July 11: This Day in TV History

[Stanislav]

Just a few random TV related events that happened on July 11. Discuss or comment as you please……

1932: Actor Bob McGrath (Sesame Street) is born in Ottawa, Illinois. Along with Susan (played by Loretta Long) Bob has been the longest lasting human character on the show.

1934: The Communications Act of 1934 stipulates that commercial television stations "operate in the public interest, convenience, and necessity" [yeah, right…*COUGH*], and the FCC is charged with the responsibility of enforcing the act.

1950: Baseball’s All-Star Game (this year played in Comiskey Park, Chicago) is televised for the first time.

1956: Actress Sela Ward (Sisters, Once and Again) is born in Meridian, Mississippi.

1963: Actress Lisa Rinna (Days of our Lives, Melrose Place, Soap Talk) is born in Medford, Oregon.

1966: The Newlywed Game premieres on ABC. That same day, CBS pre-empts Password for a televised press conference on the Vietnam War. Many frustrated Password fans switch channels to sample the new ABC offering, and like it. The Newlywed Game (along with NBC’s recently debuted soap Days of Our Lives) begins chipping away at Password in the ratings, and the latter show would be canceled in the summer of 1967. (It would be resurrected on ABC in 1971.)

1987: The fledgling Fox network begins unveiling its Saturday Night schedule over 4 weeks. The shows involved are, for the most part, now long (and justifiably) forgotten: Werewolf, Women in Prison, The New Adventures of Beans Baxter, and Second Chance.

2004: Sci-fi series The 4400 debuts on the USA Network.

(Just a little featurette I hope to do as time permits…..don’t expect it every single day. It’s an entirely random selection based on a quick Net search, and is not meant to be comprehensive. So, don’t post nasty messages about “you forgot THIS” or “how could you not mention THAT?” Do so, and I’ll just take my keyboard and go home…..)

 

[mleach]

1987: The fledgling Fox network begins unveiling its Saturday Night schedule over 4 weeks. The shows involved are, for the most part, now long (and justifiably) forgotten: Werewolf, Women in Prison, The New Adventures of Beans Baxter, and Second Chance.

I wonder if the quality of those early FOX shows ( Married with Children and Tracy Ullman being the exceptions ) were the reason why FOX never did an anniversary show when they turned 20 last year?

I do know that some of those early FOX shows like "Get A Life" and "21 Jump Street" do have cult followings today.

 

[Corky Marlowe]

Ironiocally, today, 3 of the longest running shows in prime time history are on Fox..."Cops", "America's Most Wanted", and "The Simpsons".

 

[Stanislav]

The other networks have more than their historical share of forgettable turkeys as well. Fox was starting from scratch, and had no legacy of programming and writing/creative talent to draw on, so it was inevitable that a high percentage of their initial offerings would miss the mark. They also were thinking outside the box from the start and weren't afraid to try some different concepts. When you try to develop programming that is by definition and design different than the tried and true, you're going to throw a few air balls.

 

[ricksegers]

1932: Actor Bob McGrath (Sesame Street) is born in Ottawa, Illinois. Along with Susan (played by Loretta Long) Bob has been the longest lasting human character on the show.

It was interesting to note on his birthday, the Thursday edition of "I've Got A Secret" on GSN at 3:30 A.M. (Yes I have no life and I even videotape it) Bob McGrath was a featured guest from his pre-Sesame Street career. He was an Irish tenor who enjoyed huge popularity in Japan. He sang a medley of irish tunes in Japanese.

 

[easttxtv]

Another thing about Fox's early days....it didn't have a nationwide stable of solid, highly-rated stations yet, so it's understandable that their ratings would be generally low for a while. It wasn't until the big affil switches of the mid-1990s when that would change. With Fox's history actually starting with Joan Rivers' late-night talk show, any possible anniversary special wouldn't want to reminisce when it comes to the history of that program, and Joan would definitely not be available to rehash that.

 

[Stanislav]

1932: Actor Bob McGrath (Sesame Street) is born in Ottawa, Illinois. Along with Susan (played by Loretta Long) Bob has been the longest lasting human character on the show.

It was interesting to note on his birthday, the Thursday edition of "I've Got A Secret" on GSN at 3:30 A.M. (Yes I have no life and I even videotape it) Bob McGrath was a featured guest from his pre-Sesame Street career. He was an Irish tenor who enjoyed huge popularity in Japan. He sang a medley of irish tunes in Japanese.

The mere concept of "Irish tunes sung in Japanese" is making me reach for the Dramamine.....

 

[KML0224]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dlgiritpmfo <---Maybe this classic involving Bob will really get you sick! As they sing it to you: GIMME FIVE!

 

[Tim-In-Houston]

It seems so odd that, aside from the Joan Rivers talk show, Fox would choose to premiere their network offerings on a Saturday, rather than a weeknight. I mean, I remember them doing it, just seems odd in retrospect to pick, what is now, one of the lowest rated (if not the lowest rated) nights in primetime.

