Firing Line
Buckley's Turn to Explain Himself
TV Flash files “Buckley's Turn to Explain Himself” as the first listed hour of season 18 — Firing Line (1966–1999) on Syndicated/PBS, season 18, episode 3, aired 1983-01-24, 120 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S18E03: listed hour 245 of 326 in the Firing Line guide, first listed hour of season 18. It aired 1983-01-24 (120 min). The listed hour before it is “The Roosevelt Legacy” (S17E38). Next is “Confidence and Betrayal” (S18E07).
Viewer FAQ
Where does Buckley's Turn to Explain Himself sit in the Firing Line guide?
S18E03 is listed hour 245 of 326 — first listed hour of season 18, season 18 episode 3.
When did Firing Line S18E03 air?
Buckley's Turn to Explain Himself aired 1983-01-24 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.**
Filed against
- William F. Buckley Jr. as Host
William F. Buckley Jr. hosted Firing Line as argument-as-spectator-sport — clipboard, drawl, guests from across the aisle in conversations that refused the sound bite. Syndicated, then PBS, decades on polysyllables. TV Flash files him as…