How the heck did this awful show stay on the air for 9 seasons?

Back in the 70s/early 80s we didn't have a lot of options. I think a show could pull decent ratings if it had a good time slot and not a lot of competition on the other two networks.

CBS was always the most solid of the 3 networks. Not to stray too far off the OP but back then NBC was a complete mess and ABC only had a great run of a few years. However, CBS was always "The Tiffany Network" where they would rule certain nights, they'd surround their #1 show with a very solid supporting cast of decent shows.

I can remember Saturday Nights where CBS had Mary Tyler Moore..then Bob Newhart..then Carol Burnett so they ruled Saturday night. What CBS did on Sundays was have their huge hit 60 Minutes start the night, then added very good shows like Alice, The Jeffersons, and One Day at a Time.

Yes, CBS would sometimes move one or two of these shows to boost other nights but CBS did it way better than ABC and NBC.

But yes, I'm a little shocked that Alice ran all the way to 1985. It probably hit a very solid demographic good enough for CBS to keep it around so long. Probably cheap to produce as well.

I asked the same question about Friends.