Around the dial

Personal note #1: over the past few months, I've alluded to my employment situation, which has been less than ideal. That, as I mentioned in my Liz Trotta piece a couple of weeks ago, has now been rectified. I'm quite grateful to all of you out their for your encouragement and best wishes, and your erudite comments that have added a great deal to my knowledge base and to my life. While we may not have the readership numbers here that other websites have, I wouldn't trade you for any of them.

Personal note #2: Due to the circumstances alluded to in personal note #1, we aren't at the Mid-Atlantic Nostalgia Convention this year. If I saw you there last year and said something along the lines of, "I'll see you next year," I did mean it at the time; hold that thought for another year. To my friends and fellow classic TV buffs, I miss you all, and we won't wait until next year to get together. In the meantime, Andrew has a preview at The Lucky Strike Papers. He won't be there this year either, so I don't feel too bad.

That's enough of the schmaltz; now, let's get on to the good stuff.

Thanks to Jodie for the link to The New Atlantis and this article on what she calls "the comfort and ache of YouTube." When I first discovered YouTube all those years ago, I instantly saw it for what it was, "the closest thing we have invented to a time machine." Much of what you read at this site has been shaped in one way or another, directly or indirectly, by YouTube. It is, in many ways, a miracle.

At bare-bones e-zine, Jack comes to the end of Arthur A. Ross's contribution to The Hitchcock Project, with the tenth-season "Wally the Beard," a sly story with a great twist at the end. I guess it isn't only clothes that make the man.

Here's a shout-out to Rick at Classic Film and TV Café, celebrating ten years of blogging about, well, classic film and TV. We should be so lucky as to make it that far, but as long as the TV Guides hold out. . .

One thing I can always count on each week is a thoughtful piece from David at Comfort TV, and this week is no exception, as he writes about why Rhoda was necessary, a lovely tribute not only to the show, but to the woman who made it possible, the late Valerie Harper.

I really do wish I'd paid more attention to The Twilight Zone Magazine when it was around; that's how good Jordan's summaries are at The Twilight Zone Vortex. I'm particularly intrigued by John Boonstra's interview with Philip K. Dick, who died shortly after the interview was conducted.

At The Last Drive-In, it's a very nice appreciation of the late Carol Lynley, who died last week. In addition to her many movies, she did some very nice TV work; I think I most recently saw her with Darren McGavin in the terrific The Night Stalker.

Let's take a u-turn now to radio, if you don't mind. At Once Upon a Screen, Aurora reflects on the enormous legacy of Orson Welles (no pun intended) and the Mercury Theatre on the Air. It strikes me that Welles was a man who never quite fit in anywhere, but perhaps he fit more in radio than anywhere else.

I always enjoy Television Obscurities because I'm never quite sure what I'll find next, and this week is no exception: Robert's latest project is TV Guide 365: 1964-1965, a daily look at "the prime time listings published 55 years earlier in TV Guide." I can't wait to read them! TV  

WCCO's Miracle on 9th Street, 1974 - local programming the way it should be

I've continually written, at this time of year, about how Christmas is not just a day but a season, twelve days* that run to the Feast of the Epiphany. Therefore, it's entirely appropriate to look at a Christmas program today. Not just any Christmas program, though - I think this one is a special one.

*That start on Christmas Day.

You've probably seen me refer in the past, directly or through the program listings, to Dave Moore, the legendary anchorman for WCCO, Channel 4 in the Twin Cities from 1957 to 1991. For many years, he also hosted a program, the Peabody-award winning Moore on Sunday, which was a kind of local 60 Minutes, providing the kind of in-depth reporting and commentary that we often say we want from our local stations yet seldom watch.

In addition to being a newsman, Moore was also an amateur actor, occasionally appearing in local theaters. He usually expressed his natural haminess through The Bedtime Nooz, his satirical news spoof that ran late Saturday nights during the '60s and early '70s. However, on December 22, 1974, Moore on Sunday presented something quite extraordinary for a local public-affairs program - an original comedy-drama entitled Miracle on 9th Street.

