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

[Maverick]

18 hours ago, Tom Holmberg said:

Too much late Seventies-Eighties. Though they are avoiding the usual route, which to have good shows like "Bilko", "Jack Benny" or "You Bet Your Life" then transition to Eighties shows like "Mama's Family".  (They are going straight to "The Hogan Family" and eliminating "Valerie's Family"? Or is the whole series renamed?)

 In syndication, it's always listed as The Hogan Family, although the credits on each episode show the name it originally aired under (Valerie, Valerie's Family or The Hogan Family).  

 If that's what's going to be on Rewind, what the hell are they going to show on Antenna?   Because that's about half their schedule right there.  I knew Rewind was going to have an 80s/90s focus but I thought I'd bring in something new.  I think Caroline in the City is the only new show, and I wasn't a big fan of that one.

 I Love Lucy is a classic that I miss seeing, but the subsequent "Lucy as a widow" series didn't do much for me.

[Tom Holmberg]

5 hours ago, Maverick said:

I Love Lucy is a classic that I miss seeing, but the subsequent "Lucy as a widow" series didn't do much for me.

The later Lucy Shows are a very pale version of the original.

There's a lot of fifties and sixties shows that haven't shown up, like "The People's Choice" with Jackie Cooper, or "Fractured Flickers".

 

[Maverick]

 I looked at Rewind's website.  They list the shows coming in 2022.   There must have been a fire sale on NBC mediocre sitcoms because in addition to Caroline in City that starts in the fall, they're adding Suddenly Susan, NewsRadio (which has either been on Antenna or COZI) and The John Laroquette Show.  

[roseha]

On 8/3/2021 at 5:47 PM, shapeshifter said:

I wonder if the wardrobe folks always did think the plaid polyester leisure suits were hideous.

I may be wrong about this, but as a long time Odd Couple watcher I was under the impression that Tony Randall and Jack Klugman were wearing their own clothes on the show.  I believe the show had a very cheap budget and I did read that the actresses who played the Pigeon Sisters in the early seasons did have to bring their own outfits!

[ratgirlagogo]

On 8/4/2021 at 9:08 AM, Tom Holmberg said:

There's a lot of fifties and sixties shows that haven't shown up, like "The People's Choice" with Jackie Cooper, or "Fractured Flickers".

Fractured Flickers has been showing for the past few months on the MOVIES! channel, originally just on Saturday mornings and now sporadically throughout the week as well.

[Tom Holmberg]

5 hours ago, ratgirlagogo said:

Fractured Flickers has been showing for the past few months on the MOVIES! channel, originally just on Saturday mornings and now sporadically throughout the week as well.

I have AT&T cable and they, for whatever reason, don't carry most of the retro channels like Comcast did. So no MOVIES, no BUZZR, no Decades, no Antenna, no... no ...no.

[Tom Holmberg]

On 8/8/2021 at 11:40 PM, roseha said:

I may be wrong about this, but as a long time Odd Couple watcher I was under the impression that Tony Randall and Jack Klugman were wearing their own clothes on the show.

I could see Tony Randall wearing a Nehru jacket.

[Tom Holmberg]

On 8/8/2021 at 11:40 PM, roseha said:

I may be wrong about this, but as a long time Odd Couple watcher I was under the impression that Tony Randall and Jack Klugman were wearing their own clothes on the show.  I believe the show had a very cheap budget and I did read that the actresses who played the Pigeon Sisters in the early seasons did have to bring their own outfits!

In fact, when members of the wardrobe department initially sought to outfit the unkempt Oscar, they looked no further than Klugman himself. "They paid me $360 for everything in my closet, and I still made a profit on the deal," he told Sports Illustrated in 2005.

https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/la-me-jack-klugman-obit-20121225-story.html

 

 

[Maverick]

14 hours ago, Tom Holmberg said:

I have AT&T cable and they, for whatever reason, don't carry most of the retro channels like Comcast did. So no MOVIES, no BUZZR, no Decades, no Antenna, no... no ...no.

 When I looked into getting something other than cable a few years ago, I was told that DirectTV, AT&T, etc don't carry the retro channels because there's not a national for them.  instead they're all affiliated with local stations.  

 On a different note, so beings the TV Land-ilization of MeTV.   Why have they added Monk?   It doesn't fit with the network at all.  How long until we start getting marathons of mediocre 2000s era sitcoms. 

