Let's star the week with a couple of lists. At Comfort TV, David lists the five worst Comfort TV opening credits sequences. His choices get no argument from me. Meanwhile, The Flaming Nose gives us the 40 best TV themes of all time. I would have liked to have seen some of my favorites higher up on the list, but all in all another good list.
Inner Toob recalls the first TV soap opera crossover, the character of Mitchell Dru, who traveled from The Brighter Day to As the World Turns to Another World. You might recall that I wrote about this character a few years ago; I have something of a fondness for him, seeing as how my middle name—coincidentally, I assure you—is Drew...
If it's Friday, it must be time for Alfred Hitchcock Presents, but surprisingly, it's not from bare-bones e-zine. Instead, it's Realweegiemidget, reviewing the excellent 1959 episode "Dead Weight," starring Joseph Cotten.
At Garroway at Large, Jodie introduces an article on Dave Garroway as "television's most curious man," which is just a wonderful title. I wish I had enough time to explore everything I'm curious about, and Garroway's curiosity just makes him all the more interesting.
Television's New Frontier: the 1960s looks at The Tall Man, the Western from 1960-62, featuring Barry Sullivan and Clu Gulager as, respectively, Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid. This season explored the interesting tension between loyalty and the law, one of the eternal conflicts in man.
Short but sweet this week; I'll be at the Mid-Atlantic Nostalgia Convention next Friday, so we'll be back around the dial in two weeks! TV
Well, maybe not the best, but I'm certainly proud of it. The Electronic Mirror: What Classic TV Tells Us About Who We Were and Who We Are (and Everything In-Between!) is now available for purchase on Amazon.com. If you're a Prime member, you could be holding this book in your hands in as little as two days from now, finding out why classic television is our best source for telling us about our past, our present and even our future. As I write, "Television is our history, no matter when we were born, for it tells us not only who were then, but who we are today, and how we got there." It's a must read for classic TV fans everywhere—and after all, isn't that why you're here reading this in the first place?
Yes, literally everyone is reading The Electronic Mirror!
(Unpaid endorsement)
Don't be the last classic TV fan on your block to get The Electronic Mirror—and while you're at it, feel free to pick up copies of my other books, The Carand The Collaborator. You can find out more about them at my newly-redesigned author page.
As a bonus, if you'd like an inscription, send me an email with your name and address and how you'd like your copy inscribed, and I'll send you a personally signed bookplate which you can stick on the front page of your copy!
And remember, if you're planning to be in the Baltimore area next weekend attending the Mid-Atlantic Nostalgia Convention, I'll be speaking there on Thursday, September 13, and signing books throughout the convention.
Don't delay—order your copy today! You'll be glad you did! TV
Happy Labor Day to those of you who are reading this on the day it was posted; I hope you're enjoying what's traditionally thought of as the last day of summer. For me, while I appreciate the day off, Labor Day weekend just isn't the same without Jerry.
With no further delay, let's get to this week's listings, from the Minnesota State Edition.
It's the last week of summer reruns, but before the 1966 TV season officially gets started, ABC fills the airwaves with sneak previews of its most anticipated new shows, including the Batman-inspired The Green Hornet (one season), Hawk(the Burt Reynolds one-season bomb), The Time Tunnel(yep - one season) and That Girl (which actually made it to 1971), and season premieres of the aforementioned Batman,F Troop(final season) and 12 O'clock High(final season).
Of course, there was also the legendary Tammy Grimes Show, one of the great bombs in the history of TV; in an era when the worst shows usually made it at least 13 weeks, this was cancelled after only four. There was The Milton Berle Show, a disastrous comeback attempt by the man once known as "Mr. Television," which ran only 17 weeks. Robert Lansing, who was not done well by 12 O'clock High, tried to bounce back with the spy vehicle The Man Who Never Was, which lasted 18 weeks but deserved better. At least The Pruitts of Southampton(aka The Phyllis Diller Show) made it the whole season). Notice a theme with these ABC shows? (Hint: it involves "one season.") You can read more about what became of ABC's season, which actually included some carryover series that were very successful, here.
Not to be outdone, NBC had their own "Sneak a Peek" at three of its new offerings, as well as an ad hyping next week's premiere of The Girl From U.N.C.L.E. with Stefanie Powers and Noel "Windmills of Your Mind" Harrison. Two of the sneak peeks were Tarzan, with Ron Ely (which lasted two seasons and presented a fairly enlightened portrait of the title character), and The Hero, with Richard Mulligan (a funny man who rarely achieved the success it deserved. The third? Well, let's just say it boldly went where no man had gone before.
Which of these shows are not like the others? Which of these shows just don't belong?
