It occurs to me that both Paul Anka and Neil Sedaka both are having a mid-career musical renaissance at around the same time. Paul Anka with "(You're) Having My Baby" and Neil Sedaka with the upcoming "Laughter In The Rain".
The Classic/Retro Pop Culture Thread
- Thread starter The Old Mixer
- Start date
It occurs to me that both Paul Anka and Neil Sedaka both are having a mid-career musical renaissance at around the same time. Paul Anka with "(You're) Having My Baby" and Neil Sedaka with the upcoming "Laughter In The Rain".
It's easy to forget how devastating that war was in Europe.
One minute and 58 seconds later, the history of music is changed forever.
That will sadly come later.
And we still don't know his real name.
I know I saw this on one of the local UHF channels as a kid, but I have no recollection of it whatsoever.
I wonder how he felt about that.
I saw this, too, but my memory is similarly spotty.
I like this one.
Nice and mellow.
Aw, man, this new interface is driving me crazy.
Sorry, I meant Chuck's wife. I figured she was back in the kitchen, but she didn't hear a couple of guys pummelling her husband to within an inch of his life?
Ah, I didn't realize Linc saw them.
Ain't that the truth.
I think they even did it on Adam-12 once, didn't they?
Overall, a strange situation.
Indeed.Don't forget the torches!
Was there a similar scene on Green Hornet? I don't remember.Reminded me of The Green Hornet.
Yeah, but wasn't Ollinger's original communication to the Chief about uncovering a conspiracy?
He's a former alternate Lantern who hired the Mods as a way of forming his own Corps.
Nice.
Stranger things have happened. Most of them recently.
May you have no regrets.ETA: It is done.
You know, I've heard this before. I wonder if one of the local stations played it because of WKRP. Or maybe it was on Dr Demento or Lost 45s or something.
I like "Laughter in the Rain," too. Neil Sedaka also wrote "Love Will Keep Us Together," performed by Captain and Tennille-- at the end of the song you can hear Toni Tennille singing, "Sedaka is back."
Not quite that fast. He wouldn't break out for another couple of years. This single only charted locally in Memphis.
Howlin' Wolf is pretty fun as blues goes.I like this one.
S'alright, good period sound.
Guess not. Doing dishes really loudly?
Don't recall that.
There was an episode where the bad guy gimmick of the week was frogmen coming out of the water to attack people in a marina.
Ah...guess that would be whatever was going on with the woman's car accident/murder.
Lucy don't need no stinkin' power ring!He's a former alternate Lantern who hired the Mods as a way of forming his own Corps.
Nice.
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Eric Clapton/Derek and the Dominos recorded a version of this song for their aborted second album.
It was a staple of the Dominos set and Eric's solo set for a while.
Still, this is the start of it all.
Singing "Having My Baby" to herself?
Now you're having memory issues.
I'm almost positive that there was an episode where fake cops were pulling off robberies using a fake police car. Or something.We need more of that.
Okay, that makes sense.
He's more like that guy in DP 7, if you remember that.
That's pretty good, but in this case I actually like the original better.
Post-50th Anniversary Viewing
Ironside
"A Special Person"
Originally aired January 11, 1973
Frndly said:
The Chief and Ed cross the bay to attend a shindig at the palatial estate of Not Heff Wayne Dorian (Sandy Baron), whose magazine, The Bachelor, Ironside has agreed to do an interview for. We quickly meet what's actually a fairly modest list of credited suspects--burly personal trainer and houseboy Joey Galardo (Robert Viharo); Rona Bartlet (Melendy Britt), a ladyfriend who has something to discuss with Dorian; Wayne's partner, Howard Jameson (Barry Sullivan); and Wayne's girlfriend and Howard's daughter, Nikki (Leslie Charleson). While discussing the conditions of the interview, Dorian falls to his knees from what he passes off as chronic back pain; but the Chief asks him to turn around and finds a bullet hole in his clothing, and informs Dorian that he's been shot.
While an unidentified song presumably written by the Paiches and sung by Carol Carmichael plays, Ed investigates the area and finds motorcycle tracks and a shell casing just over the wall. It turns out that the brace that Wayne wears for his back pain is what stopped the bullet. Dorian tries to play it down, producing examples of the sort of hate mail that he routinely receives, but ultimately agrees to cooperate in providing a guest list.
While the shooting is kept under wraps, Ed attracts Joey's attention by diving around in the pool, where he finds the bullet. In a scene between Wayne and Howard, we learn that Jameson doesn't approve of the subject matter of some of the magazine's recent articles, even though circulation has gone up; and that he has reservations about his daughter seeing Wayne, given Dorian's playboy lifestyle. Ironside turns up that an expose written by Dorian ruined Joey's boxing career, and a mismatch between the bullet and the casing indicates that somebody planted the latter to make it look like the bullet was fired from over the wall. Outside, Rona briefly takes Nikki aside to indicate that she was once in Nikki's place; then Rona has a friendly talk with Joey, trying to convince him that Wayne is using him. Dorian lets Ironside make an announcement to the guests about the assassination attempt, informing them that they're all suspects and that nobody can leave. The Chief's subsequent questioning of Rona reveals that she's a past-her-prime former model for the magazine and that she came to confront Wayne about a recent attempt to use her to "entertain" important clients. Back in Frisco, Fran turns up that Joey did time for armed robbery between boxing and working for Dorian; and that Howard is an expert marksman. When asked about the latter, Wayne tells Ironside that Jameson designed the estate's target range.
Fran brings a rifle to the estate so that the Chief can use the range to conduct some ballistics tests on the brace, determining that the ammunition was only half-loaded, or it would have penetrated. Snooping around the grounds by night, Fran finds Joey's bike, which is a match for the type that made the tracks. Ironside is having Ed climb trees with a ladder when Fran tells them this, and Joey pops up to admit that it's his bike, but tells them that he's grateful to Mr. Dorian for arranging his parole and giving him a job. Inside, Rona takes Mr. Jameson aside to warn him to get his daughter away from Wayne. Wayne and Nikki then inform Jameson privately that they've agreed to marry, and he says that he approves, though he doesn't look happy. Wayne then sits Jameson down at his desk to help him pick pictures for an article about Peruvian temples that will replace one about a Satanic cult that Jameson doesn't approve of. Meanwhile, Ed has made a discovery in a tree that indicates they're dealing with a "smart cookie"; the Chief determines that Wayne was standing in exactly the right spot to get shot; and Ed finds a remote-controlled rifle set up in a boat parked on a trailer, which is aimed directly at the window of Dorian's study, behind his desk.
