MeTV+ recently aired "Suffer, Little Children", and until @The Old Mixer pointed it out, I didn't really think that much about the bad guy owning both a recording studio and a kennel to run his operation. That really makes not a whole lot of sense.
The Classic/Retro Pop Culture Thread
- Thread starter The Old Mixer
- Start date
Lost another one today - Dicky Betts, guitarist for the Allman Brothers
That leaves just one original founding member left alive.
That leaves just one original founding member left alive.
This song is what got me hooked on Rascal Flatts. I was (and still am) a huge "Smallville" fan, and when the makers of that show played this song at the end of the Season 4 episode "Run", I loved it so much I looked the band up online, then bought the album soon after that. Now, I have all their stuff, and I was truly saddened when they broke up. But hey, 20 years of constantly recording and touring will stress almost anyone out. They clearly needed a break, but I do hope they reunite someday.
Another 50th Anniversary release on April 20th - Robin Trower's "Bridge Of Sighs"
Preceded by the single 'Too Rolling Stoned'.
After leaving Procol Harum in 1971 following the release and tour of the album 'Broken Barricades', Trower formed a power trio with bassist and lead vocalist James Dewar and drummer Bill Lordan, and influenced by the likes of Cream and the Jimi Hendrix Experience and would release ten albums from 1973 to 1983 with this line up for the Chrysalis label.
Only this album, and the following 'From Earth Below' would reach the US top ten (#7 and #5) and none would reach the UK top twenty. The highest charting album would be 'From Earth Below' at #26. None of the singles would chart as well.
The name 'Chrysalis' comes from a combination of its founders' names, Chris Wright and Terry Ellis.
The song 'Butterfly Boys' from the Procol Harum album 'Exotic Birds and Fruit' is a jab at Chris and Terry, whom the members of the band thought were ripping them off monetarily.
Preceded by the single 'Too Rolling Stoned'.
After leaving Procol Harum in 1971 following the release and tour of the album 'Broken Barricades', Trower formed a power trio with bassist and lead vocalist James Dewar and drummer Bill Lordan, and influenced by the likes of Cream and the Jimi Hendrix Experience and would release ten albums from 1973 to 1983 with this line up for the Chrysalis label.
Only this album, and the following 'From Earth Below' would reach the US top ten (#7 and #5) and none would reach the UK top twenty. The highest charting album would be 'From Earth Below' at #26. None of the singles would chart as well.
The name 'Chrysalis' comes from a combination of its founders' names, Chris Wright and Terry Ellis.
The song 'Butterfly Boys' from the Procol Harum album 'Exotic Birds and Fruit' is a jab at Chris and Terry, whom the members of the band thought were ripping them off monetarily.
Last edited:
I wasn't clear on why the stuff was being kept there.
What song? It's early 1971, man. They haven't even released "Brown Sugar" yet.
Murder investigation.
I was, too, at this point in the episode. I had to watch it twice for comprehension to make enough sense out of it to write it up.I'm having difficulty making sense of all this.
I think they're saying that they used the same school exterior.This is oddly phrased. Are they implying a crossover?
I must've made it sound better than it played, because the Reverend's change of attitude did seem rather forced and abrupt. I don't think they put enough into it. It seemed like he was too quickly chomping at the bit to transform into the hipper character. Symbolic of that, I got the impression that the "wig" was the actor's actual hair...we never saw it being put on or taken off. Also, the actor's delivery could be pretty hammy, which was grating.
That's a good question. There was mention of an owner who was letting them use the place, but they said who it was.
You mean the characters?I wonder if they practice this stuff in empty parking lots on weekends.
Yep!Oh, come on, the guest priest gets more action than Julie?
The episode was a bit of a mess and an IMDb reviewer reinforced my takeaway. There were too many elements being thrown around with not much of a meaty story behind them.
Unlikely. It was a commercially available poster.
There was a little investigation infodump in Greer's office listing various odd businesses that Foster had owned.
Last edited:
I'm not a huge Prince fan, but the museum scene in the original "Batman" movie is one of my favorites in the whole film. Here's the song from that. 
And possibly the clinic building too.
I saw that. He was 80 years old. Amazing to think of somebody from the Allman Brothers Band being 80 years old.
I never heard of the band, but that's a pretty pleasant song.
I think that's the one I thought sounded like Cream.
Aha!
They must have been fairly successful, though, since the label kept releasing them.
Cute. That reminds me of when Al Milgrom used to ink Jim Starlin's covers and sign them "Gemini."
Literally, or by cutting into their audience?
I'm sure it wasn't being sold from there. Although considering the episode in general....
Oh, right. My head was in 74.
Yeah, but poking into the private medical records of non suspects? That seems a bit much even for then. It would never fly under HIPAA rules.
I know, I was just mocking their bad English. But that picture looks absolutely nothing like how I remember Room 222.
Weird. What did he do, hide it under his hat when he was non-wigged?
Yeah, like a Danger Room kind of thing.
Oh, well, I try to be generous.
That's what I'd hope.
He was leveraging his real estate empire for crime.
Rascal Flatts released their self-titled debut album in 2000, including the radio hits "Praying for Daylight" and "This Everyday Love". Those early songs established the group as a breakout act, and over the next 17 years they released 11 albums in total. Lyric Street Records, a country-based division of Disney, handled the band's first 6 releases. Lyric Street folded in 2010, and Rascal Flatts then moved to Big Machine Records. In total, the band released 11 albums, including a Christmas CD in 2016.
_______
Post-50th Anniversary Viewing
_______
Ironside
"Gentle Oaks"
Originally aired November 25 or 30, 1971
And now we catch an odd episode that got skipped when I was watching Season 5 of this show last year. It opens in the titular institution, where head nurse May Joyce Skinner (Ruth Roman) is engaging in some after-hours glamorous roleplay in the mirror of what appears to be a storage area or staff lounge when a zonked-out patient, Heloise (Jessica H. Jones), interrupts her. Cut to Dr. Abbas Shazar (uncredited soon-to-be Engine 51 crewman Marco Lopez) retrieving a cassette tape from Skinner's office desk only to be whacked by an unseen figure when trying to sneak off the grounds. Medical examiner Joe Payette (Barry Cahill) calls Ironside about Shazar's death, supposedly by car accident, and the Chief takes interest because Shazar had called him promising evidence of patients having been murdered at the home. Cut to booze-breathed home director Dr. Philip Perry (Harry Townes) introducing Skinner to a crochety prospective new client, Professor Dennis Fremont (Robert T. Ironside), who's brought in by Ed and Fran posing as his kids.
