One of their rival networks has it, I think...COZI or ANTENNA.
MeTV's SuperSci-Fi Saturday Night
- Thread starter JD
- Start date
Here in Seattle Fantasy Island airs Saturday nights at 10 on COZI TV. Also I think the reason MeTV is changing programming is because Decades TV has just launched and according to their web page and Wikipedia their programming is going to consist of shows from the CBS/Paramount vault. Last weekend was a Mod Squad marathon, this weekend it's My Three Sons.
Me changes its programming seasonally (as in four times a year). It's not unusual, and that Sunday lineup had been relatively stagnant for a while.
I'm tired of cable channels forcing the same, worn out sitcoms on the public over and over again. The 1990s nostalgia for 70s TV (like The Brady Bunch, Love Boat, Welcome Back, Kotter, etc.) has faded, and the so-called perennial classics like I Love Lucy & The Andy Griffith Show, need a long vacation.
There's nothing good to be said of any Garry Marshall series.
Too bad ME-TV does not drop Lost in Space for awhile. The Sci-fi Saturday block only airs one day a week, so they could swap that out with other shows that were short-lived, starting with Irwin Allen's last two sci-fi series from the 60s (The Time Tunnel & Land of the Giants). The Green Hornet was airing earlier this year, but in the dead zone of 5 or 5:30 A.M. (EST). Who in the world was watching at that time?
I couldn't catch TGH because my affiliate was running community programming at that hour...actually for only part of the half-hour, you could catch the second half of TGH in progress if you were inclined.
^^ That's how it is for Superman on Saturday night here.
Not that I'd even have time to watch them, I suppose....
Yeah, I checked out their new schedule and it does not excite me at all. I wanted some different adventure shows, not fewer adventure shows.
Not that I'd even have time to watch them, I suppose....
"Batman's Anniversary"/"A Riddling Controversy": Even though MeTV only interrupted its progress for a week, we've skipped over three storylines: the Joker/Penguin 3-parter, "That Darn Catwoman"/"Scat! Darn Catwoman," and the Penguin/Marsha, Queen of Diamonds 3-parter. I'm guessing they were going to skip the 3-parters anyway and just put last week's Batgirl-centric episodes in place of the Catwoman story, which is a shame.
Anyway, this is the infamous one where John Astin stood in as the Riddler for one story; Frank Gorshin would not return until the third season. This (and perhaps Maurice Evans's turn as the Puzzler) is the result of Gorshin's new agents demanding more money than the producers could afford. And it's the show's second villain recasting -- and the second temporary one -- with Lee Meriwether's turn as Catwoman in the movie being the first. It's not a particularly successful recasting, though. We know John Astin is a terrific comic actor, but the problem here is that he was trying to imitate Gorshin's performance style, the intensity and bombast and occasional bursts of manic rage, so he wasn't playing to his strengths. If he'd created his own interpretation of the Riddler with the same kind of quirky, easygoing mania that he brought to his best characters like Gomez Addams and Buddy from Night Court, it could've worked quite well; but as it is, he just feels like a pale imitation.
Other than the casting, though, it's a pretty terrific Riddler story. How refreshing to have a caper where the featured gimmick of the Prince of Puzzlers is actually puzzles, rather than wax or silent movies or some other non sequitur. And the underwater Bat-fight is inspired. And it had the smoking hot Deanna Lund as Anna Gram. (Batman was slipping. He heard a woman introduced as Anna Gram and didn't instantly go on alert for the Riddler.)
Wonder Woman: "The Girl from Ilandia": Oh, look, it's evil Dr. Sidney Freedman. And his submarine sounds like the bridge of the Enterprise. And he's after a future Facts of Life cast member, apparently.
I seem to recall someone in this thread suggesting I might like this episode, but I found it very boring. It seemed like a second attempt to do a Wonder Girl kind of thing, but it was odd that they gave the kid a different origin and power source, yet gave her essentially the same power set as Wonder Woman, and even the same sound effects. And the kid just wasn't that interesting an actress.
