What's on TV? Monday, May 7, 1979

This week we make our first of two visits this month to Phoenix.  In terms of programming, the Mountain time zone tends to mimic the Central, particularly in the prime time schedule.  I know virtually nothing about the television history of this area, but even there we'll be able to note a couple of things, so let's get started.

	KOAI, Channel 2 (Flagstaff) (NBC)
	Morning
	06:00a	PTL Club
	07:00a	Today (guests Danny and Marlo Thomas)
	09:00a	Today in the Northland
	09:30a	The Hollywood Squares (Loni Anderson, Foster Brooks, Charlie Callas, Richard Crenna, Brianne Leary, Paul Lynde, Roddy McDowall, Andrew Stevens, Francine Tacker)
	10:00a	Card Sharks
	10:30a	All Star Secrets (panelists Steve Allen, Ja’net DuBois, Steven Ford, Rose Marie, Ross Martin)
	11:00a	Password (panelists Bill Hayes, Susan Seaforth Hayes)
	11:30a	Wheel of Fortune
	Afternoon
	12:00p	Navajo Nation Report
	12:30p	Another World
	02:00p	The Doctors
	02:30p	Days of Our Lives
	03:30p	PTL Club
	04:30p	Bullwinkle
	05:00p	Uncle Waldo
	05:30p	NBC Nightly News (Chancellor/Brinkley)
	Evening
	06:00p	News (local)
	06:30p	NAU Sports Profile
	07:00p	Movie – “Rollercoaster”
	09:30p	Whodunnit?
	10:00p	News (local)
	10:30p	Johnny Carson (guest host Rob Reiner, guests Martin Mull, Pete Barbuti)

You know, I'm not sure I've ever done one of these listings where Carson's actually been hosting Tonight.  It's either a night with no detail at all, or he's got a guest host.  Checking the rest of the week, it looks as if this is just Johnny's regular Monday night off, so we're stuck with Rob Reiner, who was still known as an actor back then.

	KTVK, Channel 3 (ABC)
	Morning
	06:00a	World Religions
	06:30a	Good Morning Phoenix
	07:00a	Good Morning America (guest Burt Bacharach)
	09:00a	Laverne & Shirley
	09:30a	Ryan’s Hope
	10:00a	All My Children
	11:00a	One Life to Live
	Afternoon
	12:00p	General Hospital
	01:00p	The Edge of Night
	01:30p	Family Feud
	02:00p	The $20,000 Pyramid
	02:30p	Movie – “Skullduggery”
	04:30p	The Beverly Hillbillies
	05:00p	Chico and the Man
	05:30p	ABC World News Tonight (Reynolds/Robinson/Jennings)
	Evening
	06:00p	News (local)
	06:30p	Cross-Wits (guests Don Galloway, Polly Holliday, Bill Cullen, Vicki Lawrence)
	07:00p	Battle of the Network Stars
	09:00p	Playboy’s 25th Anniversary
	10:00p	News (local)
	10:30p	Police Story
	11:40p	The Avengers
	12:40a	News (local)

I wonder how many people would associate Playboy with anything other than comely young women?  I kid of course, but you can't really reprint short stories in a television show, and there's only so much coverage [sic] you can give to the Playmates, so what else do you do for an hour?  Judging from the description, it sounds as if the emphasis is on clips from Hugh Heffner's early '60s TV show, which feature top musical talent and some very interesting guests.  There are also a bunch of camp followers one might expect to see hanging around the mansion, Chevy Chase, Tony Curtis, Buck Henry, et al. And let's not even get into Battle of the Network Stars.

