The Classic/Retro Pop Culture Thread

Discussion in 'TV & Media' started by The Old Mixer, Jan 11, 2016.

  1. RJDiogenes

    RJDiogenes Idealistic Cynic and Canon Champion Premium Member

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    War is hella good.

    I wonder who they used.

    He's got a bright future in radio. Worked for Edgar Bergin, after all.

    It comes and goes during the same show? Awkward. :rommie:

    Neil Sedaka would agree.

    They revisit the idea of blood transfusions later on a couple of times in quite an interesting way.

    I wonder what the recipient would look like. :rommie:

    There's his amnesty.

    How many criminals have been sent to the hoosegow because of notes on hotel note pads?

    Whoa.

    The Holy Drink.

    Presumably Fleming survived and is the one who shot Fat-- I wouldn't want to be in her shoes.

    My memory's playing tricks on me, that's all.
     
  2. The Old Mixer

    The Old Mixer Mih ssim, mih ssim, nam, daed si Xim. Moderator

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    _______

    50th Anniversary Viewing (Part 2)

    _______

    The Brady Bunch
    "Our Son, the Man"
    Originally aired February 5, 1971
    The episode opens with Greg annoyed at the other kids for carrying on while he's on the phone. He starts referring to the others as kids and himself as a man; starts shaving; asks not to go on the family campout; and requests his own room. Mike wants to honor his request; Carol suggests the den, while Mike wants it to be the family room, but relents, moving his work paraphernalia into the family room. Greg is really pleased with his new digs, which he thinks he can turn into a real groovy scene. While Greg moves into his new pad, the other kids tease him...the boys refusing to help him haul his mattress because they're "just kids," and the girls declining from visiting his "inner sanctum" because they don't want to disturb his privacy. Greg nevertheless gets the place all hippie'd up.

    At school, Greg tries to chat up the girl he's interested in, and things go awkwardly. Then her hip boyfriend shows up, making Greg feel inadequately attired, so he hits up Mike for a loan so he can invest in a groovy new wardrobe. He affects a new vocabulary to go with it, but crosses a line when he addresses his parents by their given names. He approaches the girl at school again, and noting his attempts, she makes her comment about how he's still growing up. Subsequently unable to get in on anything "heavy" with the other guys, he watches as the rest of the family starts leaving for the camping trip. When Mike goes back in to give him some money, they have a talk about the new perspective Greg has gained, and he asks to go on the camping trip after all.

    In the coda, Mike's den is back to normal, and he's designing a house for the family with eight bedrooms.

    Random Alice physical comedy beat: she gets stuck in a sleeping bag while they're being prepped in the backyard.

    _______

    The Odd Couple
    "Engrave Trouble"
    Originally aired February 5, 1971
    Felix is initially enthusiastic to go out on a double date with Oscar, but falls into depression when he hears a song that reminds him of his anniversary with Gloria. After the date that he doesn't go on, Felix tells Oscar about the watch that he gave Gloria for their first anniversary, which she didn't like because the engraving was less than romantic. Oscar gives him the idea of regifting it with a better engraving: the title of the song, "Just One More Chance". Oscar calls Gloria and arranges the date, which looks hopeful, but gets Felix all wound up about preparing for it. When Oscar and Felix go Louie, the pawn shop owner who's doing the engraving (Herb Vigran), they find him tied up after having been robbed. Felix falls back into depression, listening to the song over and over again.

    Oscar calls in favors to get in touch with an underworld contact named Bill Green (Michael Constantine), who runs a dog kennel. He initially doesn't want to get involved for the paltry sum that Oscar and Felix are willing to pay to get the watch back, but is moved when Felix shows him the pictures in his wallet--particularly those of Felix and Gloria's dog. He arranges for the watch to be left in an elevator, where Oscar and Felix eventually find it after assuming that they had to make contact with somebody riding the elevator. But we learn afterward that Felix's date with Gloria was ruined because the person who stole the watch had it re-engraved with a much cruder message for his girlfriend.

    In the coda, we learn that the watch has been stolen again, from Gloria, with a note left about feeding the dog indicating that Green was the culprit.

