January 30, 2017

What's on TV? Tuesday, January 31, 1984

The listings this week have expanded dramatically, and it's not just because we've got more local stations in the Twin Cities area than in the past. It's 1984, and we're now in the cable era that we've read so much about in older issues. It's not full-blown cablemania yet; this issue only carries program listings for nine, five of which you'll see below. Still, it's a distinct difference from, say, 1962, when at most you'd see your three network affiliates, an independent station or two, and perhaps an educational station (especially if a major university was nearby). As to whether or not cable television in 1984 is fulfilling the promise of giving us unlimited viewing opportunities? Well, you'll have to be the judge of that.


KTCA, Channel 2 (PBS)

Morning


05:45a
A.M. Weather

06:00a
College for Working Adults

06:30a
Nightly Business Report

07:00a
Intro to Technical and Business Communication

07:30a
Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood

08:00a
Sesame Street

09:00a
The Electric Company

09:30a
3-2-1 Contact

10:00a
High Feather

10:30a
Quilting

11:00a
World of Cooking

11:30a
Sesame Street

Afternoon


12:30p
Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood

01:00p
Movie – “Sleeping Car to Trieste” (B&W)

03:00p
Over Easy (guest Margaret Whiting)

03:30p
Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood

04:00p
Sesame Street

05:00p
3-2-1 Contact

05:30p
Nightly Business Report

Evening


06:00p
MacNeil/Lehrer Newshour

07:00p
Nature

08:00p
Nova

09:00p
Seeing Things

10:00p
Good Neighbors

10:30p
To the Manor Born

11:00p
The Pallisters

12:00a
Latenight America

In contrast to many of the KTCA listings of weeks gone by, the PBS affiliate has gone to a comprehensive, all-day broadcasting format. Still a number of reruns during the day, but it's nice to see that a couple of early-morning programs retain the educational spirit of the station's original mission, including College for Working Adults, the de facto successor to Sunrise Semester.


WCCO, Channel 4 (CBS)

Morning


05:00a
News (local)

05:30a
CBS Morning News (Bill Kurtis, Diane Sawyer)

08:00a
Phil Donahue

09:00a
Hour Magazine (guest Mariette Hartley)

10:00a
The Price is Right

11:00a
The Young and the Restless

Afternoon


12:00p
Noon Report

12:30p
As the World Turns

01:30p
Capitol

02:00p
Guiding Light

03:00p
Tattletales

03:30p
Wheel of Fortune

04:00p
Breakaway (guest James Farentino)

05:00p
News (local)

05:30p
CBS Evening News with Dan Rather

Evening


06:00p
News (local)

06:30p
PM Magazine

07:00p
Hallmark Hall of Fame – “The Master of Ballantrae”

10:00p
News (local)

10:30p
The Jeffersons

11:00p
Magnum, P.I.

12:10a
McCloud

01:30a
CBS News

As I mentioned on Saturday, the Hallmark Hall of Fame, which has moved from longtime host NBC to CBS, still specializes in classical programming, although it's gone from staged dramas to movies. Alas, this won't last much longer.


KSTP, Channel 5 (ABC)

Morning


05:00a
Entertainment Tonight

05:30a
Health Field

06:00a
News (local)

07:00a
Good Morning America (interview with President Reagan, guests Tom Sellick, Jack Klugman)

09:00a
Family

10:00a
Benson

10:30a
Loving

11:00a
Family Feud

11:30a
Ryan’s Hope

Afternoon


12:00p
All My Children

01:00p
One Life to Live

02:00p
General Hospital

03:00p
Good Company

04:00p
Eight is Enough

05:00p
News (local)

05:30p
ABC World News Tonight with Peter Jennings

Evening


06:00p
News (local)

06:30p
Entertainment Tonight

07:00p
Foul-Ups, Bleeps & Blunders

07:30p
Happy Days

08:00p
Three’s Company

08:30p
Oh Madeline

09:00p
Hart to Hart

10:00p
News (local)

10:30p
Nightline

11:30p
Movie – “Rodeo Girl”

01:25a
Movie – “Imitation of Life”

04:00a
Film

04:30a
Film

I did not remember that Madeline Kahn had her own sitcom, and Oh Madeline didn't really do her any favors, running for only 22 episodes. Perhaps her talent was too big for the small screen, that TV just couldn't harness it all.


KMSP, Channel 9 (Ind.)

