WRAL back in the day...

[DurhamDivaInRaleigh]

Calling all old-school Triangle residents: Do you remember the shows WRAL used to produce in-house? Frog Hollow? Sparks? The Androgena Show (I think that's what it was called). All those public affairs shows they used to do (there was one with a woman named Waltye Rasulula or something like that).

I guess they're still sort of doing that sort of thing with "Gimme the Mic", but not as much as they used to.

[dmccall]

Calling all old-school Triangle residents: Do you remember the shows WRAL used to produce in-house? Frog Hollow? Sparks? The Androgena Show (I think that's what it was called). All those public affairs shows they used to do (there was one with a woman named Waltye Rasulula or something like that).

I guess they're still sort of doing that sort of thing with "Gimme the Mic", but not as much as they used to.

I got to march around on Uncle Paul. Hated Frog Hollow, though. I felt like they were talking down to us like Mr. Rogers does.

How about channel 28's Barney's Army and TV Pow!

[NcSc74]

I got to march around on Uncle Paul. Hated Frog Hollow, though. I felt like they were talking down to us like Mr. Rogers does.

How about channel 28's Barney's Army and TV Pow!

Oh hell yeah...I used watch all of them. What was that green puppets name on Frog hollow...Phocecia or something like that. I watched sparks too and wanted to be on the show.

[Eastwestrob]

I got to march around on Uncle Paul. Hated Frog Hollow, though. I felt like they were talking down to us like Mr. Rogers does.

How about channel 28's Barney's Army and TV Pow!

I marched on the Uncle Paul Show in 1970 when I was 4 years old

[Redman84]

Haha 'Sparks'

I always wanted to get into that time machine behind the steel door and magically be taken to somewhere like Pullen Park and then end up at "Shades" for a soda with friends.

[Subway Scoundrel]

Yes use to watch Uncle Paul but got a liking for the news at a early age so switched my interests over around 1969-70 and never went back to watch kid shows (Yea, I was a news junkie at 6).

But would catch Uncle Paul sometimes and amazed when I found out he was neary blind but he did wear those big heavy black glasses.

Anyone remember what time Uncle Paul came on and when it came on ?

Now this was not based in Raleigh but anyone remember Romper Room ?

[DurhamDivaInRaleigh]

How about channel 28's Barney's Army

OH MY GOSH, I thought I was the ONLY person who remembered Barney's Army! In fact, when "Barney" (purple Dinosaur) came out and I heard people talking about the show, I thought they were talking about Barney's Army. I was like, "They're bringing back THAT old show????"

I don't remember "Uncle Paul". That may be slightly ahead of my time. I think Romper Room is, too (I was born in '76).

I wish the stations would produce more local shows and things. That was a lot of fun.

[Subway Scoundrel]

I don't remember "Uncle Paul". That may be slightly ahead of my time. I think Romper Room is, too (I was born in '76).

Geeeeeeeeeezzzzzzzzzzzzz, I was in 9th grade when you were born. I know I am getting old !!!!!!!

[ncwebguy]

WRAL still produces the Brain Game in their Western Blvd Studio. I liked Greg Fichel as the host more than Mark Roberts, though. Smart Start Kids seems to have replaced the other locally produced shows. It seems WRAL favors the Nick Jr. programming block, or CBS makes them air it. The locally produced shows seemed to be generic so they could be syndicated, but weren't too educational either.

Romper Room was like (purple) Barney without the costumes. I kept hoping I would be "seen" at the end of the show, but no dice.

One of the regional wrestling federations used to film matches in the WRAL studios, with commentary edited in later.

[dmccall]

One of the regional wrestling federations used to film matches in the WRAL studios, with commentary edited in later.

I was a big Rufus R. "Freight Train" Jones fan. I quit watching when NBC started some live sketch comedy show on Saturday nights.

[Eastwestrob]

Anyone remember what time Uncle Paul came on and when it came on ?

I believe it was 6:00 am during the weekday

[rooster8]

In sixth grade we toured the WRAL studios and saw the sets from Sparks. I'd get a kick out of seeing that again.