As Nurse Barbara Clark (Lynn Hamilton) is showing the Professor around, the Chief takes an opportunity to slip away and search Shazar's office, finding some notes written in Hebrew. Between the initial visit and the Professor moving in, it's determined that thirteen deaths have occurred at Gentle Oaks in a single year, and the Chief speculates that they may have gone unnoticed because the families paid to have their unwanted family members disposed of. Also, the autopsy reveals that Shazar's skull was crushed in the back.
The Professor checks in, makes a coded call to Randall while Clark is eavesdropping on an extension, and is welcomed by a fellow elderly resident, Walter Cook (Jon Lormer). In a conference, Ed and Fran sound out Skinner about not being able to afford an extended stay for their father; while determining that the nurse records interviews with a device hidden in her desk. Cook helps to familiarize the Professor with the other residents, including Isaiah Witt, known as "The Creeper" for his antisocial attitude (John Carradine); and the Chief strikes up a conversation with a younger patient who's been staring at him, Malcolm Hill (Jeff Davis), whose mother puts him in the home to dry out. An in-the-know Father Clausen (Arthur Hanson) helps Mark get on the inside posing as a student priest. Afterward the Chief creates a ruckus while only Skinner is around, and she roughs him up some to assert her authority, pushing him out of his chair and taunting him to try telling his family about it.
While Skinner spends another late night drinking and talking to herself in the lounge, Ironside sneaks into her office to try to find the tapes while Mark stands watch. Eloise has an episode that threatens to send Skinner back to her office, but the Creeper provides a counter-distraction that allows the Chief and Mark to slip out. The next day, the Professor's kids visit with intel that the home is on the market; and that the families of the occupants who died have made withdrawals in a pattern that suggests one big pay-off, followed by smaller blackmail payments. The Chief later bonds some with Eloise as she's playing piano in the common area, learning of her abandonment issues. He also pays a visit to the Creeper, whom, it turns out, recognizes Ironside from having served jury duty on one of his cases...and witnessed Skinner dragging Shazar's body to his car.
We're subsequently privy to a conversation between Dr. Perry and Skinner in which we learn that he started the whole blackmail scheme when he "mercy-killed" his wife with her help and encouragement; and that she's held it over him ever since. She discovers that somebody's been rummaging through her office and goes to confront Witt, strapping him to his bed and preparing to inject him with something. Cook alerts the Professor to a commotion in Witt's room and the Chief rolls to the rescue, picking up Nurse Clark along the way. Clark is dismissed when she objects to her unknowing support of what Skinner appears to be up to, and the Chief eavesdrops as Skinner makes a call to Perry to tell him that she plans to burn the tapes. Finding that Skinner has had outside calls blocked, Ironside gathers Clark and Hill to reveal his true identity and enlist their aid in causing a distraction so that he can search Skinner's office again, this time finding the tapes hidden in the only one of her many potted plants that she hadn't been watering. He listens to a tape of Witt's son arranging a deal with Skinner. Subsequently finding the tapes gone and the Professor attempting to roll away outside, Skinner tries to run him down in her station wagon, but Team Ironside arrives with CLE backup. In the lounge-set aftermath, as she's about to be taken away, Skinner dresses herself up in the fur and jewelry that she was wearing for her opening-scene role-play.
In the Cave coda, the Chief plays one of the tapes for Ed and Fran, of the two of them complaining to Skinner about the Professor in a manner that seems to be venting their issues with his alter ego.
_______
Post-50th Anniversary Viewing
_______
Ironside
"Gentle Oaks"
Originally aired November 25 or 30, 1971
Wiki said:
And now we catch an odd episode that got skipped when I was watching Season 5 of this show last year. It opens in the titular institution, where head nurse May Joyce Skinner (Ruth Roman) is engaging in some after-hours glamorous roleplay in the mirror of what appears to be a storage area or staff lounge when a zonked-out patient, Heloise (Jessica H. Jones), interrupts her. Cut to Dr. Abbas Shazar (uncredited soon-to-be Engine 51 crewman Marco Lopez) retrieving a cassette tape from Skinner's office desk only to be whacked by an unseen figure when trying to sneak off the grounds. Medical examiner Joe Payette (Barry Cahill) calls Ironside about Shazar's death, supposedly by car accident, and the Chief takes interest because Shazar had called him promising evidence of patients having been murdered at the home. Cut to booze-breathed home director Dr. Philip Perry (Harry Townes) introducing Skinner to a crochety prospective new client, Professor Dennis Fremont (Robert T. Ironside), who's brought in by Ed and Fran posing as his kids.
As Nurse Barbara Clark (Lynn Hamilton) is showing the Professor around, the Chief takes an opportunity to slip away and search Shazar's office, finding some notes written in Hebrew. Between the initial visit and the Professor moving in, it's determined that thirteen deaths have occurred at Gentle Oaks in a single year, and the Chief speculates that they may have gone unnoticed because the families paid to have their unwanted family members disposed of. Also, the autopsy reveals that Shazar's skull was crushed in the back.
The Professor checks in, makes a coded call to Randall while Clark is eavesdropping on an extension, and is welcomed by a fellow elderly resident, Walter Cook (Jon Lormer). In a conference, Ed and Fran sound out Skinner about not being able to afford an extended stay for their father; while determining that the nurse records interviews with a device hidden in her desk. Cook helps to familiarize the Professor with the other residents, including Isaiah Witt, known as "The Creeper" for his antisocial attitude (John Carradine); and the Chief strikes up a conversation with a younger patient who's been staring at him, Malcolm Hill (Jeff Davis), whose mother puts him in the home to dry out. An in-the-know Father Clausen (Arthur Hanson) helps Mark get on the inside posing as a student priest. Afterward the Chief creates a ruckus while only Skinner is around, and she roughs him up some to assert her authority, pushing him out of his chair and taunting him to try telling his family about it.
