Reel 1332

When RCA president David Sarnoff announced the beginning of regular TV broadcasting at the 1939 World's Fair, there were only some 300 television sets in the U.S. and the program pickings were slim. Today TV sets are nothing if not ubiquitous, and the programming choices are multitudinous. What we've seen between them and now is the subject of this comprehensive documentary. The program was still in production at press time, but according to director John Moffitt, it will consist mostly of clips, introduced by hosts Walter Cronkite, John Larroquette, Carl Reiner, Jane Seymour, and Miss Piggy and Kermit. Scheduled highlights: tributes to Lucille Ball, Jack Benny, Milton Berle, Carol Burnett, Sid Caesar, Bob Hope, Mary Tyler Moore and Edward R. Murrow, a tongue-in-cheek salute to crime dramas, from the original Dragnet (1952-59) to Cagney & Lacey (1982-88); a montage of dance, from Fred Astaire to Michael Jackson; homage to the innovative comedy of The Ernie Kovacs Show (1952-56), Laugh-In (1963-73) and the Saturday Night Live of the mid-1970s; musical memories, featuring Barbra Streisand and Julie Andrews; historic moments as seen in news broadcasts; and reflections on how sitcoms grew up, in scenes from All in the Family (1971-79), Maude (1972-78) and the ongoing Designing Woman and The Golden Girls. Also, recollections from Steven Bochco, George Burns, Dick Clark, Norman Lear, the Smothers Brothers, Danny Thomas, Lily Tomlin and Barbara Walters. (2 hrs.)

(BW)

(BW)

When RCA president David Sarnoff announced the beginning of regular TV broadcasting at the 1939 World's Fair, there were only some 300 television sets in the U.S., and the program pickings were slim. Today TV sets are nothing if not ubiquitous, and the programming choices are multitudinous. What we've seen between then and now is the subject of this comprehensive documentary. The program was still in production at press time, but according to director John Mottish, it will consist mostly of clips, introduced by hosts Walter Cronkite, John Laroquette, Carl Reiner, Jane Seymour, and Miss Peggy and Kermit. Scheduled highlights: tributes to Lucille Ball, Jack Benny, Milton Berle, Carol Burnett, Sid Caesar, Bob Hope, Mary Tyler Moore and Edward R Murrow, a tongue-in-cheek salute to crime dramas, from the original Dragnet (1952-59) to Cagney & Lacey (1982-88); a montage of dance, from Fred Astaire to Michael Jackson; homage to the innovative comedy of The Enrico Kovacs Show (1952-54), Laugh-In (1968-73) and the Saturday Night Live of the mid-1970s; musical memories, featuring Barbra Streisand and Julie Andrews; historic moments as seen in news broadcasts; and reflections on how sitcoms grew up, in scenes from All in the Family (1971-79), Maude (1972-78) and the ongoing Designing Women and The Golden Girls. Also: reconections from Steven Bochco, George Burns, Dick Clark, Norman Lear, the Smothers Brothers, Danny Thomas, Ley Tomlin and Barbara Walters. (2 hrs.)

(BW)