Eight years after Fred Silverman's infamous "rural purge", this show burst on the scene and instantly became a hit. Even though the show did get a lot of heat for the outlandish plots, simplistic characters and scantily clad women, especially Daisy, this show struck a chord with the American public during the late 70's/early 80's. Also, you could tell that this show was done very tongue in cheek and that the cast had a lot of fun doing it. The only bump in the road that hurt its momentum was when John Schneider and Tom Wopat left the show due to a contract dispute. When the producers thought that those two could be replaced by a pair of actors that were almost identical to their predecessors. However the show went downhill during this period. Also, the producers thought that it was the car and not the two leads that everyone turned in to see. However, when the ratings dropped and soon the producers were begging Schneider and Wopat to return.
Even though this show wasn't Shakespeare, it still was one of the highlights of C.B.S.'s Friday night lineup.
Even though this show wasn't Shakespeare, it still was one of the highlights of C.B.S.'s Friday night lineup.