Around the dial

Some self-promotion to start the week: I'm back on the Eventually Supertrain podcast this week, talking with Dan Budnik about one of our favorite shows, Bourbon Street Beat. But even if you think you've heard too much from me just by reading this blog, listen for Amy The Conqueror talking about Eerie, Indiana, and Amanda Reyes discussing Masquerade. If you have as much fun listening as I get from doing my segment, you'll have a great time!

At Vox, Todd VanDerWerff has a thoughtful piece on “storytelling bloat,” the consequence of the boom in TV drama due to the demand for programming on streaming services and cable networks. According to VanDerWerff, what we’re seeing is a confluence of TV storytelling and movie storytelling, where three-hour stories are being stretched out to as many as 10 hours.

Today, the kinds of mid-budget movies that used to lure adults into the theater are increasingly consigned to streaming services and cable networks. And because the success of those services often depends on how much time they can get you to spend watching them, they stretch out too many of these stories like taffy if they can.

The cure for storytelling bloat: perhaps a simple return to how television used to operate, letting the characters and their lives evolve over time, done within the framework of episodes featuring self-contained stories. It’s an interesting meditation on what television is, and what it should be; I highly recommend you read it.

Elsewhere, at bare-bones e-zine, Jack has opened a new chapter in his Hitchcock Project with “Three Wives Too Many” (what a great title!), the inaugural Hitchcock script from Arthur A. Ross. We’ll be on the lookout for more Ross stories in the coming weeks.

At The Horn Section, Hal has turned his attention back to Crazy Like a Fox, with the result being a look at the 1985 episode “Is There a Fox in the House?” driven, as usual, by the always-entertaining father-son relationship between the great Jack Warden and John Rubenstein.

I know Dave Garroway was ubiquitous in the early days of television, but hosting a preview of the upcoming college football season called Kickoff 1953? I would like to have seen Matt Lauer do that! Seriously, this is a fun clip from Jodie at Garroway at Large that shows just how versatile the Master Communicator was.

At A Shroud of Thoughts, Terence tells of how Guy Williams almost joined the cast of Bonanza, and what that would have meant not only for the show, but for television history as well. Ah, what might have been.

Joanna is at it again, preparing for this year’s “Christmas in July” party at Christmas TV History. You’re welcome to join in the fun, either my sharing your own answers to this year’s questionnaire (as your faithful scribe will be doing), or just reading what everyone else has to say. It’s all good fun, though.

Donna Mills graces the cover of the June 17, 1989 issue of TV Guide, the latest in Robert’s “A Year in TV Guide” series at Television Obscurities. There’s also a piece on Father Knows Best timed to coincide with CBN’s Father’s Day marathon, plus the week’s programming.

Oh, and that picture at the top? The two men standing are Don Hewitt on the left, and Dr. Frank Stanton, head of CBS, on the right, and they're checking out a monitor prior to the beginning of the first Kennedy- Nixon debate. A dramatic moment, to be sure. TV  

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Last month at Thrilling Days of Yesteryear, Ivan reviewed the new Blu-ray Television's Lost Classics Volume 1, which featured a pair of John Cassavettes performances; this week he's back with a look at Volume 2. which gives us a look at four pilots, gloriously restored. You might find these two sets well worth your time.

As you know, I always enjoy Jack's Hitchcock Project at bare-bones e-zine, not only because of the episode reviews, but because he looks at everything about the stories, including the original source material. This week, it's Bernard C. Schoenfeld Part Six: "The Percentage," from Hitch's third season. Find out how Schoenfeld changed David Alexander's original story, and see if he made it better.

I like this promo for Creature From the Black Lagoon at the Broadcasting Archives at the University of Maryland. After all, I got to see the Creature himself, Ricou Browning, at last month's Mid-Atlantic Nostalgia Convention.

So intrigued was I by Jodie's promise of big news coming soon to Garroway at Large that I almost forgot the point of this week's post: a wonderful photo of Dave Garroway, signed to his friend, the jazzman Red Norvo.

I don't know if you've been following the story of Joanna and her Netflix DVD dress; no description I can provide would do this project justice, so I recommend you pick up the story at Christmas TV History.

At Bob Crane: Life and Legacy, Carol celebrates the appearance of the Dodgers in this year's World Series with some pictures of Bob and family with Dodgers owner Walter O'Malley as Bob presents O'Malley with a model Jeep from Hogan's Heroes.

David celebrates Halloween at Comfort TV with pictures of TV tie-in costumes. Good memories of those days, although I never dressed in any of the costumes that David shows; mine were more like Caspar and Yogi Bear. In Minnesota, you can have snow on the ground at Halloween, you know, so a lot of times those costumes were under heavier jackets.

At The Twilight Zone Vortex, Jordan takes a comprehensive look at one of TZ's problematic episodes, the hour-long "Mute," with Ann Jillian as a telepathic child. That's really a simplistic description of an episode that raises some very provocative questions about assimilation, a question that's always relevant.

