The Classic/Retro Pop Culture Thread

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

  1. DarrenTR1970

    DarrenTR1970 Commodore Commodore

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    No, but on New Years eve, I synchronized the "Poseidon Adventure" to the clock and when the clock stuck midnight, the wave hit the ship and turned over. (Remember, they were celebrating New Year's and singing "Auld Lang Syne" when the wave struck.)

    I've also played Phil Collin's "In The Air Tonight" and had the drum break strike at exactly midnight.
     
  2. The Old Mixer

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

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    I once synched up a Christmas Eve viewing of It's a Wonderful Life so that George's potential suicide would happen at the time mentioned at the beginning of the film.

    Even "Baker Street"?

    I'm having flashbacks to the Other Thread...things are gonna get rough around here by the late '70s, aren't they? :p
     
    Last edited: Feb 28, 2023
  3. RJDiogenes

    RJDiogenes Idealistic Cynic and Canon Champion Premium Member

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    Here's the YouTube synchronization of Dark Side and Oz. I don't know how this guy got away with it. YouTube once rejected a video I took from my car because it recognized 24 seconds of Pat Benatar on the radio. :rommie:

    Er... I might try, but I'm not familiar with any of that stuff. :rommie:

    Interesting. I find them rather ethereal-- almost like an altered state of reality that one might get from getting high (a comparison not based on actual experience).

    Maybe, but I think it's more visceral than that, like my reaction to "Norwegian Wood." Almost like it's rubbing my nervous system the wrong way.

    You guys are way more organized than me. :rommie:

    Yeah, specifically "Baker Street" and "Right Down The Line."

    Good memory! That's true, but we have until 1978. Things are much better in the near term. :rommie:
     
  4. DarrenTR1970

    DarrenTR1970 Commodore Commodore

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    Interesting. I don't think I've such a had a reaction to a song. What it is about "Norwegian Wood" that sets you on edge? Is it the sitar, the lyrics or the way the song is constructed?
     
  5. Nerys Myk

    Nerys Myk A Spock and a smile Premium Member

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    Love that song. In my top 10 Beatles songs.
     
  6. The Old Mixer

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

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    My favorite Beatles song, period.

    Good description...but that's what I get from the Doors as well, whereas you only like them when coerced by a sibling.

    Offhand I wanna say that the starting time for the film was 9:17, but I'm not sure now.

    Those are more likely to be after RJ's time than before it.
     
  7. RJDiogenes

    RJDiogenes Idealistic Cynic and Canon Champion Premium Member

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    Thank you, but I think I'm probably the oldest youngster in this thread. :rommie:

    No idea. I like sitars, the lyrics are fine, and I have no idea about construction-- I feel like I should like it based on the title alone, but somehow it just makes me feel uncomfortable. Possibly a subconscious memory from the first time I heard it or something. It's a mystery.

    Heh. I actually don't dislike them, I just don't think they're all they're cracked up to be.

    Plus more mainstream than I tend to be familiar with.
     
  8. DarrenTR1970

    DarrenTR1970 Commodore Commodore

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    Speaking of Neil Innes, here's something I stumbled across while on YouTube. From the "Innes Book of Records". Neil does disco "Star Trek".
     
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  9. RJDiogenes

    RJDiogenes Idealistic Cynic and Canon Champion Premium Member

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    I didn't know him by name, but, looking at his Wiki page, I've seen a bunch of his movies. Ten volumes might be a bit much, though. :rommie:

    Maybe it's a good thing Phase II never happened. :rommie:
     
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  10. The Old Mixer

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

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    _______

    50th Anniversary Viewing (Part 2)

    _______

    Mission: Impossible
    "Speed"
    Originally aired February 16, 1973
    That's right--only three episodes until the end and we're still not done with Lynda's pregnancy or Greg's 'stache!

    A hood named Phalen (Ron Soble) and an accomplice break into a chemical plant by night, holding up the guard and driving their tanker truck in to fill it up with the titular narcotic. Phalen reports his success via phone to Sam Hibbing (Akins).

    Hibbing's drug-addicted, dirt-biking daughter, Margaret (Sullivan), is waylaid by the IMF on her way to a rally so Casey in disguise can take her place. Being played by another actress gives Casey the freedom to make a show of biking recklessly through the streets of San Francisco (a Quinn Martin Production...which started this season) so that her father will pursue her. Conventional law enforcement and an unnamed operative in a car help Casey to stage an accident, following which Hibbing makes a point of taking her stash so the fuzz won't find it. Fake Margaret is taken to the hospital, where Jim, posing as a biking buddy, offers Hibbing to help his daughter get off speed.