While Skinner spends another late night drinking and talking to herself in the lounge, Ironside sneaks into her office to try to find the tapes while Mark stands watch. Eloise has an episode that threatens to send Skinner back to her office, but the Creeper provides a counter-distraction that allows the Chief and Mark to slip out. The next day, the Professor's kids visit with intel that the home is on the market; and that the families of the occupants who died have made withdrawals in a pattern that suggests one big pay-off, followed by smaller blackmail payments. The Chief later bonds some with Eloise as she's playing piano in the common area, learning of her abandonment issues. He also pays a visit to the Creeper, whom, it turns out, recognizes Ironside from having served jury duty on one of his cases...and witnessed Skinner dragging Shazar's body to his car.
We're subsequently privy to a conversation between Dr. Perry and Skinner in which we learn that he started the whole blackmail scheme when he "mercy-killed" his wife with her help and encouragement; and that she's held it over him ever since. She discovers that somebody's been rummaging through her office and goes to confront Witt, strapping him to his bed and preparing to inject him with something. Cook alerts the Professor to a commotion in Witt's room and the Chief rolls to the rescue, picking up Nurse Clark along the way. Clark is dismissed when she objects to her unknowing support of what Skinner appears to be up to, and the Chief eavesdrops as Skinner makes a call to Perry to tell him that she plans to burn the tapes. Finding that Skinner has had outside calls blocked, Ironside gathers Clark and Hill to reveal his true identity and enlist their aid in causing a distraction so that he can search Skinner's office again, this time finding the tapes hidden in the only one of her many potted plants that she hadn't been watering. He listens to a tape of Witt's son arranging a deal with Skinner. Subsequently finding the tapes gone and the Professor attempting to roll away outside, Skinner tries to run him down in her station wagon, but Team Ironside arrives with CLE backup. In the lounge-set aftermath, as she's about to be taken away, Skinner dresses herself up in the fur and jewelry that she was wearing for her opening-scene role-play.
In the Cave coda, the Chief plays one of the tapes for Ed and Fran, of the two of them complaining to Skinner about the Professor in a manner that seems to be venting their issues with his alter ego.
_______
But the patients were all potential suspects...and maybe it was a little easier when it involved a free clinic in Not the Haight.
Looking it up, yeah...somebody appears to be making too much out of the name being the same. But Los Angeles High School, used for the R222 exterior, appears to be of the same design as my high school in Indiana.
He had flatter, apparently short hair in those scenes. Possibly itself a wig.
And Julie always calls in, so there's nobody to put out the safety mats.Yeah, like a Danger Room kind of thing.
Gospel musician Mandisa Hundley passed away today, at just 47 years old. She had faced repeated battles with food addiction and depression throughout her life, made worse by the 2014 death of a close friend to breast cancer. I admit I never closely followed her career, but she did a 2007 duet with Michael W. Smith, called "Christmas Day" (he later re-recorded it with Jennifer Nettles, in 2014). My prayers are definitely with Mandisa's family.
My guess is that they were a popular live act and while the records didn't crack the Top Forty, they sold enough to make back the money put into them and earn Gold status.
Goes and pulls out CD liner notes - It's the usual artist complaints about not getting paid the full royalty amount on album sales. They're being told that the albums are selling well, but they're not seeing it reflected in their bank accounts while the owners of the label are driving around in fancy sports cars, etc.
I think, correct me if I'm wrong, that this is still the era of high taxes, where about .90 cents to every dollar earned went to the British government, with the remaining 10 cents having to be divided among the record label and band members.
That was George Harrison's complaint in his song 'Taxman'; for every .20 cents earned in record sales, .19 of that was going to the British government.
Last edited:
This is all new to me, which goes to show you how out of touch with popular music I was by that point.
I sense an insanity defense in her future.
More fun for Raymond Burr.
He reminds me of somebody in this picture, but I'm not sure if it's a celebrity or somebody I know.
Because Evil Nurse has not bothered to clean the place out even though it was clear that he was on to her.
They don't have to report to any oversight agencies?
He pops up everywhere.
Gentle Oaks seems to be an all-purpose dumping ground.
Wow, it seems like the Chief is taking a lot of abuse this year.
Nice little twist.
This is interesting. He was the original killer, but she got hooked on it.
She overpowered him?
So Witt is saved from the lethal injection?
Gasp! It was Keith, wasn't it?
The Chief is really getting in on the action here.
Yup, definitely time for an insanity defense. I have mixed feelings about this episode. On the one hand, it seems like it was too small a facility to pull off a scheme like this, but on the other hand there have been a few cases of multiple deaths in nursing homes that have gone unnoticed. Also it seems like it didn't really need to be an undercover operation.
Nice.
I guess. And maybe they had a court order.
That was a nice-looking building.
Ouch.
I never heard of her, but I saw that headline. It seems to me that there have been a lot of stories about celebrities dying young lately.
That makes sense.
Ah, I see.
That's absolutely insane. This is why people break out the torches and pitchforks.
I grew up in the 1990s, right in the middle of that decade's "pop" music boom. The biggest vocal group back then were arguably the Backstreet Boys. Now, I know a lot of people my age likely prefer NSync, 98 Degrees, or a different act completely. But to still be successful after 31 years, you have to be doing something right. Here's a few of my favorites, from their historic career...
50 Years Ago This Week
April 22
April 23
April 24
April 25
April 26
April 27
Selections from Billboard's Hot 100 for the week:
Leaving the chart:
Recent on the chart (slow week):
"Another Park, Another Sunday," The Doobie Brothers
(Apr. 20; #32 US)
"My Girl Bill," Jim Stafford
(Apr. 20; #12 US; #9 AC; #64 Country; #20 UK)
_______
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.
_______
April 22
- All 107 passengers and crew on Pan Am Flight 812 were killed in a crash in Indonesia when the Boeing 707 crashed into the side of a mountain while approaching Denpasar as a stop on a flight from Hong Kong to Sydney in Australia.
