Mitchell Hadley's Blog: It's About TV!, page 21
November 15, 2024
Around the dial
In the latest Saturday Evening Post, Donald Liebenson reviews Tripp Whetsell's new
biography of Norman Lear
. Norman Lear: His Life and Times is, Liebenson says, "the first comprehensive biography" of one of the most towering cultural figures in television's history. Travalanche commemorates the "anniversary" of The Odd Couple ; fans of the show will remember that November 13 is the date given in the opening credits as when Felix Unger's wife kicked him out of the house. Trav celebrates with a number of links to past articles he's written on about the series.
At Comfort TV, David takes a look at classic shows that (almost) made him cry . These aren't the tear-jerker moments you might expect; they're the more subtle incidents that provide the most moving moments in series from Doctor Who to The Brady Bunch. Go ahead and watch them; I dare you.
The Hitchcock Project continues at bare•bones e-zine; this week, Jack visits the eighth-season episode " Forecast: Low Clouds and Coastal Fog ," the sole Hitchcock effort from Lee Erwin, with a cast of nasty surfers causing trouble for Inger Stevens.
At Cult TV Blog, John reviews " The Guilty Must Die ," a late episode of the 1969-71 series Paul Temple, and an unusual one in that our hero, a crime-solving novelist, is very much in the background, leaving the sleuthing to his wife.
And for those who remember William Conrad primarily as a voice talent, the original Matt Dillon, or the private detective Frank Cannon, over at A Shroud of Thoughts, Terence shows that he has an entirely different side, as heavies in film noir. TV
November 13, 2024
Television in the 1980s
In my latest appearance on the Dan Schneider Video Interview, Dan and I discuss television in the 1980s: the growth of cable TV, the revival of the sitcom genre, major moments, and whether or not the 80s are remembered more for the shows or for the industry trends that helped shape TV today. Enjoy, and feel free to share your thoughts and any suggestions for future topics you'd like to see us discuss!TV
November 11, 2024
What's on TV? Sunday, November 10, 1974
It's Veterans Day as you read this, and one of the smarter things the government did in recent decades was to exempt today from the Uniform Monday Holiday Act. In 1974, however, that was not the case, and Veterans Day would have been commemorated on the fourth Monday of October, in this case October 28. That has nothing to with today's listing, though, which has a little something for every sports fan: doubleheader football, a couple of basketball games, Boston Bruins hockey, and, since the World Series is over, a look at the 1957 Series on PBS's classic sports show, The Way It Was. If you overlook the fact that this spells the end of the weekend, it's a fine day for everyone, and the listing come from the Eastern New England edition.-2- WGBH (BOSTON) (PBS) AFTERNOON 4:00 PHANTON INDIA 5:00 BUGLAR-PROOFING—Report 5:30 DAVID CASTLE IN CONCERT EVENING 6:00 SAY BROTHER 7:00 THE ROMAGNOLIS’ TABLE—Cooking 7:30 NOVA—Science 8:30 MASTERPIECE THEATRE “Upstairs, Downstairs” Part 2 9:30 FIRING LINE—William F. Buckley Jr. Guests: Ben Wattenberg, Lanny Davis 10:30 THE WAY IT WAS—Sports 1957 World Series 11:00 VIDEO VISIONARIES
-3- WFSB (HARTFORD) (CBS) MORNING 6:00 CHRISTOPHER CLOSEUP Guest: Marlo Thomas 6:30 CAMERA THREE Guest: Merce Cunningham 7:00 INSIGHT—Religion 7:30 FROM THE COLLEGE CAMPUS 8:00 WE BELIEVE 8:30 MY NEIGHBOR’S RELIGION 9:00 QUE HAY DE NUEVO/WHAT’S NEW? 9:30 EVERYWOMAN 10:00 LAMP UNTO MY FEET 10:30 LOOK UP AND LIVE 11:00 CONGRESSIONAL REPORT 11:30 FACE THE NATION AFTERNOON 12:00 NFL GAME OF THE WEEK 12:30 NFL PRE-GAME SHOW 1:00 NFL FOOTBALL Washington Redskins at Philadelphia Eagles 4:00 NFL POST-GAME SHOW 4:30 NBA BASKETBALL Special: Philadelphia 76ers at Seattle SuperSonics EVENING 7:00 NEWS 7:30 APPLE’S WAY—Drama 8:30 KOJAK—Crime Drama 9:30 MANNIX 10:30 FACE THE STATE 11:00 NEWS 11:15 CBS NEWS—Dan Rather 11:30 MOVIE—Adventure BW “Flight” (1929)
-4- WBZ (BOSTON) (NBC) MORNING 6:30 INSIGHT 7:00 LIVING WORD 7:15 DAVEY AND GOLIATH—Religion 7:30 A SHOW OF FAITH 8:00 NOSOTROS THEATRE—Spanish “La Graduada” (1972) 10:30 FOR KIDS ONLY 11:00 COMMUNITY AUDITIONS 11:30 NEWS AFTERNOON 12:00 NEWS CONFERENCE 12:30 MEET THE PRESS 1:00 NFL FOOTBALL Cleveland Browns at New England Patroits 4:00 ANIMAL WORLD 4:30 MOVIE—Comedy “The Reluctant Astronaut” (1967) EVENING 6:30 NEWS 7:00 WILD KINGDOM 7:30 WORLD OF DISNEY “Those Calloways” (1964) Part 1 8:30 NBA BASKETBALL Boston Celtics vs. Kansas City-Omaha Kings at Kansas City 10:30 NEWS 11:00 MOD SQUAD—Crime Drama 12:00 MOVIE—Western BW “Winchester ‘73” (1950)
-5- WCVB (BOSTON) (ABC) MORNING 6:00 THIS IS THE LIFE 6:30 CHRISTOPHER CLOSEUP 7:00 BIBLE ANSWERS 7:30 DAVEY AND GOLIATH—Religion 7:45 DAVEY AND GOLIATH—Religion 8:00 VISION ON 8:30 LASSIE’S RESCUE RANGERS—Cartoon 9:00 JABBERWOCKY—Children 9:30 MAKE A WISH—Children 10:00 NEW HEAVEN/NEW EARTH 10:30 OUTLOOK: NEW ENGLAND 11:00 AQUI—Spanish 11:30 NFL GAME OF THE WEEK AFTERNOON 12:00 NEWS 12:30 MANAGEMENT SOSUND-OFF 1:00 YOUR PLACE AND MINE 1:30 ISSUES AND ANSWERS 2:00 MOVIE—Drama BW “The Postman Always Rings Twice” (1946) 4:00 NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC—Documentary 5:00 MOVIE—Adventure BW “Too Hot to Handle” (1938) EVENING 7:00 NEWS 7:30 WORDS & MUSIC Debut 8:00 SONNY COMEDY REVUE Guests: Loretta Swit, Ed McMahon, Smokey Robinson 9:00 MOVIE—Adventure “Dr. No” (1962) 11:15 NEWS 11:45 MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE 12:45 ABC NEWS 1:00 NEW HAVE/NEW EARTH 1:30 YOUR PLACE AND MINE 2:00 MANAGEMENT SOUND-OFF
-6- WTEV (NEW BEDFORD) (ABC) MORNING 7:15 FARMER’S CORNER 7:45 CHURCH SERVICE—Protestant 8:15 JEWISH SERVICE 8:45 CHURCH SERVICE—Catholic 9:30 FLYING NUN—Comedy 10:00 H.R. PUFNSTUF 10:30 LASSIE’S RESCUE RANGERS—Cartoon 11:00 GOOBER—Cartoon 11:30 MAKE A WISH—Children AFTERNOON 12:00 PASSPORT TO PORTUGAL 12:30 PORTUGAL AROUND US 1:00 CAPE VERDEAN 1:30 ISSUES AND ANSWERS 2:00 LIVING IN A NUCLEAR AGE 2:30 OTHER PEOPLE, OTHER PLACES 3:00 UNTAMED WORLD 3:30 COMMUNITY AUDITIONS 4:00 MY PARTNER THE GHOST 5:00 RAYMOND BURR—Crime Drama EVENING 6:00 NEWS 6:30 REASONER REPORT 7:00 HEE HAW Guests: Hugh Hefner, Boots Randolph, Mickey Gilley 8:00 SONNY COMEDY REVUE Guests: Loretta Swit, Ed McMahon, Smokey Robinson 9:00 MOVIE—Adventure “Dr. No” (1962) 11:15 NEWS 11:45 DAVID SUSSKIND 1:15 ABC NEWS—Bill Beutel
