I guess you'd have to call this a classic. Not the best that Stevie has given us. Vintage Neil Diamond goodness. Not the best Aretha has given us. That's more like it. Slow week for the Top 40, I guess. I guess I do know this. Perky song of sadness. I love this. I didn't know McCartney wrote it. I don't think I've ever heard this. Really nice cover. It's barely possible that, once or twice, I may have mentioned my adoration of Simon & Garfunkel, and their influence on my writing.
Yikes. Such gooey schmaltz. Theirs is an incredibly depressing story where one bad door closed, another opened, particularly with their management. Another eternal classic, and the album of the same name crushed the competition, being the best selling album for 1970, '71 and '72. Astounding.
_______ 55th Anniversary Viewing _______ Branded "Survival" Originally aired January 24, 1965 Series premiere Next week's episode, "The Vindicator," is actually the series pilot, and is aired prior to this one in syndication. McCord's fugitive premise barely comes up in this story. Overall, it could have been any ol' Western. Jed Colbee (Alex Cord) has been away from his family making his "stake" for 2-1/2 years; trying to get home for his daughter's 5th birthday. When Jason finds and hydrates him, he introduces himself as "Jase". As they continue together, Jed starts getting hysterical that with two of them and short water, Jason's horse will never make it. His fears are fed by the human skull that they find at their camping spot. At the camp, Jason mentions being the last survivor of his company, and the Bitter Creek incident is well known enough that Jed figures out who he is just from that. This doesn't seem to inform Jed's decision when he takes the horse, though, as he seems genuinely regretful...but he tosses Jason's gun back to him and gambles that Jason won't shoot him. On foot the next day, Jason sees the usual mirage and passes out. He wakes up to find himself being tended to by a Navajo (Robert Carricart), who informs him that Jed is one day ahead. We next see Jed back home with his family, but his wife (Janet De Gore) can tell that he's hiding something. Jed boards the horse at a local stable for Jason in case he survives to come after it. Jason comes into town, accompanied by the Navajo, and finds the horse. Jason's companion chats with him about whether he'll kill Colbee, or Colbee will try to kill him. Jed quickly spots McCord in town and takes position in the street for a showdown, but Jed's girls are playing nearby and one of them wanders into the scene. Jason makes it implicitly clear that he won't be seeking revenge and rides off. When Jed's wife asks who that man was, Jed tells her that he's an old friend. I'll be interested to learn more about Jason's backstory. The closing song makes it sound like his situation involves having to keep a secret. _______ 12 O'Clock High "Faith, Hope and Sergeant Aronson" Originally aired January 29, 1965 The episode opens with Savage being carried out of the Piccadilly Lily after a mission, his life dramatically hanging in false jeopardy. This is ultimately to set up the condition that has Savage laid up in the ward for more than a month. Meanwhile, out in the ward, the titular character, Sgt. Aronson (Sorrell Booke) is trying to buoy a buddy's spirits with faith when said buddy dies. By the time Savage gets out into the ward, Aronson won't eat or take medications. Savage, lying in the next bed, orders the nurse, Lt. Jenkins (Phyllis Love), to take away his privacy screen, which gets a good reaction from the other patients as they try to stand at attention. Savage has to tell them that "there's no rank in a hospital gown" and declare the timid Jenkins to be in charge. Savage tries to talk to Aronson, to find that the sergeant, a devout Jew, has lost his faith from a combination of his friend's death, the brutality of the war, and the unfairness of life in general. When Kaiser brings some medics to put Savage in a private room, the general declines, hoping to do some good where he's at. Further discussion brings out that Aronson thinks he's been wasting his life being so pure of heart. Deciding to change that, he gets dressed and checks himself out in front of a flabbergasted Kaiser. Outside of a cinema in Archbury, Aronson meets a woman named Ivy (Antoinette Bower), who seems as desperate for company as he is. With the cinema not yet open and a thunderstorm starting, she invites him up to her flat. But when it comes out that she's never been with a man before and that she was deliberately trying to pick him up because she feels like she's been wasting her life, Aronson's dignity flares up and he storms out, making proclamations about what he expects from "his girl"...but a bad top step outside her apartment puts him back in the ward at base. Savage, who was about to be moved again, refuses again when he sees Aronson being brought in. Meanwhile, the plane bringing in the heart surgeon crashes on the airfield, killing the unseen specialist. Savage has finally made some headway with Aronson when it's time to take him into his room for what would have been the operation. Motivated to get well soon enough for an important strike that's already being delayed, Savage convinces a reluctant Kaiser to perform the operation. Aronson goes out to receive Ivy, who's at the gate asking about him, but returns to the infirmary when he hears about Kaiser performing the operation. The Epilog has Savage about to go on his first mission since the operation, and telling Aronson that his request to marry Ivy can consider approved. Aronson's renewal of faith is signaled by a bit of comical complaining to God on the side. An entertainingly lighthearted episode overall, though the surgeon's crash was an oddly off-key touch. _______ Gilligan's Island "'X' Marks the Spot" Originally aired January 30, 1965 The episode opens in Washington for a change. It doesn't make a lot of sense that they'd consider the area uninhabited just because they don't know about the castaways' island, what with there being so many native-inhabited islands nearby. The issue of the radio batteries finally comes up. The castaways don't seem to have been expecting them to run out despite their routine and trivial use of the radio, but it turns out that the batteries are rechargeable, so the Professor comes up with a mechanism to recharge them by stirring seawater in coconut shells. When they hear a radio report about the missile test, we learn the coordinates of the island, sort of--the announcer says 140 degrees latitude, 10 degrees longitude. A bit of Googling revealed that it was a mistake, but if you switch the latitude and longitude numbers, it places the island about 1,400 miles SE of Honolulu, which matches what's shown on the Pentagon's map. The Air Force changes its plans by removing the warhead, but doesn't announce it. After the castaways have some scenes preparing for the end, the Professor realizes that the military will be sending a scouting plane (you'd think they'd have done that before choosing the spot), so this could be the castaways' chance to be rescued. They prepare a mirror to signal the plane, but Gilligan shatters it while doing a Tarzan swing to alert them. The plane doesn't spot the castaways, so they morbidly listen to the radio broadcasts and watch for the missile. They see it impact on the other side of the lagoon and, being a cartoon-style missile, it not only survives intact, but zooms toward them through the lagoon like a torpedo, beaching and then rotating around at Gilligan, whom it homes in on. The Professor sends Gilligan into the missile to disarm it by following his instructions, but of course Gilligan does exactly what the Professor thought would detonate the missile. Instead it sends it rocketing back into the lagoon, with Gilligan inside. The castaways assume he's died, but he eventually returns, soaking wet, to overhear their plans to commemorate him. _______ I was hoping you might be able to shed some light on what program you thought Branded was. As far as I know, Connors was the sole lead. I'd heard of the dance as a kid, but wasn't familiar with the song. The title fools you into thinking it might be something you've heard of, but it's not. One of those oldies radio staples despite its relatively low Hot 100 position in the day. I guess being an Easy Listening Top 10er helped. Definitely more obscure than "Shilo". Surprisingly, I actually like this cover of a song better known from a prior rendition, at least up to a point. It's got a good sound. Also more obscure than "Shilo". It's tolerable. Their Apple years produced a few more good hits, though. I want to like this more than I do...it's not a particularly meaty example of psychedelic rock. The album should be getting a spotlight in the not-too-distant future, depending on when I find the time to keep up with those.
I remember this show being on in the afternoon when I was a kid, but I don't really remember anything about it aside from the troubling opening sequence. It's possible that I avoided watching it because the opening disturbed me. For crying out loud, load up on canteens and go back. It's not that far. Nice outcome, setting up the nature of the character, but a little weak storywise. They could have set up some parallel between the two men, or had Jed redeem himself in some way. I think the only secret is who he is, because he's known as that guy who left his friends to die. Sort of takes the fun out of being laid up. When it rains, it pours. I wonder how that worked out. Must have been in the execution, because it sounds a little grim. It's like the Bermuda Triangle-- they get false readings. It's the Gilligan Triangle effect. Everybody in this world is a bit dim-- maybe it's the JJ-verse. Another touching moment on Gilligan's island.
_______ 50th Anniversary Viewing (Part 1) _______ The Ed Sullivan Show Season 22, episode 18 Originally aired January 25, 1970 As represented in The Best of the Ed Sullivan Show This is the B.J. Thomas performance that features dancers with umbrellas and a fake rain cloud that appears over B.J.'s head and drenches him. The dancers scurry away as he tries to find shelter under their umbrellas. Alas, the raincloud part isn't included in that clip. Here's a fuller one. Now that's showmanship! Klein's routine centers around being called into school as a substitute teacher. While the couple bickers, the wife, who isn't lightweight, attaches herself around the back of her husband's shoulders back-to-back and sideways, and he stands on his hands while she's thus attached. Partly tying in with recent 55th anniversary business, the group performs a medley consisting of parts of their breakout 1958 hit "Tears on My Pillow," 1965's "Hurts So Bad," and 1964's "Goin' Out of My Head". tv.com indicates that "Don't Get Close" and "Shimmy Shimmy Koko Bop" were either also part of the originally broadcast medley or performed separately. Also in the original episode according to tv.com: _______ Mission: Impossible "Chico" Originally aired January 25, 1970 The briefing includes a demonstration of Chico finding a chess piece via an ultrasonic signal-emitting electronic device attached to it while wearing an antenna, which allows them to track him and give him remote verbal commands. We also learn that Prado's microdot is on a stamp in his collection. Australian First Mate Paris visits Prado trying to exchange a rare, ancient coin for stamps from his collection. He's taken into the vault to see the collection and, when he's told that a Wellingston Black stamp isn't for trade, he attaches