Wednesday, May 10, 2017
Monday, May 8, 2017
Photo Parade: NBC Saturday Morning Preview Revue (1974)
For our Run Joe Run YouTube play list, Rick found a clip of the NBC Saturday Morning Preview Revue from 1974, starring Jimmy Osmond (the youngest Osmond), a bunch of Sid and Marty Krofft puppets and characters, and a certain brown and black German shepherd. As per usual, the Kroffts created something equal parts gaudy, loud, and creepy. You should watch the whole play list, but if you're short on time, I've embedded the video below, and if you're even shorter on time, I've posted a bunch of screen grabs to pique your interest (or warn you far, far away). Shows previewed include Wheelie and the Chopper Bunch, Run Joe Run, Land of the Lost, Emergency +4 (an animated Emergency that included a team of 4 kids helping out), Go! (a live action show introduced by...the dudes from Emergency)*, Star Trek: The Animated Series, and Sigmund and the Sea Monsters.
*This preview mentions a segment where Jon Voight will tell kids about kayaking on whitewater. I can't help imagining his introduction. "Hey, kids. In my movie Deliverance, you might have seen me canoeing on whitewater and getting into some real jams. Now I want to tell you about the real-world fun and risks of kayaking on the rapids."
*This preview mentions a segment where Jon Voight will tell kids about kayaking on whitewater. I can't help imagining his introduction. "Hey, kids. In my movie Deliverance, you might have seen me canoeing on whitewater and getting into some real jams. Now I want to tell you about the real-world fun and risks of kayaking on the rapids."
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| Petey the Peacock tries to pass himself off as the NBC Peacock and steal the show with his shrill vocal stylings. He gets the hook immediately but somehow ends up in almost every number. |
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| Creepy puppets part one. |
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| Creepy puppets part two, slightly inappropriate puppets part one. |
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| Jimmy Osmond sings and dances with the creepy puppets. |
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| We need to get one of these for our show. |
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| Look who's in the audience--Joe (Heinrich of Midvale)! |
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| Joe (Heinrich of Midvale) puts up with Petey. |
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| Petey wears Jimmy down and gets to do a number with Dina Dinosaur. "Ain't she sweet?" |
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| Johnny Whitaker and all the Ooze family (plus Petey natch) from Sigmund and the Sea Monsters perform a number. |
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| The Sigmund preview promises the debut of Rip Taylor's Sheldon the Sea Genie. |
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| Creepy puppets part three. Cooooool. |
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| Jimmy "The Prince" Osmond with creepy puppets part--I lost count. |
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| Creepy, etc. The Electric Mushroom. |
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| So much happening here, making so little sense (those yellow things are like giant mop heads with lips). |
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| "Down in front!" Seriously, how can that poor girl see anything? |
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| Creepy puppets part whatever, slightly inappropriate puppets part two. |
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| Because things weren't creepy enough-- bring in the clowns! |
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| The commercials in the clip include this one, where this kid talks very sensibly to mothers about the economic and health benefits of Kool-Aid for the whole family. |
Friday, May 5, 2017
Show Notes: Episode 2-5: Run Joe Run "Homecoming"
*This episode premiered Saturday, October 19, 1974, at 9:30 A.M. on NBC.
*D'Angelo Productions created other live-action kids shows like Westwind, and William D'Angelo was involved in The Red Hand Gang and also produced a failed pilot called The Karen Valentine Show starring...Regis Philbin. OK, it starred Karen Valentine, but Reege was in it, too.
William D'Angelo also helped produce other kid shows like Big John Little John and was also a producer on Alice.
*Run Joe Run's format change occurred in season 2, and it involved Joe teaming up with a troubled loner (OK, he was actually a hiker, but I'm projecting) and helping strangers in distress. According to Wikipedia, Sgt. Corey never found Joe and was "called back to duty."
*During its first year on NBC, Joe aired against The New Adventures of Gilligan and Partridge Family 2200 A.D. (interesting that two cartoon adaptations of sitcoms aired against each other like that). The Partridges were replaced by The Pebbles & Bamm-Bamm Show on CBS, then in the 1975-1976 season, Joe moved to 10:30.
At 10:30, the show faced Uncle Croc's Bloc with Charles Nelson Reilly (And would I like to track down an episode of this) and the second half of The Shazam-ISIS Hour. Later, ABC dumped Croc for Speed Buggy and Super Friends in that timeslot.
*The Fugitive is one of the best TV dramas of all time; a Quinn Martin production, it lasted 4 years on ABC, and its two-part finale was one of the highest-rated episodes of all time and one of the first true event finales.
