Mitchell Hadley's Blog: It's About TV!, page 70

This week in TV Guide: July 23, 1966

This week’s lead story is written by British humorist and critic Malcolm Muggeridge, the sixth in a series of articles "assessing television's effect on our society." Muggeridge wrote for TV Guide several times over the years (I think this was my favorite); he was one of many distinguished writers appearing in TV Guide through the ‘60s and ‘70s, a period when the magazine was capable of a particularly high intellectual content. (Unlike today.) As interesting a writer as Muggeridge was, he was an even more interesting individual: a leading journalist, social critic and television personality in Britain, a soldier and spy during World War II, a left-winger who eventually because staunchly anti-Communist, an editor with Punch magazine, an interviewer with the BBC, a stinging satirist who became a harsh critic of ’60s permissiveness, eventually converted to Christianity, and was widely credited with bringing Mother Teresa to popular consciousness in the West. Incredible.

In this issue, many of his talents are on display. He freely acknowledges the influence of television— "what [children] see on it more than anything else, governs their present hopes and future aspirations"—and that the medium has become a major shaper of opinion: "If Nixon had been better made up, without that devastating afternoon-shadow, for his encounters with the late President Kennedy, it is perhaps he who would have gone to the White House."

He acknowledges that television is often of dubious artistic merit ("The old music hall, as I remember it in my childhood, was, by comparison, a feast of reason and a flow of wit."), and that the quality "declines visibly year by year."  However, he also cautions against throwing the baby out with the bath water, as it were:

Let it be remembered, however, that, on the same line of reasoning, the invention of printing might be as summarily dismissed. After all, far more type is dedicated to Peyton Place and Playboy magazine than to “Paradise Lost” or “La Recherche du Temps Perdu.” . . . How tragic if, because men could be debauched by “Fanny Hill” and the works of the Marquis de Sade, they had been deprived of the solace of the New Testament and Shakespeare’s plays, which also come to them largely through the printed word!

To critics who charge that television numbs the mind and turns people into what we today would call "couch potatoes," Muggeridge replies, "Nor is it true that, before television, those who now spend their evenings viewing sat at home doing embroidery or listening to 'The Mill on the Floss' read aloud. They were much more likely to be out at the pub studying tomorrow’s racing lineup or swapping dirty stories." He adds that television may indeed be "a cultural wasteland, but what about what they replaced? Was that a well-tended garden?"

The fact is, according to Muggeridge, there has been little serious art produced in any media—there has been far more "wealth, talent, skills and endeavor" spent in the last half-century of cinema than produced the Italian Renaissance, but the yield in terms of "enduring worth and interest" is "virtually nil."  Garbo, the Marx Brothers, Chaplin: "these are not the equivalent of even a minor work or art." A bit harsh perhaps, but not without merit. Rather than being constantly disappointed by television’s output, he suggests lowering expectations—"We do not expect tabloid newspapers to serialize Kierkegaard, or women’s magazines to run extracts from Thomas a Kempis. . . Why, then, should television be expected to manifest its seriousness and concern for culture by every now and again putting on a half-fisted production of 'King Lear' or mounting a boring lecture on the French Impressionists?" Far better that TV concentrate on what it does best: news, sports, comedy, soap operas.*

*He had some definite thoughts on those who appeared on television as well, as was shown in a memorable confrontation with Monty Python's John Cleese and Michael Palin on a BBC show in 1979. Maybe we'll talk about that someday.

This is Muggeridge as he came to be known in the late ’60s and ‘70s: an acerbic wit who nonetheless could not disguise an increasing seriousness creeping into his works. And it’s in that spirit that he leaves us with this optimistic note: for as many times that people have stopped him and mentioned how they’ve seen him on television, "not one has ever so much as mentioned, let alone quoted, anything I have said."  If that same "blissful ignorance" applies to all who air their views on the tube, "how splendid!"
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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:  Satirist Allan Sherman; the Supremes and the Dave Clark Five, rock ‘n’ roll groups; Richard Kiley and Joan Diener, appearing in a scene from “Man of La Mancha”; actor Menasha Skulnik; golf champion Ken Venturi; comics Stiller and Meara; and juggler Ugo Garrido.

Palace: Host Bing Crosby and son Gary, comedian Henny Youngman; singer Rosemary Clooney; Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy, dancer-choreographer Hugh Lambert, comedy xylophonist Roger Ray, and the Band of the Fiji Military Forces.

"Those are both pretty good," my wife said when I read this week’s lineups to her. "I think you have to give a very slight edge to the Palace. They’ve got Bing Crosby, even with that talentless Gary, and besides, it seems like the Supremes were on with Sullivan every other week." Hard to argue with that, not if you want to have a successful marriage. Besides, with Bing and Rosie you’ve got a White Christmas reunion, and Bergen and Charlie are always funny. Maybe if it had been the Stones instead of the Supremes—but, alas, we’ll never know. The winner:  Palace , by the slimmest of bouffant hairdos.

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With Cleveland Amory taking the summer off, we're fortunate to have TV Guide's movie critic, Judith Crist, filling in. And we're particularly fortunate that this week, the subject of Crist's review is none other than ABC's blockbuster prime time soap, Peyton Place.
Back in the olden days of radio, Crist says, things were simpler, and soaps often focused on a main character. But now, "the affluent society won't settle for simplicities," she writes. "We'll take our emotional calories in assorted nuts, by the handful." And as Peyton Place "snail-paces along toward its third season," the storylines seem, if anything, to be getting more complicated: "It was possible to keep track of things in the early days but more and more outlanders are drifting into the precinct. Blink an eye and there are three more mysteries on hand, with half-forgotten characters to go with them." Crist admits to harboring a secret desire that Martin Peyton will turn out to be his own grandfather. 
Indeed, Peyton Place seems to be a miserable place to live, a place where "people face life, hunching over the ghastly sins and secrets that have taken place off-screen and long ago, and reveling in all the sorrows and suspicions and soul searching they produce on screen and in perpetuity." And the show always seems to be on the verge of some monumental reveal, some dark secret that threatens to boil over; Crist thinks it will be that "somewhere in Peyton Place there's somebody whose parents were a properly married unadulterous pair, whose birth was therefore legitimate and who has reached his 20th year without having had a nervous breakdown, committed mayhem or even murder or, hope among hopes, stumbled upon the secret of his neighbor's sins!" Well, one can always hope.
Not that there aren't some positives connected to PP: the show has shifted to color, the production values are first-class, and some of the cast members provide a dignity that can produce the illusion that this show, compared to the daytime soaps, is of a "higher class"; and Mia Farrow, caricatured above, has "eternity in [her] wide, wide eyes." But then there's the "near-camp dreariness" of the dialog, the pace that makes it clear the program was "designed for sporadic viewing," and those complicated plots. Watching Peyton Place, Crist concludes, "is getting a big much—and lower-calorie diets are healthier in the long, long run."
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Since the death of Dorothy Kilgallen the previous November, the What’s My Line? crew from Goodson-Todman has been engaged in "The Great Woman Hunt," a furious search for a permanent replacement for Kilgallen, who had been with the show since its inception in 1950. So far, the seat has remained in the possession of a rotating cast of guest stars—everyone from Kitty Carlisle (a stalwart of Goodson-Todman’s To Tell the Truth) to Dr. Joyce Brothers, with magazine publisher Helen Gurley Brown, TV Guide critic Judith Crist, columnist Sheilah Graham, and actresses Joanna Barnes, Joan Fontaine and Dina Merrill thrown in. Even Muriel Davidson, the author of this article, has been considered for the list. It’s a tough gig, though, coming into a long-running show with a veteran cast; as host John Daly puts it, "If she doesn’t fit into our family, we’ll just freeze her out."

At press time there are three clear contenders for the seat. There’s Phyllis Newman, another veteran of To Tell the Truth, married to legendary Broadway composer Adolph Green; charming, bubbly and very girlish (and I mean that as a compliment), always having to tilt her head upward slightly during the Mystery Guest segment so her mask wouldn’t fall off. Sue Oakland is a surprise finalist; married to TV producer Ted Cott (David Susskind’s cousin), she’s got both beauty and brains: "Besides being breath-takingly beautiful and gowned, she is a near-genius, with a Master's degree in political science from Columbia University and with one lovely leg up on a Ph.D.*

*Her Master’s was in the inside workings of the United Nations; her Doctoral dissertation was "The Function of Television on the Presidential Election Campaign of 1968."

And then there’s society columnist Suzy Knickerbocker, whose nameplate will eventually simply read "Suzy" rather than the letter-crunching "Miss Knickerbocker."  Her real name is Aileen Mehle and passing mention in the article is made of her having a 22-year-old son. (That son, Roger, is an Annapolis graduate and naval officer, and on the Christmas episode of WML, on which his mother is a panelist, he appears as the Mystery Guest.)

The tongue-in-cheek question remains: "Can a girl be found who can win the hearts of a great, established family, still grieving the loss of one of its most beloved members? . . . Or will her struggle for acceptance bring about the destruction of the entire, proud, 16-year dynasty?" In the end, despite the producers’ vows, none of the ladies above, or anyone else, for that matter, wind up filling Dorothy’s seat. WML is starting to show its age, "developing creaks of the Nielsen in its venerable beams," and it will leave the air in September 1967, with a run of 17½ seasons—at the time the fourth-longest-running non-news series of all time, trailing only The Ed Sullivan Show, The Original Amateur Hour and Lamp Unto My Feet. Whether the right fit was never found, or time just wound up running out, that fourth seat on the panel will continue to be filled with rotating female guests until the very end.*

*Or almost the very end; the final show features a panel of Arlene Francis, long-time guest Martin Gabel (Arlene’s husband), former regular Steve Allen, and Bennett Cerf.  Host John Daly himself plays the final Mystery Guest.
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I've mentioned before that it can be a challenge finding noteworthy shows during the summer, but I think we've done quite well for ourselves this week. As always, though, you can be the judge.

NBC’s Saturday Night at the Movies has the Kirk Douglas classic Ace in the Hole, which is airing under its alternate title, The Big Carnival. (8:00 p.m. CT) It's a cynical, cynical story of a newspaperman trying for a comeback with the story of a man trapped in a cave. But it's only a story if he stays trapped long enough for a dramatic rescue. Not to disparage any of my friends in the media, and I do have them, but this kind of news manipulation could never happen today, right? Right?

Sunday, the sports world focuses on the final round of the PGA Championship, from the famed Firestone Country Club in Akron, Ohio. (3:00 p.m., ABC) It’s an early appearance for golf’s final major championship of the year, which is usually played in August. It’s also an unplanned location for the tourney; originally it was supposed to take place at Columbine Country Club in Columbine, Colorado, but severe storms in 1965 had damaged the course, forcing the PGA to swap sites—Firestone had been scheduled to host in 1967, but traded with Columbine. After 54-year-old Sam Snead turns back the clock by leading the first two rounds, the young Al Geiberger comes on during the weekend to finish at even par, good enough for a four-shot win over Dudley Wysong.

*A footnote: that night, a few hours after the tournament, 1964 British Open champion Tony Lema and his wife are among those killed in the crash of a small plane flying Lema to Illinois to compete in a Monday event. The 32-year-old “Champagne Tony,” one of the best and most charismatic players on tour, had finished 34th in what turned out to be his last tournament. Had he not died, I think a lot more people would know who he is today.
Burgess Meredith is on prime-time three out of five nights this week, all on ABC, which is pretty good for both him and the network and a treat for us viewers. His first appearance is Monday night on 12 O'clock High (6:30 p.m.), where he plays a scientist who's developed an airborne radar that allows bombers to zero in on targets even when they're obscured by clouds. Trouble comes when the Germans figure out how to zero in on the radar. According to the Close-Up describing the episode, during one scene, "Meredith received a rare accolade: spontaneous applause from the other actors on the set." Also appearing in a semi-regular role is Robert Dornan , before he gives up acting and runs for Congress; MST3K fans will remember him from The Starfighters.
Jack Hawkins, who was so good as Quintus Arrius in Ben-Hur, is also on multiple nights; later in the week, he appears as a prim and insensitive Englishman on Bob Hope's Chrysler Theatre (in a story for which Shelley Winters would be nominated for an Emmy), but on Tuesday night he's on Dr. Kildare (7:30 p.m., NBC), as an atheist whose heart attack may have been Divine Punishment. Or not.
Burgess Meredith is back Wednesday in the first of two consecutive nights on Batman (6:30 p.m. tonight and tomorrow, ABC); this week, Alfred, the butler of millionaire Bruce Wayne, is kidnapped by "that piscatorial pirate of plunder." No window cameo, alas; although Jerry Lewis had appeared in the first one earlier in the season, it didn't become a semi-regular feature until the second season.
Thursday night Eve Arden stars on an episode of Bewitched (8:00 p.m., ABC) in which Endora shows Darren what Samantha's baby will look like in 25 years. Arden plays a nurse at the hospital, while the episode also marks the first appearance of Elizabeth Montgomery in her dual role as Samantha and her Cousin Serena. Meanwhile, Rowan and Martin continue in their summer replacement series that eventually leads to Laugh-In; this week, their guests are singer Barbara McNair and comedian Jackie Vernon. (9:00 p.m., NBC)

On Friday, a delightful rerun of Sing Along with Mitch (7:30 p.m., NBC) features Shirley Temple as the special guest, performing the songs she made famous as such an adorable child star. And at 9:00 p.m. on CBS, the Canadian comedians Wayne and Shuster conclude their documentary series Wayne and Shuster Take an Affectionate Look at... with a review of the career of W.C. Fields. Unless you're in Minneapolis, that is, where WCCO pre-empts the show for a double-feature of Marshal Dillon.

