The Classic/Retro Pop Culture Thread

[The Old Mixer]

I see them all sitting at a table in smoke-filled room in Las Vegas yelling for a refill and more ice.

I see Frank ordering Tony to give Wayne an atomic wedgie.

That's one of the ones I set to record.

I just checked further ahead, since the Decades site tends to list things out just under three weeks in advance. The second 09/22 episode matches with the one from Sept. 24, 1967 (the Mamas & the Papas and Florence Henderson). Neither 09/29 episode matches up with the one from Oct. 1, 1967, but it's quite possible that episode (Nancy Sinatra, Peggy Lee) isn't part of the Best of package. They are showing a Nancy Sinatra episode from a different date...she was apparently on that show a lot.

Been meaning to mention that some shows have been featuring vintage comedy routines from the likes of Richard Pryor and George Carlin.

Hah. I didn't realize that.

"Open the stinking pod bay doors, you damn dirty computer!"

This is a nice little bit of psychedelia, even though

the

Pink Floyd had not yet reached their full Pink Floyd-ness.

This is really not very good at all, is it?

Their psychedelic era is definitely a mixed bag at best...they're very much out of their element. Never was their '60s M.O. of being the Beatles' darker, edgier shadow more insultingly blatant and obvious. The aftermath of Satanic Majesties, going well into the '70s, would prove what the Stones could do when they were being first-rate Rolling Stones rather than second-rate Beatles.

Me, I'm fond of "2000 Light Years from Home" for what it is...but I'm looking to cover that one when it comes up as the B-side of "She's a Rainbow" (though it didn't chart separately).

I don't remember this one. It's a song, I guess.

I probably touched upon this the last time they came up, but they didn't prove to be as versatile as the Temptations ultimately did in keeping up with the times. '64-'66 Four Tops, OTOH, were awesome.

This one always cracked me up. Parody, homage, or awkward imitation? I'm never sure.

To my ear, listened to in chronological context, it actually seems to be something of a tongue-in-cheek forerunner to the Country/Southern/Swamp Rock that would take off in the next couple of years.

I'd been planning to finish Kung Fu by this weekend, but I still have five episodes. Given all that's going on starting this week, I think I'll just slow it down to one a week...it always felt to me like a show that wanted to be watched at that pace anyway.

On the recording front...I start recording 10 episodes of Laugh-In per week this week...we'll see how that goes space-wise, but my weekly viewing should be keeping it in check somewhat. They don't air the pilot, it seems, so it starts with the first regular episode, which aired in Jan. '68. And now Antenna is the one skipping episodes with The Monkees Season 1...they've gone from just getting into the teens right up into the 20's, with no sign so far of going back to the episodes that they're skipping. The plus side of that would be that if they just plow forward from there, I could sync up 50th anniversary viewing of Season 2 before long.

 

[TREK_GOD_1]

Dark Shadows
Episode 306
Originally aired August 28, 1967

The week begins with a recap of David and Sarah entering the secret room at the mausoleum, followed by the boy opening the coffin. GASP! Its--it's--it's empty! But Sarah tells David that somebody had been in it until recently. The skeptical David doesn't seem to think that Sarah's secret place is such a great playroom as she does.

Well...he's normal, so a used casket is not a little boy's go-to for playtime.

At the Old House, Barnabas reveals to Dr. Hoffman that he intends to backpedal on last week's development and go to Collinwood himself to put an end to Burke's investigation of him. He expresses a lack of faith in Hoffman's ability to get the job done, and reminds us that he's an old-fashioned guy...

So Barnabas decides to show her how to handle a crisis with finesse. This from a guy who likes to make dramatic proclamations about destroying people....

He knows when to pull back. Killing Burk outright would just send Vicki into a tragedy spiral, and separate her from Barnabas permanently.

David asserts that Sarah doesn't like to meet new people...even though she's voluntarily appeared for about half the cast already.

In David's defense, from his experience, Sarah does not like to meet new people. He really had no idea she was making the rounds up and down the coast.

On the graveyard set, Barnabas calls for Sarah, while she plays "London Bridge" from inside the mausoleum on her own spectral flute. She declines to show herself and stops playing, causing her brother to declare that he loves her and needs her.

Nice scene humanizing Barnabas a bit...but he's not through being a self-serving menace who was still intended (at this point) to be killed off.

Episode 307
Originally aired August 29, 1967

Another piece of the Sarah puzzle falls into place for Vicki when Joe describes Maggie's recent encounter with Sarah. When Sam and Maggie come in, Vicki shares her speculation about Sarah's importance to the mystery of Maggie's abduction. The mention of the girl's name seems to briefly spark a memory for the abductee.

All part of the "Get Barnabas" plot building....until the character became a pop-cultural phenomenon,

Burke drops in to get a cold shoulder from his fiance. The other three know how to take a hint and let the couple have their own scene. In his defense, Burke infodumps details of his investigation of Barnabas on Vicki. (I seriously doubt that one couldn't find a Nile Bradford in London for 130 years before 1967.) Vicki refuses to see any merit in the evidence that Burke has gathered, and threatens to call the wedding off if he continues his investigation, because melodrama.

More like "because reverse cockblock". Few women appreciate their boyfriend's jealous obsession with their male friends. Perhaps Burke spent too much time in prison (ahem) to understand that about Vicki or women in general

Episode 308
Originally aired August 30, 1967

At Collinwood, Carolyn and David are preparing to leave for Bangor when Sam and Joe drop by to question David about his playmate. He tips them off that she's often hanging around the Old House. Venturing into the outdoor set, Sam and Joe find Sarah's recently occupied tree swing. The pair proceed to the Old House, where Hoffman answers the door. When she discusses her own supposed undercover investigation, Sam expresses his belief that she knows more than she's been letting on.

Not so clueless after all, and if not for David Ford's alcoholism, his character could have been promoted to first class threat, instead of the position he held at this stage.

Episode 309
Originally aired August 31, 1967

Barnabas has just gotten his latest injection from Hoffman and, sensing that she's nervous about something, demands to know what she's hiding from him with his hand around her throat. She tells him how Sam and Joe came around asking about Sarah. Barnabas then shifts from waxing nostalgic about his beloved sister to ranting about her being one of "them" who wants to destroy him. There must be a Dark Shadows drinking game out there in which you have to imbibe whenever Barnabas uses the word "destroy".

"Destroy" is posh for "kill" in Collinwood. Aside from that, the brief humanizing of the vampire is tossed out of the window with his blink-of-an-eye threat to kill Julia, despite her help.

At the Great House, Burke comes knocking and gets another tense reception from Vicki. After a bit of tedious melodrama, they get smoochy again and she asks him to apologize to Barnabas...an idea that he doesn't like, betraying that he's still suspicious about the Collins cousin despite what he tells his fiance to keep her happy. Barnabas drops by and Burke takes him into the parlor to formally apologize, though along the way he makes a point of bringing up that he's unearthed a lot of unanswered questions. The two shake, but clearly they've got a ways to go before they become pals. Barnabas offers to answer any questions that Burke or Vicki may have about him. Pretty bold for a guy who makes up such lame cover stories on the fly.

Yes, Burke spent too much time in prison to know better than to keep pushing the "reverse cockblock" maneuver.

Alone at the Old House, Hoffman starts to get spooked and thinks that somebody else is there, even though Willie has the episode off. She calls for Sarah, but doesn't get an answer. (Unless the flute music is supposed to be Sarah playing it, and not just soundtrack...it's hard to tell now that we've seen her playing the flute.) Hoffman goes out to wander the woods set looking for the girl. When Barnabas returns home, Hoffman tells him of her certainty that she's been visited by his long-dead little sister, pointing to a book that the girl must have opened to a picture of herself. Nobody questions how they have what looks like a photograph of somebody who died in 1795.

