Mitchell Hadley's Blog: It's About TV!, page 69
August 10, 2022
August 8, 2022
What's on TV? Wednesday, August 12, 1964
I've mentioned before that we're in an odd era right now. We've gone through the New Frontier and now the Great Society, and television can be transmitted across the oceans by satellite. And yet we're in some ways we're still in the 1950s with shows like Ozzie and Harriet (tonight) and The Donna Reed Show, and vaudevillian Rudy Vallee is hosting the variety show that's filling in for Danny Kaye during the summer. (Ozzie and Harriet, in fact, hangs around long enough that its final season is broadcast in color. Before long we'll see shows like Batman, Star Trek and The Prisoner, which are decidedly not 1950s. The culture seems up for grabs, and maybe that's why we wound up with the chaos we did. One thing that's not chaotic is that these listings come from the Minnesota State Edition.
-2- KTCA (EDUC.)
Evening
6:30
ANTIQUES—Art
7:00
INQUIRY—Discussion
7:30
PROFILE—Discussion
8:00
IMAGES OF AMERICA
8:30
CHANGING EARTH—McClurg
9:00
LANDSCAPE IDEAS—Gus Hard
10:00
TO BE ANNOUNCED
-3- KDAL (DULUTH) (CBS) Morning 7:50 FARM REPORT—Duluth 8:00 CAPTAIN KANGAROO—Children 9:00 JACK LA LANNE—Exercise 9:30 I LOVE LUCY 10:00 McCOYS 10:30 MISSING LINKS Guests: Nipsey Russell, Phyllis Kirk, Sam Levenson, Barry Morse. Moderator: Dick Clark 11:00 LOVE OF LIFE 11:25 NEWS—Robert Trout 11:30 SEARCH FOR TOMORROW—Serial 11:45 GUIDING LIGHT—Serial Afternoon 12:00 TOWN AND COUNTRY—Becker 12:30 AS THE WORLD TURNS—Serial 1:00 PASSWORD Guests: Rita Moreno, Darren McGavin. Allen Ludden is the host 1:30 HOUSE PARTY Guests: Hershel Bernardi, June Lockhart, Robert Strauss. Host: Art Linkletter 2:00 TO TELL THE TRUTH—Panel Guests: Don Ameche, Joan Fontaine, Phyllis Newman. Moderator: Bud Collyer 2:25 NEWS—Douglas Edwards 2:30 EDGE OF NIGHT—Serial 3:00 SECRET STORM—Serial 3:30 QUEEN FOR A DAY—Jack Bailey 4:00 TRAILMASTER—Western 5:00 COUSIN TOM—Cartoons 5:30 NEWS—Walter Cronkite Evening 6:00 NEWS 6:30 TO BE ANNOUNCED 7:00 FILM FEATURE 7:30 FARMER’S DAUGHTER 8:00 BEVERLY HILLBILLIES—Comedy 8:30 DICK VAN DYKE—Comedy 9:00 RUDY VALLEE Guest: Robert Horton 10:00 NEWS 10:15 THRILLER—Mystery 11:00 MOVIE—Drama “Under My Skin” (1950)
3 KGLO (MASON CITY) (CBS) Morning 7:30 FRESHMAN ENGLISH 8:00 CAPTAIN KANGAROO—Children 9:00 NEWS—Mike Wallace 9:30 I LOVE LUCY 10:00 McCOYS 10:30 PETE AND GLADYS—Comedy 11:00 LOVE OF LIFE 11:25 NEWS—Robert Trout 11:30 SEARCH FOR TOMORROW—Serial 11:45 GUIDING LIGHT—Serial Afternoon 12:00 NEWS 12:30 AS THE WORLD TURNS—Serial 1:00 PASSWORD Guests: Rita Moreno, Darren McGavin. Allen Ludden is the host 1:30 HOUSE PARTY Guests: Hershel Bernardi, June Lockhart, Robert Strauss. Host: Art Linkletter 2:00 TO TELL THE TRUTH—Panel Guests: Don Ameche, Joan Fontaine, Phyllis Newman. Moderator: Bud Collyer 2:25 NEWS—Douglas Edwards 2:30 EDGE OF NIGHT—Serial 3:00 SECRET STORM—Serial 3:30 LADIES’ DAY—Variety 4:00 BART’S CLUBHOUSE 5:00 YOGI BEAR—Cartoons 5:30 NEWS—Walter Cronkite Evening 6:00 NEWS 6:30 TO BE ANNOUNCED 7:00 TO BE ANNOUNCED 7:30 SUSPENSE—Mystery 8:00 BEVERLY HILLBILLIES—Comedy 8:30 DICK VAN DYKE—Comedy 9:00 RUDY VALLEE Guest: Robert Horton 10:00 NEWS 10:30 MOVIE—Adventure “The Golden Hawk” (1952)
-4- WCCO (CBS) Morning 6:30 SUMMER SEMESTER—Education 7:00 CLANCY, AXEL, SIEGFRIED 8:00 CAPTAIN KANGAROO—Children 9:00 NEWS—Dean Montgomery 9:15 WHAT’S NEW?—Women 9:25 DR. REUBEN K. YOUNGDAHL 9:30 I LOVE LUCY 10:00 McCOYS 10:30 PETE AND GLADYS—Comedy 11:00 LOVE OF LIFE 11:25 NEWS—Robert Trout 11:30 SEARCH FOR TOMORROW—Serial 11:45 GUIDING LIGHT—Serial Afternoon 12:00 NEWS 12:15 SOMETHING SPECIAL 12:25 WEATHER—Bud Kraehling 12:30 AS THE WORLD TURNS—Serial 1:00 PASSWORD Guests: Rita Moreno, Darren McGavin. Allen Ludden is the host 1:30 HOUSE PARTY Guests: Hershel Bernardi, June Lockhart, Robert Strauss. Host: Art Linkletter 2:00 TO TELL THE TRUTH—Panel Guests: Don Ameche, Joan Fontaine, Phyllis Newman. Moderator: Bud Collyer 2:25 NEWS—Douglas Edwards 2:30 EDGE OF NIGHT—Serial 3:00 SECRET STORM—Serial 3:30 DANGER MAN—Mystery 4:00 AROUND THE TOWN—Interviews 4:30 AXEL AND DEPUTY DAWG 5:00 CLANCY AND COMPANY 5:30 NEWS—Walter Cronkite Evening 6:00 NEWS 6:30 TO BE ANNOUNCED 7:00 WCCO REPORTS—Documentary 7:30 SUSPENSE—Mystery 8:00 BEVERLY HILLBILLIES—Comedy 8:30 DICK VAN DYKE—Comedy 9:00 RUDY VALLEE Guest: Robert Horton 10:00 NEWS 10:30 STEVE ALLEN—Variety Guest: Allen Dayton 12:00 MOVIE—Western “Kansas Pacific” (1953)
-5- KSTP (NBC) Morning 6:30 CITY AND COUNTRY 7:00 TODAY Guests: Harold Lloyd Jr., Peter Benchley Local news at 7:25 and 8:25 A.M. 9:00 MAKE ROOM FOR DADDY—Comedy 9:30 WORD FOR WORD—Merv Griffin COLOR 9:55 NEWS—Edwin Newman 10:00 CONCENTRATION—Hugh Downs 10:30 JEOPARDY—Art Fleming COLOR 11:00 SAY WHEN—Art James COLOR 11:30 TRUTH OR CONSEQUENCES—Bob Barker COLOR 11:55 NEWS—Ray Scherer Afternoon 12:00 NEWS AND WEATHER COLOR 12:25 WOMEN’S WORLD COLOR 12:30 LET’S MAKE A DEAL—Monty Hall COLOR 12:55 NEWS—Floyd Kalber 1:00 LORETTA YOUNG—Drama 1:30 DOCTORS 2:00 ANOTHER WORLD—Serial 2:30 YOU DON’T SAY!—Tom Kennedy COLOR Guests: Mel Torme, Ruta Lee 3:00 MATCH GAME Guests: Shari Lewis, Mort Sahl 3:25 NEWS—Sander Vanocur 3:30 TREASURE CHEST 4:00 MOVIE—War Drama “Glory at Sea” (English; 1953) 5:25 DOCTOR’S HOUSE CALL—Fox 5:30 NEWS—Chet Huntley, David Brinkley Evening 6:00 NEWS COLOR 6:30 VIRGINIAN COLOR 8:00 ESPIONAGE—Drama 9:00 ELEVENTH HOUR 10:00 NEWS COLOR 10:30 JOHNNY CARSON—Variety COLOR Guests: Jan Peerce, Robert Merrill 12:00 NEWS AND SPORTS COLOR 12:05 MOVIE—Mystery “Meet Sexton Blake” (English; 1944)
-6- WDSM (DULUTH) (NBC) Morning 7:00 TODAY Guests: Harold Lloyd Jr., Peter Benchley Local news at 7:25 and 8:25 A.M. 9:00 MAKE ROOM FOR DADDY—Comedy 9:30 WORD FOR WORD—Merv Griffin COLOR 9:55 NEWS—Edwin Newman 10:00 CONCENTRATION—Hugh Downs 10:30 JEOPARDY—Art Fleming COLOR 11:00 SAY WHEN—Art James COLOR 11:30 TRUTH OR CONSEQUENCES—Bob Barker COLOR 11:55 NEWS—Ray Scherer Afternoon 12:00 GENERAL HOSPITAL—Serial 12:30 LET’S MAKE A DEAL—Monty Hall COLOR 12:55 NEWS—Floyd Kalber 1:00 LORETTA YOUNG—Drama 1:30 DOCTORS 2:00 ANOTHER WORLD—Serial 2:30 YOU DON’T SAY!—Tom Kennedy COLOR Guests: Mel Torme, Ruta Lee 3:00 MATCH GAME Guests: Shari Lewis, Mort Sahl 3:25 NEWS—Sander Vanocur 3:30 PRICE IS RIGHT—Bill Cullen 4:00 ERNIE FORD—Variety 4:30 ALLAKAZAM—Children 5:00 FATHER KNOWS BEST—Comedy 5:30 NEWS—Chet Huntley, David Brinkley Evening 6:00 NEWS 6:30 VIRGINIAN COLOR 8:00 BEN CASEY—Drama 9:00 ELEVENTH HOUR 10:00 NEWS 10:30 ENSIGN O’TOOLE—Comedy 11:00 JOHNNY CARSON—Variety COLOR Guests: Jan Peerce, Robert Merrill
6 KMMT (AUSTIN) (ABC) Morning 9:30 PRICE IS RIGHT—Bill Cullen Celebrity guest: Gertrude Berg 10:00 GET THE MESSAGE—Frank Buxton 10:30 MISSING LINKS Guests: Nipsey Russell, Phyllis Kirk, Sam Levenson, Barry Morse. Moderator: Dick Clark 11:00 FATHER KNOWS BEST 11:30 ERNE FORD—Variety Guests: Buddy Greco, Minnie Pearl Afternoon 12:00 FARM MARKETS 12:05 CARTOONS—Children 1:00 ADVENTURES AND TRAVEL 1:25 COMMUNITY HIGHLIGHTS 1:30 DAY IN COURT—Drama 1:55 NEWS—Lisa Howard 2:00 GENERAL HOSPITAL—Serial 2:30 QUEEN FOR A DAY—Bailey 3:00 TRAILMASTER 4:00 LARAMIE—Western 4:55 FUNNY COMPANY—Children 5:45 NEWS—Ron Cochran Evening 6:00 NEWS 6:15 WEATHER COLOR 6:10 CLOSE-UP—Don Wright 6:30 OZZIE AND HARRIET 7:00 PATTY DUKE—Comedy 7:30 FARMER’S DAUGHTER 8:00 BEN CASEY—Drama 9:00 77 SUNSET STRIP 10:00 NEWS 10:15 NEWS—Bob Young 10:25 WEATHER AND SPORTS 10:35 DEATH VALLEY DAYS 11:05 NEWS
-7- KCMT (ALEXANDRIA) (NBC, ABC) Morning 7:00 TODAY Guests: Harold Lloyd Jr., Peter Benchley Local news at 7:25 and 8:25 A.M. 9:00 MAKE ROOM FOR DADDY—Comedy 9:30 WORD FOR WORD—Merv Griffin COLOR 9:55 NEWS—Edwin Newman 10:00 CONCENTRATION—Hugh Downs 10:30 JEOPARDY—Art Fleming COLOR 11:00 SAY WHEN—Art James COLOR 11:30 TRUTH OR CONSEQUENCES—Bob Barker COLOR 11:55 NEWS—Ray Scherer Afternoon 12:00 NEWS 12:20 TRADITING POST—Jim Syrdal 12:30 LET’S MAKE A DEAL—Monty Hall COLOR 12:55 NEWS—Floyd Kalber 1:00 LORETTA YOUNG—Drama 1:30 DOCTORS 2:00 ANOTHER WORLD—Serial 2:30 YOU DON’T SAY!—Tom Kennedy COLOR Guests: Mel Torme, Ruta Lee 3:00 MATCH GAME Guests: Shari Lewis, Mort Sahl 3:25 NEWS—Sander Vanocur 3:30 GENERAL HOSPITAL—Serial 4:00 FATHER KNOWS BEST—Comedy 4:30 COMMUNITY BILLBOARD 4:35 CARTOONS—Children 5:00 FUNNY COMPANY—Children 5:30 NEWS—Chet Huntley, David Brinkley Evening 6:00 NEWS 6:30 VIRGINIAN COLOR 8:00 ESPIONAGE—Drama 9:00 McHALE’S NAVY—Comedy 9:30 YOU ASKED FOR IT—Smith 10:00 NEWS 10:30 FINS AND FEATHERS—Gorham 10:45 OUTER LIMITS—Science Fiction 11:45 JOHNNY CARSON—Variety COLOR Guests: Jan Peerce, Robert Merrill
8 WKBT (LA CROSSE) (CBS) Morning 7:15 DEBBIE DRAKE—Exercise 7:30 DING DONG SCHOOL—Horwich 8:00 CAPTAIN KANGAROO—Children 9:00 NEWS—Mike Wallace 9:30 I LOVE LUCY 10:00 McCOYS 10:30 PETE AND GLADYS—Comedy 11:00 LOVE OF LIFE 11:25 NEWS—Robert Trout 11:30 SEARCH FOR TOMORROW—Serial 11:45 GUIDING LIGHT—Serial Afternoon 12:00 NEWS 12:30 AS THE WORLD TURNS—Serial 1:00 PASSWORD Guests: Rita Moreno, Darren McGavin. Allen Ludden is the host 1:30 HOUSE PARTY Guests: Hershel Bernardi, June Lockhart, Robert Strauss. Host: Art Linkletter 2:00 TO TELL THE TRUTH—Panel Guests: Don Ameche, Joan Fontaine, Phyllis Newman. Moderator: Bud Collyer 2:25 NEWS—Douglas Edwards 2:30 EDGE OF NIGHT—Serial 3:00 SECRET STORM—Serial 3:30 GENERAL HOSPITAL—Serial 4:00 MY LITTLE MARGIE—Comedy 4:30 MICKEY MOUSE CLUB 5:00 HUCKLEBERRY HOUND 5:30 NEWS—Walter Cronkite Evening 6:00 NEWS 6:30 TO BE ANNOUNCED 7:00 FILM FEATURE 7:30 NEW CHRISTY MINSTRELS DEBUT 8:00 BEVERLY HILLBILLIES—Comedy 8:30 DICK VAN DYKE—Comedy 9:00 RUDY VALLEE Guest: Robert Horton 10:00 NEWS 10:20 DOCTOR’S HOUSE CALL—Fox 10:30 OUTER LIMITS—Science Fiction 11:30 STATE TROOPER—Police
