Mitchell Hadley's Blog: It's About TV!, page 19
December 16, 2024
What's on TV? Tuesday, December 17, 1963
An interesting observation on an otherwise ordinary Tuesday: the movie on WBZ at 1:00 a.m., Are Husbands Necessary? "The vice president of a bank has trouble because his spendthrift wife continually overdraws her accounts." Ray Milland stars as the bank VP, with Betty Field as the wife. It's listed in TV Guide as a drama, but Wikipedia describes it more as a screwball comedy, and my point is that, without knowing anything more about the movie, you can see it either way, with Milland equally believable as the exasperated husband of a wacky wife, or the scheming husband looking to rid himself of a shrew who's bleeding him dry. That you can see him playing either role, and playing it well, says much about his talent as an actor. It all comes from the Eastern New England edition.-2- WGBH (CAMBRIDGE) (EDUC.) Morning 10:25 FOCUS—Public Affairs Afternoon 12:30 FRIENDLY GIANT—Children 5:00 FRIENDLY GIANT—Children 5:15 SING HI, SING LO—Children 5:30 WHAT’S NEW—Children Evening 6:00 NEWS—Louis Lyons 6:30 NEWS—Louis Lyons 6:45 NEWS—Robert Baram 7:00 MODERN CHEMISTRY I 7:30 ELLIOT NORTON—Interview Guests: Margaret Leighton, Alan Webb, John WIlliams 8:00 ANTIQUES—George Michael 8:30 PERFORMANCE—Music 9:00 BOSTON COLLGE SEMINARS 10:00 NEWS 10:30 IMAGES—Art
-4- WBZ (BOSTON) (NBC) Morning 6:15 SIGN ON SEMINAR 6:45 DAILY ALMANAC 7:00 TODAY—Hugh Downs Guest: Leon Bibb Local news and weather 7:25, 8:25 9:00 LEAVE IT TO BEAVER—Comedy 9:30 BACHELOR FATHER—Comedy 10:00 SAY WHEN—Art James 10:25 NEWS—Edwin Newman 10:30 WORD FOR WORD—Merv Griffin COLOR 11:00 CONCENTRATION 11:30 MISSING LINKS COLOR Guests: Sam Levenson, Tom Poston, Edorothy Kilgalen Afternoon 12:00 NEWS, WEATHER 12:30 MIKE DOUGLAS—Variety Co-host: Dennis Day. Guests: Frank Marlowe, Vi Ve Lasco, Jerome Berlin, L. Benjamin Wyckoff 2:00 PEOPLE WILL TALK—Dennis James COLOR 2:25 NEWS—Floyd Kalber 2:30 DOCTORS—Drama 3:00 LORETTA YOUNG 3:30 YOU DON’T SAY! COLOR Guests: Lizabeth Scott, Ray Danton. Host: Tom Kennedy 4:00 MATCH GAME Celebrities: Mitch Miller, Audrey Meadows. Host: Gene Rayburn 4:25 NEWS—Sander Vanocur 4:30 CLUBHOUSE 4—Children 5:00 MOVIE—Comedy “The Bride Came C.O.D.” (1941) Evening 6:30 NEWS, WEATHER 7:00 NEWS—Chet Huntley, David Brinkley 7:30 MR. NOVAK—Drama 8:30 REDIGO—Drama 9:00 RICHARD BOONE 10:00 TELEPHONE HOUR COLOR Performers: Eleanor Powell, Birgit Nilsson, Lorin Hollander, Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gormé 11:00 NEWS, WEATHER 11:15 STEVE ALLEN—Variety Guests: Wingy Monone, Mari Lynn Lowell 12:45 NEWS, SPORTS, WEATHER 1:00 MOVIE—Drama “Are Husbands Necessary?” (1942)
-5- WHDH (BOSTON) (CBS) Morning 6:00 CONTINENTAL CLASSROOM 6:30 SUNRISE SEMESTER Outlines of Art: “Romanesque Art of the 12th Century” 7:00 MORNING KEY CLUB COLOR 7:30 CAPTAIN BOB COLOR 8:00 CAPTAIN KANGAROO 9:00 ROMPER ROOM COLOR 9:30 JULIE DANE—Fashion COLOR 9:45 WE BELIEVE—Religion COLOR 10:00 NEWS—Mike Wallace 10:30 I LOVE LUCY—Comedy 11:00 McCOYS—Comedy 11:30 PETE AND GLADYS Afternoon 12:00 LOVE OF LIFE—Serial 12:15 NEWS—Robert Trout 12:30 SEARCH FOR TOMORROW—Serial 12:45 GUIDING LIGHT—Serial 1:00 NEWS—Leo Egan COLOR 1:05 FARM AND FOOD COLOR 1:30 AS THE WORLD TURNS 2:00 PASSWORD—Allen Ludden Celebrities: Elizabeth Ashley, George Peppard 2:30 HOUSE PARTY—Art Linkletter 3:00 TO TELL THE TRUTH Panelists: Orson Bean, Joan Fontaine, Phyllis Newman, Skitch Henderson 3:25 NEWS—Douglas Edwards 3:30 EDGE OF NIGHT—Serial 4:00 SECRET STORM—Serial 4:30 BOZO THE CLOWN COLOR 5:30 SEA HUNT—Adventure Evening 6:00 NEWS—Leo Egan COLOR 6:05 DATELINE BOSTON—Britt COLOR 6:30 NEWS—Walter Cronkite 7:00 NEWS, SPORTS—Day COLOR 7:25 WEATHER—Ted Miller COLOR 7:30 PETER GUNN—Mystery 8:00 RED SKELTON Guests: Joanie Sommers, Jackie Coogan 9:00 PETTICOAT JUNCTION 9:30 JACK BENNY 10:00 GARRY MOORE Guests: Nancy Walker, Marty Allen, Steve Rossi 11:00 NEWS, WEATHER COLOR 11:20 SPORTS—Don Gillis COLOR 11:30 JOHNNY CARSON COLOR
-6- WCSH (PORTLAND) (NBC) Morning 6:50 FARM REPORT 7:00 TODAY—Hugh Downs Guest: Leon Bibb Local news and weather 7:25, 8:25 9:00 ROMPER ROOM—Connie Roussin 9:30 BEST OF GROUCHO—Quiz 10:00 SAY WHEN—Art James 10:25 NEWS—Edwin Newman 10:30 WORD FOR WORD—Merv Griffin COLOR 11:00 CONCENTRATION 11:30 MISSING LINKS COLOR Guests: Sam Levenson, Tom Poston, Edorothy Kilgalen Afternoon 12:00 YOUR FIRST IMPRESSION 12:30 TRUTH OR CONSEQUENCES COLOR 12:55 NEWS—Ray Scherer 1:00 WEEKDAY ON SIX—Variety 1:30 PEOPLE ARE FUNNY 2:00 PEOPLE WILL TALK—Dennis James COLOR 2:25 NEWS—Floyd Kalber 2:30 DOCTORS—Drama 3:00 LORETTA YOUNG 3:30 YOU DON’T SAY! COLOR Guests: Lizabeth Scott, Ray Danton. Host: Tom Kennedy 4:00 MATCH GAME Celebrities: Mitch Miller, Audrey Meadows. Host: Gene Rayburn 4:25 NEWS—Sander Vanocur 4:30 MAKE ROOM FOR DADDY 5:00 TROOPER 6—Cartoons 5:30 RIFLEMAN—Western Evening 6:00 NEWS—Larry Geraghty 6:30 NEWS—Chet Huntley, David Brinkley 7:00 MAN AND THE CHALLENGE 7:30 MR. NOVAK—Drama 8:30 LAWBREAKERS—Lee Marvin 9:00 RICHARD BOONE 10:00 TELEPHONE HOUR COLOR Performers: Eleanor Powell, Birgit Nilsson, Lorin Hollander, Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gormé 11:00 NEWS, WEATHER 11:15 JOHNNY CARSON COLOR
6W WTEV (NEW BEDFORD) (ABC) Morning 6:30 CONTINENTAL CLASSROOM 7:00 BILLY BANG BANG—Children 8:00 RANGE RIDER—Western 8:30 ABBOTT AND COSTELLO 9:00 ED ALLEN TIME—Exercise 9:30 AMOS ‘N’ ANDY—Comedy 10:00 SWORD AND THE SAIL 10:30 COMMUNITY—Bob Bassett 11:00 PRICE IS RIGHT 11:30 SEVEN KEYS Afternoon 12:00 ERNIE FORD 12:30 FATHER KNOWS BEST—Comedy 1:00 GENERAL HOSPITAL—Serial 1:30 DIVORCE COURT—Drama 2:30 DAY IN COURT—Drama 2:25 NEWS—Lisa Howard 3:00 QUEEN FOR A DAY 3:30 WHO DO YOU TRUST? 4:00 TRAILMASTER 5:00 MICKEY MOUSE CLUB 5:30 SUPERMAN—Adventure Evening 6:00 NEWS—Ron Cochran 6:15 NEWS, WEATHER 6:30 ADVENTURES IN PARADISE 7:30 COMBAT!—Drama 8:30 McHALE’S NAVY 9:00 GREATEST SHOW COLOR 10:00 FUGITIVE—Drama 11:00 NEWS—Murphy Martin 11:10 NEWS 11:25 TARGET: CORRUPTORS—Drama
-7- WNAC (BOSTON) (ABC) Morning 6:25 FARM AND MARKET REPORT 6:30 UNDERSTANDING OUR WORLD 7:00 THREE STOOGES—Comedy 7:30 SUPERCAR—Children 8:00 THREE STOOGES—Comedy 8:15 KING AND ODIE—Children 9:00 PEOPLE’S CHOICE—Comedy 9:30 DAVID ALLAN—Variety 10:00 GIRL TALK—Panel Panelists: Mimi Benzell, Caroline Stewart, Geralding Brooks. Host: Virginia Graham 10:30 WHO DO YOU TRUST? 11:00 PRICE IS RIGHT 11:30 SEVEN KEYS Afternoon 12:00 ERNIE FORD 12:30 FATHER KNOWS BEST—Comedy 1:00 GENERAL HOSPITAL—Serial 1:30 TRAILMASTER—Western 2:30 MOVIE—Musical “Indian Love Call” (1936) 3:55 NEWS—Lisa Howard 4:00 ADVENTURES IN PARADISE 5:00 THREE STOOGES—Comedy Evening 6:00 NEWS—Ron Cochran 6:15 NEWS, WEATHER 6:30 DOBIE GILLIS—Comedy 7:00 BILKO—Phil Silvers 7:30 COMBAT!—Drama 8:30 McHALE’S NAVY 9:00 GREATEST SHOW COLOR 10:00 FUGITIVE—Drama 11:00 NEWS, WEATHER 11:15 MOVIE—Double Feature 1. “Honolulu” (1939) 2. “Inspiration” (1931)
-8- WMTW (POLAND SPRING) (ABC) Morning 8:15 FARM AND HOME COLOR 8:45 TEDDY BEAR PLAYHOUSE 10:00 ART AT YOUR FINGERTIPS 10:15 TEDDY BEAR PLAYHOUSE 10:30 TOWN AND COUNTRY 11:00 PRICE IS RIGHT 11:30 SEVEN KEYS Afternoon 12:00 ERNIE FORD 12:30 FATHER KNOWS BEST—Comedy 1:00 GENERAL HOSPITAL—Serial 1:30 MOVIE—Drama “Joy of Living” (1938) Part 2 2:30 DAY IN COURT—Drama 2:55 NEWS—Lisa Howard 3:00 QUEEN FOR A DAY 3:30 WHO DO YOU TRUST? 4:00 TRAILMASTER 5:00 SUPERMAN—Adventure 5:30 MOVIE—Drama “Two O’clock Courage” (1945) Evening 7:00 NEWS—Ron Cochran 7:15 NEWS, WEATHER 7:30 COMBAT!—Drama 8:30 McHALE’S NAVY 9:00 MOVIE—Musical “Silk Stockings” (1957) 10:45 CHANGING TIMES—Report 11:00 NEWS—Murphy Martin 11:15 NEWS, WEATHER 11:20 MOVIE—Drama “Bureau of Missing Persons” (1933)
-9- WMUR (MANCHESTER) (ABC) Morning 9:30 BREAKFAST WITH THE BOYS 10:30 DAY IN COURT—Drama 10:55 NEWS—Ernie Crowley 11:00 PRICE IS RIGHT 11:30 SEVEN KEYS Afternoon 12:00 ERNIE FORD 12:30 FATHER KNOWS BEST—Comedy 1:00 GENERAL HOSPITAL—Serial 1:30 MOVIE—Drama Every Day’s a Holiday” (1937) 2:30 DAY IN COURT—Drama 2:55 NEWS—Lisa Howard 3:00 QUEEN FOR A DAY 3:30 WHO DO YOU TRUST? 4:00 TRAILMASTER 5:00 UNCLE GUS—Cartoon Evening 6:00 ROBIN HOOD—Adventure 6:30 NEWS, WEATHER 6:45 NEWS—Ron Cochran 7:00 SANTA CLAUS—Workshop 7:30 COMBAT!—Drama 8:30 PETER GUNN—Mystery 9:00 GREATEST SHOW COLOR 10:00 FUGITIVE—Drama 11:00 NEWS—Murphy Martin 11:15 MOVIE—Drama “Lancer Spy” (1937)
10 WJAR (PROVIDENCE) (NBC) Morning 6:25 NEWS 6:30 TV CLASSROOM “Portrait of an Ambassador” 7:00 TODAY—Hugh Downs Guest: Leon Bibb Local news and weather 7:25, 8:25 9:00 NEWS 9:05 WORLD AROUND US 9:30 TALK OF THE TOWN—Jay Kroll 10:00 SAY WHEN—Art James 10:25 NEWS—Edwin Newman 10:30 WORD FOR WORD—Merv Griffin COLOR 11:00 CONCENTRATION 11:30 MISSING LINKS COLOR Guests: Sam Levenson, Tom Poston, Edorothy Kilgalen Afternoon 12:00 YOUR FIRST IMPRESSION 12:30 TRUTH OR CONSEQUENCES COLOR 12:55 NEWS—Ray Scherer 1:00 LEAVE IT TO THE GIRLS 1:30 MAKE ROOM FOR DADDY 2:00 PEOPLE WILL TALK—Dennis James COLOR 2:25 NEWS—Floyd Kalber 2:30 DOCTORS—Drama 3:00 LORETTA YOUNG 3:30 YOU DON’T SAY! COLOR Guests: Lizabeth Scott, Ray Danton. Host: Tom Kennedy 4:00 MATCH GAME Celebrities: Mitch Miller, Audrey Meadows. Host: Gene Rayburn 4:25 NEWS—Sander Vanocur 4:30 MOVIE—Mystery “The Curse of the Cat People” (1944) Evening 6:00 EYE DENTIFY—Jay Kroll 6:15 NEWS, WEATHER 6:30 NEWS—Chet Huntley, David Brinkley 7:00 MOVIE—Drama "Demetrius and the Gladiators" (1954) 9:00 RICHARD BOONE 10:00 TELEPHONE HOUR COLOR Performers: Eleanor Powell, Birgit Nilsson, Lorin Hollander, Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gormé 11:00 NEWS, WEATHER 11:15 JOHNNY CARSON COLOR
11 WENH (DURHAM) (EDUC.) Morning 8:35 CALCULUS—Advanced 9:30 HOMEMAKER’S WORLD 10:00 ART AT YOUR FINGERTIPS 10:20 LAND AND SEA 11:15 HIGH SCHOOL READING 11:50 FOOD FOR LIFE Afternoon 12:30 FRIENDLY GIANT—Children 1:15 MUSIC THEATER 1:40 ART AT YOUR FINGERTIPS 2:00 HIGH SCHOOL YEARBOOK 5:00 FRIENDLY GIANT—Children Evening 6:00 CLASSICAL MUSIC 6:25 EVENTS—New Hampshire 6:30 NEWS—Louis Lyons 6:45 NEWS—Robert Baram 7:00 AMERICAN ECONOMY 7:30 ELLIOT NORTON—Interview Guests: Margaret Leighton, Alan Webb, John Williams 8:30 PERFORMANCE—Music 9:00 AGE OF KINGS—Shakespeare
12 WPRO (PROVIDENCE) (CBS) Morning 6:30 EN FRANCE—Language 7:00 CARTOONS—Children 7:30 KING AND ODIE—Children 7:45 STORY TIME—Beth Chollar 8:00 CAPTAIN KANGAROO 9:00 ROMPER ROOM—Bonnie Riker 9:30 DIALING FOR DOLLARS 10:00 NEWS—Mike Wallace 10:30 I LOVE LUCY—Comedy 11:00 McCOYS—Comedy 11:30 PETE AND GLADYS Afternoon 12:00 LOVE OF LIFE—Serial 12:15 NEWS—Robert Trout 12:30 SEARCH FOR TOMORROW—Serial 12:45 GUIDING LIGHT—Serial 1:00 GIRL TALK—Panel Panelists: Cindy Adams, Ruth Warrick, Barbara Barrie. Host: Virginia Graham 1:30 AS THE WORLD TURNS 2:00 PASSWORD—Allen Ludden Celebrities: Elizabeth Ashley, George Peppard 2:30 HOUSE PARTY—Art Linkletter 3:00 TO TELL THE TRUTH Panelists: Orson Bean, Joan Fontaine, Phyllis Newman, Skitch Henderson 3:25 NEWS—Douglas Edwards 3:30 EDGE OF NIGHT—Serial 4:00 SALTY’S FUNNY COMPANY 4:30 QUICK DRAW McGRAW 5:00 MOVIE—Drama “The Steel Bayonet” (English; 1958) Evening 6:30 NEWS—Walter Cronkite 7:00 NEWS, SPORTS, WEATHER 7:30 MR. ED—Comedy 8:00 RED SKELTON Guests: Joanie Sommers, Jackie Coogan 9:00 PETTICOAT JUNCTION 9:30 JACK BENNY 10:00 GARRY MOORE Guests: Nancy Walker, Marty Allen, Steve Rossi 11:00 NEWS, WEATHER 11:15 SPORTS—Chris Clark 11:20 MOVIE—Drama “The Iron Curtain” (1948)
13 WGAN (PORTLAND) (CBS) Morning 7:00 WONDERFUL WORLD 7:30 SUPERCAR 8:00 CAPTAIN KANGAROO 9:00 FILM FEATURE 9:30 MIKE DOUGLAS—Variety Guests: Margaret O’Brien, Terry Gibbs 10:30 I LOVE LUCY—Comedy 11:00 McCOYS—Comedy 11:30 PETE AND GLADYS Afternoon 12:00 LOVE OF LIFE—Serial 12:15 NEWS—Hank Gale 12:30 SEARCH FOR TOMORROW—Serial 12:45 GUIDING LIGHT—Serial 1:00 GIRL TALK—Panel Panelists: Betty White, Brigitte Bernard, Sylvia Syms. Host: Virginia Graham 1:30 AS THE WORLD TURNS 2:00 PASSWORD—Allen Ludden Celebrities: Elizabeth Ashley, George Peppard 2:30 HOUSE PARTY—Art Linkletter 3:00 TO TELL THE TRUTH Panelists: Orson Bean, Joan Fontaine, Phyllis Newman, Skitch Henderson 3:25 NEWS—Douglas Edwards 3:30 EDGE OF NIGHT—Serial 4:00 SECRET STORM—Serial 4:30 CAPTAIN AND THE KINGS 5:00 MOVIE—Western “The Last Posse” (1953) Evening 6:15 NEWS, WEATHER 6:30 NEWS—Walter Cronkite 7:00 RIPCORD—Adventure 7:30 PASSWORD—Allen Ludden Celebrities: Garry Moore, Dorothy Loudon 8:00 RED SKELTON Guests: Joanie Sommers, Jackie Coogan 9:00 PETER GUNN—Mystery 9:30 JACK BENNY 10:00 GARRY MOORE Guests: Nancy Walker, Marty Allen, Steve Rossi 11:00 NEWS, WEATHER 11:15 STEVE ALLEN—Variety Guests: Wingy Monone, Mari Lynn Lowell 1:00 DRAGNET—Police