Sarah slowly moving toward Hoffman--thinking the doctor might have a decent side she can use to reach her brother.

Episode 310
Originally aired September 1, 1967

At the Old House, Willie's dusting the chandelier when he (but not we) sees Sarah out the window and runs outside to find that she's disappeared. When Barnabas's reaction is denial and accusations, Willie observes that his master is afraid of Sarah for what she can reveal to others.

Once again, Willie sticks it to Barnabas, with the vampire finding himself incapable of defending his position. Willie will be missed when he takes a long absence from the series in a few weeks.

At the Great House, Carolyn learns that David's using his crystal ball to look for Sarah. (I understand there's a story behind that, but lord it seems hokey.)

...on a series with ghosts, a phoenix, vampires, agents of Satan, zombies, the I Ching wands, disembodied heads, werewolves, leviathans, and other supernatural elements?

Back at the Old House, Barnabas decides that he and Willie will go out to look for Sarah, and that the logical place to find her would be her tomb. See? No crystal ball.

But Barnabas is a spook himself, so he--unlike David--would have a natural leaning/sense about locating a ghost.

Meanwhile, at Stately Collinwood Manor, Carolyn and Joe

Activate the button in the bust of Shakespeare to open the secret entrance to the Collins-poles?

Really, what else would anyone expect of him by now? His only purpose on the show is to repeatedly sneak out of the house and nose around where he doesn't belong.

Sort of like Carl Grimes during season two of The Walking Dead.

And speaking of, back at the cemetery David looks for Sarah in the secret room. Hearing Barnabas and Willie approaching, he closes the hidden panel from the inside. Barnabas senses something from outside when David enters the room. Barnabas decides to open the panel to be sure that Sarah isn't in there, so David hides in Barnabas's coffin....

From a child's POV...frankly anyone's POV, hiding in a casket, with the mounting fear that you might face a real vampire (with no means of escape) is a very effective set-up.

50 years ago this week:

New on the charts--Lock up your daughters and your acid, here come the psychedelic Stones:
"Dandelion," The Rolling Stones

(#14 US; #8 UK as a double A-side with "We Love You," which charts separately in the States the following week; both sides feature John Lennon and Paul McCartney on backing vocals)

One of the best from the Brian Jones Band.

"How Can I Be Sure," The Young Rascals

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(#4 US)

While ethically bankrupt rags such as Rolling Stone go on an on about their favorite dope bands of the 60s, they completely underrate such a musically gifted group like The Young Rascals, who made great music that did not require one to be under the influence to "get it", and recorded a number of songs considered overnight standards.

"Soul Man," Sam & Dave
(#2 US; #1 R&B; #24 UK)

Instant classic.

"To Sir with Love," Lulu
(#1 US the weeks of Oct. 21 through Nov. 18; #9 R&B; title song from the classic Sidney Poitier film that premiered in the US back on June 14)

Great title song, and the full soundtrack is not too bad, either. Lulu would go on to sing the title song for The Man with the Golden Gun, the second Roger Moore Bond film from 1974.

Dark Shadows

Episode 311
Originally aired September 4, 1967

Why would the lever on the inside of the room be hidden?

To trap anyone who managed to break in. Originally, the room was used to store weapons, so the lengths the Collins clan took to secure their secrets seems reasonable.

The pair happens upon Willie, who claims that he's collectin' fiahwood.

Willie is not amused...

On the Collinwood terrace set, Barnabas finds Victoria worrying over David. He consoles her and draws an enigmatically phrased connection between her feelings for David and his for Sarah, then lets her cry on his shoulder. He ends the episode baring his fangs for the audience, but we know damn well by now that's not gonna happen.

Even Barnabas knew the easy way--biting her--would lead to an all-too-early showdown with the Man Who Knows Too Much. You might know him as Burke Devlin.

Episode 312
Originally aired September 5, 1967

Returning to the Old House, Barnabas yells out for Willie. Barnabas orders that they have to find David and learn what he knows...and hints at the ominous action that may be necessary if David knows too much. Don't tease us, Barney Boy

Still, the building of Barnabas as the ultimate monster continues with his matter-of-fact statement about murdering a child.

Barnabas, so flustered that he gets David confused with Willie, claims that the cellar has been locked since before he moved in and that he doesn't have the key. As Joe argues for knocking down the door, Barnabas is saved by the timely coincidence of Carolyn running in to report a potential David sighting on the beach.

Joe really overstepped his boundaries, as he had no right to disbelieve Barnabas, or ask an officer of he law to perform an illegal (no warrant) search.

Episode 313
Originally aired September 6, 1967

Needless to say, Roger isn't pleased, and he takes Vicki to task, in part for letting Carolyn watch the boy while she was out with Burke. (Don't servants get off-duty time?)

They do, but one of the reasons Vicki was brought to Collinwood was to watch over David, who was too much for Roger and the rest.

Roger and Joe find the caretaker and he babbles about random nonsense to prove how addled and out of touch with reality he is, before finally mentioning hearing the voice, then wandering out of the scene while delivering vague warnings.

Typical of people to write an elderly man off as senile, but he's witnessed much in his time on the show--enough to know the supernatural smothers Collinsport.

Episode 314
Originally aired September 7, 1967

At the Evans home, an exhausted Joe reports a lack of success in the search efforts to Maggie. He expresses his belief that whatever's going on in Collinsport is so strange that it borders on the supernatural

Finally!

Doc Woodard stops by at Joe's invitation so that they can take him to task about Hoffman again, reporting that she hasn't been doing anything for Maggie, and that they encountered her alone at the Old House. The Doc seems surprised at these revelations, but still defaults to defending his secretive colleague. The subject changes to Sarah, and upon learning that she left her doll with Maggie, Woodard expresses a great interest in examining it, feeling that it may hold information that will break recent mysteries wide open.

Woodard's in a tight position; he resents Hoffman hiding the dark secret from him, but cannot allow Joe (or the police) force a situation that might compromise Julia's efforts, and /or alert the person or people behind the attacks. He will find himself caught in the middle in the weeks to come.

Willie runs into flute-playing Sarah. Willie offers to take her to see Bahnabus, which she expresses an interest in, but she insists that she needs to find David first. Willie reacts with alarm when the girl offers that she's told David the biggest secret that she knows. He tries again to bring her to the house, but she disappears when he momentarily turns his back on her.

Love the "will she say it?" tension in that scene.

..oh, and about that "Bahnabus" thing...

^ He's still not amused!

Willie heads to the Great House to report his encounter to Dr. Hoffman. Fearing what might happen to David, the doctor insists that Willie not tell Barnabas. As Willie's leaving, Woodard drops by to ask Julia some pointed questions, which she responds to with a lame cover story about trying to make her fake research look good. Woodard's ample cause for distrusting Hoffman doesn't stop him from sharing some of his theories about Sarah...including what he's discovered about the age of the doll from its craftsmanship, despite that it otherwise appears to be brand new.

Good stuff.

Episode 315
Originally aired September 8, 1967

Barnabas sure is quick to threaten Willie...even when Willie's not in the episode.

The leadership principle is nowhere to be found in a man who believes killing his one ally is an option.

In the secret room, Sarah appears, saying that she can help David. But first, she doubles down on making him promise not to tell anyone about the room--to protect Barnabas...or to protect David from Barnabas?

Protecting David.

Anyway, the first person that David runs into after he's gotten out is...guess who?

Fantastic cliffhanger, and Barnabas' "he--lo, David" has as much charm as a rattlesnake.

The Fugitive
IN COLOR

"The Judgment: Part I"
Originally aired August 22, 1967

I find Bill Raisch to be pretty underwhelming as the One-Armed Man. It's amazing that such a doofus has managed to evade Kimble for four years.

