What's on TV? Tuesday, October 26, 1954

I don’t know why, but one of the things that always intrigues me in these issues from the mid-1950s is when a show’s sponsors is mentioned in the listings, as if it were a member of the cast or crew. It doesn’t even have to have its name in the title of the show; I wonder if they paid for the privilege? I thought I’d include those this week, so you can see how prevalent it is. Keeping the accent on the local, WMAL has a talk show hosted by Frank Small, Jr.; what do you want to bet that, at least once in a while, it was called “Small Talk”? And then there are the personalities that went on to national success: Jim Simpson, who does the sports on WTTG, was a superb and popular announcer on for many years at NBC and ESPN, particularly on football. John Rolfson, their 11:00 p.m. newscaster, would eventually go to ABC as a correspondent. Ron Cochran, the newscaster on WTOP, becomes the anchor of the ABC evening news. Of course, when you work in the Baltimore-Washington area, you get noticed—especially if you’re good.   

This week in TV Guide: November 18, 1978

As you know, I'm a sucker for holidays, particularly Thanksgiving and Christmas (although New Year's isn't bad either). We have one of those in this week's issue, and one of the nice things about Thanksgiving is that since the date moves around, there's always a chance we'll get to look at it being celebrated in back-to-back issues—as, in fact, will be the case this week and next.

This is one of the old-fashioned Thanksgiving issues, as is apparent from the very beginning, with William Conrad anchoring CBS's All-American Thanksgiving Day Parades (8:00 a.m. CT). He always did this from a studio with a warm, welcoming scene—crackling fireplace, decorations, comfy wingback chair. It was very inviting. No wonder I have fond memories of those years. These were the years when CBS covered the parades in Detroit, Philadelphia, Toronto, and Honolulu in addition to New York. A pity they don't do that anymore, although the Detroit parade is syndicated as well as streamed online. NBC is, of course, home of the Macy's parade, and this year Ed McMahon is the host (8:00 a.m.), with a host of singing stars doing their best to sync to the songs being played over the speakers. I'd check that parade out from time to time, but CBS was the home for me.

What's Thanksgiving without football? NBC's game, beginning at 11:30 a.m. is Detroit's Turkey Day contest, this year against Denver. That's followed at 2:30 p.m. by those two old rivals, Washington and Dallas, facing off on CBS. No college action, alas; it's one of the fallow periods, before cable TV brought college games back to Thanksgiving.

I always enjoyed the other special programs that were on, even though I'd be too busy watching football to care about them. For instance, Channel 4 has an animated version of Jules Verne's "Journey to the Center of the Earth" on Famous Classic Tales at 11:00 a.m., followed at 12:30 p.m. by a Family Sports Special with figure skating from Central Park and highlights of the Moscow Circus, the Calgary Stampede, and women's gymnastics. Channel 11 presents the feature-length Hey There, It's Yogi Bear at 1:00 p.m.—it was originally made in 1964. WTCN's "Movie of the Month" is John Wayne in Hatari. (7:00 p.m.) And at 8:00 p.m. Channel 5 has part one of Howard Fast's The Immigrants, in what looks to me like an Operation Prime Time production.

One of the highlights of the day after Thanksgiving used to be ABC's cartoon festival, in which the regular Saturday morning lineup would feature on Friday morning and early afternoon. I don't know when they stopped doing that, or if it was merely an interruption in 1978, but there's no sign of it this year. ABC counters with college football at noon—once again traditional rivals, this time Pitt and Penn State. Donnie and Marie offer some Thanksgiving leftovers with their Thanksgiving program, accompanied by Cindy Williams, Seals & Crofts, and Lorne Greene—a varied lineup, to be sure.

I dunno—the parades still hit the mark, but compared to what we've seen in the past (and may see again in next week's issue), it's not as bit a television event day as it used to be. Or maybe it's just that you can't go home again, even if home is merely in your memories. As someone once said, I don't live in the past—I just vacation there.

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Thanksgiving week has always been one the sweeps weeks, when networks pulled out a raft of specials, and this year is no exception, with the programming providing a blend of special broadcasts and special episodes.