Ironside goes to the study to announce that he's dismissed the guests. While Jameson talks about the article they're working on, Ironside's attention is on Jameson clicking a couple of devices--first a pen, then a lighter. At the second use of the lighter, a shot is heard. Ironside explains how they found clamp marks on a tree indicating that the rifle that shot Wayne was set there, then asks Wayne to hand over what turns out to be a remote that was in his pocket. He reveals that the bullet in the boat-planted rifle was replaced with a blank, preventing Jameson from taking the bullet through the back of Wayne's chair. Wayne explains that he learned that Jameson, who holds controlling interest in the magazine, was planning to get rid of him; and he confesses to wanting to marry Nikki because she'd inherit the interest. After the Jamesons exit, Wayne explains to Ironside that the magazine was all that made him special.
The Chief: In prison, nobody's special.
The Mod Squad
"Don't Kill My Child"
Originally aired January 18, 1973
Wiki said:
Julie's volunteering at a neighborhood clinic run by a Dr. Marmor (Kirk Mee) when a Mr. Blackwell (Murray MacLeod) comes in with his young son (Ty Wilson) about a head bruise that he says was from Timmy falling out of a car. Marmor takes Julie aside to fill her in that the boy shows signs of having been beaten, including older injuries such as strap marks on his chest; but the father overhears them talking and runs. Julie calls in the other Mods (Linc sporting a cast on his left arm from a previous case), but their attempts to coax info from Timmy only produce a denial that his mommy and daddy spank him. In Timmy's jacket they find a light meter marked as the property of a university cinema department; the guy they return it to indicates that he loaned it to a Dave Pruitt, who's been acting distracted and temperamental lately. At the hospital, Marmor's relieved that X-rays have turned up no internal injuries when an Evelyn Pruitt (Marlyn Mason) comes in about her son, Timmy. She's defensive when confronted about his injuries, explains that she and the boy's father, Dave, are separated, and implies that he's responsible. The male Mods have just approached Dave undercover at a film shoot when uniformed CLE arrive to take Dave into custody on behalf of Captain Greer--mighta been nice to fill him in, huh? Dave makes another run for it, but is tackled by Pete while Linc can only watch helplessly.
Greer interrogates Pruitt, who initially tries to maintain his original story; but when Greer gets shouty, he confesses to having beaten Timmy, but is unconvincing in this and his explanation why. He also indicates that he's Timmy's stepfather, having only met Evelyn a year ago. He signs a confession, but the Mods all think that he's covering for someone and ask to investigate further. Julie approches Evelyn in a friendly manner and chats her up, trying to get to know her, learning that she has esteem issues. When Evelyn expresses anger toward Timmy when asked about him, Julie encourages her to attend a therapy group. The group members (Lillian Lehman, Beverly Powers, and Rosana Soto) are confrontational and accusatory, and Julie joins in with them in trying to get her to admit the truth. When she starts to do that and tearfully expresses her regrets, they're more sympathetic. (This scene was the most aggressive I can recall having seen Julie get.)
The guys summon Evelyn's mother, Mrs. Dykstra (Nina Foch), to ask for her intervention, and they see that her resentful, high-strung personality fuels issues with her daughter that are part of the problem. Greer finds a foster home for Timmy, with elder couple Howard and Millie Lindner (John Zaremba and Joan Tompkins), who have a number of children in their care. Mrs. Dykstra tries to talk to Evelyn, but doesn't approve of her daughter "abandoning" Timmy to foster parents. As a result, Evelyn sneaks to the Lindner's after dark and takes Timmy from the yard as the other children are going in.
The guys visit Dave, who wants a clean break from Evelyn, but is motivated to help when they tell him that she took Timmy. He informs them that she may be taking Timmy to Ventura, her father's hometown. In a hotel room, Evelyn starts losing her cool when Timmy acts frightened and uncomfortable, and ends up repeatedly slamming him against a bed while threatening to kill him, following which she breaks down crying and apologizes. She then returns the sleeping Timmy to the Lindners. The next day, the Mods get a report from Dr. M that Timmy is fine, but they're concerned about Evelyn. They get a call from Mrs. D that Evelyn plans to join her father...who's been dead for twelve years. The Mods head for the Old West studio where Mrs. D previously told them that her husband used to work, often taking Evelyn with him. They find her standing in the third-floor window of a hotel facade, and Julie empathically talks her down, persuading her to give Timmy the chance to know a different side of her.
In the coda, the Mods are having a barbeque picnic with Evelyn and Timmy. Julie encourages the boy that he'll be able to return to his mommy when she's all better, then the two of them rejoin the others.
Fake cops with a fake car have come up on Mod Squad before. If they came up on A-12, you'll have to find the episode.Now you're having memory issues.
Conventional law enforcement yada yada, please dispose of this post in the usual manner.I tried a couple of issues. Which guy would that be?He's more like that guy in DP 7, if you remember that.
As if he wasn't famous enough.
Another character actor who popped up everywhere for about a hundred years.
"I get to pick the three little black-and-white photos on the first page."
"Trust me, I know about being shot in the back."
Team Ironside should investigate all this music that's always floating through the air.
Do they go into any details about this?
In that case, forensics would quickly determine that the bullet was not deformed in the expected way, and there also should have been another bullet. Kind of silly mistakes for such an elaborately orchestrated scheme.
He loves doing that.
This is a new one on me. How do you half load ammo?
So it's tabloid stuff that offends him?
I might dispute this.
Based on Barry Sullivan's age, he must have been the one who founded the magazine and hired the other guy later, so he was more of the Heff. But they didn't seem to be going for anything satirical, anyway.
Aside from some wonkiness with the plan itself, this wasn't bad. No flashbacks, though.
Also kind of notable that there were no actual murders.Where does she find the time?
Is this actual continuity, or did he hurt himself in real life?
"But there's this Medieval torture chamber in the basement...."
They definitely have communication issues.
You always get the best action, Linc, give somebody else a chance.
