NBC – The ultimate Must See TV

CliqueClack’s recent poll about our Wednesday night television preferences got me to thinking about the variety we’re offered on other nights of the week. Inevitably, my mind wandered to NBC’s Thursday night lineup. As much as that night has declined in quality, I still find myself recording almost the entire three hour block (Kath & Kim is just too much of a dip.) And I found myself considering all of the great shows that we’ve lost in the past few years.

So, I went back to the beginning of my life: 1981, taking a look at what Thursday night on NBC has offered us over these past twenty-eight years (or twenty-four years and four twenty-fourth year anniversaries, as I celebrate the day of my birth now.) And the first thing that came to mind? Wow. NBC has given us some amazing fare, from the dramatic to the comedic, with stops all along the scale. A lot of classics have been offered, and I wondered what the perfect lineup might look like. If I had my pick, what gem could I assign to each 30-minute slot to create the perfect evening of television?

Without further ado, my solid gold Thursday night, on NBC.

• 8:00-8:30 The lead-off for the night needs to be something that reels you in, and then convinces you to stay. NBC made a big bet in this slot back in 1984 with The Cosby Show, and they rode that puppy for eight years. But before Cosby hit the scene? The slot was home to Fame, Hill Street Blues, and Gimme a Break. After Cosby 1.0 went off the air, we suffered through a number of duds before Mad About You ran with the ball for a few seasons. And then Friends exploded onto the scene. Since its finale? Joey was depressing, Will & Grace left us too, and My Name is Earl, while enjoyable TV, just doesn’t deserve the Must See label. For me, the edge goes to Friends.
• 8:30-9:00 Back in Cosby‘s heyday, you could sit down for thirty minutes of family dysfunction, and stick around for 30 more. Family Ties premiered in this slot in 1983 and lived there for four years. Virtually no one on TV today is as fine an actor as Michael J. Fox, and I miss him dearly. NBC moved on, starting with A Different World, a spin-off of The Cosby Show that I think should never have been. And then after Wings was moved, the time slot was the first to nose-dive. The crop of shows that bombed in this half-hour are too many to list comprehensively (Hope & Gloria, The Single Guy, Boston Common, Union Square, Jesse, Battery Park, Cursed/The Weber Show, Inside Schwartz, Leap of Faith, Four Kings, Kath & Kim), while the list of shows the network stuck here to temporarily fill the void is understandably crowded as well (Suddenly Susan, Just Shoot Me, Will & Grace, Friends, Scrubs, My Name Is Earl, The Office, 30 Rock.) The bottom line is, Alex P. Keaton was as perfect as he thought he was. My choice has got to be Family Ties.
• 9:00-9:30 The finest half-hour on television still has life in it today. The first thirty minute sitcom to assume the slot? Diff’rent Strokes, a show that I remember very fondly from my childhood. And then rather quickly, 9PM became the golden spot for Cheers, Seinfeld, Frasier, Will & Grace, and today, The Office. Stiff competition, my friends. But you know what? It’s better than the alternative. So here I’m going to cheat a little bit, and utilize the 12-month television season. Get set for The Office in the fall/winter, Frasier in the spring, and Seinfeld in summer. Nice.
• 9:30-10:00 This slot was an interesting mix of middling to high successes (in addition to the inevitable flops.) A lot of shows on at this half-hour were only there for a short time, not necessarily because they failed, but rather because they were just on a pit stop, on their way from or to one time or another. Taxi, Cheers, Night Court, Dear John, Wings, Seinfeld, Frasier, Friends, Veronica’s Closet (I had to!), Just Shoot Me, Scrubs, The Office, and now 30 Rock have all lived part of their lives at 9:30. With so much quality to choose from, I know I’ll be angering a lot of people with my selection; I can already hear the 30 Rock supporters getting ready to jump me. And I’m sorry. As much as I enjoy Tina Fey and crew, and believe her to be a truly brilliant comedic writer, she has a long way to go before she can stand next to the giants that created the funniest half-hour on television. I’m set for another episode of Seinfeld. At least in the summer.
• 10:00-11:00 The drama at the end of a night of laughs. The tears of sadness following the tears of joy. This has to sit just right. And while Hill Street Blues did just that, ER did not (at least for me). In the last twenty-eight years, only four shows have resided in this slot, so there aren’t really many choices. The third was Lipstick Jungle. So, do I go with Southland, the new show premiering at this hour after ER takes its final (!) bow, or do I settle for the less of four evils? No need my friends. You’ll notice I left out the fourth resident of the 10PM hour. And it’s a good one, no resignation in this choice. I choose to close my night with a little bit of legal dramedy, the granddaddy of shows like my beloved Boston Legal, the vehicle that brought us countless actors that we still love today: L.A. Law.

So, there it is, folks. A night of television that I could actually see myself watching in its entirety, maybe even live (hmm, what’s that like?) The truth is that the beauty of TV on DVD gives me that option. Actually, the beauty of my TiVo is that it lets me design my own night of television every night anyway. But not with the classics. Too bad.

What does your perfect Thursday night on NBC look like? How about on any other night on any other network? Which one should we dissect next? Because, let me tell you, it feels good to go back to a time when television was great all night long. You better believe it.

Clacked by Aryeh S.
on Feb 01, 2009 @ 13:00 EST5EDT