Mitchell Hadley's Blog: It's About TV!
October 15, 2025
The annual open call for guest essays
It may come as no surprise to you that, on the heels of the publication of Darkness in Primetime, I'm already hard at work on a new book, which I'm hoping to have out in time for Christmas, 2026. It marks the return to a genre in which I most enjoy writing, postmodern fiction. However, since I won't be able to try out draft chapters here on the blog, it means I'll have less time than usual to work on these Wednesday essays that I so enjoy. Therefore, I'm asking once again for your assistance by throwing the doors open for guest essays. If you've got a topic you'd like to write about—be it about a particular program, genre, or star—please let me know. As long as it fits into the general format of It's About TV! (meaning, for all you bots out there, that it's not a thinly disguised infomercial for your product or service), you're welcome to join. Some of the most popular and widely-read posts of the last few years have come from guest essays, and I'm sure you'd all be happier reading new material than something I've recycled from ten years ago (even though some of those old pieces are pretty good!) You don't have to have a blog of your own, although if you do, I'll be sure to give it a prominent plug here.
So what do you think? If you've got an idea you'd like to see here, don't be shy; I'll help with any editing and graphic accompaniment you might want or need, and you're receive a byline here, as well as my undying gratitude. If you're interested, feel free to drop me an email, or respond through the comments form in the link above. Your faithful scribe gratefully thanks you! TV
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October 13, 2025
What's on TV? Sunday, October 9, 1966
I've said this before, and I'll probably say it again (when I run out of other things to say, but I can never get used to the idea of a major sporting event starting at 10:30 in the morning (and this is coming from a man who used to get up at 9:30 Saturday mornings to watch English soccer). What it does, among other things, is point out just how big this country is: a five-hour difference between England and New York, and a three-hour difference between New York and Los Angeles. But let's take just a tick to look at that "How to Watch Football" special on KGO at 4:00 p.m. "An inside look at football is provided by three coaches." The three happen to be: Michigan State's Duffy Daugherty and UCLA's Tommy Prothro, who faced each other in the Rose Bowl back in January, and the legendary Bear Bryant of Alabama, on his way to setting the all-time victory record for coaches. Well, you know what they say—if you're going to learn, learn from the best. This week's issue is the Northern California edition.-2- KTVU (BAY AREA) (IND.) Morning 9:00 LIVING WORD COLOR 9:15 SACRED HEART—Religion 9:30 MOVIE—Drama “Disaster” (1948) 10:30 MOVIE—Drama “County Fair” (1950) Afternoon 12:00 ALL STAR BOWLING Ned Day vs. Paul Krumske 1:00 EDITOR’S FORUM 2:00 MOVIE—Adventure COLOR “Scaramouche” (1952) 4:00 MOVIE—Adventure “Jungle Moon Men” (1955) 5:30 ABBOTT AND COSTELLO Evening 6:00 GREATEST SHOW—Drama COLOR 7:00 HOLLYWOOD AND THE STARS “The Fabulous Musicals” 7:30 MOVIE—Western COLOR “Blood on the Arrow” (1964) 9:30 DANGER MAN—Mystery 10:00 RICHARD DIAMOND—Mystery 10:30 DOCTOR’S NEWS CONFERENCE 11:00 MOVIE—Comedy “Two Way Stretch” (English; 1961)
-3- KCRA (SACRAMENTO) (NBC) Morning 7:30 I BELIEVE—Religion SPECIAL 8:00 THIS IS THE LIFE—Religion COLOR 8:30 CHRISTOPHER PROGRAM COLOR 9:00 INSIGHT—Religion 9:30 FILM FEATURE COLOR “America the Beautiful” 10:30 WORLD SERIES SPECIAL COLOR Los Angeles Dodgers at Baltimore Orioles, Game 4 Afternoon 1:30 TRAVENTURE THEATRE COLOR 2:00 MOVIE—Comedy-Drama “7 Surprises” (1964) 3:30 PRESS CONFERENCE SPECIAL COLOR 5:00 WORLD SERIES RECAP SPECIAL 5:20 MOVIE—Musical COLOR “Damn Yankees” (1958) Evening 7:30 DISNEY’S WORLD COLOR “Savage Sam,” conclusion 8:30 HEY, LANDLORD COLOR 9:00 BONANZA—Western COLOR 10:00 ANDY WILLIAMS—Variety COLOR Guests: Bobby Darin, Nancy Wilson, Anthony Newley, Herb Shriner 11:00 SHOW BIZ—Harry Martin DEBUT COLOR Guests: Andy Williams, Donald O’Connor 11:15 JOHNNY CARSON—Variety COLOR Guests: Jack Benny, Rudy Vallee, Ann Blyth, Tommy Leonetti, Page Cavanaugh
-4- KRON (BAY AREA) (NBC) Morning 6:00 ACROSS THE FENCE 6:30 CARTOON TIME 7:45 DAVEY AND GOLIATH—Religion COLOR 8:00 HERITAGE—Religion 8:30 PROBLEMS PLEASE—Panel 9:00 COLLOQUY 9:30 SPEAK OUT—Panel 10:00 COMMUNITY CIRCLE 10:30 WORLD SERIES SPECIAL COLOR Los Angeles Dodgers at Baltimore Orioles, Game 4 Afternoon 1:30 MOVIE—Drama “We’ve Never Been Licked” (1943) 3:30 CARTOONS 4:00 AGRICULTURE U.S.A. 4:30 MEET THE PRESS COLOR 5:00 LARAMIE Evening 6:00 MOVIE—Western “In Old California” (1942) 7:30 DISNEY’S WORLD COLOR “Savage Sam,” conclusion 8:30 HEY, LANDLORD COLOR 9:00 BONANZA—Western COLOR 10:00 ANDY WILLIAMS—Variety COLOR Guests: Bobby Darin, Nancy Wilson, Anthony Newley, Herb Shriner 11:00 NEWS 11:15 MOVIE—Drama “Woman in a Dressing Gown” (English; 1956) 1:05 NEWS
-5- KPIX (BAY AREA) (CBS) Morning 6:30 THE ANSWER—Religion 7:00 COLLECTOR’S ITEM 7:30 INTERNATIONAL ZONE 8:00 LAMP UNTO MY FEET 8:30 LOOK UP AND LIVE 9:00 CAMERA THREE 9:30 FACE THE NATION 10:00 TO BE ANNOUNCED 10:30 BIG PICTURE—Army 11:00 MOLNAR ON MUSIC 11:30 NEXT QUESTION—Don Brice Afternoon 12:00 WARMUP—Frank Dill 12:15 PRO FOOTBALL—Eagles vs. Cowboys Philadelphia Eagles at Dallas Cowboys 3:15 TOUCHDOWN—Bob Fouts 3:30 WELLS FARGO—Western 4:00 AMATEUR HOUR—Variety 4:30 MOVIE—Drama “Town Without Pity” (American-Swiss-West German; 1961) Evening 6:30 CAMPAIGN 66 SPECIAL “Party Prospects” 7:00 LASSIE—Drama COLOR 7:30 IT’S ABOUT TIME COLOR 8:00 ED SULLIVAN COLOR Guests: Wayne and Shuster, Allen and Rossi, Richard Pryor, Petula Clark, Manuela Vargas, the Berosini Chimps 9:00 GARRY MOORE—Comedy Guests: Dionne Warwick, Chuck McCann, the Bitter End Singers, Mary Louise Wilson 10:00 CAROL & COMPANY SPECIAL COLOR Guests: Rock Hudson, Frank Gorshin, Ken Berry “Candid Camera” and “What’s My Line?” will not be seen tonight 11:00 NEWS 11:20 NEWS—Harry Reasoner 11:35 MERV GRIFFIN—Variety Guests: Michael Caine, Pat O’Brien, Susanna York, Allen and Rossi 1:05 SILENTS PLEASE—Movies “The Road to Yesterday” (1925)
-6- KVIE (SACRAMENTO) (EDUC.) Afternoon 4:00 SCIENCE REVIEW 5:00 SPECULATION—Discussion Evening 6:00 CHALLENGES—Discussion 7:00 FRENCH CHEF—Cooking Asparagus 7:30 CASALS MASTER CLASS 8:00 PLAY OF THE WEEK—Drama “The Old Foolishness” 10:00 NINE ON JAPAN
-7- KGO (BAY AREA) (ABC) Morning ALL NIGHT MOVIE—Continued Sugarfoot 6:30 CHANNEL FOR LEARNING 7:00 VOICE OF AGRICULTURE 7:30 IT IS WRITTEN 8:00 SOCIAL SECURITY IN ACTION 8:15 DAVEY AND GOLIATH—Religion COLOR 8:30 WONDER WOMAN—Children 9:00 BROTHER BUZZ—Animals COLOR 9:30 LINUS—Cartoon 10:00 BEANY AND CECIL COLOR 10:30 PETER POTAMUS COLOR 11:00 BULLWINKLE COLOR 11:30 DISCOVERY ’66 COLOR Afternoon 12:00 EXPLORATION CALIFORNIA 12:30 GOLDEN GATE STORY 1:00 ELECTION 66—Analysis SPECIAL 1:30 ISSUES AND ANSWERS Guest: Thailand Foreign Minister Thanat Khoman 2:00 PAGE ONE—Roger Grimsby 2:30 SURFSIDE 6—Mystery 3:30 CHARITY BALL—Mountain View 4:00 HOW TO WATCH FOOTBALL SPECIAL COLOR “The Fine Art of Football Watching” 5:00 MOVIE—Musical “Meet Me in St. Louis” (1944) Evening 7:00 VOYAGE—Drama COLOR 8:00 FBI—Drama COLOR 9:00 MOVIE—Drama “The Young Lions” (1958) Part 1 11:00 NEWS AND SPORTS 11:15 MOVIE—Comedy COLOR “On the Riviera” (1951)
-7- KRCR (REDDING) (ABC, NBC) Morning 8:30 HERALD OF TRUTH—Religion 9:00 FAITH FOR TODAY COLOR 9:30 LINUS—Cartoon 10:00 BEANY AND CECIL COLOR 10:30 WORLD SERIES SPECIAL COLOR Los Angeles Dodgers at Baltimore Orioles, Game 4 Afternoon 1:30 PRO FOOTBALL—Dolphins vs. Raiders COLOR Time approximate. Miami Dolphins at Oakland Raiders 4:30 FILM FEATURE “Man’s Search for Happiness” 5:00 ABC SCOPE—Vietnam Report 5:30 PRUITTS OF SOUTHHAMPTON Evening 6:00 TALL MAN—Western 6:30 VOYAGE—Drama 7:30 DISNEY’S WORLD COLOR “Savage Sam,” conclusion 8:30 LOVE ON A ROOFTOP—Comedy COLOR 10:00 MOVIE—Drama “The Young Lions” (1958) Part 1 12:00 NEWS AND SPORTS