-9- KMSP (ABC) Morning 7:45 BREAKFAST—Grandpa Ken 8:30 ROMPER ROOM—Miss Betty 9:30 PRICE IS RIGHT—Bill Cullen Celebrity guest: Gertrude Berg 10:00 GET THE MESSAGE—Frank Buxton 10:30 MISSING LINKS Guests: Nipsey Russell, Phyllis Kirk, Sam Levenson, Barry Morse. Moderator: Dick Clark 11:00 FATHER KNOWS BEST 11:30 ERNE FORD—Variety Guests: Buddy Greco, Minnie Pearl Afternoon 12:00 MY LITTLE MARGIE—Comedy 12:30 PETER GUNN—Mystery 1:00 LOIS LEPPART—Interview 4:00 MOVIE—Mystery “Fugitives for a Night” (1938) 5:00 NEWS—Bob Allard 5:15 NEWS—Ron Cochran 5:30 LEAVE IT TO BEAVER—Comedy Evening 6:00 DOBIE GILLIS—Comedy 6:30 OZZIE AND HARRIET 7:00 PATTY DUKE—Comedy 7:30 FARMER’S DAUGHTER 8:00 BEN CASEY—Drama 9:00 77 SUNSET STRIP 10:00 NEWS 10:30 DETECTIVES—Police 11:30 TARGET: CORRUPTORS—Drama 12:30 NEWS 12:35 SEN. EUGENE McCARTHY
10 KROC (ROCHESTER) (NBC) Morning 7:00 TODAY Guests: Harold Lloyd Jr., Peter Benchley Local news at 7:25 and 8:25 A.M. 9:00 MAKE ROOM FOR DADDY—Comedy 9:30 WORD FOR WORD—Merv Griffin COLOR 9:55 NEWS—Edwin Newman 10:00 CONCENTRATION—Hugh Downs 10:30 JEOPARDY—Art Fleming COLOR 11:00 SAY WHEN—Art James COLOR 11:30 TRUTH OR CONSEQUENCES—Bob Barker COLOR 11:55 NEWS—Ray Scherer Afternoon 12:00 NEWS 12:15 INDUSTRY ON PARADE 12:30 LET’S MAKE A DEAL—Monty Hall COLOR 12:55 NEWS—Floyd Kalber 1:00 LORETTA YOUNG—Drama 1:30 DOCTORS 2:00 ANOTHER WORLD—Serial 2:30 YOU DON’T SAY!—Tom Kennedy COLOR Guests: Mel Torme, Ruta Lee 3:00 MATCH GAME Guests: Shari Lewis, Mort Sahl 3:25 NEWS—Sander Vanocur 3:30 LOVE THAT BOB!—Comedy 4:00 GENE AUTRY—Western 4:30 ROCKY AND HIS FRIENDS 4:40 SUMMER FUN CLUB—Children 5:00 YOGI BEAR—Cartoons 5:30 NEWS—Chet Huntley, David Brinkley Evening 6:00 NEWS 6:30 VIRGINIAN COLOR 8:00 ESPIONAGE—Drama 9:00 ELEVENTH HOUR 10:00 NEWS 10:30 JOHNNY CARSON—Variety COLOR Guests: Jan Peerce, Robert Merrill
11 WTCN (IND.) Morning 10:45 KUKLA AND OLLIE—Children 11:00 ELEVEN O’CLOCK SCHOLAR Afternoon 12:00 LUNCH WITH CASEY—Children 12:45 KING AND ODIE—Cartoons 1:00 MOVIE—Western “Go West, Young Man” (1936) 3:00 BACHELOR FATHER 3:30 ROBIN HOOD—Adventure 4:00 DAVE LEE AND PETE—Children 4:30 MICKEY MOUSE CLUB 5:00 SUPERMAN—Adventure 5:30 MACK AND MYER—Children 5:55 ROCKY AND HIS FRIENDS Evening 6:00 RIFLEMAN—Western 6:30 BOLD JOURNEY—Travel 7:00 ADVENTURE THEATER—Travel 7:30 MOVIE—Adventure “The Pathfinder” (1953) 9:00 WANTED—DEAD OR ALIVE 9:30 NEWS, WEATHER, SPORTS 10:00 MOVIE—Drama “Black Hand” (1950) 12:00 ONE STEP BEYOND—Drama Time approximate
12 KEYC (MANKATO) (CBS) Morning 8:00 CAPTAIN KANGAROO—Children 9:00 NEWS—Mike Wallace 9:30 I LOVE LUCY 10:00 McCOYS 10:30 PETE AND GLADYS—Comedy 11:00 LOVE OF LIFE 11:25 NEWS—Robert Trout 11:30 SEARCH FOR TOMORROW—Serial 11:45 GUIDING LIGHT—Serial Afternoon 12:00 RFD 12—Mankato 12:30 AS THE WORLD TURNS—Serial 1:00 PASSWORD Guests: Rita Moreno, Darren McGavin. Allen Ludden is the host 1:30 HOUSE PARTY Guests: Hershel Bernardi, June Lockhart, Robert Strauss. Host: Art Linkletter 2:00 TO TELL THE TRUTH—Panel Guests: Don Ameche, Joan Fontaine, Phyllis Newman. Moderator: Bud Collyer 2:25 NEWS—Douglas Edwards 2:30 EDGE OF NIGHT—Serial 3:00 SECRET STORM—Serial 3:30 BURNS AND ALLEN—Comedy 4:00 BART’S CLUBHOUSE 5:00 YOGI BEAR—Cartoons 5:30 NEWS—Walter Cronkite Evening 6:00 NEWS 6:30 TO BE ANNOUNCED 7:00 FILM FEATURE 7:30 BANDWAGON—Earl Lamont Guests: Six Fat Dutchmen 8:00 BEVERLY HILLBILLIES—Comedy 8:30 DICK VAN DYKE—Comedy 9:00 RUDY VALLEE Guest: Robert Horton 10:00 NEWS 10:30 MOVIE—Adventure “The Golden Hawk” (1952)
13 WEAU (EAU CLAIRE) (NBC) Morning 7:00 TODAY Guests: Harold Lloyd Jr., Peter Benchley Local news at 7:25 and 8:25 A.M. 9:00 MAKE ROOM FOR DADDY—Comedy 9:30 WORD FOR WORD—Merv Griffin COLOR 9:55 NEWS—Edwin Newman 10:00 CONCENTRATION—Hugh Downs 10:30 JEOPARDY—Art Fleming COLOR 11:00 SAY WHEN—Art James COLOR 11:30 TRUTH OR CONSEQUENCES—Bob Barker COLOR 11:55 NEWS—Ray Scherer Afternoon 12:00 FARM AND HOME—Eau Claire 1:00 LORETTA YOUNG—Drama 1:30 DOCTORS 2:00 ANOTHER WORLD—Serial 2:30 YOU DON’T SAY!—Tom Kennedy COLOR Guests: Mel Torme, Ruta Lee 3:00 MATCH GAME Guests: Shari Lewis, Mort Sahl 3:25 NEWS—Sander Vanocur 3:30 FATHER KNOWS BEST—Comedy 4:00 TO BE ANNOUNCED 4:30 CARTOONS—Children 5:00 MAGILLA GORILLA—Cartoons 5:30 NEWS—Chet Huntley, David Brinkley Evening 6:00 NEWS 6:30 VIRGINIAN COLOR 8:00 ESPIONAGE—Drama 9:00 OZZIE AND HARRIET—Comedy 9:30 MY THREE SONS—Comedy 10:00 NEWS 10:30 MOVIE—Drama “The Killer is Loose” (1956)
TV
August 6, 2022
This week in TV Guide: August 8, 1964
Sensation monger or boon to mankind? If that's the question, the answer can only be Mike Wallace, and this is years before 60 Minutes. But' as Edith Efron writes this week, that's what you get with Wallace, who insists that "news is drama." Let him explain how it works: "Have you ever looked at a cauliflower on your dining room table? It looks anything but dramatic! But when you see a crate of cauliflowers being examined under klieg lights at 3 in the morning, at a loading dock, by white-coated men haggling about price . . . When you see the battle between profit and loss that is going on . . . When you see one man pitting his business understanding against that of his competitors—this is dramatic. This is conflict. This is how we shoot a cost-of-living story." Adds Wallace, "If you look closely, every interesting news item is built around a value conflict." As the host of the CBS Morning News, which boasts an audience 30 percent larger than the news program it replaced, Wallace runs through 20 or 25 stories in the half-hour program, many of them what Wallace calls "instant documentaries" shot just for the show.
All this may be a surprise to those who remember Wallace as the host of PM, the late-night variety-and-talk show, or the commercials in which he appeared. But look a little further back, to 1958 and The Mike Wallace Interview, that "hit like a bombshell." This is the Mike Wallace that we'd come to know on 60 Minutes, the fearless interviewer who used "a battering cross-examination technique" to focus on the guest's inconsistencies and contradictions—"a method that was lethal to double-talking phonies." He tackled controversial issues and presented "fascists, communists, racists, gangsters, and a host of little-known intellectuals with unusual and provocative ideas." Thus the question that opened this article.
But ABC, the network on which his show appeared, tried to tone things down, and after Mike hosted gangster Mickey Cohen, who "cheerfully libeled a handful of West Coast police officials," for which the network was forced to apologize on-air, Wallace found himself on the outs—paid, but with no assignments. He tried a gig with a local station. He hosted PM, a show so unsuited to his temperament that he finally quit, leaving behind a sizeable amount of money. He found work with David Wolper, hosting Biography. Then the tide turned again, in the form of Newton Minow's challenge to cover the kind of stories that had made Wallace's name in the first place. The Museum of Modern Art put on a retrospective of "TV masterpieces," one of which was The Mike Wallace Interview. Biography became one of the highest-rated public affair programs in the country and won a Peabody Award. Wallace was hot again, and CBS came calling.
It's not quite the same Wallace; one associate says that "Watching Mike on the air today is like watching a lion obediently padding down Madison Avenue, tied by a silken leash." Wallace is just happy to be in a news job again. "His appetite for major battle is well under control," Efron says. But, she adds, "His taste for clash and controversy is unabated." And for those who wonder what happened to the "old" Mike Wallace, you'll find out in four years and five weeks. That's September 24, 1968: the premiere episode of 60 Minutes.
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During the 60s, the Ed Sullivan Show and The Hollywood Palace were the premiere variety shows on television. Whenever they appear in TV Guide together, we'll match them up and see who has the best lineup.Sullivan: Van Johnson, who sings numbers for his night-club act; rock 'n' roller Bobby Vinton; Topo Gigio, the Italian Mouse; comedians Grecco and Willard; Petticoat Junction girls Jeannine Riley, Pat Woodell, Linda Kaye and Sheila James, who appear as the Ladybugs in a Beatles satire; comedienne Totie Fields; impressionist George Kirby; the brooks Sisters, vocal group; and the South African dancers of the Alan Paton-Krishna Shah play "Sponoro."
Palace: Host Nat King Cole welcomes songstress-dancer Diahann Carroll; ventriloquist Paul Winchell; Ken Murray, who narrates his Hollywood home movies; comedians Allen and Rossi; the Bruno sway-pole act; the acrobatic Amin Brothers; and the singing Merry Young Souls.
This one was really over before it started; once you see Nat King Cole's name, you don't have to go any farther. But it's useful to look at Ed's lineup anyway—how charming that we live in a time when Bobby Vinton is described as a rocker! And I like George Kirby! But Diahann Carroll will put on a show, Allen and Rossi are very popular, and Paul Winchell might invent the artificial heart right there on stage.*
*Fun fact: Winchell, who'd had previous medical education, developed his artificial heart in conjunction with Dr. Henry Heimlich, inventor of the Heimlich maneuver.