On Saturday night, CBS presents "One of the greatest films of all time!,"The Bible (7:00 p.m.), which covers the Book of Genesis; Judith Crist, on the other hand, sees that same movie as "reverential and dull." Oh well. ABC counters that with an evening that includes Battle of the Network Stars (7:00 p.m.) and an episode of Fantasy Island (9:00 p.m.) in which we find out Tatoo's secret fantasy. In the middle of all this, NBC offers a special reuniting Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello in a pilot for a potential sitcot didn't make it, and I don't know whether or not it was any good, but regardless, I think it's too bad it wasn't picked up.

Sunday, The Wonderful World of Disney (6:00 p.m., NBC) expands to 90 minutes to celebrate the 50th birthday of Mickey Mouse, a special featuring "100 superstars" and probably not enough Mickey. NBC, apparently deciding CBS's Bible presentation was too limited in scope, launches part one of the four-part miniseries Greatest Heroes of the Bible; whereas The Bible boasted of an all-star cast of movie stars, Greatest Heroes (7:30 p.m.) is limited to an all-star cast of television celebrities. CBS thinks you'll flip for a Lucille Ball special at the Grand Ole Opry (8:00 p.m.), and ABC wants to blow them both out of the water with the conclusion of the miniseries Pearl (8:00 p.m.).

Bobby Vinton hosts a '50s-themed variety special on Monday (7:00 p.m., CBS) with Fabian, Stockard Channing, Eve Arden, Gale Gordon, Erik Estrada, and Penny Marshall. Tuesday night Dean Martin's first celebrity roast of the season features Suzanne Somers (9:00 p.m., NBC), with Orson Welles and LaWanda Page among the roasters; what they could possibly have to say about Suzanne Somers is beyond my thinking.* Tuesday and Wednesday night (8:00 p.m.) CBS presents not just a movie, but a "movie spectacular"—Harold Robbins' The Pirate, a made-for-TV movie with Franco Nero, Anne Archer, Christopher Lee, and a cast of dozens of made-for-TV stars. What's missing, according to Judith Crist, is class; she calls it "four hours of typical Harold Robbins trashiness," though she adds that "if you share my delight in the perfectly awful, you won't want to miss a minute of it."

*A rare crossover promotion, given that many of the guests, including the honoree herself, are on ABC shows.

Bugs Bunny is "A Connecticut Rabbit in King Arthur's Court" in a CBS special Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. And we already know Steve Martin is a "wild and crazy guy," but tonight he gets to prove it with his first TV special (9:00 p.m., NBC), co-starring Bob Hope, George Burns, Johnny Cash, Milton Berle, and Strother Martin—and if that isn't a guest list that screams "wild and crazy," I don't know what is.

And there you have the week; I'll let you decide if there's a turkey among them.

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I suppose, given how this kind of thing seems to be in the news these days, we ought to take a look at John Weisman's article on how foreign lobbyists try to manipulate U.S. television. (Heaven forbid they ever try to manipulate anything important, like an election.)

For example, the syndicated travel show Journey to Adventure, features a segment on the great tourist destination of Iran, with Iranian ambassador Ardeshir Zahedi talking about the progress in freedom of religion and thought made under the Shah, in an interview with Gunther Less, the show's host and producer. What viewers don't know is that Less is a paid consultant to Iran Air, the Shah's government-owned airline. And then there's how the South African government pays more than $50,000 to an American company to place favorable travelogue pieces on U.S. TV stations. And how the British Information Service sends news spots on Northern Ireland—pieces "promoting the British position in Belfast"—to ABC and NBC for use in their affiliate news service. In short, these governments are paying cash money to manipulate how their countries are seen by American television viewers.

Today producer Michael Krauss calls this a "symbiotic relationship," in that "They need us to get their message across; we need them as the basis for stories." He adds, though, that most of the time, the shows themselves do the approaching, and they're "judicious" in their use of them: "I don't think that we are 'used' that much."

That remains to be seen, according to Weisman. That American company that received $500,000 from South Africa succeeded in "placing 12 of its government-made films on broadcast and cable-TV outlets that showed them to more than 30 million Americans." Over 100 stations used the British Information System's film on how Protestants and Catholics celebrated Christmas in Belfast together. The European Common Market, precursor to the European Union, paid for a journalist to visit the United States on a lecture tour, during the course of which he was interviewed on a number of TV shows, extolling the virtues of the Common Market. And then there's the annual Tchaikovsky musical competition in Moscow. "That is a very positive image for the Russians," says a P.R. consultant who works for foreign nationals. "It shows them to be cultured, genteel people who appreciate good music. And they know that when TV covers the Tchaikovsky, it's taking time away from Soviet dissidents."

