Shows having running times other than 30 or 60 minutes. The 5-10 second animations, accompanied by a fanfare, that denoted the ITV company responsible for the following production. On screen clocks shown as a part of continuity. Rostrum Camera - Ken Morse The obvious switch between video and film stock when switching to an outdoor scene.
Related to title sequences: the many and varied unique forms of sequences that many shows had, like the aforesaid Trapper John, M.D., and also the 1979-93 CBS Thursday serial Knots Landing, with its scrolling images. Here's an example of that, from the seventh season (1985-86):
Yes! in fact I'm so used to that, I still find it odd watching new shows and the outdoor stuff looking exactly the same as the indoor stuff.
Indeed. I think the music for Curb Your Enthusiasm is the only truly memorable theme to gain any real traction in the past 10-20 years. Like the very best TV theme songs, it conjures up a character, situation or entire world with just a few notes.
Something odd that used to happen in the UK - during the closing credits of a comedy or drama, the continuity announcer would often read out something like "Colin Flange is currently appearing in 'Not With My Trousers!' at the Novelty Playhouse in Penge". I presume this was to placate the actors' union Equity.
I was watching some old clips of the Playboy After Hours show, a black and white thing which was mostly a party, but had comedians and great (often soul or r&b singers) and truckloads of gorgeous gals. Fully clothed but ... well, putting their best assets forward. Ahem. Imagine trying to get something like that on TV now.
Bumping this up: the dedication that very much showed in many local newscasts then, as in this 1985 promo from WLS Eyewitness News in Chicago, for the 6 P.M. report w/the late, great Floyd Kalber; remember him?
I remember Floyd Kalber as one of the NBC afternoon news hosts in the 1960s. Some NBC daytime programs were only 25 minutes long, allowing for a four/five minute network news digest. Kalber was one of the hosts along with Nancy Dickerson. He later joined THE TODAY SHOW as news anchor for a time.
PSAs like the Why Do You Think They Call It Dope? campaign. I remember cracking up as a kid watching it. "Isn't it true that sniffing glue can damage your liver and kidneys?"
Bumping this up again: news-in-brief segments, especially as aired in the evenings between entertainment shows or in the middle of movie broadcasts. Here's one from 1978, an ABC News Brief w/the late Max Robinson from Chicago (has a commercial for Natural Light beer from Anheuser-Busch, and a promo for the then-new WNT w/Reynolds, Robinson, Jennings and Walters [and now and then, the late Howard K. Smith with a commentary segment]).
The great and tragic Max Robinson. I too miss strong, well funded network news departments. They were newspapers of the air that took their journalism seriously, unlike the wall to wall yelling pendants on cable news today. Great story here on Mr. Robinson, BTW. Well worth reading. Max Robinson, a Largely Forgotten Trailblazer for Black Anchors dan c
Shows where characters actually developed throughout the series and became a better person (Sam Malone from Cheers who realized at the end of Cheers being a bachelor was getting old and was ready to settle down)
Bumping up: related to what I said about proper closing credits-- remember when the daily serials had longer closing sequences that encompassed the lion's share of their theme songs? This is one such example, from NBC's hit daily serial Another World in '85:
One thing I wish would go away—most reality TV. Stuff like the original Gong Show was fun, The Muppets in syndication.
Smoking. Not that I'm a proponent of carcinogens, but it's a good gauge of continuity. Many old shows will show a character lighting a cig, which miraculously burns almost to the filter a couple seconds later, then the next shot shows it's still barely lit. I know, it's silly to notice continuity errors in shows from the 50s and 60s, but often it's the only interesting thing about them.