-7- WNAC (BOSTON) (CBS) MORNING 6:25 GREATER BOSTONIANS 6:30 AG-USA 7:00 LAMP UNTO MY FEET 7:30 LOOK UP AND LIVE 8:00 CAMERA THREE Guest: Merce Cunningham 8:30 DAY OF DISCOVERY 9:00 ASIAN FOCUS 9:15 CHURCH SERVICE—Catholic 10:00 GENESIS TWO Special 11:00 NEWSMAKERS 11:30 FACE THE NATION AFTERNOON 12:00 WILD REFUGE 12:30 NFL PRE-GAME SHOW 1:00 NFL FOOTBALL Washington Redskins at Philadelphia Eagles 4:00 REAL McCOYS--Comedy BW 4:30 NBA BASKETBALL Special: Philadelphia 76ers at Seattle SuperSonics EVENING 7:00 BLACK NEWS 7:30 APPLE’S WAY—Drama 8:30 KOJAK—Crime Drama 9:30 COMMANDERS—Biography Erwin Rommel 10:30 NEWS 11:00 POLICE SURGEON—Crime Drama 11:30 CBS NEWS—Bob Schieffer 11:45 MOVIE—Drama BW “Life at the Top” (English; 1965) 1:45 NEWSMAKERS 2:15 ASIAN FOCUS 2:30 NEWS 2:45 GREATER BOSTONIANS
-8- WTNH (NEW HAVEN) (PBS) MORNING 7:00 THIS IS THE LIFE 7:30 WORSHIP FOR SHUT-INS 8:00 CHURCH SERVICE—Catholic 8:30 INSIGHT—Religion 9:00 CAPTAIN NOAH 9:30 I DREAM OF JEANNIE—Comedy 10:00 BIG BLUE MARBLE 10:30 LASSIE’S RESCUE RANGERS—Cartoon 11:00 GOOBER—Cartoon 11:30 MAKE A WISH—Children AFTERNOON 12:00 CONNECTICUT SCENE 12:15 SPEAKING FOR THE CONSUMER 12:30 DIALOGUE/EIGHTH DAY 1:00 TO BE ANNOUNCED 1:30 ISSUES AND ANSWERS 2:00 MOVIE—Drama BW “The Man with the Golden Arm” (1955) 4:00 MOVIE—Drama BW “Hud” (1963) EVENING 6:00 LAWRENCE WELK 7:00 NEWS 7:30 YALE ‘74 8:00 SONNY COMEDY REVUE Guests: Loretta Swit, Ed McMahon, Smokey Robinson 9:00 MOVIE—Adventure “Dr. No” (1962) 11:15 NEWS 11:30 AVENGERS—Adventure BW 12:45 ABC NEWS 1:00 SPEAKING FOR THE CONSUMER
-9- WMUR (MANCHESTER) (ABC) MORNING 8:30 DAY OF DISCOVERY 9:00 ORAL ROBERTS 9:30 HERALD OF TRUTH 10:00 FAITH FOR TODAY 10:30 LASSIE’S RESCUE RANGERS—Cartoon 11:00 REX HUMBARD AFTERNOON 12:00 MOVIE—Western BW “Under Western Skies” (1938) 1:00 DIRECTIONS 1:30 ISSUES AND ANSWERS 2:00 COLLEGE FOOTBALL ‘74 3:00 WRESTLING 4:00 ROLLER GAME 5:00 MOVIE—Cartoon BW “Gulliver’s Travels” (1939) EVENING 6:30 MAKE A WISH—Children 7:00 WILD KINGDOM 7:30 NAME THAT TUNE 8:00 SONNY COMEDY REVUE Guests: Loretta Swit, Ed McMahon, Smokey Robinson 9:00 MOVIE—Adventure “Dr. No” (1962) 11:15 ABC NEWS—Bill Beutel 11:30 INSIGHT
10 WJAR (PROVIDENCE) (NBC) MORNING 6:00 CHRISTOPHER CLOSEUP 6:30 THIS IS THE LIFE 7:00 DIALOGUE 7:30 JABBERWOCKY—Children 8:00 JETSONS—Cartoon 8:30 GO—Chilren 9:00 MELTING POT 9:30 THE WEEK STARTS HERE 10:00 REX HUMBARD 11:00 JIM MENDES 11:30 PERSPECTIVE AFTERNOON 12:00 NEWS CONFERENCE 12:30 MEET THE PRESS 1:00 NFL FOOTBALL Cleveland Browns at New England Patroits 4:00 NFL FOOTBALL Pittsburgh Steelers at Cincinnati Bengals EVENING 7:00 NEWS 7:30 WORLD OF DISNEY “Those Calloways” (1964) Part 1 8:30 McMILLAN AND WIFE 10:30 POLICE SURGEON—Crime Drama 11:00 NEWS 11:30 NAME OF THE GAME—Drama 1:00 PERSPECTIVE
12 WPRI (PROVIDENCE) (CBS) MORNING 8:00 I BELIEVE IN MIRACLES 8:30 SOUL VILLAGE 9:00 ORAL ROBERTS 9:30 DAY OF DISCOVERY 10:00 TO BE EQUAL 10:30 PORTUGAL IN AMERICA 11:00 FACE THE NEWS 11:30 THIS WEEK IN THE NFL AFTERNOON 12:30 NFL PRE-GAME SHOW 1:00 NFL FOOTBALL Washington Redskins at Philadelphia Eagles 4:00 WORLD OF SURVIVAL 4:30 NBA BASKETBALL Special: Philadelphia 76ers at Seattle SuperSonics EVENING 7:00 NEWS 7:30 APPLE’S WAY—Drama 8:30 KOJAK—Crime Drama 9:30 MANNIX 10:30 NEWS 11:00 WORLD AT WAR 12:00 IN PERSON Host: Hoyt Axton. Guests: Johnny Nash, Harriet Schock, Tony Cole
27 WSMW (WORCESTER) (Ind.) MORNING 8:00 DAY OF DISCOVERY 8:30 OLD TIME GOSPEL HOUR 9:30 AMERICAN RELIGIOUS TOWN HALL MEETING 10:00 GOSPEL SINGING JUBILEE 11:00 REX HUMBARD AFTERNOON 12:00 BOWLING 1:00 A FRIEND FOR JOEY 1:30 WALLY’S WORKSHOP 2:00 DAY OF DISCOVERY 2:30 MOVIE—Drama “Love Me Tender” (1956) 4:00 MOVIE—Adventure BW “Wee Willie Winkie” (1937) 5:30 SAFARI TO ADVENTURE EVENING 6:00 WILD KINGDOM 6:30 BOWLING 7:30 MOVIE—Western “Run of the Arrow” (1957) 9:30 BIT O’ BLARNEY 10:00 DAVID SUSSKIND
36 WSBE (PROVIDENCE) (PBS) EVENING 6:00 INSIGHT BW 6:30 CARRASCOLENDAS—Children 7:00 WALSH’S ANIMALS Debut 7:30 NOVA—Science 8:30 MASTERPIECE THEATRE “Upstairs, Downstairs” Part 2 9:30 FIRING LINE—William F. Buckley Jr. Guests: Ben Wattenberg, Lanny Davis 10:30 BEHIND THE LINES
38 WSBK (BOSTON) (Ind.) MORNING 8:00 NUTTY SQUIRRELS 8:30 MR. MAGOO AND FRIENDS 9:30 MEL-O-TUNES 10:00 PORKY PIG AND FRIENDS 10:30 BUGS BUNNY AND FRIENDS 11:00 ROCKY AND HIS FRIENDS 11:30 UNDERDOG AFTERNOON 12:00 TOP CAT 12:30 WORSHIP FOR SHUT-INS 1:00 MOVIE—Mystery BW “Flight to Nowhere” (1946) 2:30 MOVIE—Drama BW “The Flanagan Boy” (English; 1953) 4:00 AUDUBON WILDLIFE THEATRE 4:30 MOVIE—Comedy BW “Duck Soup” (1933) EVENING 6:00 WILD, WILD WEST—Adventure 7:00 GOLF 7:30 NHL HOCKEY Atlanta Flames at Boston Bruins 10:00 BRUINS WRAP-UP 10:15 ASK THE MANAGER 10:30 THE DRUM—Black Report 11:00 MASS. COUNCIL OF RABBIS 11:30 HUMAN DIMENSION
44 WGBX (BOSTON) (PBS) AFTERNOON 4:00 PHANTON INDIA 5:00 BURGLAR-PROOFING—Report 5:30 DAVID CASTLE IN CONCERT EVENING 6:00 SAY BROTHER 7:00 THE ROMAGNOLIS’ TABLE—Cooking 7:30 NOVA—Science 8:30 MASTERPIECE THEATRE “Upstairs, Downstairs” Part 2 9:30 FIRING LINE—William F. Buckley Jr. Guests: Ben Wattenberg, Lanny Davis 10:30 THE WAY IT WAS—Sports 1957 World Series
53 WEDN (NORWICH) (PBS) AFTERNOON 4:00 WHAT NOW, AMERICA?—Fulton J. Sheen 4:30 NATIONAL TOWN MEETING 5:30 AZTEC TWO STEP—Music EVENING 6:30 ZOOM—Children 7:00 WALSH’S ANIMALS Debut 7:30 NOVA—Science 8:30 MASTERPIECE THEATRE “Upstairs, Downstairs” Part 2 9:30 FIRING LINE—William F. Buckley Jr. Guests: Ben Wattenberg, Lanny Davis 10:30 VIBRATIONS ENCORE—Variety
56 WLVI (BOSTON) (Ind.) MORNING 7:30 H.R. PUFNSTUF—Children 8:00 LIDSVILLE—Children 8:30 BIG BLUE MARBLE 9:00 LOST IN SPACE—Adventure 10:00 FLINTSTONES 10:30 LITTLE RASCALS BW 11:00 GILLIGAN’S ISLAND 11:30 LUCY SHOW AFTERNOON 12:00 MOVIE—Comedy “Four for Texas” (1962) 2:00 MOVIE—Drama “Love is a Many-Splendored Thing” (1955) 4:00 MOVIE—Mystery “Harper” (1966) EVENING 6:00 DRAGNET—Crime Drama 6:30 MOVIE—Drama BW “The Charge of the Light Brigade” (1936) 8:30 COLLEGE FOOTBALL—Missouri vs. Oklahoma 9:30 NORMAN VINCENT PEALE 10:00 POINT OF VIEW 10:30 LOU GORDON Guests: Dick Cavett, Mark Kauffman 12:00 PEOPLE POWER
TV
November 9, 2024
This week in TV Guide: November 9, 1974
A good rule of thumb in life is this: given a choice of TV Guide issues, choose the one with Sophia Loren on the cover. She's the cover story this week, in Edith Efron's "An Appreciation" that ties in to Tuesday night's Hallmark Hall of Fame remake of "Brief Encounter" (8:30 p.m. ET, NBC), which Loren stars in with Richard Burton. Noel Coward's timeless "lyric-tragic" story of two married strangers who meet in a train station and begin a passionate but unconsummated affair, so intensely British in its themes of repression and class, sees the heroine's nationality changed from British to Italian to match the star's own nationality; such a change has raised the eyebrows of Coward purists, but, says Efron, Loren is "the very physical incarnation of the British heroine" of the story. And despite the change, Loren says, "the love story remains what it was, because Love with a capital L never dies and never gets old-fashioned."
