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50th Anniversary Viewing
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The Ed Sullivan Show
Season 20, episode 11
Originally aired November 19, 1967
Taking things a bit further than was represented on
The Best of the Ed Sullivan Show
From the end of a
Best of episode that took most of its material from April 28, 1968, I got one odd bit of business from November 19, 1967...
"Don't Look Back," The Temptations
(Charted Dec. 18, 1965; #83 US; #15 R&B)
I wasn't familiar with this song...it seems it was the separately charting B-side of their 1965 hit "My Baby" (Charted Oct. 23, 1965; #13 US; #4 R&B; not to be confused with "Since I Lost My Baby," another Top 20 single from the same year and album).
But this was just one performance culled from a much more interesting original episode...one prominently featuring both the Supremes and the Temptations, performing individually and together...which included covering each other's hits!
http://www.edsullivan.com/the-supremes-the-temptations-on-the-ed-sullivan-show/
On November 19th 1967, a special Ed Sullivan Show took place featuring two of Motown’s biggest acts – The Supremes and The Temptations. Once again, Ed Sullivan and Berry Gordy had worked together to put on a great show that would include a special treat for everyone watching that evening.
Diana Ross & The Supremes opened the show with a polished version of their hit song “In & Out of Love.” Later, The Temptations came on stage to perform a refreshing variation of the standard “Hello Young Lovers” followed by the soulful rendition of “Don’t Look Back.” Then, following an appearance by actor George Hamilton, the audience was treated to one of the most memorable medleys ever performed on The Ed Sullivan Show. Unexpectedly, The Supremes and The Temptations took to a funky bright pink stage together and performed each other’s hits. The two Motown groups took turns with The Supremes singing The Temptations’ “Get Ready” and “I’m Losing You,” while The Temptations performed The Supremes’ “Stop! In The Name of Love” and “Baby Love.” It was great to see Diana Ross, David Ruffin, Mary Wilson, Eddie Kendricks and the rest of the group members all on stage together....This was one of the all-time great performances on The Ed Sullivan Show and the success of this musical pairing actually inspired NBC to have the two groups put on a couple of primetime specials together.
It seems that each group has its own "Best of" disc in the home video releases, which might have something to do with why this episode isn't more strongly represented in the general
Best of package. (Having been through what appears to be the entire Decades
Best of package, this appears to also be the case for other prominent acts who have their own dedicated discs, e.g., the Beatles and the Stones.) Thanks to various YouTube contributors, I've been able to pull together the other Supremes and Temptations performances from this episode.
"In and Out of Love," Diana Ross & the Supremes
(the video that I posted the week of the song's chart debut, repeated here for convenience)
"Hello Young Lovers," The Temptations
("Autumn Leaves" is from Sept. 28, 1969; certainly an auspicious Autumn for me!)
"Greensleeves / Thou Swell," Diana Ross & The Supremes
And the main event:
Also appearing in the original episode according to tv.com:
- The Kessler Twins
- Fernando Pasqualone (trumpet player)
- Flip Wilson
- Lewis & Christy (comedy team)
- Ivan & Astor (dance team)
- Audience bows: George Hamilton, William E. Galbraith
- A film clip of Rex Harrison singing "Talk to the Animals"from the movie Dr. Doolittle.
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Mission: Impossible
"The Council: Part I"
Originally aired November 19, 1967
Wiki said:
By taking over honest businesses, a criminal enterprise headed by Frank Wayne (Paul Stevens) is corrupting the nation’s economy by depositing millions of dollars into Swiss bank accounts, causing an intolerable drain of U.S. gold reserves. In order to get the syndicate’s records, turn them over to the proper authorities, and put an end to the organization, Rollin poses as Wayne, and Jim poses as an ambitious prosecutor.
This two-part story was released theatrically outside the US as Mission: Impossible vs. the Mob.
I take it this is a preview of what the IMF dedicates itself to in later seasons?
The phonograph record in a recording studio said:
This recording will self-destruct in five seconds. Good luck, Jim.
So back to the right time, but now the wrong medium. And is this the first time that a record self-destructed in X seconds, as opposed to an interval after the seal was broken, or when the needle reached the run-out groove?
And I think we've got some new pictures of the usual suspects in the portfolio. This story's guest agent is a plastic surgeon...whose role in this half of the mission is to resuscitate a mobster (played by Nicholas Colasanto, a.k.a. Coach from
Cheers) whom they dig up from a shallow grave...?
Here our set-up episode is largely dedicated to Rollin crafting his imitation and mask of the mobster chief, Frank Wayne--played by Paul Stevens, who looks a lot like, and whose voice is dubbed by, Landau--and pulling off the switcheroo.
I'm intrigued, but I'll have to see how all this comes together in Part II. This half felt more methodical than blatantly padded.
Also guesting Vic Perrin as a mob lawyer.