Underwhelming? He's a lowlife killer, which does not require him to be some over the top "character". This was not the MCU, after all.

"The Judgment: Part II"
Originally aired August 29, 1967

Massive Finale Contrivance #2: I know I covered this previously during a Binge...probably in the MeTV thread...but it's really lame that a man who has all the answers pops up in the eleventh hour...a despicable wretch who not only just stood there and watched Helen Kimble get murdered, but was willing to let Richard Kimble get the chair rather than come forward.

Its realistic for a man to suppress information that would have freed someone from the electric chair, then have a crisis of conscience. In real life, there are endless cold cases that have been solved by others providing key information decades later because they sat on it for their own benefit.

Gerard handing Kimble his gun is a good symbolic moment that's almost worth the massive contrivances. I wish we could have gotten a moment like that between Jack McGee and David Banner....

That would not happen, since Banner knew McGee was a true enemy. Jack McGee saw Banner as his meal ticket out in the form of a possible Pulitzer, a by-line on a big paper and to give him the catapult to "BE SOMEBODY!!" Moreover, this is the same guy who not only had a routine of trying to shoot Banner & his alter-ego with deadly curare, but told Elizabeth Collins he would never leave Banner alone. Gerard was not self serving like McGee. He was a moral man, and once presented with facts, he--again, being a moral man--would help the man he hunted for 4 years.

 

[The Old Mixer]

In David's defense, from his experience, Sarah does not like to meet new people. He really had no idea she was making the rounds up and down the coast.

True...maybe...hasn't he had opportunity to catch wind of others having seen Sarah? Though the one I'm vaguely remembering was the same scene in which he speculated that Sarah might be a ghost, IIRC, and he seems to have completely forgotten about that.

Not so clueless after all, and if not for David Ford's alcoholism, his character could have been promoted to first class threat, instead of the position he held at this stage.

Did I ever say that Sam was clueless? I might have, but I specifically recall arguing that Patterson was clueless, which hasn't been contradicted yet. Hence my gleefully quoting Roger on the issue. We don't get enough Roger...he pops up what, once every two weeks if that?

Willie will be missed when he takes a long absence from the series in a few weeks.

I'd be yelling about spoilers, but I'd read that something to that effect was coming.

...on a series with ghosts, a phoenix, vampires, agents of Satan, zombies, the I Ching wands, disembodied heads, werewolves, leviathans, and other supernatural elements?

Most of those elements aren't currently in play in this segment of the series. In this block of episodes, it generally does a good job about keeping the supernatural elements subtle and mysterious. A little kid whipping out his crystal ball seems a bit beyond that.

Activate the button in the bust of Shakespeare to open the secret entrance to the Collins-poles?

And why would Joe know about the Collins-poles...?

From a child's POV...frankly anyone's POV, hiding in a casket, with the mounting fear that you might face a real vampire (with no means of escape) is a very effective set-up.

David may know a little too much for his own good, but he clearly doesn't know that Barnabas is a vampire at this point.

While ethically bankrupt rags such as Rolling Stone go on an on about their favorite dope bands of the 60s, they completely underrate such a musically gifted group like The Young Rascals, who made great music that did not require one to be under the influence to "get it", and recorded a number of songs considered overnight standards.

Well, they included a Rascals song in the 500 Greatest Songs list ("Good Lovin'"), which is more than a lot of prominent artists got, so somebody appreciates them.

Lulu would go on to sing the title song for The Man with the Golden Gun, the second Roger Moore Bond film from 1974.

Please, I'm immersing myself in the period, I definitely don't need to know that yet....

Willie is not amused...

Sure he is, just look at that smile on his face. He can barely contain himself.

Joe really overstepped his boundaries, as he had no right to disbelieve Barnabas, or ask an officer of he law to perform an illegal (no warrant) search.

He could have played the "no warrant" card, but it was a tricky situation, as then they'd know that he had something to hide. His charisma is his #1 defense against most of the cast becoming suspicious of him.

Finally!

He's not the first to make that vague observation...it hasn't gone anywhere yet for most.

^ He's still not amused!

Who would be with that '70s hair?

Underwhelming? He's a lowlife killer, which does not require him to be some over the top "character".

He didn't need to be, but a little gravitas and/or projection of cleverness would have helped. He came off like a henchman from an Adventures of Superman episode.

That would not happen, since Banner knew McGee was a true enemy. Jack McGee saw Banner as his meal ticket out in the form of a possible Pulitzer, a by-line on a big paper and to give him the catapult to "BE SOMEBODY!!" Moreover, this is the same guy who not only had a routine of trying to shoot Banner & his alter-ego with deadly curare, but told Elizabeth Collins he would never leave Banner alone. Gerard was not self serving like McGee. He was a moral man, and once presented with facts, he--again, being a moral man--would help the man he hunted for 4 years.

Whether or not you think that McGee was capable of getting to that point (and I know well that you don't), it's about where they could have taken the character if they'd wanted to. And such a moment need not have played quite the same...it would have been a different set of circumstances with its own setup, had it ever been conceived. Past what he learned in "Mystery Man," I don't get the sense that the showrunners really had any sort of "plan" for McGee, or for David's situation for that matter. It was just "keep the show going."

 

[RJDiogenes]

I see Frank ordering Tony to give Wayne an atomic wedgie.

Been meaning to mention that some shows have been featuring vintage comedy routines from the likes of Richard Pryor and George Carlin.

The Hippy Weatherman?

"Open the stinking pod bay doors, you damn dirty computer!"

Hmm. We really don't know how long it took the Monolith to evolve Bowman into the Star-Child, and the movie didn't include that bit about exploding the orbiting bombs harmlessly. Maybe the Space-Fetus descended upon a madhouse ruled by apes. Or maybe the Monolith came back and said, "WTF, these guys again?"

To my ear, listened to in chronological context, it actually seems to be something of a tongue-in-cheek forerunner to the Country/Southern/Swamp Rock that would take off in the next couple of years.

Yeah, that sounds about right.

 

[scotpens]

I find Bill Raisch to be pretty underwhelming as the One-Armed Man. It's amazing that such a doofus has managed to evade Kimble for four years.

To be fair, there probably wasn't a huge pool of available one-armed actors to choose from.

 

[The Old Mixer]

The Hippy Weatherman?

[Edit] No, vacation expert. Might have seen another one, not sure.

To be fair, there probably wasn't a huge pool of available one-armed actors to choose from.

Ah, I didn't realize that the actor was actually one-armed.

ETA: I don't think I mentioned this already, but it's hilarious how tightly Sullivan shot Elvis. It's not just "above the waist"...it's pretty much shoulders up!

 

[RJDiogenes]

^^ They didn't call him "Elvis the Sternum" for nothing.

 

[The Old Mixer]

It's like watching Elvis Headroom! "Th-th-th-thankyaverahmuch."

_______

Kung Fu

"The Forbidden Kingdom"
PC 166268
Originally aired January 18, 1975

Caine must find a way out of China. His path to the Forbidden Kingdom (Tibet) is blocked by Po Li (Adele Yoshioka) who betrays him to an Imperial soldier (James Shigeta) in an attempt to secure her brother's (Clyde Kusatsu) release. He must flee to the United States instead. Note: Po Li will appear again as the mother of Caine's child in Kung Fu: The Movie (1986)

This would be the last all-China episode, and it has no framing sequence, it just picks right up with Caine eluding the emperor's soldiers. This was an ideal place to shoot this episode for hair continuity purposes, in that Carradine's newly shaven head does double duty appearing in the last period that would have had Caine just growing some stubble.

I'd have to see the earlier episode to tell how well this meshes with the story of Stafford Repp helping get Caine out of China. I think that maybe Repp's priest might have given him the clothes that he's wearing.

