Dish-Houston

RARE 1973 PHONE CHAT GIVES INCITE INTO THE BIRTH OF STAR TREK

Former Houston radio and television personality Scott Arthur was spring cleaning recently when he came across a telephone interview he did with the “Father” of Star Trek in 1973.

“It’s 40 years ago almost to the day.”Scott said. “I was a young DJ at WARM radio in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Mr. Roddenberry was scheduled to speak at a local college and I got his phone number and set up an interview to promote the event in advance.” said the Texas Radio Hall of Famer.

To put this in context, the original Star Trek series (Star Trek TOS) ran 79 episodes on NBC from 1966-1969 and then was canceled. The interview took place about the time determined “Trekkies” began a nationwide campaign petitioning the network to bring the series back to TV. It seems the show began to build a cult following after it aired in prime time and was banished to “re-run land”. The network chiefs felt the series and the concept had no future … that was 12 feature films and 5 separate TV series ago. This multi-million dollar franchise also includes Star Trek comics, merchandise, novels and even games.

“Before I began rolling tape ….he told me that the TV set was going to be the center of our lives. He said, your TV will have a typewriter in front of it – and open up the world to you. Just a glimpse of his genius and vision.” said Scott. “With all the hype of the new Trek Movie – this is fun to listen to. He shares how they invented the Spock character and was told to hide him, what the woman’s lib movement forced him to do  … and what inspired the Transporter.”

Listen to the entire interview here: 

DISH-COntributer: By Kimberly Campbell, President, QUEST Business Strategies (www.qbsmarketing.com)

HOW VERY DISHIE IS THIS!!!!!!   This Thursday, another lucky and deserving family will receive the surprise of a lifetime when the team of ABC’s Emmy awarded-winning program, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, pulls up in their big bus. The Bay Area Houston resident will be virtually evicted from their home on Thursday and sent on a week-long vacation, all while their house is demolished and rebuilt in less than seven days.

This project marks EM:HE’s 174^th episode where a family receives an amazing home transformation, all of which is made possible solely through generous donations from the community. Blu Shields Construction has taken on the mammoth task as the prime contractor and home builder. Their staff is responsible for spearheading all contractors willing to share their materials, labor and talents. Monetary donations are also collected to fund many of the project costs, pay off the existing mortgage, and set up college scholarships for the family’s children.

Public events for this episode were kicked off Monday with a massive pep rally in League City. Led by executive producer, Anthony Dominici, the 400-person crowd met the production crew, viewed video from previous shows, and got geared up to volunteer their important time during a particularly cold week here in the south.

Not only will this family benefit from this endeavor, but hundreds of others in the community will also reap rewards. The American Red Cross, a partner of EM:HE, is being mobilized to conduct a blood drive at the spectator site. Additionally, all visitors, volunteers and media are encouraged to bring non-perishable food items to help restock the shelves of area food banks, many depleted during the recent holidays.

Materials, donations and volunteers are still needed for this project. Anybody wanting to offer a helping hand can sign up on the Blu Shields website at www.blushieldsextreme.com. A list of specific supplies and trades needed are also listed. Project progress can also be followed on Facebook by becoming a Blu Shields Extreme fan.

The chosen family will get to see their new home on Thursday, January 14 when the show’s lead designer, Ty Pennington, hosts the “reveal” and engenders the crowd to shout those famous words, “Move that bus!” Although the air date of this episode is not yet known, EM:HE, currently in it’s seventh season, airs Sundays at 7:00pm on ABC.

Now get out there DISHIES and HELP!!! =) WOOHOOO!!!

Post-Newsweek's KPRC Houston has pulled Dr. Phil off the air in its 3 o'clock timeslot and replacing it with Oprah's new protege, Dr. Oz.

“It’s out of desperation that I did this," said Post-Newsweek President Alan Frank. “I did everything but stand on my head to get [CBS’] attention over the years.”

The station purchased rights to air the show till 2011, but due to disappointing ratings and tabloid-centered content, they felt it was better to abandon ship. According to Nielson ratings, Dr. Phil's viewership is down 22% from last year!

“We’ve been disappointed for some time in the direction of the show,” continued Frank. “It used to be a friend to female viewers and it’s changed to become a very tabloid show. It’s not the topics, it’s the way they treat the topics.”

No one, but CBS Television Distribution can deny that the show's gone downhill.

The studio states, "The facts are that KRPC has a contractual obligation to pay for the show through 2011. We have listened to the station's comments about the show and we are as proud of the content and direction as we've ever been. We are confused by the station's actions."

Meanwhile, Dr. Oz is up 13% in Houston from a month ago!

“We had no sense that Dr. Phil was going to do anything different so we finally decided to see if we could get ratings from a show other than this one,” said Frank.

Looks like someone needs to take their own advice and GET REAL!