I don't catch Newhart on Antenna TV that often, but I happened to watch one come on last night, and in addition to showing the full opening (which you don't see that much in syndication), the first few seconds also had the old "CBS StereoSurround" banner at the bottom of the screen -- which was commonly seen on CBS shows in the mid- to late-80s, when stereo TV was still pretty new, and hence, the concept of shows being broadcast in stereo was something the networks were touting at the start of broadcasts (always with the words "where available" in smaller print, as a lot of mono TVs were still out there).

Anyway, the CBS banner being left on the episode was pretty clearly a mistake, and one I'm not exactly sure how it happened, as it's not like Newhart was produced by CBS (nor was Wonder Years produced by ABC, and yet, when it was in syndication, episodes would occasionally include ABC's old "in stereo where available" banner at the beginning). I'm not complaining, though, as I'm just the right age where seeing that banner kind of took me right back to my childhood; it was an unexpected little nostalgia trip from Antenna TV.

Mike

I don't catch Newhart on Antenna TV that often, but I happened to watch one come on last night, and in addition to showing the full opening (which you don't see that much in syndication), the first few seconds also had the old "CBS StereoSurround" banner at the bottom of the screen -- which was commonly seen on CBS shows in the mid- to late-80s, when stereo TV was still pretty new, and hence, the concept of shows being broadcast in stereo was something the networks were touting at the start of broadcasts (always with the words "where available" in smaller print, as a lot of mono TVs were still out there).

Anyway, the CBS banner being left on the episode was pretty clearly a mistake, and one I'm not exactly sure how it happened, as it's not like Newhart was produced by CBS (nor was Wonder Years produced by ABC, and yet, when it was in syndication, episodes would occasionally include ABC's old "in stereo where available" banner at the beginning). I'm not complaining, though, as I'm just the right age where seeing that banner kind of took me right back to my childhood; it was an unexpected little nostalgia trip from Antenna TV.

Mike

That's not the only show on which that's happened lately: at least one episode of MacGyver on the DVDs has had the ABC stereo banner at the top of it. I'll have to look it up and see if I can find one (I have the Complete Collection DVD release of that, BTW).

Also, the pilot of Matlock (from the first-season DVD release) had the NBC stereo banner left on it (this one with today's peacock, even though the pilot had aired before the change from the 11-feathered Proud N bird to today's peacock in 1986; the pilot, "Diary of a Perfect Murder," had originally aired March 3, 1986). A picture of that is attached below.

They should leave those types of things in.

I do remember one time seeing the NBC "In Stereo" bumper on a rerun of St Elsewhere on WYFF in either 1988 or 1989. It must have been a accident, but i was a regular viewer of the reruns back then. I don't remember if that happened when watching reruns of SE on Nick at Nite, TV Land or Bravo

That's not the only show on which that's happened lately: at least one episode of MacGyver on the DVDs has had the ABC stereo banner at the top of it. I'll have to look it up and see if I can find one (I have the Complete Collection DVD release of that, BTW).

Also, the pilot of Matlock (from the first-season DVD release) had the NBC stereo banner left on it (this one with today's peacock, even though the pilot had aired before the change from the 11-feathered Proud N bird to today's peacock in 1986; the pilot, "Diary of a Perfect Murder," had originally aired March 3, 1986). A picture of that is attached below.

Really? That's so cool. I wonder how those got onto the DVDs. Obviously an oversight, but a happy one.

Really? That's so cool. I wonder how those got onto the DVDs. Obviously an oversight, but a happy one.

Glad you think so! I also wonder how and why they were left there. BTW, here are a couple of the stereo bumpers from MacGyver (captured from the fourth and fifth seasons [1988-90] within the Complete Collection release):

Glad you think so! I also wonder how and why they were left there. BTW, here are a couple of the stereo bumpers from MacGyver (captured from the fourth and fifth seasons [1988-90] within the Complete Collection release):

Ah yes, the one on the left is the banner I used to see sometimes on the Wonder Years repeats. Haven't seen the one on the right in years; I admit I don't remember it as well as the one on the left, or the NBC and CBS ones. Thanks for uploading those though! Those are really cool.

Mike

It's not as uncommon as you think. Years ago, I remember seeing the NBC "In Stereo" animation when Comedy Central aired SNL episodes from the mid-to-late-80s. Same for A&E reruns of Late Night with David Letterman.

FXX still keeps FOX's "In Stereo" animation on In Living Color episodes, and I imagine the same happened when FX aired the show in the 90s. Saw it on a few Married...with Children eps. too.

Can't remember what show it was, but I remember watching reruns of a show and a gold "Closed Caption" logo appeared in the corner. Might've been the In Living Color eps.

Honestly, I love when stuff like that or "We'll be right back" bumpers are retained on the reruns. It's a really cool trip down memory lane.

Retro TV sometimes misses editing out the sponsor bumper on The Doctors, meaning you get to hear Mel Brandt say "The first half of The Doctors is brought to you by the Colgate-Palmolive Company, makers of..."

The C-P logo by the late 70s look like this...

I like seeing these bumpers, too. Small Wonder reruns (esp. from the last season) sometimes include original bumpers. The local MeTV from Chgo. reruns of Silver Spoons years ago had all the bumpers from the fourth season. Reruns of Home Improvement used to have the original animated bumpers.

Some shows have bumpers that are shown in syndication, but weren't shown on the network originals. Examples: the middle break sung "Men" on Two and a Half Men, and a beginning break bumper on Everybody Loves Raymond (which used to be shown on TBS and local syndication), which probably wasn't shown on CBS.

Some WGN repeats of Newhart had previews of next week's episode.

I don't know why the producers of DVDs decide to remove this stuff. It must be a lot of trouble to remove stereo banners.

It's likely they usually aren't on the masters used for syndication or DVDs.

The "Where Available" part meant that some affiliates weren't broadcasting a stereo signal. In my area, every major station got stereo by the end of 1985, but other areas were ridiculously slow, some stations not getting it til the 90s. The text would have more accurately said "Except on stations that are too cheap to upgrade their equipment!"

The airings of In Living Color on Aspire have In Stereo Where Available intact.