With all the channels and entertainment venues available, it is hard to imagine the limitations which were present with the televisions of old. Before cable and the internet, you had three main stations and several smaller ones to choose from when it came to visual entertainment. The three major networks were CBS, NBC, and ABC. In the city of Dallas, Channel 4 served as the home for CBS. This was the least watched channel, represented by the icon of an eye, for it seemed to have the least entertaining programs. The only shows I remember being shown at my house were Dallas, 60 Minutes, The Dukes of Hazzard, The Incredible Hulk, and sports. It later became the Fox Network. The vast amount of programming which I watched came from NBC on Channel 5. I remember viewing The A-Team, Quantum Leap, Night Court, The Tonight Show, Real People, and sports. Channel 8 hosted the ABC network. Arriving at third place in my book, it showed programs like The Wonderful World of Disney, That's Incredible, Fantasy Island, and sports.
In fact, all three networks showed sports all day on Saturdays and Sundays. Hour after hour they presented sports of all kinds. They broadcasted bowling, bicycling, running, swimming, golf, tennis, football, basketball, volleyball, soccer and several others. When the Olympics arrived on the scene, they competed against each other to provide the best coverage. All the major competitions and tournaments received attention. Football appeared on all three channels, but it was Monday Night Football which receive the most attention aside from the Super Bowl.
Although not extensively covered like sports, cartoons enjoyed lots of attention on the three networks during the weekend, especially when it came to Saturday mornings. The programming began at six in the morning and ended sometime between eleven and noon. There were sometimes a few live-action shows, but they were far and few between. The three networks had a strange conglomeration for Sundays. It was a combination of cartoons, services, documentaries, outdoor shows, and sports previews. On both days, the networks broadcasted the local and national news after all the competitions, followed by a movie or TV special. The movie was usally one made by the studio but could also be a theatrical release. One station even named their segment The Sunday Movie of the Week. There would sometimes be a TV series, but not often.
The three networks shared a common, combative format during the weekdays. The mornings kicked off with the usual morning shows like The Today Show and Good Morning America. These were followed by a long series of game shows which lasted until noon when the local news took over. Once the anchors finished giving their daily dose of bad news, the battle of the soap operas began. I considered them boring and pointless trash, preferring the cartoons and old television shows of the U-channels. This deprivation often forced me to find other forms of entertainment. The soap operas eventually gave way to talk shows like Oprah, Geraldo, and Jerry Springer. Occuring sometime around three o'clock, the end of the one-hour dramas signaled the beginning of the second round of game shows. There were also “afternoon specials”, but I ignored them for the most part because they seemed to be just a bunch of boring stories with useless messages. Once the game shows came to a close, the evening newscasts made their appearance. When the clock reached seven, it was time for prime time. The first hour was usually designated for comedies or light-fare drama. The eight o'clock slot was dedicated to the heavy drama and the nine o'clock slot featured either another drama or a news show. The networks sometimes changed it up a little bit, but this format was usually adhered to. On some occasions, the networks released a mini-series which would air at least five to ten nights in a row as an entertainment event. The ones I remember were North and South, Roots, Masada, Shogun, and The Winds of War. Regardless of what programming appeared on the small screen, all entertainment came to a screeching halt at ten so viewers could watch the nightly news, often relating the same stories as the evening editions. This was followed by the late night talk shows at 10:30. At first, there was only The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson on NBC. This later changed with the introduction of Late Night with Davis Letterman on CBS. Others soon followed, but Carson and Letterman remained on top.
There were two channels other than the three big networks which provided entertainment outside of the U-channel tier. KVTV broadcasted on Channel 11. For the most part, it operated as a U-channel with a few exceptions. The morning hours brought with it the traditional bouts of cartoons intermingled with The Three Stooges and The Little Rascals. The early afternoon brought reruns of old comedies such as Gomer Pye, The Andy Griffith Show, Gilligan's Island, The Beverly Hillbillies, Dennis the Menace, I Dream of Jeanie, Bewitched, and Green Acres. During the late afternoon when school was out, the programming returned to cartoons. At five or six, I can't remember exactly, the network hosted its own evening news. The evening brought a combination of recently canceled shows and well-known movies. During the weekends, the channel showed some sports, but concentrated most of its focus on old movies and television westerns. And like the three networks, it showed plenty of cartoons from six to noon.
The final station on the regular dial was KERA, a member of the Public Broadcasting Service. It was found on Channel 13 and featured documentaries, concerts, dramas, and educational shows for kids. It was the programming on Channel 13 which got me interested in documentaries, though nature programs on other stations may have also had a hand. I absolutely loved the classical concerts, something which seemed contradictory to a kid growing up in the era of disco and pop. As a young kid, I was drawn to Sesame Street, sometimes The Electric Company, and a few times a show called Zoom. Although there were plenty of dramas, most of them period pieces, the only one I cared about was a show called Mystery. Hosted by the legendary Vincent Price, the program presented a mystery classic supposedly adapted as closely to the book as possible. The movie star would provide an introduction and epilogue for each episode, providing background information on the author, the story's conception, the lead detective in the story, and sometimes how the episode was made.
