Glad it's not just me!
The Classic/Retro Pop Culture Thread
- Thread starter The Old Mixer
- Start date
Glad it's not just me!
I have a soft spot for this one. It, along with "Bookends", brings back memories of my first love
Still one of the greatest series finales--logical ties to threads large and small established since the pilot and other early episodes. Its one of the few series finales that did not feel like the producers ran out of ideas and performers were tired and / or disinterested (see: TNG's "All Good Things..."). Perfect bookend to a truly classic TV series.
Ah, yes, and friends and relatives who were around at the time have recalled how individuals of a certain belief system screamed that "the blacks were taking over the country"--and they were from New York and other east coast states.
i wonder which version this is; there was one, composed for the soundtrack for Casino Royale, but IMO, the superior version was the one with the lush string accompaniment:
That makes sense. Kind of sad, though.
Wow. I hope it wasn't a dance song.
Glitch in the matrix. Gotta be.
Nice try, but they would have been better off spending their uniform budget on a lawyer.
Kind of amazing that theatrical shorts were still coming out in 72.
I had no idea that this was released as a single. But it does fit right in with the streak of short singles (and poetry put to music).
Oldies Radio Classic.
Nice. This is what I think of as a Sunday-morning song.
Sorry about that.
"Very stunned. Like a parrot."
Ah, I thought so.
Can you imagine Shatner and Nimoy in the same band?
"She threw those panties at me!"
"No, me!"
I liked "All Good Things..." I think it was the best of the Trek finales-- although it didn't exactly have stiff competition.
My mom and her husband live and work in Beaver Creek, Colorado.
In the spring and summer they do volunteer work as well as their regular jobs.
One year they worked at the Beaver Creek Performing Arts Center as ushers and backstage.
Art Garfunkel was the headliner one year and they got to meet him. They said a nicer more humble man they could not have met. Talked with everyone, posed for pictures, seemed genuinely interested in what people had to say. At one point in his performance, during a song Mom told Art was a favorite of hers, he dedicated it to her and pointed to her standing in the wings.
_______
Really Wild Post-55th Anniversary Viewing--and Loving It!
_______
The Ed Sullivan Show
Season 19, episode 11
Originally aired November 20, 1966
Performances listed on Metacritic:
"The Night of the Ready-Made Corpse"
Originally aired November 25, 1966
Jim greets foreign ruler Colonel Pellargo (Daniel Ades) to Wickenburg, only to have to teach his guards a lesson when they jump him and toss him through a window. Jim escorts Pellargo to a photo studio, where he finds that the colonel has taken an additional precaution--having a lookalike stand in for him while the real Pellargo (Paul Comi) is disguised as a guard. Pellargo is visiting to have his portrait taken in a studio, and Jim probes him about the lack of concern for his people's welfare that makes him such a likely target for assassination attempts. While the colonel is posing, the photographer uses a trick camera that dispenses brightly colored poison gas and makes a break for it, Jim chasing him onto the street and winging him, only for the photographer to slip into a secret door hidden behind an alley wall poster.
The passage takes the assailant, Claudio Antille (Alan Bergmann), to the funeral parlor of Fabian Lavendor (Carroll O'Connor doing an Irish-ish accent), who tends to his wound and discusses his fake funeral arrangements. That night, Lavendor stalks a local drunk who happens to also be played by Alan Bergmann and murders him. After identifying Antille, the agents learn that he's dead, and Jim takes Pellargo's widow, Leda (Patricia Huston), to see his doubled body. Jim inspects the body to find scars and even a missing cufflink matching Antille, but for some reason he remains suspicious and looks into missing persons.
While Lavendor cosmetically alters the real Antille (still Alan Bergmann, no longer wearing appliances), Jim and Artie visit barmaid Rose Murphy (Karen Sharpe), daughter of the victim, Toby Murphy, whom she reported missing. Learning from her of a missing toe, they go to Antille's crypt to inspect the corpse again, determining that it's Murphy. But Lavendor's assistant, Golo (Jack Perkins), was eavesdropping at the bar, and Lavendor locks the agents in the crypt and fills it with gas.
Jim and Artie cover their faces with handkerchiefs and blow the door of the crypt with plastique. Artie subsequently dons a disguise to visit the funeral parlor as a prospective client, complete with a wanted poster showing a picture of unmade-up Artie. West shares what they've learned with Senora Pellargo, and just as I'm starting to suspect her role in the story, we learn that she's more than in cahoots with Antille. Artie returns to the parlor and is un-mutton-chopped as a secret agent.
When Artie doesn't return, Jim recruits Rose to play a grieving widow who distracts Lavendor whie Jim sneaks in through the secret passage in the alley, which he's sniffed out. He makes contact with Artie, who's locked in a cell, and goes to find Lavendor's files. Artie is brought out to be dealt with, only for Jim to pop out of the coffin that's wheeled in, and the agents mop up Lavendor and his men (who also include an assistant named Finley [Gene Tyburn]). As Jim is showing Artie the files, the agents find themselves placed at gunpoint by Antille and Senora Pellargo. Jim tells Antille of the blackmail of clients he's gleaned from the files, and Antille shoots Lavendor. Then he tries to force the agents to burn the files for him and is overcome.
There's a saloon coda in which the agents meet Rose's lawman boyfriend.
The widow being a murder accomplice saved this story from having a few too many coincidences in its setup, but it was still a bit much that the town with this specialized mortician just also happened to have such a close double for the killer (who was in it because he was having an affair with the widow, not because he was chosen for the role).
_______
Get Smart
"Island of the Darned"
Originally aired November 26, 1966
Agent 27, who was assigned to investigate Hunter, is killed by him on the island and his stuffed body shipped back to CONTROL. The delivery man (Fabian Dean) has to twist the Chief's arm to get him to sign an actual name, and then complains that KAOS tips better. A return address on the crate is a clue obvious enough for even Max to follow. Max and 99 sneak onto the island (which has a familiar-looking establishing shot) via raft from a submarine. They get lost in the jungle and are promptly captured by Hunter and his dog-leading assistant Igor (Charles Horvath).
Hunter takes the agents to his bungalow, and--under the impression that Max would be a worthy opponent, challenges him to a faux game of Russian roulette, then shares his plan to make Max his most dangerous game. 99 volunteers to take her chances with Max rather than stay as Hunter's guest. The agents flee into the jungle armed only with a knife, which Max had to haggle for, and are pursued by the dogs. The Frndly interruption comes early, sparing the climax for once. The agents try to cross a gorge on a rickety suspension bridge and end up finishing their way across underneath it, monkey-bar style. Max rather competently takes out Igor with a knife throw, sending him falling from the bridge, but then finds himself in Hunter's sights.
99 once again refuses Hunter's offer, but does use a last request as a ruse to employ explosive cigarettes provided by Carlson--"Bazooka Butts". 99 tosses one of the harmless camouflage cigarettes in the pack at Hunter's feet, then Max--who required some coaxing from 99 to realize why she wanted to smoke--tosses a live one, taking out the villain. When 99 expresses some regret, Max explains that they have to kill and destroy because they represent all that's good and wholesome in the world.
_______
Really Wild Post-55th Anniversary Viewing--and Loving It!
