This may become a semi-regular feature: A roundup of items related to classic TV outside our standard 1970s/1980s timeline!
ITEM: Dick Van Dyke celebrated his 100th birthday this weekend, and PBS premiered a new American Masters devoted to him. Check your local listings or the PBS app.
We mentioned this in yesterday's Top Ten post, but Tubi now has The New Dick Van Dyke Show.
ITEM: Some relatively rarer Westerns are making their way to streaming platforms. Here are a pair that have been on diginets and are now on SVOD:
Stoney Burke: The 1962 series with Jack Lord as a rodeo star is now on Plex.
Whispering Smith: This 1961 series with Audie Murphy as the titular detective appears to be coming to Tubi. I say that because as of now there is only one single episode!
ITEM: ClassicFlix announced the latest in its Rare Television line of DVD releases, and, boy, is it a rare one: 1951's The Ad-Libbers!
Here is the complete story. I pre-ordered this one right away to show support for the line and to ClassicFlix for working on stuff like this--Oh, and also because it sounds fascinating!
1) That's My Mama: This week on the podcast, we talk about the 1970s ABC sitcom: How it holds up, how it changes in its second season, how awesome Teddy Wilson is. It's a series that doesn't get much attention, but we add to the conversation.
2) Dick Van Dyke: This weekend we celebrate the 100th birthday of the icon, star of stage, screen, and of course PSAs:
In addition to a new American Masters on PBS this weekend and a marathon of The Dick Van Dyke Show this weekend, Tubi has added The New Dick Van Dyke Show to its streaming library.
3) Happy Hannukah:
4) Clifton Davis: I want to give another shout-out to the star of That's My Mama. I think he does a fine job on the show.
5) Live-action Christmas specials: I often declare that CBS was the king of the holidays in the BOTNS era, but look at this lineup on NBC 50 years ago tonight: Bob Hope (with guests Redd Foxx, Angie Dickinson, The Osmonds), Dean Martin Califormia Christmas, and Mac Davis Christmas Special!
Note this clip is for 1977's Christmas in California, not to be confused with 1975's California Christmas.
6) Olan Soule: The great Word Balloon podcast just dropped an episode devoted to longtime radio/TV/voice actor Olan Soule, and I am here for it!
7) Animated Christmas specials: Before all that live-action cheer on NBC,The Little Drummer Boy aired at 7, followed by The Tiny Tree. The latter is a DePatie-Freleng production, and I don't remember it at all!
8) Police Story: This 1970s anthology series has popped up on a few streaming outlets in recent years but is now on Tubi.
9) Stroker Ace: CBS gave the Burt Reynolds vehicle a network TV showing 40 years ago tonight. The New York Times described it as a "witless retread" in its listings.
10) The New Fred and Barney Show: Warner Archive surprised everyone by announcing a DVD release of this series (Sorry, no Thing nor Shmoo in this set) is coming in January. Folks, this could turn the tide in the corporate battle for Warner Brothers.
One clip in our playlist this week for That's My Mama is from Sanford Arms, the short-lived attempt to keep the Sanford and Son franchise going. Isn't it funny to call it a franchise?
Teddy Wilson (Earl from That's My Mama) couldn't make this work, and it lasted a mere 4 episodes (some more were made but unaired). An official Sanford YT channel posted the above clip and many others, but I don't think it is making full episodes available.
*Thanks again to my cousin and Friend of the Show Kevin for suggesting this one!
*That's My Mama aired on ABC for two seasons and 37 episodes on Wednesday nights and is--as of this writing--available on Tubi (though not all episodes are there). It was on Crackle years ago and received DVD releases as well.
*You can see the Jet report on the Lynne Moody/Joan Pringle changeover right here.
*Jester Hairston was about 74 years old at this time.
*Lee Kolima plays Croaker.
*Teddy Wilson was not Earl in the show's first episode, though he did appear in it. Ed Bernard, who Mike notes became the principal on The White Shadow, played Earl at first.
*You can see a glimpse of Lisle Wilson in Sisters in this week's video playlist.
*Speaking of that playlist, please enjoy our video playlist for this episode with promos, intros, commercials, and more! Click below to go right to it, or you can always visit our official YouTube page for all of our past episodes and similar lists for each one of them!
On short-lived sitcom "That's My Mama," barber Clifton lives with his mama and gets into hijinks with his best friend Earl, and in the episode "The Witness," Earl moves in with Clifton and Mama after testifying against criminal Croaker Connelly. If he's not careful, Mama will kill him before Croaker does. Plus Ted Lange and Gordon Jump!
1) The Love Boat: Love...exciting and--Well, not new, but this week on the podcast, enjoy an encore presentation of what I like to call the quintessential series of the BOTNS era. We talk about an interesting episode, and, hey, if you haven't heard it, it's new to you!
2) Warner Brothers: I'm not going to repeat the old joke about Mike and I having a bid rejected. Obviously there's no way we could approach a purchase of any piece of the WB empire.
If the rights to Search were up for bid, though...
3) Snow: We got a winter blast this week at BOTNS Headquarters, which reminds us of the perils of the season.
4) The Carol Burnett Show: Sitcoms Online reports that FETV purchased rights to the uncut episodes (The Carol Burnett Show was syndicated in truncated form for years) and will begin showing them on New Year's Day. Harvey Korman just broke up.
5) Christmas Specials: 40 years ago tonight, CBS brought us this combo: Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas followed by Frosty the Snowman.
6) Barbara Mandrell's Christmas Special: This syndicated program also aired 40 years ago tonight. We associated Mandrell and her sisters with NBC, but just a few months earlier, she starred in her first CBS variety special, and here she was doing a holiday event for first-run syndication.
So here's a mystery: The New York TV listings for the date contain this program. However, IMDB does not list a 1985 show, but it does list a "Christmas Family Reunion" special for 1986. Someone in the comments on the above video asks if the promo is really for 1986. I believe that person is basing the question on IMDB, but I think these may be two distinct specials. The 1986 special was on CBS. Yet I can't find any other reference to this special. Anyone have any more info?
7) 60 Minutes: The program's eighth season premiered 50 years ago tonight, and if you think it's weird that the series kicked off a season on December 7, well, so do I. CBS had been running Three for the Road in the 7:00 EST slot since September.
8) Chartbusters Year End Special: Remember this music video show on TBS? It was a countdown show that was a companion to Night Tracks. 40 years ago tonight, the series looked back at the hits of 1985. I don't see a clip for that one, but here is a glimpse of the series:
9) Sports: A couple notable televised sporting events on this date in 1985: Bo Jackson won the Heisman Trophy, and later, Martina Navratilova topped Chris Evert in the Australian Open final. This was the last year the tennis tournament happened in December; Beginning in 1987, it was a January event.
10) Priscilla Barnes: According to most sources, it's the star's 70th birthday, and we send well wishes to the star of The American Girls!