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Ah, this is the kind of thing I always appreciate finding: a 1966 CBC documentary hosted by—Alex Trebek! Yes, the same Alex Trebek who hosted Jeopardy since who-knows-when and became a beloved American icon! And what makes this even better is that the original Jeopardy, with host Art Fleming, is still on NBC’s daytime schedule! Who could possibly have looked at this issue and thought to themselves that nearly 60 years later Jeopardy would still be on, and it would have been hosted for 37 by this obscure Canadian appearing on a CBC documentary being broadcast by NET?

The show itself is, I think, striking: a look at "The Cultural Explosion" of the 1960s. "More people go to concerts, museums and theaters than ever before—but are we on the threshold of a new Renaissance?" What, exactly, does this tell us about today?  It’s very intriguing; after all, we hear constantly about how the arts must appeal to young people, who are increasingly turned off by the arts, and yet when it comes to the ‘60s, we tend to assume that the young dominated the tenor of the decade.

So: were older people driving this cultural boom? If so, why? Was it merely a measure of the post-war disposable income that drove the growth of the consumer society of the ‘50s? Or did they have more influence over popular culture than we might think?

Their offspring, who today represent the demographic most interested in culture (i.e. grey-haired) must have had some of that rub off on them. If so, why haven’t they been able to do the same thing with their descendants? We know that schools played a greater role in art and music back then than they do now – is that the difference? Were they already interested in culture in the ‘60s as well, or did that interest come to them later in life?

If the latter is the case, does it suggest that today’s youth, for whom culture is dead, might yet come around when they get older?  Or is it that things have changed so dramatically over the last 60 years that they must be reached earlier, or be lost forever?

Obviously you could write a whole book about this. And yet, when those of us with an interest in the arts read daily about the difficulties faced by classical music organizations, theaters, museums, and more, there’s something depressing about this program, so full of optimism for the future, talking about a culture "explosion" and the possibility of a new age. Who would have imagined that the arts would survive the tumultuous ‘60s, only to run aground on the shoals of the new millennium? TV  

Around the dial

I don't remember how old I was when I found out there was a Birmingham in England as well as in Alabama; I was familiar with the latter due to Saturday college football, but as for the other, it would remain a mystery. No longer; at Cult TV Blog, John begins a series of posts on TV programs related to his home city. (If I'd done that, it would have pretty much started and ended with Mary Tyler Moore.)
Contrary to what you might think, Satan's Triangle is not some vague area over Washington, D.C., rather, it's a 1975 ABC Movie of the Week starring Kim Novak and Doug McClure. According to Paul at Drunk TV, it's a dark, dark thriller that still holds up, and if it's even nearly as entertaining as his writeup of it, that's saying a lot.
At Comfort TV, David ponders one of the most popular genres of television episodes: the class reunion .  I suppose everyone can identify with the hopes and fears we had when we were that age. Unlike David, I've never been to one of mine, which would entail returning to the World's Worst Town™, where my hope was to get out alive, and my fear was that I'd wind up back there some day. (Thankfully, no.)
There's still another week or so to go in the month, which means plenty of time to catch up with Christmas in July at Christmas TV History. Today, Joanna's look at movies influenced by It's a Wonderful Life continues with Richie Rich's Christmas Wish , of which I confess I have no memory. Be sure to check out previous entries in the series.
We'll digress from television for a moment to visit Classic Film & TV Café, where this week's film is more intriguing than classic, but isn't Jeanne Moreau classic enough for you? It's Rick's review of Elevator to the Gallows , which sounds like a Camus novel but is, in fact, the premiere effort of director Louis Malle, and if it could have been better, it still could be worth a look.
At Shadow & Substance, Paul revisits the Night Gallery episode " A Death in the Family ," with E.G. Marshall as a most disturbing undertaker. A la Jack's Hitchcock Project, Paul takes a look at the original short story that spawned the teleplay, which comes to us courtesy of Rod Serling.
And finally, at The Hits Just Keep On Comin', a late notice of JB's blog anniversary, featuring some of his best of the past year . Eighteen years—boy, that's a long time. And yet, the hits keep on coming. He might be too modest to say that, so I will. TV  

Revisiting the police procedural

Someone once asked me how it was that I was able to think up topics to write about every week. This was back in the early days of the blog, when I was, I felt, much younger than I am today. At any rate, my reply was that I didn’t think about it too much—it just seemed as if something always came up at the right time: something I saw or read or thought about, something that provided a spark that, a few hundred or thousand words later, wound up on the website you’re reading at this moment. 
That’s still the way it is today, although I have to work a little harder to come up with the ideas, and the words don’t flow perhaps quite as easily or as quickly as they used to. But when it happens, it can be a delight, because I don’t have to email people or watch videos or look things up to get my thoughts down. I just have to type. And that brings us to today.
Actually, I did have to do a little reading on this one, because it has to do with an essay in The Georgia Review called "Policing the Procedural (on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit)", by Sarah Rebecca Kessler. As you might guess, it’s all about the police procedural on television, in particular SVU, and because it’s written within the mythology of George Floyd and discrimination and attacks on minorities and the abolition of prisons and the idea that there’s no such thing as a good cop, it’s full of the kind of liberal claptrap you’d expect. (Sorry if that offends you, but it’s true.) Notwithstanding all that, though, Kessler make some excellent points on SVU in particular, and the procedural genre in general, and that's what I want to concentrate at today.
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There are those who will say that this kind of discussion is incidental to television, that the connection is too tenuous. I disagree. I give television more credit than that for the influence it has over viewers; how many people “swear” that something is true, that it actually happened, when in fact it turns out to have been something they saw on a fictional television show.* Therefore, it’s not at all implausible that people would take as fact something they’d seen on a procedural, and that it could influence law enforcement policy.
*Case in point: Sarah Palin never said she could see Russia from her house; it was Tina Fey.
We see them routinely treat suspects with contempt, use surveillance techniques with little regard for civil liberties, and regard the public in general as an inconvenience at best, a constant threat at worst. Not just to the lives*, but to an existential existence, a series of restraints increasingly handed down by a ruling elite dedicated to limiting free expression as much as possible. We’ve seen how the modern police force has evolved into a paramilitary unit, wearing black body armor, enforcing laws that, more and more, come to resemble an ideological tract rather than anything necessary for civil order. They even view video footage taken by eyewitness as somehow a threat to them doing their jobs. They are, of course, “just following orders,” a defense that didn’t work all that well at Nuremberg. 
*Kessler describes SVU’s Olivia Benson as “a cop who, as cops do, often uses the phrase ‘good shooting’ to describe the killing of a civilian for the alleged crime of making a cop feel scared.”
Kessler is a fan of SVU (a paradox she freely admits), which gives her a certain credibility when it comes to critiquing the show and what it stands for. I, on the other hand, pretty much hate the program, and I’ve been a harsh critic of it in previous posts here. And, as I mentioned at the outset, Kessler and I come to the discussion from opposite poles: she from the far left, me from the far right. Still, there are areas where our interests overlap, and we share some of the same concerns about the way in which the police deal with the public and the way they see their jobs. 
Kessler wonders, rhetorically, “what it is that makes the cop show, and SVU in particular, so resistant to reproach and immune to reform,” and supplies a ready answer: cop shows tell the story from the cop’s point of view. The Wizard of ID once said that the real Golden Rule was, “whoever has the gold, rules,” and the same goes for the television series: notwithstanding a series featuring antiheroes, for the most part the stars of your show are going to be the good guys, everyone else is the bad guys, and the stories are going to be told from the hero’s vantage point. 
Indeed, one of the sure ways to tell whether or not a cop faces a harsh disciplinary action for stepping over the line is whether or not that cop is a regular. Unless the star is involved in some kind of contract dispute with the show, you’re never going to see their character face a lengthy suspension, or even jail time, In fact, featuring the bad cops as guest stars simply serves to reinforce the essential goodness of the system. (Imagine Mariska Hargitay missing for half the season.) Regarding the trial of Derek Chauvin, the officer most publicly held responsible for the death of George Floyd, Kessler asserts that, "It was as if the proceedings had realized SVU’s central fantasy that 'a few bad apples' does not a broken system make." 
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In the wake of the Floyd death and Chauvin trial, writes Kessler, what was at issue "was not only the usual positive media coverage of the police, the 'thanks to our brave men in blue' that reliably precedes the names of the victims of a wholly preventable tragedy, but the scores of other televisual fare from reality formats like Cops to scripted dramas like Chicago P.D. that serve as pro–law enforcement propaganda." This is exactly what I've been saying for years, in the form of the argument that these shows wind up desensitizing the viewer to the real threat of authoritarianism, not just from law enforcement in general, but from the government in particular. Or, as Kessler suggests, maybe it's not "desensitizing"—perhaps what it really means is our contentment with the methodology. 
How many times have we heard some variant of the line that an innocent person has nothing to fear from the police, that only the guilty insist on their rights, that the most advanced surveillance techniques will only be used against the guilty? This completely overlooks the fact that, 1) it's not the job of the police to determine guilt or innocence, and 2) even if it were, the term "guilt" is likely to be applied retroactively to the suspect at the conclusion of the investigation, given that such techniques were necessary to make such a judgment in the first place.
The police procedural, says Kessler, "normalizes the cop-as-protagonist and the criminal as bit player. There one episode and gone the next, the perpetrator vanishes into incarceration while the victim, the witness, the wrongly accused, the journalist covering the case, and everyone else simply vanishes, leaving the show’s lead cop/s alone to ponder the right, wrong, or, most likely, ambiguity of what has occurred." It's always easy when the perp is painted with a broad brush, practically twirling a Snidley Whiplash handlebar mustache, and it reinforces the viewer's sense that they "had it coming." But if you're looking for a genre to broach the question of actual, real, reform, forget about it: "the police procedural structurally forecloses the question, much less the very real possibility, of abolition, since at the end of the day, the cops cannot be called upon to abolish themselves."
For years I posited the idea that shows like SVU and Chicago P.D. should, as a semi-regular, feature a defense attorney who was tough, competent, and honest—in other words, someone in the mold of Perry Mason or Clinton Judd. (George Grizzard filled the role for awhile, but it was never made a part of the series as it could have been.) There would be no suggestion that the attorney was trying to get his client off on a technicality, or through some other legal subterfuge, only a dedication to the idea that everyone is entitled to a fair trial, and a determination to see to it that justice would be done. In order to maintain the dramatic tension necessary for a television series, the defense attorney would have to lose some of the time, but then there would be times when he won, and then the question would be open and available for everyone to see: What went wrong? Why did we arrest the wrong person?
It would be a breathtaking moment, as far as series television goes, because it would force those characters we've come to know and love to confront the fact that they'd made a mistake, that they'd arrested and tried the wrong person. Since we can't depend on the police to investigate themselves, the defense attorney becomes the medium through which this can be examined. In the serialized environment which television has become, it can’t help but give a series texture when its stars evolve through the course of the series—even grow. Where did we screw up?
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There was a series, once, that tried to bridge the gap, as you probably know. The 1963-64 ABC series Arrest and Trial starred Ben Gazzara as the lead detective, John Larch as the deputy D.A., and Chuck Connors as the defense attorney. It was a unique format, a 90-minute drama divided into two parts: the investigation, resulting in the arrest, and the trial. The crime and the punishment. Said Gazzara of his role, "I'm supposed to be a thinking man's cop. I'm a serious student of human behavior, more concerned with what creates the criminal than how to punish him. In other words, I'm not the kind of cop who asks, 'Where were you the night of April 13th?' It's my job to show that there is room for passion and intellectualism and personal display even within a policeman."
And that's good as far as it goes. Gazzara does, at times, come across as a bleeding heart. But, in my limited viewing of the series, it seems as if the writers try too hard to make sure that both he and Connors are right, that while the defendant might be guilty, there are also extenuating circumstances that mitigate his responsibility for the crime. While [creator] Herb Meadow had suggested that Arrest and Trial would be the 'first series where both protagonists will not always be right each week,' it was a promise that was easier said than done. As Stephen Bowie writes , "The corner into which the writers inevitably found themselves painted was the schism between the motives of the two leads. Arrest and Trial put Anderson [Gazzara] and Egan [Connors] on opposite sides of the judicial process: Anderson’s job was to catch the criminals and Egan’s was to turn them loose. Allowing the principals to be wrong 'occasionally' might have seemed like a good idea on paper, but it meant that every week one of them would have to make a fool of himself — either Anderson arrests the correct perpetrator and Egan loses his case, or Egan sets his client free by proving that Anderson busted the wrong guy." If the show wasn't ready to tackle the Big Questions, nor to give us heroes with feet of clay, then such a format could never work. Law & Order succeeded where Arrest and Trial failed, because they chose to put the emphasis on the “law and order” side of the equation.
A digression, perhaps, but this is, after all, a website dealing with TV history. 
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Understand that I don’t intend this as a broadside against all members of the police. Unlike Kessler, I do believe that there are “good cops”; officers and detectives with a desire to protect the public, and dedicated to an even-handed search for truth and justice. (There are also officers, including some of whome I personally know, who are little more than fascist thugs, with an unforgiving view of anyone who opposes him as “the enemy.”) 
The indictment I have here is a collective one, of “the police” rather than the policeman, the paramilitary unit instead of the guardians sworn to protect and to serve. Kate Andrews, writing in Britain's The Spectator, describes the result: "We see America’s police officers treat low-level offenders and even innocent citizens with the same force and aggression you would expect to see used against the most violent criminals." Whereas Americans were once governed by consent, Andrews writes, today "America is policed by force." Police procedurals, in the way they dramatize the stories, justify these actions. In a previous essay I wrote on this subject, I quoted at length Gregg Easterbrook, writing about the series Chicago P.D. in a 2014 article at ESPN.com:  