    _______

    Mission: Impossible
    "The Catafalque"
    Originally aired February 6, 1971
    The Fuegos are paying respects to Ramone's father, who's being kept in a glass coffin, apparently in a vacuum, while Doug and Barney spy on the changing of the guard from above. Paris, posing as an escaped prisoner, holds Ramone at gunpoint, claiming that his father has been imprisoned in a place called the bastion for twenty years because he'd tried to prevent the execution of Ramone's father at the order of Miguel. Barney and Doug break into the rodent-infested bastion--a prison that hasn't been used for sixty years--and get to work with their gear. Dana hits Ramone's car with a yellow Corvette while parking and hits on him in a very forward manner, which he responds to. At her place she switches his gun via a trick table while making out with him; then Doug storms in with a gun pretending to be her jealous husband, Ramone fake shoots him, and some repertory police threaten to arrest him and knock him out with the trick ring.

    Ramone wakes up in a cell in the bastion and it becomes clear that he's being framed and coerced to sign a confession, with Secret Police Captain Jim telling him that his uncle is behind the frame-up. While Miguel looks into his nephew's whereabouts, Barney and Doug very quietly use winches to bring the glass coffin up into the rafters of the viewing chamber and switch it without alerting the guards who are surrounding the coffin but looking away from it! In the bastion, Paris in old age makeup burrows through the wall into Ramone's cell, pretending to be the father of the escaped prisoner, and claiming to have hidden a diary with the truth about Ramone's father's death. They burrow out together through another wall, but once Ramone knows how to get out, he seals Paris back in and proceeds on his own. Young Paris shows up to aid in his escape and takes him to a hideout, where Ramone tells him that his father died while helping him escape. When Paris tells him how Old Paris was a sculptor, Ramone realizes that his father's body was replaced with a wax figure, and he and Paris barge into the chamber and retrieve the diary from it. The diary tells them that Ramone's father is alive and being kept in a sanitarium, so they barge in there with a gun and Ramone tries to talk to his repertory father, who's now in a fake vegetative state.

    Ramone vows revenge, and Paris steers him into stealing the treaty for blackmail purposes. They sneak into Miguel's office and Ramone retrieves it from its hand-scan-unlocked vault. Paris sneaks out with the treaty just before Miguel comes in and Ramone realizes what he's done. Mission: Accomplished.

    I found this one to be particularly hard to swallow...both for the coffin-switching, and for how much it relied on one character being really gullible.

    _______

    The Mary Tyler Moore Show
    "Hi!"
    Originally aired February 6, 1971
    When it comes out that Mary's taking off work to go to the hospital, Ted assumes she's getting a nose job. She doesn't want to tell Lou what she's going in for, but he insists for the paperwork. She's embarrassed about it, but also nervous; and the others quickly find out. Rhoda makes a point of teasing Mary about it...and swaps her nightgown for a skimpy nightie, which informs the first impression of Mary's snarky roommate, Loretta Kuhne (Pat Carroll), who's there for an ulcer but is also recovering from a broken leg. When she finds out that Loretta watches Ted Baxter for laughs, Mary says that she's a stewardess. After the operation, Rhoda, Lou, and Murray all bring Mary ice cream, which she's already been eating all day; while Loretta gets a visit from the boyfriend whom Mary assumes is her husband, Bert (Bruce Kirby). Then Ted comes in while the curtain's closed, and Loretta yells for Mary to turn down the TV because she doesn't feel like hearing that idiot. When she's about to leave, Mary tries to make one last gesture of friendship toward Loretta, which is initially rebuffed but then accepted. In the coda, Mary learns that Bert isn't the husband with whom Loretta's been having problems.

    _______

    I didn't even get the impression that there was a body. They just remote-detonated a mine.

    Madrid shot Fat...he had a gun on both of them.
     
  3. RJDiogenes

    RJDiogenes Idealistic Cynic and Canon Champion Premium Member

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    Next week: Greg continues to be constantly teased by the other kids during the long, long drive to the campground.

    A Brady's home is his castle.

    The principal on Room 222.

    Probably should have just bought a new watch to begin with. :rommie:

    If anything went awry with that switch, Doug would have had quite a surprise.

    Their security measures are not as airtight as their coffins, apparently. :rommie:

    There is a slight resemblance.

    At least they're back to international intrigue.

    That would be my first guess.

    Are tonsillectomies embarrassing?

    Ah, I remember this episode. :rommie:

    Ah, okay.
     
  4. The Old Mixer

    The Old Mixer Mih ssim, mih ssim, nam, daed si Xim. Moderator

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    I'd meant to provide some visual aids:
    TBB09.jpg
    TBB10.jpg
    Also, MeTV just showed this one, and other recently reviewed episodes, this past Sunday. And they showed Adam-12, "Elegy for a Pig," this week.

