Retro Recommendations: Seinfeld

Seinfeld is today's Retro Recommendation. Seinfeld stars Jerry Seinfeld as the fictionalized version of himself. Set in New York City in an apartment on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, the show features a handful of friends and acquaintances, for example, his best friend George Costanza (Jason Alexander), Elaine Benes (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), and Cosmo Kramer (Michael Richards).

Seinfeld, one of the greatest and most influential sitcoms of all time, ran for a total of nine seasons and 180 episodes. In the early seasons, the sitcom was slow to cultivate a audience, but then became one of the highest rated sitcoms near the end of its run.

You may find more about its ratings in our Ratings History columns.

And that does it for today's Retro Recommendations. Stay tuned for highlights of more of your classic shows.

1997-98 Sitcom Scorecard -- NBC Rules Again, CBS Sitcoms Fall Below FOX's Few Entries

Written Pitying CBS in the 90's by Bridger Cunningham

NOTE: Data for 1997-98 is scarce, with 4 shows of the 175 entries missing.

NBC of course led the year, in spite of its sitcom varieties so weak they dropped below ABC's offerings.  The dynamics of the 90's presented a continual power struggle for 1st place, with ABC claiming 5 years (1990-91, 1992-95, 1999-2000), NBC taking 4 (1995-99) and CBS claiming a lone victory in 1992-93.  CBS' fortunes were bleaker in the 1990's claiming most of the years in 3rd Place (1990-91, 1994-98, 1999-2000).  1997-98 presented slimmer renewal percentages, with FOX only renewing 25% of their shows (translating to only King of the Hill and The Simpsons.

Cancellation ran rampant in 1998, with the largest casualty being NBC's Seinfeld (9 Seasons).  It went out with a bang, taking 1st Place and leaving ratings to its surrounding shows to exhaust like unyielding grandchildren spending their grandparents' inheritance.  CBS parted with Murphy Brown (the very show which catapulted it into 1st place in 1992) after 10 seasons with unceremonious ratings.  ABC's Grace Under Fire went up in flames after 5 seasons due to lead Brett Butler's personal troubles disrupting production.  One year after the poignant coming out episode, viewers turned their back on Ellen and it ended after 5 seasons.  FOX parted with Living Single after 5 struggling seasons.  And one year after ABC discarded Step by Step and Family Matters, CBS made an unwise choice to resurrect the shows and go after TGIF's ailing franchise with all shows getting axed.

The only good thing that CBS's kid-friendly block was it dislocated anemic Everybody Loves Raymond to Mondays, allowing the struggling show to thrive and the Monday Comedy block to survive post-Murphy Brown.  Trending also in 1997-98 was networks forcing shows who rode on hits' coattails to leave the nest.  NBC farmed out several former Thursday sitcoms onto Monday evening.  Caroline in the City, Fired Up, Suddenly Susan and The Naked Truth all deflated after moving away from Seinfeld, and only Caroline in the City and Suddenly Susan survived.  Even freshman Union Square failed to capitalize on Seinfeld going out with a bang and was shown the door inside of 1997.

Elsewhere, TGIF eroded further with none of the freshman sitcoms being offered renewals.  FOX struggled to deliver laughs on their schedule, yet their fragmented entries managed to outrate CBS' sitcom season average.  UPN still outshined WB on sitcom averages, yet WB pushed past in the overall season average as it amassed an impressive slew of dramas in 1998, finally establishing its identity and showing signs of growth for the first time in 4 seasons.

Sources:

1. http://www.sfgate.com/entertainment/article/Final-Ratings-for-97-98-TV-Season-3006101.php
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1997%E2%80%9398_United_States_network_television_schedule

1996-97 Sitcom Scorecard -- Not Much Changed As NBC 1st, Ratings Down Across The Board

Written Laughing at Coax Excuses by Bridger Cunningham

Can you believe it?  1996-97 presented 81 helpings of original sitcoms strewn across the six networks.  Look closer, as duplicate showings on FOX and WB gave singular shows 2-3 places on this grid, making the hard number in this table 75.  However, these shows broadcast live shows, so they count as 81.  Of those, 41 would survive to the next season, and only 32 would see the following season.