But what's disturbing about Chicago P.D. is audiences are manipulated to think torture is a regrettable necessity for protecting the public. Three times in the first season, the antihero tortures suspects—a severe beating and threats to cut off an ear and shove a hand down a running garbage disposal. Each time, torture immediately results in information that saves innocent lives. Each time, viewers know, from prior scenes, the antihero caught the right man. That manipulates the viewer into thinking, "He deserves whatever he gets."
In the real world, law enforcement officers rarely are sure whether they caught the right person or what a prisoner might know. Some ethicists say there could be a ticking-bomb exception—if the prisoner could reveal where a ticking bomb is, then torture becomes permissible. But how could a law enforcement officer be sure what a captive knows? And if by this logic torture is permissible, wouldn't that justify torture by, say, the Taliban if they captured a U.S. airman who could know the location of a planned drone strike?
NBC executives don't want to live in a country where police have the green light to torture suspects. So why do they extol on primetime the notion that torture by the police saves lives? Don't say to make the show realistic. Nothing about Chicago P.D. is realistic—except the scenery.

Elsewhere in that essay, I added that, with regard to SVU, “viewers are witnesses to an amazing contempt that authority holds for citizens, which extends to every kind of bullying they can think of, including statements that I'd read as being clearly unconstitutional. (My favorite is when they tell a suspect that if they don't talk now, any chance of a deal is gone. Try telling that to some overworked assistant DA who'll cut any kind of a deal to decrease his workload.) These people aren't interested in justice—they just want to win.*” And this doesn’t even begin to touch on the typical trope that an innocent person doesn’t need a lawyer, and that the defendant who wins acquittal does so because of his lawyer’s slick tricks.
*Even in a series like Perry Mason, Mason often argues that once the police find their suspect, they stop searching for the truth.
The point: the justice system, riddled with corruption and ideological agendas from the Department of Justice on down, is its own worst enemy in the best of times; the last thing they need is to have a television show exaggerate the problem.
l  l  l
“I don’t believe most or any SVU fans, liberal or otherwise, genuinely want the series to “do better”—whatever that even means,” Kessler writes. “As a fan myself, it behooves me to be honest about this fact. I would rather the show (literally) be canceled than ameliorated into something less fun to watch.” Conceding that this might be seen as a “crass” position, she explains, “if the show was just sincerity with no sensationalism, why would I want to watch it? Better a cop show whose absurdity is akin to self-parody than a cop show that’s trying not to be the cop show it most certainly is.”
Well, that depends. It may be true that in the realm of the procedural, Kessler is right when she says that ‘cop shows will always be cop shows,’ whether or not they remain hardline or feebly gesture toward reform.” But are all cop shows procedurals? Again, it depends. Naked City, to my mind one of the finest TV dramas ever, used the framework of the police drama to tell stories of life in the gritty city, often relegating the precinct detectives to the background as the guest stars took center stage. Sometimes an episode would use the flimsiest of pretexts, the slimmest of connections to police work, to tell a story that just as easily could have been told on Route 66. And I cite that story deliberately, as both Naked City and Route 66 were the products of Sterling Silliphant, a writer who could hardly be considered a right-wing law-and-order extremist. Under Silliphant’s guidance, Naked City wasn’t really a police drama; it was a drama about people, some of whom just happened to be policemen.*
*And not just that: I’ll always remember a Naked City episode in which Detective Lieutenant Mike Parker tells an aggrieved New Yorker that, as a citizen, he has every right to bring his problem to the police and expect some kind of resolution. What Parker realized, and today's cops don't, is that the police are the servants of the public, not the other way around.
Kessler doesn’t have any good ideas to offer here, concluding that “instead of disingenuously demanding that SVU and its ilk ‘do better,’ instead of policing the procedural into some illusion of justice, how about demanding an end to policing and to prisons?” This is, of course, a cop-out—no pun intended—because it relinquishes the moral high ground she sought to attain in linking the content of procedurals to the effect they have on their audience. If we’re that concerned about it, then we can’t just shrug and say that, well, that’s television for you, and entertainment is always going to win out over serious content. If you believe that, then why are we even having this discussion?
Perhaps I can speak more freely because I’m not a fan of SVU, Kessler makes a compelling case in linking the content of procedurals, the idea that these shows “desensitize” the viewer to the abuses committed by police. It’s a damning accusation, because it makes us all complicit in the affair, all sharing in the responsibility. To paraphrase Benjamin Franklin, those who would give up their liberty in return for a little temporary entertainment deserve neither. If the analogy of frog and the boiling water holds 
Why, then, does she give up so easily? “What might television be in the absence of the promise of punishment on which so many of its genres, programs, and episodes hinge?” Kessler asks. “Can you dream up a cop show without cops?” The answer to that is yes—if you view them not as cops, but as men and women. 
Procedurals deserve the criticism they’ve received here, because they reflect a particular philosophy that strikes a sympathetic cord with viewer sentiment. (In other words, they manipulate you.) Kessler and I may not share much when it comes to ideology, but in this limited case we can see eye-to-eye, will say that even if it’s through sidelong glances. The harsh truth, and conservatives are coming to recognize this even as liberals have, is this: When your police force becomes politicized, when it functions not as a law enforcement agency but as an enforcement arm of the ruling class, then the police are not your friends. The sooner you ignore what you see on the tube and believe what you can see with your own eyes, the better for America, and her people. All of them. TV  

What's on TV? Thursday, July 21, 1955

You'll notice that KEYD, the Minneapolis channel that will eventually become KMSP, is shown as a DuMont affiliate. but that isn't saying much anymore. It's the last season for DuMont, and their only remaining scheduled program is Monday night's Boxing from St. Nicholas Arena (you'll remember, that's the crummy matchup I mentioned on Saturday). So Channel 9 is, for all practical purposes, an independent, and will remain so until they take the ABC affiliation from WTCN in 1961. You can also see that some stations, such as Rochester's KROC, have gaps in their programming (unless, that is, their version of Feather Your Nest runs for four hours). It could be that they've signed off temporarily (although that was more prevalent earlier in the decade), but it's also possible that TV Guide got things wrong; there have been occasions when they've listed two different programs at the same time for one channel. The very imperfection, though, is what makes it that much more interesting than the newer editions, isn't it? This is a very early version of the Minnesota State Edition, in case you hadn't figured it out.
   3  KGLO (Mason City) (CBS)

  AFTERNOON

       1:30

Curtain Time

       1:45

Your Children’s Safety

       2:00

Brighter Day—Serial

       2:15

Valiant Lady—Serial

       2:30

On Your Account

       3:00

At Home with Jay

       3:30

Your Health

       4:00

Super Show

       5:00

The Line Shack

       5:30

Bob Clausen Show

       5:40

March of Toys

       5:55

Farm Digest

  EVENING

       6:00

News

       6:10

Sports

       6:20

Almanac

       6:30

Climax!—Drama

“The Healer”

       7:30

FOUR STAR PLAYHOUSE

“Masquerade”

       8:00

GENE AUTRY

       8:30

LIFE OF RILEY—Comedy

       9:00

GUIDED TOUR

       9:15

HOLLYWOOD ON PARADE

       9:30

CHILDREN’S SAFETY

       9:45

LET’S PLAY GOLF

     10:00

WEATHER

     10:10

NEWS

     10:30

CHILDREN’S SAFETY

     10:45

MOVIE—Drama

“Ghost Train”

 

 

  -4- WCCO (CBS)

  MORNING

       7:00

Morning Show—Faulk

       8:00

Garry Moore Show—Variety

       8:30

Arthur Godfrey Show

       9:30

Strike It Rich—Quiz

     10:00

Valiant Lady—Serial

     10:15

Love of Life—Serial

     10:30

Search for Tomorrow

     10:45

The Guiding Light

     11:00

Mel Jass Show

       

   11:30

Welcome Travelers

  AFTERNOON

     12:00

News at Noon—McCuen

     12:15

Weather Window—Kraehling

     12:20

Pastor’s Study

     12:30

Art Linkletter—Variety

       1:00

The Big Payoff—Quiz

       1:30

Bob Crosby Show—Music

       2:00

Brighter Day—Serial

       2:15

Secret Storm—Serial

       2:30

On Your Account

       3:00

Around the Town—Haberle

       3:30

Hollywood Playhouse

       4:00

Robert Q. Lewis Show

       4:15

Carol’s Desk—Carol Eittreim

       4:30

Barker Bill’s Cartoons

       4:45

Axel and His Dog—Kids

       5:30

News—Doug Edwards

       5:45

Upbeat!—Music

  EVENING

       6:00

News

       6:15

Sports

       6:25

Weather

       6:30

Climax!—Drama

“The Healer”

       7:30

FOUR STAR PLAYHOUSE

“Masquerade”

       8:00

JOHNNY CARSON—Variety

       8:30

HALLS OF IVY

       9:00

LIBERACE—Music

       9:30

CORLISS ARCHER—Comedy

     10:00

DATELINE EUROPE

     10:30

NEWS—Rollie Johnson

     10:45

WEATHER TOWER—Bud Kraehling

     10:50

SPORTS—Dick Enroth

     11:00

Hunting and Fishing

     11:30

Playhouse 15

“Double Negative”

 

 

  -5- KSTP (NBC)

  MORNING

       6:30

Billy Folger Show

       6:55

News—George Grim

       7:00

Today—Dave Garroway

       8:00

Ding Dong School

       8:30

Your Child—Horwich

       8:45

Sheilah Graham Show

Guest: Ginger Rogers

       9:00

Home

     10:00

Tennessee Ernie—Music

     10:30

Feather Your Nest

     11:00

Bee Baxter Show

       

   11:20

Morning Movie

“The Sultan’s Daughter”

  AFTERNOON

     12:00

News in Sight—Ingram

     12:15

Main Street—Music

       1:00

Ted Mack’s Matinee

       1:30

It Pays To Be Married

       2:00

Way of the World

       2:15

First Love—Serial

       2:30

Mr. Sweeney

       2:45

Modern Romances

       3:00

Pinky Lee Show

       3:30

Howdy Doody

       4:00

Boots and Saddles

       5:00

Commander Saturn

       5:30

Vaughn Monroe—Music

       5:45

News Caravan

  EVENING

       6:00

News

       6:15

You Should Know—Quiz

       6:30

Make the Connection

       7:00

DRAGNET

       7:30

THEATER

“Portrait of Lydia”

       8:00

VIDEO THEATER—Drama

“Desperate Glory”

       9:00

GROUCHO MARX—Quiz

       9:30

MR. DISTRICT ATTORNEY

     10:00

NEWS

     10:15

WEATHER

     10:20

SPORTS

     10:30

PLAY NATCO

 

 

   6  KMMT (Austin) (ABC)

  AFTERNOON

       4:00

MOVIE—To Be Announced

       5:00

Soupy Sales

       5:15

News—John Daly

       5:30

Wild Bill Hickok—Western

  EVENING

       6:00

Weatherman

       6:05

Sports

       6:15

News

       6:30

Lone Ranger—Western

       7:00

TUNES ON DRIAL—Dick Zook

       8:00

WRESTLING—Main Event

       9:00

BILL PARKER SHOW

       9:30

MARK SABER—Mystery

       9:45

GREAT AMERICANS

     10:00

NEWS

     10:15

WEATHER

     10:20

MOVIE—To Be Announced

 

 

   8  WKBT (LaCrosse) (All Nets)

  AFTERNOON

       2:00

Film Varieties

       2:15

Secret Storm—Serial

       2:30

On Your Account

       3:00

Pinky Lee Show

       3:30

Howdy Doody

       5:00

Kiddies Hour

       5:30

Cowboy Club

  EVENING

       6:00

Program Previews

       6:05

Farm Digest

       6:10

Sports

       6:15

News

       6:20

Weather

       6:30

Make the Connection

       7:00

DRAGNET

       7:30

THEATER

“Portrait of Lydia”

       8:00

FAMOUS PLAYHOUSE

       8:30

EDDIE CANTOR—Comedy

       9:00

ETHEL BARRYMORE—Drama

       9:30

RACKET SQUAD

     10:00

WEATHER

     10:05

DATELINE EDITION

     10:15

SPORTS

     10:20

CHANNEL 8 THEATER

 

 

  -9- KEYD (Du M.)

