Retro: Nashville, Wednesday, Jun. 19th, 1985

[crainbebo]

Source: TV Guide, Nashville Edition. Issue #1681. (just received in the mail!)

CHANNELS
2 WKRN Nashville [ABC]
4 WSMV Nashville [NBC]
5 WTVF Nashville [CBS]
8 WDCN Nashville [PBS]
13 WBKO Bowling Green, KY [ABC]
17 WZTV Nashville [IND]
22 WCTE Cookeville, TN [PBS]
30 WCAY Nashville [IND]
39 WFAY Murfreesboro [IND]
KET Kentucky Educational Television [PBS, listed starting at 2:30PM]

5AM
4 NBC News-Connie Chung
5 CBS News-Faith Daniels

5:30
4 Ralph Emery
5 Ag-Day
17 Carl Tipton

5:55
13 Farm & Home

6AM
2 ABC News-Bell/Sullivan
5 CBS News-Kurtis/George
13 ABC/Local News
17 Jimmy Swaggart
30 Superheroes
39 Biznet News-Comer/Grant

6:30
17 Great Space Coaster
30 Superfriends

7AM
2 13 Good Morning America
Scheduled guest: actor Emilio Estevez ["St. Elmo's Fire"].
4 Today-Gumbel/Pauley
Scheduled: Don Johnson and Philip Michael Thomas ["Miami Vice"].
17 Bugs Bunny & Porky Pig
30 Inspector Gadget
39 Ronnie Page Gospel

7:15
8 A.M. Weather

7:30
8 Nightly Business Report
Guest commentator: Arthur Laffer.
17 Tom & Jerry
22 Farm Day
30 Heathcliff

7:45
22 A.M. Weather

8AM
5 News
8 Sesame Street
17 Scooby Doo
30 Fat Albert
39 Living to Go

8:30
5 Press Your Luck
17 Woody Woodpecker & Friends
30 Tranzor Z
39 Brother Henson's Lighthouse Hour

9AM
2 13 Phil Donahue
4 Hour Magazine
Victoria Principal [conclusion]; the first of a three-part discussion of headaches; a cookbook for students.
5 Match Game (reruns likely)
8 22 Electric Company
17 Facts of Life
Jo [Nancy McKeon] learns that a teacher friend [Deborah Harmon] is leaving Eastland.
30 700 Club
39 Richard Roberts

9:30
5 Price is Right
8 22 3-2-1 Contact
17 Brady Bunch

10AM
2 Sally Jessy Raphael
4 Wheel of Fortune
8 Mister Rogers' Neighborhood
13 Angie
When family bickering deadlocks wedding plans, Angie and Brad decide to elope.
17 Family
22 Woodwright's Shop
30 Jim Bakker
39 Old Fashioned Gospel Hour

10:30
2 13 All-Star Blitz
Scheduled: Charles Nelson Reilly, Marion Ross, Telma Hopkins, Larry Manetti.
4 Scrabble
5 Talk of the Town
8 Today's Special
22 College for Canines
39 20 Minute Workout

11AM
2 13 Ryan's Hope
4 Channel Four Magazine
8 22 Sesame Street
17 Andy Griffith
30 Jimmy Swaggart
39 Odyssey [85]

11:30
2 Loving
5 Young and the Restless
13 Midday
17 Divorce Court
30 Living to Go

Noon
2 13 All My Children
8 Contest of Champions 1985
17 Movie BW
"Situation Hopeless but Not Serious." [1965] Wacky farce about two GIs imprisoned in the cellar of an eccentric German shopkeeper [Alec Guinness]. Robert Redford.
22 Music from Tennessee Tech
30 Flipper

12:30
4 Sale of the Century
5 As the World Turns
30 I Dream of Jeannie

1PM
2 13 One Life to Live
4 Another World
22 Newton's Apple
30 Eight is Enough
39 INN News

1:30
5 Capitol
22 Timmy and Lassie
39 We're Cooking Now

2PM
2 13 General Hospital
4 Santa Barbara
5 Guiding Light
8 Nature of Things
17 Amazing Spider-Man
22 Nova
"Here's Looking at You, Kid" documents the recovery of a San Francisco boy who suffered serious burns in 1975.
30 Gidget
39 Alive & Well!

