Week 13 of the 1973-1974 season started on Monday, December 3rd, 1973 and ended on Sunday, December 9th, 1973. The highest-rated program was a Bob Hope special on NBC with a 34.5/50 Nielsen rating/share. Here are the 10 lowest-rated programs:
| ## | Program | Network | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 56 | Rock & Roll Years | ABC | 12.8/20 |
| 57 | Toma | ABC | 12.5/19 |
| 58 | Perry Mason | CBS | 11.6/17 |
| 59 | The Odd Couple | ABC | 11.5/19 |
| 60 | Brady Bunch | ABC | 10.1/17 |
| 61 | Room 222 | ABC | 9.5/16 |
| 62 | CBS Reports: The Corporation | CBS | 9.4/18 |
| 63 | The Partridge Family | ABC | 7.1/12 |
| 64 | Adam’s Rib | ABC | 7.6/13 |
| 65 | Love, American Style | ABC | 7.1/12 |
An installment of CBS Reports titled “The Corporation” aired Thursday, December 6th, 1973 from 10-11PM ET.
Source:
“Bob Hope Noses Out Pal Crosby.” Los Angeles Times. 17 Dec. 1973: D28
I see THE BRADY BUNCH has returned to the bottom programs this week. The episode that aired this week, “The Elopement”, has been considered by a concensus of fans to be one of the clunkers from that season, so that may have contributed to the low rating here. THE PARTRIDGE FAMILY is still being killed weekly by ALL IN THE FAMILY.
I think part of the problem The Partridge Family had was that they were competing with Emergency on NBC as well as All in the Family and their 50% share of the audience. Emergency appealed to kids much like The Patridge Family did. Especially little boys who wanted to grow up to be firemen. It also had a stronger appeal to men who wanted action and didn’t like or watch AITF. Also I seem to recall the two Emergency leads being real popular with teenage girls. Maybe David Cassidy was old news by the fourth season?
There are some legendary shows in the basement here!
The Bradys and Partridges were clearly on their last respective legs.
As one previous poster pointed out, in the Partridges case, maybe David Cassidy was old news? Hmmmm, maybe teenage girls didn’t tire of David but of the bland storylines and the same old songs played week after week. I mean, how many times can you hear “I Think I Love You” or “I Woke Up In Love This Morning” every season? Really grates on the ears, especially if not watching for the music! David was still popular for some time after the family got cancelled if his sold out concerts were any indication.
As for the Bradys, viewers, even the young ones, were tiring of the crappy storylines. I can’t blame Robert Reed for his rants over scripts; I would have been pissed, too. Anyway, you know Sherwood and co. were getting desperate by bringing in Cousin Oliver a.k.a. John Denver’s mini-me! Didn’t work, obviously, and Robbie Rist unfairly had much hatred hurled at him like it was HIS fault the show got cancelled. Being at the bottom of the ratings barrel, the Brady Bunch was suffering long before Carol’s nephew showed up at their doorstep.