These past few weeks, I have been unable to avoid noticing how much stockier Wonder Woman's stunt double is than Lynda Carter. The costume does nothing to hide that. We also got a pretty good look at the double's face in the climactic fight. Not sure if it was the same double there, but she seemed to have a significantly darker complexion than Carter too. I guess there weren't a lot of female stunt performers in the business back then, so getting a good match for a given actress wasn't easy, but I don't remember The Bionic Woman having the same problem.
Anyway, this is the infamous one where John Astin stood in as the Riddler for one story; Frank Gorshin would not return until the third season. This (and perhaps Maurice Evans's turn as the Puzzler) is the result of Gorshin's new agents demanding more money than the producers could afford. And it's the show's second villain recasting -- and the second temporary one -- with Lee Meriwether's turn as Catwoman in the movie being the first. It's not a particularly successful recasting, though. We know John Astin is a terrific comic actor, but the problem here is that he was trying to imitate Gorshin's performance style, the intensity and bombast and occasional bursts of manic rage, so he wasn't playing to his strengths. If he'd created his own interpretation of the Riddler with the same kind of quirky, easygoing mania that he brought to his best characters like Gomez Addams and Buddy from Night Court, it could've worked quite well; but as it is, he just feels like a pale imitation.
Other than the casting, though, it's a pretty terrific Riddler story. How refreshing to have a caper where the featured gimmick of the Prince of Puzzlers is actually puzzles, rather than wax or silent movies or some other non sequitur. And the underwater Bat-fight is inspired. And it had the smoking hot Deanna Lund as Anna Gram. (Batman was slipping. He heard a woman introduced as Anna Gram and didn't instantly go on alert for the Riddler.)
Wonder Woman: "The Girl from Ilandia": Oh, look, it's evil Dr. Sidney Freedman. And his submarine sounds like the bridge of the Enterprise. And he's after a future Facts of Life cast member, apparently.
I seem to recall someone in this thread suggesting I might like this episode, but I found it very boring. It seemed like a second attempt to do a Wonder Girl kind of thing, but it was odd that they gave the kid a different origin and power source, yet gave her essentially the same power set as Wonder Woman, and even the same sound effects. And the kid just wasn't that interesting an actress.
These past few weeks, I have been unable to avoid noticing how much stockier Wonder Woman's stunt double is than Lynda Carter. The costume does nothing to hide that. We also got a pretty good look at the double's face in the climactic fight. Not sure if it was the same double there, but she seemed to have a significantly darker complexion than Carter too. I guess there weren't a lot of female stunt performers in the business back then, so getting a good match for a given actress wasn't easy, but I don't remember The Bionic Woman having the same problem.
I suppose those 19"-21" televisions were more forgiving back then. My absolute favorite is the fight in Space Seed where it's like watching two total strangers go at it.
Wagner had two stuntwomen to double for her on The Bionic woman, one for the runnng scenes alone. However Jaime wore clothes and it's harder to hide a double's body wearing Wonder Woman's costume.
Probably -- and the TV I watched these on as a kid was smaller even than that, and black-and-white. Still, the mismatch is just so great, not just in build but in the two women's body language and movement, that I think it would've been noticeable even then.
Finally got around to watching the "Siren" episode. I was amused that the show felt obliged to explain how an answering machine worked, but was puzzled that this never paid off in the episode. I was sure that Barbara was going to somehow end up recording the Siren's wail on her newfangled answering machine and use the playback to defeat her . . . .
I've been working a lot of Saturday evenings recently so I haven't been able to watch these shows as much recently. I'd already seen the Superman and WW episodes during earlier Me-TV runs so the only one I watched was Batman.
These ones were pretty fun. The Anna Graham name cracked me, I know they did that kind of stuff a lot on the show, but this one actually worked as a real name.