-8- KSBW (SALINAS) (CBS, NBC) Morning 8:00 LAMP UNTO MY FEET 8:30 LOOK UP AND LIVE 9:00 CAMERA THREE 9:30 FACE THE NATION 10:00 INSIGHT—Religion 10:30 WORLD SERIES SPECIAL COLOR Los Angeles Dodgers at Baltimore Orioles, Game 4 Afternoon 1:30 MOVIE—Drama “Scudda-Hoo! Scudda-Hay!” (1948) 4:00 SERGEANT PRESTON 4:30 AMATEUR HOUR—Variety 5:00 TO TELL THE TRUTH—Game COLOR 5:30 LITTLEST HOBO—Comedy Evening 6:00 CAMPAIGN 66 SPECIAL “Party Prospects” 6:30 SCIENCE REPORTER 7:00 LASSIE—Drama COLOR 7:30 IT’S ABOUT TIME COLOR 8:00 ED SULLIVAN COLOR Guests: Wayne and Shuster, Allen and Rossi, Richard Pryor, Petula Clark, Manuela Vargas, the Berosini Chimps 9:00 BONANZA—Western COLOR 10:00 CAROL & COMPANY SPECIAL COLOR Guests: Rock Hudson, Frank Gorshin, Ken Berry 11:00 NEWS COLOR 11:15 SACRED HEART—Religion
-9- KQED (BAY AREA) (EDUC.) Afternoon 4:00 CANTO DE MEXICO 4:30 SPORT OF THE WEEK Evening 6:30 AMERICAN PERSPECTIVE 7:00 PROFILE: BAY AREA 8:00 N.E.T. PLAYHOUSE—Drama “Ten Blocks on the Camino Real” 9:10 IN MY OPINION Guest: Rep. Howard W. Smith (D., Va.) 9:40 YOUR DOLLAR’S WORTH
-9- KIXE (REDDING) (EDUC.) Afternoon 4:00 SCIENCE REVIEW 5:00 SPECULATION—Discussion Evening 6:00 CHALLENGES—Discussion 7:30 CASALS MASTER CLASS 8:00 PLAY OF THE WEEK—Drama “The Old Foolishness” 9:00 FRENCH CHEF—Cooking Asparagus 10:00 NINE ON JAPAN
10 KXTV (SACRAMENTO) (CBS) Morning 6:30 HERALD OF TRUTH—Religion COLOR 7:00 THE ANSWER—Religion COLOR 7:30 YOUR COMMUNITY GOVERNMENT COLOR 8:00 LAMP UNTO MY FEET 8:30 LOOK UP AND LIVE 9:00 CAMERA THREE 9:30 FACE THE NATION 10:00 CALENDAR—Sacramento 10:30 LLOYD THAXTON COLOR 11:30 TIME OUT FOR SPORTS 11:45 FOOTBALL—Creighton Sanders Afternoon 12:15 PRO FOOTBALL—Eagles vs. Cowboys Philadelphia Eagles at Dallas Cowboys 3:15 ADVENTURES IN PARADISE 4:00 MOVIE—Drama COLOR “Jivaro” (1954) Evening 6:00 CAMPAIGN 66 SPECIAL “Party Prospects” 6:30 DEATH VALLEY DAYS—Drama COLOR 7:00 LASSIE—Drama COLOR 7:30 IT’S ABOUT TIME COLOR 8:00 ED SULLIVAN COLOR Guests: Wayne and Shuster, Allen and Rossi, Richard Pryor, Petula Clark, Manuela Vargas, the Berosini Chimps 9:00 GARRY MOORE—Comedy Guests: Dionne Warwick, Chuck McCann, the Bitter End Singers, Mary Louise Wilson 10:00 CAROL & COMPANY SPECIAL COLOR Guests: Rock Hudson, Frank Gorshin, Ken Berry 11:00 NEWS COLOR 11:15 MOVIE—Musical Drama COLOR “The Jazz Singer” (1953)
11 KNTV (SAN JOSE) (ABC) Morning 7:30 BIBLE ANSWERS—Religion 8:00 SOCIAL SECURITY IN ACTION 8:15 ALABEMOS AL SENOR 8:30 KNTV INFORMA—Ed Grigg 9:00 COMICOS Y CANCIONES 9:30 MAMA—Drama 10:00 PEDRO VARGAS—Variety 10:30 CANTO DE MEXICO—Variety 11:00 CHAMPIONSHIP BOWLING Billy Golembiewski vs. Jerry McCoy Afternoon 12:00 CHINCHILLA RAISING—Talk 12:30 ORAL ROBERTS—Religion 1:00 KENNY FOREMAN—Religion 1:30 MOVIE—Musical “Damn Yankees” (1958) 3:30 GREATEST SHOW—Drama 4:30 MOVIE—Drama “Five Gates to Hell” (1959) Evening 6:20 CHINCHILLA RAISING—Talk 6:30 HEY, LANDLORD—Comedy 7:00 VOYAGE—Drama COLOR 8:00 FBI—Drama COLOR 9:00 MOVIE—Drama “The Young Lions” (1958) Part 1 11:00 NEWS AND SPORTS 11:30 ELECTION 66—News Analysis SPECIAL
12 KHSL (CHICO) (ABC, CBS) Morning 7:45 AMERICANS AT WORK 8:00 ALLEN REVIVAL HOUR 8:30 HERALD OF TRUTH—Religion 9:00 ORAL ROBERTS—Religion 9:30 LEAVE IT TO BEVER—Comedy 10:00 CAMERA THREE—Macandrew 10:30 MR. LUCKY—Adventure 11:00 LAMP UNTO MY FEET—Religion 11:30 LOOK UP AND LIVE—Religion Afternoon 12:00 STINGRAY—Children COLOR 12:30 INDUSTRY ON PARADE 12:45 PRO FOOTBALL—Packers vs. 49ers COLOR Green Bay Packers at San Francisco 49ers 4:00 NAKED CITY—Drama 5:00 TO TELL THE TRUTH—Game COLOR 5:30 AMATEUR HOUR—Variety COLOR Evening 6:00 CAMPAIGN 66 SPECIAL “Party Prospects” 6:30 JEAN ARTHUR—Comedy COLOR 7:00 LASSIE—Drama COLOR 7:30 IT’S ABOUT TIME COLOR 8:00 ED SULLIVAN COLOR Guests: Wayne and Shuster, Allen and Rossi, Richard Pryor, Petula Clark, Manuela Vargas, the Berosini Chimps 9:00 PERRY MASON—Mystery 10:00 CAROL & COMPANY SPECIAL COLOR Guests: Rock Hudson, Frank Gorshin, Ken Berry 11:00 NEWS COLOR 11:15 PETER GUNN—Mystery
13 KOVR (SACRAMENTO) (ABC) Morning 6:40 NEWS 6:45 SACRED HEART—Religion 7:00 FAITH FOR TODAY COLOR 7:30 THIS IS THE LIFE—Religion COLOR 8:00 CAP’N DELTA—Cartoons COLOR 8:30 MISS PAT’S PLAYROOM 9:00 MOVIE—Western COLOR “Dragoon Wells Massacre” (1957) 10:30 PETER POTAMUS COLOR 11:00 BULLWINKLE COLOR 11:30 DISCOVERY ’66 COLOR Afternoon 12:00 ABC SCOPE—Vietnam Report 12:30 EXISTENCE—Agriculture 1:00 ELECTION 66—Analysis SPECIAL 1:30 ISSUES AND ANSWERS Guest: Thailand Foreign Minister Thanat Khoman 2:00 FOCUS ON EDUCATION 2:30 SHANE—Western COLOR 3:30 MOVIE—Musical Comedy “Ride ‘em Cowboy” (1942) 5:00 VOYAGE—Drama COLOR Evening 6:00 MOVIE—Adventure COLOR “The Horse Soldiers” (1959) 8:00 FBI—Drama COLOR 9:00 MOVIE—Drama “The Young Lions” (1958) Part 1 11:00 NEWS AND SPORTS 11:15 TARGET: CORRUPTORS—Drama
19 KLOC (MODESTO) (IND.) Morning 11:30 VOICE OF MEXICO—Variety Afternoon 12:30 ORAL ROBERTS—Religion 1:00 BIG PICTURE—Army 1:30 BIBLE ANSWERS—Modesto 2:00 HERALD OF TRUTH—Religion 2:30 ASSEMBLY OF GOD CHURCH 3:00 GOD’S POINT OF VIEW 3:30 HOUR OF DELIVERANCE 4:00 VOICE OF BETHEL 4:30 DIXIE SINGIN’—Music 5:30 FILM FEATURE Evening 6:00 DICK POWELL—Drama 7:00 RODEO U.S.A.—Jack Phillips 7:30 MOVIE—Comedy “Pat and Mike” (1952)
TV
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October 11, 2025
This week in TV Guide: October 8, 1966
There's another war afoot in Vietnam, one you don't hear about, but as Neil Hickey illustrates in today's feature, one that's just intense. It's the war being fought by network correspondents, caught up in a conflict that's almost impossible to cover, being fought in the middle of nowhere, often dealing with strange and exotic diseases, and involving reporters, many of whom have little to no experience finding themselves in the midst of combat.At this moment, more than 400 reporters are covering the conflict, 82 of whom are employed by the three American broadcast networks. It carries, all agree, "the highest emotional—if not cerebral—impact of any reporting medium." It's a different kind of reporting, as ABC's Saigon bureau chief Jack O'Grady points out, where the search is always on for something new; " The competition between the networks is fierce here in Saigon, and the bureau chiefs are always gambling that the other fellow doesn’t have a story you’ve missed. It’s a game of guts, timing, talent and luck." And it demands a high price from those involved; Jack Fern, until recently NBC's bureau chief, says, "If you don’t want to go into combat, there’s nothing wrong with you; in fact, it’s probably a sign of high intelligence. But if you come to this party, you’ve got to dance; you’ve got to go into the fighting day after day in order to cover this story." It's been known to crack some: "I've had men come to me and say, 'I can’t go out any more. I’m scared,' Fern says. "That’s when I take them off duty and send them home. These guys push themselves. You can see it happening. Maybe some have a need to test themselves. Whatever the reason, the fear and fatigue eventually catch up with them." At the end of the day, he concludes, "I start waiting for the phone to ring to see if everybody is OK—and, secondarily, if they've gotten the battle on film and have managed to ship it."
For all that, the reporters there would rather be out in the field, covering combat, than back in Saigon. "There's more truth out there," says one reporter. "Anyway, I don’t consider myself a political expert, and in Saigon you have to do stories on the murky and mercurial political situation. You’re treading on eggs when you try to describe it. I'll take a nice simple battle any day." And as dangerous as it is out there in the jungle, in one way it's actually safer: ABC reporter Ron Headford says, "You have no protection while filming a civil demonstration. You can get hit from any side." Indeed, one reporter was recently pushed into a police wagon, his camera destryed. And all agree that there's nothing worse than covering the official briefings provided by the military. The information is often old and incomplete, and frequently inaccurate. Additionally, and understandably, the military prioritizes looking good and getting good publicity. "You can't possibly rely on them," says ABC’s Roger Peterson. "I don't feel any animosity to the briefers; they're doing what they're told, and often they'll level with you if you approach them privately."