*Donnelly Rhodes is still around and is perhaps best known for playing the dad on Double Trouble. That's totally untrue, but I would love to do an episode on Double Trouble someday, so...
*Character actor James Hampton is also still around and was Caretaker in the original Longest Yard, is perhaps best known in the BOTNS era for being the dad on Teen Wolf, and was also a regular on the aforementioned Red Hand Gang.
*Kristy McNichol actually won two Emmy awards for her work on Family and did indeed have some success as a musician.
*Albert Salmi co-starred in Angels Travel on Lonely Roads, the two-parter of The Fugitive that we mention on the show. Come back Tuesday for more on the sad end of Salmi if we didn't turn you off already in our discussion.
*Special shout out to Wesley Hyatt and his book we referenced, The Encyclopedia of Daytime Television, which we note is readily available in the secondary market for low prices and well worth it.
*According to IMDB, Heinrich of Midvale, AKA Joe, had a stunt double named Gus. First of all, I'm disappointed Heinrich HAD a stunt double. Second, how appropriate it is that while "Heinrich of Midvale" gets all the glory, some poor schlub named GUS does all he grunt work and gets none of the credit?
*Our crack research team could find no evidence of Heinrich appearing in The Bionic Woman, nor in any other TV show, for that matter. It appears that unlike other child stars, Heinrich lived a quiet life post-Hollywood.
*A Year at the Top, originally titled Hereafter, was co-produced by Don Kirshner and Norman Lear but only made 7 episodes, 5 of which aired on CBS in Summer 1977.
*Besides co-stars Greg Evigan and Paul Shaffer (who left SNL for this, then returned), the series also featured former Bowery Boy Gabriel Dell and the ubiquitous old lady character actress Nedra Volz. Mickey Rooney was only in the first episode.
*Bustin' Loose was a short-lived sitcom with Jimmie Walker taking Richard Pryor's role from the feature film.
*Perhaps the most interesting thing Shaffer says about A Year at the Top in his memoir is that he would wander over to the set where Lear's One Day at a Time was taped and met Valerie Bertinelli, who he dated. He was 27 and she was 16, but with levity he quotes R. Kelly and asks, "Who was counting?"
*D'Angelo Productions created other live-action kids shows like Westwind, and William D'Angelo was involved in The Red Hand Gang and also produced a failed pilot called The Karen Valentine Show starring...Regis Philbin. OK, it starred Karen Valentine, but Reege was in it, too.
William D'Angelo also helped produce other kid shows like Big John Little John and was also a producer on Alice.
*Run Joe Run's format change occurred in season 2, and it involved Joe teaming up with a troubled loner (OK, he was actually a hiker, but I'm projecting) and helping strangers in distress. According to Wikipedia, Sgt. Corey never found Joe and was "called back to duty."
*During its first year on NBC, Joe aired against The New Adventures of Gilligan and Partridge Family 2200 A.D. (interesting that two cartoon adaptations of sitcoms aired against each other like that). The Partridges were replaced by The Pebbles & Bamm-Bamm Show on CBS, then in the 1975-1976 season, Joe moved to 10:30.
At 10:30, the show faced Uncle Croc's Bloc with Charles Nelson Reilly (And would I like to track down an episode of this) and the second half of The Shazam-ISIS Hour. Later, ABC dumped Croc for Speed Buggy and Super Friends in that timeslot.
*The Fugitive is one of the best TV dramas of all time; a Quinn Martin production, it lasted 4 years on ABC, and its two-part finale was one of the highest-rated episodes of all time and one of the first true event finales.
*Donnelly Rhodes is still around and is perhaps best known for playing the dad on Double Trouble. That's totally untrue, but I would love to do an episode on Double Trouble someday, so...
*Character actor James Hampton is also still around and was Caretaker in the original Longest Yard, is perhaps best known in the BOTNS era for being the dad on Teen Wolf, and was also a regular on the aforementioned Red Hand Gang.
*Kristy McNichol actually won two Emmy awards for her work on Family and did indeed have some success as a musician.
*Albert Salmi co-starred in Angels Travel on Lonely Roads, the two-parter of The Fugitive that we mention on the show. Come back Tuesday for more on the sad end of Salmi if we didn't turn you off already in our discussion.
*Special shout out to Wesley Hyatt and his book we referenced, The Encyclopedia of Daytime Television, which we note is readily available in the secondary market for low prices and well worth it.
