TV CONFIDENTIAL Archives: Week of Jan. 23-29, 2013

Show No. 170 with guest Jim Benson
Original Airdate: Week of Jan. 23-29, 2013
First hour: Phil Gries joins Ed for a special edition of The Sounds of Lost Television honoring John Zacherley, the popular New York TV personality known as The Cool Ghoul. At a time when horror movies were a staple of local late-night television, Zacherley set himself apart from other hosts with an array of zany antics that were usually far more entertaining than the movies he introduced. Second hour: Ed welcomes Jim Benson, host of TV Time Machine and the co-author of Rod Serling’s Night Gallery: An After-Hours Tour, a comprehensive look at the other classic TV anthology created by the man who gave us The Twilight Zone. Though not always held in the same esteem as Twilight Zone, Night Gallery featured some of the best writing that Serling ever did in his long, illustrious television career. And yet numerous problems behind the scenes — including an ongoing battle between NBC, producer Jack Laird and Rod Serling himself over the direction of the show — ultimately left Night Gallery with a spotty reputation from which it is just now recovering. Jim was also a consultant on two of the three Night Gallery DVD packages released by Universal Home Entertainment — including Season Three of Night Gallery, the story of which is almost as compelling as the history of Night Gallery itself.

Joseph Dougherty, Ernie Kovacs, plus a Super Bowl Preview of Sorts: Next on - TV CONFIDENTIAL

Emmy Award-winning writer/producer Joseph Dougherty, producer/comedian Dan Farren and pop culture author Wesley Hyatt will join us on the next edition of TV CONFIDENTIAL, airing Jan. 30-Feb. 5 at the following times and venues:

WROM Radio
Detroit, MI
Wednesday 1/30
8pm ET, 5pm PT
2am ET, 11pm PT
Sunday 2/3
8pm ET, 5pm PT
2am ET, 11pm PT
Click on the Listen Live button at WROMRadio.net

Indiana Talks
Marion, IN
Wednesday 1/30
1pm ET, 10am PT
Click on the player at IndianaTalks.com

Share-a-Vision Radio
San Francisco Bay Area
Friday 2/1
7pm ET, 4pm PT
10pm ET, 7pm PT
Click on the Listen Live button at KSAV.org

Talktainment Radio
Columbus, OH
Thursday 1/31
2am ET, 11pm PT
Friday 2/1
3am ET, Midnight PT
Noon ET, 9am PT
Click on the Listen Live button at TalktainmentRadio.com

The Coyote KKYT 93.7 FM
Ridgecrest, CA
Sunday 2/3
9pm PT
Monday 2/4
Midnight ET
Click on the Listen Live button at Coyote395.com

The Radio Slot Network
San Francisco, CA
Monday 2/4
8pm ET, 5pm PT
Click on the Talk Slot button at RadioSlot.com

Passionate World Radio
Ann Arbor, MI
Tuesday 2/5
10:30pm ET, 7:30pm PT
Click on the Listen Now button at PWRTalk.com

This week’s program will include a tribute to the life and career of Ernie Kovacs, the legendary comedian whose influence on television is still evident today, particularly on late night shows such as Saturday Night Live and The Late Show with David Letterman. At a time when most network executives still considered television to be nothing more than “radio with pictures,” Ernie Kovacs was among the first — if not the first — to really understand the visual possibilities of the medium.

Joining us for our panel discussion will be Emmy Award-winning writer/producer (and noted Kovacs fan) Joseph Dougherty (Pretty Little Liars, thirtysomething), comedian, producer, and comedy scholar Dan Farren (Story Salon), and Tony Figueroa and Donna Allen.


















Also joining us this week will be author and television historian Wesley Hyatt (Television’s Top 100: The Most Watched American Broadcasts, 1960-2010, Kicking Off the Week: A History of Monday Night Football on ABC Tel...) with a look at Super Bowl ratings, past, present and future. Super Bowl Sunday is usually the biggest day of the year in television; last year’s Super Bowl drew a record 111.3 million viewers, making it the most-watched TV show in U.S. history. Wes believes that this year’s contest between the Baltimore Ravens and the San Francisco 49ers could draw an even bigger television audience than ever before. We’ll ask him why when he joins us in our first hour.

TV CONFIDENTIAL: A radio talk show about television
Wed and Sun 8pm ET, 5pm PT on WROM Radio
Wed 1pm ET, 10am PT on IndianaTalks.com
Fri 7pm ET and PT on Share-a-Vision Radio, KSAV.org
Fri Noon ET, 9am PT on Talktainment Radio
Sun 9pm PT, Mon Midnight ET on The Coyote KKYT 93.7 FM (Ridgecrest, Calif.)
Mon 8pm ET, 5pm PT on The Radio Slot Network
Tue 10:30pm ET, 7:30pm PT on Passionate World Radio
Now also heard at various times throughout the week on IndianaTalks.com
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This Week in Television History: January 2013 PART V

Listen to me on TV CONFIDENTIAL:

CLICK HERE for a list of Stations

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.

January 28, 1978

Fantasy Island premieres. Fantasy Island is created in early 1978 as a follow-up to ABC's surprise hit The Love Boat. 

Screen actor Ricardo Montalban played the mysterious Mr. Roarke, and his diminutive sidekick, Tattoo, was played by Herve Villechaize.

Get More: Spike.com,Watch Full Episodes,Video Clips

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

Stay Tuned

Tony Figueroa