The work week in Saigon is seven days, twelve hours a day. Nobody is ever quite sure what day it is, Hickey says, and all anyone talks about is the war. "'I've never seen anything like it,' says CBS's Bill Stout. "In World War II the main subject was women. Here it’s the war. You talk about it and hash it over all your waking hours." With all that, one wonders why anyone would want to cover the war. Says one bureau chief, "Let’s be brutally frank: There are no long lines forming in New York of people volunteering to come out here—not correspondents, cameramen, soundmen or potential bureau chiefs." Of necessity, this means enormous opportunities for young, ambitious reporters. "Some great new talent has been discovered here,' says Fern, "and they’re bringing honor to broadcasting." But another fears that this inexperience is hurting television's coverage. "I’m disappointed in the over-all quality of the reporting,” says one of them. “New York has, on occasion, sent misfits, people whose jobs were in jeopardy at home, and who were told to volunteer to come here—or else. They’re untrained, or undertrained. They’re an od d assortment of many nationalities —adventurers from all over the world." Adds another, "I'm appalled that some correspondents are allowed to come here for as little as three months. They have no interest in Asian affairs. They’re here to make a quick name for themselves and get out." It all adds up to a nightmarish situation, not just for the men fighting the war, but for those covering it. The war often appears to be fought for no reason, with the results often inconclusive, in an environment that is, to put it kindly, hellish. In an effort to lessen the impact, which includes "a peculiar form of Asian distemper which afflicts many newsmen who remain in Vietnam overlong," the networks have instituted mandatory R&R programs in which their personnel are sent to Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Bangkok, or Manila. Still, it can be hard to take. One reporter recalls how "A few weeks ago, I suddenly realized I had to get out of here for a while, or go nuts. So I went up to Hong Kong and just: sat around for a few days." He frequently gets, he says, the feeling that it seems to have no end." And the demands made by the competition between the networks, which never lets up.
It's certainly a different picture from that which one gets when watching movies set in World War II, which was bad enough. Politics aside, it often forces one to wonder "what the hell we were doing there." And that's just if you're reporting it; it must have been even worse if you were fighting it. I think that the reporting about Vietnam was frequently one-sided and misleading. (To be fair, so was the information coming from the military.) Nobody can doubt, though, that the men and women covering the story were themselves, in their own way, warriors.
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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..Sullivan: Scheduled guests: comedians Wayne and Shuster, Allen and Rossi, and Richard Pryor; singer Petula Clark; flamenco dancer Manuela Vargas; and the Berosini Chimps. (This appears to be an accurate account of this week's lineup.)
Palace: Adam "Batman" West presents blues singer-composer Ray Charles and the Raelettes; Western singers Roy Rogers and Dale Evans; singer-dancer Joey Heatherton; comic George Carlin, who offers a monologue about the Américan Indian; ventriloquist Fred Roby; Landon’s Midgets, slapstick comedians; and highpole performer Danny Sailor.
Ed Sullivan absolutely loved the Canadian comics Wayne and Shuster, who were frequent guests on the program, as were the comedy team of Marty Allen and Steve Rossi; neither of them became as big as Richard Pryor, though, and Petula Clark is at the peak of her career. Compared to this, we have George Carlin (offsetting Pryor), Roy Rogers and Dale Evans (offsetting either Wayne and Shuster or Allen and Rossi, take your pick); Ray Charles, offsetting Pet Clark; and Joey Heatherton, in all likelihood offsetting her spinal alignment. (If you've ever seen her dance, you know what I mean.). And by the way, there's no truth to the rumor that Landon's Midgets are Lorne Greene and Dan Blocker. These really are two fine lineups, but I'm leaning toward a Hollywood moment with The Palace.
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From 1963 to 1976, TV Guide's weekly reviews were written by the witty and acerbic Cleveland Amory. Whenever they appear, we'll look at Cleve's latest take on the shows of the era. Marlo Thomas is, in today's parlance, a nepo baby. She's the young daughter of the wildly successful comedian Danny Thomas, and as Cleveland Amory notes, her starring role in the new ABC sitcom That Girl is in keeping with the contemporary trend of shows starring various offspring of famous entertainers. (See also: David (Shane) Carradine; Noel (The Girl From U.N.C.L.E.) Harrison, son of Rex; and Patrick (The Rounders) Wayne, son of John. In this case, though, there's one difference between those other shows and That Girl, and the difference is, well, that girl.
Marlo Thomas, says Cleve, is "not just pretty funny—she is very pretty and very funny. She looks like Paulette Goddard, which is a good way to look to begin with, and on top of this she has the most engaging smile you’re likely to find." And she has a "most charming" ability to talk fast-talk herself out of trouble, faster than any double-talk artist you're likely to see anywhere. We got a glimpse of this in the very first episode, in a scene where she's appearing in a perfume commercial, trying to speak while a piece of tape is being placed over her mouth. "She blurts out a story about trying to buy a desk ("It'saterrificrolltopdeskmyfather'salwayswantedonejustlikethatallhiswholelifebutyoureallydon'tcaredoyou?") And, even though the tape stopped her, I tell you every man in that TV audience did care." When you add in boyfriend Don (Ted Bessell) who, seeing her taped up like that, assumes she's in danger and tries to rescue her, it makes for "a very funny scene."
The idea behind the series isn't the most dramatic—a young actress tries to make it big in the Big Apple—but the execution is sharp, the supporting cast is winning, and, best of all, there's Marlo herself. As for whether or not she'll make it after all (to coin a phrase from a future sitcom about a single professional woman), "We think she will. AndwereallydocareAnnMariehonestiywedo."
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Before we get to the programs of the week, we've got a trio of variety specials this week, starting with Carol & Company, one of the comedienne's occasional specials prior to the start of her weekly series (Sunday, 10:00 p.m., CBS); her guests tonight are Rock Hudson, Frank Gorshin, and Ken Berry.
On Wednesday, Pearl Bailey hosts Something Special (10:00 p.m., KXTV), taped in London, with Ethel Waters, the Krofft Puppets, and Pearl's husband-drummer, Louis Bellson.
And speaking of Carol Burnett as we were, her traditional opening-night guest on her weekly series (she called him her "good luck charm") was Jim Nabors. On Wednesday, Nabors hosts his first variety special, Friends and Nabors (9:00 p.m., CBS), with guests Andy Griffith, Tennessee Ernie Ford, Shirley Jones, and operatic soprano Marilyn Horne. William Price Fox Jr.'s cover story about Nabors is one of those tiresome articles that takes the form of a letter from the author to his mother. You know, "Dear Ma," that kind of thing. And it has a "aw, shucks" quality to it, typical of many articles about Nabors, that's also tiresome.
Having said that, Fox concludes his article with a very perceptive point about how clueless Hollywood is when it comes to country-tinted artists (witness previous efforts to change Ernie Ford and Jimmy Dean). "Out here in Hollywood they have a thing called typecasting. You are called a Rock Hudson type or a Steve McQueen type or maybe an Annette Funicello type. But everyone has to be a type or else they don’t fit in, Well I guess they just figured Jim didn’t fit in so they’re going to work on him and make him into a type. Right now they’re fooling around making him Al Jolson and Fred Astaire. Maybe they'll try Art Linkletter or Frankie Avalon next."
There's just one problem with this, Fox continues. "[I]t’s kinda funny and kinda sad the way everything is working out for Jim. 'Cause when Jim is himself he’s about the best thing I’ve seen out here. He’s a born entertainer and I mean don’t a soul even cough when he’s on stage 'cause everyone is watching everything he does. . . When you get right down to it, I guess the new Jim Nabors isn't so new after all. I figure he could be new if they left him alone. But right now they’re trying to make him do everything and they're spreading him thinner than the hamburger we used to get out at Lonnie’s." Hollywood really doesn't get those of us in flyover country, does it.
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There's quite a lot of sports on this weekend, so let's kick things off with the final two games of the World Series, Saturday at 9:30 a.m. and Sunday at 10:30 a.m. on NBC, featuring the American League champion Baltimore Orioles against—well, we're not quite sure who the National League representative will be, since at press time the race for the pennant involved a three-team battle between the defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers, the San Francisco Giants, and the Pittsburgh Pirates. In the end, the Dodgers emerged on top for the third time in the last four seasons. In fact, the games in question are only games three and four, but they amount to the same thing as the Orioles, behind three consecutive shutouts, sweep the Dodgers in four games. The final score in each of this weekend's games is 1-0; not the highest scoring Series, but a decisive win for the Birds.When I used to watch football, I said that the real season doesn't begin until the Series ends, and given that we're almost there, Saturday's college game of the week figures to be an important one, with top-20 teams Tennessee and Georgia Tech facing off from Atlanta (1:00 p.m., ABC); the network's top team of Chris Schenkel, Bud Wilkinson, and Bill Flemming are on hand to call the action. Meanwhile, Sunday's pro action sees the Philadelphia Eagles vs. the Dallas Cowboys (12:15 p.m., CBS regional), the defending champion Green Bay Packers in San Francisco to play the 49ers (12:45 p.m., CBS regional), and the expansion Miami Dolphins taking on the Oakland Raiders following NBC's World Series coverage.
Sunday also sees a trio of variety shows (in addition to Sullvan): Garry Moore welcomes Dionne Warwick, comic Chuck McCann, the Bitter End Singers and actress Mary Louise Wilson (9:00 p.m., CBS), while Andy Williams' guests are Anthony Newley, Bobby Darin, Nancy Wilson, and humorist Herb Shriner. (10:00 p.m., NBC)
Here's an interesting program on Monday: Cineposium, a program about cinema on San Francisco's educational television station KQED, helmed by talk show host Michael Jackson (no, not that one). Tonight, Jackson looks at "The Silent Crisis," a film about deaf children by Ned Bosnick, with his guests, producer-director Roger Corman and actor Victor Buono. I don't know about you, but I didn't have them on my bingo card as guests on this kind of film. I don't know why this surprises me; Buono was a very erudite man, and Corman not only did a lot to help young film directors, he was also responsible for distributing many foreign films in this country. Later on, the great Ray Bolgert makes a rare television appearance on The Jean Arthur Show (10:00 p.m., CBS), playing a most entertaining millionaire businessman.
If you're like me, you probably got a lot of your pop culture education watching television after school, when you had your choice of programs such as Gilligan's Island, talk shows like The Mike Douglas Show, or movies featuring Abbott and Costello and the Three Stooges. I mean, we were literally raised on television like this (the foreign films were usually shown earlier in the afternoon, before we got home), which is what makes Tuesday's matinee movie on KCRA so unusual: it's We'll Bury You (4:00 p.m., a 1961 documentary detailing "the rise of Communism from Karl Marx to the Cold war, including its growth in China, Cuba and North Korea." I wonder if this was done on purpose, as a way of trying to influence the thinking of school-age children in the wake of the anti-Vietnam tumult. Perhaps I'm reading too much into it, but it does make you wonder. And then at 5:25 p.m., California Republican gubernatorial candidate Ronald Reagan appears for a five minute political talk on KSBW. See how it all fits together?
On Wednesday, The Danny Kaye Show (10:00 p.m. CBS) presents a study in casting. You may or may not be aware that one of the regulars on the show, along with Joyce Van Patten, was Harvey Korman.* Among the guests on tonight's show is Tim Conway, Korman's great sparring partner on The Carol Burnett Show. Now, the description of tonight's program doesn't mention Conway and Korman appearing together in any sketches, which is a pity; it would have been great to see Conway breaking Korman up. For something completely different, stay up late enough to see one of the greatest of foreign films, Rashomon (11:30 p.m., KNTV), directed by Akira Kurosawa and starring Toshiro Mifune. Not just influential, but also fascinating. *In fact, it's not a stretch to view The Carol Burnett Show as the successor to Kaye, with Korman simply remaining a part of the cast.
