The blonde girl with the high number (partially obscured on her badge) who dresses as Bo-Peep and serves as the prosecutor at the trial, in an earlier scene describes the Village's rules as being "of the people, by the people, for the people." It's catchy enough. It achieved the same chart position as "The Oogum Boogum Song," so the hobgoblin that finds my cranium a little cramped insisted that I get it. I love this one. It's one of my favorites by him just for its ethereal sound. As evidenced by its two weeks at the top of the charts...though it'll have to wait in line for that behind the Monkees and a certain group whose recent groundbreaking album they were obviously riffing on in coming up with that song. Said group's next chart-topping album and chart-topping single debut next week. ETA: I should add that John Fred & His Playboy Band are true one-hit wonders. When this song leaves the chart, we won't be hearing any more from them...nothing else they did even made it into the Top 50. I think that the format of Seasons 1 and 2 could easily have gotten a two-parter out of the beach episode, just playing out the story beats that they already had in a less rushed manner.
Not while Semple was on the show, as his series development / guidance was not to make Batman a parody. That was not the series, particularly in its first season, or the movie (which he also wrote / aided in developing). He had a clear understanding that Batman was not be a walking butt of a joke, but after his departure, Dozier lost the plot, so to speak, and gave into nonsense like surfing, hatching giant dinosaur eggs, flying saucers, giant snow-cones, etc., and of course, trying to shoehorn as many of his celebrity friends into the series as possible..
Okay, I'm not sure what that was about. I guess the phrase has just become a part of Western Civilization. He excelled at ethereal. Yeah, I wouldn't have been able to name who did it. I wonder if their other stuff was any good.
12 O'Clock High "The Hero" Originally aired May 7, 1965 I guess H&I really is dead-set against airing two-parters over different weeks. In this case, they skipped a two-part story called "P.O.W." entirely...I can only imagine because they air this show once a week, so there's no option to group the episodes together. Viewers in 1965 didn't have a problem watching it on April 23 and 30, but whatever. "The Hero" is a story we've seen in other shows...the older, behind-the-times warrior who's become a liability. In the context of this show, it strikes a decent balance of semi-anthology and mission of the week, focusing on Savage's personal connection to Whitmore's character, a beloved old mentor whom he wants to give every chance, but finds he has to get tough with. In this case, "Pappy" goes out in a blaze of glory, doing a successful (if unconvincingly portrayed) solo suicide run on a vital target before he can be put out to pasture. Unfortunate sign o' the times: An archaic usage of a slur that we're more familiar with in a post-Korean War context, here apparently referring to people in South America...and nobody bats an eyelash at its casual use over drinks. And so ends Season 1 of 12 O'Clock High...and with it, General Savage's command of the 918th. I like Paul Burke, but I'll miss Robert Lansing's glowering presence. _______ 51st Anniversary Viewing _______ The Monkees "Here Come the Monkees" Originally aired November 14, 1966 The IMDb description says their gig is at the Riverdale Country Club, though I heard "Riviera"...somebody must have been getting their made-for-TV '60s bands confused.... "I Wanna Be Free" Mike throwing a dart into a poster of the Beatles (hitting Ringo)--yeah, I caught that...! "Let’s Dance On" This one definitely had a slightly different vibe to it than the regular episodes, in addition to the obvious difference in film quality. A different flavor of frenetic? _______ The Rat Patrol "The Moment of Truce Raid" Originally aired November 14, 1966 Voiceover narration again, at the beginning and in the climax...the former served to give some story set-up exposition, but the latter was unnecessary...they could have given a line to the same effect to any of the speaking characters. This one plays out the enemies being forced to work together longer than "The Chain of Death Raid," but the closest we get to any meaningful interaction between enemies is Hitch sharing his bubblegum with one of the German soldiers and teaching him to blow bubbles. Guesting Marc Lawrence, whom I know mainly from playing a couple of different gangster characters in Diamonds Are Forever and The Man with the Golden Gun. He also guested in episodes of TNG and DS9 (the latter playing to type, in "Badda-Bing, Badda-Bang")--IMDb says that he was the earliest born actor to appear