    Meanwhile, Barney, posing as a visiting underworld figure from New Orleans, makes a deal with supplier Mike Dayton (Charles Bateman) to put up the bread to purchase Hibbing's newly acquired goods at an upcoming auction. Casey gets an unexpected visit from Zinc (Jesse Vint), a sleazier actual biker boyfriend of Margaret's whose advances she has to fend off and who gives her a new stash while expecting payment. Tipped off by surveillance, Jim pops in and a fight and chase ensue, with Jim losing Zinc in an elevator that the IMF didn't have the forethought to rig for the occasion. Jim then pays the real Margaret a visit at the hospital where she's being held to question her about Zinc, but she won't talk without a fix.

    Jim brings home Fake Margaret, who makes a show of having gotten straight with his help. Margaret's new pal catches the attention of Hibbing's top man, Fred Snelling (uncredited Ross Hagen), who's long had an interest in the real McCoy. While the auction takes place, which involves multiple rounds of bidding on paper ballots, Phelan investigates the charter air office where Jim's supposed to be working. He's caught at gunpoint by Willy, posing as a disgruntled employee of Jim's. Phalen claims that he's an insurance investigator, and Willy tells him how Jim was a Korean War pilot who spent ten years in Leavenworth for killing another officer.

    Barney and Dayton win the bidding, and Barney hands over the 40% downpayment in marked counterfeit bills, with the rest to be given on delivery, for which Barney sets the condition that the goods have to be delivered to New Orleans very early the next morning. Casey calls Smelling to get friendlier and offer him a tip that his position as Hibbing's delivery expert is being muscled in on. He goes to see first Hibbing, then Fake Margaret, whom he finds having a fake drug-induced freak-out. Margaret implicates Smelling as the one who brought her the pills, and Jim attacks him in a fake rage, mercilessly TV Fu-ing him multiple times and injecting the unconscious man with Barney Juice to simulate death. Concerned that the tight delivery schedule is now in jeopardy, Hibbing corners Jim into handling it for him.

    Zinc pays Casey another unexpected visit in Margaret's bedroom in which he tries to force himself on her and loosens her mask. Hibbing catches the two of them and Zinc Scooby Doo's Casey, so she jumps out a window and evades foot pursuit. Realizing that he's been dealing with "the Man," Hibbing races to the warehouse where Jim's picking up the goods, but when Hibbing confronts him, Jim and Barney come to the rescue with a little gunplay to take out his men.

    The episode closes with Real Margaret being released, grateful to Jim for helping her get straight.

    _______

    Love, American Style
    "Love and the Baby Derby / Love and the Burglar Joke / Love and the Favorite Family"
    Originally aired February 16, 1973

    "Love and the Baby Derby" opens with brothers Paul and Danny Thorndyke (John Davidson and Wes Stern) attending what turns out to be a fake funeral of their Uncle Julius (E.J. André), who's used the occasion to offer via still-living will $1 million to the first Thorndyke to marry and have a baby. Swinger Paul tries calling various girlfriends, but none want to take the chance of losing the challenge while being stuck with a baby. Danny more pathetically tries to call a number of girls from his past who weren't interested in him in the first place. All the while, Julius and his right-hand man, Lorimer (Harold Peary), keep track of the nephews' efforts in a war room.

    Danny puts his brains to work, screening applicants from a computer dating service who are rated with the highest fertility quotient (all of whom already have babies). Paul gets a visit from Johnnie Darling, a cross-dresser (Charles Pierce) whom it turns out was paid by Danny as a distraction. Danny in turn meets Jane (Colleen Camp), a very attractive woman who doesn't meet his qualifications, but whom he falls for at first sight. Paul also finds himself smitten with Johnnie's sister, Boni (Barra Grant). This leads to a double wedding, followed by a reception in which both brothers have rigged the food and drinks to gain head starts, knocking everyone attending out. Various other pranks ensue on the honeymoon night, causing both brothers to be too wary of the other to just get on with the usual business.

    We jump ahead nine months to both brothers waiting at the hospital while their wives are in labor. Paul is informed first, but it turns out that Jane had twins, and delivered the first earlier. Neither gets the money, however, because it turns out that Julius got married to his nurse (wartime German secretary Cynthia Lynn), who had his baby two days earlier.

    "Love and the Favorite Family" takes us to the set of Meet the Mercers--an Ozzie and Harriet-style sitcom in which an actual family play TV-friendly versions of themselves. America's favorite family consists of father Steve (William Schallert), mother Susan (June Lockhart), jockish son Buzz (Larry Bishop), and drunk sister Penny (Jenifer Shaw), who occupy a set that looks like another redress of the Brady kitchen. While they project a wholesome late '50s / early '60s image on camera, the actors bicker over their contracts and number of lines between takes. A Mr. Nielsen (William Tregoe) visits the set to inform them that they've been canceled after ten years. The director (James Millhollin) resolves to save the show by making the episode they're working on the best they've ever done, though nothing much comes of this. Amidst the family in-fighting, we learn that Buzz owns controlling stock of the production company and is having an affair with the TV family's wacky neighbor Wilma (Bobbi Jordan) off camera. Nielsen returns to inform the Mercers that he'd gotten them mistaken for another sitcom featuring a family with a similar name. The segment ends with a couch potato couple watching the show, laughing and nodding their heads at the dated onscreen humor.