the emitting device to it. Meanwhile, at a hotel in Prado's territory, Sandoval and a henchman catch Willy leaving a message to a courier whom shady associates of Sandoval have been using. Conveniently for the purpose of Jim posing as him, they only know this courier by name. They search Courier Jim's room, then confront him when he returns. Sandoval wants to know why Jim's people are trying to do business with Prado instead of him. Sandoval calls Prado to arrange a meeting, giving the IMF less than an hour to get the stamp. Prado detects that Paris's coin is a fake, and has determined that Paris isn't really the first mate of the ship he claims to be from. Paris is searched and they find a forged version of the Wellington Black stamp on him. After being roughed up, Paris claims that he, not Sandoval, has the other half of the list. Barney and Willy sneak onto Prado's roof and lower Chico through a ventilation shaft, but Prado's German shepherd detects him and frightens Chico with his barking. Jim knocks over a plate of appetizers to distract the shepherd. Aided by some duct-rigging done by Barney earlier during a feigned air conditioning malfunction, Chico grabs the real stamp frame. Barney removes the dot and replaces it, then Willy sends Chico back down to put the stamp back. But Sandoval arrives early and there's a grill door malfunction, so Chico is still in the room when they come down. Fortunately, Chico's unusually unreactive to people entering the room, so only Jim notices him, and Barney and Willy finally get the duct open while the lights are out. Projecting the contents of the two microdots onto each other produces alphabet soup, making each party think that the other is up to something. But when they put in Paris's microdot instead of Sandoval's, it combines with the other fake microdot to provide a fake list of names...and Sandoval is on it! Switch to Barney, Willy, and Chico listening as a gunshot is fired. Jim and Paris rendezvous outside with the Barneyvan. Mission: Accomplished. _______ Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In Season 3, episode 19 Originally aired January 26, 1970 Erenestine's dialogue with Nixon continues: There's another segment in which she finds out who "Milhaus" is. The news song is hippie- and/or Hair-themed; the first lines are a spoof on "Age of Aquarius". Going further ahead than usual, one of the News of the Future items is from 2070! This week's cocktail party: Meet Grandfather Farkel and the newest addition to the family. The Mod, Mod World of Show Business: The segment continues after the commercial, including this: _______ The Mod Squad "A Town Called Sincere" Originally aired January 27, 1970 Pete and Linc are motorcycling south of the border when they come upon a sign for Ciudad Sincero. The Male Mods have their names on their helmets in different styles...those'd be good collector's items. A biker tries to dissuade them from entering the town, which makes them suspicious so they go back, to be captured by biker's entire gang. They've taken over the town on a Sunday morning when everyone was in church, and have locked up the police sergeant (Peter Mamakos). A couple who were part of the gang were killed months back when trying to get married there. One of the victims was the brother of Sooey's (J. Kenneth Campbell), the biker whom Pete and Linc first met. Cut back to L.A., where Greer is worrying about Pete and Linc, who were apparently running some sort of errand for him. Greer has an assistant to bounce his dialogue off of, as Julie, who isn't in this one at all, is said to be at her mother's. There's a mid-episode motorcycle chase when Pete hot-wires a bike and unsuccessfully tries to make a break. Later a resident tries to get away via his car, and the bikers find a shotgun in his trunk. They're ready to hang him when Linc slips away to try calling outside through a telephone pole; that the transmitter in the headset was sabotaged by Yolanda (Lisa Gaye) clues him in that a simple-minded old man named Garrett (Ford Rainey), whom she's protective of, was responsible; and a flashback clues us in that it was an accident. Sooey won't let the matter go like the others, so Linc gets to beat him up. In the coda, Garrett is taken away by the police and the Mod Males, including Greer, who arrived during the commercial, do a wheel-out from the dirt-road ciudad square of Sincero. _______ Good point. Guess he was willing to let Jason die rather than face him at that point. It's a half-hour show, so there won't be as much of that sort of thing as you'd get in an hour-long drama. These lines from the opening and closing songs suggest otherwise to me: He was innocent Not a charge was true But the world would never know Of his General Reed And the men who died He can never speak the truth Branded! That's not the way to die What do you do when you're branded Can you live with a lie? ETA: Watched the pilot episode. It spells everything out, leaving practically nothing to mystery. Jason is indeed keeping his mouth shut about what really happened at Bitter Creek, and for a reason. The overall tone of the episode was quirky and humorous. A definite change of pace. Now you owe the Gilliganverse an apology.
Wow, talk about your senior moments. My apologies The show I was apparently hallucinating about was called “The Outcasts.”
I remember that one. But does he know how it moves? A garbage scow named Enterprise.... Who's a good boy?! Music to their ears. I look forward to it. We should have a Democratic candidate by then. South of the border? Better alert Internal Affairs. These Hippies are rubbing off on the guy. Definitely an attendance problem here. A little out of their jurisdiction in this one. I suppose so. So he's protecting somebody. That's an interesting twist. I'm sorry, Gilliganverse.
