* Classic TV Blog *
Your host: Billy Ingram

ON THE RADIO
Fans of old school TV kid programs will want to tune in when James Rana and I celebrate 50 years of THE GUMBY SHOW on Sunday, July 1st at 8am on 89.1fm WFDU - on-line at www.wfdu.fm, that's out in Jersey. On an upcoming show James is going to interview Mallory Lewis (daughter of Shari) and Lamb Chop. Shari's gone but Lamb Chop lives on...

Tuesday, June 19, 2007 - 1:48pm
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IN THE NEWS
I wish I hadn't read about the 9 firefighters killed in Charleston today. It's just so tragic, we owe such a debt to the brave people who put their lives on the line for you and I every day.

Maybe we could do something good for them today by donating the Leary Firefighters Foundation (learyfirefightersfoundation.org) started by actor/producer Denis Leary (Rescue Me).

By the way, I saw an interview with Denis Leary the other day, promoting the season premier of his series and I was struck by how quick and effusive he was in praising his fellow actors and crew persons, not taking credit for everything as some do.

Here's what he says on the Foundation's web site:
Dear Friend,
As President of The Leary Firefighters Foundation, I have spent the last five years talking about how we take firefighters for granted. We all know that there is never enough money to get them the equipment and training that they need.

But here's the thing about firefighters. They do their job because they care about us and they care about keeping their communities safe. Regardless of what kind of equipment they are working with or what kind of training they have, firefighters will always make do.

The mission of The Leary Firefighters Foundation is to bridge the gap in public funding so that firefighters have the best possible equipment and training to meet the extraordinary challenges of a very dangerous job.

Since the Foundation was established in 2000, we have committed more than $6 million to purchase crucial equipment for fire departments in New York, Boston, and Worcester, Massachusetts.
In 2005, The Leary Foundation made a pledge to support the New Orleans Fire Department (NOFD) in their need to prepare for the next hurricane season. It came to my attention that during Katrina and its aftermath the only water rescue capability the NOFD had came from the use of personal boats of NOFD members, and it is estimated that they contributed to the rescue of approximately 18,000 victims. As we all know, history has shown the crucial need for these rescue boats, and through the Lucey Grant Program, The Leary Foundation has committed $100,000 for the purchase of this life-saving equipment.

At the heart of all the Leary Foundation's grant making is the desire to give firefighters a better chance of returning home to their families at the end of the day, and to ensure that each one of us and our loved ones will be more likely to survive a life-threatening fire.

I thank you for your interest in The Leary Firefighters Foundation and invite you to explore this website to learn more about supporting the Foundation's important work.

- Denis Leary President

Tuesday, June 19, 2007 - 9:05am
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BLOG RERUN
Another sound clip in Real Player format: the late, great Pat Paulsen running for President again, this time in 1975. Here's one of his routines from that election cycle where he skewered the primary candidates on both sides.

Tuesday, June 19, 2007 - 8:31am
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RANDOMNESS
Finally an example of a government program that works - 'Plan Colombia' was launched in 1999 to drive up the price of cocaine in the USA. Oh wait - while the price is rising on everything from eggs to gas, the cost of cocaine is rapidly falling. Which doesn't affect me now that I no longer live in LA...

Eric from Just My Show (justmyshow.com) tells us he just put up a new show featuring Marion Ross from "Happy Days" and Dan Lauria from "The Wonder Years." Check it out, this should be good.

This is a terrific example of a well-done fall preview - for an absolutely dismal series from 1972, Bridget Loves Bernie. The setup: a Jewish guy falls for a Catholic girl. The 'humor' came from each family's ignorant intolerance for the other. 1972 was way too late for this type of humor, though it might have made it in the 1950s.

Here's a compilation of Bob Barker being mugged on stage by contestants and other memorable moments from The Price Is Right. Say what you will about TPIR but at least it was positive energy in a daytime TV landscape littered with some revolting programming.

Tuesday, June 19, 2007 - 7:33am
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NEW 2007-08 SHOW: Canterbury's Law
I'm not a big fan of courtroom dramas but Canterbury's Law I found to be invigorating and mesmerizing. It's an off-kilter, edgy legal drama that focuses on a hard-hitting, driven defense attorney.