in either show. Here he plays an American-educated Arab working with the Germans. _______ "What's in a Name?" Originally aired November 17, 1966 Yes, it's Recycled Pilots Week! This is only partly recycled from the pilot. The original version (which I vaguely recall seeing awhile back on Me or Decades) had substantial differences, including different actors playing her parents and Ted Bessell playing her agent, Donald Blue Sky. Ann's apartment has a check-in desk like a hotel, with a man stopping strangers from going up...I don't recall seeing that in other episodes. This one has actual location shooting of Ann walking the streets of NYC. It was likely from the same shoot as the Season 1 credits--one of the shots in the closing credits has her wearing the same outfit as in this episode. Don is still Donald Hollinger in this version, but him saying that he started the whole name change thing may be an artifact of the original pilot, since he didn't--that was still her agent in this version, Schell's character Harvey. Don did suggest the name that she picked, Marie Brewster. "Oh, Harvey" count: 4 "Oh, Donald" count: 0 "Oh, Daddy" count: 3 (and throw in 2 "Oh, Pop"s) _______
Was the girl named Betty or Veronica? Nothing special here. Doesn't really seem to have the Monkees sound, unless I'm imagining that because I know this is the pilot. That's kind of funny, but I hate it when bands (or anyone) feel like they must deride the competition. This is also kind of generic. Not frenetic enough. Or surreal enough. More like home movies. Interesting. I love seeing the original pilots of shows. It's like visiting an alternate universe. Maybe she lives at the Susan B Anthony Hotel for Women.
Exposed to more of their music via the show, I'm having a hard time trying to wrap my head around what the Monkees' sound is. It doesn't come together as a whole for me. Speaking of made-for-TV bands...I'm surprised that there doesn't seem to be a thread about David Cassidy (1950-2017)... "I Think I Love You," The Partridge Family (Charted Oct. 10, 1970; #1 US the weeks of Nov. 21 through Dec. 5, 1970; #8 AC; #18 UK)
During the show, yes, they struggled to assert their own musical identity while their producer pushed them to keep doing the prepackaged pop music. It was later on, once they broke free of that producer, that they began to really develop their own sound. They broke apart not long after that, but eventually reunited decades later and had something of a career revival. So if you want to know what their sound is, focus on the post-series stuff like Head or their revival era. As far as the series itself is concerned, I'd go with the obvious answer: focus on the songs written by Mike or the other Monkees themselves, as opposed to the more generic songs by other writers.
Well, the more creative and quirky lyrics are part of it. I'm not really a music guy, so it's hard to describe that part of it, but there's also a recognizable twang to the guitar and beat to the drum that seems to underlie their best stuff. This is actually a great song, although it seems to get mocked a lot for some reason.
My recent musical interests have been casting a broad net over the rock/pop/soul of the era, rather than delving deeply into any one act's catalog. But from what I hear on the show...I like the singles better, I'm afraid. I never had a problem hearing the band's sound as represented there...it's the non-single material that muddies the distinction for me...it's like they're (at least) two different bands. _______ I'd meant to do this in sync with 51st Anniversary Viewing, but realized that I'd already passed the date...so, Vaguely Patriotic-Themed Thanksgiving Day Special. Based on their appearance in... Batman "Hizzonner the Penguin" Originally aired November 2, 1966 (Covered in this post over in the Other Thread) ...a contemporaneous career retrospective of Paul Revere & the Raiders. As a casual oldies radio listener, I'd always assumed that they named themselves as a response to the British Invasion...but it was just a (perhaps fortuitous) coincidence, as they'd been recording under that name at least as far back as 1960. Already regulars on several music shows of the era, their string of hits at the point that they appeared on Batman included: "Just Like Me" (Charted Dec. 4, 1965; #11 US) "Kicks" (Charted Mar. 19, 1966; #4 US; #400 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time) "Hungry" (Charted June 18, 1966; #6 US) "The Great Airplane Strike" (Charted Oct. 1, 1966; #20 US) In contrast to the more prominently featured Lesley Gore and Chad & Jeremy, they were still in their hitmaking prime when they appeared on the show, with another Top-5er right around the corner... "Good Thing" (Charted Dec. 3, 1966; #4 US) Their hits following that have, I believe, been covered in this thread up to the 50th anniversary point. 