Author Topic: IGAS B&W Winston eps questions (Read 2271 times)

That Don Guy · « **on:** September 07, 2003, 03:08:21 PM »

A couple of questions about the Winston-sponsored episodes of IGAS on GSN's Black & White Overnight:

1. I know there was a time when GSN wouldn't, or couldn't (because of the ban on cigarette advertising on TV), air them, although an occasional Christmas episode got through. When did GSN start airing these on a regular basis?

2. The show's opening mentions the night's sponsor when it's, say, Bufferin or Clairol, but when Winston sponsors an episode, it's just \"I've Got a Secret, starring Garry Moore\". Was this the way it originally aired (and if so, why), or did GSN have to do some creative editing (and if they did, somebody did a very good job) of the kinescopes?

(I still like my original idea - every time somebody mentions Winston, or another cigarette company (for example, Old Gold on Two for the Money), have a voiceover like the old \"Burt Ludden\" commercials.)

TV Favorites · « **Reply #1 on:** September 07, 2003, 03:15:08 PM »

[quote name=\'That Don Guy\' date=\'Sep 7 2003, 03:08 PM\'] A couple of questions about the Winston-sponsored episodes of IGAS on GSN's Black & White Overnight:

1. I know there was a time when GSN wouldn't, or couldn't (because of the ban on cigarette advertising on TV), air them, although an occasional Christmas episode got through. When did GSN start airing these on a regular basis?

2. The show's opening mentions the night's sponsor when it's, say, Bufferin or Clairol, but when Winston sponsors an episode, it's just "I've Got a Secret, starring Garry Moore". Was this the way it originally aired (and if so, why), or did GSN have to do some creative editing (and if they did, somebody did a very good job) of the kinescopes?

(I still like my original idea - every time somebody mentions Winston, or another cigarette company (for example, Old Gold on Two for the Money), have a voiceover like the old "Burt Ludden" commercials.) [/quote]
I'm not exactly sure what the ban on cigarette advertising extends to, but I think it allows cigarettes to be seen on shows as prizes, but not to be advertised as to entice buying. I think GSN may have not aired the episodes in the past, not because they couldn't, but because they could only do so by editing out the cigarette plugs.

For the second question, I suspect there was a similar plug for cigarettes just like any other product at the beginning of the show, but GSN has edited them out. Sometimes you'll notice an abrupt cut to a commercial during the opening of the shows. That's usually a place where a plug has been edited. Note that GSN doesn't edit the kinescopes themselves, but they edit the copy of the show they have on digibeta.

ilb4ever2000 · « **Reply #2 on:** September 07, 2003, 03:38:44 PM »

Speaking of cigarettes on IGAS: Is it just me or have they not shown Cavalier-sponsored shows (weren't some of those blurred out?)?

MCArroyo1 · « **Reply #3 on:** September 07, 2003, 03:49:17 PM »

Quote

Is it just me or have they not shown Cavalier-sponsored shows (weren't some of those blurred out?)?

It's just you. GSN doesn't have too many, but once they get to the beginning of the run, Cavalier episodes do air.

As for the commercials, I doubt that they actually edit the opening. My hunch is that Winston never requested that a promo be shown at the start of the show, given how GSN does such a bad job cutting to commercial breaks, and how the opening theme sounds uninterrupted.

Matt Ottinger · « **Reply #4 on:** September 07, 2003, 05:18:33 PM »

GSN first aired cigarette-sponsored shows on a \"regular\" basis back in September, 1997. On Friday nights for a few weeks, they would air what they called \"The Lost Episodes\". That included TTTT, IGAS and -- for the first time on the network -- Two for the Money and Judge for Yourself. Any explicit ads were edited out, and in addition to the shows themselves, we were also treated to some vintage anti-smoking PSAs.

There was a lot of speculation on Usenet back then about how GSN was able to air the shows (including assuming that they were \"forced\" to air the PSAs as part of a compromise). My understanding today is that they just decided to do it and never actually sought permission from the FCC, FTC or anybody.

TV Favorites · « **Reply #5 on:** September 07, 2003, 05:21:20 PM »

[quote name=\'MCArroyo1\' date=\'Sep 7 2003, 03:49 PM\'] As for the commercials, I doubt that they actually edit the opening. My hunch is that Winston never requested that a promo be shown at the start of the show, given how GSN does such a bad job cutting to commercial breaks, and how the opening theme sounds uninterrupted. [/quote]
I was speaking more of the poor edits GSN used to do during the openings of TTTT when Marlboro was a sponsor. Example.

...try to fool this panel: Tom Poston, Peggy Cass, Orson Bean, Kitty Carlisle on To Tell the Truth. [INSERT GSN'S BAD EDIT AND COMMERCIAL] And now....Bud Collyer!

I did the opening from memory, and since I usually fast forward through the opening, I am 99.9% sure it isn't right, but it gives an idea of what I was talking about.

TwoInchQuad · « **Reply #6 on:** September 07, 2003, 05:48:42 PM »

Mike:

Actually, GSN **did** edit the intro for the Winston IGAS eps... they had a generic intro assembled (with the Winston plug edited out), and substituted it for the actual program intro (which featured a cutaway to a burning Winston cigarette as the plug was being read), where necessary.

It's a fairly well-edited intro, though, and if you didn't have an original kinescope to compare it to, in some cases you might not notice the difference.

-Kevin

MCArroyo1 · « **Reply #7 on:** September 08, 2003, 08:23:47 AM »

Thanks to everybody for bearing with an uninformed loser like me who proclaimed he was CONFIDENT that the intros weren't edited.

And I hear that I'm signed up for the TTD '90 room...

My apologies.