Love is an important part of Sophia Loren's life—"I need to love and be loved," she says—and believes strongly in that aspect of Coward's stories. "Private Lives" remains a favorite of hers; "Noel Coward was a great friend of mine; he wanted to do 'Private Lives' with me and with Cary Grant." She is drawn to romantic art and literature, and the music of Chopin, Liszt, and Tchaikovsky, filled with combinations of beauty and torment, love and pain. It is, in many ways, an outgrowth of her childhood during the war, her subsequent move to Rome in her early teens, a time she calls "trying to find my way out, trying to do things, to find out how to live." She has always been looking how to make life "something beautiful, something important, something extraordinary." It hasn't stopped despite her stardom. "Shall I stop living now, because I have got what I wanted? No—there is still something exciting—I don't even know what it is—something wonderful that I look forward to."
"Power and confidence emanate from this cool, beautiful woman," Efron observes, and "Brief Encounter" producer Cecil Clarke says that in working with her, he was struck by "her immense intelligence. Every comment, every question she's raised, has been strikingly intelligent." An excecutive at Britain's ATV echos these impressions; "She's got tremendous power, tremendous presence. You see her mind working constantly." After spending a few hours with her, Efron notes how difficult it is to reconcile this with her "sex-goddess-next-door-who-cooks-pasta" reputation in the world press. "Ho, you know, not everyone says that about me," she shrugs. "It all depends on the writer. That kind of story always surprises me. I'm not like that." The reviews for "Brief Encounter" are not kind, particularly when it comes to the production end. Of Loren's performance, the New York Times critic John J. O'Connor says that, if anything, she was too beautiful for the part of an ordinary English housewife. (We should all have such problems.) But, having experienced her up close and personal, Efron knows that she has "a profound affinity with the romantic Noel Coward world." For that world, she is a "good choice for the heroine of that little British masterpiece." Perhaps, even, "an inspired one."
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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. Between The Bold Ones and Good Morning America, David Hartman starred in a series called Lucas Tanner. It was about a schoolteacher who was dedicated to his craft and his students; television hadn't yet caught up to the idea of doing a series about crummy schoolteachers. And, let me tell you, Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest has nothing on the earnestness of this series. It is, as Cleveland Amory says, "Sensitive with a capital S," and I suppose there are worse things for a TV series.
There's always a backstory in shows like this, and Lucas Tanner's is that his wife and child were killed in an automobile accident, for which he blames himself. (I want to say that there were some marital troubles involved and that his wife was returning to him at the time of the accident, but I may be confusing this with some other Sensitive series out there.) Looking for a way to make a difference in life, he decides to leave his profession as a sportswriter and become a teacher. His methods are unorthodox, of course; that's the way of it with all heroic teachers. But his students need him, and ultimately that's what matters.
In fact, as Cleve notices, everyone seems to need Lucas: sensitive female students and old female friends, who are "always throwing themselves at him"; the boy next door, who's on a first-name basis with him; the principal, who overlooks his unorthodox methods because they produce results; and the scriptwriters, becuase, "if there's one thing a Hollywood scriptwriter wants to be besides a psychiatrist, it's a teacher." It's all designed to give you a warm feeling when it's all over, and for the most part it does. And if nothing else, it puts on display all those qualities David Hartman has that made him so successful on morning television for so many years.
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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 this week; in the first one, Donovan, Felix Cavaliere, and Michael Murphy are the guests. Songs include "Sunshine Superman," "Catch the Wind." (Donovan)
Kirshner #2: The Ohio Players ("Jive Turkey," "Skin Tight"); John Sebastian ("Black Satin Kid," "Dixie Chicken"); and Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show ("Insane Asylum," "Happy Trails.")
Special: Barry White, Love Unlimited, Love Unlimited Orchestra, and the Eric Burdon Band. Songs include "Never, Never Gonna Give Ya Up," "Can't Get Enough of Your Love, Babe," "I've Found Someone," "Love Train," "You're the First, the Last, My Everything."
I suppose I'm showing both my age and my viewing habits by admitting that I've always had a soft spot for Barry White; "Love's Theme" served as the opening for ABC's golf coverage for more than 20 years, and hearing it automatically takes me back to high drama on the back nine in the final round of the U.S. Open. And while that's not listed as one of the songs on this week's Special, old allegiances die hard. Add in the Eric Burdon Band, and you've got an unbeatable combination no matter which episode of Kirshner it faces, and gives The Midnight Special the prize this week.
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Since I just raised the topic of sports, let's look at Melvin Durslag's talk with Don Meredith, now the former "resident humorist, country philosopher and sometime Cosell-baiter" of ABC's Monday Night Football. For the last four seasons, Meredith was part of the announcing team that made MNF one of the most culturally significant sports shows in television history. After the end of last season, though, Meredith made the decision to leave ABC for NBC, signing a three-year, $750,000 contract for appearances "in sports, drama and variety offerings."
Why did Meredith leave such an outrageously successful program, one that had brought him fame to surpass that which he achieved as quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys? "We got so illogically successful that it was ridiculous," he says. "How could three guys sitting in a booth at a football game stir such commotion, gain such fame and earn so much?" He cites one calculation that more people see a single MNF broadcast than saw Gone with the Wind, The Sound of Music, and Fron Here to Eternity combined, and more than had seen Hamlet. "Weighing this in my head, I knew that values were twisted somewhere. I am not completely pure of mind and spirit, but I knew this was crazy." He became jaded and lazy, and wound up wishing he'd left a season earlier.Meredith denies that the move had anything to do with animosity between himself and his frienemy, Howard Cosell. It's true, he allows, that there were times when he and announcer Frank Gifford had their fill of their colleague. "But at no time did we reach the stage where we coldn't live with each other." There are similarities to his decision to give up playing for the Cowboys in 1968, after just nine seasons. "[I] came to the point where I didn't care for the blood attitude of the game. It was out of 'synch' with my way of thinking. I felt there had to be experiences in life more enjoyable."
Not that he regrets his experience on MNF. It saved him from a career in a brokerage house in Houston, an experience he loathed. He gives Cosell proper credit for making Monday Night Football must-see TV. But beyond the money, the personal appearances, the endorsements, he was becoming more and more disenchanted. "The money was great, but I didn't like what I had to do for it." Speaking of on-air friction with Cosell, he says, "I decided I was taking it out on Cosell because of the respect I had lost for myself." Letters praising him for giving it to that "abrasive, Brooklyn-reared Jew" made him sick. (Meredith's wife is Jewish.) Looking around the Orange Bowl last season and seeing all the fan-made signs glorifying the three of them was apparently the last straw. "I thought about the trouble required to make those signs. Why would people waste their time?" He and his colleagues had become bigger than the game—something anathema to an athlete who respected the sport. "Monday Night Football had been good to me. But now it was a trip I wanted no part of."
He's now part of a far-more sedate broadcast booth, working with Curt Gowdy on NBC's primary game of the week. He also hopes to become a full-time actor, and goes on to make recurring appearances on the network's drama Police Story. He makes a comeback to Monday Night Football in 1977, remaining until 1984, retiring after working ABC's first Super Bowl, but much of his original enthusiasm seemed to be missing. Sometimes you can't go home again.
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I hadn't particularly planned on writing about movies this week, but there's a surfeit of material here, and another reminder (as if we needed one) as to how much network television has changed without the presence of movies in the weekly schedule. With some help from TV Guide's resident movie critic Judith Crist, we'll look at what the week has to offer, beginning Saturday with the fourth airing of one of the classic made-for-TV movies, Brian's Song (8:30 p.m., ABC), with James Caan, Billy Dee Williams, and Jack Warden. It's not the only sports movie of the night, though, as NBC counters with Winning (9:00 p.m.), a "simple-minded, stale-plotted auto-racing movie" that nonetheless proved a box-office smash with Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward, Richard Wagner, and Richard Thomas, along with a host of real-life racing figures. As an extra reward, it also features an excellent score by Dave Grusin.If you haven't had your fill of Paul Newman yet, you've got two more opportunities on Sunday afternoon's matinee movies, with a choice between his Oscar-nominated perforamnce in Hud (4:00 p.m., WTNH in New Haven) and his take as a cynical private detective in Harper (4:00 p.m., WLVI in Boston) The highlight, though, is the television premiere of Dr. No (9:00 p.m., ABC), the first movie in the James Bond franchise, with Sean Connery unforgettable as the British super-spy, Ursula Andress memorable as Honey Ryder, Jack Lord as the first incarnation of Bond's CIA contact Felix Leiter, and Joseph Wiseman as the refreshingly unexaggerated title character. It's the start of a long and successful relationship between the Bond movies and ABC.
It's another TV-premiere on Monday, with Walter Matthau and Carol Burnett starring in Pete 'n' Tillie (9:00 p.m., NBC). The story of a romance and marriage bedtween two "middle-aging realists" starts out strong, but cliches, and "too many jokes about age and homosexuality" deflate the movie. Tuesday, it's that Hall of Fame broadcast of "Brief Encounter," as well as an ABC Movie of the Week, All the Kind Strangers (8:30 p.m.), starring a pre-Mike Hammer Stacy Keach and Samantha Eggar as motorists being held hostage by a family of orphans looking for new parents. Strangers wasn't available for preview, so we don't know what Crist thinks of it, but we can only guess.
