TV Turn-Off Week
Speaking of TV Turn-Off Week, let’s take a look at about a few points in history when Americans were positively glued to their sets:
* ABC-TV’s “The Day After” gave Americans their first real images of what a nuclear war might look like. The heavily-hyped movie was seen by more than 100 million U.S. viewers, an audience that fewer than 20 programs have ever achieved. It’s the number one-rated made-for-TV movie in history. And yet it was only the third most-watched television program in 1983, behind the final episode of “M*A*S*H” and that year’s Super Bowl.
* Before the final installment of “Roots” took its place in 1977, what had been the most-watched television broadcast in history? Surprisingly, it was a two-night NBC airing of a motion picture that was nearly 40 years old at the time: “Gone With the Wind.”
* With plenty of pre-game hype, Super Bowl XX had the potential to become the most-watched football game in history when it was broadcast on January 26, 1986. Truth be told, had the game not been such a laugher, it might have succeeded. With the score 23 to 3, many viewers tuned elsewhere after the halftime show, while the Chicago Bears continued to a 46-10 drubbing of the New England Patriots. The broadcast ended up becoming the third-most watched Super Bowl (and fourth most-watched sporting event) ever.
* What British broadcast garnered more viewers than any other? Our hearts tell us that it would be the footage of the 1997 funeral procession for Princess Diana (32.1 million viewers). The statistics, however, say that it was England’s victory in the 1966 World Cup Final (32.2 million viewers). Let’s be fair to them, of course – Jolly Old England is home to a handful of princesses, but Her Majesty has only won the World Cup once.
* Over the summer of 1980, one question was on the mind of millions of Americans: Who shot J.R.? As the mania swept the land, a rumor spread through Hollywood that ol’ J.R. himself, Larry Hagman, decided that he was suddenly worth a lot more money than what his existing contract stipulated. A potential stand-off was quashed by a one-two punch: an actors’ union strike that delayed the new season that fall, and a subtle reminder to Hagman that his character could potentially fail to survive the assassination attempt. When the answer came on November 21, the episode became the first show ever seen by more than 40 million households.
-Will and Mangesh
