February 4, 2019

What's on TV? Thursday, February 9, 1984

I still find it hard to comprehend that 1984 was 35 years ago; some of you out there will look at these shows as every bit as deserving of the "classic" moniker as the shows from the '50s and '60s. It could be just me, or it could be this particular night of the week, but I have to admit that aside from Hill Street Blues and Cheers, none of these network shows strike me as being "classic." And yet, as I mention below, for the cable stations, WGN and USA in particular (but also ESPN, TBS, and CNN, for starters), this looks like the glory days compared to the way they are now. To each his own, I suppose. This week's listings come from Minneapolis-St. Paul.


 2  KTCA (PBS)

MORNING

     5:45
A.M. WEATHER

     6AM
COLLEGE FOR WORKING ADULTS

     6:30
NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT

     7AM
CHILD ABUSE AND NEGLECT

     7:30
MISTER ROGERS—Children

     8AM
SESAME STREET (CC)—Children

     9AM
ELECTRIC COMPANY—Children

     9:30
3-2-1 CONTACT (CC)—Children

   10AM
REBOP—Children

   10:30
LAP QULITING WITH GEORGIA BONESTEEL—Instruction

   11AM
WOODWRIGHT’S SHOP—Instruction
         
   11:30
SESAME STREET (CC)—Children

AFTERNOON

   12:30
MISTER ROGERS—Children

     1PM
MOVIE—Crime Drama BW 
“Blackmail” (English; 1929)

     2:30
WORD INTO IMAGE—Documentary

     3PM
OVER EASY (CC)
Guest: Bel Kaufman

     3:30
MISTER ROGERS—Children

     4PM
SESAME STREET (CC)—Children

     5PM
3-2-1 CONTACT (CC)--Children

     5:30
NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT

EVENING

     6PM
MacNEIL, LEHRER NEWSHOUR

     7PM
NIGHTTIMES, WITH GARY GILSON

     8PM
SNEAK PREVIEWS—Movie Reviews

     8:30
MONTY PYTHON’S FLYING CIRCUS

     9PM
MYSTERY! (CC)
“Reilly, Ace of Spies” Part 4

   10PM
GOOD NEIGHBORS—Comedy

   10:30
TO THE MANOR BORN—Comedy

   11PM
SEEING THINGS

   12AM
LATENIGHT AMERICA—Wholey
Guest: Mark Russell

I've always been a fan of Mark Russell and his political satire; it's certainly got an edge to it, but it's bipartisan, and it's not mean-spirited. Today's comics could take a cue or two from him.


 4  WCCO (CBS)

MORNING

     5AM
NEWS

     5:30
CBS NEWS—Kurtis/Sawyer

     8AM
PHIL DONAHUE

     9AM
HOUR MAGAZINE
Guests: John James, June L. Shiplett

   10AM
PRICE IS RIGHT—Game

   11AM
YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS—Serial

AFTERNOON

   12PM
NOON REPORT

   12:30
AS THE WORLD TURNS—Serial

     1:30
CAPITOL—Serial

     2PM
GUIDING LIGHT—Serial

     3PM
TATTLETALES—Game
Guests: Melody Thomas, Eric Braeden, Deborah Mullowney

     3:30
WHEEL OF FORTUNE—Game

     4PM
BREAKAWAY—Magazine

     5PM
NEWS

     5:30
CBS NEWS—Dan Rather

EVENING

     6PM
NEWS

     6:30
PM MAGAZINE
Guests: Christopher Atkins, Linda Gray

     7PM
MAGNUM, P.I.—Crime Drama

     8PM
SIMON & SIMON—Crime Drama

     9PM
KNOTS LANDING

   10PM
NEWS

   10:30
JEFFERSONS (CC)—Comedy

   11PM
TRAPPER JOHN, M.D.

   12:10
MOVIE—Drama
“…And Your Name is Jonah” (Made for TV; 1979)

     1:30
CBS NEWS

Capitol was a soap opera set in Washington, in the world of politics. You may think it went off the air years ago, but in fact it just changed channels. Instead of CBS, it's now on C-SPAN.


