Saturday, February 28, 2015

TV Quote Weekends

"Your boss came out of my V and her daddy's P, so show a little respect for her mama!"

-Ophelia Hartness on How to Get Away with Murder

Friday, February 27, 2015

Rest in Peace, Leonard Nimoy

"The miracle is this; the more we share, the more we have."

-Leonard Nimoy


AfterMASH


When M*A*S*H entered its final years, the cast would conduct a vote at the end of each season. If a majority voted to continue the show, everyone would return. If the majority ever voted against continuing the show, it would end. By the 11th season, the majority of the cast had burnt out on the show and the side voting against returning had finally won. Only three Castmembers wanted to continue- Harry Morgan, Jamie Farr and William Christopher.

The show had become a lucrative franchise for CBS and 20th Century Fox. When M*A*S*H hosted a staggering 120 Million viewers for its finale, the network was eager to keep the momentum going. Even if just a fraction of the finale's viewership tuned in to see a spinoff, it would be huge. CBS approached the three Castmembers who wanted the show to continue and proposed a spinoff called AfterM*A*S*H. They quickly agreed.





Unfortunately for Harry, Jamie and William, nobody much cared to see their characters' after war escapades. Colonel Potter without anyone to yell at was a bore; Klinger was no longer funny if he wasn't coming up with schemes to get out of the army and Father Mulcahy was never that interesting to begin with. CBS tried everything to get viewers to watch, including embarrassing advertising campaigns:



Nothing worked; the magic was gone. AfterM*A*S*H was mercifully put out of its misery after one and a half seasons. The show became a mostly forgotten punchline and a poster boy for nonsensical, cash grab spinoffs.

Thursday, February 26, 2015

Bizarre Batman '66 Villains: Chandell



The Batman show of the 1960's wasn't known for being gritty or dramatic. On the contrary; this Batman was campy and comedic. A who's who of Hollywood guest starred or cameod on the show, which never took itself seriously.

Of course, if one was running a campy show in the '60s, there was one person who would be a must book guest star- Liberace. And the producers of this Batman were definitely up to the challenge. Rather than merely book a cameo for Liberace, they made him two full fledged villains- Chandell and his twin brother Harry. Harry was the bad one, blackmailing his brother Chandell into a life of crime. Chandell had a terrible secret, but not the one you're thinking. Chandell had hurt his hands and used a player piano during his "live" performances. If his blue haired fans found out, they'd be heartbroken. (His other obvious secret remained unspoken.)



Chandell used his irresistible charm to steal money from rich old ladies to pay his brother's blackmail demands. He did feel bad about it though because some of these ladies were quite charming and gorgeous. If he was really interested in them they could possibly lure him out of being a confirmed bachelor. Possibly.

Like all villains in a Batman episode, both brothers end up in jail. While Chandell dazzles 'em with his fancy piano playing, Harry plots their escape.



Adam West recalls Liberace as being a fun guest to have around who would entertain cast and crew alike with his piano playing. The producers were no doubt delighted by the fact that Chandell's wardrobe came from Liberace's own closets, saving thousands in costuming costs for the production. Liberace didn't trust outside costume designers or pianos so he provided his own wardrobe and equipment for the production. After all, how could they possibly design anything campier or more ridiculous than what Liberace actually wore?

The Liberace episodes ranked among the highest rated of the series. The blue haired grannies who delusionally swooned over him tuned in alongside their grandchildren, creating huge ratings for the caped crusader and ABC.

Wednesday, February 25, 2015

Guess the Plot: "Goodnight, Beantown"


Goodnight, Beantown appears to be a wacky comedy from the early 1980's. Aren't those two the original odd couple? She appears to be quite an opinionated woman who never backs down! He, on the other hand, looks like he's resigned to putting up with the wacky news staff and her incessant nagging. We're not sure, but could love be in the air between these two? 

And what about Valerie and Frank back there? She apparently has the "hottest features" in town, while he's a "lover boy". I bet he's full of smutty one liners and she's quick with insulting put downs. Better keep an eye on these two! Despite all the hi jinks, we bet this dysfunctional work family really cares about one another. Though I bet their boss could care less!

Despite the fun suggested by this wacky TV Guide ad, Goodnight Beantown only lasted two seasons.



