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50th Anniversary Viewing
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The Ed Sullivan Show
Season 20, episode 16
Originally aired December 24, 1967
As represented in
The Best of the Ed Sullivan Show
Before John Denver, it was Arthur Godfrey singing Christmas songs with the Muppets. This clip shows more of "It's Christmas Tomorrow" than
Best of did:
The
Best of edit starts at around 2:50 in this video. According to tv.com, Arthur also performed "The Secret of Christmas" in the original episode.
On the non-holiday front, Bobbie Gentry performs "Niki Hoeky," a track from her
Ode to Billie Joe album (the titular hit song of which Ed name-drops in his intro). Bobbie sings on a set of a wooden bridge/walkway surrounded by flowers. I couldn't find a clip from Sullivan, but
here's one of her doing the same song on The Smothers Brothers; the set piece is similar but shot differently and she didn't have the dancers on
Sullivan. tv.com indicates that she also performed a Christian hymn called "I Wonder as I Wander" in the original
Sullivan episode.
This episode also gives us George Carlin as the Hippy Dippy Weatherman:
Wrong date in the video again. The
Best of edit starts at about the 1:00 point of this video, but continues past what's shown in this clip. He doesn't actually look very hippie here, with a cap, short hair, and clean-shaven. At a later point in the routine, he breaks into a cigarette commercial.
The Hippy Dippy Weatherman said:
Tonight's forecast: Dark.
Carlin delivers a Merry Christmas / Happy New Year at the end of the sketch.
Squarely back on the holiday front, organist Virgil Fox performs "Adeste Fideles". What can I say? Good and churchy. Evidently Ed thought so, too, he mentions it bringing back memories of when he pumped the organ for his sister at Midnight Mass.
Not on
Best of...The Cowsills. tv.com indicates that they performed their upcoming single "We Can Fly" (presumably not
this clip; charted Jan. 13, 1968; #21 US; #9 AC). I didn't see much reason to dig below the Top 20 for them based on this song; it's pleasant enough, but feels like a knock-off of "Up, Up and Away". tv.com also indicates that they performed a Christmas song medley--likely the source of
this clip.
Also appearing in the original episode according to tv.com:
- Peter Gennaro dancing to "What The World Needs Now"
- The Little Angels Of Korea (playing drums and dancing with ribbons)
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The Monkees
"The Monkees' Christmas Show"
Originally aired December 25, 1967
Wiki said:
The Monkees try to instill the spirit of Christmas in a cynical little boy (Butch Patrick) who has soured on the whole idea.
Notes: No laugh track. Instead of the standard closing credits, the Monkees appear on the set and invite many of the behind-the-scenes staff and crew members to appear with them on camera. The closing credits appear over the joyful crowd. As part of an elf costume, Davy wears Mike's iconic green wool cap.
I never would have recognized the kid in the episode as Eddie Munster! Not the best holiday-themed episode that I watched this season...it starts as a sort of Christmas Carol pastiche, but instead of the Monkees doing anything to teach the boy a lesson, he sports a sudden emotional attachment to them that seems to come out of nowhere.
We get some less conventional but holiday-appropriate music from the boys:
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The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
"The Deep Six Affair"
Originally aired December 25, 1967
Wiki said:
While U.N.C.L.E. agent Brian Morton (Peter Bromilow) prepares for his upcoming marriage to Laura Adams (Diana Van Der Vlis), Solo and Illya aid Morton on his quest to stop a THRUSH agent (Alfred Ryder) from stealing the plans for a new super-submarine.
Open Channel Don't Expect a Christmas Story Here.
This episode depends on us suddenly giving as much of a crap about this guest agent's life as Waverly does. We don't. Morton doesn't do a good job of convincing us that the disapproved-of marriage is OK, since he does everything that THRUSH wants of him when they hold his fiance hostage, until Solo and Kuryakin (who are working together again) intervene. Then we get the same twist as last week...an unexpected character being revealed as a THRUSH agent at the end of Act III.