- Operation Nimbus Star, the U.S. Navy's assistance in clearing the Suez Canal of explosive mines, began with minesweeping helicopters dispatched from amphibious assault ship USS Iwo Jima (LPH-2).
April 23
- Following the resignation of Golda Meir as Prime Minister of Israel and as leader of the ruling Israeli Labor Party, the Labor Party's 552-member central committee chose between Labor Minister Yitzhak Rabin and Information Minister Shimon Peres. Rabin won the election, 298 to 254, and would take office as Prime Minister on June 3.
April 24
- Günter Guillaume, a personal adviser to West Germany's Chancellor Willy Brandt, was arrested on charges of espionage, after West German intelligence discovered that Guillaume was a spy for East Germany's Stasi security service. Brandt would resign as Chancellor 12 days later.
- Died: William "Bud" Abbott, 76, American comedian and film actor who served as the straight man in the duo of Abbott and Costello; his co-star, Lou Costello, had died in 1959.
April 25
- The "Carnation Revolution" (in Portuguese, Revolução dos Cravos) began at 12:20 a.m. throughout Portugal after a pre-arranged signal—the playing of the song "Grândola, Vila Morena"—was broadcast on the Lisbon radio station Rádio Renascença. The Movimento das Forças Armadas (MFA), a group of Portuguese military officers led by recently-fired General António de Spínola, carried out a coup d'état to end 41 years of dictatorial rule by the Estado Novo. Thousands of Portuguese civilians joined the military insurgents in a popular revolution. Prime Minister Marcelo Caetano relented at 6:00 in the morning and he fled the country for political asylum in Brazil.
- The value of the Canadian dollar reached its highest point ever on exchange markets, becoming worth slightly more than $1.04 in United States dollars (US$ 1.0443); the U.S. dollar was worth slightly less than 96 cents (C$ 0.95758).
- Pamela Courson, 27, former companion of singer Jim Morrison and heir to his fortune, was found dead of a heroin overdose, less than three years after his death.
April 26
- Paul McCartney holds daytime auditions at the Albery Theatre, London, for a new drummer for Wings. He selects Geoff Britton.
April 27
- The shelling of an Israeli fortress in the Golan Heights by Syrian artillery led to the deaths of 14 IDF soldiers in the Bashan salient, former Syrian property conquered by the Israeli Army in the 1973 war. Eight IDF soldiers were killed when a shell hit their fortress, while six more died in the crash of a helicopter that was on its way to rescue the survivors. Israel retaliated with airstrikes of Syrian army camps. The battle marked the last major fighting in the War of Attrition that lasted for three months before a disengagement agreement signed between the two nations on May 31.
- Died: U.S. Navy Admiral Jesse B. Oldendorf, 87, known for his command in the 1944 Battle of Leyte Gulf
Selections from Billboard's Hot 100 for the week:
Leaving the chart:
- "Rock and Roll, Hoochie Koo," Rick Derringer (14 weeks)
- "Trying to Hold On to My Woman," Lamont Dozier (18 weeks)
Recent on the chart (slow week):
"Another Park, Another Sunday," The Doobie Brothers
(Apr. 20; #32 US)
"My Girl Bill," Jim Stafford
(Apr. 20; #12 US; #9 AC; #64 Country; #20 UK)
_______
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.
_______
She definitely had some sort of issues.
His belongings were in the process of being packed up.
They handwaved that the relatives weren't complaining because they were complicit.
His nickname was partly from his habit of walking the halls at all hours. He explained to Ironside that he was suffering from chronic pain and didn't get much sleep.He pops up everywhere.
I assume you're thinking of more recent viewing business from Season 7 rather than previous episodes in Season 5 that I watched last year.
He was lying in his bed and she slapped a strap over him. Probably couldn't move quickly because of the pain and maybe medication.
Yep.
Mighta been. He didn't have David's lisp.
It was like a bargain basement North by Northwest.
Maybe, but they might not have been able to prove the doctor's murder with an open investigation into the clients' deaths.
Ed likened him to a drill sergeant, and Fran described him as cranky, impossible to please, and having a disposition like sandpaper.Nice.
Mishawaka High School - Wikipedia
Having beat out fellow drummers, Mitch Mitchell, formerly of The Jimi Hendrix Experience, and Aynsley Dunbar, formerly of Frank Zappa and the Mother's of Invention.
They would then travel to Nashville for seven weeks where they would rehearse for a planned upcoming world tour and record the following songs - Send Me The Heart (Denny Laine), Sally G, Bridge Over The River Suite, Junior's Farm and Walking In The Park With Eloise (James McCartney).
Junior's Farm b/w Sally G would be released as a single on 25-Oct-1974
The instrumentals Walking In The Park With Eloise b/w Bridge Over The River Suite would be released on the same day under the psuedonym 'The Country Hams'.
Following their return from Nashville, the band would then spend four days in August at Abbey Road Studio again rehearsing for the upcoming world tour. This time, however, McCartney decided to record and film the rehearsals, under the supervision of engineer Geoff Emerick to record the session, as well as David Litchfield to film and direct the sessions for a possible documentary film and album release, titled 'One Hand Clapping.'
The resulting sessions would get so far as to be sequenced and edited for a November release and television broadcast, but would be subsequently shelved following the abrupt departure of Geoff Britton in November, who quit Wings after six months, on the eve of departure to New Orleans for the recording of the album 'Venus and Mars.'
Personality clashes had almost immediately erupted between the health conscious Britton and new Wings guitarist, the hard partying Jimmy McCulloch, who had joined the band in late-December 1973 prior to the recording Paul's younger brother's second album 'McGear'.
McCartney, for his part, refused to take sides in the matter, and perhaps feeling that a gifted lead guitarist was rarer than a good drummer, tacitly sided with Jimmy and did nothing to discourage Britton's departure.
Britton would say to the press of his departure, "They say I hate Jimmy McCulloch's guts. What I really said is that he's a nasty little c*nt."
Last edited:
I know all the names, but none of the songs....
Classic comedy team and one of the all-time classic routines-- it will probably be around for centuries. My Niece and her friend did it for a high school talent show once.