Tuesday, February 24, 2015

ABC's Marine World

When Walt Disney needed money for DISNEYLAND, The ABC Television Network was willing to provide some of the cash in exchange for the weekly DISNEYLAND TV Show, but had no real interest in the theme park itself. The network quickly cashed out its investment in the park, but eventually noticed he huge amounts of cash generated by DISNEYLAND. ABC owner Leonard Goldensen decided that ABC would diversify by getting into the theme park business. 


The network bought a parcel of land in Redwood City, California and announced plans to build an aquatic park- ABC Marine World. During an elaborate television special produced by future Disney CEO Michael Eisner, ABC introduced its new park to the world in 1968. ABC Marine World was a huge success, but ABC soon realized something that Mr. Disney had instinctually known years before; that a steady stream of new attractions and shows were needed to keep guests happy and coming back. ABC had hoped that the park wouldn't need further investment, so despite the project's success, it decided to sell the park. The buyer was a San Jose businessman who owned a struggling Safari themed park. He decided to move his animals up north to create Marine World Africa USA. ABC had left the theme park industry.

The combined park struggled for several years before it eventually became a non-profit enterprise, run by a group of conservationists. When the land the park sat on became too valuable, the park relocated to nearby Vallejo and continued to evolve, becoming The New Marine World Theme Park, Six Flags Marine World and now Six Flags Discovery Kingdom. The land it used to stand on is now the world headquarters of the Oracle Corporation.



Monday, February 23, 2015

First TV Network Logos


The big three networks all had their starts in the world of radio. Both ABC & NBC had logos that reflected their beginnings:





Of the four major networks, NBC has changed its logo the most. As the network that has suffered the biggest lows (as well as several highs) it apparently has seen rebrandings as a possible solution to its problems.




CBS, on the other hand, has probably changed its logo the least. Its current eye logo was introduced right after this one:



Like CBS, Fox has also barely changed its logo, though it has been around the shortest amount of time.



Sunday, February 22, 2015

TV Quote Weekends


"Friends don't owe friends, silly! They just do favors because they want to."

-Oswald Cobblepot

Saturday, February 21, 2015

TV Quote Weekends

"Did you hear that we got a new medical examiner? She's much better than the old one. And she smells nice."

-Edward Nygma

Friday, February 20, 2015

When Cable Channels Go Rogue: TLC





For some reason, most cable channels seem to have a problem living up to their names. Everyone knows that very little “Music” actually plays on “Music TeleVision” these days, but this syndrome appears to be widespread among so many other channels. For example, “TLC’s” full name is “The Learning Channel”, but very little actual “learning” seems to happen on that channel these days, as shown in….

Things We’ve Learned from The “Learning” Channel:

*If the only thing interesting about your life is that you had a ton of kids, you can make money and get companies to give you tons of free stuff!

*There’s a ton of money to be made from “flipping” your house! (Oops, this “lesson” no longer valid.)

*A catty woman and a catty gay man can help you improve your wardrobe by mocking your weight and style tastes.

*Tattoo parlors are no longer full of degenerates and sailors; they’re full of whiny degenerates and trendy hipsters who will probably regret their “tatts” once tattoos are no longer trendy.

And finally,


*Yelling at your employees and making idle threats is the best way to get them motivated!

Thursday, February 19, 2015

The Many Talents of Phil Hartman


In addition to being the funniest person to ever grace the Saturday Night Live stage, Phil Hartman was a man of other talents.




Before hitting it big on SNL, Mr. Hartman was a graphic designer who created over 40 album covers, including this one:



Phil also designed the distinctive logo for Crosby, Stills & Nash. Of course, he's better known for making us laugh on Saturday Night Live, The Simpsons and Newsradio.




Rest in Peace, Mr. Funny Man!

Wednesday, February 18, 2015

The Famous Mister Ed



When people think about Mister Ed, the first thing they remember (other than the talking horse) is the catchy theme song. The classic song was written by the legendary writing team of Jay Livingston and Ray Evans who scored many movies and television shows.



When they finished the song, Mr. Livingston recorded a demo to play to the Mister Ed producers to see what they thought. They absolutely loved it and decided to use the demo itself instead of recording a new version. Mr. Livingston's voice became a part of television history.

Tuesday, February 17, 2015

Lesley Gore on Batman


Famed 1960's singer Lesley Gore has passed away at age 68. While she is best known for her hit songs like It's My Party and Sunshine, Lollipops and Rainbows, Ms. Gore also took on a role in the iconic Batman series.

