It's that time again - time to look at a day in the week of our most recent TV Guide. (Loyal readers know this probably means I don't have anything else ready to post today, but that doesn't mean it isn't still fun.)
Today's listing is from Wednesday, February 28, 1979. It's a strange time in Minneapolis-St. Paul television - the Great Affiliate Switch is right around the corner, in which longtime NBC affiliate KSTP moves to the suddenly-dominate ABC, while independent (and one-time ABC affiliate) WTCN takes the now-homeless NBC, and former ABC affiliate (and previous independent) KMSP once again goes it alone. Got all that? This ad gives us a flavor of the coming confusion:
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KTCA, Channel 2 (PBS)
Morning
07:00aJapan: Living Tradition
07:30aVegetable Soup
07:45aA.M. Weather
08:00aSesame Street
09:00aThe Electric Company
09:30aAmerican Indian Artists
10:00aThe Naturalists
10:30aConsumer Survival Kit
11:00aStudio See
11:30aSesame Street
Afternoon
12:30pMister Rogers’ Neighborhood
01:00pThe Electric Company
01:30pJulia Child & Company
02:00pOver Easy (guest Jack Carter)
02:30pDick Cavett
03:00pCountry Matters
04:00pMister Rogers’ Neighborhood
04:30pSesame Street
05:30pThe Electric Company
Evening
06:00pStudio See
06:30pMacNeil/Lehrer Report
07:00pDick Cavett (guest Neil Simon)
07:30pWyld Rice
08:00pShakespeare Plays– “As You Like It”
10:30pCousteau Odyssey (special)
11:30pCousteau Odyssey (special)
12:30aCrosstalk (guest Stan Kenton)
KTCA doesn't have much inventory, does it? A lot of these shows, such as The Electric Company, run two or three times a day. (As you can see, the station has pretty much abandoned the classroom programming that was a mainstay of its early years.)
I don't know if you remember Not For Women Only, the show hosted by Barbara Walters that was, in fact, mostly for women. Her old Today show partner Hugh Downs has his own show, Over Easy, which tries to tell us it isn't mostly for seniors, which it is. But pretty soon the two are going to reunite on ABC's 20/20. Dick Cavett has found a home on PBS as well, with his half-hour, one-guest version of his ABC program. Someone recently wrote that Cavett was the last remnant of a time when good conversation was accepted as entertainment, and although I frequently found Cavett tiresome, I would have to agree with that.
WCCO, Channel 4 (CBS)
Morning
06:00aWednesday Morning
07:00aAllan’s Window
07:30aCaptain Kangaroo
08:00aPhil Donahue (Rev. Theodore Hesburgh, president of Notre Dame)
09:00aAll in the Family
09:30aThe Price is Right
10:30aLove of Life
10:55aCBS News
11:00aThe Young and the Restless
11:30aSearch for Tomorrow
Afternoon
12:00pMidday
12:30pAs the World Turns
01:30pGuiding Light
02:30pM*A*S*H
03:00pMatch Game ’79 (panelists Bart Braverman, Fannie Flagg, Dick Martin, Charles Nelson Reily, Barbara Rhoades, Brett Somers)
03:30pMike Douglas (guests Lou Rawls, Andy Williams, Lennon Sisters, Shecky Greene, Loretta Lynn)
05:00pNews (local)
05:30pCBS News (Walter Cronkite)
Evening
06:00pNews (local)
06:30p$25,000 Pyramid (celebrity contestants Anita Gillette, Tony Randall)
07:00pMarried: The First Year (debut)
08:00pOne Day at a Time
08:30pThe Jeffersons
09:00pKaz
10:00pNews (local)
10:30pMarcus Welby, M.D.
11:30pBonanza
12:30aNews (local)
01:00aPhil Donahue (replay)
02:00aNews (local)
04:00aNews (local)
Aside from the educational stations, WCCO is the only affiliate staying put, and their lineup shows that consistency . The 6am program, Wednesday Morning, was part of Charles Kuralt's morning series of which only Sunday Morning remains. It was actually a pretty good morning program, the predecessor to what I think was CBS' best morning news program, hosted by Bill Kurtis and Diane Sawyer. From then on, it's been all downhill.
In the TV Guides of the 60s, soap operas run for 30 minutes, and CBS even has a couple that remain in the 15 minute format. No longer. Now one hour is the rule, and 30 minutes the exception. After the local noontime news, that old warhorse As the World Turns continues in the same timeslot it filled, it seems, forever.
Notice how bland 'CCO's late-night programming is? Ah, back in the days before the late-night chatfests.
