Retro TV Channels: ”The Good Old Days of Television”

[VelvetDreaming]

Maybe this is petty of me but I'm still mad that Cozi TV replaced their 2018 line up of Will and Grace (10 PM to midnight) and The Nanny (12 AM to 2 AM) to just The Office. They switch it up every few weeks but the damage is done. The Office is everywhere already.

Is it me or is the picture quality on Laff TV really low?

Edited September 8, 2019 by VelvetDreaming

[Was-MArsenault]

30 minutes ago, VelvetDreaming said:

Maybe this is petty of me but I'm still mad that Cozi TV replaced their 2018 line up of Will and Grace (10 PM to midnight) and The Nanny (12 AM to 2 AM) to just The Office. They switch it up every few weeks but the damage is done. The Office is everywhere already.

Is it me or is the picture quality on Laff TV really low?

So both Will & Grace and The Nanny are gone?

[shapeshifter]

36 minutes ago, VelvetDreaming said:

Maybe this is petty of me but I'm still mad that Cozi TV replaced their 2018 line up of Will and Grace (10 PM to midnight) and The Nanny (12 AM to 2 AM) to just The Office.

Does your COZI affiliate have different programming? 
This PDF of the COZI schedule is dated July 1, so figured the next change would be January 2020. 

[chessiegal]

Our COZI affiliate (Baltimore) shows Frasier from 8-10 pm ET except on Thursday, which shows stuff I've never heard of, which means every week we miss 4 shows - until this week! To my surprise, Frasier was on Thursday. I think The Office comes on at 10, Will & Grace at 11.

[VelvetDreaming]

2 hours ago, MikaelaArsenault said:

So both Will & Grace and The Nanny are gone?

No, they're both still on thankfully. Will and Grace was taken off originally but then they put it back on at 10 PM and 3 AM. I just miss the consecutive episodes.

2 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

Does your COZI affiliate have different programming? 
This PDF of the COZI schedule is dated July 1, so figured the next change would be January 2020. 

@shapeshifter, I still have that schedule, but I'm just greedy and want more Will and Grace.

[opus]

That Girl is coming to Antenna 

[Annber03]

Oooh, my mom will be happy about that one :D. 

[Was-MArsenault]

9 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

Does your COZI affiliate have different programming? 
This PDF of the COZI schedule is dated July 1, so figured the next change would be January 2020. 

Our COZI affiliate dropped The Rockford Files for Pickler and Ben. Hopefully The Rockford Files will come back today.

[DXD526]

Some upcoming weekend binges on Decades, the latter half of October appropriate for Halloween: 9/28-29 The Brady Bunch; 10/5-6 Movin' On; 10/12-13 Thriller; 10/19-20 Twin Peaks; 10/26-27 Ghost Story and Circle of Fear (which GS was renamed halfway through its only season). 

[Tom Holmberg]

If the streaming services keep buying exclusive rights to later shows (Seinfeld & Big Bang Theory, for example) maybe the retro channels will finally have to go back to showing really retro shows like Jack Benny and Phil Silvers.

[Cobb Salad]

1 hour ago, Tom Holmberg said:

If the streaming services keep buying exclusive rights to later shows (Seinfeld & Big Bang Theory, for example) maybe the retro channels will finally have to go back to showing really retro shows like Jack Benny and Phil Silvers.

I think that’s exclusive to the streaming platform like a Netflix show isn’t going to be on Hulu for example.  However I have been wondering a similar thing, any time these deals are announced they are for huge sums of money.  The broadcast platform is expecting people to tune in so they can realize a good investment.  So in the future with all these streaming services, will there be a large enough of an audience for a channel (either OTA or cable) for them to make the investment to get these later shows or will they be airing the older shows.  

Edited to add - I think Antenna TV is already showing the Jack Benny show along with Burns and Allen.  

Edited September 18, 2019 by Cobb Salad

[ratgirlagogo]

7 hours ago, Cobb Salad said:

Edited to add - I think Antenna TV is already showing the Jack Benny show along with Burns and Allen.  

Jewish Life TV shows Jack Benny, Soupy Sales, and The Goldbergs.

[Tom Holmberg]

Z Living, with their crazy scheduling, this week will be showing various retro shows overnight, including "The Lucy Show", "The Beverley Hillbillies", "My Little Margie", "The Red Skelton Show", and "The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriett" (the original show about nothing).  I'll be interested in seeing "My Little Margie," haven't seen that in a while.