The channel also helped bring a sci-fi show into a coherent form. Channel 11 had exposed me to a British series called Doctor Who. Unfortunately, it came on late at night and was divided into segments. To make matters worse, they were sometimes shown out of order. When KERA picked up the program, it clumped all the episodes together to form a movie of sorts. It also played them on Saturday night, which meant that I could see the whole thing and not have to worry about going to school the next day.
Sunday nights were a fun time at KERA, thanks to the addition of British comedies to its lineup. The entertainment started at ten and ran as late as one in the morning. Usually, we tried to stay up as late as possible but only made it to midnight, if we were lucky. After all, the following day was the beginning of the school week. The lineup often changed, which was both a blessing and a curse since there was a tendency to get attached to a particular series. The comedies became so popular, many were added to the Saturday night slot. Some of the notable ones were Open All Hours, Waiting for God, Allo Allo, Are You Being Served, Fawlty Towers, and Red Dwarf.
The most memorable thing about Channel 13 were the pledge drives. Every three or six months, they would spend a week or two begging for money. At first, they spent hours trying to get you to purchase merchandise. It was like a telethon without the entertainment, often resembling a home shopping network. They then changed to a different format. There would be normal programming, but there would be long segments between shows asking for pledge money. The final manifestation of the pledge drive involved “pledge breaks” during shows longer than thirty minutes. These breaks would last ten to twenty minutes. During this time, you had the chance to obtain merchandise, but only if you subscribed at a certain membership level. The higher the level, the better the “gift” you received. After each show ended, there would be a break lasting for five to ten minutes. The mornings and afternoons brought the standard programming, but the evenings and nights presented a whole batch of specials including concerts performed by popular artists, famous movies, and brand-new documentaries. These specials, of course, were interrupted with the pledge breaks. To say that it was a relief when the drive ended would be an understatement.
If my memory serves me correctly, there was only one U-channel, though I could be wrong in this instance. For Channel 39 is the only one which I remember from my early childhood. It functioned in pretty much the same way as Channel 11 with a combination of old shows and unique programming. The one thing which stands out was a program for kids called The 39 Club. I never joined it and cannot remember what it was all about. The only thing I recall is the massive advertising during the afternoon. Channel 21 and 33 soon came into play, focusing on the more recent TV reruns. Channel 33 would later be bought and transformed into The CW. Channel 27 became the last of the traditional U-channels to join the crowd. Channel 52 became a religious station while 23 and 52 became Hispanic stations. I wish I had more to say about these channels, but my memories are too vague and murky to add anything meaningful to the conversation.
In fact, all three networks showed sports all day on Saturdays and Sundays. Hour after hour they presented sports of all kinds. They broadcasted bowling, bicycling, running, swimming, golf, tennis, football, basketball, volleyball, soccer and several others. When the Olympics arrived on the scene, they competed against each other to provide the best coverage. All the major competitions and tournaments received attention. Football appeared on all three channels, but it was Monday Night Football which receive the most attention aside from the Super Bowl.
Although not extensively covered like sports, cartoons enjoyed lots of attention on the three networks during the weekend, especially when it came to Saturday mornings. The programming began at six in the morning and ended sometime between eleven and noon. There were sometimes a few live-action shows, but they were far and few between. The three networks had a strange conglomeration for Sundays. It was a combination of cartoons, services, documentaries, outdoor shows, and sports previews. On both days, the networks broadcasted the local and national news after all the competitions, followed by a movie or TV special. The movie was usally one made by the studio but could also be a theatrical release. One station even named their segment The Sunday Movie of the Week. There would sometimes be a TV series, but not often.
The three networks shared a common, combative format during the weekdays. The mornings kicked off with the usual morning shows like The Today Show and Good Morning America. These were followed by a long series of game shows which lasted until noon when the local news took over. Once the anchors finished giving their daily dose of bad news, the battle of the soap operas began. I considered them boring and pointless trash, preferring the cartoons and old television shows of the U-channels. This deprivation often forced me to find other forms of entertainment. The soap operas eventually gave way to talk shows like Oprah, Geraldo, and Jerry Springer. Occuring sometime around three o'clock, the end of the one-hour dramas signaled the beginning of the second round of game shows. There were also “afternoon specials”, but I ignored them for the most part because they seemed to be just a bunch of boring stories with useless messages. Once the game shows came to a close, the evening newscasts made their appearance. When the clock reached seven, it was time for prime time. The first hour was usually designated for comedies or light-fare drama. The eight o'clock slot was dedicated to the heavy drama and the nine o'clock slot featured either another drama or a news show. The networks sometimes changed it up a little bit, but this format was usually adhered to. On some occasions, the networks released a mini-series which would air at least five to ten nights in a row as an entertainment event. The ones I remember were North and South, Roots, Masada, Shogun, and The Winds of War. Regardless of what programming appeared on the small screen, all entertainment came to a screeching halt at ten so viewers could watch the nightly news, often relating the same stories as the evening editions. This was followed by the late night talk shows at 10:30. At first, there was only The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson on NBC. This later changed with the introduction of Late Night with Davis Letterman on CBS. Others soon followed, but Carson and Letterman remained on top.
