Retro: Buffalo - Wednesday, June 1, 1983

[RandTV]

The short-lived but well-received sitcom "Buffalo Bill", starring Dabney Coleman as the egotistical Buffalo TV talk show host "Buffalo" Bill Bittinger debuts on NBC. After its premater cancellation (final episode aired March 29, 1984), then-NBC President Brandon Tartikoff wrote in his memoirs that it was his "biggest profressional regret".

2 WGRZ (NBC) (callsign changed from WGR exactly a month earlier)
AM
06:00 - PTL Club
07:00- Today
09:00 - Richard Simmons
09:30 - Andy Griffith
10:00 - Facts of Life
10:30 - Sale of the Century
11:00 - Wheel of Fortune
11:30 - Dream House
PM
12:00 - NewsCenter 2
12:30 - Search for Tomorrow
01:00 - Days of Our Lives
02:00 - Another World
03:00 - Rockford Files
04:00 - Laverne & Shirley
04:30 - Three's Company
05:00 - People's Court
05:30 - NewsCenter 2
06:30 - NBC Nightly News
07:00 - Entertainment Tonight
07:30 - PM Magazine
08:00 - Real People
09:00 - Facts of Life
09:30- Buffalo Bill (premiere)
10:00 - Quincy
11:00 - NewsCenter 2
11:30 - Best of Carson (March 26, 1981) - Guests: Patrick Macnee, Natassja Kinski; Performer: Pete Barbutti
AM
12:30 - Late Night With David Letterman - Guest: Jim Peterson (the "Playboy Advisor"), Sandra Bernhard
01:30 - NBC News Overnight

4 WIVB (CBS)
AM
06:00 - Morning Stretch
06:30 - CBS Early Morning News
07:00 - CBS Morning News
09:00 - Hour Magazine - Featured: Rory Calhoun; how to survive two marriages; vitamins and pregnancy
10:00 - $25,000 Pyramid - Jo Anne Worley, Barry Gordon
10:30 - Child's Play
11:00 - Price is Right
PM
12:00 - Midday
12:30 - Young and Restless
01:30 - As the World Turns
02:30 - Capitol
03:00 - Guiding Light
04:00 - CBS Children's Mystery Theatre (pre-empting Eight is Enough)
05:00 - You Asked for It
05:30 - Barney Miller
06:00 - News 4 Buffalo
06:30 - CBS Evening News
07:00 - Joker's Wild
07:30 - Muppet Show - Guest: Elke Sommer
08:00 - Billy Graham Crusade (from Orlando; locally pre-empting Zorro and Son and Small & Frye)
09:00 - CBS Wednesday Night Movies: "Rehearsal for Murder" (1982) - Robert Preston, Lynn Redgrave
11:00 - News 4 Buffalo
11:30 - Barney Miller
AM
12:00 - Hart to Hart
01:10 - CBS Late Movie: "Wishbone Cutter" (1977) - Joe Don Baker, Sondra Locke
02:30 - CNN Headline News
03:00 - CBS News Nightwatch (to 6:00 AM)

7 WKBW (ABC)
AM
06:00 - ABC World News This Morning
07:00 - Good Morning America
09:00 - Donahue - Topic: oversexed teen movies
10:00 - AM Buffalo
11:00 - Edge of Night
11:30 - Family Feud
PM
12:00 - Channel 7 Eyewitness News
12:30 - Ryan's Hope
01:00 - All My Children
02:00 - One Life to Live
03:00 - General Hospital
04:00 - Little House on the Prairie
05:00 - Jeffersons
05:30 - WKRP in Cincinnati
06:00 - Channel 7 Eyewitness News
06:30 - ABC World News Tonight
07:00 - Tic-Tac-Dough
07:30 - Family Feud
08:00 - Fall Guy
09:00 - Tales of the Gold Monkey
10:00 - Dynasty
11:00 - Channel 7 Eyewitness News
11:30 - Nightline (during brief hour-long format)
AM
12:30 - Lie Detector
01:00 - News Final (replay?)

17 WNED (PBS)
AM
06:40 - Weather Radio
06:45 - AM Weather
07:00 - Lilias, Yoga and You
07:30 - Sesame Street
08:30 - Mister Rogers
09:00 - Sesame Street
10:00 - Vegetable Soup
10:30 - Studio See
11:00 - Stitch Along
11:30 - Magic of Oil Painting
PM
12:00 - Mister Rogers
12:30 - Electric Company
01:00 - Matinee at the Bijou
03:00 - Lilias, Yoga and You
03:30 - Victory Garden
04:00 - Sesame Street
05:00 - Mister Rogers
05:30 - Over Easy - Guest: Sen. John Heinz (R-PA)
06:00 - Doctor Who
06:30 - Nightly Business Report
07:00 - MacNeil/Lehrer Report
07:30 - Dick Cavett
08:00 - Different Drummer: Blacks in the Military - Part 3 of 3: "From Gold Bars to Silver Stars"
09:00 - Giulini Concerts - Los Angeles Philharmonic performing Brahms' "Symphony No. 1"
10:00 - Artscene
10:30 - Tony Brown's Journal
11:00 - Nightly Business Report
11:30 - PBS Latenight

29 WUTV (Ind.)
AM
06:30 - Ag Show
07:00 - Mighty Mouse & Friends
07:30 - Bugs Bunny & Friends
08:00 - Casper & Friends
08:30 - Brady Bunch
09:00 - My Three Sons
09:30 - Bewitched
10:00 - Love Boat
11:00 - Embergency!
PM
12:00 - 20 Minute Workout
12:30 - My Three Sons
01:00 - 700 Club
02:30 - Popeye & Friends
03:00 - Great Space Coaster
03:30 - Superfriends
04:00 - Scooby-Doo
04:30 - Flintstones
05:00 - Pink Panther
05:30 - One Day at a Time
06:00 - 20 Minute Workout
06:30 - Mary Tyler Moore
07:00 - One Day at a Time
07:30 - All in the Family
08:00 - Movie: "They Made Me a Criminal" - (1939) - John Garfield, Claude Rains, Ann Sheridan, Dead End Kids
10:00 - Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman
10:30 - Best of Saturday Night (March 12, 1977) - Host: Sissy Spacek; Musical guest: Richard Baskin
11:30 - Odd Couple
AM
12:00 - Dick Van Dyke
12:30 - INN News

 

[RandTV]

"Buffalo Bill" had an awesome theme song and intro!