And then, of course, there's Nat, singing four songs plus a duet with the Young Souls. For that alone, Palace wins the honors.
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And now for the industry news. Henry Harding's "For the Record" feature reports that, after having been trounced in the ratings by NBC during last month's Republican National Convention, CBS is removing Walter Cronkite from its coverage of the August Democratic National Convention. (NBC garnered 51 percent of the audience, compared to CBS's 36 percent.) He'll be replaced by the team of Robert Trout and Roger Mudd (left, with Eric Sevareid), to compete with NBC's Chet Huntley and David Brinkley and ABC's Howard K. Smith and Edward P. Morgan. The network hastens to add that "Cronkite's days as anchor man are not ended. He'll continue to be the pivotal figure in CBS coverage of such events as the upcoming Gemini space shots, in addition to serving as anchor man of CBS's nightly newscasts. Spoiler: the Trout-Mudd team didn't cut it.TV Teletype reports that CBS is planning a new production of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella, which debuted on TV in 1957 with Julie Andrews.* The network is hoping for Shirley Jones and Robert Goulet, but they're going to wind up with Lesley Anne Warren and Stuart Damon instead. If that seems a bit of a letdown, the supporting cast makes up for it, with Celeste Holm, Walter Pidgeon, Ginger Rogers, Jo Van Fleet, Pat Carroll, and Barbara Ruick; with its brilliant color recording, it becomes an annual tradition for several years.
*The live broadcast, on March 31, drew the largest television audience in history up to that time—107 million Americans, in a country of 172 million.
In other headlines, a blonde-wigged Jane Wyatt is scheduled to appear in an NBC telefilm entitled The Widow-Maker. I don't see anything like that in her TV-filmography; could it be the autumn 1964 movie See How They Run, also known as the first made-for-TV movie? And staying with NBC, David Frost is scheduled to appear in the first three episodes of the upcoming season's That Was the Week That Was.
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The great Robert Duvall did a lot of television back in the day, and you can see him twice this week, in two top dramas.
On Saturday, Duvall stars in "Metamorphosis," an intriguing episode of The Defenders (7:30 p.m., CBS) which finds Preston representing Luke Jackson, a death-row inmate convicted seven years ago of killing a police officer, who's facing his eighth and final clemency hearing. Preston argues that Jackson's a model prisoner who's been fully rehabilitated and should have his death sentence commuted to life; the DA, who's fought Jackson each and every time, doesn't believe a killer can be rehabilitated in only seven years. The Defenders is one of those shows where you're not guaranteed that the Prestons will win, so I wonder how it turns out. We can find out here .
Keeping with the crime-and-punishment theme, a repeat episode of Arrest and Trial (Sunday, 7:30 p.m., ABC) stars Macdonald Carey as a law professor with a contract out on his life, courtesy of two disgruntled students (Chris Robinson and Joe Gallison). And today's teachers think they have it rough. On What's My Line? (9:30 p.m., CBS), director Joseph L. Manckiewicz tests the crew's ability to fit all those letters on a nameplate when he appears as a guest panelist, along with Arlene, Bennett and Dorothy.
Duvall's second appearance of the week comes Monday on The Outer Limits (6:30 p.m., ABC); in "The Chameleon," Duvall plays an intelligence agent sent to infiltrate a party of space aliens who've made a forced landing on Earth. The episode's written by Robert Towne, who'd later win an Oscar for his screenplay for Chinatown, and it costars Howard Caine, more familiar as Major Hochstetter on Hogan's Heroes. Meanwhile, Robert Redford plays the heavy in a Breaking Point episode (9:00 p.m., ABC) in which he finds group-therapy sessions to be "a perfect exercise for his sadistic tendencies."
Tuesday gives us a foursquare option of shows to watch (depending on where you live). Louis Jourdan's suave as a threat to Jack Palance's management of the circus in The Greatest Show on Earth (7:30 p.m., ABC); the next time we see him at the circus, he's trying to have the big top blown up while James Bond tries to stop him in Octopussy. Next, Oscar winner Rita Moreno is the guest on The Jack Benny Program (8:30 p.m., CBS), and that's followed by Florence Henderson hosting The Bell Telephone Hour showcase for new talent (9:00 p.m., NBC) The only name I recognize is Anita Gillette, who first appeared on TV with Ed Sullivan in 1963. At the same time, if you live in Duluth, you can see last week's Hollywood Palace on WDSM, and you'd probably want to, because the host is the one, the only, Groucho.
Wednesday's a pretty quiet day, so we'll focus on the game show You Don't Say! (2:30 p.m., NBC). Mel Tormé and Ruta Lee are the celebrity guests, and Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy appears to accept a gift for the John F. Kennedy Memorial Library. In prime time, 77 Sunset Strip (9:00 p.m., ABC) nears the end of its controversial sixth and final season with a rerun from the fifth season: "Terror in a Small Town," the only episode of the series we skipped. Reason: Kookie's being framed for a crime he didn't commit. Talk about the cliché of putting one of the regulars in false jeopardy; if you're unsure how it ends, you deserve whatever you get.You don't see novels adapted on episodic television all that often, considering how hard it is to condense a book into a movie-length running time, but Thursday's Kraft Suspense Theatre (9:00 p.m., NBC) pulls it off with "The Deep End," an adaptation of mystery novelist John D. MacDonald's The Drowner. It doesn't feature MacDonald's famous creation Travis McGee, but then, neither did The Executioners, and that didn't hurt the story when it was made into the movie Cape Fear.
On Friday, we'll look at a contrasting pair of attractions: the 13th annual International Beauty Spectacular (7:30 p.m,., NBC), hosted by Hugh O'Brian live from Long Beach, California. I think I've mentioned this pageant before, but I'm too lazy to check it out; the winner, who I did check out, is Gemma Cruz, Miss Phillippines. At 9:00 p.m. on The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, Pat Buttram, best known as the comic Western sidekick of so many movies and TV shows, makes his first non-Western appearance in "The Jar," adapted from the short story by Ray Bradbury. Collin Wilcox, James Best, Slim Pickens, George Lindsay, Billy Barty and Jocelyn Brando are among the co-stars. l l l
Finally, it's been a while since we've done a fashion spread, and what better way to say "welcome back" than with the lovely Miss Anna Maria Alberghetti, star of stage, screen and television. She would have been 28 at the time of this photoshoot, two years off from having won a Tony for Best Actress in a Musical for Carnival. Music was her background; she performed at Carnegie Hall when she was 13; two years later she was in a film version of the Gian Carlo Menotti opera The Medium, At 16, she opened for Red Skelton in Las Vegas. On television, she'd perform with Martin & Lewis, and guested on programs from Wagon Train to The Hollywood Palace. She's still with us today at age 86, and was still performing even a few years ago.
One website described her as "young, beautiful and talented," and I see no reason to disagree with any part of that assessment. In these pictures, she's wearing items from Renee Firestone 's summer collection (and check out her remarkable life when you have time), but I don't think this is a case of clothes making the woman, do you? TV
August 5, 2022
Around the dial
Xirst of all, happy birthday to George Jetson, who was born in this year back in 1962. OK, we don't know the exact date, but we do know that the cartoon debuted in 1962, that it was set one hundred years in the future, and that it was established early on that George was 40 years old. Thus, 2022. I'm not entirely sure how it was determined that he was born on July 31, but now that it's on the internet, it has to be true. Right?One thing on which everyone seems to agree, whether they're on the internet or not, is Vin Scully, who died this week, aged 94. If you've ever listened to a baseball game on the radio or seen it on TV, you've heard Vin Scully. He also called the Rose Parade (with Elizabeth Montgomery!), hosted a game show, and broadcast football (it's his voice on the famous Montana-to-Clark pass), golf, and a host of other things. But it was baseball that suited his personality best, the melodic gentleness of his voice. When I was in California on a business trip once, I heard him call a game with no color commentator. It was just nine innings of him, and even though I was over baseball by then, I didn't particularly want this game to end. At The Ringer, Bryan Curtis and Michael Baumann look at the man and what he meant to listeners.
My favorite memory of Vin Scully comes not from baseball, though, nor even from "The Catch," but from his call when journeyman golfer Ed Sneed came to the 18th hole needing to make a short putt to win the 1979 Masters.
It was Scully's essential humanity that allowed him to view athletes as human beings, and to empathize with them. His anguished call couldn't have been any more heartfelt if he'd missed the putt himself, and to identify with both viewers and participants is rare indeed. Yes, one of the last big-game announcers.
At Cult TV Blog, John continues his series on Birmingham on TV; this week, it's the Cold War miniseries The Game , which is only seven years old but takes the viewer back much further, to the ideological battles of the 1970s. John has some very good insight into different kinds of games that we all find ourselves in. Good TV should make you think that way.
Rick's latest "Seven Things to Know" series at Classic Film & TV Cafe looks at Buddy Ebsen , and tells you some things you might not know about a very talented man; one who could play Jed Clampett, yes, and fatherly (but shrewd) Barnaby Jones, but he was also a song-and-dance man who would have been the original Tin Man had he not had an allergic reaction. He was a very, very good actor.
The Broadcast Archives have a photo of what might have been one of the first guides to movies on television , complete with ratings. Are you surprised that it dates all the way back to 1958, or are you wondering why it took that long?
And in case you haven't caught up yet, at Christmas TV History Joanna has a complete recap to all the posts in her Christmas in July " It's a Wonderful Summer " series. Well worth going back to any that you might have missed.
It isn't often that I have a viewing connection to all of Terence's remembrances at A Shroud of Thoughts, but it's four times the case this week. Pat Carroll was a television mainstay during my childhood; I wouldn't describe myself as a particular fan of hers, but I knew who she was, I recognized her by name or sight, and I'm afraid not enough people can say the same today. Bernard Cribbins was warm and likeable in the rebooted Doctor Who as Wilfrid Mott, the grandfather of The Doctor's companion Donna Noble, and he was in so much more. Nichelle Nichols was Uhura on Star Trek, and while I don't mean to diminish her wonderful career (Martin Luther King Jr. urged her to stay on the show because she was a role model for what blacks could be), very few actors can ever have the role of a lifetime that she did. And David Warner —well, it's hard to know where to start, but I'll choose Twin Peaks, a great show even greater with him in it, and the made-for-TV A Christmas Carol (the George C. Scott version) where he played against type as a warm, sensitive Bob Cratchit, and, in doing so, I go so far as to say he made the character his own. There have been many very good Cratchits, but none better than his.
And then there's Vin Scully.
Perhaps, after I'm retired, we'll be able travel more, as we did in going to Liberty Aviation a couple of weeks ago. And when that happens, one of the places we may wind up is Serlingfest, a celebration of Rod Serling, in Binghamton, New York. In the meantime, at Shadow & Substance Paul has the lineup for this year's fest, and see if you don't feel the same way. It's just too bad it isn't walking distance. . . TV
August 3, 2022
What I've been watching: July, 2022
Shows I’ve Watched:Shows Next on the List:The Bold Ones: The Lawyers (abandoned)MaverickTightrope
Looking at the MasterpiecesUnknown hour-long drama
Xs you've by no doubt realized if you read this site on a regular basis, I've long had a thing for TV courtroom dramas. (See Perry Mason and Judd for the Defense as Exhibits 1 and 2, but not programs like L.A. Law and Boston Legal, because I'm not interested in soap operas—even though, as I'm sure someone out there will point out, the Perry Mason radio series eventually morphed to television as The Edge of Night.) If you're still with me after that tediously long digression, what I like the most about courtroom dramas, besides the whodunnit part of it, is the idea of the lawyer as Single Combat Warrior, prepared to go into battle on behalf of his client. If you think it would be hard to stake your life on the performance of one man, imagine what it's like for that man to know that your life is in his hands. So when we had an hour or so of prime time to kill the other night, a lawyer series sounded like a good idea.
Back in the late 1960's NBC introduced a series called The Bold Ones, comprised of three separate stories—The New Doctors, The Lawyers, and The Protectors. I watched the show when it was originally on, though the one I remember best is The New Doctors, with E.G. Marshall, David Hartman, and John Saxon. I also recall The Senator, the second-season replacement for The Protectors, with Hal Holbrook in the title role, and even then, I was irritated by its liberal politics. But since none of those shows feature courtroom theatrics on a regular basis, I must be here to talk about The Lawyers, and if it seems as if once again I'm having trouble getting to the point, there's probably a good reason for it.
The Lawyers stars Burl Ives as Walter Nichols, a nationally renowned defense attorney from California, along with Joseph Campanella and James Farentino as Brian and Neil Darrell, a pair of lawyer-brothers whom Nichols has taken on as partners, and it has to be said that Ives doesn’t just lend his name to the show, as do so many big stars do when surrounded by younger, more virile co-stars. In the episode in question, "The Shattered Image," he fairly dominates the story, to the point that he doesn't even allow Neil to act as his co-council when Nichols is put on trial himself for jury tampering.But we're getting ahead of the story at this point, which starts out as a fairly routine murder, with Nichols's client accused of having murdered a popular former jock who'd supposedly attempted to rape the client's wife at a party. There's some reason to think that not everything is the way it appears, and it probably would have been a better story had that been the subtext, but in fact Nichols gets his client off on temporary insanity by bringing to light the checkered past of the former jock, who apparently had a past history of sex crimes.
This was a great blow to the jock's benefactor, Ralph Turner (Will Geer), a respected member of the community who had taken the young man under his wing at an early age and thought of him as a surrogate son. With his protegee’s image thus tarnished, he contrives with a woman member of the jury (Audrey Totter, in a great cameo) to make it look as if Ives bribed her to come in with a not-guilty verdict, setting up the trial in which Ives defends himself. (It’s only at the end, when he realizes that it was his vanity that caused him to rely on his own skills, that he realizes the truth that a lawyer who defends himself does indeed have a fool for a client.)
