December 12, 2016

What's on TV? Monday, December 12, 1977

This week we're in the Baltimore-Washington area; as I wrote on Saturday, there are some Christmas programs tonight, but not many; I wanted to try and present a more representative example of Monday night programming, so it's only CBS preempting their first hour of prime time. Logan's Run. To be frank, I don't think anyone really noticed.


WMAR, Channel 2 (Baltimore) (CBS)

Morning


06:30a
Sunrise Semester (Discipline in the Classroom)

07:00a
CBS Morning News (Lesley Stahl, Richard Threlkeld)

08:00a
Captain Kangaroo

08:30a
Romper Room

09:00a
The Joker’s Wild

09:30a
The Liar’s Club (celebrities Betty White, Buddy Hackett, James Farentino, Larry Hovis)

10:00a
The Price is Right

11:00a
Match Game (guests Richard Dawson, Patti Deutsch, David Doyle, Juliet Prowse, Charles Nelson Reilly, Brett Somers)

11:30a
Love of Life

11:55a
CBS News (Douglas Edwards)

Afternoon


12:00p
2’s Company (guest Robert Wagner)

12:30p
Search for Tomorrow

01:00p
The Young and the Restless

01:30p
As the World Turns

02:30p
Guiding Light

03:00p
James Paul McCartney

04:30p
Andy Griffith

05:00p
Bonanza

Evening


06:00p
News (local)

07:00p
CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite

07:30p
Corrallin’ the Colts

08:00p
A Charlie Brown Christmas (special)

08:30p
‘Twas the Night Before Christmas (special)

09:00p
Maude (new time)

09:30p
Betty White (new time)

10:00p
Switch

11:00p
News (local)

11:30p
Movie – “Joy in the Morning”

I had to do a double-take when I saw the local program Corralin' the Colts at 7:30 p.m. I mean, I knew what it was about, but I had to adjust my thinking to remember that this is when the Colts were still in Baltimore.


WRC, Channel 4 (D.C.) (NBC)

Morning


06:00a
Knowledge

06:30a
Not For Women Only

07:00a
Today (guest John Travolta)

09:00a
Marcus Welby, M.D.

10:00a
Sanford and Son

10:30a
The Hollywood Squares (guests Raymond Burr, Diahann Carroll, Richard Crenna, George Gobel, Florence Henderson, Paul Lynde, Rose Marie, Mel Tillis, Jimmie Walker)

11:00a
Wheel of Fortune

11:30a
Knockout

Afternoon


12:00p
To Say the Least (guests Jamie Farr, Ruta Lee, Jo Ann Pflug, Soupy Sales)

12:30p
To Tell the Truth (celebrities Bill Cullen, Kitty Carlisle, Gene Rayburn, Peggy Cass)

01:00p
For Richer, For Poorer

01:30p
Days of Our Lives

02:30p
The Doctors

03:00p
Another World

04:00p
The Gong Show

04:30p
Mary Tyler Moore

05:00p
News (local)

Evening


06:00p
News (local)

07:00p
NBC Nightly News with John Chancellor and David Brinkley

07:30p
$100,000 Name That Tune

08:00p
Little House on the Prairie

09:00p
NBC Monday Night at the Movies – “Sunshine Christmas”

11:00p
News (local)

11:30p
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (guest host Bill Cosby)

01:00a
Tomorrow

02:00
Take Five

I never really liked Sunshine when it was a series; possibly because of the John Denver song. I do remember a lyric from a song that was sung by the band that Cliff DeYoung's character performed in, though: "Grind your fingers to the bone, what do you get?/Bony fingers, bony fingers." Hey, when you're 17, it makes sense.


WTTG, Channel 5 (D.C.) (Ind.)

Morning


06:30a
Education

07:00a
Tom and Jerry

07:30a
Porky Pig

08:00a
The Flintstones

08:30a
Deputy Dawg

09:00a
Dennis the Menace (B&W)

09:30a
Father Knows Best (B&W)

10:00a
Dick Van Dyke (B&W)

10:30a
That Girl

11:00a
Medical Center

Afternoon


12:00p
Panorama

02:00p
I Love Lucy (B&W)

02:30p
I Dream of Jeannie

03:00p
The Archies

03:30p
Fred Flintstone & Friends

04:00p
The New Mickey Mouse Club

04:30p
The Flintstones

05:00p
Tom and Jerry

05:30p
The Partridge Family

Evening


06:00p
My Three Sons

06:30p
Family Affair

07:00p
Andy Griffith

07:30p
The Brady Bunch

08:00p
The $128,000 Question

08:30p
Merv Griffin (guests Burt Lancaster, Irwin Shaw, Maya Angelou)

10:00p
News (local)

11:00p
The Odd Couple

11:30p
Perry Mason (B&W)

12:30a
Movie – “The Saint Strikes Back” (B&W)

01:50a
Mission: Impossible

This is pretty much a vintage independent station of the time. With the exception of Merv Griffin and The $128,000 Question, almost all classics. And of course Merv gave you credibility, back then.


