January 13, 2020

What's on TV? Monday, January 14, 1980

Just as this is the first of several issues from 1980 that we'll be looking at this year, it's also the first of several that feature the programs from one of my favorite cities, Chicago. This particular issue is the Illinois-Wisconsin edition, so we have two major cities to work from; Milwaukee as well as Chicago. It may mean we'll have twice as many good shows, or it could double the mediocrity. We'll just have to see.




 2  WBBM (CHICAGO) (CBS)

MORNING

   6 AM
SUNRISE SEMESTER
Presidential Power and American Democracy: The Electoral College

    6:30
IT’S WORTH KNOWING

   7 AM
SUNDAY MORNING—Bob Schieffer

   8 AM
CAPTAIN KANGAROO

   9 AM
BEAT THE CLOCK
Charlie Brill, Elaine Joyce, Mitzi McCall, Bobby Van. Host: Monty Hall

    9:30
WHEW!—Game
Brian Patrick Clarke, Gina Hecht. Tom Kennedy is the host

    9:55
CBS NEWS—Edwards

 10 AM
PRICE IS RIGHT—Game

 11 AM
YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS

  11:30
SEARCH FOR TOMORROW—Serial

AFTERNOON

  Noon
NOONBREAK

  12:30
AS THE WORLD TURNS—Serial

    1:30
GUIDING LIGHT

    2:30
LOVE OF LIFE

   3 PM
ONE DAY AT A TIME

    3:30
MATCH GAME

   4 PM
JIM ROCKFORD, PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR—Crime Drama

   5 PM
NEWS

    5:30
CBS NEWS—Cronkite

EVENING

   6 PM
NEWS

   7 PM
PEANUTS—Cartoon
Special: “It’s Your First Kiss, Charlie Brown”

    7:30
WKRP IN CINCINNATI

   8 PM
M*A*S*H

    8:30
HOUSE CALLS—Comedy

   9 PM
LOU GRANT

 10 PM
NEWS

  10:30
HARRY O—Crime Drama

  11:40
McCLOUD—Crime Drama

    1:15
MOVIE—Comedy
“It Started in Naples” (1960)

    3:20
NAME OF THE GAME—Drama

Yes, I know it's hard to believe, but it's true; the Electoral College was a bone of contention even before the most recent election.


 4  WTMJ (MILWAUKEE) (NBC)

MORNING

    5:55
GIGGLESNORT HOTEL—Children

    6:25
EXERCISE BREAK

    6:30
SUPERMAN—Adventure

   7 AM
TODAY—Tom Brokaw

   9 AM
NEW DAY
Co-Host: Jon McGlocklin

 10 AM
DINAH! & FRIENDS
Co-Host: Charles Nelson Reilly. Guests: Ed Koch, Robert Klein, Kool & the Gang, Ann Miller, Anne Murray

 11 AM
CHAIN REACTION—Game
Debut: Patty Duke Astin, Joyce Bulifant, Fred Grandy, Nipsey Russell. Host: Bill Cullen

  11:30
PASSWORD PLUS—Game
Greg Morris, Betty White. Host: Allen Ludden

AFTERNOON

  Noon
DAYS OF OUR LIVES

   1 PM
DOCTORS—Serial

    1:30
ANOTHER WORLD

   3 PM
DATING GAME

    3:30
MERV GRIFFIN
Guests: Mel Tillis, Lynda Carter, Rupert Holmes, Freddie Sales, Nikki the Magician, Lill’s Chimps

   5 PM
NEWS

    5:30
NBC NEWS—Chancellor/Brinkley

EVENING

   6 PM
NEWS

    6:30
FAMILY FEUD—Game

   7 PM
LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE

   8 PM
MOVIE—Drama
“Power,” Part 1 (Made-for-TV; 1980)

 10 PM
NEWS

  10:30
TONIGHT
Guest host Martin Mull, Rita Moreno, Billy Crystal

    Mid.
TOMORROW

   1 AM
JAPAN BOWL
Special

I'm not really a television historian, but I did stay at a Gigglesnort Hotel last night.


