tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042603612494762084.post1444539546487549334..comments2024-03-27T22:27:16.556-04:00Comments on It's About TV: My turn: my little list of classic TV programsMitchell Hadleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08695771505209080030noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042603612494762084.post-63738056644062740362019-01-25T19:17:42.601-05:002019-01-25T19:17:42.601-05:00SCTV definitely...most of America probably never g...SCTV definitely...most of America probably never got to see it except in reruns, but it had a great enough impact to make US top ten lists.JD Rowehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14882261865750361495noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042603612494762084.post-71675551972890456452019-01-25T02:52:07.515-05:002019-01-25T02:52:07.515-05:00About this list:
I'm not making one.
The whole...About this list:<br />I'm not making one.<br />The whole thing is actually kind of silly, really …<br /><br />That said, I'd like to take this opportunity to mention a couple of things that you might have missed:<br /><br />- I see by <i>The Obit Patrol</i> that James Frawley passed on a few days ago.<br />James Frawley was possibly the greatest TV director that you never heard of.<br />His career goes back to the mid-'60s, when he started transitioning from character acting.<br />Right out of the gate, he gained notice for directing many early episodes of <i>The Monkees</i> - one of which won him an Emmy award.<br />At the same time, Frawley also did some episodes of <i>That Girl</i>, showing that he didn't play favorites.<br />For a few years, Frawley went back and forth between TV and low-budget movies; His biggest pictures were <i>The Big Bus</i> (the best disaster movie parody until the Zuckers came along), and ultimately <i>The Muppet Movie</i> (the first, and arguably the best, of the Jim Henson pictures).<br />Jim Frawley spent most of his career in TV, as director and producer; way too many credits to list here - see IMDb for details.<br />Probably Jim Frawley's major TV accomplishment was directing six episodes of <i>Columbo</i> - he was the second most frequent director on that show (only Vince McEveety did more).<br />Peter Falk was notorious as a director-killer, so Frawley must have done something right.<br />Jim Frawley kept working as a director right through about 2009, when he retired (<i>Grey's Anatomy</i> was his last credit).<br />He was 83 at his passing.<br />Just thought you ought to know …<br /><br />- On a lighter note:<br />Today's mail brought my copy of <i>The Case Of The Saggy Stalker</i> by Peter S. Fischer - the latest volume of his <i>Hollywood Murder Mystery</i> series<br />This is Number 20 of the series - and he'll have another one out before too much longer (<i>Warner's Last Stand</i> will be # 21).<br />The book business being what it is, Fischer has to self-publish.<br />That's not as bad as it once was, but it's still problematic:<br />My copy doesn't have a title page or a copyright page; things like that can happen when you're a total indie.<br />I hope that Pete Fischer's POD people get it straightened out by #21.<br /> <br />Anyway, I just wanted to say howdy-do - you know, in the absence of one of those dumb lists … <br /><br />Mike Doranhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14427528138598549103noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042603612494762084.post-33041188340047578472019-01-24T11:49:15.574-05:002019-01-24T11:49:15.574-05:00more:
I'm with you on M*A*S*H, though I think...more:<br /><br />I'm with you on M*A*S*H, though I think the first three seasons with Rogers and Stevenson are really funny. After that too much preaching for my taste. ALL IN THE FAMILY hasn't aged well for me either, though Carroll O'Connor's acting remains remarkable. (I actually find his later series IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT far more watchable these days.)<br /><br />I had THE PRISONER on my top 10. A very talented man both behind and in front of the camera delivering his best work. SCTV was still producing excellent sketches up to the end on Cinemax.<br /><br />Couldn't go wrong with your list either Mitchell!Halhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09291930694234773688noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042603612494762084.post-468220758711229502019-01-23T23:33:57.067-05:002019-01-23T23:33:57.067-05:00I had to leave some favorites off my list, since I...I had to leave some favorites off my list, since I was really trying to stick with the "most enduring classics" criteria.<br /><br />I will say that William Frawley's brilliant performance as Fred Mertz is reason enough to list LUCY. That said, while LUCY itself is probably more enduring on our TV's than any other show of its era (though I think, say, BILKO is a better show), it's never been rebooted. Look at how often other classics like PERRY MASON, MAVERICK, DALLAS have had reunions or out and out reboots---one of my criteria for 'enduring'.<br /><br />POLICE SQUAD! has certainly endured, spawning three box office hits afterward.<br /><br />Even though critics hated both, GILLIGAN'S ISLAND and THE BEVERLY HILLBILLIES were glaring omissions IMO. Talk about enduring. And I would have nominated THE PHIL SILVERS SHOW, F TROOP, THE BEVERLY HILLBILLIES and HIGH CHAPARRAL for the original list had I gotten my nominations in on time.Halhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09291930694234773688noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042603612494762084.post-1838078639478273342019-01-23T19:58:51.113-05:002019-01-23T19:58:51.113-05:00I found this very interesting reading, and obvious...I found this very interesting reading, and obviously all of our lists would not be pleasing to everyone. I can see the appeal of "What's My Line?"and "Rocky and Bullwinkle"; the only head-scratcher for me is "Police Squad!" because there were so few episodes, and because the entire concept was an adaptation of something that had already been created for the big screen. But I'm definitely with you on "All in the Family!" David Hofstedehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15288510542472710879noreply@blogger.com