The Hollywood Blacklist is a recurring theme in Darkness in Primetime, and another example of it comes on Thursday night with Carl Foreman's movie The Victors, starring George Hamilton, George Peppard, Eli Wallach, and Vince Edwards. (9:00 p.m., CBS) Foreman, who wrote High Noon, The Bridge on the River Kwai, and Cyrano de Bergerac, was blacklisted in 1950 after his association with the Communist Party more than ten years ago became known. He wrote several movies, including Kwai, under a pseudonym, but had since resumed work under his own name, including a massive hit with The Guns of Navarone, and he both wrote and directed The Victors. Want something a little lighter? Try tonight's Star Trek episode, "Mudd's Women," with Roger C. Carmel and a bevy of beauties.
Friday night it's the television premiere of the hit musical Bye Bye Birdie (9:00 p.m., CBS) starring Dick Van Dyke, Janet Leigh, Ann-Margret, and Paul Lynde. (Not surprising that it's on CBS, giving the musical's generous ode to Ed Sullivan .) In case you've ever wondered why I make a point of these movie TV-premieres, it's because they are a big deal; in For the Record, Henry Harding points out that ABC and CBS have shelled out, between them, more than $92 million for feature-length movies. ABC recently paid $5 million for two airings of Cleopatra, which won't even air until 1971, and paid a total of $39.5 million for The Longest Day, Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines, Shane, and The Robe. Meanwhile, CBS paid $52.8 million to MGM for the rights to 63 of their properties, including Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, The Night of the Iguana, The Yellow Rolls-Royce, and North by Northwest. Those were the days.
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Also in Harding's column, we have an update on the soon-to-be ill-fated Overmyer Network, the brainchild of businessman Daniel Overmyer and former ABC president Oliver Treyz. It's scheduled to go on the air in April, and the boast is that the presumptive fourth network already has 75 affiliates signed up. "Programming would include a daily two-hour news service, Continental League football games [an East-Coast based minor football league] and a Johnny Carson-style talk show emanating from Las Vegas." Among those approached to host the Las Vegas Show are Alan King, Bob Newhart and Bob Crane; all three have denied any link to the show. In the event, the Overmyer Network, renamed the United Network prior to its kickoff, did indeed go on the air, albeit one month later than scheduled, on May 1, 1967. That Las Vegas Show I mentioned, which wound up being hosted by comedian Bill Dana, turned out to be the only program to air on the network, which folded one month after hitting the airwaves. Best-laid plans, right?And with Christmas just around the corner, a couple of seasonal notes: for the first time in 15 years, the Christmas opera Amahl and the Night Visitors will not be shown. Gian-Carlo Menotti, the composer of Amahl, was never happy with the 1963 version of the the opera, which NBC recorded without his participation, and now that the rights to Amahl have reverted to him and his publishers, he has chosen to exercise his authority to stop the network from airing the opera. "I would rather see no production at all of Amahl than a bad one," Menotti tells reporters. As it turns out, Menotti relents in November, and Amahl does air as originally scheduled on December 25, 1966; that, however, will be it until a new production, directed by Menotti himself, premieres on NBC in 1978. You can read more about Amahl in my article , which as far as I know is one of the only in-depth looks at the production of this famous TV special.
There is, however, a new Christmas tradition on the horizon, as Harding notes: "CBS paid the record-breaking sum of $315,000 for the Dr. Seuss cartoon, "How the Grinch Stole Christmas," to be seen in mid-December.
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Since I spent some time trashing Hollywood a few paragraphs ago, I can't let things go without a mention of one of the true pioneers of Hollywood, Ida Lupino. Dwight Whitney is on the set with Ida, where she's directing "Deadeye Dick," an upcoming episode of The Virginian. And therein lies one of the great stories, for Ida Lupino is, according to Whitney, "the first and maybe the last of the lady TV directors."
She first came to Hollywood in 1934, as "one of Hollywood's best young dramatic actresses," making her name in film noir alongside such co-stars as George Raft, Ronald Coleman, and Humphrey Bogart. There was no nonsense back in those days. "I mean you got your backside in there, baby, and you did it." Soon, she became "mistress of the neurotic portrayal" and a favorite of "tough guy" directors, playing "the tough, vicious cockney housekeeper who slashes Ronald Colman’s canvas in The Light That Failed, [and] the murderess who goes insane on the witness stand in They Drive by Night."Eventually, though, the roles began to come less frequently, and Lupino and her then-husband, Collier Young, turned to producing, making a series of hard-boiled crime movies with director Elmer Clifton. During the filming of the first movie, Not Wanted, Clifton fell ill and Lupino took over. She was especially good with young, inexperienced actors, earning herself a reputation for being a wet nurse for up-and-coming talent. She also had a reputation for being hard-boiled, which led Richard Boone to hire her for an episode of Have Gun—Will Travel that included "a rape, eight murders and a sandstorm."
Before she knew it, she was considered an "action director," and she's since logged more than 100 television shows (becoming, in the process, the only person to both act in and direct episodes of The Twilight Zone). She knows what she's in for when a producer calls her to do a "tender little love story "He means he’s got a runaway horse, two shoot-outs and a cattle stampede he wants me to handle. So I take the job, what else? My old boy and I have gotta eat, don’t we?" Crew members like her, says Whitney; one told him that "She directs like a man." Actors like her as well: "being an actress herself, they think she understands their problems." And she's managed it all while still retaining her femininity. "I don’t believe in wearing the pants," she says. "You don’t tell a man, actors, crews. You suggest to them. Let’s try something crazy here. That is, if it’s comfortable for you, love. And they wind up making old Mother look good."
She's unfazed by it all. "'I'd rather write a song (she has written 28 of them) or a short story," she tells Whitney. But, with a wave toward her swimming pool, she continues to direct. "Who would pay for this?" And while she admits that she likes to act, she adds that "there are 48 years that I'll admit to. And I came here when I was 16. Roles that make sense for my age are. . . scarce." She adds, however, that "I’m glad I wasn’t born a raving beauty. The worst thing is to be a glamorpot and have to face the day when you’re no longer that." I think she's selling herself a little short there.
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MST3K alert: The Deadly Mantis (1957). A paleontologist suspects that a gigantic prehistoric mantis has returned to life. Craig Stevens. Alix Talton. William Hopper. (Wednesday, 6:00 p.m., KGO in San Francisco) So this week we have a pre-Peter Gunn Craig Stevens and a pre-Paul Drake William Hopper. You'd think that a couple of superstar private detectives like these two would have more luck finding a better movie, wouldn't you? But, hey, everyone has to start somewhere. Don't miss the interstitial feature, in which our hero Mike inadvertently helps set off a thermonuclear device. It's all in good fun, right? TV
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October 10, 2025
Around the dial
It's been awhile, but at Cult TV Blog, John returns to the world of The Prisoner with his continuing series in which he looks at various interpretations of the series. This week, it's a very interesting look at
The Prisoner as an allegory of the Soviet Union
.Captain Video continues his own series, in which we look at various comic adaptations of the pilot for Space: 1999 . Compare and contrast with last week's edition, which did a much more complete job with the same episode.
Speaking of comic book adaptations, at bare•bones e-zine, Jack and Peter continue their survey of DC's 1960s Batman comics . You can certainly see the resemblance between the TV series and the comics from the late 60s, and don't worry: Batgirl is there too!
At A Shroud of Thoughts, Terence pays tribute to Dame Patricia Routledge , who died last week at 96; best-known for the British classic Keeping Up Appearances, she had a long and varied career in both television and movies, including To Sir, With Love and If It's Tuesday, It Must Be Belgium.
At Classic Film & TV Corner, Maddie revisits one of Kurosawa's great films, Stray Dogs , starring the incomparable Toshiro Minfue and Takashi Shimura; I mention this as a happy reminder of when we subscribed to the Criterion Channel, and got to discover the gems in Japanese noir.
The View from the Junkyard takes on politics in The A-Team episode " The White Ballot ," and as Roger points out, the episode gives us some insight into political corruption; I particularly like the idea of returning to the days of tar and feathers, myself.
At The Lucky Strike Papers, Andrew has some thoughts on recent interviews with Rob Reiner, as it relates to early television . In particular, he talked about how his family bought their first set so they could see father Carl on Saturday night's Your Show of Shows. What a radical change TV was.
Finally at Television Obscurities, Robert has a brief clip from CBS from an undetermined date, at a time when they were promoting themselves as "America’s No. 1 Network for 17 Years In A Row." I wonder where today's top shows, whatever they are, would fit in those rankings; probably right at the top. TV
If you enjoy the content here and want to support my broader creative work, please consider making a donation at my Ko-fi page. Any amount you contribute helps me continue writing, researching, and sharing these articles and projects. Thank you!
October 8, 2025
Bias in the news media
I hope you have time to watch this at some point, because it touches on things that have been in the headlines quite a bit the last few years, but especially with controversies that run the gambit from late-night "talk" show hosts to the
recent upheaval at CBS News
. What we have here is William F. Buckley Jr.'s Firing Line from 1971: the title is "The News Twisters," the topic is media bias in the presentation of the news, and the guests are TV Guide's Edith Efron and CBS's Andrew Rooney. You probably recognize Efron from her many appearances in my "This Week in TV Guide" features, and Rooney was—and remains, even years after his death—one of television's ost quotable figures. The positions offered are fairly predictable. as one commentator offers, "the more things change, the more they stay the same," but it's no less interesting for all that. No matter how you feel about the issue, you should find this discussion enjoyable; it's one thing to read about this in context, but it's always fun to see it play out in real time, as it were, especially with two of the people we read (and read about) so much.