Now, every actor has his own method of trying a case. Whereas Perry Mason is stentorian and intimidating, and Clinton Judd forceful and righteous, Walter Nichols is folksy and reasonable, right up until you take the bait and he throws the trap on you. There is a thing, though, as we know there always is: when Ives is speaking in that calm, folksy voice, he sounds remarkably like Sam the Snowman, the character he voiced in Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. At times the similarities were so distinct that I expected Nichols to call Rudolph as a surprise witness for the defense, an action that would have triggered great excitement in the courtroom except that the gallery isn't comprised of seven- and eight-year-olds.
That wasn’t my problem with the episode, though, the thing that caused me to abandon the effort to go further with future episodes. (In fact, if Rudolph had turned up as a defense witness, I might have been encouraged to watch it every hour, waiting to see who else might show up—Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs as the jury, for instance.) No, it was how the story was resolved—or, rather, how it wasn’t resolved.
In the first place, Nichols doesn't do a very good job of it; he’s obviously too close to the situation to be objective, and he dismisses Neil's suggestions that he try the case instead (the aforementioned “fool for a client” syndrome), but in the end Nichols realizes that it was all an act of vanity on his part. That becomes his defense; he offers himself as his only witness, a tactic which allows him to make a statement to the jury in lieu of direct examination, and during this statement he gives an impassioned argument for his innocence, coupled with a mea culpa that he’d done a lousy job of defending himself. The reasoning behind this, I suppose, is that the jurors, impressed by the brutal honesty with which he excoriates himself, will also believe he’s being honest when he says he did not tamper with the juror. They accept this, and he’s found not guilty.
Except.
In the meantime, Neil has found a witness who will testify that Turner did, in fact, conspire with the juror, to frame Nichols. Furthermore, Nichols knows that Neil has this witness. Why Nichols doesn’t call this witness to clear his name, rather than depend on the kindness of strangers (in this case, the jurors), is a mystery to me. Your guess is as good as mine.
There’s only one logical reason for it, and there’s one logical problem with that reason. Perhaps Nichols has a kind of compassion for Turner, an old man who sees himself tarnished as his protege was tarnished, and thus he decides to spare him the humiliation of being exposed in court as a perjurer. If that’s as far as it went, I might be able to buy it. It’s not a good reason, but it’s a reason. But here’s the problem: Turner is guilty of jury tampering himself, and in the zero-sum game that is often the law, both he and the juror are going to stand trial anyway. So Nichols isn’t sparing Turner anything. If that’s the case, why even introduce the witness who Nichols doesn’t use, unless it’s to reassure the viewers that Nichols really is innocent. And if your viewers need that kind of reassurance, then maybe you don’t have a very good hero.
I spent the better part of a half-hour following the episode trying to figure all this out, but in the end I had to give up, partly so I could watch another program, but also because I couldn’t come up with any explanation. Perhaps one of you can, in which case I’d be indebted. Maybe, like Nichols, I’m just too close to it to make sense of it. And maybe I’ll return to The Lawyers someday, but for now I think I’ll let Mason and Judd do my defending for me.
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Whatever your preference in attorneys-at-law, it's a fact that there would be no courtroom drama without criminals and policemen, both of which television has an endless supply. One of the more unique police dramas is Tightrope, which ran for one season on CBS in 1959-60 and stars a pre-Mannix Mike Connors as "Nick," an undercover agent who assumes a different name and identity each week as he infiltrates various criminal gangs, and unless I've missed something along the way, this may be the first case of a television show featuring a lead character who's never referred to at any point by name.
Tightrope is yet another of the half-hour dramas so prevalent at the time, and while this makes a nice fit with The Felony Squad on Thursdays, I'm not sure that it always works plot-wise. Nick provides a voiceover during each episode, which helps tie the ends together and keep the story moving; even so, though, things seem to happen a little too fast or a little too superficially. On the other hand, since Nick has no personal life of his own, you don't have that angle to encumber things, so maybe you do only need 30 minutes.Connors is very good in a role that is not unlike playing in an anthology series each week. He has to present himself as a real tough (and occasionally a heel) in order to ingratiate himself with the bad guys; once he's in the inside, he has to figure out ways to avoid getting caught up in things like murder, which can be tough in the instances where he's playing the head crook's enforcer. And since even the local police don't know his identity, only that there's an undercover man working from the inside, he risks getting captured, or worse, by the cops. Walking the tightrope, indeed.
Connors, who always showed an unusual degree of warmth and understanding in Mannix, displays a similar humanity here. He feels empathy for the victims of crime, but isn't allowed to let them in on the secret. He's often ruthless with women, even when they show feelings for him. On occasion, such as when one of his fellow crooks saves his life, he forms a genuine bond with them, but there's no room for softness here.
Speaking of which, frequently he has to rely on a fellow undercover agent to deliver his information to the police, and often it's a race to the finish to see if they'll show up in time, before the bad guys spring their plan. (Spoiler alert: they do show up in time. Every week.) One of the treats in these episodes is to try and pick out the bit character, a barfly or hussy, who at the end is revealed to have been Nick's contact to the law.
Each episode ends with Nick, wandering the streets of the city at night, destined to be alone for as long as he works both sides of the tightrope, and Connors does a good job of conveying the ambivalence of a man who has to disappear each week into another identity, working both sides of the law, doing a dirty job that he nonetheless realizes has to be done. There's really something noble about that kind of self-sacrifice—and, as Ken Wahl would show many years later in Wiseguy, it's not easy to stay on the tightrope without falling.
Was there more on the TV menu this month? Of course, but I don't always form a conclusion about a show as quickly as I did with The Lawyers. That was a bold move, indeed. TV
August 1, 2022
What's on TV? Tuesday, August 5, 1986
Saturday’s piece was, in a sense, about growing old, and the TV Guide of the 1980s is not for old eyes. With cable stations being listed, there are now so many channels, with so much information, that I’ve got my magnifier on extra-large to make sure I catch it all. And among the things we see in this San Franciso Metropolitan Edition is that there are a lot more infomercials than we've seen in the past, though not as many as we will see. Along with some timeless favorites of the past, more recent series like Simon & Simon and Magnum are now included in the syndication rotation. (KOFY has a particularly strong crime lineup throughout the day.) As for this week's choices, in addition to the main stations from the Bay Area, I've also added SuperStation TBS and USA to give you a flavor from those good old days.-2- KTVU (Ind.) MORNING 5 AM RICHARD ROBERTS—Religion 5:30 MORNING STRETCH—Exercise 6 AM ROMPER ROOM AND FRIENDS—Children 6:30 ALVIN AND THE CHIPMUNKS—Cartoon 7 AM TOM & JERRY AND FRIENDS—Cartoon 7:30 THUNDERCATS—Children 8 AM CHALLENGE OF THE GOBOTS—Cartoon 8:30 FLINTSTONES—Cartoon 9 AM I LOVE LUCY—Comedy BW 9:30 I LOVE LUCY--Comedy BW 10 AM EIGHT IS ENOUGH 11 AM DIVORCE COURT—Drama 11:30 DIVORCE COURT—Drama AFTERNOON Noon LET’S MAKE A DEAL—Game 12:30 BREAK THE BANK—Game 1 PM MOVIE—Drama BW “Portrait of Jennie” (1948) 3 PM THUNDERCATS—Cartoon 3:30 CHALLENGE OF THE GOBOTS—Cartoon 4 PM G.I. JOE—Cartoon 4:30 TRANSFORMERS—Cartoon 5 PM LAVERNE & SHIRLEY—Comedy 5:30 TOO CLOSE FOR COMFORT—Comedy EVENING 6 PM THREE’S COMPANY—Comedy 6:30 WKRP IN CINCINNATI—Comedy 7 PM M*A*S*H 7:30 M*A*S*H 8 PM MOVIE—Comedy “Yours, Mine and Ours” 10 PM NEWS 11 PM TAXI—Comedy 11:30 STREETS OF SAN FRANCISCO 12:30 BENNY HILL—Comedy 1 AM CASH FLOW EXPO—Commercial 2 AM BIG VALLEY—Western 3 AM MOVIE—Comedy-Drama “Dogpound Shuffle” (Canadian; 1974) [May not be suitable for all family members]
-3- KCRA (Sacramento) (NBC) MORNING 5 AM HEADLINE NEWS CONTINUES 6 AM NEWS 7 AM TODAY—Gumbel/Rubenstein Scheduled: El DeBarge 9 AM HOUR MAGAZINE William Devane 10 AM WHEEL OF FORTUNE—Game 10:30 SCRABBLE—Game 11 AM SUPER PASSWORD—Game Lauri Hendler, Richard Kline 11:30 SALE OF THE CENTURY—Game AFTERNOON Noon NEWS 1 PM SANTA BARBARA—Serial 2 PM ANOTHER WORLD—Serial 3 PM DAYS OF OUR LIVES—Serial 4 PM PHIL DONAHUE 5 PM NEWS EVENING 6 PM NBC NEWS—Tom Brokaw 6:30 NEWS 7 PM ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT Tempest Bledsoe 7:30 BASEBALL Oakland at Seattle 10 PM 1986—Chung/Mudd 11 PM NEWS 11:30 TONIGHT Guest: Father Guido Sarducci (Don Novello) 12:30 LATE NIGHT WITH DAVID LETTERMAN Guest: Steven Wright 1:30 ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT—Magazine 2 AM HERE COME THE BRIDES—Comedy-Drama 3 AM HEADLINE NEWS
-4- KRON (NBC) MORNING 5:55 COMMUNITY CALENDAR 6 AM ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT—Magazine 6:30 NBC NEWS—Bob Jamieson 7 AM TODAY—Gumbel/Rubenstein Scheduled: El DeBarge 9 AM FAMILY TIES 9:30 SALE OF THE CENTURY—Game 10 AM WHEEL OF FORTUNE—Game 10:30 SCRABBLE—Game 11 AM SUPER PASSWORD—Game Lauri Hendler, Richard Kline 11:30 NEWS AFTERNOON Noon $1,000,000 CHANCE OF A LIFETIME 12:30 CROSSWITS—Game 1 PM ANOTHER WORLD—Serial 2 PM SANTA BARBARA—Serial 3 PM DAYS OF OUR LIVES—Serial 4 PM LOVE CONNECTION 4:30 JEOPARDY!—Game 5 PM NEWS 5:30 NBC NEWS—Tom Brokaw EVENING 6 PM NEWS 7 PM WHEEL OF FORTUNE 7:30 ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT Tempest Bledsoe 8 PM A-TEAM 9 PM HUNTER—Crime Drama 10 PM 1986—Chung/Mudd 11 PM NEWS 11:30 TONIGHT Father Guido Sarducci (Don Novello) 12:30 LATE NIGHT WITH DAVID LETTERMAN Guest: Steven Wright 1:30 HEADLINE CHASERS—Game 2 AM NEWS
