December 18, 2014

Around the dial

Some good things in the blogosphere, so let's get right to it.

As you may remember from this piece (near the end), I've got a deep-seated antipathy toward Truman Capote's A Christmas Memory.  Joanna at Christmas TV History has a more neutral approach though, and if you're interested in an objective viewpoint of the TV adaptation of Capote's short story, this is the place to go.

The idea of an NFL game not being televised anywhere nowadays is, as Jeff of Classic TV Sports says, unthinkable.  So when did this last happen and why?  The story here.  I can't imagine this happening today either, although I think we can all agree there should be some games that are better left not being seen.

I first learned about the British crime drama The Sweeney not from a TV website, but from the guys at Top Gear.  Now Cult TV Blog gives a more proper overview of the series.  He also makes a very good point in discussing the episode "Taste of Fear," that being that you can't separate shows like this from "the troubled history of the decade in which they were made."

The idea of a "classic TV constant" is one that I hadn't considered before, and I'm glad that David at Comfort TV brings it up.  Is there one show that you can turn to as comfort food, one that's an origin point for your classic TV appreciation, a focal point for your viewing?  I guessed Hogan's Heroes, but I'm willing to bet there are others on my list if I think about it.

Television Obscurities continues the week-by-week rundown of TV Guide for the 1964-65 season, this last week looking at the December 12 issue with Julie Newmar on the cover.  I've got this issue as well, and I'm glad that Robert didn't overlook Leslie Raddatz's kind-of snarky article on Bing Crosby.  I don't comment on these articles enough, but they're sure fun to read.

At The Lucky Strike Papers, Andrew reports on the death of former CBS News correspondent Richard C. Hottelet, the last of the "Murrow Boys."  I must have seen him on TV back in the day, though I don't remember him.  I have seen and heard him on some of the old news coverage that's online.  But I definitely remember his name from many an old TV Guide.  RIP.

It's another Kliph Nesteroff interview at Classic Television Showbiz, this time with Dick Gautier, a familiar face on TV from Get Smart and When Things Were Rotten, but I didn't know until I read this that he'd also had a career in stand-up comedy.  You'll always learn something new if you're not careful, as my mother used to say.

That's it for today; tune in on Saturday when Christmas Day comes to TV Guide! TV  

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