Around the dial

The picture above is of Sinatra Sr. watching Sinatra Jr. on television. Whether it's staged or not, it's still a pretty candid shot. Interesting, isn't it?

My latest appearance on Dan Schneider's Video Interview is up; this month, Dan and I discuss some of the notable (as well as some of the lesser-known) legal dramas on television, and their place within the larger cultural zeitgeist. I also tried to touch on some of the larger socio-political issues raised through these programs, such as the correlation between the law-and-order movement of the late 1960s and the decline of popularity in shows featuring defense attorneys; that alone is worth a show from someone. Anyway, take a listen if you've got a couple of hours.

It's been an appalling week or so for deaths in the world of classic television and movies, and the most recent—such as Bob Newhart—will probably be covered in-depth next week. However, Terence at A Shroud of Thoughts keeps up with this remembrance of Hill Street Blues veteran James B. Sikking, who passed last week at the age of 90, and Beverly Hills 90210 and Charmed actress Shannen Doherty, who died at the far-too-young age of 53. Travalanche remembers the deaths of Dr. Ruth Westheimer and Richard Simmons, who also died this week. 

At Comfort TV, David has one of those think pieces I'm so fond of: how dead shopping malls serve as an allegory the state of television today. Both malls and TV rose in the 1950s, offered something for everyone, and now have audiences that are a fraction of what they once were. There's much more to his essay; I urge you all to take a moment to read it.  

Jordan returns at The Twilight Zone Vortex with an in-depth look at volume 3, number 5 of The Twilight Zone Magazine, from November/December 1983. There's coverage of the premiere of The Twilight Zone: The Movie, filming Stephen King's Dead Zone, an interview with David Cronenberg, a retrospective on The Outer Limits, and more. 

At Cult TV Blog, John reviews "The State of England," an episode of teh 1971 series The Guardians, which presents an alternative history of England in which the country is ruled by a fascist dictatorship. As you know, I'm partial to these kinds of stories, which—as John points out—almost always rely on a heavy dose of fear. A nasty piece of work.

At Garroway at Large, Jodie celebrates the birthday of the blog, as well as that of the master communicator himself, Dave Garroway. It's an update along with a couple of pictures that continue to give us insight into the early years of Today, and the progression of time on Garroway.

An additional post from Travalanche reminds us that looks can be deceiving, asT he offers a retrospective on the voiceover career of Dallas McKennon, veteran character actor (and Denver Pyle-lookalike) from Westerns like Daniel Boone, Wagon Train, and Bonanza, and voice artist of, among others, Gumby!

And one more from A Shroud of Thoughts that I wanted to touch on: a reminder of the three books that Terence has written, along with information on where to get them. Remember to support your bloggers in all their efforts! TV  

Around the dial

We've got a full slate of stories to look at this week, and we'll begin at bare-bones e-zine, where Jack's Hitchcock Project focuses on the seventh-season episode "What Frightened You, Fred?", an excellent and taut story starring R.G Armstrong, Ed Asner, and Adam Williams, and directed by Paul Henreid.

I think I've mentioned this before, but a great episode title can do wonders, and if you're an occasional viewer of Love That Bob, an episode called "Grandpa Meets Zsa Zsa" is going to be hard to turn down. Find out if Hal agrees with our instincts at this week's The Horn Section.

At Silver Scenes, the Metzinger Sisters take a gander at The Entertainers, the 1964-65 variety series that boasted a trio of rotating hosts: Bob Newhart, Carol Burnett, and Caterina Valente. The Entertainers may be an example of one of those shows that sounded better in practice; I wrote about its troubled season a couple of years ago.

Inner Toob has a fun look at John Astin's portrayal of Gomez on The Addams Family, and the crossover potential with other Astin characters, including his version of The Riddler in Batman. 

Nothing sells like courtroom drama; remember that what's interesting in legal dramas is not the lives of the lawyers, but the cases they try in court. In a continuing seres, David looks at three memorable such episodes from the world of Comfort TV.

Stepping away from the exclusive world of classic TV for a moment, it's time to wish a happy blog anniversary to Gil at one of my favorite blogs, Realweegiemidget. And you can't beat the blogathons she hosts, a couple of which I've been privileged to be in.

At Cult TV Blog (or, as John now calls it, "That Blog Where the Bloke Who Never Wears a Shirt Blogs about TV and Tries to Stay on the Subject"), it's a look at a Freudian episode of The Tomorrow People, and I'll take John's word on the analysis of the episode.

One of the more controversial periods of The Twilight Zone is the brief era of videotaped episodes, made necessary in order to cut costs and meet the budget. At Shadow & Substance, Paul invites your vote on which taped episode was the best; taken as a whole, they're really pretty good.

At A Shroud of Thoughts, Terence provides us with a handy guide to the Christmas movies appearing this year on Turner Classic Movies. I think I've seen 14 or 15 of them, most of which I enjoyed quite a lot. Of all the cable stations we're without since cutting the cord, I'd say that I miss TCM the most, although having The Criterion Channel more than makes up for it. Japanese noir, anyone?

Speaking of noir, The Last Drive-In begins a series of 31 flavors of noir on the fringe. As it happens, I've seen a few of these as well, and I urge you to check them out—they're the perfect antidote to those Christmas movies over at Hallmark. TV