Holiday specials were made for color - Videokarma.org TV - Video

oldtvman · #1 11-25-2007, 05:48 PM

Back when color was starting to be noticed, one thing at least helped make the public aware of the technology. The boat load of color specials rolled out by NBC and sparingly by CBS. The season of magic and wonder was a perfect fit for the emerging technology. In my mind it made a special season even more special.

old_tv_nut · #2 11-26-2007, 11:32 PM

People do support some stage spectaculars yet, like Cats or Lion King or etc. So why couldn't you make a go of a holiday variety show? I wonder if the remote control has killed the genre? Used to be you would turn on the "special" and if one person in the family didn't like a particular part, they would wait through it until something they liked came on. With multiple-TV households and every set with remote control, they probably can't get the continuous viewing they used to, so ratings would be lousy. Plus, production takes money, not like just turning on the lights for an unscripted talk show. - - just a little speculation here

bgadow · #3 11-27-2007, 12:13 PM

There was a magic to those Christmas specials. Well, I'm too young to remember the early days but even in the late 70s (my early memories) it was a big deal to see Bob Hope or shows like that. For one thing, you only had one chance. Nowadays things get repeated again and again. Certainly in the 1950s if you had the chance to turn from the drab gray images of everyday television and instead sit down to a beautiful Christmas spectacular...sure, you'd watch that show even if it didn't have the funniest jokes or the best singers.

NowhereMan 1966 · #4 12-09-2007, 12:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by old_tv_nut

People do support some stage spectaculars yet, like Cats or Lion King or etc. So why couldn't you make a go of a holiday variety show? I wonder if the remote control has killed the genre? Used to be you would turn on the "special" and if one person in the family didn't like a particular part, they would wait through it until something they liked came on. With multiple-TV households and every set with remote control, they probably can't get the continuous viewing they used to, so ratings would be lousy. Plus, production takes money, not like just turning on the lights for an unscripted talk show. - - just a little speculation here

I know, I doubt a shoe like Ed Sullivan could take place today. Back in the day, most homes had only 1 TV, if lucky, maybe a second one as a backup and most likely that one was a smaller B&W model, while the main set was a bigger B&W or, again, if lucky, color. Ed Sullivan made a point to have something for everyone, you had Topo Gigo and the early Muppets for the kids (although adults enjoyed them too), The Beatles, Rolling Stones, and The Doors for the teens, various comedians and the like for the "grown ups," pieces of Broadway plays and operas for the "high brow" crown, and daredevil type stunts for the sports minded and "extreme sports" types. I think you'd have a lot of people today zap out the "high brow" stuff, others the teens stuff, and so on. With remote control and a hundred or so channels, Ed Sullivan would have a tough time of it.

NowhereMan 1966 · #5 12-09-2007, 12:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bgadow

There was a magic to those Christmas specials. Well, I'm too young to remember the early days but even in the late 70s (my early memories) it was a big deal to see Bob Hope or shows like that. For one thing, you only had one chance. Nowadays things get repeated again and again. Certainly in the 1950s if you had the chance to turn from the drab gray images of everyday television and instead sit down to a beautiful Christmas spectacular...sure, you'd watch that show even if it didn't have the funniest jokes or the best singers.

I remember those Bob Hope specials from the 1970s and 1980s where he would tell jokes, interoduce the All American college fottbal team and so on. BTW, perhaps you sitll see this on rare occasions but back then and in the early days of TV, many such programs had only one sponsor like when Rudolph the Red Nosed Reineer came on, he was sponsored by General Electric. I even remember that many Peanuts specials either had Peter/Paul or Cadbury candy companies as sponsors.

Whirled One · #6 12-09-2007, 03:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by old_tv_nut

...I wonder if the remote control has killed the genre? Used to be you would turn on the "special" and if one person in the family didn't like a particular part, they would wait through it until something they liked came on. With multiple-TV households and every set with remote control, they probably can't get the continuous viewing they used to, so ratings would be lousy. Plus, production takes money, not like just turning on the lights for an unscripted talk show. - - just a little speculation here

Y'know, I think you may be on to something there. I'd also credit Cable TV and the VCR as contributors to the demise of the 'classic'-style variety show.