    There was probably a signal, maybe built into the trick table.

    It's a procedure associated with children.
     
  5. RJDiogenes

    RJDiogenes Idealistic Cynic and Canon Champion Premium Member

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    That's a pretty groovy pad. I wonder how a kid who's always asking his dad for spending money was able to finance it. I sense an Adam-12 crossover coming up.

    I've got to pay more attention to those capsule descriptions.

    One would hope. :rommie:

    That's right, I forgot about that. That was a fairly common plot back in the day.
     
  6. The Old Mixer

    The Old Mixer Mih ssim, mih ssim, nam, daed si Xim. Moderator

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    55 Years Ago This Week



    Selections from Billboard's Hot 100 for the week:

    Leaving the chart:
    • "Attack," The Toys (9 weeks)
    • "It Was a Very Good Year," Frank Sinatra (8 weeks)
    • "My Generation," The Who (5 weeks)
    • "Sandy," Ronny & The Daytonas (11 weeks)
    • "You Didn't Have to Be So Nice," The Lovin' Spoonful (12 weeks)

    New on the chart:

    "Shake Me, Wake Me (When It's Over)," Four Tops

    (#18 US; #5 R&B)

    "This Old Heart of Mine (Is Weak for You)," The Isley Brothers

    (#12 US; #6 R&B; #47 UK)

    "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry," B. J. Thomas & The Triumphs

    (#8 US)

    "Time Won't Let Me," The Outsiders

    (#5 US)

    "Listen People," Herman's Hermits

    (#3 US)


    And new on the boob tube:
    • The Ed Sullivan Show, Season 18, episode 22
    • Branded, "Barbed Wire"
    • 12 O'Clock High, "Twenty-Fifth Mission"
    • Batman, "A Riddle a Day Keeps the Riddler Away"
    • Batman, "When the Rat's Away the Mice Will Play"
    • Gilligan's Island, "Forward March"
    • The Wild Wild West, "The Night of the Whirring Death"
    • Get Smart, "Smart, the Assassin"

    _______

    He's been on the show before, he knows the drill. Say, maybe he's really the boy king from that M:I episode, and is actually supporting the familly. Yeah, Mike's an "architect"...
     
  7. RJDiogenes

    RJDiogenes Idealistic Cynic and Canon Champion Premium Member

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    Not bad. Somehow sounds like Chairman of the Board to me.

    Classic.

    Another song that's hard to kill.

    Nice Oldies Radio mainstay.

    I forgot about this one. It's okay.

    Hmm. Have Alice and Paris ever been seen together in the same room? I don't think so....
     
  8. The Old Mixer

    The Old Mixer Mih ssim, mih ssim, nam, daed si Xim. Moderator

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    50 Years Ago This Week



    Selections from Billboard's Hot 100 for the week:

    Leaving the chart:
    • "Immigrant Song," Led Zeppelin (13 weeks)
    • "I Think I Love You," The Partridge Family (19 weeks)
    • "Mother," John Lennon / Plastic Ono Band (6 weeks)

    New on the chart:

    "Eighteen," Alice Cooper

    (#21 US; #482 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time)

    "Free," Chicago

    (#20 US)

    "You're All I Need to Get By," Aretha Franklin

    (#19 US; #3 R&B)

    "I Don't Know How to Love Him," Helen Reddy
    (#13 US; #12 AC)

    "Oye Como Va," Santana

    (#13 US; #11 AC; #32 R&B)

    "What's Going On," Marvin Gaye

    (#2 US; #1 R&B; #4 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time)


    And new on the boob tube:
    • Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, Season 4, episode 22
    • All in the Family, "Gloria's Pregnancy"
    • Hawaii Five-O, "Dear Enemy"
    • Ironside, "Love, Peace, Brotherhood and Murder"
    • Adam-12, "Log 76: Militants"
    • The Brady Bunch, "Lights Out"
    • The Partridge Family, "Partridge up a Pear Tree"
    • That Girl, "That King"
    • The Odd Couple, "You've Come a Long Way, Baby"
    • Love, American Style, "Love and the Boss / Love and the Jury / Love and the Logical Explanation / Love and the Pregnancy"
    • Mission: Impossible, "Kitara"
    • The Mary Tyler Moore Show, "A Friend in Deed"

    _______

    I'm not hearing that, but it is one of their "in-between" singles. Enjoyable, but it lacks the punch of their stronger hits.