 

[RandTV]

Here are the Canadian TV listings from the Buffalo News, newly available on newspapers.com.

5 CBLT (CBC) Toronto
AM
10:15 - Friendly Giant
10:30 - Mr. Dressup
11:00 - Sesame Street
PM
12:00 - Barbara McLeod
12:30 - Wok With Yan (Chinese cooking)
01:00 - All My Children
02:00 - Take 30 From...
02:30 - Coronation Street
03:00 - Canadian Reflections
04:00 - Do It for Yourself
04:30 - Going Great
05:00 - Happy Days
05:30 - Three's Company
06:00 - Newshour
07:00 - Facts of Life
07:30 - Reach for the Top
08:00 - CBC Movie: "Riel" (1979) (Part 1 of 2) - Raymond Cloutier (as Louis Riel), Christopher Plummer (as Prime Minister John A. Macdonald)
09:30 - Tales of the Unexpected
10:00 - The National (CBC News)
11:00 - Newsfinal
11:30 - Barney Miller
AM
12:00 - Movie: "Night Into Morning" (1951) - Ray Milland, John Hodiak, Nancy Davis (one year before marrying Ronald Reagan)

9 CFTO (CTV) Toronto
AM
06:00 - Univeristy of the Air
06:30 - Uncle Bobby
07:00 - Canada AM
09:00 - Toronto Today
09:30 - Romper Room
10:00 - What's Cooking?
10:30 - It's Your Move
11:00 - Joyce Davidson
11:30 - Just Like Mom
PM
12:00 - Kids Corner
12:30 - Flintstones
01:00 - Alan Thicke (shortly before starting his US late night talk show Thicke of the Night)
03:00 - General Hospital
04:00 - Romance Theater
04:30 - Family Feud
05:00 - People's Court
05:30 - Mork & Mindy
06:00 - WKRP in Cincinnati
06:30 - World Beat News
07:00 - Definition - Jim Perry (commuting between Toronto for this show and Los Angeles for Sale of the Century, and Card Sharks before that)
07:30 - Blue Jays Baseball: at Detroit Tigers
10:30 - Sun Country
11:00 - Night Beat News
AM
12:15 - Movie: "The Thrill of It All" (1963) - Doris Day, James Garner, Arlene Francis, Carl Reiner

11 CHCH (Ind.) Hamilton
AM
06:00 - Yoga
06:30 - It Figures
07:00 - Looking Good, Feeling Fine
07:30 - Donny Mae (religion)
07:45 - Camera on Canada
08:00 - Rev. Bill Prankard
08:30 - Super Pay Cards - Art James (1981-82)
09:00 - Morning Exercise
09:30 - Yan Can Cook
10:00 - The Mad Dash - Pierre Lalonde
10:30 - Klara's Korners
11:00 - Tom Cherington
PM
12:30 - Body Moves
01:00 - Days of Our Lives
02:00 - One Life to Live
03:00 - Capitol
03:30 - Soapbox - Tom Cottle
04:00 - Young and Restless
05:00 - Hour Magazine (see under 4 WIVB Buffalo for info; Nora Ephron was also a guest on that episode)
06:00 - Newsroom
07:00 - Entertainment Tonight
07:30 - Don Cherry's Grapevine
08:00 - Special: 4th Annual Canadian International Drum and Bugle Corps Competition
09:30 - Superkids
10:00 - The Great Debate
11:00 - Newsroom
11:30 - Family Brown
AM
12:00 - Hawaii Five-O (x2)

19 CICA (TVOntario) Toronto
AM
08:00 - Polka Dot Door
08:30 - Tales of Magic
08:45 - Mister Rogers
09:15 - Report Canada
09:30 - Ghosts of Motley Hall
10:00 - Witness to Yesterday
10:30 - Jeremy
11:00 - L'Atelier des Pissenlits (The Dandelion Workshop)
11:30 - Today's Special
PM
12:00 - For the Record
12:30 - World in Your Kitchen
01:00 - Stationery Ark
02:00 - Read All About It
02:30 - Midnight Garden
03:00 - High Notes
04:00 - Entre Deux Nuages (Between Two Clouds)
04:30 - Kidsworld
05:00 - Sesame Street
06:00 - Polka Dot Door
06:30 - Jeremy
07:00 - Stuggle Beneath the Sea
07:30 - Magic Shadows: "Carlton-Browne of the F.O." (UK and Canadian title)/"Man in a Cocked Hat" (US title) (Part 3 of 4) (1959) - Terry-Thomas, Peter Sellers, Luciana Paluzzi
08:00 - World in Action
08:30 - Realities
09:00 - The Academy
10:00 - Music of Man
10:30 - Question Period

 

[Prescott Joe]

Yes, Canadian channels were readily available in much of W.N.Y., though the content
left something to be desired.