Picture a bucolic family scene--music, laughter, and of course food.
Now picture Great Uncle Henry pulling his "Dagwood Bumstead" routine for the umpteenth time, building a sandwich way bigger than he can hope to get in his yap, let alone ingest, to predictable "comic" results:
I mean, do we really need this guy to waste some tasty-looking vittles just so he can feign an attempt to eat a Dagwood sandwich?
Then again, he IS hearing words of encouragement: "Pile it on, Henry!"
Actually, the more I watch this...
the more I think about this...
Yes, I change my mind. This guy is COOL. Maybe he can't get the full Dagwood going, but I admire the effort, and I kind of want to do this myself.
Tuesday, June 30, 2020
Monday, June 29, 2020
National Camera Day reminds us of Candid Camera
On this National Camera Day, I am thking about a TV series that has had multiple incarnations and always seems to to have a revival in the works yet is nowhere near the pop culture phenomenon it was in the BOTNS era; Candid Camera.
One of the forerunners of reality shows like America's Funniest Home Videos and countless others, Camera began as a series of film shorts before heading to TV in 1948! Since then, the show has aired in broadcast syndication, network TV, and cable in a variety of formats and time slots. Creator Allen Funt's son Peter keeps the brand alive, and the company's official YouTube channel is active and runs classic clips on a regular basis.
It's not the same as it was in the 1970s and 1980s, though, when the catchphrase, "Smile! You're on Candid Camera!" was ubiquitous as a way to indicate an embarrassing situation or humorous reveal. Has the concept been genericized by years of imitative hidden-camera projects? I think there is still room today for the old-school incarnations. Some of the old pranks are only too relevant today:
It's easy to envision old episodes or highlight packages showing up on, say, Amazon Prime Video at random one day. For now, it's good that Peter Funt is still out there promoting Candid Camera.
One of the forerunners of reality shows like America's Funniest Home Videos and countless others, Camera began as a series of film shorts before heading to TV in 1948! Since then, the show has aired in broadcast syndication, network TV, and cable in a variety of formats and time slots. Creator Allen Funt's son Peter keeps the brand alive, and the company's official YouTube channel is active and runs classic clips on a regular basis.
It's not the same as it was in the 1970s and 1980s, though, when the catchphrase, "Smile! You're on Candid Camera!" was ubiquitous as a way to indicate an embarrassing situation or humorous reveal. Has the concept been genericized by years of imitative hidden-camera projects? I think there is still room today for the old-school incarnations. Some of the old pranks are only too relevant today:
It's easy to envision old episodes or highlight packages showing up on, say, Amazon Prime Video at random one day. For now, it's good that Peter Funt is still out there promoting Candid Camera.
Sunday, June 28, 2020
Top Ten #74
1) Mabel King: The other day, I was doing a crossword puzzle with my esteemed girlfriend and Friend of the Show when we saw King was the answer to a What's Happening! clue! That is more than enough reason to top this list.
2) Boba Fett: The star of the Star Wars Holiday Special made headlines last week when a rare action figure hit eBay with an asking price of $225,000! For that kind of money, I could get all the cool TV Funkos and Megos I want...but if listeners want to take up a collection, we'd be happy to get Boba for the BOTNS studios.
3) Free to Be You and Me: Marlo Thomas' classic 1973 special was subject of a Stars in the House tribute Friday.
4) Cher: A new Time-Life DVD set showcasing her TV career came out this week, and I won't complain about the price because these things are expensive to produce, and...and...well, frankly I'd love to get screeners if you're out there, T-L.
5) Mel Brooks: Happy birthday to the comic legend and creator of When Things Were Rotten!
6) Sam and Diane: Kudos to The Av Club's Vikram Murthi for this thoughtful exploration of one of TV's most notable couples. Even if you don't agree with everything in here, it's a great read.
7) Danielle Brisebois: Happy birthday to the former Stephanie Mills on All in the Family--not to be confused with Stephanie Mills on Solid Gold:
8) Mr. Roarke: Guess which humble podcaster just got this bsdboy for his desk:
9) Lester Crystal: R.I.P. to the man instrumental in the creation of The MacNeil/Lehrer News Hour. I believe legend has it that PBS told him. "Hey, we want something like that Roger Mudd thing--only sex it up."
10) Jake's Way: On this date in 1980, CBS aired this unsold pilot starring Robert Fuller (Laramie, Emergency) as a Texas sheriff. Hey, Disney controls this. I'm sure we can expect to see this on Disney Plus soon given the company's commitment to preserving and exhibiting its vast television archive:
2) Boba Fett: The star of the Star Wars Holiday Special made headlines last week when a rare action figure hit eBay with an asking price of $225,000! For that kind of money, I could get all the cool TV Funkos and Megos I want...but if listeners want to take up a collection, we'd be happy to get Boba for the BOTNS studios.
