Retro: Seattle/Tacoma, Tue. October 17th, 1989 *LOMA PRIETA EARTHQUAKE DAY*

[crainbebo]

Source: Seattle Times microfilm

2 CBUT Vancouver [CBC]
4 KOMO Seattle [ABC]
5 KING Seattle [NBC]
7 KIRO Seattle [CBS]
9 KCTS Seattle [PBS]
11 KSTW Tacoma [IND]
12 KVOS Bellingham [IND]
13 KCPQ Tacoma [Fox]
22 KTZZ Seattle [IND]
28 KTPS Tacoma [PBS]

7AM
4 Good Morning America
David Brenner; author Rick Atkinson; Kelly McGillis.
5 Today
Paul Newman ["Fat Man and Little Boy"]; jockey Diane Nelson.
7 This Morning
9 Sesame Street
11 Woody Woodpecker
12 Muppet Babies
13 Police Academy
22 Thundercats

7:30
11 Ranger Charlie and Rosco [local series]
12 Duck Tales
13 Tom & Jerry
22 Denver, the Last Dinosaur

8AM
2 Pasquale
9 Captain Kangaroo
11 Dennis the Menace
12 Chip 'n Dale
13 Flintstones
22 Gumby
28 Sesame Street

8:30
2 Smith & Smith
9 Mister Rogers
11 Maxie's World
12 Alvin and the Chipmunks
13 Smurfs
22 Gumby

9AM
2 F.I.T.
4 Regis and Kathie Lee
"Tap Dance Kid" Savion Glover; Joe Bologna and Renee Taylor.\
5 Seattle Today
Scheduled: Gossip columnists.
7 Sally Jessy Raphael
9 Sesame Street
11 Diff'rent Strokes
12 Joan Rivers
13 Family Feud [from CBS]
22 Larry Lea [religious?]
28 Instructional Television

9:30
2 Well Now! [??]
11 Gimme a Break!
13 Wheel of Fortune [Bob Goen, from CBS]
22 Casey Treat

10AM
2 Fred Penner's Place
4 Home
Co-host: Leeza Gibbons. Evening fashions; home poison control; crafts; gourmet-cooking club; optimism and healing.
5 The Golden Girls
Dorothy worries about the age difference in her son's impending marriage.
7 The Price is Right
9 Instructional TV
11 The Judge
12 Regis & Kathie Lee
See Ch. 4, 9AM.
13 Jackpot! [Geoff Edwards]
22 Success-N-Life

10:30
2 Mr. Dressup
5 227
Brenda gets a job but finds her school work and social life suffering.
11 Divorce Court
13 Last Word [Wink Martindale]

11AM
2 Sesame Street
4 Perfect Strangers
5 Scrabble
7 Young and the Restless
11 The Judge
12 Sally Jessy Raphael
13 Odd Couple
Oscar goes on a neatness binge to please a new girl.
22 700 Club

11:30
4 Loving
5 Classic Concentration
11 Everyday/Joan Lunden
A homeless family; Debbie Boone.
13 CNN Headline News

Noon
2 4 All My Children
5 3rd Degree [what was this?]
7 News
11 Movie
"Crime of Innocence." [1985] Andy Griffith. Law-abiding parents object when a small town judge puts their mischievous daughter in jail with serious offenders.
12 Perry Mason
13 Rockford Files
Rockford is hired as bodyguard for a former police officer who is now a television hero.
22 The Cisco Kid
28 Sesame Street

12:30
5 Generations
22 Lone Ranger

1PM
2 Midday
4 One Life to Live
5 Another World
7 As The World Turns
12 I Love Lucy
13 Movie
"Jinxed!" [1982] Bette Midler. A Las Vegas singer and a blackjack dealer plot to kill the former's well-insured gambler husband.
22 Movie [unknown]
28 Instructional TV

1:30
12 Dick Van Dyke

2PM
2 7 Guiding Light
4 General Hospital
5 Santa Barbara
9 MotorWeek
11 Scooby-Doo
12 Great American Hero

2:30
9 This Old House
11 Yogi Bear

3PM
2 Coronation Street
4 Northwest Afternoon
5 Days of Our Lives
7 CBS Schoolbreak Special
"Frog Girl: The Jenifer Graham Story." Penalized for not dissecting a frog, a high-school student [Ellen Dunning] sues her school district.
9 Sesame Street
11 Alvin and the Chipmunks
12 Dennis the Menace
13 Tom & Jerry
22 Lassie
28 Pittard

3:30
2 Talkabout
11 Muppet Babies
12 C.O.P.S.
13 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
22 Donna Reed
28 Yan Can Cook

