Checking in on RTV

I haven't let my excitement over THIS-TV make me neglect RTV. The Retro TV affiliate in my area made a few minor schedule changes a few weeks ago, changes that leave me saying...well, not much of anything, really.

One neutral-to-negative-impact move was replacing "Operation Petticoat" Sunday mornings at 10:00 AM with a double shot of "Adventures of Black Beauty," a family/kids show which has been played quite a bit on other channels, notably Family Net. I'm not a fan of "Petticoat" and I don't mind seeing it get a breather, but I bristle at the replacement of an old sitcom with a show that could fit in elsewhere in Retro's kid-friendly morning package.

At 5:00 on Sundays, the back-to-back "Amen" episodes are outta here, with "Peter Gunn" taking over the slot. I'd much rather see "Gunn," all things being equal, but all things are not; "Gunn" is on every other night of the week, and I gave up on it months ago due to a lack of fresh episodes in the rotation. Maybe they have more in there now, but still, if you want to give "Amen" the boot, why not put on something different?

A similar situation occures later on Sundays, as the 9:00 showing of the Eddie Albert/Robert Wagner show "Switch" is out and "I Spy" is in. "I Spy" is already on weekdays, so to me, this is a waste of an hour. "Switch" is an amusing if not essential hour. I'd rather it stayed.

Gunn gets another double dose on Saturdays at 5:00, replacing "MacMillan and Wife." What fills out the other hour, you ask, dear reader? "The Cosby Show," which is exactly the kind of thing I do NOT want to see take over this channel. It's too recent, too prevalent, too unimaginative a programming option.

Later on Saturdays, "Buck Rogers" says hasta la vista, with "Black Sheep Squadron" substituting. Yawn. I haven't been watching "Buck" and probably wouldn't on a regular basis, but "Squadron" was already on Saturday nights for a while when my area first picked up RTV. Aren't there other shows we could see here, even if we limit ourselves to the Universal library? Answer: Yes. More on that in a minute.

There are two changes that I notice on weekdays: "Marcus Welby" exits the 1:00 P.M. hour, replaced by two "Leave it to Beaver" episodes. Now, if you're gonna lean so much on Universal shows, yeah, "Beaver" deserves a place on the schedule. I was surprised when they took it off a while back. But it shouldn't bump poor Welby. After all, the whole run of "Beaver" just came out on DVD.

Later, at 9:00, "The Incredible Hulk" smashes "Magnum P.I." out of the time slot. I like "Hulk" better and don't have a real problem with it returning to the lineup, but "Knight Rider" and "A-Team" are two inferior and widely available programs that have been on there long enough and could have been--should have been--ripe targets for the axe.

So several shows leave and are replaces by shows that have either already been on RTV or are already on other days. Is this change for its own sake? I'd like to see RTV, or at least the WJLA-TV version of it, do a little more. If it wants to tinker, start with the weeknight late night schedule. The "Daniel Boone"/"Rifleman"/"Cisco Kid" combo is better suited for weekend and/or afternoon or morning duty. Put something else in there. May I suggest putting back "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" and "Suspense Theater" and showing more of their episodes? There's an easy move.

However, there are plenty of Universal properties that could enliven the schedule. Just limiting myself to shows I know Retro has aired in other markets, let me lobby for "Kojak," "Delvecchio," and "O'Hara U.S. Treasury." The latter two had brief stints around here, but for some reason, "Kojak" hasn't had a run in the D.C. market. We'd love him, baby!

If WJLA needs even more ideas, here are two freebies: Add "Ellery Queen" and give us back the Darren McGavin "Mike Hammer."