_______
The Ed Sullivan Show
Season 19, episode 11
Originally aired November 20, 1966
Performances listed on Metacritic:
- Dave Clark Five - "Sitting Here Baby"
- On film: Dave Clark Five - "19 Days" promo video
- Bobby Vinton - "Coming Home Soldier"
- Barbara McNair - medley: "Come Back to Me" and "Lover Come Back to Me"
- Franco Correlli (Met Opera singer) - "Torna A Sorriento"
[I liked the second number better when Elvis did it.]
- Nancy Walker and Charles Nelson Reilly - Doctor's Office comedy sketch
- Henny Youngman (violin-playing comedian)
- Dick Cavett - stand-up monologue
- Burger's Animals (trained dog act)
- Peter Gennaro with female dancers
- The Three Wilds (tap dance trio)
- Audience bows: Rosanno Brazzi, Woody Allen
"The Night of the Ready-Made Corpse"
Originally aired November 25, 1966
Wiki said:
Jim greets foreign ruler Colonel Pellargo (Daniel Ades) to Wickenburg, only to have to teach his guards a lesson when they jump him and toss him through a window. Jim escorts Pellargo to a photo studio, where he finds that the colonel has taken an additional precaution--having a lookalike stand in for him while the real Pellargo (Paul Comi) is disguised as a guard. Pellargo is visiting to have his portrait taken in a studio, and Jim probes him about the lack of concern for his people's welfare that makes him such a likely target for assassination attempts. While the colonel is posing, the photographer uses a trick camera that dispenses brightly colored poison gas and makes a break for it, Jim chasing him onto the street and winging him, only for the photographer to slip into a secret door hidden behind an alley wall poster.
The passage takes the assailant, Claudio Antille (Alan Bergmann), to the funeral parlor of Fabian Lavendor (Carroll O'Connor doing an Irish-ish accent), who tends to his wound and discusses his fake funeral arrangements. That night, Lavendor stalks a local drunk who happens to also be played by Alan Bergmann and murders him. After identifying Antille, the agents learn that he's dead, and Jim takes Pellargo's widow, Leda (Patricia Huston), to see his doubled body. Jim inspects the body to find scars and even a missing cufflink matching Antille, but for some reason he remains suspicious and looks into missing persons.
While Lavendor cosmetically alters the real Antille (still Alan Bergmann, no longer wearing appliances), Jim and Artie visit barmaid Rose Murphy (Karen Sharpe), daughter of the victim, Toby Murphy, whom she reported missing. Learning from her of a missing toe, they go to Antille's crypt to inspect the corpse again, determining that it's Murphy. But Lavendor's assistant, Golo (Jack Perkins), was eavesdropping at the bar, and Lavendor locks the agents in the crypt and fills it with gas.
Jim and Artie cover their faces with handkerchiefs and blow the door of the crypt with plastique. Artie subsequently dons a disguise to visit the funeral parlor as a prospective client, complete with a wanted poster showing a picture of unmade-up Artie. West shares what they've learned with Senora Pellargo, and just as I'm starting to suspect her role in the story, we learn that she's more than in cahoots with Antille. Artie returns to the parlor and is un-mutton-chopped as a secret agent.
When Artie doesn't return, Jim recruits Rose to play a grieving widow who distracts Lavendor whie Jim sneaks in through the secret passage in the alley, which he's sniffed out. He makes contact with Artie, who's locked in a cell, and goes to find Lavendor's files. Artie is brought out to be dealt with, only for Jim to pop out of the coffin that's wheeled in, and the agents mop up Lavendor and his men (who also include an assistant named Finley [Gene Tyburn]). As Jim is showing Artie the files, the agents find themselves placed at gunpoint by Antille and Senora Pellargo. Jim tells Antille of the blackmail of clients he's gleaned from the files, and Antille shoots Lavendor. Then he tries to force the agents to burn the files for him and is overcome.
There's a saloon coda in which the agents meet Rose's lawman boyfriend.
The widow being a murder accomplice saved this story from having a few too many coincidences in its setup, but it was still a bit much that the town with this specialized mortician just also happened to have such a close double for the killer (who was in it because he was having an affair with the widow, not because he was chosen for the role).
_______
Get Smart
"Island of the Darned"
Originally aired November 26, 1966
Wiki said:
Agent 27, who was assigned to investigate Hunter, is killed by him on the island and his stuffed body shipped back to CONTROL. The delivery man (Fabian Dean) has to twist the Chief's arm to get him to sign an actual name, and then complains that KAOS tips better. A return address on the crate is a clue obvious enough for even Max to follow. Max and 99 sneak onto the island (which has a familiar-looking establishing shot) via raft from a submarine. They get lost in the jungle and are promptly captured by Hunter and his dog-leading assistant Igor (Charles Horvath).
Hunter takes the agents to his bungalow, and--under the impression that Max would be a worthy opponent, challenges him to a faux game of Russian roulette, then shares his plan to make Max his most dangerous game. 99 volunteers to take her chances with Max rather than stay as Hunter's guest. The agents flee into the jungle armed only with a knife, which Max had to haggle for, and are pursued by the dogs. The Frndly interruption comes early, sparing the climax for once. The agents try to cross a gorge on a rickety suspension bridge and end up finishing their way across underneath it, monkey-bar style. Max rather competently takes out Igor with a knife throw, sending him falling from the bridge, but then finds himself in Hunter's sights.
99 once again refuses Hunter's offer, but does use a last request as a ruse to employ explosive cigarettes provided by Carlson--"Bazooka Butts". 99 tosses one of the harmless camouflage cigarettes in the pack at Hunter's feet, then Max--who required some coaxing from 99 to realize why she wanted to smoke--tosses a live one, taking out the villain. When 99 expresses some regret, Max explains that they have to kill and destroy because they represent all that's good and wholesome in the world.
_______
Alas, this one doesn't do anything for me...it has nothing vaguely resembling a hook.
The single was the non-soundtrack one.
Yep, and the Doobies will be providing more where that came from.
Oddly, I already had this in my collection, though similarly obscure one-hitters slipped my previous notice. It's alright, but I can't say that I had any prior familiarity with it.
Another sketch!
One of the Elder Gods of standup comedy.
Did they have some particular reason for this or were they just bored after the long trip?
So it was Pellargo that actually threw Jim through the window?
Sounds like Pellargo is an unsympathetic character.
Rita Hayworth?
Now here's a character who could have been a recurring Arch enemy.
Special gas-proof handkerchiefs.
Where the hell was he during all of this?
I totally lost track of this one. I don't know who did what or why.
I think I remember this. He was sitting in a big wooden crate, right?
What name does he use?
He's very conveniently named.
I think I remember this, too. Does Max try to use the gun on Hunter, only to find out it's not loaded?
That's got to be the most pastiched short story of all time.
They sure will.
And speaking of Max, wouldja believe that this showed up in my Sunday GoComics feed:
What a coincidence.
_______
Really Wild Post-55th Anniversary Viewing--and Loving It!
