April 17, 2020

Around the dial

Everyone still hanging in there through all this? As I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, we're fine here; take a moment to drop a line in the comments box and let us know how you are!

I don't do the grocery shopping in our family, and I doubt they'd let me in some stores right now (only the shopper need enter), but I have fond memories of riding around in the grocery cart basket when I was a kid. At Comfort TV, David brings back some of those memories with a look at how grocery stores have been portrayed in classic television. I do like that old packaging!

It's Wednesday comics week at The Twilight Zone Vortex, and in this week's issue (May, 1971), Jordan gives us a story called "The Man-Beast of Paris." And no, they're not talking about Andre the Giant here.

Television's New Frontier: the 1960s travels out west to look at the 1961 episodes from Tales of Wells Fargo, starring Dale Robertson. The year covers the second half of season five and the first half of season six, including the show's move to color. That isn't all that moved, though; the network moved the show to Saturdays, up against Perry Mason. Need I mention that it's the show's last season?

We haven't stopped in at Eyes of a Generation for awhile, and I can't think of a better reason to look in today than this color film tour of CBS's Studio 72 in 1954. It was never aired, and features color productions of both The Ed Sullivan Show and Danger.

Speaking of tours, Inner Toob takes us on a tour of Alan Hale Jr.'s career as Jonas Grumby, The Skipper on Gilligan's Island. And if you know how Inner Toob works, then you won't be surprised to see some other areas where Hale pops up--but could that have been, in fact, The Skipper that we actually saw?

At Realweegiemidget, it's time for a look at "Black Magic," a second season episode of The Bionic Woman, with a guest cast that includes not only Vincent Price (in a dual role!) but also Abe Vigoda, Julie Newmar, and William Windom.

From the mailbag, loyal reader Mark Waldow writes that he collects print ads about local affiliation changes, and wonders if anyone else out there does this. Of course, we went through a few affiliate changes here in the Twin Cities, and I'm going to check on the advertising during an upcoming weekend when I rearrange all my issues of TV Guide. But do any of you have examples you'd like to share? If so, please let me know in the comments or via email.

As for that picture at the top? It's Dick and Pat Nixon, of course, watching the Republican National Convention on TV. There's no date on the picture, but I'm betting it's 1960, the year he's nominated for his first run at the presidency. Something else about this picture; I know that Nixon was a very private man, and I don't think that sharing himself or his feelings came easy to him. You notice that even though they're sitting very close together, there's no physical contact. Now, expressions of public emotion were far less common back then; still, I can't imagine that being the case with my wife and I, regardless of the occasion but especially during such a momentous time. When Pat died, he took it very hard; I think he regretted not having shared more with her. Like him or not, there's always been something very Shakespearian about Richard Nixon, in the most tragic of contexts. TV  

1 comment:

  1. Thanks for this mention, it's a great episode especially for Halloween.

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for writing! Drive safely!