UPSTATE NY COUNTRY
1980 & 1981
by Ham
As you can see by the above photo, the actual name of this program was "3 Country". I decided to take a little "creative license" and call this post "Upstate NY Country", because I had the feeling that no one would click on a section called "3 Country".
Anyway, 3 Country was a short-lived program which aired on WSTM in Syracuse, NY in 1980 and 1981. The show, with it's helmet-hair-havin' host Vic Wright, focused on the more, uhhhh... "country" sections of Upstate New York. As you can imagine, many of the stories were quite absurd. Let's sit back and enjoy three of them, shall we?
DOWN A CRAZY RIVER - aired August 29, 1980
Ok, picture this. You're in Pulaski, NY. There are hundreds of crazy drunk people hanging around a river with inner tubes. Aaah, sounds pleasant and relaxing, doesn't it? Now you're in the perfect mood to watch the video.
Quite a lovable bunch, aren't they? The first time I watched this it reminded
of a drunken version of Race For Your Life, Charlie Brown
He declares that "We are number one in the east, so we have it made...". Huh? Are there east and west coast divisions of crazy-ass tube races?
Next on "Country Folk Say The Darndest Things" we have this guy:
His advice? "Anything goes, so that's why I wear a helmet". The fellows behind him are quite impressed by his ingenuity.
Next we have Mrs. Inner Tube Racing with her spectacular pig-tails who is proud to announce that she "lost her husband on both runs".
All right, enough with the crazy folk down by the river. Let's get to a more relaxing video clip.
THE SWINGERS - aired March 16, 1981
No, no. Get the thought out of your head. This is quite the opposite of what you would expect from a video clip entitled "The Swingers".
YES! It's old people square dancing in a high school gymnasium! Can you believe a local network program wasted three and a half minutes of air time on this topic?
I had a hard time trying to pick out some good still pictures from this video. Hmmm. Should I post a picture of the odd outfits? The tiny gymnasium? The Large MC who "kicks it old school"? Our daft host showing the world he doesn't even have enough rhythm to keep up with an 85 year old couple?
Oh, never mind. I'll just go on to the next video.
WHISTLING PETE - aired March 16, 1981
I would be very curious to know how Vic and the boys found this guy in the Hamlet Of Scott (or why they were in the Hamlet Of Scott to begin with).
Wow. Well, where to start? That black cat was cool, eh? Pete also could've cleaned up his place a bit when he knew the people "from TV" were coming. So, let's review what we've learned from the "World's Greatest Whistler". We've learned that there are three kinds of whistles. There's the "tongue whistle":
There was the "pursed lips whistle". Be sure to make these same faces when playing along at home.
Then, of course, there is the "drawing in whistle".
Wait a minute. Pete just informed us that he "can't do the drawing in whistle very well". WHAT?! How you gonna call yourself the "World's Greatest Whistler" and not be able to do the "drawing in whistle"?! Any half-assed monkey can do the "drawing in whistle"!
Sorry about that outburst. Anyway, Pete goes on to say that, "I am confident that I bother people with my whistling". With that in mind, check out our powerful and attractive host's face in this next picture.
He can barely hide the disgust on his face while listening to Pete whistle a tune. You can just tell that Vic is not only completely hating Pete's guts at this moment, but also his job and his life as well. He's probably thinking, "How did I go from a starring role on Alice to sitting in front of this putz whistling in my face?". No, wait. I'm sorry. It's Vic Tayback that was on Alice. This is Vic Wright, the former star of... something or other.
Anyway, there is one thing I will say about "Whistling Pete". He makes some of the best damn faces I've ever seen! I'll end this article with one of my favorites, Pete's "surprised face".
(Posted 6/2008)
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