KSTP, Channel 5
Morning
05:00aTo Be Announced
06:00aNews (local)
06:20aCountry Day
07:00aToday (Charles Grodin, Albert Brooks)
09:00aTwin Cities Today (Dr. Joyce Brothers)
10:00aHigh Rollers
10:30aWheel of Fortune
11:00aJeopardy!
11:30aPassword (Elizabeth Montgomery, Bert Convy)
Afternoon
12:00pPrincess Knight, Princess Knight
12:30pDays of Our Lives
01:30pThe Doctors
02:00pAnother World
03:00pMovie – “Never Say Goodbye” (B&W)
05:00pHogan’s Heroes
05:30pNBC News (Chancellor/Brinkley)
Evening
06:00pNews (local)
06:30pThe Gong Show (panelists Pat McCormick, Jaye P. Morgan, George Lindsey)
07:00pEight is Enough
08:00pFrom Here to Eternity (miniseries version)
10:00pNews (local)
10:30pJohnny Carson (guests Robert Blake, Kelly Monteith, Rand)
12:00aFlak on Five
12:30aNews (local)
01:00aLaird Brooks Schmidt
KSTP is already transitioning to ABC, airing Eight is Enough at 7pm (more about that below). From Here to Eternity is not the Oscar-winning movie with Burt Lancaster and Deborah Kerr, nor is it the 1980 series with William Devane and Kim Basinger. Instead, it's what could be thought of as the pilot for that series, which instead of Basinger starred Natalie Wood. Who, at the time, was a much bigger star than Kim.
Tomorrow has vacated KSTP for future home WTCN; in its place are two local programs, Flak on Five and Laird Brooks Schmidt. I'm not positive, but "Flak" might have been Gary Flakne, former Hennepin County prosecutor turned talk show host. ( I'm sure someone can fill us in if that's not right.) Schmidt, on the other hand, was a wonderful personality, a host of late-night movies and a great talker. And speaking of local programming, Twin Cities Today was one of the legendary local programs of the 70s and 80s, starring "Steve and Sharon" - Steve Edelman and Sharon Anderson, who married during the show's long run. They later went into the production business - Edelman Productions being a major domo for decorating shows on HGTV.
KMSP, Channel 9
Morning
06:00a700 Club
07:00aGood Morning, America
09:00aDinah! (guests Dennis Weaver, Robert Wagner, Betty White, Jacques Cousteau, Graham Nash)
10:00aHappy Days
10:30aFamily Feud
11:00a$20,000 Pyramid (guests Jo Anne Worley, David Letterman)
11:30aRyan’s Hope
Afternoon
12:00pAll My Children
01:00pOne Life to Live
02:00pGeneral Hospital
03:00pMedical Center
04:00pStreets of San Francisco
05:00pABC News (Frank Reynolds)
05:30pSanford and Son
Evening
06:00pNews (local)
06:30pThe Muppet Show (guest Sylvester Stallone)
07:00pEdward the King
08:00pCharlie’s Angels
09:00pVega$
10:00pNews (local)
10:30pThe Rockford Files
11:40pKojak
12:50aNews (local)
Edward the King, which I covered on Saturday, is bringing in big ratings for Channel 9, bumping Eight is Enough to future home KSTP. After all, KMSP doesn't give a damn about ABC programming, right? Edward is in one sense an example of Masterpiece Theatre moved to commercial television, but I always thought of it as a kind of throwback program - the kind that David Susskind might have produced for a network back in the 60s.
Although TV Guide only lists Frank Reynolds as anchor for the ABC News, this is actually Roone Arlidge's World News Tonight, which featured Reynolds as lead anchor, along with Max Robinson in Chicago, Peter Jennings in London, and Barbara Walters in New York. I remember that newscast, and Reynolds, fondly.
WTCN, Channel 11 (Ind.)
Morning
05:30aWhat’s New?
06:00aPTL Club
07:00aThe Flintstones
07:30aPopeye and Porky
08:30aGroovie Goolies and Friends
09:00aFred Flintstone and Friends
09:30aBewitched
10:00aFamily Affair
10:30aMayberry R.F.D.
11:00aLove American Style
11:30aWhat’s New?
