It’s a Beautiful Day in TV History
Today (Monday, February 19), is the golden anniversary of the premiere of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood on public television. All manner of tributes are on the way, from film and book biographies and a PBS special to a U.S. Fred Rogers postage stamp, and even the PBS KIDS network is holding its televised week-long Fred Rogers salute to next week. Today, though, there are a few places you can go to honor one of the best children’s shows, and hosts, in TV history. One is to travel to Latrobe, PA, where St. Vincent College will be hosting a special 7 p.m. ET showing of that first, Feb. 19, 1968 Neighborhood episode. (I’ll be there as one of the introductory panelists, if you’re in the neighborhood.) If you’re a member of Amazon Prime, you can watch many seasons of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, including that 50-year-old premiere episode, by streaming it here, or, enjoy episode six here, carried by the Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood channel on YouTube.