Around the dial

Photo by Stockcake.com

We start this week at Comfort TV, where David takes a look at five classic shows overdue for a remake. Keeping in mind how often these remakes fail (and even the ones that didn't, should have), I wouldn't mind seeing new versions of Playhouse 90, Ellery Queen, Honey West, and more.

John steps away from his Prisoner series at Cult TV Blog to review the 1988 miniseries Menace Unseen, a sinister little tale that takes from conspiracy theories, tech revolutions, some nice '80s vibes, and Ian Ogilvie to craft a compelling, if perhaps overly ambitious story.

At Television Obscurities, Robert shares an interesting compilation video of interviews taken with Ithaca College students regarding Rod Serling, who was a visiting professor at Ithaca for many years. Like Robert, I can't imagine what it would have been like to take a class from him.

Terence honors Rock Hudson at A Shroud of Thoughts on the occasion of the one-hundredth anniversary of Rock's birth. The man really had an impressive CV of movie and television work; whether or not you think he was a great actor, there's no question he was a star. 

Care for some literature? Martin Grams has a look at Dick Tracy, Ace Detective, a full-length novel "written" and illustrated by Tracy creator Chester Gould. It's the first of two Tracy novels published by Whitman in the 1940s; I really should give him a second look.

At A View from the Junkyard, The A-Team comes to the assistance of a crime-fighting minister in "Pure-Dee Poison"; unfortunately, the episode has more than a few flaws, including what may perhaps be the dumbest group of bad guys forever, who make The Three Stooges look like geniuses. 

I always enjoy giving a shout-out to blogs celebrating anniversaries, and it's the third anniversary of Classic Film and TV Corner: congratulations, Maddy!

Finally, my latest American TV History video with Dan Schneider is up; it's the 100th anniversary of the Golden Age of Radio, which seemed like a good reason to talk about radio series that made the transition to television. It's a fun topic, and there are bound to be a few of your favorite TV shows that you didn't know had their origins in the theater of the mind. Enjoy! TV

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Around the dial

I enjoy a good quiz as much as anyone, and at Comfort TV, David has a good one: name the classic shows that features these characters. Remember, don't read the comments until you've taken your best shot.

Hal's back to Love That Bob! this week, with the 1959 episode "Bob's Boyhood Love Image," as Schultzy (Ann B. Davis) goes through Bob's past to identify his childhood crush—all the better to learn what Bob's ideal woman is like, so that she can become that woman.

A very nice Dave Garroway ancedote is Jodie's contribution at Garroway at Large, as she explains how a story about Dr. Jonas Salk (who discovered the polio vaccine) can give all of us a little hope of better days ahead.

At Fire-Breathing Dimetroden Time, the focus is on Department S, the 1969-70 British spy series, and the episode "The Duplicated Man," which sounds as if it should be from The Prisoner or The Avengers, concerning someone who may or may not be a double agent.

The movies of Doris Day and Rock Hudson were a staple of network movie shows of the day, and at Classic Film & TV Café, Rick casts his eye on one of their very best, 1959's Pillow Talk, co-starring Tony Randall and Thelma Ritter. A Best Actress nom for Dodo, and Supporting Actress for Ritter.

The Annual "Serling Fest," honoring you-know-you, was postponed this year due to the virus, but that didn't stop the Rod Serling Memorial Foundation from taking the shown online. Shadow & Substance gives us the lineup, and you can catch the presentations at the Foundation's Facebook page.

At The Lucky Strike Papers, Andrew reports on the death of choreographer Tony Charmoli, who worked on Your Hit Parade back in the 1950s. Andrew includes links to a couple of past pieces on Charmoli, who was 99 when he died this month. We should all be so lucky. TV