_______
The Ed Sullivan Show
Season 19, episode 12
Originally aired November 27, 1966
Performances listed on Metacritic:
_______
"The Night of the Man-Eating House"
Originally aired December 2, 1966
The agents get a telegram (while underway, natch) to proceed to the Ocala County sheriff's office to take a federal prisoner into custody. Cut to the agents camping on the road with the sheriff (William Talman) and the prisoner, Liston Lawrence Day (Hurd Hatfield in heavy old age makeup), a figure of infamy to Jim. While sleeping at the campfire, Artie goes into his dream, which has the prisoner fleeing into a cemetery to beg for help from a bust on the tombstone of Caroline Day. Jim and the sheriff enter the scene to take him prisoner. At the in-dream camp, Jim explains to Artie that Day was a traitor during the fight for Texan independence thirty years prior. Traveling by night, the party comes upon a stately but abandoned house, the door mysteriously opening for them. In the cobwebbed parlor with covered furniture, Day--who's said to be dying of swamp fever--seems in bad shape, and they hear what sounds like a woman sobbing and find themselves locked in the house. When they try to break through a door, the woman moans and cries, but even a blasting pellet won't bring it down. Even poking the wall causes cries of female pain. All of this seems connected to the painting of a woman in the parlor.
Day slips into a coma and seems to Jim to be getting younger. Artie speculates that the man has come back to his home and the woman was his wife. They see an apparition that looks like an illuminated floating ball, then a chandelier almost falls on Jim and the man flees upstairs. They find the sheriff, who went up before them, dead, the blood having drained out of him, and we see that Day has completely rejuvenated, which includes a shave and a haircut. Back downstairs, the agents see tears coming out of the eyes of the woman in the portrait. They also find that glass panes of the door they were trying to blast through have repaired themselves.
Day, now dressed dandily, spies upon the agents as they go back upstairs to look around and find the woman's room. A picture of Day on the wall opens up to reveal a nook with Caroline's diary in it, which clarifies that Caroline was Liston's mother. Artie flips through highlights of Liston's life, eventually coming upon how it was Caroline's husband and Liston's father, Charles, who leaked battle plans to Santa Anna, and Liston took the fall for it. The house opens up, causing the agents to speculate that Caroline wants them to take the diary and clear her son, but Liston comes out and holds them at pistol-point, wanting to stay home. They easily overcome him to the accompaniment of Caroline's sobbing, and when they insist to the unseen woman that have to take him away to clear him, the house locks up again. When they agree to leave with just the diary, the house opens up, but Liston pulls a lever that activates a trap door, sending the agents down to a cell in a laboratory, where they hear the sound of a ravenous swarm of rats in the walls. Watching from above, Liston laughs.
When Day comes down to the lab to taunt them, the agents try to plead with him to accept their help in clearing him, but he reveals that he prefers to be referred to as Diaz, his paternal ancestors' name, and that he, like his father, considers himself a loyal Spaniard. He describes how he and his father started breeding the army of rats to spread the bubonic plague throughout Texas, killing the gringos. Caroline cries, and Artie pleads with her that her son is insane and to help them to help him. The agents manage to lure Liston to the cell door and grab him, taking his key. They drag the unconscious Day upstairs and plead with Caroline again to let them leave the house. Outside in the daylight, Liston resumes his true age, comes to, and holds the agents at gunpoint...but his ill health overcomes him and he collapses dead. The door creaks shut behind them.
In the coda, Artie comes to at the camp, to find that he's been dreaming and the sheriff and Day, back in his age makeup and prison stripes, are still alive. The real-life party comes upon the house by daylight, the door creaks open, and they enter. The Rather Ambiguous End.
This was a strange one, which seems like it wanted to air about five weeks earlier.
_______
Get Smart
"Bronzefinger"
Originally aired December 3, 1966
Max and 99 are preparing a surprise party for Agent 54 (Robert Patten) at Max's apartment when 54 arrives at the door, covered in metallic blue paint, and falls dead...but not before expressing his regret at having arrived early and spoiled the surprise. The Chief explains how 54 was investigating a KAOS art forgery ring at a museum to identify their master forger, known as Rembrandt Von Bronzefinger. With the help of museum director Van Cleff (Joseph A. Sirola), Max is placed among the painters who restore works--Emile (John Bliss), Wolfgang (Richard Karlan), and Victoria (Joan Patrick)--each of whom acts suspicious to him. Meanwhile, 99 is working as a tour guide and Agent 13 is hiding in the wall behind one of the paintings--disguised as a conquistador so he can stand still and pose as the painting when needed. Frndly's interruption comes while Max is questioning 13 for details about the night of the murder.
We come back to Max confronting Van Cleff about being Bronzefinger--he's been hiding a bronze thumb under one of his gloves. Max loses a duel of paint tube swords and is placed in a bronzing vat death trap with 99. They get out in the nick of time with the help off 99's razor ring, only to be attacked by Bronzefinger, who Max sends into the hot bronze-filled vat.
In the coda, Agent 13 is hiding in the Chief's wall safe, which he considers to be a "nice, soft office job".
_______
INCOMPARABLE
Miss Lily Crabtree
IN
"THE NEW DAWN"
JEWEL THEATER
Really Wild Post-55th Anniversary Viewing--and Loving It!
_______
The Ed Sullivan Show
Season 19, episode 12
Originally aired November 27, 1966
Performances listed on Metacritic:
- Leslie Uggams sings "The Trolley Song" and "We Can Work It Out"
- Glen Yarbrough (folk singer) - "World Turnin'" and "Rose'd Say" (2nd song with audience sing-a-long)
- Lou Jacobi, Kay Medford, Tony Roberts and Anita Gillette perform a scene from their play "Don't Drink the Water"
- Morty Storm (stand-up routine)
- The Muppets - Sketch starts with big worm teaching little worm to dance. Then, to "Glow Worm," Kermit eats two small worms but has a problem with the third, larger worm.
- The All-American College Football Team of '66: Bob Griese, Floyd Little, Gene Washington, Bubba Smith and Mel Faar
- Fiesta Mexicana (troupe performs native, Mariachi songs and dances)
- Brian Androv (comic tightrope act)
- Audience bows: Steve Spurier and Norman Wisdom
_______
"The Night of the Man-Eating House"
Originally aired December 2, 1966
Wiki said:
The agents get a telegram (while underway, natch) to proceed to the Ocala County sheriff's office to take a federal prisoner into custody. Cut to the agents camping on the road with the sheriff (William Talman) and the prisoner, Liston Lawrence Day (Hurd Hatfield in heavy old age makeup), a figure of infamy to Jim. While sleeping at the campfire, Artie goes into his dream, which has the prisoner fleeing into a cemetery to beg for help from a bust on the tombstone of Caroline Day. Jim and the sheriff enter the scene to take him prisoner. At the in-dream camp, Jim explains to Artie that Day was a traitor during the fight for Texan independence thirty years prior. Traveling by night, the party comes upon a stately but abandoned house, the door mysteriously opening for them. In the cobwebbed parlor with covered furniture, Day--who's said to be dying of swamp fever--seems in bad shape, and they hear what sounds like a woman sobbing and find themselves locked in the house. When they try to break through a door, the woman moans and cries, but even a blasting pellet won't bring it down. Even poking the wall causes cries of female pain. All of this seems connected to the painting of a woman in the parlor.
