Adjusting with our Antennas
What was watched and the way it watcehd on TV has presented a significant impact on the medium's influcence over time. Join the lifelong television enthusiast identified as the frequency BAF in a journey through various decades of that medium where the reception came from the antenna. The episodes cover shows, genres, personalities and how not just antennas but how audiences have received them through the airwaves over time.
Produced by Benjamin Fronczek
Our Theme Song: Good Ol Days - 2024 Remaster by Beat Mekanik is licensed under a Attribution 4.0 International License.
Episodes
32 episodes
Putting the “Breaks” on the Air
Commerical breaks that is! BAF explores televison advertising from its earliest days and how it has evolved and changed. From its earliest days of sponsors promoting cigarette smoking to anti-drug public service announcements. From the earlier ...
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Season 1
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Episode 29
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40:06
The Late Night Legacy on Saturday Night
BAF continues his exploration of changing comedy-variety shows with a look back at Saturday Night Live. Now in its 50th Season, the legendary sketch based program followed the a new wave of parody and issue-oriented comedy shows that c...
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Season 1
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Episode 28
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45:48
The Changing Nature of Variety in the 60s and 70s
As Saturday Night Live celebrates 50 years, BAF explores comedy-variety sketch shows that aired in the 10 years before it premiered. Such programs themeed their content around current events of the day, popular culture, and parodies of...
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Season 1
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Episode 27
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34:05
Subscriber Bonus Coverage: On the Job, On the Air: For the Defense...
As additional testimony to what was presented in the episode On the Job, On the Air: In the Criminal Justice System, BAF investigates more law enforcement officials outside the positions of police detective and prosecuting attorneys. I...
Subscriber Episode
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Season 1
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Episode 24
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17:44
Subscriber Bonus Coverage: On the Job, On the Air: In the Criminal Justice System...
After taking a look through the lens of the "Law & Order" setup (police investigators and prosecuting attorneys, BAF looks at the private investigation component. Some notable examples occured between the 1960s-80s decades with Mannix, ...
Subscriber Episode
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Season 1
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Episode 24
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18:19
Subscriber Bonus Coverage: The Sunday That Became More Super
A value to members of The Prime Time Players: Hear bonus content of the latest released episode that covers the evolution and emergence of America's championship game with further details on how it came to be named the Super Bowl, some...
Subscriber Episode
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Season 1
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Episode 23
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28:02
How March Became Mad on the Air
With the entrance of March comes the excitiement and anticipation of the annual NCAA College Basketball Tournament, Teams qualify, brackets are formed, and eventually a national champion is declared. But of all those who compete on the court, t...
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Season 1
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Episode 26
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56:30
A New Path for Network TV
During the late 1980s, segments of a new television network started budding then blossoming into the regular lineup of shows. Before FOX television became a larger enterprise it worked its way into antenna television with some unique programs. ...
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Season 1
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Episode 25
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43:41
On the Job, On the Air: In the Criminal Justice System...
One of television longest running and most popular crime dramas is Law & Order, and it has given the genre a whole new meaning not to mention to concept of branding off into other series. Before it came to be though, the television...
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Season 1
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Episode 24
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45:10
The Sunday That Became More Super
It's more than just a championship game and BAF explores why. It doesn't need a seven-game series, home field advantage, or a dominating superstar athlete. With a blend of exciting play, diverse commercials, and engaging performance, the Super ...
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Season 1
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Episode 23
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28:14
It's Just a Game...or More?
The game show has been a major player in television history throughout the many decades not just in terms of longetivity of the genre but the shows themselves. Even the most early ones starting with Truth or Consequences and You Be...
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Season 1
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Episode 22
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35:42
The Early Realities of TV
Reality TV is more popular than ever but it is nothing new. It was there from the beginning of full TV schedules, and BAF explores the precursor shows such as Candid Camera and People are Funny that introduced the comedy of pr...
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Season 1
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Episode 21
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25:18
Television Rings in the New Year
The changing of the calendar year - While an occurrence ages old, the presence of television heightened it by bringing many in different locations together for the annual celebration. Without the early music brought into househoulds by Guy Lomb...
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Season 1
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Episode 20
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32:44
Television Yuletide
The spirit of Chirstmas has arrived in many forms but none have been so dynamic and influentual into the households of American families as the programming of television. The holiday episodes of regularly occuring shows showcased the many moods...
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Season 1
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Episode 19
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19:38
On the Job, On the Air: School in Session
Whether it is those who teach or those who learn, the school setting represented a signficant television community of characters. Schools have been shown in various shows but specific ones used the setting as a centerpiece. BAF welcomes back Ea...
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Season 1
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Episode 18
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1:03:30
On the Job, On the Air: Those in the Media
In the continuing series On the Job, On the Air BAF explores shows that centered on the ficitious media and how some interacted with reality and issues of the day. Specifically noted is Mary Tyler Moore's portrayal of the more independ...
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Season 1
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Episode 17
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33:49
A Station Break to Review and Update
We interrupt this podcast to bring you a recap and some special updates. This episode presents a brief yet informative review for current, new, and prospective listeners alike as BAF summarizes past episodes with a couple of new annoucements. S...
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Season 1
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Episode 16
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10:34
On the Job, On the Air: In Venues of Hospitality
BAF continues his exploration into workplace settings on television through the decades. This episode travels to hosptality venues such as the 1970s Phoenix diner in Alice and the 1980s Boston bar Cheers. It hits the high seas...
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Season 1
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Episode 15
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48:52
On the Job, On the Air: The Medical Field
BAF begins a series covering workplace settings, as shown on television programs. With that exploration are the characters and their occupations, how they interact on the program, and how these characters and occupations have been perceived ove...
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Season 1
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Episode 14
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34:23
A Veteran's Day Tribute: Armed Forces On the Air
This episode is released near November 11th to align with the observance of Veteran's Day and pay tribute to how the U.S. Armed Forces have been portrayed on television through the decades. BAF begins with early documentaries and anthologies su...
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Season 1
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Episode 13
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40:26
The Children's Menu
BAF welcomes the show's first guest, an early education professional, Krysti, to discuss television programs designed for children. The shows discussed start with those in the early days during the 1940s with puppet-based programs such as P...
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Season 1
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Episode 12
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1:23:41
Television Goes Public
In this episode BAF explores how television took a different turn with more cultural, educational, and informative programs. The programming started as early as the 1950s but became part of a more formalized network that was funded and operated...
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Season 1
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Episode 11
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35:04
The Talk of the Tube Plus Some Features Too!
Starting with the early talk shows of Joe Franklin, Merv Griffin, and Phil Donohue, it was beyond the news: it was interviews and feature stories and news magazine shows such as 60 Minutes, 20/20, and Dateline NBC, and hosts s...
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Season 1
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Episode 10
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31:29
The Changing Household on Sitcoms
BAF follows up a past episode The People Next Door with a further look into the changing household beyond just the nuclear family. Social roles played a key part over time in defining what households in sitcoms were portrayed ...
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Season 1
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Episode 9
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31:59
Too Short for a Show, Too Long for a Film
With movies already being shown on television, especially those made exclusively for the small screen, the miniseries soon evolved with a limited number of episodes airiing consecutive evenings or weeks. BAF explores the very first telecast of ...
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Season 1
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Episode 8
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30:59