  AFTERNOON

       3:30

Daily Drama

       4:00

Marjorie Ellis McCrady Show

       4:30

Trail Blazers

       5:30

Mystery Manor

  EVENING

       6:00

News

       6:15

Sports

       6:20

Weather

       6:30

Royal Playhouse

       7:00

THE FALCON—Mystery

       7:30

MAYOR OF THE TOWN

       8:00

WRESTLING—Chicago

       9:00

MOVIE—Drama

“Tough Guy”

     10:30

NEWS, WEATHER, SPORTS

     10:45

MOVIE—Drama

“Spaeways”

 

 

  10 KROC (Rochester) (NBC, ABC)

  MORNING

       7:00

Today—Dave Garroway

       8:00

Ding Dong School

       8:45

Sheilah Graham Show

Guest: Ginger Rogers

       9:00

Home

     10:00

Tennessee Ernie—Music

     10:30

Feather Your Nest

  AFTERNOON

       2:30

Mr. Sweeney

       2:45

Modern Romances

       3:00

Pinky Lee Show

       3:30

Howdy Doody

       4:00

Stary Tales

       4:30

MOVIE—Western

“Ridin’ Fool”

       5:45

News Caravan

  EVENING

       6:00

KROC-TV Presents

       6:20

Weather—Norm Selby

       6:30

Sports—Bernie Lusk

       6:40

News—Cal Smith

       6:55

Crusader Rabbit

       7:00

DRAGNET

       7:30

THEATER

“Portrait of Lydia”

       8:00

LIBERACE

       8:30

BEST OF GROUCHO—Quiz

       9:00

THE LIFE OF RILEY

       9:30

TALES OF TOMORROW

     10:00

NEWS

     10:10

WEATHER—Norm Selby

     10:15

SPORTS

     10:30

MOVIE—Drama

“East Meets West”

 

 

  11 WTCN (ABC)

  MORNING

       9:30

J.P. Patches

     10:00

Beulah—Comedy

     10:30

Morning Movie

  AFTERNOON

     12:00

Casey Jones—Rog. Awsumb

     12:30

News—Paul Sevareid

     12:45

Relax—Music

       1:00

MOVIE—To Be Announced

       2:15

Movie Quick Quiz

       2:30

MOVIE—To Be Announced

       4:00

Record Hop—Jack Thayer

       4:30

Sheriff Sev—Western

       5:00

Kartoon Kapers

       5:30

Captain 11—Adventure

  EVENING

       6:00

Crusader Rabbit

       6:05

Weatherbird—Zimmerman

       6:15

News

       6:30

Lone Ranger—Western

       7:00

STAR TONIGHT—Drama

       7:30

ACTION

       8:30

DANGEROUS ASSIGNMENT

       9:00

I AM THE LAW—Mystery

       9:30

COLONEL MARCH—Mystery

     10:00

NEWS

     10:15

WEATHER

     10:20

SPORTS

     10:30

MOVIE—To Be Announced

 

 

  13 WEAU (Eau Claire) (NBC, ABC)

  AFTERNOON

       3:00

Pinky Lee Show

       3:30

Howdy Doody

       4:00

MOVIE—Drama

“Girl From Manhattan”

       5:30

Cartoons

       5:45

News Caravan

  EVENING

       6:00

Lone Ranger—Western

       6:30

Information Center

       6:45

Industry on Parade

       7:00

DRAGNET

       7:30

THEATER

“Portrait of Lydia”

       8:00

EDDIE CANTOR SHOW

       8:30

MEET CORLISS ARCHER

       9:00

LIFE OF RILEY—Comedy

       9:30

TOP OF THE NEWS—Wright

       9:40

WHATEVER THE WEATHER

       9:45

SPORTS PARADE—Grimsby

       9:50

MOVIE—Comedy

“Texas, Brooklyn and Heaven” (1948)

TV  

What's on TV? Thursday, July 21, 1956

You'll notice that KEYD, the Minneapolis channel that will eventually become KMSP, is shown as a DuMont affiliate. but that isn't saying much anymore. It's the last season for DuMont, and their only remaining scheduled program is Monday night's Boxing from St. Nicholas Arena (you'll remember, that's the crummy matchup I mentioned on Saturday). So Channel 9 is, for all practical purposes, an independent, and will remain so until they take the ABC affiliation from WTCN in 1961. You can also see that some stations, such as Rochester's KROC, have gaps in their programming (unless, that is, their version of Feather Your Nest runs for four hours). It could be that they've signed off temporarily (although that was more prevalent earlier in the decade), but it's also possible that TV Guide got things wrong; there have been occasions when they've listed two different programs at the same time for one channel. The very imperfection, though, is what makes it that much more interesting than the newer editions, isn't it? This is a very early version of the Minnesota State Edition, in case you hadn't figured it out.
   3  KGLO (Mason City) (CBS)

  AFTERNOON

       1:30

Curtain Time

       1:45

Your Children’s Safety

       2:00

Brighter Day—Serial

       2:15

Valiant Lady—Serial

       2:30

On Your Account

       3:00

At Home with Jay

       3:30

Your Health

       4:00

Super Show

       5:00

The Line Shack

       5:30

Bob Clausen Show

       5:40

March of Toys

       5:55

Farm Digest

  EVENING

       6:00

News

       6:10

Sports

       6:20

Almanac

       6:30

Climax!—Drama

“The Healer”

       7:30

FOUR STAR PLAYHOUSE

“Masquerade”

       8:00

GENE AUTRY

       8:30

LIFE OF RILEY—Comedy

       9:00

GUIDED TOUR

       9:15

HOLLYWOOD ON PARADE

       9:30

CHILDREN’S SAFETY

       9:45

LET’S PLAY GOLF

     10:00

WEATHER

     10:10

NEWS

     10:30

CHILDREN’S SAFETY

     10:45

MOVIE—Drama

“Ghost Train”

 

 

  -4- WCCO (CBS)

  MORNING

       7:00

Morning Show—Faulk

       8:00

Garry Moore Show—Variety

       8:30

Arthur Godfrey Show

       9:30

Strike It Rich—Quiz

     10:00

Valiant Lady—Serial

     10:15

Love of Life—Serial

     10:30

Search for Tomorrow

     10:45

The Guiding Light

     11:00

Mel Jass Show

       

   11:30

Welcome Travelers

  AFTERNOON

     12:00

News at Noon—McCuen

     12:15

Weather Window—Kraehling

     12:20

Pastor’s Study

     12:30

Art Linkletter—Variety

       1:00

The Big Payoff—Quiz

       1:30

Bob Crosby Show—Music

       2:00

Brighter Day—Serial

       2:15

Secret Storm—Serial

       2:30

On Your Account

       3:00

Around the Town—Haberle

       3:30

Hollywood Playhouse

       4:00

Robert Q. Lewis Show

       4:15

Carol’s Desk—Carol Eittreim

       4:30

Barker Bill’s Cartoons

       4:45

Axel and His Dog—Kids

       5:30

News—Doug Edwards

       5:45

Upbeat!—Music

  EVENING

       6:00

News

       6:15

Sports

       6:25

Weather

       6:30

Climax!—Drama

“The Healer”

       7:30

FOUR STAR PLAYHOUSE

“Masquerade”

       8:00

JOHNNY CARSON—Variety

       8:30

HALLS OF IVY

       9:00

LIBERACE—Music

       9:30

CORLISS ARCHER—Comedy

     10:00

DATELINE EUROPE

     10:30

NEWS—Rollie Johnson

     10:45

WEATHER TOWER—Bud Kraehling

     10:50

SPORTS—Dick Enroth

     11:00

Hunting and Fishing

     11:30

Playhouse 15

“Double Negative”

 

 

  -5- KSTP (NBC)

  MORNING

       6:30

Billy Folger Show

       6:55

News—George Grim

       7:00

Today—Dave Garroway

       8:00

Ding Dong School

       8:30

Your Child—Horwich

       8:45

Sheilah Graham Show

Guest: Ginger Rogers

       9:00

Home

     10:00

Tennessee Ernie—Music

     10:30

Feather Your Nest

     11:00

Bee Baxter Show

       

   11:20

Morning Movie

“The Sultan’s Daughter”

  AFTERNOON

     12:00

News in Sight—Ingram

     12:15

Main Street—Music

       1:00

Ted Mack’s Matinee

       1:30

It Pays To Be Married

       2:00

Way of the World

       2:15

First Love—Serial

       2:30

Mr. Sweeney

       2:45

Modern Romances

       3:00

Pinky Lee Show

       3:30

Howdy Doody

       4:00

Boots and Saddles

       5:00

Commander Saturn

       5:30

Vaughn Monroe—Music

       5:45

News Caravan

  EVENING

       6:00

News

       6:15

You Should Know—Quiz

       6:30

Make the Connection

       7:00

DRAGNET

       7:30

THEATER

“Portrait of Lydia”

       8:00

VIDEO THEATER—Drama

“Desperate Glory”

       9:00

GROUCHO MARX—Quiz

       9:30

MR. DISTRICT ATTORNEY

     10:00

NEWS

     10:15

WEATHER

     10:20

SPORTS

     10:30

PLAY NATCO

 

 

   6  KMMT (Austin) (ABC)

  AFTERNOON

       4:00

MOVIE—To Be Announced

       5:00

Soupy Sales

       5:15

News—John Daly

       5:30

Wild Bill Hickok—Western

  EVENING

       6:00

Weatherman

       6:05

Sports

       6:15

News

       6:30

Lone Ranger—Western

       7:00

TUNES ON DRIAL—Dick Zook

       8:00

WRESTLING—Main Event

       9:00

BILL PARKER SHOW

       9:30

MARK SABER—Mystery

       9:45

GREAT AMERICANS

     10:00

NEWS

     10:15

WEATHER

     10:20

MOVIE—To Be Announced

 

 

   8  WKBT (LaCrosse) (All Nets)

  AFTERNOON

       2:00

Film Varieties

       2:15

Secret Storm—Serial

       2:30

On Your Account

       3:00

Pinky Lee Show

       3:30

Howdy Doody

       5:00

Kiddies Hour

       5:30

Cowboy Club

  EVENING

       6:00

Program Previews

       6:05

Farm Digest

       6:10

Sports

       6:15

News

       6:20

Weather

       6:30

Make the Connection

       7:00

DRAGNET

       7:30

THEATER

“Portrait of Lydia”

       8:00

FAMOUS PLAYHOUSE

       8:30

EDDIE CANTOR—Comedy

       9:00

ETHEL BARRYMORE—Drama

       9:30

RACKET SQUAD

     10:00

WEATHER

     10:05

DATELINE EDITION

     10:15

SPORTS

     10:20

CHANNEL 8 THEATER

 

 

  -9- KEYD (Du M.)

