Around the dial

We'll begin once again this week at bare-bones e-zine, where Jack's Hitchcock Project takes us to the ninth-season "Night Caller," a very creepy story featuring Felicia Farr (Mrs. Jack Lemmon), David White, and Bruce Dern.

At Cult TV Blog, John combines two of our favorite topics here: the "Sylvia Coleridge Season" and The Avengers; it's Sylvia's appearance in the camp classic "The Girl from Auntie," which has a little something for everyone, including murder via knitting needle.

Speaking of The Avengers, let's take a trip to the world of The New Avengers over at The View from the Junkyard, where Roger reviews "Complex," which recovers from a very slow start to become, as Roger puts it, "worth waiting for."

We've all got favorites that fall into the category of "terrible show I like," right? At Comfort TV, David looks at one of his: The Charmings, the Snow White spoof from 1987 (can it be that long?) that proves to be a nice antidote to the disastrous Disney remake from earlier this year. 

At Reelweegiemidget, Gill revisits a Twilight Zone episode we rewatched a couple of months ago, "Once Upon a Time," which features a delightful performance from Buster Keaton. With "The Girl from Auntie," this makes two episodes this week that I've seen in the last two months.

Paul looks back at the recent Blu-ray release of the Hanna-Barbera animated sitcom Wait Till Your Father Gets Home, which I've not seen (thanks, World's Worst Town™) but Paul does a great job putting this it its cultural context of the time.

Paul's also at Mavis Movie Madness, where his Memorial Day entertainment consisted not only of recovering from being at death's door, but watching the TV-friendly movie Hell Boats, starring James Franciscus. I can easily see this as a made-for-TV flick!

Lastly, at The Hits Just Keep On Comin', JB travels back in time to the year 1980, with plenty of period details leading up to the Memorial Day weekend, including the premiere of The Empire Strikes Back, the season finale of Saturday Night Live (hosted by Buck Henry), and more. TV  

The It's About TV Interview: Alan Hayes, co-author of Escapades—An Exploration of Avengers Curiosities

It's been awhile since we've done an interview here, and I can't think of anyone better to rectify that than my friend Alan Hayes. I first met Alan through his late, lamented website The Avengers Declassified, but now I'm happy to bring him back as the co-author of the new book Escapades—An Exploration of Avengers Curiosities, which, true to its title, delves into various offshoots of the series, including stage, radio and comic book adaptations. It's so new, in fact, it was just published this past Monday.

For some reason which I still can't quite fathom, Alan agreed to be the latest victim—that is, subject—of the "It's About TV Interview." I think—no, I know—you'll enjoy our conversation, which has been lightly edited for clarity.

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It's About TV: What was your introduction to The Avengers?

 

Alan Hayes: Somehow, despite being born in the 1960s, I didn't learn about The Avengers until the color Emma Peel episodes screened on the UK TV station Channel 4 in the early 1980s. Perhaps bizarrely though, I had watched The New Avengers—its sequel—on first transmission in 1976 and 1977 and absolutely adored it. I wanted to be Mike Gambit but I was a bit of a nerd and about as convincing a Gambit as Woody Allen would have been! My unquestioning nature didn't lead me to think "Why is this called The NEW Avengers?"—it never occurred to me that there was a previous incarnation of the show. The penny dropped with those Channel 4 showings.

 

I quickly came to enjoy those earlier adventures too and it grew into a favourite series, particularly when I met and eventually married a young woman who was just as enthusiastic about The Avengers and other shows I loved as I was. We both found it an incredibly enjoyable, witty and interesting show, and along with Doctor Who, The Prisoner, The Persuaders!, Kolchak: The Night Stalker and Dark Shadows, it became an integral part of our lives.

 

At some point, though, your appreciation of the show went beyond that of simply being a fan, right? How did that happen?

 

It started when I went on to produce a series of websites about The Avengers, normally about leftfield aspects of the show—the lost first season, the South African radio series (much of which my wife and I recovered and restored, though much of it remains lost), the doomed 1971 Birmingham/London stage show... the list goes on. These were all ultimately brought together into one, monster-big website, The Avengers Declassified, which you can probably find now via Wayback Machine! So, the Avengers websites are all gone, but I thought, "What can I do with all that great content?" The answer was go back to it, undertake further research, improve, expand it, and take it to the next level—and to a publisher!

 

Although I’d set up The Avengers Declassified as an all-encompassing Avengers resource, it didn't really develop along those lines as I found writing about things that others had either ignored or barely touched upon far more rewarding. That's why Richard McGinlay and I investigated the lost first season and ended up writing a book about it rather than going in-depth about, for instance, the color Emma Peel shows which were covered so well elsewhere. I'd already produced a website about the radio series, and Declassified followed its lead, checking out things that Avengers fans probably hadn't even thought of looking for. In a way, that's what Escapades is about—proving that while the series is more than sixty years old now, there are still plenty of fun things to explore, about it and the pop culture it influenced.

 

Escapades isn’t your first book about The Avengers, though. Tell us a little about your other books.

 

Yes, happy to. Avengerworld: The Avengers in Our Lives was a fan anthology which I edited, comprising essays written by forty Avengers fans in which they revealed how the series had touched their lives and led them to do amazing and interesting things. The book was published in aid of a charity supporting a primary school in Southern Tanzania and proceeds paid for a water harvesting system to be installed there. Just thinking of that makes me smile. I later co-edited a similar book about ITC spy series—Playboys, Spies and Private Eyes: Inspired by ITC—and this is available from Quoit Media, with proceeds going to Born Free.

