Television in the '70s
I was channel surfing a few days ago, noticing that I had hundreds of shows to choose from but, honestly, nothing that seemed worth watching. For a moment or two, my mind swept back to simpler times…
When I was growing up in the ‘70s there were only 12 television channels. But don’t be deceived. That didn’t mean you had 12 choices. No, each of those channels was affiliated with one of the major networks--ABC, NBC or CBS. Except for a small handful of local programs, like the local news, you watched whatever the “big three” networks offered. Standing all by itself on Channel 10 was PBS, which offered a mix of children shows (Sesame Street and Mr. Rogers were the most popular ones), news and round tables, educational shows, and a few shows borrowed from British television. That’s how I was introduced to Dr. Who--but, hey, that’s a story for another blog.
If you were a ‘70’s kid, you lived for Saturday mornings. That’s when cartoons ruled the airwaves. That’s also the only time you knew your mom and dad would let you watch whatever you wanted for as long as you wanted. I remember watching plenty of Looney Tunes. I was also a big fan of Scooby Doo (and, to tell the truth, I still am). Sure, you had to sit through a bunch of commercials trying to sell every imaginable kind of toy and breakfast cereal. But Saturday mornings belonged to kids, and it was our patriotic duty to soak up every minute of what was offered--commercials and all.
Today it seems like we’re saturated by sports shows. Believe me, things were different in the ‘70s. By and large, sports were limited to the weekends. College games were played on Saturdays and professional games were played on Sundays. Unfortunately, the pickings were very, very slim. Each network had its own lineup--usually showcasing ranked teams or teams from one of the power conferences. As a Mountaineer fan, that meant I usually found myself following the games on the radio. As it turns out, this ended up forging one of my favorite childhood memories. My dad and I would score the basketball games together, making our own charts and keeping track of the baskets, free throws and fouls as we listened to the radio broadcast. It turned out to be a great bonding time.
I also remember that NBC had a block of murder mysteries that aired on Sunday evenings. That’s where I first met Columbo, the frumpy detective who became a television icon and a lifelong favorite of mine. Police and detective shows were also popular in the 70’s including Kojack, Cannon and Dragnet. I’m surprised I didn’t become a cop, but my mom swears it was actually Perry Mason who set the course for my career. Maybe she’s right!
It must have been around ’76 that our cable company in Elkins finally expanded its channels, adding WGN to its cable package. WGN was one of the country’s first superstations, broadcasting from Chicago, Illinois. With my teenage mindset, there was only one thing about WGN that caught my eye--baseball. WGN covered all of the Cubs baseball games. The owner of the Cubs believed that baseball was meant to be played in the daylight, and he refused to install any lights at the ball field. As a result, I could watch the Cubs play almost every single afternoon throughout the summer. I was always a Pirates fan, but many of their games were blacked out. I was happy to have another team that I could root for.
I didn’t realize it at the time, but WGN also helped to expand my horizons. For one thing, it had programming that was aimed at Chicago’s large Hispanic community. Because I took Spanish in college, it was fun to watch these shows and try my best to follow the dialogue. WGN also opened my eyes to a larger world. Throughout my childhood, I don’t ever remember traveling outside of the tri-state area. Seeing Chicago through the eyes of WGN gave me a small taste of what the rest of the country was like. There were people in faraway places with different customs, languages and ways of life, but we were all Americans. I suspect this sounds strange to those of you who have grown up in the Internet age. But without smartphones, computers or 24-hour news cycles, the world seemed like a smaller place. Until WGN came along it seemed like the world ended at Pittsburgh. For the first time, I could see that there was much, much more. And that, you see, was the power of television…
