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MEMORIAL
DAY YOU TUBING
Speaking of The Newlywed Game, here's that outtake you've always heard about.
I mentioned Red Skelton yesterday so I went You Tubing for Red. Here's a skit with Red as Clem Kaddidlehoppers' and Carol Channing as his gal. Finally, Red Skelton explains the significance and history behind the Pledge of Allegiance.
Monday,
May 26, 2008 - 8:14am
STUFF Poor ABC's fortunes were waning in 1967 as the Batman fad was starting to fizzle. The Invaders followed Combat mid-season in 1967, the last year for that series, and was preceded by Garrison's Guerrillas in the fall of '67. Garrison's Guerrillas flopped. And both seasons, The Invaders was up against The Red Skelton Show on CBS which was number 2 in the ratings in 1966-67. Still, competition was light over at NBC - Occasional Wife and The Jerry Lewis Show were both DOA. Skelton went from number 2 to number 7 in the fall of '67 so that would indicate a decent showing for The Invaders, at least by ABC standards. With only 2 shows in the top 20 in 1967, ABC may have felt it was better to start over than offer a third year of The Invaders. ABC's Tuesday nights got a big boost with The Mod Squad debuting in 1968 and Marcus Welby, MD in 1969. Welby went to number one the following year and started ABC's slow rise to the top in the 1970s. Sunday,
May 25, 2008 - 11:02pm
Shout! Factory has put together a wonderful compendium of seminal Saturday morning TV shows from the 1950s that is a jam packed treat any boomer will enjoy, it's time travel in a box. The way the collection is arranged is to give you the feel of a 1950's Saturday morning lineup, with the shows meant for younger kids coming first on each disc. Most of this material is from before my time in front of the tube - but not by much. Oddly, disc one opens with the most intelligent show of the bunch, Kukla, Fran & Ollie. In this episode, the Kuklapolitan Players delve into class structure in the USA, if you can believe it, responding to an article in a then current issue of Life magazine. This would have been way over the heads of preschoolers but episodes of Kukla, Fran & Ollie are rare and this one is a sparkling gem. I'm dreaming of a comprehensive Kukla, Fran & Ollie DVD release some day in the future. Probably the most famous show of the bunch, Howdy Doody is followed by a very early episode of Lassie, a primetime show that turned up briefly on Saturdays. Annie Oakley in 'Annie and the Bicycle Riders' with Gail Davis is pure western fun and comic strip hero Flash Gordon from 1954 rounds out the first disc with low tech, small budget excitement. Highlights on disc two include Ding Dong School, one of network TV's very first educational programs for the wee ones. What a stark contrast with today's kiddie fare, Miss Frances teaches with a gentle and kind nature. No wonder she was an early TV icon. I don't think this show actually aired on Saturdays but it is a logical addition. Time For Beany is a marvelously imaginative show, this is the puppet version that preceded the cartoon series with the sea sick sea serpent and his friends looking for a giant white gorilla on a mysterious island. The Paul Winchell Show is a genuinely funny rarity with Jerry Mahoney and Knucklehead Smiff in a musical Christmas themed program. This is actually a primetime show that aired before NBC moved the program to Saturday mornings and comes complete with commercials. Shot on location, The Roy Rogers Show was big time kid's entertainment in the 1950s that popped up in reruns on Saturday mornings in the early-1960s; here Roy and Trigger are kidnapped as Dale Evans, Bullet and Pat Brady ride to the rescue. The intelligent but low budgeted syndicated series Captain Z-RO from 1954 offers up an amusing look into the future from a fifties' perspective. The picture quality is appalling but it looks like you're watching with rabbit ears reception, appropriate since that's how most kids experienced TV in the 1950s. On disc three you'll find preschooler favorite The Rootie Kazootie Club and Winky Dink & You, the very first interactive video game, will thrill those who grew up with this unique program. Just remember not to draw on your TV screen. (This episode is the one you'll find sampled on TVparty.) Super Circus with Claude Kirshner and the lovely Mary Hartline is another fondly remembered series as is Andy's Gang with Froggy the Gremlin ("Plunk your Magic Twanger, Froggy!"), a show that contains one of the weirdest stories with an unmistakably homoerotic undertone ("Get to your horse quickly or feel my lance pierce your throat!"). The Cisco Kid was TV's first color series and the picture quality here is only fair. It's followed by one of my favorites, Sky King, in an episode found on other DVD sets. Watching Sky King with his niece Penny patrolling the skies in the Songbird is one of my first TV memories and the show holds up very well, simple and charming. Disc 4 opens with 2 fifteen minute episodes of Bomono's The Magic Clown another rarity from around 1950 that aired in some markets on Saturday mornings. Kids and Company and Juvenile Jury are followed by The Pinky Lee Show, a manic musical journey with one of the most beloved and talented kid show hosts of all time. In this highly entertaining episode, Pinky becomes a detective while Sheena, Queen of the Jungle tries to overt a tribal war in the final installment in the DVD collection. Some of these episodes have turned up on dollar store DVDs but they generally look a heck of a lot better in this collection. The picture and sound quality throughout is quite nice, especially considering the source material on some of these shows is less than desirable. A true bargain at around $28.00 if you order online now. Saturday,