TV
December 14, 2024
This week in TV Guide: December 14, 1963
We all know how the minefield that is television is littered with the bodies of various flops, bombs, disasters, and other fiascos. Their tombstones are inscribed with various synonyms for failure: Turn-On. The Tammy Grimes Show. Flesh and Blood. Now it's time to add to that dubious pantheon one of the most infamous of them all: The Jerry Lewis Show. And it falls to Richard Gehman to write the obituary, even though the body, while moribund, is still breathing.The Jerry Lewis Show was the result of a bidding war among all three networks, and came on the heels of some very well-received specials over the years, as well as a successful stint as guest host on The Tonight Show in that interim period between the departure of Jack Paar and the arrival of Johnny Carson. As befits the stature of one of the biggest stars in the business, The Jerry Lewis Show was big: two hours long, telecast live each Saturday, from the newly-renamed and refurbished Jerry Lewis Theater (at a cost of $1,000,000). ABC was spending, chairman Leonard Goldenson said, "more money than we own" on the show. And people were excited; "Everybody's rooting for Lew3is," said Jack Elliott, music director for the Edie Adams show. "Everybody wants him to make it."
But now, only seven weeks into its run, the show is in Big Trouble, with a captial T that, if it doesn't rhyme with R, can best be summarized with the word ratings. It has fallen into third place for the night, trailing both NBC's Saturday Night at the Movies and CBS's venerable Western duo of Have Gun, Will Travel and Gunsmoke. The critics are using harsh words to describe the show's star: "egocentric" and "boor." ABC's president, Tom Moore, will only say that "We are committed to The Jerry Lewis Show for 40 weeks." The whispering in the industry is that "Jerry Lewis, LIVE from Hollywood, soon would be DEAD from Hollywood." And the question that everyone's asking: what happened?
According to Gehman, the problems are varied, but insiders point to one overriding conern: nobody really knew what Lewis wanted out of the show, what his vision was. It was as if he was completely detached from the project: unavailable for consultation with the network on guest stars, working on the script for his next movie instead of damage control on the show, opening for a week in Las Vegas in November. The problem, says Gehman, isn't confusion as much as it is a "complete lack of communication."
Opening night didn't help. Lewis was nervous—"terribly nervous"—and things were only made worse when the huge screen above the stage stopped working, which meant most of the people in the theater couldn't see him. Cameramen lost communications with the control room. The red lights on the cameras went off, meaning nobody on stage knew which one to face. Commercials came and went without warning, or at the wrong time. Lewis, "a fearfully nervous persormer [whose] apparent ego masks a frightened and inescure little boy," hates surprises, and opening night was filled with them. He looked awkward, and the audience didn't understand some of his comments. Things went downhill from there.
Gehman had been given unusual access to Lewis; the next year, he would write a biography of Lewis, That Kid, that, some said, caused Lewis to regret having given him that access. When it came to the show, however, Gehman found it difficult to get him to talk about things. He was more interested in talking metaphysically about God ("I think He sits up there in a big chair going har-har-har at all of us. I think He looks like Kriss Kringle. And I think He's makin' all of us do all this as a kind of audition.") and shrugs off press criticism ("The minute the critics are for me, I know I'm in trouble."). Which leaves it up to Gehman to analyze the failure, the first one that Lewis has had since a brief radio venture with Dean Martin that was almost immediately followed up by a successful turn into television. Lewis, Gehman says, is "a man whose deepest basic motivion—he once said to me—is fear." It may be, Gehman thinks, that "hurt and fear" have kept him detached. It may be that we was so cocky he didn't take into account how difficult two hours of live television each week could be, that he just had to "show up." It could be that, like his friend Frank Sinatra with his own ill-fated ABC series a few years ago, he had contempt for the television audience. All anyone knows is that when his press agent, Jack Keller, asked if there was anything he could do for Jerry, Lewis replied "Yeah—get me off this show."
It is, Gehman says in conclusion, as if Jerry Lewis was still auditioning, that, as he put it, God was going har-har-har while Lewis ran around frantically "and mainly running away."
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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. I tried watching a couple of episodes of East Side/West Side a few years ago. Well, actually, I did watch a couple of episodes; I tried to like it, but I don't know that East Side/West Side is the kind of show that one actually likes, but the lack of a likeable character, combined with an excessive preachiness, meant I turned it off before it could turn me on. The fact that I tried it out, though, meant I fulfilled the obligation set out by Cleveland Amory in this week's review.
To be fair, Cleve had a few nits to pick as well, chief among them that East Side/West Side can be a little, well, humorless. The show is "a pretty depressing concept for evening 'entertainment' to begin with," perhaps "a bit seamier, it seems to us, than it has to be." A show like this doesn't have to have humor, but "more of a light touch would, if nothing else, help to illumine the dark spots." In crafting the role of welfare worker Neil Brock, played by George C. Scott, the producers "have failed to create a character with whom we can identify", and that goes as well for his two colleagues, played by Elizabeth Wilson and Cicely Tyson. There's also the fact that much of the dialog falls into the "unreal" department, which isn't the best thing for a series that promotes its realism.
All that said, Amory praises East Side/West Side as "undoubtedly the boldest, bravest and most original new series now on your screen this new season." CBS deserves credit for actually putting it on the air. And "you owe it to your conscience not only to see it but also to see that it stays on." At least I met Cleve halfway.
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This week is a kind of limbo for Christmas programming—the quiet before the storm, as it were. We're in the time before the barage of animated Christmas specials that come early in the month (Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol premiered in 1962), and the variety shows and weekly sitcoms that air special Christmas episodes are just beginning to run theirs. (More of them will be on next week.)With that said, two of the best-known and best-loved sitcom Christmas episodes air this week. On Tuesday, The Jack Benny Program (9:30 p.m., CBS) presents the famous 1960 episode " Jack Goes Christmas Shopping ," featuring a performance by Mel Blanc that will crack you up, as it does Jack. On Wednesday, it's " The Alan Brady Show Presents ," on The Dick Van Dyke Show (9:30 p.m., CBS), with Dick, Laura, Buddy, Sally, Mel, and Ritchie performing their hearts out. No Christmas viewing schedule is complete without either of these. And Saturday's Lawrence Welk Show (8:30 p.m., ABC) celebrates a holiday show with the Osmond Brothers.
Sunday's always a good time for holiday programs, and this Sunday is no exception, starting with CBS's religious program Look Up and Live (10:30 a.m.), which focuses on "Three Views of Christmas," including songs and spirituals appropriate to Advent. We continue at WNAC in Boston, with the second half of the noon double feature, Remember the Night, with Barbara Stanwick as a shoplifter remanded to the custody of the prosecuting attorney (Fred MacMurray) over the Christmas holiday. (Only in the movies, right?) That finishes in time for you to switch over to the Hallmark Hall of Fame's Christmas presentation, "A Cry of Angels" (4:00 p.m., NBC), the story of Handel and how he came to write "Messiah." Walter Slezak plays the troubled composer, who faces mounting debt, dwindling audience interest, and crippled pain in his hands, as well as the emnity of the Prince of Wales (Hurt Hatfield); Maureen O'Hara costars as Susanna Cibber, the singer who assisted in the efforts to get "Messiah" published. Lassie (7:00 p.m., CBS) presents the first of a two-part Christmas story, in which Timmy and Lassie bring home an elderly toy mender for Christmas. And over on ABC, The Ernie Ford Show (Monday-Friday, noon), Ernie sings at least one Christmas hymn each day.
Locally, WMUR in Manchester airs a charming little program Monday through Friday at 7:00 p.m. called Santa Claus, with the studio transformed into Santa's Workshop at the North Pole, and Santa (kids' show host "Uncle" Gus Bernier" reading letters from kids. You can see a clip from that
here
. On Thursday, WBZ offers a Boston Christmastime tradition, the play Black Nativity (7:30 p.m.), by American poet Langston Hughes, set to traditional Chrismas carols sung in gospel style; Hughes himself provides the narration. At 8:00 p.m. the same night, WGBH has Dylan Thomas's prose poem A Child's Christmas in Wales, recited by Thomas, against the backdrop of photographs of Thomas's homeland. If you have to choose, I'd choose Black Nativity simply on the grounds that WGBH will probably repeat A Child's Christmas sometime in the next couple of weeks.l l l
There's plenty more to look forward to this week. Saturday is the final day of the regular season in college football, with Alabama taking on Miami at the Orange Bowl (1:30 p.m. ET, NBC). If you're like me, you might have wondered that the regular season extended so deep into December, until you see the notation "Postponed from last week." The accordian effect of November 22 really does have a long reach, doesn't it?
On Sunday afternoon, NBC Children's Theatre (3:00 p.m.) presents a kind of alternative to CBS's Young People's Concerts, as conductor Igor Buketoff and the NBC Orchestra demonstrate the range and variety of sounds made by a symphony orchestra. And who wouldn't want to see the conclusion of Pollyanna on Disney's Wonderful World of Color (7:30 p.m., NBC), with the delightful ◀ Hayley Mills, Jane Wyman, and Karl Malden. If you wake up early enough on Monday, you'll catch an interesting lineup on Today (7:00 a.m., NBC), with the focus on "second-generation actors" James Mitchum and Peter Fonda. One of them becomes a big star, one of them doesn't (but he's still more successful than I'd ever be). And if you can stay awake long enough, Sing Along with Mitch (10:00 p.m., NBC) has a tribute to World War II and the London Blitz, with Leslie Uggams, Bob McGrath, Deirdre Damon and Sandy Stewart joining in.
The younger set should be excited by Mr. Novak (Tuesday, 7:30 p.m., NBC), with singer Frankie Avalon as special guest star. And we're in for an eclectic evening on The Bell Telephone Hour (10:00 p.m., NBC), with Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gormé, plus opera great Birgit Nilsson, pianist Lorin Hollander, and dancer Eleanor Powell. Talk about a variety show.
Wednesday, CBS Reports (7:30 p.m.) features members of President Johnson's cabinet sharing their views on various issues facing the new president, less than one month into his administration. It must still have taken some getting used to seeing the phrase "President Johnson" in print. And on The Danny Kaye Show (10:00 p.m., CBS), the aforementioned Dick Van Dyke is Danny's special guest; among the skits, Dick plays a best man trying to talk Danny out of leaving his bride standing at the altar.
