Gunsmoke had a record for number of episodes that is probably unbeatable and that's not counting a decade of radio episodes.

What about The Guiding Light, though? Or is that apples and oranges?

Why would you say "I'm not racist but I hate black people"? I mean, at that point, aren't you okay with being taken for racist? Even a little bit?

I get the feeling that these people really think that racists are, like, the Klan. And not the current-day Klan, either, but the kill-black-people-in-public-in-unspeakable-ways Klan (most associated with, say, the pre-1970s American South). (Not that the Klan is awesometastic these days, but I gather that their killing ways have been sharply curtailed compared to days of yore.)

Because that way, they can see their Facebook hate speech as just Telling It Like It Is.

and you used to be only able to get three channels

You first worlders, with your fancy schmancy three channels. Oy.

I am bitter along with Sumi. NBC cancelled a show that had found its groove to start up one that never got one.

Great. I just got tasked with bringing someone up to speed on the nemesis project that I don't understand.

What about The Guiding Light, though? Or is that apples and oranges?

I think Gunsmoke's record refers specifically to scripted evening tv. GL and probably 60 Minutes both beat that record.

In its earliest days (in the fifties) Gunsmoke was neither chaste nor bland. In fact, Miss Kitty was a straight up whore and Marshall Dillon used her services, and he was a badass who'd beat people to death and shoot scofflaws. That's what made it popular. Then it just stayed on the air forever and Miss Kitty got bigger feathered boas and became respectable or something.

What about The Guiding Light, though? Or is that apples and oranges?

Yeah, apples and oranges. GL 4eva!!!

But racism's so bad!!

Nononono, you're totally misunderstanding. Racism is just fine. Being called a racist is the worst thing ever.

Also, teh gays don't understand that "gay" doesn't really mean "gay", and women make shit up all the time. What's wrong with you, can't you take a joke?

You first worlders, with your fancy schmancy three channels

Yeah, and when the picture went out because a branch fell on the wire that led from the antenna to the house, Daddy had to go walk the line up the hill to find where the break was so he could nail it back up.

(true story, in the hills where we were you had to get a clear line of sight up high, and the antenna on the house only got Channels 4 and 5. Channel 2 came in on the antenna up by the water tank that was fed by the spring that was our only source of water. Aw, life in the borderlands of the Appalachians.)

Uphill both ways! In the winter! And we liked it!

Tell kids that today and they won't believe you.

I do remember clearly the awe and amazement when we first got a color TV.

I remember when we first got a color TV, but it wasn't that exciting, because everyone else already had one.

I wish hotels would go back to advertising COLOR TV with those signs that had 5 different colors in the word "color". Those rocked.