 5  KSTP (ABC)

MORNING

     5AM
FILM

     5:30
HEALTH FIELD

     6AM
NEWS

     7AM
GOOD MORNING AMERICA—Hartman/Lunden

     9AM
FAMILY—Drama

   10AM
BENSON

   10:30
LOVING—Serial

   11AM
FAMILY FEUD—Game
         
   11:30
RYAN’S HOPE—Serial

AFTERNOON

   12PM
ALL MY CHILDREN—Serial

     1PM
ONE LIFE TO LIVE—Serial

     2PM
GENERAL HOSPITAL—Serial

     3PM
GOOD COMPANY—Variety

     4PM
HAPPY DAYS AGAIN

     4:30
EYEWITNESS AFTERNOON

     5PM
NEWS

     5:30
ABC NEWS (CC)—Peter Jennings

EVENING

     6PM
NEWS

     6:30
ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT
Guest: Walter Cronkite

     7PM
XIV WINTER OLYMPIC GAMES

   10PM
NEWS

   10:30
XIV WINTER OLYMPIC GAMES UPDATE

   11PM
NIGHTLINE—Ted Koppel

   11:30
MOVIE—Biography BW 
“Man of a Thousand Faces” (1957)

     1:50
MOVIE—Drama BW 
“Dangerous” (1935)

     3:25
MOVIE—Comedy BW 
“Half Shot at Sunrise” (1930)

Tonight's Olympic coverage was to feature one of the glamour events of any Olympiad: the men's downhill. However, due to weather, the race was postponed for a week; when it eventually was run, the winner was American Bill Johnson. 


 9  KMSP (Ind.)

MORNING

     5AM
NEWS

     5:30
JIMMY SWAGGART—Religion

     6AM
GARY RANDALL—Religion

     6:30
:20 MINUTE WORKOUT—Exercises

     7AM
SUPERFRIENDS—Cartoon

     7:30
TOM AND JERRY—Cartoon

     8AM
FLINTSTONES—Cartoons

     8:30
GREAT SPACE COASTER—Children

     9AM
GILLIGAN’S ISLAND

     9:30
MORNING STRETCH—Exercise

   10AM
WOMAN TO WOMAN—Discussion

   11AM
BIG VALLEY—Western

AFTERNOON

   12PM
NEWS

     1PM
LOVE CONNECTION

     1:30
JOKER’S WILD—Game

     2PM
TIC TAC DOUGH—Game

     2:30
WOODY WOODPECKER—Cartoon

     3PM
SCOOBY DOO—Cartoon

     3:30
HE-MAN AND THE MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE—Cartoon

     4PM
LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE

     5PM
LOVE BOAT—Comedy

EVENING

     6PM
TAXI—Comedy

     6:30
PEOPLE’S COURT (CC)

     7PM
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Minnesota at Ohio State

     9PM
NEWS

   10PM
TAXI—Comedy

   10:30
ROCKFORD FILES—Crime Drama

   11:30
TOP 40 VIDEOS

   12AM
THICKE OF THE NIGHT
Guests: Sarah Purcell, Bob Paris, Wally George, Bill Champlain

     1:30
MOVIE—Thriller
“Scream of the Wolf” (Made for TV; 1974)

     3AM
MOVIE—Science Fiction BW 
“Night Caller from Outer Space” (English; 1965)

     4:30
MUNSTERS—Comedy BW 

Boy, remember Thicke of the Night? It really stands out here, because neither ABC nor CBS have gotten into the late night talk show business yet. It's preceded by Top 40 Videos; for you youngsters out there, there used to be an entire channel devoted to showing those things.


11 WTCN (NBC)

MORNING

     5AM
COURTSHIP OF EDDIE’S FATHER—Comedy/Dramma

     5:30
MY THREE SONS—Comedy

     6AM
AG-DAY

     6:30
NBC NEWS—John Dancy

     7AM
TODAY—Gumbel/Chung
Guest: Sylvester Stallone

     9AM
FACTS OF LIFE

     9:30
SALE OF THE CENTURY—Game

   10AM
WHEEL OF FORTUNE—Game

   10:30
DREAM HOUSE—Game

   11AM
MARY TYLER MOORE—Comedy
         
   11:30
SEARCH FOR TOMORROW—Serial

AFTERNOON

   12PM
DAYS OF OUR LIVES—Serial

     1PM
ANOTHER WORLD—Serial

     2PM
MATCH GAME-HOLLYWOOD SQUARES

     3PM
LAVERNE & SHIRLEY & COMPANY—Comedy

     3:30
ALICE—Comedy

     4PM
ONE DAY AT A TIME—Comedy

     4:30
THREE’S COMPANY—Comedy

     5PM
NEWSCOPE

     5:30
NEWS

EVENING

     6PM
NBC NEWS—Tom Brokaw

     6:30
FAMILY FEUD—Game

     7PM
GIMMIE A BREAK!