We do know what she thinks of the Wednesday Movie of the Week, though. The Gun (8:30 p.m., ABC), written by the famed combo of Richard Levinson and William Link, and directed by John Badham, is the story of a gun, from the time of its manufacture to its useage. "Without a polemic or a push, with a completely credible series of human-interest episodes that demonstrate the effect of the gun on the lives of those who own it, the authors make their message crystal clear—and you will have a thrilling time absorbing it." Oh, and if you want to check out Lucas Tanner (9:00 p.m., NBC), you find Lucas helping out that neighbor boy next door (Robbie Rist), whose grandmother, with whom he lives, is battling a critical case of pneumonia. On Thursday, we get a breather from the movies, unless you want to count Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (9:00 p.m., CBS), the fourth in the series, with Roddy McDowall now elevated to star status. "This one's brightly scripted, tightly directed, imaginatively designed and good fun." The night's other offerings include the season premiere of The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau (8:00 p.m., ABC), with Joseph Campanella narrating "Life at the End of the World," a journey that traces Darwin's travels in the 1830s. Later, on the excellent detective series Harry O (10:00 p.m., ABC), Harry provides protection for a murder witness (Barbara Anderson) who refuses to believe her own life might be in jeopardy. Ah, it's a private detective's headache assignment.
We'll stick with ABC for Friday night, where two of the three primetime shows boast either new days or new times or both, starting with part one of a two-part Kung Fu (8:00 p.m.) that finds Caine back in China with the priests of his temple under attack. That's followed by The Six Million Dollar Man (9:00 p.m.), and Steve trying to clear Oscar Goldman of involvement in a plot to pilfer $25 million in government gold. Since Richard Anderson played a bad guy (or a suspicious one) in many a TV series over the years, it's a plausible plot. The night wraps up with The Night Stalker (10:00 p.m.), and Kolchak uncovering a mystery—and a vicious dog—as part of an ambitious politican's campaign. If you still want a movie, check out the classic version of King Kong (10:00 p.m., WLVI), with Fay Wray trapped on the top of the Empire State Building. I think you can give the Cathy Lee Crosby made-for-TV version of Wonder Woman a pass (11:30 p.m., ABC) a pass, though; it just isn't the same.
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Finally, some industry news. Robert Blake is set to star in a new television series being produced by Universal. They may or may not have known it at the time, but that series will be Baretta. Talking of Baretta always leads to its predecessor, Toma, and its star, Tony Musante, has turned down a 12-episode deal to make more episodes for ABC. He's also wrapped up work on the ABC Theater presentation of "The Trial of Lt. William Calley," in which he plays the officer at the center of the My Lai Massacre; the network is holding on to it until the Calley case has been resolved. (It airs in January, 1975.) Adam West is back doing a guest shot on Emergency! after having spent some time working overseas. The Law, an NBC telemovie starring Judd Hirsh, has generated enough enthusiasm in the executive suite that three one-hour sequels have already been filmed; it's rumored as a replacement for the aforementioned Lucas Tanner, said to be on the chopping block. And the best news of all: William Conrad will be hosting the Thanksgiving Day parade coverage on CBS. It's just around the corner, you know. TV
November 8, 2024
Around the dial
We begin this week at Comfort TV, where David begins a new year in his continuing odyssey through primetime television of the 1970s. It's
Sunday night 1975
: are you watching The Six Million Dollar Man, Kojak, The NBC Sunday Mystery Movie, or something else? Tune in and see what's what and where. At The Syncopated Times, Garry Berman explores the history of jazz on television . It may seem hard to believe today, when there's very little music of any kind to be found on TV, but starting in the 1950s, it wasn't all that hard to see some of the all-time greats making the small screen seem that much larger.
RealWeegieMidget is back with more movies from the big and small screens , as Gill looks at at October's selections, including one described as "Enter the Dragon meets Charlie's Angels." I ask you, who could possibly ask for anything more? There's also politics, murder plots, and a disaster movie!
At Cult TV Blog, John gives us a similarily eclectic selection of old, cult TV series you can catch for free online. I'm not familiar (yet) with most of them, but it's hard to argue with John's assertion that it provides us with "an embarrassment of riches." Would that there was even more.
Rick has another of his famous quizzes at Classic Film & TV Café, and you'll really like this one: given the names of three characters, you name the TV show they came from . You're on your honor not to check the comments section for the answers.
At A Shroud of Thoughts, Terence remembers three who've passed on over the last few days: TV veteran Alan Rachins , the legendary musical genius Quincy Jones , and the simply adorable Teri Garr . You can look at these in one of two ways: you can tire of having your favorites dying at what seems to be the rate of two or three a week, or you can take the opportunity to think back to all the enjoyment they've provided over the years. Remember, death does not mean that life has ended, but merely changed.
Television's New Frontier: The 1960s travels back to 1961 and the iconic medical drama Ben Casey , starring Vincent Edwards. In this first season, we get a good overview of the show's premise, the power of its leading man, and some great links for more information on the series.
Speaking of icons, Travalanche takes a look at Walter Cronkite and some of the high points in the career of the man known as America's most trusted, including some interesting jobs you might not have known about. For instance, the Cronk a a game show host?
We'll wrap up at The View from the Junkyard, where Roger and Mike compare notes on one of The Twilight Zone's more problematic and lesser-known episodes, " The Encounter ," with Lee Marvin and George Takai. I trust your impressions will be more substantial. TV
November 6, 2024
How TV augments your lifestyle
Recently I was browsing through a bookstore that I’ve been known to frequent from time to time, doing what I usually do when I’m in a bookstore: looking for television shows on DVD. To be clear, that’s not all I do in a bookstore; I look for books as well, and not just books about TV. (After all, if you're not watching classic television, the next best thing is reading about classic television.) However, considering people apparently don’t read much anymore, you’re apt to find all kinds of different things in bookstores nowadays, including jigsaw puzzles.On this particular trip, I saw one puzzle that billed itself as a booklover’s puzzle, with various sayings and mottoes pronouncing the joy of reading. One of them, though, caught my attention. It said, “Kill Your TV.” Setting aside the fact that your television isn’t a living, breathing thing (Alexa notwithstanding), this seemed unduly harsh to me. I mean, I understand the sentiment behind it: there’s a natural tendency for people to look at television (or video games, or movies) as the enemy of reading, as if the whole thing was some type of zero-sum game, with us all being lulled into a form of somnambulism through the aphrodisiac of mindless viewing. (Of course, if we really were somnambulists, we wouldn’t be couch potatoes, but we’ll let that slide for awhile.) And I'll admit I've been tempted to impart destruction on my television a time or two hundred, but that usually has to do with the banality of what I'm watching, not the medium itself.
So I’ll grant you the possibility, but it seems to me that if you’re predisposed to sit on a comfy couch starring inertly at a lighted screen, whether it’s your TV, your laptop, your phone, or something else, then you’ve got a problem to begin with, one that has to do with neither television nor books. We used to call this “sloth,” which has since been replaced with “lazy bum,” but the point is the same; if you’re so inclined to begin with, you’re probably not going to pick up a volume of Aristophanes, or even Danielle Steele, just because someone tells you to turn off the electronics.
Setting up this false dichotomy, this zero-sum with television and books as polar ends of a magnet, is unfortunate for two reasons: first, because it reinforces this snobbish idea that television is for some reason not deserving of serious consideration as a creative form (something I'm constantly fighting against); and second, because both really serve the same purpose: to augment the quality of one’s life. As you probably know, when it comes to the number of hours of television I’ve watching in my lifetime—especially during my adolescence—I consider myself second to none. And yet I never saw television and books as competing for my attention. Often, after watching something on TV, I’d find myself, in the words of the old CBS campaign, wanting to “read more about it.”*
*And, lest we forget, even in the early days of TV, when many were worrying about its negative effect on children, some teachers and librarians were reporting an increase in children reading more about the things they were seeing on TV.
Over the years, I’ve stocked my shelves with volumes on subjects ranging from the Titanic to Howard Hughes to space exploration to politics, all because of something I saw on television. Likewise, I’ve found hours of pleasure watching programs that I sought out because of something I’d read, with the opportunity to learn more, to see for myself what the author had written about. (And of course it helps when one has the ability, as I do, to watch TV and read at the same time.)
The point is that reading and watching television exist as symbiotic forms of media. They both provide the opportunity to be educated, entertained, and enlightened. That old aphorism I keep pulling out about how television can’t be all dessert applies to books as well; a steady diet of romance novels and cheap detective thrillers isn’t likely to do much more for you than constantly watching sitcoms and reality shows. True, it might make you a little more literate, or more than a little more if you’re reading Chandler or Hammett, but a discriminating lineup of television shows and books can work together to make you a more well-rounded person.
You can learn about the history of ancient Greece, or learn how to build a sunroom for your house. You can read a biography of Mozart, or watch—and listen to—one of his operas. You can cheer for your team on the weekend, and during the week find out how that team’s owners are fleecing the public. Anthony Bourdain and Eugene Fodor may no longer be with us, but their works still have the ability to take us to other lands, and Carl Sagan can take us right out of the universe, in either medium. They can even encourage you to contemplation. (It’s true that there are a lot of bad things out there, both on television and in books, so you need to make sure your choices enrich your own personal code of ethics and morals, but you can say that about any form of entertainment or education.)
So, as someone with a foot in each camp, I urge book lovers to show television some love as well. It’s not an either-or proposition; we’re creatures of images as well as words. And as for those who keep throwing potshots at TV—well, that’s little more than being a couch potato of the mind. TV
How TV compliments your lifestyle
Recently I was browsing through a bookstore that I’ve been known to frequent from time to time, doing what I usually do when I’m in a bookstore: looking for television shows on DVD. To be clear, that’s not all I do in a bookstore; I look for books as well, and not just books about TV. (After all, if you're not watching classic television, the next best thing is reading about classic television.) However, considering people apparently don’t read much anymore, you’re apt to find all kinds of different things in bookstores nowadays, including jigsaw puzzles.On this particular trip, I saw one puzzle that billed itself as a booklover’s puzzle, with various sayings and mottoes pronouncing the joy of reading. One of them, though, caught my attention. It said, “Kill Your TV.” Setting aside the fact that your television isn’t a living, breathing thing (Alexa notwithstanding), this seemed unduly harsh to me. I mean, I understand the sentiment behind it: there’s a natural tendency for people to look at television (or video games, or movies) as the enemy of reading, as if the whole thing was some type of zero-sum game, with us all being lulled into a form of somnambulism through the aphrodisiac of mindless viewing. (Of course, if we really were somnambulists, we wouldn’t be couch potatoes, but we’ll let that slide for awhile.) And I'll admit I've been tempted to impart destruction on my television a time or two hundred, but that usually has to do with the banality of what I'm watching, not the medium itself.
