I suspect most people who are fans of classic television are so because they watched the shows as children. Well, I fall into that group in any case. As part of my weekly television ritual, and I might add THE most exciting day of the week, when I was a child was Friday – when I would go through every single inch of the upcoming week’s “TV Guide“ and plan what I would watch the following week. Because of that I thought I’d dedicate a Follies entry to classic TV ads from when TV Guide listings were engulfed in a small, compact treasure trove of fabulousness.
I don’t quite remember if “TV Guide” went on sale on Fridays or if my mother would buy it on Fridays when she did the grocery shopping but it was a special day regardless. We didn’t have a lot of money in my house but I felt like we lived in luxury due to that little weekly magazine. I had friends whose families didn’t buy “TV Guide.” If they wanted to see what was showing they’d peruse the TV listings that came with the Sunday paper. Only occasionally I might add. Huh? That practice and nonchalance was foreign to me. Actually, I thought it was crazy, to be honest. Imagine how many 4:30 movies they missed! I still shutter at the thought!
When I got my first job as a teenager, I’d splurge for a second copy of “TV Guide” – I’d mark one up with all the notable shows and movies to watch during the week and kept the second one pristine for…well, no reason whatsoever. Probably to “allow” the rest of my family to view it without all my little stars and notations, but when the cover was bent or any other carelessness visible I was not a happy camper.
Although all of the images included in the following gallery are not from “TV Guide” I post them to honor all of those memories…
Once upon a screen... 
You even found an ad for The Six Million Dollar Man vs Bigfoot! I remember that episode. I now think that’s when that show “jumped the shark”. 🙂
TV Guide was our bible. I’d go through it and circle all the movies I wanted to catch.
I have scrapbooks in the basement filled with the synopsis of my favourite TV westerns cut out from TV Guide. Who knew such obsessiveness would eventually lead to what we do today?
These are awesome!!!
Man, I miss this stuff! In Richmond, on Saturdays, the weekly TV section was all by itself, separated and housed in a big green sheet of newsprint. It was called the “Green Section”. We called it the “Green Sheet” though (ha!). Regardless of what was going on in the world, that section was fought for when the paper arrived. It was just as important as the Sunday Comics or maybe more! The grid, those ads, sigh… thanks for the memories, Aurora! 😀
What an adorable story – you buying an extra copy of TV Guide and marking it up accordingly. Very industrious!
I was surprised at how funny and clever some of these ads are.
These ads are priceless, great article! I wish my antenna could pull in some of those shows today.
A wonderful gallery of memories. Well done!
Thanks for the reminder. Isn’t it funny that it was harder to decide what to watch back then with three channels than it often is today with 300+.