50 years ago today, they still have a few Top 20's ahead of them in the remainder of the decade...though the group's biggest single success will come in the early years of the next decade, when the rebilled Raiders top the charts with "Indian Reservation (The Lament of the Cherokee Reservation Indian)" (Charted Apr. 10, 1971; #1 US the week of July 24, 1971; #11 AC)...though it will also be their swan song in the Top 20. _______ ETA: Dammit, it feels like Saturday. I wanna do my 50 Years Ago This Week post, but it's two days early! Don't know if there's any ongoing interest here, but here are my other weekly rotating playlists (yeah, I added another one) for the current week (not the upcoming one): 55 Years Ago This Week 51 Years Ago This Week My current plan is to keep going forward with the 50 and 55 years ago, while moving the current 51 years ago back another year. So, roughly: Currently covering music from 1962-63, 1966-67, and 1967-68. Next year, while watching the 1968-1969 TV season, would be covering music from 1963-64, 1965-66, and 1968-1969. 1969-1970 TV season would be covering music from 1964-65 and 1969-70, and maybe moving back to 1961-62. So by the last TV season year of the 1960s and within a year of the 50th anniversary of the end of the decade, I'll have covered the bulk of the decade...all but less than the first two years...in week-by-week detail.
I would agree with that. But, interestingly, they reference "Love Me Do" in the first song posted. This is a really good one. I love this song whoever does it. The Monkees covered it, too. I don't think I've heard this one before. It's pretty good. This is odd. It sounds like another band, but I can't quite put my finger on it. Not as good as their other stuff. Just kind of a random song. I find it all interesting. Compile and publish!
_______ 51st Anniversary Viewing _______ The Monkees "Monkees à la Carte" Originally aired November 21, 1966 Is it just me, or is Davy doing a sort of pointy Trek sideburn thing? It's probably just a coincidence, since this was also Trek's first season. "(I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone" I recognized Dort Clark as having played another police type in Season 2's "The Picture Frame"...looks like he's got one more appearance in a similar role. In one scene, you can see what looks like a zipper down the back of Micky's gangster suit. "She" _______ And so we hit the Great Monkees Gap of Season 1. They'll be back for more 51st Anniversary Viewing in February. Meanwhile, Season 2 Monkees should be syncing up with the regular 50th Anniversary Viewing schedule soon...it would have happened in the coming week, but Antenna's All in the Family marathon this weekend is delaying it a bit. Alas, 50th Anniversary Monkees will be tag-teaming with 50th Anniversary Rat Patrol, as I'm nearly through the Season 2 episodes that I recorded from that Decades Daily Binge, and H&I's two episodes a week are still in Season 1. I haven't crunched the numbers, but I imagine at this rate, by the time they get to the point in Season 2 that I'm leaving off, those will be post-season catch-up viewing (if you can "catch up" with a show that's been canceled by that point). But I've got a solid run of Season 1 episodes for the 51st Anniversary Viewing.... _______ The Rat Patrol "The Deadly Double Raid" Originally aired November 21, 1966 The show's economy of storytelling and casting makes this one a bit nonsensical. When Moffitt and Tully have to improvise and fish for information from one of the other prisoners, they do so rather blatantly, making an announcement to the whole POW population during daily exercise. Then it turns out that the two guys who claim to have the information are the same two that they first talked to when they got there (our only speaking guests). And the POW camp premise isn't given any room to breathe...e.g., there's no commandant character in evidence. I think they easily could have gotten a two-parter out of this and fleshed out the story a bit. A vague FDR reference, but I'll take it. Dietrich is not in this episode. _______ The Fugitive "Nobody Loses All the Time" Originally aired November 22, 1966 Featuring Phillip Pine (Colonel Green, "The Savage Curtain") as a guest police lieutenant trying to trap Kimble, though Gerard is also in the episode. This series seems to like contrived situations--This time, Johnson just happens to be a bystander shown in a TV newscast that Kimble sees. Kimble is put in a conundrum when Johnson's ladyfriend gets hit by a car as Johnson flees from Kimble, so he stays with her and accompanies her to the hospital, serving as her not-so-undercover doctor while evading questions