Both members of the 27 Club.
I don't remember this at all. Not one of their catchier tunes.
"She likes spiders and snakes, Bill! I've waited so long for this!"
You'd think she'd have some sense of urgency.
I suppose they could have been falsifying records, but that's a lot of deaths in a short time for what seems like a very small facility.
Yes, I am unstuck in time, as Kurt Vonnegut would say.
That makes sense. I think it would be difficult to overpower John Carradine.
Heh. I'd love to see the Chief up on Mt Rushmore. In his wheelchair, I mean, not as a big face.
This displeased him and made him cranky and he gave them their marching orders.
Nice. That's much like how I remember Room 222. Much better than my old prison.
Does any of this stuff still survive?
An important distinction.
_______
Post-50th Anniversary Viewing
_______
The Mod Squad
"No More Oak Leaves for Ernie Holland"
Originally aired February 1, 1972
And now it'll be consecutive episodes to the end of the series, as we pick up where I left off last year in late Season 4.
The story opens with Manny DeLeon (Cal Bellini) leading a protest against a sports arena being built on a site that he and his Action Now! supporters want to be turned into a public park. Despite the efforts of his brother-in-law, Israel Rivera (Henry Darrow, whose character appears to be a social worker, though this isn't explicitly established), to get him to call it off, Manny provokes the protestors into attacking the riot squad. The Mods help to defuse the situation, and after some of the officers grab Manny, Linc persuades him to stand down...but before he runs off, Manny vows that next time he won't.
A series of weapons robberies from sporting goods stores in the area follows, and Greer and the Mods suspect that Manny may be stockpiling the weapons. Greer assign Pete and Linc to find the guns, and Julie to work with the titular character, who's from Manny's neighborhood and has been assigned as a community relations officer there. Manny's sister, Cory Rivera (Annette Cardona), insists to her husband that Manny's not a murderer, but in her effort to reason with both parties, drops some intel that makes Manny and his right-hand man, Jader (James A. Watson), suspicious that the Mods are more than the social workers they're posing as (our clue to Rivera's occupation, along with a mention of him writing petitions). They have a young underling, Palo Harrison (Mark Lambert), tail Linc, who goes to see a used appliances & furniture store owner, Mr. Martinelli (Ernest Sarracino), to persuade him to help find the guns. Meanwhile, as Julie's getting to know Ernie by asking him about the medals in his Army photo, he goes into a rant about how he wants to rid the neighborhood of an unnamed "them" whom he holds responsible for the crime and violence now plaguing his neighborhood. When Linc returns to Martinelli's, he finds the proprietor beaten unconscious on the floor.
Linc visits Martinelli in the hospital, learning that he was threatened not to talk. Linc and Holland subsequently visit a pool hall where the Action Now! gang hangs out to lean on Manny about the storekeeper; and Linc recognizes Palo from having seen him at the store. Holland has a wordlessly intense episode as he and Linc are being jeered at by the crowd while leaving. Outside of community center basketball court where Ernie and the Mods have been hanging out, Julie gets a morsel of physical business when Cory slaps her after having been told by Ernie that she's trying to use the local kids for information.
Ernie pays a solo visit to Action Now! headquarters, where he seems to bond with Manny a little over a self-defense sparring session. But after borrowing Palo to ostensibly help him haul some things, Holland lets him out in an alley and conducts a Russian roulette interrogation, during which he rants about the Viet Cong, using epithets that I'm surprised they're not censoring these days. When Palo makes a run for it, Holland calmly goes through his chamber until he gets to the single bullet, shooting the kid on the street as an arriving Pete watches. Then Ernie acts surprised to find that the boy is dead.
As Manny leads a protest outside of police HQ, Holland gives false testimony to a hearing board, which Pete attempts to challenge, but is reined in by the hearing officer (uncredited Bill Quinn), who seems more inclined to give Holland the benefit of the doubt. The Mods and Greer compare notes about this and Ernie's unexplained outing of Julie, following which Pete and Linc hit the area of the shooting to try to find a witness who was on the scene of the shooting in a red convertible with a blonde. A mailman (Len Lesser without even an uncredited listing on IMDb) leads them to the witness (uncredited Johnny Haymer), who didn't want to come forward because the blonde is his mistress; but who saw everything, including Ernie pulling the trigger simultaneously with shouting his warning, and having to pull it multiple times before the gun fired. Meanwhile, Julie confronts Ernie about his behavior; and he likens what's happening in the neighborhood to the war, and Palo to children who were used to ambush soldiers. At Action Now!'s grungy digs, Manny fires up his troops and opens the stolen weapons locker.
Pete goes to see Manny, and after Jader goes after him with a switchblade to be called off by Manny, Pete displays a prescience for future pop cultural phenomena...
Ah, ah, ah, ah...! Pete argues that if Manny and his men start a riot, the police will slaughter them, but Manny expresses willingness to face the consequences of fighting for what he believes in. Pete convinces him to instead be a real leader and meet with officials over his concerns. The meeting is held at ANHQ, led by an official played by William Zuckert, and attended by Rivera, Greer, Pete, and Linc. Manny opens up with an unconditional demand that Holland face an open, televised investigation. The officials are reluctant to negotiate with Manny because of the gun thefts, but Rivera sways them by passionately expressing his sympathy for Manny and others like him who are so frustrated by the system that they're turning to violence...which opens Manny's eyes. The officials agree to hold off on plans for the sports arena and to the open investigation, on the condition that the guns be returned. Manny agrees, and volunteers to face any charges.
Meanwhile, among the crowd gathered outside, Julie is present as Ernie casually chats with a like-minded photographer who seems to also be a vet (uncredited Paul Sorensen) about how the local troublemakers are like the G-words back in 'Nam, and should be dealt with accordingly...following which an alarmed Julie tries unsuccessfully to get in to see Greer. When everyone comes out of the meeting and Ernie learns of the outcome, he snaps and rushes to his car, from which he tosses a smoke grenade and pulls an automatic rifle, firing indiscriminately into the crowd while black-and-white photos of 'Nam flash over the screen. The police and Manny's gang both take cover and pull out their weapons, but amidst the escalating chaos, Pete jumps in and tackles Holland. (I don't even think it was his stunt double...if it was, he looked a lot like Cole.) As Holland's being taken into custody, police and protestors alike are sobered at the sight of the wounded bystanders.