WJLA, Channel 7 (D.C.) (ABC)

Morning


06:30a
Black Forum

07:00a
Good Morning America

09:00a
A.M. Washington

10:00a
The Edge of Night

10:30a
The Better Sex

11:00a
Happy Days

11:30a
Family Feud

Afternoon


12:00p
News (local)

12:30p
Ryan’s Hope

01:00p
All My Children

02:00p
The $20,000 Pyramid (celebrities Caren Kaye, Bill Cullen)

02:30p
One Life to Live

03:15p
General Hospital

04:00p
Movie – “On Moonlight Bay”

Evening


06:00p
News (local)

07:00p
ABC Evening News with Harry Reasoner and Barbara Walters

07:30p
Little Vic (return)

08:00p
The San Pedro Beach Bums

09:00p
Monday Night Football  (Cowboys at Cardinals)

12:00a
News (local)

12:30a
Big Battles

As most of you probably know if you've read TV Guide through the years, they generally drop the articles (A, An, and The) when listing a program. Thus, The Edge of Night is listed as Edge of Night. For some reason however, they chose to include the article when listing The Better Sex. I suppose they wanted to avoid any confusion. . .


WTOP, Channel 9 (D.C.) (CBS)

Morning


06:00a
Christopher Closeup

06:30a
Medix

07:00a
CBS Morning News (Lesley Stahl, Richard Threlkeld)

08:00a
Captain Kangaroo

09:00a
Phil Donahue

10:00a
Morning Break

11:00a
Match Game (guests Richard Dawson, Patti Deutsch, David Doyle, Juliet Prowse, Charles Nelson Reilly, Brett Somers)

11:30a
Love of Life

11:55a
CBS News (Douglas Edwards)

Afternoon


12:00p
The Young and the Restless

12:30p
Search for Tomorrow

01:00p
News (local)

01:30p
As the World Turns

02:30p
Guiding Light

03:30p
All in the Family

04:00p
Dinah! (guests Charo, Geoff Edwards, Bud Greenspan, Wilma Rudolph, Celia, Ellen & Andy, George Morfogen, Jean and Veryl Rosenbaum)

05:30p
News (local)

Evening


06:00p
News (local)

07:00p
CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite

07:30p
Redskin Sidelines

08:00p
A Charlie Brown Christmas (special)

08:30p
‘Twas the Night Before Christmas (special)

09:00p
Maude (new time)

09:30p
Betty White (new time)

10:00p
Switch

11:00p
News (local)

11:30p
Movie – “Joy in the Morning”

The great sports documentarian Bud Greenspan was appearing with Olympic champion Wilma Rudolph on Dinah!, probably promoting Wilma, the TV-movie he'd produced on her life - she was portrayed in the movie, I believe, by Cicely Tyson.


WBAL, Channel 11 (Baltimore) (NBC)

Morning


06:30a
Learning to Read

07:00a
Today (guest John Travolta)

09:00a
Phil Donahue

10:00a
Baltimore at 10

10:30a
The Hollywood Squares (guests Raymond Burr, Diahann Carroll, Richard Crenna, George Gobel, Florence Henderson, Paul Lynde, Rose Marie, Mel Tillis, Jimmie Walker)

11:00a
Wheel of Fortune

11:30a
Knockout

Afternoon


12:00p
News (local)

12:30p
Bewitched

01:00p
For Richer, For Poorer

01:30p
Days of Our Lives

02:30p
The Doctors

03:00p
Another World

04:00p
The Brady Bunch

04:30p
Emergency One!

05:30p
Mary Tyler Moore

Evening


06:00p
News (local)

06:30p
NBC Nightly News with John Chancellor and David Brinkley

07:00p
Bowling

07:30p
The Gong Show

08:00p
Little House on the Prairie

09:00p
NBC Monday Night at the Movies – “Sunshine Christmas”

11:00p
News (local)

11:30p
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (guest host Bill Cosby)

01:00a
Tomorrow

I'd guess the bowling show on at 7:00 p.m., since it's only 30 minutes, is either something like Bowling for Dollars or, more likely since we're in Baltimore, duckpin bowling.


