1972/73 – All In The Family was #1 on CBS Saturday, second year running.
Note: Any BOLD shows were cancelled in 1972 season; the second longest western,
Bonanza, was cancelled in the fourteen season.
Alternate Series:
Alias Smith & Jones and Kung Fu was on ABC Saturday at 8 PM. Alias Smith & Jones was cancelled in mid–season;
Kung Fu went weekly.
America and NBC Reports was on NBC Tuesday at 10 PM.
Biggest New Hit: Maude was #4 on CBS Tuesdays. Who doesn’t love Maude? That’s right! Archie Bunker can’t
stand her! Maude was Edith’s cousin. She gets on Archie’s bad side all the time.
The Bold Ones - The New Doctors was the last one standing; it was their last season too. It aired on a new night, NBC
Tuesday at 9 PM. The Bold Ones was originally three series.
British Ties:
Love Thy Neighbor was based on the popular ITV series.
Thicker Than Water was based on ITV series, Nearest And Dearest.
A Touch Of Grace was based on ITV series, For The Love Of Ada.
Daytime: The Brady Bunch was on ABC weekdays from July 1973–August 1975.
The Men: It combined three rotating series - Assignment Vienna, The Delphi Bureau & Jigsaw. ABC failed miserably
with The Men; it couldn't compete with NBC Mystery Movie.
Movies 2 TV: Anna And The King was based on the 1956 Yul Brynner movie, The King And I. Yul won the best actor Oscar
for the role.
NBC Mystery Movie: It quite proved very popular last season that NBC added a new night, Sundays, with the original
three series.
Sunday – Columbo, McCloud, McMillian And Wife & Hec Ramsey. The Sunday version was #5 in the ratings of the season.
Wednesday – Madigan, Cool Million & Banacek.
Name Change:
Chronolog to First Tuesday.
Ghost Story to Circle Of Fear in January 1973.
The Return:
Buddy Ebsen returned in Barnaby Jones; he was best known for playing Jed Clampett on The Beverly Hillbillies.
What a thrill! Chuck Connors was back on TV after a four-year absence. He was the host of Thrill Seekers. Hey, wait a darn
minute! He was the host! Man, that's a robbery itself. We want to see him in action. Chuck really needs his gun again! I bet
he's ready to kill again.
Simultaneous: Keye Luke was on ABC's Kung Fu and CBS' Anna And The King. Hopefully, to land a hit series, just star
in two series in the season. Anna And The King ended on New Year Eve's 1972. Kung Fu lasted for three seasons.
Spin Off:
Maude was very popular on All In The Family that Bea Arthur was giver her own series. Maude is Edith Bunker's cousin
Sandy Duncan from Funny Face.
Tidbits:
Conrad Bain played Dr. Arthur Harman on Maude; he went on greater fame playing Mr. Drummond on Diff’rent Strokes
in the late 1970’s.
Bea Arthur and Rue McClanahan co-starred on Maude; they went on greater fame playing two of The Golden Girls in the 1980’s.
Estelle Rolle played Maude’s maid, Florida Evans & John Amos played Florida’s husband, Henry Evans; both
actors went on greater fame on the spin off series, Good Times, in February 1974.
Sonny & Cher is the first real life couple to have a variety TV show, Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour.
Anna And The King was CBS' lowest rated show of the season.
America was one of the first commercial series to be rerun on PBS.
CBS News Retrospective was only on the summers of 1973 and 1974. The classic documentaries were from the 1950's and the
1960's.
Joan Crawford guest starred on The Sixth Sense episode, "Dear Joan, We're Going To Scare You To Death" on September 30,
1972. It was her last acting job. Man, I bet Christina was dying to be a part of that episode!
There was no ABC shows in the top 10 from 1972–1975. Their last top 10 hit was Marcus Welby, M.D in 1971. The Six
Million Dollar came pretty darn close next season; it was #11. ABC's fortunes changed for the better in 1975, thanks to the
Happy Days' spin off, Laverne & Shirley, which was #3.
Bridget Loves Bernie was #5 on CBS Saturday. It was one of the top 10 series to be cancelled in the first season; it was
cancelled for two reasons. CBS felt like that the viewers were defecting after All In The Family and the protests of the religion
groups regarding the show's content. At least, Bridget and Bernie found true love in real life. David Birney and Meredith
Baxter was married after the program went off the air. M*A*S*H premiered in the same season on CBS Sunday, thou it wasn't
in the top 30. M*A*S*H was on the brink of cancellation. The next season, M*A*S*H took over the same time slot on Saturday
and held on to 10% more viewers than Bridget Loves Bernie. M*A*S*H was #4 of the season. Since then, M*A*S*H was in the top
20 every season. The right time slot makes all the differences in the world for a series.
