Although far from perfect, YouTube has become an invaluable resource for historians, researchers, and television fanatics. Every month, I’ll share five or six videos that I find particularly interesting or noteworthy.
First up, here’s a June 1970 episode of NBC Experiment in Television titled “The New Communicators 2,” hosted by Peter Fonda.
Next, here a 1976 commercial for Star Trek Communicators from Mego.
Here’s the April 20, 1959 episode of The Mike Wallace Interview with guest Miyoshi Umeki.
Here’s an NBC News broadcast from March 17th, 1949 anchored by Clifton Utley.
Here’s the November 21st, 1948 episode of The Original Amateur Hour on the DuMont Television Network.
Finally, here’s a lengthy commercial for Chevrolet’s new 1965 lineup featuring the casts of Bonanza and Bewitched plus The Man from U.N.C.L.E.‘s Robert Vaughn. It originally aired at the end of the September 27th, 1965 episode of Bonanza (which otherwise aired without commercial interruptions).
Hit the comments with your reactions to these videos. And be sure to check back next month for another set of YouTube Finds!
Is it strange that the Chevy commercial included Bewitched, an ABC show in a commercial that was shown on NBC with NBC players?
Strange-ish, maybe? It might even have seemed odd to viewers then, but at bottom it’s a Chevrolet commercial and Chevrolet (and its ad agency) decided what performers to use in their ad. That they then ran it on NBC is a little strange, but then not so terribly strange because I’m sure Chevrolet wanted its ads to run on all the networks. Maybe it’s odd that NBC agreed to run it?
Sorry, Norma! I just watched the commercial now and it really is weird. I hadn’t realized how integrated it was into “Bonanza.”
I’m guessing that Chevrolet was a primary sponsor of all three shows, and they must have done a deal with NBC to include this spot in the “Bonanza” episode. But of course I don’t know.
NBC probably aired that particular BONANZA episode on Sept. 26, 1965 (not Sept. 27), since Sept. 27 fell on a Monday.
Or it might have aired on Sunday, Sept. 27, 1964, just as the ’65 cars were coming out.
Why did the networks all pretend that each other didn’t exist? So and so is appearing on another network, etc.
Stores and restaurants don’t normally tell people that competitors have similar products they may want to purchase, so why should a television network employee be expected to tell viewers how to easily find a show that is competing against one of their network’s shows? If anyone was pretending the other networks didn’t exist no mention would be made of the fact that there were other networks with programming.
The Star Trek communicators were probably more related to the ’72-’73 cartoon series than the original 60’s series.
Wow! Monday, September 27, 1965 was the date in which silent film actress Clara Bow died of a heart attack at age 60. She died at 12:06 AM that day.