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SOWNY » No Noon Or 5 PM News On CTV Toronto Monday » September 30, 2024 10:59 am

Peter the K
Replies: 7

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I just checked my local (Rogers Ignite) program guide and 2 hours of Corner Gas will air on CKCO at 5:00.

What's even more interesting is I noticed that at 12 noon, they're showing the CTV News Channel for an hour.  Don't know when they started doing this but they must have been hearing screams of protest from folks who miss their noon newscast.

SOWNY » CBC Gem Adds All 17 Seasons Of Murdoch Mysteries & Heartland » September 24, 2024 3:24 pm

Peter the K
Replies: 7

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Maybe you should read up on the show before passing judgements on the CBC.  The first 11 episodes of season 1 actually aired on CITY before the CBC aired it once it proved popular.  It's also the world's biggest selling canadian export airing in 110 countries.

I don't know to what extent the CBC is actually involved (it's branded as a CBC/ITV co-production) but I suspect they get their money's worth out of it.

I've rather grown to like the show and am actually looking forward to this coming season.  I think I mentioned this before in a long ago thread but this is the year (in the show's timeline) where the Titanic sank.  One of casualties in real life was a "William Murdoch".  I wonder if that will be written somehow into the show?

 

SOWNY » New 4-Part CNN Series On TV's Influence On Reality May Be A Must See » September 22, 2024 10:54 am

Peter the K
Replies: 3

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Yes.  Thanks RA for the reminder.  I totally forgot about it.  My PVR is all set as well.
 

SOWNY » Is Mr. Dressup Really The Greatest Canadian TV Show Of All Time? » August 28, 2024 8:08 pm

Peter the K
Replies: 21

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Walter wrote:

'The Littlest Hobo' may be the worst TV show ever made.

Which version?

SOWNY » Here Come the 70s » August 11, 2024 7:52 pm

Peter the K
Replies: 8

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Oh man, I remember it well.  Even have both the album and the 45 single of the theme song by Syrinx.

I was only 8 or 9 when it first aired but that didn't stop me from appreciating the opening of the show. (no pun intended)

What I really found interesting about the show were all the predictions they made.  I would love to see the series again to see how many of them they got right 50 years ago.  (I don't think there were many, if any)

The show was shot on film, so I'm hopeful that someday, someone will turn up a bunch of reels and unearth the series.

That reminds me of another CTV series from about the same period.  The Untamed World was from the early 70s and and also had really cool theme music.  There are a few full episodes of it up on youtube.
 

SOWNY » The End Is Near! An Ominous Sign On TV Friday Night » July 30, 2024 7:38 pm

Peter the K
Replies: 16

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May I'm just old but I've always been a fan of the original spot in 1982 with the stuffed bunnies and singing cows.  It's just cute.  And it's hard to argue that it's well done.



 

SOWNY » Olympic Coverage Begins 12noon On Friday » July 24, 2024 5:01 pm

Peter the K
Replies: 22

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Actually, the first actual TV broadcast will take place Thursday @ 10:30 Eastern Time With Canada vs. New Zealand in Women's Football (we call it socer in Canada)

Another interesting note, Paris (the real one in France) is six hours ahead of Eastern Time.

The Opening Ceremonies is actually scheduled to begin at at 2:24 P.M.  eastern time, or 8:24 P.M. in Paris.

Or for those who prefer the 24 hour clock, it starts at 20:24.

Edit:  Actually, to correct myself, there have already been soccer games yesterday and today.  There will also be more soccer along with rugby.

The full schedule is here:

https://www.cbc.ca/sports/olympics/summer/streaming-schedule

 

SOWNY » New Radio Spots To Sell Radio Spots Don't Hit The Spot » July 23, 2024 12:27 pm

Peter the K
Replies: 7

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If you travel back to the early 60s, Stan Freberg did some amazing radio ads:




Just do a youtube search for "Freberg radio" to hear lots of them.
 

