This Week in Television History: April 2017 PART II

As always, the further we go back in Hollywood history,
the more that fact and legend become intertwined.
It's hard to say where the truth really lies.

April 12, 1998

The pilot episode of Junkyard Wars aired. 

Scrapheap Challenge is a game show where teams of contestants had 10 hours (around sunset) in which to build a working machine that could do a specific task, using materials available in a scrapheap. The format was exported to the United States, where it was known as Junkyard Wars. The US show was also produced by RDF Media, and was originally shown on The Learning Channel. Repeats have aired on another Discovery network, the Science Channel. A campaign has recently been launched on Facebook and Twitter to try to convince the producers to bring back the series.

April 15, 1948

Hollywood Screen Test debuts. 

TV talent show Hollywood Screen Test debuts on this day in 1948. Unlike other talent shows, the program featured aspiring professionals, not pure amateurs, performing in drama and comedy sketches with established stars. Grace Kelly, Jack Klugman, and Jack Lemmon all got their big break on the show, which ran until 1953.

To quote the Bicentennial Minute, "And that's the way it was".

Stay Tuned

Tony Figueroa