WJZ, Channel 13 (Baltimore) (ABC)

Morning


05:50a
Sign-On Seminar

06:20a
News-Agriculture News

06:30a
Not For Women Only

07:00a
Good Morning America

09:00a
Movie – “Stage Door”

10:30a
On Location

11:00a
Happy Days

11:30a
Family Feud

Afternoon


12:00p
News (local)

12:30p
Ryan’s Hope

01:00p
All My Children

02:00p
The $20,000 Pyramid (celebrities Caren Kaye, Bill Cullen)

02:30p
One Life to Live

03:15p
General Hospital

04:00p
The Edge of Night

04:30p
Mike Douglas (co-hosts Anthony Newley and Carmel Quinn, guests Rex Reed, Debby Boone, Sargent Shriver, Alan Shepar, Nancy Fleming, Dorothy Benham)

Evening


06:00p
News (local)

07:00p
ABC Evening News with Harry Reasoner and Barbara Walters

07:30p
Evening Magazine

08:00p
The San Pedro Beach Bums

09:00p
Monday Night Football  (Cowboys at Cardinals)

12:00a
News (local)

12:30a
Movie – “Cowboy”

Mike Douglas is celebrating his 16th anniversary show today, which explains the apperances of Nancy Fleming, Miss America 1961, and Dorothy Behnam, Miss America 1977.


WDCA, Channel 20 (D.C.) (Ind.)

Morning


06:30a
Channel 20 Club

07:00a
Spiderman

07:30a
Woody Woodpecker

08:00a
Bugs Bunny

08:30a
Kimba, the White Lion

09:00a
The Little Rascals (B&W)

09:30a
Romper Room

10:00a
The 700 Club

11:30a
Rock

Afternoon


12:00p
Movie – “When My Baby Smiles at Me”

02:00p
The Banana Splits

02:30p
Marine Boy

03:00p
Speed Racer

03:30p
Ultraman

04:00p
Jonny Quest

04:30p
Superfriends

05:00p
Spiderman

05:30p
Gilligan’s Island

Evening


06:00p
Emergency One!

07:00p
Carol Burnett

07:30p
Hogan’s Heroes

08:00p
Movie – “The Bishop’s Wife” (B&W)

11:00p
Forever Fernwood

11:30p
For You . . . Black Woman

12:00a
Movie – “Pursuit to Algiers” (B&W)

Yes, I know Spiderman is actually two words, but I just type 'em as I see 'em. I did, however, take action to split Speed Racer into two words - you have to draw the line somewhere.


WETA, Channel 26 (D.C.) (PBS)

Morning


07:30a
The MacNeil/Lehrer Report

08:00a
Lilias, Yoga and You

08:30a
Villa Alegre

09:00a
Sesame Street

10:00a
Sesame Street

11:00a
Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood

11:30a
The Electric Company

Afternoon


12:00p
Over Easy

12:30p
Dick Cavett (guest Dr. Robert Jastrow)

01:00p
Nova

02:00p
Movie – “A Jolly Bad Fellow” (B&W)

04:00p
Sesame Street

05:00p
Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood

05:30p
The Electric Company

Evening


06:00p
Zoom

06:30p
Over Easy (guest Harold Robbins)

07:00p
Black Perspective on the News

07:30p
The MacNeil/Lehrer Report

08:00p
Destination America

09:00p
Movie – “The North Star” (B&W)

11:00p
Dick Cavett (guest Ntozake Shange)

11:30p
Captioned ABC Evening News

Over Easy, hosted by Hugh Downs, was a show geared for senior citizens, and the presence of Harold Robbins as a guest creates a number of possibilities, many of them disturbing.


WBFF, Channel 45 (Baltimore) (Ind.)

Morning


06:45a
News (local)

07:00a
The Three Stooges, Cartoons (B&W)

07:30a
The Little Rascals (B&W)

08:00a
The Flintstones

08:30a
Gilligan’s Island (B&W)

09:00a
Dennis the Menace (B&W)

09:30a
I Love Lucy (B&W)

10:00a
Sanford and Son

10:30a
Dinah! (guests Gov. Jerry Brown, Redd Foxx, Don Meredith, Ruth Buzzi, Seals and Crofts, LeRoy Neiman, Patrick Duffy)

Afternoon


12:00p
Perry Mason (B&W)

01:00p
Movie – “The Falling Man”

03:00p
The Munsters (B&W)

03:30p
The Flintstones

04:00p
The Flintstones

04:30p
Batman

05:00p
Gilligan’s Island (B&W)

05:30p
Gomer Pyle, USMC

Evening


06:00p
I Dream of Jeannie

06:30p
Get Smart

07:00p
Hogan’s Heroes

07:30p
I Love Lucy (B&W)

08:00p
Perry Mason (B&W)

09:00p
Movie – “Anastasia”

11:00p
Peyton Place

11:30p
Movie – “The Flame and the Arrow”

01:05a
News (local)
              
The Flinstones was, and remains, telecast everywhere. I noticed it not only on multiple stations here, but on even more channels I didn't list here. Has there ever been a more popular, more enduring cartoon on television?