2:30
17 Flintstones
30 Fat Albert
KET Electric Company

3PM
2 Little House on the Prairie
4 Days of Our Lives
5 $25,000 Pyramid
Scheduled: Charles Siebert, Jo Anne Worley.
8 Fall and Rise of Reginald Perin
13 Loving
17 Bugs Bunny & Porky Pig
22 KET Sesame Street
30 Tranzor Z
39 Odyssey [85]

3:30
5 Joker's Wild
8 3-2-1 Contact
13 Diff'rent Strokes
17 Tom & Jerry
30 Heathcliff

4PM
2 Dallas
Ellie [Barbara Bel Geddes] fears that the lump in her breast might be cancerous. First of two parts. Dusty: Jared Martin.
4 $100,000 Name That Tune
5 Dukes of Hazard
Daisy [Catherine Bach] is unaware that the stranger she gave a lift to is the henchman of a boss who's trying to muscle in on Boss Hogg's territory.
8 22 KET Mister Rogers' Neighborhood
13 Jeffersons
Florence's boy friend is coming for dinner-with an appetite for matrimony. Florence: Marla Gibbs. Buzz Thatcher: Larry McCormick.
17 He-Man and the Masters of the Universe
30 Inspector Gadget
39 Odyssey [85]

4:30
4 Jeopardy!
8 22 KET Electric Company
13 WKRP in Cincinnati
Carlson [Gordon Jump] thinks up a wacko Thanksgiving promotional gimmick. Andy: Gary Sandy.
17 Voltron
30 Leave it to Beaver BW
Wally [Tony Dow] tries to shield a naive boy from Eddie's pranks. Eddie: Ken Osmond.

5PM
2 News
4 Wheel of Fortune (that early in the evening? And when did Pat Sajak leave WSMV?)
5 Sanford and Son
Conclusion. The Sanfords are pursued in Honolulu by jewel thieves looking for hot gems they planted on Fred [Redd Foxx].
8 Sesame Street
13 M*A*S*H
Margaret's father [Andrew Duggan] is a retired colonel who is even more Regular Army than his daughter. Margaret: Loretta Swit.
17 Gilligan's Island
Gilligan challenges Howell to a game of golf for three million dollars.
22 3-2-1 Contact
Trini gets a ride in the Goodyear Blimp and goes snorkeling.
30 Happy Days
Conclusion. Fonzie [Henry Winkler] pops the question to Pinky [Roz Kelly].
39 Odyssey [85]
KET Rod & Reel
Angling for coho and chinook salmon.

5:25
4 Weather

5:30
2 13 ABC News-Peter Jennings
4 NBC News-Roger Mudd
5 CBS News-Dan Rather
17 Alice
When George Burns stops into Mel's, Vera [Beth Howland] believes that he's actually the Deity he played in the movie "Oh, God!".
22 KET Nightly Business Report
Guest commentator: Adam Smith.
30 Laverne & Shirley
Carmine persuades the girls to perform in a hospital Christmas show.

6PM
2 Love Connection
4 News-60 min
5 13 News
8 22 MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour
17 Diff'rent Strokes
Kimberly thinks a job at a fast-food place is a move toward independence.
30 Star Trek
On a distant mining colony, the men of the Enterprise grapple with a creature capable of moving through solid rock. Kirk: William Shatner.
KET Heart of the Dragon
"Mediating" in domestic disputes is the topic.

6:30
2 People's Court
Cases involve a refund for a water bed, and a damaged sweater. Judge: Joseph A. Wapner.
5 Family Feud
13 Wheel of Fortune
17 Jeffersons
George [Sherman Hemsley] takes charm lessons to impress a society columnist. Kingsley: Howard Morton.

