Around the dial

As you know, I try to stay away from politics here at the blog (with varying degrees of success), but one plank I'm proud to endorse is The Comfort TV Healthcare Plan, courtesy of David at Comfort TV. I think you'll be for it, too.

The Broadcasting Archives at the University of Maryland links to an article at Undark on how Sesame Street was designed "as a radical therapeutic tool for helping minority preschoolers." Submitted without comment.

At The Twilight Zone Vortex, Jordan looks at "No Time Like the Past," a middling TZ time-travel drama hat's enlivened by standout performances from Dana Andrews and Patricia Breslin. Time travel is always hard to get right, especially when it comes to historical events, don't you think?

Classic Film and TV Café returns with another "Seven things to know..." installment, this time on Andy Griffith. The very first item, Griffith's record "What It Was, Was Football," heard when I was in grade school when a teacher played it for us, is the first memory I have of him—even before TV.

It's update time at Garroway at Large, and Jodie provides the latest in the Garroway bio (I'll tell you, I'm really looking forward to that book), along with other things she's been up to. I say this not at all because she's a good friend, but she has to be one of the most engaging writers I've encountered.

And speaking of friends and engaging writers, the news at Bob Crane: Life & Legacy is that Carol and her partners, Linda Groundwater, and Dee Young, return with a new podcast, Flipside: the True Story of Bob Crane. I'm looking forward to this as well.

Naked City is one of my favorite series (I have to revise my Top 10 one of these days), and it's the latest show to be reviewed at Television's New Frontier: the 1960s. I've read the Gilbert Seldes review that Beestguy mentions, and agree with him that it's a rare misfire from Seldes, who really didn't get what the show was really all about. Route 66 may have been more successful, but I don't think it worked as well as Naked City.

Finally, Television Obscurities continues "A Year in TV Guide" with the June 24, 1989 issue. I sometimes look at these issues from the 1980s and think to myself, "I can't find a thing interesting in this issue." So what does Robert have to say about this? "I had a tough time finding anything of interest in this week’s issue." I hear you, brother. TV