And what would the week be without a Crazy Like a Fox update when Hal has one at The Horn Section? Never fear; it's a look at the satisfying 1985 episode "Fox and Hounds."  TV  

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Well, I'm confused, and that's probably as good a way as any to kick things off this week. Lately I've found it necessary to implement comment moderation in order to intercept the odd spam comment that makes it past the spam filter—the price of success, one supposes. I didn't expect to run across anything unusual in the process, but—of course there has to be a but, or else there wouldn't be a story here—I did. Specifically, a batch of comments from January of this year that, for no good reason, were quarantined as spam.  A couple of them were, but the rest—maybe a dozen or so—were not. So first of all, if your comment didn't appear when you wrote it, nothing personal! I will admit, however, that I was sorry to delete all those comments that started off, "You are an excellent writer and I learn much from your blog." Oh well.

Amidst all this, there was a question from one of our readers that was included in this unjust spam crackdown, and I want to rectify that immediately, so here goes. The question originally came from January 3 of this year, and the anonymous writer says: "Hey MY mom was on the Price Is Right in July of 1965, does anyone know where I might find some copies of it?" Readers, what do you think? Any suggestions: (And again, apologies for the delay!)

Now on to the blogs of the week.

At Classic TV and Film Café, Rick has "seven things to know about Robert Goulet," to which yours truly contributed a couple more in the comments section. I always liked Mr. G's voice, enjoyed his appearances on variety shows, and from what I've seen his short-lived espionage series Blue Light was better than TV Guide would have you believe. Speaking of espionage, remember this commercial from Super Bowl XLI?


Garroway at Large and Bob Crane: Life & Legacy both have reports on the Mid-Atlantic Nostalgia Convention, about which you read my report last week. One of my regrets in life (regrets? I've had a few...) is that we're not able to get together often enough with these friends of ours; on the other hand, it's what makes an event like MANC that much sweeter. (And thanks to both of you for the shout-outs!)

At Comfort TV, David has a thought-provoking (as usual) piece on the recent crowdsourcing campaign for Dawn Wells. One of the many things I like about David's writing is that he forces us to think about things, to consider why we do what we do, even when it's the right thing to do.

I've been wondering when The Horn Section was going to return to Crazy Like a Fox, the mid-80s series starring Jack Warden and John Rubenstein as a father-son duo fighting crime, and it happens this week with a review of the 1985 episode "Fox in Wonderland," a perfect showcase for Warden's comedic talents.

Television Obscurities digs deep into the obscure file once again to look at The Ugliest Girl in Town, a very much of-the-times sitcom from 1968. Anyone out there remember this one? I don't know that I watched it when I was of the age, but I do remember it.

Finally, part four of Jack's Hitchcock Project entry on Bernard C. Schoenfeld is up at bare-bones e-zine. It's the second season episode "The Better Bargain," starring Robert Middleton and Henry Silva in Schoenfeld's elegant and concise adaptation of Richard Deming's story. TV  

Around the dial

I've never had anything in particular against Friday the 13th. I'm not superstitious, so in a way I suppose it's as good a day as any other. One thing's for sure - it's your lucky day if you're looking for the best in the classic TV blogs.

Jack continues the Hitchcock Project look at Francis and Marion Cockrell at bare-bones e-zine with the first season story "The Case of Mr. Pelham." (I almost added "123" afterwards out of habit.) It's an episode directed by Hitch himself, with the wonderful Tom Ewell in a typical Tom Ewell role.

At The Horn Section, Hal is back with his continuing look at the Jack Warden series Crazy Like a Fox, and this week it's the 1986 episode "Fox and the Wolf," with Gene Barry over the top as a preoccupied Hollywood type, and it sounds wonderful!

Next, The Twilight Zone Vortex reviews the Richard Matheson short-story collection The Best of Richard Matheson, and although there are some glaring omissions, it still looks to be the best one-volume introduction to the works of the writer who penned so many of the greatest TZ episodes.

The Broadcasting Archives at the University of Maryland recalls the anniversary of the 1975 debut of Saturday Night Live (or NBC's Saturday Night, as it was first known; Howard Cosell already had the Saturday Night Live tag as part of his show) with a look at the first TV Guide cover for the Not Ready for Prime Time Players.

Some Polish American Guy has a bevy of podcasts for your listening pleasure - I suggest you check them out. Never know when I might be on one of them!

Even after the Golden Age of Christmas variety specials had passed, Perry Como's themed specials were still around, and at Christmas TV History, Joanna watches the 1978 edition, Perry Como's Early American Christmas. Having been to Colonial Williamsburg myself, this is one that I'd really like to go back and watch.