[WanderingRaleighite]

I also remember marching with Uncle Paul, and the mere mention of Barney's Army had the Beatles' Birthday song running through my head the rest of the night. Does anyone else remember that wierd boogie that Barney used to do during that? I also recall seeing WRAL's The Peggy Mann Show when I was home sick. It was aimed at those older than me and women, so I don't remember much about it.

Slightly off topic, but if you remember these, do you also remember the little plastic single serve Pine State ice cream with the wooden paddles that we used to get?

[Redman84]

Slightly off topic, but if you remember these, do you also remember the little plastic single serve Pine State ice cream with the wooden paddles that we used to get?

I sure do. I can remember buying them at the store where Armadillo Grill is now. Man I sure do miss Pine State products!

[ChiefJoJo]

I do remember (vaguely) frog hollow, sparks, and barneys army

someone fill me in, my memory is hazy on the barneys army show

[dmccall]

Thanks for bringing up Peggy Mann. She was on WTVD at 12:30pm, after the Noon news (that was back when Larry Stogner was at WRAL wearing glasses).

Barney's Army was just a bunch of Looney Toons and Tom & Jerry and other stuff hosted by this horrible, local production filler garbage. Barney was a pen & ink (I mean, like, magic marker) cutout doll that looked a lot like Homer Simpson, but had the hair of what I imagine every guy at WPTF having (channel 28 was WPTF once Durham Life bought it and brought it to downtown Raleigh - WPTF-AM, WPTF-TV, WQDR-FM). I think Barney's legs didn't move, but his body would jiggle straight up and down while his arms flailed. His head bobbled, too.

They did this "TV Pow!" game. It was like a very poor man's Space Invaders kind of thing. Some kid would call in, they'd talk to him, and play the game. The video game gun would only fire after the kid yelled,"POW!"...and the producer in the studio would then press the fire button, so there was alway this horrible delay.

Now that we're at it, what about WKIX? I loved the Pat Patterson show in the morning. Nuthin' like Two Flags Over Fuquay. There were other radio personalities there, but the only one that really is around is Bill Leslie (now on WRAL's noon news). He wasn't playing the flute for all of us back in those days. I don't remember Rick Dees on there. He predated my memory just a bit. Believe me, Raleighing circa '76 would have gone gaga over Disco Duck's release. It was a national hit!!!

Back to WRAL. Remember how great the telethon was to watch? I mean, back when they did it all from the studios? They actually had Lee Majors there when $6M Man was in its prime.

All of this reminiscing is I kinda making me miss Adele Arakawa, Charlie Gaddy, Bob DeBardelaben, and Tom Suiter - oh wait.

[RaleighLover]

Ahhh! "Sparks"! I had forgotten all about that. That was awesome.

[DurhamDivaInRaleigh]

Slightly off topic, but if you remember these, do you also remember the little plastic single serve Pine State ice cream with the wooden paddles that we used to get?

OH MAN, I had FORGOTTEN about Pine State! Remember when "Earnest" used to do their commercials? What happened to that company?

Does anybody remember a show on WRAL called "Hour Magazine"? It was hosted by two people named Tom McNamara and Susan Dahlin.

I remember when wall-to-wall news didn't come on TV, either. I think there was a 6:00pm newscast, and that was it on most of the channels. Cosby started coming on WRAL in the eighties at 5:00pm (they had a commercial--"Flip it to 5 at 5:00 for Cosby"). Of course, the Triangle was much smaller then, and there was less news to cover.

Ah, the good old days. How times have changed.

[dmccall]

OH MAN, I had FORGOTTEN about Pine State! Remember when "Earnest" used to do their commercials? What happened to that company?

Does anybody remember a show on WRAL called "Hour Magazine"? It was hosted by two people named Tom McNamara and Susan Dahlin.

I remember when wall-to-wall news didn't come on TV, either. I think there was a 6:00pm newscast, and that was it on most of the channels. Cosby started coming on WRAL in the eighties at 5:00pm (they had a commercial--"Flip it to 5 at 5:00 for Cosby"). Of course, the Triangle was much smaller then, and there was less news to cover.

