Friday, January 28, 2011

Color TV and the NBC Peacock

Update 2021: 
The peacock lives as the corporation uses it as the name of their streaming service.
I do wonder if TV watchers today realize what a joy it was to experience those first shows in color. 



Update: 3/12
Comcast seems to have kept the peacock at least for now.  And haven't read otherwise, but I'll keep an eyes out for the famous feathers...

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I see on the Web that NBC's famous logo with the peacock feathers is going the way of the dodo bird.  Ah, me... This all due to the fact that NBC is now part of Comcast.

Today I'll share some memories about the early days of color television.

In 1959, NBC color broadcast a new western, Bonanza, designed to promote sales of RCA color television sets (RCA being the parent company of NBC).  Bonanza was originally opposite the popular, black and white CBS offering Perry Mason.  I remember watching Perry with my family. But in September1961, NBC moved Bonanza to Sunday night and its popularity grew.

I lived on Silver Bay's Banks Boulevard then, close to Campton school but on the other side of the street, near the end of Charles Circle. The Preston family were next-door neighbors on Banks.  I think they had two boys and one girl, Judy, a year older than me.  Just before school started that year, 1961, the family bought a brand-new color TV! Whether it was an RCA or not, I didn’t notice. On several Sunday evenings I was invited to join the Prestons as they gathered around their new TV set to watch Ben Cartwright and his sons Adam, Hoss and Little Joe.  (I like to think that Mrs. Preston popped corn and poured tumblers of Kool-Aid for us, but I can't say for sure that she did.)  We thrilled to the adventures at the Ponderosa.  But it was amazing just to watch the NBC peacock unfurl its splendid tail.  Sigh...

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