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50th Anniversary Viewing (Part 1)
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M*A*S*H
"I Hate a Mystery"
Originally aired November 26, 1972
Wiki said:
Hawkeye is the prime suspect in a series of thefts at the 4077th.
The first item to come up missing is the sterling silver frame in which Frank keeps his mother's picture, followed by Houlihans' hairbrushes; a fishing reel that Blake got for his recurring squeeze, Lt. Leslie Scorch (Linda Meiklejohn); Trapper's watch; and the swizzle stick with which Jo-Jon makes Hawkeye's martinis. Blake calls a mess meeting about the rash of thefts, offering amnesty if the items are returned while the lights are out--during which more items come up missing. Blake orders a tent-by-tent search, resulting in some slapstick mishaps. When Hawkeye opens his locker for the search, the items are packed inside.
Henry wants to know what the gag is, but Hawkeye protests his innocence. Burns and Houlihan want to file charges with General Barker, so Blake assigns Radar to keep Hawkeye under constant surveillance. Offering to help Blake find the real culprit, Hawkeye makes a PA announcement about taking fingerprints from the stolen items, following which they're swiped from Blake's desk. Hawkeye then calls various personnel to the mess tent, where he puts on a Sherlock Holmes routine that culminates with the ruse that he treated the items with a chemical that will turn the culprit's fingernails blue. Ho-Jon's reluctance to show his hands exposes him as the perp. He explains that he needed money to move his mother and sister, and the assembled personnel are touched enough to let him keep the items.
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Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In
Season 6, episode 11
Originally aired November 27, 1972
The Wiki list of guest appearances said:
Carol Burnett, Ross Martin, Demond Wilson, Paul Gilbert, Vernon Scott
This is episode 12 on ShoutFactory. Carol, Ross, Demond, and Paul are all announced as cameo guests...there's no main guest. I couldn't find the cocktail party, news segment, or many other clips from this one.
A salute to old-time great comedians:
A Whoopie Award:
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Hawaii Five-O
"V for Vashon: The Patriarch"
Originally aired November 28, 1972
Wiki said:
With his grandson dead and his son in prison, Dominick (Luther Adler) sets in motion a scheme to frame McGarrett for the murder of a just-released drug pusher.
This one opens with a recap of the scenes of Chris Vashon's shooting and death; followed by scenes from last week of Honore's scheme to kill McGarrett and trial...all of which plays out in considerable detail. Given that last week got by fine with no recap, this tells us that they had seven minutes to fill. The story commences with Dominick paying a prison visit to his son...who points the elder Vashon to an inmate named Sullivan (Robert Luck) who's being released the next week...a simple-minded pusher who'd been put behind bars by McGarrett, but needs a ruse on Dominick's part about how McGarrett plans to entrap him to go after Steve. Meanwhile, Five-O learns that Dominick is selling his place in Hawaii and liquidating his illicit enterprises...though Steve smells a scheme. We're teased with this...
Danno: Feeling a little crowded where you're living now, Steve?
Sullivan makes his move--all planned out by Vashon and choreographed by Tosaki, who's on the scene--by firing at Steve from a parking garage elevator while McGarrett is leaving a banquet with an attorney named Harvey Drew (John Stalker). Steve pushes Drew down and shoots Sullivan, but the elevator proceeds up to the ground floor. When McGarrett gets up there, before a crowd of onlookers, he finds no gun on Sullivan, and Drew denies having seen the man fire one. We learn that Tosaki had the weapon removed, and that it was loaded with blanks, thus leaving no slugs to be found.
Questioned by Manicote, Drew does recall hearing more than McGarrett's two shots having been fired. Vashon meets with Sullivan's window (Pat Herman) to recruit her to help plant a story about her husband in the paper that paints him as a sympathetic victim. Manicote informs Steve that he has to pursue an indictment for second-degree murder. Steve has faith that the respected Drew's testimony will be enough to get him off; but when Drew's on the stand, Manicote casts doubt that what Drew heard could have been a car backfiring, and Drew can't say for certain that it wasn't. The jury finds McGarrett guilty...with Vashon smugly present in the courtroom.