However, there are other reasons we don't see 'classic'-style variety shows anymore. Remember in the 1970's, it seemed like every popular TV show spawed some crummy variety show either as a special or as a regular series. Remember _The Brady Bunch Variety Hour_? Gaaah. Even though I was a kid at the time, I thought it was pretty bad. Even the often-ridiculed _Star Wars Holiday Special_ wasn't actually half-bad if you put it in the context of "Typical 1970's Christmas Variety Show Special". Perhaps people just got tired of the format as being overdone.

However, the "variety show" format does survive in a modified form even today-- note the wild popularity of _American Idol_.

bozey45 · #7 12-10-2007, 04:22 PM

I read that the cost these days of a 1 hour variety show is tremendous and thats why not many are aired. The weekly variety show is almost cost prohibitive. I think Andy Williams stated that on a PBS special he did last year or the year before. Segmenst of his variety shows were digitally restored for that special and looked fabulous; those TK-41 were just outstanding.

Sandy G · #8 12-10-2007, 05:26 PM

The one I liked-but never really got to see-was the "Rudolph" one, that had Burl Ives as the snowman. They usually played it on a Sunday night, we HAD to go to church...I'd get to see part of it, & maybe a little more the next...Think I was outta college B4 I got to see the whole enchilada.

kbmuri · #9 12-10-2007, 09:05 PM

To my memory, the Peanuts Christmas specials were sponsored by Dolly Madison (snack cakes).

bgadow · #10 12-11-2007, 12:20 PM

When I came along Peter Paul/Cadbury had taken over sponsorship of all the "peanuts" specials, which somehow I related to how "Peppermint Patty" got her name!

veg-o-matic · #11 12-12-2007, 09:08 AM

I'm all a-tingle.

The gentleman who wrote the book on the making of Rudolph finally managed to locate a copy of the original 1964 broadcast, including the GE commercials featuring the elves! I've been waiting years to see those commercials again!

Ordered my copy the other day; haven't received it yet, and I can hardly wait! I mean, how perfect is that for watching on a roundie? Particularly my Zenith roundie, which was made in '64. Rudolph might have been the first Christmas special the original family watched on it!

veg

kbmuri · #12 12-12-2007, 12:16 PM

:So... where did you order it?

kbmuri · #13 12-12-2007, 12:27 PM

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peanuts

Quote:

In addition to Coca-Cola, other companies that sponsored Peanuts specials over the years included Dolly Madison cakes, Kellogg's, McDonald's, Peter Paul-Cadbury candy bars, General Mills, and Nabisco.[citation needed]

This:
http://cgi.ebay.com/Snoopy-4-Preside...QQcmdZViewItem
places Dolly Madison sponsorship at at least 1968. I think they were the original 1966 sponsor.

Carmine · #14 12-12-2007, 12:38 PM

My parents bought their first color TV in 1975 at Ollie Fretter's in Detroit. They tell me the first thing we ever watched was the Charlie Brown Christmas special. They told me that every Christmas, and probably will again this year, lol.

The set looked a lot like this one:

...but was a bit more expensive.

I sure wish I had that set today.

It never really stopped working, but got replaced in '84 and demoted to basement use. They gave it to my uncle years later to take to his hunting cabin. Those guys shot it when they tired of the shifting colors (likely from dirty module connections).

David Roper · #15 12-12-2007, 12:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by veg-o-matic

I'm all a-tingle.

The gentleman who wrote the book on the making of Rudolph finally managed to locate a copy of the original 1964 broadcast, including...

...the original ending when Ukon Cornelius throws the pick in the air one final time (after Santa's sleigh takes off) and upon inspecting it discovers he's struck___________?