Sunday as well with, IIRC, "Married...With Children," "The Tracy Ullman Show," "Mr. President" (with George C. Scott in the title role and Conrad Bains of "Diff'rent Strokes" and "Maude" fame as his Chief of Staff) and, obviously, a couple of other forgettable shows to round out the three hours. Was "The Reporters," a newsmagazine-type show, one of their original Sunday night shows or "America's Most Wanted"?

Mondays were the first weeknight Fox programmed, a couple years later, with the premiere of "Alien Nation," based on the movie of the same name. It wasn't until, what, 1994-1995 that Fox had a week-long slate of programming with the premiere of their Friday night line-up, where the break-out hit "X-Files" premiered, which would go on to displace "Married..." on Sundays.

 

[Ultimajock]

It seems so odd that, aside from the Joan Rivers talk show, Fox would choose to premiere their network offerings on a Saturday, rather than a weeknight. I mean, I remember them doing it, just seems odd in retrospect to pick, what is now, one of the lowest rated (if not the lowest rated) nights in primetime.

Sunday as well with, IIRC, "Married...With Children," "The Tracy Ullman Show," "Mr. President" (with George C. Scott in the title role and Conrad Bains of "Diff'rent Strokes" and "Maude" fame as his Chief of Staff) and, obviously, a couple of other forgettable shows to round out the three hours.

...not odd at all -- many of Fox's affiliates (and probably O&O's too) had a batch of syndicated contracts to burn off, and in some markets the game shows and movies were actually doing fairly respectably against the networks. And no network has ever had a rollout of more than a few nights in the week. Too expensive and too much of a gamble...

 

[Tim from Springfield IL]

Was "The Reporters," a newsmagazine-type show, one of their original Sunday night shows or "America's Most Wanted"?

"The Reporters" didn't premiere until Saturday, July 30, 1988, and ran on Saturdays during its two-season run. This link contains the early Fox network schedules (ending at Jan. 14, 1990 when the Simpsons established a permanent spot on the Fox Sunday night schedule):

http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~aarong/from-andrew/fox/fox-1987to1990.html

Note the frequent schedule shifts/changes in the early days of the Fox Sunday/Saturday night lineups.

Also don't forget that in fall 1990 Fox began programming on Thursday nights with the then-hyped move of "The Simpsons" to 8/7 on Thursday nights opposite NBC's "Cosby Show." Speaking of which, anyone remember Fox's ads from 1995 season parodying NBC's "Must See TV" Thursday night lineup (Friends, Seinfeld, ER, and Co.) with their own "Gotta See TV" lineup of the likes of "Martin," "Living Single" and "New York Undercover"?

 

[Corky Marlowe]

It was interesting to note on his birthday, the Thursday edition of "I've Got A Secret" on GSN at 3:30 A.M. (Yes I have no life and I even videotape it) Bob McGrath was a featured guest from his pre-Sesame Street career. He was an Irish tenor who enjoyed huge popularity in Japan. He sang a medley of irish tunes in Japanese.

I think he appeared on "To Tell The Truth" as well. Also, we can't forget his big break..."Sing Along With Mitch"!

 

[radioman148]

>>we can't forget his big break..."Sing Along With Mitch"!>>

"Follow the bouncing ball"

 

[David67]

Just a few random TV related events that happened on July 11. Discuss or comment as you please……

1932: Actor Bob McGrath (Sesame Street) is born in Ottawa, Illinois. Along with Susan (played by Loretta Long) Bob has been the longest lasting human character on the show.

1934: The Communications Act of 1934 stipulates that commercial television stations "operate in the public interest, convenience, and necessity" [yeah, right…*COUGH*], and the FCC is charged with the responsibility of enforcing the act.

1950: Baseball’s All-Star Game (this year played in Comiskey Park, Chicago) is televised for the first time.

1956: Actress Sela Ward (Sisters, Once and Again) is born in Meridian, Mississippi.

1963: Actress Lisa Rinna (Days of our Lives, Melrose Place, Soap Talk) is born in Medford, Oregon.

1966: The Newlywed Game premieres on ABC. That same day, CBS pre-empts Password for a televised press conference on the Vietnam War. Many frustrated Password fans switch channels to sample the new ABC offering, and like it. The Newlywed Game (along with NBC’s recently debuted soap Days of Our Lives) begins chipping away at Password in the ratings, and the latter show would be canceled in the summer of 1967. (It would be resurrected on ABC in 1971.)

1987: The fledgling Fox network begins unveiling its Saturday Night schedule over 4 weeks. The shows involved are, for the most part, now long (and justifiably) forgotten: Werewolf, Women in Prison, The New Adventures of Beans Baxter, and Second Chance.

2004: Sci-fi series The 4400 debuts on the USA Network.

