Around the dial

Xhat picture on top is of grade school kids in my former hometown of Minneapolis, watching a video "classroom lesson" on TV while the city's public schools are on strike in 1951. Regardless of what you may think, I'm not in this picture; I freely admit to being old, but not that old. After I saw this, I tried to recall whether or not there was ever a strike while I was in school, and I believe there was, though I don't remember what us kids did while we were home. Probably watching television. Amazing what pictures can remind you of. 

Speaking of memories, at The Horn Section, Hal looks back at the Love That Bob! episode "Hawaii Comes Calling," which aired in 1955 (at which time, you'll recall, Hawaii wasn't yet a state!) and features Bob discovering he might have inadvertently become engaged to a Hawaiian beauty.

At bare-bones e-zine, Jack's latest Hitchcock Project subject is Jerry Sohl, whose initial Hitchcock script, "Dead Weight," premiered in 1959. The great Joseph Cotten stars in a nasty little story that includes murder, blackmail, and the consequences of doing something you oughtn't be doing. Fun fact from Jack: Angela Greene, who plays one of the supporting characters, once dated John F. Kennedy.

Jon Pertwee, the beloved third Doctor Who, as a villain? Perish the thought! Yet he is, and a very effective one as well, in "A Torch for Silverado," from the 1992 British series Virtual Murder. You can read more about it from John at Cult TV Blog.

Remember Joe Pyne? I don't know if I saw him back when, or if I just remember him from having seen him in so many TV Guides of the time, but the controversial TV talk show host is the subject of a Smithsonian article linked to at the Broadcasting Archives.

In the heydays of syndicated television, few shows were more beloved than The Muppet Show, and now, at ReelWeegieMidget, you can read about the upcoming Great Muppet Guest Star Caper blogathon, which ought to bring back some happy memories!

If you're in the mood for Christmas movies--and, since we're now in December, you should be--and you have access to Turner Classic Movies, Terence at A Shroud of Thoughts has the rundown on their schedule. And, although the Christmas connections for some of them are tenuous, they're all ten times better than anything you'll find on Hallmark, Lifetime, Netflix, et al. But you knew I'd say that, didn't you? TV