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Around the dial
The blogosphere has been a bit quiet this week—unless you're writing about politics, I guess. Fortunately, we don't do that gig here, unless you want to see about ten hours of NBC's coverage of...
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This week in TV Guide: November 7, 1964
This week, Arthur C. Nielsen, Jr. defends the accuracy of the television ratings system against the slings and arrows of outrageous critics. "Ratings are today's TV scapegoat" he writes. "Shows with...
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What's on TV? Friday, November 13, 1964
There's something about Fridays that always makes them fun to look at—even if it happens to be Friday the 13th. After all, you're not constrained by having to get up for work or school the next day,...
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What we lose when television ignores the arts
Given the choice between a cartoon of cats watching television and a video of musicians playing music, I opted to go with the latter this week. (You can let me know whether or not I chose wisely.) This...
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Around the dial
HONEY, THE KIDS ARE WATCHING THOSE CHARACTERS IN WASHINGTON AGAIN.Let's start off the week at Television's New Frontier: The 1960s, with a look at The Jack Benny Programin 1962. The Benny show, in both...
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This week in TV Guide: November 11, 1972
What would Alistair Cooke make of America today? Now, we're all friends here, and I know you won't mind me speaking frankly, or hold it against me. It was 48 years ago this week that Cooke introduced...
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What's on TV? Tuesday, November 14, 1972
There's something particularly enjoyable about today's programming. It's not just the notables—for instance, Bonanza's ill-fated move to Tuesdays, which culminates in the show's cancellation after 14...
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The midnight hour
According to various Christian traditions, it is the archangel Gabriel who will blow the horn announcing the Lord's return to Earth and the Time of Final Judgment, as described in the Apocalypse of...
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Around the dial
Don't look now, but Thanksgiving is next week, which means those can't-miss Christmas programs aren't far behind. (But I wish they'd at least wait until December.) For the up-to-the-minute details on...
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This week in TV Guide: November 21, 1970
Let me be among the first to which you all a happy Thanksgiving! Of course, that shouldn't be too difficult, since this year, as was the case 50 years ago, Thanksgiving is still five days away. It's...
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What's on TV? Thursday, November 26, 1970
I think this is new territory for us, although we might have seen a part of Oregon in one of the northern California issues. Even in 1970, we still have a lot of dual-affiliate stations, and I heartily...
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Happy Thanksgiving!
It's been that kind of year, hasn't it? In our particular circle of Hell, we've been told that we can't get together with family and friends for Thanksgiving unless we all constitute part of a...
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Around the dial
This, really, is the only way to watch television on the day after Thanksgiving. Or any other day, for that matter. If you're struggling with a tryptophan hangover, or, like me, if you have to work...
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This week in TV Guide: November 29, 1958
There's a little something for everyone in this issue, including specials, sports, and even a Christmas show, so let's get right to it before we forget! Saturday night Victor Borge stars in his fourth...
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What's on TV: Thursday, December 4, 1958
I mentioned on Saturday that this was a week of specials, but for today's feature I chose a day with no specials, a chance to take a look at an ordinary schedule before it becomes overloaded with...
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Gailey for the Defense (and other concepts that never made it off the drawing...
Fred Gailey and his most famous clientYou may recall a Christmas story I wrote a few years ago; it was, I thought, a moderately humorous piece in which I imagned Fred Gailey, the attorney who cleared...
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Around the dial
If you're old enough to remember the programs I write about each week, then you probably remember the Bobby Darin song "Beyond the Sea" That's the first thing I thought of when I read "Beyond the Sea...
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This week in TV Guide: December 2, 1967
We're long past the point when television claimed to be an impartial bystander in the stories it covers. After all, just look at last month's presidential election. Or, perhaps less controversially,...
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What's on TV? Monday, December 4, 1967
W e're told by TV Guide that Monday represents the start of a new morning schedule for ABC. The Family Game and The Children's Doctor have moved to new timeslots, and two new game shows make their...
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Your 2020 Christmas Gift Guide!
One of the more wonderful things about the most wonderful time of the year is that, thanks to our friend the internet, you don't necessarily have to head for the mall on December 24 to get that...
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