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Quirkiest Local TV Show?

S

Stanislav

I've been browsing the archives, and like the threads that nominate best/worst/oddest things. So, how about this: what's the quirkiest, strangest, oddest local TV show you've ever seen? Not necessarily good or bad, just odd.

My nomination would by the "All Night Show" on Ch. 51 in Ft. Lauderdale back in the late 70's/early 80's. An eclectic mix of music videos, local chat, odd public domain cartoons, and seedy prints of old comedy shorts (Laurel & Hardy, etc.). All presided over by a portly bearded man for whom opening a bag of potato chips was probably the most exercise he ever got. (Whenever I see that fat, bearded, lazy boat guy on "The Red Green Show," I think of him....)

Once, the tube went out in the station's one and only live camera. It took them 3 days to get a replacement, so for the next three nights the show went on as usual, except with just a static "All Night Show" slide and audio!
 
> I've been browsing the archives, and like the threads that
> nominate best/worst/oddest things. So, how about this:
> what's the quirkiest, strangest, oddest local TV show you've
> ever seen? Not necessarily good or bad, just odd.
>
> My nomination would by the "All Night Show" on Ch. 51 in Ft.
> Lauderdale back in the late 70's/early 80's. An eclectic
> mix of music videos, local chat, odd public domain cartoons,
> and seedy prints of old comedy shorts (Laurel & Hardy,
> etc.). All presided over by a portly bearded man for whom
> opening a bag of potato chips was probably the most exercise
> he ever got. (Whenever I see that fat, bearded, lazy boat
> guy on "The Red Green Show," I think of him....)
>
> Once, the tube went out in the station's one and only live
> camera. It took them 3 days to get a replacement, so for
> the next three nights the show went on as usual, except with
> just a static "All Night Show" slide and audio!

I remember that show! It was a subscription channel. I think they ran stock market stuff all day, subscription movies in prime time and that show late night. Actually it was pretty good. They ran some good stuff I hadn't seen since.
I used to work nights so it was good to watch that show rather than the 700 Club. I believe Ch 34 in Vero Beach was showing Rawhide and some cartoons overnight at that time too. Great overnight TV. Sure beats informercials.
>
 
> My nomination would by the "All Night Show" on Ch. 51 in Ft.
> Lauderdale back in the late 70's/early 80's. An eclectic
> mix of music videos, local chat, odd public domain cartoons,
> and seedy prints of old comedy shorts (Laurel & Hardy,
> etc.).

Apparently, this was so popular, that, in the late-1970s, competitor WCIX (now WFOR) placed WKID's (now WSCV) "All Night Show" on after WCIX left the air for the night, for cable viewers outside the Miami market. (At the time, WCIX was a regional superstation, seen on cable as far north as Tampa Bay and Orlando.)
 
> Apparently, this was so popular, that, in the late-1970s,
> competitor WCIX (now WFOR) placed WKID's (now WSCV) "All
> Night Show" on after WCIX left the air for the night, for
> cable viewers outside the Miami market. (At the time, WCIX
> was a regional superstation, seen on cable as far north as
> Tampa Bay and Orlando.)


That's where I saw it, on cable in Orlando, although I don't think it was WCIX's doing -- I think several co-owned cable systems simply carried 51 as a "share-time" on the same cable channel as WCIX when it was off the air.

The show had a real "Wayne's World" kind of feel to it -- just a bunch of friends sitting around and "playing TV." I can't for the life of me remember the host's name -- I wonder what he's doing now. (If he didn't die prematurely of a coronary.)
 
Not quite as strange, but another all-nighter fondly remembered around Green Bay is "TJ and the ANT" (TJ for Television Jock, ANT for All Night Theater). One camera on a WLUK-TV techie in the control room as he ran old movies and chatted between films; most of the films were strictly grade B-minus, with the occasional college student flick thrown in. And an opening that Fybush woulda loved - animation of Green Bay's three VHF TV towers southeast of town, complete with blinking lights.
 
> I've been browsing the archives, and like the threads that
> nominate best/worst/oddest things. So, how about this:
> what's the quirkiest, strangest, oddest local TV show you've
> ever seen? Not necessarily good or bad, just odd.
----------
Some quirky shows I've seen or heard about:

"Night Ride" - aired on the Global network in Ontario (CIII) pretty much from its signon in 1974 until the early 90s, I think. It involved a camera mounted on top of a car that drove around downtown Toronto during the night, with music. I believe it was used in place of a test pattern after sign-off.