Day slips into a coma and seems to Jim to be getting younger. Artie speculates that the man has come back to his home and the woman was his wife. They see an apparition that looks like an illuminated floating ball, then a chandelier almost falls on Jim and the man flees upstairs. They find the sheriff, who went up before them, dead, the blood having drained out of him, and we see that Day has completely rejuvenated, which includes a shave and a haircut. Back downstairs, the agents see tears coming out of the eyes of the woman in the portrait. They also find that glass panes of the door they were trying to blast through have repaired themselves.
Day, now dressed dandily, spies upon the agents as they go back upstairs to look around and find the woman's room. A picture of Day on the wall opens up to reveal a nook with Caroline's diary in it, which clarifies that Caroline was Liston's mother. Artie flips through highlights of Liston's life, eventually coming upon how it was Caroline's husband and Liston's father, Charles, who leaked battle plans to Santa Anna, and Liston took the fall for it. The house opens up, causing the agents to speculate that Caroline wants them to take the diary and clear her son, but Liston comes out and holds them at pistol-point, wanting to stay home. They easily overcome him to the accompaniment of Caroline's sobbing, and when they insist to the unseen woman that have to take him away to clear him, the house locks up again. When they agree to leave with just the diary, the house opens up, but Liston pulls a lever that activates a trap door, sending the agents down to a cell in a laboratory, where they hear the sound of a ravenous swarm of rats in the walls. Watching from above, Liston laughs.
When Day comes down to the lab to taunt them, the agents try to plead with him to accept their help in clearing him, but he reveals that he prefers to be referred to as Diaz, his paternal ancestors' name, and that he, like his father, considers himself a loyal Spaniard. He describes how he and his father started breeding the army of rats to spread the bubonic plague throughout Texas, killing the gringos. Caroline cries, and Artie pleads with her that her son is insane and to help them to help him. The agents manage to lure Liston to the cell door and grab him, taking his key. They drag the unconscious Day upstairs and plead with Caroline again to let them leave the house. Outside in the daylight, Liston resumes his true age, comes to, and holds the agents at gunpoint...but his ill health overcomes him and he collapses dead. The door creaks shut behind them.
In the coda, Artie comes to at the camp, to find that he's been dreaming and the sheriff and Day, back in his age makeup and prison stripes, are still alive. The real-life party comes upon the house by daylight, the door creaks open, and they enter. The Rather Ambiguous End.
This was a strange one, which seems like it wanted to air about five weeks earlier.
_______
Get Smart
"Bronzefinger"
Originally aired December 3, 1966
Wiki said:
Max and 99 are preparing a surprise party for Agent 54 (Robert Patten) at Max's apartment when 54 arrives at the door, covered in metallic blue paint, and falls dead...but not before expressing his regret at having arrived early and spoiled the surprise. The Chief explains how 54 was investigating a KAOS art forgery ring at a museum to identify their master forger, known as Rembrandt Von Bronzefinger. With the help of museum director Van Cleff (Joseph A. Sirola), Max is placed among the painters who restore works--Emile (John Bliss), Wolfgang (Richard Karlan), and Victoria (Joan Patrick)--each of whom acts suspicious to him. Meanwhile, 99 is working as a tour guide and Agent 13 is hiding in the wall behind one of the paintings--disguised as a conquistador so he can stand still and pose as the painting when needed. Frndly's interruption comes while Max is questioning 13 for details about the night of the murder.
We come back to Max confronting Van Cleff about being Bronzefinger--he's been hiding a bronze thumb under one of his gloves. Max loses a duel of paint tube swords and is placed in a bronzing vat death trap with 99. They get out in the nick of time with the help off 99's razor ring, only to be attacked by Bronzefinger, who Max sends into the hot bronze-filled vat.
In the coda, Agent 13 is hiding in the Chief's wall safe, which he considers to be a "nice, soft office job".
_______
Overprotective and/or testing Jim.Did they have some particular reason for this or were they just bored after the long trip?
No, he stood back and watched with his double.So it was Pellargo that actually threw Jim through the window?
Yep.
The
INCOMPARABLE
Miss Lily Crabtree
IN
"THE NEW DAWN"
JEWEL THEATER
He might've needed to diversify his M.O.
Yes.
They didn't say.
Yes. I was surprised that they'd do a Russian roulette gag on a show like this, even if it was a fake.
Indeed! If Decades hasn't been using that wordplay in their ad spots, they should be.What a coincidence.
So, this week, we watched the finale of The Fugitive. The special guest star, who Kimball walks away arm and arm with at the end is the same special guest star who was in the first episode of The Invaders (also a QM production).
I kept expecting the lady to say, "It's all right, Dick! Everything's over now.." and then lift a hand to his cheek, pinky finger sticking out awkwardly, and the Invaders minor second motif blares...
BWAAA-errr.... BWWWWAAAAA-errrrr....
Is anyone else conversant enough with those two shows to find that hilarious?
I kept expecting the lady to say, "It's all right, Dick! Everything's over now.." and then lift a hand to his cheek, pinky finger sticking out awkwardly, and the Invaders minor second motif blares...
BWAAA-errr.... BWWWWAAAAA-errrrr....
Is anyone else conversant enough with those two shows to find that hilarious?
I remember both of these. Note Kermit's primitive feet.
This seems familiar, too, but I remember it being more elaborate.
I'm tellin' ya....
Talk about random. There must have been a clearance sale at the Haunting Store.
So if Caroline wanted them to clear Liston, why did she kill the sheriff and try to kill Jim?
There must be building codes in the Old West requiring all structures to have at least one working trap door and a subterranean room.
And Jim laughs at him and tells him it was the fleas that carried the plague to humans. Also, he'd need to have some actual plague to infect the rats, it's not something you can breed for.
He's lucky he didn't REM his eyeballs out with that one.
That's the second weird ambiguous ending they've had lately.
Production must have been running late. And no female guest star-- what's up with that?
Why did he have his thumb bronzed?
Why does he have a vat of molten bronze?
Why does 99 have a-- wait, never mind, that one makes sense.
Why does the Chief need an agent in his wall safe? This episode raises many questions.
"Lily Crabtree and the Shawshank Redemption." Doesn't seem to have quite the same ring to it.
He could have taunted Jim by calling him "Meathead."
"Don't try this at home, kids."
I'm sure MeTV would have done it. They're good at that stuff.
We are, and that would have been great.
_______
Really Big Post-55th Anniversary Viewing--and Loving It!
_______
The Ed Sullivan Show
Season 19, episode 13
Originally aired December 4, 1966
Performances listed on Metacritic:
_______
Get Smart
"Perils in a Pet Shop"
Originally aired December 10, 1966
Max and 99 tail and get into a firefight with sailor-garbed KAOS agent Kosovich (Johnny Seven), who's sneaking through the docks with the parrot. When Kosovich hears sirens, he tries to shoot the parrot, but is empty, so he flees instead. The only thing the parrot voluntarily says is "KAOS forever," but Max tries to interrogate it, then sweet-talk it. A lawyer named Creevley (Dick Wilson) shows up, claiming to represent an organization for the prevention of cruelty to birds and bearing a writ of habeas corpus. Max tails the parrot, who ends up in the hands of an agent who takes it to a pet shop. There's a good bit of business where Max and a newsstand vendor (Lennie Bremen) are trying to have separate conversations (Max via shoe, natch) in the same phone booth and getting their wires figuratively crossed.
