FORGOTTEN TV: WSBK TV 38's ASK THE MANAGER (1970's-1999)

For those in New England, WSBK TV 38 out of Boston was one of the more popular TV stations. Even if you lived outside of the Boston area, it was on your cable system.

Every weekend, they would have a show called ASK THE MANAGER.

The show featured the general manager of the station and an assistant reading letters to the station from various viewers.

Most of the letters were along the lines of "Why don't you show this movie or that TV series". The general manager would then explain why. THE THREE STOOGES, a channel staple, being funny or unfunny was often debated.

It was an interesting look at the behind the scenes world of TV, how they had to buy the rights to certain shows, the costs involved, and how movies were bought in packages.

At times, the hosts seemed less interested than others. They would often have a basketball net on the set and shoot hoops rather than read letters. It was a very self indulgent show, with the hosts doing whatever they wanted. But hey, the hosts ran the channel, what else would they do?

I watched the show mostly during the 80's, where it would air Sunday nights. The GM at that time was Dan Berkery, a sort of Oliver Stone look alike. His sidekick was Dana Hersey, the voice of the channel and the host of "The Movie Loft", the nightly movie.



Later, Meg Lavigne hosted and Cliff Allen was the sidekick (in the above clip).

It ran until 1999, when Paramount took over the channel and it became a UPN affiliate. By this time, I was no longer watching.

It was a show like no other out there. A true inside look at a TV station.

There is an excellent fansite (where I took the above image) here.