SOWNY » PBS' Doo Wop Documentary Is Worth Seeing » July 22, 2024 11:48 am

Peter the K
Replies: 4

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Thanks, RA, for pointing us to this.  

Even better, this documentary is on the PBS website and you don't need a membership or a VPN to watch it.

Enjoy at your leisure.

https://www.pbs.org/show/heart-soul-a-love-story/

SOWNY » Corus situation » July 16, 2024 11:38 am

Peter the K
Replies: 14

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I bought 500 shares on Friday night but it didn't execute until Monday morning.  Was originally at 20 cents but I bought at 13.5 cents..

Oh well, it's $67.50 down the drain but hey, maybe there's a white knight on the horizon.

Good thing this isn't coming out of my retirement fund. 
 

SOWNY » The 20 Best Films About The TV World » July 12, 2024 12:20 pm

Peter the K
Replies: 2

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I can't believe they left out Jim Carey's "Bruce almighty" in which the starring role was not only based on real life Don Polec, but the movie took place at WKBW-TV in Buffalo.
 

SOWNY » Kitchener stations moving to Guelph??? » July 11, 2024 10:38 am

Peter the K
Replies: 6

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Thinking back to when I worked there in the 80s, they would definitely have enough space to do this today with the original tech and not be the least bit cramped.

Back then, the AM side had a full on-air studio and a production studio.  The FM side had It's own production studio, a full on-air studio and the automation room with an announce room that could be run indepenently. 

That place was downright roomy.  With today's tech, this could be easily done.
 

SOWNY » Well Known CFRB/Canadian Press Radio Voice Dies Way Too Young At 46 » July 1, 2024 7:45 pm

Peter the K
Replies: 5

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Calhame wrote:

I thought I already posted the announcement

https://gta.boardhost.com/viewtopic.php?id=12434

You did.  About 3 hours after RA did.  I've seen two posts on the same topic at virtually the same time but this wasn't the case.

Yeah, I know.  First world problems.  There are more important things in life.  It certainly isn't a hanging offence but it can be annoying with it looks like some people can't be bothered to read other posts on the board.

But as for topic at hand, such sad news.  Used to hear her on 1010 back when I was a listener.

Way too young.
 

SOWNY » PBS' Three Part "Disco" Special Is Surprisingly Absorbing » June 11, 2024 8:37 pm

Peter the K
Replies: 5

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You can watch episode one for free on pbs.org. 

It's not behind their paywall, but you'll still need a vpn.

 

SOWNY » What Is The Greatest Canadian TV Show Ever Made? » May 28, 2024 11:38 am

Peter the K
Replies: 55

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As we have seen in the previous posts, there have been quite a number of Canadian productions over the years.  These days I've become rather partial to Murdock Mysteries.

Interesting speculative fact.  Now that the next season has been officially green lighted, (green lit?) it should be noted that this upcoming season put them in 1912, the year the Titanic sank.  Interesting that Mr. Murdoch's Wife is going to England and I wouldn't be surprised if he paid a visit, possibly putting an episode or two in the U.K.

It was also pointed out in a reddit post that one of casualties on the real ill-fated Titanic was a gentleman named William Murdoch. 

Wonder if this means anything?
 

SOWNY » May 28th Marks 9th Anniversary Of The New SOWNY Board » May 28, 2024 11:05 am

Peter the K
Replies: 24

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Having been around since the Dale Patterson days and having seen some of the garbage you and your predecessors have had to put up with over the years, I just have to say thank you for making it all work and keeping it going.

We've gained and lost a lot of great people here, (some leaving us, one way or another, too soon) so a big thank you to everyone who's contributions have made this board the "go to" place for those of us out of the biz for a who sometimes wonder, "what if..."

Thanks again, RA and may this board last many many more years.

