Television 30 Years Ago

Just about every other day my 12-year-old son, Billy, tells me, "There's nothing good on TV." We have Cablevision's Optimum IO package, which means we receive over 800 channels with every kind of programming you can imagine. Still, even though I chuckle at the remark, I have to agree with him.

Due to my early alarm, I don't have the opportunity to watch "prime time" television much anymore. However, on those rare occasions when I have an idle evening, the network programming is awful. "Survivor" and "Idol" programming is simply putrid. Are there any sitcoms today which can compare to what we were watching 30 years ago during our final year at Andrew Warde High School? I don't think so.

Here's a list of the Top Ten television shows from 1976, and many of them can still be seen in syndication today on TV Land or other local channels:

1. Happy Days ABC (31.5)
2. Laverne & Shirley ABC (30.9)
3. ABC Monday Night Movie ABC (26.0)
4. M*A*S*H CBS (25.9)
5. Charlie's Angels ABC (25.8)
6. The Big Event NBC (24.4)
7. The Six Million Dollar Man ABC (24.2)
8. ABC Sunday Night Movie ABC (23.4)
9. Baretta ABC (23.4)
10. One Day at a Time CBS (23.4)

I'm sure you'll remember many other "classic" television shows from that time period, such as All in the Family and Good Times, two series which I enjoyed immensely. Also, remember that we were still years away from cable television, and there were only eight channels we received. We couldn't even get all the Connecticut channels.

Also, recall that network prime-time movies were a staple back then, since cable's movie channels didn't exist. Each network had specific nights of the week on which it would show its prime-time movie. I still recall the theme music for each of the three network movies on CBS, NBC, and ABC. As a younger child, I knew what night of the week it was simply by hearing the movie theme song.

What channels did we receive? Channels two, four, five, seven, eight, nine, 11, and 13. The Mets and Yankees were on channels nine and 11, respectively, and the announcers were almost like extended family. Bob Murphy, Lindsey Nelson, and Ralph Kiner were the Mets' announcers, while Frank Messer, Phil Rizzuto, and Bill White broadcast the Yankees' games. Who are their announcers today? What channels are they on today? Better yet, who cares?

Yes, television is certainly much improved today technologically, but the quality of the programming pales in comparison with 1976. What do you think? Please e-mail me at pppiorek@news12.com to let me know.

Odds and Ends ... Our second reunion committee meeting is scheduled this evening at 7 o'clock at Three Corners Restaurant in Fairfield. Tony Procaccini, the reunion committee chair, is a featured guest on News 12 Connecticut's Education Notebook next week. Tony will appear for an in-studio interview Tuesday morning, and the program will air several times the following weekend.

Paul