 5  WMAQ (CHICAGO) (NBC)

MORNING

   6 AM
KNOWLEDGE

    6:30
TODAY IN CHICAGO

   7 AM
TODAY—Tom Brokaw

   9 AM
CARD SHARKS—Game

    9:30
HOLLYWOOD SQUARES—Game
Kip Addotta, Elayne Boosler, Billy Braver, George Gobel, Shecky Greene, Jay Leno, George Lindsey, Jan Murray, Wayland & Madame. Host: Peter Marshall

 10 AM
HIGH ROLLERS—Game

  10:30
WHEEL OF FORTUNE

 11 AM
CHAIN REACTION—Game
Debut: Patty Duke Astin, Joyce Bulifant, Fred Grandy, Nipsey Russell. Host: Bill Cullen

  11:30
NEWS

AFTERNOON

  Noon
DAYS OF OUR LIVES

   1 PM
DOCTORS—Serial

    1:30
ANOTHER WORLD

   3 PM
PASSWORD PLUS—Game
Greg Morris, Betty White. Host: Allen Ludden

    3:30
NEWLYWED GAME

   4 PM
MARY TYLER MOORE—Comedy

    4:30
NEWS

    5:30
NBC NEWS—Chancellor/Brinkley

EVENING

   6 PM
NEWS

    6:30
FAMILY FEUD—Game

   7 PM
LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE

   8 PM
MOVIE—Drama
“Power,” Part 1

 10 PM
NEWS

  10:30
TONIGHT
Guest host Martin Mull, Rita Moreno, Billy Crystal

    Mid.
TOMORROW

   1 AM
MARCUS WELBY, M.D.—Drama

   2 AM
TODAY IN CHICAGO

I don't mean to be overly critical (of course you don't!), but let's face it: without Paul Lynde, that Hollywood Squares lineup just isn't all that impressive, is it?


 6  WITI (MILWAUKEE) (CBS)

MORNING

   6 AM
MONDAY MORNING—Schieffer

   7 AM
LONE RANGER—Western BW 

    7:30
FURY—Drama BW 

   8 AM
CAPTAIN KANGAROO

   9 AM
BEAT THE CLOCK
Charlie Brill, Elaine Joyce, Mitzi McCall, Bobby Van. Host: Monty Hall

    9:30
WHEW!—Game
Brian Patrick Clarke, Gina Hecht. Host: Tom Kennedy

    9:55
CBS NEWS—Edwards

 10 AM
PRICE IS RIGHT—Game

 11 AM
PHIL DONAHUE

AFTERNOON

  Noon
NEWS

  12:30
AS THE WORLD TURNS—Serial

    1:30
GUIDING LIGHT

    2:30
YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS—Serial

   3 PM
ONE DAY AT A TIME

    3:30
STREETS OF SAN FRANCISCO—Crime Drama

    4:30
JIM ROCKFORD, PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR—Crime Drama

    5:30
CBS NEWS—Cronkite

EVENING

   6 PM
NEWS

    6:30
JOKER’S WILD—Game

   7 PM
PEANUTS—Cartoon
Special: “It’s Your First Kiss, Charlie Brown”

    7:30
WKRP IN CINCINNATI

   8 PM
M*A*S*H

    8:30
HOUSE CALLS—Comedy

   9 PM
LOU GRANT

 10 PM
NEWS

  10:30
MARY TYLER MOORE—Comedy

 11 PM
COLUMBO—Crime Drama
Guest murderer: Janet Leigh

    1:15
BLACK SHEEP SQUADRON—Adventure

    2:25
NEWS

    2:55
MOVIE—Drama BW 
“The House Across the Bay” (1940)

I remember watching It's Your First Kiss, Charlie Brown; it really wasn't up to the standards of the early Peanuts cartoons. It might be heresy to suggest it, but I think that as Peanuts moved into the 1980s, the quality of both the strip and the animated specials went downhill; Calvin and Hobbes was the top of the heap at that point.