I felt kind of like I'd seen this before, as a woman wanting to turn over Caine to save a member of her family is a rehash from an early episode. OTOH, it gave us a glimpse of what the show might have been had Caine played out his fugitive premise in China.


"The Last Raid"
PC 166271
Originally aired April 26, 1975

Caine is visiting the Brown family when their son and his friend are taken hostage by a Confederate raider who believes the war isn't over...and that he may kidnap children in the name of honor.

Note that production-wise, this and the next episode actually fall in-between parts two and three of the conclusive four-parter. This also holds the distinction of being the actual series finale airdate-wise.

The family that Caine's visiting previously appeared in Season 2's "The Well." The only flashbacks that we get are to the previous episode...and in sepia!

Trying to find where the friend is being held, Caine walks blindfolded Daniel through a more clever version of remembering travel details than was done in that episode of The Saint with Lois Maxwell.

Good production order continuity: In this episode, Caine mentions being on his way to meet someone. I'd assumed that was an implied Brother Quest beat, but it seems that it was referring to his having been summoned by Serenity Johnson, as revealed in our next episode...


"Ambush"
PC 166272
Originally aired April 4, 1975

Serenity brings trouble. Blind preacher Serenity Johnson (John Carradine) returns, asking Caine to help him escort a shipment to San Francisco. What neither man knows is that the shipment is stolen silver bars. Rhonda Fleming guest stars.

This would, of course, be the last of three appearances of John Carradine's character, who we met in the second regular episode of the series. In the opening scene, Caine's sitting in front of his grandmother's gravestone, which IIRC was on his now-dead grandfather's property.

Yep, airdate continuity issue...there are direct references to Caine looking for his brother. In fact, the poster that Pat Morita's character shows Caine might be leading directly into the Danny arc, though Caine reacts dismissively to it. Have we seen that poster before? Its appearance at this point only underscores how the illustration looks nothing like the actor whom they ultimately cast as Danny.

Speaking of, it's cute that Serenity's nickname for Caine is "little brother," considering the actors' actual relationship.

He hasn't room in his bag for no more than three peanuts

That's what you think!

I saw the decoy delivery angle coming, but the episode seemed vaguely familiar...I'd probably caught it before in background viewing. Overall, it seems like this episode was just here to give Serenity one last appearance.

There's one very minimal bit of voice-only flashback. Was playing down the flashbacks at this point a deliberate attempt to balance out the all-China episodes?

TOS guest: Gene Dynarski in a small role.

_______

 

[The Old Mixer]

So...having been listening to my weekly playlist the past several days, I'm finding that it's a bit short to stay fresh the entire week, so I've decided to try altering the M.O. to include all hits we've covered that were in the Hot 100 for the current week...and other items in my own collection that may have been skipped for some reason. That resulted in a beefier list for this week that I may as well share...

1. "Ode to Billie Joe," Bobbie Gentry
2. "Reflections," Diana Ross & The Supremes
3. "Come Back When You Grow Up," Bobby Vee & The Strangers
4. "The Letter," The Box Tops
5. "Baby, I Love You," Aretha Franklin
6. "You're My Everything," The Temptations
7. "Apples, Peaches, Pumpkin Pie," Jay & The Techniques
8. "All You Need Is Love," The Beatles
9. "San Franciscan Nights," Eric Burdon & The Animals
10. "Funky Broadway," Wilson Pickett
11. "There Is a Mountain," Donovan
12. "(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher," Jackie Wilson
13. "You Know What I Mean," The Turtles
14. "Brown Eyed Girl," Van Morrison
15. "Never My Love," The Association
16. "I Dig Rock and Roll Music," Peter, Paul & Mary
17. "Cold Sweat - Part 1," James Brown
18. "Light My Fire," The Doors
19. "I Had a Dream," Paul Revere & The Raiders feat. Mark Lindsay
20. "Twelve Thirty (Young Girls Are Coming to the Canyon)," The Mamas & The Papas
21. "Gimme Little Sign," Brenton Wood
22. "(I Wanna) Testify," The Parliaments
23. "Things I Should Have Said," The Grass Roots
24. "Gettin' Together," Tommy James & The Shondells
25. "Pleasant Valley Sunday," The Monkees

27. "Thank the Lord for the Night Time," Neil Diamond

29. "Words," The Monkees

33. "Silence Is Golden," The Tremeloes

35. "Get on Up," The Esquires

42. "Dandelion," The Rolling Stones
43. "How Can I Be Sure," The Young Rascals
44. "I Was Made to Love Her," Stevie Wonder
45. "Expressway to Your Heart," The Soul Survivors

54. "The Ballad of You & Me & Pooneil," Jefferson Airplane
55. "Heroes and Villains," The Beach Boys

58. "To Sir with Love," Lulu
59. "Your Precious Love," Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell

63. "The Look of Love," Dusty Springfield

65. "Fakin' It," Simon & Garfunkel

68. "Hey Baby (They're Playing Our Song)," The Buckinghams

70. "Get Together," The Youngbloods

73. "Soul Man," Sam & Dave

75. "You Keep Running Away," Four Tops

77. "I'll Never Fall in Love Again," Tom Jones

86. "We Love You," The Rolling Stones

95. "Let It Out (Let It All Hang Out)," The Hombres

I probably skipped this because it fell right next to the better-known and higher-charting A-side...

"Words," The Monkees

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(B-side of "Pleasant Valley Sunday," charted separately July 22; #11 US)

As for this...yeah, sue me, I've got some Tom Jones...

"I'll Never Fall in Love Again," Tom Jones

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(Charted Sept. 9; #49 US; #28 AC; #2 UK; Reissued two years later, charted July 26, 1969, reaching #6 US, #1 AC)

_______

 

[RJDiogenes]

"Words," The Monkees

I'm not familiar with this one, but it's pretty nice.

"I'll Never Fall in Love Again," Tom Jones

Ah, this is one of my favorites from-- wait, Tom Jones? Where's Dionne Warwick?! This isn't right!

 

[The Old Mixer]

Ah, this is one of my favorites from-- wait, Tom Jones? Where's Dionne Warwick?! This isn't right!

Not even the same song. The Tom Jones song was written by Lonnie Donegan; Dionne Warwick's by Burt Bacharach.

And yeah, the Monkees song has a nice, trippy vibe.

ETA: Saw the Hippy-Dippy Weatherman tonight...from May 18, 1969. "Tonight's forecast: Dark." Also featuring the 5th Dimension and Liza Minnelli; and Paul Anka ported in from a couple months earlier.

 

[RJDiogenes]

Not even the same song.

I know! I was expecting to be freaked out, but I was freaked out even more.

ETA: Saw the Hippy-Dippy Weatherman tonight...from May 18, 1969. "Tonight's forecast: Dark." Also featuring the 5th Dimension and Liza Minnelli; and Paul Anka ported in from a couple months earlier.

Kind of amazing to see early George Carlin, knowing where he went later on.

 

[The Old Mixer]

That's one of the ones I set to record.

Hope you set it for both of today's episodes. Looks like they were thematically connecting with the 50th anniversary episode...the first was the appearance of the Stones from early in the year that gave us that one-time wonder, "Let's Spend Some Time Together". It also featured a Muppets sketch...this time Kermit himself, playing piano, accompanied by some less-recognizable monster Muppets...and Jim Henson came out for a bow, Kermit still on his arm.

 

[RJDiogenes]

Yes, I remember seeing both the Stones and the Muppets, so I'm sure I recorded them both-- I know I recorded the Muppets.

 

[The Old Mixer]

I actually had to manually set the DVR to record that specific episode. Apparently, with all the faulty episode info in the cable guide, the DVR wants to skip episodes that it thinks I've recorded based on the faulty information. I also missed recording one of the earliest episodes of Laugh-In for probably the same reason. Now I'm carefully watching the recording queue for both shows and setting individual episodes to record when I notice the wrong number of episodes being scheduled for a day.