    _______

    All in the Family
    "Hot Watch"
    Originally aired February 17, 1973
    The episode opens with Mike frustrated because Gloria's been working long hours while her store does inventory, not leaving them time for...you know. Archie comes home in a good mood, showing off his new watch, which includes the time in China, a calendar, the phases of the Moon, and an alarm. Edith scurries to set the table in double time because Archie's timing her. Archie reveals what the timepiece cost and that his friend who sold it to him works on the docks, raising Mike's indignation, which veers into a tirade about how Congress lets Nixon get away with anything without asking any questions. (Hope he likes the taste of his own foot.) Mike's reaction when he learns Archie's friend is an ex-con causes Archie to accuse him of hypocrisy, as he'd be more sympathetic if Tommy were a minority.

    The watch stops after Archie pounds his Heinz bottle. Afraid to take it to a legitimate shop where it could be identified as stolen, Archie tries to find a shadier repairman through first a friend of Stretch Cunningham, then Lionel, only to learn that Edith already took the watch to a jeweler. Mike and Gloria come downstairs after clearly having found some time. Archie tries to call the jeweler to get the watch back quickly, but the shop is closed. Then the jeweler, Mr. Abrams (Jack Tesler), drops by to inform him of the bill, and that the watch is a cheap knock-off of the expensive brand that Archie thought it was, making the bill more than the watch is worth. After Abrams leaves, there's some mind-boggling nonsense about Archie thinking that he lost $275 on the watch based on how much he thought it was worth.

    Coda continuity: Archie's wearing his glasses to read the paper.

    _______

    Emergency!
    "Honest"
    Originally aired February 17, 1973
    Station 51 responds to a gas explosion at the home of Martin and Leslie Noble (Michael Lerner and Beverly Sanders). It turns out that Martin lit a cigar when he didn't know that Leslie had left the oven on. Johnny holds the wife's white lie about liking the smell of his cigars responsible for the explosion, on the dubious logic that the whole thing might not have happened if she'd been honest with him from the beginning (though Martin had apparently already had a fight with her after having learned the truth).

    A boy who's having severe breathing difficulty is brought into Rampart and examined by Morton. When Morton is bluntly honest with his mother, Mrs. Epps (Anne Whitfield), that Roderick is choking to death and he doesn't know why, she goes into hysterics, causing Roy to argue to Johnny that total honesty isn't necessarily a good thing. At the station, Chet gives Johnny another lesson by telling him what a nurse he's seeing really thinks about him.

    The squad is called to a hotel where a man lies unconscious in a pool after attempting to dive in from the roof. The paramedics get him braced up for moving with the help of the pair of clothed bystanders who've been holding him above water. Roy tells Brackett that the patient shows signs of having a spinal injury. A tenuous attempt is made to tie this incident into the episode's theme based on how the diver, Andy, was responding to a challenge from a female companion named Jill (Hilda Wynn), though I wasn't following the logic of it. Andy is rushed to Rampart, where Brackett and Morton are trying to get details from Mrs. Epps about what Roderick and his college-age older brother Curtis have been up to in Curtis's garage lab. Morton later gets details from Curtis on the phone about how they were dissecting a frog and deduces that boy is allergic to formaldehyde fumes.

    A 13-year-old accident victim named Teddy is brought in, having been driving his mother's car in a high-speed chase with police. A girl named Cheryl who boards in Teddy's house (Ondine Vaughn) blames herself because she never told his mother that he'd been sneaking rides in her car, afraid of getting him in trouble. This gives Johnny more ammo in his stance on honesty.

    Station 51 and other units are called to a house fire in Miller Canyon, where an infant boy named Toby and his grandfather are trapped inside. the firefighters prioritize getting the child out only to learn that the old man (uncredited Vincent Perry), who said he'd find his own way out, is blind, so they go back in to save him...and Johnny fumes over the potential consequences of the man's lie. They get him out in time and get him to Rampart.

    At Rampart, Mike blames himself for the Epps boy dying, though Brackett and Dix have belatedly learned that his mother gave him antihistamine before bringing him in, which would have complicated his situation. At the station, Roy argues to a sullen Johnny that the grandfather's lie was a noble one, and Chet strings Johnny along some more about the nurse he's seeing.