On Thursday, Lauren Bacall makes a rare television appearance in Dr. Kildare (8:30 p.m., NBC) as a Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist faced with a serious illness. And on Kraft Suspense Theatre (10:00 p.m., NBC), Mickey Rooney stars in "The Hunt" as a sadistic sheriff who plays a variation of "The Most Dangerous Game" with his prisoners—first he lets them escape, then he tracks them down and kills them. The unfortunate prisoners are James Caan and Bruce Dern.
Friday gives us a case of what might be called "Dueling Serlings," starting with The Chrysler Theatre presentation of "It's Mental Work" (8:30 p.m., NBC), Rod Serling's adaptation of John O'Hara's short story, starring Lee J. Cobb, Harry Guardino, Gena Rowlands, and Archie Moore. After that, you can flip over to CBS for Serling's Twilight Zone story "Ninety Years Without Slumbering" (9:30 p.m.), starring Ed Wynn. When that's over, you've got a choice: The Jack Paar Program (10:00 p.m., NBC), with Jack's guest, BIshop Fulton J. Sheen; or the Fight of the Week (10:00 p.m., ABC), with welterweight champion Emile Griffith moving up a class to fight Rubin "Hurricane" Carter. Remember Carter's long and ultimately successful fight for justice back in the day? This was when he was simply known as a boxer.l l l
On the cover this week is a program that looks as if it should be one of Bing Crosby's star-studded Christmas specials, but in fact The Bing Crosby Show for Lever Brothers , starring Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Bob Hope, Rosemary Clooney, Kathryn Crosby, and Peter Gennaro, isn't scheduled until February 15 of next year.* But these shows have to be shot sometime, and this one has just wrapped production.
*Bing had done Christmas variety specials on ABC in 1961 and 1962; in 1963, he narrated a program called The Promise, made by Father Patrick Peyton's Family Theatre Productions, which told of the events leading up to the birth of Christ.
Deano welcomes Rosie to the set. One of the challenges in putting together an all-star show like this is getting everyone together at the same time, and as fate would have it, Hope is in and out before Sinatra and Martin have even arrived; Bob is suffering from an eye ailment, and left early for treatment. There's only a brief discussion as to whether or not to replace him with another star, and it's decided that they'll tape his segement at a later date and splice it in. Crosby explains to the audience that Hope picked up a slight cold, "and you know at his age, old Skinose has to take care of himself." The special represents "Kathy" Crosby's first television appearance with Bing (as well as her first singing appearance on television), and Crosby's pride in his young wife is evident, kissing her as she sits on his lap. Anyone who's ever watched Bing in action knows how smooth, how practiced and at ease, he always appears ("utterly nervless"), and even his wife is moved to comment on it; at one point, while he was out of earshot, she commented to Rosemary Clooney that "I had no idea he was such a pro. If I had known, I'd have married him sooner."
Incidentelly, when Kathy Crosby was still Kathryn Grant, she appeared in a 1957 science fiction movie called The Night the World Exploded, and that's airing this Friday overnight at 1:00 a.m. on WBZ.
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MST3K alert: Lost Continent (1951) A rescue mission discovers a "Lost Continent." Cesar Romero, Hillary Brooke. (Sunday, 9:00 a.m., WGN) This brief description hardly does the movie justice, and editing it down to fit a one-hour Sunday morning timeslot doesn't help things. But without the interstitial MST3K features, you don't have a movie anyway: Crypto-dad Hugh Beaumont as one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, rock climbing, and Cesar Romero—really, who could ask for anything more? TV
December 13, 2024
Around the dial
Let's start across the pond this week, as John makes his way through the "Ann Way Season," comprising appearances by the British character actress. The latest comes from the great, absurd British series Ripping Yarns, and the episode "
Whinfrey's Last Case
."Garry Berman links back to a review from last year on the series Pan Am , which ran for 14 episodes in 2012. It's a wonderful time capsule for an era that seemed to promise endless potential, and one in which taking a jet wasn't like running the gauntlet through a torture chamber.
At bare•bone e-zine, Jack's Hitchcock Project continues with " Final Arrangements " by Robert Arthur, part of the show's sixth season. It's something of a letdown, despite a fine cast led by Martin Balsam as the would-be wife killer.
One of the more interesting aspects of classic television is the way in which various trends in programming ebb and flow. At Travalanche, Trav looks at one such trend, that of shows using World War II as a backdrop for drama or comedy. Read more about these shows, and why they worked (or didn't).
Michael Cole died earlier this week, aged 84, and with that all three of those impossibly young cops of The Mod Squad are now dead, as well as their mentor, Tige Andrews. There was more to his career, of course, and Terence looks at some of them at A Shroud of Thoughts.
With Christmas just around the corner, it's a perfect time for Martin Grams to look at the "lost" Lone Ranger radio Christmas special of 1938 . It was performed but not recorded for syndication, since it could have been aired at any time of the year. The solution? Read all about it.
Let's talk just a little more about Christmas, as JB does the Christmas Shuffle at The Hits Just Keep on Comin'. Has nothing to do with television (although you'll have heard some of these tunes on the tube), but who's going to complain about a little more Christmas cheer.
At Classic Film & TV Corner, Maddie reviews the 1968-70 series The Ghost & Mrs. Muir, based on the 1947 movie of the same name, with Hope Lange and Edward Mulhare essaying the roles originally played by Gene Tierney and George Sanders. It's a charming way to spend some time.
By the way, that great picture at the top comes from this article on 25 ideas to celebrate an old-fashioned Christmas. One of those ways: "Watch the Christmas TV Special From When You Were a Kid." That's what we'll be doing tonight, and I can't think of a better way to start the weekend. TV
December 11, 2024
A change of pace: the Red Skelton Christmas Show, 1968
I've said this before, and I'll say it again: if you don't try to understand the context in which a classic television program was originally shown, you're losing at least half of its meaning. It's like overcooking vegetables—when you do that, you lose the nutrients, and wind up with something that's soggy, limp, less than what it should have been. Case in point: the Red Skelton Christmas show of 1968.The Red Skelton Hour aired at 8:30 p.m. Eastern time on Tuesday nights, and in 1968, Tuesday fell on Christmas Eve. It was, in fact, quite an evening if you happened to be watching television; at 9:30 p.m., Red was followed by the famous Apollo 8 broadcast, in which the three astronauts read the Creation story from the Book of Genesis as they orbited the moon. It had been a somber year, if anyone needed reminding: a year of war, assassinations, and riots, and this was reflected in the theme of that year's Christmas show.
Red's annual Christmas shows were something of a departure from the format of his regular weekly episodes, and including a long set piece running for at least half the episode: " Freddie and the Yuletide Doll ," in which Freddie the Freeloader dances with a rag doll (Cara Williams) who comes to life; " The Christmas Spirit ," a full-length skit featuring Freddie and Greer Garson putting on a show to benefit orphans; " The Christmas Urchin ," in which Freddie and a friendly beat officer (Howard Keel) help a young girl and her widowed mother; and so on.
The 1968 edition was no exception; in fact, Red functions more as a special guest star on his own show, with the de facto hosting duties taken over by U.S. Senator Everett Dirksen, who had also appeared on Skelton's show the previous year. Dirksen, seated in a wingback chair on a set that included a fireplace and Christmas tree, introduced Red's Silent Spot (repeated from the previous year) and a performance by ballet dancer Jillana, and recited Clement Clark Moore's poem "A Visit from St. Nicholas," before providing the narration for the night's centerpiece: "A Christmas Story—1777." As Dirksen reflects on the warmth of Christmases spent with friends and loved ones, he reminds viewers that "there are those whose duties take them away from the glow of the hearth and set them down in strange places where Christmas is sadly just another day." Such a place is Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, the winter headquarters of General George Washington and his Continental Army. The weather is cold, bleak, and cruel, with little for the soldiers to eat or drink, and as many of them die from cold and starvation as from the bullets of British soldiers. What follows is their story, written by Red Skelton, "a story about some brave men whose sacrifices so many years ago enables us to enjoy this holiday tonight."
Skelton is "Patrick," one of the sentries standing guard; he mans his post, even though he knows that the real enemies—the cold, the hunger—are already inside the camp. In the last month, 2,500 men have died "without costing the British one bullet." Money for the war is going to the wrong people, who "get rich on our debts." His spirits are briefly lifted when he receives a Christmas gift from his loving wife: a warm muffler, knitted in blue so he won't be mistaken for a redcoat. Too often, though, the humor in the camp is cynical, the laughter that which is "born of sadness."
One of the soldiers brings news from Philadelphia, where food is plentiful and people live as if this "wasn't their war." When Patrick asks if they know about the conditions under which the troops are living, he is told that they are, but "the war is not popular with everybody. . .There are young men on the streets who make speeches of protest." "If those agitators put self before freedon, before liberty," another soldier replies, "let them come on this battle line. Let both sides fire at them."
Patrick wonders: "Why does a man who speaks as a traitor believe that the other side will trust him?"
"So it is our lot to do the fighting," the first soldier replies, "even for those who in their fight undermine us. Perhaps we who fight will appreciate liberty a little more."
But what is liberty? Says Patrick, "Liberty is tomorrow."
Comes Christmas Eve, and Dirksen describes the scene: "The eyes of men half alive blur with tears. The night is bitter cold, but that isn't what makes men cry. Men make men cry. Leaders of men cry, too. The spirit of Liberty makes men cry. The real heroes are dead, but those who still live are learning to be heroes. But do they live, or are they ghosts of the dead?" There is no water to be had other than that in the frozen stream; Patrick becomes so desperate from thirst that when he sees another soldier holding a canteen to his lips, he offers to exchange the muffler his wife made for him in return for just a couple of sips, but the soldier shakes his head, and Patrick runs away in shame and despair. In fact, the canteen is empty, the soldier merely miming the act of drinking: his own thirst had driven him nearly mad.
Remembering that it is Christmas Eve, and determined that they should not forget the night, Patrick sneaks out of the tent and returns with a small evergreen to serve as a Christmas tree for the other soldiers, to remind them of what this night means. "You should see them. There's light in their eyes for the first time. He then lights a candle and attaches it to a branch. I feel rejoicing; my heart overflows with gratitude and hope." For them, the little tree "beholds His divine grace." One soldier, young enough that he should be "at a Christmas dance, not walking around barefooted through the ice and snow, leaving his blood to feed the spring flowers," gazes lovingly at the tree before dying. "At least he saw the tree of the Christ Child before he walked into the valley of death." Patrick take off his muffler and wraps it around the dead boy. Even though there is no church, no altar, the camp is still alive with the spirit of Christmas.
It's an inspiring ending to a somber, stark story, but it might leave some contemporary viewers nonplussed. For instance, we're not accustomed to seeing Skelton in a straight dramatic role, with only flashes of humor. And there's nothing particularly Christmassy about Valley Forge in 1777 other than the time of year. We might wonder—where's the holly and mistletoe? Where are the soldiers singing carols? We don't even have the satisfaction of Washington's dramatic crossing of the Delaware on Christmas, 1776. Instead, we see men enduring incredible hardships; even nature seems to be against them. We know that victory eventually comes to Washington and his army, but we wonder how many of these men will live to see it. It's certainly not the stuff that Hallmark movies are made of.But that's probably not how it would have been taken back in 1968. Viewed through the prism of the time, it's impossible not to see "A Christmas Story—1777" as an allegory on the Vietnam War. Instead of the bitter cold of Valley Forge in 1777, substitute the heat and humidity of the Southeast Asia jungle in 1968. The colonials are betrayed not by the loyalists and apathetic of Philadelphia, but by "Hanoi Jane" and the others accused of providing aid and comfort to the Viet Cong. The one constant through it all is the American soldier fighting and dying, and wondering if anyone out there cares.
Is "A Christmas Story—1777" an antiwar story? It presents war in all its horror, stripped of its glory and nobility, reducing it to a desperate quest for survival. And yet, despite everything, the men know why they are there and what they are fighting for; it is what keeps them there, through it all, so that even though some will desert, many of them keep coming back. It's no secret that both Dirksen and Skelton were strong supporters of Vietnam*, and some might think that makes them, in part, responsible for the suffering and death that followed. Does this negate the power of what we see here? I don't think so; it doesn't seek to deny the horrors of war, and whatever one might have thought of Vietnam, either then or now, they way they were treated by many Americans after the war remains shameful.
*Three weeks later, on the January 14, 1969 show (just before Richard Nixon's inauguration), Skelton would do his well-known and dramatic rendition of "The Pledge of Allegiance."
