Note:  This page is still under construction and will be updated as material becomes available.  Check back often for updates! The Final Years of Plains Television Parters with WICS WICS continued to be owned by Plains Television Partners from its beginnings through 1986 and co-owned with sister station WICD in Champaign. The owners of Plains Television Partners were Harry and Elmer Balaban, the two younger brothers of Barney Balaban, who was the head of Paramount Pictures during the 1940's and 50's. Besides ownership of the two central Illinois TV stations, the Balaban brothers' company, H and E Balaban Corporation entered into a partnership in 1959 with Transcontinental Properties to purchase WNBC-TV, Channel 30 from NBC. The call letters of WNBC-TV were transferred soon after to NBC's network o-and-o in New York in 1960. At that time the stations call letters were changed to WHNB-TV. Along with television, Elmer Balaban also owned a number of local radio stations in medium size markets around the country. By 1978, WHNB-TV was sold to Viacom, while the Balabans retained it's Plains Television Partners stations WICS and WICD. It's ownership of WICS would come to a close in 1986 when the NBC affiliate in the Illinois State Capitol was sold to Guy Gannett Communications of Portland, Maine.

It's unknown why the Balabans held onto the Champaign property. The relationship of the two central Illinois NBC affiliates were so intertwined that it would have been questionable that either one could continue to be successful if they were completely separated.

Programming WICS from 1979 to 1986 By 1979, the WICS broadcast day began at 6:30am and sign-off on weeknights followed the “Tomorrow” show hosted by Tom Snyder, at around 1am. The Saturday morning sign-on was at 6:30am as well with the syndicated “U.S. Farm Report.” The rest of the morning consisted of typical children's programming from NBC including more modern versions of classic fare like “Fred and Barney Meet the Schmoo” and the re-worked Warner Brothers cartoons with “Daffy Duck” and a modern rework of “Casper.”

On Saturday afternoon NBC would broadcast baseball during the major league season, while empty time slots were often filled with other off network series reruns like “The Odd Couple.” The mid day on Saturdays also included various locally produced and syndicated public affairs programs. The titles included “City Life,” “Advance Notice” and “Saturday Report.” All three of which were simulcast on sister station WICD in Champaign. There was no Saturday, 6pm newscast, scheduling instead the syndicated first run comedy/variety show “Hee Haw” which would air from 5 to 6pm. NBC filled the post late news time with sporting events, along with “Saturday Night Live.” WICS would follow “SNL” with a video taped replay of its own 10pm news. WICD would follow with a play of its public affairs program “Assignment 15.”

On Sundays, WICS would sign-on at 6:30am with a block of religious programming and public affairs. Some of the religious shows included “Jimmy Swaggart”, “Herald of Truth” and “Faith for Today.” Sometime in the 1960's WICS began a tradition of airing a movie at 9:30am. The movies included many of Hollywood’s classic films from the Warner Brothers and MGM library. It was sponsored by Railsplitters Lincoln-Mercury which would either do live or recorded commercials in studio with featured vehicles both new and used. By the late 1970's most of the films were from a less than classic package of films. Most were from the former ABC “Movie of the Week” TV movie catalog of films. There were some TV classics there, such as the acclaimed “Brian's Song” but most were very forgettable. That movie run would fill the 9:30 to 11 or 11:15am time slot. During football season, NBC would air the AFC early football game and WICS/WICD would follow with a replay of “Capitol Conference,” then a local movie insertion....yet another TV movie, usually. “Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom” would follow at 5pm, then the NBC national newscast before prime time and “Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color.” After the 10pm local newscast, both WICS/WICD would follow, more than likely, with the broadcast of yet another TV movie before sign-off. Weekday programming in 1979 on WICS included the typical NBC daytime schedule of game and daytime dramas and locally originated off network television series from the 60's and 70's. During the 1979-1980 TV season, the WICS weekday schedule followed “Today” at 9am with the first run weekday syndicated “Dating Game” followed by the NBC daytime schedule which was solid through 3pm. The NBC lineup included “Hollywood Squares,” “High Rollers,” “Wheel of Fortune,” “Mind Readers,” “Password Plus,” “Days of Our Lives,” “Doctors” and “Another World.” By 3pm, the lineup featured all syndicated off network fare, including “I Love Lucy,” “Gilligan's Island,” “Batman,” “The Brady Bunch” and “Happy Days, Again"(the syndicated title of “Happy Days”). The syndicated block was followed by a “flip flop” of local news and network news on WICS and sister station WICD. I assume that because of the increased head to head competition with WCIA in Champaign, management at the time felt it beneficial to move the WICD local newscast to the 5:30pm slot, while WICS would continue with the 6pm slot, where it saw wide viewership. Both stations would air the NBC Nightly News but WICS would air it at it's more traditional time at 5:30pm, while WICD would follow its local news broadcast with the NBC news. The prime time access slot after the news block was filled by the weekday syndicated version of “The Newlywed Game” at 6:30pm. The rest of the weekday schedule was filled with NBC programming, with a local newscast at 10pm. “The Tonight Show” followed, then “Tomorrow” would end the broadcast day.

Yearly Changes of Programming

The syndicated and local programming of WICS/WICD during the early 1980's saw several changes and additions. The off-network and syndicated series schedule included the additions of “Superman,” “Sha Na Na,” and the first run 1980 syndicated TV movie/series “The Gossip Columnist” witch starred Steve Allen, Jim Backus and Kim Cattrall.

Weekday afternoons saw the loss of “Batman” from the schedule with the other shows remaining on the schedule. Local news saw an expansion with the addition of a 5pm newscast on both WICS and WICD. The NBC Nightly News aired at 5:30pm, followed by another local newscast at 6 on both stations.