  AFTERNOON

       3:30

Daily Drama

       4:00

Marjorie Ellis McCrady Show

       4:30

Trail Blazers

       5:30

Mystery Manor

  EVENING

       6:00

News

       6:15

Sports

       6:20

Weather

       6:30

Royal Playhouse

       7:00

THE FALCON—Mystery

       7:30

MAYOR OF THE TOWN

       8:00

WRESTLING—Chicago

       9:00

MOVIE—Drama

“Tough Guy”

     10:30

NEWS, WEATHER, SPORTS

     10:45

MOVIE—Drama

“Spaeways”

 

 

  10 KROC (Rochester) (NBC, ABC)

  MORNING

       7:00

Today—Dave Garroway

       8:00

Ding Dong School

       8:45

Sheilah Graham Show

Guest: Ginger Rogers

       9:00

Home

     10:00

Tennessee Ernie—Music

     10:30

Feather Your Nest

  AFTERNOON

       2:30

Mr. Sweeney

       2:45

Modern Romances

       3:00

Pinky Lee Show

       3:30

Howdy Doody

       4:00

Stary Tales

       4:30

MOVIE—Western

“Ridin’ Fool”

       5:45

News Caravan

  EVENING

       6:00

KROC-TV Presents

       6:20

Weather—Norm Selby

       6:30

Sports—Bernie Lusk

       6:40

News—Cal Smith

       6:55

Crusader Rabbit

       7:00

DRAGNET

       7:30

THEATER

“Portrait of Lydia”

       8:00

LIBERACE

       8:30

BEST OF GROUCHO—Quiz

       9:00

THE LIFE OF RILEY

       9:30

TALES OF TOMORROW

     10:00

NEWS

     10:10

WEATHER—Norm Selby

     10:15

SPORTS

     10:30

MOVIE—Drama

“East Meets West”

 

 

  11 WTCN (ABC)

  MORNING

       9:30

J.P. Patches

     10:00

Beulah—Comedy

     10:30

Morning Movie

  AFTERNOON

     12:00

Casey Jones—Rog. Awsumb

     12:30

News—Paul Sevareid

     12:45

Relax—Music

       1:00

MOVIE—To Be Announced

       2:15

Movie Quick Quiz

       2:30

MOVIE—To Be Announced

       4:00

Record Hop—Jack Thayer

       4:30

Sheriff Sev—Western

       5:00

Kartoon Kapers

       5:30

Captain 11—Adventure

  EVENING

       6:00

Crusader Rabbit

       6:05

Weatherbird—Zimmerman

       6:15

News

       6:30

Lone Ranger—Western

       7:00

STAR TONIGHT—Drama

       7:30

ACTION

       8:30

DANGEROUS ASSIGNMENT

       9:00

I AM THE LAW—Mystery

       9:30

COLONEL MARCH—Mystery

     10:00

NEWS

     10:15

WEATHER

     10:20

SPORTS

     10:30

MOVIE—To Be Announced

 

 

  13 WEAU (Eau Claire) (NBC, ABC)

  AFTERNOON

       3:00

Pinky Lee Show

       3:30

Howdy Doody

       4:00

MOVIE—Drama

“Girl From Manhattan”

       5:30

Cartoons

       5:45

News Caravan

  EVENING

       6:00

Lone Ranger—Western

       6:30

Information Center

       6:45

Industry on Parade

       7:00

DRAGNET

       7:30

THEATER

“Portrait of Lydia”

       8:00

EDDIE CANTOR SHOW

       8:30

MEET CORLISS ARCHER

       9:00

LIFE OF RILEY—Comedy

       9:30

TOP OF THE NEWS—Wright

       9:40

WHATEVER THE WEATHER

       9:45

SPORTS PARADE—Grimsby

       9:50

MOVIE—Comedy

“Texas, Brooklyn and Heaven” (1948)

TV  

This week in TV Guide: July 16, 1955

When last we visited the Olympic Club in San Francisco, Jack Fleck was in the process of executing a shocking upset victory over Ben Hogan at the U.S. Open Golf Championship—only NBC, as you'll recall, signed off before the final round concluded, proclaiming Hogan the probable winner, and in the process missing Fleck's tying birdie on 18. Having declined the option to cover the playoff the following day, the network also failed to bring us Fleck's improbable victory. 
This didn't escape the notice of Merrill Panitt, who chose to use the broadcast as an example of the pros and cons of "subscription television"—what today we'd call pay-per-view, and which Panitt calls "Tollvision." Suppose, Panitt mused, the Open had been carried on such an arrangement: "We'd have seen all of the tournament, there would have been no commercials at crucial times, and we'd have really seen Fleck win, instead of being cut off in the middle of the thing." 
On the other hand—and there always is another hand—Panitt looks at another major sporting event held a few days later, the light-heavyweight championship bout between champion Archie Moore and challenger Bobo Olson, which lasted a mere three rounds (less than 10 minutes) before Moore left Olson sprawled on the canvas. What, Panitt wondered, if that had been on pay TV? "Three rounds of the championship and four rounds of a couple of guys named 'Joe' is all we'd have had for our money. Tollvision? No, thanks."

Meanwhile, in the New York Teletype, Bob Stahl has his mind on "pay-as-you-see TV" as well, with news that NBC plans to televise the American premieres of two recent British movies before they hit American movie theaters: The Constant Husband, with Rex Harrison, had its world premiere in London on April 21 and is planned to debut on the network October 9; and Sir Laurence Olivier's Richard III, which is scheduled for a January 1 broadcast.* Says the network's program chief Richard Pinkham, "Here's what we can offer viewers for free. Let's see the pay-TV crowd top this."
*Richard III had its world premiere on December 13; its American TV debut, on Sunday afternoon, March 11, 1956 (the same date it opens in American theaters, a first), is credited with having "done more to popularise [sic] Shakespeare than any other single work."

In retrospect, we can take a couple of things from these two stories. First, we see how early the development of pay-TV comes in the history of the medium. Less than five years since it's become a popular form of entertainment in America (the first home pay-per-view system had been developed by Zenith in 1951), with many homes still without a set, and already they're trying to figure out how to make a buck.  
Speaking of which is the second lesson, one we should all know by now. When it comes to pay-per-view, whether sports or movies or anything else, you pays your money and you takes your chances.
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The must-see event of the week is unquestionably Sunday's tour of Walt Disney's brand-new theme park Disneyland, which is unveiled to television viewers in a live 90-minute spectacular co-hosted by Art Linkletter, with appearances by Danny Thomas, Irene Dunne, Fess Parker, and Buddy Ebsen (and an unlisted appearance by Ronald Reagan). (5:30 p.m. CT, ABC) According to Neal Gabler, a television audience estimated at 70 million (in a country of 165 million) tuned in to see the show.* One would have to say ABC's investment in the construction of Disneyland paid off.
Side note: I wonder if that was the largest audience ever to see a show on ABC up to that time?
As is so often the case, the story behind the scenes is at least as interesting as the main event. This article from the History Channel tells about the various glitches, some small and some not-so-small, that plagued the park's opening, and The Atlantic notes that "the 17th, a Sunday, was intended to be an 'international press preview,' limited to selected invitees who could ride the attractions, witness the parades, and take part in the televised dedication of the park. However, many counterfeit invitations were distributed, and more than 20,000 eager guests showed up, overwhelming many areas of the 160-acre park." The official opening took place on Monday, and within a few weeks, Disney reported that more than a million people had already visited.
There are some wonderful pictures at that Atlantic article, but if you want to see the actual show, you can watch it here . 
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I don't know if you still see local festivals on national television, but when Dave Garroway hosted Today, one of the things I think he was committed to was taking the show on the road to give viewers a slice of what live is like in these Unted States. And this Monday (5:00 a.m., NBC), even though Dave is on vacation, Today is in Minneapolis to cover the Aquatennial festival. Jack Lescoulie and J. Fred Muggs appear at Theodore Wirth Park, with highlights of Saturday's Grande Day parade, an interview with Minnesota governor Orville Freeman, an appearance by the Navy's Blue Angels precision flying team, and more.
And that's not all; CBS's The Big Payoff quiz show will be broadcasting from Minneapolis all week (1:00 p.m.), with hometown boy Randy Merriman (who got his start at KSTP, and will return to the Twin Cities in 1958 with WCCO radio) and Bess Myerson. They're also on Saturday night at 8:00 p.m., choosing the five "Payoff Princesses*" that will model various items on the show during the week.  As far as local coverage goes, both KSTP and KEYD have live coverage of the parade (9:00 a.m.). There's also the Torchlight parade on Wednesday night, but the technology isn't there for live nighttime coverage yet; it will be on TV in the 1960s, though.
*Also referred to as the "Curvy Quintet."
I've written about the Aquatennial before; celebrities like Bob Hope, Arthur Godfrey, Colonel Sanders, and even Isaac Hayes (!) used to appear in the parade, and it served as the backdrop for an episode of Route 66 in its final season. Today, however, things are different. The festival has been cut from nine days to four, the Grande Day parade is no longer, nor is the milk carton boat race (don't ask), and this year the block party has been cancelled. The Torchlight parade isn't on commercial television (it might be on public access), and it's been reduced in length from 40 blocks to just over a mile. Frankly, considering the combat zone that downtown Minneapolis has been the last couple of years, I'd be afraid to go down there at night, parade or not. The Aquatennial is a mere shadow of what it once was, but then, so is the Twin Cities. Unfortunately, neither one is likely to change.
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It was a special night indeed when Marilyn Monroe made a rare television appearance April 8 on Edward R. Murrow's Person to Person. You can see the video of that interview  here , but what made it an even more special night, according to TV Guide, was what happened after the show. 
As you can tell from the video, the premise of Person to Person is that Murrow, sitting in an easy chair in his studio, interviews his subject via a remote hookup in their home; the Monroe interview took place in the Connecticut home of Monroe's associate Milton Greene. When the red light blinked off for the last time, the crew asked if it might be possible to take some pictures for their own collection. So, for the next two hours, Marilyn assumed "a succession of beguiling poses" and told them to click away.
While the article features some of the pictures taken by various crew members, I rather like this photo from Bobby Ellerbee's Eyes of a Generation site, which shows Marilyn and the entire crew. I really don't know how good an actress she was, but she looks as if she's enjoying the effect she has on them, doesn't she?

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Some quick hits from the rest of the week:
On Saturday, And Here's the Show (8:00 p.m., NBC), billed as an "off-beat variety show," features "veteran humorist" Ransom Sherman, paired up with an "upcoming comedian" named Jonathan Winters. I had to look up who Ransom Sherman was; I didn't have to do the same with Jonathan Winters.
Toast of the Town (Sunday, 6:00 p.m., CBS), which we all know and love as The Ed Sullivan Show, has Ethel Merman subbing for the vacationing Ed; in addition to some songs from the Merm, her guests are Russell Nype (her partner from Call Me Madam); operatic singer Gloria Lane, who starred on Broadway in Gian-CarIo Menotti's The Saint of Bleecker Street; "Prof. Backwards," Jimmy Edmondson; the Peiro Brothers, jugglers; and the Rhythmettes, a precision-dance group.
One of the reasons given for the decline of boxing on prime-time network television (there were once as many as four fights a week) is that oversaturation eventually led to inferior fighters being pushed into the spotlight. This Monday's Boxing from St. Nicholas Arena     (7:00 p.m., DuMont) might be an example: a fight between two unranked welterweights, Milo Savage (record: 34 wins, 30 losses, 8 draws) and Sammy Walker (36 wins, 34 losses, 4 draws). I've always enjoyed boxing, but this is a hard, hard sell.
Here's Claude Dauphin with Burgess Meredith (L)   
and Philip Bourneuf (R) in A Salute to France   Erle Stanley Gardner wrote more than just Perry Mason books. Ellery Queen wrote stories that didn't feature a character named Ellery Queen, and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle wrote about characters other than Sherlock Holmes. One of those stories, "How the Brigadier Won His Medal," starring Claude Dauphin, is tonight's story on Koda Request Performance (Tuesday, 6:30 p.m., NBC). If this encourages anyone to broaden their reading horizons by checking out this story, then I've done my job.
The award for most convoluted description of the week goes to Wednesday's I've Got a Secret (7:30 p.m., CBS), which goes as follows: "Henry Morgan is off on vacation and Jayne Meadows and Faye Emerson have returned from the West Coast. Bill Cullen is still on hand, but not for long. He'll be off the show next week when Henry returns." It may not be important, but it amused me.
Thursday's Ford Theatre (7:30 p.m., NBC) stars Donna Reed in "Portrait of Lydia." When you talk classic television and Donna Reed, your first thought is The Donna Reed Show, but. of course, she'd already proven her dramatic chops on the big screen, winning hearts in It's a Wonderful Life and an Academy Award for From Here to Eternity, and she'd go on to do a season on Dallas, so we shouldn't be surprised.
Speaking of actors and Oscars, Oscar-winner Dean Jagger is on Playhouse of Stars (Friday, 7:00 p.m., CBS). I always liked Dean Jagger, whether in 12 O'clock High (the movie for which he won his Oscar), White Christmas, or Mr. Novak. Whether he was opposite Gregory Peck, Bing Crosby, or James Franciscus, he always seemed to steal the scene. And speaking of boxing, we've got a better fight on NBC's Cavalcade of Sports (8:00 p.m.), with the great Sugar Ray Robinson continuing his comeback, this time against #2 ranked Rocky Castellani. Sugar Ray wins a decision over Castellain; he'll regain the middleweight title by the end of the year.
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Finally, we sometimes forget that many famous brands started out as names of actual people, and the aforementioned Walt Disney is a prime example of that. Here's another one, perhaps less well-known as a name than a brand: "Channel 4's Arle Haeberle introduces gastronomic guru, Duncan Hines , to her Around the Town audience July 22."
There are more recent logos, but the one at the right is the one that I remember best. And there may be more famous names that became famous brands, but this one was pretty delicious. TV  

