tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042603612494762084.post6735892282207092798..comments2024-03-27T22:27:16.556-04:00Comments on It's About TV: This week in TV Guide: April 29, 1967Mitchell Hadleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08695771505209080030noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042603612494762084.post-78045413701683340892018-05-04T00:26:16.762-04:002018-05-04T00:26:16.762-04:00That should of said "Lucy STOLE John Wayne...That should of said "Lucy STOLE John Wayne's footprints". Guess my mind was on other things.Ken Douglashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15658517406339380796noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042603612494762084.post-83304684271705871382018-05-04T00:04:08.675-04:002018-05-04T00:04:08.675-04:00Cleve's review seems to be in spirit with what...Cleve's review seems to be in spirit with what many thought about that show. Least we forget that in the fall of 1965, CBS put on the most outlandish program idea ever concieved-a sitcom set in a POW camp in WWII Germany. Which just goes to show one person's flight of fancy is another's genius. <br /><br />Trying to compete with the "Big Three" is a challenge for any fledgling net. Just look at Fox. Didn't seem to have much on the ball at first, but look at where they are now, thanks in large part to The Simpsons, Cops and their sports programming. Sure wish I could get some visual evidence of LVS, I'll bet that was a program worth tuning in for-no matter what time it came on.<br /><br />All a moot point, as Johnny Carson was not about to be dethroned. But even back then, LVS was a way of keeping things "Interesante" on late night TV.<br /><br />Other notable airings:<br />I Love Lucy - the classic episode where Lucy steal John Wayne's footprints from Grauman's Chinese Theater<br />Bonanza - Nina Foch and Roy Roberts (Gale Gordon's boss) guest star in a story about snobbish eastern cousin "Clarissa".<br />The Rat Patrol - season one wraps up with "The Delilah Raid". Lisabeth Hush and Wesley Addy are the guests.<br />Batman - Eli Wallach rings out season two as Mr. Freeze #3 in "Ice Spy/The Duo Defy" also with Elisha Cook Jr., H.M. Wynant and Leslie Parrish as Glacia Glaze.<br />Dragnet 1967 - the reboot's next-to-last season one show is "The Big Kids", about a teen shoplifting gang. Andrea King, Peggy Webber, Richard Crane, Mickey Shoulder and former Hit Parader Russell Arms guest star.<br />Feel free to come up with anything else beyond this.Ken Douglashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15658517406339380796noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042603612494762084.post-37650140050070511702018-04-29T14:37:31.445-04:002018-04-29T14:37:31.445-04:00Here's a day-by-day of the regular stuff this ...Here's a day-by-day of the regular stuff this week, direct from the Chicago program pages:<br /><br /><b>Saturday</b>, April 29:<br /> - <i>Mission: Impossible</i> starts its rerun cycle with an off-trailer in which a mobster who apparently knew Dan Briggs When ... blackmails him into mobilizing the IMF to stop a Grand Jury probe.<br />Exactly how the Mob Guy knew Briggs (or about the IMF) is not explained in the episode - maybe this is how Dan lost the IMF job ...<br /><br /><b>Sunday</b>, April 30:<br /> - <i>I'll take Manhattan</i> is a "Failure Theatre" pilot, about a lawyer (Dwayne Hickman) who convinces an ancient Indian chief (Ben Blue) to put in a legal claim on Manhattan Island. Hilarity ensues (it says here).<br /><br /><b>Monday</b>, May 1:<br /> - <i>Captain Nice</i> concludes its run with John Dehner's second appearance as The Great Medula, a wonderfully bogus nightclub mindreader who's trying to hook up with the cops as a "crimesolver".<br />I still remember the tag:<br />After the crooks have been caught, Medula is in the Mayor's office with the regulars, including secret superhero Bill Daniels.<br />Suddenly, Medula goes into a "trance": eyes half-closed, fingertips at his forehead, slow-moaning about " ... someone in this room is keeping - a <i>secret</i> - that will possibly endanger not only himself - but <i>everyone</i> that he knows ..."<br />Medula goes on in this vein, eventually sitting down behind the Mayor's desk.<br />Then he opens his eyes, lowers his hands - and sees that <i>everybody else</i> has left the room.<br /> ... And Medula/John Dehner smiles at the camera and says "Works every time!"<br />Had <i>Captain Nice</i> been renewed, Medula might have been god for two or three shows a season.<br />As it is, I was surprised that they didn't just move him over to <i>Get Smart</i>, where he would have been just as useful.<br /><br /><b>Tuesday</b>, May 2:<br /> - <i>The Girl From UNCLE</i> is repeating "The Mother Muffin Affair", with Boris Karloff in the title role, Bruce Gordon as (surprise!) a Mob Boss, and Robert Vaughn crossing over for an episode as Napoleon Solo.<br /> -Later that same evening, <i>The Invaders</i> kidnap David Vincent's sister-in-law (who we didn't know he had). Burgess Meredith is a tough newsman who tries to help; the boss space alien is the then-young(ish) Edward Asner.<br /><br />Frankly, the rest of the week is pretty ordinary ...