There was a time... when people didn't go out of their house on Tuesday night at eight o'clock because Milton Berle was on.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
And then it got even worse, I mean, a few people fell by the wayside within hours. Nick Lowe was in it for about 5 hours I think, he was expelled for going to bed.
There were some television sets back in the '50s, but they were expensive. People would gather at the rich guy's apartment down the hall to watch Milton Berle on his 10-inch black-and-white screen.
There were two hours that couldn't be accounted for.
The fact is, it was a big show. We were a part of that show. Everybody watches for different reasons. There were some people who were tuning in that day to see what was going on with other characters.
There was a little afternoon show that was called Afternoon. Back in those days in television, most local stations had a midday show for housewives that had a series of things. It was like a variety show for midday.
Television news was expanding to an hour, and producers did not know how to fill the space and time.
Even though it was six o'clock, there was no sense of approaching dawn.
The worst part was waiting around. Sometimes you are ready at 9 a.m. and you don't start until the afternoon. Occupying your time while you wait is the hardest part of the movie.
I think a lot of the problem is that at 8 o'clock there's nothing on for kids.
They took away time, and they gave us the clock.