TV
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October 6, 2025
What's on TV: Tuesday, October 8, 1974
Elsewhere in today's listings, we're warned that regular programming oculd be preempted due to the American and National League Championship Series (yes, boys and girls, the ALCS and NLCS used to be held early in October, once upon a time). Fortunately, if you're looking forward to seeing Yvette Mimeaux playing a hit woman, both of today's games, should they be needed, are scheduled for the afternoon, with the American League game at 2:00 p.m., and the National League game at 3:30 p.m.; if both games are played today, the National League game will be joined in progress. (You wouldn't see that today, either.) That's precisely what happened, so you can go ahead and wipe out most of NBC's afternoon lineup in favor of the Oakland Athletics and Baltimore Orioles, followed by the Pittsburgh Pirates and Los Angeles Dodgers. It's all part of the road to the World Series, which starts next week. Yes, the Series used to be finished before Halloween, too. Ah, how times have changed, as you can see in this Eastern New England edition! -2- WGBH (BOSTON) (PBS) AFTERNOON 3:00 INTRODUCTORY PSYCHOLOGY 3:30 MAGGIE AND THE BEAUTIFUL MACHINE—Exercise 4:00 SESAME STREET 5:00 MISTER ROGERS’ NEIGHBORHOOD—Children 5:30 ELECTRIC COMPANY EVENING 6:00 ZOOM—Children 6:30 VILLA ALEGRE—Children 7:00 ELLIOT NORTON REVIEWS 7:30 EVENING COMPASS 8:00 AMERICA—Documentary 9:30 JOURNEY TO JAPAN—Travel 10:00 COMPASS WEEKLY
-3- WFSB (HARTFORD) (CBS) MORNING 6:00 LEER SIN LETRAS—Spanish 6:30 CALLENGE 7:00 CBS NEWS—Hughes Rudd 8:00 CAPTAIN KANGAROO 9:00 NEW ENGLAND JOURNAL Guest: Nancy Friday 10:00 JOKER’S WILD—Game 10:30 GAMBIT—Game 11:00 NOW YOU SEE IT—Game 11:30 LOVE OF LIFE—Serial 11:55 CBS NEWS—Douglas Edwards AFTERNOON 12:00 NEWS 12:25 EYE ON WOMEN 12:30 SEARCH FOR TOMORROW—Serial 1:00 MATCH GAME Orson Bean, Betty White, Penny Marshall, Richard Dawson, Brett Somers 1:30 AS THE WORLD TURNS—Serial 2:00 GUIDING LIGHT—Serial 2:30 EDGE OF NIGHT—Serial 3:00 PRICE IS RIGHT—Game 3:30 RANGER STATION 4:00 MIKE DOUGLAS Guests: Victor Borge, Marty Allen, Roger Caras 5:00 RAYMOND BURR—Crime Drama EVENING 6:00 NEWS 7:00 CBS NEWS—Walter Cronkite 7:30 SALE OF THE CENTURY 8:00 GOOD TIMES—Comedy 8:30 M*A*S*H 9:00 HAWAII FIVE-O 10:00 BARNABY JONES 11:00 NEWS 11:30 MOVIE—Musical “High Society” (1956) 1:30 NEWS
-4- WBZ (BOTSON) (NBC) MORNING 6:15 SIGN ON SEMINAR 6:45 DAILY ALMANAC 7:00 TODAY—Jim Hartz/Barbara Walters Guests: Amos Elon and Sana Hassan, Pat Cook 9:00 SONYA HAMLIN Co-host: Milton Berle. Guest: Mel Simons 10:00 NAME THAT TUNE 10:30 WINNING STREAK—Game 11:00 HIGH ROLLERS—Game 11:30 HOLLYWOOD SQUARES Guests: Shirley Jones, Roddy McDowall, Kate Jackson, Charo, Doc Severinsen, Paul Lynde. Host: Peter Marshall AFTERNOON 12:00 NEWS 12:30 CELEBRITH SWEEPSTAKES—Game Leslie Nielsen, Joey Forman, Don Adams, Susan Dey, Carol Wayne, Joey Bishop. Host: Jim McKrell 12:55 NBC NEWS—Edwin Newman 1:00 SOMERSET—Serial 1:30 JEOPARDY!—Game 2:00 DAYS OF OUR LIVES—Serial 2:30 DOCTORS—Serial 3:00 ANOTHER WORLD—Serial 3:30 HOW TO SURVIVE A MARRIAGE—Serial 4:00 MIKE DOUGLAS Guests: Victor Borge, Marty Allen, Roger Caras, Marilyn Mulvey 5:30 FAMILY AFFAIR—Comedy EVENING 6:00 NEWS 7:00 NBC NEWS—John Chancellor 7:30 PRICE IS RIGHT 8:00 ADAM-12 8:30 MOVIE—Drama “Long Ago, Tomorrow” (English; 1971) 10:00 POLICE STORY 11:00 NEWS 11:30 JOHNNY CARSON Guest host: Don Rickles. Guests: Carroll O’Connor, Norm Crosby 1:00 TOMORROW—Discussion Guest: Ruth Montgomery
-5- WCVB (BOSTON) (ABC) MORNING 6:00 NEWS 6:25 NEWS FOR THE DEAF 6:30 NEWS 6:50 NEWS FOR THE DEAF 7:00 JABBERWOCKY—Chldren 7:30 LEAVE IT TO BEAVER BW 8:00 FATHER KNOWS BEST BW 8:30 ROMPER ROOM 9:00 GOOD MORNING Guest: William Loeb 10:30 PASSWORD Patty Duke Astin and John Astin vs. Edward and Nancy Asner. Host: Allen Ludden 11:00 $10,000 PYRAMID—Game Soupy Sales, Anita Gillette. Host: Dick Clark 11:30 BRADY BUNCH AFTERNOON 12:00 NEWS 12:30 SPLIT SECOND—Game 1:00 ALL MY CHILDREN—Serial 1:30 LET’S MAKE A DEAL 2:00 NEWLYWED GAME 2:30 GIRL IN MY LIFE 3:00 GENERAL HOSPITAL—Serial 3:30 ONE LIFE TO LIVE—Serial 4:00 BONANZA—Western 5:00 FBI—Crime Drama EVENING 6:00 NEWS 6:30 ABC NEWS—Howard K. Smith/Harry Reasoner 7:00 TO TELL THE TRUTH Peggy Cass, Bill Cullen, Kitty Carlisle, Joe Garagiola. Host: Garry Moore 7:30 LET’S MAKE A DEAL 8:00 HAPPY DAYS—Comedy 8:30 MOVIE—Crime Drama “Hit Lady” (Made-for-TV; 1974) 10:00 BURT BACHARACH AND ASSOCIATES Guests: Sammy Davis Jr., Anthony Newley, Vicki Carr 11:00 NEWS 11:30 MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE 12:30 WIDE WORLD MYSTERY “Lady Killer” 2:00 NEWS 2:10 NEWS—Mystery BW “The Shanghai Chest” (1948) 3:30 HOUSE CALL 4:00 CANDLEPIN SUPER BOWL 4:30 GOOD MORNING!
-6- WTEV (NEW BEDFORD) (ABC) MORNING 6:00 FLYING NUN—Comedy 6:30 JACK LaLANNE 6:45 NEWS 7:00 BULLWINKLE 7:30 LEAVE IT TO BEAVER BW 8:00 NEW ZOO REVUE 8:25 NEWS 8:30 COMMUNITY 9:00 ROMPER ROOM 9:30 GOMER PYLE, USMC 10:00 DICK VAN DYKE—Comedy BW 10:30 ANDY GRIFFITH—Comedy BW 11:00 $10,000 PYRAMID—Game Soupy Sales, Anita Gillette. Host: Dick Clark 11:30 BRADY BUNCH AFTERNOON 12:00 PASSWORD Bill Bixby and Paul Williams vs. Joyce Bulifant and Loretta Swit; Charles Nelson Reilly and Richard Long vs. Joyce and Loretta 12:30 NEWS 1:00 ALL MY CHILDREN—Serial 1:30 LET’S MAKE A DEAL 2:00 NEWLYWED GAME 2:30 GIRL IN MY LIFE 3:00 GENERAL HOSPITAL—Serial 3:30 ONE LIFE TO LIVE—Serial 4:00 FLINTSTONES 4:30 HOGAN’S HEROES—Comedy 5:00 RAYMOND BURR—Crime Drama EVENING 6:00 NEWS 6:30 ABC NEWS—Howard K. Smith/Harry Reasoner 7:00 DUCKPINS AND DOLLARS 7:30 HOLLYWOOD SQUARES Edward Asner, Charo, Demond Wilson, Sandy Duncan, Ed McMahon, Rich Little Rose Marie, Charle Weaver, Paul Lynde. Host: Peter Marshall 8:00 HAPPY DAYS—Comedy 8:30 MOVIE—Crime Drama “Hit Lady” (Made-for-TV; 1974) 10:00 MARCUS WELBY, M.D. 11:00 NEWS 11:30 WIDE WORLD MYSTERY “Lady Killer” 1:00 NEWS
-7- WNAC (BOSTON) (CBS) MORNING 6:10 GREATER BOSTONANS 6:15 FARM AND MARKET REPORT 6:20 SUNRISE SEMESTER The Meaning of Death: Plato’s philsophy of death 6:50 LAS NOTICIAS DE HOY—Spanish 7:00 CBS NEWS—Hughes Rudd 8:00 CAPTAIN KANGAROO 9:00 PAUL BENZAQUIN 10:00 JOKER’S WILD—Game 10:30 GAMBIT—Game 11:00 TATTLETALES—Game 11:30 LOVE OF LIFE—Serial 11:55 CBS NEWS—Douglas Edwards AFTERNOON 12:00 NEWS 12:30 SEARCH FOR TOMORROW—Serial 1:00 TRUTH OR CONSEQUENCES 1:30 AS THE WORLD TURNS—Serial 2:00 GUIDING LIGHT—Serial 2:30 EDGE OF NIGHT—Serial 3:00 PRICE IS RIGHT—Game 3:30 MATCH GAME Ann Elder, Patti Deutsch, Richard Dawson, Brett Somers, Charles Nelson Reilly. Host: Gene Rayburn 4:00 MERV GRIFFIN 5:30 CANDLEPIN BOWLING EVENING 6:00 NEWS 6:30 CBS NEWS—Walter Cronkite 7:00 WHAT’S MY LINE? Arlene Francis, Joe Silver, Meredith MacRae, Soupy Sales. Host: Larry Blyden 7:30 HELP THY NEIGHBOR 8:00 GOOD TIMES—Comedy 8:30 M*A*S*H 9:00 HAWAII FIVE-O 10:00 BARNABY JONES 11:00 NEWS 11:30 MOVIE—Crime Drama “Cannon” (Made-for-TV; 1971) 1:30 NEWS 1:45 GREATER BOSTONIANS
-8- WTNH (NEW HAVEN) (ABC) MORNING 6:15 DAVEY AND GOLIATH 6:30 EIGHTH DAY 7:00 NEW ZOO REVUE 7:30 LOST IN SPACE—Adventure 8:30 I DREAM OF JEANNIE—Comedy 9:00 PHIL DONAHUE Guest: John Davidson 10:00 DIALING FOR DOLLARS 11:00 PASSWORD Bert and Anne Convy vs. Edwards an dNancy Asner. Host: Allen Ludden 11:30 BRADY BUNCH AFTERNOON 12:00 NEWS 12:30 FARMER’S DAUGHTER BW 1:00 ALL MY CHILDREN—Serial 1:30 LET’S MAKE A DEAL 2:00 NEWLYWED GAME 2:30 GIRL IN MY LIFE 3:00 GENERAL HOSPITAL—Serial 3:30 ONE LIFE TO LIVE—Serial 4:00 $10,000 PYRAMID—Game Anson Williams, Lee Meriwether 4:30 MERV GRIFFIN Guests: Karen Valentine, Ron Howard, Timothy Bottoms, Pat Wayne 5:30 ROBIN HOOD—Adventure BW EVENING 6:00 NEWS 6:30 ABC NEWS—Howard K. Smith/Harry Reasoner 7:00 TRUTH OR CONSEQUENCES 7:30 LET’S MAKE A DEAL 8:00 HAPPY DAYS—Comedy 8:30 MOVIE—Crime Drama “Hit Lady” (Made-for-TV; 1974) 10:00 MARCUS WELBY, M.D. 11:00 NEWS 11:30 WIDE WORLD MYSTERY “Lady Killer”