Morning


05:00a
News (local)

05:30a
Jimmy Swaggart

06:00a
Gary Randall

06:30a
:20 Minute Workout

07:00a
Superfriends

07:30a
Tom and Jerry

08:00a
The Flintstones

08:30a
Great Space Coaster

09:00a
Carter Country

09:30a
Morning Stretch

10:00a
Woman to Woman (fest Betty Freidan)

11:00a
The Big Valley

Afternoon


12:00p
News (local)

01:00p
Love Connection

01:30p
The Joker’s Wild

02:00p
Tic Tac Dough

02:30p
Gilligan’s Island

03:00p
Scooby-Doo

03:30p
Woody Woodpecker

04:00p
Little House on the Prairie

05:00p
The Love Boat

Evening


06:00p
Taxi

06:30p
The People’s Court

07:00p
Hodag Country Music Festival

09:00p
News (local)

10:00p
Taxi

10:30p
The Rockford Files

11:30p
Top 40 Videos

12:00a
Thicke of the Night (guests Ann Turkel, Dana Hall, Linda Hopkins, Whitney Btown)

01:30a
Movie – “The Domino Principle”

03:30a
Movie – “Death Squad”

KMSP has done a nice job building its programming in the years since it went from being an ABC affiliate to an independent. You'll notice that it's the station that carries Thicke of the Night, which we talked about on Saturday. I think their programming was more creative when they first went independent - you saw a lot of programs that hadn't been on for awhile, series like Gunsmoke, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, and Nanny and the Professor. By now, it's heavily slanted to more recent network series. 


WTCN, Channel 11 (NBC)

Morning


05:00a
The Courtship of Eddie’s Father

05:30a
My Three Sons

06:00a
Ag Day

06:30a
NBC News (John Dancy)

07:00a
Today (retirement of Edwin Newman)

09:00a
The Facts of Life

09:30a
Sale of the Century

10:00a
Wheel of Fortune

10:30a
Dream House

11:00a
Mary Tyler Moore

11:30a
Search for Tomorrow

Afternoon


12:00p
Days of Our Lives

01:00p
Another World

01:30p
Merv Griffin (guests Betty Buckley, Olympic Coach Jack Page)

02:00p
Match Game-Hollywood Squares (panelists Constance McCashin, Tom Poston, Larry Manetti)

03:00p
Bob Newhart

03:30p
Alice

04:00p
Special Treat

05:00p
Newscope

05:30p
News (local)

Evening


06:00p
NBC Nightly News with Tom Brokaw

06:30p
Family Feud

07:00p
The A-Team

08:00p
Riptide

09:00p
Remington Steele

10:00p
News (local)

10:35p
M*A*S*H

11:05p
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (guests Linda Ronstadt, George Carlin)

12:05a
Late Night with David Letterman

01:05a
News (local)

01:40a
Movie – “Bad Company”

03:30a
Mission: Impossible

04:30a
Mary Tyler Moore

I think we should note the Today show, which includes a tribute to Edwin Newman on the occasion of his retirement. Newman was one of the mainstays of NBC for many, many years, and his name has popped up in these listings frequently, usually as host of one of the morning news updates. He was one of the most erudite, witty, thoughtful newsmen ever on television, and even today, years after his death, he's still better than what passes for most on-air talent today.


KTCI, Channel 17 (PBS)

Afternoon


05:00p
Sesame Street

Evening


06:00p
Nightly Business Report

06:30p
Over Easy

07:00p
Austin City Limits

08:00p
MacNeil/Lehrer Newshour

09:00p
Nova

10:00p
American Playhouse

KTCI, the secondary PBS affiliate in the Twin Cities, has always had something of an identity crisis. For awhile the station simply replayed KTCA's PBS programming in off-hour timeslots, then it went through a spell when it contained entirely original programming. To be honest, I'm not sure what it does right now, but I'll be finding out shortly.


WFBT, Channel 29 (Ind.)

Morning


06:00a
Jim Bakker

07:00a
Breakfast with Casey Jones

08:30a
D. James Kennedy

09:00a
700 Club

10:30a
Jimmy Swaggart

11:00a
Jim Bakker

Afternoon


12:00p
Rejoice

12:30p
Another Life

01:00p
That Girl

02:30p
Treasure Hunt

03:00p
Family Affair

03:30p
Inspector Gadget

04:00p
The Lone Ranger

04:30p
F Troop (B&W)

05:00p
Get Smart

05:30p
Dick Van Dyke (B&W)

Evening


06:00p
Soar with the Eagles

06:30p
700 Club

08:00p
Jim Bakker

09:00p
Hungry Eyes

10:00p
Rejoice

10:30p
Emergency!

11:30p
Movie – “Svengali” (B&W)

WFBT is one of the newer independent stations; as you can see, it consists entirely of religious and family programming, the FBT standing for "Family Bible Television." It later became KITN, and now it's WFTC, the MyTV affiliate.


KXLI, Channel 41 (St. Cloud) (Ind.)