 

I've also co-written two books with Richard McGinlay, one about the first season of The Avengers, Two Against the Underworld—The Collected Unauthorised Guide to The Avengers Series 1, and the other about the series that inspired The Avengers, Police Surgeon. Entitled Dr Brent's Casebook—An Unauthorised Guide to Police Surgeon, this explores in depth the short-lived series that today is almost entirely lost. These and other books are available via www.hiddentiger.culttv.uk

 

But Escapades is a little different from these books, and from other books and websites about The Avengers.  

 

I have to be honest and say that there are many Avengers books and websites out there and I'd happily recommend a great many of them but the last thing I've ever wanted to do is just present my twist on the episode guide or the location tour; I've always been keen to explore the less well walked paths—and in JZ Ferguson I found a great co-author who was interested in doing the same.

 

JZ and I have looked at aspects of the series that simply haven't been covered elsewhere—at least beyond Declassified, where some of the chapters began their lives, but even those have been expanded and improved. There are chapters about the Brian Clemens Avengers revivals, plus others that look at the Diana Rigg 8mm films made in Germany and Spain in the late 1960s, the South African radio series, the Avengers stage play, unmade television scripts for the Emma Peel colour season and The New Avengers, and even a Mexican 'luchadoras' wrestling movie featuring barely disguised Cybernauts! The chapters and others go in depth about one particular 'curiosity' and uncover much about these often unusual parts of The Avengers story.

 

You mentioned your co-author, JZ. As a writer myself, I’m always interested in how collaborations work; how did yours develop?

 

JZ’d written a couple of pieces for The Avengers Declassified that focused on Brian Clemens' attempts to revive the series in the 1980s and initially I asked if she'd mind if I used them in the book I was beginning to put together. JZ was happy for them to be included on the proviso that I would allow her to revisit the text and rewrite where she felt necessary, which of course I was pleased to agree to.

 

As we discussed the book and its possibilities, I quickly realised I'd found the perfect co-author for the project (which I'm pleased to say was exactly the case in practice). The collaboration was such that, with JZ's input, the book developed considerably from what was effectively "the best of a dead website" into something with much more of an identity of its own.

 

In terms of how the work was divided up, we each tackled subjects that particularly interested us, wrote those chapters individually, and then each fed back on the other's work, taking on board the comments and ideas of the other. Hopefully JZ thinks the same, but I have no qualms in saying that my own chapters were greatly improved thanks to her valued input.

 

Were there things you discovered that surprised you, as a fan of the show?

 

It's actually been a fascinating process. Several of the subjects chosen have long intrigued me as a fan of the series and have always been more than a bit mysterious. What inspired Diana Rigg to make those 8mm movies? Why was the stage play considered a flop? What could The Avengers have been like if it had been revived on TV or the silver screen in the decade after The New Avengers? It's been thrilling to have been able to explore many such questions in great depth, particularly regarding productions that other books and websites have touched upon but only in passing, as—quite rightly—they were not their main focus.

 

Was there any type of information out there that served as a kind of Holy Grail for you, that you thought you might not ever discover?

 

Getting an interview with the director of the Minikillers 8mm film would qualify in that respect, though when I spoke to Wolfgang von Chmielewski in 2009, it didn't occur to me just how lucky I was. I think my discussions with him represent the only interview he gave on the subject, and sadly he passed away in 2021. Likewise, two other important contributors have also passed since I spoke to them for the research that led into the book—Donald Monat (the radio Steed) and Simon Oates (Steed in the stage play). It's good to include their voices in this book, and Escapades is dedicated to the memory of these three fabulous gentlemen.

 

What do you think readers will discover in the book that they weren't aware of, or that might surprise them? That "Wow, I didn't know that!" moment?

 

JZ and I hope the answer to that is "Lots and lots of things"—but I think all the chapters abound with new and interesting material. We've certainly learned plenty about The Avengers in writing Escapades and hopefully even the most ardent fans of the series will come away from reading the book with a deeper understanding of the productions we discuss.

 

Is there anything out there that you're continuing to look for, that would really cap off your research?

 

I'd be delighted if further episodes of the Avengers radio series were recovered, but since I was involved in the recovery and restoration of the surviving 19-and-a-bit serials many years ago, nothing further has come to light. But there's always hope...

 

Looking at The Avengers as a whole, where do you think it fits into the television pantheon, especially in England?

 

I don't think the impact of The Avengers can be understated. It was on the scene before the James Bond films truly launched the spy boom in the early 1960s. It blazed the trail for the representation of women as strong characters in television, showed that they could be the equal of or better than their male equivalents in TV drama. It was one of the few British TV series that broke into the American networks and became a global phenomenon.

 

I suppose you've been asked this many times, but do you have a favorite episode? A favorite companion for Steed?

 

I do get asked that a lot and I'm always very boring and say that I don't really. There are many episodes that I adore, but if I nominated a favourite it'd be a different one next week and again the week after! I'm particularly fond of the very early episodes from the videotaped era, particularly the Ian Hendry episodes I know I will likely never see as they are lost, the monochrome Emma Peel season (favourites among that one would be 'A Surfeit of H2O', 'Too Many Christmas Trees' and 'The Hour That Never Was') and The New Avengers (from that 'Target!', 'Cat Amongst the Pigeons' and 'Sleeper'). And I adore the radio series beyond my capability for words—which is an awful admission from a writer!