Seen in context, Red Skelton's 1968 Christmas show takes on a different dimension, one that's perhaps more dramatic, more meaningful, even (for some) more controversial. In the end, I don't think it matters whether or not you agree with the message; what is important is that knowing the context enriches both the program itself, and the way in which we experience it. It also proves, once again, that there's more to "mere television" than one might think. TV
December 9, 2024
What's on TV? Wednesday, December 10, 1975
TV Guide doesn't usually inject editorial opinions into program listings (except for the occasional movie description), but whoever wrote the description for Adam-12 (6:30 p.m., KBHK) deserves some kind of award: "Familiar TV faces mark an otherwise routine episode." That's it; that's all there is. No mention of who the faces belong to, or of what might be going on in the routine episode. Maybe it's not so routine because of the faces. Who knows? It sounds like one of those write-ups you might read in a Mad magazine spoof. But it's the real thing, and it comes from the San Francisco Metropolitan edition.-2- KTVU (BAY AREA) (Ind.) MORNING 6:30 BUGS AND FRIENDS—Cartoon 7:30 CARTOON TOWN 8:30 ROMPER ROOM—Children 9:00 BIG VALLEY—Western 10:00 MOVIE—Comedy BW “Let’s Make It Legal” (1951) AFTERNOON 12:00 COURTSHIP OF EDDIE’S FATHER—Comedy-Drama 12:30 THAT GIRL—Comedy 1:00 MOVIE—Drama BW “The Cousins” (French; 1958) 2:55 NEWS 3:00 PORKY AND FRIENDS—Cartoon 3:30 BATMAN—Adventure Guest villianess: Barbara Stuart (Rocet O’Rourke) 4:00 MICKEY MOUSE CLUB BW 4:30 GILLIGAN’S ISLAND 5:00 PARTRIDGE FAMILY—Comedy 5:30 BEWITCHED—Comedy EVENING 6:00 STAR TREK—Adventure 7:00 FBI—Crime Drama 8:00 NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC—Documentary “The Hidden World” 9:00 SAGA OF WESTERN MAN—Documentary “1492” 10:00 NEWS 11:00 BILKO—Comedy BW 11:30 HONEYMOONERS—Comedy BW 12:00 McHALE’S NAVY—Comedy BW 12:30 NEWS
-3- KCRA (SACRAMENTO) (NBC) MORNING 5:55 FARM MARKET REPORT 6:00 RHYME AND REASON—Instruction 6:30 NEW APPROACHES TO HIGH SCHOOL LEARNING 7:00 TODAY—Jim Hartz/Barbara Walters 9:00 CELEBRITY SWEEPSTAKES—Game Dick Gautier, Michele Lee, Mike Farrell, Dan Rowan, Jan Murray, Bill Armstrong Host: Him McKrell 9:30 WHEEL OF FORTUNE—Game 10:30 HOLLYWOOD SQUARES—Game Roddy McDowall, Leslie Uggams, John Davidson, Marcia Wallace, George Gobel, Charlie Callas, Vincent Price, Florence Henderson, Paul Lynde 11:00 HIGH ROLLERS—Game 11:30 MAGNIFICENT MARBLE MACHINE—Game Alex Trebek, Ruta Lee. Host: Art James 11:55 NBC NEWS—Edwin Newman AFTERNOON 12:00 NEWS 12:30 DAYS OF OUR LIVES—Serial 1:30 DOCTORS—Serial 2:00 ANOTHER WORLD—Serial 3:00 MOVIE—Musical “The Cool Ones” (1967) 5:00 BEWITCHED—Comedy 5:30 NEWS EVENING 6:00 NBC NEWS—John Chancellor 6:30 NEWS 7:30 SEVEN THIRTY 8:00 LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE 9:00 DOCTORS HOSPITAL 10:00 PETROCELLI 11:00 NEWS 11:30 JOHNNY CARSON Scheduled guests: George Carlin, Charles Durning
-4- KRON (BAY AREA) (NBC) MORNING 6:25 NEWS 6:30 SCHOOL OF THE AIR 7:00 TODAY—Jim Hartz/Barbara Walters 9:00 CELEBRITY SWEEPSTAKES—Game Dick Gautier, Michele Lee, Mike Farrell, Dan Rowan, Jan Murray, Bill Armstrong Host: Him McKrell 9:30 WHEEL OF FORTUNE—Game 10:30 HOLLYWOOD SQUARES—Game Roddy McDowall, Leslie Uggams, John Davidson, Marcia Wallace, George Gobel, Charlie Callas, Vincent Price, Florence Henderson, Paul Lynde 11:00 PETTICOAT JUNCTION 11:30 MAGNIFICENT MARBLE MACHINE—Game Alex Trebek, Ruta Lee. Host: Art James 11:55 NBC NEWS—Edwin Newman AFTERNOON 12:00 NEWS 12:30 DAYS OF OUR LIVES—Serial 1:30 DOCTORS—Serial 2:00 ANOTHER WORLD—Serial 3:00 IRONSIDE—Crime Drama 4:00 MERV GRIFFIN Guest host: Richard Dawson. Guests: Gig Young, Betty White, Richard Fredricks 5:30 NEWS EVENING 6:30 NBC NEWS—John Chancellor 7:00 TRUTH OR CONSEQUENCES—Game 7:30 $25,000 PYRAMID—Game 8:00 LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE 9:00 DOCTORS HOSPITAL 10:00 PETROCELLI 11:00 NEWS 11:30 JOHNNY CARSON Scheduled guests: George Carlin, Charles Durning 1:00 TOMORROW—Tom Snyder Guest: Marv Albert
-5- KPIX (BAY AREA) (CBS) MORNING 6:00 SUNRISE SEMESTER Anthropology of the Middle East and North Africa 6:30 T’AI CHI CHU’AN 7:00 CBS NEWS—Hughes Rudd 8:00 CAPTAIN KANGAROO 9:00 MAGAZINE—Report Special 10:00 KATHRYN CROSBY SHOW 10:30 LOVE OF LIFE—Serial 10:55 CBS NEWS—Douglas Edwards 11:00 YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS—Serial 11:30 SEARCH FOR TOMORROW—Serial AFTERNOON 12:00 NEWS 12:30 AS THE WORLD TURNS—Serial 1:30 GUIDING LIGHT—Serial 2:00 ALL IN THE FAMILY 2:30 MATCH GAME Edward Asner, Julie London, Fannie Flagg, Brett Somers, Richard Dawson 3:00 TATTLETALES—Game Bob and Dorothy Jo Barker, Elaine Joyce and Bobby Van 3:30 MOD SQUAD—Crime Drama 4:30 MIKE DOUGLAS Co-host: Petula Clark. Guests: Andy Griffith, Tavares EVENING 6:00 NEWS 6:30 CBS NEWS—Walter Cronkite 7:00 NEWS—Bohrman/Joiner 7:30 PRICE IS RIGHT—Game 8:00 TONY ORLANDO AND DAWN Kate Smith, Conrad Bain, Neil Sedaka 9:00 CANNON—Crime Drama [Expands to two hours this week] 11:00 NEWS 11:30 MOVIE—Crime Drama “Hawaii Five-O” (Made-for-TV; 1968) 1:30 RIFLEMAN—Western BW
-7- KGO (BAY AREA) (ABC) MORNING 6:20 NEWS 6:30 YOGA FOR HEALTH BW 7:00 GOOD MORNING, AMERICA—David Hartman 9:00 A.M. SAN FRANCISCO—Fleming 10:30 HAPPY DAYS 11:00 SHOWOFFS—Game Conny Van Dyke, Robert Reed, Ross Martin, Lynn Redgrave. Host: Bobby Van 11:30 RHYME AND REASON—Game Dwan Smith, Robert Urich, Jaye P. Morgan, Nipsey Russell, Charlie Brill, Mitzi McCall. Host: Bob Eubanks AFTERNOON 12:00 EDGE OF NIGHT—Serial 12:30 ALL MY CHILDREN—Serial 1:00 RYAN’S HOPE—Serial 1:30 LET’S MAKE A DEAL—Game 2:00 $10,000 PYRAMID—Game John Forsythe, Bernadette Peters 2:30 ONE LIFE TO LIVE—Serial 3:00 GENERAL HOSPITAL—Serial 3:30 MOVIE—Western “Bugles in the Afternoon” (1952) 5:00 NEWS EVENING 6:00 NEWS 7:00 ABC NEWS—Harry Reasoner 7:30 HOLLYWOOD SQUARES—Game Debbie Reynolds, Jonathan Winters, Florence Henderson, Demond Wilson, Suzanne Pleshette, Jan Murray, Earl Holliman, Rose Marie, Paul Lynde 8:00 YEAR WITHOUT A SANTA CLAUS—Cartoon Special 9:00 JOHN DENVER—Special Guests: Valerie Harper, Olivia Newton-John, Steve Martin [Pre-empts “Baretta”] 10:00 STARSKY AND HUTCH—Crime Drama 11:00 NEWS 11:30 MOVIE—Mystery “Quiller: Night of the Father” (Made-for-TV; 1975) 1:00 NEWS
-8- KSBW (SALINAS) (NBC) MORNING 6:30 PUNTO DE INTERES 6:55 THOUGHT FOR TODAY 7:00 TODAY—Jim Hartz/Barbara Walters 9:00 CELEBRITY SWEEPSTAKES—Game Dick Gautier, Michele Lee, Mike Farrell, Dan Rowan, Jan Murray, Bill Armstrong Host: Him McKrell 9:30 WHEEL OF FORTUNE—Game 10:30 HOLLYWOOD SQUARES—Game Roddy McDowall, Leslie Uggams, John Davidson, Marcia Wallace, George Gobel, Charlie Callas, Vincent Price, Florence Henderson, Paul Lynde 11:00 HIGH ROLLERS—Game 11:30 MAGNIFICENT MARBLE MACHINE—Game Alex Trebek, Ruta Lee. Host: Art James 11:55 NBC NEWS—Edwin Newman AFTERNOON 12:00 SOMERSET—Serial 12:30 DAYS OF OUR LIVES—Serial 1:30 DOCTORS—Serial 2:00 ANOTHER WORLD—Serial 3:00 FBI—Crime Drama 4:00 SANTA’S TOY SHOP 4:30 FAMILY AFFAIR—Comedy 5:00 GILLIGAN’S ISLAND BW 5:30 BRADY BUNCH—Comedy EVENING 6:00 NEWS 6:30 NBC NEWS—John Chancellor 7:00 TO TELL THE TRUTH Kitty Carlisle, Nipsey Russell, Bill Cullen, Peggy Cass 7:30 CHRISTMAS IS 8:00 LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE 9:00 ONE TO ONE—Variety Special Host: Julie Andrews. Guests: the Muppets, Janet Lynn, Korean Children’s Choir 10:00 ONE TO ONE—Variety Special Host: Julie Andrews. Guests: the Muppets, Janet Lynn, Korean Children’s Choir 11:00 NEWS 11:30 JOHNNY CARSON Scheduled guests: George Carlin, Charles Durning 1:00 TOMORROW—Tom Snyder Guest: Marv Albert
-9- KQED (BAY AREA) (PBS) MORNING 8:00 LILIAS, YOGA AND YOU 8:30 MISTER ROGERS 9:00 SESAME STREET 10:00 ELECTRIC COMPANY—Children AFTERNOON 12:00 WOMAN ALIVE!—Report 12:30 LILAS, YOGA AND YOU 2:00 ROMAGNOLIS’ TABLE Lamb in a lemon-and-egg sauce 2:30 LOWELL THOMAS REMEMBERS—Documentary 3:00 YOGA FOR HEALTH 3:30 NEW APPROACHES TO HIGH SCHOOL LEARNING 4:00 MISTER ROGERS 4:30 SESAME STREET EVENING 6:00 VILLA ALEGRE—Children 6:30 SECRET AT THE OLD FERRY—Mystery 7:00 ROMAGNOLIS’ TABLE Spaghetti, honey and raisin cake 7:30 NEWSROOM 8:00 RACE FOR THE MAYOR 9:00 CALL IN 9:15 GREAT PERFORMANCES—Music 10:15 CALL IN 10:30 NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC—Documentary Special: “This Britain: Heritage of the Sea” 11:30 CALL IN 11:40 NEWSROOM
10 KXTV (SACRAMENTO) (CBS) MORNING 6:30 SUNRISE SEMESTER Anthropology of the Middle East and North Africa 7:00 CBS NEWS—Hughes Rudd 8:00 CAPTAIN KANGAROO 9:00 AT NINE ON TEN—Drew/LaMotte 9:30 PRICE IS RIGHT—Game 10:30 LOVE OF LIFE—Serial 10:55 CBS NEWS—Douglas Edwards 11:00 YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS—Serial 11:30 SEARCH FOR TOMORROW—Serial AFTERNOON 12:00 NEWS 12:30 AS THE WORLD TURNS—Serial 1:30 GUIDING LIGHT—Serial 2:00 ALL IN THE FAMILY 2:30 MATCH GAME Edward Asner, Julie London, Fannie Flagg, Brett Somers, Richard Dawson 3:00 DINAH! Carol Burnett, Lilli Palmer, Eydie Gorme, Marty Robbins 4:00 MIKE DOUGLAS Co-host: Petula Clark. Guests: Andy Griffith, Tavares 5:30 NEWS EVENING 6:00 CBS NEWS—Walter Cronkite 6:30 NEWS 7:00 CONCENTRATION—Game 7:30 NAME THAT TUNE 8:00 TONY ORLANDO AND DAWN Kate Smith, Conrad Bain, Neil Sedaka 9:00 CANNON—Crime Drama [Expands to two hours this week] 11:00 NEWS 11:30 MOVIE—Crime Drama “Hawaii Five-O” (Made-for-TV; 1968)
11 KNTV (SAN JOSE) (ABC) MORNING 6:00 EN LA COMUNIDAD—Rene Cantu 6:30 NEW ZOO REVUE 7:00 GOOD MORNING, AMERICA—David Hartman 9:00 THAT GIRL—Comedy 9:30 COURTSHIP OF EDDIE’S FATHER—Comedy-Drama 10:00 I DREAM OF JEANNIE—Comedy 10:30 HAPPY DAYS 11:00 SHOWOFFS—Game Conny Van Dyke, Robert Reed, Ross Martin, Lynn Redgrave. Host: Bobby Van 11:30 RHYME AND REASON—Game Dwan Smith, Robert Urich, Jaye P. Morgan, Nipsey Russell, Charlie Brill, Mitzi McCall. Host: Bob Eubanks AFTERNOON 12:00 EDGE OF NIGHT—Serial 12:30 ALL MY CHILDREN—Serial 1:00 RYAN’S HOPE—Serial 1:30 LET’S MAKE A DEAL—Game 2:00 $10,000 PYRAMID—Game John Forsythe, Bernadette Peters 2:30 ONE LIFE TO LIVE—Serial 3:00 GENERAL HOSPITAL—Serial 3:30 PARTRIDGE FAMILY—Comedy 4:00 IRONSIDE—Crime Drama 5:00 NEWS EVENING 6:00 MOVIE—Western “Backtrack” (1969) 7:30 EVENING EDITION WITH MARTIN AGRONSKY 8:00 YEAR WITHOUT A SANTA CLAUS—Cartoon Special 9:00 JOHN DENVER—Special Guests: Valerie Harper, Olivia Newton-John, Steve Martin [Pre-empts “Baretta”] 10:00 STARSKY AND HUTCH—Crime Drama 11:00 NEWS 11:30 MOVIE—Musical “Can’t Help Singing” (1944)
13 KOVR (SACRAMENTO) (ABC) MORNING 5:55 NEWS 6:00 TIME TO GROW—Telecourse 6:30 HAZEL—Comedy 7:00 GOOD MORNING, AMERICA—David Hartman 9:00 MORNING SCENE—Chet Hancock 10:00 TRUTH OR CONSEQUENCES 10:30 HAPPY DAYS 11:00 SHOWOFFS—Game Conny Van Dyke, Robert Reed, Ross Martin, Lynn Redgrave. Host: Bobby Van 11:30 RHYME AND REASON—Game Dwan Smith, Robert Urich, Jaye P. Morgan, Nipsey Russell, Charlie Brill, Mitzi McCall. Host: Bob Eubanks AFTERNOON 12:00 EDGE OF NIGHT—Serial 12:30 ALL MY CHILDREN—Serial 1:00 RYAN’S HOPE—Serial 1:30 LET’S MAKE A DEAL—Game 2:00 SMUD COOKING 2:30 TO TELL THE TRUTH Bill Cullen, Peggy Cass, Tony Roberts, Kitty Carlisle 3:00 GENERAL HOSPITAL—Serial 3:30 ONE LIFE TO LIVE 4:00 BEVERLY HILLBILLIES 4:30 GOMER PYLE, USMC BW 5:00 ADAM-12—Crime Drama 5:30 NEWS EVENING 6:00 ABC NEWS—Harry Reasoner 6:30 MERV GRIFFIN Guests: Lucille Ball, Otto Preminger, Anthony Newley, Rona Barrett 8:00 YEAR WITHOUT A SANTA CLAUS—Cartoon Special 9:00 JOHN DENVER—Special Guests: Valerie Harper, Olivia Newton-John, Steve Martin [Pre-empts “Baretta”] 10:00 STARSKY AND HUTCH—Crime Drama 11:00 NEWS 11:30 IRONSIDE—Crime Drama 12:30 MOVIE—Mystery “Quiller: Night of the Father” (Made-for-TV; 1975) 2:00 NEWS
14 KCSM (BAY AREA) (PBS) MORNING 8:00 MISTER ROGERS 8:30 ROMANTIC REBELLION—Documentary 9:00 AS MAN BEHAVES 10:00 ELECTRIC COMPANY—Children 10:30 VILLA ALEGRE—Children 11:00 CONSUMER SURVIVAL KIT—Report 11:30 WOMAN ALIVE!—Report AFTERNOON 12:00 WOMAN 12:30 PEOPLE 1:00 JUSTICE FORUM 2:30 LILAS, YOGA AND YOU 3:00 MASTERPIECE THEATRE “Notorious Woman,” Part 4 4:00 MISTER ROGERS 4:30 SESAME STREET 5:30 ELECTRIC COMPANY—Children EVENING 6:00 VILLA ALEGRE—Children 6:30 YOGA FOR HEALTH 7:30 EVENING EDITION WITH MARTIN AGRONSKY 8:00 HOMETOWN SATURDAY NIGHT—Music Special 9:00 OPUS 14 9:30 ROMANTIC REBELLION—Documentary 10:00 SAY BROTHER—Report
