“Amazing New TV Book About Greensboro Dick Van Dyke Show on  DVDs Bionic Woman on DVD Mr Peabody on DVD Looney Tunes Golden Ed
Bionic Woman on DVD

NBC Network Jingles
by Matthew Anscher

PART I:
THE PLUMAGE DON'T ENTER INTO IT

Once in my youth, I heard of a superstition claiming that the peacock brings bad luck. However, one tumultuous decade at NBC would disprove the old wives who told that tale.

In the good old days of TV, the National Broadcasting Company, ratings-wise, was traditionally behind CBS but well-ahead of ABC. In the 1970s, that balance changed dramatically.

foxxThe Peacock's major hit series in the mid-1970s were Sanford and Son (second only to All in the Family in the ratings), Chico and the Man, The Rockford Files, The Wonderful World of Disney, and Little House on the Prairie.

However, in 1974, the network that pioneered color television started phasing out its colorful peacock intro that denoted a color program. By early 1975, it was history.

With the start of the 1975-1976 television season, NBC replaced the peacock entirely with a simple, two-colored, geometric "N".

Unfortunately, none of the nine shows they introduced that fall: The Family Holvak, McCoy, The Invisible Man, Joe Forrester, Doctors' Hospital, The Montefuscos, Fay, a revival of Ellery Queen, and Medical Story, were renewed for a second season. In fact, The Montefuscos and Fay, two sitcoms hoping to compete with CBS's The Waltons on Thursday night, were gone before Halloween.


Story Continues After This Message!

That year, Disney fell out of the Top 20 for the first time since the 1968-1969 season as audiences were turning away from wholesome "family" entertainment and towards more "sophisticated" programs, such as All in the Family and M*A*S*H. Everyone's favorite junk dealer, Fred Sanford, fell from 2nd place in 1974-1975 to 8th place in 1975-76. Chico and the Man was "looking gooooood" in its first season, with a 3rd place rating, but fell from the top 20 during the second season.

It didn't help matters that the network found itself being sued over its new geometric 'N" logo by a small educational TV station in Nebraska.

A glimmer of hope came in late night when NBC's vice president Dick Ebersol replaced Tonight Show reruns on Saturday night with an irreverent sketch comedy called NBC's Saturday Night. Though criticized by some critics for allegedly being in poor taste, it caught on as a popular program.

Midseason replacements didn't fare much better. The Rich Little Show, The John Davidson Show, Jigsaw John, City of Angels (not to be confused with the 1990s CBS series), The Dumplings, Grady (the first of three ill-fated Sanford and Son spinoffs), The Cop & the Kid, and The Practice failed to salvage the season for the network, the last show being the only one to make it to the next season. Movin' On, supposedly a favorite of then-President Gerald Ford, was also canceled.

The following season, 1976-77, (the last for Sanford and Son, Emergency!, McCloud, Columbo, a wife-less McMillan, and Police Story) was not that much better. NBC's only successful new series was Quincy M.E. starring Jack Klugman, a hybrid of the medical and mystery dramas. Also a success was The Big Event, which was merely an umbrella title for movies and specials, including the phenomenally successful network television premiere of the movie Gone With the Wind that November.

Of the flops, there were Baa Baa Black Sheep (which returned midseason as Black Sheep Squadron only to be cancelled again), The Quest, Gemini Man, Best Sellers (an anthology series made up of several serialized novels), Van Dyke and Company, and Serpico. Midseason gave us CPO Sharkey, The McLean Stevenson Show, Sirota's Court, Tales of the Unexpected, Kingston Confidential, Grizzly Adams (all of those on Wednesday!), Fantastic Journey, and Gibbsville. Only Grizzly Adams made the fall schedule.

After the 1977-1978 season, what was once the peacock network could now be called the turkey network.

Sanford ArmsSanford Arms (a disastrous spin-off of Sanford and Son) was canned after 4 episodes, replaced by the return of CPO Sharkey with Don Rickles. The Richard Pryor Show, despite all the hullabaloo around it, was a failure in the ratings and was also gone after four episodes.