3) Free to Be You and Me: Marlo Thomas' classic 1973 special was subject of a Stars in the House tribute Friday.
4) Cher: A new Time-Life DVD set showcasing her TV career came out this week, and I won't complain about the price because these things are expensive to produce, and...and...well, frankly I'd love to get screeners if you're out there, T-L.
5) Mel Brooks: Happy birthday to the comic legend and creator of When Things Were Rotten!
6) Sam and Diane: Kudos to The Av Club's Vikram Murthi for this thoughtful exploration of one of TV's most notable couples. Even if you don't agree with everything in here, it's a great read.
7) Danielle Brisebois: Happy birthday to the former Stephanie Mills on All in the Family--not to be confused with Stephanie Mills on Solid Gold:
8) Mr. Roarke: Guess which humble podcaster just got this bsdboy for his desk:
9) Lester Crystal: R.I.P. to the man instrumental in the creation of The MacNeil/Lehrer News Hour. I believe legend has it that PBS told him. "Hey, we want something like that Roger Mudd thing--only sex it up."
10) Jake's Way: On this date in 1980, CBS aired this unsold pilot starring Robert Fuller (Laramie, Emergency) as a Texas sheriff. Hey, Disney controls this. I'm sure we can expect to see this on Disney Plus soon given the company's commitment to preserving and exhibiting its vast television archive:
Saturday, June 27, 2020
Inside the Guide #2: This Day in TV History: A failed pilot and--hey, where's Christie Love? (6/27/75 part 1)
This week in June 1975 was full of repeats, but the networks sprinkled in some pilots, one-offs, and "serious programming." This night 45 years ago is a good example.
June 27, 1975 saw movie night on CBS: Captain Nemo and the Underwater City and Shaft. Mind you, this is not one of the made-for-TV Shaft (JOHN Shaft!) movies, but it is the original, and can you imagine how much butchering occurred to get it into a 90-minute time slot? And forget about the violence and nudity!
NBC kicked off with a Sanford and Son repeat--one of the Grady episodes produced during one of Redd Foxx's contract disputes. Following Grady and Sanford's Son: reruns of Chico and the Man, Rockford Files, and Police Woman.
ABC led at 8:00 with an "encore presentation" of Kolchak and then the episode of the Odd Couple where Felix uses Oscar's pic for an ad campaign without his permission. You know, I love The Odd Couple, but it's somehow easy for me to forget that the show was on as late as June 1975. Its final season ended in March, and it was playing out the string in repeats here. Also of note: This episode was written by David Duclon, who later helped give us BOTNS hits like Punky Brewster and Silver Spoons. Guest John Byner appears in the clip below.
ABC's Friday night lineup was unstable all season, and on this night it was Failed Pilot Theatre:
Abe Burrows, who wrote the book for the classic Broadway musical, spearheaded this adaptation. Wikipedia lists it as a "comedy special," but as you see in this vintage listing, it was considered a possible start to a new series. That seems a lot more likely than the creator of the play turning his baby into a 30-minute package for TV!
Incidentally, I love the language TV Guide used back in the day: "This program is the pilot for a possible series, but it is not on the networks' fall schedules." In other words, don't get attached to it, readers!
ABC ended the night with some public affairs/prestige-type programming. That's right: BORRR-RRRING!
No, I am sorry for making light of a program that explored a serious subject. ABC didn't have much else going on Friday at 10:00, so it decided to air an educational/informative show for the public good. These kinds of serious, well-intentioned news shows just don't turn up on the networks anymore.
Note a young Peter Jennings is the correspondent here. Jennings was then anchoring ABC's pre-Good Morning America effort and would become the chief foreign correspondent for ABC News months later. He wouldn't become anchor of World News Tonight for another three years, when ABC tried a multi-anchor format with Jennings, Frank Reynolds, and Max Robinson from different locations.
I like the bit at the end about pre-empting Get Christie Love. Talk about an abrupt change! Imagine tuning in for that series and getting a sobering look at food shortages, global hunger, and agro-economic policy.
It's so much fun to take a deep dive into this one night of TV that we'll present another look next week, but we will go into late night in 1975!
June 27, 1975 saw movie night on CBS: Captain Nemo and the Underwater City and Shaft. Mind you, this is not one of the made-for-TV Shaft (JOHN Shaft!) movies, but it is the original, and can you imagine how much butchering occurred to get it into a 90-minute time slot? And forget about the violence and nudity!