This hour-long series is produced by Denis Leary and Jim Serpico (the guys behind Rescue Me) and stars Julianna Margulies (ER, The Sopranos) as the brash, unapologetic attorney who will stop at nothing to get to the truth, a multi-faceted woman with as many personal entanglements as legal.

The actors are all on top of their game, the look is gritty and the characters inhabit interesting back stories. It's hard to judge a series from just the first episode but Rescue Me is one of my favorites so FOX could very well have a winner with this one if the field isn't already too crowded or if the genre isn't played out. If anyone can pull off a show like it's Leary's team.

True to form, this first episode ends in a Perry Mason moment - you know, where the lawyer badgers a witness into confessing - but it's done with a twist so shocking it left my jaw on the floor.

Look for Canterbury's Law to pop up as a mid-season replacement on FOX - that means, along with The Sarah Connor Chronicles, FOX has two potentially strong dramas ready to unleash when one or more of their new (or returning) shows falter.

Here's the trailer for the show:

Sunday, June 17, 2007 - 11:53am
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SUNDAY YOU TUBING
I just watched a thoroughly engrossing documentary on Edith Piaf (Edith Piaf - A Passionate Life) that was filmed four years after her death in 1963. So here are some powerful performances from one of the greatest singers who ever lived.

Her best known hit - La Vie En Rose - is heard in this performance from a 1954 TV broadcast.

Here Edith defiantly sings that she has no regrets ('Non, je ne regrette rien' from 1961). You don't have to speak the language to get the message, that's for sure.

Piaf sings a remarkable tune, this time in English - Hymn to Love - from the 1951 US TV program Holidays in Paris. When Edith Piaf died at age 47, hundreds of thousands of people showed up in the rain to pay their respects.

Sunday, June 17, 2007 - 9:12am
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THIS 'N' THAT
I just got the final completed version of the new DVD release of This Is Tom Jones, the quintessential 1960's musical variety show. I told you about this collection a while back; there was a delay in its release and this final version is a knock-out! A definite must-have for music lovers in general and Tom Jones fans in particular. I'll do a more comprehensive review in a few days after I've digested it all. It's a massively entertaining package with newly filmed interviews with Tom and other luscious extras. I'm really excited about this one!

Will Rosie O'Donnell take over The Price Is Right? Looks like it from this story: Bob Barker endorsed his friend Rosie O'Donnell as a possible successor on "The Price Is Right," although the newly retired host isn't sure CBS wants a woman to take over the game show. "I believe they're going to have a meeting with Rosie," Barker said backstage Friday night at the Daytime Emmy Awards.

When you figure that Bob is one of the producers of the show, this comment carries tremendous weight. And Rosie's already proven she can carry that timeslot - she would be up against her old show, The View. I doubt there's anyone more qualified to host TPIR, I suspect she knows the games inside and out, but I'm not a big fan. Then again, the whole idea of anyone replacing Barker seems far-fetched to me.

Saturday, June 16, 2007 - 3:33pm
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TV NEWS
- TVGuide.com's Michael Ausiello reports exclusively that heads are rolling over at Crane Poole & Schmidt. Julie Bowen, Mark Valley, Rene Auberjonois and Constance Zimmer have all been let go from the show, sources tell Ausiello. A Boston Legal insider confirms that "their contract options were not picked up."

To fill the void, Night Court's John Larroquette is joining the show as a series regular next season, but he won't be reprising his Emmy-winning role from David E. Kelley's The Practice. Instead, he will be playing an attorney from the New York offices of CP&S. Also Dirt's Tara Summers will be coming on board as a young associate. Finally, current cast-member Christian Clemenson (Jerry) has been upped to a series regular. Read about it here.

- If you missed the premiere episode of John From Cincinnati, log on here to watch it online right now! That's the new show from the producer of Deadwood that's getting both raves and pans.

- You can watch yours truly on Bravo's 100 Funniest Movies tonight from 5:00 - 8:00pm EST. My segments start around 5:45.

- FX has ordered a fifth season of one of my favorite dramas Rescue Me. 13 new episodes will begin production in early '08.

- Bob Barker's last Price is Right airs tonight at 8:00pm.

Friday, June 15, 2007 - 10:35am
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MR. WIZARD DVDs
Mitchell from the My Word and Welcome to It blog tells us Mr. Wizard DVDs are available at mrwizardstudios.com - also check out Mitchell's tribute to Don Herbert here.

