For your information, I do not plan to do every Greater Tampa piece on TV related stuff, I have ideas for at least six other topics, this second one just so happens to be about TV again. Sue me, what the hell? So, this time I want to talk to you about what was once the best station in Tampa, WTOG channel 44. All my Florida people are nodding their heads in approval right now I am sure. WTOG was an independent that ran mostly syndicated programming with a nice local touch to it. All night long you could count on good movies and great picks of shows. Here is a few highlights from the Golden Age of WTOG, before the CW days.
On the weekends in Tampa you could count on the great Dr. Paul Bearer. I only had a couple years with the late Bearer, being that I moved to the are in the early 90's and he passed away in 96, he hosted "Creature Feature" since the very early 70's. I did manage to catch him for the first time in the hotel room we stayed in our first week after moving to town. I watched again as often as I could, and even if I didn't have time to watch the movie he was showing, I tried to time myself to catch all of his host segments. I was a fan, but some of my friends, they where FANS. If I called my fellow Raindogs Jeremy and Jon, and tried to make plans during show time, I often received the response of, "yeah man, sounds good, we'll get dropped off over there once Dr. Paul is over." Ask around to your friends and family from the area, everyone either watched him or at least knew of him. Everyone who has meant him only has the nicest things to say. A true staple of Tampa history, and he is missed. A quick Google search reveals that the there was an eight page spread on him in Famous Monsters of Filmland issue 144 and he appeared in an episode of Hee Haw. I will also note that if you search the rare video trading sites on the internet, you will find many Dr. Paul bearer compilations for trade, people love this guy. Here is a small clip for your enjoyment.
WTOG also had one of the best news programs in the area, due in part for their focus on local news, an emphasis on the area instead of national topics. They of course covered national news, but not till after you heard about what was going on in Riverview, Gibsonton, Tampa and St. Pete. Once again I must mention a group of Raindog brothers, this time Ryan and Shane. I liked the 10 o’clock news, but Ryan and Shane ensured that whatever we were doing, we dropped it to check it out. So imagine a group of young teenagers, jamming all night, playing video games, and watching horror movies, then taking a break five minutes before 10 in order to watch the news and you will start to get the idea. At some point, while stationed in Hawaii, I ended up working with another guy about my age who came from Valrico, one day I brought up WTOG news and he resonded quickly, "Fuck yeah, Barbra Callahan." Another example of the devotion people felt to our local superstation comes in how easily and quickly I found clips of the final broadcast. So check it out.
Ok next Greater Tampa will not be about TV, I swear, although it probably won’t be my next post but keep your eyes peeled, I’LL BE LURKING FOR YOU!!
Further reading:
Greater Tampa (part 1) Public Access
2 comments:
Oh, man. WTOG was the best. I remember when they did the final broadcast and the weather guy gave a 7 month forecast instead of the typical 7 day, just to cover the rest of the year.
Another great story about the old WTOG News crew was when Patrick Emery called Hank Earl Carr in the gas station and tried to get him to come out, directly against police and company orders. He wound up getting fired but I still remember him for his great human interest and even greater wit.
In the end, though, they found that they could attain the same ratings if they showed Star Trek: TNG in it's place. I don't dispute that. In fact, I think they found their audience: nerdy males. I mean, we would have watched both.
P.S.
When Hurricane Charley was predicted to come through the bay area, News Channel 8 had to move out of flood zone A and into.... WTOG's old news studio. It had been abandoned for years and they put it to use. Some of the old fixtures were even there. Crazy.
WTOG was awesome - old Channel 4. I should still have a tape of a 10:00 PM news broadcast somewhere, taped around three or four months before they stopped it. Ancient!
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