NBC kicked off with a Sanford and Son repeat--one of the Grady episodes produced during one of Redd Foxx's contract disputes. Following Grady and Sanford's Son: reruns of Chico and the Man, Rockford Files, and Police Woman.
ABC led at 8:00 with an "encore presentation" of Kolchak and then the episode of the Odd Couple where Felix uses Oscar's pic for an ad campaign without his permission. You know, I love The Odd Couple, but it's somehow easy for me to forget that the show was on as late as June 1975. Its final season ended in March, and it was playing out the string in repeats here. Also of note: This episode was written by David Duclon, who later helped give us BOTNS hits like Punky Brewster and Silver Spoons. Guest John Byner appears in the clip below.
ABC's Friday night lineup was unstable all season, and on this night it was Failed Pilot Theatre:
Abe Burrows, who wrote the book for the classic Broadway musical, spearheaded this adaptation. Wikipedia lists it as a "comedy special," but as you see in this vintage listing, it was considered a possible start to a new series. That seems a lot more likely than the creator of the play turning his baby into a 30-minute package for TV!
Incidentally, I love the language TV Guide used back in the day: "This program is the pilot for a possible series, but it is not on the networks' fall schedules." In other words, don't get attached to it, readers!
ABC ended the night with some public affairs/prestige-type programming. That's right: BORRR-RRRING!
No, I am sorry for making light of a program that explored a serious subject. ABC didn't have much else going on Friday at 10:00, so it decided to air an educational/informative show for the public good. These kinds of serious, well-intentioned news shows just don't turn up on the networks anymore.
Note a young Peter Jennings is the correspondent here. Jennings was then anchoring ABC's pre-Good Morning America effort and would become the chief foreign correspondent for ABC News months later. He wouldn't become anchor of World News Tonight for another three years, when ABC tried a multi-anchor format with Jennings, Frank Reynolds, and Max Robinson from different locations.
I like the bit at the end about pre-empting Get Christie Love. Talk about an abrupt change! Imagine tuning in for that series and getting a sobering look at food shortages, global hunger, and agro-economic policy.
It's so much fun to take a deep dive into this one night of TV that we'll present another look next week, but we will go into late night in 1975!
Wednesday, June 24, 2020
This Day in TV History: A mini-mystery proves the fallibility of online TV listings?
Don'cha hate it when archival online TV listings are inaccurate or unclear?
Until the day when there is a single reliable day-by-day TV listings database, we have to cobble together airdates and what-aired-this-days through a variety of sources. One recent find was bothering me: An Andy Rooney original special appearing in the listings in an original TV Guide for June 24, 1975.
According to the Guide, 45 years ago today, on a night dominated by reruns, CBS premiered Mr. Rooney Goes to Dinner, a humorous look at the pastime of dining out from "Andrew Rooney. " Note that this "close up" does not mention 60 Minutes. Well, that's because he didn't join that show until 1978. He had been producing TV specials for CBS for several years at this point.
However, researching the special yielded conflicting info. The IMDB page says the show premiered April 20, 1976. The 6/25/74 grid at Ultimate 70s does list the special, but it says it's a repeat. TV Tango is blank for prime time on that night! Wikipedia dates the special as 1978, though from context it appears to be a typo for 1976.
So I wondered, when did this air? Could THE GUIDE be wrong? Well, my guess is that the Guide showed us what was scheduled that night, but not necessarily what aired, which points out an issue with old magazines as sources. As for online sources, I think they are drawing from contemporary listings sources like TV Guide and may be subject to the same potential limitations. The spotlight from the time, though, does not have that standard "(Repeat)" designation.
Maybe the show was pre-empted and didn't air until April 1976? Ah, I looked up what else happened on the date, and here the story takes a sad turn. On June 24, 1975, the nation witnessed the largest number of casualties in a passenger aircraft disaster to that point when 113 died after Eastern Airlines Flight 66 crashed just before hitting the runway. I don't know if coverage pre-empted the Rooney show on CBS, but on a summer night, it doesn't seem outlandish to think they might have gone with breaking news instead of the regular non-essential programming.
Below is some coverage from the local NBC station featuring Tom Snyder:
I still don't know the whole story behind Mr. Rooney Goes to Dinner, but my theory is that the special got bumped due to coverage of the horrible tragedy but then aired the next year. Perhaps it's considered a repeat on Ultimate 70s due to the confusion over the original airdate, or maybe it did actually run in some markets.
Until the day when there is a single reliable day-by-day TV listings database, we have to cobble together airdates and what-aired-this-days through a variety of sources. One recent find was bothering me: An Andy Rooney original special appearing in the listings in an original TV Guide for June 24, 1975.
