At Comfort TV, David takes a fond look back at Blondie Street, the Warner Bros. street where you could find the homes seen on The Partridge Family, Dennis the Menace, I Dream of Jeannie, and other favorites from our youth. They've started tearing them down now; another part of our heritage disappearing. Be sure to read about it.
John's at it again at Cult TV Blog, with another bizarre show from 1970s British TV: The Pink Medicine Show. It's a comedy sketch show involving and written by doctors; some compare it to Monty Python, but it sounds to me as if it defies a neat description, so see what John has to say about it.
Remember the PBS series Alive from Off Center? It ran for twelve seasons, concluding in 1996. At the Broadcast Archives, it's a look at some pictures from "A Tribute to Georges Méliès," a 1989 episode in which "the silent film pioneer's lost scriplts were reinterpreted by modern filmmakers." Hopefully it encourages you to read more about the series.
Another sterling Aventers review from Roger at The View from the Junkyard; this time, it's the episode "A Surfeit of H20," a rare Avengers story that's pure science fiction: what happens when someone starts controlling the weather? It might not be as ridiculous as it seems. . .
Travalanche looks at the contributions of Universal studios to the world of animation, which centers on a character so many of us were introduced to on television when we were kids: Woody Woodpecker. Find out more about Woody's creator, Walter Lanz, and the impact made by his creations (more than just Woody!).
The great Harry Belafonte died this week, aged 96. He was one of the most influential entertainer/activists, with a talent for acting, music, and raising awareness of civil rights. At A Shroud of Thoughts, Terence looks back at his career, which included many appearances on television, including a memorable week as host on The Tonight Show.
Drunk TV is back, as Paul reviews a live-action Hanna-Barbera series! It's Korg: 70,000 B.C., and the complete series of this Saturday morning show was released on DVD a few years ago. Was this a favorite of your childhood? Wondering if it might be for you? See what Paul thinks.
Oh, and the picture at the top? If I'm not very much mistaken, that's a pregnant Jackie Kennedy watching her hubby being nominated for president at the 1960 Democratic Convention, back when political conventions meant something. You don't see pictures like this anymore. TV
A Quick Early AM Question:
ReplyDeleteWhen you talk about "classic Outer Limits ..." -
- you realize that Outer Limits ('63-'65) was actually two serarate series?
After Season One, ABC purged Joe Stefano and Leslie Stevens (and their company) from the show, put in their own regime headed by network guy Ben Brady, and changed the look and approach - brightening up the lighting, scarifying the Bears, basically going back to '50s-era print SF ...
You know, Mitchell, this is what your last several posts have been about - and here you are, stumbling into a proof of your points (sort of).
Sometimes, it works out that way ...
For the last few weeks, I've been working on those aforementioned posts, but I'm having some problems sorting the whole thing (things?) out - call it Senior Moments (or something).
Well, you're ten years younger than I am ...
Just you wait, Mitchell 'Adley!
Just you wait!
Oh yes, there's definitely a difference between seasons 1 and 2 - the music (Dominic Frontiere, the former husband of former Rams owner Georgia), the cinematography (Conrad Hall's first season work was magnificent), the storytelling. By moving TOL to Saturday nights to compete with Jackie Gleason, Stefano said the network was essentially performing euthanasia on the show, and he wasn't going to be part of it. His contract only called for him to be the producer for one season anyway, and he still maintained a half-share of the show with Stevens.
DeleteWhen I referred to "classic," I did so to distinguish it from the 1995 revival that Showtime did. Since that version ran for seven seasons and more than 140 episodes - both substantially more than the original series - I thought it was important to distinguish between the two for anyone who thought we were going to be talking about both versions.