_______ 50th Anniversary Viewing (Part 2) _______ "Fly by Night" Originally aired January 29, 1970 They say that it's a 10-hour drive from New York to Vermont...maybe there weren't as many interstates then. The freeze frame comes when Ann refers to herself as "this girl". And actually, they haven't landed yet at the end of this part. Anyway, the skipper of this half-hour tour is... When the weather starts getting rough and the tiny craft is tossed, Ann has little quick-flashes of scenes from various episodes, which she describes as her life flashing before her eyes. Then, as she tries to think of something she can apologize to Donald for so she has something to "bargain with" to get out their situation, she goes into full-on clip show mode, treating us to wacky hijinks from various episodes. When she comes out of it for the break to commercial, she's initially relieved that the weather's cleared for a bit, only to become horrified to learn that the plane's run out of gas. Following the commercial, more clips ensue. And then, following the last commercial, there's a romantic coda clip before... Will the professorial pilot procure a place to park? Tune in next week--same That Time, same That Channel! "Oh, Donald" count: 8 (5 from previous episodes) _______ Ironside "Eden Is the Place We Leave" Originally aired January 29, 1970 Ironside knows Loi Tala's (Patrick Adiarte) family from when he helped build roads and his uncle's church in his village while serving in the Navy during the war. Loi is concerned about a fighter named Shaw whom he hospitalized during the episode-opening match, while seeing flashes of future Hulk dad John Marley. Ironside thinks that Loi is fueled by internal rage, and encourages him to get out of the ring and fall back on his photography. But it turns out that Marley is Loi's Matai--a Samoan clan leader--and he's pressuring Loi to continue to fighting while collection donations from him. Back at the cave, the Chief paints a picture of Loi being trapped by clan tradition, unable to do what he wants, which would include making a life for himself and his girlfriend Betty (Jill Townsend). After witnessing another rage incident during practice, Ironside wants Loi to see a doctor. The Chief also has a talk with the Matai, who insists that Loi's boxing is important to his people's pride. After news breaks that Shaw has died, Team Ironside tracks down Betty, who was heading to her family in Pennsylvania. Shaw's death motivates Loi to back out of his next fight, which causes the Matai to make a dramatic show of casting him out. This puts Loi in despair. When he and Betty subsequently disappear, Ironside worries that the only target for Loi's rage will now be himself. Loi and Betty say their vows to each other in the pews of a church while another couple is getting formally married. But by the time Team Ironside gets there, Loi's ready to jump from a church window. Ironside tries to convince him to live on as an example to others among his people who'll be encouraged to seek their own freedom from tribal custom. While the Chief keeps Loi occupied, Mark comes up behind him and tries to pull him back, but Loi decks him, and his concern for Mark snaps him out of his attempt at suicide. The Chief closes the episode speaking words of wisdom that give context to the title: "Eden is a place you have to leave if you wanna make a life of your own." This was a more interesting episode than I thought it'd be, but it was dragged down by the silliness of trying to pass Marley off as Samoan. I hadn't realized until I noticed it in this episode's credits...it's not just 1970, it's MCMLXX! _______ Get Smart "The Mess of Adrian Listenger" Originally aired January 30, 1970 The birth date on Max's unfinished tombstone is 1930, which is a reasonable age for Max, but would make him seven years younger than Don Adams. Listenger initially gets ahold of Max and the Chief in his Weems identity, as an insurance agent looking into the deaths. He leads Max and the Chief to believe that Listenger has also just died, and suggests that one of them must be the murderer. Max and the Chief each insist that the other is like a father/son to them, even though they were in the same CONTROL training school class, along with the other victims and Listenger (all of them having specifically been members of the baseball team). Nevertheless, Max and the Chief get comically suspicious of one another. Listenger arranges for Max and the Chief to rendezvous at an abandoned hotel, setting it up so they might shoot each other. But they toss their guns away and he pops up to hold them at gunpoint. Max: Just a minute, Listenger, there's one thing I'd like to know. Why did you kill all those CONTROL agents on the baseball team? Listenger: Because you guys were mean to me, you were cruel to me, and you all throwed baseballs at me. Max: But you were the catcher. After they take out Listenger, Max points out that he and the Chief are again the only names left on the list, and their suspicion of one another flares back up. _______ The Brady Bunch "Tiger! Tiger!" Originally aired January 30, 1970 Another Bobby episode...I don't think we've gotten a Peter episode yet. Tiger comes up missing when Bobby goes inside after playing with him to bring him his food. With the odd amounts of money being chipped in, the reward comes to $42.76. Alice comes up with the idea that a robber who's been working in the area might have lured Tiger away in order to hit the Brady house. Thus ensues a filler subplot about Greg and Peter trying to set alarms against the robber, the adults hearing them and thinking it's a break-in, and Alice getting caught in one of their booby traps. Resuming the Tiger plot, the Brady's get a number of false calls. Then Greg gets a call from a friend who spotted Tiger, so the Bradys go out scouting the area, with Carol and Alice coordinating the search from home via phone. Eventually Peter catches up with Tiger at the home of Tiger's mate and the puppies. Mrs. Simpson says that Tiger always ran away when she tried to get a look at his tag...yeah, contrived. _______ Hogan's Heroes "Gowns by