"New Day" - Now known as A-Channel Morning and airing across Southwestern Ontario on CFPL/CKNX/CHWI, this morning show started as a very quirky, cheap production inside an abandoned Eaton's store in downtown London. There were frequently local artists performing, and an eccletic range of guests. There were a lot of screwups in that era too, in late 1999. Once they had a guest with a set of Native artifacts, and the host accidentally dropped one and smashed it live. Blooper reels since then have avoided this very embarrasing moment.<P ID="signature">______________
From WNBC-TV New York this is Liiiiive at Fiiiiive!</P>
 
> I've been browsing the archives, and like the threads that
> nominate best/worst/oddest things. So, how about this:
> what's the quirkiest, strangest, oddest local TV show you've
> ever seen? Not necessarily good or bad, just odd.

I'd nominate three programs:

1) "Good Morning Tri-States", WTVY-4/Dothan, Ala.
Early-morning news/weather/hunting program hosted by Red Holland, a longtime flamboyant "outdoors" icon. Did most commercials himself ... Red didn't read copy, he SCREAMED it. The unwashed rural faction of southeast Alabama and the Florida panhandle worshipped the guy. Both GMTS and Red were shown the door in December '97 when new owners took over WTVY.

2) "The Funny Company", WSIL-3/Harrisburg, Ill.
Hosted by Briggs Gordon, the station's Sports Director. Dressing up in a red plaid flannel shirt, overalls and polka-dot cap, he hosted a spectacle in bizarre television as UNCLE BRIGGS. He became a local legend, showing WB toons, Three Stooges shorts and engaging in crazy and sometimes double-entendre skits. And 10 minutes after the show, Briggs was back in regular attire anchoring sports on channel 3.

Pic: www.leonardsview.com/unclebriggs.JPG

Said to have been a hard partying guy along the lines of Belushi, the good Unc died some time in the mid '80s of liver failure. He couldn't have been older than 35.

3) "Earline in Storyland", WOWL-15/Florence, Ala.
Saturday morning program in the '60s and early '70s hosted by a "woman" who read childrens' stories in a child-like voice. What I mean by "woman" is, despite physically being an adult female, Earline dressed and emulated the mannerisms of a little girl in real life.
 
> I've been browsing the archives, and like the threads that
> nominate best/worst/oddest things. So, how about this:
> what's the quirkiest, strangest, oddest local TV show you've
> ever seen? Not necessarily good or bad, just odd.
>
> My nomination would by the "All Night Show" on Ch. 51 in Ft.
> Lauderdale back in the late 70's/early 80's. An eclectic
> mix of music videos, local chat, odd public domain cartoons,
> and seedy prints of old comedy shorts (Laurel & Hardy,
> etc.). All presided over by a portly bearded man for whom
> opening a bag of potato chips was probably the most exercise
> he ever got. (Whenever I see that fat, bearded, lazy boat
> guy on "The Red Green Show," I think of him....)
>
> Once, the tube went out in the station's one and only live
> camera. It took them 3 days to get a replacement, so for
> the next three nights the show went on as usual, except with
> just a static "All Night Show" slide and audio!
>

From how you described the "All Night Show," it sounds like it the format was the influence of USA Network's '80s weekend show "Night Flight."
 
> From how you described the "All Night Show," it sounds like
> it the format was the influence of USA Network's '80s
> weekend show "Night Flight."


Could be there was a connection. Maybe someone who got their feet wet in the business at that low-budget Florida UHF ended up later working for USA.
 
Almost anything that ran on KKOG/16, Ventura, Calif., during their nine months on the air in the late 1960s, would be in the running.

Here are a few examples:

Because: "Opinionated" quiz show pitting a panel of three adults against three teenagers, answering questions to which a valid answer could be either "yes" or "no" depending on your reasoning. Debate happens between the two panels and the winner of the question is whoever has the best logic for their answer.

Fun Is Trump: A half-hour game of bridge, with commentary from the participants about their plays.

Alone Together: A rotating panel of psychiatrists and psychologists discuss common phobias, etc., with the 30-something female moderator.

Man Trap: Dating advice for women. I kid you not.

Prizes and Surprises: Something akin to a local Ted Mack's Amateur Hour, but goes on for two hours of amateur talent. The quirky twist: The prizes go not to the performers but to viewers who call in their opinions of same.

Fun At Five: Institutional and government public service films, hosted (audio only) by whoever was running Master Control that day.

Mr. Know-It-All: The station owner, interviewing people from various walks of life, on their particular area of expertise. The gimmick was summed up in the host starting each night's show (yes, a stripped show!) by admitting he was really "Mr. DOESN'T Know-It-All".

