Around the dial

Now there's my idea of living; the Nelsons with a built-in TV! Not too far removed from the wall-mounted concept, is it? And with a lot less to worry about as far as bashing a hole in the wall. And now on to this week's entertainment.

The latest edition of "American TV with Mitchell Hadley" is up at Dan Schneider's Cosmoetica, and this month, it's a doubleheader, as Dan and I look at two of recent history's most controversial TV figures: Bill Cosby and Roseanne Barr. You can view them here!

At bare•bones e-zine, Jack's Hitchcock Project continues apace with "The Little Man Who Was There," a fifth-season episode written by Gordon Russell and Larry Ward, a charming story of con men in the Old West, with the redoubtable Norman Lloyd, Arch Johnson, and Read Morgan.

David continues his journey through 1970s primetime at Comfort TV; we're up to Tuesday nights in 1976, and it's a prime lineup indeed, from ABC's Happy Days and Laverne & Shirley to M*A*S*H and One Day at a Time on CBS, and even Police Woman and Police Story on NBC. Remember all those?

Meanwhile, at Cult TV Blog, John has a periodic mini-review of several shows that may merit a full write-up in the future, and we gave quite a collection from the 1960s, 70s, and 80s, and genres that range from political to science fiction to children's programs, all of which sound worthwhile.

At ReelWeegieMidget, Gill reviews a book that's a neat change-of-pace from what we usually see in the TV book realm: Cooking the Detectives: A Bite Sized Guide To The Tastiest Detective Shows, by Jenny Hammerton; in it, she reviews TV detective episodes with food and drink themes. 

At The Twilight Zone Vortex, Jordan continues his review of The Twilight Zone Magazine, and this time we're up to the issue of March/April 1984, featuring interviews with Burgess Meredith and Scott Glen, reviews by Thomas M. Disch, cartoons by Gahan Wilson, a story by Richard Matheson, and more!

Television's New Frontier: The 1960s visits the 1962 episodes of the Western series Tales of Wells Fargo, starring Dale Robertson. Not one of the best-known Westerns of the time, but certainly an interesting one, with a star who was always dependable.

Terrence remembers actor Michael Madsen at A Shroud of Thoughts. Madsen, who died last week at age 67 and was the brother of actress Virginia Madsen, was part of Quentin Tarantino's regular stable of actors, and also a frequent figure (and voice) on television throughout his career. TV