 

As for a favourite partner for Steed, I'd take two: Purdey and Gambit, both of whom are peerless to my mind, and with Steed make a great team.

 

Alan Hayes

Supposing that you could reboot The Avengers today, a la Doctor Who, would it work? How would the series change? And who would you have playing the leads?

 

I'm not sure The Avengers really could be brought back without seeming to be a copy of so many other things that in many ways it originally inspired. I think the 1998 movie signalled that you couldn't put it on the big screen without it trying to emulate James Bond—which is something it never was—and Doctor Who seems unable to escape the idea that it has to compete with big screen blockbusters albeit on a paltry budget to the point where it compromises what made the series successful in the first place. I'd be sad to see The Avengers twisted to the point that it wasn't really The Avengers any more. I'd prefer the Emma Peels, Tara Kings and The New Avengers to be restored in 4K, released, rebroadcast and find a new generation of fans that way. But I'm probably hugely naive!

 

What’s next for Alan Hayes?

 

My focus these last couple of years has been heavily on the Escapades book, so I'm taking the opportunity for a breather—just pottering around on my Randall and Hopkirk (Declassified) website, which covers a British series that US TV fans might remember better as My Partner the Ghost. Since we completed Escapades, JZ has been writing for a book about children's television with Rodney Marshall (son of The Avengers writer Roger Marshall), and I'm waiting until inspiration for my next writing project presents itself. If Escapades ends up being the last book I write—which is quite possible—then it's one that I'm very proud of and which was a thoroughly enjoyable collaboration with a fabulous writer and friend. I think together we've shown that it's possible to write something fresh and new about a television series that debuted in 1961 and has been much studied. I'll take that!

 

Escapades—An Exploration of Avengers Curiosities was published in the United Kingdom in paperback on Monday March 10 2025. US purchasers are advised to purchase via ebay soon after the publication date as this will ease the journey through Customs. Otherwise, purchases and enquiries can be made at quoitmedia.co.uk. TV  

Around the dial

We'll start off the week with a twin bill from the "American TV" series I do with Dan Schneider: episode #1 is a look at the history of ABC and its reputation as a network willing to take chances, while episode #2 is a fun change-of-pace, in which we answer questions about how our series started, some of our favorite shows, early TV crushes, and more! 

My friend Alan Hayes has some exciting news on the horizon: Escapades: An Exploration of Avengers Curiosities, a new book co-authored with J.Z. Ferguson, which takes a deep dive into aspects of the classic series that haven't been previously covered, such as the London stage play, the South African radio series, a couple of unmade TV scripts, and a Mexican wrestling film—and that's just for starters! The book is available for pre-order here, and I'd encourage all you Avengers fans to look into it. And stay tuned to this space over the next few weeks, for an interview with Alan and a review of the book.

Let's work it a little more, as Roger's review of The New Avengers continues at A View from the Junkyard, with the latest episode being "Target!" He sees it as "another superb episode in a season that hasn’t put a foot wrong yet," and even ventures that it's better than the original series. What do you think?

The Broadcast Archives has several classic TV stories this week, covering everything from Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me to the first made-for-TV movie. They're all fun, but why not start out with the single-season series Mr. Lucky, a Blake Edwards creation starring John Vivyan. 

At bare-bones e-zine, Jack's Hitchcock Project continues with "Total Loss," a fourth-season episode by J.E. Selby that is most assuredly a product of its times. Nancy Olson and Ralph Meeker star; find out if the bad guy gets away with it.

The Rose Medallion is the next series in line in John's continuing "private detective season" at Cult TV Blog. John says that we have to watch this 1981 series about an uncovered skeleton and the quest to find out the rest of the story, and he's a pretty good judge of shows.uuu

The Globe and Mail has this essay on ditching streaming in favor of DVDs. I've been in this camp for quite awhile; aside from the fact that it's difficult to find some of the more obscure programs on streaming, it's too often a case of "here today, gone tomorrow." I'll always be a believer in physical media.

David's journey through 1970s TV at Comfort TV has now come to Wednesday, 1975, and if we can't remember When Things Were Rotten, Kate McShane, and Doctors' Hospital, we can certainly recall Little House on the Prairie, Starsky & Hutch, Cannon, and more.

At RealWeegieMidget, Gill (and Darlin' Husband) take a look at movie recommendations from January, including a miniseries with Barry Bostwick and Stefanie Powers, a movie with brothers Charlie Sheen and Emilio Estevez, and Gary Coleman as a pint-size arsonist!

Do we ever get tired of the latest schemes cooked up by Sgt. O'Rourke and Corporal Agarn at F Troop? Not if we're Hal at The Horn Section, and the latest sure-to-fail scam, "The West Goes Ghost," involves ghosts, the railroad, and the two passing themselves off as medical men, for starters.

At Drunk TV, Paul reviews the second season of Simon & Simon, one of the quintessentially '80s series of, well, the '80s, with Gerald McRaney and Jameson Parker as the brothers running the Simon & Simon detective agency. Thrilling cases and beautiful women galore!

Martin Grams, who wrote one of the definitive books on The Twilight Zone, looks at books containing adaptations of Rod Serling's TZ scripts (done by Serling himself), as well as adaptations and original stories written by Walter Gibson, all of which were quite successful.

