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5 is 35: Your Thoughts

S

ssetta

I'm surprised this 35th Anniversary Special for WCVB-TV has not been mentioned here. It aired last night, and it was basically a look at the history of the station, and some of the most significant news events they have covered. It showed lot of old clips, coverage of storms, news bloopers, and all that stuff. So, if anyone saw it, what did you think?
 
Not in Boston, so I didn't see it. However, growing up watching Channel 5, I like that they still have the same logo, and most of the same talent. The station's logo and colors have changed very little in 35 years. This is important! It's why they keep an audience. That doesn't mean that a station shouldn't change technology, which they have, but keeping a logo and a look are still important. Wish WBZ had kept theirs, and Even Channel 7 with their retro circle 7 and heritage WHDH call letters are kind of a throw back (even if neither are the original for that station).
 
I watched it, myself (thanks to the "heads-up" from my wife). I believe this was the first Anniversary special since the "5 is 25" show in 1997. This one was somewhat subdued than the previous birthday shows, but I love a good TV history lesson and this one did not disappoint me in the least.

Out of curiousity, was anyone on this board watching the first sign-on of WCVB-TV on March 19th, 1972 at 3:00 AM? Yup, at the tender age of 12, I set my alarm for 1:45 AM to watch the switchover from WHDH-TV to WCVB-TV. After 'HDH's last movie "Fixed Bayonettes", the station signed-off after 2:00 AM..... but did not dump carrier yet. They went to their black and white "bullseye" test pattern with Ken Stahl's usual VO "WHDH-TV, Channel 5, Boston, Massachusetts conducting this maintenance test period. Our regular programming will begin at 5:45 AM this morning". Then the test pattern went to black for about 25 minutes, or so, until 2:29:30 AM when it reappeared for the last 30 seconds with the same Ken Stahl VO, minus the "our regular programming will begin....". and the carrier was switched off for keeps.

12 minutes later...... the new WCVB-TV fired up with their color test pattern with 1.2 kHz tone at 2:42 AM. The very first voice on WCVB-TV was...... Ken Stahl! WCVB-TV signed on just before 3:00 AM with the "WCVB-TV Preview" hosted by Arnold Zenker. It was a "who's who" of the old WHDH-TV as most of 'HDH's on-air staff moved over to Needham (a good thing too!).

I was told by former WHDH-TV engineer Dave Buhl (who moved on to 'CVB a little later on) that when they dumped carrier on WHDH-TV for the last time, they made sure that they removed all of the circuit breakers from the WHDH-TV STL (and such) to make sure that the operation of the new WCVB-TV would not be impeded in any way. When you come right down to it, the switchover from WHDH to WCVB on 3/19/72 was truly seamless.
 
Growing up in New England and having a choice of stations to watch, I was always impressed by WCVB's consistency and quality. The point about keeping the same logo and many of the same on-air talent is well-taken...but I will always remember Don Gillis hosting "Candlepin Bowling" from Sammy White's Brighton Bowl, with Isaac Laughinghouse on the scoreboard...well before the days of CG scorekeeping, or even instant replay!
 
I watched it, I always love things like this. I had hoped for a few more bloopers/old news clips, but I still enjoyed it!
 
Out of curiousity, was anyone on this board watching the first sign-on of WCVB-TV on March 19th, 1972 at 3:00 AM?
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I too was watching at the time. I seem to recall that just before the sign-on of WCVB a mike was opened and I heard the announcer clear his throat! Methinks I recorded it on my Wollensak reel-to-reel, but the tape must be at the bottom of one of several boxes of junk that have moved with me over the years.
 
I wasn't even born until fall of that year.
I've seen photos with WHDH's old 5 logo in them. My question is, has WCVB had the current logo since sign on?
 
There's a great book called "The Hundred Million Dollar Lunch." It was published in 1974 and has long been out of print but can be sometimes found online or maybe at your local library. It chronicles how the Boston Herald lost the license for channel 5 and WCVB came into existence. Great read!

Sorry, didn't intend to make a pun with the word "Chronicle!"
 
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