The episode also does an unconvincing job of pretending to be set in the UK. And in Act IV, we get some pretty unconvincing sub interiors. To say nothing of UNCLE's high-tech sub being portrayed on the outside by a WWII-era diesel sub.
On the plus side, we do get a good Waverly moment in Act IV...and a good last line from Kuryakin.
In two weeks: The first half of the two-part series finale. Sock it to me!
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The Rat Patrol
"The Street Urchin Raid"
Originally aired December 25, 1967
H&I said:
A street urchin tries to sell aerial photographs of secret German installations that Troy hid before being captured by the Gestapo.
The titular shoe-shine boy is played by Jean-Michel Michenaud, who'd appeared as the Jewish student in last year's
That Girl Christmas episode.
This installment is another that has an Indiana Jonesy vibe to it, centering around espionage activities in a neutral desert city against white-suited Gestapo agents. And Dietrich is in it! He saves Troy from a rough beating by insisting that the sergeant be treated as a POW, and also ensures good treatment of the boy and his sister...
...who's a belly dancer! An unnamed co-worker of hers is played by Tanya Lemani, who just appeared as Kara in last week's "Wolf in the Fold".
In the climax, the Patrol makes a prisoner exchange of a Gestapo agent for the boy's sister.
Capt. Dietrich said:
You must admit, Sarge, you're getting a far better deal than I am.
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Magical Mystery Tour
Originally aired December 26, 1967 (UK)
Ah, watching this is a test of one's Beatle-geek cred. Conceived by, written by, directed by, and produced by the Beatles (mainly Paul), it clearly demonstrates that their genius was limited to music. But how could I resist viewing it in its original, infamous Boxing Day programming context on its 50th anniversary?
This time Ringo gets the fake relative...it was Paul in
A Hard Day's Night. Actual members of the Beatles' circle who appear in the film include Neil Aspinall, Mal Evans, and Magic Alex. And browsing IMDb, I didn't realize that Spencer Davis was in it.
As conventional Beatlephile wisdom goes, the main takeaway from this special are the music videos. The first of the three truly striking examples is "The Fool on the Hill"...one of those odd album songs that easily could have been a hit single (and will be for Sergio Mendes in the coming year); a very striking video sequence shot on the sly in France. I believe that Paul described it as "not quite union," or something to that effect.
Victor Spinetti is wasted here. He stole the show in both of the Beatles' scripted films, but I never cared for the bit as the drill sergeant, though it was probably his own improvisation.
"She Loves You" makes an appearance as organ instrumental source music at the beginning of the race scene. Ringo actually drove the bus for that!
"Flying" is typically cited as an example of a video sequence that was lost on b&w TV viewers in the initial BBC broadcast. The song is nothing great, but is unique in that it's an instrumental in the Beatles' discography, and in being the only song released in their time as a band that was credited to all four of them.
The wizards stuff plays like an annoying children's show.
"All My Loving" pops up as an instrumental in classical form. The love story between the old guy and Ringo's fake aunt is a bit painful, but to its credit, it's an actual plot thread. I was never quite sure what they were going for when they rapidly transition from his dream sequence of romancing her to his stern announcement on the bus.
Buster Bloodvessel said:
I am concerned with you to...enjoy yourselves. Within the limits of British decency. You know what I mean.
Ah, thank god...
"I Am the Walrus" to the rescue! Alas, the whole movie peaks a bit early with this classic video sequence to a favorite Beatles song. But there is one more strong video sequence coming at the end.
I hate John's spaghetti sequence. Pretty grotesque.
"Blue Jay Way"...alas, George brings a relatively weak song for his spotlight, and the video isn't as interesting as the others. I don't remember whose book it was in, but somebody made a crack about the irony of George singing the line "don't be long" so many times.
The accordian-accompanied singalong seems interminable...they were probably having a lot more fun filming it than I have watching it.
Next comes the strip show with the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band performing the very Elvis-style "Death Cab for Cutie". Neil Innes would go on to do the music for the Rutles parody and play the John spoof, Ron Nasty. But it seems odd to have somebody else performing source music in a Beatles film.
The final number, "Your Mother Should Know," is the last of the three truly striking video sequences...definitely a classic. We also get a smidgen of "Hello Goodbye" in the end credits.
