive past the 1971-75 version of Passowrd!  Maybe the fans in 1971 who picketed ABC put a hex on the game show.....

One more irony- guess who was on the last ABC Password?  None other than Kate Jackson!!!

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Kate Jackson appeared on Password several times (during her The Rookies years she frequently did game shows). And whenever I had the chance to catch her on any game shows between classes or on vacation, I tried to take pictures off of the TV screen (I got quite good at it). I had no idea that many of those appearances might have been lost, so it's interesting to think that my pictures might be the only surviving record of them...

And I love the irony of a DS star being on the final ep of ABC's Password. 

[David]

I find it ironic that Password had a shorter run on ABC than DS, and was followed by the soap Edge of Night.
Edge, rated MUCH lower than DS, lasted nine years in DS' old ABC slot.
Go figure!

David

[Mysterious Benefactor]

But recall that DS didn't end because of low ratings. 

[MagnusTrask]

But recall that DS didn't end because of low ratings. 

It didn't?  What then?

The Edge of Night was the only "regular" soap opera I liked at all.   If I got home from school soon enough I'd catch a little of it before DS.

[Charles_Ellis]

In a word- DEMOGRAPHICS.  The ABC brass figured that the teen audience was fickle and notice how the audience shrank after the Leviathan debacle.  However, the ratings for DS in its last months were actually going up again, so ratings weren't a factor.  They figured with a game show they'd get more adults who would buy the sponsor's goods.  A lot of popular shows were cancelled because they attracted what the network claimed was an 'undesirable' audience.  Either the viewers were too young or too old.  In DS' case, it was ironic because the young people made the show a smash, and yet the beancounters cancelled it to get grownup dollars. 

Around 1970, the opposite was true for primetime:  Longtime favorites like the shows hosted by Ed Sullivan, Jackie Gleason and Red Skelton were canned because despite high ratings, they attracted older viewers, not the 18-35 group so desired (still today) by the newtorks.  Lawrence Welk was also forced off ABC for the same reason, but he got the last laugh by going into first-run syndication and getting even more viewers than ever.  CBS got rid of all of its hit rural-themed shows (Beverly Hillbillies, Hee Haw et al) for the same reason, plus they wanted to change their image to a more sophisticated image.  So, out with Jed Clampett and Aunt Bee, in with Archie Bunker and Mary Richards, or as Green Acres' Pat Buttram famously said, "They cancelled everything with a tree in it".

Sorry for the long discourse, but I just want to illustrate the stupid atmosphere of the TV industry around the time DS went off the air: in retrospect, it wasn't the only show that got canned for the wrong reasons.  (And don't get me started on how Gilligan's Island got canned!)

[Mysterious Benefactor]

It didn't?  What then?

Several different issues brought about DS' cancellation. Fortunately, there are several different topics on the forum that explain them. A search will being up many topics like:

Why Was The Original DS Cancelled?

[MagnusTrask]

  CBS got rid of all of its hit rural-themed shows (Beverly Hillbillies, Hee Haw et al) for the same reason, plus they wanted to change their image to a more sophisticated image.  So, out with Jed Clampett and Aunt Bee, in with Archie Bunker and Mary Richards, or as Green Acres' Pat Buttram famously said, "They cancelled everything with a tree in it".

This part of the story I'm already familiar with, and respectfully, am I glad they did this....   We got a whole new slate of some of the smartest and funniest shows ever, and said goodbye to all those rural shows, most of which might have been seen as insulting by Southern and rural viewers.    Mayberry RFD was respectful to the South, but not many others.

This is exactly the moment in TV I think of, when contemplating how horrible things are on broadcast TV now.    They took a huge risk and it worked.    Turning things around  now would require just that kind of decision.

[Doug]

I was watching the Bio Channel one time and they said back in the early 70's, the networks did away the
shows like "The Brady Bunch" and "Bewitched" just to make room for other shows like "All In The Family"
and "Good Times".

[MagnusTrask]

I didn't know non-rural, un-countryish shows were affected.   Hmmm... sounds like they broke even there.    All In the Family>Brady Bunch, I heartily agree with them.    Bewitched>Good Times, I don't. 

[Charles_Ellis]

It's interesting that in retrospect so many of those cancelled shows from that time period have such strong followings today- even StarTrek falls in that category as it had a huge teen following, but like DS the network wanted adult viewers for ad revenues.  I know that there are a lot of people who'd rather buy DVDs of Green Acres over All In The Family anyday!

[MagnusTrask]

Yes, I know, the world didn't turn out the way I'd hoped.   The thing is, though, even now, you could make more challenging shows with ideas, that could draw in people from all demographics, if done correctly and well.    One of the biggest reasons we don't have a MASH or AITF right now that's popular, is that no network tries, and sticks with the shows through the early weeks.    They think they know what people want, but no one really knows, not even people themselves, because they can't judge what's not on.  Networks should lead a bit, and not just follow ratings.

[Gerard]

How true.  Many shows that became critical and popular smash hits started out at the bottom-of-the-dumps ratings.  The Dick Van Dyke Show, All In the Family, Cheers, et. al., in their first seasons, went nowhere in viewership.  Cheers, in its first season, at times was last in the ratings.  But the networks stuck it out, because they knew they had quality, and just kept trying and - voila! - they ended up with classics.  They don't do that today.  Sometimes, after 13 episodes (sometimes even after just six!), they pull the plug.  What use to be gourmet has now become fast food.....and the drive-through, no less.

Gerard

[Mysterious Benefactor]

TPTB at the networks think of programs as instantly disposable commodities these days - and they can be disposed of for the ficklest of reasons. Considering how the current practice is that almost every program that doesn't perform to expectations right out of the gate is canceled sooner rather than later, just think of how many classic programs that didn't click right away would have never survived to become the classics that they were allowed to become if TPTB of today had been in charge. Patience is no longer a word in most networks' vocabularies. 

[Gerard]

I think of Dan Curtis' remake of Kolchak:  The Night Stalker.  I didn't get to see it in its evening run (because I had to work), but did watch it when it's been rerun on Sci-Fi.  I thought it was a well done, eerie show (the episode about the woman-creature that preserves her "youth" and looks by zonking unsuspecting females and feeding off of them while they are still alive was a real spooker).  Yet, whatever network initially aired it decided to cancel it even before all the filmed episodes were shown.  It was never given a chance.  And don't forget about NBC's decision to ax the DS remake.  It started out strong in the ratings, but the constant interruptions for reports on the Gulf War caused a ratings drop, not because viewers lost interest, but because they didn't know when it would be on.  You can't watch something when you don't know where to find it.  How utterly stupid.

Gerard