Afternoon
12:30pAndy Griffith
01:00pMovie – “The Big Heat” (B&W)
03:00pSpiderman
03:30pTom and Jerry
04:30pLeave it to Beaver (B&W)
05:00pI Love Lucy (B&W)
05:30pMy Three Sons
Evening
06:00pCarol Burnett and Friends (guests Joel Grey, Cass Elliot)
06:30pThe Newlywed Game
07:00pSupertrain
08:00pMerv Griffin (guests Neil Sedaka, Milton Berle, Eartha Kitt, Robert Urich, Barclay Shaw, Charlie Hill, Irv Benson)
09:30pNews (local)
10:00pMary Tyler Moore
10:30pBob Newhart
11:00pThe Odd Couple
11:30pThe Gong Show (Jamie Farr, Jaye P. Morgan, Pat McCormiick)
12:00aTomorrow (guest Irving Mansfield)
01:00aThe FBI
02:00aAlfred Hitchcock Presents (B&W)
02:30aAlfred Hitchcock Presents (B&W)
KSTP isn't interested in carrying Tom Snyder's Tomorrow show anymore, so it pops up in its future home, Channel 11. The guest, Irving Mansfield, is the widower of Valley of the Dolls author Jacqueline Susann. And as I already mentioned, Eight is Enough and Supertrain have traded places, which makes for some very strange advertising:
What's New?, which airs at 11:30 am (with a repeat the following morning at 5:30), is that almost-extinct species: the local variety show. Almost extinct, because this kind of show now masquerades as a late-morning or early-afternoon news program.
KTCI, Channel 17
Afternoon
05:30pVilla Alegre
Evening
06:00pJapan: Living Tradition
06:30pMacNeil/Lehrer Report
07:00pMister Rogers’ Neighborhood
07:30pThe Electric Company
08:00pMacNeil/Lehrer Report
08:30pOver Easy (guests Marlin and Carol Perkins)
09:00pBill Moyers’ Journal
09:30pMark Russell
10:00pDick Cavett (guest Neil Simon)
10:30pABC News (Frank Reynolds) (closed-captioned)
KTCI is the secondary PBS affiliate. At this point in time it carries mostly reruns of big brother KTCA's shows. Later, the station honchos will try to develop a full, mostly original, schedule for KTCI. Then it seems to go back mostly to re-airing shows from KTCA.
When I was politically active, I used to love watching Mark Russell, the Capitol Hill comedian responsible for some of the funniest, most clever satires of Washington life. I always thought him a fair, equal-opportunity satirist. See if this rings a bill for any of you:
*** Those of you who read this blog regularly know that I've been slow to warm to TV Guides of the 70s and 80s, but the issues from this particular era have a soft spot in my heart, for reasons that have nothing to do with specific programming. You see, in the spring of 1978 I graduated from high school in the world's worst town, and in the fall of that year we moved back to the Twin Cities as I started college. My personal collection of TV Guides from then on, therefore, revert to the Minneapolis-St. Paul edition, rather than the Minnesota State Edition that I got during the Dark Ages. Just looking at the simpler, more familiar program listings from these issues reminds me of how happy I was to return to civilization, and to this day it brings a smile to my face.
Today's listing is from Wednesday, February 28, 1979. It's a strange time in Minneapolis-St. Paul television - the Great Affiliate Switch is right around the corner, in which longtime NBC affiliate KSTP moves to the suddenly-dominate ABC, while independent (and one-time ABC affiliate) WTCN takes the now-homeless NBC, and former ABC affiliate (and previous independent) KMSP once again goes it alone. Got all that? This ad gives us a flavor of the coming confusion:
KTCA, Channel 2 (PBS)
Morning
07:00aJapan: Living Tradition
07:30aVegetable Soup
07:45aA.M. Weather
08:00aSesame Street
09:00aThe Electric Company
09:30aAmerican Indian Artists
10:00aThe Naturalists
10:30aConsumer Survival Kit
11:00aStudio See
11:30aSesame Street
Afternoon
12:30pMister Rogers’ Neighborhood
01:00pThe Electric Company
01:30pJulia Child & Company
02:00pOver Easy (guest Jack Carter)
02:30pDick Cavett
03:00pCountry Matters
04:00pMister Rogers’ Neighborhood
04:30pSesame Street
05:30pThe Electric Company
Evening
06:00pStudio See
06:30pMacNeil/Lehrer Report
07:00pDick Cavett (guest Neil Simon)
07:30pWyld Rice
08:00pShakespeare Plays– “As You Like It”
10:30pCousteau Odyssey (special)
11:30pCousteau Odyssey (special)
12:30aCrosstalk (guest Stan Kenton)
KTCA doesn't have much inventory, does it? A lot of these shows, such as The Electric Company, run two or three times a day. (As you can see, the station has pretty much abandoned the classroom programming that was a mainstay of its early years.)