In the coda, Greer informs the Mods that the deal is still on, and that Ernie has admitted to assaulting Martinelli, motivated to keep the Mods from finding the guns so that he could have the war he was longing for. Greer then speculates about the nature of Holland's PTSD (not using that term).
The Mods walk off the sports arena site, which conveniently seems to have also been the location of ANHQ.
In contrast to the previously viewed episode about the clinic (which aired a year earlier), this one seemed like the show much more on its game.
_______
The Mod Squad
"The Cave"
Originally aired February 8, 1972
The Mods get the gold Challenger stuck in a ditch in the desert during a sandstorm and head to a nearby shack for shelter, but the occupant (Karl Swenson)--his scenery chewing dialed up to 11--doesn't want to take "their kind" in; in deference to Julie, however, he directs them to a nearby mine shaft. Alone in his hut, he looks at a picture of his uniformed son and talks to himself about how "kids like that" killed him.
The Mods grab their camping gear out of the Challenger and head for the shaft. (Pete and Linc should know better than to vacation with Julie...) While they're setting up camp and settling in to a dinner of canned beef stew, the old man places sticks of dynamite around the cave entrance...then goes in to confront the Mods, telling them about how his son was killed in the war and lumping them in with draft dodgers. He parts by telling them that he wanted them to "know why". The Mods correctly decide to split, but as they're making their way to the entrance, the dynamite goes off and the entrance becomes thoroughly caved in. Determining that they can't dig their way out, they settle in for the night with the intent of checking out an air shaft in the daylight. During the night, Julie is kept awake by the sound of another occupant scuffling in the cave's crevices.
The next day, Pete climbs up the shaft, but has trouble getting a handhold near the top and falls back down, following which Julie and Linc bandage and splint Pete's injured arm. While the Mods are talking about how someone will find the car, the old man tows it away from his shack and camouflages it. He then taunts the Mods through the air shaft, and the they try unsuccessfully to reason with him. They bed down in the cave for another night and Julie is awakened by a rat on her hand. The guys take interest the crevice that it scurried into and start digging. They eventually end up crawling through a small tunnel into a section of reinforced mine tunnel with a cart track and follow it, coming upon the skeletons of two miners.
Nevertheless, after taking an automatic pistol off of one of the bodies, they keep going, picking up another lantern while Julie babbles some pretty prose about light, darkness, life, death, and doors opening. They eventually find a ladder going up another, unsturdy-looking shaft. Linc is the one who tries to climb up this time, calling out that he can see stars before he falls back down and debris follows him. Linc comes out it relatively unharmed, though his 'fro has seen better days by this point.
The Mods come upon another opening too small to crawl through, and Linc decides to make a bomb out of their second lantern and the gun's ammo to take a chance on blowing their way out. Meanwhile, Greer--who's been searching for them since the beginning of the episode for some reason--has found the Challenger and goes to the nearby shack, where the old man's dismissive comments and assumption that the Mods are dead tip the captain off that he knows what happened to them. When Greer presses and the man has a breakdown over his son and the "human trash" who make a mockery of him, Greer expresses his sympathy and the man directs him to the cave.
Inside, the bomb manages to open a small, dark hole in the wall, which the Mods initially assume leads nowhere until Julie smells fresh air. They all crawl in and find their way out into the daylight, to be met by Greer and the old man coming up the hill toward them.
As the old man, identified as William Bradshaw, is being taken away by state troopers, the Mods express interest in seeing that he gets psychiatric help rather than pressing charges. Greer produces a paper indicating that William Jr. died not in Vietnam as the Mods had assumed, but at Pearl Harbor. The startled Mods walk off with Greer to his car.
Born in 1908, Swenson was a bit young to have had a son who was in the service in 1941...it would've been unlikely but not impossible. I guess it works if you fudge his age by a handful of years a la Lou Grant.
_______
...which inspired the helicopter chase in From Russia with Love:
Cf.:
Post-50th Anniversary Viewing
_______
The Mod Squad
"No More Oak Leaves for Ernie Holland"
Originally aired February 1, 1972
Wiki said:
And now it'll be consecutive episodes to the end of the series, as we pick up where I left off last year in late Season 4.
The story opens with Manny DeLeon (Cal Bellini) leading a protest against a sports arena being built on a site that he and his Action Now! supporters want to be turned into a public park. Despite the efforts of his brother-in-law, Israel Rivera (Henry Darrow, whose character appears to be a social worker, though this isn't explicitly established), to get him to call it off, Manny provokes the protestors into attacking the riot squad. The Mods help to defuse the situation, and after some of the officers grab Manny, Linc persuades him to stand down...but before he runs off, Manny vows that next time he won't.
A series of weapons robberies from sporting goods stores in the area follows, and Greer and the Mods suspect that Manny may be stockpiling the weapons. Greer assign Pete and Linc to find the guns, and Julie to work with the titular character, who's from Manny's neighborhood and has been assigned as a community relations officer there. Manny's sister, Cory Rivera (Annette Cardona), insists to her husband that Manny's not a murderer, but in her effort to reason with both parties, drops some intel that makes Manny and his right-hand man, Jader (James A. Watson), suspicious that the Mods are more than the social workers they're posing as (our clue to Rivera's occupation, along with a mention of him writing petitions). They have a young underling, Palo Harrison (Mark Lambert), tail Linc, who goes to see a used appliances & furniture store owner, Mr. Martinelli (Ernest Sarracino), to persuade him to help find the guns. Meanwhile, as Julie's getting to know Ernie by asking him about the medals in his Army photo, he goes into a rant about how he wants to rid the neighborhood of an unnamed "them" whom he holds responsible for the crime and violence now plaguing his neighborhood. When Linc returns to Martinelli's, he finds the proprietor beaten unconscious on the floor.