Oh, and two weeks from now, H&I will finally be getting around to Batman Season 3 episodes 10 & 14! It's about time, but it looks like I'll actually have a solid run of episodes to work with after all.

_______

50th Anniversary Viewing

_______

The Ed Sullivan Show
Season 20, episode 1
Originally aired September 10, 1967

I am, of course, actually watching episodes of The Best of the Ed Sullivan Show, which cut things down to a half-hour and sometimes mix acts from different original episodes, usually of around the same timeframe. According to the act-searchable tv.com page that I've been consulting, , the only act below that isn't turning up as having appeared in the original episode of the above date would be the Wychwoods, who were ported in from June 13, 1965.

The Young Rascals make a strong showing for being the first major musical act of the season. They're in good form and doing exactly what they should be doing...playing their two most recent hits and plugging their new hit-to-be. First up is "A Girl Like You" (#10), played on a nice, bright, Swinging-Sixties-transitioning-into-psychedelic-era set. I'm not familiar with the individual members of the band, but their drummer looks a lot like Paul.

Next we see Petula Clark showing off slightly less impressive wares...her opening medley combines her newest single, "The Cat in the Window" (which entered the charts two weeks prior and will soon be reaching its peak of #26) with its immediate predecessor, the #5 hit "Don't Sleep in the Subway." She's also in good form, and she wasn't a bad-looking lady in the day.

The Great Carazini does a magic/physical comedy act that mainly consists of putting things into and pulling them out of his mouth...cigarettes, handkerchiefs, eggs. Mildly amusing.

Then...Eddie Fisher, performing "Mame"...now this is what I consider to be on the lame side of the more conservative music of the era. Objectively speaking, he sings rings around Wayne Newton...but he just doesn't have that timeless "it" factor of a Frank Sinatra or Tony Bennett.

The Rascals return for their rising single, "How Can I Be Sure" (eventually to reach #4). The dancers are a classy touch, going well with the song's waltz time.

Apparently introducing distinguished members of the audience to take some applause was a regular feature on the show...this time around, the recipient was Walter Winchell.

From what was yesteryear even then, we get the Wychwoods, a magic duo working with boxes and lots of poodles; like Carazini, they do their act nonverbally to music.

Petula Clark comes back to perform "Eternally," a number from her then-current album, These Are My Songs. There's an awkward bit afterward in which Ed mentions that it's his birthday on the 28th and asks her to send him a birthday cake, and she offers to send him pudding. Ed also mentions that she's making a picture with Fred Astaire...a little searching tells me that would be Finian's Rainbow, which came out in late 1968.

The Rascals' final contribution is a very abbreviated version of "Groovin'" (#1). They got a pretty good reaction from the young female contingent of the audience...

Quiet or I'll go up there and thrash ya!

I was skeptical of how well the "Best of" packaging would lend itself to being incorporated as 50th anniversary viewing...but with Decades helping things along by actually airing 50th anniversary episodes on Fridays, I have to say that starting the week's viewing with the appropriate (abridged) episode of Sullivan really adds greatly to the immersive experience!

_______

Mission: Impossible
"The Widow"
Originally aired September 10, 1967

Cinnamon and Phelps infiltrate an international narcotics ring while Rollin poses as a competitor; guest William Windom.

New and improved, now with 100% more Peter Graves!

Our other major change to the opening credits is that not only is Martin Landau now in them, but he gets a "Starring" credit right after Graves, with everyone else falling under "Also starring."

Our silver-haired new IMF leader gets his first onscreen orders from a reel-to-reel tape in a coin-operated telescope at Griffith Observatory, while a little slideshow plays in the 'scope.

This recording will self-destruct in five seconds. Good luck, Jim.

PERFECT!!! The season is off to a tape-smokin' start!

Our main drug lord is William Windom, soon to be featured in the classic role that makes him a noteworthy persona around these parts. They must have liked his bad foreign accent last season, bringing him back to do it again so soon. Cinnamon pretends to be the widow of his partner, played by Joe Maross, who isn't really dead, but is in the hands of the IMF. And now Rollin does voices...specifically Windom's complete with questionable accent.

The show hasn't given up on guest agents of the week, though this week's, a doctor, is barely in it.

Keep your hands on the wheel and your eyes on the road.

Somebody should work on those lyrics and come up with a catchy riff.

I was pretty tired when I got around to watching this last week, but I see from Christopher's blog that I didn't seem to be missing any subtle a-ha moments in the IMF scheme. Most pertinently, the logistics of the drug switch that's central to the plot didn't make sense to him either.

_______

The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
"The Summit-Five Affair"
Originally aired September 11, 1967

Solo becomes a suspect when a murder at UNCLE's Berlin headquarters uncovers the operations of an unknown double agent.

Open Channel Distorted Camera Perspectives.

The final half-season's premiere has some interestingly moody and tense direction, which includes unconventional camera work, particularly during the interrogation scenes. And it kept me in some suspense at points as to whether Solo might actually have been compromised or replaced. Here Kuryakin is assigned as the investigator and Solo is one of the suspects, but they work together more closely in this one than they typically do when they're on a formal assignment together.

It doesn't make a lot of sense that the regional UNCLE chief would let one of the other suspects interrogate Solo...but he claims that he's giving the interrogator enough rope to show that he's the double agent...and it turns out that his true motive was something else entirely.

So Solo can fly a helicopter. I'm pretty sure there was a episode last season in which he didn't know how to fly a plane, for what that's worth.

It looks like we have a new recurring UNCLE office girl this season, played by Barbara Moore. Somebody on the show knew what they were doing, because the "secretary with a gun holster on the back of her waist" look is pretty sexy.

We wish to thank the United Network Command for Law and Enforcement, without whose assistance this program would not be possible.

They seem to have dropped this. Was there a deliberate effort underway to take the show in a less campy direction? If they keep it up, maybe this year won't be as difficult to get through as Season 3 was.

_______

The Rat Patrol
"The Truce at Aburah Raid"
Originally aired September 11, 1967

The Rat Patrol and German forces clash in a small village. During the fighting a small girl falls down a well. An uneasy truce develops as both the Germans and Rat Patrol try to save an innocent victim of war.

"Small village" is an overstatement...it consists of a small group of dilapidated buildings whose entire population seems to be a woman and her daughter. I think that maybe it was supposed to be an isolated homestead.

I've barely watched any of Season 1, but I take from this episode that Dietrich is played as an honorable enemy...one who shows genuine concern for innocents being caught in the crossfire. Nevertheless, he is the enemy, so Troy initiates the truce, while his German counterpart is more hesitant.

The truce is jeopardized by one group of Germans whose vehicle got stuck during the chase and show up late to the party to get the shooting started again. Dietrich attempts to get things under control and respect the truce, but the rival captain in charge of the other group doesn't play ball.

Dietrich has a tender moment with the woman and girl after the Rat Patrol has split. Of course, the rest of the regulars are still righteous heroes, so we get an end beat of the Patrol reaching their original target, a German convoy, while offering a less regretful token nod of reflection...

Moffitt: Fifty men and twenty tons of assorted equipment for human destruction for one frightened child.
Troy: Yeah, but it was worth it.

_______

Batman
"Enter Batgirl, Exit Penguin"
Originally aired September 14, 1967

Penguin schemes to wed Barbara Gordon, alias Batgirl.

I think I know what we're going to be in for here, since I have been re-reading the Me thread posts from two years ago. For my money, Barbara Gordon makes a fine televised debut as a costumed crimefighter, from climbing out on a ledge to get to the costume in her apartment, to coming to Batman, Robin, and Alfred's rescue in the climax. So they didn't give her badass fighting moves...she looks good doing what she did. What part of an attractive woman doing high kicks in a catsuit am I not supposed to like...?