Weekends during 1980-81 saw the use of “The Odd Couple,” “Superman” and “Happy Days Again” filling up some empty time slots not taken up by the network. The Sunday morning movie continued for a few more years, and the post local newscast on Sunday continued with the broadcast of a locally originated movie, often times off network mini-series such as “Washington: Behind Closed Doors.”

By the 1981-82 season, WICS/WICD for some unexplained reason found it necessary to pre-empt a Saturday morning NBC kids show, “Spider Man and His Amazing Friends” and replace it with the syndicated “Gigglesnort Hotel.” The Saturday morning kids fare began with the syndicated off network “Flintstones” and ended with “Wrestling” from an unknown source. Saturday programming closed out with the first run syndicated “Sha Na Na” and the public affairs show “Today's Black Woman” and a replay of the newscast of each stations late news.

Also during the 1981 season, the daytime drama “Texas” would not air on WICS/WICD as it was replaced by “Merv Griffin” at 2pm The syndicated talk/variety show would only run one season. The following year, WICS/WICD would return to broadcast the NBC programming during that hour.

During the 1982 season “Today” was followed by the “Richard Simmons Show.” The late afternoon local block included “Scooby Doo,” “Tom and Jerry,” “The Brady Bunch,” “Laverne and Shirley and Company”(the syndicated title), “Happy Days Again”(syndicated title) followed by the “flip flop” of local news and NBC news. On WICS the NBC News aired at 5:30pm, followed by the local news. Meanwhile on WICD the local news would air at 5:30pm followed by the NBC News. Prime time access would be filled by the “Jeffersons.”

During 1982, David Letterman was following “The Tonight Show” on NBC replacing “Tomorrow” with Tom Snyder. WICS/WICD aired the first season on “Late Night with David Letterman” for the first year, but by 1983 the stations dropped Letterman for “Thicke of the Night” starring Alan Thicke. The short lived first run syndicated variety/talk show would air in place of “Late Night with David Letterman.” After the cancellation of “Thicke of the Night” the stations would return to air the Letterman Show.

The daytime schedule of NBC went through some radical changes during this era, as many of the long time running game shows were canceled. “Wheel of Fortune” and “Sale of the Century” continued with a new game show “Dream House.” NBC filled other time slots with off network runs of “Diff'rent Strokes” and “Facts of Life.”

In 1983, “The Andy Griffith Show” began to be seen on WICS/WICD as weekend fill-in programming as well as during the later afternoon block along with “Gilligan's Island” and “The Jeffersons.” The prime-time access time slot at 6:30pm was filled by the syndicated “Wheel of Fortune.”

During the mid 1980's the former ABC series “Guns of Will Sonnett” was added as weekend filler and would appear at various slots on Saturday and Sunday. “Diff'rent Strokes,” “Family Ties” and “Jeopardy!” were added to the weekday schedule. “Family Ties” ran at 9am, while “Strokes” aired at 4pm followed by “The Jeffersons” and “Jeopardy!” at 5pm. The broadcast of a Saturday evening 6pm newscast was also added by both stations. That forced the move of “Hee Haw” to 5pm, while the local news was followed by “Wheel of Fortune.”

On Saturday nights in late 1984 into 1985, "Saturday Night Live" would precede a late Saturday movie.   Once again, virtually all of the movies shown on WICS/WICD during that time consisted of off network made for TV movies.  Weekday afternoons at 2pm, the NBC game show hybrid which merged "Match Game" and "Hollywood Squares" as preempted by the syndicated off ABC off network hour long drama, "Family."   The rest of the afternoon pre-newstime schedule consisted of "Scooby Doo," "Brady Bunch," "Gilligan's Island," "Laverne and Shirley" and "Happy Days Again."  Prime time access featured "The Jeffersons."

In 1986, the late night schedule was extended with the broadcast of the first run syndicated talk/variety show “Night Life” starring David Brenner a frequent guest host for Johnny Carson on “The Tonight Show.” Also during 1986, a syndicated daytime serial was airing at 11:30am called “True Confessions.”

16mm Filmed Syndication

Technically, during this era, most off network series were still being syndicated by “bicycling” weekly packages containing a full weeks worth of 16mm film prints from station to station. Although, satellite distribution was still a few years away, better quality video tapes of some first run series was made possible by recording multiple video prints and sending them out to local stations. There may have also been some cases in which programming was sent via network connections during non regular programming times via closed circuit feeds.

WICS aired many of these off network shows from 16mm prints with less than desirable equipment. Films were broadcast often times lacking contrast, either over or under saturated color levels along with various film artifacts like improper splices, scratches and worn sprocket holes which allowed the film to wallow on screen. One observation I made was the poor quality tubes in the WICS film chain which would multiply the problems above with the added “smearing” of moving images.

These problems would also appear with the broadcast of virtually all of the movies on the schedule. The change over to syndicated programs being distributed on video tape and later with satellite distribution corrected virtually all of the problems above and allowed stations to air these off network shows to a quality standard just as good as the network aired them originally.

