What does it Take...(Good Idea) But It Will never happen

[Starbucks]

What I like to see is a cable channel like TV Land or Nostalgia....select a certain week, certain evening ,from a certain year, and rerun the prime time schedule from a certain network , the way it was shown as it was back then. For example ...let's take Friday night on ABC, 1970 or 71....where you rerun Brady Bunch, Partridge Family, Odd couple , all the way to Love American Style in it's original order for example...(it's the only prime time schedule I can remember at the top of my mind). Next night on Saturday....pick 1966, CBS,with Jackie Gleason, Secret Agent, etc. , then NBC, 1958 prime time schedule onSunday night and so on and so on.
I think that would be neat....even the shows on the fall schedule that lasted a year or less...show them they way they were scheduled. And call it TV Land on (Selected Network). I'll even watch the old Kinescopes.

 

[RicoGregg]

Interesting concept, but I don't think that there's ever been a schedule grid on any of the traditional Big 3 networks that didn't have a weak link in it somewhere on a given night. Example: CBS, if I'm remembering right, had a powerhouse Saturday night lineup in the early 70s that included All in the Family, Mary Tyler Moore, MASH, and - - - The New Dick Van Dyke Show, which lasted slightly longer than the Colorado Rockies did in last year's World Series.

Listed earlier are some ABC classics from the 70s. I don't have my sourcebook, it's in storage, but I'm not sure all those shows were ever all on the same night. If someone has contrary information, by all means, correct me.

Also listed earlier are old CBS shows Jackie Gleason and Secret Agent. Not that long ago, a local PBS outlet (Los Angeles area) ran the 60s era Jackie Gleason American Scene Magazine. That was the show that originated from Miami Beach, with Crazy Guggenheim, the musical version of The Honeymooners, and of course, the June Taylor Dancers. I was anxiously awaiting the return of this show that I used to watch as a kid. Then I finally saw it again. My adult reaction? Something like "Huh"? I watched a second week in a row. Reaction? "What was the big deal?" It was like opening a school yearbook after many years, looking at the pics of the girls you liked, and asking yourself "I got excited about HER? Why?" I figured that there was a good reason that JGASM wasn't a big seller in syndication and has been rarely seen since.

As for Secret Agent, which starred the capable Patrick McGoohan, all I can say is that his subsequent show, The Prisoner, of which there were only 17 episodes made, has been seen a lot more than Secret Agent.

I think Starbucks' idea might work for one night a week, but not more than that. And not for very long. Novelties do have a habit of wearing off. Just my opine.

FYI: A completely new version of The Prisoner, with a brand new cast, will be made and aired on AMC in 2009. Be seeing you.

 

[Corky Marlowe]

CBS, if I'm remembering right, had a powerhouse Saturday night lineup in the early 70s that included All in the Family, Mary Tyler Moore, MASH, and - - - The New Dick Van Dyke Show,
CBS, Saturdays, 73-74: "All In The Family", "M*A*S*H", "MTM", Bob Newhart and Carol Burnett. That just may be the only 1-night prime time lineup in history with no dogs other than the ABC Friday lineup mentioned previously. Even NBC's Must See Thursdays of the 90s had stuff like "Boston Common" mixed in with "Seinfeld", "Friends", and in-its-prime "ER". This does raise some interesting possibilities, though, as there have been quite a few instances where a given network had maybe 1 clinker on a given night.

 

[firepoint525]

Networks often intentionally run "crappy" shows between their hit shows in order to help the new show(s) "find" an audience. This idea might work, however, if you "cherry-picked" the best shows of any given season, and ran them all on the same night. Sort of a "best of." Kinda like, in oldies radio, when you feature a given year, you usually play the "hits" of that year, not the here-today gone-tomorrow "novelty" songs.

I'd like to see the above idea done, complete with "retro-mercials"! ;D Sometimes, those are better than the programming they sponsor, especially if they haven't been seen in many years!

 

[Markxxx]

What about NBC Thrusday didn't it have Cosby, Family Ties, Cheers, and Night Court. I know NBC on Saturday when the Golden Girls was big was pretty good, but I know NBC was not happy with Amen, and Johnny Carson pressured them into it.

I recall ABC Fridays with Brady Bunch, Partridge Family, Room 222, That Girl and Love American Style. I am not totally sure about that line up. I believe Nanny and the Professor was in there too.

