* Classic TV Blog *
Your host: Billy Ingram

DAYTIME RATINGS
Here are the national ratings for the top 10 rated syndicated shows (week of Jan. 8, 2007):

Wheel of Fortune (CBS Television Distribution): 8.8 rating
Jeopardy (CBS): 7.0
Oprah (CBS): 6.3
Entertainment Tonight (CBS): 5.7
Everybody Loves Raymond (CBS): 5.3
CSI: Miami (CBS): 5.2
Dr. Phil (CBS) and Judge Judy (CBS): 5.0 each
Seinfeld (Sony Pictures Television): 4.3
Friends (Warner Bros.): 3.8

How long have Wheel and Jeopardy been leading the pack, like 20 years now?

Friday, January 26, 2007 - 8:59am
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THE MEDIA
You know, the nattering nabobs of negatism constantly talk of the liberal media - a myth so pervasive it ranks up there with Santa Claus. The mass media may have had a moment in the 1970s when it leaned leftish, but certainly not since then - not since the major news organizations were swallowed up by conglomerants and defense contractors.

With that in mind I saw this curious item on This Modern World:

From: lara logan
Subject: help

The story below only appeared on our CBS website and was not aired on CBS. It is a story that is largely being ignored, even though this istakingplace verysingle day in central Baghdad, two blocks from where our office is located.
Our crew had to be pulled out because we got a call saying they were about to be killed, and on their way out, a civilian man was shot dead in front of them as they ran.
I would be very grateful if any of you have a chance to watch this story and pass the link on to as many people you know as possible. It should be seen. And people should know about this.
If anyone has time to send a comment to CBS – about the story – not about my request, then that would help highlight that people are interested and this is not too gruesome to air, but rather too important to ignore.
Many, many thanks.

Here's the video.

If that's what's going on in the capital city, where so much of our effort is concentrated, I shudder to think what's in store for us next.

Friday, January 26, 2007 - 8:39am
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WHAT I'M WATCHING
I just viewed for the first time Save the Tiger, a highly acclaimed movie from 1973 starring Jack Lemmon. Of course, the problem with a lot of those "highly acclaimed movies" of that era is that they aren't that good, they don't hold up. But there are plenty that do continue to shine and this is one of them. Another plus for me is that it was shot in and around LA, my how it's changed!

The real surprise for me was Lemmon's co-star Jack Gilford, his performance was transcendent. You may remember Gilford from those ubiquitous Cracker Jack and Lays potato chips ads during the '70s & '80s. Who knew the old guy could act? In fact, Gilford was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in Save the Tiger. Jack Lemmon scored for Best Actor and deserved it. Great film to Netflix.

I also really enjoyed the new Dr. Who from the BBC, the second series is out on DVD and it's fantastic. I posted a longer review here but it reminds me of the best elements of the old Irwin Allen shows blended with the new Battlestar Galactica. I don't mean to say it's derivative, it's not, this is a wholly original production that puts a new slant on the Dr. Who mythos - throughout four decades of variations, this is the only Dr. Who version I've seen that I could get into.

I'm just now getting into the sixth season of Dallas currently out on DVD.

Dallas is one of my guilty pleasures. I got hooked when channel 13 in LA aired the program in the early morning hours, around 1:00am until 3:00, whenever they had a free slot. That was, all too often, about the time I was getting off work. Pretty soon I was taping it to watch at whatever hour I got home - until KCOP pulled the plug, just as the reruns were starting for the fifth season episodes.

Sure, the show lost a lot of its bite when Jim Davis (playing the family's patriarch) died during the fourth season - but he was such a strong presence he was still driving the storylines during season 6! This is one the few 'dramas' (it's all comedy to me) of the '70s/'80s that has rewatchability.

Thursday, January 25, 2007 - 8:09am
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POLITICS
The left end of the dial is trying to stir up the hornets concerning Glenn Beck's use of the word "faggot" on CNN Headline News. I don't understand the controversy (you can read about it and see the clip here). These are two adults discussing a word - in this case faggot - not a people or person. So what's wrong with discussing a word in that context? Too damn many people clutching their pearls in mock indignity to score points on another. In Glenn Beck's case there are more than enough outrages emanating from his vocal cords without trying to hang him for this one.

Thursday, January 25, 2007 - 7:30am
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SAD
Jay Blotcher sends this bad news: "Brent Liles, a former bassist for the 1980s punk rock group Social Distortion, was struck and killed by a truck while riding a bicycle, authorities said Wednesday. He was 43."

Social D was one of my favorite bands back in '81, I went to see them often and wrote about them in my music columns during that period. My condolences go out to his family.

Thursday, January 25, 2007 - 7:29am
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HOT DOG & POLAVISION
Winston Engel adds this about some previous posts: "If you want to see some Polavision in action, check out the documentary Imagine: John Lennon. Some of the home movies of John and Sean were shot in that system. It's the footage with the crazy, out-of-control grain. (I remember reading about it in a film magazine article when the movie first came out.)

"I don't know if this helps, but I remember Hot Dog segments appearing on (I think) the first season of Kids Are People Too. A few years later, when I happened across Take the Money and Run on TV, my first thought was, 'Hey, it's that weird guy from Hot Dog! Later, when I knew more about Woody Allen, I doubted my own memory. Why would Woody Allen have been doing interstitials for Kids Are People Too? Thanks for clearing up that mystery."

