March 30, 2020

What's on TV? Tuesday, March 31, 1970

In this week's "As We See It," Merrill Panitt takes a moment to look at the dilemma of counterprogramming in children's programming. When Sesame Street took to the airwaves, the producers specifically asked educational stations not to program the show against CBS's Captain Kangaroo; there were so few good options for children to watch, they didn't want to automatically eliminate one of them by having them both on at the same time. "Unfortunately," Panitt notes, "a few stations have moved Captain Kangaroo in opposite Sesame Street. Sometimes there are good reasons for this, but we can't think of any reason more important than giving youngsters a chance to see both programs." There's no problem in Philadelphia, as we can see: WCAU dutifully carries the Captain at 8:00 a.m., while WHYY accommodates by showing Sesame Street at 9:00 a.m. (WLVT, the second NET affiliate in the area, doesn't visit the Street until 4:00 p.m.) And with that example of brotherly love between stations, let's look at the rest of what Philly viewers have in store.
 3  KYW (NBC)

MORNING

    6:00
FARM MARKET REPORT -C- 

    6:10
NEWS

    6:15
MEDICAL KNOWLEDGE

    6:45
FARM, HOME AND GARDEN -C- 

    6:55
TODAY IN PHILADELPHIA -C- 

    7:00
TODAY -C- 
Guests: Dr. Judianne Densen-Gerber, Charles Evers

    9:00
CONTACT—Interview -C- 

  10:00
IT TAKES TWO—Game -C- 
Guests: Joseph Campanella, Suzanne Pleshette

  10:25
NEWS—Dickerson -C- 

  10:30
CONCENTRATION -C- 

  11:00
SALE OF THE CENTURY -C- 

  11:30
HOLLYWOOD SQUARES -C- 
Guests: Nanette Fabray, Henry Gibson, Harvey Korman, Paul Lynde, Jeannine Riley, Dick Sargent

AFTERNOON

  12:00
NEWS, WEATHER -C- 

  12:30
MIKE DOUGLAS—Variety -C- 
Co-host: Nancy Wilson

    2:00
DAYS OF OUR LIVES—Serial -C- 

    2:30
DOCTORS—Serial -C- 

    3:00
ANOTHER WORLD/BAY CITY—Serial -C- 

    3:30
BRIGHT PROMISE -C- 

    4:00
ANOTHER WORLD/SOMERSET—Serial -C-  

    4:30
DAVID FROST -C- 
Guests: Tom Smothers, Rich Little, Alan Sues

EVENING

    6:00
NEWS, WEATHER AND SPORTS -C- 

    6:30
NEWS—Huntley/Brinkley -C- 

    7:00
NEWS, WEATHER, SPORTS -C- 

    7:30
HERB ALPERT—Variety -C- 
Special: Guests: Petula Clark, the Tijuana Brass
[“I Dream of Jeannie” and Debbie Reynolds are pre-empted.]

    8:30
GOLDILOCKS—Musical -C- 
Special: Bing Crosby and his family
[“Julia” is pre-empted.]

    9:00
MOVIE—Comedy -C- 
“The Shakiest Gun in the West” (1968)

  11:00
NEWS, WEATHER AND SPORTS -C- 

  11:30
JOHNNY CARSON -C- 
Guests: Friends of Distinction, Penny Fuller, Patty Roosevelt



 6  WFIL (ABC)

MORNING

    6:30
OPERATION ALPHABET -C- 

    7:00
WORLD AROUND US -C- 

    9:00
FASHIONS IN SEWING -C- 

    9:10
CONNIE ROUSSIN -C- 

    9:20
NEWS -C- 

    9:30
EXERCISE WITH GLORIA -C- 

  10:00
DEAR JULIA MEADE -C- 

  10:30
ON CAMERA—Rose DeWolf -C- 

  11:00
BEWITCHED -C- 

  11:30
THAT GIRL -C- 

AFTERNOON

  12:00
BEST OF EVERYTHING -C- 

  12:30
WORLD APART—Serial -C- 

    1:00
ALL MY CHILDREN -C- 

    1:30
LET’S MAKE A DEAL -C- 

    2:00
NEWLYWED GAME -C- 

    2:30
DATING GAME -C- 

    3:00
GENERAL HOSPITAL -C- 

    3:30
MOVIE GAME -C- 
Guests: Don Adams, Michael Ansara, Red Buttons, Barbara Eden, Lee Grant, Lee Meriwether