Linc visits Martinelli in the hospital, learning that he was threatened not to talk. Linc and Holland subsequently visit a pool hall where the Action Now! gang hangs out to lean on Manny about the storekeeper; and Linc recognizes Palo from having seen him at the store. Holland has a wordlessly intense episode as he and Linc are being jeered at by the crowd while leaving. Outside of community center basketball court where Ernie and the Mods have been hanging out, Julie gets a morsel of physical business when Cory slaps her after having been told by Ernie that she's trying to use the local kids for information.
Ernie pays a solo visit to Action Now! headquarters, where he seems to bond with Manny a little over a self-defense sparring session. But after borrowing Palo to ostensibly help him haul some things, Holland lets him out in an alley and conducts a Russian roulette interrogation, during which he rants about the Viet Cong, using epithets that I'm surprised they're not censoring these days. When Palo makes a run for it, Holland calmly goes through his chamber until he gets to the single bullet, shooting the kid on the street as an arriving Pete watches. Then Ernie acts surprised to find that the boy is dead.
As Manny leads a protest outside of police HQ, Holland gives false testimony to a hearing board, which Pete attempts to challenge, but is reined in by the hearing officer (uncredited Bill Quinn), who seems more inclined to give Holland the benefit of the doubt. The Mods and Greer compare notes about this and Ernie's unexplained outing of Julie, following which Pete and Linc hit the area of the shooting to try to find a witness who was on the scene of the shooting in a red convertible with a blonde. A mailman (Len Lesser without even an uncredited listing on IMDb) leads them to the witness (uncredited Johnny Haymer), who didn't want to come forward because the blonde is his mistress; but who saw everything, including Ernie pulling the trigger simultaneously with shouting his warning, and having to pull it multiple times before the gun fired. Meanwhile, Julie confronts Ernie about his behavior; and he likens what's happening in the neighborhood to the war, and Palo to children who were used to ambush soldiers. At Action Now!'s grungy digs, Manny fires up his troops and opens the stolen weapons locker.
Pete goes to see Manny, and after Jader goes after him with a switchblade to be called off by Manny, Pete displays a prescience for future pop cultural phenomena...
Pete: I wanna talk to you.
Manny: About what?
Pete: Staying alive.
Manny: About what?
Pete: Staying alive.
Ah, ah, ah, ah...! Pete argues that if Manny and his men start a riot, the police will slaughter them, but Manny expresses willingness to face the consequences of fighting for what he believes in. Pete convinces him to instead be a real leader and meet with officials over his concerns. The meeting is held at ANHQ, led by an official played by William Zuckert, and attended by Rivera, Greer, Pete, and Linc. Manny opens up with an unconditional demand that Holland face an open, televised investigation. The officials are reluctant to negotiate with Manny because of the gun thefts, but Rivera sways them by passionately expressing his sympathy for Manny and others like him who are so frustrated by the system that they're turning to violence...which opens Manny's eyes. The officials agree to hold off on plans for the sports arena and to the open investigation, on the condition that the guns be returned. Manny agrees, and volunteers to face any charges.
Meanwhile, among the crowd gathered outside, Julie is present as Ernie casually chats with a like-minded photographer who seems to also be a vet (uncredited Paul Sorensen) about how the local troublemakers are like the G-words back in 'Nam, and should be dealt with accordingly...following which an alarmed Julie tries unsuccessfully to get in to see Greer. When everyone comes out of the meeting and Ernie learns of the outcome, he snaps and rushes to his car, from which he tosses a smoke grenade and pulls an automatic rifle, firing indiscriminately into the crowd while black-and-white photos of 'Nam flash over the screen. The police and Manny's gang both take cover and pull out their weapons, but amidst the escalating chaos, Pete jumps in and tackles Holland. (I don't even think it was his stunt double...if it was, he looked a lot like Cole.) As Holland's being taken into custody, police and protestors alike are sobered at the sight of the wounded bystanders.
In the coda, Greer informs the Mods that the deal is still on, and that Ernie has admitted to assaulting Martinelli, motivated to keep the Mods from finding the guns so that he could have the war he was longing for. Greer then speculates about the nature of Holland's PTSD (not using that term).
Greer: When are we really gonna understand what war does to people?
Julie: Better yet, when will it end so we don't have to?
Julie: Better yet, when will it end so we don't have to?
The Mods walk off the sports arena site, which conveniently seems to have also been the location of ANHQ.
In contrast to the previously viewed episode about the clinic (which aired a year earlier), this one seemed like the show much more on its game.
_______
The Mod Squad
"The Cave"
Originally aired February 8, 1972
Wiki said:
The Mods get the gold Challenger stuck in a ditch in the desert during a sandstorm and head to a nearby shack for shelter, but the occupant (Karl Swenson)--his scenery chewing dialed up to 11--doesn't want to take "their kind" in; in deference to Julie, however, he directs them to a nearby mine shaft. Alone in his hut, he looks at a picture of his uniformed son and talks to himself about how "kids like that" killed him.
The Mods grab their camping gear out of the Challenger and head for the shaft. (Pete and Linc should know better than to vacation with Julie...) While they're setting up camp and settling in to a dinner of canned beef stew, the old man places sticks of dynamite around the cave entrance...then goes in to confront the Mods, telling them about how his son was killed in the war and lumping them in with draft dodgers. He parts by telling them that he wanted them to "know why". The Mods correctly decide to split, but as they're making their way to the entrance, the dynamite goes off and the entrance becomes thoroughly caved in. Determining that they can't dig their way out, they settle in for the night with the intent of checking out an air shaft in the daylight. During the night, Julie is kept awake by the sound of another occupant scuffling in the cave's crevices.
The next day, Pete climbs up the shaft, but has trouble getting a handhold near the top and falls back down, following which Julie and Linc bandage and splint Pete's injured arm. While the Mods are talking about how someone will find the car, the old man tows it away from his shack and camouflages it. He then taunts the Mods through the air shaft, and the they try unsuccessfully to reason with him. They bed down in the cave for another night and Julie is awakened by a rat on her hand. The guys take interest the crevice that it scurried into and start digging. They eventually end up crawling through a small tunnel into a section of reinforced mine tunnel with a cart track and follow it, coming upon the skeletons of two miners.
