April 18, 2016

What's on TV? Sunday, April 18, 1993

One of the many irritants from TV Guides of this era is the small, cramped print necessitated by the growing number of channels and the 24/7 programming. Of course, this is exacerbated in this case by the sheer number of stations in the Los Angeles area; in order to fit everything in this week's feature, I had to omit several stations from Anaheim and other areas. I can only imagine how much trouble older readers must have had finding their favorites, if in fact they had any. Let's see what we can find.


KCBS, Channel 2 (CBS)

Morning

05:00a
Today’s Religion

05:30a
Commercial Program

06:00a
Singsation

06:30a
The World Tomorrow

07:00a
Home Again

07:30a
Sunday Morning

09:00a
Face the Nation

09:30a
Newsmakers

10:00a
NCAA Track and Field Indoor Championships

11:00a
NCAA Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships

Afternoon

12:00p
Golf (Heritage Classic)

03:00p
Travel Travel

03:30p
Commercial Programs

04:30p
Emergency Call

05:00p
Firefighters

05:30p
CBS Evening News with Connie Chung

Evening

06:00p
News (local)

07:00p
60 Minutes

08:00p
Murder, She Wrote

09:00p
Movie – “The Fire Next Time” part 1

11:00p
News (local)

11:30p
Sunday Sports Final

Early Monday

12:00a
CBS News (Bill Plante)

12:15a
Star Search

01:15a
Commercial Programs

02:15a
Up to the Minute

04:30a
Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous


Where we live, golf coverage usually starts at 2:00 pm, so to see it begin at noon reminds me that we're not in the Central time zone anymore. But the schedule after the golf - well, it doesn't add much to the day, does it? Notice the "Commercial Programs" that pop up here and throughout the schedules from the other stations? Nowadays we call them "Infomercials."


KNBC, Channel 4 (NBC)

Morning

05:00a
Life Choices

05:30a
News Conference

06:00a
Sunday Today

07:00a
Meet the Press

08:00a
News (local)

09:00a
Senior Golf – PGA Senior Championship

Afternoon

12:00p
NBA Basketball (San Antonio vs. Portland)

02:30p
NBA Basketball (Chicago vs. Cleveland) (time approximate)

05:00p
News (local)

Evening


06:00p
Entertainment Tonight

07:00p
Hard Copy

08:00p
I Witness Video

09:00p
Movie – “Mobsters”

11:00p
News (local)

11:15p
Sunday Night Sports

11:45p
George Michael Sports Machine

Early Monday

12:15a
Entertainment Tonight

01:15a
News (local)

01:30a
Sunday Night Sports

02:00a
Prime Suspect

02:30a
Commercial Program

03:00a
The McLaughlin Group

03:30a
Nightside

If noon is early for golf, what about 9:00 a.m.? 


KTLA, Channel 5 (Ind.)

Morning

05:00a
What’s Happening!!

05:30a
U.S. Farm Report

06:00a
Pacesetters

06:30a
Making It: Minority Success Stories

07:00a
Punky Brewster

07:30a
Punky Brewster

08:00a
The Brady Bunch

08:30a
The Brady Bunch

09:00a
Out of This World

09:30a
Out of This World

10:00a
Happy Days

10:30a
Baseball (California vs. Baltimore)

Afternoon

01:30p
Happy Days (time approximate)

02:00p
Out of This World

02:30p
Out of This World

03:00p
Charles in Charge

03:30p
Charles in Charge

04:00p
Movie – “Bedknobs and Broomsticks”

Evening


06:00p
Movie – “Beyond the Stars”

08:00p
Renegade

09:00p
Highlander

10:00p
News (local)

10:40p
Sportsline

11:00p
Taxi

11:30p
Street Justice

Early Monday

12:30a
Second Generation

01:00a
News (local)

01:40a
Sportspage

02:00a
Movie – “Flashback”

04:00a
Movie – “Skeezer”

Back-to-back episodes of one series after another - I'll tackle this later on, but it just makes a joke out of the schedule, doesn't it? And personally, I think 10:30 in the morning is way too early for baseball. It makes me appreciate just how much of a culture shift it requires to live on the West Coast. It also makes me glad I live in the Central time zone.


KABC, Channel 7 (ABC)

Morning

05:00a
Campus Profiles

05:30a
Insight

06:00a
Zoolife with Jack Hanna

06:30a
Why Didn’t I Think of That?