Interesting. She always gravitates toward children, but I don't remember if she's dealt with actual child abuse before.
Yeah, might have seen that coming.
Kind of interesting that she didn't get custody.
Let's not forget that the actor is actually a child.
"Sleeping?"
Whew.
That's a bit of a stretch, but okay.
Well, that was certainly one of their better episodes. And also notable for no deaths and not much in the way of action.
I did Google a bit and didn't find anything. My vague memory includes something like them parking the fake police car in the actual police garage or something, which I found far fetched. It could have been a Mod Squad.Fake cops with a fake car have come up on Mod Squad before. If they came up on A-12, you'll have to find the episode.
The character's name was Antibody, and he had sort of a black astral form that emerged from his chest.
How about MTV's first ever video broadcasted? So, feel the nostalgia. I am an 80's kid. I remember waiting up for the premier.
^^ Great song and video. Especially since I always loved OTR.
I didn't get to see the premiere, unfortunately. Not many people had cable in those days-- not that I knew, anyway. The apartment complex where I lived didn't install cable until about 1985 or 1986.
I didn't get to see the premiere, unfortunately. Not many people had cable in those days-- not that I knew, anyway. The apartment complex where I lived didn't install cable until about 1985 or 1986.
Post-50th Anniversary Viewing
The Mod Squad
"Death in High Places"
Originally aired January 25, 1973
Edited Wiki said:
Linc's arriving at the construction site in a station wagon when boxes start falling due to a scuffle between unidentifiable figures on the twelfth floor. As Linc's taking the elevator up, a body passes him in the other direction. When Linc gets to the top, the other figure clocks him with a wrench.
Cut to the other Mods being met by Teresa Vega (Priscilla Garcia) as Linc is in a brownstone testifying before a community council known as a consejo about how the deceased, his friend Ernie Gomez, called him to meet there. The consejo chair (Rodolfo Hoyos) then questions their chief suspect, Tomas Roca (Joe Renteria), who was known to be an enemy of Ernie. Roca refuses to speak, causing the chair to declare him guilty. Greer arrives on the scene to take Roca into custody, as a witness heard Tomas calling Gomez to arrange a meeting on the top of the building under construction. Roca also refuses to talk to Greer, and Teresa, who was Ernie's girlfriend, explains to the Mods that the declaration of guilt by the consejo makes him an outcast of the community, which she believes can result in death. After the Mods talk to the grieving mother, Mrs. Gomez (Carmen Zapata), in an attempt to learn of anyone who may have had a motive, Linc--who doesn't think things add up, in part because Tomas wasn't a physical match for Ernie--has Greer arrange to get him a job as a replacement worker, which involves going through the local union boss, Arturo Roca (Fernando Lamas)--Tomas's older brother.
After meeting Linc, Arturo visits Tomas in jail, where he explains to his little brother--whose meeting arrangement was a lure--that Ernie's death was an accident, and indicates that a man named Havlicek was involved. Next we see Arturo visit former union president Emile Wade...
...whose one-time position Roca negotiates to buy with the influence that Wade still holds over the board despite being a fugitive after embezzling from them. At the site, the foreman (William "Mac" Boyett) introduces Linc to his crew boss, Kerner (Bing Russell), who, along with another worker, is suspicious of the fresh blood.
Teresa and the other Mods visit Tomas to offer help, and learn that he's been feeling weak, though he doesn't believe in Teresa's Indigenous "mumbo jumbo". At lunch on the site, Linc blatantly starts asking questions about who killed Ernie, claiming that it's so he'll know who to avoid crossing. His implications lead to a fight with Kerner, which Arturo breaks up when he brings Havlicek up to get the project, which is two weeks behind, back on schedule. Arturo visits Wade again at the manor of Emile's mistress, Florinda (Ahna Capri). Pete and Julie search Ernie's apartment, the walls of which are filled with the fruits of his amateur photography, and Teresa notices that a favorite picture that had been displayed immediately above his desk has been replaced. In the darkroom, she and the Mods are unable to find the negative. Linc picks them up to take them to Mrs. Gomez, and is tailed by Havlicek. The Mods come back with a copy of the picture, which is of Ernie and Teresa, from which Linc makes a new negative to blow it up for examination. Eventually they find two men meeting in the background--Arturo and Wade, the latter of whom Greer identifies.
Havlicek breaks into Ernie's place to find the blow-ups, and reports them to Arturo and Wade, who know that Linc and his friends are cops. Greer, Pete, and Julie visit Tomas, who's now hospitalized with a mysterious illness and feverishly begs forgiveness in Spanish. Julie visits Florinda's posing as a cosmetics saleswoman to snap a brooch photo of Wade, which Greer uses to obtain a warrant. At the site, Havlicek arranges some alone time with Linc and tries to push him off, leaving him briefly dangling by his safety harness. Linc climbs back up and goes after him, and following a brief scuffle mirroring the one in the opening, holds Havlicek partly over the edge to threaten him to talk. Kerner witnesses this and reports it to Arturo and Wade, who get to the site after dark, where Linc's been playing a waiting game. Linc gets the drop on an armed Arturo, and stares down Wade.
Meanwhile, after calling on Florinda, Greer, the other Mods, and CLE backup arrive at the site, where Pete takes down Kerner trying to escape, and Arturo and Wade are taken into custody.
In the coda, Tomas--now fully recovered and set free--is exiting Greer's office when Teresa arrives to inform him that the consejo has lifted his sentence...the timing of which closely coincides with Tommy's sudden recovery. After seeing Tommy and Teresa off, Greer and the Mods walk away from police HQ.
Ironside
"The Caller"
Originally aired January 25, 1973
Wiki said:
Our situation of the week is that Fran's enjoying the luxury of penthouse-sitting for a friend named Karen. After Ed and Mark leave from checking the place out, she receives an ominous call in which she's addressed by name and the blue dress that she's wearing is described. On the elevator, she has a run-in with a Texan type named Harry Ashton (L. Q. Jones), who comes on to her and mentions a blue dress. The Chief notices that Fran's acting antsy at the Cave, and after having her work late, invites her to dinner at the wharf, where he gently probes regarding what's troubling her. When he takes her home, there are flowers at the door with a card reading "Till death do us part"; and she gets another call, which she records. The Chief listens as the titular persona tells her to get rid of the other guy. After the caller hangs up, the Chief directly asks Fran about the calls she's been getting for the past week.
