Reception Reports: May 2012 (Part 1)

Greetings TV Garth readers! I'm continuing on with my 2012 recaps with the hope that May-be I'll get them done before the end of the year! May brought some Syr-iously exciting reception from Upstate New York. Stay tuned for a rundown of Rochester, Syracuse and Utica, plus my first VHF-lo catch from Paris, ON!

May 11, 2012

Syracuse, NY's WSTM (RF24) greeted me with a kiss as they asked attendees of the NAACP Freedom Fund Awards Banquet what they thought of President Obama's support for gay marriage.



WSTM's sports director John Evenson thought the question was quite ballsy.



Meanwhile, Matt Mulcahy & Peter Hall were on the fence about weather or not to stay outdoors for their segment that day.



Kelly French added some je ne sais quoi to the morning news with Matt Mulcahy!



Syracuse's WSYR (RF17) also breezed in with their new meterologist Julia Weiden!



WSYR's anchors Tanja Babich and Dan keeps viewers aware of Cummings and goings in Central New York.



Sports director Steve Infanti is definitely a cat that's hitting his stride! (He's also my original recipe Syracrush!)



I had seen Kaylea Nixon a couple of times on WSYR before learning she moonlights as a Rapp-er in a series of infomercials for the Bill Rapp Superstore.



I thought Lady Gaga was finally showing some restraint in her videos until I realized it was a completely different artist - Raquel Reed! (Seen via Rochester, NY's Cool TV subchanel on WUHF, RF28-2.)



I've heard of people putting a smile on their face, but this is ridiculous! Dr. Andrew Dvonch's magical ad for Linden Oaks Dental certainly has bite! (Seen via Rochester, NY's WHAM, RF13.)




May 12, 2012

My very first VHF-lo catch came via Paris, ON's CIII repeater on RF 6. Originally this was Global TV's flagship station, before Toronto's transmitter supplanted it.



May 13, 2012

The forecast for testing out a new Samsung TV is bright and sunny when Syracuse, NY's WSTM (RF24) is floating through my neighbourhood with Mike Brookins.



"I heard that someone in Canada has a Syracrush on you," Lisa Spitz allegedly joked with sports anchor Niko Tamurian during WSTM's newscast!



WSYR (RF17) popped in just long enough to see Julia Weiden, James Gaddis and Sal Maneen at the tail end of their newscast.



It's good to see that they keep Komen up with ways to raise money for breast cancer research. WSYR's Carrie Lazarus appears in support of the Susan G. Komen foundation!



I still love ABC's World News Now (seen here on WSYR, RF17) with Rob Nelson and one of my fave temporary anchors Diana Perez.



Rochester, NY's WHEC is definitely Rich-er for having one Mr. Caniglia on their weather team!



May 15, 2012

Rochester, NY's WROC (RF45) is always fun to watch when Kevin Doran and Maureen McGuire are WROCin' the house!



May 19, 2012

Rochester's WHEC flashed a great logo during a promo on their MeTV subchannel (RF10-2).



Next on Perry Mason, The Curious Case of Christine Van Timmeren and the Exploding Peacock! It's a tale bound to ruffle a few feathers...



Josh Nichols popped up to shower us with the 7 day forecast on WHEC's weather subchannel (RF10-3).



Canadian drama The L.A. Complex got picked up by the CW for maximum exposure in the US! However, with all that tension bottled up on the show, someone's cork is bound to explode!



Adam Chodak and Alexis Arnold were anchoring the 10pm newscast on Rochester's CW-WHAM (RF13-2). When the number for Crimestoppers showed up on screen, I wanted to call and report that Adam had stolen my heart!



Meanwhile, Syracuse, NY's WSTQ (RF24-2) had Niko Tamurian on their newscast! All Syracrush-ing aside, what I love about Niko is the natural enthusiasm he displays during his sports reports! We view, he scores!



The trio of Niko Tamurian, Chris McGrath and Mike Brookins close out the CW6 newscast on WSTQ (RF24-2).



The only thing that made sense during this bizarre episode of Law & Order: SVU was the ID bug for WSTM in the bottom left corner!



Watertown, NY's WWTI (RF21) made a rare appearance this year with a promo for the awesome Modern Family. My pal Mr. A actually bumped into series star Jesse Tyler Ferguson during a visit to New York in 2010 and took a pic of him as he walked by!



Speaking of Mr. A, I thought he'd be happy that WWTI changed their "side borders" to a more subdued black and white. (When I used to DX at his old apartment, he thought their original purple ones looked gaudy...)



Watertown's WWTI still airs news from Syracuse's WSYR, though they keep their ABC 50 branding in the bottom right corner! James Gaddis anchored the newscast that evening.



Lilith Towers would make a FABULOUS name for a drag queen, especially if high heels and a jamboree are involved. But in all seriousness, Towers is a little girl from the Syracuse area that needs help with medical expenses. I couldn't find any direct links to support Lilith, but if you live in the area, try to check out any benefits that will help her out!



Utica, NY's WKTV (RF29) arrived with a story featuring Christopher Giruzzi, the owner of Sammy and Annie Foods. Giruzzi appears at Farmer's Markets in the Utica area to sell freshly made sauces and baked goods! Check out this article from the Utica Observer-Dispatch for more on Giruzzi's very inspiring story.



It's Reale-y good that WKTV's newscasts have plenty of Hart! Jill Reale and Nicole Hart anchored the newscast that Saturday Night. (I feel the air is getting hot!)



Stay tuned to TV Garth for Part Two of the Spring Reception May-hem!

