Around the dial

Today is Good Friday, and for an example of the kind of programming you don't see on commercial television anymore, here is Archbishop Fulton Sheen's Life is Worth Living Good Friday broadcast. 

The Secret Sanctum of Captain Video dips once again into the world of comic book adaptations of television series; this week, it's the 1959-60 series Men Into Space, one of the first realistic looks at interstellar travel on TV. The comic's pretty good, from what I can see.

Orson Welles never appeared in a space opera to my knowledge, but at Cult TV Blog, John reviews "A Time to Remember," an episode of the 1973-74 Orson Welles Great Mysteries anthology series, starring Patrick Macnee in a Cold War thriller.

Did someone mention Pat Macnee? It was 60 years ago that The Avengers premiered on American television, and at A Shroud of Thoughts, Terence looks back on one of the great British import series of the 1960s.

And Martin Grams has some more comic book goodies as part of a treasure trove of rare pictures and clippings about Dick Tracy. There are a lot of really fun things included here; be sure to take some time and look at them.

It's said that everyone loves a good scandal; thankfully, this isn't true, as David points out at Comfort TV. He has an excellent piece on the recent revelation of "scandals" surrounding Bob Barker and The Price is Right, and what exactly it's all supposed to accomplish.

At Silver Scenes, the Metzingers have a great story on  The Silver Banjo Barbecue, a Disneyland restaurant located in Frontierland, and run by the actor Don DeFore! What a terrific bit of trivia!

An amusement park of a completely different type is at the center of Westworld, which I remember not from the TV series but the original movie, starring Yul Brynner as a version of his Magnificent Seven character. Read about it from Rick at Classic Film & Movie Cafe. 

This week's A-Team recap at A View from the Junkyard has Roger reviewing "Hot Styles," a Face-centered episode that involves kidnapping, counterfeit clothing designs, and questions as to whether the past should be left in the past. 

What better for Holy Week than another look at Greatest Heroes of the Bible? It's volume three of the 1978-79 NBC series, and Paul has all the news at Mavis Movie Madness. And they are great heroes, but is it great television? Read on and find out.

And at Cult TV Lounge, it's a look at a book I happen to have, the 1969 Prisoner tie-in novel called, appropriately enough, The Prisoner, and written by the noted sci-fi author Thomas M. Disch. It's quirky and kinda different from the series, but encapulsates its spirit perfectly.

Finally, it's the third installment of photos of the week, a collection of candid and publicity photos from the classic movie and television world, which Maddie has dug up at Classic Film and TV Corner. It's a fine way to end the week. TV

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Around the dial

Just the other week, we were looking yet again at the popularity of movies on television, and how the introduction of more recently-made movies was a real game changer; we see evidence of this in an ad from the Broadcasting Archives. Pal Joey, the movie being promoted in the ad, is a Sinatra movie from 1957; the implication is that because WBEN shows newer movies, they're the station to beat in Buffalo.

David's journey through 1970s TV continues at Comfort TV; in case you've forgotten, he's on a quest to see at least one episode from every series of the decade. This week, he turns to Friday nights in 1972, It's a fascinating schedule, including shows like Sanford and Son, The Brady Bunch, The Partridge Family, Sonny and Cher, and The Odd Couple. Not bad at all.

At Cult TV, John is watching the classic British comedy Ripping Yarns, with Michael Palin and Terry Jones. Unlike many of John's entries, I've actually seen and enjoyed this series on PBS, even though the "boy's own" genre isn't something native to me. This week, he's looking at "The Curse of the Claw," and if you're inclined to a Pythonesque type of humor, I think you'll get it.

At Those Were the Days, there's a series of posts on the two TV-movies Elizabeth Montgomery did in the mid-1990s that were based on the autobiography of the famed crime reporter Edna Buchanan. 1995's Deadline for Murder, the second in the series, was Montgomery's final performance before her death later that year; I wonder if there were more movies in the series planned?

We haven't had an Avengers review yet this week, so let's go to The View from the Junkyard, where Roger and Mike dissect "Honey for the Prince," a Steed-and-Peel episode at the end of the black-and-white era. Their views diverge on this one, and I'm not going to tell you which one I agree with; you'll have to guess that on your own.

And finally, since last we did this, Bob Barker died, 99 years old. It's probable that he was on television before most of us here were born, and it seemed he'd always be around: Truth or Consequences, The Price is Right, the Miss Universe Pageant, the Tournament of Roses Parade. He had what in sports I've called the "big-game voice," the idea that if you heard him on television, you could be pretty sure that whatever he was doing was credible, or at least not a complete waste of time. At A Shroud of Thoughts, Terence has more on the life and career of a television institution.

If you're going to be on the road for this holiday weekend, have a safe time, and I'll see you back here later. And remember, I'll be at the Mid Atlantic Nostalgia Convention next week; let me know if you'll be there too! TV