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50th Anniversary Viewing
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Mission: Impossible
"The Cardinal"
Originally aired November 17, 1968
Wiki said:
To secure power, a general replaces a country's beloved cardinal with a lookalike; the team devises a plan to switch them back.
The reel-to-reel tape that Jim played out loud in a library said:
This tape will self-destruct in five seconds. Good luck, Jim.
Back to no portfolio.
This week the IMF is fighting in its weight class again, taking on Worf's dad, Theodore Bikel, as General Zepke, and Barbara Babcock as his chief henchwoman disguised as a nun, Major Felder...the same week as one of her two onscreen
Trek appearances.
To initiate their plan, the IMF team exposes Fake Cardinal (Paul Stevens) to infected mosquitoes. Lucky for him, Doctor Jim and Nurse Cin show up at the gate of the monastery with a flat tire!
Cardinal Rollin visits his "old colleague" and lets Zepke know that he knows that the other Fake Cardinal is indeed a fake cardinal, which gets him put in an air-tight sarcophagus. Fortunately, he brought his James Bond car-jack big honkin' crucifix, with which he pries the coffin open just enough to get some air and put into place some small cylinders that let him roll off the lid when nobody's watching. Definitely gotta squint past the omniscient planning here...they knew specifically that Cardinal Rollin would get sealed in a sarcophagus?
Barney and Willy take to the always-useful local catacombs, where they're also having trouble with air following a cave-in. Escaped Cardinal Rollin rescues them by letting them in the door that has a deadweight trap on their end, following which the trio sneak into Real Cardinal's (also Paul Stevens) cell and Rollin applies his Real Cardinal disguise (Paul Stevens yet again!) to fool the observers while Barney and Willy remove some blocks from the wall to reveal Fake Cardinal in his oxygen tent on the other side. Once the obligatory commercial-straddling close call is out of the way, they slip Fake Cardinal through the wall into the cell and Real Cardinal into the tent. With the Cardinals successfully switched, Rollin removes the disguise that he just took all that trouble of putting on and the IMF trio slip out to take the roles of reporters at the Cardinal's press conference. Real Cardinal uses the conference to publicly denounce Zepke and drives off free as a bird.
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The Avengers
"Wish You Were Here"
Originally aired November 18, 1968 (US); February 12, 1969 (UK)
Wiki said:
In a spoof of the 1967 British TV series The Prisoner, Tara finds herself trapped in a posh prison without bars or guards, which, on the surface, appears to be merely an elegant hotel in a quiet English town.
Well, that description certainly caught my interest.
Tara's uncle has gone missing "on vacation," while an executive at his office who turns out to be behind the plan to get him out of the way and take over is covering it up. Tara goes to investigate, as this posh prison is easily found on the map. She finds that certain guests who try to check out quickly fall victim to accidents...so it's a little less The Village and a little more "Hotel California". In Tara's case, the mishaps shouldn't have been much of a discouragement if she was really determined to leave--first having window washers' water spilled on her, then finding a big hole ironed into her suit.
Steed stays in the background for this installment, but Tara gives a nod to the metaphor in his name:
As a damsel in distress, I have a feeling that a knight in shining armour on his trusty steed will come rescue us at any moment.
Mother's scene features him riding in circles on a large scale. Steed gets suspicious about his failed attempts to contact Tara, so he sends a bumbling guest agent, Basil Crighton-Latimer (Brook Williams), to check into the hotel, which gives Tara the opportunity to be the experienced half of the duo.
Tara and accomplices take over the kitchen, which conveniently has the water shutoff and the electric box, both of which they use to cause all of the legitimate guests to leave. Steed pops in at the end, once they've taken control of the situation.
The coda spoofs the episode's spoof, with Steed convincing Tara that he's being held prisoner in his own flat and to switch places with him, only for her to find that she's now babysitting for one of his neighbors.
I think that spoofing
The Prisoner only underscores how lightweight this show is at this point.