-5- KPIX (CBS) MORNING 6 AM CBS NEWS—Faith Daniels 6:30 MORNING STRETCH—Exercise 7 AM CBS MORNING NEWS 9 AM $25,000 PYRAMID—Game Jamie Farr, Betty White. Dick Clark hosts. 9:30 NEW CARD SHARKS—Game 10 AM PEOPLE ARE TALKING 11 AM YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS—Serial AFTERNOON Noon NEWS 12:30 AS THE WORLD TURNS 1:30 CAPITOL—Serial 2 PM GUIDING LIGHT—Serial 3 PM HOUR MAGAZINE William Devane 4 PM AFTERNOON SHOW 5 PM PEOPLE’S COURT 5:30 $100,000 PYRAMID—Game EVENING 6 PM NEWS 7 PM CBS NEWS—Dan Rather 7:30 BASEBALL Oakland at Seattle 10 PM EQUALIZER—Crime Drama 11 PM NEWS 11:30 SIMON & SIMON 12:40 MOVIE—Fantasy “Ator, the Blademaster” (1984) 2 AM NEWS 2:10 MOVIE—Drama BW “The Big Street” (1942) 3:50 MOVIE—Western “The Outcast” (1954) [Time approximate]
-6- KVIE (Sacramento) (PBS) MORNING 6:30 FARM DAY—Report 6:45 A.M. WEATHER 7:30 NEWSLEADERS—Discussion 8 AM 3-2-1 CONTACT—Children 8:30 MISTER ROGERS’ NEIGHBORHOOD 9 AM SESAME STREET 10 AM SECRET CITY—Children 10:30 TROUBLE ON BIG MOUNTAIN—Documentary 11:30 HOOKED ON AEROBICS—Exercise AFTERNOON Noon SNEAK PREVIEWS—Movie Reviews 12:30 CATS & DOGS—Pet Care 1 PM RIVER JOURNEYS 2 PM SECRET CITY—Children 2:30 READING RAINBOW—Children 3 PM HOOKED ON AEROBICS—Exercise 3:30 SECRET CITY—Children 4 PM READING RAINBOW—Children Isabel Sanford 4:30 MISTER ROGERS’ NEIGHBORHOOD 5 PM SESAME STREET EVENING 6 PM NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT 6:30 MacNEIL, LEHRER NEWSHOUR 7:30 PROFILES OF NATURE 8 PM NOVA 9 PM COMRADES—Documentary 11 PM POLDARK—Adventure Mid. JACK HORKHEIMER: STAR HUSTLER
-7- KGO (ABC) MORNING 6 AM ABC NEWS—Bell/Sullivan 7 AM GOOD MORNING AMERICA—Hartman/Lunden Scheduled: Mr. Mister 9 AM AM SAN FRANCISCO 10 AM LIFESTYLES OF THE RICH AND FAMOUS Included: William Shatner 10:30 NEW LOVE AMERICAN STYLE 11 AM RYAN’S HOPE—Serial 11:30 LOVING—Serial AFTERNOON Noon ALL MY CHILDREN—Serial 1 PM ONE LIFE TO LIVE—Serial 2 PM GENERAL HOSPITAL 3 PM DELVECCHIO—Crime Drama 4 PM PHIL DONAHUE 5 PM NEWS EVENING 6 PM NEWS 7 PM ABC NEWS—Peter Jennings 7:30 PRICE IS RIGHT—Game 8 PM WHO’S THE BOSS? 8:30 PERFECT STRANGERS Return 9 PM MOONLIGHTING 10 PM SPENCER: FOR HIRE 11 PM NEWS 11:30 SIMON & SIMON Mid. LIFESTYLES OF THE RICH AND FAMOUS Roger Moore, Janet Leigh 12:30 POLICE STORY—Crime Drama
-8- KSBW (NBC) MORNING 6 AM HEADLINE NEWS 6:30 NBC NEWS—Bob Jamieson 7 AM TODAY—Gumbel/Rubenstein Scheduled: El DeBarge 9 AM PHIL DONAHUE 10 AM WHEEL OF FORTUNE—Game 10:30 SCRABBLE—Game 11 AM SUPER PASSWORD—Game Lauri Hendler, Richard Kline 11:30 SEARCH FOR TOMORROW—Serial AFTERNOON Noon DAYS OF OUR LIVES—Serial 1 PM ANOTHER WORLD—Serial 2 PM SANTA BARBARA—Serial 3 PM MOVIE—Drama “A Night in Heaven” (1983) [Not suitable for all family members] 5 PM BOSOM BUDDIES—Comedy 5:30 NBC NEWS—Tom Brokaw EVENING 6 PM NEWS 7 PM ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT Tempest Bledsoe 7:30 $100,000 PYRAMID—Game Guests: Mary Cadorette, David Graf 8 PM A-TEAM 9 PM HUNTER—Crime Drama 10 PM 1986—Chung/Mudd 11 PM NEWS 11:30 TONIGHT Guest: Father Guido Sarducci (Don Novello) 12:30 LATE NIGHT WITH DAVID LETTERMAN Guest: Steven Wright 1:30 HEADLINE NEWS
-9- KQED (PBS) MORNING 7 AM TO LIFE! YOGA WITH PRISCILLA PATRICK 7:30 LILIAS, YOGA AND YOU 8 AM SIZE SMALL—Children 8:30 MISTER ROGERS’ NEIGHBORHOOD 9 AM SESAME STREET 10:30 READING RAINBOW—Children 11:30 VEGETABLE SOUP—Children AFTERNOON Noon MISTER ROGERS’ NEIGHBORHOOD 12:30 READING RAINBOW—Children 1:30 GETTING’ TO KNOW ME—Children 2 PM SECRET CITY—Children 2:30 READING RAINBOW—Children 3 PM SPACES—Children 3:30 HIGH FEATHER—Children 4 PM 3-2-1 CONTACT—Children 4:30 MISTER ROGERS’ NEIGHBORHOOD 5 PM SESAME STREET EVENING 6 PM MacNEIL, LEHRER NEWSHOUR 7 PM NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT 7:30 AMERICAN MASTERS “The Long Night of Lady Day” 9 PM NOVA 10 PM COMRADES—Documentary 11 PM MASTERPIECE THEATRE “The Flame Trees of Thiika,” part 5
10 KXTV (Sacramento) (CBS) MORNING 5 AM CBS NEWS NIGHTWATCH CONTINUES—Charles Rose 6 AM NEW MORNING—Jean La Motte 6:30 CBS NEWS—Faith Daniels 7 AM CBS MORNING NEWS 9 AM $25,000 PYRAMID—Game Jamie Farr, Betty White. Dick Clark hosts. 9:30 LET’S MAKE A DEAL—Game 10 AM PRICE IS RIGHT—Game 11 AM YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS—Serial AFTERNOON Noon NEWS 12:30 AS THE WORLD TURNS 1:30 CAPITOL—Serial 2 PM GUIDING LIGHT—Serial 3 PM PRESS YOUR LUCK—Game 3:30 BARNABY JONES—Crime Drama 4:30 NEWS 5 PM NEWS EVENING 6 PM CBS NEWS—Dan Rather 6:30 LOVE CONNECTION 7 PM WHEEL OF FORTUNE 7:30 JEOPARDY!—Game 8 PM SIMON & SIMON 9 PM MAGNUM, P.I. 10 PM EQUALIZER—Crime Drama 11 PM NEWS 11:30 SIMON & SIMON 12:40 MOVIE—Fantasy “Ator, the Blademaster” (1984) 2 AM CBS NEWS NIGHTWATCH—Charles Rose 4 AM CBS NEWS NIGHTWATCH CONTINUES—Charles
11 KNTV (San Jose) (ABC) MORNING 6 AM ABC NEWS—Bell/Sullivan 7 AM GOOD MORNING AMERICA—Hartman/Lunden Scheduled: Mr. Mister 9 AM HOUR MAGAZINE William Devane 10:30 NEW LOVE AMERICAN STYLE 11 AM RYAN’S HOPE—Serial 11:30 LOVING—Serial AFTERNOON Noon ALL MY CHILDREN—Serial 1 PM ONE LIFE TO LIVE—Serial 2 PM GENERAL HOSPITAL 3 PM DYNASTY—Drama 4 PM DIVORCE COURT—Drama 4:30 LOVE CONNECTION 5 PM NEWLYWED GAME 5:30 ABC NEWS—Peter Jennings EVENING 6 PM NEWS 7 PM THREE’S COMPANY—Comedy 7:30 TOO CLOSE FOR COMFORT—Comedy 8 PM WHO’S THE BOSS? 8:30 PERFECT STRANGERS Return 9 PM MOONLIGHTING 10 PM SPENCER: FOR HIRE 11 PM NEWS 11:30 TAXI—Comedy Mid. NIGHTLINE—Ted Koppel 12:30 MOVIE—Drama “QB VII,” Part 2 [Concludes tomorrow at this time]
20 KOFY (Ind.) MORNING 6 AM HEADLINE NEWS 6:30 SALLY JESSY RAPHAEL—Discussion 7 AM BATMAN—Adventure 7:30 MISTER ED—Comedy BW 8 AM MONKEES—Comedy 8:30 GIDGET—Comedy 9 AM LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE 10 AM PRICE IS RIGHT—Game 11 AM BONANZA—Western AFTERNOON Noon PERRY MASON BW 1 PM MOVIE—Thriller “Curse of the Black Widow” (Made-for-TV; 1977) 3 PM BARNABY JONES—Crime Drama 4 PM MANNIX—Crime Drama 5 PM POLICE WOMAN—Crime Drama EVENING 6 PM CHARLIE’S ANGELS 7 PM HART TO HART—Crime Drama 8 PM SIMON & SIMON 9 PM MAGNUM, P.I. 10 PM KOJAK—Crime Drama 11 PM MAUDE—Comedy 11:30 SATURDAY NIGHT Host: O.M. Simpson. Musical guests: Ashford & Simpson 12:30 MILLIONAIRE—Drama BW 1 AM PERRY MASON BW
36 KICU (San Jose) (Ind.) MORNING 6 AM LEFT, RIGHT AND CENTER—Discussion 6:30 HEADLINE NEWS 7 AM 700 CLUB 8 AM CAPTAIN HARLOCK, SPACE PIRATE 8:30 PARTRIDGE FAMILY—Comedy 9 AM MORNING STRETCH—Exercise 9:30 HERE’S LUCY—Comedy 10 AM I SPY—Adventure 11 AM IRONSIDE—Crime Drama AFTERNOON 12:30 CAN YOU BE THINNER?—Commercial 1 PM MOVIE—Drama “Stalk the Wild Child” (Made-for-TV; 1976) 3 PM TOP CAT—Cartoon 4 PM ADDAMS FAMILY—Comedy BW 4:30 BEWITCHED—Comedy 5 PM BIONIC WOMAN—Adventure EVENING 6 PM HAWAII FIVE-O—Crime Drama 7 PM LOVE BOAT—Comedy 8 PM MOVIE—Comedy “Yellowbeard” (1983) 10:30 INN NEWS—Morton Dean 11 PM IRONSIDE—Crime Drama Mid. DAVE DEL DOTTO—Commercial 1 AM MOVIE—Drama “Inferno” (1953) 2:30 MOVIE—Drama “The Gambler from Natchez” (1954) 4:40 MOVIE—Crime Drama “The Falling Man” [Time approximate]
TBS (Atlanta) (Ind.) MORNING 5:05 I DREAM OF JEANNIE—Comedy 5:35 BEWITCHED—Comedy 6:05 DOWN TO EARTH—Comedy 6:35 I LOVE LUCY—Comedy BW 7:05 MOVIE—Adventure “Enchanted Island” (1958) 9:05 LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE 10:05 MOVIE—Western “A Time for Dying” (1969) AFTERNOON Noon SUPERFRIENDS—Cartoon 12:30 TOM & JERRY AND FRIENDS—Cartoon 1 PM FLINTSTONES—Cartoon 1:30 ADDAMS FAMILY—Comedy BW 2 PM LEAVE IT TO BEAVER BW 2:30 ROCKY ROAD—Comedy 3 PM FATHER KNOWS BEST—Comedy BW 3:30 GOMER PYLE, USMC 4 PM GREEN ACRES—Comedy 4:30 SANFORD AND SON—Comedy 5 PM MOVIE—Adventure “The Far Country” (1955) EVENING 7 PM BASEBALL Atlanta at San Diego 9:30 MOVIE—Comedy-Drama “The Pom Pom Girls” (1976) [Time approximate after baseball] 11:20 MOVIE—Drama BW “Station Six—Sahara” (British; 1963) 1:25 WORLD AT LARGE 1:30 ALL IN THE FAMILY 2 AM BEVERLY HILLBILLIES 2:30 ANDY GRIFFITH—Comedy BW 3 AM HEADLINE NEWS 3:30 TOM & JERRY AND FRIENDS—Cartoon
USA MORNING 5 AM KEYS TO SUCCESS—Commercial 5:30 HAIR CARE—Commercial 6 AM ROOM 222—Comedy-Drama 6:30 LAST OF THE WILD 7 AM CALLIOPE—Children 8 AM CARTOON EXPRESS 10 AM MAKE ME LAUGH—Game 10:30 GONG SHOW—Game 11 AM THAT GIRL—Comedy 11:30 MADAME’S PLACE—Comedy AFTERNOON Noon MOVIE—Western “The Deserter” (1970) 2 PM ALIVE & WELL—Interview 3 PM LIARS CLUB—Game 3:30 JOKER’S WILD—Game 4 PM BULLSEYE—Game 4:30 JACKPOT—Game 5 PM CHAIN REACTION—Game 5:30 ALL-STAR BLITZ—Game EVENING 6 PM CARTOON EXPRESS 7 PM DANCE PARTY U.S.A. 7:30 RADIO 1990 8 PM MOVIE—Comedy “Revenge of the Cheerleaders” (1976) 10 PM DICK CAVETT Guests: Joe Piscopo, John DeLorean 11 PM ALFRED HITCHCOCK Mid. EDGE OF NIGHT—Serial 12:30 THAT GIRL—Comedy 1 AM WRESTLING 3 AM AUTO RACING Mid-Ohio Trans-Am 4 AM MOVIE—Western “The Deserter” (1970) TV
July 30, 2022
This week in TV Guide: August 2, 1986
I've been doing this gig now for what, 12 years? You'd think I'd know the answer to that, but it's been demonstrated that many of you out there are more familiar with what I've written than I am. Anyway, during all these years, one of my constant themes has been the intimate role that television has played in people's lives. This week's lead story, by Joanmarie Kalter, examines how television "shapes the lives" of people in retirement communities—how, in fact, it is the only link to the outside world for many.Kalter reports from On Top of the World, a middle-class condo community of about 8,000 in Clearwater, Florida, where the residents aren't afraid to admit that not only do they watch a lot of television, they love doing so. (I wonder if it's too late to get a condo there.) They use it for, among other things, keeping track of the world. "I do like to tune in on Washington Week," says Arley Sica. "And I'll tell you why. Those fellows are specialists. They have contacts in the Pentagon, entree to Congress. They're very important for understanding the news of the week." Among other favorites, they enjoy watching Wall $treet Week, 20/20, Dallas, Cosby, and Dynasty. He'd go into more detail, but he excuses himself, telling Kalter that it's time for the news.
Helen Martin looks at Today hosts Jane Pauly, Briant Gumbel, and Willard Scott almost like friends. Clarence Mahrie enjoys Hawaii Five-O, Police Woman and Barney Miller; he likes these kinds of shows that "solve the problems and it comes to a finish, which you know from the beginning anyway. Sophia Karageorges watches shows like Highway to Heaven "where things come out good in the end, because life isn't like that. So you find it where you can." And when dinner's through, everyone crowds around, talking about their favorites, what they like and what they don't ("We already know what goes on in the bedroom," one says about the sexier shows on the tube. "They don't have to show us."), and they just laugh when Kalter tells them that TV often portrays older men as "bad" and older women as "unsuccessful." Says one woman, "Television is the best thing that was ever invented. That's all I can say." (These people really are kindred souls.")