7PM
2 13 Fall Guy
To nail a bail jumper planning to murder a wealthy woman [Sonja Smits], Colt finagles a job as the woman's bodyguard. Colt: Lee Majors.
4 Highway to Heaven
The future looks bleak for a basketball star who loses his scholarship because of a heart condition: he has never learned to read. Jonathan: Michael Landon.
5 Movie
Jane Alexander plays the colorful frontiers-woman "Calamity Jane" in this 1984 TV-movie that interweaves Old West action with scenes of Jane's distressful personal life. Based on letters to her daughter who, according to the drama, was fathered by Wild Bill Hickok [played by Frederic Forrest]. Buffalo Bill: Ken Kercheval. Nell: Isabell Monk.
8 22 KET Celebration for Handel and Bach
Michael Korn conducts the Concerto Soloists Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia and the Philadelphia Singers in works by Handel and J.S. Bach. Included: "Zadok the Priest."
17 Movie
"5 Card Stud." [1968] Suspense yarn about an unknown killer who is methodically eliminating former members of a lynch mob. Dean Martin, Robert Mitchum.
30 Movie
"Gigi." [1958] The delectable Lerne and Loewe musical adaption of Colette's story about turn-of-the-century Paris. Leslie Caron, Louis Jourdan.
39 Movie
"Baker's Hawk." [1976] Utah's mountains provide a colorful backdrop for this family-orientated tale of farmers vs. vigilantes in old Colorado. Clint Walker, Burt Ives.

8PM
2 13 Dynasty
Lady Ashley [Ali MacGraw] uses her influence to help Blake with some sensitive negotiations; Steven [Jack Coleman] makes an important decision about his life; Adam [Gordon Thomson] is snubbed by Blake; and the Carringtons welcome Nicole [Susan Scannell] into their home.
4 Facts of Life
A no-win situation: Tootie [Kim Fields] asks Natalie [Mindy Cohn] for an honest opinion of her dreadful one-woman play about Eleanor Roosevelt.
8 22 KET Mark Russell
The satirist introduces the song "How Are Things in Nicaragua?"; and discusses President Reagan's proposed tax plan and the "new Pentagon surplus."

8:30
4 Double Trouble
Showered with compliments on her fashion-newspaper article, Allison [Liz Sagal] decides to give up design school for a full-time writing career. Margo: Barbara Barrie.
8 22 Plowing Up a Storm
Richard Reeves chronicles agricultural activism.
KET Pre-College Curriculum

9PM
2 13 Hotel
A bon vivant [John Davidson] hires a bellman [James Houghton] to go on a blind date in his place; Mrs. Cabot [Anne Baxter] wants to "get back in touch" with her employees; McDermott [James Brolin has a bittersweet reunion with two college pals [Geoffrey Scott, Cliff Potts].
4 St. Elsewhere
The search for a kidney donor reunites Auschlander with a Nobel prize-winning friend [David Wayne], who's spent the last 40 years in the African bush; removing a bullet from a patient [Elissa Wolfe] is a risky procedure for Craig and Ehrlich; Rosenthal's birthday is anything but happy. Craig: William Daniels. Rosenthal: Christine Pickles.
5 CBS Reports
In April 1983 the American embassy in Beirut was bombed by Islamic radicals, leaving more than 50 dead. Six months later terrorists blew up the U.S. Marine barracks in Lebanon, killing 241 U.S. members of the multinational peace-keeping force. These and other acts have raised questions about what the American response to terrorism ought to be, and have fueled fears that similar violence could be exported to the U.S. Walter Cronkite examines the issues involved in fighting a war that, he says, "is unlike any war that we have ever fought. There are no visible soldiers, no visible fronts." Some of those Cronkite talks with express concern that, in the course of threatened U.S. reprisals, innocent people might be harmed. Others wonder whether we possess the means to deal effectively with terrorism. Among those interviewed are Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger; former Undersecretary of State Lawrence Eagleberger; Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres; Robert Kupperman of the Georgetown University Center for Strategic and International Studies; FBI Director William Webster; author Claire Sterling ["The Terror Network"]; and Dan Pipes, professor of strategy at the Naval War College.
17 Charles Givens Building the American Dream-Commercial
39 In Search Of...
New evidence concerning the exact location of Mt. Sinai is explored. Leonard Nimoy is the host of the series.
KET MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour

9:30
17 Benny Hill
A visit to a film studio where the budget doesn't provide for retakes.
30 One Day at a Time
Julie and Barbara [Mackenzie Phillips, Valerie Bertinelli] stay home from a party to await a long-distance call from Ann [Bonnie Franklin].