When WWME-CA better known as ME-TV went full time they played CBS's classic line up of:

All In The Family, Jeffersons, Mary Tyler Moore, Bob Newhart and Carol Burnett

I bet it would be hard to get the rights to the shows as they'd have differing syndicators. ME-TV plays those retro-mercials.

 

[Starbucks]

Interesting concept, but I don't think that there's ever been a schedule grid on any of the traditional Big 3 networks that didn't have a weak link in it somewhere on a given night. Example: CBS, if I'm remembering right, had a powerhouse Saturday night lineup in the early 70s that included All in the Family, Mary Tyler Moore, MASH, and - - - The New Dick Van Dyke Show, which lasted slightly longer than the Colorado Rockies did in last year's World Series.

Listed earlier are some ABC classics from the 70s. I don't have my sourcebook, it's in storage, but I'm not sure all those shows were ever all on the same night. If someone has contrary information, by all means, correct me.

Also listed earlier are old CBS shows Jackie Gleason and Secret Agent. Not that long ago, a local PBS outlet (Los Angeles area) ran the 60s era Jackie Gleason American Scene Magazine. That was the show that originated from Miami Beach, with Crazy Guggenheim, the musical version of The Honeymooners, and of course, the June Taylor Dancers. I was anxiously awaiting the return of this show that I used to watch as a kid. Then I finally saw it again. My adult reaction? Something like "Huh"? I watched a second week in a row. Reaction? "What was the big deal?" It was like opening a school yearbook after many years, looking at the pics of the girls you liked, and asking yourself "I got excited about HER? Why?" I figured that there was a good reason that JGASM wasn't a big seller in syndication and has been rarely seen since.

As for Secret Agent, which starred the capable Patrick McGoohan, all I can say is that his subsequent show, The Prisoner, of which there were only 17 episodes made, has been seen a lot more than Secret Agent.

I think Starbucks' idea might work for one night a week, but not more than that. And not for very long. Novelties do have a habit of wearing off. Just my opine.

FYI: A completely new version of The Prisoner, with a brand new cast, will be made and aired on AMC in 2009. Be seeing you.

You would be right as not to run that concept every night. Once a week on any given night, year and network, would be good enough. Maybe the first week everynight just to promote the whole concept....plus I would do what VH-1 does like pop-up videos while re-running them. The facts about the shows, actors, and what went on during the making of that episode.

 

[sack]

I think its a great idea to duplicate past network prime time lineups. It makes it more than just a bunch of re-runs. Maybe throw in some retro-commercials too.

I think this says a lot about the television being produced now. Over the past few years has there been any great lineup? Are there shows now that will stand the test of time? Maybe we are nostalgic because whats out now isn't all that good?

 

[radiorob2.0]

What I like to see is a cable channel like TV Land or Nostalgia....select a certain week, certain evening ,from a certain year, and rerun the prime time schedule from a certain network , the way it was shown as it was back then. For example ...let's take Friday night on ABC, 1970 or 71....where you rerun Brady Bunch, Partridge Family, Odd couple , all the way to Love American Style in it's original order for example...(it's the only prime time schedule I can remember at the top of my mind). Next night on Saturday....pick 1966, CBS,with Jackie Gleason, Secret Agent, etc. , then NBC, 1958 prime time schedule onSunday night and so on and so on.
I think that would be neat....even the shows on the fall schedule that lasted a year or less...show them they way they were scheduled. And call it TV Land on (Selected Network). I'll even watch the old Kinescopes.

TV Land did do that ten years ago, I believe they called it "Retrovision". The first was the Friday prime time ABC line up circa 1972. The next one was a CBS line up circa the mid sixties. It was a good idea then but won't happen today since the mission of TV Land has changed.

Welcome to Viacom, where the network names do not necessarily reflect the programming.

 

[mbayus]

What I like to see is a cable channel like TV Land or Nostalgia....select a certain week, certain evening ,from a certain year, and rerun the prime time schedule from a certain network , the way it was shown as it was back then. For example ...let's take Friday night on ABC, 1970 or 71....where you rerun Brady Bunch, Partridge Family, Odd couple , all the way to Love American Style in it's original order for example...(it's the only prime time schedule I can remember at the top of my mind). Next night on Saturday....pick 1966, CBS,with Jackie Gleason, Secret Agent, etc. , then NBC, 1958 prime time schedule onSunday night and so on and so on.
I think that would be neat....even the shows on the fall schedule that lasted a year or less...show them they way they were scheduled. And call it TV Land on (Selected Network). I'll even watch the old Kinescopes.

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