Greetings TV Garth readers! After a long delay, I'm finally looking back at all the over-the-air TV mayhem viewed at my home in Markham, Ontario, Canada from Jan-March 2016! Here are the anchors, anecdotes and antenna reception I saw!
Jan. 1, 2016:
- Buffalo, NY, 4.1 WIVB (RF39)...Credit goes to Nalina Shapiro for her reports being on the money!
- Buffalo, NY, 2.1 WGRZ (RF33)...Entertainment Tonight revisited the impact of Ellen Degeneres’ coming out, including the Ellen episode that still resonates today! (Check out some awesome analyses from Decider’s Brett White and A.V. Club.)
Jan. 5, 2016:
- Buffalo, NY, 2.1 WGRZ (RF33)...Speaking of “out”, Kathie Lee & Hoda were talking to hunky, openly gay Cheyenne Jackson!
Jan. 8, 2016:
- Buffalo, NY, 7.1 WKBW (RF38)...Buffalo’s ABC ran promos for Ashley Rowe, who joined the station after leaving Toronto’s CFTO!
- Buffalo, NY, 29.1 WUTV (RF14)...Crazy Talk chatted up the fabulous Michelle Visage from musical group Seduction and RuPaul’s Drag Race! My pal Mr. A and I were lucky enough to meet her at the 2015 RPDR: Battle Of The Seasons tour in Toronto!
Jan. 21, 2016:
- Buffalo, NY, 7.1 WKBW (RF38)...I was excited to see Ali Touhey join WKBW after seeing her for years on Rochester’s WROC!
- Buffalo, NY, 2.1 WGRZ (RF33)...Human Nature appeared on Today! Back in 2010, I saw them greeting fans in a Las Vegas lobby as I waited to see Divas Las Vegas!
Jan. 22, 2016:
- Buffalo, NY, 2.1 WGRZ (RF33)...Lilly Singh (aka Superwoman) was a guest on the Tonight Show and hails from Scarborough/Markham! (She also did an Ellen dance dare at my local mall!)
Even with the decline of music video channels to promote artists, I love discovering cool groups like St. Lucia through TV performances! (Bonus points for the Sade shirt on the lead singer!)
Jan. 27, 2016:
- Toronto, ON, 5.1 CBLT (RF20)...Toronto’s legendary Michelle DuBarry entered the 2015 Guinness Book of World Records as the World’s Oldest Performing Drag Queen!
I got a picture with Michelle during World Pride 2014, and her sash is promoting True Davidson Acres, a long term care provider for seniors!
Jan. 29, 2016:
- Buffalo, NY, 7.1 WKBW (RF38)...Linda Pellegrino and handsome Dharshan Jayasinghe promoted the Go Red for Women Luncheon!
Jan. 31, 2016:
- Buffalo, NY, 7.1 WKBW (RF38)...I loved The Real O’Neals for being a funny and moving look at how a gay teen navigates the aftermath of coming out to his family.
- Buffalo, NY, 29.1 WUTV (RF14)...Carly Rae Jepsen, of Canadian Idol fame, sort of came full circle appearing on American Idol’s network FOX as part of Grease: Live!
Feb. 5, 2016:
- Buffalo, NY, 7.1 WKBW (RF38)...Ed Drantch, Katie Morse, Andy Parker and Autumn Lewandowski led a caffeinated start to the morning!
Feb. 6, 2016:
- Buffalo, NY, 7.2 LAFF [WKBW] (RF38.2)...Hello Dolly! Shirley you jest if you thought Ms. Parton couldn’t deliver the Straight Talk audiences craved!
Feb. 7, 2016:
- Jamestown, NY, 26.3 WNYBSD2 (RF26.3)...I really can’t argue with the sentiment below!
- Buffalo, NY, 4.1 WIVB (RF39)...Beyonce’s performance of Formation is all you need to know about The Big Game: 2016!
There was also a tribute to Whitney Houston’s iconic performance of the national anthem during the halftime show!
I’ve often crawled into bed with CBS, but never imagined it looking quite like this!
WIVB flashed back to Jacquie Walker’s early 90s Buffalo Bills coverage. (Check out that vintage “4” on her jacket!) Walker was on hand with Don Postles to report on the 2016 game.