1972/73 Fall Season
One Season (1972/73)
Banacek – 1972–1974, NBC; Wednesday, mystery, George Peppard
The Bob Newhart Show – 1972–1978, CBS, comedy, Bob Newhart, Suzanne Pleshette
Kung Fu – 1972–1975, ABC, western, David Carradine
Hec Ramsey – 1972–1974, NBC; Sunday, western, Richard Boone, Harry Morgan
The Little People – 1972–1974, NBC, comedy, Brian Keith, Shelley Fabares
M*A*S*H – 1972–1983,CBS, comedy, Alan Alda, Loretta Swit, Wayne Rogers
Maude – 1972–1978, CBS, comedy, Bea Arthur, Rue McClanahan, Bill Macy
The Rookies – 1972–1976, ABC, crime drama, Kate Jackson, Sam Melville
The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour – August 1971–1974, CBS, variety, Sonny Bono, Cher
The Streets Of San Francisco – 1972–1977, ABC, crime drama, Michael Douglas
Temperatures Rising – 1972–1974, ABC, comedy, Joan Van Ark
The Waltons – 1972–1981, CBS, drama, Ralph Waite, Michael Learned
Cancelled TV Shows
Anna And The King – CBS, comedy, Yul Brynner, Samatha Eggar
Assignment Vienna – ABC, drama, Robert Conrad
Banyon – NBC, mystery, Robert Forster
The Bobby Darin Show – NBC, musical variety, Bobby Darin
Bridget Loves Bernie – CBS, comedy, David Birney, Meredith Baxter
Cool Million – NBC; Wednesday, mystery, James Farentino
The Delphi Bureau – ABC, drama, Laurence Luckinbill
Ghost Story – NBC, supernatural anthology, Sebastian Cabot
The Julie Andrews Hour – ABC, variety, Julie Andrews, Alice Ghostly
Madigan – NBC; Wednesday, crime drama, Richard Widmark
The Men – ABC; adventure, combined 3 dramas
NBC Reports – NBC, documentary
Jigsaw – ABC, crime drama, James Wainwriight
The New Bill Cosby Show – CBS, variety, Bill Cosby
The Paul Lynde Show – ABC, comedy, Paul Lynde, Jerry Stiller
The Sandy Duncan Show – CBS, comedy, Sandy Duncan
Search – NBC, adventure, Doug McClure, Tony Franciosa
12 out of 29 new series SURVIVED for 1973/74
ABC – 4/8, Kung Fu, The Rookies, Streets Of San Francisco &
Temperatures Rising
CBS – 5/9, The Bob Newhart Show, M*A*S*H, Maude, Sonny & Cher
Comedy Hour & The Waltons
NBC – 3/9, Banacek, Hec Ramsey, & Little People
Mid season shows
Barnaby Jones – January 1973–1980, CBS, crime drama, Buddy Ebsen
CBS News Retrospective – 1973/74, CBS, documentary, John Hart
Cancelled Mid Season Shows
America – NBC, documentary, Alistair Cooke
The Burns And Schreiber Comedy Hour – ABC, comedy/variety, Teri Garr, Frank Willard
Escape – NBC, adventure anthology, 4 episodes, Jack Webb
Here We Go Again – ABC, comedy, Larry Hagman
Love Thy Neighbor – ABC, comedy, Harrison Page
The Strauss Family – ABC, romantic drama, 7 episodes, Eric Woolfe
Thicker Than Water – ABC, comedy, 9 episodes, Julie Harris
A Touch Of Grace – ABC, comedy, Shirley Booth
Syndication
The Bobby Goldsboro Show – Early 1973–1975, syndication, music, Bobby Goldsboro
The Explorers – syndication, documentary, Leslie Nielson
The Parent Game – 1972–1974, syndication, quiz, Clark Race
The Protectors – 1972–1974, syndication, adventure, Robert Vaughn
Thrill Seekers – January 1973–1974, syndication, documentary, Chuck Connors
UFO – syndication, sci fi, Ed Bishop
The Wacky World Of Jonathan Winters – 1972–1974, syndication, comedy/variety, Marian Mercer
Wait Till Your Father Gets Home – 1972–1974, syndication, cartoon, Tom Bosley
Late Night
The Midnight Special – February 1973–1981, NBC, music, Wolfman Jack