I imagine that the reaction of a viewer in 1967 was pretty much the same as that I had upon first viewing the film ca. 1987--"What the hell did I just watch?"
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Batman
"The Funny Feline Felonies"
Originally aired December 28, 1967
H&I said:
The Joker and Catwoman team up to blast the Federal Depository open with ancient gunpowder. Batman and Robin chase after them, while Batgirl discovers their secret map.
The show gives us yet another Batphone / regular phone gimmick.
Warden Crichton really is incompetent, just watching Catwoman "kidnap" the Joker and having to be told to take action by Bruce...though the Caped Crusader doesn't account for himself much better, falling for the joy buzzer trick. And how convenient that Batman & Robin voluntarily did a simultaneous double handshake...and that Joker was prepared for the occasion with a buzzer in each hand.
Batman pulling out the creeper board is a good utility belt gag.
This episode is the source of the controversial "tea leaves, stars, crystal gazing" reference...which is obviously a gag, since the audience knows that Batgirl's real source of information was being in the commissioner's office as Barbara. Batman recognizes it as a joke, too, hence his "I wonder what she'll come up with next."
Joker comes off as a little too much of a second banana who has to have everything explained to him; he's sort of playing the role of Catwoman's moll here.
Dick shouldn't have called Bruce by name so close to the phone.
Joe E. Ross does an uncredited appearance as Little Louie Groovy's agent.
It's odd that they broke the episode just before what would have been a good cliffhanger.
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Ironside
"The Fourteenth Runner"
Originally aired December 28, 1967
Wiki said:
Ironside investigates the disappearance of Soviet track star who's also a double agent for the U.S. government.
Guesting Steve Ihnat, sporting a mustache and an M:I-quality Russian accent, as a Soviet representative with whom Ironside jousts verbally over police methods; and Ed Asner as regional head of the "SIA" (if I caught that right), who informs Ironside of the runner's status as a spy for them. At one point, Ed gets a ride in the back of the Ironsidemobile.
The mystery here is about who's responsible for the runner's disappearance and why; by the middle of the episode, Ironside sniffs out that it was the runner himself, who just wants out. After that, it's a matter of evading the Russians, who try to use the runner's girlfriend, a previous defector, against him. In the climax, Ironside pulls a switcheroo of the casket that the Russians are using to try to smuggle the runner out of the country.
In one scene, we hear an instrumental version of "Don't Sleep in the Subway" playing in a bar.
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"A Friend in Need"
Originally aired December 28, 1967
Wiki said:
After Ann is injured on a movie set, Donald goes overboard in trying to take care of her.
Mr. Marie isn't in the episode, but demonstrates some offscreen presence via a one-sided phone conversation. Mrs. Marie is in the episode, coming to town for a change. She quickly returns home when Donald promises to take care of Ann, but that's the spark that motivates him to pull out the stops in doing so. The punchline is when she pays an unexpected visit to his apartment and finds that it's a typical bachelor's mess. You'd think that she'd never been there before...especially as it's a different set than when Harry Banner came to town.
There's a running gag of Jerry Bauman trying to find a legal angle for Ann to exploit.
"Oh, Donald" count:
4
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Star Trek
"The Trouble with Tribbles"
Originally aired December 29, 1967
Stardate 4523.3
MeTV said:
Kirk must defuse a Klingon scheme to destroy a grain shipment and cope with a seemingly benign creature known as a tribble, which reproduces at amazing speed.
See my post here.
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The Prisoner
"Living in Harmony"
Originally aired December 29, 1967 (UK)
Wiki said:
In an Old West setting, a lawman who resigned is trapped in a town called Harmony where the Judge wants him to be the new sheriff — by hook or by crook.
I correctly assumed that this was one of those tacked-on episodes--It screamed "Let's do a Western!"
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Living_in_Harmony#Production
Patrick McGoohan said in a 1977 interview that the episode came to be because the show was short of a story and he really had the desire to act in a Western.
