In a message dated 7/21/2010 11:00:52 A.M. Central Daylight Time, wbmutbb-requ...@wbmutbb.com writes:
Concerning the trivia question about which show was the #2 rated show for the 1969 season, and was then cancelled, the answer is of course our old friend Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. That's absolutely right! Give that man a prize. :-) The fact that I would even post this question on a Mayberry related email list was itself a big hint. "Gomer Pyle USMC" did finish its first run at #2 for the year just behind "Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In." Wikipedia wrongly (and repeatedly) insists "Gomer" was canceled arbitrarily by CBS as part of the "rural purge," but that's simply not true. Jim Nabors simply wanted to do a variety show instead of a sitcom, perhaps like his friend Carol Burnett, and CBS relented. "The Jim Nabors Hour" was indeed canceled as part of that "purge" of 1971, but not "Gomer." By my count, from 1950 on, there were 15 series whose final seasons finished in the top ten. Three were #1 including "The Andy Griffith Show," two were #2 including "Gomer." All were sitcoms with one notable exception: "Lost," apparently the only drama to ever have that distinction. The highest rated show ever canceled by a network (as opposed to the stars, producers, etc. deciding to move on) was "Bridget Loves Bernie" in 1973, it was #5. Dixon _______________________________________________ WBMUTBB mailing list WBMUTBB@wbmutbb.com http://www.mayberry.com/tagsrwc/wbmutbb/