Miracle on 9th Street (named after the then-location of WCCO's studios, the former Radio City Theater) displays the satire typical of The Bedtime Nooz, criticizing the commercialism of Christmas (including the station's own role in it), with wonderful over-the-top performances by weatherman Bud Kraehling as the evil toy manufacturer, Ron Meshbesher, one of the Twin Cities' most prominent and flamboyant attorneys, playing himself as Kris Kringle's defense attorney, and real-life members of WCCO's news team (reporter Rod Challenger, commentator Al Austin, and station manager Sherm Headley). It's filled with inside jokes aimed at Minnesotans of the era, but the gist of the story is as timeless as the movie it spoofs, Miracle on 34th Street. Most of all, it's Moore's portrayal of Kris Kringle, a mix of off-the-wall comedy and poignant warmth, that carries the day.


Perhaps Miracle on 9th Street is "too local" to resound with viewers unfamiliar with the Twin Cities, and certainly a good deal of the humor comes from seeing personalities well-known to Twin Cities TV viewers. Looking back on it, though, how cool is this? It's one reason why WCCO has always been seen held in such high regard, not only in the Twin Cities but nationally as well. Did other local stations put on these kinds of productions? Did local news personalities ever appear on TV in any roles other than kids'-show and late-night movie hosts?

I often complain about how local television has dropped the ball when it comes to original programming - not just public affairs, but game shows, talk shows, even local movie hosts.  No matter how you look at it, whether as a biting comedy or a nostalgic look back at one's hometown, Miracle on 9th Street is something special. (And it isn't even the only time WCCO did something like this; check out One Who Stole at Christmas from 1982 and The Gift of the Magi from 1984.) Can you imagine a local television station doing such a production today?

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This is probably as good a time as any for a brief note on the upcoming year. I don't generally talk about myself on this blog - it's not a diary, after all, but a site dealing with classic television, and most of the personal glimpses you get of me come from my own interaction with the shows and times about which I write.

However, as those of you on my personal Facebook account know, my wife and I are both currently unemployed, as a result of which we are returning to our roots in Minneapolis-St. Paul. The move will occur no later than mid-March; sooner, depending on my success at getting a job up there. This likely means a few changes for 2017. I don't anticipate seeing any major changes to the blog, but between working temp jobs, looking for a full-time job, packing to move (and then unpacking), and then moving literally from the bottom of the country to the top of it, I'm going to be a bit busy for the next few months.

What does this mean? Well, I'm trying to write in advance as many blog pieces as I can in order to keep the content coming, but I may not always be as present in the comments section as I would like to be (and I'm already bad at that). With a dramatic reduction in income, I've slashed the budget for "new" TV Guides, so you may see more reruns and "second-looks" than I'd prefer. I've also talked about my TV book, which I hoped to publish in 2017, in time to make a presentation on it at the Mid-Atlantic Nostalgia Convention. As of now, that ain't gonna happen - I think it's better to plan on the book for 2018, and if it comes out earlier than that, it's a bonus. When I've got the time to get back to work on it, I'll let you know.

All of this is an explanation, not an excuse. If for any reason I need to make more substantial changes (temporary, of course), you'll know about it. Hopefully, if things go the way I hope they will, you shouldn't notice any difference at all. And as I inculcate myself back into the Twin Cities scene, you might see me doing more pieces like this one, talking about the Minneapolis I grew up in and am now returning to. It's a bitter end to 2016, but a promising one as well - we're going back where we belong, and only better times are ahead. You can bet we'll be sharing those better times together!

It's Around the Dial - but first, a word or two from our sponsor

We'll get to our links of the week in a moment, but first a couple of housekeeping issues.

First, next week is Holy Week and, as is frequently the custom here, I'll be offline for the week.  What this means is that I've already got prewritten material for all of next week - a TV Guide piece on Saturday, a look at listings on Monday, an essay on Wednesday, a special feature on Good Friday, and around to another TV Guide the next day - but I won't be monitoring or making comments on the blog, nor will I be linking or looking at the Facebook site.  Just wanted to let you know.

Second, and perhaps more important.  The reason I link to my colleagues' posts each week is that I think they're worth reading, and that you'll be interested in them.  If you like the pieces I write here, won't you share them with people you think might be interested?  You can forward a link to the story, a link to the blog itself, or share a Facebook post.  But this blog needs your support to keep going - not financial support; I don't take up collections as some bloggers do, because I make more than enough money from my regular job, and I do this in my free time.  But a growing and interactive readership is the fuel that makes a writer keep going, and your help in spreading the word will be greatly appreciated.

Enough of the public service announcements - now, on with the links.

Rick at Classic Film and TV Cafe has another of his excellent and literate interviews, this one with Michael McGreevey, who made his name as an actor in Disney films in the '60s before graduating to work behind the scenes as a writer.  It's a very good read - even if you don't think you'll be interested in it, I can almost guarantee you'll read the whole thing.