At HQ, an identification computer determines that the pet shop owner is KAOS executive Melnik (Donald Murphy) before eating Max's jacket. Max, 99, and Fang stake out the pet shop from across the street, and question Agent 13, who's hiding in a coin-operated scale. We don't hear what he knows because of the Frndly interruption. When we return, the CONTROL agents are inside, having been caught by Melnik and Kosovich. Melnik demonstrates how the parrot memorizes tapes filled with KAOS plans, then leaves the agents to be disposed of. 99 feigns attraction to Kosovich as a ruse to get in close and disarm him of his submachinegun, then Max and Kosovich shoot each other with tranquilizer guns and have a climactic fistfight in slow motion before the Chief arrives with backup.
_______
Really Big Post-55th Anniversary Viewing--and Loving It!
_______
The Ed Sullivan Show
Season 19, episode 13
Originally aired December 4, 1966
Performances listed on Metacritic:
- Diana Ross and the Supremes sing "My Favorite Things" and a medley of hits ("Come See About Me," "Stop! In the Name of Love," "You Can't Hurry Love," "You Keep Me Hanging On" and "I Hear a Symphony")
- Gary Lewis and the Playboys - medley: "This Diamond Ring," "Green Grass," "She's Just My Style" & "Where Will the Words Come From"
- Gary Lewis - "One Last Kiss" (short song)
[These were shown on Best of...as I recall, it was when Gary was going into the Army and they brought a girl up onstage to kiss him during the last song, referencing Bye Bye Birdie.]
- Lainie Kazan - "What Now My Love"
- Robert Merrill and Jan Peerce (opera singers) - "La Forza Del Destino"
- Wayne And Shuster (comedy team)
- Red Buttons (actor-comedian) - stand up monologue
- Harlem Globetrotters (comic basketball stunts)
- Miss Mara (Spanish trapeze artist)
- The "Walking Happy" cast perform "Clog and Grog Dance" set in a saloon
_______
Get Smart
"Perils in a Pet Shop"
Originally aired December 10, 1966
Wiki said:
Max and 99 tail and get into a firefight with sailor-garbed KAOS agent Kosovich (Johnny Seven), who's sneaking through the docks with the parrot. When Kosovich hears sirens, he tries to shoot the parrot, but is empty, so he flees instead. The only thing the parrot voluntarily says is "KAOS forever," but Max tries to interrogate it, then sweet-talk it. A lawyer named Creevley (Dick Wilson) shows up, claiming to represent an organization for the prevention of cruelty to birds and bearing a writ of habeas corpus. Max tails the parrot, who ends up in the hands of an agent who takes it to a pet shop. There's a good bit of business where Max and a newsstand vendor (Lennie Bremen) are trying to have separate conversations (Max via shoe, natch) in the same phone booth and getting their wires figuratively crossed.
At HQ, an identification computer determines that the pet shop owner is KAOS executive Melnik (Donald Murphy) before eating Max's jacket. Max, 99, and Fang stake out the pet shop from across the street, and question Agent 13, who's hiding in a coin-operated scale. We don't hear what he knows because of the Frndly interruption. When we return, the CONTROL agents are inside, having been caught by Melnik and Kosovich. Melnik demonstrates how the parrot memorizes tapes filled with KAOS plans, then leaves the agents to be disposed of. 99 feigns attraction to Kosovich as a ruse to get in close and disarm him of his submachinegun, then Max and Kosovich shoot each other with tranquilizer guns and have a climactic fistfight in slow motion before the Chief arrives with backup.
_______
Speaking for myself, I've only seen bits of The Invaders in the background. At one point I had intended to include it in off-season 55th anniversary viewing, but things got messed up and I think the ship has sailed.
They did the "Java" sketch twice on the show, this time and a couple years later, which I covered as 50th anniversary business.I remember both of these. Note Kermit's primitive feet.
Keeping in mind that this was just Artie's dream...if she was responsible for the sheriff, I'd say that in both instances, her main concern was to protect her son. In Jim's case, it just proved to be a delay.
I was summarizing. He described how they used plague-carrying ants, I believe, to infect the rats.
The female guest was there in spirit...
Ask Frndly.
For bronzing stuff. Max made a crack about doing their baby shoes instead, natch.
It's Get Smart, for Christ's sake...you're thinking about it too hard.Why does the Chief need an agent in his wall safe? This episode raises many questions.
Last edited:
Let's just say it was mildly amusing.
...but if there's one thing that gets dicey about 60s/70s TV producers who developed a sort of repertory company is the all-too constant appearance by actors on their productions. Jack Webb was notorious for this, with performers such as Virginia Gregg, Art Balinger, and Stacy Harris (among others) appearing in his various series. There's something to be said about reliable performers, but the audience should never be able to say, "He was on (fill in producer's name) show last week!"
Tonight we're going to do some avant-garde/progressive rock. First up, Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band. I gotta say, not many people can pull off wearing underwear on their head while drumming.
Next up, King Crimson
King Crimson - Larks' Tongues in Aspic (1972) - YouTube
Definitely not 'I Talk To The Wind'.
Next up, King Crimson
King Crimson - Larks' Tongues in Aspic (1972) - YouTube
Definitely not 'I Talk To The Wind'.
I loved the Muppets back in the day. They're different now, because they're a property, but back then they were really a unique vision.
I saw this episode when they were showing them on MeTV what seems like not too long ago.
Yep, I remember that.
How could I forget this?
Whew. That parrot came this close to joining the choir invisible.
Another look forward into the world of Smart phones.
I think this is a plan more suited to Dr Loveless than KAOS.
I remember that.
Well, if Caroline was beaming information into Artie's dreaming brain, she wasn't doing a very good job. And it would be kind of weird if it was just a random premonition. Of course, it's kind of weird either way.
Hmm, okay. At least they kind of addressed it.
Not good enough. Wild Wild West needs a femme fatale or damsel in distress.
Un-Frndly!
It's kind of a hobby.
We'll find out this Fall with the premiere of America's Got Underwear On Their Heads.
_______
Really Wild Post-55th Anniversary Viewing
_______
The Ed Sullivan Show
Season 19, episode 14
Originally aired December 11, 1966
Performances listed on Metacritic:
"The Night of the Skulls"
Originally aired December 16, 1966
At a post-hunt party in the mansion of Senator Stephen Fenlow (Donald Woods), Jim picks a fight with Artie over a woman and, when Artie reaches into his jacket, shoots him. When it's found that Artie was grabbing a hanky, Secret Service head Col. James Richmond (Douglas Henderson's first of ten appearances in the role) tries to place Jim under arrest, but West dives out the window and Richmond fires at him as he flees.
Artie serves as the priest at his own funeral, waxing eloquent about himself. Jim shows up to talk to him and is spotted and attacked by attendees, escaping in the back of a hearse coach...where's he's gassed, waking up in an unlocked cell. He finds himself in an armory lair where a hooded and robed judge wearing a skull mask attempts to conduct a mock trial for West's act of murder, Jim's consul being a masked woman named Lorelei (Lisa Gaye). West makes a break for it only to fall into the obligatory trap door, which leads him back into his cell.