07:00a
Good Morning America – Sunday

08:00a
Commercial Programs

09:00a
Kids’ World

09:30a
Siskel & Ebert

10:00a
L.A. Extra

10:30a
Wall Street Journal Report

11:00a
This Week with David Brinkley

Afternoon

12:00p
Stanley Cup Playoffs (Teams TBA)

03:00p
Auto Racing (Long Beach Grand Prix)

05:00p
ABC World News Sunday (Forrest Sawyer)

05:30p
City View

Evening


06:00p
News (local)

06:30p
Siskel & Ebert

07:00p
America’s Funniest Home Videos

07:30p
Dinosaurs

08:00p
Day One

09:00p
Movie – “The Woman Who Loved Elvis”

11:00p
News (local)

11:30p
Sportscene

Early Monday

12:00a
Movie – “The Jerico Mile”

02:00a
On Scene: Emergency Response

02:30a
Wall Street Journal Report

03:00a
ABC World News Now

I'm typing this up on Sunday evening, April 17, and the programming this afternoon is remarkably similar to what was on TV today - Stanley Cup playoffs and the Long Beach Grand Prix. I should have mentioned that the golf tournament on KCBS, the Heritage Classic, was on this afternoon as well.


KCAL, Channel 9 (Ind.)

Morning

05:00a
The Fall Guy

06:00a
Old Time Gospel Hour

07:00a
Coral Ridge

08:00a
Let God Love You

08:30a
The World Tomorrow

09:00a
Oral Roberts

09:30a
It Is Written

10:00a
Hour of Power

11:00a
Feed the Children

11:30a
Commercial Program

Afternoon

12:00p
The A-Team

01:00p
Movie – “Perry Mason: The Case of the Desperate Deception”

03:00p
Movie – “The Phantom Tollbouth”

05:00p
Who’s the Boss?

05:30p
Who’s the Boss?

Evening


06:00p
Who’s the Boss?

06:30p
Who’s the Boss?

07:00p
American Gladiators

08:00p
News (local)

09:00p
National Geographic: On Assignment

10:00p
American Gladiators

11:00p
Beauty and the Beast

Early Monday

12:00a
Ebony/Jet Showcase

12:30a
America’s Black Forum

01:00a
Hee Haw

A full morning of religious programming on a Sunday morning - kind of quaint nowadays, don't you think? And two movies in the afternoon - I wonder if that's what they show today, or if it's mostly infomercials?


KTTV, Channel 11 (Fox)

Morning

06:00a
Commercial Programs

07:00a
In Touch

08:00a
On the Street with Willie Jordan

08:30a
Ever Increasing Faith

09:30a
Kenneth Copeland

10:30a
Commercial Program

11:00a
Midday Sunday

11:30a
Signs of the Times

Afternoon

12:00p
WWF Wrestling

01:00p
Gilligan’s Island

01:30p
Gilligan’s Island

02:00p
Small Wonder

02:30p
Small Wonder

03:00p
Mr. Belvedere

03:30p
Mr. Belvedere

04:00p
Family Ties

04:30p
Family Ties

05:00p
I Love Lucy (B&W)

05:30p
I Love Lucy (B&W)

Evening


06:00p
I Love Lucy (B&W)

06:30p
I Love Lucy (B&W)

07:00p
Parker Lewis

07:30p
Shaky Ground

08:00p
In Living Color

08:30p
Roc

09:00p
Married…With Children

09:30p
Herman’s Head

10:00p
Flying Blind

10:30p
The Edge

11:00p
News (local)

11:30p
M*A*S*H

Early Monday

12:00a
M*A*S*H

12:30a
The World Tomorrow

01:00a
Commercial Program

01:30a
Movie – “Bolero”

03:30a
Movie – “Ruby”

This is a prime example of what I absolutely hate about television from this era, which you still see frequently today. Just look at the afternoon schedule - back-to-back episodes of Gilligan, Small Wonder, Belvedere, Family Ties, and four episodes of Lucy. You can't tell me a big station like KTTV didn't have more programming to broadcast that that, can you? It shows an incredible lack of creativity, although it was probably quite profitable. What makes it worse is when a network does this during the week, showing two or four episodes of a series every day Monday through Friday. At that rate, it would take about five weeks to polish off a 100-episode series, 100 episodes always having been considered the threshold for syndication. No wonder people get so sick of seeing certain programs.


KCOP, Channel 13 (Ind.)

Morning

05:00a
Webster

05:30a
Head of the Class

06:00a
Sport Fishing

06:30a
The Adventures of T-Rex

07:00a
Young Robin Hood

07:30a
Pirates of Dark Water

08:00a
Tom and Jerry

09:00a
Conan the Adventurer

09:30a
Mr. Bogus

10:00a
Around the World in Eighty Dreams

10:30a
King Arthur and the Knights of Justice

11:00a
Arthritis Telethon

Afternoon

05:00p
The Untouchables

Evening


06:00p
NBA Basketball (Clippers vs. Denver)

08:30p
Star Trek: The Next Generation (time approximate)

09:30p
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

11:00p
Sweating Bullets

Early Monday

12:00a
Commercial Programs

01:00a
Baywatch

02:00a
Time Trax

The version of The Untouchables you see listed is not the original, featuring Robert Stack, but the remake (or would they call it a reboot nowadays?), starring Tom Amandes as Ness. It ran in syndication for two seasons, 42 episodes. Maybe it was more accurate, I don't know; I never saw it. But there's only one Elliot Ness, and it wasn't Tom Amandes, nor was it Kevin Costner.