20 KEMO (BAY AREA) (Ind.) MORNING 7:30 STOCK MARKET TODAY—Tom Miller 8:00 NEW YORK STOCK EXCHANGE UPDATE 8:30 MARKET PLACE 9:00 WALL STREET ROUND TABLE AFTERNOON 12:00 700 CLUB—Religion 1:30 CHARISMA—Religion 2:00 BOZO’S BIG TOP—Children 3:00 LA FABRICA 4:00 NIMO—Novela 5:00 VIVIANA ORTIGUERA—Novela 5:30 NOTICIERO EVENING 6:30 LA MUJER PROHIBIDA—Novela BW 7:30 SOLEDAD—Novela BW 8:00 ESMERALDA—Novela 9:00 NIDIA CARO 10:00 CITA CON LAS ESTRELLAS 11:00 700 CLUB—Religion
31 KMUV (SACRAMENTO) (Ind.) MORNING 6:00 NEWS 6:45 SPANISH NEWS 6:55 KMUV EDITORIAL 7:00 SOLID GOLD HEROES 8:55 NEWS 9:00 MOVIE—Crime Drama “Force of Evil” (1948) 10:55 NEWS 11:00 SUSPENSE THEATRE 11:55 NEWS AFTERNOON 12:00 MOVIE—Drama BW “High Barbaree” (1947) 1:55 NEWS 2:00 MOVIE—Thriller BW “Tower of London” (1939) 3:55 NEWS 4:00 SOLID GOLD HEROES 5:55 NEWS EVENING 6:00 MOVIE—Drama “Foxfire” (1955) 7:55 KMUV EDITORIAL 8:00 MOVIE—Musical “Luxury Liner” (1948) 9:55 NEWS 10:00 SUSPENSE THEATRE—Drama 10:55 NEWS 11:00 MOVIE—Drama “Foxfire” (1955) 1:00 MOVIE—Thriller BW “Tower of London” (1939) 2:30 MOVIE—Musical “Luxury Liner” (1948) 4:00 MOVIE—Drama “Foxfire” (1955)
36 KGSC (SAN JOSE) (Ind.) MORNING 10:50 COMMUNITY SPEAKS 11:00 PUBLC AFFAIRS 11:30 YOGA FOR HEALTH AFTERNOON 12:00 MOVIE—Drama BW “People in a Net” (German; 1964) 2:00 MIKE DOUGLAS Co-host: Don Adams. Guests: Mac Davis, Juliet Prowse, Jill St. John, Foster Brooks, Chuck Woolery, U.S. Ski Team 3:30 MOVIE—Drama BW “Where Danger Lives” (1950) 5:25 NEWS 5:30 GET SMART—Comedy EVENING 6:00 MOVIE—Drama BW “Days of Glory” (1944) 7:55 NEWS 8:00 MOVIE—Drama BW “Panic in Year Zero” (1962) 9:55 NEWS 10:00 MERV GRIFFIN Guests: Jack Klugman, Lorne Greene, Jim Stafford, William Shatner 11:30 MOVIE—Drama BW “Dragonfly Squadron” (1954) 1:00 MOVIE—Drama BW “David Harum” (1934) 2:45 MOVIE—Musical BW “The Sky’s the Limit” (1943) 4:15 MOVIE—Crime Drama BW “The Enforcer” (1951)
38 KVOF (BAY AREA) (Ind) EVENING 6:00 BLACK BUFFALO’S POW WOW—Children 6:30 LIVING WORD—Religion 7:00 BEYOND YOURSELF—Fern Olson 7:30 PATTERN FOR LIVING 8:00 THE KING IS COMING—Religion 8:30 LIVING WATERS—Religion 9:00 HAPPY HUNTERS 9:30 SPRING STREET U.S.A.—Music 10:00 JERRY FALWELL—Religion
40 KTXL (SACRAMENTO) (Ind.) MORNING 5:50 PUBLIC AFFAIRS 6:30 NEW ZOO REVUE 7:00 CAPTAIN’S CARTOONS 8:00 SPEED RACER—Cartoon 8:30 DENNIS THE MENACE BW 9:00 JACK LaLANNE 9:30 I LOVE LUCY—Comedy BW 10:00 MOVIE—Drama “The Pursuit of Happiness” (1971) AFTERNOON 12:00 DICK VAN DYKE—Comedy BW 12:30 ANDY GRIFFITH—Company 1:00 MOVIE—Drama “Her Twelve Men” (1954) 3:00 MICKEY MOUSE CLUB BW 3:30 CAPTAIN’S CARTOONS 4:00 MUNSTERS—Comedy BW 4:30 PARTRIDGE FAMILY 5:00 MOD SQUAD—Crime Drama EVENING 6:00 STAR TREK—Adventure 7:00 FBI—Crime Drama 8:00 MOVIE—Drama “The Inn of the Sixth Happiness” (English; 1958) 10:00 NEWS 10:30 NOT FOR WOMEN ONLY The World of the Model, Part 3 11:00 THRILLER—Drama BW 12:00 MOVIE—Mystery BW “Web of Evidence” (1959) 2:00 MOVIE—Drama BW “The Cross of Lorraine” (1943) 4:00 MOVIE—Drama BW “Wild Harvest” (1947)
44 KBHK (BAY AREA) (Ind.) MORNING 10:30 NOT FOR WOMEN ONLY Mental Illness, part 3 11:00 NEWSTALK—Marian Bowdry 11:30 NEW ZOO REVUE AFTERNOON 12:00 LEAVE IT TO BEAVER BW 12:30 MOVIE—Drama BW “The Red Danube” (1949) 2:00 UNDERDOG—Cartoon 2:30 HUCK AND YOGI—Cartoon 3:00 POPEYE—Cartoon 3:30 THREE STOOGES—Comedy 4:00 LITTLE RASCALS—Comedy BW 4:30 FLINTSTONES—Cartoon 5:00 FLINTSTONES—Cartoon 5:30 MONKEES—Comedy EVENING 6:00 BRADY BUNCH—Comedy 6:30 ADAM-12—Crime Drama 7:00 HOGAN’S HEROES—Comedy 7:30 HOGAN’S HEROES—Comedy 8:00 DINAH! Muhammad and Khalilah Ali, Tony Orlando, Billy Crystal 9:30 BEST OF GROUCHO 10:00 MOVIE—Drama BW “East Side, West Side” (1949)
46 KMST (SALINAS) (CBS) MORNING 6:55 NEWS 7:00 CBS NEWS—Hughes Rudd 8:00 CAPTAIN KANGAROO 9:00 MAGAZINE—Report Special 10:00 GAMBIT—Game 10:30 LOVE OF LIFE—Serial 10:55 CBS NEWS—Douglas Edwards 11:00 YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS—Serial 11:30 SEARCH FOR TOMORROW—Serial AFTERNOON 12:00 MIDDAY—Interview 12:30 AS THE WORLD TURNS—Serial 1:30 GUIDING LIGHT—Serial 2:00 ALL IN THE FAMILY 2:30 MATCH GAME Edward Asner, Julie London, Fannie Flagg, Brett Somers, Richard Dawson 3:00 MERV GRIFFIN Guests: Redd Foxx, Mac Davis, Tommy Butler 4:00 DINAH! Muhammad and Khalilah Ali, Tony Orlando, Billy Crystal 5:30 MICKEY MOUSE CLUB BW EVENING 6:00 NEWS 6:30 CBS NEWS—Walter Cronkite 7:00 GUNSMOKE—Western 8:00 TONY ORLANDO AND DAWN Kate Smith, Conrad Bain, Neil Sedaka 9:00 CANNON—Crime Drama [Expands to two hours this week] 11:00 NEWS 11:30 MOVIE—Crime Drama “Hawaii Five-O” (Made-for-TV; 1968)
54 KTEH (SAN JOSE) (PBS) MORNING 7:00 SESAME STREET 8:00 MISTER ROGERS 10:45 ELECTRIC COMPANY—Children AFTERNOON 12:00 VEGETABLE SOUP 12:30 ELECTRIC COMPANY—Children 1:15 VILLA ALEGRE 2:15 CARRASCOLENDAS—Children 3:00 OUNCE OF PREVENTION 4:00 CARRASCOLENDAS—Children 4:30 MISTER ROGERS 5:00 SESAME STREET EVENING 6:00 ELECTRIC COMPANY—Children 6:30 YOGA FOR HEALTH 7:00 ANTIQUES 7:30 EVENING EDITION WITH MARTIN AGRONSKY 8:00 EVENING AT SYMPHONY 9:00 MASTERPIECE THEATRE “Notorious Women,” Part 4 10:00 SOUNDSTAGE Harry Chapin 11:00 ABC NEWS—Harry Reasoner Captioned for the hearing-impaired
TV
December 7, 2024
This week in TV Guide: December 6, 1975
Television is a lot like the weather: people complain about it, but nobody does anything about it. In this week's cover story, Neil Hickey looks at one of the most controversial attempts to do something about television: "family viewing time." Family viewing time—defined as the hours between 7 and 9:00 p.m. Eastern time—was written into the National Association of Broadcasters' Television Code for the beginning of the 1975-76 season, in response to growing alarm over the amount of violence on television. Now, this is nothing new, as faithful readers will testify; concern over TV violence has been around almost as long as TV itself, and tends to spike in the wake of any traumatic national event. However, the most recent TV Guide poll, conducted by Opinion Research Company, shows that such worries have risen markedly, with more than seven out of 10 Americans convinced that "television programs, overall, are much too violent." Under family viewing time, no program deemed "inappropriate for viewing by a general familiy audience" would be aired during those two hours.
Almost immediately, however, a hue and cry arose that this amounted to "censorship," that the ruling was the result of buckling to pressure from Congress, and that it wouldn't work anyway, since children themselves don't limit their viewing to early evening hours. (More than 20 million children between the ages of 2 and 17 are watching TV at 9:00 p.m., and 5.3 million are still watching at 11:00 p.m.) And last month, the Writers Guild, Directors Guild, and Screen Actors Guild, brought suit against the FCC, the NAB, and the three commercial networks, charging that family viewing time was "the product of political coercion" and a violation of the First Amendment. Defenders of the policy have been equally adamant that family viewing time was, at the very least, a step in the right direction, a guarantee that there would be at least two inoffensive hours of television a day, and an aid to parents attempting to oversee their children's viewing. But what does the public think about it all?
Well, as Richard Dawson might say, here is what the survey says. Not surprisingly, a little more than half the public had either never heard of it at all or was uncertain as to what the details were. However, once the details were explained to them, the publicsx 's opinion starts to come into focus. Asked if they were in favor of such a rule or opposed to it, 82 percent replied yes, with only seven percent opposing it. Households with children were more strongly in favor than those without, and the approval rate for women was slightly higher than men, 85% to 77%. Seniors and those without a college degree were also more likely to support it. Eight out of ten respondants said they did not feel as if family programming standards were being forced on them, and 56% replied that they were hopeful television might improve as a result of the rule. Some other trends to notice: while 54% felt there was too much sex on television, 71% said there was too much violence, and 44% felt violence was more objectionable than sex, while 22% felt the opposite. However, when asked whether or not there should be stricter controls on programming, seven out of 10 felt that the family itself should make that decision, and of those who did think there should be stricter controles, more than half felt those controls should come from the industry, rather than the government.
The conclusions, says Hickey, are broadly that the public feels there's too much violence, that the concept of family viewing time is a good one, and that 80% of the public approves of the rule designed to bring it about.
Of course, things have changed since then. In 1976, family viewing time was found unconstitutional as a violation of the First Amendment; the NAB Code itself went away in 1983. Cable programming was never under the control of the government or the NAB anyway, and as cable grew, it became a moot point. Anyway, with the advent of on-demand programming, you can watch what you want whenever you want anyway. But then, one could argue that the definition of "family" itself is so up in the air, so maybe none of it matters. l l l
On weeks when we can, we'll match up two of the biggest rock shows of the era, NBC's The Midnight Special and the syndicated Don Kirshner's Rock Concert, and see who's better, who's best.Kirshner #1: Two different syndicated Kirshner episodes again this week; in the first, Steppenwolf, Graham Central Station and Emmylou Harris are guests. Music: “Mr. Penny Pincher”’, and “‘Carotine” (Steppenwolf)
Kirshner #2: Performers: Janis lan, Pure Prairie League and Chuck Mangione. Songs include “At Seventeen,” “When the Party’s Over.”
Special: Helen Reddy's guests are Glen Campbell, Anne Murray, Johnny Rivers, soul group Rufus featuring Chaka Khan, and soul artists the Whitneys. Also: James Taylor's hit “You’ve Got a Friend” and a tribute to Gordon Lightfoot.
Well, this is a tough one. Ordinarily, I'd be leaning toward the Special, but for two things: I can't stand Helen Reddy, and I can't stand James Taylor. I particularly can't stand James Taylor singing "You've Got a Friend," which only serves to make me an enemy. Meanwhile, Glen Campbell and Johnny Rivers are just fine, but this week's songs are far from their best. And so this leaves a pair of Kirshner concerts, of which I'm going to give the edge to #2, with Janis Ian singing two of her biggest, and Chuck Mangione as the hottest horn around. This week, Kirshner takes the prize.
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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.There are, as Cleveland Amory sees it, four categories of shows in the 1975-76 season: "dicks, docs, damsels in distress and barrel-of-laughs ethnics." Into the last category falls this week's show, the ABC sitcom Welcome Back, Kotter, and as Cleve says, "you could do a lot worse." Kotter, as you probably know, gives us Gabe Kaplan as the teacher who returns to his former school ten years later, assigned to teach a class of "Special Guidance Remedial Academics." Although the premise may sound hokey, and it's not particularly convincing (John Travolta, as Barbarino, is "a pretty boy who looks as if someone stole his lollipop."), it is, most of the time, very funny.
Credit for much of that goes to Kaplan, "a versatile comedian who can be convincing when the occasion demands and, when it doesn’t, can break out in the wildest stuff this side of Freddie Prinze." He is, says Amory, "in many ways the best new comedy figure" of the season, who looks like he's having fun, and makes the viewers feel the same way. Marcia Strassman comes in for kudos as well, as "one TV wife whos so charming that she doesn't make you wonder what her husband sees in her."
Amory also credits strong scriptwriting, especially in an episode that give us Kotter refusing to pass Washington (Lawrence-Hilton Jacobs) a passing grade just because he's an athlete, and another that deals with teenage pregnancy with a twist, when Hotsie Totzi (Debralee Scott) fakes being pregnant to prove to the rest that "I ain't easy. I'm a lady." It is, Cleve says, "both funny and touching," and when it comes to sitcoms, that's a pretty good combination.
