This week, our season finale of the podcast (But stay tuned for the Battys!) looks at It's an Adventure, Charlie Brown; and our YouTube playlist this week is filled with Peanuts. One of the more intriguing clips is this ad for a McDonald's promotional premium (see below).
I can't be alone in thinking that we lost more than just cool glasses when fast food chains stopped giving out stuff like this with value meals (and a 99-cent surcharge or whatever). Nowadays you are lucky to get a small plastic cup with a Happy Meal.
Glasses, whether they feature characters from Peanuts, Garfield, or Star Wars, are cool. They can be reused. They look nice in a cabinet or on a shelf. Also, they have heft! Taking one of those home with the food made it all a little harder to carry, perhaps, but they gave a sense of more. It felt like value! I don't need to tell you that fast food doesn't seem like nearly the same kind of value these days.
But really I just miss getting the cool drinking glasses.
I had a little fun with Mike's harrowing story of a pelican attack on this week's podcast. At the end of the YT playlist this week is Paddy the Pelican in "Piggy Bank Robbery." You may wonder, what the heck is Paddy the Pelican?
The Adventures of Paddy the Pelican is an animated (and I use the term loosely) series that launched on ABC in 1950 and apparently got some airplay on Chicago stations in 1954 (Maybe other markets as well?). Paddy shows up on many "worst cartoon" lists, and you have to see it to really get it.
If you're here this week for Alfred Hitchcock Presents, I apologize. Here's one of my favorite clips from our video playlist this week:
Also in the playlist, though, is a look at The Loretta Young Show, one of the television programs that aired the same night as "Breakdown," the AHP episode we talk about this week on the pod.
Young and her anthology show are largely forgotten nowadays, but she was a big deal back in the day. I must admit my perception of the series' popularity may be colored by the fact that Mad used to poke fun at it. One of the notable aspects of the series was Young's glorious entrances. Each week, she made a bold entrance, twirling a fashionable gown or dress as she entered a doorway. Young's resplendent appearance summoned the glamour of her Hollywood heyday in the previous decades.
The series began as Letter to Loretta, then dropped the framing gimmick of answering fan mail to become a straight-up anthology. Young didn't appear in all episodes but was a constant presence as the host. NBC ran the series for 8 seasons, up to 1961. I don't think this program has circulated for years, but many episodes are available online and from other sources.
Mike mentioned this short film on our Globetrotters episode last week: Meadowlark Lemon Presents the World.
This educational film from 1979 showcases the charm of the Globetrotter legend while teaching youth about geography basics. I couldn't find much information about it, but I wanted to spotlight it here as a recommended addition to our roster of educational films this season (See also Mulligan Stew).
I love this video from our Spidey playlist that accompanies this week's podcast:
Sanger-Harris was a Texas-based department store chain that was eventually absorbed by Macy's. This ad looks like it could be unauthorized. There is no trademark notice, the name "Spider-Man" is not vocalized, and, well, if it were official, wouldn't you make a bigger deal of it?
Maybe not! There was apparently a Spidey/Hulk promotional comic book distributed in Dallas newspapers to promote Sanger-Harris, so there was some kind of official relationship there. I never saw this ad before we did this podcast episode, and I'd love to know more about it.
On this week's HBO podcast, I note that while The Terry Fox Story was the first original HBO movie to air on the channel, Right of Way was produced first. That movie stars Jimmy Stewart and Bette Davis, and I don't know if many people remember it today. The full film is available online, but here is part 1 if you want a taste:
I had no memory of this before working on the podcast, but I did remember The Terry Fox Story. I didn't remember the movie itself so much as it being on or at least promoted all the time. This promo from our YT playlist for the episode is from 1985, a full two years after the premiere, and HBO is still running (no pun intended) the thing:
Was it really on ALL the time? No. Was it on a lot? Well, let's take a look! The YT channel and website HBO Database posted a countdown of the 50 most-aired movies on HBO in the Eighties, Here is the full video:
I love that this uses data and gives the number of screenings and the screening dates!
Spoiler alert if you haven't watched the clip yet:
The Terry Fox Story is "only" third, with 54 screenings from 1983-1987, but it ties with #2, so I am counting it as second!
The other number two, The Cannonball Run, surprises me; and number one surprise me--number two because I associate it with network TV, and number one because it's a concert movie (Hint: It stars The Cos).
Right of Way was on 44 times! I guess I just never took notice of it.
There are some other ones that make total sense. The Man from Snowy River was another HBO original, so of course they are gonna play the heck out of it. I associate Superman: The Motion Picture with ABC, but as a Warner Brothers movie, it makes sense it got heavy airplay here.