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The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
"The Survival School Affair"
Originally aired November 20, 1967
Wiki said:
Illya must find a THRUSH double agent hidden in the ranks of the class about to graduate from U.N.C.L.E.'s training facility on a remote island. (This is the only episode in which Robert Vaughn does not appear.)
Open Channel David Goes Solo
Not a bad installment as TMFU goes. The survival school was an interesting setting, and as OTT guest characters go, Charles McGraw as Cutter, the school's commandant, was kind of endearing. The scene in which Cutter briefs Illya while they crawl under machine gun fire was colorful and set up the episode's resolution.
Guesting Chris Robinson, a main credits regular as Sgt. Komansky in Seasons 2 and 3 of
12 O'Clock High. I saw his romance with the female guest, Susan Odin, coming based on Cutter's descriptions.
Cringey sign o' the times: Odin's character decides in the end that she'd rather be a woman than an agent.
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The Rat Patrol
"The Hide and Go Seek Raid"
Originally aired November 20, 1967
H&I said:
The Rat Patrol must infiltrate a chateau on the island of Rhodes to rescue the son of a British general who has been kidnapped by the Germans.
Still more commando raiding by sea. And given the setting, it's pretty contrived that Dietrich is involved on the German end of this affair, however small his role. It's quite an accomplishment to make a half-hour episode feel padded. This one felt like it had maybe 10 minutes' worth of mission stretched out to fill the time.
Guesting Alan Caillou (Jason Flood in early episodes of
Tarzan) as the British general.
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Batman
"The Londinium Larcenies"
Originally aired November 23, 1967
H&I said:
Ireland Yard recruits Batman and Robin to stop Lord Marmaduke Ffogg and his sister, Lady Penelope. Meanwhile, Barbara Gordon is eager to accompany them.
Dick in a Beatle wig seems a little dated for 1967, but it's still a cute nod to recent times.
A little conveeeeenient how all of the regular cast go to Londinium, and they have the same sets there...and a little too conspicuous that Bruce and Dick are going...and convenient again how Batgirl just happened to be hanging around in the right bushes for the Batfight.
I have to agree with an assertion that
@TREK_GOD_1 made a couple years back...I think that Lyn Peters had main villain potential, had they wanted to go there...or at least could have featured more prominently as a co-villain rather than as a supporting player under a pair of co-villains. She had presence in her scenes. And here's an interesting "It's a small TV world" factoid--One of her husbands was Paul Burke!
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Ironside
"The Man Who Believed"
Originally aired November 23, 1967
Wiki said:
While investigatiing a folk singer's apparent suicide, Ironside discovers that the girl had a history of drug abuse.
Guest starring future Mrs. Kotter Marcia Strassman as the folk singer, Samantha Dain, whose signature trait is that she performed barefoot. She only appears in the episode as a poster / life-size standup and a voice on tape (talking and singing). The one song that they played at multiple points in the episode was generally decent, but the singing...wasn't that good. (This was another Oliver Nelson score. It looks like he's credited for 69 episodes of the series.)
The story gives Ironside a connection to this week's victim by establishing that she was one of many people who wrote him a letter when he was handicapped...one that specifically indicated that she wasn't the suicidal type.
In one scene, Team Ironside uses a scale model of part of the Golden Gate Bridge to recreate the scene of the alleged suicide / suspected murder.
This episode is the second time I've noticed "psychedelic" coming up as a buzzword in one of the 50th anniversary shows...the first time was a
Monkees episode from earlier this season.
The array of suspects wasn't quite as blatantly just there to be an array of suspects in this one...they seemed more organic to the story. And there's a fake resolution to the investigation to keep things fresh.
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"Thanksgiving Comes But Once a Year, Thankfully"
Originally aired November 23, 1967
Wiki said:
Ann struggles to cook everybody's favorite dishes for a Thanksgiving dinner.
I guess it's now officially the holiday season in TV Land 50 years ago. This episode is noteworthy as the first time that Ann and Donald's parents meet each other. The basic premise--having to make an absurdly convoluted Thanksgiving dinner that includes everyone's traditional dishes--is similar to something that
Friends did around 30 years later. I vaguely recall Monica having to make at least three types of mashed potatoes alone.
Here we get some colorful interservice rivalry between Mr. Marie (Air Corps) and Mr. Hollinger (infantry); and an incident that involves the fire department being called in.
It seemed questionable to me for Donald's parents to fly in from St. Louis on a few days' notice...and that was the compromise for not having to spend Thanksgiving with either specific set of parents, as Donald was trying to get Ann to go to St. Louis on the same amount of notice. These spur-of-the-moment travel plans are brought to us by a character who can only afford to eat at hamburger and hot dog joints when the story calls for it.
I was watching with somebody this time, so I wasn't taking notes. There were at least a couple of "Oh, Daddy"'s and at least one "Oh, Donald" from Ann, with an additional one from Mrs. Hollinger, IIRC.