Out on bail while seeking an appeal, Steve visits Vashon to confront him about the frame-up, and Vashon tauntingly denies any connection with the matter...though he does promise that McGarrett will die in the same prison where Honore is incarcerated. Doc Bergman loans Steve a hideaway bungalow, where he confers with Manicote and the other Five-Oers about how the frame could have been accomplished, and what would need to be proven. (It seems like they're going out of their way not to show us Steve's digs at this point.) They figure that Vashon had to have gotten to Drew somehow to make him fold on the stand, and Five-O, assisted by a skillfully nimble uniformed officer, work out how somebody could have slipped in the elevator through the ceiling hatch, removed the gun, and gotten back up top with time to spare. Steve realizes that Vashon couldn't have counted on Steve happening to get in a lethal shot when he was trying to wound (Sullivan having crouched into shots meant for his legs), so the person who removed the gun would have had a hard-to-detect method of making sure Sullivan was dead by the time he reached the ground floor. Bergman has Sullivan dug up to performs a second au-TOP-sy (as Steve pronounces it), finding that a needle had been driven into Sullivan's brain, behind his ear.
Asking around, Five-O finds that a down-on-his-luck cat burglar scored a big job, dropped the name of an employer that one dares not drop, and promptly disappeared. Drew has skipped town, and Five-O investigates his office to find that he was routinely taking calls from a Bobby Raisbeck, who's currently serving time for possession; was notably not defended by Drew; whose digs are a conspicuously expensive high-rise pad; and who is now Honore Vashon's next-cell neighbor. Manicote lures Drew in by leaving a message about Raisbeck, and when Drew is confronted with the gentle-demeanored young Bobby (John Beatty) sitting in the DA's office, the relationship between the two--which Vashon held over Drew to force his cooperation--is made clear without being stated explicitly.
As Five-O is swooping in on Vashon's place, Dominick thanks Tosaki via phone for his service, and promises that Five-O won't be arresting
this Vashon. He prepares a gun, and as Five-O enters, shoots himself in the head. Steve finds a fancy paperweight on Vashon's desk bearing the titular family logo, and turns it over.
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The Odd Couple
"Password"
Originally aired December 1, 1972
Paramount Plus said:
Oscar appears as a celebrity contestant on Password, with Felix as his partner. Guest stars: Allen Ludden and Betty White.
In 1997, TV Guide ranked this episode #5 in its "100 Greatest Episodes of All Time" list. In 2009, it was ranked at #58.
What's with the game show kick lately? Felix and Oscar are having a double date at a restaurant with Miriam and a girl named Mitzi Ferguson (Ronda Copland) when Ludden and White enter (Betty having been a staple panelist on
Password in the day, as well as Ludden's wife). Felix reveals that he unsuccessfully auditioned as a contestant months back, describing it as his life's dream. Ludden approaches the table when he recognizes Oscar, and invites him to appear on the show. Oscar isn't interested, but Felix learns that Oscar could choose him as a partner, so Felix pesters Oscar to take Ludden up on the offer, coaching him on how the game works...and Oscar is finally sold to find out he stands to win $750.
Felix sets up a mock game for practice, but Oscar breaks the news that he's chosen Mitzi as his partner. Felix takes the role of Ludden, while Oscar and Mitzi play against Murray and Myrna...and Oscar gets a demonstration that Mitzi isn't ideal material for the show. In the studio, Felix and Oscar learn that they'll be playing against Betty and a woman named Millicent Thomas (Francine Greshler). Taping commences, and Felix proves to be too smart for the show, giving Felix clues that nobody would understand. He and Oscar briefly get in the swing of it, but lose when Felix overthinks one of Oscar's clues. Felix is disheartened by his failure.
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Love, American Style
"Love and the First Kiss / Love and the Impressionist / Love and the Super Lover"
Originally aired December 1, 1972
"Love and the First Kiss" takes us back to prehisotric days, with Fizik (Claude Akins) and his cavemate Gork (Allen Garfield)--an inventor who created fire, but is having trouble with a bottomless cup. Fizik has a couple of girls--Veda (Deanna Lund Matheson) and Bengoa (Beverly Moore)--over for dinner, but Gork is extremely nervous around the opposite sex and has an inferiority complex about the size of his club, so Fizik encourages him to talk about his inventions. He claims to have one that will revolutionize love.
Veda: What would he know about love? I'll bet he's never even clubbed a girl.
Gork calls his invention the kiss, and demonstrates it by rubbing ears with Veda. The cavewomen leave outraged.
Gork then receives an unexpected visit from an attractive woman named Gornaga (Ahna Capri), a fellow inventor who says she came up with a wheel, but lost it when it rolled away. Gork demonstrates the kiss for her, but it doesn't do anything for her and she leaves. Fizik goes out and brings her back the old-fashioned way, but he clubbed her too hard, so Gork tries to revive her by "blowing up her lungs". Gornaga wakes up during the mouth-to-mouth and presses her lips into Gork's. Both are strongly affected by this new invention, which they want to try more in private, but don't know what to call it.