The dual-confidante role that they put Alfred in this season is certainly an interesting touch. It was awkward how Batgirl had her little talk with Alfred about keeping her secret while the fight was raging in the background.

I'll just lampshade the criticisms of Craig's Batgirl that I know are coming with this...

I'm sorry to be so helpless.

In other news--Holy character progression--Dick gets his driver's license...and wheels! From vague memory, I'm betting that doesn't really go anywhere in what's left of the series.

When do we get the Batgirl song? Is that next episode?

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So bad it's good.

_______

Ironside
"Message from Beyond"
Originally aired September 14, 1967

A racetrack security chief (Gene Evans) asks Ironside to uncover the culprit behind a major robbery at the track; guest James Gregory.

We don't get an origin episode here, as the titular character debuted in a TV movie in the Spring of '67, which doesn't appear to be part of the syndication package. No big loss...even as a kid I pretty much got the gist of it from the opening credits...

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[Disclaimer: Not the Season 1 version.]

TOS guests: In addition to early-seasons regular Barbara Anderson and the aforementioned James Gregory, we get Gene Lyons (in a frequently recurring supporting role as the police commissioner), Ken Lynch, and Madlyn Rhue!

But for my money, they're all overshadowed by Kent McCord appearing as an eager young motorcycle patrolman! I understand he's also played a police officer on Dragnet...maybe he could turn this thing into a steady gig....

The thing that elevates this series above the next crime drama of the era for me would be What's Perry Mason Doing in a Wheelchair?'s curmudgeonly demeanor. In this episode, an investigation brainstorm in his office/apartment is punctuated by his complaints about how Anderson's character, Eve, dared to wash his coffee pot, which he boasts had been building flavor since the Truman administration. On the flip side, Mark (Don Mitchell) spends another such scene getting in sarcastic side-digs at Ironside over not showing appropriate concern for Kent's character after he's hospitalized.

Overall, a decent, smartly written show...I think I can get into it as a regular thing. Amid all the larger-than-life action/adventure shows, it brings something different to the mix. But it's on probation...should storage become a serious concern, it's the first of these shows that I'd get rid of.

_______

That Girl
"The Good Skate"
Originally aired September 14, 1967

Ann auditions for a soda commercial that requires a performance on roller skates, something she has a little difficulty with.

In addition to what one might expect of the premise--lots of physical comedy involving Ann floundering around on skates while being coached by Donald--the skate's on the other foot in the second half, after Ann and Donald get the job as a couple, and she has to coach him on acting.

The soda's name is Twinkie--Were Twinkies low-profile enough in that era that they wouldn't think of using another name that was less identified with an existing product?

This episode's "Oh, Donald!" count: 13!!!

Notable guest: Rob Reiner as the backstage hairdresser.

_______

Dark Shadows

It looks like I'm going to have to split this into a separate post while it lasts to stay under the word limit!

_______

Tarzan
"Tiger, Tiger"
Originally aired September 15, 1967

Tarzan warns people that a deadly tiger is loose in the area; an engineer insists on continuing work on an irrigation project.

Before anybody asks, they acknowledge that there aren't supposed to be tigers in Africa. (I didn't even know that.)

This season we get a new theme song...I like the one they used for most of Season 1 better.

The Lord of the Jungle enters the new season catching a lift in a Jeep...that's not exactly his iconic M.O.! In his next scene, he's sharing a table with the game warden in an outdoor restaurant that obviously doesn't have much of a dress code.

Jai and Cheeta are only in part of the story, showing up late and leaving early. We first see them literally just missing the boat that Tarzan leaves on to lead the tiger hunt. The boy and chimp serve a function in the middle of the story, and then we see shots of them in the coda, which seem to have been edited in after the fact.

We also see two chimps in the same scene again. Mr. Cheeta and Miss/Mrs. Cheeta? One of them is specifically identified as Cheeta in-story, implying that the other isn't. But after Jai takes a vote from the two chimps and Hannibal the elephant, he makes a joke about Cheeta having voted twice....

This episode fills a little too much time by having entire scenes play out mostly in wildlife footage that's obviously repurposed and doesn't directly involve the characters. We do get some genuine tiger-wrasslin' action in the climax, but like many of the later scenes, it's undermined by the fakey superimposed smoke effect that's in use after one of the bad guys starts a brush fire. And the fight ends in a stalemate by means of unconvincing editing--It's like the director pushed Tarzan and his feline foe apart and made them go back into their separate shots.

Overall, the episode felt very padded...an example of a story that would have been told better in a half-hour format.

I don't think I've brought it up before, but this is one of eight episodes of the series written by Jackson Gillis...I seem to recall that he had a fan somewhere around here.

_______

Star Trek
"Amok Time"
Originally aired September 15, 1967
Stardate 3372.7

Spock must go to Vulcan in order to perform the Vulcan mating ritual.

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See my post here.

_______

Get Smart
"The Spy Who Met Himself"
Originally aired September 16, 1967

Max must prove to the Chief that he's the real Max when KAOS makes a duplicate of him.

Are you sure Smart isn't already on our side?

This is one of Siegfried's appearances...and IMDb tells me that it's Agent 13's last appearance...or should I say Agents 26...?

So...the old "double agent with the two faces in the twin locker" trick!

I also got laughs out of Max and a KAOS agent stopping their fight while a civilian walked by; Max's non-phone shoe serving as a gas mask; and how the CONTROL board of inquiry to determine which half of Agent 172 is the real Max plays like a quiz show.

I certainly hope I shot the right one of me.

_______

"50 Years Ago This Week" also to come in the next post.

_______

 

[The Old Mixer]

Dark Shadows

Episode 316
Originally aired September 11, 1967

Barnabas begins to interrogate David but their meeting is cut short by the arrival of Burke, who drags the boy back to his relieved family.

We get an interesting bit in Moltke's opening narration...I thought the narrations were supposed to be out-of-character at this point, but she says that "we do not know" that David's benn trapped in the mausoleum.

As David leaves the mausoleum sans Sarah, Barnabas finds the boy and begins to question him about what he was doing in there. Barnabas can tell that David's answers aren't truthful, so he insists that the boy should come with him to the Old House on the premise that nobody will be home at Collinwood. David resists until Burke comes along and gets a great big hug for the save. The two quickly become partners in suspicion of Barnabas, with David shooting his cousin some looks when he finds out that there were indeed people home at Collinwood. Yet David still won't tell anybody where he actually was.

David is returned home to the relief of Victoria and Roger, the latter of whom abandons his brandy to give his son a hug. Later in his bedroom, David improvises a lie to his father while beginning to voice his suspicions about Barnabas.

Back at the Old House, Barnabas takes Willie to task for not reporting to him last week, then makes clear that he knows that David was in the secret chamber. Believing that that the boy knows more than he does, Barnabas insists that David will need to be dealt with as soon as possible. At Collinwood, a fearful, sleepless David tells Vicki that he feels like somebody's watching him...somebody evil. Cut to a good ol' money shot of Barnabas staring out the window, now with a clumsy bit of voiceover ominously wishing him a good night and pleasant dreams.


Episode 317
Originally aired September 12, 1967

Julia follows Barnabas to the mausoleum, where he searches for proof that David's found the secret room. Meanwhile Sam and Dr. Woodard also decide to investigate the crypt.

They're comin' to ya on a dusty road,
Good lovin', they got a truckload...

At the Old House, the clock strikes eight, and Barnabas comes out to glare through the window again. Dr. Hoffman drops by only to learn of how Barnabas plans to off David if he finds that the boy knows too much.

At the Evans home, Sam checks his gun and gets a house call from Doc Woodard. Sam tells Doctor Dave about his theories concerning the connection of the mausoleum to mysterious happenings in the area. Sam knows enough to guess about the existence of the secret room--Hasn't anybody noticed that the structure's (presumably) substantially deeper on the outside than the inside? The secret chamber is only a few steps lower than the main one.