According to the Guide, 45 years ago today, on a night dominated by reruns, CBS premiered Mr. Rooney Goes to Dinner, a humorous look at the pastime of dining out from "Andrew Rooney. " Note that this "close up" does not mention 60 Minutes. Well, that's because he didn't join that show until 1978. He had been producing TV specials for CBS for several years at this point.
However, researching the special yielded conflicting info. The IMDB page says the show premiered April 20, 1976. The 6/25/74 grid at Ultimate 70s does list the special, but it says it's a repeat. TV Tango is blank for prime time on that night! Wikipedia dates the special as 1978, though from context it appears to be a typo for 1976.
So I wondered, when did this air? Could THE GUIDE be wrong? Well, my guess is that the Guide showed us what was scheduled that night, but not necessarily what aired, which points out an issue with old magazines as sources. As for online sources, I think they are drawing from contemporary listings sources like TV Guide and may be subject to the same potential limitations. The spotlight from the time, though, does not have that standard "(Repeat)" designation.
Maybe the show was pre-empted and didn't air until April 1976? Ah, I looked up what else happened on the date, and here the story takes a sad turn. On June 24, 1975, the nation witnessed the largest number of casualties in a passenger aircraft disaster to that point when 113 died after Eastern Airlines Flight 66 crashed just before hitting the runway. I don't know if coverage pre-empted the Rooney show on CBS, but on a summer night, it doesn't seem outlandish to think they might have gone with breaking news instead of the regular non-essential programming.
Below is some coverage from the local NBC station featuring Tom Snyder:
I still don't know the whole story behind Mr. Rooney Goes to Dinner, but my theory is that the special got bumped due to coverage of the horrible tragedy but then aired the next year. Perhaps it's considered a repeat on Ultimate 70s due to the confusion over the original airdate, or maybe it did actually run in some markets.
Monday, June 22, 2020
Sunday, June 21, 2020
Top Ten #73
1) DVP: Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there, and a special salute to one of our favorite TV padres, Tom Bradford.
2) Tony Gwynn: Speaking of Padres, here's a rare look--Ok, glimpse--at the late Hall of Famer.
3) Meredith Baxter and Michael Gross: Would you believe that the Keatons were born on the same exact day in the same year (1947)? Would you?
Actually, I don't believe it, and I read it. It's just too fantastical to comprehend.
4) The Ed Sullivan Show: The classic show is digging into its vaults to upload clips from its archives. Yes, we'd prefer full episodes to clips, but who are we to complain about free Temptations performances?
5) Al Molinaro: Me-TV spotlighted the great Al Molinaro with a look at his first on-screen appearance, a Green Acres guest spot that it also aired this week. Click this link for more.
6) Bernie Kopell: Happy birthday to the undisputed sexiest man on the Pacific Princess, Adam Bricker himself. And he was a DOCTOR, too! What a catch!
7) Mariette Hartley: Happy birthday to a star in her own right and one of the best podners James Garner ever had.
8) Michael Keaton: The beloved star of Working Stiffs finally returns to series TV with the just-announced Dopesick on Hulu.
9) Pat Boone: How in the world did this classic not become part of the national fabric?
10) Coach: Antenna TV is celebrating the holiday with a Father's Day marathon because...wait, Coach was a dad? Was he supposed to be that tall blond dumb guy's father?
2) Tony Gwynn: Speaking of Padres, here's a rare look--Ok, glimpse--at the late Hall of Famer.
3) Meredith Baxter and Michael Gross: Would you believe that the Keatons were born on the same exact day in the same year (1947)? Would you?
Actually, I don't believe it, and I read it. It's just too fantastical to comprehend.
4) The Ed Sullivan Show: The classic show is digging into its vaults to upload clips from its archives. Yes, we'd prefer full episodes to clips, but who are we to complain about free Temptations performances?
5) Al Molinaro: Me-TV spotlighted the great Al Molinaro with a look at his first on-screen appearance, a Green Acres guest spot that it also aired this week. Click this link for more.
6) Bernie Kopell: Happy birthday to the undisputed sexiest man on the Pacific Princess, Adam Bricker himself. And he was a DOCTOR, too! What a catch!
7) Mariette Hartley: Happy birthday to a star in her own right and one of the best podners James Garner ever had.
8) Michael Keaton: The beloved star of Working Stiffs finally returns to series TV with the just-announced Dopesick on Hulu.
9) Pat Boone: How in the world did this classic not become part of the national fabric?
10) Coach: Antenna TV is celebrating the holiday with a Father's Day marathon because...wait, Coach was a dad? Was he supposed to be that tall blond dumb guy's father?
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