The History of Capitol Broadcasting Company

Sparks was a WRAL children’s program that premiered in 1985 and aired Saturday mornings through 1990. The half-hour fantasy/drama program primarily engaged older elementary school children and pre-teens.

The stories revolved around a mysterious time machine that could transport the characters into the past or future to resolve conflicts and/or provide insight and better understanding of specific time periods.

Sparks was set in a mythical North Carolina town in the time of the show’s production- the mid to late 1980s. The ongoing story line is rooted in a fictitious incident that occurred on June 17, 1955.

The lead character Sam Blade was a government scientist working on a top secret project, code name “Sparks.” Blade invented a time machine and then transported himself into the future.

During his trip he discovered that the government had ulterior motives for the machine. Upon his return, Blade realized the need to hide the machine as well as himself. Meanwhile the government is trying to find him. Actor Mark J. Miller portrayed Sam Blade.

Junius Fogg, Blade’s best friend, is a small-appliance repairman. Even though Blade and Fogg are the same age, Blade’s time travel of thirty years into the future put him into time limbo – he did not age. Consequently the gray-haired Fogg is now thirty years older than Blade. This became a comical source of conflicts within the various plots of the show. The time machine is now safely and secretly stashed away in a back-room at Fogg’s Fix-It Shop. Actor Mark Cath portrayed Junius Fogg.

The youth aspect of Sparks was introduced through Fogg’s grandchildren, Tory and Zachary, and their friends. The script writers tackled dilemmas and issues that confronted them. Many of these concerns were worked out in the malt shop setting called “Shades” – a local hangout for youth. Topics ranged from cheating, bullying, lying, stealing, name-calling, peer-pressure, etc. Young actress Meredith Nicolson played Tory and Joshua Bo Lozoff played the role of Zachary. Kent Faulcon portrayed Nathan, Zach’s best friend. Later in the series Steve Joe joined the cast playing Nick and Meg Plunkett played his girlfriend, Jennifer.

The time travel sequences transported the various characters back in time to meet literary characters like Ichabod Crane from Washington Irving’s short story, “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” and historical figures including Harry Houdini and Blackbeard the Pirate, to name a few. Examination of historical periods ranged from the “Trail of Tears” of the Cherokee Indians, gold mining in the 1800’s, slavery, and the pony express mail delivery.

Sparks was created and produced by Peter Anlyan. Cindy Carter wrote many of the scripts. In the latter years Sparks was produced by Dan Oliver, who also served as the director/photographer on segments produced away from the studio.

Sparks received a national Iris award in 1991, as well as several Parents’ Choice Awards and the Service to Children Television Award from the National Association of Broadcasters.

“Time for Uncle Paul” was the most enduring and beloved children’s program in WRAL-TV history.

The show aired weekday mornings from 1961-1981 and featured the legendary Paul Montgomery as “Uncle Paul” — a jovial studio ringmaster who delighted pre-school children and adults alike with a simple formula of fun and games.

Each day Montgomery donned a top hat, bow-tie and tattered tails to entertain youngsters and adults alike. His repertoire included stunts, puppets, cartoons and appearances from a variety of off-beat characters.

The highlight of every show came when Uncle Paul would declare “Time to March!” and the kids would parade around the studio, often accompanied by Montgomery playing piano or organ. Thousands of North Carolina grownups recall how they “marched with Uncle Paul” and most consider it one of their fondest childhood memories.

“Time For Uncle Paul” was recorded live before a studio audience and aired the next day so the children could see themselves on television. Uncle Paul was the star, but he was ably assisted by the lovable “Aunt Millie,” who off-camera was Mildred Bradley, the secretary of WRAL’s film department.

Uncle Paul interacted with a cast of strange characters, including “Crawford the Lion,” a puppet manipulated by WRAL Art Director Art Anderson. Later, voice-actor and puppeteer Rowell Gormon joined the program and created zany characters such as Stripes the Skunk; a “hepcat” named Zoot; Malcolm the Frog; and Woody the Wood Gremlin.

“Time for Uncle Paul” was a program created out of necessity; WRAL-TV had broadcast the “Bozo the Clown” cartoon show during the 1960-’61 season, but decided not to renew the expensive licensing contract when it ran out. Station managers still wanted a children’s program in the time period, however, so they turned to the multi-talented Montgomery, and the result was North Carolina television history.

Uncle Paul’s twenty-year run on WRAL-TV came to an end in 1981. The Federal Communications Commission was beginning to pressure television stations to include educational elements in children’s programming. When WRAL managers asked Montgomery to give the show a more informational tone, he balked, saying children needed to have fun as well as learn. Rather than change his beloved program, Montgomery decided to voluntarily end the show and retire.

Following his television days, Paul Montgomery continued a stellar career as a renowned jazz musician and composer. He died on Christmas Eve 2002 at the age of 78.

CBC has always known how to entertain audiences–on radio, on television, or in person.  Here are some of the shows that did that job well:

Country Morning was an early-morning program on WRAL-TV in the 1950s and 60s.

The show featured lots of country music along with occasional farm news and weather reports. One of the popular musical acts that appeared on the show was “Brothers in Bluegrass.”

Country Morning was one of many WRAL morning shows from the early days of Channel 5. Other morning shows included Daybreak, Aspect and Good Morning 5 Country.

“Daybreak” was a morning entertainment program that aired on WRAL-TV in the late 50s and early 60s.

The show featured local and regional musicians taking part in what WRAL promotional literature described as “an informal hour of country music at its best.”

Popular radio and recording personality Mike Hight was one of the band leaders on the show, but the best-known performer was Homer Briarhopper, who appeared on the show with his “Daybreak Gang” for many years.

Daybreak was a live studio program that aired each weekday at 6 a.m.