Watch Much TV?

Few and fewer people ARE...and that, my friends, is a huge concern for the folks who produce the stuff that shows up on your screen.  That prime time entertainment stuff. Guess what?  It ain't workin' anymore!  And, they SHOULD be worried!  I spent many years working TV news in the evening, missing some of the great years of prime time entertainment. Maybe I'm just an old fogey now, but much of what comes on that screen at night just doesn't keep my attention.  And this fall seems parrticularly weak, when it comes to the new shows.

Hollywood worried about new season already

Hollywood is the most impatient entity in the entire galaxy. Industry experts and execs are already worried that the new season isn't living up to expectations. Please note that we are one week into the new season. There are only two new shows so far that have shown any strength: [...]

Remember when there was some good stuff on?  It's called Classic TV and you'll find several examples buried down a ways, right here on this blog.

Tags: New TV season, bionic woman, private practice, Classic TV

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Classic TV

Time for a break and a snippet of some GREAT Classic TV.  Tonight's comes courtesy of Shakespeare's Sister blog, where they regularly focus on a segment they call -

Two-Minute Nostalgia Sublime

Ready for the opening sequence of the very first F Troop?  Click the link above and say "Thanks" to SS.

Tags: Classic TV, F Troop

More Classic TV

The "real" posts begin a couple of slots down the page.  To get you going, a couple more classic TV clips - the opening sequences to some shows you may well have forgotten about! Ya gotta love the music!

Tags: Greatest American Hero, Hart to Hart, Classic TV

Old TV Shows

YouTube is a marvelous repository of bits and piece from classic TV shows. This, my friends, was the true beginning of TV in America  the 1950's and 60's..

Tags: Classic TV, Nelsons, Lucy

More Classic TV Commercials

Sometimes, the commercials are more memorable than the shows.  Here's a fun collection. You'll have to put up with some onscreen ads for the "for sale" version, but it's worth it.

Tags: Classic TV, TV Commercials

Opening Act

Before we get down to business, a quick trip WAY back, down classic TV's "memory lane".  Almost 52 years ago tonight, you might have been watching "Your Hit Parade" and seeing this -

Tags: Classic TV, Your Hit Parade

It Comes Full Circle

Welcome!  It's Tuesday. The new TV season is here, not that it appears to be a whole lot better than the old TV season. We tend to gravitate toward the crime shows.  I have to tell you, CSI: Miami is absolutely gorgeous to watch in High Def. The colors are incredible, to the point that I find myself losing track of the storyline! Still, nothing impresses me as much as some of the Classic TV from years gone by. Perhaps I was younger, and not as demanding then. Enough frivolity.  Let's get down to the task at hand.

 And, it appears, we have come full circle in this race to outsource tech jobs to India. Now, if we could just eliminate the middleman, maybe we could pay the people here just a little bit more.

The race to the bottom

It's no longer cheap enough to outsource tech jobs to India. As the tech industry in India has grown, workers are demanding higher wages. So now, Indian companies are outsourcing FROM India, so they can pay even less. But what's even more disturbing is that one of those "developing countries" is low-cost areas of the United States: "One of the constants of the global economy has been companies moving their tasks — and jobs — to India. But rising wages and [...]

Tags: Outsourcing Jobs, India

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Just For Fun

I don't know about all of you, but I grew up watching American Bandstand.  So...I'm going to be posting some clips from that classic TV show for the next few days. Or until my supply runs out.  Enjoy.  And, if you're too young to remember, please know that this was the MTV of today.  Laugh, if you will. But, it was Saturday morning "must see" TV.

Tags: American Bandstand, Dick Clark

Break Time

Just to mix things up a bit tonight, take a break and enjoy another blast from the past.  Actually, a darn good collection of blasts.

Whatever happened to the old ad stars?

I can’t count the number of times I’ve been driving somewhere or watching TV and suddenly thought, “Hey, whatever happened to the FedEx fast-talker guy?” That’s because I’ve never actually done it. But the folks at Mental Floss have, and [...]

Tags: Classic TV, Advertising

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Mr. Magoo

Simply classic. From the 1960's.  I'd forgotten how creative and funny the older cartoon were!  First the open -

Then - a show segment..

Tags: Mr. Magoo, Classic TV

Feeling Really Old

Man, this just about pushed me over the edge into full-fledged old age.  Maybe I just don't like to admit how many years I've been around.  Maybe it's just a rude slap in the face when I realize that I grew up watching television shows that are celebrating....Oh, go on and read it. I can't even bring myself to type the numbers..

Happy 50th anniversary, Beaver!

Today marks the 50th anniversary of the classic sitcom Leave it to Beaver, and while many of the show's original stars have left us (Hugh Beaumont, Stanley Fafara, Sue Randall, Richard Deacon), much of the main cast is still going strong, and five of them - Jerry Mathers, Tony Dow, Barbara Billingsley, Ken Osmond, and Frank Bank - appeared on Good Morning, America this morning to celebrate the day. They've all kept busy over the years. Mathers appeared [...]