10PM
2 4 5 13 News
8 Nightly Business Report
Guest commentator: Adam Smith.
17 Andy Griffith BW
Barney [Don Knotts] and a bloodhound go after an escaped convict.
22 Great Chefs of New Orleans
The owner of Crozier's restaurant prepares sea-scallop appetizer, coq au vin, creme caramel, chicken in cream sauce.
30 Too Close for Comfort
Henry's life is threatened by a robber [Tom Silardi] whom he identified to the police. Sergeant Bedrosian: Dana Gladstone.
39 Odyssey [85]
KET News (Open-Captioned). Wonder what it was? Captioned ABC News ended back in 1982...

10:30
2 M*A*S*H
Potter announces a Soldier of the Month contest that will send the winner to Tokyo.
4 Three's Company
5 Entertainment Tonight
Scheduled: James Brolin is interviewed on the set of "Beverly Hills Cowgirl Blues."
8 22 Latenight America
Scheduled: A discussion of drug and alcohol abuse. Also: successful business management techniques are examined.
13 Nightline
17 Tonight Show
30 Quincy
A malpractice attorney is after Quincy [Jack Klugman] for prematurely pronouncing a kidney donor dead. Morrison: Granville Van Dusen.

11PM
2 WKRP in Cincinnati
A fantasy episode with station staffers portraying the ghosts of Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" to Carlson's Scrooge-like persona on Christmas. Carlson: Gordon Jump.
4 Barney Miller
The detectives' new female colleague [Mari Gorman] has a jealous husband.
5 Night Heat
A rape victim is unwilling to identify her attacker. O'Brien: Scott Hylands.
13 Eye on Hollywood
A program on the Yucatan.

11:30
2 Nightline
4 Late Night with David Letterman
Scheduled: Filmmaker John Waters.
13 Pop! Goes the Country
Jerry Reed, Susan Raye and Mickey Newbury are the performers. Selections include "Guitar Man," "City of New Orleans" [Jerry].
17 Movie
"The Final Eye." [Made for TV, 1977] A mysterious island retreat houses a unique cloning center. Susan George.
30 Night Gallery
A love story about a friendless girl and a slimy thing that looks like a refuse heap. Brenda: Laurie Prange.

12AM
2 Movie
"The Nightcomers." [1971] Sex and violence underscore this original Michael Hastings screenplay, exploring the secrets behind Henry James' "The Turn of the Screw." Marlon Brando.
30 Doctor is In
39 Odyssey [85]

12:10
5 Movie
"Goldenrod," a 1977 TV-movie set in the '50s, about a Canadian rodeo champion [Tony Lo Bianco] who's forced to reevaluate his life after being sidelined by an injury.

12:30
4 Tic Tac Dough

1AM
4 Headline News

1:15
17 INN News-Morton Dean

1:30
5 Record Guide

1:50
5 Jimmy Swaggart

2AM
5 CBS News Nightwatch-Charles Rose
39 Odyssey [85]

2:20
2 Movie BW
"The Invisible Terror." [1963] A tape recorder provides the only clue to the disappearance of a scientist, last seen working on a serum to make men invisible. Hannes Hauser.

4AM
5 CBS News Nightwatch Continues
39 Odyssey [85]

4:05
2 News

4:35
2 Movie BW
"The Outcasts of Poker Flat." [1952] Excellent version of the grim Bret Harte yarn about a motley group of people gathered in a mountain cabin during a blizzard. Anne Baxter, Dale Robertson.

4:55
4 Job Market

-crainbebo

 

[DToTheJ]

So WSMV picked Jack and Barney over Ed and Johnny, eh?

 

[azumanga]

9AM
17 Facts of Life
Jo [Nancy McKeon] learns that a teacher friend [Deborah Harmon] is leaving Eastland.

I believe this came from NBC, as WSMV passed over this, and "Sale of the Century", which was not cleared in Nashville.

10PM
KET News (Open-Captioned). Wonder what it was? Captioned ABC News ended back in 1982...

I read somewhere that KET showed a different local evening newscast each night from a Lexington or Louisville station, opened-captioned in similar fashion to what was done with ABC's newscasts.

 

[bpatrick]

WSMV apparently bought the line that Johnny was doomed
when a couple other NBC affiliates (WMAR Baltimore and
WTMJ Milwaukee) picked up "Thicke Of The Night" in 1983.
I don't recall if Alan aired on WSMV, but I do know that Johnny
regained his rightful place on all three stations, and that two
of them carry Leno (WMAR is now an ABC affiliate and carries
Jimmy Kimmel).

