Brooke Shields, at the age of 31, finally has it made. And not because she has beauty, fame and Andre Agassi. What Shields has, as NBC announced last month, is the 9:30 time slot on Thursday nights for "Suddenly Susan," a new sitcom due in September.
"Suddenly Susan," about a single New York book editor with a handsome boss and a difficult author-client, will be broadcast in the cushy spot between "Seinfeld" and "E.R.," two of television's biggest hits. How can it fail?Well, the time slot between "The Simpsons" and "Beverly Hills 90210" didn't do much for "Babes," Fox's 1990 sitcom about fat single women sharing an apartment.
It lasted only one season. On the other hand, "Have Gun, Will Travel" was an instant hit in 1957 when it was scheduled right before "Gunsmoke," that year's top-rated series. Here are some other shows that had the good fortune to abut big hits and a look at how they fared.
1951
New Series: "I Love Lucy."
Time Slot: After the No. 1 show, "Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts."
Cast of Characters: A Cuban band leader, his wacky American wife and their lovable neighbors. During the first season, Lucy (Lucille Ball) auditioned for shows at the nightclub where her husband, Ricky (Desi Arnaz), worked; decorated her Manhattan apartment to look like Havana and introduced America to the intoxicating health tonic Vitameatavegamin.
Result: "Lucy" finished at No. 3 in its first season and No. 1 the next, lasted 10 years (15 if you count "The Luci-Desi Comedy Hour"), lives on in reruns and is generally regarded as the mother of sitcoms.
1952
New Series: "Life With Luigi."
Time Slot: After the No. 1 show, "I Love Lucy."
Cast of Characters: A wacky Italian immigrant antiques dealer and his pal, an immigrant restaurateur. All Pasquale (Alan Reed) wants is for Luigi (J. Carrol Naish) to marry his daughter, Rosa (Jody Gilbert).
Result: "Luigi" lasted three months. Based on a successful radio series, it may have come off as ugly ethnic stereotyping on television.
1962
Newish Series: "The Dick Van Dyke Show."
Time Slot: After the No. 1 show, "The Beverly Hillbillies."
Cast of Characters: Wacky young suburban marrieds (Dick Van Dyke and Mary Tyler Moore), along with their child, neighbors and co-workers.
Result: The show hadn't made much of an impression in its first season, but in this, its second year, it turned up at No. 9, then shot to No. 3 in 1963. Though it stumbled to No. 7 in 1964, then plummeted to No. 17 in 1965 and left the schedule, it lives on on Nick at Nite.
1965
New Series: "Branded."
Time Slot: Before the No. 1 show, "Bonanza."
Cast of Characters: Chuck Connors as a West Point graduate in the Wild West, repeatedly trying to prove that he isn't a coward.
Result: Even though "Branded" also followed a popular show, "Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color," it managed to stay in the top 20 only in its first half-season, then fell out. The show was canceled after 18 months.
1972
New Series: "Bridget Loves Bernie."
Time Slot: Between the No. 1 show, "All in the Family," and the No. 7 show, "The Mary Tyler Moore Show."
Cast of Characters: Rich, blond Roman Catholic girl (Meredith Baxter) in love with poor, handsome Jewish boy (David Birney). They marry and move into an apartment above a deli.
Result: The series opened in the No. 5 spot and actually may have helped "Mary Tyler Moore," then in its third season. But "Bridget Loves Bernie" was canceled after one season, partly because of complaints by religious groups that the plot glorified intermarriage.
1973
Newish Series: "M*A*S*H."
Time Slot: Between the No. 1 Show, "All in the Family," and the No. 9 show, "The Mary Tyler Moore Show."
Cast of Characters: Peace-loving American boys with medical degrees are drafted into the Army and sent to the Korean War. Hilarity and social relevance ensue.
Result: After unimpressive first-season ratings on another night, "M*A*S*H" promptly moved up to No. 4. Although CBS shifted it to four different time slots, it remained among the top 10 shows for eight of the next nine years. Its final episode, in 1983, set viewer-ship records.
1978
New Series: "Taxi."
Time Slot: After the No. 1 show, "Laverne and Shirley"; the No. 2 show, "Happy Days," and the No. 3 show, "Three's Company."
Cast of Characters: An offbeat bunch of New York taxi drivers.
Result: "Taxi" landed in ninth place in its first year, lasted four seasons on ABC (although in various time slots) and won the Emmy for best comedy series three years in a row. It lasted another year, on NBC, which desperately moved it four times in 10 months, then gave up. But it started a lot of prosperous careers, including Danny DeVito's.
1987
New Series: "A Different World."
Time Slot: Between the No. 1 show, "The Cosby Show," and the No. 3 show, "Cheers."
Cast of Characters: NBC couldn't have been more blatant. "A Different World" borrowed a "Cosby" daughter, Denise Huxtable (Lisa Bonet), and relocated her to an almost-all-black college.
Result: It worked. "A Different World" basked in the No. 2 spot during its first season and stayed in the top 5 until it went off the air in 1993.
1989 (September)
New Series: "Chicken Soup."
Time Slot: After the No. 1 show, "Roseanne" (which was tied with "The Cosby Show").
Cast of Characters: Jackie Mason, as a Jewish pajama salesman, and Lynn Redgrave, as an Irish Catholic widow, in love.
Result: Although "Chicken Soup" also preceded the yuppie favorite "Thirtysomething" and landed in the season's top 20, it was canceled after eight weeks.
1989 (November)
Newish Series: "Coach."
Time Slot: After the No. 3 show, "Roseanne."
Cast of Characters: A football coach (Craig T. Nelson), his slightly dim assistants and players and the newswoman he loves (Shelley Fabares).
Result: "Coach" hadn't performed well in the three time slots it occupied in its first eight months on the air. The "Roseanne" lead-in brought it into the top 20, and seven years later it's still around - usually in the top 10.
1994
New Series: "Friends."
Time Slot: Between the No. 7 show, "Mad About You," and the No. 1 show, "Seinfeld."
Cast of Characters: Good-looking, neurotic single people in their 20s, played by virtual unknowns, suffering through crisis-laden lives in New York but with great haircuts and cool apartments.
Result: These days, "Friends" is somewhere in the top 5. It now introduces NBC's Thursday night lineup of superhits at 8 p.m. and influences fashion trends. And all the cast members are making feature films.