from the police. And it's a bit contrived again that the hospital staff lets him treat her without credentials...though they attempt to lampshade it by having the hospital's administrative chief trying to learn more about Kimble with interest in hiring him. Tibbett is conflicted about snitching on Kimble because he helped her, but she does and he's back on the run by Act III...trying to make the police think that he's fled town, but Gerard sniffs out Johnson's involvement and anticipates Kimble's return to the hospital. Gerard's scenes with the Pine's character again raise the question of what sort of pull Gerard has with local authorities in his search for Kimble. I didn't catch where this one is supposed to take place...I'm pretty sure it's L.A., but L.A. is in the habit of pretending to be other places on vintage TV. Kimble's Fugitive Way with Women is in play in Act IV, as a nurse that he befriended earlier in the episode is willing to defy the local law to help him. As is Tibbett, though she won't help Kimble find Johnson. By the epilogue, he's back on the run with only the clothes on his back. An effectively tense episode, putting Kimble in many a tight spot. _______ "Soap Gets in Your Eyes" Originally aired November 24, 1966 We have the novelty here of Ann being referred to as "That Girl" while playing another role in the soap opera. Nice of her new gig to accommodate her intro! This is the first time that Ann (and we) meet Donald's parents. Take note for this week's 50th Anniversary episode. Donald's mom is just as obnoxious a potential in-law character as Ann's dad--She could be Lou Marie in drag. The first time she meets Ann, she's going out of her way to get her son up to date on all of his old high school girlfriends. Evidently Mabel Albertson specialized in playing the difficult-to-please mother-in-law type...perhaps most noteworthily, at the time she already had a recurring role as Samantha's mother-in-law in Bewitched. Mrs. Hollinger gets her lesson in distinguishing actors from their characters when the good-guy doctor that she worships turns out to be a lush IRL. Given how prudish network TV still was about some things in the era, I'm a little surprised that they casually show Ann changing in and out of dresses...granted, she's wearing a slip that covers just as much, but I have to imagine that would have been considered too risque not much earlier, when married couples had to sleep in separate beds and whatnot. I also have to question how accurate the depiction of the soap opera would have been to actual soaps of the time, with its organ music and "next episode" announcements. Neither was in evidence in Dark Shadows. In the coda they set up that Ann's character is getting killed off. However brief her gig was, we'll see if they keep treating future jobs as her first big break now that she's been on a TV show. If we were to look for more That Girl drinking game rules, we could drink every time she mentions that she's from Brewster. "Oh, Donald" count: 2 _______ Selections from Billboard's Hot 100 for 51 years ago in the coming week: _______ Agreed. Will that be popping up on the show? I was also less familiar with this one when I got it. I'm not sure if you're serious, but I can think of a number of reasons not to. _______ Watching tonight's 50th anniversary Tarzan, I realized that I've been neglecting a music artist who's already appeared on a couple of shows. Would anybody want to talk my hobgoblin out of a post dedicated to Ethel Merman...? _______
This is a good one. I'd say one of their lesser classics. Hmm. Not bad, I guess, but needs work. He just acts like he belongs there. He's got that gravitas. Those are more like movie serial tropes. Sounds like they were making fun. I have a feeling it post-dated the show. I remember it from the Monkees anthology that came out in the 80s. Semi serious. Self-publishing is a breeze these days, and you've done a ton of research and come up with a lot of interesting trivia. I do think it would make a good format for a book. What are your reasons for not doing it? Oh, give Ethel the spotlight.
Organ music and voiceover announcements are not movie serial tropes. Movie serials used stock orchestral music and onscreen text cards or crawls (the format that Star Wars imitated). Organs and voiceovers were the stuff of live radio serials. Remember, the soap opera format got its start on radio, so that's where its cliches were established. Early TV shows tended to adopt radio tropes directly, but Dark Shadows started in 1966, late enough in the game that TV soaps would've developed their own distinct approach by then. In fact, I get the impression that DS helped establish a new vocabulary for TV soaps, e.g. having a richer musical score than previous shows.