May 24, 2008 - 12:19pm
THE
INVADERS
I'm thrilled that this memorial Day weekend I'll be enjoying The Invaders on DVD. I have fond memories of watching this show as a kid on The Bob Gordon Show, a local 4-6 hour Sunday afternoon rerun-fest with live drop ins by a genial fellow who introduced the various shows and created origami creatures from dollar bills. A Quinn Martin (The Untouchables) production, The Invaders is an unusual sci-fi show with relatively little of the gimmickry or far out plotlines that you'll find in Star Trek, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, or Lost in Space, all of which were on the air when The Invaders debuted in January of 1967. The series operates at a much slower pace, more akin to The Fugitive blended with Invasion of the Body Snatchers. The aliens here mostly serve as a metaphor for societal paranoia over commies, a repressive government, or whatever you like. It's a first rate program, with terrific guest stars and QM regular players who turn up in every pristinely directed episode. This production was part of the first wave of color TV shows so everything looks hyper realized, vibrant hues are juxtaposed with dark shadows and dramatic camera angles to lend an air of nightmarishness that perpetually hangs in the air. That's what sets The Invaders apart from typical TV sci-fi, it wasn't until The X-Files came along a couple of decades later that this style of intense eeriness really caught on. Never a big ratings winner, The Invaders ran for two seasons, this DVD set contains all 15 episodes of the show's short first season (there were 26 Episodes during the second year). The production shot a great deal on location lending an air of realism, it's just amazing to see these 1960's Southern California locales looking so retro-rific. The great news for Invaders fans - this DVD collection is a Paul Brownstein production so you know right off the bat you're getting the best quality possible along with amazing extras. The picture and sound quality on these remastered prints are top flight, crystal clear. Along with some nifty network promos, there are new introductions by Roy Thinners for every episode in addition to a fascinating interview with the star that is quite revealing with plenty of behind the scenes stories. In addition, Brownstein has unearthed the original, unaired pilot, an extended version of the first episode, and there's a commentary track by the show's creator Larry Cohen on 'The Innocent' that is nearly worth the price of admission itself. Even the "Next - The Invaders - in color' tags are intact at the start of the shows. All in all a great bargain and a wonderful opportunity to (re)acquaint yourself with a true TV classic. Friday,
May 23, 2008 - 11:09am
TV
Stuff
"I used to drive by the house and gates in the '80s. They soon put up a stucco wall across the gate side of the property hiding the gates, and they may have created a new drive way behind and along the wall with access to the gate from the north." Indeed the house is still there - but was gutted and re-designed in the 1980s. Thanks, Paul! This
weekend GSN will air six hours of ‘Match Game’ starring the
servicemen and women of America’s Armed Forces. From the press release:
Thursday,
May 22, 2008 - 7:38am
OF
INTEREST Was Sonny Bono Murdered? An FBI agent has come forward with the allegation that Cher's ex was assassinated because he was going to expose a crime ring. The article is long on allegations but short on details. Sal
Gomez alerts us to a great event going on this weekend if you're in Southern
California (and if you aren't, why aren't you?): ""If you can guess the answer right away, Great! If you're stumped, then hunt around the website for clues that may help you solve the question. "So
remember, it's a drive-in and it's also a tailgate party. Bring Does that sound like fun or what? RDF USA today announced an exclusive global content deal with MySpace that will bring webisodes of the popular British format, Banzai, exclusively to MySpaceTV (http://www.myspacetv.com) for 30 days before additional U.S. only internet distribution. Banzai is a comedic and highly stylized faux Japanese game show that involves betting on bizarre and off-the-wall contests. Celebrity guests on the series have included Angelina Jolie, Kelsey Grammar, Jennifer Love Hewitt, and Bill Murray. Banzai first aired as a half hour program on channel E4 in the UK, and was later repeated on E4's parent channel, Channel 4. In the US, the series has aired on Fox Broadcasting Network, USA, Comedy Central, and G4. Wednesday,
May 21, 2008 - 8:08am
THE
ACADEMY - LASD CLASS 368 When I first saw the commercials for Fox Reality's returning series The Academy: LASD Class #368, I wondered - are we now going to select police officers in a manner similar to Top Chef? Some of my friends thought that was a keen idea but the thought of Fox News watching Americans selecting Rambos and Paul Kerseys to wear a badge I found a bit troubling. Thankfully, it hasn't come to that yet (it won't be long, trust me) but what The Academy does offer is a stark look behind the scenes in law enforcement as the instructors break down recruits and reconstruct those who survive the process into proper Los Angeles Sheriff Department deputies. Like any 'reality' program there are glaring contrivances and heightened drama aplenty, this show is cast like a TV drama on both on the recruit and instructor levels but that doesn't lessen the impact or make the results any less devastating (or embarrassing) for those participating. To give the production added dramatic continuity there are individuals that flunked out on the first season returning for another try in addition to several recruits who never should have made it through the front door in the first place, again to boost the humiliation factor that is essential in 'reality TV.' I found the first hour a bit empty but Fox Reality is offering a two episode premiere that promises to be more fulfilling.The Academy: LASD Class #368 debuts on Fox Reality Saturday, May 24th at 9:00pm ET. Tuesday,
