1978: What's on TV Saturday Nights?

TV Guide's 1978 fall-preview is out, and I'm thankful to have the distraction from both the 1978 and 2025 Dolphins.

I'm also thankful that VCRs are out so that I can record one of those 7/7:30 p.m. Central Saturday blocks of sitcoms. In fact, maybe I'll get a RCA SelectaVision and a Magnavox so that I can tape both the ABC and CBS shows while watching CHiPs. I like everything at 7 and 7:30, and, other than the occasional Love Boat, nothing much excites me from 8 on ...

CHiPs is one of the very, very few cultural artifacts of the day on which my father and I agreed and actually shared in proximity to one another. 

Unlike so many homes of the day, my family did not gather around a single TV set. We had a big console color television in the living room, but it was out of commission (but still present) almost all of my childhood. Instead, we typically spread out among three black-and-white portable jobs. There was one in Mom and Dad's bedroom, one in the kitchen and--after my last older sibling moved out--one in my bedroom. Even if we were all watching the same game, news event or (very rarely) weekly program, Dad, Mom and I would often fan out among the three sets and just yell back and forth to each other across the house at commercial breaks or whatever.

But CHiPs was different. For some reason, Dad and I got into watching CHiPs together. It wasn't the favorite show for either of us. But we both liked it enough to watch it together, and we both found it non-engrossing enough to play Othello together as we watched. After supper, Dad and I would set up the Othello game on his and Mom's bed and play to the show on Channel 6, while Mom did whatever Mom did out in the kitchen and watched whatever she watched on some other channel.

I loved Carter Country and Rhoda, and I liked Good Times. And I also actually remember giving Apple Pie a chance (it didn't take) because of Jack Gilford, with whom Mom and I once rode an elevator at a Hilton in Arlington Heights, Illinois!

10 May 1978, Wed The Paducah Sun (Paducah, Kentucky) Newspapers.com

20 Apr 1978, Thu The Paducah Sun (Paducah, Kentucky) Newspapers.com

1977

It's Super Bowl (XI) Sunday.

07 Jan 1977, Fri The Paducah Sun (Paducah, Kentucky) Newspapers.com

07 Jan 1977, Fri The Paducah Sun (Paducah, Kentucky) Newspapers.com

07 Jan 1977, Fri The Paducah Sun (Paducah, Kentucky) Newspapers.com

07 Jan 1977, Fri The Paducah Sun (Paducah, Kentucky) Newspapers.com

Here are my background playlists for this week:

• Sunday, Jan. 9, 1977 (/Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2024)
• Monday, Jan. 10, 1977
• Tuesday, Jan. 11, 1977
• Wednesday, Jan. 12, 1977
• Thursday, Jan. 13, 1977
• Friday, Jan. 14, 1977
• Saturday, Jan. 15, 1977

I think the Oakland Raiders are going to beat the Minnesota Vikings.

Comments flow ...

1977

One of my big goals of 2024 is to spend more time on the HP, so I think I'm going to try to get one of these root posts up each week for my nostalgia fix. 

31 Dec 1976, Fri The Paducah Sun (Paducah, Kentucky) Newspapers.com

31 Dec 1976, Fri The Paducah Sun (Paducah, Kentucky) Newspapers.com

31 Dec 1976, Fri The Paducah Sun (Paducah, Kentucky) Newspapers.com

31 Dec 1976, Fri The Paducah Sun (Paducah, Kentucky) Newspapers.com

I really like establishing formulaic stuff at the HP (#freakinweekend, #ohky and so forth) to then set up a comments fields to play in as a nice distraction from work or whatever over the course of a week. We'll see how long this particular lark lasts.

Well, anyway, here are my background playlists for this week:

• Sunday, Jan. 2, 1977 (/Tuesday, Jan. 2, 2024)
• Monday, Jan. 3, 1977
• Tuesday, Jan. 4, 1977
• Wednesday, Jan. 5, 1977
• Thursday, Jan. 6, 1977
• Friday, Jan. 7, 1977
• Saturday, Jan. 8, 1977

I've really gotten into Rhoda.

Happy new years!

1975: What's On TV Tonight?

22 Sep 1975, Mon The Miami News (Miami, Florida) Newspapers.com

Here were the games that we got yesterday 1975.

Everybody gets the same game tonight, of course.

Apologies to William and Doug, but I'll be flipping over to Channel 3 after Rhoda and Phyllis on Channel 12.

Mostly, though, I'll be using that hour to get my football cards in order for kickoff.

Here are the previous and future 1975 reports. 