CultTV Blog returns from a brief hiatus with his conclusions about British television of the '70s.  His conclusion about Seventies television there is much the same as mine is about television over here - head back to the relative safety of the Sixties!

I don't know if I've linked to Ken Levine's blog before, but the Emmy-winning producer, director, writer and major league baseball announcer has one of the most interesting blogs around.  This Friday, as is the case frequently, he's answering your questions, and you won't want to miss them.

Television Obscurities is up to March 27 in the ongoing weekly review of the TV Guides from the 1964-65 television season.  This is another issue I've got, but even if I didn't have it I'd have a pretty good idea of what it was all about, thanks to this excellent write-up.

Good to see that Kliph Nesteroff is back with a new entry at Classic Television Showbiz - it's a link to his latest piece at WFMU's Beware of the Blog, on the backstage happenings behind the '50s Red Buttons Show.  I really like these behind-the-scenes stories - they make the past (and the present, for that matter) come alive.

That's it for this week - you'll see me again tomorrow with another TV Guide, and remember that I will be back live in a little over a week.  Until then, to paraphrase MST3K, keep circulating the website! TV  

We now return control to your computer keyboard

"As I was saying…”

- Jack Paar’s first words after returning to The Tonight Show following his month-long walkout over a joke NBC had censored as being in bad taste.

***

The story is that during a climactic moment late in the 1958 NFL Championship Game between the Baltimore Colts and the New York Giants, as the Colts were driving for the winning touchdown in the first title game ever to go to sudden-death overtime, the jumping up and down of the excited fans in ankee Stadium jarred loose an NBC television cable, which in turn caused TV sets across the country to abruptly go dark.

The network was frantic:  they had no idea how long it might take to rectify the problem – and how much of the game they might miss.  In these days before television controlled sports, they could hardly ask the referee to stop the game while the technicians worked to restore the coverage.

Marshalling all of his resourcefulness, an employee from NBC did the only thing he could think of: he ran out on the field. The officials promptly stopped play, while police took off in hot pursuit of this apparently drunk fan who had suddenly staggered out of the stands. The delay worked: while the game was held up, NBC resolved the problem, and the picture returned just as the Colts came out of the huddle following the delay (although this may be slightly romanticized; various reports suggest NBC missed the first play after the delay), allowing all of America (or at least everyone watching the game, an audience that had grown as the game had gone on) got to see Alan Ameche bull his way over the goal line for the touchdown that would win the championship for the Colts and cement the game’s legendary status as the greatest ever played.

***

And so, having discussed a brief history of famous television delays, we come to the recent, checkered past of this blog.

As you may recall, sometime in early April, regular pieces on the blog ceased to appear. Oh, there was a long story on the Titanic, and a couple other short bits, but nothing substantial save a brief notice describing technical difficulties.

It was nothing quite as simple as a disconnected cable; it was, rather, a virus (educated guess) that, somehow, rendered access to Blogger impossible – or at least incredibly difficult.

Putting up the piece on the Titanic was, in its way, as challenging as it must have been for that ship’s radiomen to send out the distress signal using the rapidly dwindling power supply.

It was an incredibly frustrating situation, compounded by a concurrent (and perhaps related) loss of wireless capability. The solution was slow in coming, which meant that the drunk would have to run on the field for awhile longer.

Happily, if expensively, this problem has now been rectified. The field has been cleared, the host is back in the studio, and as this post demonstrates, It’s About TV (and its parent site, Our Word) is back on the air.

You might think that in the interim I’d stockpiled dozens of fascinating bits that I could share with you (and I know you’re out there) as soon as coverage had returned. Alas, such is not the case. I do have, as you will see shortly, an obituary of Mike Wallace that has been long delayed but not forgotten, and as I write this I’m looking at a pile of TV Guides that are begging to be explored.

So I would expect that in the next week or two we’ll get ramped back up to regular speed. And in the meantime, for those of you who noticed our absence, thanks for sticking with us. TV  

Please Stand By

It's been very frustrating the last few days, with technical difficulties (read: computer) preventing me from updating both this site and the Our Word blog.  Hopefully, this will be corrected, at least temporarily, in the next week or so.  There's a lot to cover, including more classic TV Guides, a remembrance of Mike Wallace, and the sinking of the Titanic on live television.  So stand by! TV