 

[crainbebo]

Didn't know that. So one night KET took WHAS's newscast for the captioned news, and the next day took WKYT's? Is that what you are saying? Very interesting setup...

-crainbebo

 

[Wright County Guy]

"Sale of the Century " is on at 12:30 on 4. "Super Password" and "Search For Tomorrow" were not cleared, at least at this time.

 

[Mike Stroud]

WSMV apparently bought the line that Johnny was doomed
when a couple other NBC affiliates (WMAR Baltimore and
WTMJ Milwaukee) picked up "Thicke Of The Night" in 1983.
I don't recall if Alan aired on WSMV, but I do know that Johnny
regained his rightful place on all three stations, and that two
of them carry Leno (WMAR is now an ABC affiliate and carries
Jimmy Kimmel).

bp, I grew up watching channel 4 and I can say from memory that I never once saw "Thicke of the Night" carried by any of the Nashville Vs or the Huntsville, Alabama stations. AFAIR, WSMV only carried sitcom reruns during that whole mid-80s period between 10:30 and 11:30 CT. Needless to say, the station finally realized it had made a damn fool of itself by '86 or so, and reversed course.

P.S.: In response to the comment on the "Wheel of Fortune" listing at 5 p.m. on WSMV, that is in fact the syndie version that was going like gangbusters at the time. The reason it didn't air at the conventional Central time of 6:30 was due to WSMV's continued success with an hour-long newscast at 6, something that began back in 1973. And with Sajak as an alumnus, there was no way in cane that the station was going to pass on that one--in fact, the syndie version originally aired in the 1983-84 season on WSMV somewhere between 4 and 5 (don't know exactly) and actually replaced the NBC "Wheel" that was tape-delayed from the morning. For a long time, I couldn't tell that it was syndicated until I realized that there was no NBC voice-over promos over the end credits as was almost always the case on daytime. By then, it had been picked up by the Huntsville NBC affil (where it still airs, some 29 seasons later) at 6:30 p.m., and, as an astute student of TV Guide, I knew for sure even then that affils were prohibited from tape-delaying daytime THAT late in the day. Comparing both airings (an hour and a half apart) and finding them identical, I put one and one together.

But years later, things would get interesting for "Wheel" in the Music City. Despite its phenomenal and, to a degree, unprecedented, success, WSMV had to get rid of "Wheel" in the early '90s (1993, I think) when another alumnus of the station, Dan Miller, came back after a turbulent several-year run out in the City of the Angels. Some folks, of course, remember one of his jobs was announcing for Sajak himself on the "Wheel" host's short-lived CBS late-night gabfest back in '89-'90. But WSMV wanted Miller back so bad that it was willing to let "Wheel" go to a then-indie station. Although the daytime version of "Wheel" had been cancelled by then, the contract with Sony did not permit it to be shown before a certain time each day (I would suppose 4 p.m. or so local time), so moving it to daytime was out, as was jiggling loose "Oprah" (yet another Nashville TV alumna, albeit from rival WTVF) from her timeslot at 4. In came "Five O'Clock With Dan Miller," a somewhat unorthodox mix of features, talk, and news for that timeslot. Although that show itself didn't last but a few months, it brought Miller back to public consciousness, and WSMV went so far as to demote its 6 and 10 anchor, Jeff McAtee (now with the Environmental Protection Agency and no longer in TV) to bring Miller back. McAtee balked and went elsewhere, of course.

Meanwhile, "Wheel" wound up on then-indie (later UPN, and now MyTV) WUXP, channel 30, at 6 p.m. for quite a number of years until WKRN picked it up for the 6:30 slot, where it airs today.

Sajak was at WSM-TV (as it was known then) from circa 1972 to 1977, when he first went to La-La land as a weatherman on KNBC. He had been out there for over four years when Merv Griffin came calling for a host to replace Chuck Woolery, on a show that at the time had a pretty uncertain future, given NBC's dismal ratings in all dayparts. That's why the syndie "Wheel" was considered such a miracle by broadcasting insiders at the time, as a comeback from near-extinction a mere two or so years earlier.

