YouTube Spotlight: "Children's Favorites" LP

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.

YouTube Spotlight: Bert D'Angelo, Superstar (and Chop Buster)

I find this video from our The Streets of San Francisco video playlist hilarious:

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.

YouTube Spotlight: A look at "Softly, Softly"

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.

YouTube Spotlight: Richard Turner on "That's Incredible!"

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!

YouTube Spotlight: No coconut sauce?

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?

And I believe that is Danny Wells (The Jeffersons, our Rhoda episode this season) following her. What a star-studded fish ad! If only the butler who serves Natalie were played by Franklin Cover.

YouTube Spotlight: Can You Still Hear the Laughter?

One of the clips in our Chico 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.

YouTube Spotlight: Blansky's Beauties

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!

YouTube Spotlight: The Tom Swift and Linda Craig Mystery Hour

Here's a clip from this week's Dungeons and Dragons playlist you may not recognize:

This is an attempt to launch a series based on the popular Tom Swift series of books for young readers. ABC had some success pairing The 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.

YouTube Spotlight: A Double Shot of My David Groh

You can sing "A Double Shot of My David Groh" to the tune of "A Double Shot (of My Baby's Love)" by The Medallions since we're looking at two clips from the Rhoda video playlist that feature David "Joe" Grogh.

Or you could not do that. There are two problems with that.

1) Only one of these sitcom opening sequences actually includes David Groh.

2) Once you see that clip and hear the Paul Williams theme song, you aren't gonna have the original "Double Shot" in your head the way I did for some reason the other day.

Here is the opening to the James Komack CBS sitcom Another Day:

The uploader here says the "godawful" pilot consists of Groh and (Joan) Hackett's characters arguing loudly for the entire episode." Well, I kind of want to see this! Not many did see it in its original run, which lasted only 4 episodes in April 1979. I think Komack had about 4 or 5 failed sitcoms in a two-year span there.

Next up, a sitcom without David Groh but with Nancy Walker. Mama's Boy aired a whopping 6 episodes on a sporadic schedule on NBC, apparently filling in here and there until they just pulled the plug.

Bruce Weitz is a newspaperman whose mother moves in with him after his father dies. Want to bet she's a domineering mother? 

This looks hopelessly old-fashioned even taking into account there is irony intended with the use of a doo wop arrangement of "M-O-T-H-E-R" as the theme song. Even for 1987, I think this all feels out of place, like the show should have come out 5-10 years earlier.

In 1987, Weitz was coming off a scene-stealing role as Belker on Hill Street Blues, while NBC was finding success with The Golden Girls (The same producers created this show). This combination didn't work for the network, though, and the series ended its odd run in August of 1988.

YouTube Spotlight: The pinnacle of this feature

This is a wonderful week because the current podcast topic and one of our running jokes align this week right here in this very post. Well, actually, it already happened in this week's video playlist for Rhoda when we had a legitimate reason to post a clip from that fabled BOTNS fave...

OVER EASY!

Yes, in this clip of the daytime public broadcasting program aimed at seniors, Hugh Downs interviews Rhoda's Nancy Walker. There is no egg talk, sadly, but I am overjoyed at the opportunity to work Over Easy into the BONTS universe again, and I hope longtime listeners appreciate it as well!

(Over Easy aired 1977-1982 on PBS stations. Downs hosted the magazine-style show that aired primarily in afternoon timeslots.)

YouTube Spotlight: 007 on MTV

One interesting clip in this week's video playlist is Roger Moore on MTV in 1985, perhaps not too distant from his appearance on the Lifestyles episode we discuss, promoting A View to a Kill with Nina Blackwood.

The movie had Duran Duran do the theme song, but does it feel like a MTV 1985 film? I like that the first question Nina asks is about Duran Duran, like Roger was the one who arranged the soundtrack production.

Moore should have struck around and introduced some more clips, like David Lee Roth, Whitney Houston, Simple Minds...

YouTube Spotlight: Go Hawaiian!

I think I knew Donny and Marie from their Hawaiian Punch ads than I did their actual TV work. The commercials were on all the time, and I loved Hawaiian Punch! Or was it Kool-Aid? Or maybe Hi-C?

I think I drank all of those.

We included one ad in the playlist this week, but here are a couple more just in case you are in the need for even more sugary sweetness.

Did you know that when Donny and Marie were hired as spokespersons, the beverage was owned by RJ Reynolds? And today it is owned by Dr. Pepper.

YouTube Spotlight: Norman Fell

 One of my favorite clips from this week's YouTube playlist is this Norman Fell commercial.