(Just a little featurette I hope to do as time permits…..don’t expect it every single day. It’s an entirely random selection based on a quick Net search, and is not meant to be comprehensive. So, don’t post nasty messages about “you forgot THIS” or “how could you not mention THAT?” Do so, and I’ll just take my keyboard and go home…..)

I think a subject like Women in Prison needs a new tv series,LOL! ;D 8)

 

[Tim from Springfield IL]

I think a subject like Women in Prison needs a new tv series,LOL! ;D 8)

Hasn't MSNBC (or maybe it was Discovery) already done something similar already? (If it hasn't been done yet, I'm sure we all know what type of genre a program about women in prison will be like).

 

[radioman148]

Just a few random TV related events that happened on July 11. Discuss or comment as you please……

1932: Actor Bob McGrath (Sesame Street) is born in Ottawa, Illinois. Along with Susan (played by Loretta Long) Bob has been the longest lasting human character on the show.

1934: The Communications Act of 1934 stipulates that commercial television stations "operate in the public interest, convenience, and necessity" [yeah, right…*COUGH*], and the FCC is charged with the responsibility of enforcing the act.

1950: Baseball’s All-Star Game (this year played in Comiskey Park, Chicago) is televised for the first time.

1956: Actress Sela Ward (Sisters, Once and Again) is born in Meridian, Mississippi.

1963: Actress Lisa Rinna (Days of our Lives, Melrose Place, Soap Talk) is born in Medford, Oregon.

1966: The Newlywed Game premieres on ABC. That same day, CBS pre-empts Password for a televised press conference on the Vietnam War. Many frustrated Password fans switch channels to sample the new ABC offering, and like it. The Newlywed Game (along with NBC’s recently debuted soap Days of Our Lives) begins chipping away at Password in the ratings, and the latter show would be canceled in the summer of 1967. (It would be resurrected on ABC in 1971.)

1987: The fledgling Fox network begins unveiling its Saturday Night schedule over 4 weeks. The shows involved are, for the most part, now long (and justifiably) forgotten: Werewolf, Women in Prison, The New Adventures of Beans Baxter, and Second Chance.

2004: Sci-fi series The 4400 debuts on the USA Network.

(Just a little featurette I hope to do as time permits…..don’t expect it every single day. It’s an entirely random selection based on a quick Net search, and is not meant to be comprehensive. So, don’t post nasty messages about “you forgot THIS” or “how could you not mention THAT?” Do so, and I’ll just take my keyboard and go home…..)

I think a subject like Women in Prison needs a new tv series,LOL! ;D 8)

Good old "USA Up All Night" in the 90s. ;D

 

[Tim from Springfield IL]

I think a subject like Women in Prison needs a new tv series,LOL! ;D 8)

Hasn't MSNBC (or maybe it was Discovery) already done something similar already? (If it hasn't been done yet, I'm sure we all know what type of genre a program about women in prison will be like).

And I'm sure there have been Lifetime (or network) made-for TV movies on that subject already.

 

[David67]

Just a few random TV related events that happened on July 11. Discuss or comment as you please……

1932: Actor Bob McGrath (Sesame Street) is born in Ottawa, Illinois. Along with Susan (played by Loretta Long) Bob has been the longest lasting human character on the show.

1934: The Communications Act of 1934 stipulates that commercial television stations "operate in the public interest, convenience, and necessity" [yeah, right…*COUGH*], and the FCC is charged with the responsibility of enforcing the act.

1950: Baseball’s All-Star Game (this year played in Comiskey Park, Chicago) is televised for the first time.

1956: Actress Sela Ward (Sisters, Once and Again) is born in Meridian, Mississippi.

1963: Actress Lisa Rinna (Days of our Lives, Melrose Place, Soap Talk) is born in Medford, Oregon.

1966: The Newlywed Game premieres on ABC. That same day, CBS pre-empts Password for a televised press conference on the Vietnam War. Many frustrated Password fans switch channels to sample the new ABC offering, and like it. The Newlywed Game (along with NBC’s recently debuted soap Days of Our Lives) begins chipping away at Password in the ratings, and the latter show would be canceled in the summer of 1967. (It would be resurrected on ABC in 1971.)

1987: The fledgling Fox network begins unveiling its Saturday Night schedule over 4 weeks. The shows involved are, for the most part, now long (and justifiably) forgotten: Werewolf, Women in Prison, The New Adventures of Beans Baxter, and Second Chance.

2004: Sci-fi series The 4400 debuts on the USA Network.

(Just a little featurette I hope to do as time permits…..don’t expect it every single day. It’s an entirely random selection based on a quick Net search, and is not meant to be comprehensive. So, don’t post nasty messages about “you forgot THIS” or “how could you not mention THAT?” Do so, and I’ll just take my keyboard and go home…..)

I think a subject like Women in Prison needs a new tv series,LOL! ;D 8)

Good old "USA Up All Night" in the 90s. ;D

I miss that show,I used to watch it all the time