So I’ll grant you the possibility, but it seems to me that if you’re predisposed to sit on a comfy couch starring inertly at a lighted screen, whether it’s your TV, your laptop, your phone, or something else, then you’ve got a problem to begin with, one that has to do with neither television nor books. We used to call this “sloth,” which has since been replaced with “lazy bum,” but the point is the same; if you’re so inclined to begin with, you’re probably not going to pick up a volume of Aristophanes, or even Danielle Steele, just because someone tells you to turn off the electronics.
Setting up this false dichotomy, this zero-sum with television and books as polar ends of a magnet, is unfortunate for two reasons: first, because it reinforces this snobbish idea that television is for some reason not deserving of serious consideration as a creative form (something I'm constantly fighting against); and second, because both really serve the same purpose: to augment the quality of one’s life. As you probably know, when it comes to the number of hours of television I’ve watching in my lifetime—especially during my adolescence—I consider myself second to none. And yet I never saw television and books as competing for my attention. Often, after watching something on TV, I’d find myself, in the words of the old CBS campaign, wanting to “read more about it.”*
*And, lest we forget, even in the early days of TV, when many were worrying about its negative effect on children, some teachers and librarians were reporting an increase in children reading more about the things they were seeing on TV.
Over the years, I’ve stocked my shelves with volumes on subjects ranging from the Titanic to Howard Hughes to space exploration to politics, all because of something I saw on television. Likewise, I’ve found hours of pleasure watching programs that I sought out because of something I’d read, with the opportunity to learn more, to see for myself what the author had written about. (And of course it helps when one has the ability, as I do, to watch TV and read at the same time.)
The point is that reading and watching television exist as complimentary forms of media. They both provide the opportunity to be educated, entertained, and enlightened. That old aphorism I keep pulling out about how television can’t be all dessert applies to books as well; a steady diet of romance novels and cheap detective thrillers isn’t likely to do much more for you than constantly watching sitcoms and reality shows. True, it might make you a little more literate, or more than a little more if you’re reading Chandler or Hammett, but a discriminating lineup of television shows and books can work together to make you a more well-rounded person.
You can learn about the history of ancient Greece, or learn how to build a sunroom for your house. You can read a biography of Mozart, or watch—and listen to—one of his operas. You can cheer for your team on the weekend, and during the week find out how that team’s owners are fleecing the public. Anthony Bourdain and Eugene Fodor may no longer be with us, but their works still have the ability to take us to other lands, and Carl Sagan can take us right out of the universe, in either medium. They can even encourage you to contemplation. (It’s true that there are a lot of bad things out there, both on television and in books, so you need to make sure your choices compliment your own personal code of ethics and morals, but you can say that about any form of entertainment or education.)
So, as someone with a foot in each camp, I urge book lovers to show television some love as well. It’s not an either-or proposition; we’re creatures of images as well as words. And as for those who keep throwing potshots at TV—well, that’s little more than being a couch potato of the mind. TV
November 4, 2024
What's on TV? Monday, November 5, 1962
Here's a clue as to how old, culturally, this week's issue is: Barbra Streisand, one of Merv Griffin's guests (2:00 p.m., WBZ), is described as a singer-comedienne, not a singer-actress, singer-director, or just plain singer. She had been nominated for a Tony for the Broadway comedy "I Can Get It For You Wholesale," and Groucho Marx liked her sense of humor; of course, she made a number of movie comedies after becoming a big star. I just never thought of her that way. Maybe it's because I'm not a fan. And not only that, her first name was spelled "Barbara." I have to assume this was a typo, because I'd hate to think they didn't know any better. Although I don't usually do this, I did take the liberty of making the correction in the listings below, which come to you from Eastern New England.-2- WGBH (Boston) (Educational) MORNING 10:20 SAY AND LEARN 10:45 SCIENCE—Grade 6 11:30 FOCUS—Public Affairs AFTERNOON 1:00 FOCUS—Public Affairs 1:30 SCIENCE SPECIAL 2:30 SCIENCE SPECIAL 3:00 PARLONS FRANCAIS III 3:30 PARLONS FRANCAIS I 4:00 AMERICAN ECONOMY 5:15 FRIENDLY GIANT—Children 5:30 WHAT’S NEW?—Children EVENING 6:00 DISCOVERY—Mary Lela Grimes 6:30 NEWS—Louis Lyons 6:45 AMERICAN PRESS 7:00 MODERN ALGEBRA 7:30 AMERICAN FOLKLORE 8:00 CHALLENGE—Science 8:30 ARTIST’S VIEW 9:00 PERSPECTIVES 10:00 WORLD AT TEN 10:30 TWO CENTURIES OF SYMPHONY—Wallace Woodworth
-4- WBZ (Boston) (NBC) MORNING 6:00 CONTINENTAL CLASSROOM—Education Atomic Age Physics: “Friction” 6:30 SIGN ON SEMINAR—Education Other Countries: “Bali Today” 6:45 DAILY ALMANAC 7:00 TODAY—Hugh Downs Local news and weather at 7:25 and 8:25 9:00 NEWS—Chase, Kent 9:30 BEST OF GROUCHO—Quiz 10:00 SAY WHEN—Art James 10:25 NEWS—Edwin Newman 10:30 PLAY YOUR HUNCH—Gene Rayburn COLOR 11:00 PRICE IS RIGHT—Bill Cullen COLOR 11:30 CONCENTRATION AFTERNOON 12:00 NEWS—Jack Chase 12:10 WEATHER—Don Kent 12:15 BIG BROTHER—Bob Emery 12:30 MOVIE—Comedy “Accent on Youth” (1935) 1:50 NEWS, WEATHER 2:00 MERV GRIFFIN—Variety COLOR Guests: the Smothers Brothers, Barbra Streisand, Jonathan Miller, Norma McMillian 2:55 NEWS—Floyd Kalber 3:00 LORETTA YOUNG 3:30 YOUNG DR. MALONE 4:00 MAKE ROOM FOR DADDY—Comedy 4:30 CLUBHOUSE 4—Children 5:00 MOVIE—Drama “Song of the Eagle” (1933) EVENING 6:30 NEWS, WEATHER 6:45 NEWS—Chet Huntley, David Brinkley 7:00 BIOGRAPHY—Documentary Adolf Hitler 7:30 IT’S A MAN’S WORLD 8:30 SAINTS AND SINNERS 9:30 PRICE IS RIGHT—Bill Cullen COLOR 10:00 BRINKLEY’S JOURNAL COLOR 10:30 CAMPAIGN AND THE CANDIDATES—News Analysis SPECIAL 11:00 NEWS, SPORTS, WEATHER 11:15 STEVE ALLEN—Variety Guests: Andre Previn, Joanie Sommers 12:45 NEWS, SPORTS, WEATHER 1:00 HIGHWAY PATROL—Police
-5- WHDH (Boston) (CBS) MORNING 5:55 NEWS 6:00 COLLEGE OF THE AIR “Money and the ‘Fed,’” Part 1 6:30 CONTINENTAL CLASSROOM—Education COLOR American Government: “Party Organization” 7:00 MORNING KEY CLUB COLOR 7:30 CAPTAIN BOB COLOR 8:00 CAPTAIN KANGAROO 9:00 ROMPER ROOM COLOR 9:40 GRETCHEN COLNIK—Women 10:00 NEWS—Leo Egan COLOR 10:05 CHRIS EVANS—Women COLOR 10:15 WE BELIEVE—Religion COLOR 10:30 I LOVE LUCY—Comedy 11:00 McCOYS—Comedy 11:30 PETE AND GLADYS AFTERNOON 12:00 LOVE OF LIFE 12:25 NEWS 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 Guests: Joan Fontaine, Sam Levene 2:30 HOUSE PARTY Guest: Will Fowler 3:00 MILLIONAIRE—Drama 3:30 TO TELL THE TRUTH Panelists: Ann Sothern, Shelley Berman Phyllis Newman, Barry Nelson. Host: Bud Collyer 3:55 NEWS—Douglas Edwards 4:00 SECRET STORM—Serial 4:30 EDGE OF NIGHT—Serial 5:00 BOZO THE CLOWN COLOR 5:45 ROCKY AND HIS FRIENDS EVENING 6:00 NEWS—Leo Egan COLOR 6:05 DATELINE BOSTON—Britt COLOR 6:30 SEA HUNT—Adventure 7:00 NEWS—Walter Cronkite 7:15 NEWS, SPORTS COLOR 7:25 WEATHER—Walker COLOR 7:30 TO TELL THE TRUTH Panelists: Garry Moore, Peggy Cass, Tom Poston, Kitty Carlisle 8:00 I’VE GOT A SECRET 8:30 LUCILLE BALL—Comedy 9:00 DANNY THOMAS 9:30 POLITICAL TALK 10:00 LORETTA YOUNG 10:30 STUMP THE STARS Terry Moore, Sebastian Cabot, Beverly Garland and Ross Martin vs. Cesar Romero, Jan Clayton, Diana Dors and Mickey Manners 11:00 NEWS, WEATHER COLOR 11:20 SPORTS PAGE—Gillis COLOR 11:30 TONIGHT—Johnny Carson COLOR 1:00 NEWS, SPORTS, WEATHER 1:10 ALMANAC NEWSREEL