Yvette" Originally aired January 30, 1970 When Burkhalter orders Klink to make arrangements for the wedding, he thinks that Burkhalter's making him marry his sister Gertrude, but it turns out that the wedding is for the general's niece Frieda (Muriel Landers) and a Count von Hertzel (Dick Wilson). Hogan claims that LeBeau is secretly a famous French gown designer, even though LeBeau can't sew...so Newkirk handles the sewing for him. They use Schultz as a model for fitting the dress. In Hammelburg, Hogan is caught by the Gestapo trying to rendezvous with his underground contact. He gets out of it when he shows them that he's there for the wedding arrangements, but he still has to find a way to free the captured agent. During the wedding reception LeBeau sets off an air raid alarm and, while everyone's trying to get to shelter, the prisoners nab the agent and--he also being a portly man--put him in a duplicate of the gown. Thus disguised, the agent leaves the wedding with the count. In the coda, we learn that the count somehow lost his memory of the wedding, without a mark on his head--not sure what that was about. DIS-missed! _______ Adam-12 "Log 64: Bottom of the Bottle" Originally aired January 31, 1970 The opening has Reed and Malloy bringing a regular drunk named Louie (J. Pat O'Malley) into the station. Back on patrol, they get a call for a 415 at a bar. They find a Mr. Palif (Christopher Dark), whom they learn hasn't been drinking, in a physical altercation with his wife (Norma Crane), who has. Mr. Palif insists that it isn't what it looks like and has some words with the officers at the station about his wife's situation. On patrol again, a car speeds past the officers while one of its occupants waves them on. They pursue the vehicle, which eventually crashes into a fence. When the two male occupants exit the vehicle at gunpoint, they insist that there's a girl inside who needs their help. It turns out that they were trying to rush the girl, an acquaintance who'd slit her wrists, to the hospital. The officers explain why their handling of the situation was dangerous, and summon an ambulance for the girl. The next day, the officers learn that the girl's father has filed a complaint against them over her missing wallet, which had $50 in it. Back on patrol, the officers respond to a call about shots fired in an apartment building. Somebody fired a shotgun into an apartment's door from the outside, and It turns out to be Mrs. Pilaf's apartment, which Mr. P's has been paying for. The likely suspect in the shooting is a biker named Monk whom Mrs. P had been seeing. He'd threatened her for money when she tried to break up with him, and apparently tried to kill her when she wasn't home. The officers track Monk to his own place and have rifles and back-up with tear gas ready. Reed and Malloy cautiously and methodically search the house and make their way upstairs, narrowing it down to one room with a closed door. Monk responds to them through the door and tries to get them to come in after him, only to fire through the door...but the officers have smartly taken cover around corners on either side of the hallway. Tear gas is fired into the room from outside and Monk surrenders. In the coda, Mac reveals that the wallet was turned in by the kids driving the car, who found it in the back seat. _______ The Whigs might make a comeback by then. I think the Know Nothings already have. I think Greer was liaising with local law enforcement. Sort of...
And my Internet is back. *Click* Eight hours of that is getting out of the city in traffic. Donald is no competition for this guy. "Oh, Professor!" A two-part clip show? Suddenly the plane is tractor-beamed up into a flying saucer from the planet Metaluna. I love these poetic titles of the era. He's his correct age again. One of the great advantages of an ongoing episodic series like this is the potential for such versatility in storytelling. I'm glad they didn't feel the need to shoehorn in a crime and a shootout and so forth. Yep. L years ago. I can hardly believe it. Now Max is suffering from Ironside Syndrome. Was the Chief a late bloomer or was he teaching the class? Hmmm.... It would have been great if this was Peter's story. Wedding night trauma? Gees, guys, lecture later. Not exactly a chess player, this guy. And then threatens them for money. In my Utopian future, there are no political parties.
55 Years Ago This Week Selections from Billboard's Hot 100 for the week: Leaving the chart: "Goin' Out of My Head," Little Anthony & The Imperials (14 weeks) "The Jerk," The Larks (13 weeks) "Willow Weep for Me," Chad & Jeremy (13 weeks) Recent and new on the chart: "That's How Strong My Love Is," Otis Redding (Jan. 30; #74 US; #18 R&B) "Yeh, Yeh," Georgie Fame & The Blue Flames (#21 US; #1 UK) "Goodnight," Roy Orbison (#21 US) "People Get Ready," The Impressions (#14 US; #3 R&B; #24 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time) "Shotgun," Jr. Walker & The All Stars (#4 US; #1 R&B) And new on the boob tube: Branded, "The Test" 12 O'Clock High, "The Clash" Gilligan's Island, "St. Gilligan and the Dragon" _______ I thought maybe you were just that enthralled by the new Picard episode. They said that it would take longer to get out of the city than to fly there...but I can get to Manhattan inside of an hour on a good day, so no. From what I recall of having seen the second part on TV, I don't think it was a clip show. I didn't check the math, but I was thinking that. There's another one...I'm L now...! If I had to rationalize, I'd say that maybe it was early in the days of CONTROL so everyone was new to the agency...but the reference to Max seeing the Chief as a father and vice versa seemed out of place if so. I looked back over the episode synopses, and even Jan got an episode! I think we've found the real neglected middle child. Maybe it was supposed to be a joke about the count using the situation as an excuse to get out of the marriage. The kids were flabbergasted that they got chased down instead of the squad car pulling up alongside them, so the officers explained why...cops had been shot at doing that.
