WURG 2 WJM?

Did you ever suddenly wake up because something finally clicked in your brain that was right in front of you the whole time? I saw it happen in the movie 'The Stranger', when Edward G. Robinson's character suddenly woke up and called Washington. He was convinced that Orson Welles' character was a Nazi - because only a Nazi would think that Freud wasn't a German but only a Jew.

The same happened to me just now. Just before I went down for nappies this morning after work, I watched my DVR recording of the 'Back To You' pilot from Wednesday, the new FOX sitcom starring Kelsey Grammer, Patricia Heaton, and Fred Willard. And just a few minutes ago, I woke with a sudden realization - the show may have made a veiled link for itself with 'The Mary Tyler Moore Show'!
Back in 1997, anchorman Chuck Darling left the anchor chair at WURG Channel 9 in Philadelphia to begin his ambitious climb to reach the big time - Los Angeles. I'm sure it was in his game plan to make it to New York and perhaps from there to an anchor position on either the Big Three networks or one of the cable news outlets like CNN or MSNBC or - ah, who am I kidding? This is a FOX sitcom! And Kelsey Grammar is a conservative. His character of Chuck Darling was probably aiming for FOX Noise - er, FOX News.

Before L.A., he spent time at a Denver station. And between that gig and Philly, he was in Minneapolis........

So why couldn't he have been at WJM, Channel 12?

I believe that unlike the actor who portrayed him, Ted Baxter is still alive in Toobworld. But that doesn't mean he would still be the top newsman at that TV station. Perhaps Chuck Darling was brought in to WJM to replace Ted once he retired/was fired.

And even if it wasn't to be at WJM, then it could have been that he replaced Ross Nelson at WJM's rival station, Channel 8. It was certainly a step up in that market, since it was the number one rated station in Minneapolis.

But Chuck definitely said that he was at a station in Minneapolis, so that means we can rule out KOGD in St. Paul, even if the Twin Cities can pick up each other's broadcast signals.

Good night and good news!

SHOWS CITED:
'Back To You'
'The Mary Tyler Moore Show'
'The Tom Show'

BCnU!
Toby OB

Lou Grant:
"You take away their helicopters, their mobile units, their fancy equipment...
And what have you got?"
Mary Richards:
"Us."
'The Mary Tyler Moore Show'