Meanwhile, Barnabas enters the mausoleum, tailed by Hoffman. Barnabas delivers a veiled threat by likening Julia to Jason McGuire without dropping his name. Meanwhile, Sam and Dave approach the graveyard set, now with bluescreen-enabled starry sky and background tombstones. They run into the Caretaker, who's getting a lot of work lately.

Barnabas tells Julia the story of how he was locked in the mausoleum and shows her the secret chamber. Come on, Barnabas, just admit it, she's your real steady! Inside, Barnabas finds David's broken pocket knife...evidence that the boy does indeed know too much. (You'd think they would have put the inside secret lever someplace where you weren't in danger of getting your head whacked by the opening door.) Hold on, Sam and Dave are comin', so Barnabas and Hoffman hide in the chamber (saw that comin') and overhear exactly how much the soul men know.


Episode 318
Originally aired September 13, 1967

Dr. Woodard interrogates David and informs Julia he's taking Maggie out of her care. Fearing Sarah has exposed his secrets, Barnabas plans to kill David.

The riotous return of kinescope!

In the mausoleum, Barnabas and Julia eavesdrop from the hidden room as Dave tells Sam that he thinks Sarah is the ghost of Sarah Collins. Hoffman has an awkward moment when Barnabas overhears details of things she discussed with Woodard, but he has to stop choking her when she cries out. (I could be completely off-base here, but I'm of the impression that Grayson Hall might have gotten off a little on the play-choking...she certainly delivers her side of it with gusto.) After they leave, Barnabas wants to preemptively silence David, but Julia argues that the boy doesn't know as much as Barnabas thinks he does.

At Collinwood, Woodard questions David about Sarah. David reveals that Hoffman's also been asking about Sarah just as the doctor herself walks in and tries to stop Woodard's questioning. She's there when Dave tells David that whatever the secret of the mausoleum may be, somebody else knows...somebody dangerous. After the boy leaves the room, Woodard demands some answers from Hoffman, but the sound of dogs howling outside keeps her silent. Failing to get answers, he announces that he's taking Maggie out of her care. No really, he means it this time, honest.

When Julia returns to the Old House, Barnabas is on his way out to deal with David, but he's stymied by an implied manifestation of Sarah, dramatically blowing open the doors and causing candles to flicker.


Episode 319
Originally aired September 14, 1967

Following the attack of another young woman, Sam and the sheriff set a trap for Barnabas by spreading a rumor that Maggie's memory is returning.

At the Evans home, Sam chastises Maggie for going out for some air, and shows her news of another attack on a young woman. He says that they're going to put a 24-hour watch on her. (When did they take the last one off?) Dave comes over to talk to Sam about setting a trap for Maggie's supernatural maniac of an abductor. The sound of dogs howling outside serves as an ominous cue to a word from our sponsor.

At the Old House, Willie frantically questions Barnabas about his motives for stirring the town up again when he could just hang around the house looking spiffy in his pimpin' smoking jacket. He proposes that Barnabas was lashing out from fear of Sarah and what she could do to him.

You're scared o' losin' your powah! Scared ya can't live as a normal man....Y'know, Bahnabas, tings can't go on like dis, becuz one day dey'll catch ya and dey'll find out whatcha ah!

At the Evans home, Woodard doesn't need his arm twisted much to share his idea with Maggie, and she expresses an interest in taking the risk to end the nightmare of her former captor being on the loose. After the doc leaves, she calls Sheriff Patterson to come by and get the ball rolling. Sam reluctantly agrees to go along with a scheme that would involve him dropping the bait of the trap while pretending to be drunk at the Blue Whale. (I understand that's not much of a stretch for him.)

And guess who happens ta be at da Blue Whale when dey go trough wit it, an' goes straight back ta da Old House ta wahn Bahnabas?

It's a red-letter day--the uncredited bartender gets some lines!


Episode 320
Originally aired September 15, 1967

David awakens from a nightmare that he was about to be eaten by Barnabas, so he confides fear of his cousin to Burke. Barnabas, meanwhile, fears Maggie will expose him, so he makes plans to eliminate her.

The week closes with its second kinescoper. The freaky image of Bluescreen Barnabas's head growing in size to consume David really needed to be seen in color for full psychedelic effect. David keeps the nature of his nightmare from Vicki, but takes Burke aside to have a shrieky boy-to-man talk. And trusted with confidential information, what does Burke do? He goes straight downstairs and tells all to Vicki! Things get tense between the couple as Burke voices his suspicions of Barnabas again. Barnabas himself shows up for a cameo, acting uncharacteristically frantic while looking for Hoffman.

When Undercover Hoffman makes an appearance, Burke is back in full dick mode, questioning her involvement with Barnabas. She goes by the Old House to get the fake news about Maggie from Barnabas and Willie, and it comes out that Maggie is no longer her patient. Her life now in jeopardy, Hoffman insists that Maggie's memory couldn't have returned, and tries to convince Barnabas not to take action. Barnabas plays along, but Willie knows bettah--after Julia leaves, he gets Barnabas to admit that he plans to off Maggie...tonight! (Or sometime, maybe next week....)

_______

50 Years Ago This Week

September 17

• A riot during a football match in Kayseri, Turkey leaves 44 dead, about 600 injured.
• Jim Morrison and The Doors defy CBS censors on The Ed Sullivan Show, when Morrison sings the word "higher" from their #1 hit Light My Fire, despite having been asked not to.

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September 18 – Love Is a Many Splendored Thing debuts on U.S. daytime television and is the first soap opera to deal with an interracial relationship. CBS censors find it too controversial and ask for it to be stopped, causing show creator Irna Phillips to quit.

Selections from Billboard's Hot 100 for the week:

1. "The Letter," The Box Tops
2. "Ode to Billie Joe," Bobbie Gentry
3. "Come Back When You Grow Up," Bobby Vee & The Strangers
4. "Reflections," Diana Ross & The Supremes
5. "Never My Love," The Association
6. "Apples, Peaches, Pumpkin Pie," Jay & The Techniques
7. "(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher," Jackie Wilson
8. "You're My Everything," The Temptations
9. "I Dig Rock and Roll Music," Peter, Paul & Mary
10. "Funky Broadway," Wilson Pickett
11. "There Is a Mountain," Donovan
12. "Baby, I Love You," Aretha Franklin
13. "You Know What I Mean," The Turtles
14. "Brown Eyed Girl," Van Morrison
15. "San Franciscan Nights," Eric Burdon & The Animals
16. "Gimme Little Sign," Brenton Wood
17. "I Had a Dream," Paul Revere & The Raiders feat. Mark Lindsay
18. "Little Ole Man (Uptight-Everything's Alright)," Bill Cosby
19. "Gettin' Together," Tommy James & The Shondells
20. "Twelve Thirty (Young Girls Are Coming to the Canyon)," The Mamas & The Papas
21. "Groovin'," Booker T. & The MG's
22. "I Make a Fool of Myself," Frankie Valli
23. "Things I Should Have Said," The Grass Roots
24. "All You Need Is Love," The Beatles
25. "Love Bug Leave My Heart Alone," Martha Reeves & The Vandellas
26. "How Can I Be Sure," The Young Rascals

28. "Cold Sweat - Part 1," James Brown
29. "Dandelion," The Rolling Stones

32. "Light My Fire," The Doors
33. "Get on Up," The Esquires
34. "Expressway to Your Heart," The Soul Survivors
35. "To Sir with Love," Lulu

40. "Pleasant Valley Sunday," The Monkees
41. "Thank the Lord for the Night Time," Neil Diamond
42. "The Ballad of You & Me & Pooneil," Jefferson Airplane

44. "Hey Baby (They're Playing Our Song)," The Buckinghams
45. "You Keep Running Away," Four Tops

48. "Your Precious Love," Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell

55. "(I Wanna) Testify," The Parliaments

59. "Soul Man," Sam & Dave

61. "I'll Never Fall in Love Again," Tom Jones
62. "The Look of Love," Dusty Springfield

64. "We Love You," The Rolling Stones
65. "People Are Strange," The Doors

70. "Get Together," The Youngbloods

90. "Let It Out (Let It All Hang Out)," The Hombres

95. "Purple Haze," The Jimi Hendrix Experience

I've bolded new chart entries...though "Purple Haze" had apparently dropped off after its initial charting and is now popping back on again.

