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retro tv listings

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this is just a comment on how much i like the retro tv listings and how cool i think they are.

it makes me wish tv was as interesting now as it was then.
 
I'm with you there. I have several hundred channels available to me on the dish,
and it's rare that I find any blocks of programming as interesting as what we see here.
 
I'm biased since I post so many retros, but I do wish there was
the diversity of programming that existed in the '50s, '60s, and '70s.
I also (and long before I ever heard of radio-info) liked to compare
markets (for example, there were times when Greensboro and Louisville
seemed like virtual clones of one another) or stations (WXIA, when it was
an ABC affiliate, had a strong influence on sister station WLKY, as well as
WGHP and WLOS). Today, every market and every station seems interchangeable.

Keep posting them and I'll do the same.
 
Kind of off-topic, but the mention of Mountain time zone listings
in the '60s reminds me of an article I once referred to: it appeared
in TV Guide in 1972 and talked about the inconveniences people in
the Mountain time zone had to endure. For example, one woman
complained that her kids had to get up at 6 AM on Saturdays to
watch Bugs Bunny. Another, who was a fan of "Dinah's Place,"
complained one morning when a space shot was scheduled for
approximately 10 AM (ET) (Dinah's timeslot on NBC); this, I think,
was in the summer, so the space shot aired live at 7 AM (MST).
Nevertheless, Dinah was pre-empted throughout the country.
The woman called the NBC affiliate in Phoenix later that morning,
wanting to know where Dinah was. "She was pre-empted by the
space shot," said the switchboard operator. "But the space shot
was at 7 AM!" complained the woman.

Curt Gowdy, reading promos for upcoming shows during NBC's baseball
telecasts, used to complain because the copy would read something like:
"10:00 Eastern and Pacific, 9:00 Central". He would invariably ask, why
don't they include Mountain time (he was from Wyoming)? Of course, there
was no telling what time the show would air in the Mountain time zone.

So you're right; more Mountain schedules would be fun to see, but don't
confine them to Phoenix, Denver, and Tucson. How about a few from
Albuquerque or Salt Lake City as well?
 
bpatrick said:
I'm biased since I post so many retros, but I do wish there was
the diversity of programming that existed in the '50s, '60s, and '70s.
I also (and long before I ever heard of radio-info) liked to compare
markets (for example, there were times when Greensboro and Louisville
seemed like virtual clones of one another) or stations (WXIA, when it was
an ABC affiliate, had a strong influence on sister station WLKY, as well as
WGHP and WLOS). Today, every market and every station seems interchangeable.
Click to expand...

I'm in full agreement -- with a very few exceptions, the schedules in various markets all appear to be pretty much alike nowadays, whereas there once was a lot difference between markets.

And it's really not just our imaginations -- it's sobering to see lists of programs in syndication now versus 30 years ago. The lists are much, much shorter today.
 
bpatrick said:
So you're right; more Mountain schedules would be fun to see, but don't
confine them to Phoenix, Denver, and Tucson. How about a few from
Albuquerque or Salt Lake City as well?
Click to expand...

Old Salt Lake City listings would be interesting to see not only at what was available back in the day but to prove to people that the Mormons didn't have total control with all of the programming in the market..well outside of KSL anyway. Likewise with Colorado Springs and "Focus on the Family"..for some reason people are surprised when they find out that not only there are radio stations who DO play rock music in Colorado Springs but..get this..one can watch ELLEN in Colorado Springs too without getting arrested by the cops and dragged into Focus on the Family so they can "repent".

These old retro listings can, and often do prove people wrong.
 
bpatrick said:
Mountain schedules would be fun to see, but don't
confine them to Phoenix, Denver, and Tucson. How about a few from
Albuquerque or Salt Lake City as well?
Click to expand...

And the even smaller markets in Mountain time! There were so many multi-network affiliates and stations that got their network feeds off air from another station. Bet there are some interesting schedules there.

I especially like the 1970s for these types of schedules--and comparing a station's daytime/prime time schedules to the networks' "pattern."

I'll try to find some through my library in the next couple of weeks--and this might be something for others to try as well! With my library card, I can get online access (from home) of some of the electronic databases. Now to find the time.... :)
 
I appreciate the work that goes into the retro listings. Two requests that I think might make them more interesting to people from outside the market: (1) Brief descriptions of local or even syndicated shows the rest of us might not be familiar with, and (2) Maybe notations when a network show was preempted for local or syndicated fare (and the name of the show being preempted or bumped to another local channel).
 
I enjoy them very much too! But As I am totally blind, It is hard for me to post listings of my own. In order for me to do that, I would have to scan a print tv guide in to my computer, save it as text, clean up what the OCR softwear mist, open a topic on this board and paste my work in. That's why you don't see postings of retro listings from me. Itherwise, I would get my own retro listings from a day in 1960 from Detroit and post them. I looked for a scheduel from 1960 on this board and could find none. So I still would like to read one. Not only do I remember Boofland, but I remember so much about Detroit TV from back then, and I would like to see if I am remembering it right.
Thanks.
 
I like the New York listings from the World War II and
immediate postwar era; I'd like to see some from Chicago
and Los Angeles from the late '40s/early '50s (say, 1948-53).
 
bpatrick said:
I'd like to see some from...Los Angeles from the late '40s/early '50s...
Click to expand...

And really unique would be listings from 1955 through 1961 during the month of
October (the last Sun in Sep to the day before the last Sun in Oct), when Cali had
reverted to PST while New York was still on EDT (four hour time difference).
 
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