    4:00
DARK SHADOWS -C- 

    4:30
I LOVE LUCY

    5:00
BEAT THE CLOCK—Game -C- 

    5:30
STUMP THE STARS—Game -C- 
Guests: Peter Brown, Will Hutchins, Vera Miles, Barbara Stewart

EVENING

    6:00
NEWS, WEATHER AND SPORTS -C- 

    6:30
NEWS—Reynolds/Smith -C- 

    7:00
WHAT’S MY LINE?—Game -C- 
Panel: Soupy Sales, Sheila MacRae, Bert Convy, Arlene Francis. Host: Wally Bruner

    7:30
MOD SQUAD -C- 

    8:30
MOVIE—Drama -C- 
“Seven in Darkness” (1969)

  10:00
MARCUS WELBY, M.D. -C- 

  11:00
NEWS, WEATHER AND SPORTS -C- 

  11:30
DICK CAVETT -C- 
Guests: Robert Morganthau, Edmonds and Curley

    1:00
NEWS -C- 

    1:15
RIFLEMAN—Western



 8  WGAL (LANCASTER) (NBC)

MORNING

    6:30
COUNTRY MUSIC -C- 
    7:00
TODAY -C- 
Guests: Dr. Judianne Densen-Gerber, Charles Evers

    8:00
POPEYE THEATER -C- 

    9:00
MIKE DOUGLAS—Variety -C- 
Guests: Jimmy Dean, Willie Morris, Julie De John

  10:00
IT TAKES TWO—Game -C- 
Guests: Joseph Campanella, Suzanne Pleshette

  10:25
NEWS—Dickerson -C- 

  10:30
CONCENTRATION -C- 

  11:00
SALE OF THE CENTURY -C- 

  11:30
HOLLYWOOD SQUARESvC
Guests: Nanette Fabray, Henry Gibson, Harvey Korman, Paul Lynde, Jeannine Riley, Dick Sargent

AFTERNOON

  12:00
JEOPARDY—Game -C- 

  12:30
NOONDAY ON 8 -C- 

    1:00
DICK VAN DYKE—Comedy

    1:30
LIFE WITH LINKLETTER -C- 
Guest: Arlene Van Breems

    2:00
DAYS OF OUR LIVES—Serial -C- 

    2:30
DOCTORS—Serial -C- 

    3:00
ANOTHER WORLD/BAY CITY—Serial -C- 

    3:30
BRIGHT PROMISE -C- 

    4:00
TO TELL THE TRUTH -C- 

    4:30
DAVID FROST -C- 
Guests: Tom Smothers, Rich Little, Alan Sues

EVENING

    6:00
NEWS, WEATHER AND SPORTS -C- 

    6:30
NEWS—Huntley/Brinkley -C- 

    7:00
TRUTH OR CONSEQUENCES -C- 

    7:30
HERB ALPERT—Variety -C- 
Special: Guests: Petula Clark, the Tijuana Brass
[“I Dream of Jeannie” and Debbie Reynolds are pre-empted.]

    8:30
GOLDILOCKS—Musical -C- 
Special: Bing Crosby and his family
[“Julia” is pre-empted.]

    9:00
MOVIE—Comedy -C- 
“The Shakiest Gun in the West” (1968)

  11:00
NEWS, WEATHER AND SPORTS -C- 

  11:30
JOHNNY CARSON -C- 
Guests: Friends of Distinction, Penny Fuller, Patty Roosevelt

    1:00
NEWS -C- 



10 WCAU (CBS)

MORNING

    6:00
SUNRISE SEMESTER -C- 
African social anthropology

    6:30
TEMPLE UNIVERSITY SEMINAR—Dr. Ellis Katz -C- 

    7:00
NEWS—Joseph Benti -C- 

    8:00
CAPTAIN KANGAROO -C- 
Guests: Willie Smith, the Billy Taylor Trio

    9:00
BETTY HUGHES—Variety -C- 

    9:30
FARMER’S DAUGHTER -C- 

  10:00
LUCILLE BALL -C- 

  10:30
HILLBILLIES -C- 

  11:00
ANDY GRIFFITH -C- 

  11:30
LOVE OF LIFE -C- 

AFTERNOON

  12:00
WHERE THE HEART IS—Serial -C- 

  12:25
NEWS -C- 

  12:30
SEARCH FOR TOMORROW—Serial -C- 

    1:00
GALLOPING GOURMET -C- 

    1:30
AS THE WORLD TURNS—Serial -C- 

    2:00
LOVE IS A MANY SPLENDORED THING—Serial -C- 

    2:30
GUIDING LIGHT -C- 

    3:00
SECRET STORM -C- 

    3:30
EDGE OF NIGHT -C- 

    4:00
GOMER PYLE -C- 

    4:30
MOVIE—Drama
“Operation Pacific” (1951)

