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50th Anniversary Viewing
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The Ed Sullivan Show
Season 20, episode 17
Originally aired December 31, 1967
As represented in
The Best of the Ed Sullivan Show
Funny thing about the cable info for this episode...not only is it as generally wrong as usual about who's in the episode, but in one of the cases where it should have been right, it listed "Jay & the Technicians"!

As for what's actually in the episode...for once we have a
Best of episode that's all from the same date, and that actually shows all of the major, confirmed acts listed on tv.com. And there are a couple of references to it being New Year's Eve preserved in the
Best of edit.
As New Year's Eve business goes, this one comes off as a sort of year-end clearance special. Both of the two major musical artists are performing singles that are recent but past the point of benefiting from promotion. Miriam Makeba's "Pata Pata" has already fallen off the Hot 100, while "Keep the Ball Rollin'" by Jay & the Techniques is in its last week on the chart.
Both performances are definitely using live audio, or audio recorded specifically for the show.
Tonight's other guests:
Montego's act is part sword balancing, part fire juggling (for which they turn down the lights), part spinning a bowl on top of a wire spinning on the edge of a plate in his mouth, part balancing and spinning multiple objects while on a unicycle.
George Kirby does versatile impersonations of Ed and various guests performing parts of the same song, with his Ed doing the intro and then finishing the song. The song I'm not familiar with, but is likely one of several songs titled "Bye Bye Baby".
Gianna D'Angelo makes us eat our vegetables with an opera piece called "Una voce poca fa". She certainly has a talent for high notes...she can probably break glass.
Mentioned somewhere upthread, Buddy Rich & His Orchestra tickle my fancy by covering "Norwegian Wood". I didn't post a video then, so here it is:
This is a big band arrangement with emphasis on drums, because that's what the bandleader played. Not in the
Best of edit, Buddy & Orchestra also performed
"Wack Wack," a recent instrumental by the Young-Holt Trio (a.k.a. Young-Holt Unlimited) over the end credits. (
YHT's single charted Dec. 17, 1966; #40 US; #35 AC; #12 R&B.)
tv.com lists Topo Gigio as having also been on the show, as well as scheduled but unverified appearances by Vikki Carr (performing "It Must Be Him") and Rodney Dangerfield.
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The Rat Patrol
"The Pipeline to Disaster Raid"
Originally aired January 1, 1968
H&I said:
A British general rescued in the desert insists upon leading the Rat Patrol on a mission to destroy a German oil pipeline despite his poor condition.
John Anderson does British...surprisingly not too badly to my Yank ear, though Brits might disagree. When the Patrol finds his character (the above-mentioned general), they bring him onto the desert set to cool off. When the scene is over, they actually "drive off" of the set...I don't think I've seen them do that before, the vehicles are usually stationary in the set scenes.
The general establishes himself as something of an Ahab type by making mistakes and acting a little cray-cray. In the climax of his part of the story, he tries to put the Patrol under arrest at gunpoint...but then succumbs to a wound that he's been hiding. While he takes a last nap, the Patrol lugs him along in one of the Jeeps while they carry out the mission.
There's another "Hitch gets the girl" gag at the end, with the private being tended to by a nurse at the field hospital that they've set up on the set.
Going by IMDb credits, Dietrich is apparently not in the episode, though I thought I spotted him in an early scene. If it was him, it was likely reused footage and he didn't do any talking.
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Batman
"The Joke's on Catwoman"
Originally aired January 4, 1968
H&I said:
Catwoman and the Joker set a trap for Batgirl before they search for ancient gunpowder.
Romero's mustache is really obvious here...you can see it hanging over his painted lips.
And wow, is that lighthouse set abstract, both inside and out; they should've done a deal to use
The Rat Patrol's lighthouse. Likewise for the courtroom set.
Anti-Blast Bat Powder? I'm all for crazy Bat-Gadgets, but a spray that protects you from explosions seems a little too magical.
I rediscovered that Lucky Pierre was former Kennedy and Johnson press secretary Pierre Salinger, only to be reminded that it was already covered two years ago in the Me thread. I'll add that they did a nod with the reference to him potentially going into politics, etc.
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Ironside
"Force of Arms"
Originally aired January 4, 1968
Wiki said:
While investigating the murder of fanatic, Ironside is forced to deal with a group of vengeful vigilantes.
The aforementioned fanatic is a ranking member of the Second Force, a right-wing organization concerned with increasing lawlessness headed by a millionaire named Weathers. Regardless of whether or not they're supposed to parallel any actual organizations of the time (they give off a vaguely neo-Nazi-ish vibe), the basic idea is pretty timely in a year that will see a politician of questionable methods elected to the presidency on a "law and order" platform.
