Greetings TV Garth readers! In June 1997, my parents and I began the process of moving to our home in Markham! One of the first things I did was haul a small TV with me to test out reception at the new place!
Nearly twenty years later, the tradition continued as I quickly set up a TV and antenna when I began moving into my own place! Andrew Baglini was there, via Buffalo’s WNLO, to welcome me to my new digs!
Here’s a look back at my over-the-air adventures split between my two homes in Markham, Ontario, Canada from December 2016 through January 2017! There was an unusual burst of Winter tropo from Erie, PA as well as Rochester and Syracuse, NY! I was also able to preview the advantages of catching signals from the upper floor of my new building! (Hello Detroit and Cleveland!) Stay tuned for anchors, anecdotes and antenna reception, oh my!
Dec. 25, 2016 - New House:
- Cleveland, OH, 61.1 WQHS (RF34)...I was totally ready to hop on the bus and ride the surprise wave of Cleveland and Detroit reception!
- Detroit, MI, 4.2 This TV [WDIV] (RF45)...I adored The Secret of NIMH when I was young, so it was neat to see This airing on TV!
- Detroit, MI, 4.3 Me TV [WDIV] (RF45)...Laverne & Shirley were appropriately festive for Christmas Day! (As a kid, I stuck cardboard “L”s on my shirts and wanted to be called Shirley. I even tried milk & Pepsi!)
Getting “Local 4” in December was a treat and gave me hope for future tropo events! (My balcony faces West/SW and the added height is a big advantage!)
Jan. 1, 2017:
- Toronto, ON, 5.1 CBLT (RF20)...Handsome Dan Levy was engaging in some “afternoon delight” according to this Schitt’s Creek promo!
Jan. 2, 2017:
- Buffalo, NY, 2.1 WGRZ (RF33)...New Year’s greetings were on our side courtesy of Channel 2!
Jan. 4, 2017 – New House:
- Buffalo, NY, 23.1 WNLO (RF32)...Access Hollywood Live talked about James Corden’s tribute to George Michael and how their 2011 Comic Relief skit led to Carpool Karaoke!
Moving into my own place seemed pretty “adult,” but I felt really old when I saw Jonathan Lipnicki from Jerry Maguire all grown up with abs!
Jan. 5, 2017:
- Buffalo, NY, 4.1 WIVB (RF39)...Brittni Smallwood and Jordan Williams displayed the 4mula 4 success on Wake Up!
Jan. 6, 2017:
- Buffalo, NY, 7.1 WKBW (RF38)...Kendis Gibson and Diane Macedo helped celebrate the 25th Anniversary of ABC’s World News Now with some of the show’s past personalities!
Jan. 8, 2017 – New House:
- Buffalo, NY, 7.2 LAFF [WKBW] (RF38)...The In-Laws starred Maria Ricossa, who was my professor at UTSC back in 2000-2001! Check out a pic I took of Maria (alongside Kevin Wright) during that era!
Jan. 8, 2017:
- Buffalo, NY, 17.1 WNED (RF43)...Independent Lens allowed viewers to Meet The Patels! (I already knew Ravi from sitcoms like Grandfathered!)
Jan. 10, 2017:
- Buffalo, NY, 2.1 WGRZ (RF33)...Stephanie Barnes reported on Barack Obama’s Farewell Address!
Jan. 11, 2017:
- Buffalo, NY, 2.1 WGRZ (RF33)...Jimmy Fallon hosted an all-star line up of guests including Dave Chappelle, Jerry Seinfeld, Stevie Wonder and Michelle Obama!
Jan. 13, 2017:
- Buffalo, NY, 7.2 LAFF [WKBW] (RF38)...Season 5 of Ellen brought in Laurie (Lisa Darr) as a love interest for DeGeneres’ character! Check out AV Club’s fabulous interview and recap about a pivotal episode!
Jan. 15, 2017 – New House:
- Buffalo, NY, 7.1 WKBW (RF38)...Buffalo reception was a bit of a struggle at my new place, so I was happy to have Don Paul, Hannah Buehler and Nick Filipowski visit!
- Barrie, ON, 3.1 CKVR (RF10)...On the other hand, CKVR was Barrie hard to catch from my old house, but pretty easy from the new one! Mike Arsalides, Heather Butts and Brandon Gonez anchored that evening!
Jan. 16, 2017:
- Erie, PA, 12.1 WICU (RF12)...David Wolter, Kara Coleman and Mark Soliday were on hand for Erie News Now!
- Erie, PA, 12.3 WSEE (RF12)...It was great to SEE this localized promo for CBS Sunday Morning, plus an Erie News Now station ID!
- Erie, PA, 12.1 WICU (RF12)...Chris Carroll was reporting for ENN that morning!
Voices For Independence is a non-profit organization that “empowers people with disabilities.”