    _______

    The Mary Tyler Moore Show
    "Remembrance of Things Past"
    Originally aired February 17, 1973
    Mary gets a call at work from old boyfriend Tom Vernon. She's hesitant to take the call and makes excuses to not see him. Later she describes to Rhoda how he once indirectly proposed to her, and the roller coaster effect that their relationship had on her emotions. He calls her again at home and she continues to avoid seeing him; but the next day she ends up calling him with Murray's encouragement and sets a date.

    Mary initially insists on going out, but Tom (Joseph Campanella) romantically breaks down her defenses and she agrees to delivery. The next day, Mary frets over receiving a call from Tom that never comes, but he shows up at her apartment that night with pizza and beer. She tries to make another excuse to cut things short, then breaks down when she finds that he brought her the wrong type of pizza. They have a discussion about his lack of commitment, he asserts that they want different things out of a relationship, and they regretfully accept that it won't work between them.

    A subplot has Ted preparing for a visit to Washington to interview Secretary of State William P. Rogers. That's not the only reference to the contemporaneous presidential administration. Mary describes to Rhoda how she switched into an overly formal mode when Tom initially called her:

    My voice sounded like Pat Nixon welcoming Eagle Scouts to the oval room.​

    In the coda, Ted returns from his trip to editorialize on the air because he couldn't get in to see the president:

    Something to hide, Richard Nixon?​

    Umm...

    _______

    The Bob Newhart Show
    "Emily, I'm Home...Emily?"
    Originally aired February 17, 1973
    The first words of the episode are totally titular! Emily comes home late to inform Bob that she's hosting a committee meeting, which interferes with Bob's ability to watch a basketball game. He tries taking the set into the bedroom, but Emily thinks it's too loud and awkwardness ensues when Bob has to put his suit on over his pajamas to go out to the kitchen. Trying to watch the game at Howard's doesn't work out when Mary Ellen (Jill Jaress, reprising her role from "The Crash of 29 Years Old") drops in for private time. Emily visits Bob's office the next day to tell him that she's been offered a full-time administrative position, but given his experience the previous night, Bob isn't pleased with the development.

    The first words of the second act double the titularity! Three weeks later, Bob comes home to find that Emily's gotten a Spanish-speaking maid, Marina (Alma Beltran). Emily comes home with groceries that turn out to be easy-to-make packaged food, as she doesn't have time to cook anymore. Bob ends up so desperate for after-work companionship that he asks Elliot Carlin to dinner. After unloading his own problems on his patient, Bob returns home very late and very plastered. Bob slurrily asks Emily to quit her job, but relents when she tells him that working makes her feel good.

    Bob: I'm sober enough to know...I don't wanna go from the flying plan into the fryer.​

    _______
     
  11. RJDiogenes

    RJDiogenes Idealistic Cynic and Canon Champion Premium Member

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    Man, they really screwed with the broadcast order this season.

    Apparently I know very little about where illicit drugs come from.

    Omnipresent C&W character actor.

    Stealing pocket books on the fly while Karl Malden counsels the victim on carrying American Express traveler's checks.

    "Sure, stranger."

    "I just use him as a little supplement."

    I find it hard to swallow that all these intimate acquaintances are fooled by the rubber mask. To say nothing of overall differences like height and weight and the size of certain bodily accoutrements.

    For example, this guy is going to know there's a different body under that face. :rommie:

    I demand a recount. And another one. And another one. And another one.

    "Suffering from insomnia? Try Barney Juice!"

    Isn't she pregnant without her mask?

    Another warm and fuzzy ending for the IMF.

    Okay, that was a nice sequence of politically incorrect LAS bits-- but why did the Uncle fake his own death? And can an heir to his fortune be considered legitimate if the daddy is dead?

    Another beloved character actor.

    Doctor Mom Robinson.

    I always wondered about that kid.

    Nielsen. I get it. :rommie:

    That's a bit of a biting satire for the folks at home. :rommie:

    That may have been a clue as to its true origin. :rommie:

    It only takes Archie a few moments to realize that his companions are frozen like statues. He tries the TV, but there's no signal. He leaves the house and wanders the streets, calling out for help. From the perspective of Edith, Gloria, and Mike, he simply vanished, never to be seen again.

    See? Everybody comes to Archie's. :rommie:

    Archie reminds me strongly of my Uncle Joe. :rommie:

    I'd be more apt to blame the pilot light in the stove, personally.

    How would Chet even know? :rommie:

    When you're looking for trouble, you find it everywhere. :rommie:

    Oh, a garage lab. Maybe an on-site inspection would be in order.

    Johnny has a real self-righteous streak. :rommie:

    Actually, it sounds like Roy and Johnny had a nice little philosophical dialogue about the value of honesty.

    Murray, Murray, Murray. You should know better.

