tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042603612494762084.post149326161126878997..comments2024-03-27T22:27:16.556-04:00Comments on It's About TV: This week in TV Guide: December 14, 1996Mitchell Hadleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08695771505209080030noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042603612494762084.post-87605274274027705042017-12-14T23:07:25.230-05:002017-12-14T23:07:25.230-05:00Oh, how TV Guide fell in love with these lists as ...Oh, how TV Guide fell in love with these lists as it turned more and more into a fan magazine. I once read a piece by a columnist who wrote, somewhat tongue-in-cheek, that these sorts of "top 20" or "top 50" lists started out as the result of "I've got a piece due in an hour and I'm out of ideas," and eventually they turned into a thing and an industry unto themselves. (See also Charles Kuralt telling the story that chili was originally invented by a Wyoming rancher to keep the feet of his horses warm in the winter, and he sent some to a friend in Texas, who ate it by mistake.) And when you get into an "of all time" list, too often there's a recency bias that sends people going "what were they thinking?" 20 years later - which Mitchell rightly points out in his comment prior to his own list.<br /><br />There's a shade of that in the 1996 list having Letterman on it - and I write this as somebody whose sense of humor was profoundly influenced by Letterman's late-night NBC program. In 1996 it was "they're trying too hard to be too current," with too much of the glow of the CBS deal and the Jay vs. Dave competition. I could justify Letterman on a 2017 list, particularly with how many current hosts were inspired by him and follow his example, but even with that I would put Steve Allen (who, among other accomplishments, carved out the genre) and Johnny Carson (who defined the model we're accustomed to) ahead of Letterman. <br /><br />I'm not even going to take a stab at my own list, for I know my own biases all too well. It would be far easier for me to put together a list of the behind-the-scenes people who most profoundly shaped television programming. But I have the feeling that would set records for most unsold issues of a magazine, with remaindered copies being handed out by doctors to people who couldn't take Nytol.Jodie Peelerhttp://www.garrowayatlarge.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042603612494762084.post-64887979836554137512017-12-13T10:41:07.910-05:002017-12-13T10:41:07.910-05:00One error caught in this article: After her divor...One error caught in this article: After her divorce in 1992, Sandi Patty (note the spelling) and management corrected the spelling mistake that was originally made in 1978 by the printer of her first album and was repeated by ABC (which owned Word at the time) in sheet music publishing also. She used the divorce to correct the spelling, and Word, by that time owned by Nelson Publishing, released a statement announcing the correction a year later, and it was displayed during "Find It on the Wings" a year later). The corrected spelling (see her sheet music that includes her family) was used by Word (now part of Warner Music Group) by the time "O Holy Night!" was released in 1996. A friend of mine from college knows very well that -- she was a big Sandi Patty fan back in the day.<br /><br />In fact, of the first four presenters of the 1999 GMA Dove Awards, of which Sandi Patty was one of the four, three had their names too often misspelled! The only one whose name was not often misspelled died recently (Della Reese), and I've seen all three within an 18-month span in Charlotte -- one on New Year's Eve 1998, one on New Year's Eve 1999, and the third (not a singer) in May 2000 on the other side of Charlotte (see "The Cruelest Irony" from In Other Words to catch the reference to the other two presenters whose names were too-often misspelled, there is a photo of that pair!).<br /><br />Sandi was a dynasty to the point she was GMA Dove Female Vocalist of the Year from 1982-92. The other half of the irony came because of the presenting pair who gave Sandi the Female Vocalist of the Year award in 1992 -- it was the same pair who followed Patty and Reese to award Song of the Year in 1999, and because of the male presenter's occupation, it was a cruel irony since one writer who won died when his Jeep overturned and he was not wearing a seat belt in 1999. But in 1992, the male presenter faced a cruel irony himself. He gave Sandi her 11th consecutive Dove in that category (note the numerical irony) would claim three more trophies in his line of work. Sandi didn't claim that trophy again, and the presenter would not claim another trophy in his line of work after 1992 after finishing a Career Grand Slam.<br /><br />(Presenter in question is at 5:20 -- we've been able to confirm in further videos the presenters) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3ciqDC-zqg<br /><br />Bobbyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02366544608847776006noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042603612494762084.post-48835082157396542572017-12-09T18:49:06.262-05:002017-12-09T18:49:06.262-05:00As Hal just stated, these lists are always subject...As Hal just stated, these lists are always subjective, still I have to think Jack Benny should have been on here somewhere.....I'd say pretty high. Ball and Carson seem like logical choices at top two spots, I have high regards for Jim Garner and Bob Newhart.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04598321249896138287noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042603612494762084.post-53068699702726470542017-12-09T15:01:13.769-05:002017-12-09T15:01:13.769-05:00Lists are always subjective. Yours is a really go...Lists are always subjective. Yours is a really good one, but I'd have to find room for Larry Hagman and Buddy Ebsen.<br /><br />Halhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09291930694234773688noreply@blogger.com