Ithought it might be fun to offer a little bonus content for the holidays, so here's the broadcasting schedule for Thanksgiving Day, November 25, 1971. The stations are some of those listed in the Minnesota State Edition of TV Guide - the Twin Cities stations, plus those in Duluth, Alexandria and Mankato. I'll be back tomorrow with some special Thanksgiving content!
KTCA, Channel 2 (PBS) | |
Morning | |
10:00a | The Electric Company |
Afternoon | |
12:05p | Sesame Street |
02:30p | World Symphony Orchestra |
04:00p | Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood |
04:30p | Sesame Street |
05:30p | The Electric Company |
Evening | |
06:00p | To Be Announced |
06:30p | Captives of Communism |
07:00p | Thirty Minutes |
07:30p | Washington Week in Review |
08:00p | Hollywood Television Theatre |
09:00p | Public Policy Panels |
09:30p | Town and Country |
Easy day for Channel 2, running a limited broadcasting schedule. From the end of The Electric Company, the station is off until Sesame Street, and then again until their broadcast of the World Symphony Orchestra, featuring Arthur Fiedler at the October grand opening of Disney World!
KDAL, Channel 3 (Duluth) (CBS) | |
Morning | |
07:00a | CBS Morning News (John Hart) |
08:00a | CBS Thanksgiving Day Parades (special) |
11:00a | A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court (special) |
Afternoon | |
12:30p | As the World Turns |
01:00p | Love is a Many Splendored Thing |
01:30p | The Guiding Light |
02:00p | Football Pre-Game (special) |
02:30p | NFL Football (Los Angeles at Dallas) (special) |
05:30p | CBS Evening News (Walter Cronkite) (time approximate) |
Evening | |
06:00p | News (local) |
06:30p | Dick Van Dyke (B&W) |
07:00p | Bearcats! |
08:00p | 60 Minutes (special) |
09:00p | CBS Reports (special) |
10:00p | News (local) |
10:30p | The Merv Griffin Show |
Unfortunately, no word on Merv's guests at 10:30, so we don't know how he compared to Johnny. The CBS parades are from New York, Philadelphia, Detroit and Toronto, and are hosted by Bill Baird and his marionettes. For my money, still the best Thanksgiving Day parade lineup.
WCCO, Channel 4 (CBS) | |
Morning | |
07:00a | Clancy and Carmen |
07:30a | Clancy and Willie |
08:00a | CBS Thanksgiving Day Parades (special) |
11:00a | Where the Heart Is (special) |
11:25a | Live Today |
11:30a | Search for Tomorrow |
Afternoon | |
12:00p | News (local) |
12:30p | As the World Turns |
01:00p | Love is a Many Splendored Thing |
01:30p | Sportsman’s Holiday |
01:45p | Pro Football Preview |
02:00p | Football Pre-Game (special) |
02:30p | NFL Football (Los Angeles at Dallas) (special) |
05:30p | CBS Evening News (Walter Cronkite) (time approximate) |
Evening | |
06:00p | News (local) |
06:30p | Rollin’ on the River |
07:00p | Bearcats! |
08:00p | 60 Minutes (special) |
09:00p | CBS Reports (special) |
10:00p | News (local) |
10:50p | Movie – “That Forsyte Woman” |
01:05a | The Saint |
No Merv on Channel 4 (they were very erratic over the years in their CBS late-night coverage), but a color episode of Roger Moore in The Saint is always welcome!
KSTP, Channel 5 (NBC) | |
Morning | |
06:30a | Minnesota Today |
07:00a | Today |
08:00a | Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade (special) |
11:00a | NFL Football (Kansas City at Detroit) (special) |
Afternoon | |
02:00p | The Cricket on the Hearth (time approximate) (special) |
03:00p | The Mouse on the Mayflower (special) |
04:00p | Virginia Graham (guests Tab Hunter, Natalie Schafer, Cassietta George, Arthur Hailey) |
05:00p | Hogan’s Heroes |
05:30p | NBC Nightly News (John Chancellor) |
Evening | |
06:00p | News (local) |
06:30p | Circus! |
07:00p | The Flip Wilson Show (guests Sid Caesar, Carl Reiner, Lena Horne) |
08:00p | Ironside |
09:00p | The Dean Martin Show (guests Carol Channing, Dan Blocker) |
10:00p | News (local) |
10:30p | The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson |
12:00a | Ski Scene |
12:30a | The David Frost Show (guests Richard Harris, Bobby Goldsboro) |
Someone mentioned this in the comments section a couple of weeks ago - Virginia Graham, host of the talk show at 4:00pm (which used to be called Girl Talk), was once a well-known television personality. Today - does anyone but us remember her?
WDSM, Channel 6 (Duluth) (NBC) | |
Morning | |
07:00a | Today |
08:00a | Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade (special) |
11:00a | NFL Football (Kansas City at Detroit) (special) |
Afternoon | |
02:00p | The Cricket on the Hearth (time approximate) (special) |
03:00p | The Mouse on the Mayflower (special) |
04:00p | Mr. Toot |
04:30p | The Munsters (B&W) |
05:00p | Dick Van Dyke (B&W) |
05:30p | Truth or Consequences |
Evening | |
06:00p | News (local) |
06:30p | NBC Nightly News (John Chancellor) |
07:00p | The Flip Wilson Show (guests Sid Caesar, Carl Reiner, Lena Horne) |
08:00p | Ironside |
09:00p | The Dean Martin Show (guests Carol Channing, Dan Blocker) |
10:00p | News (local) |
10:30p | The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson |
No word on Johnny's guests either, but the Monday listing said "Johnny returns to New York." The show was still based in The Big Apple back then, so Johnny was coming back from one of his periodic broadcasting trips to Burbank.