Pete: I guess if there was a way out of here, they would've found it.
Nevertheless, after taking an automatic pistol off of one of the bodies, they keep going, picking up another lantern while Julie babbles some pretty prose about light, darkness, life, death, and doors opening. They eventually find a ladder going up another, unsturdy-looking shaft. Linc is the one who tries to climb up this time, calling out that he can see stars before he falls back down and debris follows him. Linc comes out it relatively unharmed, though his 'fro has seen better days by this point.
The Mods come upon another opening too small to crawl through, and Linc decides to make a bomb out of their second lantern and the gun's ammo to take a chance on blowing their way out. Meanwhile, Greer--who's been searching for them since the beginning of the episode for some reason--has found the Challenger and goes to the nearby shack, where the old man's dismissive comments and assumption that the Mods are dead tip the captain off that he knows what happened to them. When Greer presses and the man has a breakdown over his son and the "human trash" who make a mockery of him, Greer expresses his sympathy and the man directs him to the cave.
Inside, the bomb manages to open a small, dark hole in the wall, which the Mods initially assume leads nowhere until Julie smells fresh air. They all crawl in and find their way out into the daylight, to be met by Greer and the old man coming up the hill toward them.
As the old man, identified as William Bradshaw, is being taken away by state troopers, the Mods express interest in seeing that he gets psychiatric help rather than pressing charges. Greer produces a paper indicating that William Jr. died not in Vietnam as the Mods had assumed, but at Pearl Harbor. The startled Mods walk off with Greer to his car.
Born in 1908, Swenson was a bit young to have had a son who was in the service in 1941...it would've been unlikely but not impossible. I guess it works if you fudge his age by a handful of years a la Lou Grant.
_______
I included it because I feel that I've roped myself into getting it by lowering the Doobies' chart position threshold for "Jesus Is Just Alright".
A cute bit of misleading business. I'm sure it would spark outrage today, because what doesn't?
I've never watched the film, but was referring to the famous crop duster scene...
...which inspired the helicopter chase in From Russia with Love:
Cf.:
Which really grated them.
Last edited:
Ask and ye shall receive
Paul McCartney and Wings’ 1974 live recording One Hand Clapping is to be released on 14 June 2024.
One Hand Clapping was recorded and filmed live at Abbey Road Studios over five days in August 1974, for a documentary directed by David Litchfield. Some of the material has been widely bootlegged, with extracts also appearing on official McCartney releases, but the full version has never before been issued.
The album will be available in 2xCD, 2xLP, and digital editions, plus an online exclusive vinyl version that includes a bonus 7″ EP containing six songs recorded on the final day: ‘Blackpool’, ‘Blackbird’, ‘Country Dreamer’, ‘Twenty Flight Rock’, ‘Peggy Sue’, and ‘I’m Gonna Love You Too’.
It will also be available to stream in Dolby Atmos, with a new mix by Giles Martin and Steve Orchard.
ONE HAND CLAPPING 50th ANNIVERSARY DELUXE EDITION - DISC 1 14-Jun-2024
1 One Hand Clapping
2 Jet
3 Soily
4 Medley: C Moon/Little Woman Love
5 Maybe I'm Amazed
6 My Love
7 Bluebird
8 Let's Love
9 Sitting At The Piano/All Of You
10 I'll Give You A Ring
11 Band On The Run
12 Live And Let Die (Take 3)
13 Nineteen Hundred And Eighty Five (Paul & Linda McCartney)
14 Baby Face (Harry Akst/Benny Davis)
ONE HAND CLAPPING 50th ANNIVERSARY DELUXE EDITION - DISC 2 14-Jun-2024
1 Blue Moon Of Kentucky (Bill Monroe)
2 Let Me Roll It
3 Power Cut
4 Love You Baby
5 Let It Be
6 Medley: The Long And Winding Road/Lady Madonna
7 Junior's Farm
8 Sally G
9 Tomorrow
10 Go Now! (Larry Banks/Milton Bennett)
11 Wild Life
12 Hi Hi Hi
This is an approximation of what the concert setlist would have looked like for Wings '75 tour had Geoff Britton not abruptly quit.
Last edited:
Good one.
I guess he's really into parks and recreation.
Yeah, really super into parks and recreation.
And establishing his heroic credentials.
The usual giant ants, no doubt.
Do I hear a snapping sound?
She'll have to go on vacation next episode.
Yeah, that was definitely a snapping sound.
Okay, we've headed into seriously grim territory here.
Did the hearing officer know that Pete is a cop?
"I'm willing to die on that hill! It's a nice hill and will make a pretty park!"
I really wish the central conflict was not over something as silly as a sports arena.
This is seriously extreme for an early 70s TV show.
What did he say? I don't think the term Vietnam Syndrome had come up yet.
Now I'm having a flashback.
Aside from the unfortunate public park conflict, this seemed like it was an excellent episode all around. The PTSD theme is heartbreaking, and the theme of resorting to violent protest echos even more strongly today.
Not so good. Not even accurate, really.
The classic opening.
What a gentleman.
In retrospect, I wonder if the picture and the uniform are accurate.
But you can't really leave her alone for a minute.
Might have been a good time to identify themselves.
Jim Backus?
I would not have done this. It detracts from any sympathy the viewer will have for the character.
I'm not so sure those skeletons were miners. They should probably have the ME take a look.
Uh oh....
"Now I see more stars."
They never finished their paperwork from the last episode.
That taunting just didn't fit the character at all.
"Is that... is that the warm smell of colitas rising up through the air?"
Nice. Both Greer and the Mods come off looking good.
That's an interesting twist. I wonder if the idea was to show why somebody that age would be offended by anti-war protests.
Yeah, he was just playing an older character. That's no biggie.
Where would we be without outrage?
Oh, I knew what you meant, I was just expanding on it. It's a great movie, well worth watching if you get a chance.
Cool. I never made that connection.
He saw more action as Ironside than he did as Perry Mason.
What a coincidence. It's always nice to see something like this see the light of day.
I wondered about that too.
Nice. My Brother would have loved that.