March 11, 2015

Around the dial - Wednesday edition!

Because I'll be out-of-pocket from live blogging for the rest of this week, I thought I'd put up a special "Around the Dial" for today, followed on Friday by a terrific interview I had recently with Adam-Michael James, author of The Bewitched Continuum.  Please make sure and come back for that interview; not only is The Bewitched Continuum a wonderful book (review coming shortly), but Adam-Michael is a terrific and charming interview.  In the meantime...

We've read about this before, but The University of Maryland Broadcasting Archives links to another story, this one from Adweek, on how classic television subchannels are proving to be good business.

I've also mentioned Fireball XL-5 before - perhaps my favorite show that I have no memory of.  I had the toys, was told I loved the show as a little kid, can't remember a thing.  Classic Film and TV Cafe says we can now relive it (or live it for the first time) with a great new DVD boxed set.

Remember the days before television became so serialized, before we had catchphrases such as "story arc"?  Back then, most series had what were called "two-part episodes," meaning the story would be told over two weeks, rather than one.  How quaint!  Anyway, Comfort TV takes us back to those days, with some of the best and worst examples of the genre.

Skipper!  It was Alan Hale Jr.'s most memorable role, and Michael's TV Tray commemorates what would have been his 94th birthday with one of the great Gilligan's Island bits.  I've been seeing Hale a lot lately on MST3K; better to remember him this way!

Don't forget to check out the new TV Guide review on Friday at Television Obscurities.  In the meantime, here's a story about the Festival of Preservation at UCLA, which serves as yet another reminder that I need to get out there and check out the television section of that museum.

More good stuff out there, so be sure to check the sidebar for all the other blogs that make up the honor roll.  And remember - back here on Friday for my interview with Adam-Michael James! TV  

1 comment:

  1. Interesting you mention Fireball XL5. Similarly I am told of a show that I totally loved as a pre-school age child, but I have zero recall of it. The show was Adventure Island, a lavishly-produced weekday series that was very pantomime. Lots of big costumes, villains. The whole bit. Played out every afternoon for a 3-5 year old audience. I remember nothing. Even seeing clips on YouTube triggers zero recollection!

    But it was a show I dare not ever miss, and if it so happened that "my" show wasn't on -- because of sports coverage or power cuts or some such thing -- then I'd be most upset at my mother as if she had caused it personally. I mustn't have been very forgiving as she still recalls it 40 years later. I guess if it was these days they'd just put on a DVD or go online. Not an option in 1973 :)

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