[Glendenning]

Some MeTV promos are really good. If they ever acquire The Torkelsons/Almost Home, an obvious plot for a promo is Anna Slotky in character as Ruth Ann Torkelson talking about how she was erased from existence by the retool.

[opus]

[Jaded]

I happened to be able to DVR the whole series when it aired on Pop somewhat recently. It would air in blocks on particular days so that gave me time to watch the episodes, delete them and have room for more. It was neat to see all the seasons. I remember the syndicated version from when I was young. Seeing Crystal Bernard on Wings is what made me watch that show off and on over the years.

[Was-MArsenault]

This is not good. I just found out that fetv got removed from the Boston area a couple of weeks ago.

 

1 hour ago, MikaelaArsenault said:

This is not good. I just found out that fetv got removed from the Boston area a couple of weeks ago.

And now it’s been replaced by infomercials.

Edited September 29, 2019 by MikaelaArsenault

[Angeltoes]

20 hours ago, Jaded said:

Seeing Crystal Bernard on Wings is what made me watch that show off and on over the years.

She has certainly dropped off the radar.

[Cobb Salad]

34 minutes ago, Angeltoes said:

She has certainly dropped off the radar.

Her IMDB profile shows her last acting credit was in 2008 so I guess she’s retired from acting?

[Was-MArsenault]

Crystal is indeed done with acting. Even her Wikipedia page says 2008 was her last movie.

Edited September 30, 2019 by MikaelaArsenault

[Was-MArsenault]

Here is what FETV had to say back.

Good morning.

Thank you for writing to us. We have temporarily exited the Comcast Boston market due to ongoing branding concerns on the leased access channel (channel 283). Once that can be resolved and our programming can be delivered to our viewers on a consistent, 24/7 basis, hopefully we can return as quickly as possible!

If you’d like to receive any future distribution news about our network, we invite you to sign up for our e-newsletter here<https://fetv.tv/newsletter-signup/>.

Thanks again for contacting us.

Best,

- Team FETV

[shapeshifter]

Here in the Chicago area, recently messages have been crawling across the bottom of the retro-channel screens to alert viewers that on October 18 it will be necessary re-scan over-the-air channels. 

[Cobb Salad]

2 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

Here in the Chicago area, recently messages have been crawling across the bottom of the retro-channel screens to alert viewers that on October 18 it will be necessary re-scan over-the-air channels. 

We were getting those same messages earlier this year in the NY/NJ broadcast area.  

23 hours ago, MikaelaArsenault said:

Here is what FETV had to say back.

Good morning.

Thank you for writing to us. We have temporarily exited the Comcast Boston market due to ongoing branding concerns on the leased access channel (channel 283). Once that can be resolved and our programming can be delivered to our viewers on a consistent, 24/7 basis, hopefully we can return as quickly as possible!

If you’d like to receive any future distribution news about our network, we invite you to sign up for our e-newsletter here<https://fetv.tv/newsletter-signup/>.

Thanks again for contacting us.

Best,

- Team FETV

Sounds like a rate dispute?

[opus]

Decades is now running on 5.5 in NYC 

Sorry @chessiegal

[chessiegal]

23 minutes ago, opus said:

Decades is now running on 5.5 in NYC 

Sorry @chessiegal

Thanks. Talk about 1st world problems.

But I'm still bitter.

[Cobb Salad]

15 hours ago, opus said:

Decades is now running on 5.5 in NYC 

Sorry @chessiegal

This is great!  Waiting for Verizon to pick it up, hoping it will happen soon.  

[Was-MArsenault]

I really wish that Decades would come back to Boston.

[chessiegal]

I wish it would come back to Baltimore on FIOS. Decades website says it is over the air in Baltimore, but I don't have an antenna that's worth a flip. The only thing I can get is a PBS station and a network channel, both of which I get on cable.

[roseha]

5 hours ago, chessiegal said:

I wish it would come back to Baltimore on FIOS. Decades website says it is over the air in Baltimore, but I don't have an antenna that's worth a flip. The only thing I can get is a PBS station and a network channel, both of which I get on cable.

Sometimes broadcasters move their transmitters @chessiegal, I was amazed recently to learn that I can get a Long Island PBS station, WLIW Ch. 21, as clear as a bell in Manhattan, I can only figure that they are transmitting from the city now.  So maybe run another channel scan once in a while?

