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

Actionmage

By Actionmage
in Network Talk

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shapeshifter

shapeshifter

On 3/1/2022 at 5:42 PM, chessiegal said:

The Wild Wild West Revisited and More Wild Wild West tv movies were very campy by design. IIRC, they both got decent ratings.

18 hours ago, Gharlane said:

Well, it tried to be campy.

I recall first hearing/reading of shows being described as "campy" in the 60s with Batman, when I was too young to know what it meant but too old to not want to appear too young to know. Google tells me The Wild Wild West Revisited and More Wild Wild West were aired in 1979 and 1980 when I didn't own a TV.
So am I correct in thinking "campy" shows were intended to be watched while high on low-grade marijuana?

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chessiegal
chessiegal

I don't "pine" for the 1970s. MTM was one of the best sitcoms out there - well written with good acting.

shapeshifter
shapeshifter

I am right now chatting with a live person regarding picking up a Home Depot order.  I just typed:  I might want to add some sharpie markers and PostIts and labels And it showed up in the

Maverick
Maverick

It was actually Lucille Ball (who's Desilu company produced the show) that ditched the first season format.  She thought the computers were confusing and out of the grasp of the ordinary viewer. 

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Gharlane

Gharlane

2 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

I recall first hearing/reading of shows being described as "campy" in the 60s with Batman, when I was too young to know what it meant but too old to not want to appear too young to know. Google tells me The Wild Wild West Revisited and More Wild Wild West were aired in 1979 and 1980 when I didn't own a TV.
So am I correct in thinking "campy" shows were intended to be watched while high on low-grade marijuana?

That's one way to describe it, I guess. 🤣

Campy is hard to explain, but I think of it as over-the-top and silly, yet still entertaining. I don't think you can intentionally make something campy for the most part, it just happens.  

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chessiegal

chessiegal

From The Wild Wild West by Susan E. Kesler on the tv movies:

Quote

The two "Wild Wild West" TV movies are proof positive that you can't go home again. Even when taking the approach of intentional camp, they just can't recapture or even approach the magic and mystery of the original episodes. Writer William Bowers had a flair for the ridiculous and put it to full use for both TV movies.

From Wikipedia:

Quote

Ten years after the series was cancelled a made-for-television revival movie, The Wild Wild West Revisited, aired and was successful enough to warrant a follow-up entitled More Wild Wild West (1980), thus bringing the total number of episodes up to 106. However, the movie was more campy compared to the serious tone of the television series. The death of Ross Martin in 1981 ended any plans for another film.

 

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chessiegal

chessiegal

41 minutes ago, DXD526 said:

Upcoming Decades binges: 4/2-3 - Vega$; 4/9-10 - Hawaiian Eye; 4/16-17 - In the Heat of the Night; 4/23-24 - The Pretender; 4/30-5/1 - T.J. Hooker.

Well dang. Now I have another reason to be pissed I don't get Decades anymore. I'd love to see Hawaiian Eye. I haven't been able to find any way to watch it. If anyone knows outside of Decades, I'd love to know. Amazon has the audio but not the video. 🤷‍♂️

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Tom Holmberg

Tom Holmberg

(edited)

I noticed that ZLiving, the most incompetent retro channel, appears to be running "Route 66" late Friday nites (but just because its on their schedule, doesn't mean it will appear).  They've also been running "The Real McCoys" binges on weekends.

Edited by Tom Holmberg
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Jaded

Jaded

(edited)

I'm mentioning this streaming service here for the news mentioned in the quoted part of the article.

Frndly TV Will Add Five New Channels to Its Live Streaming Lineup

Quote

The affordable live TV streaming service Frndly TV announced today a multi-year agreement with Weigel to bring five national TV networks to its lineup. The new channels include MeTV, Heroes & Icons (H&I), DECADES, Story Television, and Start TV. Frndly TV is the first live TV streaming service to carry all five of the networks.

Starting today, MeTV will be available on the Frndly TV lineup, along with Story Television, as Weigel nationally debuts the new network. On Tuesday, April 19, H&I and DECADES will join the Frndly TV lineup, while Start TV will premiere at a later date.

 

Edited by Jaded
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GHScorpiosRule

GHScorpiosRule

(edited)
41 minutes ago, chessiegal said:

OMG! Decades! I see that it will be added April 19. I'll definitely be giving it a try then.

Thank you!!!

OMGEEEE! is right! I'm gonna see I LOVE LUCY again!!!!!

Edited by GHScorpiosRule
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GHScorpiosRule

GHScorpiosRule

Oh BOO!!! I was hoping that Frndly would be commercial free, a la Netflix and Prime, but nope. And there were at least 6 commercials when I was watching Charlie's Angels on one of the other channels. So are the number of commercials dependent on the channel the show airs? I know IMDbTV has only two ads when it breaks to commercial; same with Peacock.