Morning


06:00a
Biznet News

08:00a
Cartoon Carnival

08:30a
The Muppet Show

09:00a
Daniel Boone

10:00a
The Streets of San Francisco

11:00a
Hawaii Five-O

Afternoon


12:00p
FNN Financial News

01:00p
The Millionaire (B&W)

01:30p
Burns and Allen (B&W)

02:00p
Our Miss Brooks (B&W)

02:30p
Andy Griffith (B&W)

03:00p
My Favorite Martian

03:30p
He-Man and the Masters of the Universe

04:00p
Inspector Gadget

04:30p
The Twilight Zone (B&W)

05:00p
Leave it to Beaver (B&W)

05:30p
One Day at a Time

Evening


06:00p
M*A*S*H

06:30p
WKRP in Cincinnati

07:00p
Family

08:00p
Movie – “Three for the Show”

10:00p
The Jeffersons

10:30p
The Rockford Files

11:30p
Alfred Hitchcock Presents (B&W)

12:00a
FNN Financial News

KXLI was a St. Cloud station available to Twin Cities viewers with one of those loop antennas. We never got a particularly clear picture, but it didn't matter back then, because KXLI, known as "TV Heaven," was one of the most entertaining stations in the cities. This was its second, less-successful, go-round as TV Heaven; while the afternoon programming is pretty good, the prime-time lineup is underwhelming. Back in its original incarnation, TV Heaven had theme nights: crime on Monday, war on Tuesday, and so on. It's how we got to see some fairly rare (in pre-DVD days) programs, including 12 O'Clock High, Mr. and Mrs. North, Mike Hammer (the Darrin McGavin version), The Fugitive, Combat!, and a host of others. I still miss that station.


ESPN

Morning


05:00a
Business Times

07:00a
SportsCenter

07:15a
Sidelines

07:45a
SportsCenter

08:00a
College Basketball (Tennessee at Kentucky)

10:00a
College Basketball (Georgetown at Syracuse)

Afternoon


12:00p
Skiing

02:00p
College Basketball (Tennessee at Kentucky)

04:00p
College Basketball (Georgetown at Syracuse)

Evening


06:00p
Sports Center

06:30p
This Week in the NBA

07:00p
Saviors, Saints & Sinners

08:00p
College Basketball (Maryland at Virginia)

10:00p
SportsCenter

10:15p
College Basketball (Connecticut at Boston College)

12:15a
Inside the PGA Tour

12:45a
The Fishin’ Hole

01:15a
SportsCenter

01:30a
College Basketball (Maryland at Virginia)

03:30a
Boxing Highlights

You know, I had completely forgotten that ESPN used to carry business programming in the early morning hours, but before it became a lifestyle network, it had to have something to show at 5 a.m. Frankly, I think it was an improvement over what it carries now. You can see that instead of endless replays of SportsCenter, the daytime lineup is filled with endless replays of the previous night's games. Besides the 6 p.m. SportsCenter, the primetime lineup consists of the weekly NBA newsmagazine, a documentary on the 1980 NFL season, and a single live college basketball game. Today, that college game would start at 6 p.m., and would be the first game of at least three, if not four, games.


HBO

Morning


05:00a
Predators

06:00a
Seal Pup

06:30a
Movie – “Threshold”

08:30a
Best of Consumer Reports

09:00a
Movie – “Kiss Me Goodbye”

11:00a
Movie – “The Terry Fox Story”

Afternoon


01:00p
Movie – “Threshold”

03:00p
Seal Pup

03:30p
Predators

04:30p
Movie – “Kiss Me Goodbye”

Evening


06:30p
Best of Consumer Reports

07:00p
George Burns

08:00p
Movie – “The Terry Fox Story”

10:00p
Movie – “Forced Vengeance”

11:35p
Movie – “Threshold”

01:10a
George Burns

02:10a
Movie – “The Terry Fox Story”

03:50a
Movie – “Forced Vengeance”

HBO has yet to go into original programming in a big way, aside from the George Burns special on tonight. Four movies constitute most of today's schedule, and you're going to get at least two or three chances to see each one. 


WTBS

Morning


05:00a
CNN News

06:00a
Funtime

06:35a
I Dream of Jeannie

07:05a
Bewitched

07:35a
I Love Lucy

08:00a
Movie – “’Til We Meet Again” (B&W)

10:05a
Catlins

10:35a
Texas

11:05a
Perry Mason

Afternoon


12:05p
Movie – “Torpedo Bay”

02:05p
The Flintstones

02:30p
Battle of the Planets

03:00p
The Munsters (B&W)

03:35p
The Brady Bunch

04:05p
Leave it to Beaver (B&W)

04:35p
The Beverly Hillbillies

05:05p
Little House on the Prairie

Evening


06:05p
Carol Burnett and Friends

06:35p
NBA Basketball (Atlanta at Washington)

08:50p
News

10:00p
All in the Family

10:30p
Catlins

11:00p
Movie – “The Art of Love”

01:05a
Movie – “Beach Ball”

02:50a
Search for the Nile

03:50a
The Rat Patrol

04:20a
The World at Large

04:30a
Jimmy Swaggart

TBS - excuse me, WTBS - has already latched on to it's famous 5/35 schedule, making it stand out from the rest of the stations. It also makes it much more challenging for the typist trying to record these listings for his faithful readers. The Turner Superstation has very little original programming at this point; in fact, you'd be hard-pressed to distinguish this lineup from any of the independent stations in most cities.