A quick Google tells me that Tara's red sports car is a 1968 Lotus Europa.
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Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In
Season 2, episode 9
Originally aired November 18, 1968
The Wiki list of guest appearances said:
Victor Borge, Rosemary Clooney, Arlene Dahl, George Gobel, Phil Harris, George Kirby, The Banana Splits
It was interesting to see the Banana Splits again. I used to catch their show really early on Saturday mornings when I was little. Alas, I couldn't find a clip.
Jack Riley does King George III a la LBJ, discussing the Revolutionary War using Vietnam talking points.
The Priest said:
I'm in favor of religion on TV...but why change the name of Sermonette to Missionary: Impossible?
Gary Owens said:
Due to technical difficulties, Laugh-In will now continue.
Dan introduces the Potpourri segment solo, doing Dick's part as well as his own.
Laugh-In salutes the U.S. Post Office:
This week's New Discovery--The Stardust Cowboy:
They're clearly trying to find the next Tiny Tim with these weird novelty acts. Maybe they should have gotten Yoko on the show.
Chelsea Brown may have given the Stones a song idea!
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"Just Donald and Me and Jerry Makes Three"
Originally aired November 21, 1968
Wiki said:
Jerry and Ruth's marriage is on the rocks, and a remorseful Jerry is interrupting Ann & Donald's time with each other.
Ruth must have found out about Margie, the woman he married in Season 1!
The title shot set-up was particularly weak this week.
Ann and Donald struggle not to take sides, but Ruth's gone to Buffalo while Jerry's right next door to Ann, so they take pity and have him over for what was supposed to be a romantic dinner; then he treats them to lunch the next day when they already had plans. After that, they get to a point where they're trying to get out before he comes over.
Donald said:
Listen, we've seen twice as much of him as Ruthie ever did, and she's getting a divorce.
This episode gives us Gloria, another secretary at Donald's office who's interested in Jerry (which is how Margie was introduced, though they left it ambiguous as to whether the woman he married was supposed to be the same Margie). To his credit, Jerry doesn't take the bait.
Donald finally gives into Ann's original inclination to interfere in the situation. Their strategy is to plant suggestions to each that the other is starting to see other people. The climactic mock-romantic reunion scene uses the love theme from Tchaikovsky's
Romeo and Juliet and slow-motion.
In the coda, Ann and Donald get even with Jerry for sticking them with the bill at their previous lunch by recreating his breakdown over a baked apple at the same restaurant...which is pretty funny.
"Oh, Donald" count:
2
"Aw, Donald" count:
1
"Oh, Ruthie" count:
1
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Ironside
"Reprise"
Originally aired November 21, 1968
Wiki said:
As a manhunt ensues for the person who shot Eve, she remembers her first meetings with her co-workers during her life-and-death struggle.
Actually, the flashbacks are from everyone else's perspectives while she's in critical condition. Anyway, the premise gives Raymond Burr a rare opportunity to not-metaphorically stretch his legs a little in the role.
Eve is shot while buying the Chief an antique kettle for his birthday. The flashbacks reveal that Ambulatory Ironside met her as a rich society gal who was a witness to another crime with a good eye for detail. He challenged her to go back to school and get a career, and she chose...well, you know. Detective work must run in the family, though...Eve's Mom is Irene Hervey, which would make her Honey West's cousin.
Eve's first meeting with Ed is interesting...in the flashback, she talks him down from seeking revenge on somebody who'd just killed his partner. In the present, the Chief chastises Ed for carrying a .357 Magnum, asking him if he's planning to stop a tank.
As something of a format-breaker, this one really flew for me. Tracking down the shooter is relatively uncomplicated, and only half the story.
In the coda, the recovering Eve is horrified to learn what the Chief's using his birthday present for...though I saw it coming a mile away.
Mark said:
It's the only kind of pot his chili won't burn a hole through.