Still, I'm not getting rid of it. They also have a record option, which, how would that work? I'll play around with it over the weekend.

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Jaded

Jaded

The new channels added to Frndly TV are regular broadcast stations showing older series mostly so they're going to have a lot of those annoying Medicare, life insurance and other senior oriented commercials. 

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chessiegal

chessiegal

I do not understand fetv programming decisions. Not only did they add Emergency!, one of the worst shows ever produced, they put it in place of Mannix from 10-12 pm. I wonder what they dropped to add Emergency!?

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Cobb Salad

Cobb Salad

8 hours ago, chessiegal said:

I do not understand fetv programming decisions. Not only did they add Emergency!, one of the worst shows ever produced, they put it in place of Mannix from 10-12 pm. I wonder what they dropped to add Emergency!?

According to my TV listing Mannix is on at 7 pm eastern now.  

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chessiegal

chessiegal

3 hours ago, Cobb Salad said:

According to my TV listing Mannix is on at 7 pm eastern now.  

Yes, I know. They are making a big deal out of moving Mannix to 7 pm weekdays and 6-8 pm weekends. Mannix at 10-12 pm was a nice show to end the day. I sent them a complaint. I'm still pissed at fetv for dropping The Wild Wild West.

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wilsie

wilsie

3 hours ago, Tom Holmberg said:

R.I.P. Nehemiah Persoff

Persoff probably appeared on every Retro drama series (if not multiple times) there was, usually playing a villain. IMDB lists over 200 credits as an actor.

https://variety.com/2022/film/obituaries-people-news/nehemiah-persoff-dead-yentl-1235226599/

Such a long life and prolific career.  I enjoyed watching him in so many things.  To be married for 69 years.  To have your spouse still alive for that long is a real gift in life.  

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Cobb Salad

Cobb Salad

6 hours ago, chessiegal said:

Yes, I know. They are making a big deal out of moving Mannix to 7 pm weekdays and 6-8 pm weekends. Mannix at 10-12 pm was a nice show to end the day. I sent them a complaint. I'm still pissed at fetv for dropping The Wild Wild West.

The programming seems weird.  IMO Mannix shouldn’t be on at 7pm, they should have put Emergency there as it’s more of a family friendly show - or at least it was during its original run.  Good luck!

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chessiegal

chessiegal

17 minutes ago, Cobb Salad said:

The programming seems weird.  IMO Mannix shouldn’t be on at 7pm, they should have put Emergency there as it’s more of a family friendly show - or at least it was during its original run.  Good luck!

I so agree. I heard back from fetv basically giving me platitudes. At least they read and respond to comments. They said they monitor social media. I know they got a bunch of negative comments on FB when they dropped The Wild Wild West. Looking at their FB page today there are negative and positive comments about Emergency!. 🤷‍♂️

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Tom Holmberg

Tom Holmberg

On 4/11/2022 at 8:07 AM, Tom Holmberg said:

INSP has moved "Alias Smith and Jones" to one episode late night Sat. because they needed space for more James Arness.

The three late night shows I record are "Alias Smith and Jones" and "The Fugitive" (both Roy Huggins shows), and "Route 66" (Stirling Silliphant, who also did "The Naked City").

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DXD526

DXD526

This Monday, Decades will start airing Laugh-In again, at 5 p.m. ET. There don't appear to be any other schedule changes, just a straight-up swapping of Laugh-In for the current hour of The Odd Couple. 

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Tom Holmberg

Tom Holmberg

On 4/16/2022 at 4:03 PM, wilsie said:

Late night this Sunday MEtv will show the final episode of "The Fugitive" 2 am est for anyone who would like to watch it. 

After the original airing of the finale, I told my friends, who didn't watch it, that at the end after Gerard kills the one-armed man and Kimble is no longer a fugitive, the show ends with Kimble alone on a beach. He takes off his ubiquitous sports jacket and shirt, then he takes off his fake arm and walks into the surf.  The kids were amazed that that was how the series ended.

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Tom Holmberg

Tom Holmberg

43 minutes ago, Gharlane said:

Wow! I didn't realize Robert Conrad was on Hawai'ian Eye before Wild Wild West! 😲

I wish one of the retro channels would run all the "77 Sunset Strip" clones-"Hawaiian Eye", "Surfside Six", "Bourbon Street Beat" and "The Roaring 20s".

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Tom Holmberg

Tom Holmberg

MeTV is running an "Andy Griffith" binge today (Sunday) with a Mayberry-themed "Collectors Call", followed by two "MASH" episodes featuring Mayberry actors, then "Return to Mayberry."  I recall watching "Return" but have no memory whether it was worthwhile or not.

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Cobb Salad

Cobb Salad

(edited)

 

7 hours ago, Tom Holmberg said:

I recall watching "Return" but have no memory whether it was worthwhile or not.