There are a also a few things in there that charted earlier, but I hadn't covered them because they weren't in my collection...and as I happen to have room to cover them now...


These two I actually had sitting in a potential expansion sidelist, and have since acquired:

"Groovin'," Booker T. & The MG's

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(Charted Aug. 5; #21 US; #10 R&B)

"Love Bug Leave My Heart Alone," Martha Reeves & The Vandellas

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(Charted Aug. 19; #25 US; #14 R&B; #56 UK)


As for this...eh, sounds like the malnourished younger sibling of "Can't Take My Eyes Off You":

"I Make a Fool of Myself," Frankie Valli
(Charted Aug. 26; #18 US)


He's not very popular these days, but in the interest of fuller historical context:

"Little Ole Man (Uptight-Everything's Alright)," Bill Cosby

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(Charted Sept. 2; #4 US; #18 R&B)


Brand new on the charts (and being promoted on Sullivan) in the current week:

"People Are Strange," The Doors

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(#12 US)


And new on the boob tube:

• The Ed Sullivan Show, Season 20, episode 2, featuring...um, who was on this week again...?
• Mission: Impossible, "Trek"
• The Man from U.N.C.L.E., "The Test Tube Killer Affair"
• The Rat Patrol, "The David and Goliath Raid"
• Batman, "Ring Around the Riddler"
• Ironside, "The Leaf in the Forest"
• That Girl, "Black, White and Read All Over"
• Dark Shadows, episodes 321-325
• Tarzan, "The Voice of the Elephant"
• Star Trek, "Who Mourns for Adonais?"
• Get Smart, "Viva Smart"

_______

 

[Christopher]

and the CONTROL board of inquiry to determine which half of Agent 176 is the real Max plays like a quiz show.

Specifically like To Tell the Truth, IIRC.

 

[The Old Mixer]

In the interest of full disclosure, I've since tweaked that passage for (a) bad parallelism with the rest of the sentence and (b) bad math (86 x 2 being 172).

Elsewhere in the same post, I'd neglected to put this in place of the appropriate show's name, but was running into a glitch when I tried to edit it in retroactively:

 

[RJDiogenes]

It's kind of amazing to see Ed Sullivan again after almost fifty years-- it really was a show with everything, including Yul Brunner. That little banjo duet he did with whoever that guy was really made my day. It was bizarre, pointless, pretty bad, and obscure-- and I love the fact that there are things like this out there to be discovered.

The Muppet bit was very cute, and it was kind of poignant to see a young Jim Henson step in to get a handshake from Ed and then rush off without a word. The Rolling Stones were hilarious spending "some time" together. The cameramen caught a lot of eye rolls from the boys every time the substitute lyrics were sung. The Doors put on a good performance (I'd say that even if I didn't have to). Petula Clarke did a nice version of "Elusive Butterfly," one of my favorites of the era. It was nice to see Leslie Uggams, although she was stuck with some pretty weak material. It was weird seeing the Clancy Brothers on Ed Sullivan, that's for sure-- the last time I saw them in real life was at a converted movie theater in Dorchester.

It's amusing to watch all the little side acts that filled out the shows-- shadows puppets and plate spinners, and so on-- but also sad that there's nothing like this on TV anymore. This was a true variety show. And those shadow puppets were really good-- did you see Lincoln morph into Kennedy? No CGI, either.

Then...Eddie Fisher, performing "Mame"...now this is what I consider to be on the lame side of the more conservative music of the era. Objectively speaking, he sings rings around Wayne Newton...but he just doesn't have that timeless "it" factor of a Frank Sinatra or Tony Bennett.

Tony Bennett was on one of the episodes I recorded. He looks like a refugee from The Sopranos, but he has an amazing voice. But I've already forgotten what he did.

So Solo can fly a helicopter. I'm pretty sure there was a episode last season in which he didn't know how to fly a plane, for what that's worth.

He took lessons over the summer. Secret agents must always be expanding their skill set to remain competitive.

I'll just lampshade the criticisms of Craig's Batgirl that I know are coming with this...

I'm on your side. I love Batgirl and Yvonne Craig.

In this episode, an investigation brainstorm in his office/apartment is punctuated by his complaints about how Anderson's character, Eve, dared to wash his coffee pot, which he boasts had been building flavor since the Truman administration.

Nice.

Before anybody asks, they acknowledge that there aren't supposed to be tigers in Africa. (I didn't even know that.)

Lost worlds and Ant Men, but no tigers.

"Groovin'," Booker T. & The MG's

I love this one. It's not great art or anything, but definitely a sign of the times-- and nostalgic.

"Love Bug Leave My Heart Alone," Martha Reeves & The Vandellas

I don't know this one, but it's pretty good.

"I Make a Fool of Myself," Frankie Valli

I never heard this one, either, and it's not very memorable.

"Little Ole Man (Uptight-Everything's Alright)," Bill Cosby

I never heard this one before, eitehr, but it's really good. Whatever Cosby may or may not have done (and I'm convinced either way), he was a gigantic talent who did a lot of good for a lot of people.

"People Are Strange," The Doors

Yes, I do like this, for real.

 

[The Old Mixer]

It's kind of amazing to see Ed Sullivan again after almost fifty years-- it really was a show with everything, including Yul Brunner.

Reference gotten.

That little banjo duet he did with whoever that guy was really made my day. It was bizarre, pointless, pretty bad, and obscure-- and I love the fact that there are things like this out there to be discovered.

Wait...you've seen tonight's episode? You must be from...the future!

And those shadow puppets were really good-- did you see Lincoln morph into Kennedy? No CGI, either.

Or yeah...those presidential impersonation shadow puppets were awesome.

Secret agents must always be expanding their skill set to remain competitive.

Now you're starting to sound like Christopher.

I don't know this one, but it's pretty good.

Sounds to me like they're trying to sound more like the Supremes at this point.

Whatever Cosby may or may not have done (and I'm convinced either way), he was a gigantic talent who did a lot of good for a lot of people.

To me, he was the live action guy who hosted Fat Albert.

The Doors put on a good performance (I'd say that even if I didn't have to).

Yes, I do like this, for real.

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ETA: I'm probably sapping some material from my own scheduled review, but in the interest of timeliness....Regarding the Doors episode of Best of Sullivan, the tv.com page tells me that Jack Benny was ported in from Apr. 30, 1967, and Robert Goulet from June 5, 1966. Yul Brynner, The Skating Bredos, and "Young" Flip Wilson were all actually in the Sept. 17, 1967, episode with the Doors.

Regarding Yul Brynner's performance...I imagine that the original episode must have had an intro that provided a bit of context. Lacking that, I found some on Yul Brynner's Wiki page:

He was also an accomplished guitarist. In his early period in Europe, he often played and sang gypsy songs in Parisian nightclubs with Aliosha Dimitrievitch. He sang some of those same songs in the film The Brothers Karamazov. In 1967, Dimitrievitch and he released a record album The Gypsy and I: Yul Brynner Sings Gypsy Songs.

tv.com says that Dimitrievitch was the guitarist who accompanied him on the show.