Sign o' the times: The Wiki also says that the reason this episode wasn't part of the original US run is because CBS considered it to have an anti-war subtext.
This episode completely lacks the usual opening sequence.
"Two" wanting "Six" to work for him as a sheriff perhaps parallels what I'd read about on the Wiki page of the previous episode...that had the series gone forward, they would have had Six doing more missions for the Village.
I wasn't sure if McGoohan was trying to do an accent or not; I'd like to give him the benefit of the doubt and assume that he wasn't.
The music used during the hanging breaks the Western atmosphere.
After a fake-out in the illusory setting that makes it seem like we have a female guest who isn't secretly a collaborator, she turns out to be yet another one in the actual Village setting.
I was wondering through most of the episode if they'd connect it directly with the show's usual continuity, or if it would just be a standalone "imaginary story". The explanatory scene between Two and Eight seems like a bit of an unnecessary end-of-episode infodump. They like to pull mind-tricks on Six, we get the picture by now. And the part after that, when Kathy / Number 22 dies of a prevented strangling after getting out a few last words (pretty sure it doesn't work like that), and Eight goes crazy and kills himself, makes no sense.
Well, it's cute that the Village has an Old West backlot to play in.
The Prisoner now takes a couple of weeks off in the original UK airing schedule; and evidently finishes its run on Thursdays rather than Fridays.
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Get Smart
"The Mysterious Dr. T"
Originally aired December 30, 1967
Wiki said:
A top scientist is being protected by CONTROL but is poisoned during Max's watch. Before dying, he admits he has plagiarized all his major scientific findings from another scientist, the mysterious Dr. T. Neither CONTROL nor KAOS knows who this scientist is, and Max and Siegfried compete to discover the scientist's identity...which turns out to be quite a surprising discovery!
Either CONTROL has one lab for all of its scientists, or they all have the same pictures on the wall.
I wouldn't have recognized Bill Erwin here if I hadn't seen him listed on IMDb.
Max said:
Of course...the old "microphone in the squeegee" trick!
Peanuts guest: Good grief--It's Charlie Brown himself, Peter Robbins, as the titular CONTROL scientist!
Siegfried said:
I don't know if it originated in this episode, but Siegfried describes himself as "vice president in charge of treason for KAOS".
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I first (and only) saw it on TV when I was very young, ten or eleven, and I'm sure that affected my impression of it.
That definitely seems a bit young to have appreciated it.
Intelligent but uninspired? Or just lacking in personality?
Hold that thought.
It kind of amuses me, the things that trigger panic attacks when it comes to sexuality.
To clarify, Decades showed the stripper twirling her pasty tassels. What they censored were a few colorful metaphors that all had "Jesus" and/or "Christ" in them (as a bit of YouTubing confirmed).
Which one?
what any instrumental needs is words. Especially when you have lines like, "Where have you gone, Joe DiMaggio, a nation turns its lonely eyes to you."
Note that I saved the full single versions of both of the upcoming singles for 50th anniversary business. (Though I did cover "Scarborough Fair" in the TOS 50th Anniversary Rewatch Thread when the album charted in 1966, which is where I have it situated in my chronological playlists.)
Hah. Well, it's a pretty picture, and I wish I had a yard like that.
Apartment.
It's inappropriate and misleading to use the term to refer to people just being offended by something.
Merriam-Webster lists three definitions of "trigger" as a verb, the third of which is inclusive of, but not exclusive to, the context that you're emphasizing. That definition also covers the context in which
RJ used it.
For all of Ben's academic achievements, he doesn't really seem all that bright, does he? I see him as a corporate drone ten years down the road. Maybe he really did wind up going into plastics.
An interesting point. I'd go with
RJ's description that I quoted above...he's clearly intelligent, but lacking in motivation and inspiration. The only thing in the film that he gets emotionally invested in is his pursuit of Elaine, and he throws himself into that in an over-the-top fashion that would be considered stalking by today's standards. But what you say about his eventual fate rings true...perhaps the reason he's so apprehensive about that potential future is because he knows that's
exactly what's in store for him. Nothing that happens in the film changes that course.
Happy 1968 everyone!