I don't know if you remember Not For Women Only, the show hosted by Barbara Walters that was, in fact, mostly for women. Her old Today show partner Hugh Downs has his own show, Over Easy, which tries to tell us it isn't mostly for seniors, which it is. But pretty soon the two are going to reunite on ABC's 20/20. Dick Cavett has found a home on PBS as well, with his half-hour, one-guest version of his ABC program. Someone recently wrote that Cavett was the last remnant of a time when good conversation was accepted as entertainment, and although I frequently found Cavett tiresome, I would have to agree with that.
WCCO, Channel 4 (CBS)
Morning
06:00aWednesday Morning
07:00aAllan’s Window
07:30aCaptain Kangaroo
08:00aPhil Donahue (Rev. Theodore Hesburgh, president of Notre Dame)
09:00aAll in the Family
09:30aThe Price is Right
10:30aLove of Life
10:55aCBS News
11:00aThe Young and the Restless
11:30aSearch for Tomorrow
Afternoon
12:00pMidday
12:30pAs the World Turns
01:30pGuiding Light
02:30pM*A*S*H
03:00pMatch Game ’79 (panelists Bart Braverman, Fannie Flagg, Dick Martin, Charles Nelson Reily, Barbara Rhoades, Brett Somers)
03:30pMike Douglas (guests Lou Rawls, Andy Williams, Lennon Sisters, Shecky Greene, Loretta Lynn)
05:00pNews (local)
05:30pCBS News (Walter Cronkite)
Evening
06:00pNews (local)
06:30p$25,000 Pyramid (celebrity contestants Anita Gillette, Tony Randall)
07:00pMarried: The First Year (debut)
08:00pOne Day at a Time
08:30pThe Jeffersons
09:00pKaz
10:00pNews (local)
10:30pMarcus Welby, M.D.
11:30pBonanza
12:30aNews (local)
01:00aPhil Donahue (replay)
02:00aNews (local)
04:00aNews (local)
Aside from the educational stations, WCCO is the only affiliate staying put, and their lineup shows that consistency . The 6am program, Wednesday Morning, was part of Charles Kuralt's morning series of which only Sunday Morning remains. It was actually a pretty good morning program, the predecessor to what I think was CBS' best morning news program, hosted by Bill Kurtis and Diane Sawyer. From then on, it's been all downhill.
In the TV Guides of the 60s, soap operas run for 30 minutes, and CBS even has a couple that remain in the 15 minute format. No longer. Now one hour is the rule, and 30 minutes the exception. After the local noontime news, that old warhorse As the World Turns continues in the same timeslot it filled, it seems, forever.
Notice how bland 'CCO's late-night programming is? Ah, back in the days before the late-night chatfests.
KSTP, Channel 5
Morning
05:00aTo Be Announced
06:00aNews (local)
06:20aCountry Day
07:00aToday (Charles Grodin, Albert Brooks)
09:00aTwin Cities Today (Dr. Joyce Brothers)
10:00aHigh Rollers
10:30aWheel of Fortune
11:00aJeopardy!
11:30aPassword (Elizabeth Montgomery, Bert Convy)
Afternoon
12:00pPrincess Knight, Princess Knight
12:30pDays of Our Lives
01:30pThe Doctors
02:00pAnother World
03:00pMovie – “Never Say Goodbye” (B&W)
05:00pHogan’s Heroes
05:30pNBC News (Chancellor/Brinkley)
Evening
06:00pNews (local)
06:30pThe Gong Show (panelists Pat McCormick, Jaye P. Morgan, George Lindsey)
07:00pEight is Enough
08:00pFrom Here to Eternity (miniseries version)
10:00pNews (local)
10:30pJohnny Carson (guests Robert Blake, Kelly Monteith, Rand)
12:00aFlak on Five
12:30aNews (local)
01:00aLaird Brooks Schmidt
KSTP is already transitioning to ABC, airing Eight is Enough at 7pm (more about that below). From Here to Eternity is not the Oscar-winning movie with Burt Lancaster and Deborah Kerr, nor is it the 1980 series with William Devane and Kim Basinger. Instead, it's what could be thought of as the pilot for that series, which instead of Basinger starred Natalie Wood. Who, at the time, was a much bigger star than Kim.
Tomorrow has vacated KSTP for future home WTCN; in its place are two local programs, Flak on Five and Laird Brooks Schmidt. I'm not positive, but "Flak" might have been Gary Flakne, former Hennepin County prosecutor turned talk show host. ( I'm sure someone can fill us in if that's not right.) Schmidt, on the other hand, was a wonderful personality, a host of late-night movies and a great talker. And speaking of local programming, Twin Cities Today was one of the legendary local programs of the 70s and 80s, starring "Steve and Sharon" - Steve Edelman and Sharon Anderson, who married during the show's long run. They later went into the production business - Edelman Productions being a major domo for decorating shows on HGTV.