-6- WCSH (Portland) (NBC) MORNING 5:50 FARM REPORT—Jake Brofee 6:00 CONTINENTAL CLASSROOM—Education Atomic Age Physics: “Friction” 6:30 CONTINENTAL CLASSROOM—Education COLOR American Government: “Party Organization” 7:00 TODAY—Hugh Downs Local news and weather at 7:25 and 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 PLAY YOUR HUNCH—Gene Rayburn COLOR 11:00 PRICE IS RIGHT—Bill Cullen COLOR 11:30 CONCENTRATION AFTERNOON 12:00 FIRST IMPRESSION COLOR 12:30 TRUTH OR CONSEQUENCES 12:55 NEWS—Ray Scherer 1:00 WEEKDAY ON SIX—Variety 2:00 MERV GRIFFIN—Variety COLOR Guests: the Smothers Brothers, Barbra Streisand, Jonathan Miller, Norma McMillian 2:55 NEWS—Floyd Kalber 3:00 LORETTA YOUNG 3:30 YOUNG DR. MALONE 4:00 MAKE ROOM FOR DADDY—Comedy 4:30 TROOPER 6—Cartoons 5:00 QUICK DRAW McGRAW 5:30 ADVENTURES IN PARADISE EVENING 6:30 NEWS, SPORTS, WEATHER 6:45 NEWS—Chet Huntley, David Brinkley 7:00 YOUTH CAVALCADE—Amateurs 7:30 IT’S A MAN’S WORLD 8:30 CHECKMATE—Mystery 9:30 PRICE IS RIGHT—Bill Cullen COLOR 10:00 BRINKLEY’S JOURNAL COLOR 10:30 CAMPAIGN AND THE CANDIDATES—News Analysis SPECIAL 11:00 NEWS, SPORTS, WEATHER 11:15 TONIGHT—Johnny Carson COLOR
-7- WNAC (Boston) (ABC) MORNING 7:00 DISCOVERY ’62—Children 7:25 THREE STOOGES—Comedy 8:00 THREE STOOGES—Comedy 9:00 JACK LA LANNE—Exercise 9:30 LOUISE MORGAN—Women 9:55 NEWS 10:00 CAMOUGLAGE—Don Morrow 10:25 NEWS 10:30 DAY IN COURT—Drama 11:00 ERNIE FORD Guest: Johnny Tillotson 11:30 YOURS FOR A SONG AFTERNOON 12:00 JANE WYMAN—Drama 12:30 OUR MISS BROOKS—Comedy 12:55 NEWS—Ray Scherer 1:00 WHO DO YOU TRUST? 1:30 TV HOUR OF STARS 2:30 SEVEN KEYS—Jack Narz 3:00 QUEEN FOR A DAY 3:30 MOVIE—Musical Comedy “Bathing Beauty” (1944) 5:00 THREE STOOGES—Comedy EVENING 6:00 NEWS—Ron Cochran 6:15 NEWS—Victor Best 6:25 WEATHER—Gus Saunders 6:30 QUICK DRAW McDRAW 7:00 SHANNON—Mystery 7:30 OUTLAWS—Western 8:30 RIFLEMAN—Western 9:00 STONEY BURKE 10:00 BEN CASEY 11:00 NEWS, SPORTS, WEATHER 11:15 MOVIE—Double Feature 1. “Captains Courageous” (1937) 2. “Here Comes Trouble” (1936)
-8- WMTW (Portland) (ABC) MORNING 8:15 FARM AND HOME—Report 8:45 TEDDY BEAR PLAYHOUSE 10:00 MUSIC 10:15 TEDDY BEAR PLAYHOUSE 10:30 TOWN AND COUNTRY TIME 10:55 WEATHER—Donna Traverse 11:00 ERNIE FORD Guest: Johnny Tillotson 11:30 YOURS FOR A SONG AFTERNOON 12:00 JANE WYMAN—Drama 12:30 CAMOUFLAGE—Don Morrow 12:55 NEWS—Alex Dreier 1:00 MOVIE—Western “Three Godfathers” (1948) Part 1 2:00 DAY IN COURT—Drama 2:30 SEVEN KEYS—Jack Narz 3:00 QUEEN FOR A DAY 3:30 WHO DO YOU TRUST? 4:00 AMERICAN BANDSTAND 4:30 DISCOVERY ’62—Children 4:55 AMERICAN NEWSSTAND 5:00 SUPERMAN—Adventure 5:30 MOVIE—Adventure “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” (1939) EVENING 7:00 NEWS, WEATHER 7:30 CHEYENNE—Western 8:30 RIFLEMAN—Western 9:00 STONEY BURKE 10:00 BEN CASEY 11:00 NEWS—Bill Shadel 11:15 NEWS, WEATHER 11:20 MOVIE—Comedy “Sorrowful Jones” (1949)
-9- WMUR (Manchester) (ABC) MORNING 9:30 MOVIE—Mystery “Dragon’s Gold” (1953) 10:45 JOAN ROBERTSON—Women 11:00 ERNIE FORD Guest: Johnny Tillotson 11:30 YOURS FOR A SONG AFTERNOON 12:00 JANE WYMAN—Drama 12:30 CAMOUFLAGE—Don Morrow 12:45 55 NEWS—Alex Dreier 1:00 NEWS, SPORTS, WEATHER 1:15 COUNTRY STORE—Bernier, Joy 2:00 DAY IN COURT—Drama 2:30 SEVEN KEYS—Jack Narz 3:00 QUEEN FOR A DAY 3:30 WHO DO YOU TRUST? 4:00 AMERICAN BANDSTAND 4:30 DISCOVERY ’62—Children 4:55 AMERICAN NEWSSTAND 5:00 UNCLE GUS—Cartoons EVENING 6:00 RANGE RIDER—Western 6:30 NEWS, WEATHER 6:45 NEWS—Ron Cochran 7:00 POLITICS ’62—News Analysis 7:30 CHEYENNE—Western 8:30 TRACKDOWN—Western 9:00 STONEY BURKE 10:00 BEN CASEY 11:00 NEWS—Bill Shadel 11:15 MOVIE—Drama “Arkansas Traveler” (1938)
10 WJAR (Providence) (ABC, NBC) MORNING 6:30 CONTINENTAL CLASSROOM—Education COLOR American Government: “Party Organization” 7:00 TODAY—Hugh Downs Local news and weather at 7:25 and 8:25 9:00 COLLEGE COUNTDOWN 9:30 QUEEN FOR A DAY—Jack Bailey 10:00 BEST OF GROUCHO—Quiz 10:30 PLAY YOUR HUNCH—Gene Rayburn COLOR 11:00 PRICE IS RIGHT—Bill Cullen COLOR 11:30 CONCENTRATION AFTERNOON 12:00 NEWS 12:05 TALK OF THE TOWN—Jay Kroll 12:30 TRUTH OR CONSEQUENCES 12:55 NEWS—Ray Scherer 1:00 MOVIE—Adventure “China Clipper” (1936) 2:55 NEWS—Floyd Kalber 3:00 LORETTA YOUNG 3:30 YOUNG DR. MALONE 4:00 MAKE ROOM FOR DADDY—Comedy 4:30 HERE’S HOLLYWOOD Guests: Wild Bill Elliott, Cloris Leachman and George Englund 4:55 NEWS—Sander Vanocur 5:00 MOVIE—Adventure “The Lash” (1931) EVENING 6:30 NEWS—Larry Martin 6:45 NEWS—Chet Huntley, David Brinkley 7:00 FILM FEATURE 7:30 CHEYENNE—Western 8:30 SAINTS AND SINNERS 9:30 PRICE IS RIGHT—Bill Cullen COLOR 10:00 ELEVENTH HOUR—Drama 11:00 NEWS, SPORTS, WEATHER 11:15 TONIGHT—Johnny Carson COLOR
11 WENH (Durham) (Educational) MORNING 8:35 CALCULUS—Advance 10:00 MUSIC 10:30 BOOK PARADE—Children 10:45 SCIENCE—Grade 6 11:15 CAREERS—Guidance AFTERNOON 1:00 HISTORY—New Hampshire 1:30 SCIENCE—Grade 3 2:00 CALCULUS—Advance 3:00 PARLONS FRANCAIS III 3:30 PARLONS FRANCAIS I 5:30 WHAT’S NEW?—Children EVENING 6:00 CLASSICAL MUSIC 6:25 EVENTS—New Hampshire 6:30 NEWS—Louis Lyons 6:45 AMERICAN PRESS 7:00 DYNAMICS OF DESEGREGATION—Documentary 7:30 AMERICAN ECONOMY 8:00 CHALLENGE—Science 8:30 ARTIST’S VIEW 9:00 PERSPECTIVES
12 WPRO (Providence) (CBS) MORNING 6:30 COLLEGE OF THE AIR “What Money Is and Is Not” 7:00 THREE STOOGES—Comedy 7:30 STORYTIME—Beth Chollar 8:00 CAPTAIN KANGAROO 9:00 ROMPER ROOM—Bonnie Riker 9:30 MORNING MERRY-GO-ROUND 10:00 CALENDAR—Harry Reasoner 10:30 I LOVE LUCY—Comedy 11:00 ERNIE FORD Guest: Johnny Tillotson 11:30 PETE AND GLADYS AFTERNOON 12:00 LOVE OF LIFE 12:25 NEWS 12:30 SEARCH FOR TOMORROW—Serial 12:45 GUIDING LIGHT—Serial 1:00 MOVIE—Mystery “Spellbound” (1945) 2:20 NEWS—Ed Miller 2:30 HOUSE PARTY Guest: Will Fowler 3:00 MILLIONAIRE—Drama 3:30 TO TELL THE TRUTH Panelists: Ann Sothern, Shelley Berman Phyllis Newman, Barry Nelson. Host: Bud Collyer 3:55 NEWS—Douglas Edwards 4:00 SECRET STORM—Serial 4:30 EDGE OF NIGHT—Serial 5:00 SALTY BRINE’S SHACK EVENING 6:00 YOGI BEAR—Cartoons 6:30 EVERGLADES—Police 7:00 NEWS—Walter Cronkite 7:15 NEWS, SPORTS, WEATHER 7:30 TO TELL THE TRUTH Panelists: Garry Moore, Peggy Cass, Tom Poston, Kitty Carlisle 8:00 I’VE GOT A SECRET 8:30 LUCILLE BALL—Comedy 9:00 DANNY THOMAS 9:30 ANDY GRIFFITH 10:00 BEN CASEY 11:00 NEWS, SPORTS, WEATHER 11:20 MOVIE—Drama “The Doctor and the Girl” (1949)
13 WGAN (Portland) (CBS) MORNING 7:00 COLLEGE OF THE AIR “Gross National Product and Its Cousins” 7:30 NEWS, WEATHER 7:35 BURNS AND ALLEN—Comedy 8:00 CAPTAIN KANGAROO 9:00 GOOD MORNING, MAINE 10:00 CALENDAR—Harry Reasoner 10:30 BAT MASTERSON—Western 11:00 McCOYS—Comedy 11:30 PETE AND GLADYS AFTERNOON 12:00 LOVE OF LIFE 12:25 NEWS 12:30 SEARCH FOR TOMORROW—Serial 12:45 GUIDING LIGHT—Serial 1:00 DRAGNET—Police 1:30 AS THE WORLD TURNS 2:00 PASSWORD—Allen Ludden Guests: Joan Fontaine, Sam Levene 2:30 HOUSE PARTY Guest: Will Fowler 3:00 MILLIONAIRE—Drama 3:30 TO TELL THE TRUTH Panelists: Ann Sothern, Shelley Berman Phyllis Newman, Barry Nelson. Host: Bud Collyer 3:55 NEWS—Douglas Edwards 4:00 SECRET STORM—Serial 4:30 EDGE OF NIGHT—Serial 5:00 CAPTAIN AND THE KIDS 5:30 MOVIE—Drama “The Last Hurrah” (1958) EVENING 7:00 NEWS, SPORTS, WEATHER 7:15 NEWS—Walter Cronkite 7:30 TO TELL THE TRUTH Panelists: Garry Moore, Peggy Cass, Tom Poston, Kitty Carlisle 8:00 I’VE GOT A SECRET 8:30 THIRD MAN—Mystery 9:00 DANNY THOMAS 9:30 ANDY GRIFFITH 10:00 LORETTA YOUNG 10:30 STUMP THE STARS Terry Moore, Sebastian Cabot, Beverly Garland and Ross Martin vs. Cesar Romero, Jan Clayton, Diana Dors and Mickey Manners 11:00 NEWS, SPORTS, WEATHER 11:15 STEVE ALLEN—Variety Guests: Andre Previn, Joanie Sommers 12:45 NEWS, SPORTS, WEATHER
TV
November 2, 2024