     7:30
FAMILY TIES

     8PM
CHEERS

     8:30
BUFFALO BILL

     9PM
HILL STREET BLUES—Crime Drama

   10PM
NEWS

   10:35
M*A*S*H

   11:05
TONIGHT
Guests: Tony Bennett, Lee Van Cleef

   12:05
LATE NIGHT WITH DAVID LETTERMAN
Guest: Steve Martin

     1:05
NEWS

     1:40
CELEBRITY CRUSADE FOR LIFE

     2:40
MOVIE—Drama
“Secrets” (Made for TV; 1977)

     4:30
MARY TYLER MOORE—Comedy

Like Happy Days Again, Laverne & Shirley & Friends is called that because it's still in first-run on the network; therefore, it had to have an alternate title in syndication. Somehow, I don't think most people noticed the difference.


17 KTCI (PBS)

AFTERNOON

     5PM
SESAME STREET (CC)—Children

EVENING

     6PM
NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT

     6:30
OVER EASY (CC)

     7PM
MASTERPIECE THEATRE (CC)

     8PM
MacNEIL, LEHRER NEWSHOUR

     9PM
SNEAK PREVIEWS

     9:30
ENTERPRISE (CC)—Documentary

   10PM
MYSTERY! (CC)

   11PM
LAWMAKERS

   11:30
TONY BROWN’S JOURNAL

KTCI was always been something of an enigma; sometimes it served as an outlet for PBS programming that didn't air on the big station, KTCA, while at other times it simply rebroadcast shows that had been on Channel 2 earlier. This is one of those latter times, and it's also before KTCI had a full broadcasting schedule.


29 WFBT (Ind.)

MORNING


     6AM
JIM BAKKER—Religion

     7AM
BREAKFAST WITH CASEY JONES

     8AM
INSPECTOR GADGET—Cartoon

     8:30
D. JAMES KENNEDY—Religion  

     9AM
700 CLUB—Religion

   10:30
JIMMY SWAGGART—Religion

   11AM
JIM BAKKER—Religion

AFTERNOON

   12PM
REJOICE—Danny Koker

   12:30
ANOTHER LIFE—Serial

     1PM
THAT GIRL—Comedy

     1:30
MERV GRIFFIN
Guest: Gary Coleman

     2:30
TREASURE HUNT—Game

     3PM
FAMILY AFFAIR—Comedy

     3:30
INSPECTOR GADGET—Cartoon

     4PM
LONE RANGER—Western BW 

     4:30
F TROOP—Comedy BW 

     5PM
GET SMART!—Comedy

     5:30
DICK VAN DYKE—Comedy BW 

EVENING

     6PM
ADAM-12—Crime Drama

     6:30
700 CLUB—Religion

     8PM
JIM BAKKER—Religion

     9PM
SPORTS MAGAZINE

     9:30
SILENT SERVICE—Drama BW 

   10PM
REJOICE—Danny Koker

   10:30
EMERGENCY!—Drama

   11:30
MOVIE—Mystery BW 
“Mr. Wong, Detective” (1938)

WFBT (which is now WFTC) stood for "Family Bible Television;" hence, the religious programming, combined with wholesome classic television. It went through several other iterations, including one as the Twin Cities' Fox affiliate; today, it's an "affiliate" of MyNetwork.


