Retro: Minneapolis-St. Paul--Wed, Fed 20, 1974

[Mike Stroud]

TV Guide, Minneapolis-St. Paul edition--cover, Michael Douglas and Karl Malden ("The Streets of San Francisco")

Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota:
(2) KTCA (PBS)
(4) WCCO (CBS)
(5) KSTP (NBC)--now ABC affiliate
(9) KMSP (ABC, CBS secondary)--now FOX affiliate
(11) WTCN (Ind.)--now KARE, an NBC affiliate

MORNING
6:00
(5) Minnesota Today--local

6:30
(4) Sunrise Semester
(5) Not for Women Only
(11) Figure Fitness--possibly local

7:00
(4) Carmen--probably local women's show
(5) Today Show--Frank McGee, Barbara Walters
(9) CBS Morning News--Hughes Rudd, Sally Quinn (pre-empted on WCCO)
(11) New Zoo Revue

7:30
(4) Clancy and Willie--probably local children's show
(11) Popeye and Porky--now, there's a combination for you--!

8:00
(4) Captain Kangaroo--no episode description
(9) News and Views--probably local

8:30
(2) French Chef--no description here either
(9) Romper Room
(11) Mister Ed--"a horse is but of horse, of course"

9:00
(2) probably in-school programming
(4) Joker's Wild--Jack Barry had begun the cash-and-devils bonus round by this point
(5) Dinah Shore--"Dinah's Place" was actual title
(9) Hazel--perhaps the most successful live-action adaptation of a cartoon character in TV history; rerun
(11) Flintstones

9:30
(4) $10,000 Pyramid
(5) Jeopardy!--despite what happened to the show later in the year, it was actually beating "Pyramid" nationally at times
(9) I've Got a Secret--probably the unsuccessful 1972-73 revival with Steve Allen hosting
(11) I Dream of Jeannie

10:00
(2) Electric Company
(4) Gambit--Wink Martindale emceed this blackjack competition for four years
(5) Wizard of Odds--Alex Trebek getting his feet wet in America, basically
(9) Beat the Clock (Gene Wood version)
(11) Father Knows Best--and, in prime time, it had become "Doctor Knows Best," with Robert Young starring in "Marcus Welby, M.D."

10:30
(2) in-school programming
(4) Love of Life--CBS soap
(5) Hollywood Squares
(9) Brady Bunch--ABC rerun
(11) Andy Griffith

10:55
(4) Live Today--local religious show; preempting CBS newscast with Douglas Edwards

11:00
(4) Young and the Restless--and after a little preaching and devotions, back to some sin--!!
(5) Jackpot!--"hip"-styled Bob Stewart game show hosted by Geoff Edwards; riddle-solving was the aim here
(9) Password--first program of the day's listing to get an episode description, with celebrities Joanna Barnes and Nipsey Russell
(11) That Girl--rerun

11:30
(2) Washington Straight Talk--public affairs (unsure of PBS or syndicated)
(4) Search for Tomorrow
(5) Baffle--Heatter-Quigley game show hosted by erstwhile sportscaster Dick Enberg
(9) Split Second
(11) What's New?--variety show; possibly local

11:55
(5) NBC News--Edwin Newman

AFTERNOON
12:00
(2) Sesame Street
(4) Midday--local
(5) KSTP News
(9) All My Children

12:15
(5) Dial 5--local interview show (45 minutes; preempts NBC's "Three on a Match")

12:30
(4) As the World Turns--the daily visit to Oakdale, that great American haven of infidelity, double-dealing, slander, and all the morally upright virtues that made this country great--!
(9) Let's Make a Deal--Monty Hall still at it after a decade on two different networks

1:00
(2) in-school programming
(4) Guiding Light--a show that seemed destined to last in perpetuity; alas, its end will come in September 2009
(5) Days of Our Lives--this show, meanwhile, is still going on NBC by the skin of its teeth
(9) Newlywed Game--but some people wanted to "make whoopee" instead
(11) Movie--"Operation Bikini," 1963

1:30
(4) Edge of Night--if Oakdale was impeccable, Monticello was positively the Board of Health of soapdom--!
(5) Doctors--not the current syndicated daytime talk show, of course; this resembled "General Hospital" but was more intense dramatically
(9) Girl in My Life--not much info on this daytime oddity; perhaps it could be called a more genteel, refined reality show (though probably tasteless by the standards of that day)

