Holiday specials were made for color

[Whirled One]

Originally Posted by old_tv_nut

...I wonder if the remote control has killed the genre? Used to be you would turn on the "special" and if one person in the family didn't like a particular part, they would wait through it until something they liked came on. With multiple-TV households and every set with remote control, they probably can't get the continuous viewing they used to, so ratings would be lousy. Plus, production takes money, not like just turning on the lights for an unscripted talk show. - - just a little speculation here

Y'know, I think you may be on to something there. I'd also credit Cable TV and the VCR as contributors to the demise of the 'classic'-style variety show.

However, there are other reasons we don't see 'classic'-style variety shows anymore. Remember in the 1970's, it seemed like every popular TV show spawed some crummy variety show either as a special or as a regular series. Remember _The Brady Bunch Variety Hour_? Gaaah. Even though I was a kid at the time, I thought it was pretty bad. Even the often-ridiculed _Star Wars Holiday Special_ wasn't actually half-bad if you put it in the context of "Typical 1970's Christmas Variety Show Special". Perhaps people just got tired of the format as being overdone.

However, the "variety show" format does survive in a modified form even today-- note the wild popularity of _American Idol_.