Around the dial

It's often been said that to grab people's attention you need a good hook, and, at least around here, you're not going to get a better hook than the one David has at Comfort TV: " Terrible Shows I Like ." In this case the show in question is The Governor and J.J. with Dan Dailey and Julie Sommars, and while I didn't love it, I do remember it being enjoyable, and as David points out, it's very hard not to like Dan Dailey in anything.
At bare-bones e-zine, Jack's Hitchcock Project continues with the works of Victor Wolfson, and this week we've got the second-season episode Toby , with the very recognizable character actor Robert H. Harris and Jessica Tandy in a strange little tale that is unsettling but effective. 
In honor of the late Larry Storch, Hal has a special edition of "F Troop Fridays" at The Horn Section. " The Ballot of Corporal Agarn " gives us Storch's Agarn, who holds the critical absentee ballot that will determine the next mayor of his hometown of Passaic, New Jersey. The candidates come to woo him, but they'll have to deal with Sgt. O'Rourke. 
Larry Storch is also the subject of this obituary from Terence at A Shroud of Thoughts, who reminds us that Storch was also the voice of Phineas J. Whoopee on Tennessee Tuxedo and His Tales, and no matter how many times I watch it, I can still never quite hear him in that role, which is, of course, a compliment to him, since so many of today's voiceovers are too obviously linked with the actor playing them. Terence also has a nice tribute to the great character actor L.Q. Jones , who died this week as well. There's 193 years between those two actors; not bad at all.
Wednesday was Dave Garroway's birthday , and also the fifth anniversary of Garroway at Large, Jodie's great website devoted to the Master Communicator. Some great pictures, and also an update on the status of Jodie's bio on Dave.
It's Fake Mediums Week at Cult TV Blog, and John kicks things off with a look at " But What a Sweet Little Room ," a murder-strewn episode of Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased). After you've finished this, you'll want to continue on to the rest of the week's entries.
At Shadow & Substance, Paul has a poll on Charles Beaumont's best Twilight Zone script , and even though we all know what a terrific writer Beaumont was, and what good work he did for TZ, it's still a little overwhelming to read the list of the great episodes he wrote. That kind of talent—it just doesn't come along that often, does it? TV  

Television and the Id

It occurs to me that I haven't written anything serious in a while, and I probably ought to do so. And since quizzes are always popular (except in school, and especially when you haven't studied for it), let's start this somewhat-serious thought with one of those who-said-it quizzes—or, in this case, who wrote it, and when. The quote is a bit lengthy, but I hope you agree it's worth it. I've removed a couple of words that would help you to identify the writer and the context of the quote because I think it's one of the most interesting things about this excerpt. As you read it, consider what it says not only about our culture today, but also the world of entertainment, television in particular. As usual, I'll identify the speaker and the context at the end.

We live today in a world that is as deeply devoted to material things as was [theirs]. For example, [they] were obsessed by health, diet, and exercise. They spent more time in baths and health clubs than in churches, temples, libraries, and law courts. They were devoted to consumption. A man could make a reputation by spending more than his neighbor, even if he had to borrow the money to do it. And if he never paid back his creditors, he was honored for having made a noble attempt to cut a fine figure in the world.

They were excited by travel, news, and entertainment. The most important cultural productions [...], from books to extravaganzas in the theaters and circuses that occupied a central place in every [...] city or town, dealt with amusing fictions about faraway peoples and with a fantasy peace and happiness that did not exist in their real lives. They were fascinated by fame and did not care how it was acquired. If you were famous enough, the fact that you might be a rascal or worse was ignored or forgiven.

[They] cared most about success, which they interpreted as being ahead for today, and let tomorrow take care of itself. They were proud, greedy, and vain. In short, they were much like ourselves.

A pretty good description of the world today, don't you think?

The only difference is that it was written over 30 years ago, in 1991, and it was written about a people living in the fourth century, near the end of their empire—the Romans. The late Roman world and all its decadence was, indeed, much like ours.

And the author? If you're a classic television fan, you'll probably recognize his name: Charles Van Doren. Yes, the same Charles Van Doren of the quiz show scandals in the late 1950s. Following his disgrace, Van Doren went into a self-imposed public exile, eventually returning to a life of writing (at first under a pseudonym) and becoming an editor at Encyclopaedia Britannica. He authored a number of philosophical and scholastic books (some with his friend Mortimer Adler ), the best known of which is probably  A History of Knowledge . from which the above excerpt came. 

The relationship of this to television? Well, I can't imagine a better description of the celebrity-infused culture of TMZ, the world of "reality" programming that has little relation to reality, knows almost no bounds, and seems to consist primarily of people who've become famous for being famous. Can you say "Kardashians"? "Real Housewives"? Take your pick, you're not limited to them; choose whatever witless soul you prefer to name. And if Van Doren's description of reality stars and viewers hits the mark, he's no less accurate in describing the world of consumption in which television dwells, not only in how advertising dominates the medium, but in how so much of the programming—not only reality but scripted—glorifies such consumption.

If there's anything optimistic to be taken from this, it's in how it shows that there is truly nothing new under the sun. Van Doren obviously felt that this series of paragraphs was fairly descriptive of the cultural world of the 1980s and '90s, even as it was written about a society that existed some 1500 years before that, and could doubtlessly be used similarly to describe countless societies and cultures in between.

On the other hand, we have to recall that the Roman Empire crumbled, not at the hands of a military enemy, but from internal decay. The historian Arnold Toynbee, himself a writer in the pages of TV Guide, posited that "the Roman Empire itself was a rotten system from its inception, and that the entire Imperial era was one of steady decay of institutions founded in Republican times." I'm afraid that if you're looking for reassuring sentiments in that statement, you're going to have to look elsewhere.

The id of Sigmund Freud has been described as the devil on the shoulder of the super-ego, an inflated sense of self-worth, "a mass of instinctive drives and impulses [that] needs immediate satisfaction." It is to the id that television thus appeals, in its ability to satisfy the insatiable desire for fame that consumes so many of its participants, and its ability to transmit that to viewers who consume it voraciously and live it vicariously. Something, in fact, that Charles Van Doren himself fell victim to at the pivotal moment in his life.

All this is not to lay the blame solely at the feet of television. I persist in my defense of TV as a medium which is morally neutral—it's how you use the technology that counts—but I confess that over the years, even since I started this website, I've been finding that defense more and more challenging to maintain. My fear has always been that the technology is not being used very well, nor has it been for some time, but even there one can suggest that it is at least as much of a reflection of our culture as it is the source of our dilemmas. And while it's true that television does satisfy that voracious appetite for what Van Doren called "amusing fictions about faraway peoples," the people and the appetite had to exist in the first place—television merely exploited it and expanded it, but it has been a part of the human condition since Original Sin. Sic semper erat, et sic semper erit.
But that begs the question: what if television isn't neutral, can't be neutral? Perhaps, like social media or the U.S. Constitution, television is a medium that doesn't work unless those involved are good and true. Absent that, it will inevitably take on the characteristics of those who create it and those who watch it. I don't find that a particularly pleasing thought, because it implies that television was doomed to fail from the start, to become a toxic, corrupting force in society, and what does that say about us?  The Christian knows that good will ultimately triumph over evil, but that won't happen universally until the end of the world, and you can bet television won't be around to cover that. 
I'm not quite sure I like that thought, even in a serious piece, and because I'm also not entirely sure it has an answer, I'm not going to try to provide one. Of course, what you watch matters, and I suppose that has an effect on the level of corruption you experience. But must it inevitably corrupt, even a little? Remember what the man said about power corrupting, and remember that television, as the most intimate of media, is also the most powerful. TV  

Image: Detail, The Romans of the Decadence, 1847

What's on TV? Tuesday, July 13, 1982

This week we're looking at the Los Angeles edition, which, needless to say, is much bigger than the Minneapolis-St. Paul edition. It would be hard even back in 1982 to think of how one could possibly come up with enough TV to fill up all these stations, and this doesn't include the cable and superstations, or those from just outside of Los Angeles. But they do. When I was writing on Saturday about this week's fantastic movie lineup, one of the movies I neglected was Our Man Flint, the wonderful James Coburn spoof of secret agent movies, which pretty much guaranteed Coburn a permanent place in the All-Time All-Cool Hall of Fame. You'll also notice Bret Maverick, James Garner's attempt to resurrect his most famous Western character. It didn't work for a variety of reasons, one of which being that the new series had Maverick settling down rather than drifting from place to place. It was also said that there were too many anachronisms, such as hairstyles, in the new series. Maybe you just can't get lightning to strike twice. Not to worry, though; Garner's place next to Coburn in that All-Time All-Cool Hall of Fame is secure.
  -2- KNXT (CBS)

  MORNING

      5 AM

SUMMER SEMESTER

       5:30

FROM JUMPSTREET—Music History

      6 AM

L.A. MORNING

       6:30

CAPTAIN KANGAROO—Children

      7 AM

CBS NEWS—Kurtis/Sawyer

      9 AM

ONE DAY AT A TIME

       9:30

ALICE

    10 AM

PRICE IS RIGHT—Game

    11 AM

YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS—Serial

  AFTERNOON

    12 PM

TATTLETALES—Game

Steve Allen and Jayne Meadows, Anson Williams, Deniece Williams

     12:30

AS THE WORLD TURNS—Serial

       1:30

CAPITOL—Serial

      2 PM

GUIDING LIGHT—Serial

      3 PM

BARNABY JONES—Crime Drama

      4 PM

BARNEY MILLER—Comedy

       4:30

NEWS

      5 PM

NEWS

  EVENING

      6 PM

NEWS

      7 PM

CBS NEWS—Rather/Drinkwater

       7:30

TWO ON THE TOWN

      8 PM

WALTER CRONKITE’S UNIVERSE

       8:30

MOVIE—Drama

“The Greek Tycoon” (1978)

    11 PM

NEWS

 

   11:30

ALICE

     12:05

WKRP IN CINCINNATI

     12:40

McCLOUD—Crime Drama

       2:45

NEWS

       3:15

MOVIE—Comedy

“Luv” (1967)

 

 

  -4- NBC (NBC)

  MORNING

      6 AM

HEALTH FIELD

       6:30

NBC NEWS—Gumbel/Pauley/Scott

      7 AM

TODAY

Guests: Frank Langella, Dottie West

      9 AM

DIFF’RENT STROKES

       9:30

WHEEL OF FORTUNE—Game

    10 AM

TEXAS—Serial

    11 AM

DOCTORS—Serial

         

   11:30

SEARCH FOR TOMORROW

  AFTERNOON

    12 PM

DAYS OF OUR LIVES—Serial

      1 PM

ANOTHER WORLD—Serial

      2 PM

CHiPs—Crime Drama

      3 PM

PHIL DONAHUE

      4 PM

MARY TYLER MOORE—Comedy

       4:30

BOB NEWHART—Comedy

      5 PM

NEWS

  EVENING

      6 PM

NEWS

      7 PM

NBC NEWS—Brokaw/Mudd

       7:30

THIS WAS AMERICA

      8 PM

BRET MAVERICK—Western

      9 PM

FLAMINGO ROAD

    10 PM

FLAMINGO ROAD

    11 PM

NEWS

 

   11:30

TONIGHT

Guest hostess: Joan Rivers. Guest: Fred Travelena

     12:30

LATE NIGHT WITH DAVID LETTERMAN

Christopher Buckley

       1:30

NBC NEWS—Dobyns/Ellerbee

 

 

  -5- KTLA (Ind.)

  MORNING

       5:30

JIMMY SWAGGART—Religion

      6 AM

HOT FUDGE—Children

       6:30

GALLERY—Gonzales

      7 AM

700 CLUB—Religion

       8:30

LEAVE IT TO BEAVER 

BW        9 AM

OZZIE AND HARRIET 

BW         9:30

RIFLEMAN—Western 

BW      10 AM

EMERGENCY!—Drama

    11 AM

BONANZA—Western

  AFTERNOON

    12 PM

TWILIGHT ZONE—Drama 

BW       12:30

TWILIGHT ZONE—Drama 

BW        1 PM

HOUR MAGAZINE

Judy Mazel, Suzanne Levine

      2 PM

JOHN DAVIDSON

Vincent Price, Richard Kiel, Sorrell Booke

      3 PM

RICHARD SIMMONS

       3:30

RICHARD SIMMONS—Health

      4 PM

COUPLES—Counseling

       4:30

ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT—Magazine

Wayne Rogers

      5 PM

STARSKY & HUTCH—Crime Drama

  EVENING

      6 PM

WONDER WOMAN—Adventure

      7 PM

KUNG FU—Drama

      8 PM

MOVIE—Western

“The Bravados” (1958)

    10 PM

NEWS

    11 PM

SATURDAY NIGHT

Hostess: Cicely Tyson. Musical guest: Talking Heads

    12 AM

ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT

     12:30

COUPLES—Counseling

      1 AM

MOVIE—Western

“Run for Cover” (1955)

       2:55

NEWS

      3 AM

RAT PATROL—Adventure

       3:30

VOYAGE TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA—Adventure

       4:25

NEWS

       4:30

VOYAGE TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA—Adventure

 

 

  -7- KABC (ABC)

  MORNING

      5 AM

OCEANUS: THE MARINE ENVIRONMENT

       5:30

BODY TALK—Exercise

      6 AM

ABC NEWS—Steve Bell

      7 AM

GOOD MORNING AMERICA

      9 AM

AM LOS ANGELES

       9:30

MID-MORNING L.A.