Ms. Gore played the character of "Pussy Cat" who was one of Catwoman's henchwomen. In addition to helping Catwoman with her various schemes, Pussy Cat set her eyes on Robin.



Monday, February 16, 2015

FDR on TV


The very first U.S. President to appear on television was Franklin D. Roosevelt, who appeared on a black and white broadcast during the 1939 World's Fair in New York.


Sunday, February 15, 2015

TV Quote Weekends


“Dying people lie too. Wish they’d worked less, been nicer, opened orphanages for kittens. If you really want to do something, you do it. You don’t save it for a sound bite.”

-Dr. House

Saturday, February 14, 2015

TV Quote Weekends


“I didn’t strike you when you said ‘knocking boots,’ but ‘bone bros?!?' I cannot abide.”

-Gina Linetti

Friday, February 13, 2015

The Ultimate Lifetime Original Movie

Taking a look at cable television, it seems that most channels cannot keep their supposed concepts pure. Desperate for ratings, most channels will sacrifice their alleged themes to air anything they think will attract viewers. That’s why Law and Order reruns get aired on the Sci-Fi Channel or The Learning Channel will show just about anything regardless of whether any actual learning is involved.

But one channel is not only good at keeping its concept pure, it also seems to have spawned an entire genre of films that only it could air. Of course, we’re talking about the Lifetime Cable Network, home of the “woman in peril” film, known to one and all as the “Lifetime Original Movie”.




The Lifetime formula is simple really; take Meredith Baxter, Joanna Kerns, Tori Spelling or any number of young or middle aged actresses, give them a perfect life, then pull the rug out from under them. Slap a ridiculous sounding title that sometimes has little to do with the actual movie (Like “Fatal Deception”, “Strip Me Deadly”, “They Took Her Son, They Took Her Life” or “Fatal Accomplice”) and you’ve got a Lifetime Original Movie!

Some people simplistically try to claim that every Lifetime Original Movie features the central thesis that “Women are good and Men are bad.” This is far from the truth; for example, if the guy is Meredith Baxter’s son, he’s probably good. In fact, about the only thing that is a must for a Lifetime movie is that everything must start out perfect for the main heroine. In fact, we know that everything is perfect because our heroine will spend the first fifteen minutes of the movie living the good life and telling everyone around her who will listen how perfect her life is.

Then comes the bombshell- it can be anything really, but it has to bring the world down for our heroine and provide her with a cause to pursue. Rest assured, however, that regardless of the depths her life sinks to, our main character will triumph, even getting a chance to gloat about how she’s back on top.

So just to illustrate how easy it is to put together a Lifetime movie, let’s create one for Meredith Baxter-




With Friends Like These

Meredith Baxter is sitting on top of the world. She lives in a lavish McMansion with her husband Bruce Boxleitner and her days are spent shopping in lavish malls and taking advantage of the tony country club she is a member of with her best friend in the world, played by Megan Mullaly. With her young daughter out of the nest and working in the city with a high paying job, Ms. Baxter’s character anticipates growing old with her husband and preparing for the loads of grandchildren her daughter will no doubt bear.

But then- disaster strikes! Ms. Baxter’s husband dies in a freak accident. Bereft, she takes solace in the fact that her husband had a hefty retirement portfolio so that she can continue to live the life she has grown accustomed to. Unfortunately, her husband’s employer is an Evil Capitalist(tm) who points to a clause in her husband’s retirement plan that doesn’t require him to pay out a nickel due to the circumstances of his death. Luckily for Ms. Baxter, he tells her that he has a heart and cuts a check for $1,000. Ms. Baxter tries to see what her legal recourse is, only to discover that she has none and should just get on with her life.

Soon, she finds herself having to sell off the McMansion to pay the bills her husband left behind. She must give up her country club membership, which makes her wealthy friends look down their noses at her. Even Megan Mullaly ignores her calls. ‘At least I have my daughter’ thinks Ms. Baxter, but when her daughter discovers that there isn’t going to be an inheritance, she becomes cold to her own mother.

Depressed and forced to make a living on her own, Ms. Baxter takes a job as a waitress at a coffee shop. She makes a new friend in one of the other waitresses, a sassy black woman played by Alfre Woodard. Ensconced in a cheap apartment and blessed with a steady job, Ms. Baxter is down, but not out.

