NBC stands out to me in the programming lineups from 40 and 50 years ago tonight. In 1971, NBC celebrated the launch of Walt Disney World in Florida with a primetime special called--straightforward enough--Grand Opening of Walt Disney World. An alternate title is Disney World--A Gala Opening.
The official park opening festivities took place October 23-25, with footage shot then for this variety special starring Julie Andrews, Glen Campbell, Jonathan Winters, and Buddy Hackett. Bob Hope makes an appearance because of course he does. It's easy to find online, so we went ahead and embedded a video here, but, boy, would it be great to see a version of this on Disney Plus.
40 years ago, it was Season Premiere Night on NBC, with all of these shows beginning their new seasons:
Harper Valley PTA kicked off its second season with BOTNS fave Mills Watson in "Make Room for Uncle Buster."
At 8:30 NBC debuted new sitcom Lewis and Clark, a Gabe Kaplan vehicle that tanked.
9:00 saw the fourth-season premiere of Diff'rent Strokes, in which Willis decides it's time for he and his girlfriend (Janet Jackson) to take the next step.
9:30 is the series premiere of Gimme a Break!
Finally, Hills Street Blues returns for a second season at 10:00 with "Hearts and Minds" with Danny Glover in the guest cast!
40 years ago tonight, NBC premiered the series version of its earlier (in fact, only two weeks earlier) TV movie Sidney Shorr: A Girl's Best Friend, which itself was adapted from Marilyn Cantor Baker's short story. The show lasted only two seasons.
Swoosie Kurtz replaced Lorna Patterson in the series, and there was another big change: Shorr, openly gay in the movie, did not discuss his sexuality in the show, reportedly because NBC got preemptive complaints when the premise was announced.
Notice how TV Guide describes the character in its preview; instead of using the wink-wink "confirmed bachelor" business, this piece is open about Sidney's orientation, some of the skittish reaction, and NBC's strategy:
The United States Navy celebrates is official birthday October 13, until about 1970, historians believed it was October 27. The Navy continues to commemorate its members past and present on October 27, even while celebrating its history on the 13th, so we will do so as well!
As someone proud to call several close relatives veterans of the Navy, I am happy to take a moment to recognize the branch today! But because this is a TV website, I think we should also recognize the Saturday Night Live parody of that recruitment campaign. It's funny that the comments on the post on YT are filled with veterans talking about how spot-on and hilarious it is!
CBS' 1979 promo campaign was "Looking Good!" It's a generic slogan, but one that can serve its purpose if in fact the network IS looking good.
This particular promo makes you doubt the veracity of the expression:
CBS is sounding good with the great Danny Dark, who I associated with NBC growing up but who was the voice of the Tiffany Network before that. Looking good, though?
The Last Resort lasted a mere 16 episodes; creator Gary David Goldberg scored a couple years later with Family Ties. As for Struck by Lightning, did anyone ever utter the phrase, "Hey, Jack Elam! Looking GOOD!" I personally love the idea of Elam as a modern-day Frankenstein's monster, but the show itself had an even shorter run than Resort.
Then we get TV movie Sex and the Single Parent. You know, I just don't want to see that.
40 years ago tonight, TV viewers received an interesting assortment of Sunday evening programming, including a Halloween-set episode of Alice and a Trapper John M.D. episode titled "Hate Is Enough." Not having seen the latter, I can only wonder if that pun is appropriate for a story involving the KKK.
The most interesting programs are on the other networks. ABC starts at 7:00 with a special, Whatever Became Of... Our old friend Dick Van Patten hosts this update of multiple celebrities from the recent past. This picture is from Vincent Terrace's Television Specials:
Other stars featured include The Monkees, Danny Bonaduce, Spanky McFarland, and Brigitte Bardot. DVP welcomes guests like Donna Dixon, Phyllis Diller, and his partner in crime Adam Rich from Hate is En--er, Eight Is Enough. The show has a theme song by Bobby Sherman and is a Dick Clark production, and somehow that doesn't surprise me one iota.
NBC's main attraction is made-for-TV movie Twirl, a saga about baton twirling in Texas and the pressured relationship between two girls (Lisa Whelchel and Erin Moran). The complete movie is easy to find online, but here's a rather suggestive promo for a 1984 rerun:
How far will they go? How far WILL THEIR PARENTS GO?
1) The Munsters: We did maybe the last of our Season 9 Power Rankings on Friday, with little controversy over the top choices, but Friend of the Show Dann Fox asked about The Standells. We left off celebs playing themselves, but they certainly warrant a mention, so here they are, ladies and gents, and note that an actual Standell appears to be present in the comments for this clip!
2) Aloha Paradise: In case you missed our post earlier this week, Gilmore Box uploaded the intro to an episode of this 1981 flop, and it's a glorious Love Boat ripoff...from the people who did Love Boat! I know I've had a long crusade to get Quincy on streaming video--maybe I need to yell at Asten more--but I may have to set that aside to get Aloha running somewhere.
3) The Horror Hall of Fame: Vincent Price welcomes guests like John Carradine to celebrate classic horror movies and performers in this 1974 ABC special aired under the Wide World of Entertainment banner.
4) Dark Night of the Scarecrow: This memorable CBS movie premiered 40 years ago tonight.
5) National Bologna Day: Yeah, we could go with the kid spelling, but how about something different:
The important thing is that we all celebrate bologna.
6) Soul Train: This week saw an announcement that the Soul Train Music Awards will return in November on BET and will take place at the Apollo. I'd like to think somewhere Don Cornelius is seeing this news and wishing us all peace, love, and exploitation of intellectual property!
7) Snoopy at the Ice Follies: Anything on ice is fun, right? Right? 50 years ago tonight, NBC hoped we'd think so. There isn't a lot out there about this first of multiple Peanuts ice specials, but I found this cool blog post that has a publicity picture and info about the Columbia Gas sponsorship of this and other entertainment specials. I find it amusing that according to this post, the company gave customers a newsletter called Gaslight.
8) Maggie: 40 years ago tonight, ABC premiered sitcomt Maggie from the mind of popular columnist Erma Bombeck. The cast included Miriam Flynn as a Bombeck type, James Hampton, and Doris Roberts.
9) Fortune Dane/Starman: Crackle's latest additions to its streaming lineup are these 1980s short-lived ABC series with Carl Weathers and Robert Hays respectively.
10) R.I.P. Peter Scolari: We talked about his work as Michael on Newhart right here, but he had a prolific career and left a big mark. Check out the cast in this 1991 Disney Channel movie:
In our PSA episode this season we explored the, many spots Dick Van Dyke did for the National Fire Protection Association. Well, not to be outdone, the International Association of Fire Chiefs present their own message in 1979:
Who are the members of the International Association of Fire Chiefs? Do they have a cool meeting place like the Hall of Justice in some exotic location?
Whatever the case, they know their fires safety. I hope they appreciated the work of Dick Van Dyke and that there was some mutual respect there. The Chiefs are focusing on prevention while DVD talks about reaction. I think there is plenty of room for both approaches!
