Monthly Archives: January 2014

Obits: Dave Madden, Russell Johnson

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Two classic TV supporting actors passed away on Thursday.

Dave Madden was best known for playing band manager Reuben Kincaid on The Partridge Family (ABC 1970-74). It currently airs nationally on the Antenna TV network. Madden died of congestive heart and kidney failure…he was 82.

The last surviving male cast member of Gilligan’s Island, Russell Johnson, died of natural causes. Johnson played Professor Roy Hinkley on the show, which aired on CBS from 1964 to 1967. Gilligan’s Island currently airs nationally on MeTV and just recently returned to TV Land after a long hiatus. Russell Johnson was 89.

Our sympathies to their families, friends and fans.

Holy Miracle! 1960s Batman Series DVD Release

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After years of legal wrangling, the classic 1960’s adventure series Batman is finally coming out on DVD in 2014!

Adam West and Burt Ward lead the cast as the Caped Crusaders, Batman and Robin, waging a never-ending war against the super villains menacing Gotham City. The half-hour campy comic book series originally aired on ABC-TV from 1966-68, with a total of 120 episodes.

The news was first leaked by Conan O’Brien on Twitter yesterday afternoon, then later confirmed by Warner Home Video.

We’ll have a link to the DVD and Blu-Ray releases when they become available for purchase.

MeTV: Memorable Entertainment Television

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me-tv-logo

Remember back in the ’80s when MTV actually played music videos? Their slogan was “I Want My MTV.” Nowadays, I Want My MeTV!

In case you’ve never heard of it, MeTV is a national classic television service offered to local TV stations across the United States. Most stations program it on one of their digital subchannels, meaning that chances are good you can pick it up for free 🙂

Where I live, in West Central Pennsylvania, MeTV is carried by the local NBC affiliate WJAC on virtual Channel 6.2. I pick it up over-the-air using a Mohu Leaf flat antenna, made right here in the USA!

 
MeTV carries a 24/7 schedule (excluding mandatory 3-hour E/I educational blocks on weekend mornings) of classic TV shows from the 1950s to the 1990s, mostly 60s and 70s era programs.

Best part is they run the full credits at the beginning and end of all shows, plus the picture quality is very crisp. No modern garbage or infomercials, just 100% classic TV. Certain affiliates may pre-empt some programming, but fortunately WJAC runs MeTV’s full national schedule.

As of January 2014, here is a listing of the classic TV shows currently airing on MeTV:

  • 12 O’Clock High
  • Adam-12
  • The Alfred Hitchcock Hour
  • Batman
  • Beverly Hillbillies
  • The Big Valley
  • The Bob Newhart Show
  • Bonanza
  • The Brady Bunch
  • Cannon
  • Car 54, Where Are You?
  • Columbo
  • Combat!
  • Daniel Boone
  • The Dick Van Dyke Show
  • The Donna Reed Show
  • Dragnet
  • Emergency
  • Family Affair
  • F Troop
  • The Fugitive
  • Get Smart
  • Gilligan’s Island
  • Gunsmoke
  • Hawaii Five-O
  • Hogan’s Heroes
  • The Honeymooners
  • H.R. Pufnstuf
  • Ironside
  • I Love Lucy
  • Kojak
  • Land of the Lost
  • Leave It To Beaver
  • Lost In Space
  • The Love Boat
  • Make Room for Daddy
  • The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis
  • The Mary Tyler Moore Show
  • M*A*S*H
  • Mr. Lucky
  • Night Gallery
  • My Three Sons
  • Naked City
  • Perry Mason
  • Peter Gunn
  • Petticoat Junction
  • The Phil Silvers Show
  • Rawhide
  • The Rebel
  • Remington Steele
  • Rhoda
  • The Rifleman
  • The Rockford Files
  • Route 66
  • The Saint
  • Star Trek
  • The Streets of San Francisco
  • Svengoolie (classic monster movies!)
  • Taxi
  • Thriller
  • The Twilight Zone
  • The Untouchables
  • Wagon Train
  • Wanted: Dead or Alive
  • Wonder Woman

There are several other similar retro networks out there, including Antenna TV, Cozi and RetroTV, but MeTV is the biggest and IMHO the best.

You can check out MeTV’s website and choose the affiliate closest to you. If it’s not available in your area yet, call your local stations and say: “I Want My MeTV!”

Welcome!

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Hi there, my name is Tom and I am a classic tv addict. Yes, I proudly admit it!

This new blog will focus on my favorite TV shows from the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. I plan to talk about individual shows and their casts, as well as places where you can watch and/or buy classic tv shows.

A little background about myself. I started collecting the old digest-sized TV Guide way back in 1973. I continued to collect it until they went to the large national format and dropped all the local editions.

Along the way I worked at several television and radio stations and, believe it or not, TV Guide! That was a dream come true. Not a glamorous job, but I loved it!

Thanks again for visiting ClassicTVBlog.com. Bookmark us and y’all come back now, ya hear?