Once upon a time, before cable TV was available for everyone, many of us had to rely on over-the-air programing to deliver our favorite TV shows. This would often require you to adjust your TV antennae (affectionately known as "rabbit ears") to fine tune your TV screen. Even with all of this additional work, you were still limited to five or six channels. In my hometown of Baltimore, we had the three major network affiliates (ABC, NBC & CBS) and two "UHF" channels which consisted of the Maryland Public Broadcasting channel and the newly introduced WBFF channel.
WBFF, introduced in 1971, was a welcome addition to our viewing repertoire. As a child, I can remember rushing home from school so I could catch the start of Captain Chesapeake at 3 pm. Captain C, as he was affectionately known, was the host of a variety of shows that ran for the remainder of the afternoon. He would give a brief monologue and then he would transition into an episode of "Rocky & Bullwinkle", "Speed Racer" or another similar kid-friendly cartoons. Captain would make spontaneous appearances during the commercial. And although I was usually alone, I always felt like the captain was with me in an adjacent armchair.
Captain Chesapeake was like Santa Claus in the sense of his mystique to young minds. Did he really live on a house boat in the middle of the Chesapeake? Was his sidekick, Mondy the Sea Monster, real? At some point, kids would start with the "C'mon, you don't really believe all that, do you?" As an honorary "crewmember", it was hard to give into reality.
As the evening progressed, the kid shows would give way to classic sitcoms such as "Gomer Pyle USMC", "Get Smart", "The Munsters", "I Dream of Jeannie" and the beloved "Gilligan's Island". If you happened to drop by a friend's house, it was common to see one of these shows playing on the TV. They were staples of our youth.
On Saturday nights. we would tune into "Ghost Host Theater" which featured old horror movie starring the likes of Vincent Price and other classic horror movie actors. While these movies might be considered lame by today's standards, they were scary and creepy enough to keep a youngster on the edge of his seat back then.
The "BFF" in WBFF is officially stated to mean Baltimore's Forty-Five. However, I have also heard it referred to as Baltimore's Finest Features. Although the former is technically accurate, I believe the latter is more appropriate.
Aside from the classic sitcoms, WBFF also ran some pretty interesting commercials. I can remember the ads for "Ray's Hair Weaves". I don't actually know anyone that bought one of these hair weaves, but Ray always made them sound like a must-have item.
There were also the Carvel Ice Cream commercials, featuring "Fudgy the Whale". The announcer's voice was unique, sounding like he was talking through a muffled bullhorn.
I can also remember the commercials for the plastic slip-covers for your furniture. In the commercial, kids would be jumping up and down on a couch when a thunderous voice would startle them with, "Hey, you kids! Get off of that couch! What are ya trying to do, ruin it?!" And I can actually remember people buying these covers. Although they would certainly protect the fabric from a splash of red wine, they made the couch or chair extremely uncomfortable. You would sit on these things in the summer time and then have the joy of peeling your bare arms and legs from the plastic as you got up.
WBFF also had their own local newscasters. The one that sticks out in my mind is a guy named Ernie Boston. He had this deep "Rodney Dangerfield" type voice and an all-business delivery. My good friend, Mark, used to do an awesome impression of Mr. Boston.
WBFF just celebrated it's 50th anniversary in my hometown of Baltimore. Although the programming has changed quite a bit from my childhood days, the station is still on the air and doing fine. I thank them for the memories and wish them many years of continued success for the future.
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