June 29, 2018

Around the dial

Ah, now here's an interesting one to start off the week: the first of two stories by John Cheever to be adapted for Alfred Hitchcock Presents. It's the sixth-season episode "The Five-Forty-Eight," and naturally it's the topic of Jack's latest at bare-bones e-zine.

I thought this was a very timely piece, a reminder of what the world was like in 1970 - Comfort TV reviews the Adam-12 episode "Elegy for a Pig," David's latest entry in a series he calls "The Unshakeables." It never hurts to put the times in historical perspective.

The great Harlan Ellison died yesterday (Thursday) at the age of 84; remembered, of course, for the Star Trek episode "City on the Edge of Forever," though I remember him as well for his comment that Doctor Who was the greatest sci-fi TV series ever. The Twilight Zone Vortex gives us another chance to remember him; Jordan's latest look at the Twilight Zone Magazine features the December 1981 edition, including an interview with Ellison on "The Art of Making Waves."

Every time I check out Made for TV Mayhem, I read about something else the fantastic Amanda is up to - books, liner notes, commentary tracks. You really know how to hurt a guy. Read the latest, very cool, developments here, and then take some time to look over the blog and find out the rest of the amazing story.

I'm always in the mood for the British perspective on things, and I think John makes some very perceptive comments at Cult TV Blog on The X-Files episode "Never Again." I like how he looks seriously at both the overt and underlying themes, as he's done throughout his series on the show.

Care to escape the bad news that seems to surround us? Take a few minutes to look at this terrific piece at The Federalist on the Mister Rogers documentary Won't You Be My Neighbor?  What a remarkable, remarkable man Fred Rogers was - and is, really, because as long as videos of his show still exist, and stories are told of his interactions with people, there will always be a part of him with us.

I would be remiss if I didn't stop off at Television's New Frontier: the 1960s, not just because it's always interesting, but because this week the topic is one of my favorite cartoons of all time, 1961's Top Cat, with a cast comprised of memorable voice talents.

Martin Grams has a very nice remembrance of Clint Walker, the gentle giant who was the star of the WB western series Cheyenne, and so many more things. Martin shares his own encounter with Walker, as well as a wonderful story about the time when...

At Garroway at Large, Jodie (can't wait to see you at MANC!) takes some time for part one of a well-deserved appreciation of Jack Lescoulie, the brilliant number two on Today. As she points out, he's all but forgotten today, but at one time was a very common sight on our television screens.

That should do it for now - back tomorrow! TV  

3 comments:

  1. Thanks, Mitchell! I was crushed to hear about Ellison's death. I can remember discovering his writing in my early 20s and being completely blown away by it. I've been an ardent Ellison collector ever since. How ironic that the latest Zone magazine post included an interview with him at (arguably) the height of his career. It is a fantastic, in-depth interview and I recommend anyone with an interest in Ellison to see out the issue (Dec, 1981). Also, the Ellison YouTube channel has uploaded all of the Harlan Ellison's Watching segments from the great old SciFi Buzz program. These segments are very entertaining time capsules of that era (early 1990s). Thanks!

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  2. There is a even more detailed look at "Elegy for a Pig" online. You ought to take a look: http://lincolnxrayida.blogspot.com/2016/01/log-105-elegy-for-pig-season-3-episode-8.html

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