Thursday, June 14, 2007 - 3:31pm
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ROUTE 66 DVDs
Bob Huggins writes: I saw your comment regarding the "Route 66" DVD being the hottest seller through the TV Party! web site. Outside of the link to Amazon, I can't find very much information about this DVD, or even any other online seller that carries it. It looks like a very suspicious (bootleg) release, though I can't be certain. Do you happen to know anything about the DVD, or have you even seen it? I checked IMDB and all of the information there suggests that it's a Sony property (the successor to Screen Gems and Columbia). I've also not been able to find any other DVD releases attributed to Roxbury Entertainment, the releasing company.

If, in fact, Sony is the owner of the series, then they're losing money. Of course, it is possible that they've licensed 11 episodes (a strange number to release) to Roxbury, but that seems like a fairly remote possibility to me considering that Amazon appears to be the only online retailer carrying this title, and I seriously doubt that a show of "Route 66's" caliber would be exclusive to Amazon. Also, why license to an unknown label like Roxbury Entertainment when there are proven independents like Image Entertainment or Shout! Factory that have extensive distribution networks for their DVD releases? It just smells fishy to me.

Any light that you can shed on this strange release is much appreciated.

I was wondering the same thing, Bob – but I haven’t seen the actual DVD. If it is a bootleg it’s pretty blatant, Sony is a very aggressive company when it comes to copyright violations. Maybe someone reading this knows more?

Thursday, June 14, 2007 - 9:01am
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MR. WIZARD
Wayne Hicks has a wonderful interview with Don Herbert, aka Mr. Wizard. Kevin S. Butler provides some details on his life:
One of educational kid's TV pioneers Donald Herbert best known to kids of the 1950s, 60s and the 80s as Mr. Wizard died Tuesday, June 12th at his home in Bell Canyon, California. He was 89 years old when he lost his bout with Bone Cancer.Born in Waconia, Mn. Mr. Herbert trained for a career as a science and english teacher, he graduated from La Crosse Teacher's College of Wisconsin with a teaching degree in 1940.His involvement with the school's dramatic theater and his accepting an acting role in a summer stock production with future first lady Nancy Davis (Reagan) sidetracked his plans for a teaching career.

He became an actor, scriptwriter and producer for the theater and for several radio shows. He took a brief hiatus from radio and stage work to serve in The US Army Air Corps during WWII.Upon his return to the States, Mr. Herbert resumed work in the theater and on radio as a performer and craftsman and he also did some modeling.
In 1951 he had a chance meeting with former advertising exec turned radio and TV producer Jules Power and with the heads of The National Cereal Institute to create and produce a children's educational television series.

The result was "Watch Mr. Wizard," TV's very first science show for kids. The series debuted on NBC via it's Chicago affiliate WNBQ TV Channel 5 in 1951.The show did very well during it's first few years in Chicago and years later the production moved to the network's NYC flagship station WNBC TV 4 where it remained on the air as a Saturday afternoon show until the mid-1960s.

Although he had trained in science in college Mr. Herbert learned about science experimentation thru the use of notes and during on the air experiments. "Everything on the show I learned by doing it," he once said.He depended on information from a large collection of notations that he kept in his filing cabinets.

The format of his show depended on using ordinary items for scientific use. For instance, paper plates were cut out in various shapes to illustrate optical illusions; a tray filled with dry ice would be shown to help viewers and his young assistant to create special visual effects; a bent wire coat hanger would be dipped in a tray of soapy water to create a bubble making toy; and a boy would take a dip into a tank of water to show how water mass would overflow.Don Herbert always believed that you should make science understandable to the children. "If you used scientific equipment that's strange to the child, it's not going to help him or her understand," he explained to The Voice Of America's "Our World" radio show in 2006. "So we used everyday equipment."

He attempted a return to kid's TV in the early 1970's on NBC with "The New Mr. Wizard Show" but the show was not a success and it went off the air quickly.

For a time, Mr. Herbert appeared semi-regularly on CBS TV's bi-monthly kid's TV news magazine "Razzamataz" in the late 1970s. He also did voice overs for science bumpers on NBC.
It was not until the 1980s with the debut of Nickelodeon that Don Herbert was able to successfully returned to kid's TV with "Mr. Wizard's World." This series was done in a much faster pace than the previous series to accommodate the attention span of his viewers. The show also presented the experiments in brief segments but Mr. Herbert and his young assistants were still able to present science in a fun and meaningful way that outshined his competitors, Paul Zaloom's Dr. Beakman of "Beakman's World" and Bill Nye The Science Guy.

