Around the dial

In case you missed it, I appeared in back-to-back episodes of "American TV" with Dan Schneider, both featuring staples of 1960s and '70s Saturday morning television; the first is about Sid and Marty Krofft, the second looks at the work of William Hanna and Joseph Barbera. Fun to do and, I hope, fun to watch. 

At Bob Crane: Life and Legacy, the authors provide evidence to refute some of the many false claims about Bob's life, particularly his marriage to Patricia Olson (Sigrid Valdis); it's all part of their continuing efforts to tell the true story.

Jack's Hitchcock Project at bare-bones e-zine continues with "The Motive," a third-season story written by Rose Simon Kohn, featuring Skip Homeier, William Redfield, Carl Betz, Carmen Phillips, and an extremely effectve ending.

At Cult TV Blog, John's private detective "season" continues as well, and for once it's a show I've actually watched! It's the gritty series Public Eye, with Alfred Burke outstanding as a Rockford-type P.I. just trying to make a living; this week, it's the excellent episode "The Bankrupt." 

David's countdown of his 50 favorite classic TV characters proceeds at Comfort TV, and this week he turns his attention to Maxwell Smart, played so memorably by Don Adams; could you even imagine anyone else plausibly in this role?

Jordan's in-depth review of The Twilight Zone Magazine returns at The Twilight Zone Vortex, with Volume 3, Number 6, from January/February 1984. Included is an interview with Stephen King, a story by Isaac Bashevis Singer, looks at TZ and The Outer Limits, and more!

At A Shroud of Thoughts, Terence looks back at the sitcom The Jeffersons on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the show's debut. After an 11-season run on CBS, it's maintained a comfortable home in syndication, and remains one of television's groundbreaking sitcoms.

Travalanche commemorates the birthday of Ernie Kovacs with something I certainly wasn't aware of, not that I'm any kind of Kovacs scholar. It's about the time Ernie and Buster Keaton formed a comedy team, and it's well worth checking out.

Roger's review of The New Avengers continues apace at The View from the Junkyard, with the third episode of the series, "The Midas Touch," which has to do with a contagious disease threatening society, and features another outstanding performance by Joanna Lumley as Purdy. TV  

Around the dial

Let's begin our look, as we often do, with bare-bones e-zine, where Jack's Hitchcock Project continues the look at the works of Halsted Welles. This time it's the seventh season episode "The Silk Petticoat," starring a couple of personal favorites, the always-satisfying Michael Rennie and the lovely Antoinette Bower. 

At Comfort TV, David's odyssey through the 1970s continues; this week, he's up to Tuesday night in 1972. Some iconic shows from that year: Maude, Hawaii Five-O, Adam-12, Banacek, Marcus Welby, M.D. and Search, among others. And then there was Temperatures Rising, . . 

The Broadcast Archives gives us a look at one of public broadcasting's early breakout stars, the ragtime pianist Max Morath, who made 26 half-hour programs for NET between 1959 and 1961. You can read more about him, and follow links to some of his videos, here.

John keeps on returning to American television at Cult TV Blog, and this week his focus is on the Get Smart episode "Rub-a-Dub-Dub. . . Three Spies in a Sub." Actually, as he mentions, the focus isn't on this episode, but that doesn't stop it from being entertaining—and, as usual, John makes some very salient points along the way.

Something that I don't dwell on, but that bothers me greatly, is the rise of AI. I don't dwell on it because it's a threat to so many things, including truth, that it becomes depressing. But as a writer, I resent the idea that artists can be replaced, or augmented, by it. JB has thoughts on this and more at The Hits Just Keep On Comin'.

If you're in the mood for a little old-time radio, how about The Green Hornet? As Martin Grams tells us, Radio Spirits has just released a batch of them, many not heard in decades. Best of all, Martin has written the liner notes for many of these sets! You can read more about it here. 

Route 66 was never the same once George Maharis left. Don't get me wrong; I think Glenn Corbett was fine, and I even came to prefer him to Marty Milner. But the original dynamic between Maharis and Milner was what made the show work, and at A Shroud of Thoughts, Terence takes the opportunity of Maharis's death last week to look back on his long and successful career.

Burke's Law has become one of my favorite shows (although I seldom think of it when I'm counting off my favorites), and one of the most enjoyable parts of the show was the show's weekly list of cameo appearances by big-name guest stars. Those Were the Days provids a handy—and very impressive—list of those guest stars. What other show can compare to this?

Roger and Mike, the guys at The View from the Junkyard, do write about things other than The Avengers, but when their reviews are that enjoyable, why should we look any further? This week, the pair take a look at the fourth season episode "Too Many Christmas Trees," and—well, let's just say it's not your typical Christmas story. TV  

Around the dial

First, this seasonal note: at the other blog, In Other Words, we're doing the "25 Days of Ad-Vent" again this year - a look at some fun (and occasionally strange) Christmas ads from the past. If you're in the mood for some seasonal cheer, take a moment and take a look. And now to the TV stuff.

We'll begin with a question from reader Brian Stevens who asks if we recall the kids' game "Booby Trap"?

Basically a spring loaded rectangle wooden box with round pieces of varying size. You pulled out a piece -- piece by piece -- until the spring triggered and the rest of the pieces came flying out of the box. Simple game. Cheap to make. Parker Brothers, I believe.

Well...here's how it pertains to you. The game came with its very own kids TV game show of the same name. Life-sized version of the game board, host and kids who played the game for prizes. Thinking about it, it had to be locally hosted. I know it aired in Indianapolis sometime in the mid 1960s I'd guess. But I can't imagine Indpls being its only market.