 7  WLS (CHICAGO) (ABC)

MORNING

    5:55
REFLECTIONS

   6 AM
NEWS

    6:10
PERSPECTIVES

    6:35
ED ALLEN SHOW

    6:55
TODAY’S WOMAN

   7 AM
GOOD MORNING AMERICA—David Hartman

   9 AM
A.M. CHICAGO

 10 AM
LAVERNE & SHIRLEY

  10:30
FAMILY FEUD

 11 AM
$20,000 PYRAMID—Game
Tony Randall is a guest. Host: Dick Clark

  11:30
RYAN’S HOPE—Serial

AFTERNOON

  Noon
ALL MY CHILDREN—Serial

   1 PM
ONE LIFE TO LIVE—Serial

   2 PM
GENERAL HOSPITAL

   3 PM
EDGE OF NIGHT

    3:30
MOVIE—Musical BW 
“Rock Around the Clock” (1956)

   5 PM
NEWS

    5:30
ABC NEWS—Frank Reynolds

EVENING

   6 PM
NEWS

   7 PM
LAVERNE & SHIRLEY

    7:30
ANGIE

   8 PM
STONE—Crime Drama
Debut

   9 PM
FAMILY

 10 PM
NEWS

  10:30
BARNEY MILLER

  11:05
POLICE STORY—Crime Drama

  12:15
MOVIE—Drama BW 
“Angel Face” (1952)

Apparently, we're not sure who Tony Randall's opponent is on The $20,000 Pyramid. Whoever it is faces an uphill fight, though; I'm sure Randall's a very good player, as long as the category isn't "Ancient Greek Playwrights." 


 9  WGN (CHICAGO) (Ind.)

MORNING

    5:55
TOP O’ THE MORNING

    6:25
NEWS

    6:30
STAR BLAZERS—Cartoon

   7 AM
RAY RAYNER—Children

   8 AM
GROVER GOOLIES—Cartoons

    8:30
I DREAM OF JEANNIE—Comedy

   9 AM
MOVIE—Musical BW 
“The Great Ziegfeld” (1936)
[The movie, shown in two parts, concludes tomorrow at this time.]

 11 AM
PHIL DONAHUE

AFTERNOON

  Noon
BOZO’S CIRCUS

   1 PM
LOVE, AMERICAN STYLE

    1:30
LOVE, AMERICAN STYLE

   2 PM
ANDY GRIFFITH—Comedy

    2:30
GROOVIE GOOLIES—Cartoons

   3 PM
FLINTSTONES—Cartoon

    3:30
BUGS BUNNY AND FRIENDS—Cartoons

   4 PM
GILLIGAN’S ISLAND

    4:30
I DREAM OF JEANNIE—Comedy

   5 PM
GOOD TIMES—Comedy

    5:30
MY THREE SONS—Comedy

EVENING

   6 PM
ODD COUPLE—Comedy

    6:30
CAROL BURNETT AND FRIENDS—Comedy

   7 PM
MAUDE—Comedy

    7:30
TWILIGHT ZONE—Drama BW 

   8 PM
MOVIE—Comedy BW t
“My Favorite Spy” (1951)

 10 PM
NEWS

  10:30
MOVIE—Comedy-Drama
“The Thomas Crown Affair” (1968)

  12:30
NEWS

   1 AM
FBI—Crime Drama

   2 AM
SEA HUNT—Adventure BW 

Great minds may disagree, but I'll always prefer this version of The Thomas Crown Affair—with Steve McQueen and Faye Dunaway—to the remake with Pierce Brosnan and Rene Russo. Not to mention "The Windmills of Your Mind" as sung by Noel Harrison.


10 WMVS (MILWAUKEE) (PBS)

MORNING

    7:45
A.M. WEATHER

10 AM
ELECTRIC COMPANY

  11:30
SESAME STREET—Children

AFTERNOON

  12:30
MISTER ROGERS—Children

   2 PM
MEMORIES OF EUBIE—Documentary
Special: Eubie Blake, Alberta Hunter, Lynnie Godfrey, Billy Taylor

   3 PM
OVER EASY—Hugh Downs

    3:30
DICK CAVETT

   4 PM
MISTER ROGERS—Children

    4:30
SESAME STREET—Children

    5:30
ELECTRIC COMPANY—Children

EVENING

   6 PM
WILDLIFE IN CRISIS

    6:30
MacNEIL/LEHRER REPORT

   7 PM
MKE AT 7: AT ISSUE—Debate

    7:30
LIVE FROM LINCOLN CENTER—Music
Luciano Pavarotti, with Zubin Mehta and the New York Philharmonic

 10 PM
DICK CAVETT

  10:30
WORLD WAR II: G.I. DIARY

 11 PM
EXPLORERS

  11:30
SNEAK PREVIEWS

I've never been that big a fan of Pavarotti; I've always preferred Domingo myself. But tonight's live concert on Live From Lincoln Center sounds like a terrific show.