Cheers to everyone,
     --Peter
 

SOWNY » Many T.O./Buffalo TV Stations Opt For Eclipse Coverage, But Not All » April 8, 2024 8:24 pm

Peter the K
Replies: 3

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I was actually out on my front yard enjoying the eclipse in person.  Nice to meet your neighbours once in a while.  But I was recording CBC and CHCH.

I noticed that CHCH did it right.  Their coverage startted at 3:00 - about 15 minutes before totality.  According to the TV guide, it was supposed to last until 4 but since things were done well before 3:30, they just signed off and went back to regular programming at 3:30.

I'll have to admit I was a bit miffed at first that I wouldn't be able to record my daily fix of Hogan's Heroes today, but according to the TV guide, they'll be continuing on with today's episode tomorrow so no harm done.

SOWNY » Eclipse Bumper Music You're Sure To Hear On Monday » April 8, 2024 12:57 pm

Peter the K
Replies: 5

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Good Day Sunshine, The Beatles
Moonlight Shadow, Mike Oldfield & Maggie Reilly
How Hight the Moon, Les Paul & Mary Ford
Moondance, Van Morrison
Spanish Eyes, Bert Kaempfert  (Why? Its original title as an instrumental was "Moon Over Naples")

 

SOWNY » Favourite Television Characters » March 17, 2024 2:30 pm

Peter the K
Replies: 14

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Along with the Rev. Jim on Taxi, (who it should be known was a high-achieving college student until he disvered the brownie) my favorite second banana character was Sgt. Schultz (Played by the late John Banner) from Hogan's Heroes.  He's there because the Nazi's appropriated his toy factory. He'd rather be anywhere else. (except the Russian front.)  If you dig beneath the surface of "I know nothing", it's actually a pretty complex character.

It was once speculated in a Reddit discussion that if the show wasn't cancelled and the writers had a chance to write a proper ending for the series, a great way to end things would be to find that Klink/Shultz et al were actually secretly working for the underground and turning a blind eye to Hogan's work.

SOWNY » Global Toots Its Own Horn Over 50th Anniversary » March 12, 2024 2:55 pm

Peter the K
Replies: 8

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I vaguely remember in the early days when Global didn't sign on until about 2 in the afternoon.  Now I know why. 

Memories of global:

Peter Trueman, Peter Desbarats, Christina Pochmursky and later, Rae Corelli.

I also remember on their opening night (Sunday in January) they showed a Canadian movie that had the premise that entire country spoke French and only one province was anglophone.  I don't remember much else.

Shhh - It's the news with Don Harron and Catherine McKinnon -- I think it was actually produced at CJOH in Ottawa but it was a hoot.

The first airing of SCTV which I believe was in the time slot normally helf by "One Day at a Time".  I just recall it being one hell of shock.  A pleasant one, at that.

And of course, the Sunday night dirty movie.  They were usually bad Quebecois flicks made with government grant money for tax reasons whose only redeeming qualities were the occasional flashes of T and A and other assorted naugty bits.
 

SOWNY » They Still Offer College Courses In Broadcasting. But Is Anyone Going? » March 11, 2024 5:19 pm

Peter the K
Replies: 15

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Conestoga Class of 85 here.  Back then, the first year intake was 25-30 students and you could almost guarantee some attrition through the three years of the program as some students discovered this wasn't a bird course.

Some of our part time faculty included the likes of Phil Stone from CHUM which, quite honestly, us yougn's were just too young to appreciate.  To think that we had this guy for a few hours every week and most of us at the time thought he jwas ust an old fogie who was behind the times. 

If only we knew then what we eventually twigged onto we would have paid so much attention and soaked up his lectures like a sponge. 

But to be honest, 3 years was an awfully long time to learn how to cue a record.   

SOWNY » Ottawa Radio Morning Show Crew The Latest Victims Of Bell Cuts » February 14, 2024 9:33 pm

Peter the K
Replies: 17

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Thank you, RA.  I was just going to pipe in with him myself.
(Personally, Grover has always been my favourite.)


