CHCH TV has finally released their daytime retro fall schedule (late as usual) and it seems very disappointing without any surprises except near the end. Nothing there is new. Just a few shows that are coming back after a short spring and summer break and a few others that shouldn't be there at all. The full lineup is found here in the latest fall media kit:

CHCH Fall Media Kit 2024 - PAGE 32 (https://www.chch.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/media.pdf)

This is what the lineup will look like starting in mid-September:

10:00 AM MATLOCK

The show that refuses to die is back to ruin your mornings!

11:00 THE DICK VAN DYKE SHOW (New time - one hour later)

11:30 I DREAM OF JEANNIE

The one bright spot in the schedule. I'll be very happy to watch this again after "The Brady Bunch" ends in about a month from now.

12:00 PM THE AVENGERS (Seasons 2-6) (New time - moves from 4:00 pm)

This series replaces "Pictionary" which I am hoping is gone for good. It starts from Season 2 because I have read that all Season 1 episodes, except for a couple, are all lost and have disappeared and have never been made available for viewing. It's too bad they had to stop there. Would "Get Smart" not have made for a better alternative?

1:00 HOGAN'S HEROES

1:30 LAVERNE AND SHIRLEY

Two good series that return after a short absence. I'm wondering if they would have been better off showing them at the noon hour and have "The Avengers" come on at 1 pm. That would have made for a nice comedy block in the late morning hours.

2:00 SILVER SPOONS

2;30 THE FACTS OF LIFE

3:00 FAMILY TIES

A nice 1980s group that first showed up last fall and return for another cycle because it seems there was nothing better available.

3:30 THE ODD COUPLE

The only series that hasn't moved from its current time slot.

4:00 MAD ABOUT YOU

4:30 NEWSRADIO

Back by popular demand, which proves that CHCH will listen to you once in a while! It will be interesting to see if it will be shown from the beginning or if it will pick up from Season 4 where it left off.

5:00 TO BE ANNOUNCED

This one puzzles me! They can go in any direction here but I predict that they will probably play it safe. This is where the guessing games begin. Go ahead and see what you can come up with. Will they opt for the predictable ("Cheers", "Happy Days", "Three's Company"), the dull and disappointing ("Dynasty", "Love Boat", "Trending Live", or other CHCH local shows) or the surprising and even fun stuff ("Bewitched", "Gilligan's Island")? I'm really praying for the third option but I'm sadly expecting one of the others. I'll let you know what they come up with and see how long the rest of the schedule lasts.

There is something I have been wondering about.

The Mary Tyler Moore Show was a staple for the first few years. When it was a staple, most of the cast was still living. As we classic TV fans know, about half the cast died in 2021. I wonder now if this station is hesitant showing this show with almost everyone (minus Gordy & Murray's wife) deceased. Instead of MTM, we had a few runs of That Girl.

Bewitched and I Dream of Jeannie were also staples. Now, IDOJ is in the Matlock category (never goes away), while Bewitched hasn't been on in years.

Before NewsRadio was taken off abruptly, the other shows that were taken off that way were long running hour long shows - Hawaii 5-0, Bonanza & the Love Boat. My Three Sons stopped early in Season 8.

There is something I have been wondering about.

The Mary Tyler Moore Show was a staple for the first few years. When it was a staple, most of the cast was still living. As we classic TV fans know, about half the cast died in 2021. I wonder now if this station is hesitant showing this show with almost everyone (minus Gordy & Murray's wife) deceased. Instead of MTM, we had a few runs of That Girl.

Bewitched and I Dream of Jeannie were also staples. Now, IDOJ is in the Matlock category (never goes away), while Bewitched hasn't been on in years.

Before NewsRadio was taken off abruptly, the other shows that were taken off that way were long running hour long shows - Hawaii 5-0, Bonanza & the Love Boat. My Three Sons stopped early in Season 8.

I've always thought it was just about cost to air and also partially about what shows get the best ratings.

This schedule makes it look like whoever is programming the daytime schedule doesn't care at all & will just air most of the same shows they aired last fall & winter this fall & winter. Only good news for me is no Pictionary.

The 5 o'clock spot could be anything. I always guess wrong, the only shows I guessed right about for this fall were Matlock & Laverne & Shirley, because those shows are never gone for long.

I wonder if they might do the news earlier or just air Cheers and Happy Days like they have done for a long time.

It is now official! The fall schedule will begin on Labor Day Monday Sept. 2nd with the lineup that I described above. "The Dick Van Dyke Show", "The Odd Couple", "The Avengers", and "Newsradio" will continue where they left off in the summer. All other series will start from the beginning. Now the bad news:

The 5:00 pm hour will be filled by local shows "Nightline" and "Trending Now" and that has left me very disappointed. You can see the full schedule here:

CHCH - Monday Sept. 2 - Fall Premieres (https://www.tvpassport.com/tv-listings/stations/chch-hamilton-on/43/2024-09-02)

Really not a fan of this schedule. I was tired of Silver Spoons, Facts of Life and family ties. They must not have a lot of options. I was hoping for a nice surprise.

A bit strange that CHCH can't even stick to the schedule they provided in the media kit, they've moved shows around and left out shows that were on the schedule they provided. "Three's Company" instead of "Laverne & Shirley," "Pictionary" and no "Avengers." The only shows in the afternoon at the times previously announced are "Hogan's Heroes" and "Newsradio."

Other Canadian channels seem to have added older shows to their schedules starting in September.

According to upcoming TV listings:

CMT has added "Becker" and "Wings" to their schedule.

DejaView has added "Caroline in the City," "Taxi," "Mork & Mindy" and "Dear John."

A pleasant surprise and a change from their usual repeated shows.

So there are new "retro" options on other channels that haven't aired elsewhere in a while.

"The Avengers" are now showing at 12 pm instead of "Pictionary" as of today.

Pictionary has been on exactly for 2 years. That is why it is not until the 2nd week of September that it is gone. I am thinking Pictionary maybe had a contract for 2 years.

UPDATE: November 2024

Here's a quick schedule change that I didn't see coming. Starting this week, "Knight Rider" will now be seen at 4:00 pm. It was David Hasselhoff's first major series before "Baywatch", which I would have preferred to watch instead.

This Monday is Remembrance Day, so the morning schedule will look a little different for that day only. "Matlock" will be pre-empted (Yay!) and "The Dick Van Dyke Show" will be on at 10:00 am followed by a Remembrance Day Mass from Hamilton. Once it ends, "I Dream Of Jeannie" will be shown at its normal 11:30 am time. The bad news is that you still get to see "Knight Rider" at 4.

If you would like to watch CHCH's shows online, the station and its company Channel Zero will soon be launching a new free FAST TV channel called Parrot TV which will have live TV feeds from CHCH and other channels like Silver Screen Classics, Rewind, and many others, including many more on demand channels. I will have further details once I learn more about it.

Parrot TV Preview (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzNI3xEFYx4)

I was bored with Family Ties so its doesn't bother me. I think the the Odd Couple will be over soon won't it? lets cross our fingers with something good to replace it.

The last episode of "The Odd Couple" airs next week but according to the schedule CHCH will just start airing the show again from the beginning.

CHCH did the same with "Newsradio" but that didn't last long.

With the way CHCH just dumped "Family Ties" and "Newsradio" in the middle of airing both series, it seems that any show could go at any time.