(left): Here is a significantly historical picture from the WICS collection.  Pictured is Don Hickman with Nancy Hubbell.  Nancy was the first woman co-anchor Don Hickman ever had.  Her tenure there at WICS was short one, only being with the station for less than a year.  The man at the far right was Fred Hickman.  Fred was introduced by Don Hickman during the first newscast together as being "no relation."  This was Fred Hickman's first TV job according to former high school   classmateand WICS News Director Les Vann.  Hickman went on to become a sportscaster with CNN for a number of years. (right): Pictured is the weekend sportscaster Dave Miller with weekend news anchor Bob Sullinger. (pictures from the WICS collection, with details courtesy of former WICS News Director, Les Vann)

	After Flip Spiceland, it's possible that Tom Stephens was next in line as WICS weather anchor.  His time at Channel 20 is documented by this TV Guide ad from September of 1980. (TV Guide ad from the Doug Quick Collection)
	In 1983 WICS added a mid day newscast as the NBC daytime schedule was reduced to allow local stations 30 minutes access. At that time, WICS featured Ann Gillies as anchor/host with Darryl Crouch as mid day meteorologist.  It's unknown whether Darryl Crouch was also the 6 and 10 weather anchor as well.  Research continues.... (TV Guide ad from the Doug Quick Collection)
	Susan Finzen was added as the female co-anchor with Don Hickman in the Fall of 1985. She replaced an earlier teaming with  Nancy Hubbell in the late 1970's, and with Cinda Schien from 1981(pictured above). Hickman and Finzen would continue to  anchor at WICS through the early 2000's. (TV Guide ads from the Doug Quick collection)

Local Newscasts

WICS was always the dominate local TV news in the Springfield area, but WICD in the eastern part of the market was much less than dominate in Champaign-Danville. That contest was easily won by heritage VHF station, WCIA. In spite of the fact that WICS would coast to local news success in Springfield, most of the advantages and resources of the ownership also would go to WICS...the path of least resistance and greater success. WICD was operated with a separate staff of employees, and outside of sharing regional sales and programming, it was operated completely separate from WICS, without many of the resources available at Channel 20.

The news staffs of both stations would operate independently as the sharing of news stories without the technology of fax machines to exchange scripts was still a few years away. Video transfer of news stories was rare as the intercity microwave relay between stations was a one way path that only allowed for a Springfield to Champaign transfer...and only during network programming as the path would have been used for program material.

WICS news anchors during this time included Don Hickman among others. A more complete list of anchors and reporters, weather casters and sports casters is being sought for this website. I hope to be able to pass along some of the personalities of WICS soon. If you remember, or know of someone who was on the air at WICS during the 1979-1986 era....or perhaps you were employed in some on-air capacity, please pass along the info by dropping me an e-mail.

WICS, the Flagship Station

The Channel 20-15 relationship was that of WICS being a flagship station of a regional TV network with only one affiliate, WICD.  Programming was 98% simulcast although some differences were noted with the broadcast of some public affairs programming, some network preemptions at WICS and of course the local newscasts.

Regional commercials would have been transferred via microwave, but local commercials were inserted by WICD over the WICS commercials. It was common to see the first second or two of the WICS commercial before the WICD commercial aired. Many WICS station ID's would be seen in Champaign over the years when the operator would hesitate to play the ID on cue. Where as WICS had equipment which would allow the partial automation of local commercials, WICD would prepare “break tapes” in which local commercial breaks were manually prerecorded a couple of times a day and manually played back on the air.

It was also common to have WICD sit on a slide or still picture as WICS timing problems would not coordinate with the timing at WICD. If WICD experienced a problem, the operators at WICS would not be aware of it, as their only concern would be the operation of the flag ship station.

(left): In 1980, Johnny Carson reduced the length of the "Tonight Show" by 30 minutes, in exchange for hosting more nights during the year.  That allowed for an earlier time for "The Tomorrow Show" with Tom Snyder. (above): "Fantasy" was added to the daytime schedule, hosted by "Hollywood Squares" host Peter Marshall.  This daytime interview/variety show ran during the 1982-83 season.