The Chief says that he was tipped off when she obtained the phone recorder. She describes how the caller has known more details of her activities, such as what she's eating or listening to, and says that she's searched for bugs; while the Chief finds that no apartments directly face her windows. The next day, the team start looking into the other tenants, finding that Ashton is a man of many jobs, mostly involving sales. Posing as Fran's uncle, the Chief accompanies her to the building's rec room, where he gets the dish on some of the others from a tense, awkward young man named Johnny Garber (fourth of three Barry Livingston), who asks the Chief what it's like to be in a wheelchair; only for the Chief to deduce that Johnny is also crippled, though he's currently sitting in a regular chair.
After the team gets word that another woman in the neighborhood was murdered the previous night, the Chief wants to put a second policewoman in with Fran, but she doesn't want to scare the caller off. Ed traces as the caller strikes again, taking credit for the killing. The call came from the apartment of a drunk, philandering neighbor at the party named Rowling (Ray Ballard), who's found to still be at the party. Mark breaks into a utility room to find that Rowling's phone was recently tapped. While he and Fran are leaving, they run into the janitor, Willis Barnes (Paul Lambert), giving him a story. The team finds that since Johnny suffered a spinal injury in an auto accident, he's been in the care of an absentee father and has had a history of tutors leaving him because of behavioral issues. After another creepy run-in with Ashton in the laundry room, Fran returns to the apartment to get another call, this time without a phone. (I remembered this gimmick being used on H5O, and looking it up, the episode in question only aired a week before this one.)
The Chief has the team look into Karen's clients in her job as an illustrator. While scoping out the apartment further, he catches Johnny lurking around and has a talk with the boy. It starts with the Chief encouraging him to get on with living his life despite his handicap, but when he asks to see samples of Johnny's photography hobby, he finds a picture of Fran adjusting her bikini top by the pool, and notices that he's got an article of Fran's clothing stuffed in his wheelchair. He then asks Johnny if he calls people in addition to watching them, which is met with an angry, defensive outburst.
It turns out that a lower penthouse clearly visible through Karen's bedroom window belongs to a tycoon named Cavanaugh, who's one of Karen's clients. At the Cavanaugh Corporation, Ed questions an assistant named Daniel Leary (Dabney Coleman) about his absent boss. Fran turns up that Leary is involved in a power struggle over the corporation, and the Chief orders her to move out while he uses Karen's penthouse to stake out the Cavanaugh penthouse. Down in the garage, Fran finds "DEATH" written on her windshield and is calling the Chief when she's nabbed by a stocking-masked figure. Searching the place, Mark finds Fran tied up in a hair salon near the utility room; while upstairs, the stocking-masked figure uses a key to get into the penthouse. He unmasks and begins to set up a sniper rifle at the window overlooking the other penthouse, only to be held at gunpoint from behind by the Chief. As Mark takes Barnes into custody, he exclaims that he was only trying to scare Fran into moving out, unaware that she was a policewoman. The Chief gets the janitor to admit that he was hired by Leary to take out Cavanaugh; and the Chief shows Fran that the figure walking around in the other penthouse isn't a returned Cavanaugh, but Ed.
In the coda, Fran's packing up to move out when Johnny drops in to say goodbye and to apologize to the Chief, whom he indicates has inspired him to do what he wants with the life ahead of him.
It was in the interest of doing PR for law enforcement.As if he wasn't famous enough.
Including...
The satanic cult article was used as the example. Jameson wanted the magazine to do more cultured stuff.
Something I didn't catch is why Dorian chose to orchestrate his scheme while Ironside was there.He loves doing that.
It's got powder in it.
I guess they were co-Heffs. Jameson was the money man, Dorian was the one who was living the lifestyle.
Dunno if Williams was really injured, but there was a brief throwaway about the previous case that he got injured in. I don't think it was the previous episode, in which he injured his hand smashing a fire alarm and sported a bandage on it for the rest of the episode. Possibly it was just Lucy's week off.
It had been set up earlier in the episode. Mrs. D resented how Evelyn's father took her to the studio.
There's an even more gripping drama coming up in the next retro-week.
That's vaguely ringing a bell, but I think it may have been an Ironside or H50.
I had to look that up to refresh my memory.
And you can't just turn those things around. Or can you? Can't construction elevators be stopped and started at any time? But there was no helping that guy anyway.
Another case where the victim being a friend of a Mod added nothing to the story.
No Fifth Amendment in the consejo, apparently. Why doesn't he want to speak?
I'll bet he looked marvelous.
If Arturo hired Havlicek to kill Ernie, this was a pretty stupid thing to say.
My goodness, Jim Backus in a serious and evil role. You go, Jim!
And Dan Matthews' most frequent sidekick.
A likely story.
So this is all about a bribe, and Arturo framed his bro as the killer.
Holy crap, Linc! Also, coercion.
Now there's a sight to behold.
Supernatural or psychological-- YOU be the judge!
That all seemed to hold together well, although I don't know enough about union shenanigans or consejos to be sure.
Popular scary character actor.
Apparently an unfollowed clue.
And why she, a policewoman, didn't just tell him right at the start.
Heh.
Like a disembodied voice? I'm not sure I understand this.
That's normal.
That's not normal.
Depending on how that other woman was killed, his condition would seem to rule him out. But apparently that murder was really unrelated and the caller just opportunistically took credit for it.
Another popular bad guy.
So much for keeping a close eye on the apartment.
Oh, well then.
So did Leary hire Karen specifically because he knew the location of her apartment? Otherwise the business connection doesn't seem to make much sense.
That's a nice little subplot. It's kind of odd that they didn't show Leary being taken into custody, though.
As a regular? I don't recall.
Okay, makes sense.
Probably he thought that having Ironside present would lend some kind of credibility to the event, not realizing how ill thought out it was.
He pulled the bullet apart and drained some of the powder?
Ah, okay.
Cool.
Okay, I'm thinking now it was H50. That seems right.
DP 7 was the only one of them that was really good, although Starbrand had its moments. I don't think I even tried any of the others.
50 Years Ago This Week
July 7
And a Happy 34th to Ringo!