Although advertisers poo-poo them, senior citizens are among television's most loyal viewers. They're also among the wealthiest; according to business-research group The Conference Board, "poverty rates among the elderly are now lower than for others, while those aged 65 to 75 enjoy more income per person than those under 45; 'The older consumer, so cavalierly ignored by so marketers, is in fact the prime customer in the upscale market.'" And slowly television has started to respond: Murder, She Wrote, The Golden Girls, Joan Collins, Lauren Bacall, and others are showing that "consumers in retirement are not ready to be old; what they seek, instead, is a final chance to be young."Television does more than just fill time for these people; rather than being turned into couch potatoes, it keeps them involved. They're "far from old friends, from children, from work and the old home town," Kalter points out, and "television bridges the distance; it keeps them involved." They watch the news, they keep track of movies, they look for public television to replace the culture they left behind in big cities. It stimulates the mind, one person says, and adds, "There are some ladies here who just sit and sleep. They don't know nothing from nothing. It's a shame." The rhythm of their day is shaped by what time their favorite shows are on, and, says 84-year-old Miriam Hartline, "I'd be lost, terribly lost without it."
Kalter charmingly describes this generation as one "for whom the wonder of television has never quite worn off." "It's all still new to us," Mary Brown says, and I understand exactly what she means. The residents all recall their very first set (so do I), and whether or not they took out a loan to get it; they remember the small screens and the magnifiers that were used to enlarge the picture, and they remember "how the neighbors would all crowd in to see it." They are fond readers of TV Guide, and they carefully mark the shows they plan to watch. They're purposeful on their viewing, and don't leave the set on as background noise. For them, television is not something to be taken for granted.
A few years ago, a writer in his late-twenties named Rodney Rothman wrote a book called Early Bird, about his experiences living in a Florida retirement community for a few months because he wanted to "practice living old," and it now appears that I’ve spent more or less my entire life doing just that, sitting in front of the television when I could have been out somewhere breaking world records or curing diseases or changing the destinies of various nations. The flip side of that, of course, is that I might not have survived to write about any of this, whereas watching television is a fairly sedentary activity where the risks are limited to things like diabetes and obesity and high cholesterol. But, you see, those people in Florida have that beat, because they’ve already lived through most of life, and if they do come down with any of these diseases, well, it’s probably better to have them at the end of your life instead of when it’s just starting out. That may sound cold, but it’s also probably true. My way, the biggest risks are those that you assume by reading what I write
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I know this might be a bit hard to swallow, but there was a time when Cosmopolitan was a sophisticated magazine, It was famous for publishing novellas and short stories by writers who were or would become famous; H.G. Wells, O. Henry, A. J. Cronin, Sinclair Lewis, George Bernard Shaw, Upton Sinclair, and Jack London were just some of the authors who had their works published in the magazine.
Then, Helen Gurley Brown became the editor, and turned Cosmo into a soft-core porn rag.
I wonder if Helen Gurley Brown would have been published in the TV Guide of the 1950s or '60s, or even the '70s? We're past that point now, though, and so she features in this week's article, "How to Outfox TV's New Breed of Macho Men." It even reeks of sensationalism, doesn't it? The "macho men" in question—perhaps they'd be called "toxic males" today—are Sam Malone, aka Ted Danson, of Cheers, and David Addison of Moonlighting, also known as Bruce Willis. Now, I'll admit right off the top that I never watched either of these series, nor do I read Cosmopolitan, so I'm basing all my opinions on their respective reputations, as well as my skill at reading about popular culture. As Brown enters the scene, her question is a simple one: why do these women spoon for men who are "probably the wrong men," men who'll make them losers even if they win? "Smart Women, Foolish Choices!" she says. Take Diane (Shelley Long), for instance—smart, sensitive, attractive; "why is she hiding her brains in Sam's bar, waiting on machos and men who are afraid to go home to their wives?" Even if she does succeed in landing Sam, she'll still be working at the bar, while he's out playing the field. (So much for the redemptive love of a good woman, I guess.) Here's Brown's prescription for Diane: "Let Sam propose to slick councilwoman Janet Eldridge," she says. "That way, Diane can have the more rewarding role of The Other Woman. Sam is bound to cheat on Janet once he has her."
As for Maddie (Cybill Shepherd), she's stuck pining for "a Peter Pan unwilling to grow up." Her suspicion is that Maddie would find David a better lover than husband, so she suggests the writers consider having Maddie give in to him. Or they could "have Maddie make the first official move on David, with him being chased around the desk and told he could either give in our lose his job." Wouldn't that be a switch? After all, she's the boss of the firm, and if things go south, it's always the lesser person According to Brown, both Diane and Maddie are suffering from "a real-life condition: men who are unwilling to face the responsibility and lack of excitement of a long-term relationship." All Diane gets is "great verbal sparring at which she wins only some of the time." Maddie, meanwhile, is "so involved with David professionally she doesn't get much of a chance at an outside life in which she might meet a prince." Could Diane and Sam, and David and Maddie, live happily ever after? Brown doubts it, and besides, "Their series would be canceled."
The whole article, well-written and witty though it may be, sounds exactly like one would get from a magazine like Cosmopolitan. And while some of her advice is actually insightful—Diane, for example, "may seem a feminist but is actually caught up in the time-honored, one-sided love affair in which a masochist is more in love with a semi-sadist than he is with her."—the whole thing seems, I don't know, so—shallow. There's no depth to these relationships, which always revolve around sex and sexuality, rather than sense and sensibility. And overriding all of this is the idea that for men and women, true equality means letting women benefit from easy sex and shallow connections, just the way men do. I know that there's more to this article than that, but really: isn't the Cosmo lifestyle just the Playboy philosophy for women? I rather think that the answer lies not in bringing women down to the level of men, but raising men to the level of women. But then, I'm old.
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It's what Judith Crist calls a "between-seasons" movie week; that doesn't mean, however, that it lacks for quality. The week's major premiere is that of David Lynch's magnificent The Elephant Man (Monday, 9:00 p.m. PT, NBC), featuring a "remarkable performance" by John Hurt as John Merrick, for which Hurt received a well-earned Best Actor nomination, coupled with Anthony Hopkins' compassionate performance as Frederick Treves, who struggles to help Merrick. The black-and-white cinematography paints a grim picture of Victorian London, and Lynch's direction gives a disorienting aspect to a movie that could easily have drifted into sentimentality in the hands of a lesser director. The result is a movie that makes "a deep mark in our sensibilities." Anthony Hopkins is back, and "memorable," in a rerun of the 1982 TV movie The Hunchback of Notre Dame (Saturday, 9:00 p.m., CBS), which Crist describes as "a brilliant, glowing version" of Victor Hugo's novel, with Lesley-Anne Down matching Hopkins's performance. Hopkins isn't in Absence of Malice (Sunday, 9:00 p.m., ABC), but it's not lacking for star power, with Paul Newman and Sally Field leading the way in "a slick and witty melodrama." And then there's the documentary The World of Tomorrow (Wednesday, 9:00 p.m., PBS), a wonderful and evocative (and occasionally bittersweet) look back at the 1939 New York World's Fair, narrated by Jason Robards. It's a "first-rate" look back at what Crist calls "a lost American yesterday."
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It's football season again, at least the practice version, euphemistically referred to as "pre-season" games. On Saturday afternoon (11:30 a.m., ABC), Wide World of Sports presents the NFL Hall of Fame Game from Canton, Ohio, pitting the New England Patriots and St. Louis Cardinals. The Patriots are off of a 46-10 drubbing in the Super Bowl at the hands of the Chicago Bears, but the real attraction of this game is at halftime, with highlights of the Hall of Fame induction ceremonies, with honorees including Paul Hornung, Fran Tarkington, Ken Houston, Willie Lanier, and Doak Walker. What a group.
On Sunday, the league takes its road show overseas, as those very defending champion Bears take on America's team, the Dallas Cowboys, from Wembley Stadium in London, England. (10:00 a.m., NBC) It's the first game of what would come to be known as the "American Bowl" series of pre-season games played outside the United States; while most games in the early years were played in London, the sites expanded to include Japan, Germany, Mexico, Australia, Ireland, Spain and Canada, before being phased out in 2005. Nowadays, the overseas games get played during the regular season.
There's one more Hall of Fame worth celebrating, though; on Sunday, ESPN has coverage of the National Baseball Hall of Fame ceremonies; the great Willie McCovey, who hit 521 home runs during his illustrious career, is the sole inductee from the Baseball Writers Association of America, guardians of the gates of the Hall. Bobby Doerr and Ernie Lombardi were elected by the Veterans Committee.
We all know the start of the NFL season means the practical end of any other sport, but they keep trying; on Thursday and Friday, ESPN presents first- and second-round coverage of the 68th PGA Championship from the Inverness Club in Toledo, Ohio (11:00 a.m.); Bob Tway wins his only major with a two-stroke victory over Greg Norman.
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There are a few other things of note in a month that's usually given over to summer reruns. On Saturday night, we've got a couple of failed pilots, and it doesn't take a genius to figure out why: In The Family Martinez (8:30 p.m., CBS), Robert Beltran plays a young lawyer who, on his first day in court, has to figure out how to sneak his fugitive client back into jail. Maybe not the worst plot in the world, but what do you do for an encore? Later (9:30 p.m., NBC) Sylvan in Paradise stars Jim Nabors as an inept but well-meaning bell captain at a Hawaii hotel, where his disasters have a way of working out for the best. That one's all too predictable, even with Brent Spiner playing a man with the unlikely name of Clinton Waddle. After that, a name like Data seems almost normal.
On Sunday, Motown Returns to the Apollo (8:00 p.m., NBC), a three-hour, star-studded tribute marking the 50th anniversary of the famed Harlem theater, dominates the evening. It's hosted by Bill Cosby, and stars Smokey Robinson, Stevie Wonder, Sarah Vaughan, Diana Ross, Sammy Davis Jr., the Commodores, Lou Rawls, Mary Wells, the Four Tops, Martha Reeves, Luther Vandross—well, just about anyone and everyone you can think of, plus Rod Stewart, Boy George, and Joe Cocker thrown in. Anyone left out is due strictly to tired typing fingers.Throughout the week, PBS's American Masters has "The Long Night of Lady Day," a 90-minute documentary on the often-sad life and hard times of jazz great Billie Holiday. I'd try catching it on Tuesday, unless you're committed to watching 1986, (10:00 p.m.), which was NBC's 14th failed effort at putting together a weekly newsmagazine. It's hosted by Roger Mudd and Connie Chung, and as I recall, the most notable thing about it was that it used the Rush song "Mystic Rhythms" as the theme. It was probably also the best thing about it.
There are a host of other relics of the '80s, lesser series that failed to reach the heights of, for instance, St. Elsewhere, Hill Street Blues, Magnum P.I. or Cheers but still help to define a decade: Knight Rider, Remington Steele, Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous, Silver Spoons, Hunter, Hotel, Perfect Strangers, Webster, and others. It's far from my favorite decade of television, but, as we've seen today, there's still enough to keep viewers occupied.
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The reason I chose this particular issue to look at this week was that I felt in it was a foreshadowing, as it were, a shape of things to come. I spent a lot of time looking at two articles that didn't really have all that much to do with what was on television, but they said a lot about what kind of people we were to become.
I enjoyed the article about the Florida retirement community immensely. It reminds the reader that television is fun, that there's no such thing as hate-watching a program—if you don't like it, you don't watch it. Viewers discuss the shows not over social media, but around the tables after lunch or dinner, and trade stories about their favorites. And yet, you can see a shadow of the future, can't you? Some can't afford any kind of entertainment or exposure to the world other than television. Many of them no longer have family and friends around; they've all moved away or died. There's an isolation to their lives, even if it doesn't weigh them down. But that isolation will only increase over the years, and not just for the elderly, but for everyone. We all live in our own little worlds now, the metaverse, or whatever kind of alternate reality you want to call it, and if that wasn't bad enough, the absurd virus lockdown was about enough to finish us off.
And while Helen Gurley Brown's article had its moments, it points toward the pornographic society we live in today, one where everything goes, and magazines like Cosmopolitan are at the forefront of it. They've succeeded in making women as randy and debauched and depraved as men—that is, if they even recognize such a thing as women, among all the genders, and cis-this and trans-that and how to have sex with anything that moves. I suspect Brown's Cosmo was tame compared to today's, but you still know them by their fruits.
A fascinating issue, and at the end of the day I'm pulled back to the movie about the New York World's Fair on PBS. The World of Tomorrow, that fair was called. Indeed, we now live in the world of tomorrow that this issue of TV Guide might have presaged, and as we look back to 1986, we see our own "lost American yesterday." TV
July 29, 2022
Around the dial
Xs you know if you've been reading this column for any length of time (and if you haven't, why haven't you? Not that I'm not grateful you're reading it now, but still), you know that Comfort TV's David has been working his way through TV of the 1970s, determined to watch at least one episode of every prime time television series that aired in the decade. This week, it's
Thursdays in 1970
. How many of these shows do you remember?You're probably also aware of the Hitchcock Project, which appears every couple of weeks at bare-bones e-zine. Jack's latest entry is Victor Wolfson's third-season episode " Malice Domestic ." a satisfyingly nasty little story starring Ralph Meeker and Phyllis Thaxter. As always, I appreciate how Jack takes us through from the original short story to the finished teleplay.
We might as well include Cult TV Blog here as well, because Jack, as you should know (but let's not go through all that again), has been looking at shows that feature his hometown, Birmingham. This week's focus is on the sitcom Citizen Khan , "about a ridiculous British Pakistani Moslem man who lives in Sparkhill and fancies himself as a community leader."
And I almost forgot that it's still Christmas in July, which means that at Christmas TV History, Joanna is continuing her month-long look at TV inspired by It's a Wonderful Life. For your consideration, the latest link is to a February, 1991 episode of Night Court . Yes, it's not a Christmas story, but it does have Mel Tormé, showing Harry what life without him would be like.
If you're a regular reader (not that again), you know that we spent the last weekend at Liberty Aviation Museum, where Carol was giving her Bob Crane presentation. While we were there, we learned about the passing of Jim Senich , Bob Crane's cousin and a source of invaluable information for Carol's book. Carol's co-author Linda Groundwater remembers him at Bob Crane: Life & Legacy.