    Popular hunky character actor.

    Is that what the kids are calling it these days?

    That's surprisingly satirical for MTM. :rommie:

    Talk about dated humor. :rommie:

    I remember that. :rommie:

    Whoa, plot construction symmetry.

    Missed opportunity for a new regular.

    He must be nuts.

    Whew. I was afraid Emily was going to quit. Sometimes they water down her character a bit, which doesn't suit Suzanne Pleshette.

    Bob knows you don't mess with Emily. :rommie:
     
  12. DarrenTR1970

    DarrenTR1970 Commodore Commodore

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    @The Old Mixer

    I'm on my way to work, so I'll keep this short and post more later, but "Speed" was the first episode filmed of the seventh season. I don't know why they held it back to so late in the season. I'm going to do a 'Production Order' vs 'Air date Order' later, because one of the episodes sans Lynda ends the season, which is weird way to end the season/series.
     
  13. The Old Mixer

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

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    _______

    50 Years Ago This Week

    March 4
    • The British yacht Auralyn was struck by a whale off of the coast of Guatemala and sank in the Pacific Ocean. Sailors Maurice and Maralyn Bailey would drift for 117 days later on a life raft before being rescued on June 30.
    • The release of a large group of American prisoners of war took place. [Long, mangled list snipped out.]

    March 5
    • The "Great Michigan Pizza Funeral" was held by the frustrated owner of a food processing factory, Mario Fabbrini of Fabbrini Family Foods, near Ossineke, Michigan. The company had been ordered by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to recall the pizzas on suspicion that the mushroom pizzas had botulism-causing bacteria. The pizzas were tipped into an 18-foot (5.5 m) deep hole in the ground before a crowd of onlookers, who were addressed by Michigan governor William Milliken.

    March 6
    • The Office of the U.S. Immigration Department in New York City cancelled John Lennon's visa extension five days after granting it. On March 23, the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) told Lennon that he had 60 days (until May 5) to voluntarily leave the United States because of a 1968 conviction in the UK for possession of hashish. Lennon's wife Yoko Ono's application for permanent resident alien status was approved. Lennon had lived in the U.S. since August 13, 1971.
    • Operation End Sweep was resumed after a short suspension prompted by North Vietnamese delays in releasing prisoners-of-war.
    • Spring training and exhibition games opened for the 1973 baseball season in the U.S., with the first test of the American League's new designated hitter rule being done with Larry Hisle of the Minnesota Twins, who hit two home runs in five times at bat. Ron Blomberg of the New York Yankees would become the first DH in a major league game on April 6.

    March 7
    • The first photographs of Comet Kohoutek were taken, as Czech astronomer Luboš Kohoutek was photographing the night skies from the Hamburg Observatory in Bergedorf, West Germany, while looking for the return of a different comet. On comparison of the first photos to a set taken two days later, Kohoutek realized on March 18 that he had discovered a new astronomical object. Initially promoted as what would be the brightest comet since Halley's, Comet Kohoutek would be barely visible in the night skies.

    March 8
    • In the 'Border Poll', voters in Northern Ireland elected to remain part of the United Kingdom. Irish nationalists were encouraged to boycott the referendum. Turnout was 58.7%, but less than 1% for Catholics.
    • Two car bombs exploded in front of Whitehall and the Old Bailey in London within 10 minutes of each other, injuring as many as 300 people, one fatally, in what one reporter described as "the worst scenes of destruction since the World War II blitz." Police two other parked cars with large bombs and defused both before they were set to go off. The bombs had been placed by the Provisional Irish Republican Army in an apparent protest against the Northern Ireland referendum.
    • The South Vietnamese government made its second prisoner exchange of POWs with North Vietnam, releasing 499 captured soldiers at the border in Quang Tri province. The South had 6,300 POWs and the North had 1,250.
    • The crash of a U.S. Army C-47 killed the 11 members of The Golden Knights, the Army's parachute demonstration team, as they were practicing from their base at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
    • Paul and Linda McCartney are fined £100, and ordered to pay costs, for growing cannabis in their greenhouse at Campbeltown.
    • Died: Ron "Pigpen" McKernan, 27, American musician and founding member of the Grateful Dead, died of a gastrointestinal hemorrhage as a consequence of alcoholism.

    March 9
    • Operation End Sweep, the minesweeping exercise carried out by the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps to remove naval mines from Haiphong harbor and other coastal and inland waterways in North Vietnam, exploded its first and only mine during the operation, although it did remove other mines in the harbors. A Pentagon spokesman said that many of the several thousand mines that had been dropped ten months earlier in 1972 "had gone inert and lay harmless on the sea floor."