1975

17 Jun 1975, Tue The Paducah Sun (Paducah, Kentucky) Newspapers.com

1975: The new season (Mondays)

For Christmas last year, my wife gave me the 1975 fall-season preview issue of TV Guide. My wife is awesome.

So, anyway, that Sept. 6, 1975, issue includes previews of each of the new prime-time shows, so we'll look at those over the next seven days.

Here's the Monday-night prime-time schedule (new shows in yellow):

The new shows don't much move the needle for 1975 me. I'd be all over the second season of Rhoda and would be trying out the new Phyllis show. This night, though, remains all about NFL Monday Night Football. The first Monday-night game of the season is Oakland at Miami on Sept. 22, 1975, so I'm even more excited than usual about this new season.

1974

There is almost nothing in the Sunday morning, Sept. 29, 1974, Park City Daily News of Bowling Green about the NFL.

Week 3 kicks off on this date, and yet the only indications that I found in the entire newspaper that an NFL season is underway are mentions of today's telecasts--noon and 3 p.m. Central games on Nashville's WSM-4 (NBC/AFC) and a 12:30 kickoff on WLAC-5 (CBS/NFC)--in the TV listings. And, of course, we aren't told which games we will actually see.

The October Football Digest slates all of the following games for noon Central kickoff:

-- Browns (1-1) at Cardinals (2-0)
-- Dolphins (1-1) at Chargers
-- Chiefs (1-1) at Oilers (1-1)
-- Colts (0-2) at Eagles (1-1)
-- Jets (1-1) at Bills (1-1)
-- Bengals (1-1) at 49ers (2-0)
-- Rams (2-0) at Patriots (2-0)
-- Falcons (0-2) at Saints (0-2)
-- Bears (1-1) at Vikings (2-0)
-- Giants (0-2) at Cowboys (1-1)
-- Lions (0-2) at Packers (1-1)

It occurs to me today that I really don't know how it gets determined what games end up showing on a given network affiliate. My guess is that the local affiliate gets to decide from the list of available broadcasts. It seemed, for example, that KFVS CBS Channel 12 out of Cape Girardeau, Mo., always showed the St. Louis Cardinals whenever they were available. WPSD NBC Channel 6 out of Paducah, with no local-ish AFC team to favor, would simply go with the best available game of the time slot.

So, anyhow, I'm guessing Nashville CBS goes with the South-laden Falcons-Saints game in New Orleans. Nashville NBC wouldn't have an AFC market to favor, so that would lead us to defending Super Bowl champs at upstart Chargers. However, I think Football Digest has that time wrong; would San Diego really kick off at 10 local time? Given that doubt, my guess is we're going to be served up "Broadway Joe" vs. "The Juice."

The only 3 p.m. Central kickoff, per Football Digest, is Steelers (1-0-1) at Raiders (1-1). And even if Miami is available in that second slot, I'm going with the "Immaculate Reception" revisit if it's my call.

Finally, NFL Monday Night Football brings us Broncos (0-1-1) at Redskins (1-1). You should've heard last week's telecast when Howard Cosell was trying to gas this clunker. Regardless, of course, I'm watching. For one thing, unless it's a cloudy day across northern Tennessee and southern Kentucky today, I likely will have problems tuning in today's NBC and CBS telecasts up here in Bowling Green. And in that case, I will be especially eager to see Cosell's halftime highlights (brought to us by White Owl cigars) on local WBKO Channel 13, an ABC affiliate.

So, in summary, ...


By the way, in reading today's DN, I do know that the baseball season is winding down. Per this morning's newspaper standings, both Los Angeles and Oakland have maintained their leads in the West divisions (though the Dodgers are still having to hold off the Reds). The two East divisions are both tied. Boston has slipped to third place, leaving Baltimore percentage points ahead of New York. Philadelphia drifted from contention, and Pittsburgh has inched percentage points ahead of St. Louis.

BAL 86-71 NY 87-72 BOS 3.5GB CLE 11.5 MIL 11.5 DET 15.5

OAK 89-70 TEX 6.5GB MIN 7.5 CHI 11.5 KC 11.5 CAL 24.5

PIT 85-73 ST.L 84-74 PHI 7GB MON 8 NY 16 CHI 19

LA 99-59 CIN 2.5GB ATL 13.5 HOU 20 SF 28.5 SD 40.5

Actually, unless there was rain in "Crabcake Clemson" last night, we do have a sole leader in the A.L. East, as these DN standings don't reflect a late Milwaukee-at-Baltimore result. The Dodgers' final in San Diego also isn't factored. Several other Saturday-night games ended after press time, but the others--such as Minnesota at California--had no bearing on the playoff races.