 

[w9wi]

So WSMV picked Jack and Barney over Ed and Johnny, eh?

The dish & microwave gear that used to send Johnny down to channel 17's facility is still here, but of course accomplishing absolutely nothing. (we appreciate having the dish mount, it's a convenient place for two-way antennas & GPS time clocks...)

crainbebo: yes, when I first came to Nashville in 1990, KET rotated through relaying various commercial stations' newscasts with open captions. I forget how many stations were involved -- at least two and I *think* three. I don't remember exactly what they put in the commercial breaks -- they did NOT pass the commercials. PBS promos, probably.

Unfortunately, KET put in minimal digital transmitters (20-60kw ERP at each site) and apparently has no plans on upgrading. So while the Madisonville and Bowling Green analog transmitters were easily viewable down here, the digital rigs are rare DX. It was nice to have an alternative PBS schedule available.

 

[azumanga]

P.S.: In response to the comment on the "Wheel of Fortune" listing at 5 p.m. on WSMV... the syndie version originally aired in the 1983-84 season on WSMV somewhere between 4 and 5 (don't know exactly) and actually replaced the NBC "Wheel" that was tape-delayed from the morning. For a long time, I couldn't tell that it was syndicated until I realized that there was no NBC voice-over promos over the end credits as was almost always the case on daytime. By then, it had been picked up by the Huntsville NBC affil (where it still airs, some 29 seasons later) at 6:30 p.m., and, as an astute student of TV Guide, I knew for sure even then that affils were prohibited from tape-delaying daytime THAT late in the day. Comparing both airings (an hour and a half apart) and finding them identical, I put one and one together.

Of course, I would think the King World credit at the end of the show would be an indicator that it was a syndicated version.

 

[bpatrick]

Yeah, I didn't recall Alan Thicke's show on Ch. 4, but
I didn't realize he wasn't carried at all in Nashville (I
didn't follow Nashville listings much after Chs. 2, 4, and
5 were removed from the Northern Alabama edition of
TV Guide).

However, it would have been very difficult for "Wheel"
to have found a home at 6:30 in Nashville, since WTVF
also broadcasts local news from 6 to 7. ABC affiliate
WKRN is the only one of the Big Three affiliates that doesn't
have a 6:30 local newscast and is the one carrying "Wheel"
(last time I looked "Jeopardy!" was on Ch. 30). Nashville, BTW,
is one of the few--if not the only--market in the Central time zone
with local news from 6 to 7 on two stations.

Interestingly, WSMV and WTVF's images are diametrically opposite
of the traditional images of their respective networks: WSMV (NBC)
is more homey than its more urban-oriented network; WTVF (CBS) is
affiliated with a network that played to its rural advantage for years,
yet has a newscast that outrates WSMV in the metro area, while WSMV's
newscast tends to appeal to the rural areas surrounding Davidson County
and the suburbs. (And don't anyone say that WTVF was the home base of
"Hee Haw," since that was years ago.) By contrast, here in North Carolina
WBTV Charlotte's best ratings come the closer one gets to the mountains,
and WRAL Raleigh is particularly strong in the eastern North Carolina farm
belt, and both are CBS affiliates.

 

[Cincinnati Kid]

I recall the Bowling Green, Ky. station on Channel 13 from many years ago in Columbia, Kentucky. In order to see more than once station well, many in Columbia had cable which got two Louisville and three Nashville stations. For some reason, the Bowling Green station was not included on that cable system. Before I knew much about it, I questioned why some in the town had outside antennas that were not the super-fringe kind needed for long range and was told it was so they could get that Bowling Green station. The guy telling me was from Glasgow, Ky. which is/was near Bowling Green. Strangely, he said he cautioned against watching Channel 13 since from morning 'til night it programmed country music.

 

[JeeperOne]

"Sale of the Century " is on at 12:30 on 4. "Super Password" and "Search For Tomorrow" were not cleared, at least at this time.

I found it interesting that Channel Four Magazine was a 90 minute program. Back then, such programs anywhere in the nation never really exceeded 60 minutes. Just sayin'.....

But then too, we're talking about an era in the history of SFT when not even an O&O (KCNC 4 here in Denver) carried it so.....