11 WTTW (CHICAGO) (PBS)

MORNING

    6:45
A.M. WEATHER

   7 AM
SESAME STREET—Children

   8 AM
ZOOM—Children

    8:30
MISTER ROGERS—Children

   9 AM
SESAME STREET—Children

 10 AM
ZOOM—Children

  10:30
ELECTRIC COMPANY—Children

 11 AM
INSIDE/OUT

  11:15
FRAMEWORK

  11:30
INSIGHT

AFTERNOON

  12:30
OVER EASY—Hugh Downs

   1 PM
DICK CAVETT

    1:30
MOVIE—Adventure
“The Elusive Pimpernel” (English; 1950)

    3:30
MISTER ROGERS—Children

   4 PM
SESAME STREET—Children

   5 PM
3-2-1 CONTACT—Children

    5:30
AS WE SEE IT

EVENING

   6 PM
OVER EASY—Hugh Downs
Guest: Alexis Smith

    6:30
MacNEIL/LEHRER REPORT

   7 PM
ALL CREATURES GREAT AND SMALL

   8 PM
MEDIA PROBES

    8:30
LIVE FROM LINCOLN CENTER—Music
Luciano Pavarotti, with Zubin Mehta and the New York Philharmonic

 11 PM
MASTERPIECE THEATRE
“The Duchess of Duke Street II,” Part 5

    Mid.
CAMERA THREE

  12:30
ABC NEWS—Frank Reynolds
Captioned for the hearing-impaired

It's probably a good idea that the late ABC News is done with closed-captioning rather than sign language. Think of someone trying to sign for Frank Reynolds while he was, for instance, doing the coverage of the assassination attempt against Ronald Reagan—how do you sign this?

 


12 WISN (MILWAUKEE) (ABC)

MORNING

    6:30
BODY BUDDIES—Exercise

   7 AM
GOOD MORNING AMERICA—David Hartman

   9 AM
ALL MY CHILDREN—Serial

 10 AM
LAVERNE & SHIRLEY

  10:30
FAMILY FEUD

 11 AM
$20,000 PYRAMID—Game
Tony Randall is a guest. Host: Dick Clark

  11:30
MATCH GAME

AFTERNOON

  Noon
DIALING FOR DOLLARS

   1 PM
ONE LIFE TO LIVE—Serial

   2 PM
GENERAL HOSPITAL

   3 PM
EDGE OF NIGHT

    3:30
COURTSHIP OF EDDIE’S FATHER

   4 PM
HAPPY DAYS AGAIN—Comedy

    4:30
M*A*S*H

   5 PM
ABC NEWS—Reynolds

    5:30
NEWS

EVENING

   6 PM
TIC TAC DOUGH—Game

    6:30
PM MAGAZINE

   7 PM
LAVERNE & SHIRLEY

    7:30
ANGIE

   8 PM
STONE—Crime Drama
Debut

   9 PM
FAMILY

 10 PM
NEWS

  10:30
M*A*S*H

 11 PM
BARNEY MILLER

  11:35
POLICE STORY—Crime Drama

  12:45
SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN—Adventure

    1:45
NEWS

Nope, we still don't know who Tony Randall's playing against.


18 WVTV (MILWAUKEE) (Ind.)

MORNING

 11 AM
ROSS BAGLEY—Religion

  11:30
700 CLUB—Religion

AFTERNOON

   1 PM
NEWS

    1:30
ED ALLEN—Exercise

   2 PM
BEVERLY HILLBILLIES BW 

    2:30
CASPER THE FRIENDLY GHOST

   3 PM
KROFFT SUPERSTARS—Cartoon

    3:30
FLINTSTONES—Cartoon

   4 PM
BUGS BUNNY—Cartoons

    4:30
TOM & JERRY—Cartoons

   5 PM
BRADY BUNCH—Comedy

    5:30
BEWITCHED—Comedy

EVENING

   6 PM
I LOVE LUCY—Comedy BW 

    6:30
ANDY GRIFFITH—Comedy BW 

   7 PM
BOWLING GAME

   8 PM
MOVIE—Biography BW 
“The Helen Morgan Story” (1957)

  10:15
BENNY HILL—Comedy

  11:15
RAT PATROL—Adventure

  11:45
DRAGNET—Crime Drama

  12:15
LOVE, AMERICAN STYLE

  12:45
NEWS

Who is Helen Morgan that a movie should be made about her? The answer can be found here.


