New TV, why won't you work!?!

I just need to rant for a minute about TV reception. For Mother's Day this year I bought a small TV to put in the kitchen so the wife can watch NewsHour and reruns of Roseanne. Those shows are on channels 8.1 and 11.2, which are broadcast on the VHF band. Well, I first bought a cheapo "rabbit ears" antenna and was able to get all the UHF channels (14-64) with no problem, but no 8 or 11. Then I tried upstairs near the window, but no luck. So then I tried the nice antenna we have hooked up to our regular TV, but the only place I could pick up those two essential channels was by the sliding glass door out back (the absolute closest direct line of sight to the towers). This was of course unacceptable. So I bought a nice antenna with an amplifier from a reputable brand. Guess what? no channels 8.1 and 11.2 or any VHF channels! Under any conditions! I know the amplifier works because when I hook up that antenna to our regular TV I can pick up some channels that always come in spotty with no problems. So what gives?

The thing that bugs me the most is that I have no problem picking up 8 and 11 on our regular TV, so why can't this new TV? I guess it has to be something to do with the built-in tuner in the TV, but I don't understand how it can be so drastically different when picking up VHF channels when UHF channels come in relatively fine!