Welcome to TV Garth!

Ever since I was a kid, I loved antennas and TV reception. It was always a thrill to hook up an antenna and see what stations I could get, and see if I could pick up anything from a far distance. With the transition to digital broadcasting happening, my love for OTA (over the air) reception came back and this blog will focus on what channels I'm able to receive via antenna from my home just outside of Toronto, Canada. Plus there may be occasional commentaries on shows that I see while adjusting my reception.

Monday, May 28, 2012

Reception Reports: January-February 2012

Greetings TV Garth readers! Before the current tropo season gets too wild, I wanted to start with a look back at the earliest part of 2012. So sit back, grab a snack and get ready for a reception report covering January through February 2012!

January 1, 2012

The new year kicked off with the wonderful addition of Antenna TV as a subchannel to Buffalo, NY's WGRZ (RF33.) Antenna TV has an awesome mix of classic shows and feature films.

2012-01-01

January 3, 2012

My jaw dropped when I caught this AMAZING local ad on Buffalo's WIVB (RF39.) If you file with EG Tax, there's a fairy good chance you'll get a decent refund!

2012-01-03

January 6, 2012

Batavia, NY's ION station WPXJ (RF23) sometimes floats in briefly during the Winter. In Nowhere To Run, Jean-Claude Van Damme clearly wasn't listening to the old adage about keeping your shirt on.

2012-01-06

January 7, 2012

Sometimes at night when I'm curled up in bed, I'm inexplicably drawn to the Country Network subchannel on Buffalo, NY's WUTV (RF14-2.) I've seen some pretty wacky videos on there, including Toby Keith's "Red Solo Cup" pictured below.

2012-01-07

The Red Solo Cup felt a tad more ominous during a PBS documentary on binge drinking that I caught about a month later on Rochester, NY's WXXI (RF16.)

2012-02-20

January 14, 2012

I can't believe it! Tastes Like Butter is possibly the best moniker for margarine I've ever seen! I stumbled across this during an episode of Our Daily Bread on Buffalo, NY's WKBW (RF38.)

2012-01-14

January 14, 2012

Toronto, ON's TVO (RF19) featured The Interviews: Genderbenders with the fabulous Enza Anderson and others discussing the films Priscilla: Queen Of The Desert and Hedwig & The Angry Inch.

2012-01-14

January 15, 2012

Buffalo, NY's WGRZ (RF33) reminded viewers about Martin Luther King Jr. day with this striking advertisement.

2012-01-15

January 27, 2012

Buffalo, NY's WIVB (RF39) had the hunky Joe Arena reporting on the Toronto teens who sent a Lego man towards space, with a camera capturing the entire journey!

2012-01-27

February 1, 2012

Speaking of WIVB, they finally switched to HD news and unveiled their new set at the beginning of February. Don Paul, Jacquie Walker and Don Postles were all looking sharp that night!

2012-02-01

February 3, 2012

There were some neat Super Bowl "alternatives" being promoted, such as Cool TV's Madonnathon airing at the same time as the big game. (Seen on Buffalo, NY's WNYO subchannel, RF49-2.)

2012-02-03

WGRZ's Antenna TV (RF33-2) was also counter programming football's big event with their "Emotional Bowl" featuring romantic movies.

2012-02-03

February 4, 2012

Nothing beats seeing "presidents" dance the running man to a faux version of 90s hit The Power! For that, I salute you Value City Furniture! (Seen via Buffalo, NY's WGRZ subchannel Antenna TV, RF33-2.)

2012-02-04

February 5, 2012

For the last few years I've been lucky enough to catch the Super Bowl over-the-air and see the American commercials! I caught this year's event on Buffalo, NY's NBC affiliate WGRZ (RF33.)

2012-02-05

I had a lot of Faith that it would be a good game, despite the upHill battle both teams faced in their quest for the title!

2012-02-05

Commercials I enjoyed included the Elton John & Melanie Amaro Pepsi ad, NBC's Voice promo with Betty White, and a Jay Leno / Madonna elevator scene (with Jay's Like A Virgin ringtone going off) pictured below.