41 KXLI (St. Cloud) (Ind.)

MORNING


     6AM
BIZNET NEWS

     8AM
CARTOON CARNIVAL

     8:30
MUPPET SHOW—Variety

     9AM
DANIEL BOONE—Adventure

   10AM
STREETS OF SAN FRANCISCO—Crime Drama

   11AM
HAWAII FIVE-O—Crime Drama

AFTERNOON

   12PM
FNN FINANCIAL NEWS

     1PM
MILLIONAIRE—Drama BW 

     1:30
BURNS AND ALLEN—Comedy BW 

     2PM
OUR MISS BROOKS BW 

     2:30
ANDY GRIFFITH—Comedy BW 

     3PM
BEVERLY HILLBILLIES

     3:30
MY FAVORITE MARTIAN—Comedy

     4PM
INSPECTOR GADGET—Cartoon

     4:30
HE-MAN AND THE MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE—Cartoon

     5PM
LEAVE IT TO BEAVER BW 

     5:30
TWILIGHT ZONE—Drama BW 

EVENING

     6PM
M*A*S*H

     6:30
WKRP IN CINCINNATI—Comedy

     7PM
FAMILY—Drama

     8PM
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Notre Dame vs. Rutgers

   10PM
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Arizona State at Washington

   12AM
FNN FINANCIAL NEWS

KXLI was the original "TV Heaven," specializing in classic TV programs, theme nights, and marathons. It sounds ideal, but KXLI also faced frequent financial challenges. I believe this is from its modified TV Heaven era, when it had a significant number of classic shows, combined with a heavy college sports schedule.


USA 

MORNING

     5AM
WRESTLING

     6AM
CARTOON EXPRESS

     7AM
CALLIOPE—Children

     8AM
ALIVE & WELL!
Guest: Jessie White

   10:30
GREAT AMERICAN HOMEMAKER

   11AM
MOVIE—Drama BW 
“Miss Annie Rooney” (1942)

AFTERNOON

     1PM
SONYA—Discussion
Guest: James Coco

     2PM
ALIVE & WELL!
Guest: Jessie White

     4PM
HOT SPOTS—Music

     5PM
CARTOON EXPRESS

EVENING

     6PM
RADIO 1990—Lisa Robinson

     6:30
DRAGNET—Crime Drama

     7PM
NBA BASKETBALL
Seattle at Indiana

     9:30
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Texas El Paso at San Diego State
[Joined in Progress]

   11PM
PICK THE PROS—Discussion

   11:30
SPORTS PROBE

   12AM
1984 OLYMPIC GAMES PREVIEW

   12:30
NBA BASKETBALL
Seattle at Indiana, taped earlier tonight

     3AM
WRESTLING

     4AM
MOVIE—Drama BW 
“The Mark” (English; 1961)

I know USA is still in the original programming business, but I was surprised to see how much like a regular broadcast network they were at this point. Besides the sports that always marked USA, they have Alive & Well, Sonya, cartoons, and some older movies. In other words, they were more than just an outlet for endless reruns of NCIS.


WGN 

MORNING

     5AM
CHICO AND THE MAN—Comedy

     5:30
FAITH 20—Religion

     6AM
TOP O’ THE MORNING

     6:30
MUPPET SHOW—Variety

     7AM
BOZO—Children

     8:30
BEVERLY HILLBILLIES

     9AM
MOVIE—Drama BW 
“The Tarnished Angels” (1957)

AFTERNOON

   12PM
NEWS

     1PM
RHODA—Comedy

     1:30
ANDY GRIFFITH—Comedy BW 

     2:30
ALVIN AND THE CHIPMUNKS—Cartoon

     3PM
SUPERFRIENDS—Cartoon

     3:30
SCOOBY DOO—Cartoon

     4PM
CHARLIE’S ANGELS

     5PM
ONE DAY AT A TIME—Comedy

     5:30
WKRP IN CINCINNATI—Comedy

EVENING

     6PM
BARNEY MILLER—Comedy

     6:30
JEFFERSONS (CC)—Comedy

     7PM
INCREDIBLE HULK

     8PM
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Notre Dame vs. Rutgers

   10PM
NEWS

   10:30
INN NEWS—Bosh/Harper

   11PM
TWILIGHT ZONE—Drama BW 

   11:30
MOVIE—Drama
“The Poseidon Adventure” (1972)

     2AM
INN NEWS—Bosh/Harper

     2:30
ROWAN & MARTIN’S LAUGH-IN

     3AM
MOVIE—Drama
“Then Came Bronson” (Made for TV; 1969)

This is the classic WGN I remember; the one that would have had Cubs baseball in the summer, Bozo in the morning, and local news. Now it's virtually a clone of cable networks such as—well, USA.  TV  