Story Continues After This Message!

The Bionic Woman moved to NBC from ABC for what would ultimately be its final season. Mulligan's Stew, The Oregon Trail, Big Hawaii, The Man From Atlantis, and Rosetti and Ryan all crashed and burned. James at 15 was also a one-season wonder.

Midseason brought The Chuck Barris Rah-Rah Show, a second installment of The Big Event, Project UFO, The Hanna-Barbera Happy Hour, What Really Happened to the Class of '65, and Quark.

On top of NBC's new show failures, ABC had successfully lured Redd Foxx away from his hit series for a variety show that flopped and Freddie Prinze's suicide spelled disaster for the ratings of Chico and the Man, this season being the last.

The only hit NBC had to show from 1977-1978 was CHiPs, a series about the California Highway Patrol. NBC Saturday Night at the Movies, CPO Sharkey, Grizzly Adams, and Police Woman were gone by the end of the season as ABC claimed the number one spot in the ratings for the first time ever.

 

PART II:
THE SILVERMAN TOUCH

Plus - the network jingles that put
NBC on top - from the 1970s - 1990s!

 

PAGE 1 / 2/ 3/ 4

The story of how the NBC peacock's feathers were plucked only to have them regrow brighter than ever

 

Your Classic TV Blog!

PR4 & PR5 Pages for ads - CHEAP!

Your Classic TV Blog!

Punk


 

Book About Greensboro

Classic Commercials on DVDMary Tyler Moore Show on DVD

 

Access our
catalog of all
the classic TV
shows on DVD!

Video and audio
contributions:
Dan Ferriera and
Justin Kaplowitz

 

FOR VIDEO
& AUDIO:

Real Player

 


Search Now:  

 

TV on DVD catalog



Local Kid Shows / Movie Stars on TV / Saturday Morning Shows / Video Vault / TV Goodbyes / Fabulous Fifties / Unseen Scenes / Game Shows / Requested Forgotten TV Shows / The Super Sixties / More Modern TV Shows / The New * * Shows / 1980's Wrestling / TV Blog

TVparty! Classic TV
Classic TV on the Internet!

TV's Embarrassing Moments / Action Shows of the Sixties / TVparty Mysteries and Scandals / Variety Shows of the 1970s / The Eighties / The Laugh Track / 1970's Hit Shows / Response to TVparty / Search the Site / Add Your Comments

THE EIGHTIES: EARLY EIGHTIES NETWORK PROMOS / TV 1986 / WOODY HARRELSON AS WOODY ON CHEERS / FALCON'S GOLD: CABLE TV'S FIRST MOVIE / BILL & TED'S EXCELLENT ADVENTURES SITCOM / CREATORS & CAST OF IT'S A LIVING THAT HAVE PASSED AWAY / MOST UNEXPECTED MOMENT IN TV HISTORY / NORMAN LLOYD TRIBUTE / ORSON WELLES INTERVIEWS ANDY KAUFMAN / EARLY MTV STARS MISSING PERSONS / FALCON CREST / PEE-WEE HERMAN / MURDER SHE WROTE / 1981 CHARLES GRODIN INTERVIEW / THERE ARE FUNNY EPISODES OF MAMA'S FAMILY - HONEST! / HANGING WITH SEAN PENN 1986 / 1985 GEORGE CLOONEY INTERVIEW! / IT'S A LIVING / EDDIE MURPHY AS JAMES BOND? IT ALMOST HAPPENED! / AUNT BEE'S DYING WORDS TO ANDY GRIFFITH / THE GOLDEN PALACE / MARRIED WITH CHILDREN'S ED O'NEILL & AMANDA BEARSE'S LONGTIME FEUD / PAUL McCARTNEY vs MICHAEL JACKSON / HOW NBC GOT ITS GROOVE BACK / 1980's WCW WRESTLING / ALAN ALDA DISCUSSES THE M*A*S*H FINALE / I WAS ALMOST CUJO IN THE STEPHEN KING MOVIE / 1986-87 TV SEASON / 1988-89 TV SEASON / 1990-91 TV SEASON / 1991-92 TV SEASON / WHY SHELLEY LONG LEFT CHEERS? / JASON ALEXANDER BEFORE SEINFELD / PEOPLE vs JEAN HARRIS / TROUBLED 1980-81 TV SEASON / "KISS MY GRITS" FLO HAD HER OWN SHOW? / CULLY HOLLAND / ONE SEASON WONDERS... THAT GOT RENEWED! / DWIGHT SCHULTZ ON WORKING WITH GEORGE PEPPARD / DEMPSEY & MAKEPEACE / THE BAXTERS / G.L.O.W. / FRIDAYS / GREATEST AMERICAN HERO / Great 1983 Carson Tonight Show / EARLY '80s TV COMMERCIALS / LOST MOVIE POSTERS /RICH HALL /FILTHY RICH/1980's TV WRESTLING STARS / TV DADS / FOX'S JOAN RIVERS / CHEVY CHASE DEBACLES