    10 AM

LOVE BOAT

    11 AM

FAMILY FEUD—Game

         

   11:30

RYANS’ HOPE—Serial

  AFTERNOON

    12 PM

ALL MY CHILDREN—Serial

      1 PM

ONE LIFE TO LIVE—Serial

      2 PM

GENERAL HOSPITAL—Serial

      3 PM

EDGE OF NIGHT—Serial

       3:30

PEOPLE’SCOURT

      4 PM

NEWS

       4:30

ABC NEWS (CC)—Frank Reynolds

      5 PM

BASEBALL ALL-STAR GAME

  EVENING

       8:15

MOVIE—Adventure

“Lawrence of Arabia” (1962)

[Time approximate after baseball]

    11 PM

NEWS

 

   11:30

NIGHTLINE—Ted Koppel

    12 AM

MOVIE—Drama 

BW  “A Patch of Blue” (1965)

       1:30

NEWS (CC)

 

 

  -9- KHJ (Ind.)

  MORNING

      6 AM

MEET THE MAYOR

       6:30

YOUTH AND THE ISSUES—Discussion

      7 AM

FROOZLES—Children

       7:30

THERE IS A WAY—Religion

      8 AM

JIM BAKKER—Religion

      9 AM

JACK LaLANNE—Exercise

    11 AM

NOWHERE TO TURN—Report

  AFTERNOON

    12 PM

MOVIE—Drama

“Rogue River” (1951)

       1:30

NEWS

      2 PM

IRONSIDE—Crime Drama

      3 PM

CARTER COUNTRY—Comedy

       3:30

WHAT’S HAPPENING!!—Comedy

      4 PM

MOVIE—Thriller

“Blacula” (1972)

  EVENING

      6 PM

THE SAINT—Crime Drama

      7 PM

KOJAK—Crime Drama

      8 PM

MOVIE—Adventure

“Our Man Flint” (1965)

    10 PM

NEWS

    11 PM

NEW YOU ASKED FOR IT

 

   11:30

MOVIE—Thriller

“Blacula” (1972)

 

 

  11 KTTV (Ind.)

  MORNING

      6 AM

JIMMY SWAGGART—Religion

       6:30

GREAT SPACE COASTER—Children

      7 AM

TOM AND JERRY—Cartoon

      8 AM

BATTLE OF THE PLANETS—Cartoon

       8:30

SPIDERMAN—Cartoon

      9 AM

I LOVE LUCY—Comedy

       9:30

MAKE ROOM FOR DADDY—Comedy 

BW      10 AM

RHODA—Comedy

     10:30

CHARLIE ROSE

Jimmy Breslin

    11 AM

WOMEN’S PAGE

         

   11:30

NEWS

  AFTERNOON

    12 PM

MOVIE—Comedy-Drama

“The Comic” (1969)

      2 PM

OPEN LINE—Alicia Sandoval

       2:30

BEWITCHED—Comedy

      3 PM

WALTONS—Drama

      4 PM

TOM AND JERRY—Cartoon

      5 PM

BRADY BUNCH—Comedy

       5:30

BRADY BUNCH—Comedy

  EVENING

      6 PM

S.W.A.T.—Crime Drama

      7 PM

M*A*S*H

       7:30

M*A*S*H

      8 PM

PM MAGACINE

       8:30

ODD COUPLE—Comedy

      9 PM

MERV GRIFFIN

    10 PM

NEWS

    11 PM

M*A*S*H

 

   11:30

JEFFERSONS (CC)—Comedy

    12 AM

MOVIE—Crime Drama 

BW  “Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye” (1950)

      2 AM

MOVIE—Fantasy

“Stairway to Heaven” (English; 1946)

      4 AM

MOVIE—Thriller

“Konga” (English; 1961)

 

 

  13 KCOP (Ind.)

  MORNING

      6 AM

VILLA ALEGRE—Children

       6:30

FELIX THE CAT—Cartoon

      7 AM

WOODY WOODPECKER—Cartoon

       7:30

FRED FLINTSTONE AND FRIENDS—Cartoon

      8 AM

KARTON KARNIVAL

      9 AM

ROMPER ROOM AND FRIENDS—Children

       9:30

LITTLEST HOBO—Adventure

    10 AM

DORIS DAY—Comedy

     10:30

INN NEWS—Carter/Scott

    11 AM

MARCUS WELBY, M.D.—Drama

  AFTERNOON

    12 PM

SUPERMAN SUPERSTAR

      2 PM

LOVE, AMERICAN STYLE

       2:30

SUPERMAN—Adventure

      3 PM

MIGHTY MOUSE—Cartoon

      4 PM

BUGS BUNNY—Cartoon

       4:30

SCOOBY DOO—Cartoon

      5 PM

KARTOON KARNIVAL

       5:30

SCOOBY DOO—Cartoon

  EVENING

      6 PM

HAWAII FIVE-O—Crime Drama

      7 PM

JOKER’S WILD—Game

       7:30

TIC TAC DOUGH—Game

      8 PM

MOVIE—Comedy

“Pocket Money” (1972)

    10 PM

NEWS

     10:30

INN NEWS

    11 PM

BENNY HILL—Comedy

 

   11:30

SANFORD AND SON—Comedy

    12 AM

LOVE, AMERICAN STYLE

     12:30

INN NEWS

      1 AM

MOVIE—Drama 

BW  “The Big Carnival” (1950)

 

 

  18 KSCI (Ind.)

  MORNING

       6:30

BUSINESS NEWS

      7 AM

FNN FINANCIAL NEWS

      8 AM

FNN FINANCIAL NEWS

      9 AM

FNN FINANCIAL NEWS

    10 AM

FNN FINANCIAL NEWS

    11 AM

FNN FINANCIAL NEWS

  AFTERNOON

    12 PM

FNN FINANCIAL NEWS

      1 PM

FNN FINANCIAL NEWS

      2 PM

FNN FINANCIAL NEWS

      3 PM

FNN FINANCIAL NEWS

       3:30

HORSE RACING

      4 PM

FNN FINANCIAL NEWS

      5 PM

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA BUSINESS REPORT

       5:30

FNN REVIEW

  EVENING

      7 PM

NEWS—In Japanese

       7:30

NEWS—In Korean

      8 PM

KOREAN DRAMA

       8:30

NEWS—In Korean

      9 PM

KOREAN SHOW—Variety

    10 PM

KOREAN DRAMA

    11 PM

FAITH FORTODAY—In Korean

 

   11:30

NEWS—In Japanese

 

 

  22 KWHY (Ind.)

  MORNING

       6:30

FINANCIAL NEWS

      9 AM

FINANCIAL NEWS

  AFTERNOON

    12 PM

FINANCIAL NEWS

      4 PM

WORLD CHRONICLE—Discussion

       4:30

INSIDE JAPAN

      5 PM

CHINESE DRAMA

       5:45

CHINESE NEWS

  EVENING

      6 PM

FINANCIAL NEWS WRAP-UP

 

 

  28 KCET (PBS)

  MORNING

       5:45

A.M. WEATHER

      6 AM

AMERICAN STORY—History

       6:30

CAPTIONED ABC NEWS

      7 AM

NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT

       7:30

YOGA FOR HEALTH—Instruction

      8 AM

MISTER ROGERS—Children

       8:30

VILLA ALEGRE (CC)—CHILDREN

      9 AM

SESAME STREET (CC)—Children

    11 AM

ELECTRIC COMPANY—Children

         

   11:30

MacNEIL, LEHRER REPORT

  AFTERNOON

    12 PM

DICK CAVETT

Ian McKellen

     12:30

OVER EASY (CC)

William Shatner

      3 PM

OCEANUS—Instruction

       3:30

FROM JUMPSTREET—Music History

      4 PM

MISTER ROGERS—Children

       4:30

SESAME STREET (CC)—Children

       5:30

ELECTRIC COMPANY—Children

  EVENING

      6 PM

OVER EASY (CC)

Ruth Gordon

       6:30

DICK CAVETT

Richard Burton

      7 PM

NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT

       7:30

MacNEIL, LEHRER REPORT

      8 PM

DANGER UXB (CC)—Drama

      9 PM

MYSTERY! (CC)

“Malice Aforethought” Part 2

    10 PM

WITH OSSIE & RUBY (CC)

Estelle Parsons

     10:30

GARDEN SONG—Profile

    11 PM

NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT

 

   11:30

UNDERSTANDING HUMAN BEHAVIOR—Instruction

 

 

  34 KMEX (SIN)

  MORNING

      7 AM

DERECHO DE NACER—Novela

       7:30

NOTICIAS

      8 AM

AVENTURAS DE CAPULINA—Comedfia

       8:30

HOY MISMO—Variedades

    10 AM

MUNDO LATINO

    11 AM

Cristina bazan—Novela

  AFTERNOON

     12:30

CARAS Y GESTOS—Juego

      1 PM

CHAVO—Comedia

       1:30

CHAPULIN COLORADO—Comedia

      2 PM

LOS ANGELES AHORA

       2:30

INFAMIA—Novela

      3 PM

ROMINA—Novela

      4 PM

POR AMOR—Novela

      5 PM

MI SECRETARIA—Comedia

       5:30

NOTICIAS

  EVENING

      6 PM

NOTICIAS

       6:30

DERECHO DE NACER—Novela

      7 PM

24 HORAS

       7:50

NOTICIAS

      8 PM

DIOS SE LO PAGUE—Novela

      9 PM

IRIS CHACON—Variedades

    10 PM

ROJO VERANO—Novela

     10:30

EXTRANOS AMINOS DEL AMOR

    11 PM

PELICULA—Sera Anunciado

 

 

  40 KTBN (Ind.)

  MORNING

      5 AM

ORAL ROBERTS—Religion

       5:30

THIS IS THE LIFE—Drama

      6 AM

LESTER SUMRALL—Religion

       6:30

KIDS: PRAISE THE LORD

      7 AM

PRAISE THE LORD—Religion

       9:00

BEHIND THE SCENES—Religion

       9:15

ALWAYS ABOUNDING—Religion

       9:20

THE WORD—Religion

       9:30

JOY TO THE WORLD—Religion

       9:30

RICHARD HOGUE—Religion

     10:30

JIMMY SWAGGART—Religion

    11 AM

OUR JEWISH ROOTS—Religion

         

   11:30

ON THE WAY—Religion

  AFTERNOON

    12 PM

WESTBROOK HOSPITAL—Religion

     12:30

ORDINARY PEOPLE—Religion

      1 PM

WANDA JACKSON COUNTRY GOSPEL—Music

       1:30

TEACH US TO PRAY—Religion

      2 PM

LESTER SUMRALL—Religion

       2:30

PRAISE THE LORD—Religion

       4:30

KIDS: PRAISE THE LORD—Religion

      5 PM

BEHIND THE SCENES—Religion

       5:15

ALWAYS ABOUNDING—Religion

       5:20

THE WORD—Religion

       5:25

JOY TO THE WORLD—Religion

       5:30

HERITAGE SINGERS—Music

  EVENING

      6 PM

OUR JEWISH ROOTS—Religion

       6:30

ON THE WAY—Religion

      7 PM

JAMES ROBISON—Religion

       7:30

ORAL ROBERTS—Religion

      8 PM

PRAISE THE LORD—Religion

    11 PM

BEHIND THE SCENES—Religion

     11:15

ALWAYS ABOUNDING—Religion

     11:20

THE WORD—Religion

     11:25

JOY TO THE WORLD—Religion

 

   11:30

WANDA JACKSON COUNTRY GOSPEL—Music

    12 AM

RICHARD HOGUE—Religion

      1 AM

PRAISE THE LORD—Religion

      3 AM

BOOK OF DANIEL—Religion

       3:30

FAMILY LIFE—Religion

      4 AM

TREASURES OUT OF DARKNESS—Religion

       4:30

BEHIND THE SCENES—Religion

       4:45

ALWAYS ABOUNDING—Religion

       4:50

THE WORD—Religion

       4:55

JOY TO THE WORLD—Religion

 

 

  52 KBSC (Ind.)

  MORNING

       7:15

DR. O.L. JAGGERS—Religion

       8:15

CORONA Y USTED

       8:45

NOTICIAS

      9 AM

PELICULA—Sera Arunciado

     10:30

MUCHO GUSTO

    11 AM

SOMBRA—Novela

  AFTERNOON

    12 PM

CAMPEONES—Aventura

     12:55

NOTICIAS

      1 PM

MENTIRA—Novela

      2 PM

MAITE—Novela

      3 PM

MUSICA DEL MEDIODIA

       3:30

CANASTA DE CUENTOS MEXICANOS

      4 PM

NYDIA CARO—Musica

      5 PM

VIERNES SOCIAL—Novela

  EVENING

      6 PM

MI MEJOR AMIGA—Novela

       6:50

NOTICIAS

 