Ah, the good old days. How times have changed.

For a while in the 70's they'd run Andy Griffith at 5:00 and Gomer Pyle at 5:30.

That was "PM Magazine". I think it started around 1980. It was a national package product that stations would buy and plug in their local talent and a few local features here and there. I saw Tom McNamera on TV in Greensboro about 10 years ago. It looks like he's in Tucson, AZ, now:

http://www.kvoa.com/Global/story.asp?S=144...=menu216_19_1_8

Susan Dahlin was really big in WRAL's HD push. I don't know what she is currently into.

[Jerseyman4]

In sixth grade we toured the WRAL studios and saw the sets from Sparks. I'd get a kick out of seeing that again.

I also went on a tour when i was in the 7th grade but not for Sparks. I met Renee McCoy and Mike Moss but not Bill Leslie or Mike Maze

[Subway Scoundrel]

Now that we're at it, what about WKIX? I loved the Pat Patterson show in the morning. Nuthin' like Two Flags Over Fuquay. There were other radio personalities there, but the only one that really is around is Bill Leslie (now on WRAL's noon news). He wasn't playing the flute for all of us back in those days. I don't remember Rick Dees on there. He predated my memory just a bit. Believe me, Raleighing circa '76 would have gone gaga over Disco Duck's release. It was a national hit!!!

Oh yes, I remember Pat Patterson. Lizard Lick ! He owned morning radio in the triangle. Now, if we are going down memory lane, anybody remember WQDR when it first came on? I think it was the first album oriented rock radio station in the country (could be wrong)? It got people to leave AM. It was great. Sometime around 1974 or 1976. Raleigh had such great local radio until it call got bought out and programmed out of NY and Texas.

Also, I remember WPTF before all the syndicated right wing talk shows. I remember the talk shows (Bart Ritner and several guys before him) would not let you talk about religion but could talk about other things and he was neutral. Boy those days don't exist anymore. Also on WPTF, before ESPN or the internet, they had a show on after the college football games on Saturday where you would call in for scores of other football games. That is the only way you could find out who won games around the country or you had to wait until the next day if it was in the N&O.

[DurhamDivaInRaleigh]

I ran into Bart Ritner about a year or two ago at the Border's bookstore on Six Forks Road...I think he had just retired, or was getting ready to. I recognized his voice INSTANTLY. I told him I had been listening to him, Maury O'Dell, Lowell Shoemaker and to WPTF for YEARS. I remember when they used to play music! Bart was shocked, because here was a young, African-American female in her twenties saying that she'd been "listening for years"...but my grandfather listened to the station, and then my mom. I remember them having it on around the house.

Every Saturday, they'd have a show called "Ask Your Neighbor", and it was sort of like a flea market-type deal, where people would call and tell what they had to sell and give their telephone numbers.

My dad said that WAAAAAAAAYYYYYY back in the day, people would call and dedicate songs to their college sweethearts on the station.

[RaleighLover]

OH MAN, I had FORGOTTEN about Pine State! Remember when "Earnest" used to do their commercials? What happened to that company?

Pine State went under many years ago, which is especially sad since it was a North Carolina-based company with their HQ in Raleigh.

Slightly off topic, but if you remember these, do you also remember the little plastic single serve Pine State ice cream with the wooden paddles that we used to get?

Those were the days.

[dmccall]

Randy Gupton's blog has some good news:

(West Raleigh, NC) -- The Action News 5 Team is coming together again. Well ... sort of. Legendary Anchors Charlie Gaddy, Bobbie Battista, Bob DeBardelaben, and Tom Suiter will anchor WRAL's 6 o'clock News on Friday, November 17, 2006.

The only one missing from the party: former sports anchor Rich Brenner. He left WRAL in 1982 for a disastorous turn in Chicago. Later, Brenner would go head-to-head with WRAL when he returned to the Triangle via WTVD-11 Eyewitness News....

[DurhamDivaInRaleigh]

That is SO cool! That must be a ploy for the November sweeps...well, it's working, because I plan on watching!

They should use an OLD graphic open, along with theme music...and dig up some old commercials, too, to make the experience more authentic.