Home (1988 TV program)

The series began as a half-hour program on January 18, 1988; reruns of Mr. Belvedere filled the four-month long gap between the cancelation of game show Bargain Hunters and the premiere of Home. After a 60-minute trial run in September 1988, it expanded permanently to an hour in January 1989 (upon the cancellation of Ryan's Hope), with reruns of Growing Pains moving from 11:00 a.m. to noon Eastern Time. However, some affiliates elected to only carry one half-hour of the program (this practice would carry over later to its successor, Mike and Maty). Home later expanded to 90 minutes and took over the noon slot once Match Game was canceled in 1991. The show reverted to 60 minutes in 1992, after the network officially abandoned the noon time slot to give that half-hour back to local affiliates, which in most cases, preempted the final half-hour in favor of local midday newscasts.

The series was set to be cancelled in 1993, but this decision was reversed after ABC affiliates expressed dissatisfaction with its planned replacement, the importation of The Shirley Show from Canada's CTV, hosted by Shirley Solomon (which would later find a home in American syndication). Several stations, however, eventually placed the series in late night timeslots due to ratings issues or giving priority to local lifestyle or talk shows, such as the (City)'s Talking format seen on several ABC affiliates owned by Hearst Broadcasting.

On September 24, 1993, during a flu prevention segment featuring medical contributor Dr. Art Ulene, Burbank-based physician Dr. Edward Gilbert, nervously appearing on television for the first time, encouraged vaccination for the season's variant by giving flu shots to the co-hosts live on-air. Gilbert inadvertently administered Collins and Purcell’s respective shots using the same syringe without realizing it until Gilbert remembered just after administering Purcell's vaccine. Afraid the re-used and shared needle might have transmitted a disease between the two hosts, Collins underwent testing for HIV/AIDS and hepatitis immediately after taping the broadcast as a precautionary measure, testing negative for both diseases.[1][2]

Notwithstanding the temporary reprieve due to the network passing on Shirley, Home aired its last broadcast on April 8, 1994; its time slot would be taken over three days later by Mike and Maty, occupying the hour until its final broadcast on June 7, 1996, to be replaced on June 10 of that year by Caryl & Marilyn: Real Friends. After only a year, the latter series (following a nearly 2½-month run of repeats) was replaced on August 11, 1997 by The View, which occupies the time slot to this day and eventually gained back all clearance from the network's affiliates at its proper time.

(all times ET)

• January 1988 – September 1988, 11:30am–12:00pm
• September 1988, 11:00am–12:00pm
• September 1988 – January 1989, 11:30am–12:00pm
• January 1989 – July 1991, 11:00am–12:00pm
• July 1991 – August 1992, 11:00am–12:30pm
• August 1992 – April 1994, 11:00am–12:00pm

• Robb Weller (1988-1989)
• Sandy Hill (1988-1989)
• Cristina Ferrare (1989)
• Gary Collins (1989-1994)
• Dana Fleming (1990-1991)
• Beth Ruyak (1991-1992)
• Sarah Purcell (1992-1994)

• Home at IMDb

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