 

  58 KLCS (PBS)

  MORNING

     10:30

HERE’S TO YOUR HEALTH

  AFTERNOON

    12 PM

INSIDE JAPAN—Instruction

     12:30

BODY BUDDIES—Exercise

      1 PM

BIG BLUE MARBLE

       1:30

PACIFIC BRIDGES—Children

       5:30

OCEANUS—Instruction

  EVENING

      6 PM

AMERICAN STORY—History

       6:30

UNDERSTANDING HUMAN BEHAVIOR—Instruction

      7 PM

HERSELF, INDIRA GANDHI—Documentary

      8 PM

TONY BROWN’S JOURNAL

       8:30

GUITAR WITH FREDERICK NOAD

      9 PM

CAPTIONED ABC NEWS

TV  

This week in TV Guide: July 10, 1982

Xomehow or other we seem to have found ourselves back in the '80s again, and while it seems like recent history when going through the TV Guides of the 1950s and '60s, it is, in fact, 40 years since this issue came out. And that makes me feel very, very old. 
One thing that should make us all feel young, though, is that the lead story then, as now, is that massive land mass in Eastern Europe, and whether you call it the Soviet Union or Russia, understanding what they're up to is a cottage industry. And, says Harrison Salisbury, former New York Times correspondent in Moscow, television has demonstrated some massive gaps in its understanding of what goes on inside the Soviet bloc. For even though the networks not only covered the same major stories that print journalists did, as well as uncovering some of their own, "the quality of network coverage during this [period] was, for the most part, erratic." 
Salisbury's complaints are familiar ones, both then and now: an emphasis on stories that have a visual component; lack of follow-up on major stories; and a lack of time given over to these stories in general. Although reporting on these stories may have been good, "good spot reporting is not enough to enable a concerned citizen or a serious decision maker the depth he needs to judge what is going on or what is likely to happen." Salisbury suggests that there needs to be more in-depth reporting on subjects such as the Soviet failures in agriculture and industry, the decline in Marxism within Soviet society, and the "shabby performance of the Red Army in Afghanistan." Moscow correspondents need to be talking more on American talk shows and news specials, and network news stars need to travel to Russia more frequently, giving the issues greater visibility.
Let's bring this forward to today. Russia is in the headlines as much as ever, and in an era when so many people get their news courtesy of social media, we see more than ever the need for accuracy and clear reporting. We all know about the stories concerning the Russia-Ukraine war that have recycled old pictures and presented them as current, thereby providing not only a deceptive view of the war, but often a biased one as well. We are learning that much of that reporting has been not only inaccurate, but has relied on estimates and projections from "experts" who have as little idea of what's really going on as you and I. 
What we needed then, and what we need now, is reporters and analysts who are experienced with the geopolitical situation, are knowledgeable when it comes to personalities and strategies, and above all are neutral in providing a clear picture of what's going on in a very confusing part of the world. We need to take an honest look at what's going on, not only in Russia but in Ukraine, and to present the situation warts and all, even if it goes contrary to the conventional story. We need to investigate the links between American politicians and leaders in both countries, much as was done during the Cold War. Instead, we face the same shortcomings that Salisbury complains about 40 years ago.
Salisbury concludes his essay by noting that his prescription for improved coverage is "a challenging task, but one, I believe, that is well within the scope of American television's almost unlimited technological capability." We're already 40 years too late—let's get on with it.

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If Judith Crist calls it a "first-class network movie week," you'd better believe it. And no matter what your tastes, there's something in store for you. 

For comedy lovers, it's the network premiere of The Last Remake of Beau Geste (Monday, 9:00 p.m. PT, NBC), a sendup of "every Foreign Legion flick around," with director/co-writer/star Marty Feldman as Digby Geste, "identical twin" of Michael York's Beau Geste, and a supporting cast that includes Trevor Howard, Ann-Margret, Peter Ustinov, Henry Gibson, James Earl Jones, and a cameo (on film) of the original Beau, Gary Cooper. It is, says Crist, a "[Mel] Brooksian blend of satire, slapstick and vulgarity." It also has "the general air of hilarious madness that make the movie a joy."
If music (and Barbra Streisand) is your thing, check out Funny Lady (Sunday, 8:00 p.m., ABC), the follow-up to Streisand's Funny Girl that is "that rare sequel superior to the original." James Caan and Ben Vereen round out the bill. For adventure, look no further than The Deep (Monday, 8:00 p.m., NBC), with Robert Shaw, Nick Nolte, Jacqueline Bisset and a wet T-shirt, all searching for buried treasure. For thrills, there's Rollercoaster (Sunday, 9:00 p.m., NBC), a "dandy thriller" about an amusement park mad bomber, with Timothy Bottoms, George Segal and Richard Widmark. And for something with a little bite to it, there's the made-for-TV movie The Killing of Randy Webster Wednesday, 9:00 p.m., CBS), based on a true story of a father's quest for the truth about his son's killing by a Houston policeman, which Crist calls "deeply affecting and cogent," and "potent" performances by Hal Holbrook and Dixie Carter as the boy's parents.
Some pretty good flicks on the local level as well, starting Saturday on Elvira's Movie Macabre Presents (8:00 p.m., KHJ), with Roman Polanski's The Fearless Vampire Killers, starring Sharon Tate. Monday night with Gregory Peck and Jennifer Jones in Duel in the Sun (8:00 p.m., KTLA), with "only two intermissions"! Choose between that and The Pawnbroker (9:00 p.m., KHJ), a gritty, sobering drama with an Oscar-nominated performance by Rod Steiger. Tuesday evening, it's David Lean's magnificent epic Lawrence of Arabia (8:15 p.m., KABC), for which both Peter O'Toole and Omar Sharif should have won Oscars. On Wednesday, the Z Channel has Gunn (12:00 p.m.), with Craig Stevens reprising his role as the suave jazz detective (but without Lola Albright and Hershel Bernardi), and KTLA's back with another two-intermission feature, Hour of the Gun (8:00 p.m.) Wednesday and Thursday, KTTV's midnight movie (more about that later) features Slaughterhouse-Five and Diary of a Mad Housewife, respectively, and Thursday at 9:00 p.m. on Z Channel, it's Blake Edwards' savage satire on the movie industry, S.O.B., with Julie Andrews, Richard Mulligan, William Holden, Robert Preston, and more. 
You know what? Judith Crist was right—that is a heck of a week.
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Let's not forget the sports scene, because there are a couple of major events on tap this week. On Sunday it's the world's most-watched sporting event, soccer's World Cup, live from Madrid (10:30 a.m., ABC). Soccer in the United States hasn't yet reached the level of popularity that it has today, and this is the first time the final has been broadcast live on American television since London in 1966. Before an in-stadium crowd of 87,000 and a worldwide television audience of more than two billion (possibly the largest television audience in history), Italy defeats West Germany 3-1 to win its first World Cup since 1938. Italy, by the way, missed this year's World Cup in Qatar. They also missed the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
Tuesday night, it's sports with a more American flair (even though it's being played in Montreal), the baseball's All-Star Game, aka the Midsummer Night's Classic, (5:00 p.m., ABC). Believe it or not, this used to be one of the biggest nights of the baseball season, one of the rare times when American League fans got to see National League teams, and vice versa. There was no red carpet show, no endless interviews with celebrities, no tie games because teams ran out of pitchers. It was an actual baseball game, played by two teams trying to win. Melvin Durslag, TV Guide's resident sports expert, has an accompanying article discussing the challenge that the two teams' managers will have getting all those stars (and their egos) into the game; it's hard to imagine giving the game even that much attention nowadays. (I don't think I've watched the game in over 30 years.) By the way, the National League wins this edition of the game, 4-1, the only All-Star game ever played outside the United States.
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And now some bad news, and if it isn't the end of the world, it's an end to a way of life. CBS has announced that Captain Kangaroo will no longer be seen Monday through Friday mornings, but will be banished to the weekend. They're doing this to clear the way for their morning news program to air in a better timeslot, opposite Today and Good Morning America. Peggy Charren, president of Action for Children's Television, lashed out at the network: "The most important educational institution in America is discriminating against children," she said. "The broadcasting industry should be ashamed of itself." 
Let's not pretend that there's any place for children's programming on network television weekday mornings; that's a ship that sailed a long time ago. Still, this is, I think, a stupid move by CBS. In clearing the way for direct competition against the other two morning shows, the network is signaling a retreat from its previous hard-news morning format, but the CBS morning programs, it all its many incarnations (they've had nearly 30 on-air personalities since 1982), never catches on; I wonder if the show's ratings were any higher than the good Captain's. The story notes that CBS will now have news continuously from 2:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. weekdays. Just what we needed—more news.
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I don't suppose we should blame Joseph Wapner personally for the plague—dare I call it diarrhea—of "courtroom" shows on TV today. If nothing else, it proves that you can always have too much of a good thing, even if this form of reality television was never that good to begin with.
But this is 1982, and a show like The People's Court still has a freshness to it, a "rich vein of real-life comedy and drama," as Ellen Torgerson Shaw puts sit. Executive producer Stu Billet talks about researching the idea at small-claims courts courts, where "I saw there was a constant audience watching the litigants." So he knew it was a good idea, but it still took him five or six years to sell the idea. "One network thought I should have Nipsey Russell and Charles Nelson Reilly as prosecuting attorney and defense attorney," he complained. (Perhaps they were just ahead of their time?) Finally, he turned to Ralph Edwards, the man behind This Is Your Life and Truth or Consequences, who immediately saw the potential for a hit. 
The key, though, was to find the right judge, and that's where Judge Wapner comes in. During his audition, (a real-life case), he was confronted with two litigants ready to duke it out. "Wapner told both parties to cut the hysterics and just present their testimony," and Billet and Edwards knew they had their judge. He's every bit as interesting a character as today's "judges"; he attended Hollywood High, once dated Lana Turner, and aspired to the stage before serving 20 years as a judge in small-claims court.* He likes the idea of showing people what the judicial system is really like, adding, "I think this show is better for young people to see than cops and robbers." Judges and attorneys like what they've seen so far; judge Harry Shafer says, "I see the humanity in it. I think people want realism, and it is real." Adds John Phillips of the Center for Law in the Public Interest, "It's a good exposure to the justice system—people get a sense of their responsibilities." 
*His father, a lawyer, used to appear on Divorce Court. 
Nowadays, we seem to have abandoned the idea that television can be both entertaining and informative; we rarely seem interested in anything more than scoring a cheap point or getting a cheap laugh. There's almost an innocence about the original People's Court, which is still on today, and still has a real judge (Marilyn Milian) as host. There are other courtroom shows have real judges as well. No wonder the courts are so backlogged—all our judges are on TV.   But Steve Harvey? Chrissy Teigen? Jerry Springer? (Well, at least he was actually a lawyer.) I don't know what the late Judge Wapner would think of my objections to today's shows, but I'd like to think that he'd sustain it.
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On Thursday night an ABC News Closeup (10:00 p.m.) reminds us that Vietnam is still recent history, and the wound caused by that war is still an open one. "Vietnam Requiem" takes its cue from a study showing that 34 percent of the Americans who saw combat were later arrested, most for the first time, for civilian crimes.
The focus is on five men, all of whom fought for the United States in Vietnam, all of whom are now in prison. The crime is not the focus; rather, it's "their recollections of nightmarish combat, disillusioning homecomings and difficult adjustments to civilian life." Included is the story of Albert Dobbs, a soldier described as "worth five men," who's still haunted by "the obscenity" of the war, and agonizes over an atrocity he says he committed: "I shot a family. Not for what they did; they happened to be where 17 of my friends were slaughtered. If I'm 1000 years old, I'll never forget [the family's] faces." 
There's also a mention of "post-traumatic stress disorder," and I wonder how many times that had appeared in the media up to that point? As a country and as a people, we handled this whole thing so terribly, terribly wrong: throwing them into a war we never should have been in to begin with, with no defined outcome and no way to win; then protesting against them and giving aid and comfort to the enemy; then treating them like forgotten men (at best) and scum (at worst) when they did return; then totally failing to account for the trauma they went through. If today's glorification of the military is overkill, and I think it is, then at least we can understand from where the pendulum had to swing back.
You can see this extraordinary documentary in its entirety here .
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Let's end on a hopeful note, rather than a downbeat one:

We'd be remiss if we didn't bring you all the color there is to see in an issue of TV Guide. The Melanie in question is Melanie Vincz, the first of eleven winners of KTTV's (Channel 11, naturally) search for the "Bedtime Movie Girls." The station says that over 500 women auditioned for the position; each of the eleven will spend one week as movie hostess. There isn't much online about the Bedtime Movie Girls, which clearly deprives us of a small but crucial bit of television history, although there's a picture and list of the winners here , and you can catch a promo for the Bedtime Movie here. Sounds like a research project for someone out there, doesn't it? Anyway, it just goes to show what we've lost with the disappearance of movie hosts from local stations. TV