Man, where are the singers today with voice and singing style of Otis Redding? I imagine you can probably find some of them on YouTube because the few record companies left don’t seem to be chasing them. Oh well, 20 or 30 years and it’ll all be back. In terms of musical diversity, the 60’s are still far and away a better decade than any any since. This weird little jazz number is a prime example of that musical diversity. Curtis Mayfield turned out some of the era’s best mainstream civil rights anthems. He was able to smoothly fuse gospel and r&b with contemporary messages of the day. He was a true civil rights warrior. I was never a big Junior Walker fan. He was definitely outside of the Motown norm, and that was okay, I just wasn’t all that into his norm. But I did like his What Does it Take, a gentle little mid tempo ballad.
I don't think I've heard this one, but Otis Redding sure sounds nice. Definitely never heard this one. Finger snappin.' A bit odd lyrically, but it sounds like Roy Orbison. Sweet song. After a few seconds, I realized that I do know this song, but I had just never cared enough to listen to the lyrics. Heh, no, I didn't even get a chance to watch until late last night. And I have theater tonight, so I won't be able to write anything till tomorrow. Well, they're in California, so they probably know as much as I do about it. Still a bit odd. A two-parter is supposed to be an "event." L is the new XL. That's a decent explanation, though. Ah, okay, that makes sense. I just wanted to point out, in case you didn't get it, that I was referencing This Island Earth, which also co-starred Russell Johnson.
This is why, if said show's on home video, you get all the seasons of it so that you don't have to worry about where you can see it on TV. Too bad that these channels aren't also offered on cable or on a Roku box.
50 Years Ago This Week Both albums should be coming up here eventually, though Black Sabbath is getting a little out of my comfort zone. Selections from Billboard's Hot 100 for the week: Leaving the chart: "Come Saturday Morning," The Sandpipers (8 weeks) "Look-Ka Py Py," The Meters (10 weeks) "Midnight Cowboy," Ferrante & Teicher (15 weeks) New on the chart: "Rag Mama Rag," The Band (#57 US; #16 UK) "All I Have to Do Is Dream," Bobbie Gentry & Glen Campbell (#27 US; #4 AC; #6 Country; #3 UK) "Kentucky Rain," Elvis Presley (#16 US; #3 AC; #31 Country; #21 UK) "Something's Burning," Kenny Rogers & The First Edition (#11 US; #8 UK) And new on the boob tube: The Ed Sullivan Show, Season 22, episode 20, featuring Richard Pryor Mission: Impossible, "Phantoms" Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, Season 3, episode 21 That Girl, "Stocks and the Single Girl" Ironside, "Return to Fiji" Get Smart, "How Green Was My Valet" The Brady Bunch, "Brace Yourself" Hogan's Heroes, "One Army at a Time" Adam-12, "Log 24: A Rare Occasion" _______ Although it wasn't a crossover hit in the day, I've read that this has become one of his signature songs, and it was on the American Dreams TV series soundtrack (which is where I have it from); in addition, it's among his most popular songs on iTunes; and I'm pretty sure I've heard it in a commercial. No argument here. That's what you said when I posted it in the wake of "The Ballad of Bonnie and Clyde" charting... This one's still an obscuro to me...hasn't had a chance to make much of an impression. This and "A Change Is Gonna Come" being on the chart at the same time definitely paints a vivid picture of this moment in history. Killjoys--Who doesn't love "Shotgun"? No hurry, the thread's enough of a monster already... From XL to L...that makes it sound like I'm shrinking. I looked up where the reference is from, but I didn't realize the Russell Johnson connection.
Back in that era, it was nice to the actors from Gilligan's Island had a career beyond that sitcom, even if they never reached those pop culture heights on anything else. "The Mess of Adrian Listenger" shared a running tone of weirdness to the final season's episodes, also seen in "Pheasant Under Glass" with the Chief on the moon, then saying something to the effect that he was heading elsewhere (not back to earth), "Widow Often Annie", which played more like a revenge/romance thriller than a Get Smart episode, or a semi-maudlin feel to Armstrong in "The Apes or Rath". I suppose this was the producers' way of trying to keep the show fresh, since the heavy "spy" genre feel of earlier seasons was long gone at this point (the fad was all but completely faded outside of the continuing Bond movies), which is another reason this series would have struggled to keep whatever identity it had if it had a hypothetical 6th season. That said, of the stranger episodes, this is the best, with Adams, Platt and Paulsen all giving it their all, especially Paulsen, whose "Ace Weems" goes from sour to depressed to good comedic effect. Then again, that was Paulsen's schtick, but it "made" this episode.