July 8
July 9
July 10
July 11
July 12
T-minus 27 days and counting.
Selections from Billboard's Hot 100 for the week:
Leaving the chart:
New on the chart:
"Shinin' On," Grand Funk
(#11 US)
"I Shot the Sheriff," Eric Clapton
(#1 US the week of Sept. 14, 1974; #33 R&B; #9 UK; written and originally recorded by Bob Marley in 1973, that version being #443 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time [2004])
"Nothing from Nothing," Billy Preston
(#1 US the week of Oct. 19, 1974; #15 AC; #8 R&B)
_______
Timeline entries are quoted from the Wiki page for the month, with minor editing as needed.
_______
"Sock It to Me"
September 26, 1968
July 7
- Died: Cornelius Vanderbilt IV, 76, U.S. journalist and publisher
- Nancy Newhall, 66, prolific photography book writer and editor, died of injuries sustained on June 30 while she and other people were on a rafting trip in the Grand Teton National Park in the U.S. state of Wyoming. Mrs. Newhall and 11 other people were in the rubber raft on the Snake River when a giant spruce tree fell onto them.
And a Happy 34th to Ringo! July 8
- Watergate prosecutor Leon Jaworski and U.S. President Nixon's attorney James D. St. Clair appeared before the U.S. Supreme Court to make oral arguments on the issue of whether Nixon's refusal to release 64 tape recordings, relevant to the Watergate scandal, were protected by executive privilege.
- Deborah Gail Stone, an employee of Disneyland in California, was crushed to death by a rotating wall while working in the new "America Sings" exhibit, becoming the first death of a worker at a Disney park. The ride was immediately closed down and was not reopened until alarms could be installed.
- One week after the beginning of the players' strike against the National Football League, the college students scheduled to play in the July 26 College All-Star Game against the Miami Dolphins voted not to practice unless the NFL strike could be settled. The 1974 game was canceled two days later.
July 9
- The Judiciary Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives released an enhanced version of eight of the White House tapes previously transcribed by Nixon's team. These included potentially damaging statements suppressed in Nixon's version.
- Died: Earl Warren, 83, former Chief Justice of the United States from 1953 to 1969
July 10
- The creation of the largest newspaper publisher in the United States, with 35 daily papers and 3.6 million subscribers, was announced with the merger of Knight Newspapers and Ridder Publications to form Knight-Ridder Newspapers Inc. The largest of the Knight papers were the Detroit Free Press, the Philadelphia Inquirer and the Miami Herald, while the Ridder papers included the San Jose Mercury and News. The merger put Knight-Ridder ahead of the Tribune Company, owner of the Chicago Tribune, the Daily News of New York, and five other papers for a total circulation of 3.5 million.
July 11
- John Kerr, the Lieutenant-Governor of New South Wales, took office as the new Governor-General of Australia, appointed by Queen Elizabeth of Australia after being nominated by Prime Minister Gough Whitlam.
July 12
- The Congressional Budget Office (CBO), an agency of the U.S. Congress, was created with the signing of the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974.
- U.S. President Nixon signed the National Research Act into law, creating the Office of Human Research Protections and placing research and experimentation on human beings under federal regulation.
T-minus 27 days and counting.
Selections from Billboard's Hot 100 for the week:
Leaving the chart:
- "The Entertainer," Music from "The Sting" feat. Marvin Hamlisch on Piano (16 weeks)
- "Oh Very Young," Cat Stevens (17 weeks)
New on the chart:
"Shinin' On," Grand Funk
(#11 US)
"I Shot the Sheriff," Eric Clapton
(#1 US the week of Sept. 14, 1974; #33 R&B; #9 UK; written and originally recorded by Bob Marley in 1973, that version being #443 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time [2004])
"Nothing from Nothing," Billy Preston
(#1 US the week of Oct. 19, 1974; #15 AC; #8 R&B)
_______
Timeline entries are quoted from the Wiki page for the month, with minor editing as needed.
_______
To not incriminate his brother, apparently.
Capped.
He sent Havlicek to lean on Ernie...the fight and death were unintended.
Linc was just basically on top of Havlicek with the latter's head and shoulders over the edge.
"Don't make me introduce you to Lucy..."Now there's a sight to behold.
This was the biggest weakness of the episode...there was no subtlety to it.
I should note that I didn't catch the organization being described as a union, but it was referred to as "the Local," which sounds like union-speak to me.
There may have been a dead end.
Yes, and they didn't get into how it was done.
The initial rationale for scoping out her clients was that they'd know her number. It kind of makes sense that they'd have inside knowledge of when she'd be gone...but indeed, while I didn't catch the episode getting into it, it makes the most sense if they specifically scoped her out to gain access to her apartment.
As a single-episode guest playing himself, which the title frame I posted is from.
"Sock It to Me"
September 26, 1968
Wiki said:
We just recently saw Linc create a makeshift explosive using the powder from acquired ammo as an ingredient (the cave-in episode).
The only one I could think of was "Nightmare in Blue," though that doesn't appear to have the parking garage angle, which I do vaguely recall, but think that may have been an Ironside.
Last edited:
Classic
Released in conjunction with the album '461 Ocean Boulevard', Eric Clapton's 'comeback' album after an absence of three years during which time he was dealing with a heroin addiction.
Another classic. Shame you don't hear it much on the radio anymore.
A sad, but familiar, refrain. Really makes you wish the founding fathers had the foresight to include language in the Constitution setting limits on what exactly 'Executive Privilege' is.
Talk about bad luck. What are the odds?
Hopefully not while kids were watching.
Are you telling me they used to leave the Court before dying?
Does this mean I can't leave my body to Mad Science?
Wow, less than a month! I better stock up on party favors.
I don't remember this one at all. I do hear that Grand Funk sound, though, especially at the beginning.
Oh, yeah!
Another goodie.
Okay, I was wondering how much he knew.
Ohhh.
Okay, whew. That seemed more like something Pete would do.
It seemed quite odd for the show.
Yeah, I think it's gotta be.
More spookiness!
Ah, the slap plot, I do remember that.
Yeah, but what I'm thinking is whether the bullet would fire at all. It seems to me that the powder would have to be packed tightly to be ignited by the hammer.
It will no doubt turn out to be the one I think is least likely.
Must be another one of those regional things.
