tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042603612494762084.post6957659664185719889..comments2024-03-27T22:27:16.556-04:00Comments on It's About TV: This week in TV Guide: April 14, 1962Mitchell Hadleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08695771505209080030noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042603612494762084.post-52976377075187681602018-04-20T16:42:03.411-04:002018-04-20T16:42:03.411-04:00I don't know if the Rockefeller Center skating...I don't know if the Rockefeller Center skating rink was still open in early-to-mid April of 1962; I suspect the special airing from there was taped a few weeks earlier (when the rink was more likely to have been in place).<br /><br />I wonder if camera cables for the first-generation RCA TK-41 color cameras were strung through the RCA Building and connected to the control-room of one of their studios so NBC could have taken three or four color cameras out of one of their studios at 30 Rock, plugged them into the camera cables, and thus, didn't have to use a mobile unit.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042603612494762084.post-60996029491159568252018-04-19T01:44:34.279-04:002018-04-19T01:44:34.279-04:00Yes...'The Lethal Ladies" has a prologue ...Yes...'The Lethal Ladies" has a prologue where a nurse takes out a doctor with a remarkable resemblance to Vince Edwards<br />(BEN CASEY had clobbered THRILLER in the ratings)Paul Ducanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042603612494762084.post-74608042897330132262018-04-15T20:55:13.941-04:002018-04-15T20:55:13.941-04:00The Grate DVD Adventure Begins!:
- Monday:
- M...The Grate DVD Adventure Begins!:<br /><br /> - <b>Monday</b>:<br /> - My bootleg DVD of <i>Surfside 6</i> is really crappy, but it was a kick to see a young(ish) Malachy McCourt, who'd just started his sort-of TV career as a frequent guest on Jack Paar's <i>Tonight</i> show.<br />Back then McCourt had bright red hair and matching beard; I'm guessing that the brass at Warner Bros thought he might be an interesting character face for its TV shows , but apparently cooler heads prevailed ...<br />The episode, "Irish Pride", is a bit above the average WB 'tec show; McCourt has a couple of funny scenes with Hal "Gildersleeve" Peary as a bureaucrat that make me want to see at least a cleaned-up version. <br />For the record, Malachy McCourt's latest book, a memoir of sorts titled <i>Death Need Not Be Fatal</i>, is currently available.<br /><br /> - Above I mentioned that <i>87th Precinct</i> introduced Fred Beir as Detective Cotton Hawes, who'd been added to Ed McBain's books a few years before.<br />The episode is based on the McBain novel <i>Killer's Choice</i>, in which one of the 87th detectives is killed, and Hawes winds up taking his place.<br />But here's the funny thing:<br />In the novel, the detective who gets killed is Roger Havilland, who's played in the series by Greg Walcott.<br />But in the episode, it's a hitherto unseen officer who gets the gate - sort of an 87th "red shirt"; Havilland/Walcott stays for the whole show.<br />I'm guessing that had <i>87th Precinct</i> made it to Season 2, Hawes would have become a regular, but this begs the question: who would leave - or would anyone leave?<br />By the way, Cotton Hawes is married; his wife is seen briefly in a restaurant scene - played by Joan Patrick, <i>op cit.</i> (Geez, I love to do that).<br /><br /> - <i>Thriller</i> has two half-hour stories, jointly titled "The Lethal Ladies"; both stories star Howard Morris and Rosemary Murphy in very contrasting roles - and Ida Lupino directs both stories, thereby giving the joint title more significance.<br /><br /> - <b>Wednesday</b><br /> - <i>Checkmate</i> has a show set in and around San Francisco's Chinatown, in which a professor hires Sebastian Cabot & Co. to find out who's blackmailing his wife, who's played by Nobu McCarthy.<br />The main suspect is played by James Hong, who has friends on this site (in that context, may I say that I still think of him as ace pilot Bing Wong from <i>The In-Laws</i> (the Falk/Arkin version - you know, the <i>good</i> one).<br />In any event, the whole story plays out as not-what-it-seems ...<br />Pretty good little whodunit.<br /><br /> <b>Thursday</b>:<br /> - <i>The Law And Mr. Jones</i> returns with new episodes, after ABC cancelled it the previous season.<br />James Whitmore is as good as ever; the problem is that this should be an hour-long show - you just can't do courtroom drama in 30 minutes.<br />Still worth watching, though ...<br /><br /> <b>Friday</b>:<br /> - <i>Target: The Corruptors</i> takes on a probate racket.<br /> Seems that some judges can assign estates where there's no designated executor to an administrator, who in his turn can dispose of the properties for a sizable profit, which is split between the judge and "partners", with the heirs cut out. Nasty business, so Stephen McNally brings his outrage to bear ...<br />In this episode, Macdonald Carey is the Bad Judge, and Robert Middleton is the Bad Administrator - and guess which one gets a conscience and spills to McNally? (Hint: not so fast, there ...)<br /><br /> - Meanwhile, <i>Twilight Zone</i> has "The Trade-Ins", about the old couple considers getting younger bodies to replace the ailing originals.<br />You may have heard the story of how Joseph Schildkraut's real-life wife passed on midway through the filming; the producers were going to postpone the shoot, but Schildkraut insisted that they not do that.<br />That's what classical actors did then, and Joseph Schildkraut was classical.<br /><br />Did I miss anything?<br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05527404061764217504noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042603612494762084.post-57580916848466821922018-04-15T19:43:59.694-04:002018-04-15T19:43:59.694-04:00Just back from spending most of this miserable day...Just back from spending most of this miserable day at the Old DVD Wall, looking up ancient shows that are listed in this week's <i>Guide</i> (Chicago edition).