The Four Seasons? Yep, that was on all the time. I'm actually stunned that The Incredible Shrinking Woman was on only 40-some times. 9 to 5 and Finnegan Begin Again--Yes, absolutely.
Then there are the ones that surprise a bit more, mostly forgotten theatricals from the early part of the decade: Dirty Tricks? Threshold? St. Helens?
On the most recent podcast, we broke down The Zoo Gang, and today we spotlight one of the clips in the episode's video playlist.
You may be asking why this is in the list, but it's just an attempt to get some of the flavor of ITV 1974 (when Zoo Gang premiered) into the mix. I do love this set of promos, though, because of the variety of the subject matter--Benny Hill, followed by a peppy advert for TV Times, the absolute classic Thames TV indent...The only thing that would make this better would be to see an actual glimpse of the sobering epic documentary that followed, The World at War.
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.
Due to the nature of this week's subject, Mulligan Stew, we don't have the usual assortment of material in our official video playlist. We do have some interesting nutrition-related clips, though, and a look at another educational program that aired on PBS stations.
Thinkabout, according to Wikipedia, was a Canadian/U.S. production from the Agency for Instructional Television in 1979. It aired well into the Eighties, though.
I didn't remember this one at all until coming across this clip and watching some other videos on YouTube. Maybe you saw it in the classroom or on your local PBS station back in the day.
One of the clips in this week's playlist for Kate and Allie is this promo for an issue of TV Guide.
I wish there were more of these ads where the cover subjects touted their own appearances in the issues. Usually we'd get a rundown of the contents, maybe a jingle, but not the stars themselves telling us to check it out! I wonder how far in advance this was planned. It would be great to hear Susan and Jane say, "And check out Robert MacKenzie's review of The Rousters!"
This week, we talk about Doug Henning's World of Magic specials on NBC. Our video playlist has all kinds of ads and promos, but today let's look at this clip:
I believe this is an extract taken from a special talking about unsold pilots. That is indeed what this Mandrake is. The 1979 production from Universal aired on NBC January 24, 1979.
Anthony Herrara plays the titular magician, who dates back to 1934's King Features comic strip. This somewhat snide clip doesn't highlight the rest of the cast: BOTNS favorite Gretchen Corbett, James Hong, Robert Reed, and Harry Blackstone!
The full movie is available on YouTube if you are interested.
Each podcast week, we take a look at one video from our video playlist here in its own post. We are discussing the 1980s TV movie The Girl, The Gold Watch, and Everything this week, and here is one of the associated clips:
Our guy Joe Santos from The Rockford Files (Shout-out to 200 Dollars a day Plus Expenses) starred in this short-lived NBC sitcom that happened to be on the night The Girl, The Gold Watch, and Everything premiered in syndication. In this one, "the girl" is Maxx, played by Melissa Michaelson, a precocious 11-year-old who surprises her dad by moving in with her bachelor father (Not to be confused with Bachelor Father). And by "moving in with," I mean her mom dumps her at his doorstep. Fun premise, huh?
Santos is a bit of a wiiiiiild and craaaaazy guy whose lifestyle is cramped by the new addition to the household, but they'll try to make this work together. Producer James Komack, NBC, and Fred Silverman couldn't make it work, together though, and it ran a mere 10 episodes from March-June 1980. It aired against The Incredible Hulk on CBS and movies on ABC.
Forgive me for using the Sesame Street YouTube Spotlight post to share a video from the playlist that is not from Sesame Street. We did stuff the playlist with Sesame clips, and yesterday's Power Rankings featured 10 more. Instead, then, let's take another look at this "Children's Favorites" LP ad that Mike mentions on the pod:
83 tracks sounds like a great deal! You have to love the song selection, too.
I tell you, though, the animation is almost bizarre, and this ad really puzzled me when it aired (and it aired a LOT) back in the day. The most baffling moment is the clip at--Wait! There are TWO "Children's Favorites" LP ads! I included both of them, but THIS is the one I want to focus on today. In particular, go to the 26-second mark.
What IS this song? The only time I ever heard this tune is watching this ad.
"Boom, boom! Ain't it great to be crazy? Boom, boom! Ain't it great to be crazy?"
Is this an actual children's favorite or some kind of psy-op?
I just looked around, and after 40 years of wondering, I know know this IS a kiddie standard. The likes of Barney the Dinosaur and Mickey Mouse covered it. I must have been deprived. After hearing the cloying (even in context) version on "Children's Favorites," I felt more depraved.