KCMT, Channel 7 (Alexandria.) (NBC, ABC) | |
Morning | |
07:00a | Today |
08:00a | Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade (special) |
11:00a | NFL Football (Kansas City at Detroit) (special) |
Afternoon | |
02:00p | College Football (Nebraska at Oklahoma) (time approximate, joined in progress) (special) |
05:00p | The Courtship of Eddie’s Father (time approximate) |
05:30p | NBC Nightly News (John Chancellor) |
Evening | |
06:00p | News (local) |
06:30p | The Partridge Family |
07:00p | The Flip Wilson Show (guests Sid Caesar, Carl Reiner, Lena Horne) |
08:00p | Ironside |
09:00p | The Dean Martin Show (guests Carol Channing, Dan Blocker) |
10:00p | News (local) |
10:30p | The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson |
I take shots at Channel 7 frequently, but I have to hand it to them - they used their split affiliation correctly today. The NFL game at 11am, then switching directly to the "Game of the Century" on ABC. Well played, KCMT, well played.
WDSE, Channel 8 (Duluth) (PBS) | |
Afternoon | |
04:30p | Sesame Street |
05:30p | The Electric Company |
Evening | |
06:00p | Film |
06:30p | Milestones of Progress |
07:00p | Thirty Minutes |
07:30p | Washington Week in Review |
08:00p | Hollywood Television Theatre |
09:00p | Space in the 70s |
09:30p | Town and Country |
10:00p | Firing Line |
Easy programming day, huh?
KMSP, Channel 9 (ABC) | |
Morning | |
07:00a | CBS Morning News (John Hart) |
08:00a | News and Views |
09:00a | Romper Room |
10:00a | Green Acres |
11:00a | Bewitched |
11:30a | Password (Panelists Martin Milner, Abby Dalton) |
Afternoon | |
12:00p | All My Children |
12:30p | Let’s Make a Deal |
01:00p | The Newlywed Game |
01:30p | Football Pre-Game (special) |
01:45p | College Football (Nebraska at Oklahoma) (special) |
05:00p | News, Weather, Sports (local) (time approximate) |
05:30p | ABC Evening News (Howard K. Smith/Harry Reasoner) |
Evening | |
06:00p | To Tell the Truth (panelists Orson Bean, Kitty Carlisle, Peggy Cass, Bill Cullen) |
06:30p | Truth or Consequences |
07:00p | College Football (Georgia at Georgia Tech) (special) |
10:00p | News (local) (time approximate) |
10:30p | The Wild Wild West |
11:30p | The Dick Cavett Show (guest Danny Kaye) |
01:00a | News (local) |
That Cavett show, which was originally on ABC the night before, is one of those great shows in which he talks with a single guest for the entire 90 minutes. I can't imagine a better conversationalist and entertainer for that than Danny Kaye.
WDIO, Channel 10 (Duluth) (ABC) | |
Morning | |
08:30a | Cartoon Carnival |
09:00a | Romper Room |
09:30a | Jack LaLanne |
10:00a | Mantrap (guests Jack Carter, Pamela Mason, Karen Valentine) |
11:00a | Bewitched |
Afternoon | |
12:00p | The Dating Game |
12:30p | Comedy Carnival (B&W) |
01:00p | The Newlywed Game |
01:30p | Football Pre-Game (special) |
01:45p | College Football (Nebraska at Oklahoma) (special) |
05:00p | Gilligan’s Island (time approximate) |
05:30p | ABC Evening News (Howard K. Smith/Harry Reasoner) |
Evening | |
06:00p | News (local) |
06:30p | Death Valley Days |
07:00p | College Football (Georgia at Georgia Tech) (special) |
10:00p | News (local) (time approximate) |
10:40p | Movie – “The Egyptian” |
Another easy programming day, especially for ABC. Football in the afternoon, football in the evening. Sounds like a plan to me, although I remember being totally exhausted from Nebraska-Oklahoma. How I was able to get going for another game is beyond me.
WTCN, Channel 11 (Ind.) | |
Morning | |
07:30a | Batman |
08:00a | Casey and Houndhouse |
08:30a | Hobo Kelly |
09:00a | News (local) |
09:30a | Jack LaLanne |
10:00a | Dialing for Dollars |
10:30a | Patty Duke |
11:00a | A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court (special) |
Afternoon | |
12:30p | Lunch With Casey |
01:00p | Movie – “The Success” (B&W) |
02:30p | Lucille Rivers |
03:00p | Beat the Clock |
03:30p | Fred and Friends |
04:00p | Gentle Ben |
04:30p | Gilligan’s Island |
05:00p | Petticoat Junction |
05:30p | Star Trek |
Evening | |
06:30p | I Dream of Jeannie |
07:00p | Bracken’s World |
08:00p | The Virginian |
09:30p | News (local) |
10:00p | Dragnet |
10:30p | Movie – “Imitation of Life” |
Pretty standard fare for WTCN, although you don't see Bracken's World in syndication that often.
KEYC, Channel 12 (Mankato) (CBS) | |
Morning | |
07:00a | CBS Morning News (John Hart) |
08:00a | CBS Thanksgiving Day Parades (special) |
11:00a | A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court (special) |
Afternoon | |
12:30p | As the World Turns |
01:00p | Love is a Many Splendored Thing |
01:30p | The Guiding Light |
02:00p | Football Pre-Game (special) |
02:30p | NFL Football (Los Angeles at Dallas) (special) |
05:30p | CBS Evening News (Walter Cronkite) (time approximate) |
Evening | |
06:00p | News (local) |
06:15p | Commercial Film |
06:30p | My Three Sons |
07:00p | Bearcats! |
08:00p | 60 Minutes (special) |
09:00p | CBS Reports (special) |
10:00p | News (local) |
10:30p | The Merv Griffin Show |