*According to IMDB, Heinrich of Midvale, AKA Joe, had a stunt double named Gus. First of all, I'm disappointed Heinrich HAD a stunt double. Second, how appropriate it is that while "Heinrich of Midvale" gets all the glory, some poor schlub named GUS does all he grunt work and gets none of the credit?
*Our crack research team could find no evidence of Heinrich appearing in The Bionic Woman, nor in any other TV show, for that matter. It appears that unlike other child stars, Heinrich lived a quiet life post-Hollywood.
*A Year at the Top, originally titled Hereafter, was co-produced by Don Kirshner and Norman Lear but only made 7 episodes, 5 of which aired on CBS in Summer 1977.
*Besides co-stars Greg Evigan and Paul Shaffer (who left SNL for this, then returned), the series also featured former Bowery Boy Gabriel Dell and the ubiquitous old lady character actress Nedra Volz. Mickey Rooney was only in the first episode.
*Bustin' Loose was a short-lived sitcom with Jimmie Walker taking Richard Pryor's role from the feature film.
*Perhaps the most interesting thing Shaffer says about A Year at the Top in his memoir is that he would wander over to the set where Lear's One Day at a Time was taped and met Valerie Bertinelli, who he dated. He was 27 and she was 16, but with levity he quotes R. Kelly and asks, "Who was counting?"
Thursday, May 4, 2017
Episode 2_5: Run, Joe, Run "Homecoming"
Loyal listener Amy recommended this Saturday-morning drama about an Army-trained German shepherd on the run for a crime he didn't commit! Kristy McNichol guests as a girl who takes in Joe against her father's wishes. Plus, "What We'd Like to See"!
Wednesday, May 3, 2017
Tuesday, May 2, 2017
Untold* Stories of "The Golden Girls"
I said that we would go into the saga of Coco--the ill-fated gay houseboy character scrapped after (and technically during) the pilot episode, but I have been reading the excellent book Golden Girls Forever: An Unauthorized Look Behind the Lanai by Jim Colucci, and I think that story will have to wait for another day. Today I will bring you 3 other untold* stories.
(*"Untold" is a sketchy term considering I am telling you right now that they were told in this book, but it sounds good, doesn't it?)
1) His Burtness: Our episode discusses "Ladies of the Evening," a story built around the gals obtaining tickets to a Burt Reynolds movie premiere. One of the series' writers, Kathy Speer, says the Burt Reynolds Dinner Theatre kept coming up in the writers' room and that she thinks he only did the show to thwart the speculation that he had AIDS at the time.
Barry Fanaro, credited co-writer on "Ladies," says Betty White told them Burt Reynolds loved the show, so they asked her if he'd do a guest shot. Fanaro says Burt was a little nervous about botching his big appearance at the end of the episode but that "it worked perfectly."
One of the "ladies of the night" the Girls share a holding cell with is played by Rue McClanahan's niece Amelia. According to an associate director of the episode, she opted not to wear a bra during dress rehearsal and experienced a "wardrobe malfunction." It caused chaos in the booth, and then everyone settled down and figured, "OK, she's just being a little ambitious." They fixed the situation before the version that aired.
2) Thank you for being an earworm: The book details the origin of the famous theme song, Cindy Fee's cover version of Andrew Gold's AM Gold hit (and not a huge hit at that) "Thank You for Being a Friend." The original concept was a series of stock shots of Miami on screen to the sounds of Bette Midler's "(You Got to Have) Friends," but the original choice of that tune was too expensive to license.
The producers went with a female rendition of Gold's old hit, and the then-23-year-old Fee showed up, said she was gonna nail it in one take (she had a lot of other gigs lined up that day) and did so. She had no idea what the series was even about, but she declared today that the song put her kids through college.
3) Coming up after The Smurfs: Perhaps the most amazing untold story of all is the fact that the series producers actually considered a Saturday morning animated spinoff of The Golden Girls. Production associate Robert Spina dreamed up The Animated Everyday Adventures of Sophia Petrillo and the Golden Gang, with the lead to be voiced by Estelle Getty. Disney actually considered this, but alas, it was never to be.
The concept included Sofia teaming up with the kids from the neighborhood, plus the dog from Empty Nest, while her roommates were away during the day. There would be stories of Sicily and cameos by the other Girls.
(*"Untold" is a sketchy term considering I am telling you right now that they were told in this book, but it sounds good, doesn't it?)