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The Yuletide specials are out in force this week, particularly of the animated kind; there's still time to get the kids that present from the commercials!For all-out value, nothing tops CBS's Friday doubleheader of How the Grinch Stole Christmas (8:00 p.m. PT) and Frosty the Snowman (8:30 p.m.). The Grinch, of course, features Boris Karloff's memorable narration and Thurl Ravenscroft's equally memorable rendition of "You're a Mean One, Mister Grinch."; Frosty has perhaps the weakest of the classic Rankin-Bass storylines, but the irrepressible Jimmy Durante helps make up for it. That's followed by a repeat of The Homecoming: a Christmas Story (9:00 p.m., CBS), the de-facto pilot for The Waltons, with Patricia Neal and Richard Thomas and a tense Christmas Eve, 1933.
Speaking of Rankin-Bass, Mickey Rooney is, for my money, the definitive R-B Santa Claus, and he gets to demonstrate it on consecutive nights, with Santa Claus Is Coming to Town (Tuesday, 8:00 p.m., ABC) and The Year Without a Santa Claus (Wednesday, 8:00 p.m., ABC). In the former, we see how an infant foundling becomes the Jolly Old Elf; the latter gives us an elf who's old but not so jolly, as a cynical, sickly Santa wonders if he's all washed up. Highlights abound, with Fred Astaire narrating and singng on Tuesday night, and Dick Shawn and George S. Irving doing the Snow Miser/Heat Miser duet to hammy perfection. Don't overlook another Tuesday night R-B special, 'Twas the Night Before Christmas (8:30 p.m., CBS), with Joel Grey, Tammy Grimes, George Gobel, and John McGiver.
For those wanting something less cartoony, John Denver's Rocky Mountain Christmas (Wednesday, 9:00 p.m., ABC) follows The Year Without a Santa Claus, and offers Valerie Harper, Oliva Newton-John, and Steve Martin in a tuneful celebration from Aspen. Your enjoyment of this will be directly related to how well you like the participants. And from the big screen, it's the movie that, in my opinion, ranks at the top when it comes to Christmas: Miracle on 34th Street (Sunday, 4:00 p.m., KTVU in San Francisco), with John Payne, Maureen O'Hara, Natalie Wood, and film's greatest Santa, the Oscar-winning Edmund Gwynn.
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Never mind the Sweathogs—let's take a look at a real bad boy, or at least one that's trying to turn over a new leaf: Tony Franciosa, currently starring in ABC's detective series Matt Helm. As Al Stump reminds us, Franciosa came to Helm known for two things: an undeniable talent (he was nominated for a Best Actor Oscar in 1957 for A Hatful of Rain), and a reputation for a hair-trigger temper that has seen him called "hotheaded, arrogant, spoiled, unreliable and a 6-foot-2-inch menace to coexistence on the set." He's feuded with studio executives, punched directors and photographers, and alienated many people with whom he's worked. While he doesn't deny that there have been times—"I've been called a lot of things" he says—he's also less than repentant, nothing that much of the criticism has come from "uncreative, computerized men who are typical of those who've taken over much of the industry. Weird, Kafkaesque types." But, he acknowledges, you can't fight the system, "so I've become more resigned and relaxed about it. I won’t be pushed around, but I'm fatalistic."It's understandable that there are skeptics out there; some point to the $260,000 that ABC is paying him for 13 episodes of Helm, but others think he really has matured. Franciosa readily admits that he took the part for "three reasons—money, money and money," but he's also settled in his home life with his (fourth) wife and two children. "Five years ago I never thought I'd become a homebody, raising babies, dogs, cats and rabbits." He's also started saving money, to keep the kids from having to deal with the "dirt poor" childhood he remembers.
His road to stardom, unlike many, started out strongly; a Tony nomination for the Broadway version of Hatful, followed by success in television and movies. Then he started falling into disfavor in some circles for criticizing scripts, going through marriages, and having a brittle relationship with the press. In The Name of the Game, many felt he outacted his co-stars, Gene Barry and Robert Stack, but he claims he was asked to take a pay cut, and had to work in insufferable conditions, including 105-degree heat in Las Vegas that had people passing out. The studio, Universal, has a different story, of course; they eventually sacked him, replacing him with guest stars.
On the set of Matt Helm, he keeps to himself for the most part, but he's also been—again, for the most part—easy to work with. He's had several opportunities to complain about scripts, blocking, delays, injuries, and the like, but has passed them up. Matt Helm has only a 14-episode run, but Franciosa remains busy doing guest roles through the 1990s, before dying at age 77 in 2006.
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Frank Swertlow reports on change that's on the horizon at ABC, with a batch of cancellations, headed by the highly-touted Saturday Night Live with Howard Cosell (thus, and most notably, freeing up the name for NBC's Saturday Night). Other casualties include When Things Were Rotten; That’s My Mama; Barbary Coast; Mobile One and the aforementioned Matt Helm. The network's second season holds some potential: among others series, we can look forward to Six Million Dollar Man spinoff The Bionic Woman, the limited-run series Rich Man, Poor Man (the term miniseries hasn't been coined yet), Laverne and Shirley, a spinoff from Happy Days, the variety hour Donny and Marie, and The ABC Monday Night Movie. Not a bad exchange, if you ask me.
But enough of the future; let's take a look at what else is on this week, starting with Cosell's Saturday night show (8:00 p.m., ABC). Howard's guests are Orson Welles, Paul Anka, Billy Crystal, and gymnast Olga Korbut. That's a pretty good lineup, leaving one to wonder just who the week link in the show is. And on KQED, the PBS affiliate in San Francisco, it's Night of the Python (9:00 p.m.), three hours of routines from Monty Python's Flying Circus. Unless it's a pledge night, that sounds like a pretty good bet to me.
On 60 Minutes (Sunday, 7:00 p.m., CBS), former Secret Service agent Clint Hill joines Mike Wallace for a candid and emotional interview as he recalls the day President Kennedy was assassinated in 1963. I had the opportunity to ◀ meet Hill back in 2013 during one of the 50th anniversary events (back when we were all younger); a very interesting man who suffered a great deal in the years after the assassination; I'm glad that he's been able to deal with the demons that haunted him. Monday features a salute to Lucille Ball on Dinah! (8:00 p.m., KBHK), with Lucie Arnaz, Vivian Vance, Lucy's mother Dee Dee Ball, Zsa Zsa Gabor, and PR representative Charles Pomerantz. And in part one of a two-part All in the Family (9:00 p.m., CBS) deals with the Stivics' overdue baby; it's driving Gloria crazy and driving Mike out of the house. (Part two, which airs Tuesday at 9:30 p.m., is a flashback to Mike and Gloria preparing for their wedding.
Police officer-turned actor Eddie Egan (the inspiration for Popeye Doyle in The French Connection) works back-to-back shifts on NBC Tuesday, starting on Police Woman (9:00 p.m.), where he and former police office David Toma (the inspiration for, well, you know) play a couple of hoods who will, I'm sure, cross paths with Pepper. Who'll sneeze first? After that, he plays a cop taken hostage in a bungled robbery, who depends on Lloyd Bridges' Joe Forrester to save him (10:00 p.m.)
Joan Fontaine makes a rare television appearance this week on a special two-hour Cannon (Wednesday, 9:00 p.m., CBS) as a former film star who retains our avuncular private eye to find her missing son. Appropriately, the episode featurse a fine supporting cast, including David Hedison, Richard Hatch, Linden Chiles, Dana Elcar, John Veronon, and Jack Carter. And the old ABC documentary series Saga of Western Man takes a look at the Age of Discovery in "
1492
," narrated by Fredric March. (9:00 p.m., KTVU in Oakland)Barbara Walters wasn't the first to present gossip specials masquerading as celebrity interviews; as an example, Rona Barrett hosts an hour's worth of chats with James Caan, Michael Caine, Elliott Gould, and Burt Reynolds. (Thursday 2:00 p.m., CBS) Notice the afternoon air time, rather than a prime time slot; why not, considering that's where you find the soap operas. Incidentelly, CBS plans an announcement warning that the program may not be suitable for ali family members
Friday features the Hallmark Hall of Fame presentation "The Rivalry" (8:30 p.m, NBC), the story of the Lincoln-Douglas debates, with Arthur Hill as Abraham Lincoln, Charles Durning as Stephen Douglas, and Hope Lange as Mrs. Douglas, caught between support for her husband and sympathy for Lincoln's anti-slavery message. That wouldn't quite pass muster for a Hallmark Christmas presentation today, would it?
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MST3K alert: The Amazing Colossal Man (1957) Plutonium transforms an army colonel into a 70-foot madman. Glenn Langan.Cathy Downs. (Saturday, 1:30 p.m., KBHK in the Bay Area) Admit it; you'd be plenty teed off too if you'd been transformed, through no fault of your own, into a 70-foot giant. Unfortunately, since the rights to use the movie expired, you can no longer see the MST3K version except on YouTube. However, you can catch the unwanted, unasked-for sequel, War of the Colossal Beast, with a completely different cast. Take it from me: if you've seen one colossal man, you've seen them all. TV
December 6, 2024
Around the dial
At The Saturday Evening Post, Bob Sassone as a Christmas-tinted
News of the Week
, including a rundown on where and when you can find your favorite Christmas movies and TV shows, the anniversary of "Do They Know It's Christmas?". and more!At The Horn Section, Hal goes back 50 years to the TV Guide of November 30, 1974 , with Teresa Graves as the cover story. Hal also looks at Cleveland Amory's review of Police Woman, as well as the rest of the issue. He even has a kind word for yours truly—thanks, my friend, and nicely done!
As you may recall, at Cult TV Blog, John has been recently reviewing some of the roles played by character actress Ann Way, and in his latest installment, he looks at her appearance in Dr. Finlay's Casebook, and the episode " The Phantom Piper of Tannochbrae ." Sounds interesting!
Gill is back at RealWeegieMidget as she and her other half look at some TV movies from the 1970s, 80s and 90s : five love stories, four of which have connections to Dallas. How many of them do you remember watching back in the day?
The Hitchcock Project continues at bare•bones e-zine, with Jack presenting the Roland Kibbee episode " Diagnosis: Danger " from the show's eighth season, and the first with a one-hour running time. Definitely not one of the highlights of the series, but check out Jack's review anyway.
At Comfort TV, David's journey through 1970s TV brings us to Mondays in 1975 : CBS carries the day with a quartet of classic sitcoms plus Medical Center, but do you remember The Invisible Man or Barbary Coast? One show from back then is still on: Monday Night Football, of course.
Catching up with some news from last week, Terence remembers the late Earl Holliman at A Shroud of Thoughts. Holliman was one of those actors who always seemed overshadowed by his costars, but watch him in the first episode of The Twilight Zone to see how he could carry a story by himself.
At Television Obscurities, Robert marks the 30th anniversary of Earth 2 , which ran for one season on NBC in 1994-95. If you've enjoyed Television Obscurities through the years, credit Earth 2 as one of the series that led to Robert's interest in short-lived series.
Speaking of celebrations, Travalanche commemorates Woody Allen's 89th birthday with a look at his television work from 1960 to 1972, when he was from a stand-up comedian to an auteur. You might be surprised at how ubiquitous he was on the tube.
