Remembering WKBD Channel 50, Detroit's Greatest TV Station

 When I was growing up in the Detroit area in the 1960s and 1970s, broadcasting already fascinated me.  Right down the road from my grandparent's house was WKBD Channel 50.

That's where all the TV shows we watched as kids came from, everything from I Love Lucy to Speed Racer.  This wonderful world of television was where I wanted to work.  What a great goal!

Years later and after 4 years of college to learn the broadcasting trade, Channel 50 wasn't interested in hiring me. What a sad thing that was. Anyhow, the legendary station is still there and has always been in the back of my mind.

I did a previous blog about my fascination with "I Love Lucy" which Channel 50 broadcast ad nauseum back then.  When "Lucy" star Desi Arnaz came to town I recorded the audio of his appearance on the famous "Lou Gordon Show" which is on Youtube here. Gordon was a controversial talk show host on Channel 50 and even for today's standards would be considered rude. He even got poor Desi upset by the end of his visit!  The video tapes of Gordon's show were apparently not saved so my audio might be the only copy of Desi's visit to Detroit. 

I was pleased to discover that author Christopher Lock has just published a brand new book on Channel 50.  It's not a boring look at the station today, which is now nothing like it was in the 1960s and 1970s...this book takes us back to the "golden years" of WKBD, with pictures and details of most of the programs that were on back then. 

If you'd like to be transported back to the baby boomer 60s and 70s of Detroit TV, you will love this time capsule. The book is available on Amazon and click on the link to watch Mr. Lock's  Howell Library Talk about Channel 50.

I think he included most of what I remember except for Snipets! 

The Mothers-in Law: a "new" comedy from Desi Arnaz and "I Love Lucy" writers

Here's something that's so old and forgotten that it's brand new again!











After the iconic "I Love Lucy" series, Desi Arnaz had a tough act to follow....and he had to do it without his former wife Lucille Ball. What he come up with in the late 60s was a show called "The Mothers-in Law" starring Eve Arden and Kaye Ballard. The show aired for two seasons on NBC. Arnaz produced and also appeared in several episodes.

Although it was fondly remembered by a few people (including a college roommate of mine) I had never seen this series. According to legend, the series rights were mired in legal problems and so for years it hasn't been seen on tv...except for some old grainy prints once in a while which I had never seen either.

Now "Desilu,too" (run by Lucie Arnaz and Desi Arnaz Jr) present a prize package of 1960s television with "The Mothers-in-Law" Complete Series on dvd. Of course it isn't "I Love Lucy" (nothing is....even Lucille Ball's 1960s and 70s tv ventures). "The Mothers-in-Law" is pretty funny though in its own right.

At the time it may have seemed rather 1950s in its plotlines and this of course was the late 1960s when times were a changin'. Now however the show can be looked at with a fresh view and with the stale crap presented as comedy on tv today, this is actually quite refreshing.

Desi Arnaz, Jr introduces the first show, as does the famous "The following program is brought to you in living color on NBC" peacock. From there it's 56 half hours of comedy often written by Bob Carroll, Jr and Madelyn Pugh Davis, the same scribes who penned "I Love Lucy."

Eve Arden has quite a sense of comedy timing and Kaye Ballard is the perfect cohort. Their husbands are played by Herbert Rudley and Roger C. Carmel in the first year. The second year Carmel is replaced by Richard Deacon (Mel Cooley of Dick Van Dyke Show fame).

The print is prstine but its the dvd extras that really make this release shine. Kaye Ballard (who now lives in Desi's old house) is interviewed in a delightful reminiscence about working with Desi Arnaz. A cool behind the scenes film is shown with Kaye's commentary. How interesting to see how few people were involved in producing a tv show then. Now we have garbage and hundreds of people are involved!

Great station/show promos featuring the cast and Desi are here as are cast commercials for such things as Scope and Camay! "Desilu, too" unearthed Desi Arnaz's failed pilots of "The Carol Channing Show" and "Land's End" which are presented here as are some rare programs featuring Eve Arden and Kaye Ballard. Lucille Ball gets onto the dvd as well as she presents several excerpts of her 1960s radio show are featured as she interviews Eve Arden.

You probably already have the dialog memorized after watching Lucy stomp grapes and steal John Wayne's footprints at Grauman's Chinese Theater thousands of times in reruns. If so, "The Mothers-in-Law" is a dvd set you will enjoy quite a bit.

The Lucy Love Affair continues with "The Lucy Show" season two

When I was growing up in the Detroit, Michigan area, Lucille Ball and her tv high jinx (I don't think I've ever used that word before....high jinx?!) were an important part of growing up.

Her classic 1950s sitcom "I Love Lucy" starring Desi Arnaz, Vivian Vance, William Frawley and of course Lucy, was seen every weekday evening after school and was mandatory viewing. For some reason this show became an obsession and still is to this day. I have all the "I Love Lucy" episodes on dvd and have watched them many times over. The show is still broadcast in local markets and on the Hallmark Channel. Unfortunately the syndicated prints are sped up and edited. The picture is often blurry. It is a shame as the dvd presentation of "I Love Lucy" is pristine, clear and, as Lucy would say, "Wundaful."

When Lucy got her divorce from Desi, she eventually returned to television in "The Lucy Show." This series was prime time top rated in the 1960s. When I was growing up in the 70s, reruns of "The Lucy Show" were shown locally at lunch time and I was a faithful viewer. Time wasn't good to "The Lucy Show" and it vanished from rerun heaven on local stations. When videotapes and dvds arrived on the scene, "The Lucy Show" was often to be found in cut rate cheap pirated versions with washed out copies and edited programs. Not very fitting for "The First Lady of Television" as Lucy was often called.


CBS probably figured they finally made all the money they could from the "I Love Lucy" franchise, releasing just about everything except a rare Desilu Revue Christmas Special. They finally released the official "The Lucy Show" first season last year and just now on the scene is "The Lucy Show" the official second season.

This dvd collection features 28 beautifully restored episodes, IN COLOR. Remember when THAT was something new? In fact, when these shows were first shown on CBS, they were shown in black and white. Desilu knew that color was coming and rerun money was to be made so they were shot in color. Lucy looks lovely and Vivian Vance, who was kind of frumpy on "I Love Lucy" looks good, too. This season also includes the introduction of Gale Gordon as Mr. Mooney, a classic tv character.

No, this isn't the magic of "I Love Lucy" but it does have some great shows including two featuring Ethel Merman. Also here are some great classic cast commercials, rare CBS clips, a full length Lucy/Bob Hope special, and show openings for sponsors like Jello. The lovingly produced interviews with Lucy's friend Carol Cook and actor Barry Livingston are lots of fun.

This is no bargain basement production, this is Lucy done with style and love. And like "I Love Lucy" it's filmed in Hollywood by Desilu!

Click here to watch an unofficial excerpt of "The Lucy Show" to get an idea of what the show is about!

pictured above: daughter Lucie Arnaz with her famous parents; The Lucy Show season two dvd.