    March 10
    • Sir Richard Sharples, 56, Governor of Bermuda, was assassinated while walking with his aide-de-camp, Captain Hugh Sayers of the Welsh Guards, and his dog. Both men and the dog were ambushed and shot to death outside of Sharples's residence at Government House in Hamilton. Seven months later, Erskine "Buck" Burrows would confess to the shooting after being arrested; Burrows also admitted to having murdered, on September 9, 1972, Bermuda Police Commissioner George Duckett. Burrows would be hanged on December 2, 1977, after being convicted of multiple murders.
    • Attorney Charles Colson resigned as Director of the White House Office of Public Liaison to return to private practice, after serving as the "hatchet man" for U.S. President Nixon. In 1974, Colson would be indicted and convicted on charges of obstruction of justice in connection with the cover-up of evidence connecting the White House to the Watergate burglary. While awaiting trial, he would become an evangelical Christian.


    Selections from Billboard's Hot 100 for the week:

    Leaving the chart:
    • "Love Jones," Brighter Side of Darkness (13 weeks)
    • "Superstition," Stevie Wonder (16 weeks)
    • "Trouble Man," Marvin Gaye (12 weeks)
    • "Why Can't We Live Together," Timmy Thomas (15 weeks)
    • "The World Is a Ghetto," War (16 weeks)

    Recent and new on the chart:

    "I'm Doin' Fine Now," New York City

    (Mar. 3; #17 US; #8 AC; #14 R&B; #20 UK)

    "Out of the Question," Gilbert O'Sullivan

    (Mar. 3; #17 US; #2 AC)

    "Reelin' in the Years," Steely Dan

    (#11 US)

    "Frankenstein," The Edgar Winter Group

    (#1 US the week of May 26, 1973; #18 UK)


    And new on the boob tube:
    • M*A*S*H, "Sticky Wicket"
    • Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, Season 6, episode 23
    • Hawaii Five-O, "The Diamond That Nobody Stole"
    • Adam-12, "Anatomy of a 415"
    • Kung Fu, "Chains"
    • The Brady Bunch, "You're Never Too Old"
    • The Odd Couple, "Take My Furniture, Please"
    • Love, American Style, "Love and the End of the Line / Love and the Growing Romance / Love and the Postal Meeter" (season finale)
    • All in the Family, "Archie Learns His Lesson"
    • Emergency!, "Rip-Off"
    • The Bob Newhart Show, "Who's Been Sleeping on My Couch?" (season finale)

    _______

    Timeline entries are quoted from the Wiki page for the month and Mark Lewisohn's The Beatles Day by Day, with minor editing as needed.

    _______

    Possibly the chemical has a legitimate pharmaceutical use, but I couldn't say without looking into it.



    *groan*

    Yeah, this struck me as an example of the body types not being convincingly close enough. And even if we buy the magical IMF mask tech that's completely convincing and allows full face functionality even when wearing two of them, that just makes it harder to swallow that somebody could so casually rip it off like it's just a store-bought Halloween mask.

    Her Obvious Stunt Double isn't!

    Guess I should have gone into more detail about that. The opening has the brothers attending the fake funeral and having the will read to them, following which the uncle drops his charade and comes back to life in the casket. So they knew he was alive all along...and I think he was at their double wedding.

    Not so beloved if you're a starship captain.

    The segment didn't seem very well fleshed out plot-wise...it's main purpose seemed to be to send up traditional family sitcoms. I should note that at one point the father, in character, delivered some anti-commie propaganda directly into the camera.

    Doo doo Doo doo, doo doo Doo doo...

    IIRC, they just used that plot device in a previous episode, too.

    This episode did have a particularly tight narrative theme, even if they tried a little too hard to shoehorn some of the vignettes into it.

    :lol:

    The intrepid journalist who'll soon be claiming to have broken the Watergate scandal wide open:
    MTM03.jpg

    They got a couple of gags out of Bob trying to get information out of her through the language barrier. Howard speaks Spanish, and the maid tried to set him up with her daughter.

    The premise of this episode calls into question how another recent one tried to establish that she was just a sub. I don't think a sub would be on any committees to host meetings. It also doesn't seem like a sub would be bringing guest speakers into the classroom, as she did in one of the earliest episodes.

    The Wiki episode list includes the production numbers for potentially putting them in that order. I guess the factoid that I'd be interested in at this point is that if the last new aired episode was a leftover production-wise, what was the series finale in production order? And looking it up, it appears that would be "The Pendulum"...which, interestingly enough, is the next one up, airing second from last in the season.
     
    Last edited: Mar 11, 2023
  14. RJDiogenes

    RJDiogenes Idealistic Cynic and Canon Champion Premium Member

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    RJDiogenes of Boston
    These little slice-of-life stories are always interesting.

    I remember this. :rommie: I think it inspired a Gahan Wilson cartoon, but I can't remember the details at the moment.

