Shabby treatment of vintage TV on streaming services

I witnessed more proof lately that the major streaming services just don't care about presenting older TV shows in decent form. I think the only thing they care less about then 1970s and 1980s TV shows is 1950s and 1960s TV shows. Then again, most of those turn up in good condition. Look at these examples of the shabby treatment of programs from the BOTNS era:

*Diff'rent Strokes: I was excited when Prime Video added the whole run of this beloved sitcom, which we discussed in our Season 2 opener. Yet for some reason, Amazon has episodes edited for syndication! What is this, 1998? There's no call for a major streamer like Amazon to show trimmed versions. I'm pretty sure Starz did show unedited ones. What'choo talkin' 'bout, Bezos?

*A Different World: "Different" show, same story: Streamers unable or unwilling to just put on the show in its original form. I think maybe HBO Max tried to upscale the show or something for HD when it added it in August, but it looks pretty bad, and I think it's cropped to fit the entire screen. Contrast it to Prime Video, of all places, where it is not. Are HBO viewers clamoring to have Whitley's head fill the entire screen?

*Three's Company: Pluto TV added the whole series, which we talk about here, to its on demand section months ago, and foolish me, I thought it would be unedited episodes. Well, the problem is Pluto has its 24/7 channels like the one devoted to this series, and they are showing syndicated prints so they can cram ads into each half-hour. They are using the same versions for the on demand section! I just noticed when I tried to watch an episode recently and saw it was about 21 minutes long.

Maybe "something is better than nothing," but when a better version of a show is available but a streamer can't or won't use it, often that prevents people from seeing the other version. Strokes is no longer on Starz, and Company isn't streaming anywhere else, so fans of those programs are stuck with cut versions.

BOTNS remembers Ed Asner

Mike and I extend our condolences to the fans, friends, and especially the family of Ed Asner, the TV icon who died Sunday at the age of 91 after a remarkable career. He was one of our favorite performers, and our enjoyment of his work should be apparent in these episodes we did featuring him (click to access the podcast):

*The Mary Tyler Moore Show

*Lou Grant

*PSAs (In our episode earlier this season devoted to public service announcements, we discussed Asner's spots for Reading Is Fundamental, one of which is below along with a few other clips.

R.I.P., Ed Asner. 

Top Ten #130

1) Killdozer: I was actually impressed with the shovel's performance against the dozer, but then again, it had the advantage of the best darn shovel man around, Dennis 'Sour Ball" Holvig.

2) Clint Walker: Reasonable people may argue over his character's checkered past, his leadership style, even his haircut, but you got to admit, Walker was one big dude.  That is, unless you've gone "off your spool" like poor Dutch.

3) New old shows on Crackle: The free ad-supported SVOD service continues to surprise by adding rare shows like Hawk (1966) and Fantastic Journey (1977).  It also continues to annoy--why only the first 5 episodes (so far) of The Famous Teddy Z and 4 random episodes of It's Your Move?

4) Gene and Roger: I really enjoyed The Ringer's just-concluded 8-part podcast on Siskel and Ebert.

5) National Lemon Juice Day:

6) John Ritter: ABC paid tribute to the late performer with an episode of Superstar this week.

7) Blake's 7: BritBox added this seminal British sci-fi series this week. I never saw it, but the clips I saw indicated it was in classic British style: cerebral, more deliberate, less dependent on flashy effects. In other words, cheap.

8) Elliott Gould: Happy birthday!

"I wouldn't go to the prom with you if you were Elliott Gould!"
"Even if you knew I was gonna be in E/R?"
"Well...maybe in that case, yeah."

9) Jeopardy!: Yeah, the whole thing is a mess, but at least it indicates that the show still matters.

10) Michael Nader: R.I.P. to the former Dex Dexter on Dynasty.

YouTube Spotlight: Clint Walker vs. Peter Graves

One of the more intriguing clips in this week's Killdozer playlist is this footage of Clint Walker going up against Peter Graves in an impromptu arm wrestling match:

Well, I say "footage" as if it's an actual competition, but of course it's from a TV movie, 1974's Scream of the Wolf. Does anyone think Graves would have a legit chance against Walker in a real match? I mean, Graves was a cool enough actor, but come on! But look how effective Walker's quiet but menacing demeanor is here.

Scream of the Wolf is directed by Dan Curtis and based on a short story by Richard Matheson. It premiered Wednesday, January 16, 1974 on ABC as the second half of a doubleheader following Curtis' 1972 The Night Stalker, which introduced the Kolchak character.

The KILLDOZER! video playlist is now live!

After listening to us discuss this 1974 TV movie on the podcast, continue to explore the world of Killdozer! with our video playlist for the episode! Enjoy glimpses of the Killdozer in action! Promos! Robert Urich for aspirin! And Clint Walker squares off against Peter Graves! All this and more when you click below!

And remember, you can visit our official YouTube channel anytime for all of our past episodes and playlists for each one of them! Don't be a sourball; check it out!

Show Notes: Episode 9-12: Killdozer!

 *Killdozer! premiered as part of The ABC Suspense Movie series on Saturday, February 2, 1974 at 8:30 P.M. It was preceded by The Partridge Family and followed by Owen Marshall, Counselor at Law. NBC countered with Emergency! and the 1972 film Silent Running. CBS' lineup was its famous Saturday night roster of All in the Family, MASH, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, The Bob Newhart Show, and The Carol Burnett Show.

*Theodore Sturgeon's novella that provides the source material is from 1944. This page here, run by the maintainers of the copyright, refers to it as a story, but it seems to call everything a "story."

*The Marvel Comics adaptation of the story is April 1974's Worlds Unknown #6:

*Beltran is played by James Watson Jr., who is still with us. He had recurring roles on Quincy and Gimme a Break among his many TV and movie roles.

*Here's another plug for Are You in the House Alone?, the book I quote from in the podcast.

*Dutch says he played in the 1964 Cotton Bowl. #1 Texas beat #2 Navy 28-6 in that game to win the unofficial championship, though it had already been voted #1 in the major postseason polls. Texas QB Duke (not Dutch) Carlisle had a big game to help lead his team past Roger Staubach's Midshipmen. 

*Many agree with Mike that Clint Walker might have made a great Superman, but he never got a chance to play the role.

*Here is our look at the "Death Probe" episode of The Six Million Dollar Man.

*We'll see you sourballs next week. As for me, "Let's get out of here!" "I'm going swimming!"

Episode 9-11: Killdozer!

In this season's look at a TV movie, we take on the deadly menace of the Killdozer! You heard right! An alien consciousness takes over a bulldozer, and six brave men try to stop it before it...killdozes them! Will they prevail, or will the Killdozer?

Check out this episode!