So Tom Suiter is retiring...

Everyone remembers Charlie Gaddy and probably Ray Wilkinson whether they knew his name or not, but who remembers the old original TV shows on WRAL?

Remember SPARKS?

12/3/2008 10:26:40 PM

i didn't know the road that the cary public library is on was actually named after someone.

12/3/2008 10:28:46 PM

holy shit, sparks?!?! i almost thought i made that up in my memories, no one i know remembers the show but i used to watch it all the time

12/3/2008 10:39:47 PM

loved me some sparks

12/3/2008 10:40:35 PM

Do they even still show Brain Game? That's the only original non-news show they still have. What ya'll know about Frog Hollow?

http://wwwcache.wral.com/wral-tv/video/1180973/

Oh snap, project Sparks is missing

http://www.wral.com/wral-tv/video/1180971/

All the cool kids were watching Frog Hollow in 1986.

[Edited on December 3, 2008 at 10:53 PM. Reason : .]

12/3/2008 10:48:46 PM

lol i was on brain game

12/3/2008 10:50:00 PM

cant forget Bob DeBardelaben

12/3/2008 10:50:56 PM

sparks was lame as fuck, but I remember it

12/3/2008 10:54:56 PM

Quote :

"sparks was lame as fuck, but I remember it"

NO

12/3/2008 10:55:39 PM

Quote :

"sparks was lame as fuck, but I remember it"

Just because you weren't cool enough to hang out at Shades...

12/3/2008 10:59:24 PM

i remember charlie gaddy, tom suiter, bob debarbeladen (??), , bob holiday, that she-anchor who went to MSNBC, SPARKS, etc.

[Edited on December 3, 2008 at 11:01 PM. Reason : sadfasd]

12/3/2008 11:01:21 PM

I, too, was on Brain Game.

12/3/2008 11:05:40 PM

I only recently discovered the "Time Machine" in Sparks! was just a revolving photography dark room door. My inner child was

12/3/2008 11:26:21 PM

Quote :

"that she-anchor who went to MSNBC"

Donna Gregory?

12/3/2008 11:28:29 PM

awww- I remember all of these people & shows.
I even have a shirt that says Tom Suiter's Football Friday.
He made it worthwhile to keep watching the sports
I wonder how much longer Greg Fishel will stay on...

[Edited on December 3, 2008 at 11:44 PM. Reason : stupid auto link]

12/3/2008 11:43:35 PM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57LAqGlIVV8 !

for the WTVD fans: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jekr7Yt54tc (this is EPIC)

12/4/2008 12:00:43 AM

my mom got in a wreck with greg fishel one time. he also used to drink at playmakers every tuesday night.

12/4/2008 12:23:28 AM

^^ ahahahaa WTVD. I can't believe how young Larry Stogner is in that video

http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=4BKESuGuBQ8
Who's old enough to remember this?

[Edited on December 4, 2008 at 12:31 AM. Reason : .]

12/4/2008 12:26:56 AM

12/4/2008 1:09:36 AM

Quote :

"http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=4BKESuGuBQ8 Who's old enough to remember this?"

^

Some people used to play the national anthem at the end of the broadcast day. In Wilmington, they knew better:
http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=qVcVh8glPms

[Edited on December 4, 2008 at 1:24 AM. Reason : .]

12/4/2008 1:20:58 AM

seriously though

sparks for the motherfucking win

people look at me like i'm insane when i try to explain sparks to them

12/4/2008 1:26:22 AM

The older professor, Fogg I believe his name was, lived near me down in Johnston County. I had a couple of classes with his son. Mark Cath was his name. He's done some musicals too, I know he did Fiddler on the Roof.

12/4/2008 1:33:57 AM

I got in a wreck with the old black guy who used to do sports on WTVD

12/4/2008 1:49:12 AM

Quote :

"holy shit, sparks?!?! i almost thought i made that up in my memories, no one i know remembers the show but i used to watch it all the time"

Im the same way but with Whitney the Hobo (or Winnie, Im not sure)...watched it everyday at 4PM...people look at me crazy when I mention it.

12/4/2008 5:51:39 AM

Man, and here I was thinking I was the only one that remembered Sparks.


[Edited on December 4, 2008 at 5:58 AM. Reason : l]

12/4/2008 5:54:26 AM

i remember touring the WRAL building when i was a kid and they showed us the sparks set etc.

on WRAL if you search for the tornado of 88, they have a complilation made several months afterwards of old school news reports about it. charlie gaddy was on it.
i have looked around for old school ray wilkinson cecil and leonard stories but the page i found wouldn't load samples.

i'm a big fan of old school wral.


