When it comes to network television, we normally get about 100% of whatever a network produces. There are some exceptions, depending on whether the local station might have a concern about the content of the network program. This is not unusual. I recall an episode of the seemingly harmless sitcom Valerie getting pre-empted in the…
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Temperatures Rising – three television shows in one
Successful medical television sitcoms are few and far between. While medical dramas last for years and years – i.e., Grey’s Anatomy, St. Elsewhere, E/R, Medical Center, The Good Doctor, Marcus Welby M.D., Emergency!, Chicago Hope, The Good Doctor – there are very few successful medical situation comedies. Let’s see. There’s Scrubs, M*A*S*H, St. Denis Medical,…
Read MoreThe 10 Goofiest Drama Shows of the 1970’s
I spent some time recalling several of my favorite old-time television shows of the 1970’s. Shows that were full of escapist fantasy, shows that took me away from the destructive reality of my home life. Shows that today, if I happen to catch them on some obscure channel high up in the 1900’s of Time…
Read MoreHow an old TV show inadvertently helped me win a trivia round
So I’m playing competitive team trivia a couple of weeks ago at Pizzeria UNO in Crossgates Mall. Essentially the lead is being contested between myself and two other strong teams, Lynch’s Mob and Surf Tulsa. The 10-point question is asked – “In what decade did an American television network first air a sports clip with…
Read MoreThe Merger of Marvel Comics and Walt Disney
Background. I love Walt Disney films. Always have. Always will. I used to love Sunday evenings in front of the television, watching classic Disney cartoons and live-action movies. Here, reminisce with me for a couple of minutes. That was the original Disneyland TV show opening credits, as aired on ABC in the 1950’s. By the…
Read MoreRemembering that Great Local TV Game Show, “Pick-A-Show”
Once upon a time, back in at least the late 1960’s and early 1970’s, the three major television stations in our Capital District broadcast area, WRGB-6, WTEN-10 and WAST-13 (no, those were WNYT’s earlier call letters) oftentimes produced their own five-day-a-week morning entertainment programs. While Channel 13 had “Romper Room” (which I think every city…
Read MoreMy 10 favorite TV shows of 2008-09
Summer’s almost over, and I’m thinking back to the TV shows I started to watch with great anticipation, only to give up on them halfway through their broadcast runs. And other shows that I still continue to watch, whether they be intellectually stimulating or just electronic comfort food from the glass teat, as Harlan Ellison…
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