	KPHO, Channel 5 (Ind.)
	Morning
	06:00a	700 Club
	07:00a	The Flintstones
	07:30a	Wallace and Ladmo
	08:30a	Open House
	09:00a	I Dream of Jeannie
	09:30a	Bewitched
	10:00a	Phil Donahue (guest author Raymond S. Moore)
	11:00a	Make Me Laugh (guests Kip Addotta, Bill Kirchenbauer, the Unknown Comic, Robert Reed)
	11:30a	News (local)
	Afternoon
	12:00p	Dick Van Dyke (B&W)
	12:30p	Andy Griffith
	01:00p	Marcus Welby, M.D.
	02:00p	The Big Valley
	03:00p	Gilligan’s Island
	03:30p	Bugs Bunny
	04:00p	Tom and Jerry
	04:30p	Emergency One
	05:30p	Adam-12
	Evening
	06:00p	Bob Newhart
	06:30p	The Odd Couple
	07:00p	The Rebels (part 1) (special)
	09:00p	The Odd Couple
	09:30p	News (local)
	10:00p	The New Newlywed Game
	10:30p	Movie – “They Marrying Kind” (B&W)
	12:30a	Phil Donahue (guest author Raymond S. Moore)
	01:30a	News (local)

The Rebels, part of a number of miniseries collectively known as The Kent Family Chronicles, was a production of Operation Prime Time, which for a time positioned itself as something of an alternative television network.  It provided original programming to a consortium of stations, both independent and (as in this case) affiliated, and did this successfully for a number of years.  Its most long-running progeny, which continues to this day?  Entertainment Tonight.

	KAET, Channel 8 (PBS)
	Morning
	06:00a	Nova
	07:00a	Over Easy (guest Cesar Romero)
	07:30a	Lilias, Yoga and You
	08:00a	Sesame Street
	09:00a	The Electric Company
	09:30a	Freestyle
	10:00a	Sesame Street
	11:00a	Masterpiece Theatre – Lillie, part 9
	Afternoon
	12:00p	Long Life and Prosperity
	12:30p	Que Pasa, U.S.A.?
	01:00p	David Susskind
	02:00p	Artistry of Sung Ju Lee
	02:30p	Villa Alegre
	03:00p	Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood
	03:30p	Sesame Street
	04:30p	The Electric Company
	05:00p	Sesame Street
	Evening
	06:00p	Over Easy (guest Anthony Quinn)
	06:30p	The MacNeil/Lehrer Report
	07:00p	Murder Most English
	08:00p	Bill Moyers’ Journal
	09:00p	World
	10:00p	Dick Cavett (guest author Fritz Molden)
	10:30p	The Forsyte Saga
	11:30p	Firing Line

I don't mean to cop out here, but this is a thoroughly ordinary PBS schedule.  Nothing unusual or special about it.  I might, however, have been interested in the series Murder Most English, which turns out to be a collection of mystery episodes from Masterpiece Theatre.  It would later become its own series called, not surprisingly, Mystery.

	KOOL, Channel 10 (CBS)
	Morning
	05:20a	Farm and Ranch Report
	05:30a	Sunrise Semester (History of African Civilization)
	06:00a	Monday Morning (Bob Schieffer)
	07:00a	Captain Kangaroo
	08:00a	All in the Family
	08:30a	Whew!
	08:55a	CBS News (Douglas Edwards)
	09:00a	The Price is Right
	10:00a	The Young and the Restless
	10:30a	Search for Tomorrow
	11:00a	News (local)
	11:30a	As the World Turns
	Afternoon
	12:30p	The Guiding Light
	01:30p	M*A*S*H
	02:00p	Love of Life
	02:30p	Dinah! (guests Lola Falana, Frankie Avalon, Peter Marshall, Jay Leno, Jay Johnson and Squeaky, Gloria Gaynor, Pia Zadora)
	04:00p	Mike Douglas (co-host Ben Vereen, guests Tony Bennett, Patrick Duffy, Lola Falana, Johnny Yune, Vidal Sassoon)
	05:30p	CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite
	Evening
	06:00p	News (local)
	07:00p	The White Shadow
	08:00p	M*A*S*H
	08:30p	WKRP in Cincinnati
	09:00p	Lou Grant
	10:00p	News (local)
	10:30p	The Rockford Files
	11:40p	McMillan & Wife
	01:35a	Where the Jobs Are
	02:05a	News (local)