- Erie, PA, 12.2 MeTV [WICU] (RF12)...I Love Lucy was on MeTV, which replaced WICU’s CW subchannel back in 2016! (They also had some ‘splaining to do about the station ID appearing as “EICU 12.2”!)
- Erie, PA, 12.1 WICU (RF12)...This Winter themed station ID totally melted me, despite the frosty imagery!
I rode this tropo like I was on one of the bucking broncos at Fredonia, PA’s Sundance Arena Rodeo!
The fabulous Tamron Hall and Willie Geist anchored the Today Show that morning! (Unfortunately, Hall left NBC a few weeks later.)
- Buffalo, NY, 49.4 GetTV [WNYO] (RF49)...Cher was wigging out and sassing around with David Bowie on her eponymous variety show!
- Rochester, NY, 31.2 ANTENNA [WUHF] (RF28)...Mr. Belvedere’s opinions were glaringly apparent in this episode!
- Rochester, NY, 21.1 WXXI (RF16)...Before Mark Consuelos played Veronica Lodge’s father on Riverdale, he was steaming up showers on Connect With English!
Jan. 17, 2017:
- Rochester, NY, 13.1 WHAM (RF13)...Speaking of steamy, Gio Benitez was anchoring America This Morning with Diane Macedo!
- Rochester, NY, 21.1 WXXI (RF16)...This vintage 90s PBS logo totally spiced up my life!
- Syracuse, NY, 68.1 WSYT (RF19)...Syracuse in Winter is rare, and FOX 68 is usually blocked by Toronto’s TVO! (I’m guessing TVO shut down their transmitter for maintenance.) Either way I was stunned and happy my antenna could Reach Out to CNY’s signal!
You’d have to be a real heel not to support Ralph Rotella’s annual footwear drive at Discount Shoe Repair to benefit Rescue Mission!
I grew up watching Jerry Springer in the 90s, so it’s nostalgic to see him still giving his “Final Thought” at the end of an episode!
WSYT also promoted a “Mr. Food” segment with Howard Rosenthal!
- Toronto, ON, 19.1 TVO (RF19)...A little after 6AM, WSYT disappeared when Toronto’s TVO returned to the airwaves!
- Buffalo, NY, 4.1 WIVB (RF39)...Billy Eichner told Stephen Colbert about his unique performance ideas for the presidential inauguration!
- Buffalo, NY, 2.1 WGRZ (RF33)...SNL’s awesome Aidy Bryant sat down for a fun chat with Seth Meyers!
Jan. 19, 2017:
- Buffalo, NY, 2.1 WGRZ (RF33)...John Beard and Melissa Holmes got a live report from Kevin O’Neill who was at Lastertron in Amherst, NY! (I went there with a friend who loves laser tag back in 2015!)
Jan. 21, 2017:
- Buffalo, NY, 2.1 WGRZ (RF33)...With signs declaring “LGBTQ and Muslim Solidarity” and “Boot The Bigot,” these protestors gave me life!
– Toronto, ON, 41.1 CIII (RF41)...Saturday Night Live’s Sasheer Zamata and Cecily Strong paid tribute to President Obama with a performance of To Sir, With Love!
Jan. 21, 2017 – New House:
- Buffalo, NY, 7.1 WKBW (RF38)...Eyewitness News was “Everywhere” in this explosive promo, much like Toronto’s CITY TV!
Jan. 22, 2017:
- Buffalo, NY, 4.1 WIVB (RF39)...Marissa Perlman introduced a story about the Women’s March on Washington, which included Madonna and numerous other celebs taking part!
Jan. 22, 2017 – New House:
- Buffalo, NY, 7.2 LAFF [WKBW] (RF38)...While setting up stuff at my new place, my parents and I got to LAFF at The Naked Gun 2 1/2!
Jan. 23, 2017:
- Toronto, ON, 5.1 CBLT (RF20)...The Rick Mercer Report visited Diane Dupuy and her incredible Famous PEOPLE Players!
Jan. 24, 2017:
- Buffalo, NY, 2.1 WGRZ (RF33)...Mike Myers was a guest on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon to promote his book Canada!
Late Night With Seth Meyers got Real with hunky Andy Cohen!
Seth also interviewed and shared cocktails with the divalicious Retta!
Jan. 26, 2017:
- Buffalo, NY, 2.1 WGRZ (RF33)...Lili Reinhart and Camila Mendes visited Late Night to talk about playing Betty & Veronica on Riverdale!
- Buffalo, NY, 17.3 KIDs [WNED] (RF43)...WNED fired up the test pattern for the new “PBS Kids” subchannel that was launching soon!
And that wraps up all the antenna action from my old house! Stay tuned as my “Reception Reports” fully move to my new place - the upper floor of a Markham high-rise!
