CBS Preparing for Thanksgiving Tradition

The Insider’s Kevin Frasier and Entertainment Tonight’s Christina McLarty will host CBS’s THANKSGIVING DAY PARADE starting at 9:00am on Thanksgiving Day.

The CBS tradition, now in its 51st year, will feature portions of the 85th Annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade live from New York City, as well as performances by Grammy® Award-winning rock legend John Fogerty.  
 
Additional performances during the Parade will include the Broadway casts of the Tony Award-winning productions of “Anything Goes” and “Memphis.”
 
Frazier and McLarty will anchor from a site along the parade route in Times Square.  The beloved parade is famous for its gigantic balloons of cartoon character favorites, fantastic floats and lively marching bands from across the country.

Rudolph’s Back!

Now that you’ve survived Thanksgiving dinner, Black Friday and Cyber Monday, it’s time to curl up with the family and enjoy one of television’s all-time favorite holiday traditions: RUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED REINDEER.

The 1964 special, which has been a staple of the CBS holiday calendar since 1972, airs Tuesday at 8:00pm on LIVE 5 WCSC.

Narrated by legendary balladeer Burl Ives (as Sam the Snowman), it tells the story of a misfit reindeer who was picked on because of his bright red glowing nose.  When the reindeer searches for acceptance, he finds Santa Claus, and the rest is the well-known story kids of all ages enjoy year after year.

The movie was digitally remastered in 2005, so today’s viewers can get the most of the classic.

Here’s a bit of trivia for those quick-eyed nitpickers:

Holiday Special Gets Second Airing on CBS

An innocent question from an eight-year-old girl serves as the story behind a CBS holiday special returning to Live 5 WCSC next month.

YES, VIRGINIA, THERE IS A SANTA CLAUS, an animated movie, will air on December 17th at 8:00pm. Last year’s airing was the most-watched show that night among children ages 2 to 11 and 6 to 11.

The title refers to the name of an editorial in a New York newspaper. An eight-year-old girl, Virginia O’Hanlon, had written to the New York Sun to ask if Santa Claus was real. Her father suggested that she ask her question to the newspaper after she expressed doubt that Santa was real. The newspaper’s response, which originally ran on Sept. 21, 1897, has been reprinted year after year in newspapers around the country.

Telethon plans major changes

Major changes are ahead for the MDA Labor Day Telethon, the Muscular Dystrophy Association announced Thursday.

The annual event, which comedian Jerry Lewis has hosted for all of its 45 years on television, will be trimmed from a 21-hour to a 6-hour program.  The 2011 show is slated to air on Sunday night from 6:00pm until Midnight, and not air at all on Labor Day itself.

The change is being made, according to executives within MDA, to not only cut production costs, but increase the number of viewers.

Live 5 WCSC has carried the telethon for more than 30 years, with Ann McGill, Meteorologist Chad Watson and reporter Tracey Amick anchoring local updates from our studio.  Lewis and an assortment of co-hosts anchor the national broadcast from Las Vegas.

Price Airing Valentine’s Day Special

This Friday, THE PRICE IS RIGHT will get into the Valentine’s Day spirit with a couples-themed episode.

Contestants called to “come on down” for the chance to win prizes will be couples and prizes will feature romantic trips and extravagant “his and her” prizes. The set will also be decorated for the big day.

Don’t miss it this Friday at 11:00am, followed by LIVE 5 NEWS AT NOON.

Live 5 News Counts Down Top 5 Stories of 2009

LIVE 5 NEWS counts down the Top 5 Stories of 2009 in a special edition of LIVE 5 NEWS AT 7 tonight.

Live 5 Viewers were recently asked to log on to live5news.com and rank their picks for the biggest local and statewide stories of the year, from a collection of news items that included economic and jobless woes, the announcement that Boeing would build its Dreamliner here in the Lowcountry, the kidnapping of a North Charleston infant and the scandal involving Governor Mark Sanford.

With their votes tabulated, LIVE 5 NEWS will present a look back at the five stories that received the most votes. Your Live 5 Insider has intentionally avoided sneaking a peek at the results, so it will be interesting to see which stories you chose as the biggest.

Don’t miss that special trip down memory lane, tonight at 7pm.

Another Holiday Favorite Airs Tonight on CBS!

A certain loveable snowman makes his annual visit to CBS tonight at 8pm on LIVE 5 WCSC.

FROSTY THE SNOWMAN, featuring the voice of Jimmy Durante as narrator and Jackie Vernon as Frosty, first aired on CBS on December 7, 1969; tonight it will have its 40th annual telecast. And let’s face it: Christmas isn’t complete without Frosty!

Kids build a snowman and as a finishing touch, they adorn it with a tophat discarded by a magician. When the magician, who had considered himself a failure, discovers the hat’s power, he snatches it away, and the kids have to figure out a way to get it back before Frosty melts!

Then at 8:30pm, CBS’s FROSTY RETURNS brings more adventures of the snowman brought to life. This time around, Jonathan Winters narrates and Frosty is voiced by John Goodman. FROSTY RETURNS first aired on December 1, 1995.

This time, Frosty must battle the eveil Mr. Twitchell, who has created a spray to make snow disappear.

Enjoy the two great Christmas classics tonight on LIVE 5 WCSC. And we wish you all a Merry Christmas!

A Bird? A Plane? Nope…a Reindeer!

An annual Christmas favorite hits the air tonight on LIVE 5 WCSC. RUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED REINDEER airs tonight at 8pm.

Narrated by the late Burl Ives, the stop-motion animated tale of the reluctant reindeer first aired on NBC in December of 1964. It has been a staple of CBS’s holiday calendar since 1972, and in 2005, the show was digitally-remastered in HD.

The show won’t be airing in widescreen, but viewers will still notice a difference in the image quality from the pre-2005 version.

RUDOLPH is television’s longest-running Christmas special, and this year marks the 45th annual showing.

Be sure not to miss it: it’s a great treat for kids of all ages!

Thanksgiving Programming Changes

It’s time to talk turkey: as in Thanksgiving. Because of special programming, some of your favorite shows won’t be shown on Thursday or Friday. Here’s a look at what to expect:

THANKSGIVING DAY
Starting at 9:00am, LIVE 5 WCSC will carry THE THANKSGIVING PARADE ON CBS. Then, there’s LIVE 5 NEWS AT NOON, followed by THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS in their normal time periods.

We’ll then air two episodes of LET’S MAKE A DEAL starring Wayne Brady at 1:30pm and 2:30pm before our special Thanksgiving Day NFL game. (Fans of THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL and AS THE WORLD TURNS don’t have to worry about missing anything: those shows did not produce episodes for Thursday or Friday, so they’ll pick up right where they left off.)

At 3:30pm, a special NFL TODAY gets you ready for Oakland @ Dallas. The game is scheduled to run until 7:30pm.

TWO AND A HALF MEN will air in its normal slot, though it may be pre-empted or delayed if the game runs long.

The prime time lineup is normal this Thanksgiving night:

• 8:00pm – SURVIVOR: SAMOA
• 9:00pm – CSI:
• 10:00pm – THE MENTALIST
• 11:00pm – LIVE 5 NEWS AT 11

FRIDAY, NOV. 27
LIVE 5 WCSC will air its normal morning lineup through THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS.

At 1:30pm, catch a one-hour CBS SPORTS SPECTACULAR on the best of college football. At 2:30pm, it’s Alabama at Auburn, which takes us to LIVE 5 NEWS AT 6.

Our regular Friday night prime time lineup is normal:

• 8:00pm – GHOST WHISPERER
• 9:00pm – MEDIUM
• 10:00pm – NUMB3RS
• 11:00pm – LIVE 5 NEWS AT 11

All of us at LIVE 5 WCSC hope you and your family have a great Thanksgiving weekend!

Thanks So Much!

The final local tally for the 44th ANNUAL JERRY LEWIS MDA TELETHON was $229,184.

Thanks so much to Lowcountry viewers who were so generous despite the rough economy. The money raised today will stay right here in our area, helping local families affected by any of the various neuromuscular diseases the Muscular Dystrophy Association is fighting.

Behind the scenes, Live 5 WCSC producer Mike Rabon was awarded an MDA Broadcast Journalism award. Rabon received the Gold Award for Special Event Feature. Rabon, along with executive producer Jim DeMauro, produces the video presentations featuring local children battling Muscular Dystrophy in one of its many forms and the efforts to help them live normal lives and raise money to find a cure.

Live 5 WCSC aired the telethon from 9:00pm on Sunday through 6:30pm on Monday. This was our 32nd airing of the event.