USA

Morning


05:00a
Movie – “The Wooden Horse” (B&W) (from 4:00a)

06:00a
Cartoon Express

07:00a
Calliope

08:00a
Alive & Well! (guest Jon “Bowzer” Bauman)

10:00a
Designs for Living

10:30a
Great American Homemaker

11:00a
Movie – “The Wooden Horse”

Afternoon


01:00p
Sonya

02:00p
Alive & Well! (guest Jon “Bowzer” Bauman)

04:00p
Hot Spots

05:00p
Cartoon Express

Evening


06:00p
Radio 1990

06:30p
Dragnet

07:00p
NHL All-Star Game

10:00p
College Basketball (Mississippi at Auburn)

12:00a
NHL All-Star Game

03:00a
College Basketball (Mississippi at Auburn)

Back in 1984, USA was home of the National Hockey League, which had by this time departed network television. I was never fortunate enough to see their coverage; at this point in history, Minneapolis city government was embroiled in a political battle over selecting a cable company to provide coverage to the city, with the result that we still didn't have it. I've been told USA was quite good, though. Quite a difference in their programming from today, with their endless NCIS marathons. Of course, NCIS hadn't been created yet.


WGN

Morning


05:00a
Chico and the Man

05:30a
Faith 20

06:00a
Top O’ the Morning

06:30a
The Muppet Show

07:00a
Bozo the Clown

09:00a
Movie – “Shadow over Elveron”

11:00a
Family

Afternoon


12:00p
News (local)

01:00p
Rhoda

01:30p
Andy Griffith (B&W)

02:00p
I Dream of Jeannie

02:30p
Alvin and the Chipmunks

03:00p
Superfriends

03:30p
Scooby-Doo

04:00p
Charlie’s Angeles

05:30p
WKRP in Cincinnati

Evening


06:00p
Barney Miller~

06:30p
The Jeffersons

07:00p
Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous

09:30p
INN News (Bosh/Harper)

10:00p
Soap

10:30p
The Love Boat

11:35p
Movie – “Ride to Glory”

02:00a
INN News (Bosh/Harper)

02:30a
Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In

03:00a
Movie – “Night in Paradise”

This is the real WGN, home of Chicago Cubs baseball, and not the fake WGN "America" we get today if we live outside Chicagoland. And why do they insist on retaining the WGN moniker? Can't they think of anything better? After all, there's absolutely nothing WGN-ish about WGN America. Of course, there wasn't anything particularly national in scope about WGN back in 1984, either. As a matter of fact, they look a lot like WTBS, don't they? TV  

5 comments:

  1. During the mid 1980's, play-by-play for USA's coverage of the National Hockey league was handled by Dan Kelly, who for years was the "voice" of the NHL in the United States.

    Kelly also spent many years doing games of the St. Louis Blues for powerful KMOX radio there.

    I think Dan Kelly also did a handful of regional NFL games for CBS in the 1970's and might even have briefly worked St. Louis Cardinals baseball with Jack Buck and Mike Shannon for KMOX radio (maybe doing radio while Buck or Shannon were calling the rare in that era televised Cards' games?).

    ReplyDelete
  2. Loved listening to Dan Kelly on the Game of the Week! Sometimes if it was very clear out, we'd be able to pull in KMOX and listen to him call the Blues. They don't come like that anymore.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Regarding HBO original programming - "The Terry Fox Story" should get partial credit. I remember this being a big deal when it was on, as it was the first television film ever made for a cable network. It wasn't produced by HBO, but it was specifically made for them. :)

    I had WGN where we lived in 1984, and I remember watching it quite a bit. Thanks for this lineup!

    ReplyDelete
  4. There was original programming on HBO, it was shows like "Not Necessarily The News". The football sitcom "1st and Ten" would be about a year off. On ESPN the only pro football that was shown in 1984 were NFL Films shows, the USFL, and the CFL.

    ReplyDelete
  5. At this time WTCN was really hurting in the local news department which is one of the reasons they ran the early news at 5:30 instead of 6PM. Gannet had bought the station in 1983 and was starting the process of rebuilding the station.

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for writing! Drive safely!