I've written before about Turn On, the legendary one-episode ABC series that was virtually cancelled before that one episode was done. But was it really as bad as history says? Not so fast, says Travalanche, who believes it was far from the worst show of all time. TV  

Around the dial

Now there's a young entrepreneur hard at work honing his craft. "Check out the 16-inch screen on this beauty. Just use that dial to adjust the sound, and you're all set!" But what would they watch?

Possibly The Twilight Zone, and the fifth-season episode "Probe 7, Over and Out," starring Richard Basehart and Antoinette Bower. It's the subject of Jordon's latest at The Twilight Zone Vortex; while Rod Serling's script seems to suffer from writer's fatigue, the performances and dialogue make the episode worth checking out.

As good as that television set might be, it's unlikely it would still be in use on Friday nights in 1974, which is where Comfort TV is, with David's continuing inventory of 1970s prime time television. The Six Million Dollar Man, Kolchak, Sanford and Son, Chico and the Man, Rockford, Police Woman; back then, Fridays had television worth watching.

If you've been reading along at Cult TV Blog, then you'll know how John is currently looking at shows in which actor Denis Shaw appeared. We're now up to the 1968-70 series Tom Grattan's War, the adventures of a teen boy spending World War I on a Yorkshire farm. Check out a pair of episodes that speak well of the series as a whole.

Sticking with television on the other side of the ocean, The View from the Junkyard reviews "Get-a-Way!", a locked-room mystery from the final season of The Avengers. Roger and Mike don't always agree on their assessments of the series, so see for yourself what they think here.

At The Last Drive In, it's part two of Monstergirl's in-depth look at the career of Adrienne Barbeau, including an interview with Adrienne herself. Both the career retrospective and interview provide a fascinating look at the life and times of the popular actress.

Up for a quiz? If so, then head to Classic Film & TV Cafe, where Rick has the second edition of the "We Name the Cast...You Name the Movie!" game. I think you'll enjoy the challenge, and, possibly, the memories it brings back. No peaking at the comments section, though.

I've been seeing a lot of notices on social media about anniversaries of various series debuts, which isn't surprising since most of them used to premiere around this time of year, and at A Shroud of Thoughts, Terence notes the 60th anniversary of The Munsters. And while you're there, be sure to read his obituary of Kathryn Crosby, widow of Bing, who died last week at age 90.

Speaking of anniversaries, Television Obscurities has a couple of more, well, obscure ones for you to consider: the 55th anniversary of The New People, and the 60th of The Baileys of Balboa. Neither of these are among the most famous of programs; do you have any memories of them?

Finally, how about some reading material? At Travalanche, you can learn about Sam and Friends, "the definitive book about early Jim Henson." It's a great look at Henson's first television show, and gives you a chance to see the evolution of some of Henson's great Muppets. TV  

Around the dial

In our last episode, you may recall, we looked at a new series that John was starting at Cult TV Blog concentrating on actors and their roles rather than simply individual series. This week, we look at Denis Shaw's contribution to The Avengers in the final season episode "Requiem." You may also recall that this is the episode reviewed at The View from the Junkyard last week; now it's time for John's authoritative review.

Dick Powell made one of the great career transitions in history, going from a song-and-dance man in light comedies to a a star of hard-boiled noir crime dramas, and at Classic Film & TV Cafe, Rick takes us back to the movie that started it all: Murder, My Sweet, where Powell lays claim to being the definitive Philip Marlowe.

At The Last Drive In, monstergirl gives us part one of a two-part profile of Adrienne Barbeau, who may be best-known to readers here for her long-running role on Maude, but there's much more to her career, as we see in her autobiography, There Are Worse Things I Could Do. Be sure to come back next week for part two, monstergirl's interview with Adrienne.

Paul returns at Drunk TV with a review of the fantastic 1959 TV adaptation of Budd Schulberg's scorching show-biz expose What Makes Sammy Run?, with a terrific cast that includes Larry Blyden, John Forsythe, Barbara Rush, Dina Merrill, and Norman Fell. Paul sees this as an example of how early television could, at times, rival the quality of anything you'd see in the theater, and I agree.

Terence commemorates 70 years of television's Lassie this week at A Shroud of Thoughts. Seventy years, and many permutations over its nineteen seasons. He also members the late, great James Earl Jones, who died this week at age 93. Besides all the roles he played in his distinguished career, it's hard to imagine CNN without him.

We occasionally touch on Land of the Lost here, and so it seems fitting to stop at Travanche, where it's been 50 years since the debut of that series. I was, for lack of a better word, stuck with that show, living in the World's Worst Town™ at the time, and NBC was the only show in town on Saturday mornings. Of course, not watching television was never an option.

At Shadow & Substance, Paul looks at the Twilight Zone episode "A Game of Pool," starring Jonathan Winters and Jack Klugman, in particular how Rod Serling changed the original ending from George Clayton Johnson's script. I agree with Paul that Serling's change made the episode stronger, but there's a lot to be said for Johnson's as well. And you have to like how Winters holds his own with Klugman. TV  

Around the dial

Xt Comfort TV, David addresses a topic near and dear to my heart: the 15 best classic TV shows still not available on DVD. People who depend on streaming for their classic TV may be sorry when those programs suddenly disappear, but your DVDs are your own. And not only The Defenders: where are the second seasons of Burke's Law and The Eleventh Hour? 

Gill is back at Reelweegiemidget with another edition of recommended TV movies from the last month. The viewing list from August includes flicks starring William Shatner, James Brolin, Mike Farrell, Cheryl Ladd, and more; be sure to look for your favorites. 