It's a compilation of guest star Paul Sorvino aggravating Stone and Keller by calling their city "Frisco." Sorvino is Bert D'Angelo, a detective visiting from New York City, in this fourth-season episode "Superstar."
The character got a QM Production spinoff that went nowhere. Jonathan Martin's book Quinn Martin, Producer points out the series' conceptual similarities to McCloud but also that it lacks the qualities hat made the latter so distinctive. Sorvino was not well liked, and the whole series production seems to have been an unpleasant experience for most involved. It lasted mere months despite the presence of BOTNS Superstar (and Genius) Robert Pine in the supporting cast.
What kind of name for a cop show is Softly, Softly? Well, the program was on for years!
The clips below are from our Blake's 7 video playlist, with the connection being that the cult sci-fi program essentially replaced the police drama on BBC. Yep, that's Tom Baker in the second vid.
Z-Cars premiered in 1962 and ran for about 800 episodes, ending in 1978. Softly, Softly spun off from it in 1966, and then it became Softly, Softly: Task Force (1969-1976).
According to Wikipedia, the title comes from a proverb, "Softly, softly catchee monkey," and I don't think I want to know more about that one. Wiki says it was the motto of Lancashire Constabulary Training School.
We have a video playlist that accompanies our Bonus Episode this week, and one of my favorites is a brief clip from That's Incredible:
I don't know about you, but this makes me want to see the rest of the segment! Here is an expanded version so you can see more:
The gentleman dealing the cards here is Richard Turner, who is still with us and a practicing magician today. He is essentially blind and has lived an amazing life. Look him up and check out all the stuff he's done!
One of my favorite clips from our Gilligan's Island playlist this week is this 1979 ad for Van de Kamps frozen fish:
First of all, I love the fact that a known actress doesn't lead the spot but shows up in the second "segment." How random must it have seemed watching the tube in 1979 to see Mrs. Howell raving about frozen fish 15 years after Gilligan's?
One of the clips in ourChico and the Man playlist this week is this promo for the TV movie based on star Freddie Prinze's short life:
The full movie is also available on YouTube without looking too hard. Directed by Burt Brinckerhoff, it premiered on CBS Tuesday, September 11, 1979 after an episode of Wonder Woman. Opposition was a repeat of Part 2 of Holocaust on NBC and the ABC combo of new episodes of Three's Company, Taxi, and The Lazarus Syndrome. The sitcoms were season premieres.
Writing in The New York Times, critic John J. O'Connor called the movie "the bare scaffolding of the show-business structure constructed on the familiar story premise of 'too much, too soon.' As a magazine article, the form can still delvier narrative clout. As a dramatization, it demands much more than Can You Hear the Laughter? was willing--or able--to make."
He says the movie is shallow and doesn't explain much about Prinze's life nor his death. He does praise star Ira Angustine, who resembles Prinze and "also manages to convey a good deal of his special warmth." Randee Heller and Kevin Hooks earn praise, too.
One of the clips in this week's bonus episode playlist is the opening to Nancy Walker's sitcom Blansky's Beauties.
Garry Marshall had an amazing career in film and television, producing many remarkable hits. This is not one of them! The series didn't get enough of a boost from being introduced on Happy Days and fizzled out in a matter of months in 1977.
Walker's character is sort of the den mother of a bevy of showgirls and also produces their show. It doesn't quite work, but it is interesting to see how much it attempts to leech off other Marshall shows.
One interesting thing is that Eddie Mekka was on this and on Laverne and Shirley at the same time. On this, his character is said to be a cousin of The Big Ragu. Other familiar faces include Pat Morita, who had been on (and would return to) Happy Days; and Lynda Goodfriend and Scott Baio, who would later join that series. If that isn't enough, Pinky Tuscadero (Roz Kelly) is in the debut episode. Marshall gave himself a role, too; and the series featured Caren Kaye in an early regular part.
For now, you can find many of the 13 episodes on YouTube if you want to check it out for yourself!
This is an attempt to launch a series based on the popular Tom Swift series of books for young readers. ABC had some success pairingThe Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew Mysteries in this time slot, so it tried to match Willie Aames and Lori Loughlin. All viewers got was this single outing, though, on July 3. 1983.
The interesting supporting cast includes William Windom, Janet Du'Bois, Carmen Zapata, Lucille Benson, and George DiCenzo. It was called the premiere of a new mystery series in the press, but nothing came of it. Presumably it didn't fare well against 60 Minutes and a Voyagers! rerun. The following Sunday, ABC ran a Ripley's Believe It or Not rerun in the spot.