This week in TV Guide: November 3, 1962
Last week's TV Guide presented us with a look at Election Night coverage, 1954-style. This week, thanks to the vagaries of the calendar, we're back with another mid-term issue, and a look at how things have changed over the course of eight years.For one thing, there's a lot more coverage this time; NBC (led by Chet Huntley and David Brinkley) and CBS (with Walter Cronkite in the anchor chair) begin theirs at 7:00 p.m. ET, while ABC (anchored by Ron Cochran) follows suit a half-hour later. Everyone anticipates a long night; the networks promise to stay on the air until "the major races are decided," and one of the biggest races is on the West Coast, where former Vice President Richard Nixon is challenging incumbent Pat Brown in the California gubenatorial contest.
And that's something else about this year's election: it's as much about 1964 as it is 1962. After all, there's no chance for the Republicans to capture control of the Senate, and little chance for the House. So what this really means is that everyone is looking at those gubenatorial races, and what they mean for the 1964 presidential campaign. Besides Nixon in California, Nelson Rockefeller is running for reelection in New York; should Rocky win a second term handily, it could make him the front-runner for the GOP nomination. Should either Rockefeller or Nixon stumble, (Nixon has already said that if he wins in California, he will not be a candidate for president in 1964), Michigan's George Romney and Pennsylvania's William Scranton could be waiting in the wings—if they're successful in their own races. In the end, the prognosticators are right: the Democrats come out of the election with a 65-33 advantage in the Senate (two seats are vacant), and a 258-176 majority on the House. Nelson Rockefeller wins handily in New York against Robert Morgenthau; meanwhile, George Romney narrowly defeats incumbent John Swainson, and Bill Scranton defeats Richardson Dilworth, keeping them both viable. The 1964 Republican nomination, however, will go to a man not on the ballot in 1962: Arizona Senator Barry Goldwater.
As for Richard Nixon, he loses by an unexpectedly clear-cut margin (5%) to Brown, after which he famously remarks to the press that "You won't have Nixon to kick around any more." It's viewed as the end of Nixon's political career.
Or so everyone thinks.
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Gotta hand it to the local stations this week—their movie selections display a puckish sense of humor. Why else would you have The Last Hurrah, John Ford's sentimental political drama starring Spencer Tracy as an old-style big-city mayor running for reelection one final time, on not just one, but two channels: WBZ in Boston at 11:15 p.m. Saturday, and WGAN in Portland at 5:30 p.m. Sunday. And WGAN doubles down on the theme with the superb, supremely cynical Best Picture winner of 1949, All the King's Men, with Broderick Crawford and Mercedes McCambridge in Oscar-winning performances, at 11:15 p.m. Sunday. (You can find both of those movies on my "
24 for '24
" political movies and shows list.) I'm only surprised that no one's showing Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. The movie version, that is, but there's a TV series by the same name, as you'll see next.l l l
Let's face it: we're just not going to be able to escape politics. I mean, there are more political programs on this week than there are holiday programs at Christmastime. Case in point is this week's episode of The Joey Bishop Show (Saturday, 8:30 p.m., NBC) in which Joey's wife, Ellie (Abby Dalton, and Joey definitely married above his station there) rebels against his joke that " A Woman's Place " is not in politics—and promptly annouces that she'll run for assemblywoman. It's all in good fun, though. On the other hand, there's the aforementioned Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (8:30 p.m., ABC) with Fess Parker as James Stewart, and I'd expect nothing less than politics from that; but this week's episode seems pretty neutral: Senator Smith (Fess Parker) tries to help straighten out a hostile teen by making him his Senate page. But the title of the episode: "The Senator and the Page Boy"—well, that would open up a whole 'nother can of worms today, wouldn't it?
On Sunday, the networks present their last-minute analyses before the election; Politics '62 (4:30 p.m., ABC) previews those races that will be at the front of the network's election-night coverage. The same goes for Campaign '62 (5:00 p.m., CBS), including a visit to Massachusetts, site of the Senate battle to fill the seat previously held by John F. Kennedy. The contenders: Republican George Lodge, son of former senator (and Nixon running mate) Henry Cabot Lodge, and Democrat Edward Kennedy, brother to Jack and Bobby*. You know how this turns out. Turning to prime-time, the highlight has to be Ed Sullivan's salute to the legendary composer Richard Rodgers, live from Carnegie Hall. (8:00 p.m., CBS) Joining Sullivan and Rodgers are Peter Nero, Diahann Carroll, Nancy Dussault, Steve Lawrence, Peggy Lee, Gordon MacRae, Roberta Peters, Cesare Siepi, and Alan Jay Lerner; Arthur Fiedler conducts the orchestra. No way The Hollywood Palace would match up to that one, even if it was around.*Fun fact: the combined ages of Kennedy and Lodge, 65, remains the youngest for two major candidates in a United States Senate election. By contrast, the average age of a U.S. Senator today is 64; four are over 80. The newspaper drama Saints and Sinners (Monday, 8:30 p.m,. NBC), starring Nick Adams, continues the political theme with a storyline concerning an elderly state senator (Charlie Ruggles) being asked to bow out of the gubernatorial race in favor of a younger, more dynamic candidate. Newspaperman Nick writes an article about it, which inadvertently touches off a grass-roots movement in favor of the old man. The Danny Thomas Show (9:00 p.m., CBS) features son Rusty (Rusty Hamer) running a campaign of his own, for president of the junior class. Charley (Sid Melton) suggests a rally including some of Danny's entertainment buddies, starring the Smothers Brothers. But enough of these amateur efforts: Chet Huntley and David Brinkley anchor The Campaign and the Candidates (10:30 p.m., NBC), with a look at the stakes for tomorrow night, and how the network plans to cover them.
Tuesday is, you know, Election Day, so I have to tell you there isn't going to be much to choose from. There is, in fact, only one network prime-time program listed that isn't election coverage: the movie Crisis (7:30 p.m., WMTW in Poland Spring, Maine), starring Cary Grant as a neurosurgeon who's kidnapped while on vacation and forced to operate on a despotic dictator (Jose Ferrer). Meanwhile, Cary's wife, played by Paula Raymond, is kidnapped by opponents who want the good doctor to "accidentally" make a mistake during the surgery. So I guess maybe there is a little politics involved, after all.
So, with the election out of the way, I bet you thought it was safe to turn the television back on, right? Hah! On Wednesday, CBS wraps things up with a Campaign '62 special, "What the Election Means." (7:30 p.m.) Among the topics up for discussion: the makeup of the new congress, and the possible effects of the Cuban crisis on voting. More interesting, perhaps, is Armstrong Circle Theater's live presentation "Tunnel to Freedom" (10:00 p.m., CBS) By this time, Circle Theater has adopted the docudrama format, and tonight's story tells of "a group of elderly East Berliners who, no longer able to tolerate Communist oppression, planned a 100-foot tunnel under the Berlin Wall." What makes this even more intriguing is the similarity to the NBC news documentary "The Tunnel," which tells the story of East Germans escaping through a tunnel dug under the Berlin Wall.
