''CBS Block Party'' (referred to on-air as the ''CBS Friday Night Block Party'') was a programming block that aired on the
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...
television network during the
1997–1998 television season. The block was similar to, and was intended as
direct competition to,
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
's
TGIF lineup and aired on Friday nights from 8:00p.m. to 10:00p.m. ET, and included two former stalwarts of the TGIF lineup. Although the block was canceled after one year, the resulting audience fracture caused what turned out to be irreparable harm to the previously dominant TGIF, eventually clearing the way for CBS to dominate the Friday night lineup beginning in the next decade.
Background
When ABC (a network that was in the midst of an overhaul as
The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
took over) canceled the long-running shows ''
Family Matters
''Family Matters'' is an American television sitcom that debuted on ABC on September 22, 1989, and ended on May 9, 1997. However it moved to CBS, where it was shown from September 19, 1997, to July 17, 1998. A spin-off of '' Perfect Strangers ...
'' and ''
Step by Step'', CBS picked them up, paying a $40 million sum to earn the rights to the shows, and made them the cornerstones of the new "Block Party."
Two new family comedies were added. The first was a new production from
Miller-Boyett Productions
Miller-Boyett Productions (or simply Miller-Boyett) is an American television production company that mainly developed television sitcoms from the 1970s through the 1990s. It was responsible for family-oriented hit series such as ''Happy Days'', ...
(the production company behind ''Family Matters'' and ''Step By Step'' among other TGIF series), ''
Meego
MeeGo is a discontinued Linux distribution hosted by the Linux Foundation, using source code from the operating systems Moblin (produced by Intel) and Maemo (produced by Nokia). Primarily targeted at mobile devices and information appliances in ...
''. ''Meego'', in addition to being produced by TGIF alumni, also starred a TGIF alumnus:
Bronson Pinchot
Bronson Alcott Pinchot (; born May 20, 1959) is an American actor. He is best known for playing Balki Bartokomous on the ABC sitcom '' Perfect Strangers'' (1986–93). He also performed in films, such as ''Risky Business'' (1983), ''Beverly Hill ...
, who previously starred as
Balki Bartokomous
Balki Bartokomous is a fictional character played by Bronson Pinchot in the television sitcom '' Perfect Strangers''. He is from the fictional island of Mypos, which is near Greece and based on Greek culture.
Character history
Pinchot was firs ...
in ''
Perfect Strangers'' and as Jean-Luc Rieupeyroux in the sixth season of ''Step by Step'' (Pinchot even used a similar accent to the one he used for the Balki character); ''Meego'' also featured well-known contemporary child stars
Michelle Trachtenberg
Michelle Trachtenberg (; born October 11, 1985) is an American actress and model. Trachtenberg began her career at age three, appearing in a number of commercials, films, and television series as a child. Her starring role on the Nickelodeon tel ...
and
Jonathan Lipnicki
Jonathan William Lipnicki (born October 22, 1990) is an American actor who is known for his roles as a child actor. He has appeared in films such as ''Jerry Maguire'' (1996), ''Stuart Little'' (1999) and its 2002 sequel '' Stuart Little 2'', '' ...
. The second new series was ''
The Gregory Hines Show
''The Gregory Hines Show'' is an American television sitcom that aired on CBS. The series premiered on Monday, September 15, 1997, before airing on September 19, 1997, as a part of the network's Block Party Friday night lineup. It ended its run o ...
'', an eponymous sitcom featuring entertainer
Gregory Hines
Gregory Oliver Hines (February 14, 1946 – August 9, 2003) was an American dancer, actor, choreographer, and singer. He is one of the most celebrated tap dancers of all time. As an actor, he is best known for '' Wolfen'' (1981), '' The Cotton C ...
; CBS head
Leslie Moonves
Leslie Roy Moonves (; born October 6, 1949) is an American media executive who was the chairman and CEO of CBS Corporation from 2003 until his resignation in September 2018 following numerous allegations of sexual harassment, sexual assault and ...
described the Hines show as being more mature and edgy than the other shows in the block, but still
family-friendly
A family-friendly product or service is one that is considered to be suitable for all members of an average family. Family-friendly restaurants are ones that provide service to families that have young children. Frequently, family-friendly produc ...
enough that children could watch comfortably.
[
]Jaleel White
Jaleel Ahmad White (born November 27, 1976) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Steve Urkel on the sitcom ''Family Matters''.
The character was originally intended to be a one-time guest appearance on the show; however, he wa ...
, who played ''Family Matters'' star character Steve Urkel
Steven Quincy Urkel is a fictional character on the American ABC/ CBS sitcom ''Family Matters'', portrayed by Jaleel White. Originally slated to be a one-time-only character on the show, he broke out to be its most popular character and gradual ...
, stated that the producers jumped at the opportunity to jump to CBS because ABC was already shifting the ''TGIF'' block toward a much more child- and teen-oriented image, moving away from the whole-family approach it had taken at the beginning of its run (White believed being paired with the likes of ''The Gregory Hines Show'' was a far better fit than shows such as ''Muppets Tonight
''Muppets Tonight'' is an American live-action/ puppet family-oriented television series created by Jim Henson Productions and featuring The Muppets. Much like the "MuppeTelevision" segment of ''The Jim Henson Hour'' (1989), the show was a conti ...
'' and ''Aliens in the Family
''Aliens in the Family'' is an American science fantasy sitcom that aired on ABC from March 15 to August 31, 1996, conceived as part of its '' TGIF'' lineup.