    I hope they were able to raise the cash.

    Nevertheless, I would avoid the sea floor for a while.

    Good one.

    I don't remember this from the early 70s and they never played it on Oldies Radio, so I must have heard it on Lost 45s. It's okay.

    Classic.

    Good and nostalgic, despite its violation of the Squiggy Protocols. Actually, one of my favorite instrumentals that's not a TV or movie theme.

    That's probably it, I just always imagine these things being cooked up in secret warehouse laboratories or whatever.

    :D

    That's three of her. :rommie:

    Yeah, but I still don't get the reason for the charade to begin with, unless the Uncle just likes screwing with people.

    A few years later, they ran into each other again and had a couple of Saurian brandies together, and everything was cool.

    It sounded rather MAD-ish.

    That would have been so great. :rommie:

    They could have had them gradually learning English and Spanish from each other during the season to the point where they speak in a Spanglish that nobody else understands. :rommie:

    It's Emily. She was such an overachiever at being a sub that they made her full time. :rommie:
     
  15. DarrenTR1970

    DarrenTR1970 Commodore Commodore

    Joined:
    Aug 1, 2015
    Location:
    Bothell, WA
    As promised, here is the Production Order vs. Airdate Order of Mission: Impossible season seven, along with notes as to whether or not it's pregnant Casey, Morris mustache, Mimi or post-pregnant Casey.

    147 Speed - Pregnant/Mustache 16-Feb-1973
    148 Two Thousand - Pregnant/Mustache 23-Sep-1972
    149 Underground - Pregnant/Mustache 28-Oct-1972
    150 Leona - Pregnant/Mustache 7-Oct-1972
    151 Break! – Mimi 16-Sep-1972
    152 The Deal – Mimi 30-Sep-1972
    153 Imitation – Duval 30-Mar-1973
    154 Crack-Up – Sandy 9-Dec-1972
    155 TOD-5 – Mimi 14-Oct-1972
    156 Cocaine – Mimi 21-Oct-1972
    157 The Question – Andrea 19-Jan-1973
    158 Hit – Mimi 11-Nov-1972
    159 Movie – Mimi 4-Nov-1972
    160 Ultimatum – Mimi 18-Nov-1972
    161 Kidnap – Casey 2-Dec-1972
    162 The Puppet – Casey 22-Dec-1972
    163 The Fountain – Casey 26-Jan-1973
    164 Boomerang – Casey 12-Jan-1973
    165 Incarnate – Casey 5-Jan-1973
    166 The Western – Casey 2-Mar-1973
    167 The Fighter – Casey 9-Feb-1973
    168 The Pendulum – Casey 23-Feb-1973

    Airdate
    151 Break! – Mimi 16-Sep-1972
    148 Two Thousand - Pregnant/Mustache 23-Sep-1972
    152 The Deal – Mimi 30-Sep-1972
    150 Leona - Pregnant/Mustache 7-Oct-1972
    155 TOD-5 – Mimi 14-Oct-1972
    156 Cocaine – Mimi 21-Oct-1972
    149 Underground - Pregnant/Mustache 28-Oct-1972
    159 Movie – Mimi 4-Nov-1972
    158 Hit – Mimi 11-Nov-1972
    160 Ultimatum – Mimi 18-Nov-1972
    161 Kidnap – Casey 2-Dec-1972
    154 Crack-Up – Sandy 9-Dec-1972
    162 The Puppet – Casey 22-Dec-1972
    165 Incarnate – Casey 5-Jan-1973
    164 Boomerang – Casey 12-Jan-1973
    157 The Question – Andrea 19-Jan-1973
    163 The Fountain – Casey 26-Jan-1973
    167 The Fighter – Casey 9-Feb-1973
    147 Speed - Pregnant/Mustache 16-Feb-1973
    168 The Pendulum – Casey 23-Feb-1973
    166 The Western – Casey 2-Mar-1973
    153 Imitation – Duval 30-Mar-1973

    Yes, 'The Pendulum' was the last to be filmed, and according to the notes, it seems that both the cast and crew knew that it was going to be the last 'M:I' episode and really didn't put that much effort into it. Maybe that's why it didn't air last, but that doesn't explain why 'Imitation' an episode sans Casey aired as the season/series finale. Surely there was a stronger episode to go out on.

    Why 'Speed' was held back to so late in the season, I don't know; there doesn't seem to be any explanation given. It doesn't seem that complicated of an episode.

    It's interesting that the first seasons is actually closest in Production vs. Airdate considering all the backstage chaos and drama the cast and crew went through to get the show on the air. As the series progressed and the show found its footing the more the discrepancies in Production vs. Airdate crept in.
     