At bare-bones e-zine, Jack's Hitchcock Project looks at the ninth-season episode "A Nice Touch," by Mann Rubin. Anne Baxter and George Segal star in a murder mystery that has a nice touch, indeed. By the way, I remember how nice it was to find out that Mann Rubin was an actual person and not a pseudonym; it always sounded like one of those names WB would come up with during a writers' strike.

John starts a new series at Cult TV Blog in which he focuses not on the shows, but on the stars who appear in them. First up on his list is the British actor Denis Shaw, and John looks at his performance in The Prisoner episode "Checkmate." Looking forward to this.

At Classic Film and TV Corner, Maddy has a charming story of the time her mother met Roy Rogers and Trigger. Roy was one of the most accessible of stars, and it's nice to see others sharing their stories of meeting him!

Peter Marshall's recent death brings to mind Bob Quigley, the producer of The Hollywood Squares and, coincidentelly, the head writer on Kay Kyser's College of Musical Knowledge. And that is what brings us to The Lucky Strike Papers, for Andrew's mother, Sue Bennett, was a singer on Kyser's show. Read all about it.

SerlingFest 2024 is next weekend in Binghamton, New York, and Paul has all the details at Shadow & Substance, including a stimulating lineup of guest speakers, video presentations, and, on Sunday, the dedication of the Rod Serling statue. We'll have to visit this fest some year!

 

A Shroud of Thoughts and Travalanche both have tributes to the late James Darren, who died earlier this week at the age of 88. From Gidget to The Time Tunnel, from singing to acting, his was an impressive career; he was also, from what I hear, a great guy as well. Terence's piece is here, while you can read what Trav has to say here.

Finally, A View from the Junkyard gives us our weekly Avengers fix, with an excellent episode from the Steed/Tara season: "Requiem." Or is it excellent? See what Roger and Mike have to say; better yet, watch it for yourself and make up your own mind. TV  

Around the dial

You're probably all familiar by now with the Hitchcock Project that Jack posts every other week at bare•bones e-zine; it's a don't-miss feature for me. Jack's not quite done covering every episode of the Hitchcock series, but he's getting close, and this week he provides his annual list of all the episodes he's reviewed so far. Click to your heart's content.

At Cult TV Blog, John returns to Barlow at Large, a British police procedural that ran from 1971 to 1975, starring Stratford Johns as Detective Chief Superintendent Charlie Barlow, a role he'd previously played in three other series. This week's episode, "Sect," involves an investigation of a cult, and makes a strong case for being a series worth following.

David's always-interesting series at Comfort TV, in which he journeys through prime time TV of the 1970s, and he's now reached Thursday nights in 1974. What was on the dial? Some familiar faces, to be sure: The Waltons, Harry O, The Streets of San Francisco, The Odd Couple, Ironside, Movin' On, and more. Find out what David has to say about them.

Few things strike us as being more disturbing than the idea that someone else could be controlling your mind. It's a popular trope for television shows, and at The View from the Junkyard, Roger and Mike investigate the Avengers episode "My Wildest Dream," with Steed and Tara, to see how well the series handles it. 

Do you remember Charles Rocket? Or, more specifically, do you remember the moment Charles Rocket launched the F-bomb on Saturday Night Live? I do; I can honestly say that I saw the event as it happened, live on national TV. It was truly one of those "did I just hear what I think I heard?" events, and not surprisingly it features big time in Travalanche's look at Rocket's not-so-gleaming career.

Does the new fall TV season do anything for you? If it does (and sadly, for me it does not), then you're in luck, because both CBS and Fox have produced half-hour specials touting their new shows. This was a staple of the schedule when I was growing up, and even though I'm not interested in them, I'm glad they still do it. Television Obscurities has the 411 on their availability.

Garry Berman looks back on the book that launched his career as a professional writer 25 years ago: Best of the Britcoms - From Fawlty Towers to Absolutely Fabulous. It would later receive an update to take it through The Office, but no matter which version you look at, it's an informative—and highly entertaining—look at one of the most endearingly quirky generes on TV. TV  

Around the dial

At Cult TV Blog, John concludes a week's worth of posts on The Guardians with part 9, "I Want You To Understand Me." Isn't that the way we all feel? But if you're ready for political intrigue that has nothing to do with the upcoming election, here it is.

The Twilight Zone Vortex continues its way through the fifth and final season of the series with "Uncle Simon," It's an episode that, truth be told, seems like it would be a better fit for Alfred Hitchcock Presents. That being said, it's still worth watching, as are so many of the Serling-written episodes.

A Shroud of Thoughts and The Last Drive-In both offer tributes to the late Gena Rowlands, who died a couple of days ago at the age of 94. You can read what Terence has to say here, while Monstergirl's is here. And before you ask, I'd suspect we'll have a post or two about the great Peter Marshall, who died August 15, in next week's roundup.

Television's New Frontier: The 1960s looks at the final 13 episodes of Bronco, the Ty Hardin-starred series that served as one segment of the three-part wheel series that included Cheyenne and Sugarfoot. Many of the episodes from this final year deal with the reconstruction of the United States following the Civil War.

At Realweegiemidget, Gill takes us to the delightfully dishy 1980s primetime soap Dynasty, with five reasons she loves Alexis Carrington, played by the vivacious vixen Joan Collins, said reasons focusing on the lady's serial marriage history. If you're going to do a soap, you'd better do it right, and few shows did it better than Dynasty.