And at The View from the Junkyard, Mike and Roger look at the penultimate episode of The Twilight Zone, " The Fear ." It's a hit-and-miss episode, as was so often the case in the final couple of seasons, but it still asks some potent questions. TV
December 4, 2024
December 2, 2024
What's on TV? Saturday, December 3, 1966
If I'm not mistaken, the Jim Lange hosting Oh, My Word at 10:30 p.m. on KGO is the same Jim Lange that we know and love from The Dating Game. One of his guests, Red Fay, was a confidant of former President Kennedy, and authored the book The Pleasure of His Company, a memoir of his friendship with JFK. There were a lot of books written by former JFK staffers in the years after his death, and many of them were best-sellers; the Kennedy memory was still very strong three years after his death. This week's shows are from the Northern California edition.-2- KTVU (BAY AREA) (IND.) Morning 8:30 PIONEERS—Drama 9:00 MOVIE—Mystery “Man from Cairo” (1953) 10:30 MOVIE—Musical “Something for the Boys” (1944) Afternoon 12:00 HUCKLEBERRY HOUND COLOR 12:30 MOVIE—Historical Drama “The Last Command” (1955) 2:30 MOVIE—Western “Back in the Saddle” (1941) 3:30 TOMBSTONE TERRITORY 4:00 HORSE RACE—Bay Meadows San Mateo Stakes 4:30 TIGHTROPE!—Police 5:00 FLYING FISHERMAN COLOR 5:30 ADVENTURE—Travel COLOR Evening 6:00 CHAMPIONSHIP BOWLING COLOR Fred Foremsky vs. Tommy Tuttle 7:00 GRAND OLE OPRY—Music Guests: Hank Snow, the Rhodes Sisters, Jimmy Newman, Marion Worth 7:30 LET’S GO TO THE RACES—Game COLOR 8:00 COLLEGE BASKETBALL—University of Arizona vs. USF RETURN Arizona vs. San Francisco 10:00 BOXING—Los Angeles Time approximate 11:15 MOVIE—Adventure “Drums in the Deep South” (1951)
-3- KCRA (SACRAMENTO) (NBC) Morning 7:30 AGRICULTURE U.S.A.—Interview COLOR 8:00 SUPER 6 COLOR 8:30 MOVIE—Adventure “Tarzan and the Amazons” (1945) 10:00 COOL McCOOL COLOR 10:30 JETSONS—Cartoon COLOR 11:00 TOP CAT—Cartoon COLOR 11:30 SMITHSONIAN—Children COLOR “American Folk Art” Afternoon 12:00 ANIMAL SECRETS COLOR 12:30 ATOM ANT—Cartoons COLOR 1:00 SECRET SQUIRREL COLOR 1:30 SPACE KIDETTES COLOR 2:00 CHAMPIONSHIP BOWLING COLOR Harry Smith vs. Dick Weber 2:30 OUTER LIMITS—Science Fiction 3:30 MOVIE—Melodrama “The Giant Gila Monster” (1959) 5:00 MOVIE—Drama “Sailor of the King” (1953) Evening 6:45 NEWS—Biondi, Jones COLOR 7:00 NEWS—Ray Scherer, Robert MacNeil COLOR 7:30 FLIPPER—Adventure COLOR 8:00 PLEASE DON’T EAT THE DAISIES—Comedy COLOR 8:30 GET SMART—Comedy COLOR 9:00 MOVIE—Drama “Stalag 17” (1953) 11:30 NEWS—Biondi, Jones COLOR 11:45 MOVIE—Fantasy “Burn Witch, Burn” (English; 1961) 1:00 MOVIE—Melodrama Time approximate. “The Killer Shrews” (1959)
-4- KRON (BAY AREA) (NBC) Morning 6:30 WHITE COLLAR FARMER 7:00 MAYOR ART—Children 8:00 SUPER 6 COLOR 8:30 ATOM ANT COLOR 9:00 SECRET SQUIRREL COLOR 9:30 SPACE KIDETTES COLOR 10:00 COOL McCOOL COLOR 10:30 JETSONS—Cartoon COLOR 11:00 TOP CAT—Cartoon COLOR 11:30 SMITHSONIAN—Children COLOR “American Folk Art” Afternoon 12:00 ANIMAL SECRETS COLOR 12:30 CARTOON TIME 1:30 MOVIE—Drama “The Plunderers” (1948) 3:00 GREEN THUMB—Gillespie 3:30 AFL REPORT COLOR 4:00 BAY REGION REPORT 4:30 MOVIE—Comedy “When Willie Comes Marching Home” (1950) Evening 6:00 NEWS—Ray Scherer, Robert MacNeil COLOR 6:30 ROUTE 66—Drama 7:30 FLIPPER—Adventure COLOR 8:00 PLEASE DON’T EAT THE DAISIES—Comedy COLOR 8:30 GET SMART—Comedy COLOR 9:00 MOVIE—Drama “Stalag 17” (1953) 11:30 NEWS—Don Picken 11:45 MOVIE—Musical COLOR “The Daughter of Rosie O’Grady” (1950) 1:15 NEWS
-5- KPIX (BAY AREA) (CBS) Morning 6:00 AGRICULTURE FILM COLOR 6:30 SUNRISE SEMESTER Philosophy: Institutionalism in Ethics 7:00 JACK’S PLACE—Children COLOR 8:00 CAPTAIN KANGAROO—Children 9:00 MIGHTY HEROES—Cartoon COLOR 9:30 UNDERDOG COLOR 10:00 FRANKENSTEIN JR.—Cartoons COLOR 10:30 SPACE GHOST—Cartoons COLOR 11:00 SUPERMAN COLOR 11:30 LONE RANGER—Cartoons COLOR Afternoon 12:00 ROAD RUNNER—Cartoons COLOR 12:30 BEAGLES COLOR 1:00 TOM AND JERRY—Cartoons COLOR 1:30 FOREST RANGERS—Adventure 2:00 TO BE ANNOUNCED 2:30 MOVIE—Comedy “Tall Story” (1960) 3:55 KPIX EDITORIAL 4:00 NFL COUNTDOWN COLOR 5:00 PERRY MASON—Mystery Evening 6:00 NEWS—Sherry, O’Brien 6:30 NEWS—Roger Mudd COLOR 7:00 SAN FRANCISCO BEAT—Police 7:30 JACKIE GLEASON COLOR 8:30 PISTOLS ‘N’ PETTICOATS—Comedy COLOR 9:00 MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE COLOR 10:00 GUNSMOKE—Western 11:00 NEWS 11:20 MOVIE—Drama “This Sporting Life” (1963) 1:50 MOVIE—Comedy “Elmer the Great” (1933)
-7- KGO (BAY AREA) (ABC) Morning ALL NIGHT MOVIE—Continued Cheyenne 6:30 CHANNEL FOR LEARNING 7:00 MARSHAL ‘J’—Children COLOR 8:00 KING KONG COLOR 8:30 BEATLES COLOR 9:00 CASPER COLOR 9:30 MAGILLA GORILLA COLOR 10:00 BUGS BUNNY COLOR 10:30 AMERICAN BANDSTAND Guest: Otis Redding 10:45 COLLEGE FOOTBALL—Auburn vs. Alabama COLOR Auburn vs Alabama at Birmingham Last televised game of the regular season Afternoon 2:00 MILTON THE MNSTER—Cartoons COLOR 2:30 MOVIE—Western COLOR “Masterson of Kansas” (1954) 4:00 SURFSIDE 6—Mystery 5:00 WORLD OF SPORTS COLOR 1. World Surfing Chamionships 2. Riverside Grand Prix 3. National Aerobatics Championship Evening 6:30 SPORTS WORLD WEST 7:00 ABC SCOPE—Vietnam Report 7:30 SHANE—Western COLOR 8:30 LAWRENCE WELK COLOR Guest: Anita Bryant 9:30 HOLLYWOOD PALACE—Variety COLOR Host: Victor Borge. Guests: Petula Clark, Jean Pierre Aumont and Marisa Pavan, Marty Allen and Steve Rossi, Claire Sombert and Michel Bruel, the Flying Cavarettas, Baby Sabu, Dennis Breilein 10:30 OH, MY WORD—Game Guests: Paul “Red” Fay Jr. , Don Porter. Host: Jim Lange 11:00 NEWS 11:15 MOVIE—Drama COLOR “The Hunters” (1958) 1:00 MOVIE—All Night 1. “Dinner at Eight” (1933) 2. “The Long Haul” (English; 1957) 3. Sugarfoot
-7- KRCR (REDDING) (ABC, NBC) Morning 8:00 SUPER 6 COLOR 8:30 ATOM ANT COLOR 9:00 SECRET SQUIRREL COLOR 9:30 SPACE KIDETTES COLOR 10:00 COOL McCOOL COLOR 10:30 AMERICAN BANDSTAND Guest: Otis Redding 10:45 COLLEGE FOOTBALL—Auburn vs. Alabama COLOR Auburn vs Alabama at Birmingham Last televised game of the regular season Afternoon 1:45 PRO FOOTBALL—Jets vs. Raiders COLOR Time approximate. New York Jets at Oakland Raiders 4:30 DEATH VALLEY DAYS—Drama 5:00 WORLD OF SPORTS COLOR 1. World Surfing Chamionships 2. Riverside Grand Prix 3. National Aerobatics Championship Evening 6:30 MONKEES—Comedy COLOR 7:00 GET SMART—Comedy 7:30 FLIPPER—Adventure COLOR 8:00 PLEASE DON’T EAT THE DAISIES—Comedy COLOR 8:30 LAWRENCE WELK COLOR Guest: Anita Bryant 9:30 HOLLYWOOD PALACE—Variety COLOR Host: Victor Borge. Guests: Petula Clark, Jean Pierre Aumont and Marisa Pavan, Marty Allen and Steve Rossi, Claire Sombert and Michel Bruel, the Flying Cavarettas, Baby Sabu, Dennis Breilein 10:30 MOVIE—Adventure COLOR “Captain from Castile” (1947)
-8- KSBW (SALINAS) (CBS, NBC) Morning 7:15 FILM FEATURE COLOR 7:45 DAVEY AND GOLIATH—Religion COLOR 8:00 CAPTAIN KANGAROO—Children 9:00 MIGHTY HEROES—Cartoon COLOR 9:30 WEBSTER WEBFOOT 10:30 SPACE GHOST—Cartoons COLOR 11:00 SUPERMAN COLOR 11:30 LONE RANGER—Cartoons COLOR Afternoon 12:00 ROAD RUNNER—Cartoons COLOR 12:30 BEAGLES COLOR 1:00 TOM AND JERRY—Cartoons COLOR 1:30 SERGEANT PRESTON—Adventure 2:00 MOVIE—Science Fiction “The Angry Red Planet” (1959) 4:00 HORSE RACE—Bay Meadows San Mateo Stakes 4:30 FILM FEATURE 5:00 JOE ITUE—Music 5:30 NFL GAME OF THE WEEK COLOR Highlights: San Francisco 49ers at Detroit Lions Evening 6:00 YOUNG PEOPLE’S CONCERT SPECIAL COLOR “What Is a Mode?” 7:00 FLIPPER—Comedy 7:30 JACKIE GLEASON COLOR 8:30 GET SMART—Comedy COLOR 9:00 MOVIE—Drama “Stalag 17” (1953) 11:30 MOVIE—Comedy “How to Marry a Millionaire” (1953)
10 KXTV (SACRAMENTO) (CBS) Morning 6:30 SUNRISE SEMESTER Philosophy: Institutionalism in Ethics 7:00 BIG PICTURE—Army 7:30 DIVER DAN—Cartoons COLOR 8:00 CAPTAIN KANGAROO—Children 9:00 MIGHTY HEROES—Cartoon COLOR 9:30 UNDERDOG COLOR 10:00 FRANKENSTEIN JR.—Cartoons COLOR 10:30 SPACE GHOST—Cartoons COLOR 11:00 SUPERMAN COLOR 11:30 LONE RANGER—Cartoons COLOR Afternoon 12:00 ROAD RUNNER—Cartoons COLOR 12:30 BEAGLES COLOR 1:00 TOM AND JERRY—Cartoons COLOR 1:30 STINGRAY—Children COLOR 2:00 MOVIE—Comedy COLOR “Chartroose Caboose” (1960) 4:00 NFL COUNTDOWN COLOR 5:00 NFL GAME OF THE WEEK COLOR Highlights: San Francisco 49ers at Detroit Lions 5:30 HONEY WEST—Mystery Evening 6:00 NEWS—Roger Mudd COLOR 6:30 RIFLEMAN—Western 7:00 TWILIGHT ZONE—Drama 7:30 JACKIE GLEASON COLOR 8:30 PISTOLS ‘N’ PETTICOATS—Comedy COLOR 9:00 MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE COLOR 10:00 GUNSMOKE—Western 11:00 MOVIE—Western “Lone Star” (1952) 12:40 THRILLER—Mystery
11 KNTV (SAN JOSE) (ABC) Morning 7:30 PERSPECTIVE—San Jose State 8:00 KING KONG COLOR 8:30 BEATLES COLOR 9:00 CASPER COLOR 9:30 CARTOON FESTIVAL COLOR 9:45 ERNEST TUBB—Music 10:15 SPOTLIGHT ON SPEED 10:45 COLLEGE FOOTBALL—Auburn vs. Alabama COLOR Auburn vs Alabama at Birmingham Last televised game of the regular season Afternoon 2:00 MILTON THE MNSTER—Cartoons COLOR 2:30 MOVIE—Drama “Inside the Walls of Folsom Prison” (1951) 4:15 CHINCHILLA RAISING—Talk 4:30 OUTDOORSMAN COLOR 5:00 WORLD OF SPORTS COLOR 1. World Surfing Chamionships 2. Riverside Grand Prix 3. National Aerobatics Championship Evening 6:30 IRON HORSE—Western 7:30 SHANE—Western COLOR 8:30 LAWRENCE WELK COLOR Guest: Anita Bryant 9:30 HOLLYWOOD PALACE—Variety COLOR Host: Victor Borge. Guests: Petula Clark, Jean Pierre Aumont and Marisa Pavan, Marty Allen and Steve Rossi, Claire Sombert and Michel Bruel, the Flying Cavarettas, Baby Sabu, Dennis Breilein 10:30 HOLLYWOOD AND THE STARS 11:00 NEWS 11:30 KNOCKOUT—Boxing 11:35 MOVIE—Comedy “Bedtime for Bonzo” (1951)
12 KHSL (CHICO) (ABC, CBS) Morning 7:25 FILM FEATURE 7:30 EXISTENCE—Agriculture 8:00 CAPTAIN KANGAROO—Children 9:00 MIGHTY HEROES—Cartoon COLOR 9:30 UNDERDOG COLOR 10:00 FRANKENSTEIN JR.—Cartoons COLOR 10:30 SPACE GHOST—Cartoons COLOR 11:00 SUPERMAN COLOR 11:30 LONE RANGER—Cartoons COLOR Afternoon 12:00 ROAD RUNNER—Cartoons COLOR 12:30 BEAGLES COLOR 1:00 TOM AND JERRY—Cartoons COLOR 1:30 MOVIE—Adventure “Hercules Against Rome” (Italian; 1964) 3:00 CHAMPIONSHIP BOWLING COLOR Bob Stampe vs Gene Rhoda 4:00 NFL COUNTDOWN COLOR 5:00 DATING GAME 5:30 NFL GAME OF THE WEEK COLOR Highlights: San Francisco 49ers at Detroit Lions Evening 6:00 LET’S GO TO THE RACES—Game COLOR 6:30 GUNSMOKE—Western 7:30 JACKIE GLEASON COLOR 8:30 PISTOLS ‘N’ PETTICOATS—Comedy COLOR 9:00 MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE COLOR 10:00 MOVIE—Double Feature 1. “City Beneath the Sea” (1953) COLOR 2. “Gung Ho!” (1943)
13 KOVR (SACRAMENTO) (ABC) Morning 6:25 NEWS 6:30 VOICE OF AGRICULTURE 7:00 CARTOONS COLOR 8:00 KING KONG COLOR 8:30 BEATLES COLOR 9:00 HISTORY—Lessons 10:30 CHANGING TIMES—Report 10:45 COLLEGE FOOTBALL—Auburn vs. Alabama COLOR Auburn vs Alabama at Birmingham Last televised game of the regular season Afternoon 2:00 GADABOUT GADDIS—Fishing COLOR 2:30 WE ARE NOT ALONE SPECIAL 3:30 GREATEST SHOW—Drama COLOR 4:30 FILM SHORT 4:45 CAMELLIA BOWL PREVIEW COLOR 5:00 WORLD OF SPORTS COLOR 1. World Surfing Chamionships 2. Riverside Grand Prix 3. National Aerobatics Championship Evening 6:30 MOVIE—Western COLOR “Bullwhip” (1958) 8:00 LET’S GO TO THE RACES—Game COLOR 8:30 LAWRENCE WELK COLOR Guest: Anita Bryant 9:30 HOLLYWOOD PALACE—Variety COLOR Host: Victor Borge. Guests: Petula Clark, Jean Pierre Aumont and Marisa Pavan, Marty Allen and Steve Rossi, Claire Sombert and Michel Bruel, the Flying Cavarettas, Baby Sabu, Dennis Breilein 10:30 PERRY MASON—Mystery 11:30 MOVIE—Comedy “You Gotta Stay Happy” (1948) 1:30 MOVIE—All Night 1. “The Flying Missile” (1950) 2. “Home, Sweet Homicide” (1946) 3. “Rancho Notorious” (1952)
19 KLOC (MODESTO) (IND.) Afternoon 3:00 HIGH SCHOOL SPOTLIGHT 3:30 DIMENSIONS IN COINS 4:00 FILM FEATURE 4:30 SPOTLIGHT ON SPEED 5:00 KFIV DANCE STAND Evening 6:00 WRESTLING 7:00 COUNTRY MUSIC CARAVAN 7:30 MOVIE—Adventure “Scaramouche” (1952) 9:30 ROGUES—Drama 10:30 MOVIE—Mystery “Tension” (1949)
TV
November 30, 2024
This week in TV Guide: December 3, 1966
Things should be all smiles on the set of ABC's new war drama The Rat Patrol. It's the biggest new hit of the season, the only new show in the top 20. And yet, as Dick Hobson reports in this week's cover story, almost everyone involved in the original production has been fired, thge actors are "near insurrection," and the series is leaking money at a rate that is beyond alarming. Is this the way all new series start out? Not on your life.The show's troubles started at once. Producer-Creator Tom Gries, shooting the pilot in Yuma, Arizona (a stand-in for the show's desert setting) had to deal with 118-degree temperatures, jeeps that were constantly breaking down, a scheduled disrupted by star Christopher George's movie commitments, and a price tag that ran $200,000. Gries was sacked, although as creator he still gets a fat check every week. Mirisch-Rich Productions, already having to deal with a feature film, Hawaii, that was $7 million over budget, balked at the cost of shooting the series in Spain (where equipment from Battle of the Bulge and The Great Escape was available), and pushed ahead only after ABC threatened to sue. The new producer, Stan Shpetner, pushed for a "hipper" show, filled with "pungent dialog. . . action, excitement, guts; he wanted the screen to jump." His motto: Audacious, Gassy and Cool. The cast hated Shpetner's scripts, particularly the dialog, while the directors hated the visual effects called for in those scripts, which they called "unshootable." After a showdown, Shpetner was called back to Hollywood, and eventually sacked.