26 WCIU (CHICAGO) (Ind.)

MORNING

   9 AM
MARKET REPORTS, NEWS

 10 AM
NEWS

  10:30
ASK AN EXPERT

 11 AM
NEWS

  11:30
ASK AN EXPERT

AFTERNOON

  Noon
NEWS

  12:20
ASK AN EXPERT

  12:50
MARKET REPORTS, NEWS

    1:30
ASK AN EXPERT

   2 PM
MARKET REPORTS, NEWS

    2:30
ASK AN EXPERT

   3 PM
MARKET REPORTS, NEWS

    3:30
CHICAGO TODAY—Discussion

   4 PM
MOON MAN CONNECTION—Music

    4:30
BLACK’S VIEW OF THE NEWS

    4:45
TODAY’S RACING

   5 PM
LOS RICOS TAMBIEN LLORAN—Novella

    5:30
MAMA CAMPANITA—Drama

EVENING

    6:30
NOTICIAS

   7 PM
AMOR PROHIBIDO—Novela

   8 PM
LUCHA LIBRE

   9 PM
EL MUNDO DE LOS ESPECTACULOS

 10 PM
NOTICIAS

  10:30
ACOMPANAME

  11:30
VARIEDADES EN LA NOCHE

WCIU, home of Svengoolie, is, as of 2019, a CW affiliate. I'll let you decide if that means their programming has improved.


32 WFLD (CHICAGO) (Ind.)

MORNING

   6 AM
NEWSTALK

    6:30
BRADY KIDS—Cartoons

   7 AM
WOODY WOODPECKER—Cartoon

    7:30
TOM & JERRY—Cartoons

   8 AM
POPEYE—Cartoons

   9 AM
ROMPER ROOM—Children

    9:30
PLEASE DON’T EAT THE DAISIES—Comedy

 10 AM
PARTRIDGE FAMILY—Comedy

  10:30
GREEN ACRES—Comedy

 11 AM
BATMAN—Adventure
Guest villain: Burgess Meredith (The Penguin)

  11:30
TENNESSEE TUXEDO—Cartoon

AFTERNOON

  Noon
UNDERDOG—Cartoons

  12:30
BANANA SPLITS—Children

   1 PM
COURTSHIP OF EDDIE’S FATHER

    1:30
LUCY SHOW

   2 PM
BEVERLY HILLBILLIES

    2:30
MAGILLA GORILLA—Cartoons

   3 PM
CASPER THE GHOST—Cartoon

    3:30
SPIDERMAN—Cartoons

   4 PM
WOODY WOODPECKER—Cartoons

    4:30
TOM & JERRY—Cartoons

   5 PM
BRADY BUNCH—Comedy

    5:30
HAPPY DAYS AGAIN—Comedy

EVENING

   6 PM
SANFORD AND SON—Comedy

    6:30
ALL IN THE FAMILY

   7 PM
JOKER’S WILD—Game

    7:30
TIC TAC DOUGH

   8 PM
MAKE ME LAUGH—Game
Bob Saget, Steve Bluestein, Bruce Baum, Robert Hegyes

    8:30
MERV GRIFFIN
Guests: Tom Jones, Jay Leno, Ann Turkel, Gordon Mills, Monique St. Pierre

    9:55
NEWS

 10 PM
M*A*S*H

  10:30
LIFE AND TIMES OF EDDIE ROBERTS—Serial

 11 PM
BENNY HILL—Comedy

  11:30
NEWSTALK

    Mid.
TAKE FIVE WITH STILLER AND MEARA

I'd never heard of The Life and Times of Eddie Roberts before; according to the always-reliable Wikipedia, it was a comedy—or, to be precise, a soap opera spoof a la Mary Hartman. It only ran for 13 weeks, but since it was on five nights a week, that adds up to 65 episodes, or about two years' worth in conventional terms. I guess it all depends on how you look at it.