Feb. 13, 2016:
- Buffalo, NY, 2.1 WGRZ (RF33)...The awesome Heather Ly anchored Daybreak Saturday!
- Buffalo, NY, 7.2 LAFF [WKBW] (RF38.2)...Playing By Heart was Burstyn with stars, including Gillian Anderson and Jon Stewart, plus Jay Mohr, Angelina Jolie and many more!
In a very special episode of Night Court, Dan (John Larroquette) is shocked when a gay man (Jack Riley) hits on him! Check out an in depth recap by Decider’s Brett White!
Feb. 15, 2016:
- Buffalo, NY, 4.1 WIVB (RF39)...The Weeknd was seen…er…on the weekend during the Grammy Awards!
Feb. 22, 2016:
- Buffalo, NY, 2.1 WGRZ (RF33)...I first saw Blake McCoy during a vacation in Las Vegas, and he has since become a national correspondent for NBC!
Feb. 24, 2016:
- Buffalo, NY, 2.1 WGRZ (RF33)...Last Call With Carson Daly showcased musical guest Luna, with Britta Phillips on bass and vocals! (Britta was the singing voice of 80s icon Jem, alongside Samantha Newark as the speaking voice! I was lucky enough to meet both at JemCon 2010!)
Speaking of Jem, Christina Aguilera’s hair was Truly Outrageous and taking up a quarter of the screen in NBC’s promo for The Voice!
Feb. 27, 2016:
- Buffalo, NY, 49.1 WNYO (RF49)...Mark McLean of Rochester’s WHAM/WUHF provided a weather update for sister station WNYO!
March 6, 2016:
- Buffalo, NY, 49.4 GetTV [WNYO] (RF49.4)...CBS’ Made-For-TV biopic Lucy had a lot of ‘splaining to do about Lucille Ball’s life!
- Buffalo, NY, 2.1 WGRZ (RF33)...As the US election loomed, I found myself becoming addicted to shows like Meet The Press with Chuck Todd!
March 7, 2016:
- Buffalo, NY, 7.1 WKBW (RF38)...Ashley Rowe, who just moved to the US from Canada, reported on people wanting to do the opposite!
March 11, 2016:
- Toronto, ON, 41.1 CIII (RF41)...The Morning Show was revamped and Carolyn Mackenzie and Liem Vu were the new regulars!
- Buffalo, NY, 2.1 WGRZ (RF33)...The multifaceted Carl Lam began appearing on Channel 2 with traffic updates and would later fill in on weather too!
At first I didn’t realize this was the cake making song from Lazytown that spawned of a ton of (raunchy) remixes and parodies!
- Flint, MI, 28.2 WCMZ-28 (RF28.2)...Long distance reception really began to spread its wings that evening!
- Detroit, MI, 20.2 WMYD-AT (RF21.2)...This was my first time seeing WMYD after Antenna TV replaced their Cozi subchannel!
- Detroit, MI, 4.2 This TV [WDIV] (RF45.2)...WDIV was the first of three Elite stations on RF45 to visit that evening!
- Alliance, OH, 45.1 WNEO (RF45)...A short time later Alliance, OH’s PBS affiliate was able to OutSmart Detroit’s WDIV!
- Kalamazoo, MI, 64.1 WLLA (RF45)...However, Michigan took a Cebria and snuck back in via Kalamazoo’s WLLA!
March 12, 2016:
- Erie, PA, 12.1 WICU (RF12)...An Ellen promo featured a intimate glimpse of Hello My Name Is Doris with Sally Field and Max Greenfield!
I loved seeing a classic WICU ID, complete with a bug left over from the 2006-2012 era when NBC aired qubo kids shows!
- Cleveland, OH, 61.1 WQHS (RF34)...Enrique Acevedo delivered the latest noticias on rallies where protestors tried in vain to deliver positive messages (“Liberation, Not Deportation”) amidst the ugly divisiveness.
I really wish the resistance movement kept up this level of exuberance and joie de vivre! (In all seriousness, these people rock my socks!)
- Rochester, NY, 10.3 WHEC-WX (RF10.3)...I needed these peaceful, tranquil views after getting into arguments with folks about the conservative rallies.
