WNEV-TV (CBS) Commercials - December 31, 1987

Happy New Year! Tonight, we see what was on TV on December 31st, 1987 on WNEV-TV. It’s a short one, and there are a bunch of ads we’ve seen in earlier installments, but there are a few gems here.)

0:00 to 0:19 - Beauty and the Beast/Drop-Out Mother Promo (what have I said earlier about CBS promoting the bejeezus out of B&B?
As for “Drop-Out Mother”, from the New York Times’ review: “The first new TV-movie of 1988 (it debuted January 1st), Drop-Out Mother is a belated follow-up to the 1983 Dick Van Dyke vehicle Drop-Out Father. Valerie Harper plays a busy executive who decides one day to turn her back on the business world to become a full-time mom. Problem is, her husband and kids have pretty full lives, thus they can't quite accommodate her. Wayne Rogers (ed.: RIP) plays hubby, Danny Gerard and Alyson Court are the kids, and Carol Kane is the obligatory Best Friend. Drop-Out Mother passes the time, but it's a far cry from its consistently entertaining 1983 predecessor. “http://tinyurl.com/qzn8o7r)

0:20 to 0:30 - “Dennis the Menace” promo (you wouldn’t think it, but the story of Hank Ketcham, the creator of “Dennis the Menace”, is surprisingly depressing, particularly with regards to his relationship to his son, who was the inspiration for “Dennis the Menace”. http://tinyurl.com/jb24mpz. As for the show itself, it lasted from 1986 to 1988, and Dennis himself was voiced by this guy’s older brother.    • Robin Thicke - Blurred Lines ft. T.I., Pha...  )

0:31 to 0:34 – CBSpirit Interstitial

0:35 to 0:46 – Stop the Madness CBS anti-addiction PSA feat. Angela Lansbury (as of this writing, Lansbury is now 90 years old, and is STILL acting. In fact, in 2015, she won an Olivier Award, the UK’s version of the Tonys, for her role as Madame Arcati in “Blithe Spirit”)

0:46 to 1:16 – Kudos (at 1:11, the Andy Dick Mk. 1 model)

1:16 to 1:45 - Colgate Toothpaste “Colgate Party Time” (is it just me, or are ads aimed at kids either cloyingly cute or just plain bizarre?)

1:46 to 1:56 - The Romance of Betty Boop promo (this 1985 special, which you can see here---   • Видео  ---is the last original media featuring Betty Boop in a starring role, although there are rumors that a musical is in the works.)

1:56 to 2:06 - High Mountain Rangers (1988 series starring Robert Conrad and his sons Christian and Shane about a team of LEOs specially trained in wilderness search and rescue. Here’s the opening---   • High Mountain Rangers (1988) - OPENING 1  ---and, if you click around the side bar, you can watch all 12 episodes of the show. For some reason, it spawned a 1989 spin-off called “Jesse Hawkes”, the opening for which can be seen here:    • Jesse Hawkes (1989) - OPENING  )

2:07 to 2:18 - Cotton Bowl Parade/Tournament of Roses Parade

2:19 to 2:29 - “Blackout” promo

2:30 to 2:33 - CBS Interstitial

2:34 to 3:03 - WNEV/New England News Exchange promo (Established in 1984, this was an WNEV effort to establish local news bureaus at various New England newspapers and radio stations. Though it doesn’t appear to have a website, I have found evidence that it was still in operation as late as 2014.)

3:04 to 3:33- First Night: A Celebration Promo (here’s a scary thought: the kid at 3:09 is likely pushing FORTY by now)

3:34 to 3:38 - New England News Nightbeat

3:39 to 4:09 - Halls “Halls of Medicine”

4:10 to 4:40 - Keebler Tato Skins

4:41 to 5:10 - Milky Way

5:11 to 5:40 - Cheerios (the Cheerios Kid and Sue were originally introduced in 1953, and enjoyed a brief revival in the late 80s---seen here.)

5:41 to 5:51 – CBS Special Movie: “Barnum” (1986 made for TV movie about Phineas T. Barnum---obviously. From Dennis Schwartz's 2008 review: "For a made-for-television movie, it has some fairly good production sets but lacks dramatic firepower. But for those who just want to know a little something about Barnum, the undemanding pic should satisfy."

You can actually watch the entire movie here:    • Barnum! (1986)  )

This particular airing of "Barnum" had the lowest Nielsen rating that week, coming under 2.5 million fewer viewers than the show with second lowest Nielsen rating: the "Betty Boop" special advertised in this week's collection

http://tinyurl.com/zvovktq

5:52 to 6:02 - Dennis the Menace promo (repeat)