Classic Television Showbiz is back after a break with a video look back at ABC Comedy News from 1973, featuring Fannie Flagg, Andrew Duncan, Kenneth Mars, Mort Sahl, Bob & Ray, Dick Gregory, Peter Schickele, and Joan Rivers. Quite a cast, but what do you think of the show? Of course, anything with Peter "PDQ Bach" Schickele is usually worth watching.

At The Lucky Strike Papers, Andrew notes the anniversary of the 1950 debut of Your Hit Parade, which later on featured Sue Bennett, Andrew's mother, as one of the singers. You may recall I reviewed his excellent book about those times here.

Television's New Frontier: The 1960s has now moved on to one of the most venerable television western, Death Valley Days; it was the second-longest TV western of all time, and its run covered pretty much the entire length of television western era. Always remembered the sponsor, 20 Mule Team Borax, and those covered wagon toy sets they sold.

And at Garroway at Large, Jodie shows us a copy of Fleur Cowles' book Bloody Precedent, the story of Juan Peron's regime in Argentina. Important, why? It was the first author interview ever on Dave Garroway's Today.

Assuming triskaidekaphobia doesn't get the best of you, see you back here tomorrow for a look at another TV Guide. TV  

Around the dial

As you might expect, a number of pieces this week are devoted to the memory of Jerry Lewis, who died Sunday. As I said on Facebook, his death was more than just the end of an era - he was the last of an era. Back in the day, when I had a little more time than I do this week, I would have written extensively about him, because he was certainly a visible presence in my life. As a kid I was a big fan of his; loved the slapstick, the yelling about, movies like The Disorderly Orderly. As I grew older I also grew to admire him greatly for his humanitarian work with Muscular Dystrophy, and came to appreciate his technical innovations as a director. I though his recognition by the Academy with the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award was long overdue. In a way, he outlived the culture that most appreciated him and his brand of humor, but that can be said of many of us, who feel ourselves to be strangers in our own land nowadays. You can argue over whether or not the French were right that he was a great comedian (I think they're more right than wrong), but I don't think you can argue that he was a great man.

Captain Video is back with the two-part comic book adventures of Jerry as he meets the new Wonder Woman! The comic book adventures of Jerry and Dean Martin ran from 1952 to 1957, and then with Jerry alone until 1971! Here's Part 1, followed by Part 2.

At The Ringer, K. Austin Collins looks at Jerry's brilliant, complex record as a director, and how this private man often bared his soul in the most public of places - on the movie screen.

Finally, at A Shroud of Thoughts, Terence Towles Canote offers a very well-written obituary on Jerry, concluding with words that resound with me. "For decades it has been a bit of a running joke that Jerry Lewis was wildly popular in France, but the truth is he was wildly popular across the world. He was responsible for making many people laugh and his films are still very popular to this day. Only a very few comedic actors ever had the kind of success that Jerry Lewis had. I seriously doubt we will see too many reach the heights that he did in the future."

In honor of Monday's total solar eclipse, Faded Signals offered excerpts of KGW's coverage of the 1979 eclipse as seen in Portland, Oregon, as well as a link to how that eclipse was covered. I remember that one well, as well as the previous one, which I think was either in the early '70s or late '60s and may not have been a total one. One of the benefits of being old is that you can say, "When you've seen one eclipse, you've seen them all."

The Horn Section leads us on another merry chase through Crazy Like a Fox with the episode "Motor Homicide," the series' take on the familiar "I tell you, I did see a dead body!" story that every series gets around to sooner or later. The success or failure of such an episode depends, of course, on the writing and acting, and in this case while the script often fails to deliver, the performances do their best to carry the load.

Cult TV Blog returns with a look back at his personal rehabilitation of Tales of the Unexpected, which was "terribly sophisticated and really attention-grabbing" for a child, but "incredibly dreary" if you try to watch the entire series as an adult. Instead, if you have the option, opt for the "best episodes" set, and you will find yourself with a series that, more often than not, has the power to "terrify and horrify.

Keeping in that horror trend, I've enjoyed listening to Lights Out on the Sirius OTR station when we've taken a road trip; programs like that make for very effective radio. If done right, they can also make for enthralling television, and Television Obscurities tells about the first attempt to bring Lights Out to TV - not the 1949-52 series that some of you may be familiar with, but four live specials done in the summer and fall of 1946 on WNBT.

At Comfort TV, David looks at two episodes of two popular sitcoms and provides us all with words to live by when someone starts to notice that our words look familiar - perhaps a little too familiar. "It's not a rip-off - it's an homage."

Classic Film and TV Café reviews the five best episodes of the Rod Serling-Lloyd Bridges 1960s Western series The Loner. It's an intriguing series; I've read that Serling himself was disappointed with it due to the various compromises he had to make (sponsors, star, network), going so far as to wish sometimes that the week would skip over Saturdays (the day it was aired) so there wouldn't be any Loner. Despite that, there are a number of thought-provoking episodes, as you can see here. TV