I've written many times about private detective shows on TV, a genre that could stand a revival, but in the meantime Martin Grams has a look at a terrific new book featuring, for the first time, the collected Continental Op stories (including two novels) written by Dashiell Hammett. These truly revolutionized detective fiction; why doesn't one of the prestige networks do a series based on them?

We're back to The Avengers at A View from the Junkyard, as Roger and Mike debate the merits of the sixth-season story "Homicide and Old Lace," a kind of throwback to the old Avengers, where the stories were a little more grounded. What's the verdict? Well, you'll just have to check it out. TV  

Around the dial

Cult TV Lounge takes a relatively short trip back to the 1990s (I still have a hard time realizing that the '90s are 30 years ago) with the Japanese anime OVA Cyber City Oedo 808, directed by the great Yoshiaki Kawajiri, with obvious nods to the William Gibson and Philip K. Dick. If you're a fan, it wouldn't hurt to check it out.

Also worth checking out is the latest episode of The Guardians, brought to us by John at Cult TV Blog. In part five, we pick up the dystopic story in progress following an assassination, with bodies and orgies left and right. And who, or what, is Quarmby anyway? Is this the direction we're headed in? Or are we already there?

One of my fond memories of childhood is watching wrestling on TV with my grandfather, with the result that I always had a soft spot for the sport, even when it seems like it's bordering on depravity. Paul has similar memories, and at Drunk TV he revisits them with the 2007 documentary The Triumph and Tragedy of World Class Championship Wrestling, a searching look at the WCCW's ups and downs.

At Comfort TV, David's perusal through prime time in the 1970s continues with Wednesday, 1974. What was it like? How about Get Christie Love!, Cannon, Little House on the Prairie, and Petrocelli? I'm betting most of you remember most of these, but there are bound to be some that you haven't thought of for awhile, if ever.

At Eyes of a Generation, Bobby gives us a unique look at "the battle for television," circa 1945. Not only do you get some interesting graphics on early TV equipment, you get insight into the rivalry between RCA and CBS over their "different techincal approaches to television." They were even talking about color TV in 1945; find out more about what might have been.

It's been 25 years (1) since Garry Berman's first book, Best of the Britcoms, and this week he takes a look back some of the glorious British panel shows that display such typically British "wit, speed, and spontaneity." Be sure to take some time to watch the clips that Garry has included, among which a show called 8 Out Of 10 Cats, which you can't miss.

In the mood for some TV-movies? Well, then, head on over to Reelweegiemidget, where Gill (with some help from Darlin Husband) shares some of the teleflicks they watched over this summer. Some you'll recognize, some you won't, and some you'll want to check out. And after all, isn't that what a good reviewer is for?

I don't have to tell you that it's been a rough time for some of our heroes of the past, which makes me even more glad to share Terence's latest at A Shroud of Thoughts, which is not an obituary! It's a look back at his memories of Sunday night television while he was growing up. He and I are of roughly the same era, and I can certainly identify with those memories.

At Television's New Frontier: The 1960s, we're in 1962, and the beginning of McHale's Navy, the drama that became a comedy. The show owes its roots to Car 54, Where Are You? and The Phil Silvers Show, but falls short of them in several ways. Still, a lot of you have fond memories of the show, and you'll want to see the many faces that appeared on your TV during that season.

As Travalanche notes, many of us associate Sally Struthers with a single, and singular, role: that of Gloria on All in the Family. There's been a lot more to her career than that, though, and it's good to be reminded that she's done movies, live theater, voice-overs, and guest spots on many shows, both before and after marrying the Meathead.

Roger has an interesting observation at the outset of his review of The Avengers episode "Fog" at The View from the Junkyard: it's all right to acknowledge that "the things we love don't have to be perfect." And that's true; you'll notice that when I really pick a show apart because of its implausibilities, it's not just the nits: it's likely that I'm not being entertained.

xx TV  

Around the dial

Let's start this week's review at Comfort TV, where David offers a tribute to Bob Newhart that's both a personal reflection and a historical appraisal of why Newhart is one of television's greatest actors, and how his brand of humor will always be timeless. 

Inner Toob has his own tribute to Newhart, and as a bonus we get his celebration of the 100th birthday of Don Knotts by looking at his many appearances outside of The Andy Griffith Show. At A Shroud of Thoughts, Terence has his own memories of Don Knotts and Bob Newhart, and I recommend checking these out as well. When we have the opportunity to celebrate our classic TV icons, we should take every chance we get.

At bare•bones e-zine, Jack's Hitchcock Project continues with the grimly humorous "Six People, No Music," the only Hitchcock episode written by Richard Berg, featuring a masterful performance by John McGiver as an undertaker seeking to bury the truth along with a body.

Jack continues his review of the nasty dystopian political thriller The Guardians at Cult TV Blog. "Head of State" is a lesson in politics, power, and political power, creating all kinds of interesting conversation points that would fit in well with my recent series on thoughtful television.

At The View from the Junkyard, Roger realizes something I've been saying for years: it's impossible to watch classic television with the mindset of a contemporary viewer, and those who do are doomed to failure. It's a truth discovered while watching this week's Avengers, "Take Me to Your Leader." TV  

Around the dial

It's remarkable how close to the screen people used to sit to watch TV, isn't it? As someone with more than a passing interest in interior design and layout, I'd be interested to know what the rest of the living room looked like. Based on the position of the ottoman, you'd have to think that dad's chair has been turned around to face the set, and everyone's gathered around. Nowadays, we make the television the focal point of our living room. I'm not saying it's better or worse, just different.

