TV Flash On air
Red carpet heat. Streaming secrets. The shows that made history. Tonight’s desk · Wed, Oct 14, 2026
Hot

Firing Line

Season 17

7 listed hours · 1966–1999 · Syndicated/PBS

← All seasons · Show package

From the desk

How this season is filed

Filed by Rex Fontaine · Golden Age Dispatch

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.

TV Flash files Season 17 of Firing Line (1966–1999) on Syndicated/PBS as a mid listed season (17; 17 of 33) — 7 listed hours, 1982-01-11–1982-10-27 from “The Issues Involved in Local Control of Reading Matter” (S17E05) to “The Roosevelt Legacy” (S17E38). Titles, dates, and synopses on file — no invented recaps.

  1. S17E05

    The Issues Involved in Local Control of Reading Matter

    The Issues Involved in Local Control of Reading Matter — Season 17, Episode 5 of Firing Line. Aired 1982-01-11. Full plot synopsis not yet on file; see the show package for context.

  2. S17E12

    The Libertarian Credo

    The Libertarian Credo — Season 17, Episode 12 of Firing Line. Aired 1982-04-02. Full plot synopsis not yet on file; see the show package for context.

  3. S17E30

    The Economy and the Blacks, Part I

    The Economy and the Blacks, Part I — Season 17, Episode 30 of Firing Line. Aired 1982-07-13. Full plot synopsis not yet on file; see the show package for context.

  4. S17E31

    The Economy and the Blacks, Part II

    The Economy and the Blacks, Part II — Season 17, Episode 31 of Firing Line. Aired 1982-07-13. Full plot synopsis not yet on file; see the show package for context.

  5. S17E35

    Debate: Resolved That the Feds Should Get Out of Higher Education, Part I

    Debate: Resolved That the Feds Should Get Out of Higher Education, Part I — Season 17, Episode 35 of Firing Line. Aired 1982-10-05. Full plot synopsis not yet on file; see the show package for context.

  6. S17E36

    Debate: Resolved That the Feds Should Get Out of Higher Education, Part II

    Debate: Resolved That the Feds Should Get Out of Higher Education, Part II — Season 17, Episode 36 of Firing Line. Aired 1982-10-05. Full plot synopsis not yet on file; see the show package for context.

  7. S17E38

    The Roosevelt Legacy

    The Roosevelt Legacy — Season 17, Episode 38 of Firing Line. Aired 1982-10-27. Full plot synopsis not yet on file; see the show package for context.

More from the 1960s.