Around the dial

The cruellest part of living in the World's Worst Town™ (and there were many) was that, while we were limited to one commercial station, the Minnesota State Edition of TV Guide provided listings for all stations, a subtle way of taunting those of us by reminding us of the shows we couldn't watch. Perhaps they were in cahoots with TV aerial manufacturers to get us to buy one of those tall antennas to put on the roof. (This was long before the age of satellite dishes, of course, because I'm old.) And so it was that, while I was never able to watch the legendary TV-movie The Night Stalker, I was all-too-well aware of it. Eventually I had the last laugh, as I've got both the two movies and the complete series on DVD.* This is, admittedly, a rounbdabout way of introducing us to this week's first link, to Classic Film & TV Café, where Rick reviews The Night Strangler, the memorable sequel to The Night Stalker, and the clincher that there would be a Kolchak series on ABC in the fall. 

*Which only goes to show the truth of the old maxim that justice delayed is not justice denied.

At Comfort TV, David has a really terrific, thoughtful piece on cutting the pop culture cord. In it, he voices many of the criticisms of contemporary entertainment that I've made or thought, in a very succinct manner. It's a very hard thing to explain to those who aren't a part of the classic TV community—why preferring old shows is not the same thing as living in the past or denying the present. Times change, ways of life change. Religious beliefs, public and private morals, codes of conduct, the social contract, and a common national culture—I don't want to say that these are completely non-negotiable, but they were never meant to be tossed aside like a piece of crumpled paper and ignored. That's what we see too often today, and it's those lost things that we respect, those lost things that we look to respect and emulate, at least in our own lives.

I hope you've been reading John's excellent series "The Prisoner in the Asylum" at Cult TV Blog. I mention it each week as new installments come in, and while I haven't had the chance to try it out against a Prisoner episode, the analysis is nothing less than fascinating. This week, it's part one of a two-part look at "The Girl Who Was Death," and how many of you haven't known that? 

On a lighter note, Joanna has announced this year's "Christmas in July" festivities at Christmas TV History, and it should be a fun one: an entire month of daily reminisces about Christmas TV episodes, specials, and movies inspired by It's a Wonderful Life. We all know there are a lot of them out there, but I rather expect there are even more than we're aware of. TV  

Around the dial

Before we get started, I'd like to inject a somewhat personal note.

I don't know Terry Teachout, the author and drama critic for the Wall Street Journal, at least not personally. I consider him a friend, though, at least via Facebook, and whenever I get a like from a writer as good as he is, I feel I've really accomplished something. Well, his beloved wife, "Mrs. T.," is very, very ill; I don't think it an exaggeration to suggest that it's grave. I don't know if they're at the stage where only a miracle will save her life, but it wouldn't hurt. If you're the praying type, I'd ask you to say a prayer for them both; regardless, please keep them in your thoughts.

And now, something a little more lighthearted.

It's "Maverick Mondays" at The Horn Section, and this week Hal looks at Brett's adventures as "The Sheriff of Duck 'n' Shoot," from 1959. Hey, could be worse; could be the Sheriff of Duck 'n' Cover, right?

We don't go to the movies much anymore, so perhaps it's no big deal to call a movie the best I've seen all year, but the clear winner this year is Quentin Tarantino's Once Upon a Time. . .in Hollywood, and Realwidgiemidget highlights some of the best parts of the movie, including Rick Dalton's (Leonardo DiCaprio) stint as a Western hero in Bounty Law, which should remind you of Wanted—Dead or Alive.

In honor of the Christmas ghost story, Jordan and Brian of The Twilight Zone Vortex review some of the show's best forays into the ghost genre. Dickens didn't create the Christmas ghost story, but he certainly popularized it, and the best adaptations of A Christmas Carol keep that ghostliness in mind.

We recently completed the run of Darren McGavin's thoroughly enjoyable Kolchak: The Night Stalker, and so I know exactly what Fire Breathing Dimetrodon Time is talking about with the wonderful byplay between McGavin and guest star John Dehner in "The Knightly Murders."

It's time for part two of the Hitchcock Project's look at Sterling Silliphant (and yes, he does pop up on our home conversations from time to time; say what you will about the Hadley household), and at bare•bones e-zine Jack reviews the second-season thriller "The Manacled," with Gary Merrill.

I don't pretend to be an expert on Japanese cinema, nor have I memorized the works of director Akira Kurosawa, but I know greatness when I see it, and few are better than Kurosawa. At Classic Film and TV Café, Rick most appropriately looks at Kurosawa's The Hidden Fortress, the inspiration for Star Wars—and that's the least interesting thing about it.

Doogie Howser—those were the days, weren't they? Neil Patrick Harris is on the cover of the December 16, 1989 TV Guide, the latest subject of Television Obscurities' feature "A Year in TV Guide." Find out what else was going on 30 years ago.

And with Christmas only a few days away, I think it's appropriate to conclude at A Shroud of Thought, as Terence recounts the history of White Christmas on NBC. Hard to imagine the season without it, isn't it? TV