The Lookback: Nick on CBS

The Flashback  Saturday Mornings 

            I have written about about this block before , as I was marking the end of commercial Saturday morning broadcast TV children's TV back in 2014.  This was the first block I wrote about then and thought maybe to give it another look and  see if anything can be said differently, and what can be added.   Let's take a look.

          By the year 2000, Saturday  Morning broadcast TV for kids was dead,  what was on the air was the buying of time , really.. Also the results of media consolidation were in full force by this point as well, and that has to do with this story as much as anything else. 

         Our story starts with CBS.  Due to changes in the Children's television act of 1990, more cable penetration, media consolidation, and the target audience's lifestyles changing, CBS had given up running their own children's block. By this time only FOX and The WB were still doing such.  (Disney on ABC doesn't count in a technical sense; NBC was producing but for teens)  CBS had given up a section of Saturday morning programming to their morning show. (CBS Saturday Morning) following what NBC had done in 1992, and giving an audience they could give more commercials , a program.  

           A condition of the children's television act is to limit advertising for children under 13 to  12 minutes  on weekdays and 10.5 minutes on weekends ( guess where Saturday falls)  this meant that some revenues would be gone but could be made up on a program for adults like CBS Saturday Morning.   The block for children was cut to  3 hours to match the legal requirement (at the time to have 3 hours of Educational children's programming.)  They decided to outsource that time to a company willing to have the commitment to the block they didn't want to have hands in. (In theory)   Nelvana ran a block called Think CBS , later CBS Kidshow.  (either that or its CBS Kids show or CBS Kids how or CBS kid show ) . 

              Now let's talk about UPN.  UPN was a broadcast network owned by Viacom and until 2000, Chris Craft as well. The name is UPN meant United Paramount Network.  Viacom owned children's cable network  Nickelodeon. It would make sense that after Disney bought ABC and made a Saturday block run by Disney, to have UPN have a block by Nick on UPN.  That didn't happen, they made a deal in 1998 to have Disney produce their block.  (Partly Viacom owned network including some local stations owned by Viacom were airing a block run by Disney while Viacom ran Nickelodeon , that's a funny story)   Nick and UPN was considered but Disney really must have wanted this.  (Source) 

      Viacom was able to purchase CBS in 2000.  In a twist, the original Viacom was once CBS Films and owned with CBS but in 1971 the laws made it where a company that owned a network couldn't own a film and syndication unit.( A good rule, that was also killed by bad decisions) .  Since our story is about one block (yeah you are taking forever)..     

          Nick....oh wait... Nick Jr. on CBS.  So, in actual fact, they decided to skew younger and have the block be a Saturday extension of  Nick Jr which didn't run on weekends. On September  16, 2000 the 3 hour block launched.  Maybe the idea was since, FOX, the WB, and ABC were going after kids above 7 and Nickelodeon already existing and targeting the same audience, that skewing younger would be a mission.  (Sad they didn't do Teen Nick on CBS and go after TNBC)   The block was also originally ad free, because sure. Nelvana wasn't fully out of the works because they had worked with Nick to bring shows including preschool shows.


More after the Jump

But First These Messages: Uhhh Random 90's ads

But First These Messages

   Trying something different (again!) Finding commercial breaks on the internet is apparently easy, so we are taking one video and looking  at the commercials  included.  This might be a weird idea.

 But First These Messages....

        These ads are from Cleveland so there will be some Cleveland stuff in here, Like this radio station


Fun fact this station still exists as a classic rock station as we write this, cool (2020)

Neon is cool

Note : if it didn't work (Start the video at :30)  

What? Toasters are automatic? cool!  Also May Company was a department store, like many department stores  featured in 90's ads it doesn't exist anymore.
  It was founded in Joshuaonline home state of Colorado in 1877 and closed down in 2005.

Pretty / I don't  know what else to say,I don't understand the concept of writing on your face  to decorate it so alright.

