The New Look RTV: Part 2

After thinking about it a bit, I find that as a fan, the new RTV schedule isn't THAT bad. I still think it makes the network look more small-time than before, but as a lover of old-school TV, there is a lot to appreciate. Let's go through the weekday schedule, noting that RTV has switched from its customizable-schedule model to a mostly uniform national lineup, with various exemptions in areas here and there but with most stations now showing the same stuff at the same times:

9:00 AM: Daytime: I'm still not sure what the deal is with RTV showing this magazine-style morning show, but it's been on a long time now, and I don't worry about it anymore. It would be nice to have something decent on in the morning, but it's probably this or infomercials.

10:00 AM: Celebrity Kitchen: One of the awful, ill-fitting new shows. It is more suited to RFD-TV, from whence it comes. Stuff like this is why people get upset with the new schedule.

11:00 AM: The Rifleman (2 episodes): I personally saw a ton of these a few years ago on Encore Westerns, and AMC of all places is now showing it, so it's not a rarity anymore. But not everyone gets cable, and besides, this is a great show, albeit one that has been on RTV for a while now. No problems here, though I personally prefer a rarer oater or at least one additional western instead of two Riflemans in a row.

12:00 PM: Adventures of Robin Hood: The kind of old show that bigger classic TV outlets like TV Land (I know, I know) would shy away from. It deserves a place here.

12:30 PM: Peter Gunn: Solid show that deserves a spot, but it's been run an awful lot on RTV already. No problems with it, but would like to have seen something like Danger Man here instead. Also, it might work better in the late night spot it occupied before this big schedule makeover.

1:00 PM: The Bill Cosby Show: Great show that deserves national exposure, but it has been through several cycles already on RTV in the weekend lineup. And why was it in the weekend lineup? because it doesn't have nearly enough episodes to be stripped on weekdays! Good show in the wrong spot.

1:30 PM: Zorro: Not the old Zorro we'd all like to see, but the 1990s Family Channel version, which is way too recent. Cisco Kid is now relegated to weekends, but it would be a better choice. It's not one of the greatest series of all time, but I'd rather have an oldie like that in this slot.

2:00 PM: Movin' On: I had never seen this 1970s Claude Akins trucker show until RTV added it this week. It's an interesting rarity, and I applaud the network for giving it a whirl. But at 40-some hourlong episodes, it is more suited for weekend duty than for Monday through Friday.

Look, obscurities like this are exactly what I like to see on professed classic TV outlets to supplement the evergreens. However, RTV's reliance on short-lived series like this and Cosby to fill its weekday schedule indicates RTV is struggling to replace all that Universal Studios content.

3:00 PM: Naked City: Now we're talking! The episode I saw Tuesday looked--pardon my jargon--shimmery and kind of weird, but this is one of the all-time greats. This is a real treat and a solid mark on the "Good" side of the board when we consider this RTV makeover.

4:00 PM: Route 66: Another great add for RTV, but it's airing in glorious Stretch-o-vision for some reason, and I wonder if something funny is going on with the source material. But this is a top-notch classic show that hasn't been aired much nationally lately, and thus is another great addition.

5:00 PM: I Spy: No problem here, but it's been on RTV weekdays for a while already.

6:00 PM and 7:00 PM: This week, back-to-back episodes of Daniel Boone are airing, one color and one b&w, and the first impulse is that any classic TV channel that has to air two episodes of Daniel Boone each day just isn't trying very hard...or is just desperate to fill time. But in this case, it's temporary, as next week brings Highway to Heaven to replace one of the Boones.

I've nothing against Boone, and at least it's an older program. Highway to Heaven seems to bounce around the national landscape pretty steadily and is not all that old. It's sitting in too valuable a time slot. Not a coup for RTV.

8:00 PM: Starsky and Hutch: The star free agent acquisition of this new programming strategy gets the prime 8:00 PM slot. I'll write more about this later.

No, not right now. I mean in a separate post. Sorry.

9:00 PM: Police Story: I'm digging this 1970s anthology series so far. It's quite a contrast to Starsky, though, with its more, shall we say, mature approach to depicting police life. It's one of the pleasant surprises on the new schedule. Mustachioed Don Meredith eases the pain of losing Jim Rockford.

10:00 PM: The Saint: Is it true the color episodes are better than the black and white ones? RTV, I assume, plans to show both. Hey, this is a pretty cool add. Really, if you focus on the meaty part of the day/evening, RTV isn't looking so bad. Unfortunately, unless you're hosting a morning chat show (like Daytime!), the day doesn't end at 10:00, and so we move on to...

11:00 PM: Da Vinci's Inquest: One of the cheap modern Canadian dramas RTV imported, it has no place on RTV, and Americans have had ample opportunities to see it already. It really sticks out at 11:00 PM. RTV should have at least buried this at a different hour and found a legit classic crime/mystery show to anchor late nights.

12:00 AM Cold Case Files: I was disappointed last night when this A&E product actually came on at midnight. I much preferred what was on Monday night: "RTV is experiencing technical difficulties." Meet the new RTV...same as the old RTV! Getting back to Cold Case Files, though--ah, let's not and say we did.

1:00 AM: Cold Squad: Seriously, RTV might as well just shut down at 11:00 PM, and that's way too early for a classic TV channel to throw its hands in the air and resort to Magic Bullet ads or junk. Why not put Naked City somewhere in here or some cool anthology or crime show and find a decent program for 3:00 PM? Late nights on RTV are worthless.

So in summary, weekdays, we have the established Peter Rodgers Organization shows like I Spy and Rifleman moving around a bit, some solid adds, a couple of great gets, and some garbage that makes the whole schedule look decidedly non-classic.