1) His Burtness: Our episode discusses "Ladies of the Evening," a story built around the gals obtaining tickets to a Burt Reynolds movie premiere. One of the series' writers, Kathy Speer, says the Burt Reynolds Dinner Theatre kept coming up in the writers' room and that she thinks he only did the show to thwart the speculation that he had AIDS at the time.
Barry Fanaro, credited co-writer on "Ladies," says Betty White told them Burt Reynolds loved the show, so they asked her if he'd do a guest shot. Fanaro says Burt was a little nervous about botching his big appearance at the end of the episode but that "it worked perfectly."
One of the "ladies of the night" the Girls share a holding cell with is played by Rue McClanahan's niece Amelia. According to an associate director of the episode, she opted not to wear a bra during dress rehearsal and experienced a "wardrobe malfunction." It caused chaos in the booth, and then everyone settled down and figured, "OK, she's just being a little ambitious." They fixed the situation before the version that aired.
2) Thank you for being an earworm: The book details the origin of the famous theme song, Cindy Fee's cover version of Andrew Gold's AM Gold hit (and not a huge hit at that) "Thank You for Being a Friend." The original concept was a series of stock shots of Miami on screen to the sounds of Bette Midler's "(You Got to Have) Friends," but the original choice of that tune was too expensive to license.
The producers went with a female rendition of Gold's old hit, and the then-23-year-old Fee showed up, said she was gonna nail it in one take (she had a lot of other gigs lined up that day) and did so. She had no idea what the series was even about, but she declared today that the song put her kids through college.
3) Coming up after The Smurfs: Perhaps the most amazing untold story of all is the fact that the series producers actually considered a Saturday morning animated spinoff of The Golden Girls. Production associate Robert Spina dreamed up The Animated Everyday Adventures of Sophia Petrillo and the Golden Gang, with the lead to be voiced by Estelle Getty. Disney actually considered this, but alas, it was never to be.
The concept included Sofia teaming up with the kids from the neighborhood, plus the dog from Empty Nest, while her roommates were away during the day. There would be stories of Sicily and cameos by the other Girls.
Monday, May 1, 2017
Further Viewing: The Golden Girls "Larceny and Old Lace," or the Golden Girls Meet the Mickster
If you've listened to our Golden Girls episode (see in player above), you know we love Burt, but we also love Mickey Rooney (The Mickster going forward). In "Larceny and Old Lace" (season 3, episode 21), The Mickster pays a visit as Sophia's new boyfriend Rocco. Sophia met him at the police station while trying to identify a purse snatcher, and they hit it off. Rocco was caught spray-painting something obscene on a billboard of Spuds MacKenzie.
Dorothy doesn't much care for Rocco, and this creates a role-reversal gag throughout the episode with Dorothy playing mom to Sophia's rebellions teenager. She tells Rose that Sophia came home "with NyQuil on her breath and his surgical stockings in her pocket." She doesn't know what that means, but she doesn't like it.
Rocco certainly talks a big game. At one point, he tells Dorothy if she had a suit and a higher voice she could pass for notorious gangster Frank Nitti, and he claims to have known him, Dutch Schultz, and Al Capone. He also says he "ran Detroit." Later, Rocco shows up with a grocery cart full of his stuff (most notably a deer head and a satchel) because he doesn't have room on his apartment...or does he?
In the slightly predictable and quickly dispensed with B story, Blanche has been giving Rose an extra hard time. She found and broke into Rose's diary only to read about two awful, snoring, belching pigs. Dorothy chastises Blanche for reading the diary, but of course, she succumbs to temptation and tries to break into it as soon as Blanche leaves the room. Later, Rose catches them and rightly gets angry at their violation of her privacy, refusing to talk to them. Guilt-ridden, Dorothy and Blanche end up in Sophia's bedroom, seeking advice, and then Rose comes along and reveals the diary was her 4-H pig diary...about literal pigs. They make up.
Rocco's satchel falls on the floor, opening and dumping out thousands of dollars in cash. Sophia says they stopped by a bank earlier, and he ran out, and they know he must have held up the bank. She calls him, and he admits the truth, saying he did it for her and that he's coming over.
While they wait for Rocco, the other girls reminisce about the most romantic moments of their lives. Blanche tells a touching (but of course sexy) story about her courtship with her late husband punctuated with a stupid question by Rose and two amazing takes by McClanahan and Arthur.
Dorothy's tells a more rough-around-the-edges story about her ex-husband Stan proposing to her. It includes a ring in a champagne glass, Dorothy accidentally swallowing it, and the phrase "three days later."