-9- WMUR (MANCHESTER) (ABC) MORNING 10:00 MOVIE—Thriller BW “The Devil’s Messinger” (Swedish; 1961) 11:30 BRADY BUNCH AFTERNOON 12:30 SPLIT SECOND—Game 1:00 ALL MY CHILDREN—Serial 1:30 LET’S MAKE A DEAL 2:00 NEWLYWED GAME 2:30 GIRL IN MY LIFE 3:00 GENERAL HOSPITAL—Serial 3:30 ONE LIFE TO LIVE—Serial 4:30 UNCLE GUS EVENING 6:00 NEWS 6:30 ABC NEWS—Howard K. Smith/Harry Reasoner 7:00 TO BE ANNOUNCEDD 7:30 THAT GOOD OLE NASHVILLE MUSIC Jeannie C. Riley, Bobby Bare, Billy Craddock 8:00 HAPPY DAYS—Comedy 8:30 MOVIE—Crime Drama “Hit Lady” (Made-for-TV; 1974) 10:00 MARCUS WELBY, M.D. 11:00 NEWS 11:30 WIDE WORLD MYSTERY “Lady Killer”
10 WJAR (PROVIDENCE) (NBC) MORNING 6:30 TV CLASSROOM—Literature BW 6:55 NEWS “Rappaccini’s Daughter” 7:00 TODAY—Jim Hartz/Barbara Walters Guests: Amos Elon and Sana Hassan, Pat Cook 9:00 GOOD MORNING Guest: William Loeb 10:30 WINNING STREAK—Game 11:00 HIGH ROLLERS—Game 11:30 HOLLYWOOD SQUARES Guests: Shirley Jones, Roddy McDowall, Kate Jackson, Charo, Doc Severinsen, Paul Lynde. Host: Peter Marshall AFTERNOON 12:00 NEWS 12:30 CELEBRITH SWEEPSTAKES—Game Leslie Nielsen, Joey Forman, Don Adams, Susan Dey, Carol Wayne, Joey Bishop. Host: Jim McKrell 12:55 NBC NEWS—Edwin Newman 1:00 JACKPOT!—Game 1:30 JEOPARDY!—Game 2:00 DAYS OF OUR LIVES—Serial 2:30 DOCTORS—Serial 3:00 ANOTHER WORLD—Serial 3:30 HOW TO SURVIVE A MARRIAGE—Serial 4:00 SOMERSET—Serial 4:30 BEWITCHED—Comedy BW 5:00 MOD SQUAD—Crime Drama EVENING 6:00 NEWS 6:30 NBC NEWS—John Chancellor 7:00 CONCENTRATION 7:30 LET’S MAKE A DEAL 8:00 ADAM-12 8:30 MOVIE—Science Fiction “Where Have All the People Gone?” (Made-for-TV; 1974) 10:00 POLICE STORY 11:00 NEWS 11:30 JOHNNY CARSON Guest host: Don Rickles. Guests: Carroll O’Connor, Norm Crosby 1:00 TOMORROW—Discussion Guest: Ruth Montgomery
12 WPRI (PROVIDENCE) (ABC) MORNING 6:30 SUNRISE SEMESTER The Meaning of Death: Plato’s philsophy of death 7:00 CBS NEWS—Hughes Rudd 8:00 CAPTAIN KANGAROO 9:00 12 CALLING 10:00 JOKER’S WILD—Game 10:30 GAMBIT—Game 11:00 NOW YOU SEE IT—Game 11:30 LOVE OF LIFE—Serial 11:55 CBS NEWS—Douglas Edwards AFTERNOON 12:00 NEWS 12:30 SEARCH FOR TOMORROW—Serial 1:00 WHAT’S MY LINE? Soupy Sales, Anita Gillette, Gene Shalit, Arlene Francis. Host: Larry Blyden 1:30 AS THE WORLD TURNS—Serial 2:00 GUIDING LIGHT—Serial 2:30 EDGE OF NIGHT—Serial 3:00 PRICE IS RIGHT—Game 3:30 MATCH GAME Ann Elder, Patti Deutsch, Richard Dawson, Brett Somers, Charles Nelson Reilly. Host: Gene Rayburn 4:00 PARTRIDGE FAMILY—Comedy 4:30 MERV GRIFFIN Guests: Karen Valentine, Ron Howard, Timothy Bottoms, Pat Wayne EVENING 6:00 NEWS 6:30 CBS NEWS—Walter Cronkite 7:00 JEOPARDY!—Game 7:30 TO TELL THE TRUTH Peggy Cass, Bill Cullen, Kitty Carlisle, Gene Rayburn. Host: Garry Moore 8:00 GOOD TIMES—Comedy 8:30 M*A*S*H 9:00 HAWAII FIVE-O 10:00 BARNABY JONES 11:00 NEWS 11:30 MOVIE—Crime Drama “Cannon” (Made-for-TV; 1971)
27 WSMW (WORCESTER) (Ind.) MORNING 11:00 BILKO—Comedy BW 11:30 JACK BENNY BW AFTERNOON 12:00 CHURCH SERVICE—Catholic 12:30 MOVIE—Adventure “The Pride and the Passion” (1957) 2:30 FELIX THE CAT 3:00 POPEYE—Cartoon 3:30 TIMMY AND LASSIE—Drama BW 4:00 MOVIE—Comedy BW “Bowery to Bagdad” (1954) 5:30 GOMER PYLE, USMC EVENING 6:00 PETTICOAT JUNCTION—Comedy 6:30 MOVIE—Crime Drama BW “The Purple Gang” (1960) 8:30 JOURNEY TO ADVENTURE 9:00 JACK BENNY 9:30 BILKO—Comedy BW 10:00 NEWS 10:30 MUSIC FOR ALL AMERICA 11:00 NEWS 11:30 CHARLIE CHAPLIN—Comedy “The Floorwalker” (1916)
36 WSBE (PROVIDENCE) (PBS) MORNING 10:00 SESAME STREET AFTERNOON 1:30 ELECTRIC COMPANY 4:00 SESAME STREET 5:00 MISTER ROGERS’ NEIGHBORHOOD—Children 5:30 VILLA ALEGRE—Children EVENING 6:00 ELECTRIC COMPANY 6:30 TIME OF OUR LIVES 7:00 UNDERSTANDING ME 8:00 AMERICA—Documentary 9:30 WOMAN—Discussion 10:00 ACCION CHICANO—Variety 10:30 BURGLAR-PROOFING—Report 11:00 ABC NEWS—Howard K. Smith/Harry Reasoner Captioned for the deaf
38 WSBK (BOSTON) (Ind.) MORNING 10:50 NEWS 11:00 TOM LARSON AFTERNOON 12:00 OF LANDS AND SEAS—Travel 1:00 JACK LaLANNE 1:30 FLYING NUN—Comedy 2:00 PORKY PIG AND FRIENDS 2:30 BUGS BUNNY AND FRIENDS 3:00 BULLWINKLE 3:30 SUPERMAN—Adventure BW 4:00 THREE STOOGES BW 5:00 F TROOP—Comedy BW 5:30 I DREAM OF JEANNIE—Comedy EVENING 6:00 DICK VAN DYKE—Comedy BW 6:30 BEWITCHED—Comedy BW 7:00 HOGAN’S HEROES—Comedy 7:30 ANDY GRIFFITH—Comedy BW 8:00 BEVERLY HILLBILLIES 8:30 GREEN ACRES—Comedy 9:00 HOGAN’S HEROES—Comedy 9:30 DICK VAN DYKE—Comedy BW 10:00 MOVIE—Musical BW “Pennies from Heaven” (1936) 11:30 LAUGH CLASSICS BW
44 WGBX (BOSTON) (PBS) AFTERNOON 4:00 SESAME STREET 5:00 HODGEPODGE LODGE 5:30 ELECTRIC COMPANY EVENING 6:00 SESAME STREET 7:00 U.S. HISTORY 7:30 ZEE COOKING SCHOOL—Children 8:00 FIRING LINE—William F. Buckley Jr. 9:00 CATCH 44 9:30 ANTIQUES 10:00 MARTIN AGRONSKY: EVENING EDITION 10:30 ELLIOT NORTON REVIEWS 11:00 ABC NEWS—Howard K. Smith/Harry Reasoner Captioned for the deaf
53 WEDN (NORWICH) (PBS) MORNING 10:00 SESAME STREET 11:00 ELECTRIC COMPANY AFTERNOON 3:30 MODERN SUPERVISORY TECHNIQUES 4:00 SESAME STREET 5:00 MISTER ROGERS’ NEIGHBORHOOD—Children 5:30 VILLA ALEGRE—Children EVENING 6:00 ELECTRIC COMPANY 6:30 BLACK EXPERIENCE 7:00 BLACK EXPERIENCE 7:30 ELECTIONS ‘74 8:00 AMERICA—Documentary 9:30 WITNESS TO YESTERDAY 10:00 ELECTIONS ‘74
56 WLVI (BOSTON) (Ind.) MORNING 10:30 NOT FOR WOMEN ONLY 11:00 NEW ENGLAND NEWSCENE 11:30 NEW ZOO REVUE AFTERNOON 12:00 BANANA SPLITS 12:30 MOVIE—Comedy BW “Dear Heart” (1964) 2:30 TENNESSEE TUXEDO 3:00 UNDERDOG 3:30 BANANA SPLITS 4:00 LITTLE RASCALS BW 4:30 BATMAN—Adventure Guest villain: John Astin (The Riddler) 5:00 FLINTSTONES 5:30 GILLIGAN’S ISLAND EVENING 6:00 STAR TREK—Adventure 7:00 UNTOUCHABLES BW 8:00 DEALER’S CHOICE—Game 8:30 MOVIE—Comedy “Help” (English; 1965) 10:00 MOVIE—Drama BW “Pride of the Marines” (1945)
TV
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October 4, 2025
This week in TV Guide: October 5, 1974
This may come as something of a shock to those of you who think history started just last week, but before there was fake news, there was fake news. As Edwin Kiester Jr. discovered, "a significant—and perhaps growing—number of sponsored "news items" are appearing on your favorite newscast, probably without your being fully aware of it." And, as is almost always the case, the surest way to find them is to follow the money trail.For example, there was a recent report on "how cereal manufacturers are increasing the amount of nutrients in their products," which included a clip of a production line showing vitamins added to the cereal mixture. This report was seen by an estimated 11 million people on 100 stations nationwide. And, oh-by-the-way, it was sponsored by the Cereal Institute, the trade group of cereal manufacturers. And then there was the feature on the Plymouth National Trouble-shooting Contest, held in Texas Stadium in Irving, Texas. The competition "pits teams of high school auto mechanics against one another to see which can find and fix an auto-repair problem most quickly." Millions of viewers saw this film which was sponsored by Chrysler, manufacturer of Plymouth cars. And so on.
These one-minute segments, which spring up in big- and small-market stations alike, from independents to network O&O stations, "capitalize on the objective news around them to plug, plead or simply image-build for the clients who pay for them." In some cases, a station will run a caption on the film identifying the source or identifying the source verbally; other times, a station will run the footage with no attribution whatsoever. The Federal Communications Commission, much in the news lately, has a rule against such things (which is why you see those "valuable consideration" messages at the end of game shows), but it's never been applied specifically to newscasts, except in the cases of information provided by politicians or other groups "promoting controversial causes."