EVENING

    6:00
NEWS, WEATHER AND SPORTS -C- 

    7:00
NEWS—Walter Cronkite -C- 

    7:30
LIONS ARE FREE—Documentary -C-
Special
[“Lancer” will not be seen.]

    8:30
RED SKELTON -C- 
Guests: George Gobel, the Original Caste

    9:30
GOV. AND J.J. -C- 

  10:00
60 MINUTES -C- 
Special

  11:00
NEWS, WEATHER AND SPORTS -C- 

  11:30
MERV GRIFFIN -C- 
Guest: Buffy Sainte-Marie

    1:00
MOVIE—Mystery
“Twenty Plus Two” (1961)

    3:00
NEWS



12 WHYY (PBS)

MORNING

    9:00
SESAME STREET—Children -C- 

  10:00
CLASSROOM—Education

AFTERNOON

  12:00
CLASSROOM—Continued

    3:45
FRIENDLY GIANT—Children

    4:00
SESAME STREET -C- 

    5:00
MISTEROGERS -C- 

    5:30
WHAT’S NEW—Children

EVENING

    6:00
LOCAL NEWS—Don Dunwell

    6:30
FRANKLIN TO FROST

    7:00
PHILA. SCHOOL REPORT -C- 

    7:30
DIAMOND STATE PROFILE

    8:00
WILLIAM F. BUCKLEY JR. -C- 
Guest: David Frost

    9:00
BLACK JOURNAL -C- 
Special

  10:00
FORSYTE SAGA—Drama

  11:00
LOCAL NEWS



17 WPHL (Ind.)

MORNING

    9:30
APPLIED MANAGEMENT SCIENCE -C- 

  10:00
JACK LaLANNE—Exercise -C- 

  10:30
MR. PIPER—Children -C- 

  11:00
PRINCE PLANET—Children

  11:30
ASTROBOY—Children

AFTERNOON

  12:00
JEOPARDY—Game -C- 

  12:30
WHO, WHAT OR WHERE -C- 

  12:55
NEWS—Floyd Kalber -C- 

    1:00
ONE LIFE TO LIVE—Serial -C- 

    1:30
LIFE WITH LINKLETTER -C- 
Guest: Arlene Van Breems

    2:00
HE SAID! SHE SAID! -C- 

    2:30
BARBARA COLEMAN -C- 

    3:00
CARTOON CLUB -C- 

    3:30
JOHNNY CYPHER—Children -C- 

    4:00
PRINCE PLANET –Children

    4:30
EIGHTH MAN—Children

    5:00
BUCK ROGERS—Children

    5:30
SPEED RACER—Children -C- 

EVENING

    6:00
GILLIGAN’S ISLAND -C- 

    6:30
MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E. -C- 

    7:30
OF LANDS AND SEAS -C- 

    8:30
TO TELL THE TRUTH -C- 

    9:00
MOVIE—Musical
“Lillian Russell” (1940)

  10:55
WORLD OF SPORT

  11:00
TWILIGHT ZONE—Drama

  11:30
MOVIE—Musical
“Alexander’s Ragtime Band” (1938)



29 WTAF (Ind.)

MORNING

  10:00
THE ANSWER—Religion -C- 

  10:30
FUNNY MANNS—Children

  11:00
CARTOONS -C- 

  11:30
ROMPER ROOM -C- 

AFTERNOON

  12:30
ALEX DREIER—Comment -C- 

  12:35
BRICKLINS—Discussion

    1:00
STOCK MARKET REPORT -C- 

    2:30
STOCK MARKET REPORT -C- 

    3:30
QUICK DRAW McGRAW -C- 

    4:00
TOP CAT—Children -C- 

    4:30
BATMAN—Adventure -C- 
Guest villain: Cesar Romero (The Joker)