36 WMVT (MILWAUKEE) (PBS)

AFTERNOON

   3 PM
HATHA YOGA—Exercise

    3:30
VILLA ALEGRE—Children

   4 PM
ELECTRIC COMPANY—Children

    4:30
FORSYTE SAGA—Drama

    5:30
WALLY’S WORKSHOP

EVENING

   6 PM
FOREST SPIRITS—Documentary

    6:30
FORSYTE SAGA—Drama

    7:30
HATHA YOGA—Exercise

   8 PM
WHAT TO DO ‘TIL THE WRECKER COMES—Instruction

    8:30
HELIX—Skiing

   9 PM
DAVID SUSSKIND

 10 PM
FOOTSTEPS

I find it hard to believe that David Susskind can hold his show to one hour, but miracles do happen.


44 WSNS (CHICAGO) (Ind.)

MORNING

    9:30
MUNDO HISPANO

  10:30
700 CLUB—Religion

AFTERNOON

  Noon
WACKY RACES—Cartoons

  12:30
NEW THREE STOOGES—Cartoons

   1 PM
DINAH! & FRIENDS
Co-Host: Charles Nelson Reilly. Guests: Ed Koch, Robert Klein, Kool & the Gang, Ann Miller, Anne Murray

    2:30
GET SMART—Comedy

   3 PM
SPECTREMAN—Children

    3:30
SPEED RACER—Cartoons

   4 PM
SUPERHEROES—Cartoons

    4:30
LEAVE IT TO BEAVER BW 

   5 PM
GONG SHOW—Game

    5:30
DATING GAME

EVENING

   6 PM
BONANZA—Western

   7 PM
ROOKIES—Crime Drama

   8 PM
700 CLUB—Religion

    9:30
DIMENSIONS ’79—Public Affairs

 10 PM
DRAGNET—Crime Drama

  10:30
IT TAKES A THIEF—Adventure

  11:30
MARSHALL DILLON—Western BW 

If you were to combine WFLD's daytime schedule with the primetime lineup of WSNS here, you'd have a pretty good classic TV lineup, wouldn't you? TV  

10 comments:

  1. Not having the actual issue at hand, this will be a kind of patch job.

    - Historical Note:
    In 1980, Rich Koz was at Channel 32, doing Son Of Svengoolie on Saturday evenings in prime time, showing the level of flicks that MST3K wound up with full possession in more recent times.
    Koz remained with FOX32 (as it sold itself then) until the parent company junked Son Of Sven in '89, keeping Rich on staff doing almost nothing for another year or so.
    Svengoolie was off the air until 1995, when Weigel Broadcasting bought WCIU and hired Rich Koz to give Sven his majority ("I have now grown up!").
    When digital substations came along, WCIU, which had begun MeTV as a low-power sibling station on Channel 23, expanded accordingly, ultimately leading to Sven going national … but that's another story …

    - Historical Note II:
    Bill Jackson's Gigglesnort Hotel was a local production of Channel 7, which BJ (as all of Chicago knew him) was able to syndicate himself - which is how a Milwaukee station was carrying it two years after he'd shut down the production.
    Looking this up in order to write this, I was surprised to learn that Bill Jackson had retired from performing 10 years ago - and that he's now in his 80s (he always seemed a lot younger).

    - *here he goes again with Edge Of Night*
    Well, this was a key year for Edge, as the show adopted a hard-driving rendition of its opening theme and graphics, beginning with the broadcast of June 16.
    In case you're interested (and I know you really aren't), you might like to take a look at that particular episode - and if any of you do, pay attention all the way to the end (cast credits included). No spoilers - just watch.

    - This was when Dick Cavett was doing his weeknightly half-hour for PBS stations - and as you'll note, the stations took a casual approach to its scheduling.
    It was during this period that Frederic Dannay (surviving half of Ellery Queen) gave what as far as I know was his only television interview to Cavett, spread over two half-hours.
    Channel 11's catch-as-catch-can scheduling made me miss one of the two shows.
    I'm semi-sure that Decades doesn't include the Dannay shows in its nightly rerun package (if I'm wrong about this, somebody correct me - please).