Kiester points out that there's nothing inherently wrong with wanting to improve one's public image; as well, many of the items discussed in these "commercials" are legitimately of interest to the public. It's also often the case that local stations face obstacles to acquiring such footage themselves; in the case of a recent natural gas fire in California, only specially equipped film crews from PG&E were able to get close enough to film it. And need we mention that it offers a terrific return on investment? "For as little as $3500, a businessman can get his message in the hands of 200 of the Nation's 934 TV stations and, according to most industry estimates, can expect 50-60 per cent of them to use it." Most of these clips are more interested in building a positive image, rather than getting involved in a controversial issue or plugging a particular product.
Kiester stresses that it's not easy getting such planted items into newcasts; news directors are wary of items they can't verify (imagine that!), and many stay away from them altogether. However, it's also true that directors often get bombarded with these kinds of clips, and there's often too little time to vet each one. As Dean Reeter, news director of KRCR in Redding, California, says, "I don't philosophically say no to unsolicited material. I'd be foolish not to look at another source of material." There's no agreement on whether or not use of such clips is increasing or decreasing, although as news budgets shrink, anything that "diminishes the necessity of putting on more personnel is a help." Most directors say the real rule of thumb they use is "whether they'd have filmed the event for themselves had they been able to send their own crew."If all this sounds a little familiar, as if you'd been aware of it even without reading this article, it's probably because it's still going on. Back a few years ago , Sinclair Broadcast Group was fined $13.3 million by the FCC "for running over 1,700 commercials designed to look like news broadcasts over a six-month period without properly identifying them as paid content." In addition, Sinclair has been known for producing scripted news segments that are then labeled "must-run" on news broadcasts at the stations owned by the broadcast giant. Unlike some of the plants discussed above, many, if not most, of these scripted stories do contain a hard political message, one that leans to the right. (There was a wonderful compilation video showing dozens of news anchors, all reading verbatim the same story.) And then, who among us hasn't seen an infomercial or two that's been tricked up to look like a news story. (Considering the falling trustworthiness of television news, though, that may not be such an asset anymore.)
You can make of this what you will. Money talks, and nowadays it seems as if everything and everyone is up for sale, so I'll go back to the follow-the-money mantra. And, as we always say around here, plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose.
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From 1963 to 1976, TV Guide's weekly reviews were written by the witty and acerbic Cleveland Amory. Whenever they appear, we'll look at Cleve's latest take on the shows of the era. Cleveland Amory is back on the soap opera beat this week with the NBC sudser How to Survive a Marriage, and given that the series ran a little over 15 months, I think we can safely say that many, many marriages survived for a longer stretch. Considering that it aims, in Amory's words, to "be different" (aimed at "the young marrieds and divorcees, people in their early 30s—you know, the old folks."), it could perhaps more accurately have been called How to Survive a Bad Idea the Viewers Didn't Want.
We could see the difference in the very first episode, a 90-minute gargantuan edition that, in Cleve's words, "seemed to reach for a new high in the new low, or anything goes, trend." A sample: "Chris gives a birthday party for her husband Larry, and in waltzes, or rather frugs, Sandra from the 'curculation' department in Larry's office. In the living room, Larry catches Sandra's pass, and Chris intercepts. After the party, there is a scene. Larry goes to Sandra's and immediately gets very sleepy. There is a bed scene that is not only explicit, but also, by TV standards, bare." But there's more, including a later scene in which "Larry gets sleep again, and this time he goes to bed with Chris. (You remember—his wife.)" This attempt at reconciliation falls flat, though (so to speak); "They can't, he tells her, communicate. Our theory is that they can't take the dialogue lying down." Larry eventually leaves Chris for Sandra, but even here, says Amory, storm clouds are on the horizon: "For one thing, he thinks she is washing his shirts, while in reality she sends them to the cleaners." (If that doesn't scream "new generation," I don't know what does.) Furthermore, she wants a serious relationship with Larry, and a friend advisers her to talk to him and see if "what you have is worth salvaging." Amory's observation: Chris would be better off to "hire a deep-sea diver."*
*There's also an article this week by Steve Elmore, the original Peter Willis before he was replaced; Elmore's article gives us a behind-the-scenes view of a program in shambles: drawing the wrong audience (teens instead of divorced women), cast and personnel changes, and fading morale. Frankly, I'm surprised the show made it for even 15 months.
This brief review barely scratches the surface of How to Survive a Marriage, though, and it's fortunate for all concerned that the star of the show is psychiatrist Julie Franklin, played by soap opera veteran Rosemary Prinz. And it's a good thing, too, Amory affirms, for his show really needs a psychiatrist. "Not for the characters, but for the writers." It's all a bit too much for Amory, and for the viewers too, it would appear; while some of the women are "fairly interesting," the men are almost uniformly grumpy. "Maybe they should try another profession, like say, becoming critics. You know, where you're supposed to be grumpy."
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On special occasions, we get to take a simultaneous look at three of the great rock music shows of the pre-MTV era: NBC's The Midnight Special, ABC's In Concert, and the syndicated Don Kirshner's Rock Concert. Let's look at this week's listings and see who's better, who's best.
Kirshner: Rory Gallagher, Electric Flag, Steeleye Span, and comic Robert Klein are the guests. Selections include "Million Miles Away," "Who's That Comin'," "Every Now and Then."
Concert: Anne Murray (hostess), rock-and-roll singer Suzi Quatro, and the Spnners and Ohio Players soul groups are the guests. Songs include "Just One Look," "You Won't See Me," "Son of a Rotten Gambler" (Anne); "48 Crash," "All Shook Up" (Suzi); "Mighty Love," "I'm Coming Home," "Love Don't Love Nobody" (Spinners).
Special: Jose Feliciano (host), Buffy Sainte-Marie, Jesse Colin Young, the rock group Hot Tuna, and Main Ingredient soul artists. Songs: "My Sweet Lord," "Golden Lady," "Love's Theme," "Chico and the Man," TSOP (The Sound of Philadelphia)" (Jose); "I Can't Take it No More," That's the Way You Fall in Love" (Buffy).
For only the third time that we've been doing these TV Guide reviews, we have all three music shows on hand, so if you can't find anything here to your liking, you've no one to blame but yourself. Of course, I blame myself for things quite frequently, so it's anyone's guess how this is going to turn out. One way to distract myself from this decision is to look at the lineup on Soul Train (Friday, 10:00 p.m., WSBK), which features Marvin Gaye, Al Green, the Jackson 5, B.B. King, Gladys Knight and the Pips, Johnny Mathis, the O'Jays, Smokey Robinson, Sly and the Family Stone, the Staple Singers, and Tower of Power. An easy winner, right? This, however, is not an option, since Soul Train is neither Kirshner, In Concert, or Midnight Special. Given this choice, therefore, while each program has its advantages, I'll give the nod to Jose and the Special, even though it may be just kind of special.
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Saturday sees the beginning of Major League Baseball's League Championship Series. For those of you too young to remember, there was a time when only four teams qualified for the baseball postseason: the two division winners from each league. It made the playoffs kind of special, a concept (one among many) that baseball seems to have forgotten about over the years. At any rate, Oakland and Baltimore are the combatants in the American League, while Los Angeles faces off with Pittsburgh in the National. (I know, some of those teams seem strange to see in the postseason, too.) The action begins at 1:00 p.m. ET on NBC with the National League opener, live from Pittsburgh, followed at 4:00 p.m. by the American League curtain-raiser from Oakland. At this rate, the World Series will easily conclude before Thanksgiving!
Sunday's centerpiece is the television premiere of The Last Picture Show (9:00 p.m., ABC), Peter Bogdanovich's adaptation of the Larry McMurtry best seller (who also co-wrote the screenplay), which transcends what Judith Crist calls "The Winter of '52" type of storytelling to become a movie that exhibits "sensitivity, taste, intellectual honesty and intelligence [that] distinguish[s] their work from then warmed-over nostalgic schmaltz that has become the commerce of recent years." Its story combines coming-of-age elements with a time of societal decadence, using as a metaphor the closing of a small town movie house. The cast includes Oscar winners Ben Johnson and Cloris Leachman, along with Timothy Bottoms, Jeff Bridges, Eileen Brennan, Cybill Shepherd, and Ellyn Burstyn, who combine to produce "an outstanding American film by one of our top young talents." For my money, it should have won Best Picture over The French Connection, but what do I know? On the other hand, you might just decide to check out after watching The Sonny Comedy Revue (8:00 p.m., ABC), with Sonny's guests Barbara Eden, James Brolin, and the Temptations. YMMV.Half of the Rat Pack—Sammy Davis Jr. and Peter Lawford—star in Salt and Pepper on NBC's Monday Night at the Movies (9:00 p.m.) The duo (Davis plays Salt and Lawford is Pepper, and we're supposed to laugh because, you know, we'd expect the black guy to be named after the black condiment and the white guy—well, you get the joke. Ha ha.) play a pair of gamblers trying to crack a murder committed at their club. Don't let that lame premise fool you, though; it's actually a pretty good movie, with a crisp script by Michael Pertwee* and entertaining performances by the two stars; even Judith Crist likes it, and that says a lot.
*Brother of Doctor Who star Jon Pertwee.
ABC's Tuesday Movie of the Week (8:30 p.m.) is, well, impossible to pass up. I mean, look at the ad; would you not take a chance on Yvette Mimieux as a Hit Lady? She's Angela Villard, "a successful artist who works part time as a ruthless syndicate assassin." And she never misses. Hell of a part-time job, isn't it? I wonder if she ever
ran into Chuck Barris
during her assignments? (By the way, Mimeaux also wrote the script.) And speaking of professional hits, an explosive Hawaii Five-O (9:00 p.m., CBS) features William Windom as a senator who's the victim of a bomb threat—a threat that was apparently made by the senator himself. The fool, to think that he could pull the wool over Steve McGarrett's eyes.Wednesday's highlight is a Bing Crosby special that's not Christmas-oriented, even though Der Bingle does sing "White Christmas." It's Bing Crosby and His Friends (9:00 p.m., CBS), and his friends include Bob Hope, Pearl Bailey and Sandy Duncan. Notwithstanding Crosby's long association with Hope, it's further proof (as if we needed it) that there was no such thing as a variety special that Bob Hope wouldn't do. And while we've already got our MST3K feature for the week (see below), here's one that should have been on the show: the 1974 TV movie Locusts, which includes "a swarm of grasshoppers threatening to destroy an entire town's harvest; and a local boy who needs to prove he's a man, not a coward." (8:30 p.m., ABC) It just goes to show you what you get when you cross Svengoolie with an Afterschool Special.
Speaking of sports as we were earlier, Thursday sees the second episode of one of the best and most delightful series PBS has ever had to offer: The Way it Was (8:00 p.m.), with sportscasting great Curt Gowdy hosting a look back at great moments in sports history. Tonight's show (
view it here
) recalls the famous 1958 NFL Championship Game between the Baltimore Colts and New York Giants, the first sudden-death playoff game in history; it's often called "the greatest football game ever played," and was unquestionably one of the games that put professional football on the map. Johnny Unitas, Raymond Berry, Lenny Moore, Frank Gifford, Kyle Rote, and Charlie Conerly are the legends who join Gowdy*. Back in the days before the internet, when it was near impossible to see clips from old sporting events, The Way it Was was one of the few places where one could revisit these classic contests. I loved this series; I don't think I ever missed an episode.*Unitas, Berry, Moore, and Gifford are all today in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and Gowdy is in the American Sportscasters Hall of Fame. What a collection of talent.