    5:00
ADDAMS FAMILY—Comedy

    5:30
DENNIS THE MENACE—Comedy

EVENING

    6:00
LOST IN SPACE—Adventure -C- 

    7:00
HONEYMOONERS—Comedy

    7:30
TENPINS AND DOLLARS -C- 

    8:00
REAL McCOYS—Comedy

    8:30
DELLA REESE—Variety -C- 
Guest: Gloria Loring

    9:30
PASSPORT—Travel -C- 

  10:00
NIGHT TALK—McKinney -C- 

  11:30
NEWS, WEATHER -C- 



39 WLVT (ALLENTOWN-BETHLEHEM) (NET)

AFTERNOON

    3:45
FRIENDLY GIANT—Children

    4:00
SESAME STREET -C- 

    5:00
MISTEROGERS -C- 

    5:30
WHAT’S NEW—Children

EVENING

    6:00
POCKETFUL OF FUN

    6:30
SCHOOL OF THE WEEK

    7:00
MISTEROGERS—Children -C- 

    7:30
MANAGER’S CHAT—Interview

    7:45
SOCIAL SECURITY

    8:00
FOLK GUITAR—Music

    8:30
FASHIONS FROM ORT
Special

    9:00
FORSYTE SAGA—Drama

  10:00
NEWSFRONT

  10:30
INTERFACE—Science -C- 



48 WKBS (Ind.)

MORNING

  11:25
NEWS -C- 

  11:30
BEETLE BAILEY—Children -C- 

AFTERNOON

  12:00
PIXANNE—Children -C- 

    1:00
MOVIE—Drama
“Canyon Crossroads” (1955)

    2:50
NEWS -C- 

    3:00
KIMBA—Children -C- 

    3:30
STINGRAY—Children

    4:00
LITTLE RASCALS—Comedy

    4:30
ABBOTT AND COSTELLO

    5:00
FLINTSTONES—Children -C- 

    5:30
MUNSTERS—Comedy

EVENING

    6:00
STAR TREK—Adventure -C- 

    7:00
DICK VAN DYKE—Comedy

    7:30
TRUTH OR CONSEQUENCES -C- 

    8:00
PAY CARDS!—Game

    8:30
CANDID CAMERA

    9:00
PERRY MASON—Mystery

  10:00
NEWS—Carl Grant -C- 

  10:30
ALFRED HITCHCOCK—Drama

  11:30
MOVIE—Comedy
“Once Upon a Honeymoon” (1942)

    1:30
NEWS -C- 

TV  
by
Labels: , ,

8 comments:

  1. Memo2SelfMarch 30, 2020 at 8:49 AM

    Whoever would imagine that the Tijuana Brass would be the "guests" on a Herb Alpert special? Remarkable!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Mike DoranMarch 30, 2020 at 11:00 PM

    I don't have this issue, but I do have some patches:

    - Ever read Television: The Business Behind The Box, by Les Brown (published in 1971)?
    Les Brown was TV editor of weekly Variety at that time; his idea was to cover the calendar year 1970 with the three commercial networks, the syndication business, and the newly-forming PBS.
    This was the first book on the subject I ever read, right at the time it came out in '71; for a while it was my Rosetta Stone about TV in general - but that was nearly fifty years ago …
    In the years since, I've come to notice the condescension and contempt that Brown had for the business and almost everyone in it.

    As it applies to this week:
    Two major figures who figure in this book are Mike Dann, CBS's chief programmer, and Paul Klein, NBC's 'research director' and the man who basically discovered demographics for TV.
    There's a chapter called "Hatfields And McCoys" which deals with the feud between these two men, which reached a crest in the spring of '70 (which period you've covered here the week before last, and this week).
    In order to win an overall victory in the season-long Nielsen Ratings, Dann started Operation 100, a hundred-day drive to boost CBS's nightly numbers by any means possible.
    Those means consisted largely of pre-empting the lowest-rated shows in the schedule (which were Get Smart, Tim Conway, To Rome With Love, and Lancer), airing in their stead some very offbeat specials from the inventory, plus putting in bigger-than-normal movies, and bigger-than-usual guest bookings for variety shows, in order to get the 'advantage' by however many (or few) rating points.
    The Ratings Race that season was practically a dead heat between CBS and NBC; the eventual 'winner' was determined by a fraction of a point (I think; I'll have to check back).
    For Les Brown, this was a prime source of snark; in his view, Mike Dann was an inferior man (at least to him), while Paul Klein was an "intellectual", whose embrace of demos would be the salvation of Television.
    We can come to our own conclusions on how well that kind of thinking turned out over fifty years …
    If you happen to have Brown's book (as I still do), you might want to take another look at it, especially the chapter I mentioned here - definitely an eye-opener.

