Around the dial

A few personal notes lead off this week, beginning with my latest appearance with Dan Schneider to discuss American TV History. This month, we look at two overlooked stars of the past, one who was once known as "one of America's great entertainers," and the other a talented actor and teen idol of the 1970s: Danny Thomas and Lance Kerwin.

Also, from a few weeks ago, Herbie J Pilato did a very nice profile of me on his Substack. I'm very grateful to Herbie for his kindness and generosity, and I'm also going to trademark the description "One-Man Literati Delivers a Media Mosaic"! Thanks again, Herbie.

Finally, just a reminder that my novel, The Book of Revelations, comes out in June. You can get exclusive features on that, plus advance word on coming projects of mine, by subscribing to my monthly newsletter. Please take a moment to do so, won't you?

At RealWeegieMidget, Gill takes a look at the 1979 telemovie The Return of the Saint, with Ian Ogilvy eschewing the role of Simon Templar, aided and abetted by Britt Ekland, Helmut Berger, and other international stars. Ah, but is he Roger Moore?

John is investigating the iconic police procedural Z-Cars at Cult TV Blog. The show ran on British TV from 1962 to 1978, and in the episode "Waste," we get to see the first television role for Lewis Collins, who would later go on to star in The Professionals.

I'm one of those who's always dropping names and lines from classic shows, much to the confusion of my friends (which tells me I need new friends). David takes a look at the classic TV name drop at Comfort TV, and wonders if anyone gets these references anymore. 

At The View from the Junkyard, Roger's weekly look at The A-Team takes us to "Sheriffs of Rivertown," which, as you may have guessed, involves our heroes assuming the roles of police officers in a town plagued by official corruption.

Judy Pace, one of the early black pioneers in television, and best known for her appearances on Peyton Place and The Young Lawyers (remember that show?), died this month at the age of 83, and at A Shroud of Thoughts, Terence remembers her career. 

Paul's back at Mavis Movie Madness!, which is good news for all of us, and he's back with the real good news, as he reviews volume two of the NBC series Greatest Heroes of the Bible, which includes plenty of entertainment, both intentionally and unintentionally. (Oops!)

No specific tie-in, but at Classic Film and TV Corner, Maddie has some wonderful photos from the classic film and television era, both candid and publicity. It works as a great pallet cleanser to round out the week.  TV

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