The series was extremely popular in its first season. The Nielsen ratings were very high, ranking at 3, behind "Laverne & Shirley" (at 1) and "Three's Company" (at 2), both on ABC, which was the highest-rated network in the U.S. in 1978. The show gained higher ratings than the "Happy Days" series that had spawned it, at 4. However, the network management sought to improve the show in several ways. This was done in conjunction with what is known in the industry as counterprogramming, a technique in which a successful show is moved opposite a ratings hit on another network. The show was moved from Thursdays, where it outrated CBS's "The Waltons", to Sundays where it replaced the canceled sci-fi series "Battlestar Galactica". The show then aired against two highly rated shows: NBC's anthology series titled "The Sunday Big Event" and CBS's revamped continuation of "All in the Family" titled "Archie Bunker's Place".