TFTP On This Day: NBA Finals, Game 6, Celtics vs. Lakers from CBS (Jun. 14, 1987)

Posted to YouTube by user 'Christopher Banez Lim'
Length - 1:44:00

It Was 31 Years Ago Today: The basketball rivalry between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Boston Celtics is legendary, and no period of that rivalry is more storied than the string of mid-1980s NBA Finals match-ups between the two teams. This 1987 Finals was the third time in four years that they'd met to battle for the NBA championship; with Boston winning in 1984 and LA in 1985, this was the rubber match for the Larry Bird-led Celtics and the Kareem-and-Magic-led Lakers. In this final game of the series, originally aired on this day 31 years ago on June 14, 1987, LA took home the trophy.

Above is the game in its entirety (minus commercial breaks). The Celtics took control early, with a five-point lead of 56-51 at halftime. But the Lakers caught up in the first moments of the second half and never relinquished the lead for the rest of the game. By the end of the game, LA was dominating, and the final score was 106-93. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar led the scoring for the Lakers with 32 points, but Magic Johnson ended up getting the series MVP award. Magic and Larry Bird had been personal rivals ever since they faced each other in the NCAA championship in their final year of college in 1979 (Johnson for Michigan State, Bird for Indiana State). Just like in that NCAA championship eight years before, Magic again defeated Bird.

TFTP Signs-Off for the Week: Sign-Offs Through the Years - 1987 (KTCA/Minneapolis-St. Paul)

Posted to YouTube by user 'mjanovec'
Length - 3:21

Each Friday afternoon, TFTP signs-off for the week with a classic station sign-off sequence for your enjoyment and to bid farewell until Monday...

And throughout 2018, we are featuring "Sign-Offs Through the Years", as we go year-by-year with each successive week.

Here is a 1987 sign-off (from Saturday, October 17, 1987, to be exact) from Minneapolis-St. Paul public TV station KTCA. (Several months ago, TFTP featured another sign-off from KTCA from just a few years after this one.) After the end of the end credits (and some underwriting announcements) from an episode of "Austin City Limits" is a long ownership/technical voiceover that includes images and title slides from quite a few then-current public TV programs produced by KTCA. This is followed by a credit scroll that lists the roster of KTCA station employees, then by color bars.

Christmas at TFTP (Sign-Off and On This Day Editions): Station Sign-Off from WGBH/Boston (Dec. 15, 1987)

Posted to YouTube by user 'Lincoln P'
Length - 5:06

Each Friday afternoon, TFTP signs-off for the week with a classic station sign-off segment for your enjoyment and to bid farewell until Monday...

It Was 30 Years Ago Today: This public television sign-off from Boston station WGBH--from thirty years ago today--begins with an ID that is an adorable animation of Santa and his reindeers kicking it in a Rockettes-style danceline. Then we see a young Tom Bergeron, later of "America's Funniest Home Videos" and "Dancing with the Stars" hosting fame, making an appeal for pledges of support to the station. This is followed by several program promos, including for "Christmas at Pops", "The Kirov Ballet: Swan Lake", a broadcast of the film "It's a Wonderful Life", and "A Child's Christmas in Wales".

Next is the ownership/technical voiceover on a long series of images, starting with black-and-white behind-the-scenes images of the control rooms, studios, etc. at WGBH, before segueing to color images from some of the programs broadcast by the station. (This second group includes one image from "Zoom", a TFTP favorite.) The sequence ends with another ownership/technical voiceover on a film clip of a slow pan (possibly a time-lapse) across the Boston skyline that gradually goes from lightness to darkness, before the WGBH "2" logo diminishes in size to a pinpoint of light that then goes dark.

TFTP Game Shows: "Classic Concentration" from NBC (Jul. 23, 1987)

Posted to YouTube by user 'TVLubber'
Length - 28:47

The history of TV game shows can in one respect be seen as early, popular game shows being revived later in newer versions--and then revived again; and revived again; and revived again. This is clearly evident in the recent successes by ABC with the latest versions of game show chestnuts like "Match Game" (first broadcast in 1962) and "$100,000 Pyramid" (first broadcast in 1973).

"Concentration" (original run: 1958-73) was far from the first game show to be revived when "Classic Concentration" debuted in May of 1987. (In fact, there had already been one "Concentration" revival--a five-year syndicated run that came on the heels of the original's 1973 cancellation.) But it might be the game show that benefited the most from technology having advanced since its original run--rather than the clunky rotating mechanical game board pieces of the original, the show in its '87 revival featured a state-of-the-art computer screen with digital, and much more versatile, game board elements.

