All episodes Season 14 S14E35 1979-09-20 120 min 1960s Syndicated/PBS

Firing Line

SALT II and the U.S. Senate

TV Flash files “SALT II and the U.S. Senate” as hour 197 of 326 in the TV Flash guide — Firing Line (1966–1999) on Syndicated/PBS, season 14, episode 35, aired 1979-09-20, 120 min.

From the desk

How this hour is filed

This leaf is S14E35: listed hour 197 of 326 in the Firing Line guide, hour 9 of 16 in season 14. It aired 1979-09-20 (120 min). The listed hour before it is “Human Rights in Vietnam” (S14E34). Next is “The Crisis in the U.S. Military” (S14E36).

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No original recap on file. TV Flash does not invent plots for missing hours. Title, airdate, and the hour filing above are the magazine record for this leaf.

Viewer FAQ

Where does SALT II and the U.S. Senate sit in the Firing Line guide?

S14E35 is listed hour 197 of 326 — hour 9 of 16 in season 14, season 14 episode 35.

When did Firing Line S14E35 air?

SALT II and the U.S. Senate aired 1979-09-20 and is listed at 120 minutes.

Where should I start?

A Buckley hour with a guest from across the aisle and room for full sentences is the contract. Clipboard, drawl, no countdown clock. Sample debates, not a serialized doctrine.

In the series

Why this series still plays

Firing Line is William F. Buckley Jr. turning argument into spectator sport: clipboard, drawl, and guests from across the aisle in conversations that refused the sound bite. Syndicated, then PBS, it ran for decades on polysyllables. Political talk before the countdown clock — intellectual blood sport with manners, and sentences allowed to finish on national television.

Clipboard, drawl, and a guest from across the aisle — argument as spectator sport before the countdown clock. Firing Line is William F. Buckley Jr. turning political talk into ballet and blood sport at once. Premiered 1966, then ran through syndication and PBS into 1999. Sesquipedalian flair, pointed civility, ideas as combat. Public-affairs TV with a maestro's ego. Sentences allowed to finish on national television. **It set a gold standard for intellectual TV debate across ideological lines.**

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Also in season 14

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