I saw it when it was first aired and remembered it as being ok, one thing I do remember about it was Ron Howard made an appearance, and if I remember correctly this was at a time when he was primarily directing movies and not really doing any acting roles anymore.  

Edited by Cobb Salad
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chessiegal

chessiegal

6 minutes ago, Tom Holmberg said:

The best TV shows that lasted only one season

Did they miss any of your favorites? (I liked "Mr. Sterling")

https://www.yardbarker.com/entertainment/articles/the_best_tv_shows_that_lasted_only_one_season/s1__29844374#slide_1

 

The only show on the list I remember is Bunheads. I'm a huge Gilmore Girls fan. I could have used more episodes. Even though it wasn't renewed, didn't they extend the first season? 

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Tom Holmberg

Tom Holmberg

55 minutes ago, chessiegal said:

The only show on the list I remember is Bunheads. I'm a huge Gilmore Girls fan. I could have used more episodes. Even though it wasn't renewed, didn't they extend the first season? 

They had 18 episodes which is similar to other shows at that time,  "Terriers", "Brisco County Jr.", "Firefly" were also good one-season shows,

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Tom Holmberg

Tom Holmberg

22 hours ago, Tom Holmberg said:

They had 18 episodes which is similar to other shows at that time,  "Terriers", "Brisco County Jr.", "Firefly" were also good one-season shows,

I would recommend "Terriers" to anyone. 

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Tom Holmberg

Tom Holmberg

Tonite on ZLiving they are showing an interesting "Route 66" episode "A Fury Slinging Flame."  Very much a capsule of the concerns of the very early 60s (epi ran on 30 Dec 1960), the plot has Leslie Nielsen as a scientist who believes he'd deciphered clues from a Russian scientist that the Russians are planning a surprise nuclear attack on the US. Nielsen and a group of his followers are hiding in Carlsbad Caverns to survive the supposed Armageddon. Buz and Tod have to help solve the problem.

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ratgirlagogo

ratgirlagogo

On 5/4/2022 at 3:08 PM, Tom Holmberg said:

The best TV shows that lasted only one season

Did they miss any of your favorites? (I liked "Mr. Sterling")

https://www.yardbarker.com/entertainment/articles/the_best_tv_shows_that_lasted_only_one_season/s1__29844374#slide_1

 

Firefly and Freaks and Geeks of course.  Less widely lamented  from this linked list are Selfie and the most painful cancel of all, Terriers (IMO one of the best shows ever on television).

Not on the linked list, I loved Eyes and just recently Stumptown.

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shapeshifter

shapeshifter

On 5/4/2022 at 3:08 PM, Tom Holmberg said:

The best TV shows that lasted only one season   
Did they miss any of your favorites? (I liked "Mr. Sterling")   
https://www.yardbarker.com/entertainment/articles/the_best_tv_shows_that_lasted_only_one_season/s1__29844374#slide_1

On 5/8/2022 at 11:52 PM, ratgirlagogo said:

Less widely lamented  from this linked list are Selfie

Selfie was a surprising and disappointing cancel after 1 season. 
Equally (or more!) incomprehensible was the cancellation of BrainDead.

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Cobb Salad

Cobb Salad

On 5/4/2022 at 3:08 PM, Tom Holmberg said:

The best TV shows that lasted only one season

Did they miss any of your favorites? (I liked "Mr. Sterling")

https://www.yardbarker.com/entertainment/articles/the_best_tv_shows_that_lasted_only_one_season/s1__29844374#slide_1

 

Whenever I see one of these lists I always look for Freaks and Geeks.  I wasn’t surprised to see it on this list too.  I had heard about it during its original run but didn’t watch.  A bunch of years ago one of the cable channels would show a block of episodes every Saturday morning which is when I finally watched it.  I enjoyed it very much and wished it had continued.  

One show I didn’t see listed that I don’t see people talking about anymore is Journeyman.  IIRC I think it was a victim of not only low ratings but the writers strike around that time.  At least they gave us a sort of ending/explanation of what was going on with the main characters’ spontaneous time traveling.  

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Cobb Salad

Cobb Salad

On 5/8/2022 at 10:13 PM, chessiegal said:

It appears Verizon Fios and MeTV have gotten into a pissing match. Just saw an ad that today is the last day Fios will carry MeTV.

I’m still getting MeTV.  Maybe this is an affiliate issue, like they decided to broadcast other programming?

I lost MeTV+ recently - the station that was broadcasting it decided to switch to another channel.  Instead of MeTV+ I’m getting old History channel shows.  

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chessiegal

chessiegal

16 minutes ago, Cobb Salad said:

I’m still getting MeTV.  Maybe this is an affiliate issue, like they decided to broadcast other programming?

I lost MeTV+ recently - the station that was broadcasting it decided to switch to another channel.  Instead of MeTV+ I’m getting old History channel shows.  

I never got MeTV+. Turns out we're still getting MeTV on Verizon. Guess they settled their differences.

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