    Interestingly, in the Isleys' sporadic collection of major hits, this was their first Top 40 single since 1962, when it was a little song called "Twist and Shout"...

    The 1949 original by Hank Williams is chronologically the oldest song on the Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Songs list (#111).

    Yep.

    Oldies radio definitely seems to have decided to weed out several of the Hermits' more successful singles.

    Would that be "and Leonard Nimoy as Ann B. Davis as Alice," or "and Ann B. Davis as Leonard Nimoy as Alice"?
     
    Last edited: Feb 13, 2021
  9. Nerys Myk

    Nerys Myk A Spock and a smile Premium Member

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    How'd that work out? ;)
     
  10. The Old Mixer

    The Old Mixer Mih ssim, mih ssim, nam, daed si Xim. Moderator

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    Gotta keep the iconic house...the interior set already doesn't fit in the exterior, so I've read. But a previous bit of web searching brought up multiple examples of fan floorplans trying to do so.
     
  11. Nerys Myk

    Nerys Myk A Spock and a smile Premium Member

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    There was a home reno mini series where they redid the house used for the exterior to match the sets. Though they had to fudge a little as the house is a one story.
     
  12. RJDiogenes

    RJDiogenes Idealistic Cynic and Canon Champion Premium Member

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    I like this, but I'm surprised that it's even on the Greatest Songs list. It's like his beginner song.

    Chicago has done better.

    Ditto. The r-e-s-p-e-c-t was too much.

    From Superstar. A good cover.

    Now that's the stuff.

    And here's one that deserves its high ranking.

    Interesting. I didn't realize they went back that far.

    How dare they?!?

    [​IMG]

    Mike must have designed the Jupiter II as well. :rommie:
     
  13. The Old Mixer

    The Old Mixer Mih ssim, mih ssim, nam, daed si Xim. Moderator

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    50th Anniversary Album Spotlight

    John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band
    John Lennon
    Released December 11, 1970
    Chart debut: December 26, 1970
    Chart peak: #6 (January 30, 1971)
    #22 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time (2003)
    This album I've had in my collection for decades, since the late days of vinyl. A less commercial predecessor to the 1971 Imagine album (which covers similar ground in a generally more palatable fashion), it is John's solo masterpiece...raw, powerful, and insightful, but not a pleasant, easy listen.


    The album opens in an unapologetically raw fashion with "Mother," which was issued in edited form as a single (charted Jan. 9, 1971; #43 US):

    While it serves as an honest introduction to the album, it was far from the work's most commercially appealing track.

    Things take a more pleasantly mellow turn with "Hold On," which includes TV junkie John endearingly giving a shout-out to Sesame Street.

    The album then rocks things up with the iconoclastic "I Found Out".
    Now that I showed you what I been through
    Don't take nobody's word what you can do
    There ain't no Jesus gonna come from the sky
    Now that I found out I know I can cry

    ...
    Old Hare Krishna got nothing on you
    Just keep you crazy with nothing to do
    Keep you occupied with pie in the sky
    There ain't no guru who can see through your eyes

    Of particular note, John takes his first direct shot at Paul on this track...which will prove to be the opening salvo of the infamous back-and-forth spat on their subsequent albums.

    John goes full Dylan with one of the album's best-known tracks, the F-bomb-laden "Working Class Hero":

    They hurt you at home, and they hit you at school
    They hate you if you're clever, and they despise a fool
    Till you're so fucking crazy, you can't follow their rules

    ...
    Keep you doped with religion and sex and TV
    And you think you're so clever and classless and free
    But you're still fucking peasants as far as I can see


    I don't know if it had hit single chops, but side one's closer, "Isolation," would be one of the more radio-friendly tracks on the album, being a mostly gentle piano ballad with a cathartic middle section:


    I don't expect you to understand
    After you've caused so much pain
    But then again, you're not to blame
    You're just a human, a victim of the insane

    The second side opens with the catchily upbeat "Remember".

    Next is easily the album's prettiest track, "Love," with its simple but poetic lyrics and gentle opening and closing fades:


    This is strongly contrasted by "Well Well Well," a sort of parallel rocker to "I Found Out," which, like "Mother," features John going into full primal mode.

