Our 1949 Crosley 10" TV had a tuning knob that turned like a radio dial rather than clicking from channel to channel. By fine tuning the dial early in the morning when the NYC stations were off the air, we could sometimes get New Haven, Philadelphia and once, Cincinnati. The shows were different but no better.
shareI've been doing research on "local" shows of the US during the 1950s. Recently made an IMDb page for one:
Buffalo Amateur Show (1950)
I wonder if any kinescopes exist of it. Probably not.
I've seen relatively few examples of them (before my time and not my country), but I seen some "local" material from DuMont stations of the 1950s. "Off the Record", which I think aired on DuMont's Washington DC station is a pleasant bit of fluff consisting of two charming people lip-syncing to other people's records. "Sense and Nonsense" is an amusing if weird game show, and the episode I've seen has some fun Brooklyn accents. "Shadow Stumpers" is a Baltimore game show which is pleasant but unimportant. From after the DuMont era I've seen "Studio Party" from which I've only seen a fragment, it is one of those teen shows where teenagers dance to records, not bad really. "The Big Beat" also comes from after the DuMont era and is more-or-less the same thing. Both teen shows aired in New York City.
I've seen other "local" shows, including one from California whose name escapes me.
BTW, can anyone confirm that "Let's Play Charades" (a show on WBEN Channel 4 in Buffalo) was a local show? I haven't seen it, but I want to make a page for it.
Who?..Who..is he calling?..Who? This hand..Oh..It's my hand again..my hand..ME?
I've seen other "local" shows, including one from California whose name escapes me.
Can you describe it? We got our first set in '51, and I may have seen it.
I did some research and it turns out it was "Teenage Salute", a San Francisco series from around 1958 which aired on an indie station.
Not much of a program....I watched an episode about a year ago (11 months ago to be exact) and remember little about it, and I usually have a good memory for the rare programming I've seen (can you tell I'm a 50s TV nut?). I don't recall the format, but I do give it credit for featuring an African-American teenager as a guest.
Who?..Who..is he calling?..Who? This hand..Oh..It's my hand again..my hand..ME?
I just looked for "Teenage Salute," figuring that it had to have aired on KTVU, as it was the only indie station in the San Francisco area at that time.
I found an episode, and watched a little of it ... I don't remember it. KTVU did a lot of quality programs that were geared to little kids, and did quite well in presenting movies, hosted by local personalities. By far the most popular was Saturday night's presentation of "Creature Features," with host Bob Wilkens, who had the perfect quirky sense of humor to fit the sci-fi/horror genre.
I believe that the program was syndicated to some other markets, as I've seen posters on these boards make reference to having seen it in other markets. But, it originated here.