[ratgirlagogo]

GetTV has just started running the 1981 series Bret Maverick.  I never saw this when it was first on and I'm thrilled to get to see it now.  The first episode directed by Stuart Margolin who also plays a shifty character who is almost certainly pretending to be Native American.

I wish some channel would re-reun Nichols, which I remember loving but haven't seen since it first ran.

[Dr.OO7]

I really wish a channel would reair "Sisters". I always enjoyed it and there were a few episodes that I never saw.

[roseha]

Maybe this falls into the obscure question department a little, but I have been watching some 70s and 80s sitcoms on Decades now that it's back in NYC (yes!), and while I know the channel broadcasts in standard definition, I wonder if a lot of these shows were "filmed" on video rather than actual film.   I mention this because shows from the 50s and 60s like Perry Mason and The Dick Van Dyke show, which were made on film, seem to have such a better look than for instance, Barney Miller, which I believe I have read was made on videotape.  Was this also true of Bob Newhart's two sitcoms, were they videotaped?  It's hard for me to tell, although I think perhaps it was more common for dramas to be made on film (like the early Law and Order shows, which I think were maybe on 16mm) for a certain look.  Just wondering if there's a way to look up anything like that.

Edited November 5, 2019 by roseha

[DXD526]

Some upcoming weekend binges on Decades: 11/9-10 The Adventures of Superman; 11/16-17 Batman; 11/23-24 The Greatest American Hero, The Green Hornet; 11/30-12/1 The Powers of Matthew Star, Wonder Woman; 12/7-8 The Facts of Life; 12/14-15 Diff'rent Strokes.

[Cobb Salad]

On 11/5/2019 at 1:42 AM, roseha said:

Maybe this falls into the obscure question department a little, but I have been watching some 70s and 80s sitcoms on Decades now that it's back in NYC (yes!), and while I know the channel broadcasts in standard definition, I wonder if a lot of these shows were "filmed" on video rather than actual film.   I mention this because shows from the 50s and 60s like Perry Mason and The Dick Van Dyke show, which were made on film, seem to have such a better look than for instance, Barney Miller, which I believe I have read was made on videotape.  Was this also true of Bob Newhart's two sitcoms, were they videotaped?  It's hard for me to tell, although I think perhaps it was more common for dramas to be made on film (like the early Law and Order shows, which I think were maybe on 16mm) for a certain look.  Just wondering if there's a way to look up anything like that.

The Bob Newhart Show (from the 70s) was filmed.  If memory serves, Newhart (80s) was on tape the first season and film the rest of the run.  Wikipedia may have what you’re looking for.   

About film vs videotape, I generally agree with you about the older shows on film but I’ll make a further distinction, it seems a lot of the ones that look better are also in black and white.  Then sometimes there’s a remastering like what was done with the Twilight Zone a few years ago.  I’ll see an episode on TV every once in a while and the quality is like it was just filmed.  

[friendperidot]

I cannot find any place to put my comment. I decided to watch the Superman marathon on Decades today, I've seen an episode here and there over the years, but it's been a really long time since I really watched this show. It's cheesy, it's cheaply made, the writing is poor, the props are terrible, but somehow, it still manages some good bits. Saw the very first episode, the Kents were Sara and Eben, the second episode had Jimmy Olson on a nearly deserted island visiting family, and there are strange doings, the plot was simplistic and silly, but still it managed to convey a sense of creepiness and foreboding. A couple more episodes, then there was a scene with Inspector Henderson, Lois Lane (as portrayed by Phyllis Coates) and Clark Kent/Superman. He says "like I always say, 2 heads are better than one" and exits the room. Phyllis Coates did the most delicious side eye at Inspector Henderson, it was so worth it to sit through the whole episode just for that little bit of acting.

[roseha]

On 11/8/2019 at 7:57 PM, Cobb Salad said:

The Bob Newhart Show (from the 70s) was filmed.  If memory serves, Newhart (80s) was on tape the first season and film the rest of the run.  Wikipedia may have what you’re looking for.   

About film vs videotape, I generally agree with you about the older shows on film but I’ll make a further distinction, it seems a lot of the ones that look better are also in black and white.  

Thanks @Cobb Salad for the info and the suggestion about Wiki.   I agree personally that film naturally looks better  - I think you can really see the improved picture quality in the older filmed series, and I agree that black and white shows have a certain picture quality to them.  This was never more true than with The Fugitive, a nearly perfect exercise in noir television, in splendid black and white, which unfortunately changed with the times into color for its final season.  I miss those old atmospheric black and white shows.  