7 comments:

  1. I don't have this particular issue, but I do have YouTube, which figures in what follows at the conclusion.
    First things first, though:

    - The Tattletales listing sparked my curiosity.
    Apparently it's Young And The Restless week; Eric Braeden and Melody Thomas, who were (and are) an on-and-off couple there for years, are there with real-life partners.
    In Braeden's case, it's his long-term wife Dale. Thomas was between marriages at that time, but married Y&R producer Ed Scott the following year (could he be her teammate here?)
    In 2019 (thirty-five years on), Braeden and Scott are still together on Y&R, somewhat the worse for wear, but there you are.

    - Thicke Of The Night has as a recurring guest Wally George, an ultra-right-wing talk show guy who was a ten-day-wonder during this time. At that point, he was best-known (?) as the birth father of Rebecca DeMornay, who was breaking through as a movie actress (and was notably not on speaking terms with George). Also, Wally George had the worst bleach-blonde comb-over in the business.
    Wally ("Wall-EE! Wall-EE!") died a few years back, totally forgotten. Thanx for reminding me of him. :-(

    - Up for a bit of a challenge?
    Noting once again that KSTP is bypassing Edge Of Night, the greatest daytime drama of them all.
    Dweeb that I am, I decided to check and see where EON's story was that day - and I got a pleasant surprise.
    From the historical site, I went to YouTube, to see if that episode was available; it was and is.
    Herewith my challenge:
    I'd like you to go to YouTube and watch - not this episode - but the next one, from Friday, February 10, 1984.
    No spoilers here; for best results, you should see this one cold (and so should anyone reading this whose curiosity is piqued).
    Once again:
    Edge Of Night, February 10, 1984.
    It's only a half-hour (actually a little less; the commercials are edited out).
    Just watch and react to what you're seeing.
    And be sure to let us all know …







    I

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Well. First of all, I never thought I'd compare Dick Cavett and John Wayne in the same sentence, but just as the Duke always played himself, I think what we're seeing here is Cavett playing a heavy doing an impression of Cavett. Great!

      Also, and I think you've mentioned this before, the pacing is glacial. This episode covered what - about two hours, three at the most? Probably one day a week, which is how Mike Karr manages to keep so young. But it does demonstrate how you could miss a day, or even a week, and still figure out what's going on.

      Of course, Edge always had a larger male viewership, because it was at heart a mystery story, and that shows in the storylines. I wonder how they're going to end?...

      Delete
  2. ABC hyped the 1984 U.S. men's Olympic hockey team as being as good as their 1980 predecessors.

    But in reality, most hockey analysts believed the best the 1984 team could do was to finish third and win the bronze medal.....but only if the U.S. managed to play all-out and a couple of other teams (read: Canada, Sweden, or Finland) "stumbled" during the tournament, which would have allowed the U.S. to climb into third.

    ReplyDelete
  3. WCCO may have had Price Is Right and Tattletales but they also had "No Whammies" as in, no Press Your Luck. Deborah Mullowney(Capitol) later married an actor, taking his last name: Deborah Farentino.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah, as a Press Your Luck fan during my teen years, and growing up in Minneapolis, I was lucky to know the show existed. Having divorced parents, and spending parts of the holiday breaks in Wisconsin, and part of my summer vacation, I made it a priority to watch PYL every chance I could. I was so irritated that it never aired in MSP.

      Delete
  4. Match Game-Hollywood Squares(WTCN) was a short-lived mash-up of both long-running game shows hosted by Gene Rayburn(Match Game portion, of course) and Jon "Bowzer" Bauman(Hollywood Squares portion). The shows are currently being digitally remastered and set for a 4-episode mini-marathon on BUZZR Feb. 17, with a plan to air more episodes when they are remastered.

    ReplyDelete
  5. A slight correction - this was actually the first full season WITHOUT "Laverne & Shirley" in prime time, so I'm not sure why the listing still includes "& Company".

    Daytime shows pre-empted, besides the aforementioned "Edge Of Night":
    WCCO: "$25,000 Pyramid" and "Press Your Luck" (by "Hour Magazine")
    KTSP: None
    WTCN: "Hot Potato" (by "Mary Tyler Moore").

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for writing! Drive safely!