KSCI, Channel 18 (Ind.)

Morning

05:30a
Danny Diaz Presents

06:00a
Harvest Time

06:30a
World Mission Church

07:00a
Full Gospel World Mission

07:30a
Hope Hour

08:00a
Day of Salvation

08:30a
Faith for Today

09:00a
Armenian Teletime

11:00a
Iranian TV

Afternoon

12:00p
Jonbesh-E-Iran

01:00p
Jaam-E-Jam

02:00p
Chinese Showcase

04:00p
Israel Today

04:30p
Phil Blazer

05:00p
Commercial Program

05:30p
Hungary ‘93

Evening


06:00p
Arabic Music Television

06:30p
Commercial Program

07:00p
Sunday Hour

08:00p
New World Travel

09:00p
Sunday Theatre

10:00p
China Today

11:00p
Armenian Teletime

Early Monday

12:00a
Midnight Show

12:30a
Commercial Programs

02:00a
Shepherd’s Chapel Bible Study

Now this is something I definitely didn't encounter living in Minnesota. Programs in Armenian, Chinese, Hebrew, Farsi, and English. I'm probably missing something along the way. I'd guess this station was dedicated to programming supported by local ethnic associations.


KWHY, Channel 22 (Ind.)

Morning

06:00a
World Chronicle

06:30a
Our People, Our Town

07:00a
Commercial Program

07:30a
In Search of the Lord’s Water

08:00a
Commercial Program

09:30a
Foro 22

10:00a
Planeta

Afternoon

12:30p
Pelicula – “El poder satanico” (B&W)

02:30p
Pelicula – “Vividores de mujeres”

04:30p
Lucha libre

Evening


07:00p
Orale primo

08:00p
Camara in fraganti

09:00p
Pelicula – “Vistele Cristina” (B&W)

11:00p
Noticias

If I am correct that the programs listed in Spanish are shown in Spanish, then it would appear that the station's early-morning programming is in English. (K)WHY? I don't know.


KCET, Channel 28 (PBS)

Morning

07:00a
Sesame Street

08:00a
Shining Time Station

08:30a
Shining Time Station

09:00a
Storytime

09:30a
Tony Brown’s Journal

10:00a
Adam Smith

10:30a
Life & Times

11:00a
Masterpiece Theatre - “The Black Velvet Gown” conclusion

Afternoon

12:00p
Mystery – “Second Time Around” conclusion

01:00p
Medicine at the Crossroads

03:00p
The Machine That Changed the World

04:00p
Degenerate Art

05:00p
In the Mix

Evening


06:00p
Ghostwriter

07:00p
Storytime

07:30p
Visiting…with Huell Howser

08:00p
Nature

09:00p
Masterpiece Theatre – Calling the Shots” part 1

10:00p
The Last Show on Earth

Early Monday

12:00a
Frontline

01:00a
Open Mind

Shining Time Station is probably most familiar in your household for featuring Thomas the Tank Engine, a hero to millions of kids.


KMEX, Channel 34 (Uni.)

Morning

05:30a
Programacion comercial

06:00a
Somos y seremos

06:30a
Programacion comercial

07:30a
Nuestra familia

08:00a
Santa Misa

08:30a
Inocentes en crisis

09:00a
Temas ydebates

09:30a
Programacion comercial

10:00a
Domingo deportivo

Afternoon

12:00p
Pelicula – “Apuesta contra la muerte”

01:50p
Futbol (Canada vs. Honduras)

05:00p
Pelicula – “Maldita miseria”

Evening


07:30p
Siempre en domingo

09:00p
Pelicula – “Teatro del horror”

11:00p
Titulares deportivos

11:30p
Camino a la copa: Hoy

Early Monday

01:00a
Galardon a los grandes

01:30a
Amor que rescata

Univision es la cadena de cable idioma español .


KLCS, Channel 58 (PBS)

Morning

10:30a
Guitar with Frederick Noad

11:00a
Nova

Afternoon

12:00p
Frontline

01:00p
Gem in the Heart of the City

02:00p
Renaissance

03:00p
Seasons of Life

04:00p
Seasons of Life

05:00p
Travels

Evening


06:00p
To Be Announced

07:00p
The Vanishing Civil War

08:00p
Empire of the Air

10:00p
Health Quarterly

Empire of the Air is Ken Burns' documentary on the men responsible for the creation of radio. It's a fascinating look at how radio came to be, and how it came to dominate the American landscape, if for only a short time before television came to the fore. It was also interesting as one of Burns' shorter efforts, before he became so well-known for the long-form series. I'd like to see it again some day. Maybe next time I'm over at YouTube. TV  

1 comment:

  1. Two things I got from this, that networks were still running movies on Sunday nights and looking over the Sunday lineups from all four networks.... geez, I guess I wasn't watching anything on Network Sunday nights in 1993.

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for writing! Drive safely!