In the course of her work, Ms. Baxter stumbles upon a problem in the food service industry that she thinks she can solve with a unique invention. The invention is a success at the Coffee Shop, but she needs seed money to fully capitalize on her million dollar idea. The Coffee Shop owner, a jerk who has little regard for women rejects her, as do her old friends, who laugh in her face. Dejected, she sees her opportunity to make money on her invention slipping away. But, there was one person who she hasn’t asked yet- Alfre Woodard. Ms. Woodard’s character tells Ms. Baxter that she’s been squirreling money away for a rainy day and “It’s rainin’ cats and dogs today, honey!” At this time, Ms. Baxter reconciles with her daughter who admits how stupid she was and also invests in her mother’s idea.

Ms. Baxter and Ms. Woodard become partners and use their spare time to produce their new product. After a few tense minutes with their first potential customer, they soon discover that their product is a hit. Money starts rolling in and they both quit their jobs, leaving their jerky former employer speechless. The ladies soon become the toast of the town and the business world, getting their pictures in every business magazine and newspaper. Soon, their small company outgrows its small offices and they find themselves overseeing a million dollar business with hundreds, if not thousands of workers.

So, is the movie over? Not yet. You see, Ms. Baxter has to gloat, so her old friend Megan Mullaly invites her to lunch. Ms. Baxter accepts the invitation and calmly catches up with her friend. “That was a bad spell for you wasn’t it?” notes Ms. Mullaly, “Lucky it’s now all over. Let’s do lunch again next week.” Cue Ms. Baxter’s angry tirade. Ms. Mullaly gets to purse her lips and look embarrassed when Meredith storms out of the restaurant, vowing to never see Ms. Mullaly ever again.

So, is that it? Nope, because it appears that her husband’s old company somehow wants to buy her new company because they are making so much money and are somehow in the same line of business. (Something we barely learn at this point.) Ms. Baxter triumphantly enters the office of the Evil Capitalist(tm) who tells her that he hopes there’s no hard feelings and that the buyout offer is more than fair. At this point, Ms. Baxter refuses the offer and a member of the company’s board of directors storms into the office to shake Ms. Baxter’s hand. Why, you ask? Because they are selling out to Ms. Baxter’s company, of course! To add insult to injury, Ms. Baxter hands the Evil Capitalist(tm) his severence check- $1,000!

So, is the movie over? Yes, mostly. But first, we see Ms. Baxter, Ms. Woodard and Ms. Baxter’s daughter sipping champagne a few weeks later- in what used to be the Evil Capitalist’s(tm) office! Then we fade out.

That’s it- the quintessential Lifetime movie, right off the top of our heads. Substitute Joanna Kerns or throw something to do with cancer in there and you’d have an entirely new film. See how easy it is?

**Keep in mind that this idea is (c) Ralphland Productions, so if you work for Lifetime and see this, don’t get any ideas. (But if you like the idea, we can talk…..)

Thursday, February 12, 2015

Sailor Says


Long treated as a medium solely for children in the United States, animation has finally become something that can be created for adults as well. The Simpsons started the trend, but South Park, Family Guy and Archer have run with it, bringing the United States in line with other countries like Japan where some animation is enjoyed by adults. This has made it possible for manga like Death Note to make it to the United States without getting sanitized.

Today, however, we're flashing back to the mid 1990's. While The Simpsons was trailblazing a path to more adult animation, most companies were still pushing the idea that cartoons equaled kids stuff so when the hit Japanese anime series Sailor Moon came to the attention of American entertainment companies, they mainly had visions of selling the dolls to tons of little girls. After all, Miss Sailor Moon looked tailor made for a "Girl's Power" type series with a corresponding line of toys.



Unfortunately, the show was typical of Japanese anime, with adult situations and fleeting animated nudity. This was not seen as a big problem for the American producers. The shows were heavily edited and risqué story lines were dumbed down into sometimes non-sensical morality stories. The edits made the show unintentionally hilarious, with ridiculous dialogue dubbed over seemingly unrelated footage. The most ridiculous dialogue was saved for the end of the show in the notorious Sailor Says segments.