Edited August 11, 2021 by Maverick

[Jaded]

With Uverse I was lucky enough to have had the local Antenna TV and Me TV channels available even though they were sub channels which AT&T never liked to carry. After Uverse dropped the CW channel that came out of the nearest major city which was New Orleans they never opted to add the local one when it got out of CableOne's  (now Sparklight) control because it was a subchannel of the local FOX affiliate. They did add the CBS and NBC subchannels after the local ABC and FOX affiliates became duopolies though. I guess they had their reasons for not adding the CW when they added the local NBC since they were both subchannels of the local FOX affiliate.

I finally got rid of Uverse recently (the taxes and fees were eating up any retention discount I received) and opted for YouTube TV which has Cozi and Start TV (they show Cagney & Lacey during the overnight hours) along with an unlimited space DVR. AT&T TV (their streaming service) only provides a 20hr DVR and charges extra for unlimited. I like the lineup YTTV has compared to AT&T TV too. Now that AT&T has spun off their TV services into a seperate company AT&T TV is going to have it's name changed to DirecTV Stream. 

YTTV also has the Sundance channel which shows Columbo, Perry Mason, The Andy Griffith Show and it looks like Gomer Pyle: USMC too. I don't watch Andy or Gomer though. 

[Tom Holmberg]

9 hours ago, Maverick said:

On a different note, so beings the TV Land-ilization of MeTV.   Why have they added Monk?   It doesn't fit with the network at all.  How long until we start getting marathons of mediocre 2000s era sitcoms. 

That's my pet peeve of the retro channels.  They start out good and end up running either crap or the same shows as every other retro channel (I'm looking at you "Gunsmoke").

[Tom Holmberg]

 

[Tom Holmberg]

Shows of the 1960s, Ranked

https://www.ranker.com/list/best-60s-tv-shows/ranker-tv

Your results may vary

 

[SmithW6079]

On 8/4/2021 at 9:08 AM, Tom Holmberg said:

The later Lucy Shows are a very pale version of the original.

I agree. Without Desi Arnaz and William Frawley, the same magic wasn't there. Plus, Lucille and Vivian were older, so their pratfalls and harebrained schemes and shenanigans weren't that funny anymore.

Unfortunately, I think Lucille was trapped. Even if she wanted to play a different type of character, she couldn't. The audience expected "Lucy" no matter what she did. 

[Cobb Salad]

I’m checking my online listings and found that Verizon (in NJ) has finally added Decades!

[chessiegal]

30 minutes ago, Cobb Salad said:

I’m checking my online listings and found that Verizon (in NJ) has finally added Decades!

Lucky you. Now here's hoping that Verizon (MD) adds it back after changing it to StartTV.

[Cobb Salad]

14 minutes ago, chessiegal said:

Lucky you. Now here's hoping that Verizon (MD) adds it back after changing it to StartTV.

Decades here is now a Fox (WNYW-NY) sub channel.  I think that was what made it available here.  I still have StartTV and I’m still not going to ever watch it.  

[SmithW6079]

On 8/8/2021 at 12:18 AM, redpencil said:

There are two new (to me at least) ads for Mass Mutual that crack me up:

The grandpa chiming in from the other room kills me. Polio! Scurvy!

I love that each kid has a very different issue happening, clearly.

I've never seen those. They're hilarious. 🤣

[Tom Holmberg]

21 hours ago, SmithW6079 said:

I agree. Without Desi Arnaz and William Frawley, the same magic wasn't there.

As a kid, I also missed Frawley on "My Three Sons", he reminded me of my own grandfather.  Uncle Charlie seemed too gruff.

Edited August 12, 2021 by Tom Holmberg
spelling

[chessiegal]

2 hours ago, icemiser69 said:

If you are getting StartTV through a digital sub-channel, that is not a cable provider issue.  It is an issue of you local affiliate (CBS, ABC, NBC or Fox) that had decided  to air StartTV instead of Decades as its digital subchannel.

Decades is on a Baltimore subchannel over the air. I am 30 miles from Baltimore, so bought an antenna that is supposed to get channels within a 60 mile radius. I can't get it with the antenna. Talk about first world problems! 

I've never watched a single show on StartTV.

[wilsie]

Watching tv with an antenna can be an adventure but other than the price of the antenna itself it's worth the aggravation of losing some channels that aren't very strong.  I always can get metv, the local channels, pbs, start, dabl, antenna tv.  H&I is most of the time but sometimes fades.  Cozi tv is the same way.  I'm fine with whatever's going on and can adjust.  I also have Hulu Plus so I can get TCM.  With StartTV I've watched "Chasing Jordan" and "The Closer."  I started watching "Any Day Now" because I like Annie Potts and Lorraine Toussaint a lot but it got to be too heavy with losses and how they happened by episode 8 season 1.  So I stopped watching.  The world has enough going on without watching characters on a show suffer.