Interestingly enough, CBS didn't have any teasers, other than its Fall Preview show, which its Minneapolis-St. Paul affiliate, Channel 4 aired at 12:30 p.m. CT on Sunday afternoon. Apparently the Tiffany Network felt it didn't need to work that hard on introducing its new series. However, since I spare no effort for my devoted fans, you can watch that show right here:
But while we were saying hello to a host of new shows, we were also saying goodbye to some old favorites: Branded (replaced by Hey Landlord), The Donna Reed Show and Ozzie and Harriet (bumped in favor of Shane, starring the pre-Kung Fu David Carradine, My Favorite Martian (replaced by It's About Time), and Perry Mason (Garry Moore moved into the timeslot). That last episode of Mason, by the way, was a rerun of "The Case of the Deadly Verdict"—that's the one where Perry actually loses to Hamilton Burger, because his client won't level with him. Don't worry, though—Perry finds out who did it anyway, and gets his client out of the slammer before they throw her in the gas chamber. All in all, I'm not sure the new shows were an upgrade on the old.
Many of these programs have episodes (or at least clips) on YouTube—after you're done reading here, mosey on over and take a look.
◊ ◊ ◊
During the 60s, the Ed Sullivan Show and The Hollywood
Palace were the premiere variety shows on television. Whenever they appear
in TV Guide together, we'll match them up and see who has the best
lineup..
Ed Sullivan: Ed's guests are comics Alan King and Richard Pryor; singers Petula Clark, Blossom Seeley and Nancy Sinatra; rock 'n' rollers Gary and the Playboys; the Tokyo Happy Coats, aerialists; and the Berosini Chimps.
Hollywood Palace: Hostess Judy Garland welcomes singer Vic Damone, singer-dancer Chita Rivera, comedian Gene Baylos, the comedy team of Avery Schreiber and Jack Burns, the acrobatic Lyons Family and the Three Bragazzi, musical clowns.
Unsurprisingly, both programs this week are repeats, which likely means they were showing some of the best episodes they had available. And while they're both good, I think there's a clear winner—after all, even though Judy Garland is far from what she once was, she's still Judy Garland, and she's the centerpiece of the show, doing a couple of numbers in her famous tramp costume, along with songs that were made famous by singers at the original Palace. Throw in Vic Damone and Chita Rivera, and while the shows may be a push otherwise, these three give Palace the clear win.
One of the things I like about The Hollywood Palace, by the way, is that quite a few of them are on YouTube, including this one, which I think is well worth the watch.
◊ ◊ ◊
Today the NFL makes a big deal of its Thursday-night prime time kickoff, but that was nothing compared to the AFL's opening weekend in 1966. The "other league" got the jump on the NFL with a tripleheader, beginning the previous Friday and Saturday nights and concluding with Sunday's matchup between the Buffalo Bills and San Diego Chargers, two of the AFL's dominant teams. But that wasn't all, as NBC would be back this week with another Friday night game, between Joe Namath's New York Jets and the brand-new Miami Dolphins. The NFL, meanwhile, wouldn't start until September 10. (By the way, do you notice that the ad for the game shows they only expect it to run 2½ hours? Ah, those really were the days.)
Apropos for the start of the season is Stanley Frank's behind-the-scenes cover story of how CBS and NBC influenced the NFL-AFL merger. Not surprisingly, it had a lot to do with money. Back then, the NFL (which became the NFC after the merger) was shown by CBS, while the AFL (which became the AFC) was on NBC. Now, of course, the AFC is on CBS, the NFC is on FOX, Sunday Night Football is on NBC, Monday Night Football is on ESPN, and Thursday Night Football is on FOX. Got it?
One interesting sidebar to the TV debate concerns the blackout policy that existed back in the day. For many years, the NFL's policy was that not only were a team's home games blacked out in their television market, so were any other games that might be on TV. The AFL had no such policy, and it was one of the ways they gained a foothold in the television market in the early years; every week, football fans in half of the NFL markets would have only AFL games to choose from on TV. In this case, familiarity didn't breed contempt, but fandom. Despite my long-time fandom of the Green Bay Packers (and, secondarily, the Baltimore Colts), I watched the AFL every week, and one of the reasons why is probably because half the season they were the only game in town. Yeah, I was sorry to see that merger; the two leagues really had their own personalities, their own styles of play, and once they became partners the whole thing got more homogenized, and invariably more dull.
How times have changed, with the NFL and television—and yet, I suspect there was some progressive owner out there who was envisioning something like Sunday Ticket, and seeing dollar signs.
◊ ◊ ◊
Something else you don't see on network television anymore (along with 2½ hour football games) are manned space launches, but there's one scheduled for this Friday—Gemini XI, the penultimate mission of Project Gemini. In fact, it wouldn't take off until the following Sunday, the 12th, with Pete Conrad and Dick Gordon aboard, with the focus being on a rendezvous and docking with the often unreliable Agena target rocket. It's a crucial rehearsal for one of the most critical aspects of a lunar landing, the docking between the Command and Lunar Modules. I'm sure, considering the number of reruns on the remainder of the TV schedule, that the networks probably would have preferred the launch take place on time—after all, there wasn't much else to watch.