On one hand, we all love the image of Fell as Stanley Roper grinning at the camera. Let's try, difficult as it is, to remove that picture from our mind. If you take out the mugging Stanley from Fell's repertoire (not that I want to), is there any better combination of pitchman and product than he and Pepto?

YouTube Spotlight: Betcha Don't Know!

NBC has quite a rep for PSAs. The More You Know campaign was preceded by the One to Grow On series. But I BETCHA DON'T KNOW what came before that:

I run into these far less often than I do "One to Grow On," but there is the same kind of vibe here. That's character actor James Harder with Fields in this spot. Children's Television Workshop partnered with NBC for these segments, which ran Saturday mornings.

YouTube Spotlight: Victory wasn't just for the Olympic team

Welcome to YouTube Spotlight, where we feature a video from the latest podcast's video playlist. This week, we talk about the glory of the 1984 Summer Olympics, and one related clip that catches my eye is this:

This clip raises so many questions, like the ones the reporters ask: "What charity?"

I hope that Jacko surprised his brothers with that announcement. They are all like, "Hey, we aren't giving anything away!"

All indications were that Jackson was a reluctant participant in this Victory Tour, and I am sure it won't shock anyone to learn that there were allegations of shady business practices in an event with which Don King was involved.

Here's a cool clip from L.A.'s KISS-FM promoting the tour:

YouTube Spotlight: Carroll O'Connor on "The Vin Scully Show"

One of the most intriguing clips in our YouTube playlist for All in the Family is this one, an appearance star Carroll O'Connor made on The Vin Scully Show. Who even knew there WAS a show Vin hosted? This daytime chat show has a cool theme song, an opening joke by Vin, and even some short comedy segments!

The heart of it is this amusing and relaxed (Maybe too relaxed; do they really need to be sitting that close to each other?) conversation. I enjoy this clip and admire Scully's work in this format. The series only lasted about 50 episodes on CBS' daytime lineup, though (airing weekdays at 4:00 PM from January to March), so maybe Scully wasn't as good as a fit as it seems to me. The humor snippets seem forced, but Vin seems game!

YouTube Spotlight: J.R. on "Eyewitness News?"

 I love it when the real world and the TV world intersect in the form of "in-character" appearances by fictional people--especially on the local news!

In this clip posted by the anchor himself, Jon Crane, J.R. Ewing makes an appearance of sorts to help promote the newscast on KIEM, a Northern California station then affiliated with CBS. This may look kind of goofy--and by goofy I mean awesome--but what small-market station is gonna turn down a chance to get on the Dallas train in that era?

I would love to see the segment end with, "And now, here's Cliff Barnes with the weather!"

YouTube Spotlight: Simon McCorkindale Speaks

Since we did things a little differently with the YouTube playlist for this week's episode, I want to do something a little different today and present a video not even in the playlist. I just can't quit Manimal, but since Manimal is not available for free except in a few clips, here is star Simon McCorkindale giving an interview on the late Bill Harris' Showtime series:

YouTube Spotlight: 227's Jackee on Saturday morning!

I am breaking precedent and highlighting a video not in this week's video playlist for 227, but one that maybe should be in there: Jackee (along with Smokey Robinson and...Rick Dees!) as her character from 227 introducing NBC Saturday toons:

I wouldn't be surprised if, at some point, there was an idea to make a Jackee cartoon. There HAD to have been a push for a Disco Duck cartoon with Dees, or as Sandra calls him, "Mr. Deeeeeees."

Don't you love how Dees and Robinson are doing that thing where they appear on the verge of laughing each time they do one of those bumpers?

YouTube Spotlight: Bonus Episode List-o-Rama Battle of the Network Networks

In our playlist for this week's bonus episode, we set aside most of the famous programs we mention and devote some slots to the lesser-known series we watched back in the Eighties. One of them has some degree of fame today because of its star:

Yes, a young Jim Carrey was the lead in the short-lived (13 episodes) show from MTM Enterprises about a young animator named Skip Tarkenton (!) who lands a dream job at a studio but discovers it is struggling. I watched the first episode a while back, and while many things didn't seem credible, I thought it had enough potential to deserve time to grow. The premise and setting are cool even if a few things seem to require some more explanation.

Unfortunately, it premiered at a time just before Thursday night on NBC was a big deal, and it didn't make it. Wikipedia has a great explanation of how the network's shoddy scheduling wreaked havoc on continuity and may have turned off those who did watch. Most episodes are easy to find online if you want to see it for yourself!