Governments have their own favorites, journalists they know will give their side a positive spin. ABC's Steve Bell is often contacted by Arab spokesmen, while Jewish lobbyists prefer CBS's Marvin Kalb and ABC's John Scali, and the PLO likes Peter Jennings. It also helps if those lobbyists have close connections; former Secretary of Defense Clark Clifford works for Algeria, while former senator J. William Fulbright and former Kennedy aid Fred Dutton are paid by Saudi Arabia. In fact, some estimates put the total bill paid by various Arab nations at somewhere around $15 million for their consultants, PR firms, and spokesmen.

The networks deny that these efforts are universally successful. "There are too many people making decisions," according to one producer; says another, "When you become sure that you're being used, you just turn down the story—even if you want it badly." That doesn't stop governments and other special-interest groups from trying, though, particularly at local stations often in need of stories and interviews. "Television," according to an embassy official for a Middle Eastern country, "is a primary battleground for us in an important battle: the fight for America."

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David Brinkley marks the 15th anniversary of the assassination of John F. Kennedy with a look back at how television helped hold the nation together during the crisis. For roughly 70 hours, until 1:16 a.m. on Tuesday, November 26, there was nothing else on television; no entertainment, no commercials. "I thought then," Brinkley writes, "that we helped the American people get through a sad and scary time by showing and telling everything there was, by preventing the spread of the frightening rumors always set afloat in times of public stress, by showing the swearing-in of the new President and showing the people that even in a time so horrible, orderly government continued, and by giving the new President Johnson the means to speak reassuring words to a people who desperately needed them." It was, says Brinkley, "the most useful single service in television's history."

How would things be different, in 1978? Certainly it would be better technically; video would be in color, there would be no wait for film to be developed or pictures to be broadcast live. But the coverage itself would remain about the same; "It was nearly all live, and since live TV is simultaneous with the event itself, it cannot be any faster." Otherwise, television was able to facilitate a shared experience for the country—"People grieving in private saw others grieving in public." Rumors and fears were debunked, the nation was reassured that the country would go on, JFK was laid to rest with a dignity and solemnity that helped cleanse the wound.

"Chet and I and all of us were sorry for our country," Brinkley concludes, "and proud of television for helping our countrymen share their grief, respond together to sights of tragedy and tragic beauty, and then to go on."

By the way, when you've got a few minutes, read this very good Atlantic article by Andrew Cohen, written for the 50th anniversary, that talks about how to watch TV's coverage of the assassination. It's very perceptive, remarks on many of the same things that I've thought, and points out the little things that are too easily overlooked.

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Mary Tyler Moore's variety show Mary has come and gone (three episodes), and now star and network are getting ready for its successor, The Mary Tyler Moore Comedy Hour, which, according to TV Teletype, will be more like the old Jack Benny Program in that the main character will be named Mary Tyler Moore, host of her own television show, with stories about all the characters and adventures that surround production of that show. In the final analysis the lead character wound up being named Mary McKinnon, but otherwise the gimmick is the same. And it is more successful than Mary; it runs for an entire eleven episodes.

There's also a note about how Kurt Russell will be playing Elvis Presley for an ABC TV-movie. That movie, appropriately titled Elvis, is a triumph: Russell wins accolades (and an Emmy nomination) for what has come to be seen as one of the finest portrayals of Presley, and it marks the first of several collaborations between Russell and director John Carpenter, fresh off working on Halloween.

Hallmark's Hall of Fame Christmas presentation will be Stubby Pringle's Christmas, starring Beau Bridges and Julie Harris. According to multiple online sources, the program was only aired once; despite (or perhaps because of) this, it's built up a loyal following over the years, either from people moved by the one showing, or those who've read the book by Jack Schaefer (who also wrote Shane and Monte Walsh, among other Westerns). The program isn't available commercially, but if you want to see Stubby Pringle's Christmas, you can watch it on YouTube.