NBC of course was placed firmly in 1st, with a surprising resurgence from ABC after the previous season experienced drops.  CBS lost its brief renaissance and descended lower, and FOX experienced an alarming decline.  UPN was still 5th, and like its 6th Place neighbor WB, generated few hits which showed the fledglings had yet to grow like FOX did within its 3rd season.

Paint the charts blue, as ABC obviously ruled this season.  The greatest surprise in the sitcom ranks is NBC and ABC shared the lead as 1st Place with their sitcom offerings.  This has to due with NBC housing 8 sitcoms which registered between 64th-92nd Place, while all but one ABC sitcom ranked at or above that place this season.  CBS Mondays delivered a lackluster comedy block, with its highest entry placing at 22nd.  FOX went for broke with 11 sitcom entries, with only Simpsons, Living Single and King of the Hill coming back, leaving massive holes in FOX's schedule.

Notice a bunch of shows sitting at the top of the pack that are hard to remember?  That is because most tailed on or led up to the hits and blended in.  Their true value would be tested the following season after being farmed out from prime soil, a la The Great Indoors or The Millers in recent years on CBS.  Veteran did not fare well this year in new ventures as clunkers with "A Big Star" were shown the door in the burgeoning choice era.  Did NBC really expect us to believe Jonathan Silverman could carry a sitcom years after success with Weekend at Bernies?  Or Bateman siblings Justine and Jason could pass on Men Behaving Badly or Chicago Sons?  The biggest laugh was after years of shining her rear end on NYPD Blue, Sharon Lawrence could carry laughs with Leah Remini on Fired Up.  They utilized enough of their Seinfeld lead-up to survive, yet their sitcom's ratings value was disrobed the following season.  ABC tried Dan Aykroyd with Soul Man, which aired three episodes and received only one more season.

CBS offended viewers with this trend and gave its "stars" pink slips.  Bill Cosby evaded this fate as Cosby managed respectable ratings years after The Cosby Show ended.  But did they expect viewers to see Sam Malone working in publishing on Ink, or tart Carla Tortelli as a middle-aged college Freshman on Pearl?  This generated bigger laughs than their new sitcoms.  The only graceful thing CBS did was spare a struggling sitcom called Everybody Loves Raymond.  It sits at 84th place with ratings shorter than Patricia Heaton's hairdo this season.

1997 presented the end of several longstanding favorites.  ABC led the carnage, ending Roseanne (9 seasons), Coach (9 Seasons), Family Matters (8 seasons), Step By Step (6 seasons) and Hangin' With Mr Cooper (5 seasons, absent from this chart as it burned off in the summer) in a massive swoop.  NBC ended Wings (8 seasons) and The John Larroquette Show (4 seasons), and CBS unceremoniously ditched Dave's World (4 years).  And FOX parted with Martin (5 seasons) and the show it owed its existence to, Married... With Children (11 seasons) after a hearty, crude run.  Family Matters and Step by Step would receive one additional (and forgettable) season on CBS the following year.

Source: http://fbibler.chez.com/tvstats/recent_data/1996-97.html

1995-96 Sitcom Scorecard -- NBC Returns to 1st Place After 5-Year Absence

Written Marveling The Peacock Colors by Bridger Cunningham

After 5 years of enduring downturn and sinking as low as 3rd Place, NBC reclaimed its home in 1st Place, where it would ride out the next 4 seasons leading the now-6 networks.  Seinfeld, Friends, Caroline in the City and Frasier became the network's big-ticket items in sitcoms.  Where one peacock spread its colors, the liveliness of the ABC sitcom brand began to lose its luster and hues.  Experiencing a massive erision coinciding with the January 1996 merger with Capital Cities and Disney, the alphabet network repeatedly fought off attacks on 2nd place from resurgent CBS, whose sitcoms overtook the network' deliveries.  FOX also experienced massive hemorrhages, while UPN and WB inched upward in their anemic deliveries.