WMPB, Channel 67 (Baltimore) (PBS)

Morning


07:15a
Fundamentals of Biology

08:00a
Wall $treet Week

08:30a
Desk Set

Afternoon


03:00p
Desk Set

03:30p
Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood

04:00p
Sesame Street

05:00p
The Electric Company

05:30p
Over Easy (guest Harvey Korman)

Evening


06:00p
Searching Society

06:45p
Personnel Management

07:30p
The MacNeil/Lehrer Report

08:00p
Up on the Farm

08:30p
Crockett’s Victory Garden

09:00p
Nova

10:00p
The Best of Families

11:00p
As Man Behaves

11:30p
Dick Cavett (guest Ntozake Shange)

12:00a
Captioned ABC Evening News

Ah, even though public broadcasting has improved greatly over the last few years, I'm always gratified to find there's a spot for a show like Personnel Management. Judging from some of the places I've worked, not many people saw it. TV  

16 comments:

  1. Channels 5 and 45 both have great all day lineups. I'll give a slight edge to 5, but I'd probably have been watching both.

    SAN PEDRO BEACH BUMS really got a lot of cross-promotion, but still failed. This episode was a crossover with THE LOVE BOAT, which had 9 years left to run. BUMS had one more week.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. There was always a fair amount of program overlap between DC's 5 & 20 and Baltimore's 45, but 45 in particular played a lot of older/more obscure programs over the years that neither 5 nor 20 carried, as it had a smaller programming budget.

      Delete
  2. Also Channel 20 brings back some memories with THE BANANA SPLITS in the afternoon and KIMBA THE WHITE LION airing in the morning. FOR YOU...BLACK WOMAN was a talk show hosted by "Band of Gold" singer Freda Payne.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Family Affair at 6:30 on WTTG brings to mind the fact that both Johnnie Whitaker(Jody) and Kathy Garver(Cissy) have birthdays today(12/13)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Try to find THE FLINTSTONES anywhere today....

    ReplyDelete
  5. Some comments…
    • I was 16 in December of ’77, so I’m sure I would have noticed CBS preempting “Logan’s Run”. Though, I’m a huge fan of “A Charlie Brown Christmas” and since this is years before it would be available on VHS then DVD, I’m sure I was glad it was on.
    • I like that Monday night lineup. Too bad though these were the later, weak seasons of Maude and Switch.
    • To go along with you Colts comment, that Monday Night Football game, Cowboys at Cardinals, would have still been in St.Louis.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I remember the San Pedro Beach Bums for one thing. SPBB aired before Monday Night Football, so they had to have a football-themed episode. There was a Hispanic kicker who only knew three words in English, "Football, you bet." I was a sophomore in high school, and I played tackle for the football team. After a victory, we all shouted "FOOTBALL! YOU BET!"

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. On the West Coast, "San Pedro beach Bums", while on Mondays during the fall, aired after the football game, at around 9 P.M. Pacific time.

      Delete
  7. Interestingly, WJLA was the only Washington TV station with a 12 Noon newscast (although WTOP Channel 9---now WUSA---had a mid-day newscast at 1 P.M., when the CBS network wasn't feeding any programs to affiliates).

    Was WJLA that dominant in noon news ratings that the competition decided not to run noon newscasts?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Despite being an O&O, WRC/4 more often than not ran NBC’s noon hour programming (Gong Show, Super Password, Card Sharks, etc) during the 9-10 am hour

      Delete
  8. I actually remember Bill Cosby's Tonight Show monologue from this day ... it was the day after the Tampa Bay Buccaneers ended their existence-long losing streak with two games to go in their second regular season. Cosby, hosting the Monday show, spent most of the monologue repeating variations of: "Tampa BAY! Won! They WON a FOOTBALL GAME! This is something they have not DONE before! EVER!"

    ReplyDelete
  9. Although WTOP-TV 9 CBS Refused to The (New) Price is Right Starring Bob Barker Because of Government Spending Fraud Attempt.

    ReplyDelete
  10. "James Paul McCartney" (WMAR/2, airing at the strange time of 3 pm on a Monday afternoon!) was a special that originally aired on ABC in early 1973, coinciding with the release of Wings' second album "Red Rose Speedway." It consisted of a number of early Paul/Wings music videos from 1971-1973 (including one for Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey which is particularly well done - it is available on YouTube, as are most of the videos from the special.)

    ReplyDelete
  11. Take Five on WRC/4 at 2 AM was a five-minute comedy series featuring Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara (RIP):

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VfNSZgvo6Ek

    ReplyDelete
  12. In spite of its national popularity, TPIR did not air regularly in DC until the early-mid-80's - it in addition, neither Match Game nor Tattletales aired in DC or Baltimore once CBS switched MG's time slot to 4 pm the following year.

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for writing! Drive safely!