Premise
The show was about single dad Doug Brody (John Bedford Lloyd), who is abducted ...
'' that had been appearing on ''TGIF'' at the time), and that they did not believe Disney would give Miller-Boyett as prominent of a role as they had held with ABC before Disney had bought it. CBS, still experiencing aftereffects from the loss of NFL rights, NHL rights and affiliates to Fox in 1994, saw the purchase as a golden opportunity to draw a younger demographic than it was drawing at the time.[
The CBS Block Party was CBS's second and final attempt to compete with TGIF; in 1992, the network attempted a similar block, albeit targeting an older demographic than either TGIF or the Block Party, that featured '']The Golden Palace
''The Golden Palace'' is an American sitcom television series produced as a sequel to ''The Golden Girls,'' a continuation without Bea Arthur (though she did guest star in a double episode) that originally aired on CBS from September 1992 to May ...
'' (the continuation of the long-running NBC sitcom ''The Golden Girls
''The Golden Girls'' is an American sitcom created by Susan Harris that aired on NBC from September 14, 1985, to May 9, 1992, with a total of 180 half-hour episodes, spanning seven seasons. With an ensemble cast starring Bea Arthur, Betty White ...
''), ''Designing Women
''Designing Women'' is an American television sitcom created by Linda Bloodworth-Thomason that aired on CBS from September 29, 1986, to May 24, 1993, producing seven seasons and 163 episodes. It was a joint production of Bloodworth/Thomason M ...
'', '' Major Dad'', and ''Bob
Bob, BOB, or B.O.B. may refer to:
Places
* Mount Bob, New York, United States
*Bob Island, Palmer Archipelago, Antarctica
People, fictional characters, and named animals
*Bob (given name), a list of people and fictional characters
*Bob (surname ...
''. Like the ''Block Party'', this block also failed after one season, and by the end of 1993, all four series had been canceled.
Lineup
*8:00pm ''Family Matters
''Family Matters'' is an American television sitcom that debuted on ABC on September 22, 1989, and ended on May 9, 1997. However it moved to CBS, where it was shown from September 19, 1997, to July 17, 1998. A spin-off of '' Perfect Strangers ...
''
*8:30pm ''Meego
MeeGo is a discontinued Linux distribution hosted by the Linux Foundation, using source code from the operating systems Moblin (produced by Intel) and Maemo (produced by Nokia). Primarily targeted at mobile devices and information appliances in ...
''
**Replaced midseason with ''Kids Say the Darndest Things
''Kids Say the Darndest Things'' is an American comedy series originally hosted by Bill Cosby that aired on CBS from January 9, 1998 to June 23, 2000. A revival hosted by Tiffany Haddish aired on ABC from October 6, 2019 to January 19, 2020. A ...
''
*9:00pm ''The Gregory Hines Show
''The Gregory Hines Show'' is an American television sitcom that aired on CBS. The series premiered on Monday, September 15, 1997, before airing on September 19, 1997, as a part of the network's Block Party Friday night lineup. It ended its run o ...
''
*9:30pm '' Step by Step''
:(all times U.S. Eastern Time)
Aftermath
None of the shows in the initial lineup lasted beyond that season. ''Meego'' lasted a mere six weeks, and ''The Gregory Hines Show'' was gone after fourteen. Though the two ABC series were picked up for full seasons, they suffered badly from the network jump, with both series hitting all-time lows in the Nielsen ratings (''Family Matters'' was nevertheless modestly successful enough to beat the show that replaced it in the ''TGIF'' lineup, '' You Wish''; the success was short-lived when ''You Wish'' was canceled). ''Family Matters'' also suffered due to extensive retooling: Steve Urkel was revamped to tone down his nerdiness, several characters were written out or reduced to guest appearances, and Jo Marie Payton
Jo Marie Payton (born August 3, 1950) is an American actress and singer. She is best known for her roles as Harriette Baines Winslow on the ABC/ CBS sitcom ''Family Matters'' (1989–1998), a role she originated on its forerunner series '' Perf ...
left the show midseason after getting into an altercation with White that nearly turned into fisticuffs (her role as Harriette Winslow was recast with Judyann Elder
Judyann Elder (born Judith Ann Johnson) is an American actress, director, and writer. Elder played Nadine Waters on the FOX sitcom ''Martin''. She also played Harriette Winslow on CBS ''Family Matters'' for the remaining eight episodes of its ni ...
playing her the rest of the season).
When the series were canceled, none were afforded a series finale. ''Kids Say the Darndest Things'', however, would continue for two additional seasons, usually paired on Friday nights with a revival of ''Candid Camera
''Candid Camera'' is a popular and long-running American hidden camera reality television series. Versions of the show appeared on television from 1948 until 2014. Originally created and produced by Allen Funt, it often featured practical jokes ...
''. ''Kids Say...'' and ''Candid Camera'' would have more sustained success against TGIF, which eventually declined over the next two years until it ended in 2000.[
CBS has mostly focused on dramatic programming in the time slot since the ''Block Party'' was canceled, a programming strategy that has been a relative success in the so-called "]Friday night death slot
The "Friday night death slot" or "Friday evening death slot" is a perceived graveyard slot in American television. It implies a television program in the United States scheduled on Friday evenings (typically, between 8:00 and 11:00 p.m. ET) ...
."
References
{{reflist
CBS Television Network
Television programming blocks in the United States