Which then made me wonder when it was on exactly... what years, what night of the week, what aired just before it, what was counter-programmed on the other networks at the same time?
That's one of those things that was just part of how life was back in the 1970s (my awareness of the network TV schedule), but which is completely absent from my memory now.
Luckily, my other half has a book that includes all the U.S. TV schedules through 1983:
Lou Grant, it turns out, premiered in fall 1977, during my freshman year of college. I'm not sure how I managed to watch it in real time that semester, if I did. I suspect I didn't, because I have clear memories of going to another dorm to watch a different show that premiered that fall, so if I remember that one, why wouldn't I remember watching Lou Grant, too? But maybe it's because it was shown in my own dorm's TV lounge, so it wasn't as memorable. It's possible.
After my freshman year, I had my own little black and white television my room (bought with money from my summer job), so I may have watched it on that.
Here's the schedule details.
Fall 77
Tuesday, 10:00 p.m. eastern
Preceded by MASH and One Day at a Time (which I also watched, generally)
Counter-programmed by Family on ABC and Police Woman on NBC
Winter 78
The show's time slot was changed to Monday at 10:00 p.m. eastern — and that's where it stayed for the rest of its run.
Still preceded by MASH and One Day at a Time
Counter-programmed by Monday Night Movie on ABC and Monday Night at the Movies OR Columbo on NBC
Summer 78
Preceded by MASH and One Day at a Time
Counter-programmed by Major League Baseball on ABC and Monday Night at the Movies OR Columbo on NBC
Fall 78
Preceded by MASH and One Day at a Time
Counter-programmed by Monday Night Football on ABC and Monday Night at the Movies on NBC (no Columbo)
Winter 79
Preceded by MASH and WKRP in Cincinnati (which had premiered in a different time slot the fall before)
Counter-programmed by Monday Night Movie on ABC and How the West Was Won (2 hours long) on NBC
Summer 79
Preceded by MASH and WKRP in Cincinnati
Counter-programmed by Major League Baseball on ABC and Monday Night at the Movies on NBC
Fall 79
Preceded by MASH and WKRP in Cincinnati
Counter-programmed by Monday Night Football on ABC and Monday Night at the Movies on NBC
Winter 80
Preceded by MASH and House Calls / Flo (both new sitcoms)
Counter-programmed by Family on ABC and Monday Night at the Movies on NBC
Summer 80
Preceded by MASH and House Calls
Counter-programmed by Major League Baseball or Monday Night Movie on ABC and Monday Night at the Movies on NBC
Fall 80
Preceded by MASH and House Calls
Counter-programmed by Monday Night Football on ABC and Monday Night at the Movies on NBC
Winter 81
Preceded by MASH and House Calls
Counter-programmed by Foul Play (new show) or Soap, which had Dynasty (new show) as a lead-in on ABC and Monday Night at the Movies on NBC
Summer 81
Preceded by MASH and House Calls
Counter-programmed by Major League Baseball or Monday Night Movie on ABC and Monday Night at the Movies or The Last Convertible on NBC
Fall 81
Preceded by MASH and House Calls
Counter-programmed by Monday Night Football on ABC and Monday Night at the Movies on NBC
Winter 82
Preceded by MASH and House Calls / Making the Grade (new sitcom)
Counter-programmed by Monday Night Movie on ABC and Monday Night at the Movies
Summer 82
Preceded by MASH and Filthy Rich (new sitcom)... during this summer Cagney and Lacey, which had premiered a few months earlier, began to replace Lou Grant reruns.
Fall 83
MASH and Bob Newhart (new show) led in to Cagney and Lacey at 10:00 p.m. eastern and Lou Grant was off the air.
Winter 83
MASH aired its final show on February 28, 1983. (Here's a trivia question for you: what show replaced MASH when it ended mid-season in 1983?*)
The upshot of all this schedule review is that I'm not sure I watched all of Lou Grant's five seasons. I think I watched the early years, but as I got busier in college I may not have. It's possible that I caught a lot of the reruns during the summer.
I know I never heard of this House Calls show that led into it for a lot of years, or the other short-term sitcoms that were on in 1982. (Hmm, looking it up, I see that House Calls starred Wayne Rogers and Lynn Redgrave, but it still doesn't sound familiar.) I didn't watch WKRP in Cincinnati more than a few times, either.
One notable thing about this whole review is how little the schedule changed for Mondays over the five years. TV-land decisions were pretty static back then, I guess.
Another piece of television trivia I learned from the book while reading through all of this is that Hill Street Blues, which premiered mid-season in January 1981, had terrible ratings. Despite that, it was renewed for fall 1981 even though it was 83rd out of 97 shows on the air at the time. At the time this book of schedules was written, it was the lowest rated entertainment show ever picked up for a second season.
It appears that worked out okay for them and dramatic television since then.
___
* Answer: Alice
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