[Cobb Salad]

Give it enough time and any of the shows on those digital sub channels will probably show up somewhere else that’s easier to get or they’ll be posted on YouTube, or available through something like PlutoTV.

Every so often I’ve considered getting an antenna for my spare TV (right now it’s hooked up to a cable box) but given where I live I’m hesitant since it seems to be a challenge finding one that’s good.  I follow this guy on YouTube who talks about this stuff from time to time and he points out some that are garbage. I know I’ll pick up something but whether or not I’ll pick up what I’m interested in is another question.   

[Maverick]

McHale's Navy currently airs on Antenna TV at noon.   COZI has aired the rest of those at one time or another.  I'm sure Rockford will rotate back in at some point.  They just brought back Quincy.  

 Most of the hour long detective shows seen to get relegated to late night.   I wish they do some earlier in the day. 

[shapeshifter]

3 minutes ago, Maverick said:

They just brought back Quincy.  

Quincy aired back when I didn't own a TV, so I'm enjoying his exploits. 🙂
There's no squinting through fingers over my eyes like when watching Bones or other modern ME shows.

[shapeshifter]

3 hours ago, icemiser69 said:

Several years ago, Hallmark aired Rockford for like a week at best and then it disappeared from their schedule.  No explanation.  I haven't seen it anywhere on television since.

I'm surprised that it's been 7 years since James Garner passed. I remember all the retro channels binging his shows at the time. Could it be that long ago that you're recalling?

[Gramto6]

I watch "Crossing Jordan" and "Rizzoli & Isles" on StartTV and "Frasier" on Cozi. I don't get a lot of the retro channels here sadly.

[Gramto6]

20 minutes ago, icemiser69 said:

The only thing I could watch on StartTV is Cold Case.  I quickly grew tired of it.

As for Frasier, I love that series, but again that is another series that either needs a hiatus, or at least cut down on the number of episodes that air per day on Cozi.  That number is currently four.  Roseanne is another series that needs a hiatus.  Emergency! is another series on Cozi that needs some time off.

I only watch the two shows I listed on StartTV and only the evening episodes of Frasier on Cozi. I wouldn't watch Roseanne if they paid me...seriously. The only other retro channel I get is MeTV the only thing I watch there is Monk. Living in the boonies does have some drawbacks...

Edited August 15, 2021 by Gramto6

[Gramto6]

Actually it was my choice to move to the boonies here in MT. I love it here and the few things I sacrifice are well worth it!

[kathyk24]

I think there are too many networks and not enough programs. That's why you see shows like Little House on the Prairie on multiple channels.  There are many shows I'd like to see again but I can't find them anywhere.

[Tom Holmberg]

On 8/15/2021 at 6:08 AM, icemiser69 said:

That said, I was hoping that MeTV would consider bringing in, The Rockford Files, The original unaltered McCloud episodes,  McMillian and Wife, McHale's Navy (language might be a problem),  Banacek, and Simon & SImon.

 

I think its odd the MeTV dropped "Alf" for "The Powers of Matthew Star" which only ran for 1 season.  They also run "The Invaders" which only ran for 2 seasons.  How many times can you watch those same episodes (though an "anthology" of 1 seasons shows might be interesting). If they are going to show 1 or 2 season shows on Sat. nights, why not "Middle Man"?

19 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

I'm surprised that it's been 7 years since James Garner passed. I remember all the retro channels binging his shows at the time. Could it be that long ago that you're recalling?

During Covid I watched all the "Maverick" shows from the beginning.  James Garner definitely is watchable.

[chessiegal]

1 hour ago, Tom Holmberg said:

James Garner definitely is watchable.

Oh yes indeed! One of my tv boyfriends. As my mother used to say about Van Johnson, James Garner can put his shoes under my bed any night.

[Jaded]

On 8/15/2021 at 4:40 PM, icemiser69 said:

Hallmark airing the series had nothing to do with Garner's death.  It aired and then quickly disappeared.  There is no logical reason why any network would bring on a series that it hasn't aired before and pull it after somewhere around one week.  I haven't seen it anywhere since Hallmark aired it for that snippet of time.  If someone has aired it since then, it would be on a channel I don't receive.

