Around the dial

Doctor Who has been in the news a bit lately with the excitement from the recent discovery of two episodes from the William Hartnell era of the series. I haven't made a secret of my disgust with the current version of Who and its emphasis on woke politics, and at The Spectator, Gareth Roberts offers an article on the surprising conservatism of the original series. It's well-worth a read, for Whovians and non-Whovians alike.

Coming off from the Easter week, Herbie J Pilato takes a look back at one of the groundbreaking miniseries of the 1970s, Jesus of Nazareth. Somehow, this is seldom mentioned in the pantheon of great miniseries of the era, yet it's made a profound impact over the years.

We'll transition to angels of the non-heavenly kind (depending on your definition), with David looking back on Charlie's Angels at 50 over at Comfort TV, and an awkward anniversary "celebration" at the Paley Center that didn't really do the series justice.

At Cult TV Blog, John turns to "The Assistant," an episode of the comedy series Hancock from 1963, and written by Terry Nation, who just happened to create the Daleks for the aforementioned Doctor Who. 

I do remember Gentle Ben, although I can't imagine why I would have seen it; probably because it came on after the late Sunday football game. But I've always liked bears, and I also like Paul's fond recollection of the series' second and final season, at Drunk TV.

Character actor James Tolkan died at the end of last month, aged 94, and at A Shroud of Thoughts, Terence has a fond appreciation of the actor's long and varied career, including the show for which I most remember him, Nero Wolfe, where he was a part of the rep company.

I always enjoy stopping at Television Obscurities when there's an anniversary notice regarding some of our favorite obscure series, and this week Robert takes a look at series celebrating anniversaries in April. How many of them do you remember?

Finally, at The View from the Junkyard, Roger's latest A-Team review is of the episode "Breakout!" (complete with exclamation point), in which our heroes fight through plot holes galore to escape a southern penal colony where the team is being unjustly held. Because, of course. TV

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