There was some confusion this week over the death of Tony Dow , but it finally was confirmed. If he'd never acted in another role, he'd still be beloved as Wally from Leave It to Beaver, and rightly so. But there was more to his career than that, as Terence points out at A Shroud of Thoughts.
Finally, at Classic Film & TV Café, Rick has a great interview with Will Hutchins , star of the Warner Bros. Western Sugarfoot, not to mention Blondie, Hey Landlord, and a host of other television shows and movies. I have to think he's one of the few stars remaining from that era (although I know I'll get a hundred emails naming other stars still around, so we'll drop it right there), and you'll enjoy it. TV
July 26, 2022
A friend, a sitcom, and a museum, or, what I did on my summer vacation
It had been over a year since we'd had anything like a "vacation," which I understand is an extended period of time away from work and home, usually doing something enjoyable; and it had been nearly four years since we'd last done the convention circuit, which I'd started to miss, vaguely. During all that time, the closest we'd come to anything remotely fitting this description was the week we spent last year scouting areas for our move last November, and while that was fun, it was also work. (Paid off, though.)
Clearly, it was time for a change. And while we spent less than 36 hours away from home last weekend, it did include a night in a hotel, so I think that counts. More important than that, it was an occasion to visit an old friend and a new destination. The old friend was Carol Ford, author of
Bob Crane: The Definitive Biography
, and the new destination was the
Liberty Aviation Museum
, in Port Clinton, Ohio.Carol was at the museum for her annual presentation on Bob Crane's life and career. Why Port Clinton, you may ask? Well, as it turns out, the Liberty Aviation Museum has the world's premier collection of Hogan's Heroes memorabilia, a wonderful mixture of artifacts, uniforms, photographs, and other items that would cause any classic television historian, let alone any Hogan fan, to start drooling. (Carefully, though, since if you got anything on Colonel Hogan's shirt or Colonel Klink's pants, Carol would have killed you.) You can learn more about the link between Hogan's Heroes and the Museum here .
We live close enough to the Museum that we could see this display more or less any time, so for us the obvious draw was the chance to get together with Carol for the first time in—well, in almost four years, which is a disgustingly long time to go between visits with a bestie. But then again, there was the virus. I've got Carol's book on Bob Crane (here's my interview with Carol), but it's a pleasure listening to her talk about Bob in front of an inquisitive audience; combine an in-depth knowledge of a subject and a genuine enthusiasm for it, and you have an unbeatable combination. You can get an idea of it from this virtual
presentation but
trust me—it's much better in person. And while I'm sure someone out there will say I'm biased, my opinions on the book and Carol's presentation are objective. But I am biased; Carol's a sweetheart and a wonderful person and a dear friend, and my wife loves her too. I mean, how much more can one man ask for? And it won't be another four years before we get together again.
In the meantime, the Liberty Aviation Museum is a trip well worth your time, whether you're a Hogan's Heroes fan or not, with historic aircraft, military artifacts—everything aviation from old-time mail routes to modern airliners, and a great, friendly staff as well. I found myself fascinated by things I didn't even know I was interested in, and suddenly I have this great desire to go to YouTube looking for vintage Cleveland air races. It's one thing to find more about what you already know; it's something else to create an interest you didn't have. If that's the test of a great museum, Liberty fits the bill.Here are more highlights from our weekend living the high life.
TV
July 25, 2022
What's on TV? Friday, July 29, 1966
This happens more often than you'd think: I open the TV Guide and find a listing for something I've just seen. (Considering the number of years I've been at this, I suppose it's a surprise it doesn't happen all the time.) This particular time, it was the thriller Fear No More, on KDAL, with Mala Powers and Jacques Bergerac. I hadn't heard of it before, but it's a pretty good movie, and Bergerac in particular is very good. I'd better look at next week's issue and see what I'll be watching this weekend. Speaking of movies, do you notice how many Westerns they're showing late night? I always thought Friday nights were for cheesy monster movies, and Saturday mornings were for Westerns. Oh well. Enjoy the Friday night listings from the Minnesota State Edition. -2- KTCA (EDUC.) Evening 6:00 BIG PICTURE—Army 6:30 GENERAL SCIENCE—Fischbeck 7:00 MEET THE MASTERS—Art 7:30 HAMLINE UNIVERSITY 8:00 NOW SEE THIS 8:30 INQUIRY 9:00 SILENT HERITAGE—History 9:30 FRENCH CHEF—Cooking 10:00 PROFILE—Discussion 10:30 GERMAN
-3- KDAL (DULUTH) (CBS) Morning 7:50 FARM AND HOME 8:00 CAPTAIN KANGAROO—Children 9:00 I LOVE LUCY 9:30 McCOYS—Comedy 10:00 ANDY GRIFFITH—Comedy 10:30 BINGO—Game 11:00 LOVE OF LIFE 11:25 NEWS 11:30 SEARCH FOR TOMORROW—Serial 11:45 GUIDING LIGHT—Serial Afternoon 12:00 TOWN AND COUNTRY—Becker 12:30 AS THE WORLD TURNS—Serial 1:00 PASSWORD Celebrities: Robert Young, Jane Wyatt 1:30 HOUSE PARTY COLOR Guests: Dave Barry, Larry Craig 2:00 TO TELL THE TRUTH—Panel 2:25 NEWS—Edwards 2:30 EDGE OF NIGHT—Serial 3:00 SECRET STORM—Serial 3:30 STAGECOACH WEST—Western 4:30 CARTOONS—Children 5:00 ROCKY AND HIS FRIENDS 5:30 NEWS—Walter Cronkite COLOR Evening 6:00 NEWS 6:30 WILD, WILD WEST—Adventure 7:30 HOGAN’S HEROES—Comedy COLOR 8:00 GOMER PYLE, USMC—Comedy COLOR 8:30 SMOTHERS BROTHERS—Comedy 9:00 WAYNE AND SHUSTER W.C. Fields Postponed from an earlier date. Last show of the series 10:00 NEWS 10:15 MOVIE—Mystery “Fear No More” (1961)
3 KGLO (MASON CITY) (CBS) Morning 7:30 NEWS—Mike Wallace 7:55 NEWS 8:00 CAPTAIN KANGAROO—Children 9:00 I LOVE LUCY 9:30 McCOYS—Comedy 10:00 ANDY GRIFFITH—Comedy 10:30 DICK VAN DYKE 11:00 LOVE OF LIFE 11:25 NEWS 11:30 SEARCH FOR TOMORROW—Serial 11:45 GUIDING LIGHT—Serial Afternoon 12:00 NEWS 12:30 AS THE WORLD TURNS—Serial 1:00 PASSWORD Celebrities: Robert Young, Jane Wyatt 1:30 HOUSE PARTY COLOR Guests: Dave Barry, Larry Craig 2:00 TO TELL THE TRUTH—Panel 2:25 NEWS—Edwards 2:30 EDGE OF NIGHT—Serial 3:00 SECRET STORM—Serial 3:30 COMPASS—Travel COLOR 4:00 BART’S CLUBHOUSE 4:30 ROCKY AND HIS FRIENDS 5:00 SERGEANT PRESTON 5:30 NEWS—Walter Cronkite COLOR Evening 6:00 NEWS 6:30 WILD, WILD WEST—Adventure 7:30 HOGAN’S HEROES—Comedy COLOR 8:00 GOMER PYLE, USMC—Comedy COLOR 8:30 SMOTHERS BROTHERS—Comedy 9:00 WAYNE AND SHUSTER W.C. Fields Postponed from an earlier date. Last show of the series 10:00 NEWS 10:40 MOVIE—Musical Drama “Magic Fire” (1956)
-4- WCCO (CBS) Morning 6:00 SUMMER SEMESTER 6:30 SIEGFRIED—Children 7:00 TREE HOUSE—Children 7:30 CLANCY AND COMPANY 8:00 CAPTAIN KANGAROO—Children 9:00 DR. REUBEN K. YOUNGDAHL 9:05 NEWS—Dean Montgomery 9:10 MIKE DOUGLAS Guests: Edie Adams, Gary Brothers 10:00 ANDY GRIFFITH—Comedy 10:30 DICK VAN DYKE 11:00 LOVE OF LIFE 11:25 NEWS 11:30 SEARCH FOR TOMORROW—Serial 11:45 GUIDING LIGHT—Serial Afternoon 12:00 NEWS 12:15 SOMETHING SPECIAL 12:25 WEATHER—Bud Kraehling 12:30 AS THE WORLD TURNS—Serial 1:00 PASSWORD Celebrities: Robert Young, Jane Wyatt 1:30 HOUSE PARTY COLOR Guests: Dave Barry, Larry Craig 2:00 TO TELL THE TRUTH—Panel 2:25 NEWS—Edwards 2:30 EDGE OF NIGHT—Serial 3:00 SECRET STORM—Serial 3:30 I LOVE LUCY—Comedy 4:00 MOVIE—Musical COLOR “Meet Me After the Show” (1951) 5:30 NEWS—Walter Cronkite COLOR Evening 6:00 NEWS 6:30 WILD, WILD WEST—Adventure 7:30 HOGAN’S HEROES—Comedy COLOR 8:00 GOMER PYLE, USMC—Comedy COLOR 8:30 SMOTHERS BROTHERS—Comedy 9:00 MARSHAL DILLON—Western 10:00 NEWS 10:30 MOVIE—Western “The Proud Ones” (1956) 12:20 SPORTS—Hal Scott Time approximate 12:30 MOVIE—Mystery Time approximate. “Charlie Chan at Treasure Island” (1939)
-5- KSTP (NBC) Morning 6:30 CITY AND COUNTRY COLOR 7:00 TODAY COLOR Guests: Miriam Makeba, Harry Kemelman, Mike Nichols Local news at 7:25 and 8:25 A.M. 9:00 EYE GUESS—Game COLOR 9:25 NEWS COLOR 9:30 CONCENTRATION—Game 10:00 CHAIN LETTER—Variety COLOR Celebrities: Abby Dalton, Mickey Manners 10:30 SHOWDOWN—Game COLOR 11:00 JEOPARDY—Game COLOR 11:30 SWINGIN’ COUNTRY—Music COLOR Guests: Rusty Draper, Roy Clark 11:55 NEWS Afternoon 12:00 NEWS AND WEATHER COLOR 12:15 DIALING FOR DOLLARS—Game COLOR 12:30 LET’S MAKE A DEAL—Game COLOR 12:55 NEWS COLOR 1:00 DAYS OF OUR LIVES—Serial COLOR 1:30 DOCTORS 2:00 ANOTHER WORLD—Serial COLOR 2:30 YOU DON’T SAY!—Game COLOR Celebrities: Bill Bixby, Roberta Sherwood 3:00 MATCH GAME COLOR Guests: Florence Henderson, Durward Kirby 3:25 NEWS COLOR 3:30 DIALING FOR DOLLARS—Game COLOR 4:30 SUGARFOOT—Western 5:25 DOCTOR’S HOUSE CALL—James Rogers Fox COLOR 5:30 NEWS—Chet Huntley, David Brinkley COLOR Evening 6:00 NEWS COLOR 6:30 CAMP RUNAMUCK COLOR 7:00 HANK—Comedy COLOR 7:30 SING ALONG—Songs COLOR Guest: Shirley Temple 8:30 MISTER ROBERTS—Comedy COLOR 9:00 MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E. COLOR 10:00 NEWS COLOR 10:30 TONIGHT—Variety COLOR 12:15 MOVIE—Melodrama “The Spy Ring” (1937)