Since every cartoon had to have a moral, the American producers inserted really lame ones that barely had anything to do with the episode. In an episode with a particularly vicious villain, kids were told that some people were mean and they should try to be nice. One episode barely featured an elderly man in it, so we were advised that old people weren't completely useless and we should listen to them sometimes. An episode featuring buses disappearing into thin air was amazingly used to discuss the environment. The ridiculousness of the "lessons" was probably lost on the children who watched the show.

Luckily, this type of editing has fallen out of favor and unedited, translated versions of the show have finally made it to the United States. If Death Note had been edited the same way, Light would be writing down the names of his friends in his "Friend Journal", Ryuk would be his imaginary friend and we'd get happy morals about not eating too much junk food like potato chips and studying for tests. Apparently the edited version of Sailor Moon has become a rarity since the company that produced the episodes no longer has the rights to air or sell them.

Wednesday, February 11, 2015

JAG on NBC

Flash back to 1995- NBC picked up a military drama that they hoped would expand their success with Law and Order by mashing a courtroom drama with high adventure- Law and Order meets Top Gun. JAG followed the exploits of Harmon Rabb who heroically defended or prosecuted Navy cases while also solving crimes and traveling the world. It seemed like a sure ratings winner.



Unfortunately, NBC couldn't seem to make the show work. Moving the show around its schedule throughout the 1995-96 season, NBC didn't really help matters. Show producers saw the writing on the wall and chose to end the season with a cliffhanger featuring the lovely Catherine Bell as a guest star who gets murdered. By the end of the episode it is revealed that the best suspect was Harmon Rabb himself. As suspected, NBC canceled the show, leaving the show's small fan base hanging. It appeared that they would never find out if Commander Rabb was able to clear his name.

Enter CBS. The network was struggling in the mid 1990's and was looking for some new programming that could turn things around. A few people at the network loved JAG and felt that the show was just what the network needed. When the show became available, CBS pounced on it, but wanted a few small changes, one of which was to pair the sexy Catherine Bell with star David James Elliott, who proved to have great chemistry onscreen. Since Ms. Bell had played a character who was murdered in the season one finale, how would they explain her appearance as a JAG lawyer in season two? 



The problem proved to be insurmountable. It would be ridiculous to have Ms. Bell appear as a lawyer assisting in the case of the murder of a woman who looked just like her, so the show did the only thing they could think of- they pretended that the previous year's finale didn't happen. The episode was removed from syndication and was eventually re-edited as part of a different episode where Commander Rabb tells the story of a past case he worked that concerned a woman who looked like his current co-worker. Despite the show's failure on NBC, a steady schedule on CBS made all the difference. The show became a hit, running for ten years and spawning the wildly successful NCIS spinoffs. 

Tuesday, February 10, 2015

Turn Off Turn On


Only one show in U.S. Broadcast history has ever been canceled while it was on the air- the ABC sitcom Turn On.




The show was meant as ABC's version of NBC's successful Laugh-In and featured Tim Conway as its first guest host in February of 1969. Apparently Mr. Conway was seen as being "Too Hot for TV" at the time, because several affiliates pulled the show while it was still airing and ABC chose to cancel the show before it had ended. Other than the title card, not much footage remains of the first or second episodes, the only ones produced. We can only imagine the wacky hi jinks that Tim Conway must have gotten himself into. Apparently only Carol Burnett was willing to unleash Mr. Conway on the world after this racy broadcast.

Amusingly, the failure of this show made ABC leery of making any risky choices thereafter and they rejected All in the Family for being too controversial. After all, if America couldn't handle Tim Conway on their screens, they certainly weren't ready for Archie Bunker.

Monday, February 9, 2015

The First Televised Oscars


In 1953, the 25th Oscar ceremony was broadcast on television for the first time. Hosted by Bob Hope, the show was telecast from both New York and Hollywood.





The film that won best picture was The Greatest Show on Earth, widely considered to be the worst film to ever win the honor.


Sunday, February 8, 2015

TV Quote Weekends


"Do you always deflect jokes with questions?"

-Detective Munch

Saturday, February 7, 2015

TV Quote Weekends

"We are poor, and poor is one of three things people don't want to be. Right next to sick, and dead."

-James Evans

Friday, February 6, 2015

Bizarre TV Guide Ads: Afternoon Delight


The people at this television station probably didn't realize what "Afternoon Delight" was about, right? Either that or they had a weird idea of what might "excite" a couple to engage in some "Afternoon Delight" of their own.





