Wednesday, August 1, 2007

Thursday Thirteen #4


Thirteen Things about Television


I watched "Home Alone 2" with my daughter the other day and I love that line: "Ma'am, I'm 8 years old. Television is my life."

So I thought I'd do a little research and find out what our fave shows were over the years. When I looked at the top rated primetime telecasts, SuperBowls dominated the whole list, except that Numbers 1,2 and 3 were: M*A*S*H* series finale, Dallas - Who Shot JR? and the Roots finale. I wanted to list something different other than listing all the Superbowls over the years.

My decision was to list the 13 Most Highly Watched Series Finales of ALL TIME:

#1 - M*A*S*H*, 2/28/1983, 105.9 million viewers. (I boo-hooed big time like everyone else I knew. Life wasn't going to be the same without Hawkeye Pierce and the 4077th. Little did I know at the time, but eventually DVD's could take us back to Korea anytime we wanted.)
#2 - Cheers, 5/20/1993, 80.4 million viewers. (Ok. I'll admit it. I lost interest once Diane left so I didn't see the finale.)
#3 - Seinfeld, 5/14/1998, 76.3 million viewers. (Yes, I saw it. I'm still wondering why.)
#4 - Friends, 5/6/2004, 52.5 million viewers. (I was a spotty Friends watcher only because my kids were going in different directions all the time and my TV time was sorely compromised. I did not see the Finale here, altho I remember the story that Jennifer Aniston was crying because the show was over and so was her marriage.)
#5 - Magnum, PI, 5/1/1988, 50.7 million viewers. (Remember it like it was yesterday. Thomas back in the Navy with a daughter to raise. Once again, DVD's can bring back Higgy-baby, the Lads and Selleck in those 1980's SHORT SHORTS anytime you feel the need. Which is frequently.)
#6 - The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, 5/22/1992, 50.0 million viewers. (I lost my late night TV talk show focus with the birth of my son in 1990. My only focus was sleep. So I missed this one.)
#7 - The Cosby Show, 4/30/1992, 44.4 million viewers. (Always liked the Cosby Show, but missed this one too.)
#8 - All in the Family, 4/8/1979, 40.2 million viewers. (Saw this one knowing Meathead, Archie and company were a groundbreaking crew of talented people and wondering how Norman Lear could ever follow it up.)
#9 - Family Ties, 5/14/1989, 36.3 million viewers. (I liked this show too, but missed the big goodbye. Seemed like I lost interest once the kids were bigger, which is a problem with shows based on raising a family.)
#10 - Home Improvement, 5/25/1999, 35.5 million viewers. (One of my ultimate favorites that I hated to see go. I wanted to be Jill Taylor. Good Mom, went back to school, seemed to be able to handle things with a sense of humor. I wanted to be like her but failed miserably.)
#11 - Dallas, 5/3/1991, 33.3 million viewers. (If you were alive, you saw it. I was surprised it was only #11....although it did lose uumph after that stupid "Dream Sequence" year of Pam's, done to explain Bobby's reappearance after he was killed off the year before.)
#12 - Everybody Loves Raymond, 5/16/2005, 32.9 million viewers. (Another great show that I can relive every night on TNT. Doris Roberts is an absolute genius.)
#13 - Gunsmoke, 3/31/1975, 30.9 million viewers. (I remember my father watching it. I was probably busy picking lint out of the carpet.)









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The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!



27 comments:

MommaBoo said...

FUN!

Thanks for sharing.

Happy TT!

Anonymous said...

I saw the MASH one, but that's it. I loved the show, but by the time it ended, it seemed to me that it was time for it to end (?) Hawkeye went from being a lovable scamp to being Alan Alda....

pussreboots said...

I just bought myself season 2 of Magnum PI and I get to watch reruns on my local TV station. :D

Happy TT.

Susan Helene Gottfried said...

Cool list. I saw a bunch of them, but MASH is the only one I really remember!

Anonymous said...

Loved MASH and All in the Family!

Anonymous said...

Good list.

I loved M*A*S*H

Lisa said...

Magnum PI? For real? Wow ... I didn't think that show was all that popular. Just goes to show what I know, eh?

Have a great Thursday! (PS: I like your posts - read down a few. Most entertaining.)

Anonymous said...

I saw the last MASH but found it rather mawkish. The last Cheers was much better. The last Cosby was far too slushy -- the whole show had a distressing tendencey to indulge in slop, and sickeningly cute, sassy little kids.

I lost interest in Dallas after Bobby came back in the shower. That was one insult to my intelligence too many.

Anonymous said...

LOVE them! Thanks for sharing!

Happy TT!

Anonymous said...

Let's see now, I saw #1, #2, #4 (disappointed because I really came to like those six friends and the episode was kinda dopey), #5, #6 (Bette Midler was terrific) and #9. As far as Seinfeld and Raymond go -- I know I'm alone in this, but Seinfeld never even made me smile, and Patricia Heaton annoys me so much it's almost physically painful. Oh well, that's why there are 57 channels, right?

Anne

Anonymous said...

Yes, I've seen a lot of these... Is that sad because I was probably around 10 when most of these were on... I was raised on Dallas!

Suprina said...

What a great TT!

Lazy Daisy said...

Wow, what a great idea...loved your research. Gunsmoke was a real surprise.

L^2 said...

I know I saw #3 and 4. And I might have seen 7, 10 and 12, but I think I missed the rest.

Crimson Wife said...

I saw Seinfeld & Cosby but none of the others.

JHS said...

I watched #1,2,5,6 & 11 in real time. I recorded the finale of Raymond but still haven't watched it because that way the show doesn't ever have to really end. Doris Roberts is so much like my mother-in-law, it's spooky.

The Cat Realm said...

We don't understand! Why is the human slave writing the blog instead of the master cats???
Karl and Anastasia
http://thecatrealm.com

Emmyrose said...

Friends is my all-time fave :)

Anonymous said...

This list brings back some memories. Who knew that we would have DVD's to re-watch our favorite show.s

Sparky Duck said...

I saw almost all of these, though gunsmoke was before my time. The Tonight show before the last one was just as good at the finale. I get my Magnum fix on Sleuth, thank goodness for TiVo.

Ash said...

Home Alone was my life as a kid. and I had the biggest crush on Macaluly growing up. Doooooooork am I.
Good list!

Heather Rae Scott said...

This is a great list and I think I watched most of these shows, with the exception of Gun Smoke. I used to be a tv junkie. I didn't realize it's been so long for some of these shows since they went off the air--man, makes me feel old. LOL

Great list.

http://www.heatherraescott.net/blog/

Eimi said...

The only one of those I watched is Friends! I didn't think Jennifer Aniston's marriage was over at that point!! I thought it was a year or so later.

Tink said...

I think I've seen most of them, just not 13. Finals are always special, but a bit sad too.
My TT teaches a geography lesson of The Netherlands.

Nicole said...

Cool list. I highly approve of the #1 show; M*A*S*H was one of the few TV shows I knew existed when I was younger... (That and Jeopardy.) ^.~

Happy TT!

The Cat Realm said...

IDYA means I Dare You All...
And we hope you will accept the challenge that we will post this Sunday!
Cats can play. Beans can play.
It will be fun. I hope....
Karl

Splash said...

We still like the end of the Bob Newhart show the best. Where he wakes up from the dream and there he is in his previous show. Best spoof on Dallas, period.