Saturtainment: Up, Up, & Away (1974)

 Many thanks to fellow blogger G. Jack Urso for the tip to this next item.

Locally produced children's programs, sadly, have a short shelf life. WRGB had the Laugh-a-Lot Club, for example. Future Emmy winner Ted Knight was a morning host (and maybe afternoons, too) on WTEN. WAST (now WNYT) had singer Betty George and her pet, Moo, hosting a mid-morning movie program meant for the whole family.

But channel 13 had something else that, until I ran across Mr. Urso's blog this morning, I didn't know about.

In November 1974, the station launched Up, Up, & Away, and, yes, the title was taken from the 5th Dimension's hit of the same name, as well as a catchphrase associated with Superman.

The half hour was hosted by Rosco & Mac and magician Bob Carroll. As noted in the ad above, the series launched on a Saturday night. My best guess is that WAST added or moved the show to Fridays in place of Munsters reruns to grab the after-school crowd. As Mr. Urso noted, the series ran 10 months, ending in September 1975. Channel 13 didn't try another house-produced kids show after that, other than the Betty George show, and was the local home of Battle of The Planets when the first American translation of Science Ninja Team Gatchaman arrived in 1978. By then, channel 13 had become the CBS affiliate in the market, having swapped with WTEN 11 months earlier.

As you could probably tell, I never saw the show, so there's no rating. My folks would watch the 4 pm movie on WOR on Fridays, and, while they were out bowling on Saturdays, my bro & I would also watch something on cable.