Cheers & 73 ;D

 

[firepoint525]

But years later, things would get interesting for "Wheel" in the Music City. Despite its phenomenal and, to a degree, unprecedented, success, WSMV had to get rid of "Wheel" in the early '90s (1993, I think) when another alumnus of the station, Dan Miller, came back after a turbulent several-year run out in the City of the Angels. Some folks, of course, remember one of his jobs was announcing for Sajak himself on the "Wheel" host's short-lived CBS late-night gabfest back in '89-'90. But WSMV wanted Miller back so bad that it was willing to let "Wheel" go to a then-indie station. Although the daytime version of "Wheel" had been cancelled by then, the contract with Sony did not permit it to be shown before a certain time each day (I would suppose 4 p.m. or so local time), so moving it to daytime was out, as was jiggling loose "Oprah" (yet another Nashville TV alumna, albeit from rival WTVF) from her timeslot at 4. In came "Five O'Clock With Dan Miller," a somewhat unorthodox mix of features, talk, and news for that timeslot. Although that show itself didn't last but a few months, it brought Miller back to public consciousness, and WSMV went so far as to demote its 6 and 10 anchor, Jeff McAtee (now with the Environmental Protection Agency and no longer in TV) to bring Miller back. McAtee balked and went elsewhere, of course.

Can't help but think that if Sajak's short-lived show had somehow "made it," that Nashville would have been spared the return of Dan Miller. As it was, I remembered seeing Miller in the 5:00 show and wondering where I had seen him before. I had just moved to Nashville at the time, so I had no previous memory of him being here. Then it hit me that he had been Sajak's sidekick. Agreed that the way that channel 4 treated McAtee (and later, Miller's replacement, Bob Sellers) was just wrong!

 

[firepoint525]

Interestingly, WSMV and WTVF's images are diametrically opposite
of the traditional images of their respective networks: WSMV (NBC)
is more homey than its more urban-oriented network; WTVF (CBS) is
affiliated with a network that played to its rural advantage for years,
yet has a newscast that outrates WSMV in the metro area, while WSMV's
newscast tends to appeal to the rural areas surrounding Davidson County
and the suburbs. (And don't anyone say that WTVF was the home base of
"Hee Haw," since that was years ago.) By contrast, here in North Carolina
WBTV Charlotte's best ratings come the closer one gets to the mountains,
and WRAL Raleigh is particularly strong in the eastern North Carolina farm
belt, and both are CBS affiliates.

Channel 5 (WTVF) was the only Nashville channel on the cable system in northwest Tennessee (generally considered the Paducah-Cape Girardeau-Jackson (TN) market) where I was living at the time, so when I moved here, my loyalty to channel 5 moved here right along with me. Interesting to note that channel 5's weekend meteorologist Charlie Neese worked in Jackson and Cape Girardeau prior to coming to Nashville, so northwest TN viewers have seen him in three different markets. Good thing that the non-competes don't cover a station's cable market!

 

[anotherguyTN]

The Match Game listing at 9 AM on WTVF would have been a repeat. I can remember seeing where some stations had syndicated reruns of it during that period. CBS usually carried The $25,000 Pyramid at 9 AM CT, but WTVF moved it to 3PM.

I didn't go to Nashville as often at that time, and WTVF wasn't on the Dyersburg, TN cable system where I lived, but it appears they shuffled around a lot of the CBS morning schedule to make room for Talk of the Town, a local talk show, but most CBS shows were still carried at some time of the day.

It also appeared that WTVF carried more syndicated game shows at that time with The Joker's Wild, Name That Tune, syndicated Family Feud, and the Match Game reruns than the Memphis stations carried.

 

[azumanga]

The Match Game listing at 9 AM on WTVF would have been a repeat. I can remember seeing where some stations had syndicated reruns of it during that period. CBS usually carried The $25,000 Pyramid at 9 AM CT, but WTVF moved it to 3PM.

I believe "Match Game" ended in 1982. The syndicator offered repeats to stations in 1985, in anticipation of new episodes produced in the 1985-1986 season. However, plans were discarded when Gene Rayburn decided to host "Break The Bank" instead -- a decision he no doubt regretted.

 

[jwgreek8606]

Didn't WZTV carry Wheel for a while?