Artie secretly meets with Richmond about how it's all a scheme to sniff out the parties responsible for the disappearances of a dozen infamous murderers. Meanwhile, Jim manages to bust out of his cell and is shown a passage upstairs by Lorelei...which just leads to the courtroom, where Jim identifies the unmasked jurors as the murderers who disappeared--including the Baltimore Strangler, the Samurai (Sebastian Tom), the Axe Lady (Madame Spivy), Shanto the Beard, and Iron Hook Harper (Calvin Brown). Lorelei, who's actually the prosecutor, argues the case against West. Elsewhere, Artie is snooping around liveries and finds the hearse, only to be attacked by the hunchbacked driver, Tigo (Robert Herron)--happy to defend himself using force and trussing up the driver afterward.
The jury finds Jim guilty and he's set free, congratulated, and has a dinner thrown in his honor by his fellow murderers. The judge enters to declare that he has jobs for the three murderers who kill the others. The Axe Lady is quickly eliminated by Shanto. Artie arrives at the lair disguised as the hearse driver, sneaks around, and makes contact with an alert and defensive Jim...
After they compare notes, Jim is lured into a trap by the Samurai and defeats him in a sword duel, after which Lorelei--who unmasked after the trial--tells him that his assignment will be to kill the vice-president of the United States...Iron Hook having gotten the more prestigious target. But when the real Tigo shows up, Artie is un-mutton-chopped (again) and Jim is given the opportunity to kill him again. Jim fires to miss with his one bullet and he and Artie are imprisoned in a well.
In private with Lorelei, the ambitious Senator Fenlow removes his skull judge disguise. Back in the well, Artie constructs a launching platform for Jim using the bucket and some gunpowder concealed in his hump. Artie goes to warn the president, while Jim stays behind, successfully taking on Tigo and the surviving murderers.
While practicing his speech to declare himself president, Fenlow is visited by Artie, disguised as an assistant to the third intended victim, the secretary of state, to inform the senator of the tragic news that his plan was successful. Jim comes out of the wings--Artie having placed Fenlow's voice between scenes--and Fenlow is arrested while insisting that he's the president.
In the train coda, Artie is hosting Lorelei, who feigns having been coerced until Jim arrives with a constable to arrest her. When Artie's about to drink, Jim reveals that she's also known as the Peoria Poisoner.
_______
Really Wild Post-55th Anniversary Viewing
_______
The Ed Sullivan Show
Season 19, episode 14
Originally aired December 11, 1966
Performances listed on Metacritic:
- Mamas & the Papas - "Monday, Monday," "California Dreamin'" and "Words of Love"
- Harry James and his Orchestra - "Ciribirin" and "A Taste of Honey"
- Lana Cantrell sings "Let Yourself Go" and "Stay"
- On tape: Oberkirchen Children's Choir - sing a medley of Christmas songs
- Joan Rivers (stand-up routine)
- Morey Amsterdam (stand-up routine)
- David Frye (celebrity impressions)
- Topo Gigio (Italian mouse puppet) - talks to Ed about Japan
- Patricia McBride & Edward Villella (ballet dancers) - pas de deux from "Don Quixote"
- Audience bow: Sgt. Robert O'Malley, USMC (Medal of Honor recipient, Vietnam)
"The Night of the Skulls"
Originally aired December 16, 1966
Wiki said:
At a post-hunt party in the mansion of Senator Stephen Fenlow (Donald Woods), Jim picks a fight with Artie over a woman and, when Artie reaches into his jacket, shoots him. When it's found that Artie was grabbing a hanky, Secret Service head Col. James Richmond (Douglas Henderson's first of ten appearances in the role) tries to place Jim under arrest, but West dives out the window and Richmond fires at him as he flees.
Artie serves as the priest at his own funeral, waxing eloquent about himself. Jim shows up to talk to him and is spotted and attacked by attendees, escaping in the back of a hearse coach...where's he's gassed, waking up in an unlocked cell. He finds himself in an armory lair where a hooded and robed judge wearing a skull mask attempts to conduct a mock trial for West's act of murder, Jim's consul being a masked woman named Lorelei (Lisa Gaye). West makes a break for it only to fall into the obligatory trap door, which leads him back into his cell.
Artie secretly meets with Richmond about how it's all a scheme to sniff out the parties responsible for the disappearances of a dozen infamous murderers. Meanwhile, Jim manages to bust out of his cell and is shown a passage upstairs by Lorelei...which just leads to the courtroom, where Jim identifies the unmasked jurors as the murderers who disappeared--including the Baltimore Strangler, the Samurai (Sebastian Tom), the Axe Lady (Madame Spivy), Shanto the Beard, and Iron Hook Harper (Calvin Brown). Lorelei, who's actually the prosecutor, argues the case against West. Elsewhere, Artie is snooping around liveries and finds the hearse, only to be attacked by the hunchbacked driver, Tigo (Robert Herron)--happy to defend himself using force and trussing up the driver afterward.
The jury finds Jim guilty and he's set free, congratulated, and has a dinner thrown in his honor by his fellow murderers. The judge enters to declare that he has jobs for the three murderers who kill the others. The Axe Lady is quickly eliminated by Shanto. Artie arrives at the lair disguised as the hearse driver, sneaks around, and makes contact with an alert and defensive Jim...
Artie: You killed me once this week, isn't that enough?
After they compare notes, Jim is lured into a trap by the Samurai and defeats him in a sword duel, after which Lorelei--who unmasked after the trial--tells him that his assignment will be to kill the vice-president of the United States...Iron Hook having gotten the more prestigious target. But when the real Tigo shows up, Artie is un-mutton-chopped (again) and Jim is given the opportunity to kill him again. Jim fires to miss with his one bullet and he and Artie are imprisoned in a well.
In private with Lorelei, the ambitious Senator Fenlow removes his skull judge disguise. Back in the well, Artie constructs a launching platform for Jim using the bucket and some gunpowder concealed in his hump. Artie goes to warn the president, while Jim stays behind, successfully taking on Tigo and the surviving murderers.
While practicing his speech to declare himself president, Fenlow is visited by Artie, disguised as an assistant to the third intended victim, the secretary of state, to inform the senator of the tragic news that his plan was successful. Jim comes out of the wings--Artie having placed Fenlow's voice between scenes--and Fenlow is arrested while insisting that he's the president.
In the train coda, Artie is hosting Lorelei, who feigns having been coerced until Jim arrives with a constable to arrest her. When Artie's about to drink, Jim reveals that she's also known as the Peoria Poisoner.
_______
CONTROL had apprehended all of KAOS's carrier pigeons, you see...
It reminded me of the underwater Batfight, though I don't know which was first offhand.I remember that.
You're assuming that it was something other than an imaginative dream, which wasn't actually suggested in the episode. I think that a better ending would have been if waking Artie had dissuaded the others from going in the house.Well, if Caroline was beaming information into Artie's dreaming brain, she wasn't doing a very good job. And it would be kind of weird if it was just a random premonition. Of course, it's kind of weird either way.