    Last edited: Mar 5, 2023
  16. The Old Mixer

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

    Joined:
    Feb 4, 2002
    Location:
    The Old Mixer, Somewhere in Connecticut
    That almost slipped by...

    Interestingly, the John deportation business was from Wiki, and wasn't covered on that date in the Lewisohn book.

    I already had this one, but it's as good as new to me. It's alright, but doesn't really stand out.

    This one is completely new to me. Doesn't make much of an impression, but I'll be getting it.

    Very.

    Stone-cold, and on my Halloween playlist. Also, this and "Reelin'" have both been in my shuffle for a while because of the album track playlist.

    LAS segments often don't have a lot of story logic, and this one was more surreal than most.

    As with WWW S4 in production order, that makes a heckuva lot more sense.

    It tends to come up here that in this era, not a lot of stock was placed in season or even series finales. By the end of a season they were usually just airing leftovers, and sometimes I get the impression that shows may have deliberately saved relative stinkers for late in the season.

    _______

    As is evident by now, I've fallen substantially behind in my 50th anniversary viewing, and I'm now facing the possibility that some of my earliest remaining recordings for the season--for M*A*S*H and Emergency! specifically--are threatening to expire later this month. I'm planning to try to chug through what I can, but those shows may suffer awkward early cut-offs, to be revisited when able. FeTV is actually on Emergency! S2 again, so I should be able to replace lost recordings right around the same time that I'll be losing them; MeTV is currently in S8/11 for M*A*S*H, so there may be some delay getting back to any episodes that drop. The wild card here is that the closer I get to the end of the season, the more shows will have already dropped, allowing me to get to the remaining ones sooner. And FWIW, the last new episode of Emergency! this season didn't air until April, so ideally I'd been intending to get to it ahead of its airdate.
     
    Last edited: Mar 6, 2023
  17. RJDiogenes

    RJDiogenes Idealistic Cynic and Canon Champion Premium Member

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    RJDiogenes of Boston
    Or Duval. Who's Duval?

    That's kind of sad. You'd think that they'd want to give it a little bit extra, to try to go out on a high note. Was it not a happy set by the end?

    Heh. :D

    Yeah, it's just song, but it's got the nostalgia buzz. It's kind of a pleasant earworm, too. I keep finding myself singing it.

    True enough.

    If memory serves, it will be a couple of more years before the networks start making a big deal out of season premieres. I think it must be well into the 80s before anybody starts getting into season finales or cliffhangers. The series finale of M*A*S*H, as far as I remember, was a major outlier.

    Maybe the ratings would be down anyway at that time of year, because the weather is getting better.

    That sucks. It's too bad there's no way to back them up or record them. Actually, it is possible to record them, but you'd have to let them play through to do it, like it used to be with tapes.
     
  18. DarrenTR1970

    DarrenTR1970 Commodore Commodore

    Joined:
    Aug 1, 2015
    Location:
    Bothell, WA
    @RJDiogenes
    By all accounts, the M:I set was a happy one. It's just after being on the air for seven years working 12-14 hour days, sometimes six days a week, everyone was tired and wanted to move on. As Peter Graves and script editor Lawrence Heath said at the beginning of the seventh season chapter, everyone was tired, the strain was beginning to show and the scripts were less than previous seasons because they had pretty much done everything they could think of.
    Edit to add - I just went through the book and Peter Graves in the third season episode 'The Interrogator', on the last day of filming, was on set from 7:30am until 11:15pm; and Martin Landau was on set from 10am until 10:55pm, not including a forty five minute make-up session. That's a lot of hours, and the production crew probably didn't have it any better, having to stay behind and strike the sets after everyone has left.
     
    Last edited: Mar 7, 2023
  19. The Old Mixer

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

    Joined:
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    Location:
    The Old Mixer, Somewhere in Connecticut
    Well I just watched "Pendulum," and I thought it was a pretty good episode to have potentially gone out with. The IMF posing as an evil international organization to expose another evil international organization...one last return to the old form. Plus, Dean Stockwell.

    Apparently an uncredited role in the actual season finale by airdate, so I'm assuming a relatively minor IMF operative.

    I haven't found it very memorable thus far.

    As was The Fugitive well before it.

    I'm planning to assess where I'm at about a week before the recordings are due to expire, at which point I may want to prioritize binging the remaining episodes of those series.
     
  20. RJDiogenes

    RJDiogenes Idealistic Cynic and Canon Champion Premium Member

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    RJDiogenes of Boston
    That's unfortunate, but it's still a legendary show, no matter what.

    Being a TV adventure hero is not as glamorous as we wannabes think. :D

    Plus the full cast.

    Bumping Casey, who probably felt left out in retrospect.

    I wonder if The Fugitive was first (for American TV). I'll Google that in a bit.