Reception Reports: April 2012

Greetings TV Garth readers! I've been a tad slow doing my usual Reception Reports, but I hope to represent lots of 2012 before the year is over! April brought a good amount of Rochester, plus a pinch of Syracuse! So stay tuned as I Spring into my recap of April!

April 1, 2012

I know Spring is in the air when wacky wigs and insane deals pop up from Unclaimed Freight. (Seen via Rochester, NY's WUHF, RF28.)



American Idol contestant Cherie Tucker gives an enthusiastic hello to Kevin Doran in this promo for WUHF's Idol Chatter on Fox First At Ten. (And she totally needs a profile in Rolling Stone titled "My Cherie Amour: How America Idolizes Tucker's Pipes.")



April 2, 2012

Norma Holland rocks my socks on Rochester, NY's WHAM (RF13) during their morning newscasts. She has a great laugh and brings a fun attitude and energy to the show!



WHAM subchannel CW-WHAM (RF13-2) ran a great ad for Salvatore's pizza with folks superimposed over Rochester landmarks! It's the type of commercial that started off low budget, but ended somewhere in awesomeness.



The US ads for Tim Horton's are a little bit...different than the Canadian ones. Imagine a woman staring right into the camera and asking "Want me to make you something COLD?" Then cut to a customer drinking their Tim beverage in slow motion with a look as glazed as a donut. However, the most likeable (and least Stepford) woman from the ads is pictured below via Rochester, NY's WROC (RF45).



April 3, 2012

I loved seeing this Arby's ad on WROC (RF45) only days after a unique experience with the chain during my road trip to Erie, PA. After cavorting with a gaggle of guys during Drenched Fur 8, I went for a late night food run and walked through the drive through of the Arby's across from the hotel. It really was Good Mood Food!



I'm not crabby about the way seafood gets served up in this amazing ad for Crab Shack Rochester! (Seen via Rochester, NY's WROC, RF45.)



I was definitely buzzing when Springville, NY's WBBZ (RF7) appeared with this unique station ID!



I was surprised to see a local weather insert during WBBZ's airing of The Daily Buzz with Mitch English.



Aside from being a MeTV affiliate, WBBZ has other rich additions to their schedule such as Cash Cab.



April 6, 2012

I caught some of David Letterman on Rochester, NY's WROC (RF45) and observed this surreal tableau of Regis Philbin and Bill Murray in sports gear with a member of Girls' Generation stretching at the far left. Someone call Andy Warhol!



Pop sensation Girls' Generation definitely gets in touch with what their audience wants!



A great station ID for Rochester, NY's WHEC appeared on their MeTV subchannel (RF10-2).



April 7, 2012

Rochester, NY's WHEC (RF10) was running some neat new weather promos with Rich Caniglia!



Meanwhile, WHEC's MeTV subchannel was airing Gumby, which looked a lot trippier than I remembered. (I actually had a rubber Gumby toy that I chewed on when I was a baby...) This episode had a ton of fast paced psychadelic claymation going on!



There was a cutting edge story on Syracuse, NY's WSTM (RF24) about a situation that got out of Hand. However, Laura took a valiant stab at presenting the facts!



I was excited to see a full WSTM newscast with Laura Hand, since I'd been curious about her after seeing vintage ads in TV Guide! Hand anchored with meteorologist Matt Stevens that morning.



Things were really hopping during WSTM's Best Bets for the Easter weekend.



I was also excited to see John Evenson introduce the sports recap on WSTM! Evenson is a fellow Canadian who grew up in Toronto and worked at Global before heading down to Central New York!



I wondered if Rochester, NY's WROC (RF45) was showing a special preview of Cirque Du Soleil, but it was really just a sassy episode of the Canadian made kids show Doodlebops.



April 25, 2012

I squealed when I saw an ad with station managers Derek Dalton of WHEC, Louis A. Gattozzi of WROC and Chuck Samuels of WHAM. The trio came together for a campaign called AIM For Fairness which is fighting for equitable distribution of New York state funds to Rochester. (Seen via WUHF, RF28.)





Another sign of Spring is the annual auction held by Rochester, NY's WXXI (RF16). This time there were puppets involved! During this segment, they should have said "If you've ever felt anything for public television, please donate now!"



There was a wonderful station ID for WXXI during an episode of their original program Biz Kids.



April 26, 2012

WUHF's Cool TV subchannel (RF28-2) was showing Carly Rae Jepsen's video for Call Me Maybe. I watched Jepsen when she was on Canadian Idol years ago, so I'm happy that she's broken out in such a huge way!



I followed Jennifer Johnson's advice to See It, Snap It and Share It as I took pics of Rochester, NY's WHAM (RF13) that morning! Even Norma Holland approved!



Meteorologist Marty Snyder, however, didn't look so sure...



WHAM's subchannel CW-WHAM (RF13-2) was showing a great promo that uses the vintage Hello Rochester song in tribute to WHAM's 50 years on air. (On a total sidenote, I was looking for this ad because a guy I was chatting with at Drenched Fur 8 mentioned it to me when I raved about the ROC!)




My eyes popped out when I saw Global Toronto's newscast with Leslie Roberts make it on to WHAM's morning show! They were showing a clip that went viral where Anthony Farnell's dog jumped into frame on screen for a few seconds. It was surreal to be seeing a Toronto newscast mentioned on a Rochester station while I was watching from the Toronto area.



April 29, 2012

Rochester's WHAM (RF13) was doing a gas giveaway promotion similar to many other local stations during this period.



April 30, 2012

We close this Reception Report with WROC's Katrina Irwin looking gr8 in a stylish pantsuit!



Stay tuned to TV Garth for more television mayhem! Also check out my Flickr collection of 2012 for reception pics that haven't made it onto the blog yet!