[Was-MArsenault]

Matlock has been removed from INSP. The last airing was on Saturday, November 9.

Edited November 11, 2019 by MikaelaArsenault

[chessiegal]

Matlock is on FETV every day from 6-8 ET.

ETA: It's also on MeTV.

Edited November 11, 2019 by chessiegal

[Was-MArsenault]

5 hours ago, chessiegal said:

Matlock is on FETV every day from 6-8 ET.

ETA: It's also on MeTV.

We no longer have FETV anymore, but we still have MeTV.

[chessiegal]

2 minutes ago, MikaelaArsenault said:

We no longer have FETV anymore, but we still have MeTV.

I'd gladly trade FETV for Decades, that was dropped from my market for the worthless StartTV. I'm still bitter about the loss.

[Was-MArsenault]

1 minute ago, chessiegal said:

I'd gladly trade FETV for Decades, that was dropped from my market for the worthless StartTV. I'm still bitter about the loss.

I would keep StartTV.

[WendyCR72]

On 11/11/2019 at 8:24 PM, chessiegal said:

I'd gladly trade FETV for Decades, that was dropped from my market for the worthless StartTV. I'm still bitter about the loss.

I know I said this elsewhere, but my mindset is the same as yours even if the channel losses were different. In your market, it was Decades. In mine, it was H&I and I still am mad that I lost that for Start TV. I watch nada on that channel.

[Was-MArsenault]

So I just got an email back from someone at INSP a few minutes ago asking them about why Matlock was removed. It should be interesting the reason why.

[Was-MArsenault]

On 11/15/2019 at 4:57 PM, icemiser69 said:

The best three hours of television for me, Barnaby Jones, Cannon, and Mannix. 

It may take Barnaby all day to raise his gun and shoot, but I don't recall him ever killing anyone.  He always winged them. 

Barnaby and Barney Fife in a shoot out would be hilarious.

The problem I have with StartTV is that it it is basically an all women's channel.   The one show I did like was Early Edition with a cat and a male lead and they pulled that series.

I would gladly dump StartTV if I could get Cozi.

I used to have Antenna TV, but that was pulled from my cable system.

I am not a fan of Decades.

FETV comes in horribly.   The video is about as lousy as it gets.

There's good news about Early Edition though, and I'll be posting about that in the Start TV thread.

[DXD526]

The rest of the Decades weekend binges for the year: 12/21-22 Charlie's Angels (seems like they just did one of these not too long ago); 12/28-29 The Father Dowling Mysteries. 

[bmoore4026]

Well, I've gone over Antenna TV's schedule - They're finally getting rid of The Partridge Family and replacing it with That Girl!  Unfortunately, we're still stuck with Archie Bunker's Place.

We've lost Mama's Family on MeTV (then again it was on for five years) but we're losing The Jeffersons, too, and gaining The Honeymooners.  As long as Touched by an Angel stays far, far away from MeTV and any other retro channel, I won't complain.  However, if they drop The Carol Burnett show, I will riot.

Charlie's Angels is also leaving MeTV and heading for CoziTV's action weekday block and also on Saturday's.  They'll also be showing waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too much of The Office for my tastes.

Edited December 24, 2019 by bmoore4026
Redundant action

[Jaded]

I did a two week free trial of YouTube TV recently where COZI is one of the channels included. It kinda made me sad that the only day I really wanted to watch any of their programming was Saturday especially the mornings. I see in their new schedule starting next month that those 70's mystery movies are going away. Their evening lineups are interesting to say the least.....
 

 

 

[Glendenning]

Just a reminder that the 1990s were thirty years ago, so yes, that's retro...

[Jaded]

I meant the fact that COZI takes up so many hours of their schedule my repeating a handful of the same shows multiple times in a row.

[meowmommy]

8 hours ago, Glendenning said:

Just a reminder that the 1990s were thirty years ago, so yes, that's retro...

Not quite yet.  My daughter, born in 1990, turns 30 in January.  

I'm trying to get over how long ago the 70s and 80s were.  The 70s feel like yesterday, even if my old bones do not.

13 hours ago, Jaded said:

I did a two week free trial of YouTube TV recently where COZI is one of the channels included.

I'm considering Youtube TV when my cable contract ends in March.  How was it?