In 1979, the peacock returned to NBC as part of the "Proud N" logo.  This marked the first time the peacock was actually used as part of it's logo, even though, it was used to introduce color programs from the 1950's.  This logo was used by NBC from 1979 to 1985.  The 12 feathered peacock was later abbreviated to six feathers, and the "N" was eliminated.
		"The Facts of Life" ran on NBC from 1979-1988 and was a spin off of "Diff'rent Strokes."  It starred Charlotte Rae as a housemother to seven young girls at a girls school in Peekskill, New York.	"The Rockford Files" was an NBC staple from 1974 to 1980 and brought James Garner back to TV and brought a top 10 hit with it's theme from Mike Post.	This show was produced by George Schlatter who brought NBC one of it's greatest hits in the late 1960's, "Laugh-In."  This time it was "Real People" a reality based magazine series with a panel of co-hosts and a studio audience.  The panel included Sarah Purcell, John Barbour, Mark Russell, Skip Stephenson, Bill Rafferty and Byron Allen.
"David Letterman" hosted a daytime series in 1980, which led him to late night.  The title of the 1980 show is pictured to the left, while Letterman is pictured from the final daytime show in October of 1980.		From January to March of 1979, this anthology series would follow the story of how people would deal with winning a major lottery.  "Sweepstakes" starred Edd Byrnes as the emcee and was produced by Miller-Milkis productions who would go on to produce many sit com hits on ABC in the 1980's.	"Diff'rent Strokes" ran on NBC from 1978-1985, after which it moved to ABC.  Gary Coleman, Todd Bridges, Conrad Bain and Dana Plato starred.  Gary Coleman became a major TV star with his wise-cracking character, Arnold Jackson who was adopted with his 12-year old brother Willis played by Todd Bridges.  The cast over the years included Dana Plato, Charlotte Rae, Dody Goodman, Janet Jackson, Dixie Carter and Mary Ann Mobley.  The series would spin off "The Facts of Life"(see above)  and even "Hello Larry"(see below).
			"Hill Street Blues" represented a new era in police dramas when it premiered on NBC in 1981.  This series made stars of many actors and was a critical success.  The theme song became a hit on the top 40 charts at the time, being performed by Mike Post.  It topped out at #21 in the national ratings during 1982-83. "Family Ties" launched the career of Michael J. Fox.  The idea, was a liberal set of parents whose oldest son was an ultra conservative, while his sisters couldn't care less, and were more normal.  The theme was sung by Johnny Mathis and Denice Williams.  The setting was Columbus, Ohio where the father, Steve Keaton(Michael Gross) was a manager of a public TV station.  The mother was played by Meredith Baxter-Birney, while the daughters were Mallory(Justine Bateman) and  Jennifer(Tina Yothers).  This series ran on NBC from 1982 to 1989, but also in syndication on WICD from the late 1980's to 1994.
Greg Evigan, Claude Akins, Mills Watson and Richard Deacon all starred in "B.J. and the Bear."  This Glen Larson production ran on NBC from 1979 to 1981.  Truckers were popular in the 1970's, probably drivin by the top 40 song "Convoy."  This series was about two truckers and their adventures.  During it's run, the concept was changed to be more like "The Dukes of Hazzard."	"Gimme a Break!" ran on NBC from 1981 to 1983 and starred Nell Carter, Dolph Sweet, Kari Michaelsen, Jauri Hendler, Lara Jill Miller, Howard Morris, Jane Dulo and others.  Joey Lawrence joined the cast the second season as a six year old orphan.	Here's a concept, a realistic look at the life of a 15(later a 16) year old boy.  "James at 15" starred Lance Kerwin and Linden Chiles and Lynn Carlin as his parents.  The series did bring some controversy to NBC when the lead character lost in virginity in one episode.  The series lasted only two seasons from 1977 to 1978.
This was not one of NBC's big hits....in fact, it was only aired from February to March of 1979.  "Little Women" was based on the Louisa May Alcott novel and starred Dorothy McGuire, William Schallert, Jessica Harper, Susan Walden, Ann Dusenberry and Cliff Potts.  Even a former Brady Bunch girl was in the cast, Eve Plumb.	Robert Conrad starred as Thomas Remington Sloane III, the lead character in "A Man Called Sloane."  This was an updated version of his "Wild Wild West" as well as similar to the James Bond movie series, with a little bit of "The Man from U.N.C.L.E." thrown in.  It only made it one year from September to September 1979 to 1980.	"Lobo" started as "The Misadventures of Sheriff of Lobo."  The title was changed during its second season to a much simpler "Lobo."  The series starred Claude Akins, Mills Watson, Brian Kerwin and others who  were either replaced by or were the replacements of the first co-starring cast.   It ran on NBC from 1979 to 1981.
			(left) Jo Warfield of WICS in an interview with an unknown subject during a public affairs program broadcast in 1978. (from the Jo Warfield Collection)
BobHope continued his Christmas Tour Highlight shows on NBC during the 1980's and early 1990's.  This one from the early 1980's, had an all star cast with over 200 stars appearing from Jack Benny to Bing Crosby, from Zsa Zsa Gabor to the Village People.  Brought to you by Texaco, while NBC was "Proud as a Peacock.  The other stations listed on the ad were W-TWO in Terre Haute, Indiana; Channel 15, WICD in Champaign and Channel 25, WEEK in Peoria. From 1980 to 1985, the NBC lineup consisted of Disney's Wonderful World of Color, CHiPs, The NBC Big Event, Little House on the Prairie, Lobo, B.J. and the Bear, Steve Allen Comedy Hour, Real People, Diff'rent Strokes, Facts of Life, Quincy M.E., Games People Play, Marie, Speak Up America, Barbara Mandrell and the Mandrell Sisters, Walking Tall, Hill Street Blues, Here's Boomer, Father Murphy, Bret Maverick, Flamingo Road, Love Sidney, Harper Valley, Lewis and Clark, Gimme A Break, McClain's Law, Nashville Palace, Fitz and Bones, Voyagers, Little House: a New Beginning, Gavilan, St. Elsewhere, Family Ties, Fame, Cheers, Taxi, Powers of Mathew Star, Knight Rider, Remington Steele(pictured above), Silver Spoons, First Camera,Boone, The A-Team, Bay City Blues, Facts of Life, Mama's Family, We Got it Maid, Mr. Smith, Jennifer Slept Here, Manimal, For Love and Honor, The Rousters, Yellow Rose, Punky Brewster, Bloopers and Practical Jokes, Riptide, Highway to Heaven, It's Your Move, Cosby Show, Night Court, V, Hunter, Miami Vice, Partners in Crime, Hot Pursuit, Amazing Stories, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Helltown, Golden Girls and 227. The videos above are from an outside source and may be withdrawn without notice.