Finally, Rocco arrives, struggling to climb over the patio wall, then trying to get Sophia to run away with him. She refuses. He comes clean. He's no tough guy. He told those stories to impress her. He was an "assistant" cook at a chowder house in Bayonne, New Jersey. He robbed the bank so he could treat her like a queen. Sophia explains he doesn't need to do fancy things for her. He always treats her like a queen. They reconcile.
Except a mention in the last scene, Rocco never appears on the show again. Did he go to jail? Did he die? Did they just break up?
Forget it, Jake. It's Sitcom Town.
Other thoughts:
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| The man, the myth, The Mickster |
Dorothy doesn't much care for Rocco, and this creates a role-reversal gag throughout the episode with Dorothy playing mom to Sophia's rebellions teenager. She tells Rose that Sophia came home "with NyQuil on her breath and his surgical stockings in her pocket." She doesn't know what that means, but she doesn't like it.
Rocco certainly talks a big game. At one point, he tells Dorothy if she had a suit and a higher voice she could pass for notorious gangster Frank Nitti, and he claims to have known him, Dutch Schultz, and Al Capone. He also says he "ran Detroit." Later, Rocco shows up with a grocery cart full of his stuff (most notably a deer head and a satchel) because he doesn't have room on his apartment...or does he?
In the slightly predictable and quickly dispensed with B story, Blanche has been giving Rose an extra hard time. She found and broke into Rose's diary only to read about two awful, snoring, belching pigs. Dorothy chastises Blanche for reading the diary, but of course, she succumbs to temptation and tries to break into it as soon as Blanche leaves the room. Later, Rose catches them and rightly gets angry at their violation of her privacy, refusing to talk to them. Guilt-ridden, Dorothy and Blanche end up in Sophia's bedroom, seeking advice, and then Rose comes along and reveals the diary was her 4-H pig diary...about literal pigs. They make up.
Rocco's satchel falls on the floor, opening and dumping out thousands of dollars in cash. Sophia says they stopped by a bank earlier, and he ran out, and they know he must have held up the bank. She calls him, and he admits the truth, saying he did it for her and that he's coming over.
While they wait for Rocco, the other girls reminisce about the most romantic moments of their lives. Blanche tells a touching (but of course sexy) story about her courtship with her late husband punctuated with a stupid question by Rose and two amazing takes by McClanahan and Arthur.
Dorothy's tells a more rough-around-the-edges story about her ex-husband Stan proposing to her. It includes a ring in a champagne glass, Dorothy accidentally swallowing it, and the phrase "three days later."
Finally, Rocco arrives, struggling to climb over the patio wall, then trying to get Sophia to run away with him. She refuses. He comes clean. He's no tough guy. He told those stories to impress her. He was an "assistant" cook at a chowder house in Bayonne, New Jersey. He robbed the bank so he could treat her like a queen. Sophia explains he doesn't need to do fancy things for her. He always treats her like a queen. They reconcile.
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| Aww. |
Except a mention in the last scene, Rocco never appears on the show again. Did he go to jail? Did he die? Did they just break up?
Forget it, Jake. It's Sitcom Town.
Other thoughts:
- Sophia says Rocco is 85, but The Mickster was a youthful 68 in 1988.
- The Mickster kills it, playing puffed up, weird (the scene with the grocery cart), hurt, and sweet. He also gets some good jokes and reactions.
- All the Golden Girls have moments, too, both comedic and serious:
- Rose seems genuinely hurt by her friends' betrayal of her, but she also has a number of classic naive/dumb lines.
- The role reversal with Dorothy works well, and she gets annoyed by just about everyone, plus she shows remorse for hurting Rose.
- Blanche tells that wonderful story (it really is nice if a little "intimate"), but she gets plenty of funny business and a number of good takes not just reacting to Rose but reacting to Dorothy trying to open the diary.
- Sophia shoots off her normal zingers and insults but has that nice moment with Rocco.
- At the end, Dorothy has a one-sided phone call with Sophia (who says she's staying at Rocco's) and says, "I should do what to myself?" Don't say this show didn't have an edge.
- Pop culture references:
- The aforementioned Spuds MacKenzie
- Sophia calls Dorothy Donald Trump (page hits, here we come) after she breaks up Sophia and Rocco's game of strip poker
- Dorothy has a line about Spiro Agnew
- Rose questions whether George Bush (H.W. model) is married to his mother.
- No one eats cheesecake in this episode either. Big-name guest stars must have affected the cheesecake budget.
- Can anyone identify this board game? It involves trivia but looks like a Sorry type game. Probably isn't real, but I thought I'd ask.
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