Finally, the Letters to the Editor section has people promoting their favorite programs. Tony Hudson of Raleigh, NC finds Vega$ "a refreshing change from the usual TV detective show. The locations are much better, the characters are believable, and the plots are not loaded with cliches." For Enid Mattson and her family, from Rock Springs, Wyoming, it's The Paper Chase: "We find it entertaining, clean and even educational to a certain extent." I'm sure John Houseman, who's profiled in this issue by Arnold Hano, appreciates the comment that "Professor Kingsfield is great!" Holly Graskewicz, of Westbury, NY casts her vote for Grandpa Goes to Washington. "I find it refreshing to be able to fantasize for one short hour a week that somebody out there just might care enough about us 'small potatoes' to do the job for which he or she was elected."

And then there's Barry Mork of Spokane, Washington, who—not surprisingly—likes Mork & Mindy. The whole family watches it, "not only because of the fresh, clean humor and talented acting, but because since it's been on, people no longer misspell or mispronounce our name!" Robert MacKenzie's review this week is of Mork & Mindy as well, and he makes an observation that, in retrospect, is interesting. "I'm told that Williams worries," MacKenzie writes, "—about losing his touch, running out of material—all the things that good comics worry about. I am tempted to say he should quit worrying, but probably he shouldn't. A certain amount of hypertension is probably good for his work." A typical comedian, or a sign of things to come? TV 

What's on TV? Sunday, April 30, 1967

We're back in the Capital beltway this week, looking at the listings for the Washington-Baltimore area. Not surprisingly, the accent is on politics; in addition to the Sunday interview shows, there's a plethora of programs featuring politicos and pundits.

It's also a good day for programming in general; since we didn't have Sullivan vs. The Palace this week (thanks to ABC's coverage of the International Beauty Pageant on Saturday), we should point out that Ed has a particularly good lineup today, with Jack Benny as a headliner. Jack's also on the Crusade '67 kickoff for the Cancer Crusade at 2:00 p.m. on WBAL, although it's hard to say how long each of those stars  were on camera for a 30-minute show - probably walk-on appearances. And WETA, the NET affiliate, has a couple of interesting programs - the opening ceremonies of Expo 67, the World's Fair from Montreal, at 7:30 p.m.; after that, NET Playhouse presents Offenbach's "Orpheus in the Underworld." You may not think you know anything about it, but you'll surely recognize the operetta's most famous piece: "Le Galop Infernal," otherwise known as - the Can-Can.  

What's on TV? Tuesday, April 18, 1972

This week it's another trip to the Baltimore-Washington area, and one of the first things you might notice about the prime-time lineup is that for NBC and CBS, the network programming ends at 10:30 p.m. ET, rather than 11. The implementation of the new access rule (about which you read a complaint in the Letters to the Editor section last week) exempts Sunday and Tuesday (for now), but the Peacock and Tiffany networks have both ceded Tuesday's final half-hour back to local stations anyway. (ABC made up for it, at least in the spring, by giving back the last 30 minutes on Wednesday.)

As I've suggested before, this was, on balance, a bad idea - the extra time was rarely used the way it was intended, and today it means more to local stations as a source of revenue than a way of serving the community. For ABC, it didn't make any different tonight anyway; they've preempted Marcus Welby, M.D., for the fifth game of the NBA Western Conference finals between Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's current team, the Milwaukee Bucks, and his future team, the Los Angeles Lakers.

By the way, in case you ever wondered what the original owners of these TV Guides watched at the time, perhaps the pencil marks give us an idea. Or maybe it's just a way of ranking the shows?

What's on TV? Monday, December 12, 1977

This week we're in the Baltimore-Washington area; as I wrote on Saturday, there are some Christmas programs tonight, but not many; I wanted to try and present a more representative example of Monday night programming, so it's only CBS preempting their first hour of prime time. Logan's Run. To be frank, I don't think anyone really noticed.

What's on TV? Saturday, July 13, 1963

As you know from Saturday's entry, we're in the Wash-Balt market this week, And since I gave the area such a thorough once-over on Saturday we'll just skip right to the programming, if that's all right with you.  Or even if it isn't.

The TV Guide notes that the listings for WBOC, Channel 13, and WSBA, Channel 43, are the national listings only, not local.  I've occasionally seen two separate stations that carried exactly the same programming (for example, KNMT, Channel 13 in Walker, Minnesota, was identical to KCMT, Channel 7 in Alexandria), but I've not seen something like this before.  But then, there's a first time for everything.