Anyway, the Broadcast Archives shares a story about a game that this family might have played, once upon a time. It's called the Radio Game, made by Milton Bradley, and was one of the things people might have used to become more comfortable with new technology. Ever seen this in an antique store?

The View from the Junkyard continues its journey through the oeuvre of The Avengers; this week, we pick up where we left off last week, with Linda Thorson (Tara King) still on vacation, and appropriately the episode is titled "The Morning After." Even though she's not in it much, she's still a help to Steed.

Brian Clemens, producer of The Avengers, had high praise for the nineties series Bugs, comparing it favorably to that iconic show. Of course, he had something to do with Bugs as well, but, as John points out at Cult TV Blog, it's a series that lives up to the billing, and more.

Another week, another blog anniversary; this time, it's one of my favorite sites, Television Obscurities, which is celebrating its 21st, and that's enough to make this humble site of mine feel like a piker. It sounds as if Robert has some interesting projects in the hopper; looking forward to seeing them.

The Oscar-nominated actress Anouk Aimée died this week, age 92, and at A Shroud of Thoughts, Terence has a look back at her remarkable career, which includes an impressive television resume in addition to her many movies. She was a genuine movie star.

Martin Grams takes a look at the latest season of Doctor Who, airing on Disney+ here in the good old U.S.of A. I've mentioned that I gave up on the series a few years ago, and even if I hadn't, I wouldn't give Disney a penny of my money, but of course I'm happy for the fans who've stuck with it. 

The Twilight Zone Vortex is back, and this week Jordon reviews the final-season dystopian episode "The Old Man in the Cave," starring James Coburn, John Anderson and John Marley. Not vintage TZ perhaps, but this excellent writeup shows how it still touches on serious issues worth discussing. TV  

Around the dial

That looks like the coolest TV setup, doesn't it? It reminds me of fall Sundays back when I was a kid, when I'd bring a portable set out from the bedroom and put on top of the console in the living room, so I could watch two football games at once. Whenever one of them looked like it was getting interesting, I'd turn up the sound on that one and turn it down on the other. I don't watch football anymore, and I don't miss it—but I do miss memories like that.

There are other memories worth pursuing, though. A couple of weeks ago, we looked at an article about ways people could secure tickets to be in the studio audience for their favorite television shows, and I asked if anyone had been in the audience for a show. Our loyal reader Bill chimes in with his own memories: "I was fortunate to attend tapings of Wheel of Fortune on two occasions when they did special themed weeks in Orlando, Florida.  The first was at Universal Studios Florida in 1999 and the second at SeaWorld Orlando in 2008 (actually won an audience prize for correctly guessing the name of the 1973 pilot which was called Shopper’s Bazaar). I also remember Pat Sajak after one episode thanking everyone for attending the late evening recordings, that he and Vanna were taking a quick break to change clothes, and when coming back 'we’ll all pretend it’s tomorrow!'  It was a fun experience, although ironically I don’t really watch the show itself." Sounds like a lot of fun, Bill!

And now, on with the show. At bare•bones e-zine, Jack's Hitchcock Project turns to Francis Irby Gwaltney's tenth-season story, "Lonely Place," a dark, nasty piece of work with Teresa Wright, Pat Buttram, and Bruce Dern doing their best to chill us all.

At Cult TV Blog, John detours, as he sometimes does, to look at the Big Finish series of audio adventures based on popular British shows of the past. This week, it's "Remember Me," from the supernatural mystery series Sapphire and Steel, but that's not all; there's also a bonus review of the slasher film The Flesh and Blood Show. Two for the price of one!

David returns to his journey through 1970s TV this week at Comfort TV, and he's up to Monday nights in 1974. For me, Mondays always meant Monday Night Football back then (there's that game again!), but there was much more than that; how about CBS's lineup of Gunsmoke, Maude, Rhoda, and Medical Center? Not bad.

I've mentioned this before, I think, but there's always something haunting about Judy Garland, especially when you contrast pictures of her from her Wizard of Oz days with those taken in the 1960s, when she looked at least fifteen years older. At Realweegiemidget, Gill reviews one of the many movies about Garland's youth, the teleflick Rainbow: The Judy Garland Story, with Andrea McArdle.

Let's stay on the Garland express for a moment and look, not at a portrayal of Judy, but the real thing: The Clock, a 1945 movie co-starring Robert Walker, which gives her a chance to demonstrate her dramatic acting chops after a string of musicals. You can read Maddie's take on it at Classic Film and TV Corner.

A couple of weeks ago I talked about Lucille Ball on the Dan Schneider Video Interview, so it's a good tie-in to look at Paul's review of Lucy & Desi: A Home Movie over at Drunk TV. It's not a biopic, but a documentary, and it's indeed based on home movies of the couple during the first years of their marriage. If you're a Lucy fan, you might want to make sure you see this if you haven't already.

I've said this before, but the only thing as much fun as watching a classic movie or TV show is reading about it, and Martin Grams is on the job this week with reviews of four new books from Bear Manor Media, covering a quartet of classics: Lawman, Sheena, Queen of the Jungle; Shane; and North by Northwest. All signs point to some good additions to your library.

Last week I wrote a brief tribute to Doctor Who's William Russell, who died at the age of 99; this week Terence adds some well-selected words of his own at A Shroud of Thoughts; he also has an appreciation for film and television star Janis Paige, who died June 2, aged 101. Both of them are well worth remembering.