    "Look at Me" is another particularly gentle track, the composition of which dates back to when the Beatles were with the Maharishi in 1968...hence the similar finger-picking acoustic guitar style (which John learned from Donovan while in India) to such White Album tracks as "Dear Prudence" and "Julia". Lyrically, it's perhaps John's most vulnerable moment on the album.

    The album climaxes with John's sweeping, definitive closing statement, "God," in which he disavows a litany of past influences:


    In a manner reminiscent of Abbey Road, the album closes with a simple, fragmentary song, "My Mummy's Dead," for which the album uses a raw demo recording.

    _______

    Interesting solution they came up with! I'm also impressed that they so faithfully recreated the stones.

    Alice Cooper (actually the band name) is one of those artists whom I was familiar with by name, but found that I wasn't very familiar with much of their work as I was adding charting singles to my collection. The album that "[I'm] Eighteen" is on, Love It to Death, is also on the RS album list, so I assume that the people who contribute to the lists thought that AC was bringing something distinctive/influential to the table at this point.

    Yeah, this isn't a particularly memorable one, surrounded by much better-known classic hits.

    A decent but completely unnecessary cover.

    I'm passing on getting this one, but tentatively planning to get the Yvonne Elliman version from the actual soundtrack.

    Si.

    Definitely a times-sign-y classic. The album, which also ranked high on the original version of its RS list (and tops the new version), will also be coming up in due time.

    I don't think they want back far enough, from some of the stuff that I was exposed to partially via the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame list, which goes back to the late '20s. There are several R&B songs of particular interest in the late '40s and early '50s that are very much early rock 'n' roll before it became recognized as a new genre.
     
    Last edited: Feb 14, 2021
  14. Nerys Myk

    Nerys Myk A Spock and a smile Premium Member

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    Incredible album.
     
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  15. Nerys Myk

    Nerys Myk A Spock and a smile Premium Member

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    To expand, John often hits his creative stride when he goes deep and personal and yet I've found it easy to relate to what he's writing about. Paul on the other hand writes great story songs, which I see as his forte. Of course there are plenty examples of the opposite being true. :lol:
     
  16. The Old Mixer

    The Old Mixer Mih ssim, mih ssim, nam, daed si Xim. Moderator

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    John, on his game, was more ambitious and hit higher highs. Paul, on his game, could just create great, memorable pop songs. Both could be pretty terrible at their most indulgent in their solo careers, without having each other as bullshit filters. Paul's terrible was generally more goofily listenable, at least.
     
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  17. The Old Mixer

    The Old Mixer Mih ssim, mih ssim, nam, daed si Xim. Moderator

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    On that last note, I should add that I've always had a big, fat soft spot for Wild Life, which is generally considered to be one of Paul's worst albums. :whistle:

    John & Yoko's Some Time in New York City, OTOH...practically unlistenable.
     
  18. RJDiogenes

    RJDiogenes Idealistic Cynic and Canon Champion Premium Member

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    Lennon was an artist first and an entertainer second, while Paul was an entertainer first and an artist second-- and that created the magic of the Beatles. Of course, it helps that he was an artistic genius.

    His intolerance of other artists is not his most engaging feature.

    An FM classic.

    He lost me at Zimmerman. :rommie: He definitely seems to be a man of extremes. I never met him, of course, but he strikes me as the kind of guy who gets a couple of drinks in him and corners you at a party, and then you spend the rest of your life avoiding him even though you agree in principal with a lot of what he says. I find the comment from his therapist interesting, that they didn't have time to put him back together.

    He did actually become Alice Cooper eventually.

    That seems likely. While I like his Horror Burlesque style (Marvel actually did an Alice Cooper comic around 1980 that was done in the old EC style, and it was great), I only really like a handful of his songs. And my favorites are a couple of ballads.

    I would give my highest recommendation to the complete soundtrack. It's one of the most epic, in the true sense of the word, creations of the 20th century, if not all time, both lyrically and musically.

    I'd be happy if they encompassed the entire decade of the 20s, which was like a "little 60s," or preview of the 60s, both culturally and artistically. Basically, it was liberalism's first attempt of the 20th century at making widespread change, until it was sidetracked by history. Then the 60s actually accomplished that widespread change, but was sidetracked by history before it was finished. Now we need liberalism to make a comeback in the 21st century for the next steps.
     
