Are you nostalgic for drive-in theaters and Saturday morning cartoons? Do you find decades-old commercials weirdly comforting? Are you a manic fan for the months of October, November, and December? You've found the right channel my friend.
ABC's TGIF block (1989-2000) began to die in the fall of 1997: stemming from a combination of aging sitcoms like Family Matters and Step by Step moving to CBS (who started - and ended - their own family-friendly Friday night sitcom line-up in 1997-98 called "The Block Party"), the over saturation of supernatural/magic type shows (Sabrina the Teenage Witch and new series You Wish and Teen Angel, the latter of which both lasted only one season), the failure of Two of a Kind (which was the last sitcom produced by the previously reliable Miller-Boyett group) starring the Olsen twins the following year. Ultimately, the ending of Boy Meets World after seven seasons and Sabrina, The Teenage Witch moving to The WB after the 1999-2000 season. ABC would bring back the TGIF brand for the 2003-05 & 2018-19 seasons, but it never met the same success it had before.
The show's pilot episode premiered as a special on CBS, who had declined to order a full show, on September 14, 1990, before officially beginning its run on weekday afternoon syndication September 17. Many of the stations that ran it were Fox affiliates as well as numerous independent stations, leading to Fox officially adding it to the afternoon lineup for its remaining 3 seasons (1992-95). After it left the Fox Kids lineup in September 1995, it's since been shown in reruns on Nickelodeon (1995-99, 2002-04), Kids' WB! (1997-2000), Cartoon Network (1999-2001), Nicktoons TV (2002-05) and The Hub/Discovery Family (2013-15).
ABC's TGIF (part of ABC's 3D Week) lineup for Friday May 9, 1997. 8pm - Family Matters (season 8 finale & the last new episode to air on ABC: A Pirate's Life For Me) 8:30pm - Step By Step (new episode at a special time: How The West Was Won, postponing Boy Meets World) 9pm - Sabrina, The Teenage Witch (new episode: The Crucible) 9:30pm - America's Funniest Home Videos (special night & time) 10pm - 20/20 For America's Funniest Home Videos: His former Full House castmates (except for Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen) appeared for the penultimate episode of Season 8.
I had just celebrated my 12 birthday and was enjoying my night watching this. Amazing how the memory works. Took me right back to a Saturday night in July of 1993. Looking back on it probably wasn't the most appropriate thing for a 6th grader to be indulging in. It was eather this or MTV at this time.
(Bark!) I'm a dog, you're a dog Everybody do the dog Betcha gonna do the dog All day long! Doberman pincher, beagle, Pekingese, Corgi, collie, bulldog, Great Pyrenees Chase a car, there you are Sleepin' 'round the clock! Waitin' for the cable man To chase around the block! (Porkchop barks rhythmically) Miniature schnauzer, sheepdog, spitz, Lhasa Ahpso, poodle, chihuahua, mastiff, Labrador retriever, whippet, harrier, Shih Tzu, chow chow, fox terrier! (Porkchop barks rhythmically) Scratchin' in the sunshine, Diggin' in the dirt, Beggin' for a doggie treat, GET OFF THE FURNITURE!! (Porkchop barks rhythmically) I'm a dog, you're a dog, Everybody do the dog! Betcha gonna do the dog All day long! (Porkchop barks rhythmically) Miniature schnauzer, sheepdog, spitz, Lhasa Ahpso, poodle, chihuahua, mastiff, Doberman pincher, beagle, Pekingese, Corgi, collie, bulldog, Great Pyrenees (Porkchop barks until the end)
CBS Halloween Block Party lineup for Friday October 31, 1997 (Halloween). 8pm - It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown (Halloween special) 8:30pm - Family Matters (new episode: Stevil II: This Time He's Not Alone) 9pm - The Gregory Hines Show (new episode: Eight and a Half Months) 9:30pm - Step By Step (new episode: Dream Lover) 10pm - Nash Bridges (new episode: Sniper)