Oh, and Tom Suiter will still do football friday and some other special things.

12/4/2008 6:26:10 AM

Ahh I remember seeing Fishel at Playmakers a lot. My friend Will would eventually drink enough that he wanted to go talk to him which never ended well.
"So Greg how bout that low pressure system.. huh??? yeah, this guy knows what I'm talkin about"

12/4/2008 7:43:56 AM

I was in an episode of Sparks! I served ice cream to the kids.

For you fans of classic WRAL join this group on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/group.php?gid=71729490062

[Edited on December 4, 2008 at 8:32 AM. Reason : Sparks was nothing compared to UNCLE PAUL]

12/4/2008 8:29:54 AM

that's creepy as hell.

12/4/2008 8:51:57 AM

haha, i just watched that entire Sparks video.
love the Heart they have playing in the background at Shades

12/4/2008 9:32:46 AM

Quote :

"Ray Wilkinson "

Was this the guy that always did the Farm Report + Cecil and Leonard?

12/4/2008 9:38:43 AM

ahahaha brain game

and lol at WECT - frances weller and george eliot were gettin it on, you know

12/4/2008 9:38:47 AM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FCJ8gUnW7Sc

12/4/2008 9:40:34 AM

Brain Game was on last weekend before the Miami @ NCSU game. Looked new to me.

12/4/2008 9:44:03 AM

stuart scott for wral at the mission valley abc store talking about the hardships of buying alcohol with a credit card



stuart scott for wral in the snow

12/4/2008 10:02:55 AM

I didn't live in Raleigh before I came to school here ('98) but I'm suprised at how long a lot of the WRAL anchors/reporters have been there. Looking at the web site, Suiter, Bob Holliday, and Greg Fishel have all been with the station since 1981, Bill Leslie since 1984, and Jeff Gravley started as an intern in '85 (gone from '00 to '03 but cam eback). 20+ years for all of them, then there's several more including Debra Morgan and David Crabtree who started at the station in the early 90's. That's pretty impressive continuity.

12/4/2008 11:21:40 AM

I, too, was on Brain Game.

12/4/2008 11:32:39 AM

^^ WRAL is the largest independently-owned TV station in the country...I think when Goodmon finds good talent that the community likes, he'll pay (and treat) them appropriately in order to hold on to them.

12/4/2008 1:12:02 PM

they were also the first station in the country to broadcast their news in HD

12/4/2008 1:21:57 PM

these are two reasons that i, too, love WRAL

also, when bill leslie says "noon news," it sounds like he is saying "nude news"

i always lol

12/4/2008 2:47:32 PM

Ok - I will show my advanced years on this one

Does anybody remember the Uncle Paul Show?

Having grown up just east of Raleigh we actually had a school trip to be on the Uncle Paul Show circa 1977 or so.

12/4/2008 3:10:52 PM

Quote :

"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FCJ8gUnW7Sc"

That is some Anchorman-like shit.

Was I the only kid whose parents made them watch Frog Hollow? I don't think I would have chosen to watch that on purpose but now I'm glad I did since it was all bluegrass folksy local TV and all.

Ric Flair and Ricky Steamboat at Dorton Arena Tuesday May 22 1979! Charlie Gaddy! Bob Debartelaven!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TF8CYGYbFiU

12/4/2008 5:47:09 PM

they wanted me to be on Brain Game but i was like wtf fuck dat i just live

12/4/2008 5:49:27 PM

^^i was just about to mention frog hollow, i still remember the song.

back in the day the andy griffith show used to come on just before the evening news, and at the end of the show, they would cut straight to the opening credits of the news without a commercial break. i still anticipate hearing the news themesong right after the end of the andy griffith.

12/4/2008 6:04:52 PM

OH THE HUMANITY! BEING ABLE TO BUY LIQUOR WITH CREDIT CARDS!!!

12/4/2008 7:58:42 PM

1988 Tornado. Remember that one? It took down most of my grandparent's trees in Burlington. Didn't realize it was this widespread (and yes, it's def. the same storm, this was Nov. of '88)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eDueNSZfymM

It's scary how much Tom Suiter looked like my dad before my dad lost his hair.

[Edited on December 7, 2008 at 10:55 PM. Reason : .]

12/7/2008 10:54:48 PM