Classic TV Commercials / 1950's TV / 1960's TV / Punk Book / / 1970's TV / Groucho vs William F Buckley / / TV Games / Honey Boo Boo / Lucy Shows / Classic Cars / John Wayne / Gene Roddenberry / Rockford Files / Sea Hunt / Superman on DVD / Toy Gun Ads / Flip Wilson Show / Big Blue Marble / Monty Hall / Carrascolendas / Mr. Dressup / Major Mudd / Chief Halftown / Baby Daphne / Sheriff John / Winchell & Mahoney / Fireball X-L5 / Mr. Wizard / Captain Noah / Thanksgiving Day Specials / Disney's First Christmas Special / Saturday Morning Cartoons / The Magic Garden / Amahl & the Night Visitors / Holiday Toy Commercials / Lucy & Desi's Last Christmas Show / Joey Heatherton / Fat Albert / The Virginian / Bewitched / Death of John Wayne / 1974 Saturday Mornings / Chuck McCann / Rudolph Collectables / Shrimpenstein / Local Popeye Shows / New Treasure Hunt / 1966 ABC TV Shows / 1967 TV Shows / 1968 TV Shows / Ric Flair, Dusty Rhodes & Baby Doll / Fridays / TV Moms / Red Skelton / Star Wars / KISS / Lancelot Link / Saturday Morning Cartoons / The Magic Garden / Wonder Woman / Classic Comic Books / Andy Griffith / Cher / TV Shows on DVD / Outtakes & Bloopers / 1967 TV Shows / Romper Room / ABC Movie of the Week / The Goldbergs / Daws Butler Commercials / Saturday Morning Commercials / Captain Kangaroo / Chicago Local Kiddie Shows / Boston Local TV / Philly Local TV / NYC Local Kid Shows / Amos 'n' Andy / Electric Company / Bette Davis / Judy Garland / Christmas Specials / Redd Foxx / Good Times / Sitcom Houses / What's Happening! / Winky Dink & You / Sonny & Cher / Smothers Brothers / Commercial Icons of the 1960s / Soupy Sales / TV Terrorists / Irwin Allen / The Untouchables / Carol Burnett Show / Batman TV Show / Green Hornet / Today Show History / Our Gang / Doris Day Show / 1970's Commercials For Women / Bill Cosby in the 1970s / The Golddiggers / Lola Falana / 1970s TV Shows / David Bowie on TV / Hudson Brothers / Jackie Gleason / Hollywood Squares / Match Game / Bob Keeshan / Gumby / The Flip Wilson Show / Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour / The Bobby Darin Show / The Richard Pryor Show / George Burns / Celebrity Commercials / Rudolph / Movie Posters & More! 

He Man on DVD New TV Carol Burnett Show on DVD King Family Christmas on DVD “Amazing “The Dungeons & Dragons on DVD
Looking for classic TV on DVD?/See below:
Back to the menu
Contact Us / Classic TV DVDs
Other Cool TV Sites

TVparty! Television Blog