◊ ◊ ◊
Have we ever talked here about William Hanley? Ah, yes, I can see that we have. Well, Henry Harding's "For the Record" feature headlines NBC's "latest coup in the inter-network competition for quality dramas." According to the network, it's shelled out $112,500. "a record TV payment to a dramatist for single work." The story repeats the fable that the play had been "earmarked" for Broadway, and touted NBC VP William Storke's pronouncement that the play was "bold and daring." If you've not checked out the link yet, take a moment to do so—it's OK, I'll wait—and find out how this "bold and daring" play wound up being one of the fiascoes of the television season.
Elsewhere in the shiny section, Dwight Whitney profiles Eva Gabor and tells us how Green Acres changed her life by revealing to the world that she was actually talented ("I vas hurt because pepple vere surprised I vas a good actress. After all zese years soddenly I am beink discovered."); Edith Efron writes on the singing heartthrob Jack Jones, who's looking to add the role of romantic actor to his resume ("He's even being touted by loyal followers as a 'second Cary Grant' "); and the recipe section gives us new uses for apples. (Apple-Stuffed Roast Chicken and Zesty Apple Dumplings; write me for the recipes.) Finally, the TV Teletype tells us that Bob Hope has signed up for his 13th stint as host of the Academy Awards next April on ABC, and that with Johnny Carson's new contract giving him 13 weeks of vacation every year, Bob Newhart is a "likely candidate" to be permanent guest host.
◊ ◊ ◊
Last but not least, Monica Furlong, TV critic for the British humour magazine Punch, discusses the best and worst of American TV as seen on British TV. Her likes: The Virginian ("the British have learned more about the roots of American life, with its neighborliness, its idealism and its guts, from watching The Virginian than from any number of self-conscious cultural exchanges."), The Defenders (which has "a basic honesty - they debate things like drug addiction, mob law, violence, with a passionate sincerity.") and The Dick Van Dyke Show ("we have never yet managed to produce a native television family of undisputed charm."). Dislikes: Perry Mason ("rolls on interminably, Perry and Della linked as platonically as ever.") and The Fugitive ("[older] ladies want to mother him, the younger ones want to love him, and I suspect that the men would probably quite like to hunt him."). But her favorite? "The wit, the grace, the charm, of Yogi Bear, Augie Doggie, Snaglepuss and all the rest" of the Hanna-Barbara cartoons—"the best productions, from any source, which we see on our television screens."
TV
Iremember watching "Alibi Me" as part of the second season DVD box set of Alfred Hitchcock Presents—it was a terrific story with a satisfying ending—and now you can read all about this Bernard C. Schoenfeld-scripted episode as Jack's Hitchcock Project feature at bare bones e-zine.
Ho-ward Co-sell. If you don't understand why I've hyphenated his name that way, then you may be too young to appreciate just what a phenomenon Howard Cosell was in America, and on American television, particularly in the 1960s and '70s. Ah, I feel sorry for you kids. Fortunately, David at Comfort TV can straighten you out, with his marvelous retrospective on the man and his moments—and they aren't all limited to sports.
Well, I'm glad to see the Twilight Zone Vortex back after a few weeks off; this week, Jordan gives us an art exhibition. It's a collection of various illustrations from book covers and magazines that accompany stories from both The Twilight Zone (original and reboots) and Night Gallery. It's a real treat; I think you'll enjoy it.
Virgin of the Secret Service—now, if that doesn't get your attention, I'm going to give up. Actually, it's the name of a 1968 British series which, as John of Cult TV Blog says, is either an actual spy series set in the Edwardian era, or a light spoof of same. It was a blind buy for John, who delivers his verdict at the conclusion of his series review.
A Shroud of Thoughts presents an obituary of Fredd Wayne, who died earlier this week at the age of 93. He was best known for his definitive portrayal of Benjamin Franklin, which started out as a one-man show, before he took it on the road, in a sense, portraying Franklin as a character in several television series that were either period pieces or featured time travel of some sort, including Bewitched, Daniel Boone, and Voyagers. I don't usually embed videos in this feature, but you'll want to see this clip from his stage performance as Franklin.
And of course, where would we be if I didn't so some shameless self-promotion for my book The Electronic Mirror? I'll have a bigger spread up later, but I'll just let you know now that it's available for purchase from Amazon by clicking here, and I'm also working on a way of direct purchase that will allow you to get an inscribed copy directly from me. Either way it will, I promise you, be worth it. TV
