The last episode of 'Cheers' went on air in 1993. Roughly 40% of all Americans (about 93 million people) tuned in to say so long to "the passing of a pop culture institution". One critic acknowledged, "I was very moved. It ended on a note of hope. Considering that the characters were often described as losers, this was a very humane way to conclude things. We're left with the impression that the bar remains open and this oasis will go on, even if we viewers won't be there." Of the TV sets in use when 'Cheers' was on the air, 64% were counted watching 'Cheers'. In case some fans had missed portions of 'Cheers' first-run, the network decided to rerun 'Cheers' again 3 days later. One fan shared, "We were regulars on Thursday nights ever since high school. First there was 'Cosby', and then at 8:00 it was 'Cheers'. I tape the reruns every night at 11:30 and watch them in the morning. Or I'll tape 5 in a row and watch them all together on Saturday morning. I think that's the best, 5 in a row without commercials. Life is good."
In the July 1993 sweeps (one of the 4 yearly ratings periods local stations used to measure the popularity of programs) the rerun of the 1990 movie, 'Rich Men Single Women' attracted some 12 million TV households. Of the TV sets switched on when the movie was on the air, 20% were counted watching Heather Locklear, Deborah Adair and Suzanne Somers. Heather and Deborah also appeared on 'Melrose Place'. And in 1993, Deborah returned to daytime TV on 'Days of our Lives', "Kate Roberts considers herself a human being who wants something, not a woman who needs to ask permission...But I can tell you that her Achilles heel is going to be her heart, not lust, but her love...For all practical purposes, ('The Young and the Restless') was the last daytime show I did. However, I did have one little day on 'Santa Barbara' playing a weeping widow. From 'The Young and the Restless', I went on to do 'Dynasty.'" On 'Dynasty', Heather played Linda Evans' on-screen niece, "I could be stereotyped forever in that kind of part. It's as if you have to do 20 other things to erase that one memory from some people's minds...When I first got 'Dynasty' I was only 19 and I got scared. I thought, 'Oh my God,' I'm not going to be able to go to the movies any more, I'm going to have to wear dark glasses. And it was so sad because I never had to wear dark glasses. I'm no Madonna." Of acting, Heather revealed, "I try so hard to get into whatever character I'm doing and know that it's a character and not me. I can do whatever I want and however I come out – if I look silly or whatever – it's the character. It's not me."
Also in 1993, the demise of quality programing such as 'I'll Fly Away' or 'Brooklyn Bridge' led producer Sam Weisman to lament, "To think, in our society, out of the hundreds of hours of television, there's not room for an hour or 2 a week for something that beautiful. I'm convinced there's a lot of people who watch ('Brooklyn Bridge'). If there weren't, the actors wouldn’t be recognized in parking lots." 'I'll Fly Away' was set in the deep south at the dawn of the civil rights revolution. 'Brooklyn Bridge' looked at growing up during the 1950s. One network chief argued, "It's always a challenge to do great work and also have it find a connection to a mass audience. But it can be done and frequently is done." One producer countered, "I went into a business, where, in a sense, I started writing for 'The Washington Post' and now it's become the 'National Enquirer'...(The networks) are in danger of becoming irrelevant, because all the cutting-edge stuff is coming from other delivery systems, like cable." But the network reasoned, "For a year and a half we put this show behind every big event we had, from 'E.T.' to 'Murder, She Wrote'. And we spent more money promoting it than we spent on any other show. But we just haven't been able to get an audience to it. I feel we've done all we could for the show but it clearly hasn't worked."
The grassroots 'Viewers for Quality Television' group saw it differently and decided to spearhead a letter-writing campaign to save 'Brooklyn Bridge'. But one commentator warned, "In general, letter-writing campaigns don't work because they tend to be Xerox copies of the same thing, the same form letter. The organized campaigns are ineffective because they are limited to a specific group." It was reported some 26,000 letters were sent to the network. A spokesperson conceded, "It was not an organized campaign. It appears to be ordinary viewers spontaneously and articulately expressing their heartfelt feelings about ('Brooklyn Bridge')." Gary David Goldberg made known, "It isn't that every show has to be 'Brooklyn Bridge' or 'I'll Fly Away' but some shows should be...What we tried to do was look at the world and examine what's been gained and what's been lost by the way we live now." Over in the United Kingdom, it was said, "Broadcasting is at the heart of British society. The structure and composition of the broadcasting industry, the purpose and motivation of broadcasters, and the programs and services that they offer are vital factors in reflecting and shaping that society."
The grassroots 'Viewers for Quality Television' group saw it differently and decided to spearhead a letter-writing campaign to save 'Brooklyn Bridge'. But one commentator warned, "In general, letter-writing campaigns don't work because they tend to be Xerox copies of the same thing, the same form letter. The organized campaigns are ineffective because they are limited to a specific group." It was reported some 26,000 letters were sent to the network. A spokesperson conceded, "It was not an organized campaign. It appears to be ordinary viewers spontaneously and articulately expressing their heartfelt feelings about ('Brooklyn Bridge')." Gary David Goldberg made known, "It isn't that every show has to be 'Brooklyn Bridge' or 'I'll Fly Away' but some shows should be...What we tried to do was look at the world and examine what's been gained and what's been lost by the way we live now." Over in the United Kingdom, it was said, "Broadcasting is at the heart of British society. The structure and composition of the broadcasting industry, the purpose and motivation of broadcasters, and the programs and services that they offer are vital factors in reflecting and shaping that society."