2012-02-05

Madonna put on a FIERCE Halftime show, which was so intense she apparently stepped on Nicki Minaj with one of her stiletto boots!

2012-02-05

WGRZ debuted their own Super Bowl ad with inspiring montages of Buffalo set to the Goo Goo Dolls song "Better Days." I loved that the scene below shows the area my pals and I have stayed in during our Buffalo excursions! (Salsarita's anyone?)

2012-02-05
2012-02-05

I also enjoyed the station ID bugs that came on screen for WGRZ during the game!

2012-02-05

February 6, 2012

The day after the Super Bowl, I caught a wave of Southwestern Ontario tropo including London's CFPL (RF10) with anchor Sean Irvine below!

2012-02-06

Kitchener, ON's CKCO (RF13) made an appearance with the Divatastic Marci Ien and sexy Omar Sachedina anchoring Canada AM.

2012-02-06

Back on London's CFPL (RF10) Melissa Schenk was crying fowl when folks said her Weather Headlines were for the birds.

2012-02-06

There's comfort in the fact that all cities across North America have low budget pharmacy commercials! Here's a peek at Coulter's Pharmacy and Home Health Care in London!

2012-02-06

CFPL's sports anchor Brent Lale delivers a report on the London Knights, though the signal was joust about ready to fade out at this point!

2012-02-06

February 14, 2012

I totally heart the headgear worn by Jaclyn Asztalos during the Valentine's Day newscast on Buffalo, NY's WKBW (RF38.)

2012-02-14

February 16, 2012

I was very happy to get a pinch of Rochester, NY tropo in February! PBS outlet WXXI (RF16) made their pledge drive literal with a request for vehicle donations!

2012-02-16

Check out the trippy set for WXXI's original program Assignment The World.

2012-02-16

I caught a neat vintage WXXI logo which appeared before a repeat of their 1980s show Fins, Feathers and Fur (not to be confused with certain fetish bars.)

2012-02-16

Sadly, the legendary Whitney Houston passed away in February, and Buffalo's WIVB (RF39) along with several other networks did live coverage of her funeral.

2012-02-16

February 20, 2012

Billy Crystal (seen below on Buffalo's WKBW, RF38) was back as host of the Academy Awards (tm)! This is as good a place as any to mention that my pal Adam hosts a mean Oscar (tm) party every year!

2012-02-20

Even the car commercials get my motor going when I catch Rochester, NY in February! Here's WUHF (RF28) with an ad for Vision Ford in Greece.

2012-02-20

The infomerical on WUHF (RF28) was for "No No" but I screamed "Yes Yes" when I saw the model featured below.

2012-02-20

WUHF (RF28) also showed a great promo for the 18th Annual Camp Fair! Surprisingly, RuPaul and John Waters were not scheduled as guests for the Camp Fair.

2012-02-20

February 21, 2012

A nice "Golden Givers" promo with Maureen McGuire popped up on WUHF!

2012-02-21

WXXI World (RF16-2) was showing a documentary about people selling seafood on beaches. Apparently size matters to some crabby beach goers, as pictured below...

2012-02-21

February 23, 2012

WGRZ's Antenna TV (RF33-2) often shows late night movies I get roped into. It's no Secret that I love Madonna, so I Cherish-ed seeing the tail end of "Bloodhounds of Broadway."

2012-02-23

February 24, 2012

I stumbled across a Canadian talk show airing on Buffalo, NY's WUTV (RF14) on Friday nights at 1am. WUTV has long courted Canadian audiences, so it made sense they'd air The Jay Stoyan Show with Ashlee Monroe! (Part of me wondered if it was to compete with CHCH's locally produced talk show Being Frank.)

2012-02-24

The show featured the awesomely titled "Stop, Drop and Roll" performed by a band called US! Watch the video here!

2012-02-24

February 27, 2012

If you weren't big on the Academy Awards (tm) Buffalo, NY's WGRZ (RF33) featured an adorable alternative titled the PAWscars!

2012-02-27

That wraps up my recap of the beginning of 2012! Stay tuned for madness in March with Rochester, Syracuse, Utica and Erie all making appearances!