May 20, 2008 - 8:38am
RANDOM
STUFF "The Brady Bunch house (possibly not the one used in the pilot) was constructed for the show. Here's a news clipping about it from the 1969 Tulsa Tribune. "I had a big argument with a co-worker about what proved to be a variation of the "Monty Hall problem". I lost, and I was a math major! "Wikipedia
notes that Monty himself was well aware of the solution: "I, too, remember The Invaders as an excellent series and am looking forward to its release this month. I once bought an episode on VHS from a Trek Expo vendor. When I got it home, closer examination revealed that it must have been in a flood; it didn't work at all. "You might be interested in taking a look at John Graves' site. He was Manager of Film Programs at NBC from the mid-1960s through 1970, thus including Bonanza, I Dream of Jeannie, Ironside, The Man from Uncle, Then Came Bronson, The Debbie Reynolds Show, The Monkees. I recount a bit of the phone conversation I had with him on this odd, non-TV-related page on my site." Monday,
May 19, 2008 - 7:48am
FUNNY
Saturday,
May 17, 2008 - 1:32pm
FLIGHT
The first season of the HBO series is on DVD and there's also an LP on Sub Pop Records. An LP?!? Friday,
May 16, 2008 - 9:18am
FOX
2008-2009 PRIMETIME FALL SCHEDULE Thursday,
May 15, 2008 - 12:45pm
ABC
FALL SCHEDULE Wednesday,
May 14, 2008 - 2:32pm
CBS
FALL SCHEDULE Wednesday,
May 14, 2008 - 2:27pm
THIS
'N' THAT This sounds like fun, I missed it this program first time around. From the press release: Director John Waters has become an icon of independent film with ground-breaking works like Pink Flamingos and Hairspray, so it’s no surprise that this foray into television would push the envelope in both content and taste. On July 1st, BCI, a Navarre Corporation Company, will release ‘Til Death Do Us Part, the series that lets Waters run amok with a campy marriage of madcap melodrama and macabre humor. This beautifully packaged 3-disc box set contains all 13 episodes (plus a bouquet of never-before-seen bonus footage of Waters at work) and will be available at the SRP of $29.98. “We are pleased to present this twisted TV show to our audience, not just because it features an original talent like John Waters, but also because it’s a unique series that many missed the first time it aired,” said Cliff MacMillan, BCI’s Director of Brand Management and Acquisitions. “We know fans of Waters will love it, but so will anyone with an interest in the offbeat.” John Waters is the host of this wickedly amusing anthology series about what happens after the honeymoon. Known to the viewer simply as “the Groom Reaper,” Waters leads us through slyly sinful stories of vindictive and vicious husbands and wives with each cautionary tale ending in one spouse pushing up the daisies - always to the delight of our naughty narrator. Just how big a star is Oprah? She just cancelled her own primetime series, Oprah's Big Give. Ratings weren't as high as she would have liked. Meanwhile,
Kelsey Grammer is taken aback by his series cancellation. Producers are hoping to move Back To You to another network like CBS but with high up front costs (the two star's salaries) and modest ratings it seems unlikely. Still, Grammer is especially proud of the episode that airs tonight so you may want to check it out. Elizabeth Boggs writes: "I just LOVE your site! I noticed something you, somehow, didn't mention. "On the last page of the SitCom house locator, did you notice something that I did? The old Sky King ranch house in the photo taken in the late 1950's was the one and the same house used on the Brady Bunch pilot when Mike married Carol. "The
"four men" were living "all together" and were "all
alone" in THAT house. After Mike made Carol his misses, they made
the San Fernando residence their digs, abandoning that poor, ole' white
rambler for the more spacious abode made immemorial by that famous "Bunch." You can say that again. I wonder what specifically made that particular house, out in the middle of nowhere, attractive for location shooting? Was the owner in the business? You can read all about Sky King and see what the home looks like today here. Wednesday,
May 14, 2008 - 9:53am
I
STILL DON'T GET IT
Seems like overthinking to me. As I see it, your chances are really 50/50 - you either guessed right or wrong. Tuesday,
May 13, 2008 - 9:23am
GOULARDI "The character was originally called Ghoulardi, created in 1962 by Ernie Anderson, who later became ABC's staff announcer (The Loooove Boat). In 1970 Anderson gave Sweed permission to revive the character as "The Ghoul." "Sweed has been off and on TV in Cleveland since the '70s, and has a big fan base in Detroit, where he makes personal appearances at video stores and comic book conventions. Since 2007 he has broadcasting a paid subscription show on the internet. His official website is theghoul.com. "The Ghoul really isn't my cup of tea, but kudos to Sweed for playing the character for 38 years." Tuesday,
May 13, 2008 - 6:28am |
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