KMSP, Channel 9
Morning
06:00a700 Club
07:00aGood Morning, America
09:00aDinah! (guests Dennis Weaver, Robert Wagner, Betty White, Jacques Cousteau, Graham Nash)
10:00aHappy Days
10:30aFamily Feud
11:00a$20,000 Pyramid (guests Jo Anne Worley, David Letterman)
11:30aRyan’s Hope
Afternoon
12:00pAll My Children
01:00pOne Life to Live
02:00pGeneral Hospital
03:00pMedical Center
04:00pStreets of San Francisco
05:00pABC News (Frank Reynolds)
05:30pSanford and Son
Evening
06:00pNews (local)
06:30pThe Muppet Show (guest Sylvester Stallone)
07:00pEdward the King
08:00pCharlie’s Angels
09:00pVega$
10:00pNews (local)
10:30pThe Rockford Files
11:40pKojak
12:50aNews (local)
Edward the King, which I covered on Saturday, is bringing in big ratings for Channel 9, bumping Eight is Enough to future home KSTP. After all, KMSP doesn't give a damn about ABC programming, right? Edward is in one sense an example of Masterpiece Theatre moved to commercial television, but I always thought of it as a kind of throwback program - the kind that David Susskind might have produced for a network back in the 60s.
Although TV Guide only lists Frank Reynolds as anchor for the ABC News, this is actually Roone Arlidge's World News Tonight, which featured Reynolds as lead anchor, along with Max Robinson in Chicago, Peter Jennings in London, and Barbara Walters in New York. I remember that newscast, and Reynolds, fondly.
WTCN, Channel 11 (Ind.)
Morning
05:30aWhat’s New?
06:00aPTL Club
07:00aThe Flintstones
07:30aPopeye and Porky
08:30aGroovie Goolies and Friends
09:00aFred Flintstone and Friends
09:30aBewitched
10:00aFamily Affair
10:30aMayberry R.F.D.
11:00aLove American Style
11:30aWhat’s New?
Afternoon
12:30pAndy Griffith
01:00pMovie – “The Big Heat” (B&W)
03:00pSpiderman
03:30pTom and Jerry
04:30pLeave it to Beaver (B&W)
05:00pI Love Lucy (B&W)
05:30pMy Three Sons
Evening
06:00pCarol Burnett and Friends (guests Joel Grey, Cass Elliot)
06:30pThe Newlywed Game
07:00pSupertrain
08:00pMerv Griffin (guests Neil Sedaka, Milton Berle, Eartha Kitt, Robert Urich, Barclay Shaw, Charlie Hill, Irv Benson)
09:30pNews (local)
10:00pMary Tyler Moore
10:30pBob Newhart
11:00pThe Odd Couple
11:30pThe Gong Show (Jamie Farr, Jaye P. Morgan, Pat McCormiick)
12:00aTomorrow (guest Irving Mansfield)
01:00aThe FBI
02:00aAlfred Hitchcock Presents (B&W)
02:30aAlfred Hitchcock Presents (B&W)
KSTP isn't interested in carrying Tom Snyder's Tomorrow show anymore, so it pops up in its future home, Channel 11. The guest, Irving Mansfield, is the widower of Valley of the Dolls author Jacqueline Susann. And as I already mentioned, Eight is Enough and Supertrain have traded places, which makes for some very strange advertising:
 |
| A great night, sure - if you're willing to watch two stations to catch it. |
What's New?, which airs at 11:30 am (with a repeat the following morning at 5:30), is that almost-extinct species: the local variety show. Almost extinct, because this kind of show now masquerades as a late-morning or early-afternoon news program.
KTCI, Channel 17
Afternoon
05:30pVilla Alegre
Evening
06:00pJapan: Living Tradition
06:30pMacNeil/Lehrer Report
07:00pMister Rogers’ Neighborhood
07:30pThe Electric Company
08:00pMacNeil/Lehrer Report
08:30pOver Easy (guests Marlin and Carol Perkins)
09:00pBill Moyers’ Journal
09:30pMark Russell
10:00pDick Cavett (guest Neil Simon)
10:30pABC News (Frank Reynolds) (closed-captioned)
KTCI is the secondary PBS affiliate. At this point in time it carries mostly reruns of big brother KTCA's shows. Later, the station honchos will try to develop a full, mostly original, schedule for KTCI. Then it seems to go back mostly to re-airing shows from KTCA.
When I was politically active, I used to love watching Mark Russell, the Capitol Hill comedian responsible for some of the funniest, most clever satires of Washington life. I always thought him a fair, equal-opportunity satirist. See if this rings a bill for any of you: