tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042603612494762084.post2114737489792569953..comments2024-03-27T22:27:16.556-04:00Comments on It's About TV: The next big thingMitchell Hadleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08695771505209080030noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042603612494762084.post-66881184013712243462013-01-18T11:06:16.477-05:002013-01-18T11:06:16.477-05:00No worries, Mike. The only ground rules here are ...No worries, Mike. The only ground rules here are that you like TV and indulge in civil conversation. I see no problem here! Welcome aboard!Mitchell Hadleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08695771505209080030noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042603612494762084.post-9069404409776087872013-01-17T12:09:35.123-05:002013-01-17T12:09:35.123-05:00A couple more observations:
- I once read an int...A couple more observations:<br /><br /> - I once read an interview with TV producer Barney Rosenzweig, who was showruner on the <i>Daniel Boone</i> series with Fess Parker in the mid-'60s.<br /> Rosenzweig bragged about how he told writers on the <i>Boone</i> show to use the then-current Vietnam war as a template for their scripts, casting the British as the USA and Boone and the Kentuckians as the Vietcong. It amused him greatly that <i>Boone</i> got its biggest ratings numbers in "heartland America" - what would now be characterized as "Red-state America>.<br /> - As of now, I know not a whole lot about fX's <i>The Americans</i>, and thus I don't know about this "rooting for the KGB" business, save for the fact that this meme seems to have originated with L. Brent Bozell, the ultra-right-wing pundit.<br />Given the extreme conservatism of Rupert Murdoch, I kinda doubt that any kind of pro-Communism is going to be in this show, which being on a cable channel is going to at least get an initial run (not cut off after one bad showing as would be the case on a broadcast net).<br />In that respect, I remember when Mr. Bozell played a major role in driving a wonderful series called <i>Nothing Sacred</i> from the ABC schedule, by persistently misrepresenting its content and intentions (in close collaboration with his BFF Bill Donohue of the bogus "Catholic League").<br /> I'm going to have to look into this show further, and this includes <i>actually watching it</i> , something I'm sure Mr. Bozell will find some excuse not to do.<br />Apologies for getting quasi-political here, but Bozell is a major irritant of mine for some while (just my luck, you might be a fan). I'm a newcomer to this site, and I'm not sure of the ground rules here, so I'll back off for the nonce.Mike Dorannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042603612494762084.post-73541812149793115632013-01-17T10:43:14.054-05:002013-01-17T10:43:14.054-05:00Great work, Mike. Very interesting info!
For any...Great work, Mike. Very interesting info!<br /><br />For anyone interested in developing this idea, I think they'd be better advised to follow a model like "The Young Rebels" - it's up to them to present the case in a convincing manner, but the challenge is that they're not going up against a Big Brother or quasi-fascist government, but one that's instantly recognizable as something not that different from what we have today. But considering fX's "The Americans" is supposed to make us root for the KGB, there's no reason why a young and appealing cast couldn't make this work! Mitchell Hadleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08695771505209080030noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042603612494762084.post-64710558947303582772013-01-16T13:31:48.023-05:002013-01-16T13:31:48.023-05:00Last night, I looked at my crappy bootleg DVD of S...Last night, I looked at my crappy bootleg DVD of <i>Shadow On The Land</i>.<br /><br />I did look up a few more things, which helped to clarify what I saw:<br /> - Its airing by ABC in December of 1968 was apparently after about a year's delay.<br />Filming in 1967, when anti-Vietnam sentiment was just starting to ramp up, would seem kind of prescient. The two extremes were getting more hostile to each other, but it wasn't until the Presidential campaign kicked in the following year that violence on both sides started in earnest.<br /> - The fact that the film didn't air until <i>after</i> Nixon's election was probably just a coincidence (it says here).<br /> -Reflecting the time, there are only two significant roles for women in <i>Shadow</i>: Carol Lynley as the hero's girlfriend, and Janice Rule as an ISF psych officer whom the hero turns to the side of the Society Of Man. Both actresses wear miniskirts and pixie haircuts (for much of her role, Lynley wears considerably less), further confirming the 1967 shooting date.<br />- The "national emergency" that enabled The Leader to take power is kept vague, probably on purpose. The script refers to the situation as having taken place "four years before", which would indicate that The Leader was initially elected to his post.<br />Also, The Leader (who is never referred to by a name) apparently enjoys widespread popular support, possibly related to "the emergency", which he seeks to get renewed by unspecified means (maybe an "election" where he runs unopposed, that's also vague).<br /> - The ISF, run by John Forsythe's character, is all about blaming the Society Of Man for anything bad that happens, and is not averse to making the bad things happen themselves when necessary. Forsythe doesn't have a mustache here, which is the only reason he doesn't twirl it.<br /> - Marc Strange, as the hero Maj. McCloud, is so insolent toward Forsythe that you wonder why he hasn't long since been busted as a rebel. The "war" depicted here would be at least as dependent on the stupidity of the ISF as it might be on the resourcefulness of the Society of Man.<br /> - The ISF employs much symbiology associaed with Naziism - its double-headed eagle flag, armbands, flat-topped caps like Nazis used to wear, and"approved" literature from the Leader, such as "Our Struggle" and "For Leader And For Country" among others.<br /> - At no time do we see exactly how and why The Leader came to power, and I doubt if this show had gone to series that we ever would.<br />That's probably just as well; as it is, this show was so heavy-handed that specifics would have sparked protests and boycotts from all sides.<br /> From what I've been able to glean from other sources, this project was originally titled <i>United States</i> or <i>It Can't Happen Here</i>, the latter after a Sinclair Lewis novel of the '30s (though not a direct adaptation).<br /><br />And that's most of what I have on <i>Shadow On The Land</i>.<br /><br />To get back to your "Million-Dollar Idea":<br />If <i>Shadow</i> couldn't break through in red-hot 1968 -<br /> - I wouldn't get your hopes up for this one in even-hotter 2012.<br /><br />Try a sitcom instead.<br />Mike Dorannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042603612494762084.post-7832568726320628512013-01-15T13:52:20.618-05:002013-01-15T13:52:20.618-05:00Just back from IMDb ...
The leading man was Marc ...Just back from IMDb ...<br /><br />The leading man was Marc Strange, a Canadian actor trying to break into US-TV. That didn't happen, and he went back to Canada, where he had a long and successful career.<br /><br />The director was Richard C. Sarafian, a fixture in prime-time TV for years. As noted, Nedrick Young wrote the script, but creator credit went to Sidney Sheldon, just before he left TV for novels.<br /><br />I've been trying to remember the 1968 atmosphere: this was just when everything was starting to unravel - LBJ was still President, VietNam War was going wrong, nothing was happening fast enough to suit anybody. Campus dissent was ramping up in a big way.<br />"The Leader" in <i>Shadow</i> didn't really have a real-life prototype, so both ends of the spectrum could easily tag their opponents as the "model".<br /><br />If you check out the IMDb user comments, you'll see fulminating diatribes from both Left and Right, each claiming <i>Shadow On The Land</i> as a prophecy piece about whoever their particular hate figure is - Bush/Cheney, Obama, Clinton (either one), old standbys like Nixon and LBJ - you name it.<br /><br />Next step - I go home tonight and look at that crappy DVD again.<br />(Anybody think Sony will issue a cleaned-up one?)Mike Dorannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042603612494762084.post-11411394129778151852013-01-15T12:13:56.924-05:002013-01-15T12:13:56.924-05:00Mike,
That's very good - I wasn't familia...Mike,<br /><br />That's very good - I wasn't familiar with that movie until now, and I'm glad to hear about it. Differs a bit in that the U.S. is ruled by a government we don't really recognize; I wonder if that's the only way they felt they could address it, and if they'd feel differently today. If you find out any more let me know! Mitchell Hadleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08695771505209080030noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042603612494762084.post-4784682465833071512013-01-15T11:03:20.524-05:002013-01-15T11:03:20.524-05:00Sometime in the mid-'60s, Screen Gems (what Co...Sometime in the mid-'60s, Screen Gems (what Columbia Pictures TV was called back then), made a pilot for ABC titled <i>Shadow On The Land</i>.<br /><br />The premise was that the USA was under the thrall of a "Leader" (never referred to by a name) who had declared a "national emergency" and instituted an Internal Security Force in order to squelch opposition by force.<br /><br />This had led to the formation of the Society Of Man, an "underground" (but not very) group dedicated to stopping the ISF by any means necessary.<br /><br />The star was some contract lead whose name I can't recall, playing a SOM guy who was undercover in the ISF.<br />The guest stars included John Forsythe as the ISF commander (hardass SOB), Jackie Cooper as a general helping the rebels (Cooper was head of Screen Gems at the time; this show was a pet project of his), Gene Hackman as a priest who was trying to stay neutral (this was Hackman's last TV appearance before <i>Bonnie And Clyde</i> priced him out of the market), and Carol Lynley as the hero's girl.<br />The script was by Nedrick Young, fresh from the '50s blacklist; I can't recall the director offhand (when I finish this I'm going to IMDb for a refresher).<br />I have this show on a collector-to-collector (OK, <i>bootleg</i>)DVD, but I haven't watched it in a while; much of the foregoing is from memory.<br /><br />As I said, ABC had first look at this pilot; it was shown on the network in (I think) 1968, and therafter went into TV-pilot limbo.<br /><br />When I read your entry today, I decided to rush this recollection into print, so I haven't been able to recheck things; I'll be doing that now.<br /><br /> ... assuming, that anybody else doesn't beat me to it (as I'll probably find the next time I look here)...Mike Dorannoreply@blogger.com