John Astin was a pretty good replacement for Frank Gorshin.
These ones were pretty fun. The Anna Graham name cracked me, I know they did that kind of stuff a lot on the show, but this one actually worked as a real name.
John Astin was a pretty good replacement for Frank Gorshin.
I saw that on another show (or movie) just recently, too, but I can't remember which one. That new-fangled technology!
The plot of the William Shatner episode of the original Columbo revolved around the fact that Shatner had one of them newfangled videotape machines and was able to use it to give himself an alibi, because the idea of seeing a time-delayed television program was so unfamiliar to most people.
Batman: "That Darn Catwoman"/"Scat! Darn Catwoman": Now, how is it that a young but no doubt well-trained crimefighter like Robin could give a whole speech in a school auditorium without noticing Catwoman and her whole gang standing in clear view just offstage? That mask must really cut off the peripheral vision.
And the henchmen are Spade, Marlowe, and Templar, named for detective characters. An odd choice. I'd imagine Spade is a pun on "spayed" and the others were by association.
This is the one where producer Howie Horwitz cast his niece, singer Lesley Gore, as Catwoman's henchgirl, giving her a central role and a musical number that totally dragged the story to a halt. I'm not sure how much of that to blame on nepotism and how much on a desperate ploy to boost the show's sagging ratings. Maybe it depends on how famous Gore really was.
Still, aside from that digression, this is a strong, fun one from Stanley Ralph Ross. Julie Newmar is in fine form, and I don't just mean in the obvious sense.
Okay, Batman, I can understand wanting to deal with Robin yourself, but couldn't you have let the cops handle the henchmen while you went after the Boy Wonder? Although I do find something genuinely touching about how Batman can't bring himself to hit Robin under any circumstances.
That giant scale is recycled from the Penguin-for-Mayor episode!
I can't believe Catwoman fell for that "I have a headache" ploy of Batman's. Hasn't she heard of Universal Bat-Antidote Pills?
Man... that's definitely Julie Newmar doing her own stunts in the climax there. No abrupt transformation to a stockier figure like with Wonder Woman.
Speaking of which...
Wonder Woman: "The Murderous Missile": Oh, I love the security on the army base. The guy testing their top-secret thought-control missile discovers that the backup thought-control helmet is missing, and waits an hour to casually mention it?
Meanwhile, does anyone on TV ever get pulled over by a small-town sheriff and not end up a victim of some kind of scam or kidnapping?
This is a frustrating one, since Diana should be able to solve this effortlessly in Wonder Woman mode. She shouldn't be stuck in town when she could just do a Wonder-run to the military base; I mean, we learned a few weeks ago that she can allegedly run faster than the speed of sound. And why was she just dodging and jumping over those Jeeps when right at the start of this very episode it was reaffirmed that she was strong enough to stop an oncoming car in its tracks? And when she was going to stop the generator, why didn't she just cut that very conspicuous power cord?
That mind-control helmet had the most musical beepy-computer sound effect I think I've ever heard.
I knew I'd seen the guy playing "Just George" before. He was the hardnosed police lieutenant on The Rockford Files.
"No defense against a thought-controlled missile?" How about the same defenses against any other kind of missile? What's so special about thought control? Maneuverability, I guess, but it didn't come across well.
The bad guys putting Wonder Woman in bondage is the sort of move William Moulton Marston would've approved of, unlike just about everything else in this season of the show. Except, in classical terms, she should lose her superstrength if bound by men. Oh, well, at least they've ditched that "remove her belt and she loses her powers" shtick from the first season.
And it's the debut of Wonder Woman's motorcycle costume! Which I think is basically her wetsuit with helmet, boots, and belt. I have to wonder how the costume magic works. Can she just improvise a new outfit on the spot, just think and spin and there it is? Or does she have to design and assemble these costumes ahead of time and store them in some kind of Amazon hammerspace, so she can summon them as needed? Did she have to decide in advance that she might need a motorcycle costume at some point?
