Lurch - Boston public access channel 1
Posted on 05/30/2008 10:32:58 AM PDT by Zionist Conspirator
Those of you of a certain age will recall a time when TV stations didn't stay on the air constantly but signed off late at night (with the National Anthem) and signed on again early in the morning. And in those days televisions had tuning buttons on them that had to be adjusted by hand so the snowy signals from far away could come in as clearly as possible.
Each morning the station would begin the day with a "test pattern" (usually with an Indian's head somewhere about for whatever reason) so the viewer could tune his set for the day (including getting the color right). Anyway, during these fifteen minutes or so of the test pattern the station would play the most beautiful, delightful music--always instrumental and perhaps what would be called "easy listening."
Ever since getting on the Internet I've been trying to find material on these test pattern instrumentals. Unfortunately, their title and performers were never given so it's very hard to search for them on YouTube or Napster. Just by accident I know a couple of them: Java by Al Hirt and That Happy Feeling by Bert Kaempfert (the holy grail of all test pattern instrumentals, available on YouTube), but there are so many more that I can remember but whose titles or performers I am totally ignorant of.
One in particular I've been thinking of lately is one that was (I believe) featured on an episode of "I Love Lucy" when Ricky sang in in full "native" costume (of course, the test patterns only used the instrumental version). I've tried to find that episode of "I Love Lucy" online just so I could get an idea of the title and look for it.
Is there anyone else out there who has a nostalgia for these long-departed phenomena of those days? Does anyone else know any specific titles or performers?
Lurch - Boston public access channel 1
"Oooooh! SKerry Stuff kids!!!"
It really is a strange world.
"Has this one got a nut in it?"
"Do the Oogie Boogie!"
L
FLIPPO THE CLOWN FROM COLUMBUS, AHIYA!
Many fond and funny memories.
I remember the test-pattern well enough, but I really don’t recall any musical accompaniment with it. On the other hand, those “Please Stand By” type cards almost always had something Bert Kaempfert-ish playing.
Anyway, I too miss ‘local television’ as it used to be... the movie-hosts, in-studio kiddie shows and such... even though much of it was disappearing already when I was young. Television as it exists now, with hundreds of vapid satellite stations, and zero local identity (other than news), is really, really depressing. I’ve pretty much given up on it entirely, limiting myself almost exclusively to old favorites on dvd.
TV has become a hundred talking heads trying to sell you on a political position or some whatnot that you don’t really need.
Whether it is a “science” program or a “check out my howiz and carz”, it is people selling something.
What ever happened to ENTERTAINMENT?
It can be thought provoking, it doesn’t have to be mindless, but infotainment sucks. And these people who are talking at me aren’t my friends.
The golden age of tv is dead.
Programming will be streaming in the coming decades and the only shared television moment will be lost for all but breaking news stories. Even “awards” shows are rebroadcast so they aren’t about “suspense”.
Networks may be a branding but networks as we know them may be dead. The studios that produce the programs may become the bigger names in the future.
And as Youtube has shown us, people want shorter more thoroughly entertaining programming.
Expect the 30 minute time frame (which was necessary to keep tv schedules in sync) to go away. You can watch 5-12 minute episodes of whatever. And why should you watch 8 minutes of filler in the episode and 5 minutes of commericals?
Cut to the chase, and pay pennies per download or monthyly subscription, etc.
Expect more advertising that resembles programming too. Is it an ad if you WANT to watch it? Maybe commercials will continue the trend of buying up smaller bands’ songs. Maybe they will make a music video FOR the band so long as it is also a full on product placement ad for some company. The art won’t be so present, the commerce will take precedence, but ultimately they would get exposure.
Anyway, the “need” to fill 24 hours (or even 18 hours) with programming has gone away. They sell any dead airtime to infomercial advertisers.
Take Five is a great piece of music!
So was A Taste Of Honey by Herb Alpert At The Tijauna Brass.
A lot of Herb Alpert was used. It's easy to find on the Net.
And there were a lot of “industrial” records just use for background and bumper music and in house advertising.
I'd like to get my hands on an album of that!
They used to play High Flight every time TV came on and went off here in Nashville,powerful poem
There were 2 stations and they`d start broadcasting about 2 in the afternoon.
They`d call it a day about 11pm
We never had any music with the test patterns
bump for later
The persistance of the phosphors was below 1/30 of a second. The persistence of the "dot" was due to the slow cooling of the electron gun filament and the comparably slow bleedoff of the high voltage ("ultor anode") supply.
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Click here.
Cheers!
That, and in the old days when stations went "off the air" at 1AM or 2AM, and after the national anthem and/or a hymn, there would be a black screen for a few seconds, then an abrupt transition to snow.
The loneliest feeling in the world, to one experiencing it for the first time...
Cheers!
Full Disclosure: and Captain Chesapeake, or Captain 20?
Cheers!
“in the old days when stations went “off the air” at 1AM or 2AM, and after the national anthem and/or a hymn”
There was several small clips they used to play in So Cal.
One was an extended version of the SSB set to a montage of historic paintings and still clips. Another had Raymond Burr relaxing on a bench reading a Bible with the voice over quoting Psalm 23:6. My favorite was the High Flight poem with film action from and about F-104’s. There was one more odd one which popped up from time to time. It featured skelletelized dead bodies in tattered civil war(?)garb while playing a neat bluegrass tune.
I also recall the yearly TV PSA’s telling aliens the deadline for fileing whatever form was required at that time.
Romper Bomper Stomper Doo! Oh, I do indeed remember it. Loved that show as a little girl in the 1950s. Miss Nancy was the teacher then. Her daughter Miss Sally took over later. I am probably older than you, as I remember “Hodgepodge Lodge” (that woman was weird!) and Professor Kool, but I turned them on for my own children.
I remember “Captain Chesapeake”, but I never watched it. Did it start in the 1960s? I guess I was too old. I think he played cartoons, right? Never did like cartoons, even as a child. Big exception, of course, “Rocky and Bullwinkle”, which I watched as a teen.
“Full Disclosure” and “Captain 20” I never heard of.
How about the “Buddy Dean” show?
You people are missing the point!
&&&
I’m sorry. I am one of the guilty ones.
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