Robert T. Ironside said:
He believes what he says. That's why he's dangerous.
Other good quotes from the Chief:
I'm pacing. I always think best on my feet.
The police force give a redneck the gate. The Second Force gives him a promotion.
Sign o' the times: The Second Force isn't just collecting dossiers on people, it's computerizing them...on old-school computers with reel-to-reel tapes and punch cards. At one point, the computer turns up Ironside, established here as a vocal critic of the Second Force, as a suspect.
Recognizable guests include George Murdock as a chauffeur who becomes another murder victim for knowing too much and almost sharing it with Ironside (but gets a scene in the back of the Ironsidemobile); and William Lucking as an aide of the Second Force leader's new lieutenant.
The person behind the murders turns out to be an erstwhile member of the organization who's orchestrating a takeover; the climactic move in his scheme involves faking Weathers and Ironside killing each other...which is foiled in part by Ironside pulling the old "let them take a gun loaded with blanks" trick.
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"Fur All We Know"
Originally aired January 4, 1968
Wiki said:
After Ann models an expensive chinchilla stole, the owner insists that she borrow it as she accompanies Don to a party for the wealthy jet set, when a gigolo mistakes Ann for a wealthy heiress.
The grammatically challenged episode description gives away the episode's comedic twist by describing Buzzy as a gigolo. It turns out he doesn't have any money himself, and was ultimately expecting Ann to pay for everything.
One part that tickled me was when Ann, attempting to mingle at the party, moves from one chattering group to the next muttering "mingle, mingle".
Once more on the subject of Donald's eating-out budget: At the end, he's taking Ann to the restaurant that neither Buzzy nor Ann could afford.
"Oh, Donald" count:
8
"Oh, Mr. Mellinger" count:
2
"Oh, Buzzy" count:
1
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Tarzan
"The Professional"
Originally aired January 5, 1968
H&I said:
Tarzan does battle with a power-mad colonel whose troops have overrun the land of a peaceful native tribe.
The Lord of the Jungle is back from hiatus and in good form, with outdoor shooting, wild animals, and an opening river rapid rescue.
Soon-to-be Mod Squadder Clarence Williams III guests as the young chief of our Tribe of the Week, who demands a feat of strength to verify Tarzan's identity: resisting being pulled in opposite directions by horses.
Also guesting is future investigative reporter Jack Colvin as a government official to whom the bad guys are reporting via radio. Tarzan goes to government HQ to have the colonel called off...and while I'd like to make a crack about Jack not liking Tarzan when he's angry, he and the Ape Man are actually all friendly and on a first-name basis. (Does he only play characters named Jack?) When the colonel goes rogue, Jack does what he can to help deal with him, which includes sending a helicopter to give Tarzan a lift midway back to the tribal territory.
Tarzan rescues himself from a firing squad via a full-sized elephant that he'd summoned before being taken captive. Nice to see him pull out his animal-commanding mojo once in a while. In the climax, the colonel and his reinforcements are outmaneuvered by the tribe, who trap them in the walls of their village and threaten to burn it down. Tarzan then indulges the colonel in a pugilistic competition.
Jai and Cheeta are fully integrated in the story.
Next week's episode brings us a supreme trio of guests: Mary Wilson, Cindy Birdsong, and Diana Something-or-other....
And in two weeks, H&I will be airing the back-to-back giant clam appearances--which are all set to record for screencaps!
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Star Trek
"The Gamesters of Triskelion"
Originally aired January 5, 1968
Stardate 3211.8
MeTV said:
Kirk, Chekov and Uhura are kidnapped and forced to participate in a series of gladiatorial games.
See my post here.
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Get Smart
"The King Lives?"
Originally aired January 6, 1968
Wiki said:
Max poses as the King of Coronia, a person whom he strongly physically resembles, in order to uncover the party behind an assassination attempt made against the King shortly before his coronation. (This episode is a parody of the movie The Prisoner of Zenda, and is notable for the impression by Don Adams of Ronald Colman, the star of that movie. The episode also features Johnny Carson's second cameo on the show, as a footman to the King.)
Adams gets to do some old-fashioned swashbuckling in an episode that guests Michael Forest as Prince Basil, the scheming half-brother. We also get the tease of a
The Court Jester-style "mantle with the panel" gag, but it doesn't get played out.
Max posing as the King said:
You dare to interrupt me in the middle of an affair...of state?
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