Both MeTV and Cozi need a significant shake up in their programming.  MeTV has a huge variety in programming, but it is incredibly stale.

I remember being able to watch The Rockford Files on COZI for a bit a in 2019 the first time I did a trial of YouTube TV. I know it was after that Hallmark airing weirdness. I'm in the last month of a $10 off 3mo YTTV deal right now and have been enjoying watching Emergency!. I never really paid much attention to it before when it aired on various other networks in the past for some reason even though I've always liked to watch older shows.

A couple years ago I enjoyed watching all of 77 Sunset Strip on MeTV even though the last season is a completely different show basically. I wish one of the retro channels would air the other shows like  Bourbon Street Beat, Hawaiian Eye and Surfside 6 that were in that same universe.

[Tom Holmberg]

9 hours ago, Jaded said:

A couple years ago I enjoyed watching all of 77 Sunset Strip on MeTV even though the last season is a completely different show basically. I wish one of the retro channels would air the other shows like  Bourbon Street Beat, Hawaiian Eye and Surfside 6 that were in that same universe.

You can check out my "77 Sunset Strip" posts on that page.  Yes, they could run those (maybe with "The Roaring Twenties" thrown in) alternately in one timeslot. That would give them more shows before repeating.

[chessiegal]

I would love to find Hawaiian Eye since it has my tv love Robert Conrad. Other than a few clips online, the best Google tells me is that you can buy audio cds. Good grief, it's a tv show. If anyone knows otherwise, let me know.

[DXD526]

The Decades binges for September: 9/4-5 - The Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts; 9/11-12 - Family Affair; 9/18-19 - The Prisoner; 9/25-26 - Highway Patrol. 

[Tom Holmberg]

20 hours ago, DXD526 said:

The Decades binges for September: 9/4-5 - The Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts; 9/11-12 - Family Affair; 9/18-19 - The Prisoner; 9/25-26 - Highway Patrol. 

Only one really worth watching is "The Prisoner"

[wilsie]

For anyone who wants to watch "The Prisoner" and doesn't get Decades you can watch through IMDB:  https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0061287/episodes?season=1 all but the Pilot and that's available through Amazon Prime for $1.99.  Patrick McGoohan made everything he was in better.  My favorite "Columbo" episodes are with him.  He directed several great episodes, too.

Edited August 18, 2021 by wilsie

[catlover79]

FETV is finally shaking up their lineup a bit. TJ Hooker will be removed (I think I watched the complete cycle at least five times!), and so will I Dream of Jeannie, Hart to Hart, One Day at a Time, and Designing Women. Starting next week, The Patty Duke Show. The week of 8/30 will see Mannix, Leave it to Beaver and The Beverly Hillbillies be added. However, Perry Mason and Matlock are both still airing four times a day. 

Edited August 20, 2021 by catlover79

[Cobb Salad]

3 hours ago, icemiser69 said:

Family Affair is such a Debbie Downer of a series.  Everyone is so mopey.  The children look so sad.

---

I have never watched, The Prisoner.  I will watch a few episodes.

I watched the later seasons of Family Affair during its original run.  Loved it.  Watching it now I’m trying to figure out why.  Maybe it’s because now we know how they were trying to make us keep thinking Anissa Jones was a little girl although she was a teenager when the show ended.  Then she died young.  

The Prisoner was an interesting show.  It’s worth a watch.  

[Maverick]

5 hours ago, catlover79 said:

FETV is finally shaking up their lineup a bit. TJ Hooker will be removed (I think I watched the complete cycle at least five times!), and so will I Dream of Jeannie, Hart to Hart, One Day at a Time, and Designing Women. Starting next week, The Patty Duke Show. The week of 8/30 will see Mannix, Leave it to Beaver and The Beverly Hillbillies be added. However, Perry Mason and Matlock are both still airing four times a day. 

Except for Patty Duke and TJ Hooker, all of those are on other Retro channels and have been cycled through quite a bit.   As has been mentioned, these Retro Channels need to find some different shows.  As it stands now, when they tout new shows to their lineup it's just something that's moved from another retro channel.  

[shapeshifter]

On 8/17/2021 at 1:01 PM, DXD526 said:

The Decades binges for September: 9/4-5 - The Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts;…

I will try to catch a bit of the Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts just to see how un-PC the humor is —or not. Curious. 

[Tom Holmberg]

18 hours ago, icemiser69 said:

Thank you for posting the schedule.