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Star Trek
"Plato's Stepchildren"
Originally aired November 22, 1968
Stardate 5784.2
H&I said:
Kirk and his crew find themselves at the mercy of powerful individuals who possess mind-over-matter powers and plan to use the Enterprise crew for their twisted entertainment.
See my post here.
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Hogan's Heroes
"Guess Who Came to Dinner?"
Originally aired November 23, 1968
Wiki said:
Informant Heidi Eberhardt is desperate to get out of Germany, but when her underground contact is arrested Hogan has second thoughts about her loyalty.
Guesting Marj Dusay (Kara from "Spock's Brain") as Heidi.
Hogan said:
Why is it you can only trust short, dumpy spies?
After learning that Heidi may be a double agent, Hogan arranges to get LeBeau back to their grocery store contact by convincing Klink to let him shop for food (guarded by Schultz, of course) to make a dinner for their distinguished guest, munitions mogul Otto von Krubner (Milton Selzer). When Hogan meets von Krubner, Heidi is also there, and is revealed to be his fiancee. She doesn't give him away and initiates a covert conversation with him, giving her some benefit of the doubt. Now Hogan has to arrange her escape himself.
With Hogan's prompting, von Krubner learns of the bombing at the secret factory that his fiancee identified, which makes her the prime suspect for having passed the information to the Allies...but Newkirk intercepts his call to Gestapo HQ, and the man who comes to take Heidi away is a contact (I think the grocery store proprietor, though I didn't check).
In the coda, LeBeau gives von Krubner a parting gift, which detonates as he drives away from the camp.
DIS-missed!
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Well, I can say that I like it for the nostalgia, anyway.
Nostalgia for the day last week when you thought that you might like Jimi Hendrix?
Not their best, but I like The Grass Roots.
Yeah...enjoyable but low-key, not one of their classics.
Kind of straightforward, but nice.
It's certainly of sign-o'-the-times interest, dealing with the racial issues of the day very bluntly.
A classic, but not a fave.
The James Brown original is a stone-cold classic. Otis doing Brown? Well, it's Otis...and his last Top 30 single...but nobody can improve upon James Brown doing James Brown.
But...but...this is
Comeback ELVIS...spelled out in big, red stage lights! The reinvigoration of his career! The Return of the King!
On that note, the iconic Comeback Special from which that video is taken hits its anniversary next week, and having always seen clips of it but never the entire special, I'd love to include it in my viewing, but it doesn't seem to be available for rent or purchase via Xfinity or iTunes. I read that NBC will be doing a special about the special, but that it will air in 2019. Elvis's VEVO has been posting lots of clips from the special, but as there are so many soundtracks and videos with expanded material out there, I can't seem to find a list of in-order performances from the actual special as it was originally broadcast. Do we have any Elvis aficionados in the house who might be able to share that info?
And her higher of two entries on the
Rolling Stone list...but also her last Top 20 single, though we'll be hearing another one or two deeper cuts from her.
And then a brief musical interlude.....
The year gives us yet another high-charting instrumental--'68 must really annoy you!
Now there's a stone-cold classic for you.
Sly & the Family make a welcome return to the weekly playlist!
I'm thinking that this must have been first-run third season episodes that were delayed to or repeated on Saturday evenings.
Must have been a local affiliate thing, I'd guess. The question then is...why didn't they want you to see
Adam-12?
Surely one of the most heartbreaking and iconic images of the 20th century.
John John....
I have not. Heard it, that is.
Hopefully you gave it a listen to hear what we were dealing with! Sirius probably puts it on 50s on 5.
I don't think I've heard this one either, but that is the epitome of the Girl Group sound.
It's enjoyable in its poppy way, but pretty lightweight compared to the Spector girl groups.
They do show some promise, don't they?
They've got that certain something (i.e., a ginormous career upswing just around the corner).
That's a major storytelling flaw, unless there's some specific dramatic reason for it.
Zerba played it well, FWIW.
