Around the dial

As usual, something sinister seems to be just around the corner in Jack's Hitchcock Project at bare-bones e-zine. This time it's "Victim Four," adapted by Talmage Powell from his own short story, with John Lupton, Peggy Ann Garner, and Paul Comi. Tip: stay away from anyone with the nickname "The Butcher."

If you've been following along here, or if you read Comfort TV on a regular basis, you know about David's trip through 1970s TV, and his quest to watch at least one episode from every prime time series. He's now up to 1972, and let's see how he did with Sunday and Monday nights.

For some reason, I frequently have trouble with the titles The Protectors and The Persuaders!, two British shows from the 1970s, remembering which title goes with which show, even though I have The Persuaders! Maybe this will help: John's review of"Shadbolt" from The Protectors at Cult TV Blog.

Cult TV Lounge offers us a look at three episodes of the 1970s British series Thriller (not to be confused with the Boris Karloff-hosted show of the same name). The episodes, all from 1973, are The Colour of Blood, Murder in Mind, and A Place to Die. Don't say you weren't warned.

The View from the Junkyard concludes this trio of pieces on British TV with the fourth season Avengers episode "The Hour That Never Was," a genuinely disorienting episode that, for once, puts Steed and Mrs. Peel on the back foot. A terrific episode.

I'm not even going to ask if you remember "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet," one of the most famous and most loved episodes of The Twilight Zone. But did you ever wonder about the origin of the word "gremlin"? Find out more from Paul at Shadow & Substance.

In the mood for a clipl from an old program? Head on over to Silver Scenes, where the Metzingers have one from a 1960 episode of The Bell Telephone Hour; it's Howard Keel and Sally Ann Howes, singing "Tonight" from the Broadway version of West Side Story. Very nice!

We're getting closer to the publication of Peace, Jodie's biography of Dave Garroway, and at Garroway at Large she shares a picture of the printed proof of the hardcover edition. I'm really looking forward to adding this to the library. (Bonus points for a mention of the great Dan Gurney!)

At Drunk TV, Paul returns to the Old West and Gunsmoke, and a look at the second season (from 1956-57) of the legendary Western. Remember, at this point the show was only 30 minutes long, Festus hadn't come on the scene, and Chester is still gimping around. An excellent show, and excellent review.

Television's New Frontier: The 1960s visits one of the great cat-TV shows of all time, the 1962 episodes of Top Cat. I don't share the somewhat negative opinion of the author regarding the quality of the show; perhaps it isn't original, but it works perfectly as a cartoon, which is what it is.

After a few lean weeks (in terms of quantity, not quality), it's nice to have a full house today, isn't it?  TV