Around the dial

Ah, remember that? Back in the good old days, when Labor Day was actually something to look forward to (other than getting a three-day weekend, which was always pretty nice). I'm afraid those days are gone now, but, as you'll see, we can still read about them.

Here's something I found particularly interesting, and hopefully you do as well: from the Broadcasting Archives, a link to a video showing how directors choreographed camera shots and stage directions in the era of live television. I think it's well worth at least a few minutes of your time.

At RealWeegieMidget, Gill has another of her great blogathons, this one on the career of the great Donald Pleasence. (Well, that is, if you ignore The Pumaman.) He was such an elegant actor, capable of playing sensitive, weak, determined, or evil characters; there should be some very good pieces in this.

I'm not quite sure why, but I've been thinking of space movies lately, perhaps as a reaction to what's on the news nowadays, so I like this a lot: the Secret Sanctum of Captain Video looks at comic adaptations of movies and TV shows that took place on the moon. And no, it's not true that all of them were on MST3K.

John's not round the bend at Cult TV Blog, but he is looking at an Australian children's series called Round the Twist, another entry in the "TV in a Time of Strife" series. John points to this episode, "Know All," as one that "best demonstrates the quality of this show in that it can be understood on several different levels and never ever talks down to the kids."

Television's New Frontier: the 1960s is back with a closer look at the 1962 episodes of Hazel, the sitcom standard that starred Oscar-winner Shirley Booth as the "indefatigable and unconventional maid" who wasn't afraid to take anyone on, and was usually right.

Herbie J. Pilato makes an eloquent statement on the value of classic television as he discusses the Classic TV Preservation Society: "We celebrate the integrity of classic television." There, in seven words, he says more about the value of classic TV than I've been able to do in a dozen years. Read more here.

That's a wrap; hopefully I'll see you back here tomorrow, but if you're traveling or otherwise on holiday, have a great Labor Day weekend, and remember to be safe or be sorry. TV