Author Topic: Chicago Syndication in 1985-1986 (Read 3811 times)

TheInquisitiveOne · « **on:** September 02, 2003, 12:04:16 AM »

Good evening to all!

This post is for those in the Chicago area who remember the makeup of the syndicated game show lineup in 1985 and 1986 or has some source of research to find out something like this. I have a question about this.

I went to the library recently and looked at some microfilm that had every page of every 1985 issue of TV Guide and noticed something. NOT ONCE did they mention the arrival of The $100,000 Pyramid or $ale of the Century to syndication. That leads me to a few questions that I ask of you, the board.

(1) Did $ale or Pyramid air in Chicago when they began in September 1985 (as designated by the EoTVGS)? I do know that Wheel of Fortune did not hit our market until January 1984, which led me to formulate this question.

(2) Did syndie $ale air in the Chicago area at all?

(3) Also, did the Kennedy version of The Price is Right air in our area at all?

I apologize for these questions, but it has been in the back of my mind for some time now. I did not even know that there was a syndicated version of $ale or Price until I read the EoTVGS. Thank you so much for your help.

The Inquisitive One

(If anyone knows if any Chicago area library has any old TV Guides from 1985 in any form, please send me an e-mail. Thanks!)

Jimmy Owen · « **Reply #1 on:** September 02, 2003, 03:17:26 AM »

Generally, TVG will mention new syndicated shows only in the Fall Preview issue. Since \"$ale\" started the syndicated run in January of 1985, it was probably not mentioned at all in TVG. Not sure if it was in Chicago, but in Detroit, it replaced Jim Lange's \"Name That Tune\" at 7:30pm in January 1985 on WXYZ Channel 7, which at the time was an ABC O&O. By the time fall 85 rolled around, $ale had been replaced on Channel 7 by \"Entertainment Tonight.\" Didn't WLS have NTT as well?

SRIV94 · « **Reply #2 on:** September 02, 2003, 09:57:26 AM »

[quote name=\'TheInquisitiveOne\' date=\'Sep 1 2003, 11:04 PM\'](2) Did syndie $ale air in the Chicago area at all?
[/quote]
Syndie $otC did air on WLS in 1985, following NIGHTLINE (not exactly sure when it debuted or when it left, however).

As for Jimmy's question about NTT84, I'm pretty sure that WMAQ aired it locally (WLS was on syndie WoF at that time--and continues to be).

Doug--soon to celebrate 100 posts

uncamark · « **Reply #3 on:** September 02, 2003, 05:07:35 PM »

[quote name=\'SRIV94\' date=\'Sep 2 2003, 08:57 AM\'][quote name=\'TheInquisitiveOne\' date=\'Sep 1 2003, 11:04 PM\'](2) Did syndie $ale air in the Chicago area at all?
[/quote]
Syndie $otC did air on WLS in 1985, following NIGHTLINE (not exactly sure when it debuted or when it left, however).[/quote]
I believe that it replaced \"Every Second Counts\" at 11:35 p.m. after \"Nightline\" and \"Eye on Hollywood\" (the local KABC mag show \"Eye on LA\" gone national, with our friend Chuck Henry as one of the hosts). \"Second\" got a move to daytime at 10:30 a.m. in January 1986, when nighttime \"Sale\" started. In the fall of 1986, WLS carried \"Hollywood Squares\" in the after-\"Nightline\" slot, with \"SOTC\" following and carried \"SOTC\" until its end in syndication.

Quote

As for Jimmy's question about NTT84, I'm pretty sure that WMAQ aired it locally (WLS was on syndie WoF at that time--and continues to be).

At 6:30 p.m. against \"Wheel\" for that entire season.

And \"$100KPyr\"'s first season never aired in Chicago, unless you had WOR in New York on your cable (which became WWOR in May 1987). WPWR picked up \"Pyramid\" in September 1987 in a prime time game show block with the Bill Raferty \"CS,\" \"Matchmaker\" and another show whose title escapes me right now. Since WGBO dropped \"$1MCOAL\" after only airing it for a couple of weeks in the fall of 1986, WOR was your only way in Chicago of seeing that show, as well. I don't think \"$1MCOAL\" was one of the shows pulled by syndicators because Milt Grant, the owner of WGBO, wasn't paying the bills, since it was pulled before the syndicators started voiding his programming contracts near the end of 1986.