Mr. Herbert also took part in Nickelodeon's "Take Over Your Schools" personal appearances tours."Mr. Wizard's World" remained on Nickelodeon until Don Herbert's retirement in the 1990s.His last television appearances were on a Nickelodeon program that helped high school science teachers prepare better lesson programs for their students.

In 2003 he taped new intros for reruns of his landmark NBC series "Watch Mr. Wizard" on Cable TV's Science Channel.
Although he looked frail, he was still able to encourage viewers to try his simple experiments and he introduced each segment with genuine joy and excitement.

Mr. Herbert was also able to re-release episodes of his kids TV series to DVD. I was lucky enough to do a phone interview with him back in the 1990's and he was just as generous with his knowledge of science as he was with recalling his career.

I searched but didn't find Mr. Wizard on DVD. Must be out of print?

By the way, don't miss Wayne Hick's new Standup Comedy Blog.

Thursday, June 14, 2007 - 8:45am
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THIS 'N' THAT
- From the AP: Don Herbert, who as television's "Mr.
Wizard" introduced generations of young viewers to the joys of
science, died Tuesday. He was 89.

- You can watch yours truly on Bravo's 100 Funniest Movies Friday from 5:00 - 8:00pm. My segments start around 5:45.

- A while back I declared that I had seen the best standup routine so far this year- I have to amend that because Daniel Tosh: Completely Serious is seriously, seriously funny. Mad funny. This dry, acerbic young comic offers up a cynical world view that is as twisted as it is hilarious.

Daniel Tosh has been a popular supporting performer on other stand up shows alongside appearances on Letterman, Leno and VH1's Best Week Ever. This one-hour show is a mix of new and older material in a brand new production; it's insult humor aimed at everyone in sight and I loved every minute. Check it out starting Sunday, June 17th at 10:00pm.

- The second season opener of Kyle XY on ABC Family drew record numbers with 2.2 million viewers. Love that show!

- Recently I offered you a top ten list of summertime TV on DVD collections. I haven't actually seen these particular collections but the shows are so excellent they are must-see-DVD.

Best of Route 66 - Eleven Original TV Series Episodes, this is the hottest selling DVD sold through TVparty!

The Avengers - The Complete Emma Peel Megaset (2006 Collector's Edition) - these are the classic episodes we saw on ABC in the mid-sixties.

- "Earlier today, Bob Barker taped his final episode of 'The Price Is Right' -- and fans waited in line for days to see it. First in line waiting to see Barker: the Grim Reaper." - Conan O' Brien

- NEW SHOW REVIEW: New Amsterdam
Another fantasy flavored drama debuts on Fox this fall, this time about a man who can not die until he finds his one true love. After four centuries, that love may finally be near and - for the first time - our protagonist, a New York City police detective, faces mortality.

New Amsterdam is created and directed by Lasse Hallstrom who brought us the cinematic hits Chocolat, My Life as a Dog and Cider House Rules. The idea is that this detective is a far more effective investigator because he's lived in the city for some 400 years (back when it was known as New Amsterdam, natch). You see, he knows the nooks and crannies where criminals traditionally hide out. But that doesn't really make a lot of sense and how people will react to CSI sci-fi is anyone's guess. There are interesting twist and turns but on the whole this production doesn't strike me as being any better or worse - or even markedly different - than the dozens of other crime scene investigation shows around the dial. There's too much talking and too little intrigue or amazement.

Let's see, Fox is essentially remaking The Invaders as The Sarah Connor Chronicles and The Immortal as New Amsterdam (and had great success turning The New People in Lost). Do I sense a trend here? No, I didn't think so.

Here's the trailer:

Wednesday, June 13, 2007 - 8:09am
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Alex Toth Book
TVparty's Billy Ingram and James Counts produced a new book that animation and comic book fans will want to own - 'Dear John: The Alex Toth Doodle Book.'

It's a bit different - a collection of correspondence and sketches from the reclusive master artist Alex Toth's last 25 years.

Click here for more info about the book. There are very few copies left and I haven't heard any serious talk of a second printing; it was released only through comic book stores in August of 2006.

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