2:00
(4) Price is Right--still at 30 minutes
(5) Another World--the "Steve and Alice and Rachel" triangle was then daytime's hottest love story
(9) General Hospital--in the throes of a slump that lasted until ABC handed down the 1978 ultimatum to sink or swim

2:30
(4) Match Game--people laughed so hard until they blanked
(5) How to Survive a Marriage--this depressing soap survived for about 15 1/2 months
(9) One Life to Live--one might consider it TV's first intentionally "multi-cultural" serial

3:00
(4) Tattletales--debut week for CBS game show
(5) Somerset--weak NBC sudser that never caught fire
(9) Love, American Style--ABC rerun
(11) Gomer Pyle, USMC--"well, gawllll-lee!"

3:30
(4) Movie--"The Wheeler Dealers," 1963
(5) Dick Van Dyke--episode description: "Alan (Carl Reiner) offers Laura (Mary Tyler Moore) a TV contract as a dancer"
(9) Mike Douglas (90-minute version)
(11) Petticoat Junction--rerun

4:00
(2) Mister Rogers--"can you say ...?"
(5) Mod Squad--three kid cops taking on the world of crime, whether hip or square
(11) Flintstones

4:30
(2) Sesame Street
(11) Gilligan's Island--episode description: "Gilligan's astounding everyone with his ability to read minds"

5:00
(5) Hogan's Heroes
(9) KMSP News
(11) Bewitched--Dick York as Darrin in this episode

5:30
(2) Electric Company
(4) CBS Evening News--Walter Cronkite
(5) NBC Nightly News--John Chancellor
(9) ABC Evening News--Howard K. Smith, Harry Reasoner
(11) Mission: Impossible--one of the hot syndicated reruns of the 1973-74 season

EVENING
6:00
(2) Management: a Joint Venture--probably adult educational
(4) WCCO News
(5) KSTP News
(9) To Tell the Truth--Garry Moore and the gang try to sniff out impostors

6:30
(2) Inquiry--possibly local public affairs
(4) Laurel and Hardy--"Blockheads;" unsure of whether this was syndicated, or old films WCCO had in its inventory
(5) Hollywood Squares--syndicated version
(9) Truth or Consequences--Bob Barker version
(11) Lucy Show--color episode

7:00
(2) Washington Connection--probably PBS
(4) Sonny and Cher--on this episode, mid-60s pop music heroes The Righteous Brothers re-unite, in conjunction with their comeback hit that year, "Rock and Roll Heaven"
(5) Chase--Jack Webb show that was basically a more action/adventure-oriented "Adam-12;" Stephen J. Cannell produced and borrowed its ensemble-cast structure for his "A-Team" years later
(9) The Cowboys--short-lived neo-Western starring Jim Davis, who toward the end of his life became famous as Jock Ewing on "Dallas"
(11) Dealer's Choice--in WTCN ad, Bob Hastings was pictured as host of this syndicated casino-themed game; he lasted a few weeks before Jack Clark ("Cross-wits," "Wheel of Fortune") took over

7:30
(2) Theater in America--adaptation of Shakespeare's "King Lear," with James Earl Jones in title role; also starred Paul Sorvino and Rene Auberjonois
(9) Movie--"The Hellstrom Chronicle," 1971 (documentary)
(11) Father Knows Best--it's about bedtime for him, isn't it?--!

8:00
(4) Cannon--William Conrad starred for five years in this Quinn Martin show about a decidedly unglamorous flatfoot, who compensated for his middle-aged, overweight image with tenacity in pursuing all leads
(5) Movie--"A Case of Rape," acclaimed 1974 TV-movie that was probably very controversial, especially with children possibly viewing (NBC issued no disclaimer in the listings, however)
(11) Merv Griffin (90-minute version; all Metromedia independents aired this in prime time)

9:00
(4) Kojak--"who loves ya, baby?"
(9) Doc Elliot--James Franciscus in the title role of this medical drama

9:30
(11) WTCN News

10:00
(4) WCCO News (50 minutes)
(5) KSTP News
(9) KMSP News
(11) Perry Mason--still popular nearly a decade after its original network run

10:30
(5) Tonight Show--Johnny Carson
(9) Horror Hall of Fame--A Monster Salute--ABC special hosted by Vincent Price

10:50
(4) Movie--"Viva Las Vegas," 1964 (Elvis flick)

11:00
(11) Movie--"Flaming Star," 1960

12:00 a.m.
(5) Tomorrow--Tom Snyder
(9) Big Valley--rerun

12:30
(4) Movie--"The Desperados," 1969

1:00
(9) KMSP News

 

[Mike Stroud]

Boy, am I dyslexic. Look at my description of "Mister Ed":

"a horse is but of horse, of course"

For the prepositionally challenged, that should have been "... is but A horse ..."