- Rochester, NY, 10.1 WHEC (RF10)...Longtime anchor Janet Lomax appeared in a News10NBC promo! (She retired later that year!)
March 16, 2016:
- Buffalo, NY, 2.1 WGRZ (RF33)...Melissa Holmes and Maria Genero Laff’d like a comedic subchannel during Daybreak!
- Buffalo, NY, 4.1 WIVB (RF39)...Channel 4’s March Madness contest was nothing but net (because you had to visit WIVB.com for details!)
March 17, 2016:
- Buffalo, NY, 4.1 WIVB (RF39)...When March Madness bounces in, I always feel like Spring is just around the corner!
March 20, 2016:
- Buffalo, NY, 4.1 WIVB (RF39)...However, I cried foul when WIVB’s graphics made the basketball tournament look like a scary Afterschool Special!
Thankfully the fun was restored with Marissa Perlman’s report on St. Patrick’s Day festivities!
- Toronto, ON, 25.1 CBLFT (RF25)...La Vie De Rosie offered an inside look at young interns working with Lady Gaga!
- Buffalo, NY, 7.2 LAFF [WKBW] (RF38.2)...Jessica Simpson was Irresistible in Private Valentine: Blonde & Dangerous alongside Vivica A. Fox and Cheri Oteri chewing scenery! (Spoiler alert – there’s a also a subplot with Jessica’s manager having an affair with her boyfriend!)
March 21, 2016:
- Buffalo, NY, 4.1 WIVB (RF39)...This Brittni wasn’t one of Jessica Simpson’s early 2000s rivals, but Ms. Smallwood is fab in her own right!
- Buffalo, NY, 2.1 WGRZ (RF33)...I was flabbergasted that Paul Reubens looked virtually the same as his Pee Wee’s Playhouse days! (He was promoting his Netflix film Pee-wee’s Big Holiday where he makes Magic with Joe Manganiello!)
March 22, 2016:
- Hamilton, ON, 11.1 CHCH (RF15)...Channel 11 had an awkward reunion with Donna Skelly after she was elected to represent Hamilton’s Ward 7! (Skelly was let go from CHCH in the horrendous layoffs of 2015.)
March 22, 2016:
Bob Cowan and Annette Hamm survived the Dec. 2015 nightmare and continued hosting Morning Live!
March 25, 2016:
- Toronto, ON, 19.1 TVO (RF19)...Darren Thomas was a guest on The Agenda for the episode Inspiring Aboriginal Learners!
March 26, 2016:
- Buffalo, NY, 29.1 WUTV (RF14)...The divatastic Yolanda Vega promoted the New York Lottery drawings on FOX 29!
- Buffalo, NY, 7.1 WKBW (RF38)...7 ABC advertised their Dyngus Day Diary: Polonia on Parade special!
- Buffalo, NY, 4.1 WIVB (RF39)...Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) finally made her live action big screen debut in Superman Vs. Batman!
- Buffalo, NY, 49.1 WNYO (RF49)...Wonder Woman also briefly appeared in Desperately Seeking Susan alongside Madonna in animated form!
March 29, 2016:
- Buffalo, NY, 7.1 WKBW (RF38)...ABC’s World News Now did a story about hockey legend Gordie Howe’s 88th Birthday!
When I was a kid, my Dad got Mr. Hockey’s autograph for me and it was a special fixture on our fridge for many years!
- Buffalo, NY, 2.1 WGRZ (RF33)...Kevin O’Neill did a Celebrate WNY story about Record Theatre, which I had just discovered during a road trip with friends in late 2015! (When we were there, I picked up Kylie Christmas and the fabulous DVD The Way He Looks!)
March 30, 2016:
- Rochester, NY, 31.1 WUHF (RF28)...Valerie Harper was the keynote speaker at the Champions of Hope Dinner in Rochester!
- Rochester, NY, 8.1 WROC (RF45)...Stacey Pensgen, Mark Gruba and Allison Warren were off to a gr8 start that morning!
Amy Young introduced a story about the “Fight For $15” movement to raise the minimum wage in New York State!
Stay tuned to TV Garth for more cheery channel chasing!