I may be wrong, because I don't know a lot about this kind of thing, but I think that you can get these kinds of channels on those cheap little digital antennae that they sell nowadays, because they are sub-channels of local affiliates. I actually like a lot of the music of Black Sabbath and the distinguished Ozymandias Osbourne. I think this is probably more enjoyable in person. An enjoyable cover of a really good song. One of my favorite Elvis songs. Another song that I didn't think I knew until the chorus. I like it, but I'm not sure from when, really. It has vaguely early 70s associational memories, so I'm probably remembering as semi-oldie on Top 40 radio. You never hear it on Oldies Radio nowadays. I think I only have long-term memory now. Indeed. Makes me feel more than a bit wistful in this era. I don't really dislike it. It's in that category of song where I wouldn't turn the station but my mind would wander. I can imagine. And no doubt full of commentary that will make me sad. Sometimes that's a good thing. At least my waistline thinks so. It kind of worked out perfectly. If you haven't seen This Island Earth, I highly recommend it-- it's one of the greatest of the B-Movies. Well, Jim Backus was Mr. Magoo. But you're right, they deserved better.
_______ 55th Anniversary Viewing _______ Branded "The Vindicator" Originally aired January 31, 1965 Travis (Claude Akins) seems to be largely responsible for making McCord such an infamous figure, and Jason is none to happy to see him. Via flashback, we see the Apache attack at Bitter Creek, where General Reed (John Litel) was planning a treaty conference. Reed comes unhinged in response to the attack, and Captain McCord takes charge and tries to relieve him of command. We learn that following the attack, Jason was in a coma for 10 days. Travis visits a Mrs. Pritchett (June Lockhart), whose husband, Lt. John Pritchett (Harry Carey Jr.), was third in command at Bitter Creek. Lt. Pritchett's letters paint a picture of Reed's senility-fueled incompetence and how McCord would cover up for him. Confronting McCord with this knowledge, Travis still can't get the truth out of him, but he sends for a photographer to take pictures of the letters. Jason visits the Pritchett home, and is affected when young Johnny Pritchett (Johnny Jensen), in a game of make-believe and not knowing who he's talking to, pretends that the stranger at his door is the villain of his game: Jason McCord. Inside, Jason tells Mrs. Pritchett the real reason he won't tell the truth--that discrediting Reed would endanger the treaty that was his project, which has resulted in peace with the Indian nations. McCord also admits to feeling somewhat responsible for what happened, because he hadn't relieved the general of command sooner. He ultimately convinces Mrs. Pritchett to burn the letters, despite them being her cherished last link to her husband. I just realized that Branded, which had been airing on Sunday afternoons, is now out of H&I's lineup...leaving me short a few episodes at the end of the series. _______ 12 O'Clock High "To Heinie, with Love" Originally aired February 5, 1965 Because I have been having trouble keeping up with my show load, and because we're now at the place where I started doing regular write-ups previously, I've decided to suspend rewatching and reviewing 12OCH. Here's my prior write-up, though the ones I was doing at the time were much briefer. I caught some of the new war show block on H&I last night, including the first episode of 12OCH...don't recall if it came up in my more recent write-up, but Crowe was doing the annoyingly contrarian micromanagement schtick from episode 1! I forgot to check out the new superhero-oriented block today...which they've given the rather uninspired title Action Sunday. _______ Gilligan's Island "Gilligan Meets Jungle Boy" Originally aired February 6, 1965 So where were the banana trees when the castaways were fussing over their blighted crops? Of course, Gilligan has trouble convincing the others of the jungle boy that he encounters and tries to lure him back to camp. When the boy shows Gilligan the helium fountain, the wire making Gilligan's hat float back down onto his head is very visible. Once everybody does see the boy, they quickly assume that he might have information that will help him get off the island. Why would he be running around the island in a loin cloth, unfamiliar with language, if he knew how to leave? Anyway, once they find out about the fountain, they decide to make a balloon to float one of the castaways to civilization. Apparently the Minnow had enough raincoats aboard to make a basket-carrying balloon large enough for Gilligan to float around inside. The castaways are now using bamboo bicycle power to run both a fan and a sewing machine. The Professor isn't sure if the gas is helium, hydrogen, or a combination of both, but it never makes anyone's voice squeaky...even when Gilligan supposedly has inhaled so much that he starts floating around outside the balloon (aided by some more visible wires). An initial attempt to send the skipper up brings up the weight issue. The Professor then calculates that only the boy is light enough to go up while allowing for provisions. They decide to send the balloon with just a note instead, but while they're writing it, the boy--by now wearing clothes--slips away and takes off in the balloon. In the coda, the castaways catch a radio report about the boy having been picked up by an aircraft carrier, but it's estimated that it may take several years for him to learn language well enough to shed light on who made the balloon for him. _______ Interesting... It's certainly no "The Weight". Disappointing that I can barely tell Bobbie's on it. Definitely one of his better songs of this phase of his career, and surprising that it charted so modestly on the Hot 100 in the day. Indeed, I wasn't familiar with it at all. The title makes me think that maybe Kenny's been eating chili. If it comes up somewhere...