_______ 50th Anniversary Viewing _______ The Ed Sullivan Show Season 20, episode 11 Originally aired November 19, 1967 Taking things a bit further than was represented on The Best of the Ed Sullivan Show From the end of a Best of episode that took most of its material from April 28, 1968, I got one odd bit of business from November 19, 1967... "Don't Look Back," The Temptations (Charted Dec. 18, 1965; #83 US; #15 R&B) I wasn't familiar with this song...it seems it was the separately charting B-side of their 1965 hit "My Baby" (Charted Oct. 23, 1965; #13 US; #4 R&B; not to be confused with "Since I Lost My Baby," another Top 20 single from the same year and album). But this was just one performance culled from a much more interesting original episode...one prominently featuring both the Supremes and the Temptations, performing individually and together...which included covering each other's hits! http://www.edsullivan.com/the-supremes-the-temptations-on-the-ed-sullivan-show/ It seems that each group has its own "Best of" disc in the home video releases, which might have something to do with why this episode isn't more strongly represented in the general Best of package. (Having been through what appears to be the entire Decades Best of package, this appears to also be the case for other prominent acts who have their own dedicated discs, e.g., the Beatles and the Stones.) Thanks to various YouTube contributors, I've been able to pull together the other Supremes and Temptations performances from this episode. "In and Out of Love," Diana Ross & the Supremes (the video that I posted the week of the song's chart debut, repeated here for convenience) "Hello Young Lovers," The Temptations ("Autumn Leaves" is from Sept. 28, 1969; certainly an auspicious Autumn for me!) "Greensleeves / Thou Swell," Diana Ross & The Supremes And the main event: Also appearing in the original episode according to tv.com: The Kessler Twins Fernando Pasqualone (trumpet player) Flip Wilson Lewis & Christy (comedy team) Ivan & Astor (dance team) Audience bows: George Hamilton, William E. Galbraith A film clip of Rex Harrison singing "Talk to the Animals"from the movie Dr. Doolittle. _______ Mission: Impossible "The Council: Part I" Originally aired November 19, 1967 I take it this is a preview of what the IMF dedicates itself to in later seasons? So back to the right time, but now the wrong medium. And is this the first time that a record self-destructed in X seconds, as opposed to an interval after the seal was broken, or when the needle reached the run-out groove? And I think we've got some new pictures of the usual suspects in the portfolio. This story's guest agent is a plastic surgeon...whose role in this half of the mission is to resuscitate a mobster (played by Nicholas Colasanto, a.k.a. Coach from Cheers) whom they dig up from a shallow grave...? Here our set-up episode is largely dedicated to Rollin crafting his imitation and mask of the mobster chief, Frank Wayne--played by Paul Stevens, who looks a lot like, and whose voice is dubbed by, Landau--and pulling off the switcheroo. I'm intrigued, but I'll have to see how all this comes together in Part II. This half felt more methodical than blatantly padded. Also guesting Vic Perrin as a mob lawyer. _______ The Man from U.N.C.L.E. "The Survival School Affair" Originally aired November 20, 1967 Open Channel David Goes Solo Not a bad installment as TMFU goes. The survival school was an interesting setting, and as OTT guest characters go, Charles McGraw as Cutter, the school's commandant, was kind of endearing. The scene in which Cutter briefs Illya while they crawl under machine gun fire was colorful and set up the episode's resolution. Guesting Chris Robinson, a main credits regular as Sgt. Komansky in Seasons 2 and 3 of 12 O'Clock High. I saw his romance with the female guest, Susan Odin, coming based on Cutter's descriptions. Cringey sign o' the times: Odin's character decides in the end that she'd rather be a woman than an agent. _______ The Rat Patrol "The Hide and Go Seek Raid" Originally aired November 20, 1967 Still more commando raiding by sea. And given the setting, it's pretty contrived that Dietrich is involved on the German end of this affair, however small his role. It's quite an accomplishment to make a half-hour episode feel padded. This one felt like it had maybe 10 minutes' worth of mission stretched out to fill the time. Guesting Alan Caillou (Jason Flood in early episodes of Tarzan) as the British general. _______ Batman "The Londinium Larcenies" Originally aired November 23, 1967 Dick in a Beatle wig seems a little dated for 1967, but it's still a cute nod to recent times. A little conveeeeenient how all of the regular cast go to Londinium, and they have the same sets there...and a little too conspicuous that Bruce and Dick are going...and convenient again how Batgirl just happened to be hanging around in the right bushes for the Batfight. I have to agree with an assertion that @TREK_GOD_1 made a