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Tarzan
"Mountains of the Moon: Part 1"
Originally aired November 24, 1967
H&I said:
Tarzan accompanies a widow and her band of religious pilgrims on a dangerous journey into forbidden land.
Written by Jackson Gillis.
Miss Ethel Merman is now doing the rounds on
Tarzan, as the Special Guest Star in a two-parter that guest stars Harry Townes, also stars Perry Lopez, and gives William Marshall the prestigious final credit preceded by "and". It makes me wonder why Ethel never did
Star Trek. She gets at least one pretty effective dramatic scene here as the cynical widow of the band's prophet, but for the most part she's doing her usual thing of playing to the back of the room.
There's some singing of Christian hymns, but the pilgrims give off a nondenominational pseudo-hippie vibe, invoking the Promised Land rather than a deity, espousing nonviolence, and brandishing a big banner on one of their vehicles that says "LOVE." There's an awkward bit of business when Merman is leading her pilgrims in a singalong of "When the Saints Go Marching In" and stops to have a conversation with Tarzan while the pilgrims continue singing...but her unmistakable voice can still be heard front and center in the choir.
While given story justification in each case, Tarzan exhibits some uncharacteristic behavior in this one--brandishing a rifle in more than one scene; advocating that the pilgrims should be carrying guns; and driving Ethel Merman's Jeep. There's also an interesting bit in which Tarzan talks a shady character into dropping his rifle from a position of concealment, effectively portrayed as if he were invisible. And Tarzan takes a wild horse to match the M.O. of the tribe of the week (led by Marshall's character), who use horses to get to and from their remote territory.
At one point Tarzan dives into a pond to evade some tribesmen, but it didn't fool me...the water was way to shallow for a giant clam. Jai and Cheeta are also nowhere to be found.
The Ethel Merman spotlight is coming...I'll have to work it in when I've got a slot for it.
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The Prisoner
"Checkmate"
Originally aired November 24, 1967 (UK)
Wiki said:
Number Six thinks he has a means to tell the prisoners from the wardens.
Another "early" episode, third in production order...and it would probably work better if viewed earlier. In contrast to how the Village population was portrayed last week, here Number Six has people up his butt about trying to escape.
Peter Wyngarde as Number Two said:
...which I compulsively finish out loud in a mock-German accent.
I didn't find this one as engaging as most installments thus far, though it did address one of my questions about some in the Village being true prisoners and others being conspirators--"guardians" as they're referred to here. And it was a good twist that the Rook thought Number Six was One of Them...underscoring why Number Six isn't and shouldn't be quick to trust others in the Village.
Note how Number Six dropped an episode title in the word association test.
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Get Smart
"Dr. Yes"
Originally aired November 25, 1967
Wiki said:
After recent American rocket launches go awry, Max and 99 masquerade as vacationers to track down the KAOS mastermind behind the sabotage, the evil Dr. Yes. (Working title: "Señor Si".) A spoof of Dr. No.
In this case it's a little more than just a title spoof, as Dr. Yes has the same M.O. as his Bond predecessor...though the portrayal of the villain is more of a stock Fu Manchu stereotype. The extremely long nails that can cut fruit and be used as weapons could also be considered a play on Dr. No's metal hands; the secret lair under the lake is reminiscent of the iconic volcano lair in 1967's Bond film,
You Only Live Twice; and the climactic fight therein during the missile launch certainly evokes the climax of
Dr. No.
Max said:
How do you like that, 99? The old "tiny tape recorder in a trailer" trick.
The teaser includes Wally Cox in an uncredited role as the TV repairman.
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What are your reasons for not doing it?
Well, the chart info is largely culled from two web sources where others can easily look it up for themselves; my methodology for what I include in the lists isn't consistent, being based partly on what's in my collection, where I delved into different acts in different levels of detail; and I haven't been keeping past weekly playlists that weren't posted here.
Organ music and voiceover announcements are not movie serial tropes. Movie serials used stock orchestral music and onscreen text cards or crawls (the format that Star Wars imitated). Organs and voiceovers were the stuff of live radio serials. Remember, the soap opera format got its start on radio, so that's where its cliches were established.
Early TV shows tended to adopt radio tropes directly, but Dark Shadows started in 1966, late enough in the game that TV soaps would've developed their own distinct approach by then. In fact, I get the impression that DS helped establish a new vocabulary for TV soaps, e.g. having a richer musical score than previous shows.
My own primary soap opera exposure was in the early-to-mid-'70s, post-DS. I don't have a broad enough knowledge of the history of soaps to say when they might have last been exhibiting these tropes...but the organ music thing was enough of a signature piece of soap opera business that Johnny Carson was still using it in his "Edge of Wetness" skits in the '70s and '80s.
ETA: I keep forgetting to mention that H&I showed TIH's "Homecoming" yesterday, which I first assumed to be a deliberate bit of scheduling...but looking at upcoming episodes in the guide, it seems to have just coincidentally fallen on this weekend!
And I never knew they had a history together.