<br /><br /> ... but before that, there are a few loose ends to tie off:<br /><br /> - Remember a few weeks back, when you wondered if the <i>Chicago Tribune</i> "really needed the money"?<br />Turns out - <i>they do.</i><br />Tribune Media - or to be more accurate Tribune Online Content (TRONC for short) - is in the process of changing ts ownership structure for the umpteenth time in recent years, according to a story in the <i>Sun-Times</i> (figures, doesn't it?) over the weekend.<br />Don't ask me to explain any of this; I've read the story five times already and <i>I</i> can't figure it out.<br />Two things I'm getting (sort of) from this:<br /> - For the first time in its history, the <i>Trib</i> newsroom staff has voted to unionize.<br /><i>(Sound of the Earth moving.)</i><br /> - In the not-too-distant future, the <i>Trib</i> will move its offices and facilities out of the Tribune Tower; the new headquarters will be in the Prudential Plaza across the river.<br />Since the <i>Sun-Times</i> vacated their old quarters years ago (yielding to a skyscraper built by and bearing the name of some New Yorker whose name escapes me at the moment), you should be hearing the remains of Siskel and Ebert doing a similar rumble (except that as memory serves, both those gentlemen were cremated ...).<br /> - Oh, and by the way, this has nothing to do with the prospective sale of Tribune Broadcasting (which was split off from the paper some years back) to Sinclair, which as far as I know is still pending with the FCC (or whoever does that stuff nowadays).<br /><br /> I'll stop this one, and begin another about the DVD Adventure down below (just in case you've still got that oedipusrexing character limit).<br /><br />To Be Continued -<br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05527404061764217504noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042603612494762084.post-22179739819278155882018-04-15T12:30:10.007-04:002018-04-15T12:30:10.007-04:00Glenn Corbett was one of the most bland, boring ac...Glenn Corbett was one of the most bland, boring actors in television history. It's less accurate to say that he "starred" in Route 66 and more accurate to say that the camera was pointed in his direction.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042603612494762084.post-77848057180186743012018-04-14T14:27:11.498-04:002018-04-14T14:27:11.498-04:00Another neat show premiered this week when Disney ...Another neat show premiered this week when Disney presented "Disneyland After Dark" Sunday, Apr. 15 at 6:30 PM, right before "He Is Risen" (which preempted CAR 54 that week). The whole show, preceded by the NBC Peacock, is available here on YouTube:<br /><br />https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AYoR9tz7tSs<br />Jonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00483417885845331990noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042603612494762084.post-1011073030072080992018-04-14T11:53:15.155-04:002018-04-14T11:53:15.155-04:00There's so much in this issue (Chicago edition...There's so much in this issue (Chicago edition, of course) that I think I'll start with something that <i>isn't</i> in it:<br /><br /> - That ad for <i>The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance</i>, which I'm guessing opened in Chicago a week or so earlier.<br />It's a big country ...<br /><br /> - Irv Kupcinet's talk show, <i>At Random</i>, originated at WBBM-channel 2, the CBS station in Chicago.<br />The show ran late Saturday/early Sunday, starting after midnight, after ch2's late movie. <br /><i>At Random</i> was a live show with no time limit - some nights it might go as long as three hours. So what you were getting in Minneapolis was edited down from what went out in Chicago a week or so before.<br /><br /> - <b>Monday</b>: <i>87th Precinct</i>, whose producers were expecting a renewal (which didn't happen), has "New Man In The Precinct", which introduces Fred Beir as Cotton Hawes, who'd been established in Ed McBain's novels by this time.<br />Best laid plans ...<br /><br /><b>Tuesday</b>: In that <i>New Breed</i> show about teen marriage, the young bride is played by Patty McCormack, then transitioning to adult roles. I'd really like to see this one - and so would my friend Max Allan Collins, who years later would direct Patty McCormack in two pretty good little direct-to-DVD thrillers, <i>Mommy</i> and <i>Mommy's Day</i>.<br />But that's another story ...<br />And later that same evening:<br /><i>Alcoa Premiere</i> (Fred Astaire's anthology) has a pilot called "All My Clients Are Innocent", about a flashy lawyer who goes easy on the protocol.<br />This is also one I'd like to see: had it sold, Barry Morse would not have been available for <i>The Fugitive</i> a year later.<br />That's the way it goes ...<br /><br /><b>Wednesday</b>: <i>Naked City</i> has "Take Off Your Hat When The Funeral Passes", in which Lee J. Cobb plays a suspected robber who escapes a prison sentence by turning in his brother-in-law.<br />If you know anything about Cobb's experiences with HUAC, and its subsequent effect on his professional and personal life - well, the subtext just shouts out at you, doesn't it?<br /><br />Lotsa other stuff, but I think I'll just throw in that feature in the color section about actress Joan Patrick.<br />It seems that the big color picture of Miss Patrick ... <i>isn't</i> Miss Patrick.<br />It's another ingenue from the same period, Christine White by name.<br />A couple of weeks later, <i>TV Guide</i> received letter from both actresses, calling amused attention to the gaffe (Christine White and Joan Patrick were friends in real life; I suspect this may have been a double-team on their parts).<br />Anyway, <i>TV Guide</i> made the correction, and everyone enjoyed a hearty chuckle ...<br /><br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05527404061764217504noreply@blogger.com