This Day in TV History: A night of winter specials

Is January 17 too late to celebrate Christmas? NBC didn't seem to think so in 1972 when it aired its annual Bob Hope Christmas Show. There was a good reason NBC broadcast the Hope shows after the holiday: They relied on footage shot on the overseas Christmas tours Hope did each year. It seems like today they would get the stuff put together much quicker, but 50 years ago it worked and drew big ratings.

Looking at the entire evening, it seems like a lineup suited for a major holiday, with specials that have family appeal. ABC starts the night with Robinson Crusoe Ice Spectacle hosted by Andy Griffith. I must admit, of all the Daniel Dafoe novels I'd think would be adapted to an ice show, Crusoe has to be far down the list. 

The network follows that with the second night of a broadcast of John Wayne's 1965 In Harm's Way. This feels like the kind of "epic" old movie programming they used to roll out on a holiday.

NBC precedes Bib with Bell System Family Theater's tribute to George Gershwin, hosted by Jack Lemmon and starring Fred Astaire, Ethel Merman, and many more.

CBS wrecks my narrative by showing pretty much its standard lineup: Gunsmoke, Here's Lucy, The Doris Day Show, Sonny and Cher.