"Love and the Impressionist" stars Rich Little (who else?) as Jackie Cane, who pleases audiences with his talent for mimicry, but is always on, even in private with his assistant and girlfriend Mildred (Michele Carey)--not being able to turn off the Sullivan, Dracula, Cagney, etc. even while trying to be romantic.
Mildred: Oh, Jackie, how can I talk to you seriously? What do I have to do?
Jackie as Bogart: Do Ingrid Bergman!
She warms up some to his Chaplin, but the closest he has to a "normal" setting is when he regurgitates the serious thank-you speech that he delivers to his audiences at the end of his act, which isn't doing a specific character but is still clearly just another act. A frustrated Mildred refuses to leave until Jackie shows her his true self. Kirk Douglas tries to warn Mildred what a loser Jackie Cane is.
W. C. Fields answers the door for the visit of a starstruck fan named Stanley Freiburger (Jerry Rannow), who'd like some tips for the act he's developing. But his idea of celebrity impressions to imitate the noises of them doing lawn work, framed in a lame narration. Mildred threatens to leave, but Jackie asks her not to go in a voice that she realizes is his own. After Stanley is shown out, Jackie nervously tries to talk about himself, proving to be extremely shy and awkward. Seeing how uncomfortable he is, Mildred asks to speak to Kirk again, and the couple start making out.
"Love and the Super Lover" opens with milquetoast Benny (Hamid Hamilton Camp) trying to impress a vocally underwhelmed blind date named Louise (Francine York), who ultimately walks out on him. His roommate Hal (Frank Converse) decides to throw a costume party to give him a chance to lower his inhibitions and let loose. Benny is unenthusiastic until he's shopping for something to wear and spots a Fantastic Man costume--being a still-active fan of the Man of Aluminum. He feels invigorated just holding the outfit, but the costume shop owner (Jonathan Hole) warns him of an unspecified penalty if he doesn't return the suit by midnight.
Benny initially strikes out at the party, but Hal (dressed as Robin Hood) tries to coach him to assert himself with an attractive guest in a harem girl outfit (Chris Holter). A brawny male guest in a bunny outfit (Garry Walberg) tries to bully him and, when Benny sneezes from the man's cigar smoke, the man is knocked against the wall. Benny quickly discovers that he now has Fantastic Man's powers--able to tear a door off its hinges with one hand, rip a telephone book in half, crush coal into diamond, blow a window out with his Fantastic Breath, and, ultimately, take off into the air with a guest dressed as a Native American girl (Cheri Howell).
All of this inspires Benny with confidence, causing him to behave in character, and he decides to sweep Louise off her feet. Apparently having cleared the party early, he summons Louise with an emergency telegram. He's wearing a robe over the costume as she arrives, and after he reveals it, she's actually impressed to find that he's really the Man of Aluminum, and receptive to his advances. As the clock strikes midnight, he wraps an arm around her and, with a cry of "High, high in the sky!," jumps out the window...and they plummet. In the coda, Benny hobbles into the costume shop in casts and bandages to warn a bespectacled man about renting the costume. Louise's fate is left ambiguous.
This is a segment that I distinctly recall having caught in syndication as a kid, given how it overlapped with my interests.
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Wait, you mean it's not?
Paul would've at least made a show of claiming that it wasn't, whether or not he was convincing about it.
Yeah, that's more like it.
I was wondering, "Willie like it?"
It also sounds more like Paul McCartney.
Don't sell Paul's versatility short. He's the one who brought us "Helter Skelter".
A nice little Jesus Freak anthem, and a nice nostalgic sound.
I'd previously skipped getting this for my collection, using its chart peak as an excuse, but now I'm planning to get it. It's got a great times-signy vibe and is stronger than a lot of stuff currently in my weekly playlist.
There's a goodie I haven't heard in a while.
I did have this one, despite it not having charted as a single.
Ditto.
Indeed.
I should add that I currently have several of Chuck's classic '50s tracks in my 50th anniversary shuffle because he has a double compilation album on the chart.
Nobody dies but Bucky. Had to be said. Carry on.
TWS was easily the strongest of the solo Avengers' sequel films in Phase Two, FWIW. It was the film that dropped the Hydra reveal, which I know you're familiar with from
Agents of SHIELD.