Sex And You: The replacement for "Alone Together", less the cute female host but adding medical doctors and local religious leaders to the rotating cast of psychiatrists and psychologists. And the "common phobias" have been replaced by a single subject.

Quirky enough for you?<P ID="signature">______________


</P>
 
>And an opening that Fybush woulda loved - animation of
> Green Bay's three VHF TV towers southeast of town, complete
> with blinking lights.

This wasn't a quirky show, but, when ABC got their first #1 network rating after the 76-77 season, they started raiding other network's affiliates, especially if they had the #1 newscast in town. In Indianapolis, WRTV-6 was the NBC affiliate, with the #1 cast. WLW-I - 13 was the ABC station and had the #3 newscast in town. ABC negotiated and moved to channel 6. WLW-I picked up NBC. As the sign-off the night before the affiliate switch, Channel 13's general manager Chris Duffy took a camera crew and a loving cup that ABC had given the the station for their years of loyalty to the network, to a secluded field. He placed the cup in the middle of the field then shot the cup with a .12 gauge shotgun. Almust 30 years later, NBC had many successful years as the #1`network. As of the last time I saw the ratings, WTHR, 13 had the #1 newscast in Indy. Channel 6 was #3.

If you just wait long enough...it all goes around.
 
> Almost anything that ran on KKOG/16, Ventura, Calif., during
> their nine months on the air in the late 1960s, would be in
> the running.
>
> Here are a few examples:
>
> Because: "Opinionated" quiz show pitting a panel of three
> adults against three teenagers, answering questions to which
> a valid answer could be either "yes" or "no" depending on
> your reasoning. Debate happens between the two panels and
> the winner of the question is whoever has the best logic for
> their answer.
>
> Fun Is Trump: A half-hour game of bridge, with commentary
> from the participants about their plays.
>
> Alone Together: A rotating panel of psychiatrists and
> psychologists discuss common phobias, etc., with the
> 30-something female moderator.
>
> Man Trap: Dating advice for women. I kid you not.
>
> Prizes and Surprises: Something akin to a local Ted Mack's
> Amateur Hour, but goes on for two hours of amateur talent.
> The quirky twist: The prizes go not to the performers but
> to viewers who call in their opinions of same.
>
> Fun At Five: Institutional and government public service
> films, hosted (audio only) by whoever was running Master
> Control that day.
>
> Mr. Know-It-All: The station owner, interviewing people from
> various walks of life, on their particular area of
> expertise. The gimmick was summed up in the host starting
> each night's show (yes, a stripped show!) by admitting he
> was really "Mr. DOESN'T Know-It-All".
>
> Sex And You: The replacement for "Alone Together", less the
> cute female host but adding medical doctors and local
> religious leaders to the rotating cast of psychiatrists and
> psychologists. And the "common phobias" have been replaced
> by a single subject.
>
> Quirky enough for you?
>
[Fun At Five: Institutional and government public service films, hosted (audio only) by whoever was running Master Control that day.]

Much like some of the soft shows stations air at 5PM these days.
 
> >And an opening that Fybush woulda loved - animation of
> > Green Bay's three VHF TV towers southeast of town,
> complete
> > with blinking lights.
>
> This wasn't a quirky show, but, when ABC got their first #1
> network rating after the 76-77 season, they started raiding
> other network's affiliates, especially if they had the #1
> newscast in town. In Indianapolis, WRTV-6 was the NBC
> affiliate, with the #1 cast. WLW-I - 13 was the ABC station
> and had the #3 newscast in town. ABC negotiated and moved to
> channel 6. WLW-I picked up NBC. As the sign-off the night
> before the affiliate switch, Channel 13's general manager
> Chris Duffy took a camera crew and a loving cup that ABC had
> given the the station for their years of loyalty to the
> network, to a secluded field. He placed the cup in the
> middle of the field then shot the cup with a .12 gauge
> shotgun. Almust 30 years later, NBC had many successful
> years as the #1`network. As of the last time I saw the
> ratings, WTHR, 13 had the #1 newscast in Indy. Channel 6
> was #3.
>
> If you just wait long enough...it all goes around.
>
My vote might go to "Tait At Eight," a confrontational talk show
on a now-defunct indie in Muskegon, MI whose call letters I forget,
back in the late 1960s. Jim Tait was in the Joe Pyne/Morton Downey Jr.
vein, although perhaps a little more liberal: once, when an angry
female caller of conservative persuasion threatened to have it out
with him anytime, anywhere, she asked him how she could recognize
him. His answer: "Well, I won't be wearing a white hood, dear.
Will you?" (The reason she had difficulty seeing his face is that
Tait worked on a darkened set similar to Mike Wallace's in the 1950s.)
 