couple years back...I think that Lyn Peters had main villain potential, had they wanted to go there...or at least could have featured more prominently as a co-villain rather than as a supporting player under a pair of co-villains. She had presence in her scenes. And here's an interesting "It's a small TV world" factoid--One of her husbands was Paul Burke! _______ Ironside "The Man Who Believed" Originally aired November 23, 1967 Guest starring future Mrs. Kotter Marcia Strassman as the folk singer, Samantha Dain, whose signature trait is that she performed barefoot. She only appears in the episode as a poster / life-size standup and a voice on tape (talking and singing). The one song that they played at multiple points in the episode was generally decent, but the singing...wasn't that good. (This was another Oliver Nelson score. It looks like he's credited for 69 episodes of the series.) The story gives Ironside a connection to this week's victim by establishing that she was one of many people who wrote him a letter when he was handicapped...one that specifically indicated that she wasn't the suicidal type. In one scene, Team Ironside uses a scale model of part of the Golden Gate Bridge to recreate the scene of the alleged suicide / suspected murder. This episode is the second time I've noticed "psychedelic" coming up as a buzzword in one of the 50th anniversary shows...the first time was a Monkees episode from earlier this season. The array of suspects wasn't quite as blatantly just there to be an array of suspects in this one...they seemed more organic to the story. And there's a fake resolution to the investigation to keep things fresh. _______ "Thanksgiving Comes But Once a Year, Thankfully" Originally aired November 23, 1967 I guess it's now officially the holiday season in TV Land 50 years ago. This episode is noteworthy as the first time that Ann and Donald's parents meet each other. The basic premise--having to make an absurdly convoluted Thanksgiving dinner that includes everyone's traditional dishes--is similar to something that Friends did around 30 years later. I vaguely recall Monica having to make at least three types of mashed potatoes alone. Here we get some colorful interservice rivalry between Mr. Marie (Air Corps) and Mr. Hollinger (infantry); and an incident that involves the fire department being called in. It seemed questionable to me for Donald's parents to fly in from St. Louis on a few days' notice...and that was the compromise for not having to spend Thanksgiving with either specific set of parents, as Donald was trying to get Ann to go to St. Louis on the same amount of notice. These spur-of-the-moment travel plans are brought to us by a character who can only afford to eat at hamburger and hot dog joints when the story calls for it. I was watching with somebody this time, so I wasn't taking notes. There were at least a couple of "Oh, Daddy"'s and at least one "Oh, Donald" from Ann, with an additional one from Mrs. Hollinger, IIRC. _______ Tarzan "Mountains of the Moon: Part 1" Originally aired November 24, 1967 Written by Jackson Gillis. Miss Ethel Merman is now doing the rounds on Tarzan, as the Special Guest Star in a two-parter that guest stars Harry Townes, also stars Perry Lopez, and gives William Marshall the prestigious final credit preceded by "and". It makes me wonder why Ethel never did Star Trek. She gets at least one pretty effective dramatic scene here as the cynical widow of the band's prophet, but for the most part she's doing her usual thing of playing to the back of the room. There's some singing of Christian hymns, but the pilgrims give off a nondenominational pseudo-hippie vibe, invoking the Promised Land rather than a deity, espousing nonviolence, and brandishing a big banner on one of their vehicles that says "LOVE." There's an awkward bit of business when Merman is leading her pilgrims in a singalong of "When the Saints Go Marching In" and stops to have a conversation with Tarzan while the pilgrims continue singing...but her unmistakable voice can still be heard front and center in the choir. While given story justification in each case, Tarzan exhibits some uncharacteristic behavior in this one--brandishing a rifle in more than one scene; advocating that the pilgrims should be carrying guns; and driving Ethel Merman's Jeep. There's also an interesting bit in which Tarzan talks a shady character into dropping his rifle from a position of concealment, effectively portrayed as if he were invisible. And Tarzan takes a wild horse to match the M.O. of the tribe of the week (led by Marshall's character), who use horses to get to and from their remote territory. At one point Tarzan dives into a pond to evade some tribesmen, but it didn't fool me...the water was way to shallow for a giant clam. Jai and Cheeta are also nowhere to be found. The Ethel Merman spotlight is coming...I'll have to work it in when I've got a slot for it. _______ The Prisoner "Checkmate" Originally aired November 24, 1967 (UK) Another "early" episode, third in production order...and it would probably work better if viewed earlier. In contrast to how the Village population was portrayed last week, here Number Six has people up his butt about trying to escape. ...which I compulsively finish out loud in a mock-German accent. I didn't find this one as engaging as most installments thus far, though it did address one of my questions about some in the Village being true prisoners and others being conspirators--"guardians" as they're referred to here. And it was a good twist that the Rook thought Number Six was One of Them...underscoring why Number Six isn't and shouldn't be quick to trust others in the Village. Note how Number Six dropped an episode title in the word association test. _______ Get Smart "Dr. Yes" Originally aired November 25, 1967 In this case it's a little more than just a title spoof, as Dr. Yes has the same M.O. as his Bond predecessor...though the portrayal of the villain is more of a stock Fu Manchu stereotype. The extremely long nails that can cut fruit and be used as weapons could also be considered a play on Dr. No's metal hands; the secret lair under the lake is reminiscent of the iconic volcano lair in 1967's Bond film, You Only Live Twice; and the climactic fight therein during the missile launch certainly evokes the climax of Dr. No. The teaser includes Wally Cox in an uncredited role as the TV repairman. _______ Well, the chart info is largely culled from two web sources where others can easily look it up for themselves; my methodology for what I include in the lists isn't consistent, being based partly on what's in my collection, where I delved into different acts in different levels of detail; and I haven't been keeping past weekly playlists that weren't posted here. My own primary soap opera exposure was in the early-to-mid-'70s, post-DS. I don't have a broad enough knowledge of the history of soaps to say when they might have last been exhibiting these tropes...but the organ music thing was enough of a signature piece of soap opera business that Johnny Carson was still using it in his "Edge of Wetness" skits in the '70s and '80s. ETA: I keep forgetting to mention that H&I showed TIH's "Homecoming" yesterday, which I first assumed to be a deliberate bit of scheduling...but looking at upcoming episodes in the guide, it seems to have just coincidentally fallen on this weekend!
_______ 50 Years Ago This Week "Little Wing," The Jimi Hendrix Experience (#357 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time) Selections from Billboard's Hot 100 for the week: Leaving the chart: "Get on Up," The Esquires "Holiday," Bee Gees "I'm Wondering," Stevie Wonder "Lady Bird," Nancy Sinatra & Lee Hazlewood "The Letter," The Box Tops "Love Is Strange," Peaches & Herb "Never My Love," The Association "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman," Aretha Franklin New on the chart: "If I Could Build My Whole World Around You," Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell (#10 US; #2 R&B; #41 UK) "Bend Me Shape Me," The American Breed (#5 US; #24 UK) "Hello Goodbye," The Beatles (#1 US the weeks of Dec. 30, 1967, through Jan. 13, 1968; #1 UK; promotional video aired on The Ed Sullivan Show Nov. 26, 1967) And new on the boob tube: Mission: Impossible, "The Council: Part II" The Man from U.N.C.L.E., "The Gurnius Affair" The Rat Patrol, "The Violent Truce Raid" Batman, "The Foggiest Notion" Ironside, "A Very Cool Hot Car" That Girl, "The Mailman Cometh" Tarzan, "Mountains of the Moon: Part 2" Star Trek, "Friday's Child" The Prisoner, "Hammer into Anvil" Get Smart, "That Old Gang of Mine" _______
I think I've heard this one. Pleasant, but not great. Whoa. I must look more closely into these Ed Sullivan DVDs. A minor classic, but always nice to hear. Not among my favorite songs, but interesting to hear it covered by The Temptations. Now here's an interesting little vignette. I wish there was more "Greensleeves" and less "Thou Swell." Whoa. And I never knew they had a history together. Ah, the real explanation for the brain damage. And he was hiding out in Boston under the Witness Protection Program. She needs her butt kicked by Stephanie Powers. Almost makes me believe in a higher power.... Too bad. She was great. It's Folk-- it doesn't have to be. This actually sounds like a pretty interesting story. She would have made a great disembodied energy being-- like Trelayne's auntie Tremayme or something. Another lip-syncing scandal. Damn it. I think the combination of the TV reviews interspersed with the musical background, cultural trivia, and news is an interesting mix. It's a personal perspective, so it doesn't need to be all encompassing. The eclecticism is part of the charm. Not a big Jimi fan, so not much of an impression-- especially with the documentary voiceover. Nice conversation. Now here's a 60s classic. Ah, yes, The Beatles. Great stuff. And an interesting cameo appearance by a passing troupe of Hawaiian-style dancing girls.