Claude Akins is an unusual choice for this type of character. I wonder if he's just there to set up the premise, or if he'll be Jason's McGee. Cool! There we have it. Although I'm not sure that it actually makes sense. And Pritchett can't be the only one who knew the score-- usually all the men know something like that. Well, that sucks. Speaking of schedule changes, MeTV finally mentioned the Saturday night change in their latest email, but it basically amounted to "Yay, more Stooges." It's a shame that Wild Wild West isn't on now, with Robert Conrad's death a few days ago. Sounds like another excellent premise not given the attention it deserves. This may have been the first time I saw Kurt Russell in anything. I know I disliked him from the start, which kind of compromises my enjoyment of this episode. They hadn't explored the banana side of the island at that point. This strikes me as unsafe. It's almost like they knew that the weather would get rough. This is why your mom always sewed your name and address into your raincoat! Indeed not. It appears on TCM periodically.
_______ 50th Anniversary Viewing (Part 1) _______ The Ed Sullivan Show Season 22, episode 19 Originally aired February 1, 1970 As represented in The Best of the Ed Sullivan Show tv.com tells us that Jackie was really there to plug her just-released single "Brighton Hill" (charts Mar. 7, 1970; #82 US, #9 AC). The Best of clip gives us a performance of an abbreviated version of last year's hit "Put a Little Love in Your Heart". The singer/dancer gives us a musical number called "A Fine Fine Day," accompanied by backup dancers, which tv.com tells us was choreographed by Bob Fosse, per ed's announcement in this clip's fuller announcement. Ed brings them all over afterward. Also in the original episode according to tv.com: _______ Mission: Impossible "Gitano" Originally aired February 1, 1970 Zorka (Cordova) and Captain Luis Serra (John Rayner) are both in the portfolio, but not credited there. Victor is said to be 12; Williams was 15 at the time. We learn in the briefing that he's been kidnapped by Clement to protect him from Aragas, but it's all part of the general's plan, as he has an inside man working under Clement, Colonal Moya (Rudy Solari). Jim smuggles Barney onto Clement's premises via a gas truck; once in, Barney gets to work in a limo, setting a remote-triggered steering lock and a hidden gas device. This is used to knock out the occupants when the limo is used to transport Victor before Moya kills him short of the border. Victor is put into a gypsy van driven by Willy, whose passengers are Paris and Zorka--all dressed as gypsies. Victor is motivated to cooperate with them to hide from Moya, who made his intentions toward Victor clear in the limo, but whom Victor still assumes is working for Aragas. Victor's cover is Paris's idea: At their gig, the guy hiring them complains that the girl needs to look prettier...so Zorka applies more rouge. Meanwhile, Moya is tended to by Dr. Jim in a town where Captain Serra works. When Moya leaves, Jim and Serra get to work on Moya's men, having told Moya that they'd died. Also meanwhile, Paris approaches Aragas trying to sell info about where the boy is. Because the gypsies are in Montego, the general sends Moya to find him. He questions "Perla"...and doesn't recognize Victor despite a brief outburst. But later the proprietor sees Victor's wig slip, and reports it to Moya. This threatens to trip up Paris's end of things, but he improvises with Aragas and Moya to get them to enter the warehouse where they can find Victor his way. Paris takes them there, where Victor has ditched his disguise and thinks that Aragas is there to save him. Willy carries the boy away from Aragas, leading the general through the warehouse. But Victor slips away and runs toward Aragas, who lets him get close enough to fire...but the general hits a mirror rigged up by Barney and Jim instead, allowing Victor to see the Aragas's true nature. In the meantime, Jim and Serra have revealed the truth to Clement, the captured men convincing him that Moya is a traitor. At the warehouse, Barney turns on the lights as Clement and Serra arrive to arrest Aragas. Mission: Accomplished. _______ Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In Season 3, episode 20 Originally aired February 2, 1970 The Jack Benny cocktail party: Paul Is Dead refreence alert! Alas, Uncle Al is back...to tell us about Hansel and Gretel. The Quickies are too quick for Jack: The cast members rushing Jack is a recurring gag throughout the episode. And if "Everyday People" really did originate the phrase "different strokes for different folks," then Teresa's making a Sly & The Family Stone reference. The Fickle Finger of Fate goes to the NSA. Henry Gibson does a timely poem about the state of the union. Ernestine makes another call to...let's see...1600 Pennsylvania Avenue: The news song is gangster themed, with the girls doing their Cagney impressions: The Mod World of Work: Joanne wearing a flowered hat with a price tag on it seems to be another dig a Hee Haw. Jack Benny's Scandinavian Story Time. The Jack Benny Joke Wall. _______ Looks like he was a one-off. I think being third in command would have made him privy to scenes that the men in general wouldn't have been in on. The episode gave the impression that Jason had been making an effort to prop Reed up. And this is the first I'd heard of that. Well, H&I's got Black Sheep again. Seriously, you'd think one of them would have said S.S. Minnow or something. Something I forgot to put here... And celebrating 1 year under our Fab Overlords!