At A View from the Junkyard, Mike and Roger compare notes on "Killer," an episode of The Avengers that doesn't feature Linda Thorson. After the Diana Rigg years, it was bound to be difficult getting used to a new companion for Steed, but I thought Thorson grew into the role quite well, and her Tara is endearing on her own merits. See what they think, and what you think.]q

One of my favorite guest panelists in the last years of What's My Line? was the columnist Suzy Knickerbocker; endearingly, her last name was so long that, after her first couple of appearances, her nameplate simply said "Suzy." There's much to know about her, and you can read some of it at Travalanche. TV  

Around the dial

William Russell died this week, just short of 100 years of age, and with him died one of the last links to the beginnings of Doctor Who. We were introduced to him in the very first episode of Who, airing on November 23, 1963 (albeit delayed from its scheduled start time due to the JFK assassination coverage); he played schoolteacher Ian Chesterton, one of the Doctor's original companions (along with Jacqueline Hill as fellow teacher Barbara Wright and Carole Ann Ford as Susan, the Doctor's granddaughter). Having previously starred in the television series Sir Lancelot (one of the first British imports to American television), it was thought that the young, virile actor could provide the physical action to compliment the older William Hartnell's more cerebral Doctor. He remained on the show for the first two series, and history will record that he was the first person to utter the phrase "Doctor Who." 

We just started rewatching the first season last month, and my wife asked me if he was still living; at that point, he was, and there was something comforting about that, as if the original series was still alive and well. In a sense, he never really left the show; there were references to him throughout the years, he reprised his role as Ian for bridging sequences on a video release of a Hartnell story that was only partially intact; he returned once more for a cameo appearance in 2022 (along with several other former Doctors and companions) in the episode "The Power of the Doctor," aired as part of a celebration commemorating the centenary of the BBC. 

To say that he was fondly remembered by Doctor Who fans is an understatement; I think many of us hold him in the same regard as we do the actors who played the title role. It seemed as if he would go on forever, just like the Doctor, and I suppose that he will, for as long as video continues to exist. Among the many, many tributes on line this week is this typically quirky one from Inner Toob. The finest one, though, is probably the affection with which generations of fans, many of whom weren't even born when Ian Chesterton made his first appearance, continue to have for him. That, I suspect, won't end either.

On the personal side, here are links to my two latest appearances on the Dan Schneider Video Interview. Dan and I discuss Lucille Ball and Mary Tyler Moore, and somehow I was able to stumble through each of them without making a complete fool of myself. I'll have more on what it feels like to be a podcast guest in the near future.

June 1 was National Game Show Day (although I've yet to see the Congressional resolution proclaiming it), and Travalanche commemorated the day with a nifty, comprehensive list of links to all kinds of things game show-related.

The first of two Avengers-related posts comes from The View from the Junkyard, where Roger and Mike match wits with "Invasion of the Earthmen," an episode clearly intended to parody Star Trek, even though that show wouldn't be seen in the UK for another six months.

Keeping with The Avengers, at Cult TV Blog John looks at "The Joker," a Mrs. Peel episode that is actually a remake of the third-series episode "Don't Look Behind You," which featured Mrs. Gale. This wasn't uncommon on The Avengers, so you get the chance to compare and contrast styles.

Martin Grams regales us with some photographs from The Green Hornet television series, which have apparently never been published. The Green Hornet isn't a great series; it never really decided whether to play it straight or camp it up a la Batman, but it was great fun to watch all the same. 

Terence's great blog A Shroud of Thoughts turned 20 this week (!), and to mark the occasion he's linked to the best posts of the past 20 years. I've been at this awhile, but I'm a piker compared to Terence, so let's hope he's up for 20 more years! TV  

Around the dial

We'll begin this week at Comfort TV, where David asks a question that's both practical and existential: how much TV is too much? It speaks to not only the quantity but the quality of what's available out there nowadays, and leads to another question: what has television become, and (not rhetorically) what purpose does it serve? I think this could well be the beginning of an important discussion that's going to have to take place at some time or other, before the industry winds up consuming itself. As so many revolutions do.

And now, on to a lighter note: the bottle from which Barbara Eden pops out in I Dream of Jeannie is currently on display at the Smithsonian Museum's National Museum of American History, and Smithsonian Magazine uses the occasion to look at the history contained in Jeannie, as well as its legacy.

Travalanche celebrates the Peggy Cass Centennial. For those of you my age, you'll remember her as a staple of the Goodson-Todman shows, especially To Tell the Truth (where she appeared over one thousand times), but you'll see that there was more to her than just playing games.

You'll recall how Coronet Blue ended without answering the main question of what the phrase "Coronet Blue" actually meant, but that's not the only series to leave viewers hanging. At Television Obscurities, the creator of the cancelled series So Help Me Todd tells us how that series would have ended.

Terence pays tribute to the late Dabney Coleman at A Shroud of Thoughts. Coleman, who died last week aged 92, was known for playing characters you loved to hate, and as we all know, it takes a lot of talent to do that for as long as he does.

At A View from the Junkyard, Roger and Mike compare notes on "The Interrogators," a Steed/Tara episode of The Avengers, and while we all know how fantastic some of the plots for this show can be (especially at this point), this is a surprisingly tense one that holds together well.

Rutland Weekend Television is the latest review from John at Cult TV Blog. It ran from 1975-76, parodying television of the time, and if you like Monty Python, you'll like this. Furthermore, if you like the shows that John writes about, you'll like this. I can't think of a better recommendation. TV