I wrote about this
a couple of years ago, so I'm not going to rehash the details, except that "The Tunnel" was originally supposed to air on October 31, but was shelved at the request of the State Department, which thought it might be a little spicy to air three days after the missile crisis had ended. I wonder if there were any such doubts about "Tunnel to Freedom"?Oh, what the hell—here's another political tie-in. It comes on Thursday morning's Continental Classroom class, "American Government" (6:30 a.m., NBC), featuring guest lecturer Theodore H. White, fresh off receiving the Pulitzer Prize earlier this year for The Making of the President 1960. White will be discussing presidential campaigns with instructor Dr. Peter H. Odegard ; I imagine there might be some speculation about the 1964 election; of course, they've no idea how things will change by then. If that's too early for you to start your TV viewing, and if 10:00 p.m. isn't too late, then why not catch The Andy Williams Show (NBC), with quite the variety of guests: Betty Grable and Lawrence Welk.
Friday presents an intriguing episode of Route 66 (8:30 p.m., CBS) which, thankfully, has nothing to do with politics but does have Rod Steiger and Ed Asner in a story of a convict who asks Tod to pass along a message to his brother. One of the nits I always had regarding Route 66 was that the pair (no matter who was paired up with Martin Millner) were always finding themselves involved in situations that were none of their business. I probably wouldn't have gotten anywhere near most of them. But then, that's probably why I haven't lived a more exciting life. Also, I'm not a character in a television series. l l l
We're still a year away from Cleveland Amory taking over as TV Guide's weekly television critic, and in the meantime the erudite writer and critic, Gilbert Seldes , mans the station. And this week's subject happens to be none other than Saints and Sinners, which we saw earlier as part of our marathon of politically-themed shows. But there's nothing political in general about Saints and Sinners, no crusading for some current social issue, a la Lou Grant, for instance. No, Saints and Sinners is, Seldes say, a crime show, pure and simple. "Kidnapping, racketeering, graft and killings occur on and off stage."
Nick Adams, boy reporter, and his boss, John Larkin Ah, but, you say, star Nick Adams isn't a police detective or a private eye; he's a newspaperman! Correct! But, as Seldes again points out, that angle does work itself into the story: "In order to trick the kidnappers, the paper holds back the story. . . In the case of the racketeers, Nick is ordered by his city editor to lay off and we get some idea of newspaper ethics. In the prison case, Nick is in prison." For refusing to divulge his sources, I hasten to add; Nick may be many things, but a criminal he is not. Also, you might not be surprised to discover, there's only a "faint resemblance" between the actual workings of a newspaper and what we see here. "You can ask that the newspapermen and women resemble human beings and that's exactly what they do in Saints and Sinners—they resemble." They also resemble the kinds of characters you might have expected to see in The Front Page, Deadline U.S.A., and, for that matter, All the President's Men. (I suppose you could throw in Kolchak: The Night Stalker too.)
But, Seldes says, if the show isn't particularly realistic, it is particularly well-done, skillfully and with interesting and colorful storylines. "It isn't the kind of life you and I know," Seldes allows, "but we aren't newspapermen, and the way the chunks of drama support or interfere with one another certainly prevents dullness." It doesn't hurt that the show also attracts top-flight guest stars, such as Brian Donlevy and Joseph Cotton. They are so good, Seldes says, "as to make you forget they might be more seriously employed."
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A note on our cover star, Stanley Holloway, star of the ABC sitcom Our Man Higgins, in which he plays an English butler "inherited" by a suburban American family. A male version of Hazel, perhaps, albeit with more urbanity and "veddy" British aplomb. As was the case with so many series, Our Man Higgins started out on the radio, as It's Higgins, Sir, and ran for 13 weeks in 1951; having heard a couple of episodes, I didn't think it was very funny, but then it didn't have Stanley Holloway in it, either, so maybe I shouldn't judge the television version too hastily.
As Edith Efron points out, it would be wrong, very wrong, to call Holloway an overnight sensation; he's been a star on the British musical-comedy stage for more than 50 years, done Shakespeare, and appeared in between 30 and 40 movies. For all that, though, it wasn't until he hit the Broadway stage in 1955's My Fair Lady that he "catapulted" to fame in America. (He was nominated for a Tony for the Broadway production; he reprised his role in the 1965 movie version and was nominated for an Oscar.) Since then, he's been made an OBE by Queen Elizabeth, and now he's enjoying himself on American television. And in American itself; he's spent about three years here, and says, "I like everything here and dislike nothing. Americans make life as easy as it can be made. The great Amerianism is 'No problem.' Anywhere else, they scratch their jaws and don't know what to do. But the American says 'No problem,' and it's solved!"It's also been no problem for Holloway making friends wherever he goes; he counts Rex Harrison, Alan Jay Lerner, and Frederick Loewe, all from My Fair Lady, as warm friends, and he's part of the Old Guard of the British theater, along with Cyril Ritchard, Cedric Hardwicke, and Noel Coward. Paul Harrison, the producer of Higgins, calls him "the kind whom you can count on to do his job with utter perfection." He is, in Harrison's words, "A grand old Victorian." That attitude shows when Holloway expresses his views on current theatrical productions. "The theater is being dragged down. All these ugly things exist [in real life] but why talk about them in the theater?"
Our Man Higgins has only a 13-week run, but it's not the end of Stanley Holloway's butlering days; he plays Beach, the butler, in the BBC's 1967 adaptation of P. G. Wodehouse's Blandings Castle stories, and made several appearances on the Dean Martin and Red Skelton shows. He acted until he was 89, playing his last role in 1980, before dying in 1982.
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This week's starlet is Roberta Shore, who currently appears as a regular on The Virginian. One of the most interesting things about Roberta, according to the article, is her middle name: Jymme. (Gee, I'd have thought they could find something more interesting than that.) She'd had a pretty robust career to this point, with numerous appearances on television and co-starring roles in several Disney productions, but The Virginian is probably her high point. She is a regular for the first three seasons and then is married off to Glenn Corbett in the fourth season.After that, according to the always-reliable Wikipedia, her career pretty much tails off. She does a pilot and makes a few more appearances here and there, but with the exception of a radio gig in the early '80s, that's about it. She's still alive though, at the age of 81, which is more than can be said for many of the people in this issue.
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MST3K alert: The Crawling Eye (English; 1958) A radioactive cloud houses a tentacled monster. Forrest Tucker, Laurence Payne, Jennifer Jayne. (Saturday, 12:30 a.m., WHDH in Boston) One of Forrest Tucker's finest roles (and I'm not being sarcastic) sees him as a UN consultant investigating mysterious goings-on at a village in the Alps. Two of the most notable members of the supporting casts aren't listed here: Janet Munro, who enjoyed a very successful film and television career, including three Disney movies; and Andrew Faulds, who goes on to star in the UK series The Protectors before serving more than 20 years as a Labour member of Parliament. TV
November 1, 2024
Around the dial
We've got a full slate of offerings for this day-after-Halloween, so let's get right to them.I seem to recall a while back linking to an article lamenting the absense of TV theme songs , but since it happens to be true, I don't mind seeing it stated again, in this Chicago Tribute column by Nina Metz. Are we not as creative anymore, or is it that we can't stand to lose time that could be better sold to sponsors?
Perhaps I'm not as much of a classic TV historian as I thought I was, or maybe I just haven't paid as much attention to gossip as I should. In any event, I wasn't aware there was supposed to have been a feud between Barbara Eden and Elizabeth Montgomery, but I'm pleased to find that such rumors are false .
Seeing as how Burke's Law has been one of my favorites for many years, there's really no excuse for me not having seen one of the comic book adventures based on the series. Thanks to Captain Video, I've now been able to redress this egregious omission, with this succession of posts. #1 , #2 , and #3 .
At bare•bones e-zine, Jack's Hitchcock Project continues with the second season story " The Indestructible Mr. Weems ," written by George F. Slavin, and utilizing the comic talents of some wonderful character actors, including Russell Collins, Joe Mantell, Robert Middleton, and Harry Bellaver.
Some people are cake people, others prefer pie. Myself, since I've eliminated sweets from the diet, it's more like wistful thinking. But although I've tasted many fine pieces of pie (thank you, Agent Cooper), I've never been hit in the face by one. At Comfort TV, David looks back to those days when pies to the face were a staple of classic TV. Now I'm hungry.
I've enjoyed several of the British series that John's introduced me to at Cult TV Blog, thanks to YouTube and a region-free DVD player, and here's another I may have to check out: Inside No. 9 , a "black comedy anthology" that just left the air after nine successful seasons. In time for Halloween, here's the 2018 Halloween special, "Dead Line."
Let's look next at another Halloween episode in the classic TV milleau, this one from Terence at A Shroud of Thoughts. It's " Catspaw ," the only Star Trek episode devoted to a holiday; it aired on October 27, 1967, written by the great Robert Bloch, and has some wonderfully creepy moments for Kirk, Spock, and McCoy.
For some reason, one of the Twilight Zone episodes that made a great impression on my youthful self was " The 7th is Made Up of Phantoms ," and I suppose the idea of a Sherman tank in the middle of the Little Big Horn is irresistible to a kid playing with G.I. Joes. But is the story any good. Read Brian's review at The Twilight Zone Vortex and find out.
How about a real-life horror story? At Drunk TV, Paul reviews the Director's Cut DVD of The Executioner's Song , an edited version of the original miniseries, starring Tommy Lee Jones in a dynamic performance as Gary Gilmore, the murderer who's 1977 execution by firing squad signaled the resumption of the death penalty in the United States.
At The View from the Junkyard, Roger takes part in something I enjoy doing myself: looking at thematic links between different shows and/or movies. In his case, it's Doctor Who, and a connection I wouldn't have thought to make myself: the original version of The Blob, and why the movie feels so much like an episode of the classic series.
Travalanche visits The Love Boat, appropriate given Jack Jones' passing last week, and Lauren Tewes' birthday this week, and looks at some of the episodes featuring vintage stars from classic movies and TV . Some will bring back fond memories, while others are bittersweet (or, as in the case of Ginger Rogers performing "Love Will Keep Us Together"), painful. TV
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