Otherwise I can't complain about them, as they are giving me an option for watching and recording most of the Weigel channels that's much more affordable than cable. But those random, scene-interrupting breaks in GS are bizarre. I can only assume that Decades is running them with less commercial interruption, so Frndly feels the need to put their spots in randomly rather than over existing commercials as they normally do.Un-Frndly!
Last edited:
They're at their peak here.
Make up your mind, Lana Cantrell.
Nice. I don't think I've ever seen Morey Amsterdam doing stand up.
I like the transistor radio line.
Interesting. I don't think I remember a recurring SS boss.
You'd think a guy who made it to SS boss could at least match Jim's moves.
A dream come true for Artie.
Good to know the place is up to code.
Sounds like a bunch who would respond to a jury summons.
Artie hasn't been the same since he was killed.
Cute.
I think they've used this idea before, assuming that Jim has turned against everything he believed in just because he accidentally killed someone. Even the idea that serial killers would want to become hired assassins is quite a bit of a stretch.
He should booby trap those muttons.
A well? No more trap doors and dungeons?
I sense a special election coming up in that State.
I had a hunch he would do that.
Artie warns the president, who then calls the Secret Service, who then alerts the closest Secret Service agent, who is Artie. I can think of a more efficient process here.
I was going to say what about the Speaker of the House, but Judge Skull did say that he had three jobs.
Hmm.
It's not just an arms race, it's a wings race.
Well, they did find the mansion of Artie's dreams. Although I suppose he could have seen it on a previous trip.
_______
Really Wild Post-55th Anniversary Viewing--and Loving It!
_______
The Ed Sullivan Show
Season 19, episode 15
Originally aired December 18, 1966
Performances listed on Metacritic:
"The Night of the Infernal Machine"
Originally aired December 23, 1966
The episode opens with Jim riding up to the Hotel Denver, site of a convention of federal judges. Artie's on-site disguised as a pastry chef. The agents are there becuase they're concerned that a stolen crate of dynamite may be used against Judge M'Guigan (Ed Begley)--noteworthy for having put lots of anarchists away--whom they find playing billiards with Judge Vickerman (Jon Lormer). A server (Michael Pate, whose character is billed as Bledsoe) switches one of their balls while they're breaking for a drink. Vickerman is alone in the room when he strikes the ball, which blows him up real good.
As Jim inspects the rubble, he finds himself butting heads with Police Inspector Bulvon (Bill Zuckert)--a blowhard with no bomb experts on his force.Jim finds the fragments of the ball, the craftsmanship involved pointing him toward Zeno Baroda, who was recently pardoned by M'Guigan. After being attacked by Bledsoe, who gets away, Jim returns to M'Guigan, who's watching a quartet of showgirls demonstrating a routine involving three of them playing as a fife and drum band while the leader, Vashti (Elaine Dunn), dances on tables and a piano. Jim takes interest in a mantle clock that could have a bomb in it (whether or not it does is ambiguous, but Jim tosses it in a bucket of water, alarming Bulvon and his men) and takes it around to clock repairmen, looking for Baroda--against the protests of M'Guigan, who insists that the man has paid his debt to society.
While a champagne crate is delivered to the hotel kitchen that turns out to contain the missing dynamite, Jim calls on Baroda (Will Kuluva) posing as a potential customer who wants to kill his wife's lover. Baroda isn't interested, having sniffed out Jim as an investigator and indicating that he only blows people up for social causes. Back outside the hotel, Jim spots, tackles, and tries to interrogate Bledsoe, but the man is shot from an unknown location before he can talk. Inside, Artie sees Baroda going upstairs and is knocked out in the hall when he goes up to warn M'Guigan. Baroda then shouts a threat to M'Guigan, fires several rounds into his door, and leaves behind a wind-up bear, heading it in Artie's direction. Artie comes to in time to toss it out the window before it explodes. After this, M'Guigan wants to move to a safer locale, but is reluctant to stay on the train. Vashti arrives bearing a picnic lunch and lures him away, which Jim allows to happen in order to bait the bomber. Back at the hotel, Baroda sneaks up on Bulvon pointing a gun and insists that the inspector place him under arrest.
Bulvon boasts to West of the catch handed to him on a silver platter, but Jim suspects that Baroda is establishing an alibi. Then Vashti brings him to the kitchen, claiming that Artie's been hurt, but it turns out that the chef-garbed man on the ground is M'Guigan, who knocks Jim out and puts him in a meat locker where Artie's tied up. M'Guigan replaces the torch of a person-sized cake topper he's had Artie make of that newfangled gift statue from France that's in the works, recruiting Vashti to light it for him while he speaks at the banquet.
M'Guigann proceeds to the hall and introduces Vashti and her girls, who do their routine. Jim deduces that Baroda has been strongarmed into making his bombs for M'Guigan, who intends to knock off his rivals for a Supreme Court seat. The agents get to work on blowing the door with gunpowder from Jim's ammo belt while M'Guigan has the cake wheeled out and makes an excuse to leave while Vashti lights the torch from a swinging trapeze, then makes her own escape in the wings. After the agents free themselves, Artie nabs Vashti, but M'Guigan makes a break for it. After putting out the torch from the trapeze with a seltzer bottle, Jim pursues M'Guigan, who circles back to the hall to take shots at the other judges and is tackled by West.
This one seems unusual in that Artie maintained the same identity for the entire story. There's a comic subplot of him engaging in a heated rivalry with the head chef, Cefalu (Vito Scotti).
Contributing to the holiday theme:
_______
Get Smart
"The Whole Tooth and..."
Originally aired December 24, 1966
When Max insists on the using the Cone of Silence for a frivolous reason, he finds that he can't raise it because the controls are outside. Just as Max is slipping out of his end, an alert sounds because KAOS has sabotaged a nuclear reactor, and Max leaves the Chief trapped inside.
Back on the job after the Chief has been freed, Max is assigned to deliver microfilm plans for fixing the reactor in a tooth cap. (Does the government really need an inept spy agency to do this sort of work?) Finding that he's being tailed at a Chicago train station, Max slips off the cap and puts it in the mouth of a snoring traveler (Robert Strauss), only to find when he gets up to board his train that he's a convict in transit named Franco, handcuffed to a plainclothes officer. Working under a 72-hour deadline, Max decides for some reason that his best option is to get arrested and sentenced to the state pen. His first couple of attempts backfire, and when he's finally brought into court for defying an officer and is about to be let go with a warning, he has to engage in increasingly bad behavior with the judge (Howard Wendell), eventually succeeding with attempted bribery.
Once on the inside, Max indulges in his Cagney impersonation and 99 gives him a cake with dental instruments baked into it. Max apparently gets assigned to Franco's cell by assaulting a guard, and just as Smart is introducing himself, we get the Frndly interruption. We come back to Franco snoring and Max getting to work with his instruments, but Franco wakes up and reveals that he murdered his dentist. Max nevertheless manages to get the cap because he learns that it was affixed to a false set that's in a glass, and slips it to 99 during a visit.
In the coda, Max has been inside for six weeks and counting because the Chief is having trouble getting him out...and isn't sure of Max's future with CONTROL given his record.
_______
We have gathered here to pay final tribute and bid our last farewell to one who must be classed as a prince among men. Who was this Artemus Gordon, who did bestride the world of his friends like a veritable colossus?