4PM
2 Generations
4 News
5 Oprah Winfrey
7 Donahue
9 3-2-1 Contact
11 Super Mario Bros. Super Show
12 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
13 Duck Tales
22 Family
28 Homework Hotline

4:30
2 Danger Bay
9 Square One Television
11 Ghostbusters
12 New Leave it to Beaver
13 Chip 'n Dale

5PM
2 Video Hits
4 1989 World Series
Game 3, Oakland As at San Francisco Giants.
5 7 News
9 Mister Rogers
11 Punky Brewster
12 Win, Lose or Draw
13 Small Wonder
An aging entertainer says Vicki is his daughter.
22 Flying Nun
28 Zoobilee Zoo

5:04PM PT
4/ABC-Al Michaels says "I'll tell you what-we're having an earth-..." The earthquake began and ended, causing the big 3 networks to go into continuous coverage and Special Reports. Most of the following programming on 4, 5, 7 and I would also think 2/CBC was preempted.

5:30
2 Golden Girls
5 NBC News
9 Wild, Wild World of Animals
11 Charles in Charge
The same boy dates both Sarah and Josie.
12 M*A*S*H
13 Webster
Katherine is a failure as a volunteer art-instructor.
22 I Dream of Jeannie
28 Square One Television

6PM
2 5 News
7 CBS News
9 Nightly Business Report
11 Family Ties
Mallory objects to a romance between an ex-beau's brother and Jennifer.
12 Hunter
McCall's attacker flees to his native country and the protection of his powerful father [Michael Ansara]. Part 2 of 2.
13 Love Connection
22 Bewitched
28 Art Popham

6:30
7 Cosby Show
Fickle Theo loses his current girl to another guy.
9 MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour
11 Cheers
Sam tries to prove himself by pursuing a lovely reporter.
13 Hard Copy
Some embassies in this country exploit their Third World employees.
22 Talkabout [on a U.S. station? Was this CBC series syndicated south of the Maple Leaf?]
28 MotorWeek
Lincoln Town Car; 1990 General Motors cars; stunt driver "Lucky" Lee Lott.

7PM
2 Babar
The elephant detours through a jungle inhabited by a monster.
5 Entertainment Tonight
Scheduled: Kirstie Alley.
7 News
11 Who's the Boss?
Tony advises Angela on martial reconciliation.
12 Movie
"This Wife for Hire." [1985] Pam Dawber. A lawyer lends his perfect wife to a buddy in need, and she goes into business as a surrogate homemaker.
13 Inside Edition
22 Leave it to Beaver
28 Doctor Who

7:30
2 Newhart
George admits to a 40-year-old prank and faces public scorn.
5 Evening Magazine
Oprah Winfrey's early days are shown.
7 Trial By Jury
9 No Place
11 Night Court
A visitor disrupts Billie's birthday plans for Harry.
13 A Current Affair
22 Kate & Allie
28 EastEnders
Dr. Legg suggests sheltered housing for Ethel.

8PM
2 fifth estate
Indians on Lake Huron claim the land a Canadian army base occupies.
5 Matlock
Ben helps Julie defend an old friend framed for the murder of a newspaper publisher.
7 Rescue 911
Flooding traps cave explores; a San Francisco neonatal intensive care unit; robbers hold a family captive.
9 Nova
Specialists discuss strengths and weaknesses of five competing architects' plans for Chicago's new public library.
11 Movie
"The Osterman Weekend." [1983] John Hurt. A TV journalist attends a weekend reunion of friends, one of whom may be a murderous spy.
13 Movie
"Dune [long version]" [1984] Kyle MacLachlan. Emperor Shaddam IV and the Harkonnens betray the House of Atreides to control spice production of a desert planet in the year 10191.
22 Highway to Heaven
Fearing success may end Jonathan's stay on Earth, Mark hampers efforts to reconcile a mother and daughter.
28 Hollywood Legends
Interviews with friends and clips from "Moby Dick" and "To Kill a Mockingbird" profile Gregory Peck.

8:30
4 Win, Lose or Draw
Special For Kids Sake episode. Quick-draw contestants Olden Polynice [Seattle SuperSonics], KOMO News 4's Kerry Brock, Steve Pool, Bruce King, Dan Lewis and Kathi Goertzen vie to win money for two Seattle charities.