		"Little House on the Prairie" was a continuation of the "Bonanza" franchise as it was developed by Michael Landon who was increasingly involved in the production of the original series.  The style, feel, music and even character development was becoming very different from the earlier episodes of the 1959 to 1973 "Bonanza."  When "Bonanza" reached the end of it's run, Landon took the Laura Ingalls Wilder book series and developed it as "Little House on the Prairie."  The show starred Landon, along with Karen Grassle, Melissa Gilbert, Melissa Sue Anderson and a long cast of many, who had worked with Landon in the past.  He certainly had many professional friends who would populate this series and others in which he would be involved in the future with as well.  The show would go on to re-invent itself as 'Little House: A New Beginning." with his TV daughter and her TV husband continuing the series.  It would continue to feature sentimental story lines in which tissues would be a necessity for viewers to wipe the tears that would come about due to the heart wrenching story lines being acentuated by the lush musical scores which played throughout each episode.  "Little House on the Prairie" ran on NBC from 1974 to 1983.
"Supertrain" was one of the biggest failure of any network series.  Not because of its short life (Feb-Jul 1979) but because it was such as an expensive flop.  It was an anthology show, much like ABC's "Love Boat."  The main characters were Edward Andrews, Patrick Collins and Robert Alda among others.	The late 1970's into the early 1980's were not good times for NBC.  The network was now airing shows based on stupid country songs like "Harper Valley P.T.A."  This one pulled out a former NBC star "Barbara Eden with Jenn Thompson, Fannie Flagg and even George Gobel.  It was a rural comedy similar to "B.J. and the Bear," "Lobo" and CBS's "Dukes of Hazzard."
One of the big budget mini-series broadcast on NBC, "Centennial" aired as a 12-episode series from October 1978 to February 1979.  The James Michener novel was adapted as a series and starred Raymond Burr, Robert Conrad, Richard Chamberlain and a huge cast of TV stars of the past and present.	Benji was the star of one of the most popular "dog" movie franchises of the modern era.  So...NBC came up with another contender, "Boomer."  The show starred the dog and no humans.  It ran on NBC from March to August 1980-82.	Here's another loser from NBC, "Turnabout" ran only for a few months, from January to March of 1979.  The series starred John Schuck, Sharon Gless, Richard Stahl, Bobby Jordon and James Sikking.  Don't remember this one?  Don't feel bad....	What, another loser?  "United States" ran from March to April 1980.  It was developed and produced by Larry Gelbart from "M*A*S*H*."  It starred Beau Bridges, Helen Shaver, Rossie Harris and Justin Dana who played characters dealing with modern day marriage.	"Knight Rider" ran on NBC from 1982 to 1986.  Starring David Hasselhoff before he hit the beach on Baywatch(which ran on WICD in syndication for years).  The series co-starred William Daniels as the voice of KITT, the car, as well as Edward Mulhare as Michael Knight's(Hasselhoff) boss.
Country music was gaining in popularity during the early 1980's, and self promoting country music singer Barbara Mandrell became a host of her own variety show, which also starred her sisters, Irlene and Louise.  "Barbara Mandrell and the Mandrell Sisters" aired on NBC from 1980 to 1982 and became one of the last of the big variety shows as she closed down production because of her busy schedule.	The late 1970's and throughout the 1980's, mini-series were big ratings magnets.  "Shogun" was based on the novel by James Clavell.  It ran in 5-parts in September 15-19, 1980 as an introduction to the new TV season.   The king of the mini-series, Richard Chamberlain starred with a mostly Japanese cast.	"Father Murphy" was a spin-off of the Michael Landon western franchise, "Little House on the Prairie."  Merlin Olson starred with Moses Gunn as John Michael Murphy who posed as a priest in order to head up an orphanage in a western town.  Awwww......  Another tear jerking series in the same vain as "Little House on the Prairie."  This series ran from 1981 to 1984.	"The Big Show" barely made a splash when it premiered in March of 1980.  It was dry again by June of 1980 after it was canceled.  This "big" 90 minute variety special included a huge cast of performers, comedians and guest stars.  This huge effort did little to help the anemic ratings of NBC during this era.	The producers of "Dallas" on CBS branched out to bring NBC its own night time soap based on greed, sex, corruption and dysfunctional people.   "Flamingo Road" starred John Beck, Kevin McCarthy, Barbara Rush, Morgan Fairchild and Mark Harmon among many others.  This night time soaper ran from Jan 1981 to July of 1982.
This page of WICS history should also include what was happening with NBC during that time. By the summer of 1981, the Fred Silverman era was coming to an end. Brandon Tartikoff became the head of programming for NBC. He was instrumental of reducing the number of aging dramas and increasing the popular sitcom count. “Hill Street Blues” which was doing poorly in the ratings, but was a success as far as the critics were concerned was granted a longer life and achieved a more successful future. It also was the inspiration for many similar ensemble cast dramas such as “St. Elsewhere” and “LA Law.” Ensemble casts were also used in sit coms as well, like “Cheers.” The biggest success of Tartikoff and NBC was “The A-Team” which became the only top 10 series of NBC during the 1982-83 season, and the next season it would rise to number three. David Letterman replaced “The Tomorrow Show” with Tom Snyder late nights. Letterman also hosted a daytime experimental show in 1980 which wasn't as successful. By 1984, “The Cosby Show,” “Family Ties” and “Cheers” were finally catching on and took NBC from number three to second place during the 1985-86 season.  "The Today Show" continued to do well, in spite of added competition from ABC and "Good Morning America."  "The Tonight Show" was an extremely popular late night, profit center for NBC and even daytime was successful in spite of competition from CBS and ABC.  Other popular shows during that mid 80's era included “The Golden Girls,” “227,” “Miami Vice,” “Highway to Heaven” and “Night Court.” When Bob Wright became chairman of NBC, the 1988-89 season NBC had 18 of the 30 highest rated programs. That achievement has not been met since by any network. The success of a TV network also reflected to the local stations as well....at least in most markets. In spite of having poor lead-ins to the stations local newscasts, WICS continued to be successful because of the culture and geography of the central Illinois market. Springfield viewers will always watch the Springfield local news no matter what....and the same could be said about viewers of local stations in Decatur and Champaign. NBC Shows in the top 20: 1979-80 #14 "Real People"   #16 "Little House on the Prairie" 1980-81 #10 "Little House on the Prairie"  #12 "Real People"  #17 "Diff'rent Strokes" 1981-82 None 1982-83 #10 "The A-Team"  1983-84 #4 "The A-Team"   #14 "TV's Bloopers and Practical Jokes"   #18 "Riptide"   1984-85 #3 "The Cosby Show"   #5 "The Family Ties"   #6 "The A-Team"  #12 "Cheers"   #14 "Riptide"  #18 "Monday Night Movie"  #19 "Highway to Heaven"  #20 "Night Court" 1985-86 #1 "The Cosby Show"  #2 "Family Ties"  #5 "Cheers"   #7 "The Golden Girls"  #9 "Miami Vice" #11 "Night Court"  #13 "Highway to Heaven" #19 "You Again"  #20 "227"
Another daytime entry in the NBC schedule of 1978 through 81, was "Card Sharks" which was hosted by Jim Perry and Bob Eubanks during it's run on NBC.	"The Doctors" ran on NBC from 1963 to 1982, a total of 5, 280 episodes.  The show was sponsored during it's run by Colgate-Polmolive.	"Blockbuster" ran on NBC daytime, hosted by Bill Cullen from 1980 to 1982.	"Hollywood Squares" aired on NBC in prime time, daytime and in syndication.  It was emceed by Peter Marshall, formerly one half of the Noonan and Marshall comedy team.  The quasi-game show also included 9 guest celebrities, many of who were regulars.	In January of 1979, "Password" appeared as part of the NBC daytime schedule as "Password Plus" where it would play for much of the 1980's.
"Concentration" enjoyed the longest daytime run of any game show in history.  Hugh Downs was the first host, then later Jack Barry, Art James, Bill Mazer, Ed McMahon and Bob Clayton.	"Bare Essence" was a short lived attempt by NBC to get into the nighttime soap business.  This one was to compete with Dynasty, the Colbys and Dallas.  It starred Jennifer O'Neill, Jaime Lyn Bauer, Jessica Walter and Al Corley(from Dynasty).	Another mostly forgotten daytime game show, "Hit Man" aired on NBC during the early months of 1983.  It was hosted by Peter Tomarken.  The shows producers were not big believers in the KISS theory.  This complex game show was simply too much to understand for the daytime audience.	Called similar to "Family Feud" "Hot Potato" was hosted by Bill Cullen.  Even though this one was a relatively simple show, the answers, like "Feud" weren't the right ones, they were determined by audience poles.   One person probably wasn't a viewer, Dan Quale.	"Sale of the Century" awarded merchandise instead of cash and was part of the NBC daytime schedule and in syndication.  It ran on NBC from 1969 to 1973, then returned in 1983 to NBC after being in syndication.
			"Like sands through the hourglass, so are the days of our lives...." as narrated by McDonald Carey during most of the run of the daytime serial, "Days of Our Lives."  It began in 1965 and continues today on NBC.  It is one of the last remaining daytime soaps on the air today, but during the late 1970's and early 1980's it was surrounded by many more.  It began as a 30-minute serial, but expanded in 1975 as as the second hour long daytime series.
"Santa Barbara" was another NBC daytime drama which ran from 1984 to 1993.	After being on CBS daytime from 1951 to 1982, "Search for Tomorrow" moved to NBC daytime.  It was the second long time soap to shift networks.  "Edge of Night" moved from CBS to ABC earlier.	NBC daytime included this spinoff series from "Another World."  In fact it was called "Another World: Texas" for a while.  It ran on NBC daytime from 1980 to 1982. At least during the 1981-82 season the this daytime drama was not aired on WICS/WICD being replaced by "Merv Griffin" the syndicated hour long variety/talk show
It wasn't the best hospital in town, but St. Eligius was certainly one of the more interesting hospitals in a TV series.  "St. Elsewhere" starred Ed Flanders, William Daniels, David Birney, Ed Begley, Jr., Howie Mandel and a huge cast which ran on NBC from 1982 to 1988.  It was a strong argument for national health care as it took patients which were denied care by the big "for profit" hospitals.  This critically acclaimed TV drama also included comedy elements within it's multi layered story lines.  It came from the same producers as Hill Street Blues, and never cracked the top 10 for NBC, but had a loyal following during it's run.
		Tony Randall starred in "Love Sidney" with Swoosie Kurtz and Kaleena Kiff.  Sidney, even though it was never stated in the series, was TV's first gay character.  "Love Sidney" ran on NBC from 1981 to 1983.	This NBC series was based on the classic movie "From Here to Eternity"  from the early 1950's.  This time it starred William Devane, Natalie Wood, Barbara Hershey, Kim Basinger, Roy Thinnes, Don Johnson and many others.  It ran on NBC from February 1979 to August of 1980.	"Hello Larry" starred McLean Stevenson(just back from Korea in M*A*S*H), this time he was a radio talk show host running on a radio station owned by Philip Drummond from "Diff'rent Strokes."  "Strokes" ran as a lead in to "Larry" and sometimes cast members would appear on each others show, but "Larry" crashed and disappeared just like McLean's character, Col. Blake did on M*A*S*H.
			"Quincy M.E." was one of the first medical examiner TV police dramas.  The series starred Jack Klugman, straight off of "The Odd Couple," in a very different role.  His character was that of a doctor who gave up his practice to work as a medical examiner.  His co-stars included Robert Ito, Garry Walberg and others in this NBC series which ran from 1976 to 1983.