BrandonFG · « **Reply #4 on:** September 02, 2003, 05:14:21 PM »

[quote name=\'uncamark\' date=\'Sep 2 2003, 04:07 PM\'] [quote name=\'SRIV94\' date=\'Sep 2 2003, 08:57 AM\'][quote name=\'TheInquisitiveOne\' date=\'Sep 1 2003, 11:04 PM\'](2) Did syndie $ale air in the Chicago area at all?
[/quote]
Syndie $otC did air on WLS in 1985, following NIGHTLINE (not exactly sure when it debuted or when it left, however).[/quote]
I believe that it replaced "Every Second Counts" at 11:35 p.m. after "Nightline" and "Eye on Hollywood" (the local KABC mag show "Eye on LA" gone national, with our friend Chuck Henry as one of the hosts). "Second" got a move to daytime at 10:30 a.m. in January 1986, when nighttime "Sale" started. In the fall of 1986, WLS carried "Hollywood Squares" in the after-"Nightline" slot, with "SOTC" following and carried "SOTC" until its end in syndication.

Quote

As for Jimmy's question about NTT84, I'm pretty sure that WMAQ aired it locally (WLS was on syndie WoF at that time--and continues to be).

At 6:30 p.m. against "Wheel" for that entire season.

And "$100KPyr"'s first season never aired in Chicago, unless you had WOR in New York on your cable (which became WWOR in May 1987). WPWR picked up "Pyramid" in September 1987 in a prime time game show block with the Bill Raferty "CS," "Matchmaker" and another show whose title escapes me right now. Since WGBO dropped "$1MCOAL" after only airing it for a couple of weeks in the fall of 1986, WOR was your only way in Chicago of seeing that show, as well. I don't think "$1MCOAL" was one of the shows pulled by syndicators because Milt Grant, the owner of WGBO, wasn't paying the bills, since it was pulled before the syndicators started voiding his programming contracts near the end of 1986. [/quote]
So let me get this straight. Chicago stations continued to air some of the shows (ESC, $ale, Rafferty CS) well after they were cancelled, or did I read this wrong?

uncamark · « **Reply #5 on:** September 02, 2003, 05:23:19 PM »

[quote name=\'fostergray82\' date=\'Sep 2 2003, 04:14 PM\']So let me get this straight. Chicago stations continued to air some of the shows (ESC, $ale, Rafferty CS) well after they were cancelled, or did I read this wrong?[/quote]
Raferty \"CS\"--in actuality, 'PWR aired the shows for the first time in Chicago in 1987. I guess they were bicycled instead of satellite fed and the Television Program Source, the Coca-Cola subsid that distributed the show, was still selling the show to markets that hadn't picked it up the previous year.

\"Every Second Counts\"--Was it a 1984-85 series or 1985-86? Whatever it was, WLS only aired it for the one year it was first-run--and that its run came after \"Dream House\" ended its run (with many of the same production staff, the same announcer and same model).

\"$OTC\"--I would've sworn that its syndie run was January 1986-September 1987, in which case WLS aired it as first-run. As I recall, it didn't begin its USA run until the network run ended in 1989 (?).

SRIV94 · « **Reply #6 on:** September 02, 2003, 06:14:15 PM »

[quote name=\'uncamark\' date=\'Sep 2 2003, 04:23 PM\']\"$OTC\"--I would've sworn that its syndie run was January 1986-September 1987, in which case WLS aired it as first-run. As I recall, it didn't begin its USA run until the network run ended in 1989 (?).[/quote]
As I recall, USA picked up $otC in 1992 (after having already picked up SCRABBLE). They started in September 1988 and got to two days before the NBC finale (ticking me off, as I had still not seen the NBC finale at that time), then they moved to the syndie run (probably airing Matt O.'s episode somewhere along the line--sorry I never saw it), then went back to the 1988-89 strip before pulling the plug.

Doug--soon to celebrate 100 posts (Gawd, will this countdown ever end? :-D)

zachhoran · « **Reply #7 on:** September 02, 2003, 06:44:02 PM »

[quote name=\'uncamark\' date=\'Sep 2 2003, 04:23 PM\']

\"Every Second Counts\"--Was it a 1984-85 series or 1985-86?

Quote

ESC aired in 1984-85.

\"$OTC\"--I would've sworn that its syndie run was January 1986-September 1987, in which case WLS aired it as first-run.

$otC Syndie aired from January 1985-September 1986.