-6- WDSM (DULUTH) (NBC) Morning 7:00 TODAY COLOR Guests: Miriam Makeba, Harry Kemelman, Mike Nichols Local news at 7:25 and 8:25 A.M. 9:00 EYE GUESS—Game COLOR 9:25 NEWS COLOR 9:30 CONCENTRATION—Game 10:00 CHAIN LETTER—Variety COLOR Celebrities: Abby Dalton, Mickey Manners 10:30 SHOWDOWN—Game COLOR 11:00 JEOPARDY—Game COLOR 11:30 SWINGIN’ COUNTRY—Music COLOR Guests: Rusty Draper, Roy Clark 11:55 NEWS Afternoon 12:00 GIRL TALK—Panel 12:30 LET’S MAKE A DEAL—Game COLOR 12:55 NEWS COLOR 1:00 DAYS OF OUR LIVES—Serial COLOR 1:30 DOCTORS 2:00 ANOTHER WORLD—Serial COLOR 2:30 YOU DON’T SAY!—Game COLOR Celebrities: Bill Bixby, Roberta Sherwood 3:00 MATCH GAME COLOR Guests: Florence Henderson, Durward Kirby 3:25 NEWS COLOR 3:30 JACK LA LANNE COLOR 4:00 BOZO AND HIS PALS COLOR 5:30 NEWS—Chet Huntley, David Brinkley COLOR Evening 6:00 NEWS, ROCKY TELLER COLOR 6:30 PUBLIC AFFAIRS—Duluth 7:00 HANK—Comedy COLOR 7:30 SING ALONG—Songs COLOR Guest: Shirley Temple 8:30 MISTER ROBERTS—Comedy COLOR 9:00 MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E. COLOR 10:00 NEWS COLOR 10:20 TONIGHT—Variety COLOR
6 KMMT (AUSTIN) (ABC) Morning 10:00 SUPERMARKET SWEEP—Game 10:30 DATING GAME 11:00 DONNA REED—Comedy 11:30 FATHER KNOWS BEST Afternoon 12:00 BEN CASEY—Drama 1:00 NEWLYWED GAME 1:30 A TIME FOR US—Serial 1:55 NEWS—Marlene Sanders 2:00 GENERAL HOSPITAL 2:30 NURSES—Serial 3:00 DARK SHADOWS—Serial 3:30 WHERE THE ACTION IS—Variety Guests: The Crykie, Kim Weston 4:00 MOVIE—Western “The Golden Stallion” (1949) 5:30 TRAILS WEST—Drama Evening 6:00 NEWS—Peter Jennings 6:15 NEWS, SPORTS, WEATHER 6:30 FLINTSTONES—Cartoon COLOR 7:00 SUMMER FUN—Comedy COLOR “Little Leatherneck” 7:30 ADDAMS FAMILY 8:00 HONEY WEST—Mystery 8:30 FARMER’S DAUGHTER COLOR 9:00 COURT-MARTIAL 10:00 NEWS 10:30 TRAILS WEST—Drama 11:00 NEWS
-7- KCMT (ALEXANDRIA) (NBC, ABC) Morning 7:00 TODAY COLOR Guests: Miriam Makeba, Harry Kemelman, Mike Nichols Local news at 7:25 and 8:25 A.M. 9:00 EYE GUESS—Game COLOR 9:25 NEWS COLOR 9:30 CONCENTRATION—Game 10:00 CHAIN LETTER—Variety COLOR Celebrities: Abby Dalton, Mickey Manners 10:30 SHOWDOWN—Game COLOR 11:00 JEOPARDY—Game COLOR 11:30 SWINGIN’ COUNTRY—Music COLOR Guests: Rusty Draper, Roy Clark 11:55 NEWS Afternoon 12:00 NEWS 12:20 TRADING POST 12:30 LET’S MAKE A DEAL—Game COLOR 12:55 NEWS COLOR 1:00 DAYS OF OUR LIVES—Serial COLOR 1:30 DOCTORS 2:00 ANOTHER WORLD—Serial COLOR 2:30 YOU DON’T SAY!—Game COLOR Celebrities: Bill Bixby, Roberta Sherwood 3:00 MATCH GAME COLOR Guests: Florence Henderson, Durward Kirby 3:25 NEWS COLOR 3:30 GENERAL HOSPITAL—Serial 4:00 FATHER KNOWS BEST—Comedy 4:30 MAGILLA GORILLA—Cartoons 5:00 YOGI BEAR—Cartoons 5:30 NEWS—Chet Huntley, David Brinkley COLOR Evening 6:00 NEWS 6:30 CAMP RUNAMUCK COLOR 7:00 PLEASE DON’T EAT THE DAISIES—Comedy 7:30 SING ALONG—Songs COLOR Guest: Shirley Temple 8:00 BASEBALL—Twins Baltimore Orioles at Minnesota Twins Regular programs are pre-empted 10:30 NEWS 11:00 TONIGHT—Variety COLOR
-8- WDSE (DULUTH) (EDUC.) Evening 6:00 FRENCH CHEF—Cooking 6:30 WHAT’S NEW—Children 7:00 INQUIRY—Discussion 7:30 CINEPOSIUM—Films 8:30 SIGHT, SOUND, MOVEMENT 9:00 APPLACHIAN FOLK MUSIC 10:00 EFFICIENT READING—Brown 10:30 GERMAN
8 WKBT (LA CROSSE) (CBS) Morning 7:30 NEWS—Mike Wallace 7:55 NEWS 8:00 CAPTAIN KANGAROO—Children 9:00 I LOVE LUCY 9:30 McCOYS—Comedy 10:00 ANDY GRIFFITH—Comedy 10:30 DICK VAN DYKE 11:00 LOVE OF LIFE 11:25 NEWS 11:30 SEARCH FOR TOMORROW—Serial 11:45 GUIDING LIGHT—Serial Afternoon 12:00 NEWS 12:30 AS THE WORLD TURNS—Serial 1:00 PASSWORD Celebrities: Robert Young, Jane Wyatt 1:30 HOUSE PARTY COLOR Guests: Dave Barry, Larry Craig 2:00 TO TELL THE TRUTH—Panel 2:25 NEWS—Edwards 2:30 EDGE OF NIGHT—Serial 3:00 SECRET STORM—Serial 3:30 DARK SHADOWS—Serial 4:00 GENERAL HOSPITAL—Serial 4:30 MICKEY MOUSE CLUB—Children 5:00 MAGILLA GORILLA—Cartoons 5:30 NEWS—Walter Cronkite COLOR Evening 6:00 NEWS 6:30 WILD, WILD WEST—Adventure 7:30 HOGAN’S HEROES—Comedy COLOR 8:00 NOW SEE THIS 9:00 FBI—Drama 10:00 NEWS 10:25 FILM SHORT 10:30 MOVIE—Western “From Hell to Texas” (1958)
-9- KMSP (ABC) Morning 7:30 MY LITTLE MARGIE—Comedy 8:00 HENNESEY—Comedy 8:30 KIT CARSON—Western 9:00 ROMPER ROOM—Miss Betty 10:00 SUPERMARKET SWEEP—Game 10:30 DATING GAME 11:00 DONNA REED—Comedy 11:30 FATHER KNOWS BEST Afternoon 12:00 BEN CASEY—Drama 1:00 NEWLYWED GAME 1:30 A TIME FOR US—Serial 1:55 NEWS—Marlene Sanders 2:00 GENERAL HOSPITAL 2:30 NURSES—Serial 3:00 DARK SHADOWS—Serial 3:30 WHERE THE ACTION IS—Variety Guests: The Crykie, Kim Weston 4:00 DETECTIVES—Police 4:30 SOUPY SALES—Comedy 5:00 NEWS—Peter Jennings 5:15 NEWS AND WEATHER 5:30 DENNIS THE MENACE—Comedy Evening 6:00 WOODY WOODPECKER COLOR 6:30 FLINTSTONES—Cartoon COLOR 7:00 SUMMER FUN—Comedy COLOR “Little Leatherneck” 7:30 ADDAMS FAMILY 8:00 HONEY WEST—Mystery 8:30 FARMER’S DAUGHTER COLOR 9:00 COURT-MARTIAL 10:00 NEWS 10:30 MOVIE—Western “Station West” (1948)
10 WDIO DULUTH) (ABC) Morning 10:00 SUPERMARKET SWEEP—Game 10:30 DATING GAME 11:00 DONNA REED—Comedy 11:30 FATHER KNOWS BEST Afternoon 12:00 BEN CASEY—Drama 1:00 NEWLYWED GAME 1:30 A TIME FOR US—Serial 1:55 NEWS—Marlene Sanders 2:00 GENERAL HOSPITAL 2:30 NURSES—Serial 3:00 DARK SHADOWS—Serial 3:30 WHERE THE ACTION IS—Variety Guests: The Crykie, Kim Weston 4:00 MOVIE—Melodrama “The Counterfeit Plan” (English; 1957) 5:30 NEWS, SPORTS, WEATHER 5:45 NEWS—Peter Jennings Evening 6:00 REBEL—Western 6:30 FLINTSTONES—Cartoon COLOR 7:00 SUMMER FUN—Comedy COLOR “Little Leatherneck” 7:30 ADDAMS FAMILY 8:00 HONEY WEST—Mystery 8:30 FARMER’S DAUGHTER COLOR 9:00 COURT-MARTIAL 10:00 NEWS 10:15 MOVIE—Western “Jubilee Trail” (1953)
10 KROC (ROCHESTER) (NBC) Morning 7:00 TODAY COLOR Guests: Miriam Makeba, Harry Kemelman, Mike Nichols Local news at 7:25 and 8:25 A.M. 9:00 EYE GUESS—Game COLOR 9:25 NEWS COLOR 9:30 CONCENTRATION—Game 10:00 CHAIN LETTER—Variety COLOR Celebrities: Abby Dalton, Mickey Manners 10:30 SHOWDOWN—Game COLOR 11:00 JEOPARDY—Game COLOR 11:30 SWINGIN’ COUNTRY—Music COLOR Guests: Rusty Draper, Roy Clark 11:55 NEWS Afternoon 12:00 NEWS 12:15 FILM SHORT 12:30 LET’S MAKE A DEAL—Game COLOR 12:55 NEWS COLOR 1:00 DAYS OF OUR LIVES—Serial COLOR 1:30 DOCTORS 2:00 ANOTHER WORLD—Serial COLOR 2:30 YOU DON’T SAY!—Game COLOR Celebrities: Bill Bixby, Roberta Sherwood 3:00 MATCH GAME COLOR Guests: Florence Henderson, Durward Kirby 3:25 NEWS COLOR 3:30 BACHELOR FATHER—Comedy 4:00 LONE RANGER—Western 4:30 LEAVE IT TO BEAVER—Comedy 5:00 LOVE THAT BOB!—Comedy 5:30 NEWS—Chet Huntley, David Brinkley COLOR Evening 6:00 NEWS 6:30 CAMP RUNAMUCK COLOR 7:00 HANK—Comedy COLOR 7:30 SING ALONG—Songs COLOR Guest: Shirley Temple 8:00 BASEBALL—Twins Baltimore Orioles at Minnesota Twins Regular programs are pre-empted 10:30 NEWS 11:00 TONIGHT—Variety COLOR
11 WTCN (IND.) Morning 10:15 NEWS—Gil Amundson 10:30 MOVIE—Drama “Yours for the Asking” (1936) 11:55 NEWS—Gil Amundson Afternoon 12:00 LUNCH WITH CASEY—Children 1:00 MOVIE—Science Fiction “The Creeping Unknown” (English; 1955) 2:45 MEL’S NOTEBOOK—Interview 3:00 GIRL TALK—Panel Guests: Uta Hagen, Valerie Bettis, Marjorie Sigley 3:30 AMOS ‘N’ ANDY—Comedy 4:00 POPEYE AND PETE—Children 4:30 CASEY AND ROUNDHOUSE 5:30 LONE RANGER—Western Evening 6:00 SEA HUNT—Adventure 6:30 BOLD JOURNEY 7:00 WANDERLUST—Travel COLOR 7:30 HARMON KILLEBREW—Baseball 7:40 HALSEY HALL—Baseball 7:55 BASEBALL—Twins Baltimore Orioles at Minnesota Twins Regular programs are pre-empted 10:30 SCOREBOARD—Frank Buetel Time approximate 10:45 NEWS, WEATHER, SPORTS Time approximate 11:15 MOVIE—Mystery Time approximate. “Saboteur” (1942)
12 KEYC (MANKATO) (CBS) Morning 7:30 NEWS—Mike Wallace 7:55 FILM SHORT 8:00 CAPTAIN KANGAROO—Children 9:00 I LOVE LUCY 9:30 McCOYS—Comedy 10:00 ANDY GRIFFITH—Comedy 10:30 DICK VAN DYKE 11:00 LOVE OF LIFE 11:25 NEWS 11:30 SEARCH FOR TOMORROW—Serial 11:45 GUIDING LIGHT—Serial Afternoon 12:00 NEWS 12:30 AS THE WORLD TURNS—Serial 1:00 PASSWORD Celebrities: Robert Young, Jane Wyatt 1:30 HOUSE PARTY COLOR Guests: Dave Barry, Larry Craig 2:00 TO TELL THE TRUTH—Panel 2:25 NEWS—Edwards 2:30 EDGE OF NIGHT—Serial 3:00 SECRET STORM—Serial 3:30 FILM FEATURE 4:00 BART’S CLUBHOUSE 4:30 ROCKY AND HIS FRIENDS 5:00 SERGEANT PRESTON 5:30 NEWS—Walter Cronkite COLOR Evening 6:00 NEWS 6:30 WILD, WILD WEST—Adventure 7:30 HOGAN’S HEROES—Comedy COLOR 8:00 GOMER PYLE, USMC—Comedy COLOR 8:30 SMOTHERS BROTHERS—Comedy 9:00 WAYNE AND SHUSTER W.C. Fields Postponed from an earlier date. Last show of the series 10:00 NEWS 10:40 MOVIE—Musical Drama “Magic Fire” (1956)
13 WEAU (EAU CLAIRE) (NBC) Morning 7:00 TODAY COLOR Guests: Miriam Makeba, Harry Kemelman, Mike Nichols Local news at 7:25 and 8:25 A.M. 9:00 EYE GUESS—Game COLOR 9:25 NEWS COLOR 9:30 CONCENTRATION—Game 10:00 CHAIN LETTER—Variety COLOR Celebrities: Abby Dalton, Mickey Manners 10:30 SHOWDOWN—Game COLOR 11:00 JEOPARDY—Game COLOR 11:30 SWINGIN’ COUNTRY—Music COLOR Guests: Rusty Draper, Roy Clark 11:55 NEWS Afternoon 12:00 FARM AND HOME—Discussion 12:30 LET’S MAKE A DEAL—Game COLOR 12:55 NEWS COLOR 1:00 DAYS OF OUR LIVES—Serial COLOR 1:30 DOCTORS 2:00 ANOTHER WORLD—Serial COLOR 2:30 YOU DON’T SAY!—Game COLOR Celebrities: Bill Bixby, Roberta Sherwood 3:00 MATCH GAME COLOR Guests: Florence Henderson, Durward Kirby 3:25 NEWS COLOR 3:30 FATHER KNOWS BEST—Comedy 4:00 BOY SCOUTS—Eau Claire 4:30 LLOYD THAXTON—Variety 5:30 NEWS—Chet Huntley, David Brinkley COLOR Evening 6:00 NEWS 6:30 CAMP RUNAMUCK COLOR 7:00 DOUBLE LIFE—Comedy 7:30 DONNA REED—Comedy 8:00 BASEBALL—Twins Baltimore Orioles at Minnesota Twins Regular programs are pre-empted 10:30 NEWS 11:00 TONIGHT—Variety COLOR 12:00 MOVIE—Western “The Desperado” (1954)
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Insightful commentary on how classic TV shows mirrored and influenced American society, tracing the impact of iconic series on national identity, cultural change, and the challenges we face today.
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