The problems continued; George, as well as co-stars Lawrence Casey and Justin Tarr, were injured in various accicents. It was almost impossible to find Spanish Army Corp soliders tall enough to play Germans. Film footage was lost en ruote from Paris to Hollywood. Associate producer Dick Landau was tasked with rewriting six episodes on the spot, as well as writing two original scripts and collaborating with director John Peyser, one of Shpetner's most outspoken critics, on a three-part story. Landau strove to introduce more realism, to make The Rat Patrol more like Combat! and less like The Wild Wild West, which Shpetner had once worked on. They never viewed the footage, never did a retake, and got almost no feedback from the Front Office on what had been done other than that the footage was "great," or that they were "40 feet short." Thirteen episodes emerged from all this chaos.
On-location shooting in Spain.Despite all this, the show was an immediate hit. Nonetheless, Lee Rich, head of Mirisch-Rich Productions, pulled the show home from Spain and decided to shoot future episodes on an MGM soundstage, with any location shooting done locally. He had little choice; the show was over budget at a rate that would put it $1 million in the hole by the end of the season, a deficit that would take three years to recap, assuming the show ran that long. Cast and crew, having come together in solidary against adversity, were distressed. Production manager Lemoine, bitter that he wasn't named producer, remained in Spain. Associate producer Landau was replaced by someone from Mirisch-Rich. Director Peyser quit to return to feature films. The new producer, Jon Epstein, came from Tarzan, another series that had run over budget. ABC, just happy that the show was a ratings success, "pooh-poohed" any programs that might have occurred. I don't know about you, but all this exhausts me; nowadays, the inevitable series based on the behind-the-scenes turmoil would be far more interesting and successful that the series itself.When all was said and done, Shpetner maintained that his epic romanticism was faithful to Tom Gries' original concept. Meanwhile, the former associate producer, former production manager, former directors, and cast maintained that it was their "down-to-earth realism" carried forth Gries' original concept. The only person happy about it all was Tom Gries himself. After all, as Hobson concludes, "He's got what every gambler in the TV Sweepstakes has always craved: a hit show, no headaches, and all that money."
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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: baritone Robert Merrill and tenor Jan Peerce of the Metropolitan Opera; comedian Red Buttons; the rock ‘n’ rolling Supremes, and Gary Lewis of the Playboys; singer Lainie Kazan; basketball’s comical Harlem Globetrotters; the Brothers Tonito, tightrope walkers; and trapeze artist Miss Mara.
Palace: Host Victor Borge presents songstress Petula Clark; the singing-dancing team of Jean Pierre Aumont and his wife Marisa Pavan; comics Marty Allen and Steve Rossi, who offer a routine about a Japanese baseball star; French ballet dancers Claire Sombert and Michel Bruel; the Flying Cavarettas, teen-age aerialists; performing elephant Baby Sabu; and escape artist Dennis Breilein. Victor sings soprano, tenor and bass in a parody of Mozart’s operas.
So what do we have this week? The only change in Ed's lineup, from what I can gather, is the substitution of comedians Wayne and Shuster (a Sullivan favorite) for the Brothers Tonito, which improves an already-good cast. In addition to a medley of their hits, the Supremes sing "My Favorite Things," and since this has become a Christmas staple, I'd say they're starting to ring in the season. Combine that with Gary Lewis's farewell appearance before going into the military, and that's a hard lineup to beat. Although the Palace has Victor Borge, whom I always enjoy, this week I'm giving the edge to Sullivan.
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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. This week, Cleve takes on the CBS sitcom Run, Buddy, Run, for which he says you should run, not walk, to your nearest television set to watch. It's a spoof of Fugitive-type shows, with a Coronet Blue-type premise: Buddy (Jack Sheldon), an innocuous sort, has the misfortune to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, and when he overhears two Syndicate types utter the words "Chicken Little," he knows that he already knows too much. The mob knows he knows, and Syndicate boss Mr. D (Bruce Gordon, in a wonderful parody of his role as Frank Nitti in The Untouchables) puts a hit out on him. And so Buddy must run, and keep running, to stay one step ahead of a fatal step.
As Amory says, you just can't igonre a setup like this, Buddy's problem, as is the case with our friendly Doctor Richard Kimble, is that he just can't keep running; he's too good-hearted to not stop and help those in need, which means he can never get too far away from those nasty hitmen. In fact, he's so good-hearted, he even attends a fake funeral for Mr. D, which is actually a trap: Mr. D, you see, knew Buddy would show up, being so good-hearted and all, and, "of course, when Buddy got there, you can guess whose funeral Mr. D really has in mind." All this works because the acting is of particularly high calibur, especially from Sheldon and Gordon, who fit their roles to a T. Sheldon, in particular, manages to make Buddy a sympathetic character you root for, which isn't always easy; other actors might tempt you to think that he had it coming, but not in this case. And while it's not always easy to spoof targets that are so obvious, this show manages to do it on a regular basis.
Which makes it unfortunate, Amory says, that CBS has decided to cancel the show. We occasionally get an Amory review of a show that's bound for cancellation, but very seldom does he actually mention the fact in his column, as he does here. The Doan Report says that the network is reconsidering the cancellation, as the ratings are inching up; perhaps Cleve is trying to give that effort a boost by encouraging people to tune in. In a season where the spoof is the everywhere (UNCLE, Batman, et al), a show like Buddy fits right in. It's just a shame that CBS couldn't find a slot into which they could fit it.
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Yes, it's that time of the year agaon, when we sample the seasonal specials the networks are providing for the enjoyment of the advertisers the viewing audience. Actually, I kid about that; Christmas commercials from this era are, I think, among our fondest memories.
Noëlco
, anyone? Leading off is a big on; the third airing of "Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer" on the General Electric Fantasy Hour (Sunday, 5:30 p.m., NBC). "A brand new song and new adventures have been added," the ads promise; the new song is "Fame and Fortune," which replaces "We're a Couple of Misfits." As you probably have heard, Rudolph will be airing once again on NBC, for the first time since 1971.
On Wednesday, it's "Christ Is Born" (8:00 p.m., ABC), from the network's acclaimed documentary series Saga of Western Man. Filmed on location in the Holy Land, gospel readings from John Huston are intersperced with footage shot in Jerusalem and at the Sea of Gallilee, the River Jordan, and Madada. Producer John Secondari and his wife, director Helen Jean Rogers, are narrators. ABC plans to repeat the program on Christmas Day.
Eddie Albert is the host and narrator of Tchaikovsky's classic, The Nutcracker (Friday, 7:30 p.m., CBS), featuring an international cast including Edward Villella, Patricia McBride, and Melissa Hayden. Franz Allers conducts the Budapest Philharmonic in this broadcast, first telecast last December. You can see a clip of it here ; it's available on DVD as well.
There are also a couple of local broadcasts: On California U.S.A. (Sunday, 10:30 a.m., KCRA in Sacramento), the Salvation Army Band of Sacramento presents its annual Christmas program. Later that day, the Art of Puppetry (5:00 p.m., KVIE in Sacramento and KIXE in Redding) features the Sacramento State College Little Theatre marionettes in "Punch and Judy," "Alice in Wonderland," and songs of Christmas.
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What else? Well, it's a big week for movies, starting on Saturday, as Richard Harris and Rachel Roberts star in the movie This Sporting Life (11:20 p.m., KPIX in San Francisco), a gritty kitchen-sink British drama about the world of professional rugby; both Harris and Roberts earned Oscar nominations for the movie, one of my favorites. Speaking of Oscars, Saturday also sees Stalag 17 (9:00 p.m., NBC), with William Holden in his Oscar-winning role as a cynical American POW during World War II. Judith Crist, in her review, praises its blend of "human comedy and tragedy," and singles out both Holden and Otto Preminger, at his "nasty-Nazi best" as the camp commendant.More big movies; on Sunday afternoon, KPIX is back with the magnificent Witness for the Prosecution (5:00 p.m.), Agatha Christie's supreme courtroom drama starring the Oscar-nominated Charles Laughton, Tyrone Power, Marlene Dietrich, Elsa Lanchester, and, in a small but important role, Ruta Lee. And Glenn Ford stars in The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (9:00 p.m., ABC), a remake of Valentino's 1921 silent film classic, with Ingrid Thulin, Charles Boyer, Paul Lukas, Yvette Mimieux, Paul Henreid, and Lee J. Cobb. Big cast, long running time (three hours), disappointing result; Crist pronounces that neither Ford nor anyone else "survives this clumsy, over-blown banality about cousins caught on opposite sides in World War II." As you can tell, the plot differs somewhat from the 1921 original.
Gilligan's Island goes into Twilight Zone territory on Monday (7:30 p.m., CBS), as Gilligan finds his castaway companions disappearing one by one, convincing him that he's a Jekyll and Hyde responsible for it all. Later, on The Felony Squad (9:00 p.m., ABC), the detectives investigate the owner of a pro football team (William Smithers) who framed a former star (Ed Asner) in a murder. Admit it; sports team owners are such a slimy bunch, you'd love to see one of them accused of murder, wouldn't you? And on The Tonight Show (11:30 p.m., NBC), Senator Everett Dirksen (R-Ill.) is one of Johnny's guests. He's not there just to talk politics, but to plug his latest spoken-word album, Gallent Men: Stories of the American Adventure. The following year, the title track will hit #16 on the Billboard 200.
It's William Holden again in another big-screen war epic, The Brtidges at Toko-Ri (Tuesday, 9:00 p.m., NBC), based on the Korean War best-seller by James A. Michener, with an all-star cast including Grace Kelly, Fredric March, and Mickey Rooney. Also on Tuesday, the great Marion Anderson hosts and stars in S. Hurok Presents (9:30 p.m., CBS), a musical tribute to impresario Sol Hurok, the man responsible for bringing Russia's Bolshoi Ballet to the United States in 1959; they also toured the country in 1962, during the height of the Cuban Missile Crisis. Anderson is joined in the tribute by pianist Van Cliburn, violinist Isaac Stern, guitarist Andrés Segovia, Antonio and the Ballets de Madrid, and prima ballerina Maya Plisetskaya and members of the Bolshoi.
Hallmark has Christmas cards to sell, which helps explain the presence of Hallmark Hall of Fame's "
Blithe Spirit
" (Wednesday, 7:30 p.m, NBC), an adaptation of Noel Coward's witty comedy, starring Dirk Bogarde, Rosemary Harris, the aforementioned Rachel Roberts, and Ruth Gordon. That's not the only big special on the network Wednesday; following "Blithe Spirit," it's Frank Sinatra: A Man and His Music—Part II (9:00 p.m.), a sequel to Sinatra's one-man show from last November; this year, he's joined by his daughter Nancy, and long-time Sinatra arranger-conductors Nelson Riddle and Gordon Jenkins. On Thursday, Shirley Booth stars in a CBS Playhouse adaptation of Tennessee Williams' play " The Glass Menagerie " (9:00 p.m.), with Barbara Loden, Hal Holbrook, and Pat Hingle. If you're not in the mood for Williams's downbeat drama, try Bewitched (9:00 p.m., ABC), with Fredd Wayne playing Benjamin Franklin in the first of a two-part story. Wayne, who was currently touring the country in his one-man "Benjamin Franklin, Citizen", portrayed Franklin on stage and in television shows for three decades.
A big-name cast doesn't help the big-screen movie Genghis Khan (Friday, 9:00 p.m., CBS), with Omar Sharif as the Mongol conqueror, plus Stephan Boyd, James Mason, Telly Savalas, and Robert Morley; Crist says that the commercials will prevent you from sinking "into a relaxing trance" and remind you "what a silly waste of time the whole thing is." If you want my opinion, go with The Time Tunnel for your history (8:00 p.m., ABC); all I can say is that after this episode, Tony and Doug are sure to remember the Alamo.
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Is Garry Moore's career over? Two years ago, he stepped down from the weekly grind after 14 years on morning and primetime shows, including I've Got a Secret and his eponymous variety show. His warm personality and his ability to connect with an audience had given him a weekly audience, between his two shows, of 50 million viewers. In 1964, CBS cancelled The Garry Moore Show, and shortly afterward he handed the reins of Secret over to Steve Allen.
Back in 1964, Moore tells Robert Higgins, he thought he'd like to try something different, more serious. "I thought I'd enjoy public affairs." He got a daily show on CBS radio, but it didn't work for him. "As a newsman, I was much in demand to read scripts that were already written for me. They did my research, too. It was disillusioning." Then came a show earlier this year on ABC (after CBS had passed on it) called Garry Moore's People Poll. Moore won't even talk about that one; "I've learned," he says, "that performers don't cross the line into public affairs. You're either a Garry Moore or a Walter Cronkite." (Would that more celebrities took a cue from him.) So why not just chuck the whole thing, Higgins asks? "I'm still too young to sit around being bored," he replies. It's not money; he made a half million a year during his peak years, and his contract has eight years to go, whether or not he does anything.
This September found Moore back with a new version of The Garry Moore Show. He wanted the show to be creative, like his old daytime show, where "The dancers danced, the singers sang and I stayed the hell out of the way." But with the new show near the bottom of the ratings (The Doan Report, in fact, reports that CBS has decided to pull the plug), he's been bringing in guest stars and special episodes. The show's on Sunday nights, up against NBC's Bonanza. Moore's philosophical about it, but hopeful: "If they take me off, who're they going to throw in to do better?" (The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, as it turned out.)"I’m worried," he continues. "I don’t admit it to myself, but I am. Because if I bomb out, I’m in serious trouble. I won’t know what to do with myself." Moore sounds like a man struggling with a midlife TV crisis. "I’m 51, and what have I been doing? I’ve been going out there once a week and trying to get a few laughs—which is tremendously foolish for a man my age."
Moore sounds not like a bitter man, but one who wonders what he really has to show for his considerable success. "I hated being in the 'famous' business," he says. "The adulation is all out of proportion. Everything is instant service. You get to expect it because you think you've earned it—which you haven't." He didn't and still doesn't, think he's earned it. "I’ve tried desperately to keep my worth in perspective. If nothing else, I’ve tried to live realistically."
As for the future—well, who knows? "As I’ve said," Moore concludes, "this is sort of a last-ditch stand for me: But I feel a winner doesn’t admit defeat until defeat happens to him. So I'll fight. At this point in my life, I'm interested in achieving the impossible." As it turns out, the end of The Garry Moore Show isn't the end of Garry Moore; when To Tell the Truth is revived as a daily syndicated show in 1969, Moore comes on board as host, and stays with it until 1977.
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MST3K alert: The Killer Shrews (1959) Carnivorous beasts terrorize an island. James Best, Ingrid Goude. Craigis: Baruch Lumet. Baines: Gordon McLendon. Lacer: Ken Curtis. (Saturday, 1:00 a.m., KCRA) Yes, that Ken Curtis, and that James Best. Curtis makes for a cowardly villain, Best an unappealing hero, and Ingrid Goude the woman that they inexplicably fight over. Oh, and of course, killer shrews. And that's why this movie is on MST3K. TV
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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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