  19. The Old Mixer

    The Old Mixer Mih ssim, mih ssim, nam, daed si Xim. Moderator

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    _______

    50th Anniversary Viewing

    _______

    All in the Family
    "Judging Books by Covers"
    Originally aired February 9, 1971
    As the episode opens, Mike and Gloria are having a friend named Roger (Tony Geary), who's visiting from England and sporting mod clothers, over for dinner. Archie's put off that they bought fancy cashews and smoked salmon for him, and it turns out that he's already acquainted with Roger and considers some vintage euphemisms for homosexuality to apply to him, though Mike and Gloria insist that he's just a glasses-wearing intellectual. Archie leaves for Kelsey's Bar--the future locale of the show's latter-day continuation, notably making its first appearance--where he chews the fat with Steve (Philip Carey), Barney (Bill Halop, not Allan Melvin), and Nick (Billy Sands). Steve is a former pro football player, whom Archie clearly admires. Mike and Roger drop in, and it turns out that Steve and Roger already know each other. Tommy Kelsey (Bob Hastings) asks Mike about Roger specifically because of that, letting Mike in on Steve's sexual orientation.

    Back at the house, despite Archie's continued comments about Roger, Mike holds back from letting him in on what he's learned. Mike and Gloria change the subject by showing Archie the trick where women can lift a chair while bent over and men can't. Then it comes up that Roger taught them the trick, and Mike finally lets Archie in on the secret, which infuriates him as besmirchment. Archie returns to Kelsey's, where the guys are watching a fight. Sitting alone with Roger afterward, Archie asks him about how he knows Roger. When Archie lets on to what Mike told him, Steve matter-of-factly informs him that Mike's right. Archie insists that Steve's putting him on. At the house again, Archie meets a friend of Mike and Gloria's named Jerry whom he mistakes as a young man from behind (Linn Patrick).

    Archie: Nowadays you can't bet on nothin'.​

    This is the episode that infamously got discussed on one of the Nixon tapes, with Tricky Dick casting aspersions on the show--with which he hadn't been previously familiar--for glorifying homosexuality. The YouTube clip of it that I found dated the tape as being from May, which fits with something that I heard or read...that the show picked up viewers during the rerun season. The episode in which Archie writes the president also gets referenced, by someone who was already watching the show. One striking aspect is how they continually refer to Archie as a "hardhat" and a "slob". They were also under the impression that Roger had been gay, against what the episode had been trying to say on the subject.

    _______

    Hawaii Five-O
    "The Gunrunner"
    Originally aired February 10, 1971
    That is a HUGE fucking spoiler to put in a capsule description. What they didn't spoil is that the munitions dealer, Ben Cunningham, is played by Paul Burke--the Gallagher brothers together again!

    Claire, a.k.a. Mrs. C (Marian McCargo), is abducted from their home by a small group of intruders who kill a guard dog and knock out Ben's right-hand-man, Hank (George Murdock). One intruder is found shot and identified as a native of Arasunda, an island known to have a separatist movement that opposes the sovereign Malanesian government...which is a helpful clue, because Mr. C doesn't want to violate his current client's confidentiality, even to save his wife. Five-O has his phone tapped, and McGarrett pays a visit to the Malanesian consulate, where he's informed by the Consul (Arthur Batanides) that the dead intruder was working for a separatist leader named Kanjil (Daws Dawson). The van that the intruders used is found, and it belongs to a Mr. Bajano (Phillip Pine), who says that the dead intruder was his cousin and that he was coerced to help the separatists at gunpoint.

    Mr. C gets a call from kidnappers, who'd previously left a note that he didn't share with McGarrett, and want him to send the shipment to them instead of his client. The call is traced, but turns out to have been routed through a pair of joined payphone receivers. In McGarrett's office, Mr. C seems more desperate to cooperate at this point, but McGarrett wants him to buy them some time rather than go through with the deal. Mr. C goes to the consulate, as it turns out that the weapons were originally meant for Malanesia, and lets them in on the kidnapping; under the circumstances, they offer him more money for the shipment, and he tells them where the weapons are being stored. Kanjil's separatists are tipped off and raid the place. There's a firefight, which Five-O and the police help break up with their arrival. Kanjil is shot by Mr. C, but tells McGarrett before he dies that he didn't kidnap anybody.