Tags: Classic TV, Leave it To Beaver, Good Morning America

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Coca Cola

If you're looking for the "newsy" posts, just scroll down.  But, you'll miss some fun stuff!  What a wonderful advertising campaign. I think it would still play today. Here's the original, from the 1970's -

And, amazingly, a remake, 20 years later, with the original singers. And their kids!

Tags: Classic TV, Coca Cola

Call To Action

h/t to Hotline on Call.  This is absolutely one of the most creative and funny call to action spots I've ever seen. It has a little bit of several things I love, Opie, Andy, Happy Days and, yes, The Fonz! Yes, it is one-sided, but still very good. Particularly if you have a "thing" for classic TV...

Thank Goodness

It's Thursday.  Friday will be here and not a moment too soon!  My daily reminder - make sure you scroll down to find all of the fresh posts.  I upload to blogger in reverse order, so each day's "welcome" post will be at, or near, the top!  It's not all serious stuff, either.  Do a site search for "Classic TV" and enjoy some fun clips from the 1950's through the 1980's.  Also, I've lowered the number of posts displayed on the home page, to make things a little better for folks with slower connections.  So, you'll want to click the "older posts" link at the bottom of the page and keep reading.

Tonight, we're kicking things off with a story that really nails the sometimes stupidity of government.  Do you find yourself wondering, "why are we having so many toy recalls these days?"  The answer, my friends, is quite remarkably simple -

Self regulation fails again, Consumer Product Safety Commission requests funding

Listening to Mattel CEO Robert A. Eckert cry about his problems and the problems his company has inflicted on small children would almost be amusing if the problems were not so serious. While it's nice to see business think about consumers instead of their profits and luxurious compensation plans, the greed factor is why we are here in the first place. China deserves plenty of blame for selling tainted products but let's not kid ourselves and pile on China because the businesses who were purchasing this rubbish should have had quality systems in place and the government could have also shown a little interest in [...]

Tags: Mattel, Toy Recall, CPSC, Consumer Product Safety Commission, China

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Old Radio

And old TV. Combined.  Here's a great post including a TV report about the final hours of a legendary rock radio station in South Florida.

OLD MIAMI TV SATURDAY

And, here's simply a great site for free access to a whole bunch of classic radio shows from the 30's, 40's and 50's.

Old Time Radio Fan

Just a couple of things to make your Sunday evening more enjoyable.  Might even help you forget the heat!

Reminder

During the week, I try to post in a reverse order. Blogger generally puts the freshest post here at the top.  I pre-write everything over supper, then post them in reverse order, so there are actually a bunch of fresh posts as you scroll down the page, even onto the "older posts" page.  Just don't stop with the top of the page!    You'll miss the best posts!  To say "thanks" for spending some time around here, as promised, from WAAAY back in the 1950's - It's Howdy Doody Time!!!

Speaking of kids' shows - Howdy Doody was from MY era.  From our son's era - He Man, Master of the Universe. This was the big one that he watched and imitated, right down to the sword and slogan - you'll remember it, when you hear it, right here..

Tags: Classic TV, Howdy Doody, He Man

Educational Time-Waster

Political junkies will find a lot to like about the site pointing out in the following post...It's chock full of political ads (including classic TV stuff) from the past several decades.  Dig in!

Weekend Vid Picks: Old-Time Political Ads

After Mad Men introduced me to the long history of American political ads, I went on to discover that such a history is also beautifully archived by the nonpartisan web site The Living Room Candidate, which hosts ads from every presidential campaign since 1952. Looking at them makes clear just how many good [...]

Condescending CNBC

Image via Wikipedia

This is an amazing bit of condescending showmanship on the part of the CNBC crew, talking about mortgage help. With a stock market cheering section.

Rick Santelli has a Howard Beale Moment…

This is classic TV but Santelli isn’t saying anything I haven’t already heard before on CNBC and FBN. The only difference is the cheerleading from the peanut gallery behind Santelli. A pretty good cross section of America? Traders? Umm…talk about preaching to the choir and stacking the deck. Let’s see Santelli get that kind [...]

UPDATE:

Here Comes the Santelli Blowback…

You just knew the hype over Santelli’s outburst would subside and people would start looking at what he actually said. And then the blowback would come. CJR Daily’s Ryan Chittum has the honor of being one of the first. I doubt it’ll be the last. Earlier I said Santelli did a Howard Beale. I take [...]

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• CNBC Whips Up Wall Street Antagonism To Regular Americans (oliverwillis.com)

The Fonz

One of the key figures the old TV show, Happy Days, was Fonzie. What a classic character on a classic show. Enjoy about 8 minutes..

Tags: Happy Days, Fonzie

Taking On Old TV Kids' Shows

This is actually quite creative! Some of you may be aware of it already, but it's kind of a Mystery Science Theater for the old television kids' shows.  Now, if they'd just put a microphone on the guy, instead just using the camera mic....

Nostalgia Critic Takes Apart Your Childhood Favorites

If you’re like most people, the films and TV shows of your generation defined large chunks of your childhood, but when watched through the prism of, well, being a kid, they seemed much better than they actually were. Enter Nostalgia Critic, which picks out a classic series or movie you might remember fondly…and makes [...]

Technorati Tags: Nostalgia Critic, Guy With Glasses, Kids' Television