You're right, I haven't heard that one in ages.
I've often wondered if their general vagueness has been more of a blessing or a curse. When you think that the past is a foreign country-- or maybe an alien planet-- it's probably for the best.
Post-50th Anniversary Viewing
The Mod Squad
"Put Out the Welcome Mat for Death"
Originally aired February 1, 1973
IMDb said:
The guys are staking out a club named Jon's Joynt when their person of interest, kitchen worker Don Rice (John Mark Robinson), arrives on a bike in the wee hours to go in the delivery entrance. Pete follows Don in as he's unwrapping a bundle of jewels, which he hurriedly puts in a locker before escaping out the window. After he clocks a following Pete, Lucy shows off a little in evading his getaway...
The towel the jewels were wrapped in and a vial also found tie Rice in with Memorial Hospital, from which Greer suspects someone is smuggling out narcotics. The Mods get jobs there--Linc and Pete as orderlies, Julie as a candy striper--and Julie makes the acquaintance of the Graham family--Martha (Doreen Lang), who's struggling with pain from a terminal illness; her husband Walter (Howard Duff), who's reading her Hemingway; and daughter Linda (Kristina Holland), who arranges for Julie to bring her mother a rose every day. On the side, Pete pays a visit to Rice's girlfriend, Bev (Lenore Kasdorf), pretending to be an associate, and overhears her calling Don afterward. Back at the hospital, we see Nurse Belle Fuller (Martha Scott) siphoning and pocketing a vial of medication; following which she takes Pete with her as she gives Mrs. Graham a sedative. Walter sneaks in after visiting hours and his wife cries to him that the pain is unendurable and she wants to die, so he confronts the nurse in the hall, insisting that she give Martha something that will help; but the nurse rebuffs him, insisting that nothing more can be done until the doctor comes in the morning.
The next morning Martha's still writhing in agony, and Nurse Gregory (Leigh Hamilton) reluctantly agrees to give her something before the doctor arrives. When the nurse is called out of the room, Walter pockets the syringe she left behind. Meanwhile, the guys follow Bev to a golf course rendezvous with Don, who spots them and makes a run for it, only to be taken down in an empty pool scuffle. When Greer interrogates Rice, he insists that he has nothing to do with the drug angle, causing Greer to suspect that somebody else at Jon's Joynt may have left the vial. When Dr. Webber (James Sikking) comes in, he has a talk with Linda in which he agrees to have more medication given to her mother at night, and she tearfully asks him about the possibility of stopping her mother's IV feedings. He gently refuses, telling her that it's against everything he believes in.
Dr. Webber: I can't be the judge of when life should stop.
Linda: But you are, you're prolonging it!
Julie lends a sympathetic ear to Linda afterward. That night, Martha is still in agony, and Walter begs forgiveness of God before pulling out the syringe. Nurse Fuller and Pete walk in to find Martha dead with the needle in her arm and Walter sobbing.
Fuller goes home distraught because, we learn, she'd been cutting Mrs. Graham's doses to bring morphine home to her son, Rick (Michael Burns), a vet who tells her that he needs it for pain from a leg injury. Investigating Jon's Joynt as a power company worker, Linc finds a hospital towel in Rick's locker, and learns that Rick plays there as a musician. Against Pete and Julie's objections, Greer is investigating Mr. Graham's act as murder rather than manslaughter, because there was a life insurance policy and the doctors insist that Martha was getting more than enough medication. Pete realizes that Fuller is a potential weak link, so Greer goes to the hospital and has a Dr. Brandson (John Howard) inspect her tray--but he finds that everything's in order, as she stopped herself from siphoning that time. She goes home early and finds to her horror that Rick is actually selling the morphine to a dealer and user named Joey (Ed Bach).
The Mods learn that Rick is Fuller's son and deduce what's been going on, but can't prove anything; so Julie pays Fuller a visit and lays it straight, not divulging her true profession but letting her know that Mr. Graham is being charged for murder and that the police know about Rick and what she's been doing; and Fuller admits to it. Meanwhile, Rick, apparently actually needing some of the morphine, tries unsuccessfully to score a fix at Jon's and realizes that he can get it at the hospital. He gains access to his mother's locker under false pretenses, takes her keys, and starts rummaging through the medicine cabinets for what he needs. Greer and the Mods track Rick down to the hospital and are trying to find him when a nurse walks in on him shooting up and screams. He makes a run for it, pushing a patient in a wheelchair at the Mods, but Pete takes him down and his vial shatters on the floor. Rick reaches at the broken glass in desperation.
The coda has the Grahams thanking Julie outside the courthouse for her concern as Walter expresses his willingness to face the music for what he did. Awkward looks are exchanged between Walter and Fuller as she's brought in, and Julie walks back to the other Mods waiting at the Charger.
Ironside
"Love Me in December"
Originally aired February 1, 1973
IMDb said:
The episode opens with Aaron Clark (Steve Forrest in a mustache and wifebeater) swearing revenge on whoever burned down his house with kerosene, and getting angry at the amateur fire department, led by local newspaperman Elton Ferris (Simon Oakland), for arriving so late. Cut to the sight of the dead body of carpenter Jerry Powell, followed by Vicki Dunhill (Kathy Cannon) at the Cave protesting Aaron's innocence. It turns out that Clark was a wartime acquaintance of the Chief's with whom he wasn't on good terms, and Dunhill, who's turning 19, is his girlfriend. (Forrest was eight years younger than Burr, but served in the Battle of the Bulge at 18. His character is later established to be about 55, which is roughly Burr's age.)
The team heads down to the small town where this occurred, Ed driving separately from Mark and the Chief. Mark learns that the Chief was responsible for having Clark busted down from officer to enlisted. Clark isn't happy to see his former commanding officer, and the Chief offers to leave, but Clark apologizes and asks him to stay. We further learn that the Chief was trying to get Clark tossed out of the service entirely, but later pinned a medal on him. Mingling among the townsfolk, Ed learns that Clark isn't a poplar figure, and that they assume Clark is guilty and don't approve of his seeing Vicki. Learning how the town likes to rule on matters of local interest by consensus, the Chief sounds out Clark's attorney, McKay (Val Avery), regarding where his loyalties lie.
