The Bozo show (after its various names and incarnations) finally went off the air after 40 years. That had nothing to do with the fact that it took years to get tickets for the show, at least during the first 15 or 20 years the show was on.
These are the reasons the show finally ended:
1. The original cast had all retired and left. While the newer cast members were very good, there was no replacing the synergy that existed between the earlier cast. As an example, if you replaced all the actors on Seinfeld with others who were very good, the show might be OK but it would not be the same. Such was with Bozo's Circus and its slightly renamed variations - the original cast members were like catching lightning in a bottle. They were that good, and even better together.
2. Kids' TV programming was no longer confined to certain times and days; it had become possible to watch kid's programming 24x7. There was not so much special about a lunchtime TV show for kids anymore. Where for many years, a day off school for sickness or snowstorm meant a big 'Hurray, I get to watch Bozo's Circus!", everything was on TV all the time. (Same goes for Saturday morning cartoons, with kids' fare on 24x7, Saturday morning cartoons died, and they had been a weekend highlight for millions of kids for many years.)
3. Pressures of later times were pushing for the show to have educational content, which was totally at odds with the brilliant ad-libbed sketch comedy of the original show.
The bulk of the best years of the program were when it was called 'Bozo's Circus' and was broadcast LIVE at noon from WGN Mondays through Fridays, all year round. The live broadcasts added to the program's 'edge'. There were no re-takes, the show went on however it happened.
While later versions were still good programming, the magic of the original crew had been lost.
Any show that survives 40 years is something extraordinary, and Chicago's Bozo Circus (or in its other names) certainly was that. It will always be one of the favorite childhood memories of literally millions of kids who grew up watching it.