The guest list from the afternon chatshows, Dinah! and Mike Douglas, are like a who's-who of celebrities of the late '70s and early '80s.  In other words, a mixed bag, to be sure.  I mean, look at Dinah Shore - Jay Leno and Pia Zadora.  We all know about Pia, but I wonder whatever happened to that Leno guy?  And who would have guessed that 35 years later, Patrick Duffy would still be associated with Dallas (at least until the sequel was cancelled) and Tony Bennett would still be turning out hits?

	KTAR, Channel 12 (NBC)
	Morning
	05:55a	RFD 12
	06:00a	Viewpoint
	06:30a	The Archies
	07:00a	Today (guests Danny and Marlo Thomas)
	09:00a	Password (panelists Bill Hayes, Susan Seaforth Hayes)
	09:30a	The Hollywood Squares (Loni Anderson, Foster Brooks, Charlie Callas, Richard Crenna, Brianne Leary, Paul Lynde, Roddy McDowall, Andrew Stevens, Francine Tacker)
	10:00a	Card Sharks
	10:30a	All Star Secrets (panelists Steve Allen, Ja’net DuBois, Steven Ford, Rose Marie, Ross Martin)
	11:00a	The Joker’s Wild
	11:30a	Wheel of Fortune
	Afternoon
	12:00p	News (local)
	12:30p	Another World
	02:00p	The Doctors
	02:30p	Days of Our Lifes
	03:30p	The Six Million Dollar Man
	04:30p	Mary Tyler Moore
	05:00p	News (local)
	05:30p	NBC Nightly News (Chancellor/Brinkley)
	Evening
	06:00p	News (local)
	06:30p	Tic Tac Dough
	07:00p	Movie – “Rollercoaster”
	09:30p	Whodunnit?
	10:00p	News (local)
	10:30p	Johnny Carson (guest host Rob Reiner, guests Martin Mull, Pete Barbuti)
	12:00a	Tomorrow (guest Daniel Sheehan)

Speaking of celebrities from the late '70s and early '80s, take a look at the panelists on the morning game show.  Steven Ford, Ja'net DuBois, Charlie Callas, Andrew Stevens, Foster Brooks.  There are some celebrities, like Steve Allen, who remain big names for a long time.  Others have, shall we say, a shorter shelf life.  Or they're so specifically associated with a certain time period, we only think of them in that way regardless of whatever else they might have done later.

	KPAZ, Channel 21 (Ind.)
	Morning
	06:00a	Live Now
	06:30a	Newborn
	07:00a	Destined for the Throne
	07:30a	Captain Andy
	08:00a	Joy in the Morning
	09:30a	Oral Roberts
	11:00a	Spirit Song
	11:30a	High Adventure
	Afternoon
	12:00p	Sharing
	12:30p	It’s a Brand New Day
	01:30p	Live Now
	02:00p	Newborn
	02:30p	Destined for the Throne
	03:00p	The Good Life
	03:30p	Let’s Just Praise the Lord
	05:30p	Backyard
	Evening
	06:30p	Destined for the Throne
	07:00p	Live Now
	07:30p	Newborn
	08:00p	Dan Griffin
	08:30p	Roger McDuff
	09:00p	Let’s Just Praise the Lord
	12:00a	Love Special
	01:00a	Joy in the Morning
	02:00a	The Good Life
	02:30a	Let’s Just Praise the Lord
	04:30a	Dynamic Christianity
	05:00a	The Good Life
	05:30a	Jimmy Swaggart

KPAZ is obviously a religious station, don't you think?  No surprise, since its owner in 1979 was the then-fledgling Trinity Broadcast Network, which continues to own it to this day.  I used to drive by TBN's studio every day on the way to work here in Irving, until we moved to another part of town a couple of months ago. TV