MovieChat Forums > Sledge Hammer! (1986) Discussion > How did it ever get syndicated?

How did it ever get syndicated?

posted 18 years ago by WorstEpisodeEver
9 replies | jump to latest

Mind you, I loved the show when it was on network in my early teens, as well as when it made it into syndication in 1990. Even today, I still like it, having bought the DVDs. But why would a TV station have picked it up in syndication? Its Nielsen ratings were dreadful (typically around 63rd out of 65 shows rated, during its first season) and there were only 41 episodes, so that if a station ran one episode every weekday it would run through the entire series in less than two months.

[–] pepperdoggie 18 years ago

The price was right, I suppose.

Also, you never know with these things. It's virtually a forgotten fact now, but the "Classic 39" episodes of "The Honeymooners" that ran in 1955-56 got very poor ratings as a first-run show (though not as bad as "Sledge Hammer"), and that show became a syndication staple fairly quickly, if I remember correctly.

There may have been some realization that the first-run "Sledge Hammer" was killed by its time slot (up against 2 hit shows) and that it might have "cult" potential in syndication (this has proven to be true).

Are you sure it wasn't syndicated until 1990? I have a pretty clear memory of seeing an episode in August 1989 on a late Friday afternoon while weekending at a cabin outside Albany, New York. It was the lead-in to the 6 o'clock news.

[–] WorstEpisodeEver 18 years ago

I first saw syndicated reruns on a San Francisco Bay Area TV station in 1990. If it had run in syndication elsewhere earlier, I wouldn't have known about it.

Remind me again what "Sledge Hammer!" was up against in its timeslot? As I recall, during the first season it was up against "The Cosby Show" at 8 p.m. Thursday nights. I think it was moved to Friday nights in the second season, but I don't remember what the competition was. Actually, I don't think I saw the Nielsen ratings during the second season (the figure I used in my earlier post was from the first), so its ratings could've improved then, just not enough to be kept running.

[–] 18 years ago

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[–] pepperdoggie 18 years ago

"Remind me again what "Sledge Hammer!" was up against in its timeslot? As I recall, during the first season it was up against "The Cosby Show" at 8 p.m. Thursday nights. I think it was moved to Friday nights in the second season, but I don't remember what the competition was."

If I remember right, it went against Cosby in one of the two seasons and against "Dallas" and "Miami Vice" in the other (this latter fact was actually written into one of the scripts as a gag, when Sledge makes a reference to being "stuck between Dallas and Miami"). Obviously it was never really given a chance to succeed.

[–] 18 years ago

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[–] RobBase086-1 16 years ago

I think it is a cult classic and there should be a lot of fans who love this show. I loved it when I watched it back in the day.

Dedicated to USA UP ALL NIGHT and the fans of the show! www.deefilmroll.com/usa-uan/

[–] 16 years ago

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[–] 16 years ago

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[–] skiop 16 years ago

I wish it were on some channel I could receive. I've only got a few of the episodes on tape, and I'm not even sure where some of them are.