9PM
2 Market Place
Avoiding exorbitant legal bills; Bitrex, a bitter substance that may discourage children from handling poisons.
4 Movie-"Seems Like Old Times"
5 Movie
"Stuck with Each Other." [1989] Losers Bert and Sylvia hide out in a ritzy New York hotel with their dead boss's $1 million in cash.
7 Movie
"When He's Not a Stranger." [1989] A California college freshman seeks justice after being raped in a dorm by a guy she knows.
9 American Experience
Filmmaker Lise Yasui traces the history of her Japanese emigrant family in the United States.
12 Movie
"Legs" [1983] Gwen Verdon. Three dancers audition for the choreographer of the Radio City Music Hall Rockettes.
22 Movie
"The Goldwyn Follies." [1938] A Hollywood producer with a string of flops hires a girl to tell him what people like. Andrea Leeds.
28 Art of the Western World
Evolution of the Greek sculptural ideal; the Roman Empire's innovations and achievements. Host: Michael Wood.

9:30
2 Man Alive
Central African nations struggle to cope with AIDS.

10PM
2 National-Journal
9 Reliving the Lindbergh Case
Defenders and condemners of Bruno Hauptmann, executed for the kidnap-murder of the Lindbergh baby, speak. Host: Edwin Newman.
11 News
13 Arsenio Hall
Daphne Zuniga; musical group R.E.M.
28 MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour
Sign off 11PM.

11PM
2 4 5 7 News
9 Movie
"Each Dawn I Die" [1939] James Cagney. A newsman is framed for manslaughter and sent to prison, where he meets a gangster who helps him.
11 Cheers
12 Arsenio Hall
13 Love Connection

11:30
4 Nightline
5 The Best of Carson
Willie Nelson; actress Lucy Webb.
7 Pat Sajak
Alison LaPlaca ["Open House"]; musician Stephen Bishop; Jennifer Tilly.
11 Hunter
A modern-day Fagin assembles a band of teen-age hoodlums protected by youthful offender status.
13 A Current Affair
22 Night Gallery
A girl's restored sight brings visions to murder.

11:35
2 Newhart

12AM
4 People's Court
12 McHale's Navy
13 After Hours
Jonathan Winters.
22 Movie
"Palooka." [1934] Jimmy Durante. Comic-strip fight manager Knobby Walsh puts rival Joe Palooka in the ring.

12:05
2 Kate And Allie

12:30
4 Streets of San Francisco
5 Late Night/David Letterman
John Larroquette.
9 China!
The China Broadcasting National Orchestra and Ensemble perform.
11 Twilight Zone
A man, cursed to be a cat by day, seduces a shy woman [Pamela Bellwood].
12 Real Estate Classifieds
13 SCTV
The Days of the Week; Brock Linehan; Count Floyd.

12:35
2 Movie
"Gentleman Jim" [1942] Errol Flynn. San Francisco bank clerk James J. Crobett turns boxer and fights champion John L. Sullivan. Directed by Raoul Walsh.

1AM
7 USA Today
Congress faces a moral/ethical dilemma.
9 MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour
11 Crimewatch [??]
13 Movie
"Confessions of a Nazi Spy." [1939] Edward G. Robinson. An FBI agent alerted by the British nabs a Nazi spy, the weak link in a chain of spies throughout the United States.

-crainbebo

 

[Wright County Guy]

"3rd Degree" (noon on 5) was a one-season syndicated game show with Bert Convy at the helm.

 

[azumanga]

3:30
2 Talkabout

6:30
22 Talkabout [on a U.S. station? Was this CBC series syndicated south of the Maple Leaf?]

Yes it was -- in Tampa Bay, WFLA carried the show weekday mornings. And I believe USA Network carried reruns later on.

The show was taped in Vancouver at CBUT studios and hosted by Wayne Cox, who's better-known in BC as the weatherman on BCTV / Global BC's evening newscasts.

5PM
4 1989 World Series
Game 3, Oakland As at San Francisco Giants.

5:04PM PT
4/ABC-Al Michaels says "I'll tell you what-we're having an earth-..." The earthquake began and ended, causing the big 3 networks to go into continuous coverage and Special Reports. Most of the following programming on 4, 5, 7 and I would also think 2/CBC was preempted.

Who carried the World Series in Canada? I would think CTV (in this region, BCTV and CHEK-TV), as they carried Blue Jays baseball during this time.

 

[crainbebo]

I said CBC would probably be preempted, as they would know quickly about the earthquake and get on with coverage and reports from U.S. reporters, etc.

CTV carried the World Series, I saw a listing from the Tri-City Herald that showed CHEK airing it.

-crainbebo

 

[Stanislav]

I said CBC would probably be preempted, as they would know quickly about the earthquake and get on with coverage and reports from U.S. reporters, etc.

CTV carried the World Series, I saw a listing from the Tri-City Herald that showed CHEK airing it.

