Comfort TV

Thursdays in 1978 did not come to mind when I thought back on standout nights of television from my youth.

You've probably already noticed the new book cover with a familiar title just a few inches to the right of what you’re reading now.

And so we arrive at last to the fifth and final season of The Twilight Zone.

As has become all too typical in reviewing these late 1970s schedules, ABC has once again mowed down its competition, which tonight seems mostly content with airing movies and not even trying to compete on the series front.

Soon I'll be providing details about the new, expanded edition of my book When Television Brought Us Together, which has an official publication date of September 1.

I was saddened by the recent news that Joanna Pettet had died.

CBS and NBC tried their best with new and returning offerings, but neither had a chance against the juggernaut that was ABC’s Tuesday night hit factory.

The 1970s returned to the news recently as older Americans wondered why the 250th anniversary of our nation’s founding did not generate the same national pride as the Bicentennial in 1976.

Over the 14-year history of this blog I’ve tried to give equal attention to shows throughout the Comfort TV era.

During this journey we’ve seen how some prime-time schedules in the 1970s were just more interesting than others.

Last year I mentioned a company in Australia called Imprint that has been putting out some impressive Blu-rays of classic television shows.

Last week's review of 1978 programs on Sunday nights included Mary Tyler Moore’s return to television in a variety show that was canceled after just three episodes.

As we start a new year in our journey through the prime-time schedules of the 1970s, we find that Sundays in 1978 delivered an intriguing selection of new shows that didn’t last, but in some cases had an impact far beyond what their brief runs would sugge…

I saw a post on Facebook recently about Lee Meriwether, who turned 91 a few days ago, and it reminded me of how she always seemed to be on television in the Comfort TV era, either as a series regular, a guest star, or as herself, helping contestants win c…

You may have heard that a reboot of The Rockford Files has been picked up by NBC and will debut in January, with David Boreanaz playing ex-con turned private investigator Jim Rockford.

The Saturday night supremacy of CBS in the seventies has finally ceased (how’s that for alliteration?).

I was perusing YouTube recently (a more enjoyable exercise than perusing network television these days), and I came across a video with 1.6 million views called “The Psychology of People Who Rewatch the Same Shows and Movies.”

It has taken me a while to get back to season reviews of The Twilight Zone, mostly because I was reluctant to start season four knowing that this is when the series switched from 30-minute to 60-minute shows.

It's hard to believe that, being this far along in our review of the 1970s prime time schedules, we’d still be uncovering new milestones.

How many television shows are still fondly remembered after 50 years?

You've probably seen or read promos for a new documentary that is gleefully airing all the dirty laundry of The Price is Right from back when it was one of television’s most popular and beloved game shows.

At last, CBS strikes back.

If you paid more attention to the recent Winter Olympics than I did, you probably read several stories about Eileen Gu, an Asian American freestyle skier who was born and raised in the United States but opted to compete for China in exchange for cash and…

It's always an event when a recurring character on a classic TV show returns after its portrayer quits or is written off.

Lather, rinse, repeat.

I watched an episode of Angie the other day on DVD, and it struck me again how this 1970s situation comedy had most of the elements that would appeal to an audience long enough to keep it on the air for at least 3-4 seasons, if not more.

In a recent conversation about the new Star Trek series (Starfleet Academy) I remarked that one of the many reasons I disliked it was how it couldn’t tell the difference between depicting diversity and fetishizing it, something the original series had fig…