Decades

Bill Kurtis

 Decades is one of several fledgling digital networks that have schedules that compromise of library material.  One show it has is Through the Decades hosted by CBS News veteran West Coast correspondent Bill Kurtis, alongside Kerry Sayers and Ellee Pai Hong, which chronicles historic events and birthdays that uses footage from Kurtis's former employer and other sources.  It has an episode for each day of the year.  However, if the day falls on a weekend, it will not air.  It's not even online.  On Saturdays, a theme episode is played instead.  Also, what lead off the CBS Evening News on any given year is played if it's anything significant.  I was too young to remember the late great Walter Kronkite as he retired from the newscast when I was small, so I could see some of what he and other anchors did.

Another feature of Decades is the Decades binge on weekends.  One show that should be considered is Here's Lucy with the legendary Lucille Ball (we share a birthday).  It hasn't aired in ages as her other two classics air daily on Decades.  Her Lucie and Desi Jnr are there with her as they address the generation gap that was prevalent in the late sixties to early seventies without the dreadfulness.  The Cattaraugus County natives estate may own the rights to the show, so it would be up to the family if they will sell the rights to the series, which the comedy trailblazer started after selling The Lucy Show, as she didn't want to be on something that was no longer hers.  It gets overlooked next to much of her legacy and was one of the last old guard stars left on TV by its second generation.  Here's Lucy however has aired on Decades' rival Cozi TV in recent years and can be streamed on Hulu and Tubi instead.

Cagney & Lacey with Sharon Gless and Tyne Daly was also recently aired, even though Start TV, a female-led network, usually has it.  Better to have shows not already somewhere else to avoid double-dipping.  Original Walker: Texas Ranger is on Charge! and Get TV, even though the latter is not on local TV in Syracuse right now, just Dish if not DirectTV, FiOS or cable.

The Dick Cavett Show changed networks often, and had almost everyone who was anyone.  An episode he taped in 1981 with ABBA in their native Sweden (so group member Agnetha Fältskog, who has aviophobia, didn't have to travel to the US) I'm not sure if it aired here then as it did in Europe, so it'd be nice if it were seen on Decades along with the 1972 episode with John Lennon and Yoko Ono.

In my area, Decades is only available on terrestrial on WTVU 22.5, a low-budget, low-power, low-rated station with translators in Oneida and Utica.

UPDATE: As of March 2023, Decades is now Catchy Comedy.

TBD: To Be Done-Up

Not my Supertramp: Devin Graham (right) of The Extreme World of Devin Super Tramp.

TBD seem to have lost the plot.  The same programmes, viral videos. and documentaries (we all can't be Ken Burns) make rerun-reliant Decades, MeTV and Antenna TV seem fresh by comparison.  Their six hosts have unceremoniously left the network.  This has always been a low-budget, low-rated network to begin with.  I thought it was a sports type channel when I first saw it on the CBS 5 CNY Central tier.  It's one-of-a-kind more for younger people, but it has grown stale, and can't compete with streaming, where more people are going anyway.  The Extreme World of Devin Super Tramp and Parkour Adventures with Jesse la Flair have extreme sports that ESPN may only marginally offer.  The pandemic could also have caused cutbacks.  FailArmy and The Pet Collective have their own channels on FiOS and some cable systems, but it will be the same material (I'll just wait for the cat videos).  If the Nielsens get to non-existent, affiliates may not renew their licence and switch to competitors not yet in their markets (ThisTV, Quest, and Court TV for my area).  TBD could also appear on 33.4 in Utica (Fox 33 WFXV is on 33.1).

WCNY UK

Dame Judi Dench has two classics on this list.

