In yesterday’s Buzzyblog post, as I mentioned Bonanza, it crossed my mind how Sunday nights back in the day used to be such great TV nights. I recall as a kid looking forward to watching Bonanza along with other good shows such as Walt Disney, Ed Sullivan, Maverick, Car 54 Where Are You, Candid Camera, the Smothers Brothers and maybe my favorite TV show ever, Mission Impossible. All of these appeared on Sunday nights at various times through the 60s-70s. (I think Lassie, which debuted in 1954, was even in there somewhere on a Sunday night.)
When HBO rolled onto the scene, they slotted Sunday night for their great shows such as Larry Sanders, Game of Thrones, Sopranos, Sex In the City, The Wire, Veep etc.. (Good article here on how HBO specifically targeted Sunday nights for these go-to shows (click here.))
But just now, I saw this story summarizing the NFL’s season this year:
King Football rules again!
On no-football-Sunday nights, I find that “60 Minutes” is still worth watching and I will check them out. However, after that, I am usually looking for something streaming and light because I know that a few minutes later I will be sound asleep. “Will Trent” and “Tracker” aren’t bad and I can usually stay awake long enough to see who did what to whom. But overall, Sunday night TV just ain’t what it used to be. Then again, what is what it used to be? Answer – sandpaper maybe.
Duke here featuring Johnny Hodges on lead sax: