Thursday, March 7, 2013

Saturtainment: SFM Holiday Network (1978)

You've probably heard of SFM Entertainment, a small little company that began distributing syndicated programming in the late 70's. The company was also responsible for a pair of syndicated "networks" that presented periodic specials and/or movies.

One of these was the SFM Holiday Network, which bowed in 1978, and ran for a few years. This series lived up to its name, with movies & specials airing on the weekend of specific holidays (i.e. Memorial Day, Christmas), airing in the afternoon in most places.

Unfortunately, all we have is a modest little bumper, provided by FuzzyMemories.TV. If the music sounds familiar, it should. It's also been used on Monday Night Football from its inception in 1970.



The selection of movies in the series was hit & miss, depending on the viewer's tastes. Sadly, with cable having expanded like it has in the 35 years since SFM began this series, it isn't about to return for a new generation.

Rating: B.

5 comments:

magicdog said...

I do remember this bumber and the entertainment that surrounded it very fondly.

It was a great chance to see some classic family films and animated specials before cable TV came along.

hobbyfan said...

If memory serves, channel 5 in NYC was home to the Holiday Network, and so was channel 10 in Albany. Unfortunately, Wikipedia doesn't have much in terms of information.

Unknown said...

It was a weird children's movie--but it was live action on a set--and the guy was in a carriage and had a jail with it--he was trying to capture two kids--it was the creepiest thing I ever saw...and it aired on network television around the holidays. I think the BBC may have done it. It looked very similar to the style of Peter Pan (the live action set stuff)...came out in either the late 60's or sometime in the 70s'. I can never remember the name of it. It may have been one syndicated by SFM Holiday Network. The only other way to describe it was Hansel & Gretel on acid...and the adult villain looked like Alice Cooper but it wasn't him. It was a really odd movie for kids to be watching. Any idea what it was called??? It was on the SFM Holiday Network list. I think it aired twice.

hobbyfan said...

I'll have to look up the SFM Holiday Network's Wikipedia page (yeah, I know, not exactly the best), and we'll see what we come up with.

Jennifer L. Schillig said...

Sounds like Chitty Chitty Bang Band (with the Child Catcher).