And it's hard to find a better way to bring down the curtain on our broadcasting week than with a repeat presentation of John Wayne's Oscar-winning performance in True Grit (8:30 p.m., ABC). Kim Darby and Glen Campbell co-star, and of course I'd be remiss if I didn't point out that the Cohn brothers' remake of True Grit won an Oscar for none other than one of the stars of The Last Picture Show, Jeff Bridges. Funny how those things work, isn't it? Later on, Police Woman (10:00 p.m., NBC) investigates two crimes that may or may not be related: "the rape of a socialite, and the murder—and possible rape—of a trollop." (Trollop: don't you just love that word? You seldom see as part of the modern vocabulary, and more's the pity. Here's a challenge: try and work it into a part of your normal conversation today.) What do you want to bet Pepper has to go undercover in this one?
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We've talked before about how syndicated reruns of series often went by different names if the original series was still in first-run on a network. Two of the more innocuous were Happy Days Again and Laverne & Shirley & Company, while The Rockford Files went by Jim Rockford, Private Investigator, Marcus Welby, M.D. was known as Robert Young, Family Doctor, and Ward Bond's Wagon Train episodes were called Major Adams, Trailmaster.
With Ironside still wheeling along on NBC, the syndicated episodes were shown under the title The Raymond Burr Show, which, to my way of thinking, was slightly off; after all, everyone knows that the real Raymond Burr show was Perry Mason. Be that as it may, I think WTEV in New Bedford handles it all pretty well, don't you? Notice how it draws the eye to the name of the character, rather than the show itself. Bloody genius, as our friends from across the pond might say.
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MST3K alert: Last of the Wild Horses (1948). Strong Oregon scenics and a punchy finale brawl help this standard tale of a ranchers' war. James Ellison. (Saturday, 2:30 p.m., WSBK in Boston) A rare incursion into the Western genre for MST3K, it's probably better remembered for an outrageous host segment parody of the Star Trek episode "Mirror, Mirror," in which Dr. Forrester and TV's Frank are forced to riff the movie while Tom Servo and Gypsy try to rescue Mike and Crow from the alternate universe. Considering the movie that awaits them, I'm not sure they really want to return. TV
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October 3, 2025
Around the dial
I'm dating myself again, I know, but I can remember when Space: 1999 was supposed to be the next big thing, the first "adult" science-fiction series since Star Trek. It didn't quite turn out that way, but Captain Video dives into the comic collection to celebrate the
50th anniversary of the series
. Fifty years; wow.At RealWeegieMidget, Gill combines movies and television in one neat package with a look at the 1980 telemovie The Scarlett O'Hara War , the story of David O. Selznick's search for the actress to play the aforementioned leading lady (as well as other backstage tales) in his upcoming epic, Gone with the Wind.
And now, a trio of posts that have a tangential tie-in to my new book, Darkness in Primetime. First, at Comfort TV, David makes a gracious note of the book in his essay on " When is Classic TV important? " What makes one program more important than another? We all have our answers, but this is a good place to begin the discussion.
At The Twilight Zone Vortex, Brian takes a look at the memorable fifth-season TZ episode " Number 12 Looks Just Like You ," a frightening story of enforced conformity and loss of individuality; this episode is covered in Chapter 5 of Darkness in Primetime.
At Cult TV Blog, John reviews the mid-1970s series Survivors , a post-apocalyptic drama that explores the aftermath of a deadly global pandemic. John first viewed this series in 2020, in the midst of COVID Theater, which coincidentally was a major factor driving the genesis of Darkness in Primetime. There: self-promotion done.
We're not finished with British TV, though; at Silver Scenes, the Metzinger Sisters tease us with a preview of How, a children's series that ran for 17 seasons between 1966 and 1981. They'll have more on this in the coming weeks, but for now take a look at this clip and see what you think.
One more from across the pond? Why not! At Classic Film and TV Corner, Maddie looks at five British period dramas from the 1970s that more people should watch. Perhaps you've heard of them, perhaps not, but they're all dramas worth checking out.;
At A View from the Junkyard, Roger returns to The A-Team and the episode " Steel ," a straightforward and uncompromising look at organized crime in the United States. It's no documentary, but neither does it seek to romanticize the mob, as so many shows continue to do. Let's just say that our fearless heroes aren't going to back down in the face of a formidable foe.
We were touching on trios earlier on, and here's a trio of posts from Television Obscurities: one on the 70th anniversary of The Honeymooners as a stand-alone series; a second on other series, well-known and otherwise, commemorating anniversaries this month; and a third, an audio clip from the opening of CBS's 1969 presentation of Mark Twain Tonight! , sponsored by Xerox, and starring Hal Holbrook.
Terence also has a piece on The Honeymooners over at A Shroud of Thoughts, as well as recognition of yet another series celebrating a 70th anniversary, Alfred Hitchcock Presents . What a great time for television, as we saw in my TV Guide review last Saturday .
And let's keep going with that TV Guide theme, as Martin Grams has more TV Guide trivia from 1959 , including pitches for upcoming series (imagine Beetle Bailey starring Mort Sahl!), and a proposal for a big-screen version of Peter Lawford's The Thin Man, which itself was based on a big-screen version of Dashiell Hammett's famous novel.
Finally, if you're fortunate to have multiple sub-channels where you live, Remind Magazine tells you that you might be in luck, as Weigel Broadcasting (MeTV, etc.) has a new classic channel: WEST, featuring all Westerns, all day, every day. You can do worse; much worse. TV
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October 1, 2025
TV Jibe: Wednesday Night at the Movies
TV
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September 29, 2025
What's on TV? Wednesday, October 5, 1955
I may be mistaken here, but I think this is the first time we've looked an issue from Portland, Oregon, and—unlike the Northern California issues from a decade later—there are some significant differences we can see, due primarily to the time difference. For instance, the final game of the World Series at nine in the morning? Garry Moore and Arthur Godfrey as afterschool entertainment? (No wonder he stayed popular for so long!) Still, there are some things that never seem to change, including the Yankees and Dodgers in that World Series, soap operas in the morning, and a Bob Hope special in the evening. Television is television, after all, no matter the era.-6- KOIN (CBS) MORNING 8:00 Valiant Lady—Serial 8:15 Love of Life—Serial 8:30 Search for Tomorrow 8:45 Guiding Light—Serial 9:00 It’s Fun to Reduce 9:15 NEWS and WEATHER 9:30 Welcome Travelers 10:00 Robert Q. Lewis—Variety 10:30 Linkletter’s House Party 11:00 Capt. Hartz and Pets 11:05 Visitin’ Time—Variety 11:30 Bob Crosby Show—Music AFTERNOON 12:00 Brighter Day—Serial 12:15 Secret Storm—Serial 12:30 On Your Account—Quiz 1:00 Komedy Klassics—Kids 1:30 Armchair Theater—Drama 2:00 KOIN Kitchen—Betty Davis 2:30 Strike It Rich—Quiz 3:00 Garry Moore—Variety 3:30 Arthur Godfrey—Variety 4:30 Mr. Moon—Kids 4:45 Cartoon Time—Kids 5:00 Red Dunning Show EVENING 6:00 SPORTS, NEWS, WEATHER 6:15 NEWS—Douglas Edwards 6:30 Name That Tune—Quiz 7:00 CORLISS ARCHER—Comedy 7:30 MY FAVORITE HUSBAND RETURN 8:00 NAVY LOG—Adventure 8:30 PHIL SILVERS—Comedy 9:00 THE WHISTLER—Drama “Three Horse Parlay” 9:30 RED SKELTON Guest: Jackie Gleason 10:00 $64,000 QUESTION 10:30 BIG TOWN 11:00 MOVIE—Drama “Heritage of the Plains”
12 KLOR (ABC) AFTERNOON 2:45 Telecomics & TImothy 3:00 The Ruggles—Comedy 3:30 Lady of the House 4:00 Mr. and Mrs. North 4:30 Ron Myron Show—Variety 5:00 Mickey Mouse Club—Kids EVENING 6:00 Eddie Ricci Show DEBUT 6:30 Top Secret 6:45 NEWS and WEATHER 7:00 WESTERN MARSHALL 7:30 WARNER BROS. PRESENTS “King’s Row” 8:30 WYATT EARP—Western 9:00 DANNY THOMAS—Comedy 9:30 CAVALCADE THEATER “Toward Tomorrow” 10:00 PARIS PRECINCT 10:30 BASEBALL SCOREBOARD 10:35 MOVIE—Drama “Behind Prison Walls”
13 KVAL (Eugene) (NBC) MORNING 8:45 WORLD SERIES Brooklyn Dodgers at New York Yankees, Game 7 AFTERNOON 2:55 MOVIE—Drama 3:15 MOVIE—Mystery 4:00 Four o’Clock Date 4:30 Big Roundup—Reynolds 5:00 Pinky Lee Show—Kids 5:30 Paul Killiam 5:45 NEWS, SPORTS, WEATHER EVENING 6:00 For Your Information 6:15 The Little Rascals 6:30 Industry on Parade 6:45 Patti Page—Songs 7:00 CURTAIN CALL 7:30 THE FALCON—Mystery 8:00 BOB HOPE SHOW RETURN Guests: Jane Russell, Janis Paige 9:00 FIRESIDE THEATER “The Sport” 9:30 STAR AND THE STORY “Arab Duel” 10:00 PARIS PRECINCT 10:30 EUGENE SCENE 10:40 FAMOUS PLAYHOUSE
27 KPTV (NBC) MORNING 8:00 Today—Dave Garroway 8:45 WORLD SERIES Brooklyn Dodgers at New York Yankees, Game 7 AFTERNOON 12:00 Tennessee Ernie Ford 12:30 Feather Your Next—Quiz 1:00 MOVIE—Drama 2:30 What’s Cooking—Angell 3:00 Ted Mack—Variety 3:30 It Pays to Be Married 4:00 Way of the World 4:15 First Love—Serial 4:30 Heck Harper’s Corral 5:00 Pinky Lee Show—Kids 5:30 Howdy Doody—Kids EVENING 6:00 See Hear—Variety 6:20 NEWS—Ivan Smith 6:30 Favorite Story—Drama 7:00 TO BE ANNOUNCED 7:30 DINAH SHORE—Songs 7:45 NEWS—John Cameron Swayze 8:00 BOB HOPE SHOW RETURN Guests: Jane Russell, Janis Paige 9:00 FIRESIDE THEATER “The Sport” 9:30 PLAYWRIGHT HOUR—Drama DEBUT “The Answer” 10:30 BIG TEN HIGHLIGHTS 11:00 NEWS—Bulletins 11:05 MOVIE—Drama “Perilous Waters” (1948)
TV
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It's About TV!
Insightful commentary on how classic TV shows mirrored and influenced American society, tracing the impact of iconic series on national identity, cultural change, and the challenges we face today.
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