Must See TV and NBC Tuesdays were where it was at this season.  Both evenings bolstered top-20 hits.  Mondays cooled down faster than the Yukon in November as The Fresh Prince of Bel Air bowed out.  Sundays delivered softer deliveries, and Saturdays failed to ignite a spark.  Over at ABC, their rock-solid franchises experienced landslides.  Coach rebounded after a disastrous move to Mondays the previous season, and that was where the fortunes stopped.  Home Improvement was still top-10 worthy and returned to Tuesdays after 3 seasons on Wednesday.  An aging Roseanne fell out of the top 10 after moving to 8pm in what was then declared the final season (it returned for an ill-advised 9th season).

Wednesdays experienced a downtrend similar to the 1991-92 season as Grace Under Fire delivered modest success in 13th place without Home Improvement as its lead-in.  Ellen dropped as well, and Drew Carey barely made the top-50 cut.  TGIF experienced declines as its 3-year old lineup dropped, leading to an overhaul the next season.  CBS Mondays experienced buckling with Nancy McKeon vehicle Can't Hurry Love and Murphy Brown aging, yet The Nanny's ratings registered higher than Fran Drescher's hair.  ABC's weakened state on Wednesdays and Fridays could not afford an opportunity for CBS to try comedies on these evenings, again.  FOX could not dominate any of the evenings it housed sitcoms as Married... With Children and The Simpsons aged.  Saturday sitcoms of course failed, and feeble attempts to enter the Monday and Thursday games could not generate electricity.

Source: http://fbibler.chez.com/tvstats/recent_data/1995-96.html

1994-95 Sitcom Scorecard -- ABC Claims 1st Place a 3rd Year, The Biggest Laugh UPN and WB Deliver Is Their Ratings

Written With Proof Sitcoms Lead to Network Victories by Bridger Cunningham

Contrary to previous discussions by media outlets, NBC did not lead the networks from 1990-95.  It held 2nd place from 1990-91 and 1994-95, and rested in 3rd place from 1991-94.  In that absence, CBS ruled 1991-92, and ABC reigned the other years.  NBC certainly had the most viable sitcoms launched in the last two seasons, yet ABC rode high on Home Improvement's exhaust.  NBC came in 2nd, followed by a tarnished Tiffany standard landing CBS in 3rd place.  And of course, FOX....  Usually they ended this sentence in last place, yet two new networks emerged in the race called UPN and WB.  Both delivered ratings paltry to 1995, yet would be right at home in 2017.

Seinfeld joined the league of slow-burning sleepers who achieved ratings success after multiple seasons of earned success.  It joined The Facts of Life, Cheers and Family ties in a treasured place in NBC's crown, finally reaching 1st place during its 6th season.  Joining it was newly debuted Friends, who housed the other leading timeslot in Must See TV.  Frasier moved to an uncharted Tuesday, which sank the previous seasons with clunkers like Saved by the Bell: The College Years.  Add Mad About You, Wings and NewsRadio into the mix, and NBC wisely invested in its future.

ABC may have led the season, but it had less shows to carry it through the decade.  Home Improvement and Grace Under Fire burned hot, while Ellen and aging Roseanne registered lowe than the two irons in the fire.  Full House ended its 8th season at 24th place.  Lower than the last three seasons, yet far greater than its shaky 1st season in 71st.  TGIF delivered another stable delivery, while Coach experienced a massive drop due to an ill-fated move to Mondays in a 4th night of comedies.  6 casualties befell the 16 entries, though Sister, Sister was salvaged and shipped off to the fledgling WB.

CBS experienced the largest drop of 23% as its Monday comedies cooled compared to the last three successful seasons.  In a questionable move, the network axed Hearts Affire and Lova and War after three seasons.  9 casualties sliced down the 13 entries.  FOX experienced its showpieces dropping in prominence in age.  Martin and Living Single performed respectively and were salvaged, a fate 8 other shows were not afforded the same luxury.  Further down, UPN axed its two clunkers which shall not be named.  And WB launched three shows which carried the network 5 seasons.

Source: http://fbibler.chez.com/tvstats/recent_data/1994-95.html