Elton is married to Vicki's mother, Kate (Madlyn Rhue, who is old enough to be the mother of a 19-year-old), who doesn't want her daughter marrying Clark. While searching the remains of Clark's house for a murder weapon, Ed and Mark meet Deputy Billy Trona (Gregory Sierra). Mark finds a board with blood stains, and Jerry's friend, Phil Wagner Jr. (Kip Niven), who works for Mrs. Ferris at a filling station and used to go with Vicki, shows the detectives Jerry's place and tells them of an argument of unknown cause between Clark and Powell the day of the murder. Clark doesn't want to talk about it, and the Chief accuses him of using Vicki as his latest way of rebelling against society.
The Chief's words plant some doubt in Clark, which causes a fight between him and Vicki. The Chief talks to Mrs. Ferris, whom it turns out used to see Clark and through whom he met Vicki. He fingers her as having the influence to turn the town against Clark or convince them of his innocence. When Vicki comes home upset, the Chief lets her know that he was responsible, and lays it out that it's her relationship with Clark that's turned the town against him. She realizes that Aaron was giving her an out and goes back to him to make up. Back in Frisco, Fran has turned up that Clark was finally forced out of the service over a violent altercation with a junior officer. Back at the town's filling station, pharmacist Phil Wagner Sr. (George Murdock) confronts Ed--who's looking over the establishment's records on behalf of the Chief--over harassment of his son that never happened.
All the while, Mark has been engaged in the unglamorous task of walking through the wilderness between the site of the fire and town looking for the kerosene can, which he finally finds. Ed runs his findings by Mr. Ferris, accusing him of having made an unnecessary gas stop on the night of the fire as a way of dragging his feet. Ferris prints a story about the circumstances of Clark's forced retirement from the service, which further fans the flames with the townsfolk. Aaron is giving Vicki a horse when the deputy and McKay arrive to inform him that in light of what's been found so far, the town wants his bail revoked. Paying another visit to Kate, the Chief finally persuades her to divulge the details of the argument between Aaron and Powell--that Powell was drunkenly forcing himself on her when Aaron intervened, but it never came to blows. Ironside then unmasks her real motive for not approving of the marriage--that she's still in love with Aaron. At the Chief's behest, she shares some scuttlebutt with Phil Jr. at the station about how the detectives are onto the real murderer and zeroing in on the location of the can. Phil brings his father along in the middle of the night to the spot where it had already been found to retrieve it, and as he picks it up, the Wagners discover that they're surrounded. Against his father's will, Jr. confesses that he was helping Jerry set fire to the house when Jerry fell from scaffolding, injuring his head; and that while Jerry managed to walk away, he later collapsed dead. Phil Sr. is shamed by McKay for helping to cover up for his son at Clark's expense.
In the coda, Kate still objects to the marriage, but is diverted by flirtation with Ironside, who strategically underestimates her age, earning of tip of the beer can from Aaron (to whom the Chief had confided in an earlier scene that he still has eyes for younger women).
I'm with RJ here...the only reason I'm familiar with this is because it's been in my playlist for a while as an album track.
Clapton's only chart-topper. I have a distinctive first-hand recollection of this as a current song.Oh, yeah!
So who did shoot the deputy? Somebody call in Ironside before he gets cancelled. Or maybe the narrator is just plea-bargaining.
An enjoyable bit of business, and the second of Preston's two chart-toppers.
An historic moment is nigh.
"Pete, you'll kill him!" (DRINK!)
A quick search indicates that half-loaded bullets can fire, but there's a risk of misfiring or other complications with rifles.
Like Lucy couldn't tackle a guy on a bike.
Or they just put on the uniforms and show up.
Omnipresent character actor.
As silly as their portrayal of hospitals are, this is all too accurate-- around the time I left BMC there were several nurses in the Women's Center under investigation for pocketing doses of medicine that should have gone to patients. Not to sell, but for their own use. And it was not an isolated incident.
Back to silly. Doctors are there 24/7. There's this place called a "call room."
Captain Riding Crop!
He could have also mentioned that it was illegal. But this is pretty heavy duty for 1974. It's horrible watching somebody suffer without relief when you know they'll never get any better.
So he's been stockpiling medication in order to give her a lethal dose? Meaning that between him and the nurse she's been getting little to no pain killers at all.
There's this place called the VA, kid.
I worked in two hospitals over twenty-two years and we never had a staff musician. Must have been the budget cuts.
There we go. It's possible to write Julie's character as useful.
Pretty ridiculous, but at least he does get caught.
"Eek!" Most nurses I knew would have twisted his arm behind his back and knocked his head into the wall a couple of times to relax him.
Yeah, kind of a lost cause at this point.
I can imagine that watching the woman suffer must have made the episode uncomfortable, but they kind of glossed over the issue of euthanasia. Probably the best they could do at that time and it gave the TV audience something to think about.
Meanwhile, the owners of the jewels are sitting at home wondering if any progress has been made in the investigation.
Cute.
The SWAT guy, and not Jock Ewing.
Vincenzoooo!
Just the person to turn to then.
That's a pretty serious age gap.
So Team Ironside are basically just private citizens here, way outside their jurisdiction and asked to help informally.
Maybe the problem was with the Chief.
Maybe Vicki should have hunted down Perry Mason instead.
If she hadn't been exiled to Ceti Alpha V!
No forensics experts in small towns.
Detective Chano.
"What do you think you are, a Hippie?"
Good grief.
And this needed to be kept secret because....?
Okay, so Powell torched the house because Clark intervened with Vicki's mother and Wagner was helping because Clark has a young girlfriend, and Ferris let the house burn down because his wife was messing around with Clark. Do I have all that straight?
Good idea, send her to Canada where she'll be out of her daughter's hair.
Girl watching is fine, but 35 years? Geez!
Now that you mention it, it's kind of funny that somebody didn't do a sequel song that solved the case.
One that I remember well.
Well, I was close.
The guy was trying to run him over. He hopped over it like Spidey.
Could be.
Interesting.
No, I didn't get that impression at all. It was a moment of opportunity. Keep in mind that this was another nurse. Apparently her syringe had more than she needed to use in it, for whatever reason.
He supposedly had a thing against hospitals since his experience in 'Nam, but it was hard to tell how much of his story was the truth.