Since PBS flagship WETA in DC has a subchannel with British programmes, maybe one could be started by WCNY in Syracuse.  Here's what they could air:

Keeping Up Appearances
Hold the Sunset
Waiting for God
Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em
Fawlty Towers
Only Fools and Horses
The Vicar of Dibley
Open All Hours
Still Open All Hours
Butterflies
As Time Goes By
A Fine Romance
Midsomer Murders
Poldark (original and reboot [even this is a reboot])
Call the Midwife
Masterpiece (has US rights to many British dramas)
Les Misérables (non-musical mini-series version)
'Allo! 'Allo!
To the Manor Born
Are You Being Served?
Are You Being Served Again?/Grace and Favour
The Great British Baking Show/Bake-Off
Good Neighbours/The Good Life
Downton Abbey (ten years on)
Prime Suspect (which made Dame Helen Mirren a household name)
Baptiste

Us (part of Masterpiece here)
Eastenders
Ballykissangel (Irish series co-produced by BBC Northern Ireland)
Last Night in Halifax
Jamies Quick and Easy Food
Jamies Meat Free Meals
Nigella Lawson
Monty Pythons Flying Circus
BBC World News America
BBC Outside Source
Steptoe and Son
Dr Who

Britbox, a joint venture of Auntie and itv has most if not of the lot, but there are enough to fill a channel on the air.

COVID-19

Dr Phil with SUNY Oswego alum Al Roker on the Today show, 2006.

With coronavirus the elephant in the room, all aspects of life are affected.  Shows with studio audiences like Dr Phil either have to close or tape without one (although reruns of his show are on OWN, other series that don't have to be current such as The Price is Right or soaps could go into their vaults).  Getting guests over would be a bit of a risk too on top of problems they may already have.  Like many people, I'm watching the news helplessly trying to cope with something unheard of before in living memory.  Meanwhile, Dish and Apollo/Cox have declared a truce ending their dispute as maybe other proviers and owners until after Easter as having people even tele-conferencing can be hard right now.  I'm ready to ask a psychic when any break will arrive.
Long-running shows in syndication could air reruns from recent past seasons if they go through this series' and can't make new episodes right now, but freshman shows will have the same episodes to go through sooner than usual.  We all hope all this will ease up someday.

Gears Firestick

NBC 4's studio at 30 Rockefeller Plaza

The other week, I went to the hairdressers and the TV was able to get flagship NBC 4 WNBC from downstate.  It seemed perplexing to get something from 200 miles away that easily.  Turned out it was Gears Firestick, which carries stations from around the country and globe, and includes all of what you'd find on cable and satellite.  It's a streaming service competing with Roku, Sling, amazon, Netflix and Hulu.  You'd have to have a good internet account with enough data and bandwidth.  Would make sense with the endless carriage disputes for which no law can stop as it'd compete with bigger issues in Washington.  Also, if something isn't available locally, you can find a channel that carries it.  I told the hairdresser how I got the NYC stations when I lived up the river two decades ago.  I also told her Italian pubcaster RAI may be on there too as she just went on holiday there.  She has the service at home too, but if I ever change course at home, I'd consider subscribing as well.  However, I heard somewhere, it could be a pirate service; todays version of the "cheater cable box" from thirty years ago (I'm old now!).

Jerry O'Connell

Jerry O'Connell at this years Comic-Con.

Jerry O'Connell is the latest celeb to launch their own talk show.  His is a spinoff of Wendy Williams, but I can only get listings for major city Fox O&Os/flagships.  He filled in when she was in the clinic, making it a backdoor pilot.  Since CW 6 WSTQ has the parent show in my area, you'd think that they would carry it as well, even in the middle of the night.  CBS owned Pop may have it too.  O'Connell used to fill in on Live.  Other syndicated and network talk shows in the past were late to air in Syracuse if they ever did.  So much for "check your local listings".

July 2021: He will join The Talk instead, replacing Sharon Osbourne.

Create

Pati Jinich at an awards ceremony last year.

For the past several months, I found myself watching PBS offshoot Create, but mostly the cookery shows.  I've caught up on Patis Mexican Table, Americas Test Kitchen, spinoff Cooks Country, Bake Off, Jamie Oliver, Martha Stewart, My Greek Table, Lidias Italy, Nick Stellino and Steven Raichlins Project Smoke and Project Fire.  However, things come up short in my area.  From 10 PM to 6 AM, it simulcasts ARTS which is classical music videos, and new episodes are either only on the main channel or online until last seasons episodes are shown.  While the lovely Pati Jinich is the queen of Mexican cooking, most of it is a challenge for me.  Create has more of an emphasis on the diverse and educational than the commercial and popular on cable, network and first-run syndication.
Not all PBS tiers carry Create, including DC flagship WETA, which produces several of these series, although nearby MPT (which makes a few others) does.