- This tape I have of Hot Dog programs shows that it was carved up into individual segments so it totally makes sense that it was syndicated to local stations or folded into Kids Are People Too - as well as being distributed to schools.

Monday, January 22, 2007 - 11:27am
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CHECK OUT THIS COOL WEB SITE!
Lou F. offers this: "In my opinion, Bracken's World, much like Star Trek, was vastly underestimated by programming execs. It was a great show that could have grown legs (no pun intended) if the network gave it a chance. Like Trek, it had a cult following. A shame it died after so few episodes."

One of the problems with that show, as far as what the critics said at the time, was that it was too "inside" - that audiences wouldn't understand or relate to the machinations of the entertainment industry. Of course, now the industry is completely self-obsessed.

Lou also points us to his TERRIFIC site - oldiestelevision.com with some fantastic clips from the Dumont network, bloopers from the Honeymooners, a James Dean interview, Bobby Darin in concert and tons of other great free entertainment. Not to be missed!

Saturday, January 20, 2007 - 8:49am
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WHAT I'M READING
There is a wonderful new book about the television shows I love the most - 'TV's Grooviest Variety Shows'. I've waited a lifetime for someone to write a book about these programs and the folks behind them and author Telly Davidson's tome is a rich, photo-filled exploration that is chock full of rare tidbits and fascinating stories about the greatest shows of TV's golden age.
Sonny & Cher. Carol Burnett. Flip Wilson. Dean Martin. The Smothers Brothers. Even Lawrence Welk and Ed Sullivan. From the well-known to the obscure, you'll devour this loving look at a long gone entertainment form. Fans of variety shows and TV history in general will relish the lavish treatment the author offers.
Don't miss this one! Order from Amazon and get the book at a hefty discount or look for it at your favorite bookstore.

Friday, January 19, 2007 - 9:54am
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STOP THE PRESSES
Nik writes to tell us - "Interesting guess but the theme to Bracken's World is different. Here it is from composer David Rose's LP 'Happy Heart' Capitol ST-393." The mystery continues.

Friday, January 19, 2007 - 9:45am
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Johnny writes to tell us he believes our mystery theme is Bracken's World - which sounds plausible to me as the music is as overarching as that series was. To refresh your memory here's the theme again.

And here's a fall preview for Bracken's World, an NBC nightime soap from 1969 that lasted a season and a half.

Thursday, January 18, 2007 - 9:08am
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BENSON & HEDGES SONG
A while back someone asked what the song was that was heard behind the Benson & Hedges cigarette commercials of the late-1960s. Jay Cramer tells us: "The song you wanted to know about is by The Brass Ring." Just think, soon there will be no more mysteries in the world thanks to this blog!

Tuesday, January 16, 2007 - 12:02pm
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TPIR on DVD
BCI just announced that The Price is Right is coming to DVD, along with Family Feud. According to their press release "'Best Of' versions will be released highlighting each series' greatest and most memorable moments." Let's hope that means full episodes, I can't imagine that wouldn't be the case.

Also in the works - current British TV series, including programs such as The IT Crowd, The Bill (a cop show I enjoyed while living in London), Man Stroke Woman and Hardware.

Now if only my favorite Britcom Gimmee, Gimmee Gimmee would get realeased in the U.S. on DVD.

Tuesday, January 16, 2007 - 11:58am
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WHERE'S BILLY?
I've been trying to take some time off lately. Like I used to around the holidays. Thing is, I was behind in my work before the holidays and now I'm really screwed. There were a couple of things I wanted to tell you about before Christmas, but never got around to it, like the new book 'TV's Grooviest Variety Shows of the '60s and '70s' and the offerings from Timeless TV. But a host of problems and setbacks caused me to spin my wheels. I'll spare you the gory details and get right into it over the next couple of days (famous last words).

First up, the fine folks at Fox (the TV net, not the fake news channel) sent me an advance copy of next week's Prison Break, a show I'm particularly fond of. The show returns for 9 new episodes on January 22nd and next week's show has more twist and turns than a mountain pass.

I missed a couple of episodes, so I'm impatiently waiting for the second season to show up on DVD so I can find out, for one thing, how the guard Bellick ended up behind bars. That must have been a pretty quick trial. That's what I like about this show, it moves at a rapid pace and doesn't get bogged down in unnecessary diversions away from the key plotlines. When this episode ('John Doe') ends you'll once again wonder - how are they going to get out of this one?!?

Fox really knows drama, with Prison Break and 24 back to back on Monday nights forming an unbeatable block - so how come they can't mount a decent sitcom anymore?

Tuesday, January 16, 2007 - 11:43am
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MYSTERY THEME
TVparty-er Nik writes to ask your help: "I've tried everyone I could think of. Maybe you could help me. I'm trying to find out what show a certain theme is from. No one can tell me. I've even sent it to Jon Burlingame and he couldn't place it. I was hoping that Bill Ingram or someone at TV Party could help me. So, here it is. It's from the late 60's early 70's and is a crime/police show I think.Any help would be appreciated."

Here's the audio file in MP3 format.

Tuesday, January 16, 2007 - 10:45am
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