This week, we have a special request from RJ in Boston. He writes, "Dear Mixer...You've reviewed three television appearances by Ethel Merman, but you haven't said anything about her recording career. Please tell us more. It would really mean a lot to me and everybody here in Boston, who all think you're the best. Signed, RJ from Boston." RJ from Boston, here's a special request spotlight, for you and the good folks in Boston! I'm the Old Mixer. Well...this would be the first time that we've given the music spotlight to an artist whose highest-charting singles were 78s... "Eadie Was a Lady" (written by Richard Whiting, Nacio Herb Brown & B. G. DeSylva) (1933; #8 US) "You're the Top" (written by Cole Porter) (Charted Nov. 22, 1934; #4 US) She's got a few more Top 20's according to whatever pre-Hot 100 chart(s) those were going by...but my deliberately casual knowledge of Ethel Merman knew that wasn't telling the whole story. She's best known for songs that she performed/originated in Broadway musicals, including but not limited to... "I Got Rhythm," from Girl Crazy (1930, music by George Gershwin, lyrics by Ira Gershwin; recording from I'm not sure exactly when, they weren't doing Broadway cast albums yet) "Everything's Coming Up Roses," from Gypsy: A Musical Fable (1959, music by Jule Styne, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim) And of course, her signature number... "There's No Business Like Show Business," from Annie Get Your Gun (1946, music & lyrics by Irving Berlin; solo recording from the 1954 film There's No Business Like Show Business) _______ I thought about that...wondered if the choice of subject matter might be a deliberate nod. That was quite a find...glad I dug a little deeper for it. And I had been exposed to that little Primes/Primettes factoid previously. Or they could've taken Spock's mom in a whole different direction...! Alas, that's all his Vevo has for some of his classic songs...and like the Beatles, they're doing a thorough job of keeping others from posting his material. And another act that would be considered a one-hit wonder, though in this case they had a couple more that made the Top 40, but not the Top 20. I don't have them, so we probably won't be covering them here, unless I get curious along the way. ETA: Looking into them a little more closely, I uncovered a factoid odd enough to be of some interest...a spin-off group consisting of most of the ca. 1968 American Breed line-up "evolved" into Rufus, which was Chaka Khan's band in the '70s...though by the time Rufus had a major hit ("Tell Me Something Good," 1974), the lineup had changed such that they only had one remaining former American Breed member. There'll be a bit more coming from the boys next week...and their would-be arch-rivals....
Thank older producers to for that. Most still saw any reference to the Beatles as meaning the "She Loves You" period. It the curse of the "vacation" episodes of any show. Even though this was all on the lot, the plots always feature too many main characters tagging along to some new location, when there's no real reason for most to appear. Yes, she should have been front and center as a villainess. We were fortunate to get what was offered. Carson may have used it, but numerous soaps--the major soaps--were already using composers to create real scores, such as Robert Cobert's work on Dark Shadows.
Thanks, Mister DJ! Nice. This is why I love the 20s/30s.... This is a classic. This is a good one, nice and catchy. Not bad. I like Gypsy and I've seen it a few times, but the songs are the kind of show tunes that are enjoyable during the show but I have little desire to listen to later. Same with this one. Or first contact with the Betazoids. That's interesting. I loved that song-- and Chaka Khan in general.