<br /><br />I did want to mention the Letters column, which this week is all about Neil Hickey's expose of ultra-right-wing broadcasters in syndication.<br />The letters apparently broke mainly on the right-hand side of things; Hickey was considered <i>TV Guide</i>'s "house Liberal", which informed much of the letter-writing.<br />Still, Walter Annenberg and Merrill Panitt, Republicans both, deserved props for giving Hickey his head - as they did with self-identified Libertarian Edith Efron - on stories like this.<br /><br />The <i>Teletype</i> tells us that "NBC lets comedians ROWAN and MARTIN run loose for an hour Sept. 9" (care to guess what that turned out to be?).<br /><br />So ... what's for Monday?<br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05527404061764217504noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042603612494762084.post-56037877339130128272018-04-29T12:26:09.820-04:002018-04-29T12:26:09.820-04:00Yeah, I imagine Barney showing up every morning at...Yeah, I imagine Barney showing up every morning at Collier Electronics, working on fixing radios and toasters while waiting for his photo to be pulled out of the IMF briefcase.Memo2Selfhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15697112440087568681noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042603612494762084.post-62962032953240584762018-04-28T19:15:55.254-04:002018-04-28T19:15:55.254-04:00I always liked the conceit that, except Jim Phelps...I always liked the conceit that, except Jim Phelps, these we're patriotic amateurs who doing it for their country. Not working "real" professional spies.Joseph C McGuirehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18031292261737674489noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042603612494762084.post-48720321220847158862018-04-28T13:29:52.197-04:002018-04-28T13:29:52.197-04:00Early Saturday (for Old Man Me, anyway), but I'...Early Saturday (for Old Man Me, anyway), but I've got a few things right out of the gate:<br /><br /> - The Amory Review of <i>The Avengers</i> shows that Boston's Favorite Son was as naive about the show's origins as everybody else was.<br />And that's everybody on <i>both sides</i> of the water: remember a couple of years back to that <i>Guide</i> article by Robert Musel, wherein he noted that many British viewers (mainly critics) couldn't figure out whether to take it seriously or not.<br />And fifty-plus years on, many of them <i>still</i> can't ...<br />(Side note: How are you handling it when you see the Diana Rigg of the present day - who will, this coming July 20, mark her <i>80th birthday?</i><br />Dwell on <i>that</i> for a while ...)<br /><br /> - Long-forgotten fact: <i>Fame Is The Name Of The Game</i> was not intended as a pilot - not originally, anyway.<br />The <i>World Premiere</i> telefilms that NBC and Universal were making were all "standalones" - one run, than a rerun, then into syndication afterlife.<br />Check out the cast list:<br />Some ways down oh the list, you can see:<br /><br /><i>Howard ............ George Macready</i><br /><br />That's 'Glenn Howard', the publisher of the magazine, and Franciosa's boss - you know, the part that eventually went to Gene Barry.<br />This brought about the invention of the "wheel" series two years later, in 1968 - long stories with rotating star leads, publicized as an "innovation" at the time (critics's memories were as short as ever then).<br />But in 1966, when the <i>Fame ...</i> movie was made, it was considered a one-shot; rotating leading men were suddenly thought of as a way of talking reluctant stars into trying TV - and for a while, it worked ... sort of.<br /><br /> - The weird history of the United Network and its showcase offering, <i>The Las Vegas Show</i>:<br />Here in Chicago, <i>LVS</i> had its premiere telecast on WGN-channel 9 - <i>Wednesday night</i> at 12:35 am, after that station's midnight newscast (which followed a late night movie).<br />That was Wednesday.<br />The next night, Thursday, <i>LVS</i> aired at 12:50 am, under the same basic schedule.<br />The next night, Friday, <i>LVS</i> came on at 1:00 am, same deal.<br />Then, on Saturday night, channel 9 ran <i>LVS</i> at 10:15 pm, after the 10pm news.<br />Then, on Sunday night, channel 9 ran <i>LVS</i> at 8:00 pm - two hours in prime time.<br />I have no idea if any other stations broke up the <i>LVS</i> schedule in this fashion. Arguably, WGN was a key station in the United Network structure (such as it was - I believe some writers started calling it "The <i>Untied</i> Network"), but how many other stations might be able to follow that lead - well, anyone who happens to remember this story, please feel free to chime in ...<br /><br />Time out now, while I check out what else is in this issue.<br />Back later - maybe ...Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05527404061764217504noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042603612494762084.post-64186780008666841032018-04-28T09:35:40.810-04:002018-04-28T09:35:40.810-04:00Here is a great article on the Overmyer Network. ...Here is a great article on the Overmyer Network. Astonishing that somebody would try to put a full network on the air just a year after starting their first TV station!<br />http://www.uhftelevision.com/articles/overmyer.htmlAlvaro Leosnoreply@blogger.com