Went looking for it online and can't seem to find a thing about it. Came across your website and thought perhaps you'll know a little more about it. One of those things you forget until something brings it to mind 50 years later.

Hoping you can help.

Can anyone out there shed any light on this?

Meanwhile, it's a hail and farewell at Vote 4 Bob Crane. The bad news: they're calling it a day at the blog. The good news: the website continues on as a repository for information on Bob's life and legacy, and the continued campaign to elect him to the Radio Hall of Fame. As a personal friend of Carol Ford, I can testify as to how much and how hard everyone worked on that blog, not to mention telling the truth on Bob Crane's story, and I think we owe everyone there a great thanks for all the time and effort that went into it.

At The Twilight Zone Vortex, a look at a disturbing (and not wholly satisfying) episode from the show's third season, "Young Man's Fancy," written by Richard Matheson. I know someone in a situation similar to that of the young female protagonist in the story - it has all the makings of a great creep-fest, but unfortunately this version falls somewhat short.

The Broadcasting Archives at the University of Maryland links to this story that shows, if we needed further proof, that Mel Blanc was a genius.

Cult TV is spending a little time surveying this side of the pond, as indicated by this review of the Get Smart episode "Casablanca," which not only points out the series' strengths, but delights in its penchant for parody.

At Comfort TV, David has another of those posts that make TV fans think, as he discusses ten forgotten TV shows he'd like to watch. In this he's basically talking about my entire life; looking over and over at the TV Guides from my early years of life created something of an aura about the era; every one of those shows became one that I wanted to watch, at least until I found out more about them. That hobby, though, did lead to the creation of this website!

A wonderful tale at Garroway at Large, as Jodie tells the story of the life and times of a particular television camera. Think of all the history it must have seen through that lens. Bonus points if you can link this story to a particular Christmas cartoon.

Television's New Frontier: the 1960s returns with a look at one of the more enduring sitcoms of the late '50s and early '60s: The Real McCoys, starring three-time Oscar winner Walter Brennan. Did you know, by the way, that Walter Brennan is the only three-time Oscar winner to star in a television series? And he did it multiple times!

Something you should do multiple times - return here for more TV fun. Why not do it tomorrow?  TV  

Around the dial

I'm writing this introductory sentence on Tuesday, which means there's still time for it to change, but thankfully to this point nobody prominent in the television world has yet died, so there's hope we can still make it through the week without having to start by remembering someone, as we sadly seem to have done too many times in recent weeks. While we have the chance, let's get started.

I like this piece from Classic Film and TV Café on the five biggest movie stars of the '60s because it's such a snapshot of the times. Paul Newman: yes, he's no surprise, and neither is Sidney Poitier when you're reminded (think about Lilies of the Field, To Sir with Love, In the Heat of the Night, Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, and then you'll remember), and of course Sean Connery has to be there on the strength of the Bond franchise, but I think Hayley Mills and Doris Day serve as a reminder that the first half of the '60s really are much more like the last half of the '50s, a discussion we had back in the comments section a while back.

The Twilight Zone is famous, of course, for the quality of its writing, not only from Rod Serling, but the stable of writers he assembled, including Richard Matheson, Charles Beaumont, George Clayton Johnson, and others. But, as The Twilight Zone Vortex reminds us, don't forget the tremendous performances that brought those stories to life - here's part one of the 20 greatest performances from the series.

Speaking of, Escape Clause - now there's an episode of The Twilight Zone that must be fun to describe to a six-year-old, and I think Fire Breathing Dimetrodon Time does an admirable job of it, especially when the little one sees what a mess David Wayne's gotten into with his deal with the Devil, not to mention a well-timed facepalm at the end. Don't know what I'm talking about? It's well worth checking out, particularly for the O. Henry conclusion - and the performances.

Once Upon a Screen returns with a classic Columbo investigation, "Etude in Black," featuring John Cassavetes, who gives perhaps the worst impression of a concert conductor I've ever seen in my entire life - I've seen babies waving their arms in their strollers who would've made more convincing conductors. However, the rest of Cassavetes' performance is terrific, including his interactions with his old friend Peter Falk, and the rest of the supporting cast, including Blythe Danner and Myrna Loy, is top notch.

It's not British, but Get Smart gets the coveted ranking of Stonking Good Television from Cult TV Blog. It has all the spy conventions of the time, and of course it's appropriate that they're all overdone, but living across the pond John wonders just how popular it was, since he hasn't read a lot about it. Our own Mike Doran fills in some of the blanks in the comments section.

We've written from time to time about The Defenders, and now it's time for some more extensive treatment from Television's New Frontier: the 1960s, which takes a close look at the series' first season. Whether or not this show is my cup of tea is beside the point; it's part of TV's history, and I wish the remainder of the series would come out in DVD for the many who've been delighted by its quality.

At Comfort TV, David takes a look back at the life and times of Ann Jillian, an actress who probably never quite got the credit she deserved, and continuing to reach people as a motivational speaker.

It may be too early for me to start watching Christmas shows, or even go into the Christmas section of Hobby Lobby, but that doesn't mean I'm not in the mood to appreciate a tour through part of Joanna Wilson's collection of Christmas books - you can see for yourself at Chrstmas TV History.

Finally for this week, a new entry in bare-bones e-zine's Hitchcock Project: the works of Francis and Marian Cockrell, beginning with the very first Alfred Hitchcock Presents episode, "Revenge," from October 2, 1955.

Early deadline this week, so if there more good ones come our way before the end of the week - and I wouldn't be surprised in the least if that happens - I'll just add them on to next week's exciting roundup! TV