(note :if it doesn't work auto. then move to 1:00 in) 

This commercial is simple really.  I want to buy Gems now

Write this down and don't be 30 years late 

(note: if it doesn't work start from 1:32 to 2:02 finish)  

         
       I'm not that impressed it's a Hynudai Excel so uhhhh yeah , plus manual shifts are cool

             

Meanwhile, someone is wondering where their shift went 

more after the jump

Shepard Smith Coming to CNBC

Cable News TV News  CNBC 

          Former Fox News anchor, Shepard Smith, is coming to CNBC as a general news anchor.  CNBC announced Wednesday that Smith will be anchoring a new 7pm ET newscast bringing back "The News" title,  a name that was  used on MSNBC with Brian Williams from 1996-2002, when the program moved to CNBC in 2002 until 2004, when Williams was preparing to take the NBC Nightly News anchor desk.

           Smith is joining CNBC as their general news and chief general breaking news anchor. He joins after leaving Fox News Channel in October of 2019 ,after 23 years being their chief news anchor , appearing for breaking news on both Fox News Channel and the FOX network. He anchored programs like "Fox Report", "Studio B" and "Shepard Smith Reporting".   

     CNBC has been running a "Special Report" on the network since January in the 7PM ET slot , this will  be replaced by "The News with Shepard Smith" sometime later this year. 

       Thoughts:  It is interesting to see that CNBC, a business news focused channel , at least in daytime, is interested in going into general news, though as stated above that isn't out of their wheel.  The idea of having a news show that might be a better counter weight to what the cable news channels could bring in viewers who want the news of the day without any of the excess you get on CNN or MSNBC.  Shepard Smith  is  a good news anchor  and makes for a good choice for a lead anchor , especially if there is a big news story that needs to be brought.

  You can read the press release after the Jump

One Shot Posts: Welcome to Demon School! Iruma-kun

Anime 

   
         Welcome to another Joshuaonline "One Shot Post" here on Joshuaonline, part of our posts that we don't think fit in any of our other segments on this blog.  Sometimes, I have used this segment to write about Anime, in this case , we've done it again.

             Here's an interesting premise  for a show:  A 14 year old boy is sold to a demon by his parents and his life is better than it was before he was sold.  You read that right.  "Welcome to Demon School! Iruma-Kun" is a 2019-2020 anime series, that also will be getting a season 2 in 2021 (also the series is called "Marimashita! Iruma-Kun) with this premise.

             Our main blue haired main character  is 14-year-old Iruma Suzuki, who was just minding his business working on a fishing boat when he is grabbed by a demon named Sullivan and brought to the netherworld.  Iruma's not dead or anything (that'd be a bad twist) and he demon gives him a way to understand Demon talk and words.  So why did  a demon buy our main character? (plot reasons?)  This old man demon wants one thing... loading.... a grandson.  This show about a boy who is sold to a demon is about a boy sold to a demon who is lonely and just wants a grandson because he wants to brag about having a grandson to other demons who have grand children. That's the sweetest thing I've never thought would be written.

            We learn about them through the series that Iruma's parents in our world (slightly) are awful people.  You would at least get the grasp of that from the fact that they willingly sold their son to a demon.   Iruma even figures that yeah the would  really sell him to a demon.  Iruma has this thing about him where he can't refuse if someone asks him for help or makes a request of him. So when Sullivan begs him to let him be his grandfather, Iruma can't  refuse. This will play into his character as the series progresses on.

More after the Jump

Fall TV 2020: ABC

ABC TVLookFall2020  Primetime 

       ABC has released their fall line, much like CBS and NBC, they are going for a "we hope we can do something at some point int he fall" type schedule. ABC has some ready made things to work out for the season  like a new season of "The Bachelorette" which was supposed to air in May, but ABC moved it down.  Tuesday and Friday comedies are gone, and they are focusing their energy into one night of comedy.

      Sundays , have game shows and "America's Funniest Home Videos" . 


   Here's their fall line up  (new shows highlighted in blue)  and all times are ET, unless otherwise stated.