    Blood is found in the van that doesn't match Mrs. C but does match the man found on the lawn, indicating that he was brought to the Cunningham home having already been shot by Mr. C's gun! McGarrett learns from Hank the extent of financial trouble that Mr. C's business has been in, and that Bajano was the middleman in an attempt by the separatists to buy the arms, so Steve deduces that Bajano's working for Mr. C in the scheme. But back at the kidnappers' hideout, Mrs. C wriggles loose from her bonds, removes her blindfold, and sees her kidnappers' faces...for which they determine that they'll have to kill her. Mr. C arrives at their lair with the money they've demanded--an advance from the consulate--and attempts to plead for his wife's life. He tries to make a move and gets fatally shot, but Five-O swoops in and manages to save Mrs. C. As McGarrett walks her away from the scene, Claire tells him that she plans to sink her husband's arms shipment into the ocean.

    _______

    The Brady Bunch
    "The Liberation of Marcia Brady"
    Originally aired February 12, 1971
    It's established here that Marcia is still in junior high, which gels with Maureen McCormick's age. The interview gets her worked up on the subject of whether girls are equal to boys, even though she'd initially been noncommittal on the subject. Marcia then realizes that her brothers will be watching and unsuccessfully tries to prevent them from doing so. The boys tease her, with Greg calling her a kook. The subject having been brought up even causes a bit of friction between Mike and Carol. Marcia gets the idea about joining Greg's all-boys scouts organization while talking with the other girls. Mike's there as a scoutmaster when she comes in, and he and fellow scoutmaster Stan (Ken Sansom) can't find anything in the regulations preventing a girl from joining. Wanting to show her how silly she looks, Greg comes up with his Sunflower Girls idea, but has a look at the girls' guidebook and learns that the age requirement is between 10 and 14...which leaves only poor Peter, who already had his masculinity challenged recently for being in the glee club. (Mike Lookinland had recently turned 10 when the episode aired; I'm trying to remember how old they said Bobby was in an earlier episode.)

    Marcia practices a resuscitation technique on Alice for her initiation test, which involves straddling her back. When the boys break the news about Peter, Marcia's actually supportive of the idea. The other boys prod him to go through with wearing the uniform and trying to sell cookies door-to-door, to his humiliation...the first potential customer (John Lawrence) thinks that he's on a hidden camera show, but goes through with buying a box because he admires Peter's nerve.

    On her initiation day, Marcia has difficulty with tasks such as carrying her pack, putting up her tent, and starting a fire, but ultimately succeeds and starts to gain confidence. She manages to pass her last test--following a trail--despite Greg having left very small blazes for her to follow...for which Mike has a brief word with him. Even Greg, while still thinking that she's kooky, seems to gain some respect for her. Then Marcia bows out before the initiation ceremony.

    In the coda, Peter looses his appetite for a plate of cookies that he's been enjoying when he learns that they're ones that the family had bought from him.

    _______

    The Odd Couple
    "Bunny Is Missing Down by the Lake"
    Originally aired February 12, 1971
    Felix is planning to go on a solo fishing trip in a borrowed cabin when Felix comes home after having seen Gloria with another man. Oscar insists on taking Felix with him, but as expected, a rustic cabin in the wilderness isn't in Felix's comfort zone. Oddly, the cabin has bunk beds. Felix lets Oscar sleep in until late morning, missing his opportunity to fish, and has also liberated his bait worms. A rainstorm clinches things, keeping them inside, but Oscar tries to keep both of them in good spirits. In the middle of the storm, a woman named Julie (E.J. Peaker) who's on a nature excursion shows up at their door. When she says she's with three other girls, they assume other mature young women, but Bunny, Cindy, and Lois turn out to be Lisa Gerritsen, Pamelyn Ferdin, and Gloria McCartney.

    Oscar: I finally found a beautiful girl in this wilderness, she comes up here with the Brady Bunch!​

    Felix, however, takes an interest in entertaining the girls...bonding with the withdrawn Bunny by reading Shakespeare with her.

    Bunny: Mr. Unger, I think you're a great actor--better than Bobby Sherman!​

    When the subject of Gloria comes up again, Oscar recruits Julie to come on to Felix just enough to make him "feel lucky in love". As Julie starts trying to spend time with Felix, Bunny watches with envy in her eyes. While the couple are outside, Oscar tries to entertain the girls, but is criticized for not knowing what kids are into these days.