The original "Fame" was a movie.  In 1982, it was an NBC series about the New York high school for the performing arts.  The stars included Debbie Allen and a huge cast of high school and college age performers.  After it was canceled on NBC in 1983, it went into syndication.  In central Illinois, it was picked up by WAND.	1982 was the beginning of the next generation of talking car.  Remember, "My Mother the Car?"  This time, it was a computer within a car, KITT voiced by actor William Daniels.  David Hasselhoff and Edward Mulhare.  "Knight Rider" ran on NBC from 1982 to 1986, and later sequeled in 1997-98.	"The Rousters" aired on NBC from 1983 to 1984. Chad Everett became a performer in a traveling carnival show as Wyatt Earp III.  His brother Evan was played by Jim Varney.  Hoyt Axton was also a regular.
"Jennifer Slept Here" starred Ann Jillian as a ghost, similar to the movie "Topper."  Jillian was Jennifer, a ghost who haunted a Beverly Hills home occupied by a "typical" family.  The catch was she only appeared to the families 14 year old boy, where she would guide him through some of the more troubled times of his life.  This one season series ran from 1983-84 and was shifted throughout the schedule during its run.	"Punky Brewster"was popular among 7-10 year old girls, and that was enough to keep it going for two seasons on NBC and a couple more in first run syndication.  Soleil Moon Frye starred as the girl abandoned by her parents and found herself living by herself in a New York apartment.  "Punky" ran on NBC, Sunday nights at 6pm from 1984-86.	Dick Clark and Ed McMahon starred in a 1982 variety show of sorts called "TV Bloopers and Practical Jokes."  It started out as a series of specials, then later a weekly variety series.  It would include mistakes of newscasters, weather casters, actors, performers of all types.  Sometimes a complicated practical joke involving a current celebrity would be played out and video taped and included int he show as well.	Comedian Harry Anderson starred as Judge Harry T. Sloane in "Night Court."  This ensemble sit com ran on NBC from 1984 to 1992 and co-starred Selma Diamond(a TV veteran writer and comedian), Richard Moll, John Larroquette and Paula Kelly.  This sitcom also bounced around the NBC sechedule on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and even Sunday nights during its run.	Beach bums being private detectives.  A popular story line of TV detective shows of the 50's and 60's, was brushed off and re-used in 1984-86 in "Riptide."  Perry King, Joe Penny and even Anne Francis (from ABC's "Honey West") all starred.
The 1980's were not kind to NBC.  By the 1982-83 season NBC had only one series in the top 10...."The A-Team." which  premiered in 1983 and quickly became the one hit NBC series, along with the already established "Little House on the Prairie."   George Peppard, Mr. T., Dirk Benedict and Tim Dunigan starred as special soldiers in Viet Nam who were framed for a theft of a bank in Hanoi and became a group of soldiers for hire, while still on the run from being arrested by the relentless Col. Lynch and later by Col. Decker.  "The A-Team" ran on NBC from 1983 to 1987.		Bill Cosby became an NBC franchise with the success of "The Cosby Show."  Cosby returned to NBC with this family sitcom which starred Phylicia Rashad, Sabrina Le Beauf, Lisa Bonet, Malcom-Jamal Warner, Tempestt Bledsoe and Keshia Knight Pulliam.   The family was headed by, of course, Bill Cosby's character Dr. Cliff Huxtable who maintained his practice at his home while dealing with the problems of raising children.  "The Cosby Show" ran on NBC from 1984 to 1992.
Pierce Brosnan, who would later become 007-James Bond, would initially star as "Remington Steele" a fictitious name/person made up by Laura Holt, played by Stephanie Zimbalist as a front for her detective agency.  She discovered that male detectives would get the jobs, so she made up the identity.  When people would ask for Remington, the un-named character played by Brosnan would play the part.  "Remington Steele" was an NBC regular from 1982 to 1987.	"Bay City Blues" was one of the NBC failures of the 1983 season.  Running for just 3 episodes in October to November 1983, it starred Michael Nouri, Kelly Harmon(Marks sister), Pat Corley, Bernie Casey it also starred a few future TV stars.  The cast also included Dennis Franz, Ken Olin, Sharon Stone, Sheree North and Michelle Greene.	Michael Landon was a popular franchise for NBC from his "Bonanza" days and later for the "Little House" series, including "Father Murphy."  "Highway to Heaven" starred Landon from 1984 to 1989.  The heavenly series also starred Victor French, who was a semi-regular during his other series as well.	"Partners in Crime" was another short lived NBC series which co-starred Loni Anderson, right off of her time at "WKRP in Cincinnati" on CBS as Sydney Kovak.  Lynda Carter also starred as Carole Stanwyck, both ex-wives of teh same man who became detectives solving mysteries.  They weren't in business long only running on NBC from September to December 1984.	Kate and Jim were a young hit couple, when Kate was framed for the murder of her boss.  The real murderer was a look alike of Kate with the name of Cathy Ladd.  "Hot Pursuit" was a take-off on "The Fugitive" but instead of one fugitive, it was a couple.  They would get involved in the lives of people they would meet as they looked, not for the one-armed man, but the real murder, Cathy.  Viewers didn't seek out the show, though, with the series running only September to December 1984.  The stars of the series were Kerrie Keane and Eric Pierpoint.
