Name: Razzmatazz
Genre: Family
Cast: Brian Tochi, Don Herbert, Barry Bostwick

Here's a show that gets virtually no notice among retro-TV fans, but filled a hole in commercial TV children's programming when most offerings were the typical inane cartoons of the late 1970s and early 1980s.

Razzmatazz offered young teens a hodgepodge of stories about kids and the stuff kids are interested in. Sort of a cross between "Big Blue Marble" and "Real People." Brian Tochi's amiable hosting is the main thing I recall about the series, connecting with the target audience better than Barry Bostwick (to be fair, Toshi was closer in age to the viewers than Bostwick).

The show had a respectable five-year run, however, by the early 1980s networks could more freely define what constituted "childrens programming" and the trend in Saturday morning offerings became Smurfs, GI Joe, Thundercats, He-Man, et al, resulting in shows like Razzmatazz and The Big Blue Marble quickly becoming relics.

The family genre features stories specifically created to be suitable for a wide range of age groups within a family. Family-oriented content is designed to be enjoyed by both children and adults, often providing entertainment that is wholesome, relatable, and appropriate for all members of a family to watch or experience together.

Drew Barrymore and Pat Welsh in E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)

"RAZZMATAZZ" was a News and Entertainment program aimed primarily for teen and young adult audiences. Airing in the United States on the CBS Television Network, it starred entertainment personality Brian Tochi, who replaced the show's original host, Barry Bostwick, after the first season. The show ran from 1977 to 1982. This Emmy-winning news magazine series was produced by the veteran news producer, Don Hewitt, and had the same production team as CBS's prime news show, "60 MINUTES".

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Razzmatazz

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