November 23rd, 1979...On ABC

Nothing warms the jaded cockles of my heart like a fresh big ole' mess of commercials from 1979.  It's like God heard my prayer, (no, not the one where The Almighty starts bestowing upon me an unlimited supply of Xanax-infused Magnum ice cream bars, the other prayer) and He had me find His bountiful, um, bounty on YouTube just now.

  These commercials aired on ABC on November 23rd, 1979.

1. Contac
2. Mystique Books
3. Maybelline Eye Color Styling Pencils
4. Tostitos
5. Promo for "The Ropers", "Detective School", "The Love Boat" and "Fantasy Island"
6. ABC Station ID
7. TV Spot for "10"
8. Chimere
9. Promo for "When She Was Bad"
10. "Playboy's Roller Disco & Pajama Party" Commercial Bumper
11. Promo for "Mork & Mindy"
12. Eyewitness News Update
13. Amoco
14. Promo for "Ski Scene"
15. KSTP Station ID
16. One A Day Plus Iron
17. Signal
18. Promo for "Eight Is Enough", "Charlie's Angels" and "Vega$"
19. Hefty
20. Ruffles
21. Pepsi
22. Mazda RX-7
23. "Playboy's Roller Disco & Pajama Party" End Credits

 I must have done something to please Our Lord.  Oh, I know what it must have been: I didn't steal 23 packets of chopsticks at the conveyor belt sushi joint yesterday like I usually do.  Thanks, Santa Jesus!

"When She Was Bad" = "When Television Movies Had Cheryl Ladd and Robert Urich In Them, And Life Was Great"

Dorothy Stratten was featured heavily in the Playboy show, both roller-skating in a bikini and dancing in modest lingerie with The Village People (ironically, to a song called, "Are You Ready For The Eighties?"). You don't see her in this clip, but it's easy to find on YouTube.  

All kidding aside...I know Dorothy was a gift from God.  
It hurts to look at her, knowing that her happiness on earth would be so brief.

From 1975: A Huge Chunk O' Commercial Goodness

November 10, 1975

Recorded during a Monday Night Football broadcast.

(The Chiefs beat the Cowboys, 34-31.)

Be sure to catch the very brief but gorgeous shot of a United Airlines DC-10.  And there are ads for Schlitz (the official beer of A Touch of Tuesday Weld...did you know that?  No?  Well, it is.) and the Boeing 747 (oh, yes, in the 70s and even into the 80s, the 747 was flown domestically in the United States, especially on TWA.  "Got on board a westbound 747").

There's also a promo for a brand-new ABC program called Good Morning, America, with host David Hartman.

What This (And Every) Blog Needs: More ABC Promos From Tuesday, November 24, 1981

As The 1975 Spectacular Continues, We Take A Look At "Love In The Afternoon"

Housewives, put down your mops, fix yourselves a cocktail or six (yes, I know you learned how to make authentic Singapore Slings the other day while watching Dinah Shore), and prepare to spend the rest of the day in the throes of blissful romance, as only the soap operas of 1975 could provide.

From 1979: Linda Lavin? Bonnie Franklin? Burt "Bat" Campbell's TV Wife?

I can't take all of this Pure Unadulterated Television Goodness, you guys.

From ABC, April 1979.

True Laura Linger Fact: I have long aspired to be a wise-crackin' single mom just like Bonnie Franklin as Ann Romano on One Day At A Time. However, the adoption agencies tell me that this is not reason enough to give Ken and me a baby. Even the Ukrainian ones say that! In Ukrainian!

I wonder what song Linda Lavin "sang" (cringe) on The Hal Linden Special.

From 1983: An Unsettling Portrait Of When Moms Wearing Reindeer Sweatshirts With Noses That Really Light Up Descend Upon Area Shopping Malls Today

"This is not a drill! She's got competitor's coupons, people!"

From 1974: Team Heat Miser Versus Team Snow Miser

The greatest rivalry of all time, ladies and gentlemen...

Watch and decide for yourself: Team Heat Miser, or Team Snow Miser?



This program, The Year Without A Santa Claus, first aired on December 10, 1974. One of the most popular Rankin/Bass productions, it aired on ABC.

(p.s. I'm firmly on Team Heat Miser.)