IIRC, when they have aired the roasts in the past couple of years on Decades, they air a disclaimer,  IIRC, language related. 

I watched some of the roasts on Decades, but they were edited in such a way where some of the people on stage never spoke.

---

Family Affair is such a Debbie Downer of a series.  Everyone is so mopey.  The children look so sad.

---

I have never watched, The Prisoner.  I will watch a few episodes.

--

I am not a Highway Patrol fan. 

MeTV airs an episode weekdays in the early morning hours.

Watch the first two, which sort of play out like a movie,. If you don't like those you probably won't like the series.  It's very 60s.

[Tom Holmberg]

16 hours ago, catlover79 said:

FETV is finally shaking up their lineup a bit. TJ Hooker will be removed (I think I watched the complete cycle at least five times!), and so will I Dream of Jeannie, Hart to Hart, One Day at a Time, and Designing Women. Starting next week, The Patty Duke Show. The week of 8/30 will see Mannix, Leave it to Beaver and The Beverly Hillbillies be added. However, Perry Mason and Matlock are both still airing four times a day. 

It didn't seem that ran Patty Duke for very long.  I can do without Matlock, even though that's Grandpa Simpson's favorite. Nice having Mannix at an earlier hour, but there are so many shows not running elsewhere, why not pick up those?

[chessiegal]

27 minutes ago, Tom Holmberg said:

I can do without Matlock,

So with you there. When I complained to fetv about dropping The Wild Wild West and replacing it with 2 hours of Matlock of all shows which are everywhere, they responded they had exciting new shows coming in the fall. What still remains at 1-3 pm ET? Matlock! Although fetv probably did me a favor, because I bought all 4 seasons of The Wild Wild West on DVD, so I can watch it anytime. The added bonus is I have noticed short bits edited out on the tv reruns. The colors of Season 2-4 are so much more vibrant than the aired broadcasts. The 1st season has bonus features, including Robert Conrad doing a voiceover of the pilot that is absolutely delightful.

[Tom Holmberg]

6 minutes ago, chessiegal said:

So with you there. When I complained to fetv about dropping The Wild Wild West and replacing it with 2 hours of Matlock of all shows which are everywhere, they responded they had exciting new shows coming in the fall. What still remains at 1-3 pm ET? Matlock! Although fetv probably did me a favor, because I bought all 4 seasons of The Wild Wild West on DVD, so I can watch it anytime. The added bonus is I have noticed short bits edited out on the tv reruns. The colors of Season 2-4 are so much more vibrant than the aired broadcasts. The 1st season has bonus features, including Robert Conrad doing a voiceover of the pilot that is absolutely delightful.

I tried to start watching "Perry Mason" from the beginning on FETV, but I couldn't watch 4 episode a day.

[Tom Holmberg]

Maybe now someone will air "Lou Grant" (or at least on one of the channels I get).

[chessiegal]

Sometimes MeTV  will do some special programming for actors who have passed. Decades left my market several years ago, and I'm still bitter about it.

[wilsie]

 

1 hour ago, chessiegal said:

Sometimes MeTV  will do some special programming for actors who have passed. Decades left my market several years ago, and I'm still bitter about it.

I remember that and understand completely.  I lost it at the same time for the same reason.

[Tom Holmberg]

In tribute to Ed Asner, MeTV will be running four episodes of The Mary Tyler Moore Show on Sunday, September 5, highlighing some of Asner's best performances as Grant. Episodes include: 

"Love is All Around" — Lou Grant hires Mary Richards to WJM-TV in the premiere episode!

"Once I Had a Secret Love" — After a few too many drinks, Lou has a fling with Sue Ann and asks Mary to keep it a secret.

"Lou Dates Mary" — After another disappointing date, Georgette suggests Mary date Lou.

"The Last Show" — There isn't a dry eye to be found in this emotional final episode.

The two-hour tribute will air on Sunday, September 5, at 2PM | 1C.

In addition, MeTV will run Asner's 1963 episode of The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, "To Kill a Butterfly" the same night at 1AM | 12C.

No "Lou Grant" though. 😪

 

[GHScorpiosRule]

28 minutes ago, Tom Holmberg said:

No "Lou Grant" though

Maybe they didn't get the rights? I dunno. That's what I've been told whenever I've complained about why x show or y show isn't available. I can't recall how many seasons it aired, so sometimes a show that ran for under the five-year that would start syndication is also a factor? Which makes no sense for those shows that ran for less than five that are available.