    - Just noticed that indie Channel 29 is carrying a 5-minute commentary spot by Alex Dreier, who had been one of Chicago's leading news anchors only a few years before.
    By this time, Dreier had relocated to California, where he was trying to launch an acting career in the Sidney Greenstreet mode.
    Side Note: Over at the Mystery*File blog, I had occasion to mention that I'd always thought Alex Dreier would have been a good choice to play Nero Wolfe in a movie or TV show: he had the physique, the voice, and definitely the attitude to play Wolfe.
    Once Rex Stout had passed on, and his family put Wolfe into play for adaptation, I hoped that Dreier might at least be considered, but alas, no go …

    - NBC's movie tonight is "The Shakiest Gun In The West", Don Knotts's remake of Bob Hope's "Paleface", which had been a box-office success and a critical flop (the movie crickets of that time "knew" that Knotts was a second-rate TV comic, which saved most of them the trouble of actually having to see it).

    - Dick Cavett's guest tonight is Robert Morgenthau, the long-term District Attorney of Manhattan, who ultimately became the model for Steven Hill's DA character on the original Law & Order.
    Circle Of Life, TV style.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. tomservo56954June 15, 2020 at 8:25 PM

      I adored Brown's book...read it an an early age, but haven't been able to find a copy since. The high point was Mike Dann showing Brown the memos from his programming assistants (including Fred Silverman) on ideas for Operation 100 programming--some of them are in Robert Metz's CBS:REFLECTIONS IN A BLOODSHOT EYE
      (My favorite is "Although PEYTON PLACE was played out by ABC in the series, I think that with proper promotion (the movie) would do well for us as a 2-parter...but don't promote Lana Turner or that will remind people of THE SURVIVORS" (the season's most visible failure)

      Paul Duca


      Paul

      Delete
  3. JonMarch 31, 2020 at 3:23 PM

    You can see the opening of IT TAKES TWO from Friday of this week here, w/ host & celebs all in nighttime attire:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AKB5T4Bdk7Y

    It's nice that Philadelphia had independent stations to carry JEOPARDY! and THE WHO WHAT OR WHERE GAME when KYW-TV preempted them. I was unfortunate to live in an area w/ no independent stations, so when my local station preempted 3 Ws, I could only see that show via fuzzy signal from 80 miles away. JEOPARDY! had its 6th anniversary on NBC the day before these listings.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. tomservo56954June 15, 2020 at 8:35 PM

      The unique thing about the show is that the contestants came from audiences watching from NBC affiliates throughout the country...John Harlan was in charge there. The one episode that exists of the show has the audience at WDSU New Orleans.

      Suzanne Pleshette with her husband until his death, than she and her great love Tom Poston finally got together. They were a serious item in New York 60 years ago, but she relocated to California for her career and he stayed back East because he wanted to be with his daughter from a previous marriage.

      Paul Duca



      Delete
    2. tomservo56954June 15, 2020 at 8:37 PM

      Did Morgenthau not work from Friday sunset until Saturday sunset?
      (I would like to know how Dick Wolf dealt with that--for those who don't know, that was the main reason Hill left MISSION:IMPOSSIBLE after the first season)

      Paul Duca

      Delete
    3. Mike DoranSeptember 4, 2020 at 5:34 PM

      Belatedly:

      On Law & Order, Steven Hill rarely had more than three or four very brief scenes in any given episode.
      All such scenes could be filmed in one day of shooting for any episode, so Hill could be written around with no difficulty.
      Just so you know ...

      Delete
  4. chckApril 2, 2020 at 11:24 PM

    In the early 1960's, Paramount's animation division produced a series of King Features Syndicate cartoons starring Beetle Bailey, Snuffy Smith and Krazy Kat, using the same animators who worked on the Popeye cartoons.(11:30, WKBS)

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for writing! Drive safely!

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)