CNN benefited from talent developed at WICS during the 1970's and 80's.  Phillip Howard "Flip" Spiceland, a Granite City native was the main WICS weathercaster  from 197  to 1985.  He then left for KNTV in San Jose, California, CNN in Atlanta for 21 years, then WXIA in Atlanta.   He voluntarily left WXIA for a couple of PR jobs. He now works as a fund raiser for United Way in Atlanta, GA. Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be any pictures, film or video in existence of Flip's time at WICS. (picture from CNN) The late Nick Charles began his sportscasting career at WICS with future fellow CNN sportscaster Fred Hickman.  He was at WICS between the years of 1971 and 198   leaving for sports jobs at WJZ-TV in Baltimore, Maryland, then to WTOP radio and WRC-TV in Washington, D.C..  He was the first sports anchor at CNN in 1980, where he co-hosted CNN Sports Tonight with former WICS sportscaster Fred Hickman. He passed away in June of 2011 from bladder cancer. It's unfortunate that WICS has no pictures, film or video of Nick Charles at the station. (picture from CNN) (top): From 1983 are WICS sportscasters      and            .  (below): From 1985. (TV Guide ads from the Doug Quick Collection) This TV Guide ad for WICS features weather casters     Darryl Crouch and        from 1983. (TV Guide ad from the Doug Quick Collection) "Just Watch Us Now" was the NBC slogan in 1983.  It was also the date that many of those post freeze TV stations were celebrating their 30th anniversary. It was a sure bet that WICS didn't include a special program for their anniversary.  It seems that WICS before that date and even since then retains very little of its history and would not have any film or video of the early years.  Outside of old NBC footage which may have been available, there would have been no historical local programming. More to come The videos above are from an outside source and may be withdrawn without notice.
"Amazing Stories" was produced by Steven Spielburg. This anthology series would include stories similar to that found in "Twilight Zone," or "One Step Beyond."  It was popular among young viewers and aired on NBC from 1985-87.	Dean Martin's son, Dean Paul Martin starred as Dr. Billy Hayes with Courtney Cox and Kevin Peter Hall in "Misfits of Science."  It was a teen oriented adventure series which was part of the Friday night schedule from October 1985 to February of 1986.	Marla Gibbs who played a wise-cracking housekeeper for "The Jeffersons" this time played a wise-cracking housekeeper on "227."  Others in the NBC series included Jackee, Hal Williams and others.  It was on the NBC schedule as part of the Saturday night comedy block from 1985 to 1990.	"Hunter" was the name of one series with two different series runs with the same name and same stars, Fred Dryer and Stephanie Kramer.  It's first run was from 1984 to 1991, but it also popped up on NBC during the spring of 2003.	Deidre Hall was one of the most popular daytime drama stars, having been a veteran on "Days of Our Lives."  NBC developed "Our House" as a vehicle for the daytime star which also starred Wilford Brimley(star of the popular movie "Cacoon").  The family series was a Sunday night regular from 1986 to 1988.  Hall later went back to her role of Dr. Marlena Evans on "Days of Our Lives."
			"Matlock" was a senior citizens favorite crime drama.  Starring the much loved Andy Griffith as Ben Matlock, he was a small town southern lawyer who defended people accused of murder, and also acted as his own investigator along with a number of assistants.  They included Linda Purl, Kene Holliday, Nancy Stafford and Kari Lizer.  Matlock practiced on NBC from 1986 to 1995.
How about another try for Loni Anderson(see "Partners in Crime" above)?  "Easy Street" starred Jack Elam, Lee Weaver, Dana Ivey and James Cromwell.  Loni Anderson played a former Las Vegas showgirl and inherited a fortune from her late husband, including that of a mansion which was also owned by his former sister-in-law.  The clash between their lifestyles was the story line of this half hour sit-com.	Everyone loves a controversy, right?  "Valerie" premiered on NBC in 1986 with Valerie Harper in the lead.  This family sitcom also starred Josh Taylor(also of "Days of Our Lives") with Jason Batman.   The second year saw Harper in a dispute with the producers and NBC sought to continue the series with a new star....Sandy Duncan.  Much of the second season still called "Valerie" featured story lines without its star.  When it was determined that Harper wouldn't come back, the title was changed to "The Hogan Family."  It continued through 1990 on NBC, then moved to CBS for a run in 1991.	I would have loved to be in the producer-network pitch session for this series.  Were drugs and alcohol involved?   You've got to wonder.  "Alf"  ran on NBC from 1986 to 1990  and involved a space alien which became a part of a family.  The Tanners, played by Paul Fusco, Max Wright, Anne Schedeen and Benji Gregory, "adopted" Alf and hid him from the authorities.  By 1990 Alf was canceled.
(TV Guide ads from the Doug Quick Collection) (left): Members of WICS staff assemble with representatives of the Children's Miracle Network as preparations are made of the annual telethon. Staff members include:  Bob Murray, Les Vann, Jo Warfield among other unknown subjects. (from the Jo Warfield Collection)
	"LA Law" was a long running NBC serial drama with a large and rotating ensemble cast which included Richard Dysart, Alan Rachins, Susan Dey, Harry Hamblin, Jill Eikenberry, Corbin Bernsen, Michael Tucker, Jimmy Smits, Michele Green, Susan Ruttan, and Blair Underwood.  The action took place in the courtrooms, but there was just enough action taking place between the characters who were involved with each other.		"Miami Vice" was another stylized contemporary crime drama which set the tone for many crime dramas and movies to come.  Don Johnson became a star, the shows co-star Philip Michael Thomas didn't.  But the series was a success with it's co-stars Edward James Olmos and Saundra Santiago.  MTV was hot, and this MTV inspired series was on the NBC schedule from 1984 to 1989.
"Crime Story" was a highly stylized on going crime drama in serial form with a hit song as a theme.  The 60's oldie, "Runaway" by Del Shannon provided the theme, with the stars Dennis Farina, Anthony Denison, John Santucci, Stephen Lang, Bill Smitrovich and William Campbell.  Like some of the series during the 2011 season which took place in the early 1960's, this one was into the early 60's long before "Ad Men" ran on AMC.
"....Where everybody knows your name...." "Cheers" was another one of the 1980's NBC hits which eventually helped NBC out of the doldrums of the early 1980's.  This hit ensemble sitcom ran on NBC from 1982 to 1993.  Ted Danson, Shelly Long(later replaced by Kirstie Alley), Rhea Perlman, Nicholas Colasanto, George Wendt, John Ratzenberger, Kelsey Grammer and Woody Harrelson.			"The Golden Girls" ran on NBC from 1985 to 1992 with long time TV stars Bea Arthur, Betty White, Rue McClanahan and Estelle Getty.  Four mature women all living under the same roof in Miami.  The series also spun off "Empty Nest."