He was a musician at Jon's Joynt, the club.I worked in two hospitals over twenty-two years and we never had a staff musician. Must have been the budget cuts.
They seem to be realizing this far too late.
As always, these are my summaries; you might have gotten more out of the episode itself.
The jewels were recovered from the locker early in the episode.Meanwhile, the owners of the jewels are sitting at home wondering if any progress has been made in the investigation.
Now that you mention it, yeah.
Embarrassment/scandal, I guess.
I think Wagner was just helping because he was a buddy, and I wasn't clear on the third point, but that makes sense.Okay, so Powell torched the house because Clark intervened with Vicki's mother and Wagner was helping because Clark has a young girlfriend, and Ferris let the house burn down because his wife was messing around with Clark. Do I have all that straight?
He shot the sheriff,Now that you mention it, it's kind of funny that somebody didn't do a sequel song that solved the case.
It was I who shot the deputy
Needs some work...get on it.
I think the reason was that Mod Squad had no medical consultant.
Could be true, and it was his mother he was manipulating, so I can't really quibble.
Ah, I see that I completely misread that sentence.
Which is a shame.
Right, that's true.
Yeah, but it was kind of a Chekov thing. Was he the thief? A courier? Fence? It would have been better for the story if it was all about the drugs. But this show loves jewel thefts.
Small-town politics is once again worth more than a human life.
I shot the deputy
Then framed Eric Clapton for it
Because he was gonna hang
for the sheriff anyway....
Kinda freeform.
Post-50th Anniversary Viewing
The Mod Squad
"Scion of Death"
Originally aired February 8, 1973
Edited Wiki said:
The guys stake out a couple of burglary suspects as one of them, Eddie Payne (Bill Vint), enters a backlot pool hall and the other, Roy Condon (Aaron's brother Daniel Spelling), keeps watch outside. They witness Condon being given money by a passing young man (Richard Rowley), following which a car screeches up and a couple of stocking-masked men abduct the young man. Pete chases after Condon on foot but loses him, while Linc tries to pursue the vehicle but is cut off. However, Linc catches Payne on foot as he exits to find uniformed backup arriving and attempts to flee. Questioned by Greer, Payne insists that he knows nothing about a kidnapping, and directs them to Roy's old man.
The two kidnappers, Sam Brodie and Woody Samuels (Ross Elliott and Larry Golden), bring the boy to Brodie's home and tie him to a bed, while Brodie's wife Cora (Mitzi Hoag) acts concerned about the potential consequences. Samuels makes a ransom call to the hostage's father, Tribune publisher Walter Ryan (Don Porter), threatening him not to inform the authorities and ordering him to get rid of his servants. Ryan shares the situation with his wife, Nancy (Julie Adams
). After Pete speaks to Roy's disapproving father (Lewis Charles), Linc visits a gym where Roy practices karate to question him. Roy insists that he was watching Sesame Street (kinda late for that), but when Linc presses and Roy tries practicing on him, Linc quickly subdues him and takes him in for interrogation.Greer: You can either do business with me or the FBI.
Roy: I don't care if you bring in the CIA.
Or the BBC,
B. B. King,
or Doris Day...
Matt Busby!
While Roy's story is that he was collecting a payment for a hot ring that the victim bought for his old lady, he informs Greer that the victim was Danny Ryan. Realizing that the kidnappers may have gotten to the Ryans, Greer sends Julie in to scope out the situation.
Posing as a door-to-door survey taker, Julie hands Mrs. Ryan a clipboard with "POLICE" written on the form. And a brief explanation written underneath. Nancy lets Julie in as requested in finer handwriting, and while Walter checks her ID and tries to send her away, with his wife's help he's persuaded to cooperate before the FBI get involved and it's out of the police's hands. Mr. Ryan answers questions into a walkie talkie with the guys at the other end. While the kidnappers are making the next ransom call, which Julie records, back at the Brodie home, Danny gets loose, recognizes Cora, and makes a run for it, only to be pursued and cornered by the kidnappers as they return. Samuels learns that the Brodies worked six years for the Ryans as their chauffeur and cook before Sam was caught stealing. Cora is horrified to learn that her husband is considering dealing with Danny to avoid identification.
While Mr. Ryan goes to withdraw money from his bank at a time specified by the kidnappers, Julie learns that the Ryans had another son who was killed in 'Nam and that Nancy blames herself for what's happened to Danny, feeling that she's being punished for having considered aborting him. Staking out the bank with Pete, Linc recognizes a man watching in a phone booth (Dennis Dugan) as one whom he ran into on the backlot while apprehending Eddie Payne. Linc tails him and learns that his name is Chris Norton. Back at the house, Danny pleads with Cora to help him. Walter Ryan is subsequently persuaded by Greer to play along with a risky plan of Pete's to save his son.
After Walter has a heart-to-heart with Julie about the value of his son being greater than that of any money, the kidnappers call again and he tells them that he wasn't able to make the large withdrawal, but can do so the next day. The bank is staked out again, with "finger man" Norton once more on the scene, but this time Ryan fakes a heart attack in the parking lot, is tended to by a conveniently present doctor, and is rushed away in a squad car. Norton calls it in and is subsequently arrested, Greer having gotten a trace to the farmhouse hideout. In order to get close to the place without drawing suspicion, Pete and Linc take to their dirt bikes again (Linc's helmet reprising its role). Unable to get ahold of Norton, Brodie gets nervous and has his wife start packing. Samuels goes into the bedroom with his gun drawn to deal with Danny, but is distracted by the sound of the bikes. Pete fakes a spill nearby and Linc walks him to the house and pushes his way in to use the phone. The kidnappers draw their guns and the unarmed Mods make short work of them. Greer and Walter watch from a hillside as Pete and Danny walk out and wave toward them.
In the coda, Nancy is tearfully reunited with her son outside of police HQ. The Mods steer Walter into making a donation to charity in lieu of a reward, and then walk off to the Charger.
See also the episode above.
A Russkie spy looking for nuclear wessels?
At least Rick didn't have a bunch of furs stuffed in his locker.It would have been better for the story if it was all about the drugs. But this show loves jewel thefts.
This is why we're not a famous songwriting team.I shot the deputy
Then framed Eric Clapton for it
Because he was gonna hang
for the sheriff anyway....
Kinda freeform.