Did they have their own announcers present, or did they just carry ABC's coverage?

 

[visaman]

I said CBC would probably be preempted, as they would know quickly about the earthquake and get on with coverage and reports from U.S. reporters, etc.

CTV carried the World Series, I saw a listing from the Tri-City Herald that showed CHEK airing it.

Did they have their own announcers present, or did they just carry ABC's coverage?

I was watching it on BCTV. It was a simulcast of the ABC feed, with Canadian commercials.

 

[azumanga]

I said CBC would probably be preempted, as they would know quickly about the earthquake and get on with coverage and reports from U.S. reporters, etc.

CTV carried the World Series, I saw a listing from the Tri-City Herald that showed CHEK airing it.

Did they have their own announcers present, or did they just carry ABC's coverage?

I was watching it on BCTV. It was a simulcast of the ABC feed, with Canadian commercials.

That being said, I'm curious about what CTV (or BCTV) did when the earthquake interrupted the game.

 

[visaman]

I said CBC would probably be preempted, as they would know quickly about the earthquake and get on with coverage and reports from U.S. reporters, etc.

CTV carried the World Series, I saw a listing from the Tri-City Herald that showed CHEK airing it.

Did they have their own announcers present, or did they just carry ABC's coverage?

I was watching it on BCTV. It was a simulcast of the ABC feed, with Canadian commercials.

That being said, I'm curious about what CTV (or BCTV) did when the earthquake interrupted the game.

If I remember correctly the picture froze for a few minutes and we had audio only of the ABC feed (via telephone line), and there may have been a CTV news update, until the full ABC feed came back on-line.

 

[tvnut]

As I recall, NBC was slow to react to the earthquake. I'm in the midwest, and switching around, don't remember NBC having much for the first couple of hours, and eventually picking up coverage from KRON. ESPN, because it had a mobile unit with a generator, was well ahead of ABC, which had no generator. ABC's Ted Koppel interviewed ESPN's Bob Ley at one point. Eventually ABC had its own video back up with memorable coverage using the Goodyear blimp and Al Michaels describing the fires in the Marina District.

 

[Joseph_Gallant]

If my memory serves me correct, wasn't the announcement of the starting lineups due to begin at 5:07 P.M. PDT (8:07 EDT) with first-pitch coming at about 5:16 PDT (8:16 EDT)??

If that's the case, had the quake struck about thirteen minutes later, the game would have been underway.

A few years later, weeknight World Series games often wouldn't start until about 8:50 P.M. EDT!

 

[onairb]

If my memory serves me correct, wasn't the announcement of the starting lineups due to begin at 5:07 P.M. PDT (8:07 EDT) with first-pitch coming at about 5:16 PDT (8:16 EDT)??

If that's the case, had the quake struck about thirteen minutes later, the game would have been underway.

A few years later, weeknight World Series games often wouldn't start until about 8:50 P.M. EDT!

I no longer have the newspapers I saved, but I recall starting times varied somewhat, from 5:15 to 5:25 PT. This was typical for ABC, which sometimes had a long pregame show. Your guess for the first pitch of Game 3 sounds right, though. I think they were about a minute away from the first commercial break when the quake hit, and factoring in the long player intros(for the first game from each park), the anthem, and another ad on the other side of the intro,it was at least 10 minutes before the start.
NBC in that era tended to wrap up the pregame in 15 minutes, so the first pitch was usually at 20 past the hour.

 

[ixnay]

My mother was an avid Matlock viewer, so now I know what she was watching when NBC cut in with the first bulletin. She called me out into the family room to tell me about the quake. I didn't have my TV on because, well, it was just the pregame show.

I'm surprised nobody ever calls Loma Prieta the "World Series Earthquake", for obvious reasons. Just as I'm surprised nobody calls the 1994 Northridge earthquake the "MLK Day Quake", because it happened on the Federal MLK Day (Maryland honors King on his birthday, which most years is not the third Monday in January).

ixnay

 

[Stanislav]

I'm surprised nobody ever calls Loma Prieta the "World Series Earthquake", for obvious reasons.

Actually, I almost always hear it colloquially referred to as the "World Series Earthquake." Loma Prieta is just the "official" name (referencing the appoximate epicenter), though I doubt more than 2 or 3 out of 100 "laypersons" would know or use that name.

 

[onairb]

"World Series Earthquake" was very heavily used in both Bay Area and national media. As time went by, the association with the World Series faded a bit(perhaps because the Series itself was one-sided, and really unmemorable outside the Bay Area), and 'Bay Atrea Earthquake' as well as 'Loma Prieta' quake, were used more commonly.