Really Wild Post-55th Anniversary Viewing--and Loving It!
_______
The Ed Sullivan Show
Season 19, episode 15
Originally aired December 18, 1966
Performances listed on Metacritic:
- Diahann Carroll sings "Am I Blue?"
- Count Basie and his Orchestra perform "Jingle Bells"
- Tony Sandler and Ralph Young perform a medley of Christmas songs
- On film: Cam Ranh Choraleers (enlisted men and women serving in Vietnam) sing Christmas songs
[Those are F-4 Phantoms they're singing in front of.]
- Little Angels of Korea (Korean girl band and dancers)
- Michael Smuin and Paula Tracy (dancers from the American Ballet Theater)
- Peter Gennaro (dressed as Santa Claus) does a Christmas dance routine with 8 little girls
- Totie Fields (comedian)
- London Lee (comedian)
- Rickie Layne and Velvel (ventriloquist act)
- The Martin Brothers (comic jugglers) - includes blindfolded man juggling flaming torches
- Cameos: Dick Tiger (boxer) and Ted Owens (basketball coach)
"The Night of the Infernal Machine"
Originally aired December 23, 1966
Wiki said:
The episode opens with Jim riding up to the Hotel Denver, site of a convention of federal judges. Artie's on-site disguised as a pastry chef. The agents are there becuase they're concerned that a stolen crate of dynamite may be used against Judge M'Guigan (Ed Begley)--noteworthy for having put lots of anarchists away--whom they find playing billiards with Judge Vickerman (Jon Lormer). A server (Michael Pate, whose character is billed as Bledsoe) switches one of their balls while they're breaking for a drink. Vickerman is alone in the room when he strikes the ball, which blows him up real good.
As Jim inspects the rubble, he finds himself butting heads with Police Inspector Bulvon (Bill Zuckert)--a blowhard with no bomb experts on his force.Jim finds the fragments of the ball, the craftsmanship involved pointing him toward Zeno Baroda, who was recently pardoned by M'Guigan. After being attacked by Bledsoe, who gets away, Jim returns to M'Guigan, who's watching a quartet of showgirls demonstrating a routine involving three of them playing as a fife and drum band while the leader, Vashti (Elaine Dunn), dances on tables and a piano. Jim takes interest in a mantle clock that could have a bomb in it (whether or not it does is ambiguous, but Jim tosses it in a bucket of water, alarming Bulvon and his men) and takes it around to clock repairmen, looking for Baroda--against the protests of M'Guigan, who insists that the man has paid his debt to society.
While a champagne crate is delivered to the hotel kitchen that turns out to contain the missing dynamite, Jim calls on Baroda (Will Kuluva) posing as a potential customer who wants to kill his wife's lover. Baroda isn't interested, having sniffed out Jim as an investigator and indicating that he only blows people up for social causes. Back outside the hotel, Jim spots, tackles, and tries to interrogate Bledsoe, but the man is shot from an unknown location before he can talk. Inside, Artie sees Baroda going upstairs and is knocked out in the hall when he goes up to warn M'Guigan. Baroda then shouts a threat to M'Guigan, fires several rounds into his door, and leaves behind a wind-up bear, heading it in Artie's direction. Artie comes to in time to toss it out the window before it explodes. After this, M'Guigan wants to move to a safer locale, but is reluctant to stay on the train. Vashti arrives bearing a picnic lunch and lures him away, which Jim allows to happen in order to bait the bomber. Back at the hotel, Baroda sneaks up on Bulvon pointing a gun and insists that the inspector place him under arrest.
Bulvon boasts to West of the catch handed to him on a silver platter, but Jim suspects that Baroda is establishing an alibi. Then Vashti brings him to the kitchen, claiming that Artie's been hurt, but it turns out that the chef-garbed man on the ground is M'Guigan, who knocks Jim out and puts him in a meat locker where Artie's tied up. M'Guigan replaces the torch of a person-sized cake topper he's had Artie make of that newfangled gift statue from France that's in the works, recruiting Vashti to light it for him while he speaks at the banquet.
M'Guigann proceeds to the hall and introduces Vashti and her girls, who do their routine. Jim deduces that Baroda has been strongarmed into making his bombs for M'Guigan, who intends to knock off his rivals for a Supreme Court seat. The agents get to work on blowing the door with gunpowder from Jim's ammo belt while M'Guigan has the cake wheeled out and makes an excuse to leave while Vashti lights the torch from a swinging trapeze, then makes her own escape in the wings. After the agents free themselves, Artie nabs Vashti, but M'Guigan makes a break for it. After putting out the torch from the trapeze with a seltzer bottle, Jim pursues M'Guigan, who circles back to the hall to take shots at the other judges and is tackled by West.
This one seems unusual in that Artie maintained the same identity for the entire story. There's a comic subplot of him engaging in a heated rivalry with the head chef, Cefalu (Vito Scotti).
Contributing to the holiday theme:
_______
Get Smart
"The Whole Tooth and..."
Originally aired December 24, 1966
Wiki said:
When Max insists on the using the Cone of Silence for a frivolous reason, he finds that he can't raise it because the controls are outside. Just as Max is slipping out of his end, an alert sounds because KAOS has sabotaged a nuclear reactor, and Max leaves the Chief trapped inside.
Back on the job after the Chief has been freed, Max is assigned to deliver microfilm plans for fixing the reactor in a tooth cap. (Does the government really need an inept spy agency to do this sort of work?) Finding that he's being tailed at a Chicago train station, Max slips off the cap and puts it in the mouth of a snoring traveler (Robert Strauss), only to find when he gets up to board his train that he's a convict in transit named Franco, handcuffed to a plainclothes officer. Working under a 72-hour deadline, Max decides for some reason that his best option is to get arrested and sentenced to the state pen. His first couple of attempts backfire, and when he's finally brought into court for defying an officer and is about to be let go with a warning, he has to engage in increasingly bad behavior with the judge (Howard Wendell), eventually succeeding with attempted bribery.
Once on the inside, Max indulges in his Cagney impersonation and 99 gives him a cake with dental instruments baked into it. Max apparently gets assigned to Franco's cell by assaulting a guard, and just as Smart is introducing himself, we get the Frndly interruption. We come back to Franco snoring and Max getting to work with his instruments, but Franco wakes up and reveals that he murdered his dentist. Max nevertheless manages to get the cap because he learns that it was affixed to a false set that's in a glass, and slips it to 99 during a visit.
In the coda, Max has been inside for six weeks and counting because the Chief is having trouble getting him out...and isn't sure of Max's future with CONTROL given his record.
_______
They should be, they're canned.
Woulda been nicer if they'd had a clip.
He was definitely popping up in later episodes that I've already reviewed.
It was a ruse; he was a past-his-prime desk jockey; and if the Secret Service was a new agency in this era, he was probably assigned to the position, rather than working his way up through the ranks.
He's in heaven...A dream come true for Artie.
We have gathered here to pay final tribute and bid our last farewell to one who must be classed as a prince among men. Who was this Artemus Gordon, who did bestride the world of his friends like a veritable colossus?
When he's wearing them on his face?
True.
Last edited:
The woman on the left in the screenshot looks a little like Pat Benatar.