And the line ends, "I am Mister stupid."

 

[azumanga]

Boy, am I dyslexic. Look at my description of "Mister Ed":

"a horse is but of horse, of course"

For the prepositionally challenged, that should have been "... is but A horse ..."

And the line ends, "I am Mister stupid."

I thought the opening line went, "A horse is a horse, of course, of course..."

 

[Mike Stroud]

I think you are right. Not only did I make a typo, I got the whole f&*$(#@g phrase wrong!!! For one thing, I never saw an entire episode of the show, even when it ran on Nick at Nite in the 1980s. I need to stick to the post-1965 period when making comments and let those earlier shows ride.

 

[Stanislav]

Boy, am I dyslexic. Look at my description of "Mister Ed":

"a horse is but of horse, of course"

For the prepositionally challenged, that should have been "... is but A horse ..."

And the line ends, "I am Mister stupid."

I thought the opening line went, "A horse is a horse, of course, of course..."

And some preacher once claimed that if you play that line backwards, it sounds like "Someone sang this song for Satan." (It kinda maybe remotely does, if you really use your imagination...and apparently, this preacher had a very vivid imagination...) So, apparently the producers of Mister Ed were part of some vast conspiracy to corrupt our youth through "backwards masking." :

(For the record, I don't think "Number nine" backwards sounds like "turn me on, dead man," either...) ;D

 

[radioman148]

Boy, am I dyslexic. Look at my description of "Mister Ed":

"a horse is but of horse, of course"

For the prepositionally challenged, that should have been "... is but A horse ..."

And the line ends, "I am Mister stupid."

I thought the opening line went, "A horse is a horse, of course, of course..."

The song was good, but Mr. Ed was funnier. When he was talking on the phone or paging through the phone book or newspaper--that was hilarious.

 

[classictvfan]

Most of the reruns on Channel 11 wound up on KMSP when it went from ABC to being an Independent

 

[RALfan]

7:00
(4) Carmen--probably local women's show

7:30
(4) Clancy and Willie--probably local children's show

These were both local kids' shows; the former, Carmen's Cottage, was the indirect successor to Axel and His Dog.

(4) Laurel and Hardy--"Blockheads;" unsure of whether this was syndicated, or old films WCCO had in its inventory

They were the old films.

 

[Ultimajock]

Most of the reruns on Channel 11 wound up on KMSP when it went from ABC to being an Independent

...as did first-run production and airing of Verne Gagne's AWA All-Star Wrestling. In fact, the quality of production on the syndicated version of that series took a noticeable decline when it moved from WTCN to KMSP. KMSP frequently ran additional matches taped at the St. Paul Civic Center on one of its two weekend 11:00 A.M. runs of All-Star Wrestling; these matches didn't usually make it onto the syndication tapes...

 

[bpatrick]

"The Girl In My Life" was meant to be a throwback to
the popular '50s daytime show "The Big Payoff." Men
would come on the show and describe some good deed
or sacrifice their wives, mothers, sisters, girlfriends (does
that pretty much cover the ground?) had performed; then
the female in question would come out and receive a prize.
What had made CBS dominant at 3 PM in the '50s seemed
dated and corny in the '70s, and I doubt if the word "girl"
in the title went over too well either, since in the era of
women's lib it has become derogatory to call a female over
age eighteen a "girl".

One side note: in the later months of this show's run the
announcer was Bob Warren, no stranger to this type of
thing as announcer on "This Is Your Life" in both the '50s
and '70s (many of you may recognize his voice as Lawrence
Welk's announcer).

 

[BRNout]

Speaking of WTCN-11, here's a clip of their 'extra groovy' station ID from around this same era. Pretty cool!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j7DPNQdCuYw