March 11, 2022

Around the dial




Xefore we get to our regular Friday fare, some housekeeping:

It's time once again for my occasionally somewhat annual call for guest writers. In the past I've had various excuses—I mean, reasons—for doing so, but this time I'm not working on a book, I'm not moving, I'm not poor, I'm just tired. Over the past almost eleven years, I've written more than 1,900 original pieces for It's About TV!, not to mention some original essays for The Electronic Mirror, and it's not as easy as it was when I was younger.

So if you have an idea for an essay, or if you'd like to do one of the Saturday TV Guide riffs (and the Monday listings), send me an email. If you've read the blog, you know the routine: anything that's related to classic television specifically, or the relationship between TV (classic or otherwise) and American culture, is welcome. I'll never monetize this site (other than to sell books), but I will welcome contributions of the writing sort.

We now return to our regularly scheduled programming, with the third of Jack's Hitchcock Project reviews of the work of Lewis Davidson at bare•bones e-zine. It's his adaptation of Larry M. Harris's story "The World's Oldest Motive," with Henry Jones, Linda Lawson, and Robert Loggia; and directed by Harry Morgan!

At Cult TV Blog, John continues his look at orphaned TV shows with It's a Square World, Michael Bentine's off-kilter comedy show from 1960-64. Bentine was one of the original founders of The Goon Show, and Square World is about as off-the-wall as you'd expect.

Tim Considine, who was one of the original My Three Sons, as well as a star of Mickey Mouse Club serials and Disney movies (and was also a photographer and writer) died last week, aged 81. As usual, he gets a respectful writeup from Terence at A Shroud of Thoughts.

I'm a sucker for mid-century stuff, being a little past mid-century myself, and so JB's piece at The Hits Just Keep on Comin' naturally appeals to me: Dean Martin, the pop star. Deano really centers a place and time, doesn't he? (And by the way, much appreciated thanks to JB for the kind words!)

I don't single out video sites as much as I ought to—my focus is on the written word, but my great pleasure derives, of course, from television. And so I want to call to your attention the site Uncle Earl's Classic Television Channel, which has added a lot of new content—more episodes of many of your favorite shows, some mid-centuryish, and some from more recent times. It's really worth your time!

Something else that's worth your time: the latest at Ed Robertson's TV Confidential. I hope you keep track of this podcast on a regular basis, because Ed never has a bad show or a bad guest (except, perhaps for the cast in which I was a guest). Try out his interview with Chuck Harter on why The Untouchables is still riveting today. Because, you know, it is. TV  

1 comment:

Thanks for writing! Drive safely!