    Cindy: You should watch Sesame Street, Oscar.​

    Bunny goes missing during a game of hide and seek. The search proves hazardous for Oscar, though Felix remains focused on finding her, and eventually does. Bunny admits her jealousy to Felix, and he agrees to a pact that they'll meet at the zoo if neither is married in 20 years.

    _______

    The Mary Tyler Moore Show
    "The Boss Isn't Coming to Dinner"
    Originally aired February 13, 1971
    Lou's youngest daughter has just gotten married, and Lou makes a lot of noise about how he and the wife will finally be alone at last. He rebuffs Mary's first invitation, and in the following week he seems in a foul mood--chewing Mary out for cleaning off his desk, so she spreads his neatly organized paperwork back on it. He refuses a couple more invitations--the last one after saying he wouldn't be busy that night--so Mary calls Mrs. Grant and learns of the separation.

    Back at the office, Mary learns the source of the marital difficulties, which doesn't make Lou look good...that Edie's now going to college, studying home economics. She also learns that everyone else in the office already knew about the separation. Lou invites the crew (which includes Gordy this week) for cocktails after work. Mary feels uncomfortable amidst all the guy talk, then lets her opinion loose when the subject of "men's lib" comes up. After the gang mostly disperses (Ted hanging on), Lou calls Edie to tell her that he wants to come home, and gladly takes her grocery list.

    In the coda, Lou gives Mary an invitation to come over for dinner with him and Mrs. Grant...the meal consisting of leftovers from her home economics test, for which she earned a C-minus.

    _______

    An interesting observation, but I'm not sure that I'd 100% agree with it. My view has long been that John was more of a general artist...he could've become a painter, illustrator, poet, or writer if he'd applied himself in those areas (which he did dabble in), but focused on music. Whereas Paul was the one who truly had music in his veins, first and foremost.

    Guess it depends on who the artist is. He was quick to dis all of the other Beatles' early solo works.

    It actually got played on the radio?

    It's funny...I've been picking away at the Lennon Remembers interview, and when Wenner asks him about referring to Dylan as Zimmerman, John goes off on a little rant about how that's his real name...yet he hadn't come to refer to the guy who was still drumming for him as Richard.
    Ah, that's funny because it reminds me of something I read that a rock journalist back in the day wrote about Paul...that if he were your next-door neighbor, you'd be thrilled at first, but eventually you'd be politely nodding your head as he rambled on about stuff and trying to avoid him. :lol:

    Yeah, I included that because I found it quite telling regarding where John was coming from at this point. He was effectively an emotional open wound.

    Ah, didn't know that.

    That possibility is rattling around on the back burner, but I've already got such a busy album year between the two eras...

    The stuff that made the R&RHOF list was specifically from genres that were seen as having shaped rock 'n' roll...the songs that went back to the late '20s were generally vintage blues. And what they were able to include from that decade may have been limited by the availability of recordings. The ones that I purchased on iTunes from that era were generally taken straight from scratchy old 78s.

    The oldest song on the list (at least the version that I copied for reference several years back), from 1923:

    After that it skips chronologically to 1927:

    That one's influence on rock 'n' roll is pretty obvious...Carl Perkins and the Beatles covered it.
     
    Last edited: Feb 16, 2021
  20. RJDiogenes

    RJDiogenes Idealistic Cynic and Canon Champion Premium Member

    Joined:
    Jun 11, 2003
    Location:
    RJDiogenes of Boston
    Dude from that time when General Hospital was a thing.

    Been there. :rommie:

    This was a bad thing to do, Mike.

    I never heard that. That was probably good for ratings, too. :rommie:

    Word of mouth. Including the prez's mouth. :rommie:

    "That's water pollution. Book her, Danno."

    The two major mistakes that prevent this episode from carrying weight are making Peter Marcia's adversary instead of Greg and Peter (or Greg) not also succeeding. Plus it's kind of weird that these kids who think they're so hip are more old-fashioned than their parents.

    A reference to Bunny Lake is Missing.

    And they're trying to join the Boy Scouts. :rommie:

    :rommie:

    Cute.

    A reference to Guess Who's Coming To Dinner?.

    You're right about the lack of plot drivers on this show. It's basically just a sequence of events between Lou getting separated and then getting over it. Funny I never noticed that.

    That's true, too.

    Oh, yeah. It was on BCN frequently back in the day.

    Never meet your heroes. :rommie:

    Yeah, that makes sense.

    You mean the pops and crackles weren't an artistic choice? :rommie: