1950-1951 Neilsen ratings, #19-11

Picking up from where we left off yesterday, with number 19: 19. (Three way tie) Armstrong Circle Theater on NBC, Tuesday nights at 9:30 PM ET & Big Town on CBS, Thursday nights at 9:30 PM ET & Lights Out on NBC, Monday nights at 9 PM ET, all with a 35.6 percent of the viewing audience. Armstrong Circle Theater is an interesting show that would, from time to time, do dramas but favored comedies due to a strict “no violence” portrayal policy. I don’t have any episodes of the show, but I’m inclined to believe some episodes may survive. If anyone has any leads to where I may find some, please leave a note in the comments. Big Town was a radio importation, a reporter living in the city and telling the stories of the city through his eyes. I think some episodes are on some anthology releases from Mill Creek or Timeless Media Group, I just haven’t gotten around to picking them up yet. Stay tuned though, I hope to get to them someday. Lights Out is another importation from the radio, best know for the works of suspense writer Arch Oboler. Seven volumes of the show are on DVD from Alpha Video that I have yet to pick up, much to my regret. I would love to see if the quality of the show holds up versus the radio version, which I am more familiar with. It is another on my “to do” show list, but given it is seven separate volumes at about 10-12 dollars a pop, it is one I have not felt the urge to jump on. Let us just say that, if pushed by my audience to do Lights Out, I’d be more than happy to backtrack. 18. Arthur Godfrey and His Friends on CBS, Wednesday nights at 9 PM ET with a 35.9 percent of the viewing audience. This show actually coexists hand and hand with another Godfrey creation, Arthur Godfrey’s Talent Scouts. Godfrey would take his “discoveries” from that show and present them on this program, all carefully groomed under his watchful eye. For as long as the show was on and for the notoriety it would eventually obtain (more on that another time), I’m just not aware of anything surviving, not on DVD at any rate. If anyone has any leads to anything, hit the comment line please. 17. You Bet Your Life on NBC, Thursday nights at 8 PM ET with a 36.0 percent of the viewing audience. Obviously, for his first season, Groucho was doing pretty well, cracking the top 20. Much like with Studio One, since we’re covering the show in detail, I’ll just let the number stand as a mark as to how well the show is doing. 16. The Aldrich Family on NBC, Sunday nights at 7:30 PM ET with a 36.1 percent of the viewing audience. Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: an importation from radio, this time as a family situation comedy covering the misadventures of a family and their teenage son Henry. I’m not aware of surviving television episodes, but would not be surprised if some were included on a Mill Creek or Timeless Media anthology and I just don’t know about them yet. If they do, let me know and I’ll take a look and see if I can give the show some attention. 15. Toast of the Town on CBS, Sunday nights at 8 PM ET with a 36.5 percent of the viewing audience. This is a show that everyone has heard of, just not under this title. Toast of the Town was the original title for what would become The Ed Sullivan Show, running in this timeslot for nearly two decades. Of course, we’ll talk about Ed, the show and subjects relating to it as some of the “names” who were on the show come up in the reviews. I beg patience and indulgence. 14. Kraft Television Theater on NBC, Wednesday nights at 9 PM ET with a 37.0 percent of the viewing audience. Much like Westinghouse Studio One, this is an anthology series, featuring some impressive talent in a variety of stories. I have a few episodes, although none from the 1950-51 period and am working on running down others. I am honestly not sure how many kinescopes of the series survive, but it is a work in progress and rest assured, the show will be given its due. 13. Man Against Crime on CBS, Friday nights at 8:30 PM ET with a 37.4 percent of the viewing audience. One of television’s first, if not the first, detective dramas. Unfortunately, only filmed episodes from later seasons in the mid-1950s survive, so the show will be covered when we get to those later episodes. Unless we get lucky and someone discovers an older one in a vault somewhere, of course. 12. Martin Kane, Private Eye on NBC, Thursday nights at 10 PM ET with a 37.8 percent of the viewing audience. Another private eye drama, again the problem of only a few episodes surviving. I am aware of them being included on a Mill Creek anthology collection at least, but I do not believe they are from the 1950-1951 season. If I am wrong, someone please let me know in the comments and I will remedy this when I pick up the anthology. 11. Robert Montgomery Presents on NBC, alternating Monday nights at 9:30 PM ET with a 38.8 percent of the viewing audience. As with Westinghouse Studio One, this was an anthology drama program, mostly handling one hour summations of popular movies, somewhat akin to what Lux Radio Theatre was doing on the radio. I am honestly not certain on what may survive from this show, but I have a feeling kinescopes are out there and I’m just not aware of them. If anyone knows anything about surviving episodes, hit the comment line and I will look into it. As long as it is financially feasible, I’ll do anything to build up and increase the library, of course. Tomorrow, 1950-1951’s top ten.