"Concentration" in all its versions consisted of a combination of a memory game, in which contestants had to match two tiles with prize names on them, and traditional rebus puzzles made up of picture and letter clues that formed common sayings, quotes, or axioms.

The new "Classic Concentration" was hosted by Alex Trebek, who in 1987 was already a game show icon and doing double-duty along with "Jeopardy", which he'd hosted since 1984. In the episode above, just a couple of months into the revived run (which would last until the fall of 1991), champion Sten fends off a challenge from former champion Hilary. The episode here has most of the commercial breaks intact, giving us a great glimpse of '87-era commercials for Always maxi pads, Dash detergent, Aqua Fresh toothpaste, and Doan's pills, as well as NBC network program promos for "Miami Vice" and "Crime Story" (and an end-credits voiceover by NBC Nightly News anchor Tom Brokaw).

TFTP Signs-On for November: Boston Station Sign-Ons from 1987

Posted to YouTube by user 'MSTS1' (both)
Length - 2:18 (top); 3:20 (bottom)

TFTP marks the beginning of each new month with a classic station sign-on sequence to "sign-on" for the month....

To kick off November, here are two 1987 sign-ons from Boston TV stations--independent WSBK and WBZ, Boston's NBC affiliate at the time.

WSBK's sign-on features a technical/ownership voiceover followed by the national anthem sung by an a capella choir, topped off by a station ID bumper. WBZ's sign-on features a national anthem played by none other than the Future Farmers of America band! Then there are a few quick images (one of a "Morning Prayer" slide) that seem to be technical malfunctions, followed by a stretch of pastoral imagery with soothing music. In both sign-ons, the sequences are preceded by color bars and test patterns.

TFTP On This Day: 1987 World Series, Game 7, Twins vs. Cardinals from ABC (Oct. 25, 1987)

Posted to YouTube by user 'MLBClassics'
Length - 2:43:24

It Was 30 Years Ago Today: Going into the 1987 season, the Minnesota Twins had never won a World Series. They'd gotten close in the mid-1960s, making it to the Series just a few years after moving to the Twin Cities from Washington, D.C., only to get defeated by the Sandy Koufax-era LA Dodgers. By this day in 1987, thirty years ago today, they were on the cusp of their first ever World Series title, having battled the St. Louis Cardinals to a deciding game 7.

Luckily for the Twins, the final game was scheduled for their home field, the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome. The Metrodome (only five years old in 1987) was still a relative novelty as a domed multi-purpose stadium and had gained a reputation as offering the ultimate home-field advantage. Because of the acoustics of the fabric-roofed, air-pressure inflated dome, the crowd noise was deafening, and as a result the stadium had gained the nickname "the Thunderdome". In addition, during the '87 postseason, Twins fans had become known for waving their white "Homer Hankies", creating a fluttering white sea in the Metrodome stands.

The Twins fielded a team that included Kirby Puckett, Kent Hrbek, and pitching ace Frank Viola, while the Cards countered with Willie McGee, Vince Coleman, and the legendary Ozzie Smith. St. Louis took an early 2-0 lead before the Twins tied it up by the 5th inning. Minnesota took a one-run lead in the 6th, expanding to a two-run lead in the 8th, before finishing as World Series champions for the first time.

The full game broadcast, embedded above, is from ABC with Al Michaels and former ballplayer Tim McCarver doing play-by-play duties. Looking at on-screen graphics from televised sporting events is always fascinating, especially in an era such as the 1980s (or earlier) when the score was not always displayed on screen. There are other interesting touches here, such as the "Inside Pitch" segments in which a current or former player offers some insights into various aspects of the proceedings (including one by current Twins manager Paul Molitor, then a player for the Milwaukee Brewers).

TFTP Signs-Off for the Week: Station Sign-Off from WTHR/Indianapolis (1987)

Posted to YouTube by user 'MattArchives'

Each Friday afternoon, TFTP signs-off for the week with a classic station sign-off segment for your enjoyment and to bid farewell until Monday...

WTHR has been Indianapolis's NBC affiliate since 1957 (until 1976 under its old call letters WLWI). Here is one of their station sign-offs from the late-1980s. No bells and whistles here--no extra segments such as religious reflections or community announcements, just a national anthem film (with a striking piano, or maybe it's organ, arrangement) and the final voiceover slide wishing us good night.