Of course, it's hard to see why Wonder Woman would need a motorcycle helmet. But then, it's easy to see why her stunt double would, so I'll give them a pass on that one.
And the henchmen are Spade, Marlowe, and Templar, named for detective characters. An odd choice. I'd imagine Spade is a pun on "spayed" and the others were by association.
This is the one where producer Howie Horwitz cast his niece, singer Lesley Gore, as Catwoman's henchgirl, giving her a central role and a musical number that totally dragged the story to a halt. I'm not sure how much of that to blame on nepotism and how much on a desperate ploy to boost the show's sagging ratings. Maybe it depends on how famous Gore really was.
Still, aside from that digression, this is a strong, fun one from Stanley Ralph Ross. Julie Newmar is in fine form, and I don't just mean in the obvious sense.
Okay, Batman, I can understand wanting to deal with Robin yourself, but couldn't you have let the cops handle the henchmen while you went after the Boy Wonder? Although I do find something genuinely touching about how Batman can't bring himself to hit Robin under any circumstances.
That giant scale is recycled from the Penguin-for-Mayor episode!
I can't believe Catwoman fell for that "I have a headache" ploy of Batman's. Hasn't she heard of Universal Bat-Antidote Pills?
Man... that's definitely Julie Newmar doing her own stunts in the climax there. No abrupt transformation to a stockier figure like with Wonder Woman.
Speaking of which...
Wonder Woman: "The Murderous Missile": Oh, I love the security on the army base. The guy testing their top-secret thought-control missile discovers that the backup thought-control helmet is missing, and waits an hour to casually mention it?
Meanwhile, does anyone on TV ever get pulled over by a small-town sheriff and not end up a victim of some kind of scam or kidnapping?
This is a frustrating one, since Diana should be able to solve this effortlessly in Wonder Woman mode. She shouldn't be stuck in town when she could just do a Wonder-run to the military base; I mean, we learned a few weeks ago that she can allegedly run faster than the speed of sound. And why was she just dodging and jumping over those Jeeps when right at the start of this very episode it was reaffirmed that she was strong enough to stop an oncoming car in its tracks? And when she was going to stop the generator, why didn't she just cut that very conspicuous power cord?
That mind-control helmet had the most musical beepy-computer sound effect I think I've ever heard.
I knew I'd seen the guy playing "Just George" before. He was the hardnosed police lieutenant on The Rockford Files.
"No defense against a thought-controlled missile?" How about the same defenses against any other kind of missile? What's so special about thought control? Maneuverability, I guess, but it didn't come across well.
The bad guys putting Wonder Woman in bondage is the sort of move William Moulton Marston would've approved of, unlike just about everything else in this season of the show. Except, in classical terms, she should lose her superstrength if bound by men. Oh, well, at least they've ditched that "remove her belt and she loses her powers" shtick from the first season.
And it's the debut of Wonder Woman's motorcycle costume! Which I think is basically her wetsuit with helmet, boots, and belt. I have to wonder how the costume magic works. Can she just improvise a new outfit on the spot, just think and spin and there it is? Or does she have to design and assemble these costumes ahead of time and store them in some kind of Amazon hammerspace, so she can summon them as needed? Did she have to decide in advance that she might need a motorcycle costume at some point?
Of course, it's hard to see why Wonder Woman would need a motorcycle helmet. But then, it's easy to see why her stunt double would, so I'll give them a pass on that one.
More likely an attempt to boost Gore's career, which was on the wane at that point. "California Nights" would be her last Top 20 single, and was following several that hadn't even made the Top 40. Her four biggest hits, all Top 5-ers (one of them a #1), had been back in '63. Chad & Jeremy were also a couple of years past their more modest prime when they did the show. Their biggest hit had been a #7 in '64, and the song they were plugging only hit #30, and proved to be their last Top 40 hit.