Two Seasons (1971/72)
The Amazing World Of Kreskin – 1971–1975, syndication, mind reading
The Baseball World Of Joe Garagiola – 1972–1975, NBC, sports commentary
Cannon – 1971–1976, CBS, crime drama
Circus – 1971–1973, syndication, variety
Columbo – 1971–1977, NBC, ABC, crime drama
The Corner Bar – June 1972–1973, ABC, comedy
The David Frost Revue – 1971–1973, syndication, comedy
Dr. Simon Locke – 1971–1974, syndication, medical drama
Doctor In The House – 1971–1973, syndication, comedy
Emergency – January 1972–1977, NBC, drama
Johnny Mann's Stand Up And Cheer – 1971–1973, syndication
McMillan & Wife – 1971–1977, NBC, crime drama
Mouse Factory – 1971–1973, syndication, children's
NBC Mystery Movie – 1971–1977, NBC
The New Dick Van Dyke – 1971–1974, CBS, comedy
Owen Marshall, Counselor At Law – 1971–1974, ABC, drama
Rollin' On The River – 1971–1973, syndication, music
Sanford & Son – January 1972–1977, NBC, comedy
Sixth Sense – January 1972–1973, ABC, occult
Untamed World – 1971–1975, syndication, documentary
Three Seasons (1970/71)
Alias Smith & Jones – January 1971–1973, ABC, western
All In The Family – January 1971–1979, CBS, comedy
The Flip Wilson Show – 1970–1974, NBC, variety
McCloud – 1970–1977, NBC, crime drama
The Mary Tyler Moore Show – 1970–1977, CBS, comedy
Monday Night Football – 1970–2006, ABC, sports
Night Gallery – 1970–1973, NBC, supernatural anthology
The Odd Couple – 1970–1975, ABC, comedy
The Partridge Family – 1970–1974, ABC, comedy
Four Seasons (1969/70)
The Bold Ones – 1969–1973, NBC, one drama series
The Brady Bunch – 1969–1974, ABC, comedy
The Dick Cavett Show – 1969–1972, ABC, talk/variety
Love, American Style – 1969–1974, ABC anthology
Marcus Welby MD – 1969–1976, ABC, drama
Medical Center – 1969–1976, CBS, drama
The New Doctors – 1969–1973, NBC, drama
Room 222 – 1969–1974, ABC, comedy
Safari To Adventure – 1969–1975, syndication, documentary
Five Seasons (1968/69)
Adam 12 – 1968–1975, NBC, crime drama
The Doris Day Show – 1968–1973, CBS, comedy
First Tuesday – January 1969–1973, NBC, newsmagazine
Hawaii Five-O – 1968–1980, CBS, crime drama
Hee Haw – 1971–1993, syndication, variety
Here's Lucy – 1968–1974, CBS, comedy
The Mod Squad – 1968–1973, ABC crime drama
60 Minutes – 1968–present, CBS, newsmagazine
Six Seasons (1967/68)
The Carol Burnett Show – 1967–1978, CBS, variety
Ironside – 1967–1975, NBC, crime drama
Mannix – 1967–1975, CBS, crime drama
Rowan & Martin’s Laugh In – January 1968–1973, NBC, variety
Wild Kingdom – 1971–1988, syndication, wildlife
Seven Seasons (1966/67)
Mission: Impossible – 1966–1973, CBS, international intrigue
Eight Seasons (1965/66)
The Dean Martin Show – 1965–1974, NBC, variety
The FBI – 1965–1974, ABC, crime drama
Twelve Seasons (1961/62)
The David Susskind Show – 1961–1987, syndication, talk
Fourteen Seasons (1959/60)
Bonanza – 1959–1973, NBC, western
Eighteen Seasons (1955/56)
Gunsmoke – 1955–1975, CBS, western
Nineteen Seasons (1954/55)
Lassie – 1971–1974, Syndication; adventure
The Lawrence Welk Show – 1971–1982, syndication, music
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson – 1962–1992, NBC, talk/variety
Wonderful World of Disney – 1954–1983, anthology
Twenty one Seasons (1952/53)
Death Valley Days – 1952–1975, syndication, western anthology
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