   Monday
     8PM   Dancing with the Stars
     10PM  The Good Doctor

 Tuesday
    8PM   The Bachelorette
    10PM  Big Sky 

  Wednesday
   8PM   The Goldbergs
   8:30PM  American Housewife
    9PM      The Conners  (New Date and Time)
    9:30pm  Call Your Mother   
    10PM    Stumptown


   Thursday
    8PM   Station 19
    9PM    Grey's Anatomy
   10PM    A Million Little Things

   Friday
 8PM   Shark Tank
 9pm    20/20 (Two Hours)


   Saturday
   8PM  Saturday Night Football


  Sunday
  7pm    America's Funniest Home Videos
  8PM    Supermarket Sweep  
  9PM     Who Wants to be a Millionaire (New Date/ Time)
 10pm    The Rookie


Press release after the jump

Fall TV 2020: NBC

NBC TV Look Fall 2020  Primetime 

                                             
           
             NBC has released their fall schedule. Like CBS they are taking a chance in thinking that maybe they can have something done by at least some point in fall. The dates the programs start are still up in the air.  One new series is being added , a new "Law and Order" series , "Law and Order: Organized Crime"  Thursday comedy is being cut to one hour to accommodate the new series.

            Here's the line up
                 All times are ET unless otherwise noted, and new series are highlighted in blue (also * denotes series that will be on Peakcock)

  Monday
 8-10PM    The Voice
 10-11pm   Manifest *

  Tuesday
   8-9PM   The Voice
   9-10pm   This is Us*
  10-11pm   New Amsterdam*

  Wednesday
   8PM   Chicago Med*
   9PM     Chicago Fire*
   10PM    Chicago PD*

   Thursday
   8pm  Superstore*
   8:30pm  Brooklyn Nine-Nine
   9pm   Law & Order: SVU*
   10pm  Law & Order : Organized Crime*

  Friday
  8pm  The Blacklist*
  9-11pm  Dateline NBC*


    Saturday
 8-10pm Dateline Saturday Night Mystery*
10-11pm   Saturday Night Live* (Encores)

Sunday
7-8:20et/ 4-5:20pt  Football Night in America
8:20-11pm/ 5:20-8pm  NBC Sunday Night Football

           New episodes of shows that we marked will on be on Peacock, the next day for Pay sub. and next week for free subs.  This is Us and The Blacklist will be on free.


Press release after the Jump

WGN America's NewsNation announces anchor teams

WGN America  News 

         
         WGN America's  national newscast  is coming  September 1st , and on Tuesday the anchor teams have been announced.
         
         "News Nation" will run  news in primetime from 8pmet to 11pmet  7 nights a week, as an unbiased less political news stories. It will be anchored from WGN-TV studios in Chicago.  Today
Nexstar, the parent company, has announced who will be anchoring the program.


              The Weekday anchor team will consist of  Joe Donolan, who is currently an anchor at WGN-TV,  Marni Hughes, a reporter from KCPQ-Seattle,  Rob Nelson, who has worked at ABC News, and Albert Ramon, will be the Chief Meteorologist, comes from KVUE-TV.

               The weekend anchor team will consist of  Rudabeh Shahazi, who was recently an anchor a WFOR-TV in Miami. Nichole Berlie who comes from WCVB-TV in Boston,  Aaron Nolan comes from KARK-TV (also Nexstar).  Gerard Jebally, will be weekend weather, coming from KSHB-TV in Kansas City. 


            They have also announced  bureau correspondents.   Tom Negovan, from WGN-TV becomes their New York correspondent,  Nancy Loo, from WGN-TV becomes their  LA correspondent,   Markle Martin, Dallas Correspondent, coming from KOCO-TV, and Brian Entin, willbe the Miami correspondent coming from WSVN-TV.

                          Reporting will be coming from  Nexstar's 110 newsroom and teams of reporters across the stations they own.


              You can read the press release here 

 and visit WGN America's website here 
             

It's a Lookback, Charlie Brown: Snoopy's Reunion

Peanuts 

   It's all come down to this. Our final Peanuts special lookback. I didn't really plan the order of the specials as much they free flowed, or I wanted to correlate to certain period of time. We started this with 65th anniversary and due to spaces in time and things, it's taken us until the year of the 70th anniversary to finish this up.


       This is Snoopy's Reunion.  It first aired on May 1st 1991 on CBS. It is the 2nd to last special to premiere on CBS as, it seemed CBS was getting away from new Peanuts specials.  It's a special that wants to give us the back story to the most famous Beagle of all.  Snoopy. 