RadioActive wrote:

Don't forget Guy Smiley, who was a reporter!

 

SOWNY » Which Daytime OTA Soap Opera Gets The Youngest Audience? » February 5, 2024 6:47 pm

Peter the K
Replies: 17

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In addition, viewers who got NTV from NL got to watch each episode of days a day early as they broadcast the feed for the next day.   Since they ran a lot of of Global programming they did it without making a big deal of it.  Some higher up finally caught on and read them the riot act and they had to run the show on the appointed day.  But it was still fun watching the "traffic report" on their news update with the same stills each day showing no traffic.  Kind of quaint seeing traffic for the island including, of course, the metropolis of Goobies.

Alas, once it moved from Global to the W network, NTV stopped airing days.
 

SOWNY » A.I. Generated "George Carlin" Stand-Up Special Is Kinda Creepy » January 11, 2024 9:31 pm

Peter the K
Replies: 11

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In Phase wrote:

The humour is George Carlin, but it doesn't sound like him 

Yeah, that was my reaction too.  The humour was on track and even the delivery was often there but the voice literally sounds like someone trying to do an impersonation of Carlin.

It would be more impressive if they could have nailed his voice.  

Case in point.  Someone took a recording of Paul Anka actually singing "Smells Like Teen Spirit" and replaced the voice with Sinatras using AI.  Now THAT is spooky.





 

SOWNY » What Happened To The "870" Radio/TV Phone Prefix? » December 27, 2023 5:05 pm

Peter the K
Replies: 12

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A very simplified explanation:

Years ago, the first three digits of the phone number, like 870, referred to a specific phone exchange.  A phone exchange was located in physical central office.  Usually, a typical exchange could handle a certain number of simultaneous calls, either incoming or outgoing although usually the 870 line was never used for outgoing calls.  I don't know where the 870 exchange was physically located, but it was designated as high traffic and used for high call traffic customers like radio stations so when calls started coming in they would go through one central location keeping all the heavy traffic off other exchnges.

Today, with VOIP and digital switching, it doesn't really matter anymore.  There really isn't a need for high traffic handling switches they are all capable of handling higher traffic without "plugging up" the exchange.

Likewise, the concept of "long distance" really doesn't exist anymore.  It's only a way for some phone companies to get more money out of people who are used to paying extra for making "out of area" calls.  Although I moved to K-W five years ago, I still have both a 647 and a 416 number.  Nobody bats an eyelash when I give them the Toronto number to call me.

 

SOWNY » What Is Your Favourite "Crank It Up" Tune? » December 12, 2023 2:52 pm

Peter the K
Replies: 39

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Lee Michaels - Do You Know What I Mean

Crank up the bass and the volume.  But avoid headphones.  You need to feel the organ's bass 

Just the way it was meant to be played.
 

SOWNY » Emergency Alert Test Review » November 15, 2023 2:16 pm

Peter the K
Replies: 12

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Did anyone else cringe during the French announcement?

I don't speak French but even I found it pretty obvious that it was an anglo text to speech reader trying to make sense of the French text.  It was awful. 
 

SOWNY » The Radio Station That Inspired "Good Morning Vietnam" » November 12, 2023 1:22 pm

Peter the K
Replies: 3

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Hey Dale,

Great hearing these without the digitital artifacts that mine have. I feel safe taking mine down.
Feel free to pop over to the page I linked to and grab the two WEBY promos I have.

Cheers,
     --Peter
 

SOWNY » The Radio Station That Inspired "Good Morning Vietnam" » November 11, 2023 10:17 pm

Peter the K
Replies: 3

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Back in October 2015, radio station WEBY in florida presented a 5 part documentary series about AFVN which I captured and posted at the time.

You can find it at:
https://afvndoc.weebly.com/

Lo and behold, it's still there.  Feel free to grab it.

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