There were two channels other than the three big networks which provided entertainment outside of the U-channel tier. KVTV broadcasted on Channel 11. For the most part, it operated as a U-channel with a few exceptions. The morning hours brought with it the traditional bouts of cartoons intermingled with The Three Stooges and The Little Rascals. The early afternoon brought reruns of old comedies such as Gomer Pye, The Andy Griffith Show, Gilligan's Island, The Beverly Hillbillies, Dennis the Menace, I Dream of Jeanie, Bewitched, and Green Acres. During the late afternoon when school was out, the programming returned to cartoons. At five or six, I can't remember exactly, the network hosted its own evening news. The evening brought a combination of recently canceled shows and well-known movies. During the weekends, the channel showed some sports, but concentrated most of its focus on old movies and television westerns. And like the three networks, it showed plenty of cartoons from six to noon.
The final station on the regular dial was KERA, a member of the Public Broadcasting Service. It was found on Channel 13 and featured documentaries, concerts, dramas, and educational shows for kids. It was the programming on Channel 13 which got me interested in documentaries, though nature programs on other stations may have also had a hand. I absolutely loved the classical concerts, something which seemed contradictory to a kid growing up in the era of disco and pop. As a young kid, I was drawn to Sesame Street, sometimes The Electric Company, and a few times a show called Zoom. Although there were plenty of dramas, most of them period pieces, the only one I cared about was a show called Mystery. Hosted by the legendary Vincent Price, the program presented a mystery classic supposedly adapted as closely to the book as possible. The movie star would provide an introduction and epilogue for each episode, providing background information on the author, the story's conception, the lead detective in the story, and sometimes how the episode was made.
The channel also helped bring a sci-fi show into a coherent form. Channel 11 had exposed me to a British series called Doctor Who. Unfortunately, it came on late at night and was divided into segments. To make matters worse, they were sometimes shown out of order. When KERA picked up the program, it clumped all the episodes together to form a movie of sorts. It also played them on Saturday night, which meant that I could see the whole thing and not have to worry about going to school the next day.
Sunday nights were a fun time at KERA, thanks to the addition of British comedies to its lineup. The entertainment started at ten and ran as late as one in the morning. Usually, we tried to stay up as late as possible but only made it to midnight, if we were lucky. After all, the following day was the beginning of the school week. The lineup often changed, which was both a blessing and a curse since there was a tendency to get attached to a particular series. The comedies became so popular, many were added to the Saturday night slot. Some of the notable ones were Open All Hours, Waiting for God, Allo Allo, Are You Being Served, Fawlty Towers, and Red Dwarf.
The most memorable thing about Channel 13 were the pledge drives. Every three or six months, they would spend a week or two begging for money. At first, they spent hours trying to get you to purchase merchandise. It was like a telethon without the entertainment, often resembling a home shopping network. They then changed to a different format. There would be normal programming, but there would be long segments between shows asking for pledge money. The final manifestation of the pledge drive involved “pledge breaks” during shows longer than thirty minutes. These breaks would last ten to twenty minutes. During this time, you had the chance to obtain merchandise, but only if you subscribed at a certain membership level. The higher the level, the better the “gift” you received. After each show ended, there would be a break lasting for five to ten minutes. The mornings and afternoons brought the standard programming, but the evenings and nights presented a whole batch of specials including concerts performed by popular artists, famous movies, and brand-new documentaries. These specials, of course, were interrupted with the pledge breaks. To say that it was a relief when the drive ended would be an understatement.
If my memory serves me correctly, there was only one U-channel, though I could be wrong in this instance. For Channel 39 is the only one which I remember from my early childhood. It functioned in pretty much the same way as Channel 11 with a combination of old shows and unique programming. The one thing which stands out was a program for kids called The 39 Club. I never joined it and cannot remember what it was all about. The only thing I recall is the massive advertising during the afternoon. Channel 21 and 33 soon came into play, focusing on the more recent TV reruns. Channel 33 would later be bought and transformed into The CW. Channel 27 became the last of the traditional U-channels to join the crowd. Channel 52 became a religious station while 23 and 52 became Hispanic stations. I wish I had more to say about these channels, but my memories are too vague and murky to add anything meaningful to the conversation.