Week 8 of the 1987-1988 season started on Monday, November 9th, 1987 and ended on Sunday, November 15th, 1987. The highest-rated program was The Cosby Show on NBC with a 33.9/51 Nielsen rating/share and 46.9 million viewers according to AGB Television Research.
Here are the 10 lowest-rated programs on TV during Week 8 of the 1987-1988 season:
| ## | Program | Network | Rating | Viewers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 61 | The Pursuit of Happiness | ABC | 9.2/15 | 13,200,000 |
| 62 | Buck James | ABC | 9.1/15 | 9,400,000 |
| 63 | Ohara | ABC | 8.8/15 | 12,400,000 |
| 64 | Hotel | ABC | 8.3/16 | 12,700,000 |
| 65 | Houston Knights | CBS | 8.2/12 | 12,000,000 |
| 66 | Sable | ABC | 7.9/14 | 10,200,000 |
| 67 | Sledge Hammer! | ABC | 7.7/12 | 11,000,000 |
| 68 | Dead Man’s Folly (movie) | CBS | 7.5/13 | 11,800,000 |
| 69 | West 57th | CBS | 6.9/13 | 11,900,000 |
| 70 | The Charmings | ABC | 6.3/9 | 9,600,000 |
Copyright A.C. Nielsen Co. and AGB Television Research
Note: USA Today did not begin including FOX programming in its weekly rating charts until December 1988.
After four straight weeks with the lowest-rated show on the air, CBS must have been happy to see ABC’s The Charmings sink to the bottom of the Nielsen chart, just below West 57th. It was a pretty bad week for ABC, which placed seven shows in the Bottom 10. The other three were CBS shows.
CBS made big changes to its Saturday lineup beginning November 14th. It put My Sister Sam on hiatus while cancelling Everything’s Relative and Leg Work. Replacing those three shows from 8-10PM was The CBS Saturday Night Movie, which debuted with Dead Man’s Folly. The broadcast just barely out-rated the shows it replaced. West 57th from 10-11 also performed poorly.
As for ABC, its Saturday lineup did almost as bad. Sable, Ohara, and Hotel were all in the Bottom 10.
A special hour-long episode of The Cosby Show on Thursday, November 12th negatively impacted The Charmings on ABC from 8:30-9PM. The sitcom ranked dead last for the week. Sledge Hammer! from 8-8:30PM performed only a little bit better.
ABC also had trouble with The Pursuit of Happiness on Friday, November 13th. The new sitcom was the weakest link in the network’s Friday lineup. Likewise, Buck James was the network’s lowest-rated program on Sunday, November 15th.
Also of note: Frank’s Place (CBS, Monday, November 9th) tied for 47th for the week; “A Special Evening of Pee-Wee’s Playhouse” (CBS, Wednesday, November 11th) tied for 57th; I Married Dora (ABC, Friday, November 13th) tied for 56th; and Our House (NBC, Sunday, November 15th) ranked 53rd.
Source:
“Using this chart.” USA Today. 18 Nov. 1987: 03.d
