EOAG Exclusive Photos…’The Doctors’, NBC Studio 3B
Thanks to Bob Batsche, we have these these two color photos that he took on the set in 3B, and thanks to Chuck Snitchler, we have a shot of the slate from the first color episode which would air December 4, 1967, but was taped almost a month before.
On April 1, 1963, ‘The Doctors’ replaced Merv Griffin’s first daytime talk show in the 2:30 timeslot, where it remained for nearly sixteen years. This is an extraordinary feat considering its competition, which included long-running favorites such as ‘House Party with Art Linkletter’ on CBS and ABC’s ‘Dating Game’. On occasion, it was also up against one of the longest-running soap operas in television history,’The Guiding Light’ on CBS.
In a move the proved fatal, NBC moved ‘The Doctors’ to 12 noon eastern on March 29, 1982. The show aired its final episode on December 31, 1982, some three months before it would have celebrated its 20th anniversary on NBC.
Frankly, I am stunned that NBC, or any network, would offer any programing at noon on a weekday in the 80s. I grew up in the Atlanta area and as best I remember, there was always a noon news show. In the early 60s, they were not half hour shows, but by the mid 70s they were. Somewhere, I have seen a mid 70s CBS daytime schedule that leaves open the 12 – 12:30 block for local programing. I wonder why NBC didn’t do that? Enjoy and share! -Bobby Ellerbee
I renember taking a tour in late 60s and we were in the observation room on 8h and they said that the doctors were down below.
We saw The Doctor’s Set on our tour of NBC in 1970…
I think I read somewhere that when they were doing the renovations on 3B a couple of years ago for NBC News, that they reportedly found a piece of the set for “The Doctors” along with an old applause sign in 3B.
Found the article! http://www.newscaststudio.com/2011/09/22/nightly-news-to-debut-new-set/
I saw The Doctors set on a tour in 1977. If I recall, we were looking down on it from above through an observation window. Couldn’t actually see very much.
They used to have a party every Friday after the taping was over, they were fun.
The hole in NBC was 1pm-2pm eastern. I remember it well. CBS had a 25 minute soap at noon with a five minute newscast at 12:25 often with Douglas Edwards.
In Madison the ABC affiliate did their local news @ 11:30
Creative spelling on the slate?
Maybe the creative spelling of vidio was to avoid trademark infringement as this was likely recorded on an RCA machine. The little drawing of the peacock is a nice touch.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vz7sVGb5Nxg
Interesting to note that “The Merv Griffin Show” started before “The Doctors” and continued on after it”s demise. Marconi cameras in the black & white days then Norelco’s for Merv. Compare that to “The Doctors” timeline. Additionally, Merv’s are being recovered on Ampex AVR-1’s. The Merv Griffin Show is now available as a boxed set! http://mervgriffin.com/
The first show I transferred was 1305. Cameras looked good. Audio was a little rough. Tape still in good shape after all these years. (Edit) Yes, 1305 was the first color show. Looks good in 10-bit
Just as amazing was that “The Doctors” was one of the last NBC shows (or any network show) to go color, especially on a network that embraced themselves as “The Full Color Network”. What was the last NBC show to go from black and white to color, if it wasn’t The Doctors?
Dennis thanks. I remember looking down through the Windows to the sets below us. Weird.
That’s where “Nightly” is now. Straighten that chip chart.
Reruns of The Doctors…are now being shown on RTV…
DTV subchannel in many cities