One of the finest times of the year for little Mr. Miller was, undoubtedly, the Fall Season of television. I could barely contain my joy whenever that Fall Preview issue of TV Guide was awaiting me in our mailbox. And the impending end of summer never seemed so horrible when it meant that all three Major Networks would soon be airing their Fall Preview Shows.
The Fall Preview seems to be a lost art these days, what with the new show seasons being scattered out along September through November. And with new shows debuting in mid-winter, spring, and even summer!
Mr. Miller here would sit there in front of the tube, with a pad and pencil clutched in my hungry fist, waiting to scribble down the names of the shows and the night and times they'd be airing. Then I'd go to my room and plan out my schedule for the upcoming months.
1971 was a pretty good TV season for ABC. They aired new seasons of The Brady Bunch, The Partridge Family, Bewitched, Monday Night Football, The Courtship of Eddie's Father and Love, American Style. They debuted Longstreet, Getting Along, Owen Marshall, Shirley's World and The Man and the City.
There's also a really great promo in the preview show for the ABC Evening News, complete with some wild psychedelic 70s graphics.
It may be a far fetched claim to many ears, but with only 3 Networks airing original programs, there was easily more good quality, fun stuff to watch back then, on any given night, than there is with 200+ channels today. And you can take that to your Mickey Mouse Gumball Bank.