    - Fun Fact from 1980:
    This was the year that David Susskind shocked his liberal friends by announcing his support of Ronald Reagan in that year's Presidential race (he just didn't care for Jimmy Carter).
    Coming on the heels of Reagan's getting the endorsement of Eugene McCarthy a few days before - well, the times, they were a-changin' …

    ReplyDelete
  2. BEAT THE CLOCK & WHEW! had both switched to formats that either added celebs (WHEW!) or used them to eliminate civilian contestants altogether (BEAT THE CLOCK). I thought adding celebs ruined WHEW!, but the new all-celebrity format of BtC I found more interesting. 2 celebrity couples, both of whom from this week had played on TATTLETALES, represented 1/2 the studio audience, who divided the prize $, just as was done on TATTLETALES. Bobby Van died of brain cancer just about 6 months later.

    CHAIN REACTION premiered this day and lasted another 5 months before NBC cancelled it, along w/ HIGH ROLLERS and HOLLYWOOD SQUARES, for David Letterman's daytime show. 6/20/1980 was NBC's worst game show death day, going by longevity of the games being cancelled, since the network cancelled EYE GUESS, PERSONALITY, YOU DON'T SAY!, and the original MATCH GAME on 9/26/1969 (coincidentally the same date when ABC premiered THE BRADY BUNCH).

    According to this episode guide, Laurie Walters (from EIGHT IS ENOUGH) played against Tony Randall this week on $20,000 PYRAMID:
    https://bobstewart.fandom.com/wiki/The_$10,000/$25,000/$20,000_Pyramid/Episode_Guide

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The Pyramid episode guide actually has Laurie Walters playing against David Letterman this week and Tony Randall playing Feb. 4-8 against Elaine Joyce, so I'm not sure which is correct.

      Delete
  3. A Question:

    Back in this period, I switched my TV Guide subscription from the Chicago Metro edition to the Illinois-Wisconsin, as shown here.
    I guess I was looking for a throwback to the '50s/'60s, when TVG had the local listings for Rockford IL alongside the Chicago stations; when TVG regrouped in '65, Rockford had just added a third station, leading up to a reorganization by networks, which I think I told you about some years back - but that's another story …
    Back to 1980: as your header grab shows, four cities are represented in the listings: Chicago and Rockford IL, and Milwaukee and Madison WI.
    The FOX Network had yet to arise from what had been Metromedia (Channel 32 was a Metromedia station; it was FOX management that led to Rich Koz's temporary loss of the Svengoolie franchise - but that's yet another story …).
    Anyhoo, I couldn't help but notice that you aren't including Rockford and Madison in your listings here, and I'm wondering why, exactly.
    I mean, in the past, whenever you did a regional edition, you included everybody; are we talking old age ennui here, or incipient laziness, or what is it …
    Just askin', is all; your blog and all that.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Simple answer - too much work. I'd be reducing the font to about 4pt to get it all to fit in the grid I use. I do the same thing with the Minnesota State Edition. However, if you'd like, I'd be happy to go back and do them!

      Delete
    2. Not at all necessary, Mitchell - as I said, just askin'.

      Actually, if your edition was a few years older, the FOX Network would have made things even worse!

      Delete
    3. As a longtime fan of this site who grew up with Rockford and Madison TV, I'd read that. (I'd *write* it if you I had a copy of the issue.)

      Delete
    4. In 1980, WFLD was owned by Field Communications before selling it to Metromedia three years later.

      Delete
  4. WTMJ was notorious for pre-empting NBC programming including on this day, the first 2 hours of the Peacock's morning schedule(even Hollywood Squares). Later in the decade, WTMJ would push it by pre-empting a certain late night host(hint, it wasn't Letterman) for late-night reruns of the Rockford Files(WVTV would end up showing the dethroned "king").

    ReplyDelete
  5. Regarding your comment on 'Peanuts', I remember seeing that 'First Kiss' special(at age 6!), and feeling disappointed with the ending.
    I agree with you that the 'Peanuts' specials, and the strip itself, were in decline in this period. Vince Guaraldi passed away in the mid-70s, and the music was never as good after that. As the TV shows expanded beyond 'holidays', the story premises got further away from anything in the strip(the feature films were more extreme examples of that).
    I read 'The Complete Peanuts' several years back, and it struck me as odd that the strip still had plenty of 'freshness' as late as 1979, but then, it was as if someone flipped a switch, and for much of the '80s, it just stopped being 'special'. It actually improved in its last decade, but it's clear to see where 'Peanuts' became just another comic strip.

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for writing! Drive safely!