           It starts at Daisy Hill Puppy Farm with what I could guess is Snoopy's mom, siblings, and Snoopy.  There's a farmer (not sure why there's a farmer for puppies, seems like a strange thing farm, guy).  These puppies can play instruments (and he wants to sell them? He should have started a band with them)  Also strangely enough, this special uses part of the same music used for "Why, Charlie Brown Why?"

A dog band and he's giving them away instead of makings tons of money/Copyright Peanuts 

        Charlie Brown comes home from losing a game and is depressed.  Charlie Brown wishes he had a dog, "Charlie Brown wants a Dog, Rerun".  So yes, this an origin story for Charlie Brown getting a dog.  So, that means he goes to Daisy Hill Puppy Farm and picks out  dog and names him Snoopy, right? WRONG.  A girl named Lila picks a dog named Snoopy, yep, the farmer pre-named the dogs. Those being Snoopy, Molly, Belle, Spike, Olaf, Marbles, Rover, and Andy.

Rover is the strangest name on this list/Copyright Peanuts 

          Eventually, the other pups are picked up by people and taken to their new homes one by one.  Well this puppy farm has run out of puppies so, how does that work?   Anyway, Snoopy and Lila live together in happiness.  The place where Lila lives says that NO DOGS ALLOWED is the rule now, so they have to take him back to the puppy farm. 

Well Snoopy. we didn't try to stop this from happening or anything so.../Copyright Peanuts 

          Now back to Charlie Brown, and he wants to have a dog and keeps talking about wanting a dog.  So he looks for a dog in the newspaper and he ends up seeing a place called Daisy Hill Puppy Farm. (I wonder what dog that might be)  Confused as to why Charlie Brown wanted a hunting dog, as the ad said, that's not something  I was thinking.  The farmer lets Charlie Brown buy the last puppy for five dollars.  He  finds out that the dog's name is Snoopy and Charlie Brown decides to keep the name. (Otherwise, the Charlie Brown and Snoopy show would be called something else)   Linus tells him that he got a used dog. Ole Chuck don't care, he loves him anyway.

awww / copyright Peanuts 

              Charlie Brown built  Snoopy a dog house and he does his famous laying on top thing. Charlie Brown trains him and he notices that the dog is a little different. Time skip. Snoopy seems a little sad, and Sally suggests that maybe he misses his brothers and sisters.  Charlie Brown tells him they are going to have a reunion.  I'm glad Charlie Brown knows where they all live.  We see Spike leave his desert home,  Olaf leave his farm, Belle leave her house, and the rest leave all taking their instruments.


          They go to Daisy Hill Puppy Farm,  but they find out that they paved paradise and put up a parking lot. (Guess the puppy farm business didn't do that well)  So, the dogs start playing their music in front of the parking garage.  Charlie Brown figures out that this was the Daisy Hill Puppy Farm.  Yep their farm was gone all their memories had been reduced to parking spaces.  The dogs don't seem to mind, they had fun.   Then Snoopy somehow takes everyone one home on his dog house, because sure why not.  Then Linus finishes the special by saying "He's your Dog Charlie Brown" that's a different special, Linus. 

       If you are Peanuts purist who likes their strong continuity; this special does it's own thing.  Like how Snoopy was around before Sally and Linus were born.  In the strip, the movie, Snoopy Come Home,  and in the special. life is a circus , Charlie Brown says that his parents got him a dog after he got dumped sand on him by kid.  There's is a strip where Snoopy and Woodstock find out their own about the puppy farm.  Also two siblings were created just for this special, that's Molly and Rover.

   None of this takes a way from this special.  It's an interesting story to show the origin of Snoopy with Charlie Brown

    If you  have been reading our Peanuts specials in the order we posted them, I want to thank you for reading. It's taken about 5 years to do this, but it's been an enjoyable experience talking about Peanuts specials. There are so many different ones that have taken their routes and decisions , some good, some weird.  We aren't done with the Peanuts , and there are more aspects to specials to talk about as well, and maybe they'll make a new one in the future. So don't think this is the full end.  Anyway, thank you for reading.  Tune in next time, when we get our dog band together and go on the tour circuit.