Thursday, February 5, 2015

Valerie's Family: The Hogans


Valerie Harper's return to television in the mid 1980's was a huge success. Cast as the mother of three boys, Ms. Harper saw her show's ratings increase in its second season, a rare thing to happen in television. She thought that since the show was called Valerie that the network would have to do whatever it took to keep her happy, so she asked for a substantial raise.



Ms. Harper totally overestimated her power over NBC. The network resisted her demands, though it eventually capitulated and she reported for work. After filming just the season premiere, however, Valerie went AWOL again, making more demands. NBC had enough and fired her, with Sandy Duncan stepping in as the boys' aunt. Valerie was killed off. The show was originally re-titled Valerie's Family, but the threat of lawsuits made NBC change the title to The Hogan Family, a title that is now used on all episodes of the show in syndication.



Afraid of further lawsuits from Ms. Harper, NBC had the show producers write in a fire that would destroy the entire house, including all pictures of Valerie Harper's character. This would explain why the family had no pictures of her in subsequent episodes.

Wednesday, February 4, 2015

TV Glossary: "Bicycling"


In the 1970's and 1980's, satellite time was very expensive; much too expensive to use to distribute television programming to local stations. In order to get syndicated programming out to local stations, distributors used a system called "bicycling". Basically, they made a few copies of each episode and mailed a week's worth of episodes to the top television markets. The station was then instructed to mail the tapes to the next station in a different market. This process repeated until the last station on the list had received the tape. (typically in the smallest market, like Paducah) The tapes would then get sent back to the studio, pretty worn out by this time, having been used quite a bit.

This system is the main reason why game shows of the time had limits on how many times a contestant could compete on the show. Since the various stations were airing the episodes at different times and in no particular order, it would be confusing to have a multi-day winner. That's why Match Game and Match Game PM had different rules and were differentiated from each other.



As satellite time became less expensive, syndication distributors did away with "bicycling" and now beam all programming to local affiliates. This has allowed shows like Jeopardy to remove its five win limit for contestants and for producers to do a better job of preserving their television shows, since they no longer have to deal with worn out tapes.

Tuesday, February 3, 2015

Raymond Loves CSI


When CBS was planning out the 2000 schedule, the network president made an unusual decision; he asked Ray Romano, who was starring in Everybody Loves Raymond at the time to watch the various pilots with the development team.



The goal was to select the television shows that would premiere on the network that Fall. One of the shows that the development team loved was The Fugitive, a remake of the classic 1960's television show that had recently been rebooted for the big screen. They were unimpressed by a different show about criminalists called CSI. In fact, they all agreed that CSI belonged in the trash heap, never to be seen by anyone outside CBS.




Ray Romano, on the other hand, thought The Fugitive was old news and that CSI would be huge. In fact, he thought that if CBS had to choose between the two shows, it should chuck the well-known Fugitive and go with the unknown CSI. When the development team pushed back and insisted that The Fugitive should definitely get the pickup, Ray told them that was fine, but whatever they decided to do, CSI should be a part of it.

After some back and forth, CBS eventually took Ray Romano's advice, though it gave The Fugitive much more exposure and relegated CSI to also-ran status. The audience, however, still found CSI and completely agreed with Ray Romano. The Fugitive, meanwhile, was a colossal disappointment. While CSI earned an easy renewal, The Fugitive found itself canceled after just one season.

Monday, February 2, 2015

E/R on CBS


Long before NBC's ER became part of the network's "Must See TV", CBS had an E/R of its own starring Elliott Gould. The E/R on CBS, however, was a sitcom, not a drama.



Other than being set in an ER, the CBS E/R had little in common with the future ER on NBC other than the name... Oh, and George Clooney:



CBS' E/R would only last one season, but it did air frequently on the USA Network, back when they routinely showed short-lived sitcoms.

Sunday, February 1, 2015

The First Super Bowl


The first Super Bowl, called the "AFL/NFL Championship Game" at the time, aired on both NBC and CBS. NBC carried the AFL games, while CBS aired the NFL games, so this was seen as an acceptable compromise. 



The game was broadcast live from Los Angeles. While the NFL Packers won the game over the AFL's Chiefs, the AFL's network NBC beat CBS in the television ratings.

The hype over the commercials aired during the game had not yet begun and there was no importance attached to them. Only one advertiser chose to air commercials on both NBC and CBS- McDonald's.