WUAB Channel 43 had a sports show on Sunday Nights in the late 1970's with Cleveland Sports talk Legend Pete Franklin. While I don't remember much about it, I do remember near the end of the show, Franklin would stand on a literal "soapbox" and let fly with his opinions. What I wouldnt give to see at least one of thoae shows again..
 
Not sure if there ever was one in the Maritimes, Live At 5 on what was ATV (now CTV) had a downhome sort of feel to it (they even show such jems as marriage milestones and segments on produce). No tabloid hype, no celebrity gossip, just local feel good fluff.
 
I would have to go with Transit Transit News Magazine which is produced by the MTA and features MTA employees who volunteer for the gig. The show has been on for about ten years and started life as a monthly show for New York City Transit Authority employees, but quickly developed a cult following. It airs on WNYE and several cable channels. The non-professional nature of the show is obvious, but somehow they won an Emmy this year.<P ID="signature">______________
<a href=http://www.triborough.org/blog/>Random Observations on Life, the Universe and Television</a></P>
 
> WUAB Channel 43 had a sports show on Sunday Nights in the
> late 1970's with Cleveland Sports talk Legend Pete Franklin.
> While I don't remember much about it, I do remember near
> the end of the show, Franklin would stand on a literal
> "soapbox" and let fly with his opinions. What I wouldnt
> give to see at least one of thoae shows again..
>

WPTA/Channel 21 in Fort Wayne aired a sort of interactive game show called "Pow!"(This was in the late 70's, just when Pong was starting to catch on.) The way it worked was, the Pong-like shooting game would run on the screen, and you would call in and whenever you said "Pow!" over the phone, the game would shoot at the target, and if you really kicked butt, you'd win some fairly piddly cash prize. It was fun to watch when some old lady contestant would yell, "Pow?" "Pow?" over and over.

Concerning the show in Toronto with the "Car Cam" driving around town with music in the background, doesn't that just sound like a 4 hour long version of the opening credits of "Police Squad"?

(I too immediately thought of "Night Flight" when I read about the all night show in Fla...)
 
"The Dave Steele Show" and "The Lyle Steig Experience". Both were news anchors at WHIO-TV in Dayton, the then and still dominant station. They had summer late-night shows featuring all the stars who toured on the Kenley Players circuit with Dayton one of the stops. Problem was these guys were news anchors trying to do entertainment shows..and not that well. Go to any Marion's Pizza location and you'll see pictures of all the celebrities who came through town and most of the pix have Dave Steele in them.<P ID="signature">______________
"Your right to know supersedes your right to exist"..Gary Burbank</P>
 
> WPTA/Channel 21 in Fort Wayne aired a sort of interactive
> game show called "Pow!"(This was in the late 70's, just when
> Pong was starting to catch on.) The way it worked was, the
> Pong-like shooting game would run on the screen, and you
> would call in and whenever you said "Pow!" over the phone,
> the game would shoot at the target, and if you really kicked
> butt, you'd win some fairly piddly cash prize. It was fun to
> watch when some old lady contestant would yell, "Pow?"
> "Pow?" over and over.

"TV Powww" was syndicated and ran in many markets, each with its own local host (usually the station weatherman, IIRC).

In some markets, it ran in conjunction with a matinee movie, in others, as a stand-alone weekly or daily half-hour, and in some as a daily five-minute feature.<P ID="signature">______________


</P>
 
> > Apparently, this was so popular, that, in the late-1970s,
> > competitor WCIX (now WFOR) placed WKID's (now WSCV) "All
> > Night Show" on after WCIX left the air for the night, for
> > cable viewers outside the Miami market. (At the time, WCIX
>
> > was a regional superstation, seen on cable as far north as
>
> > Tampa Bay and Orlando.)
>
>
> That's where I saw it, on cable in Orlando, although I don't
> think it was WCIX's doing -- I think several co-owned cable
> systems simply carried 51 as a "share-time" on the same
> cable channel as WCIX when it was off the air.
>
> The show had a real "Wayne's World" kind of feel to it --
> just a bunch of friends sitting around and "playing TV." I
> can't for the life of me remember the host's name -- I
> wonder what he's doing now. (If he didn't die prematurely
> of a coronary.)
>
Unfortunatly he did die a few years ago...of a heart attack (I believe).
I can't remember his name either. Someone on the Miami board might know.
A local radio personality named "Big" Wilson did an all night show on channel six for a short time. I believe he has since passed on as well.
I really miss the old WCIX 6. It was a great station.
 
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