The Classic/Retro Pop Culture Thread

[RJDiogenes]

Television broadcasting in Australia begins, with the launch of the country's first TV station, TCN-9, transmitting in the Sydney area after two months of tests.

It's amazing to think that something like this happened less than five years before I was born.

The WWE Women's Championship in professional wrestling is established, with The Fabulous Moolah becoming the first champion by defeating Judy Grable in a 13-woman battle royal.

Somehow I know The Fabulous Moolah.

27-year-old Nicaraguan poet Rigoberto López Pérez is killed by security forces after shooting the country's dictator, Anastasio Somoza García, in the city of León. In 1981, he would be declared a national hero.

You never know which way the political winds are going to blow.

"The Green Door," Jim Lowe

I'm not familiar with this one. I do remember a movie called Behind the Green Door.

First issue of House of Secrets (DC comics; November cover date)

I forgot this started so early. I associate it with the more Gothic look that came later.

The Bell X-2, piloted by Milburn G. Apt, 32, becomes the first manned aircraft to reach Mach 3. However, Apt experiences "inertia coupling," goes into a spin, fails to eject, and is killed.

What a shame. Who knows what he would have gone on to do.

"You'll Never Never Know," The Platters

I probably remember this from the Time-Life series or something. It's a good one.

"It Isn't Right," The Platters

I don't remember this one, but it's not bad.

Chicago White Sox pitcher Jim Derrington becomes the youngest pitcher in modern baseball history to start a game, at the age of 16 years and 10 months.

It seems weird that this is even legal.

"I Can't Quit You Baby," Otis Rush

I can't be sure if I know this one. It's got a very cool sound, but also very familiar.

Likely a hindsight designation for a group that broke out after the punk era proper.

That could be.

Sonny, Cher, Donny, Marie, the Captain, and Tennille, among others, would like a word with you. Variety shows were all over the TV landscape in the mid-to-late '70s. They even spun the Bradys off into one.

Yeah, but they mostly died quick deaths. I guess Donny and Marie did well for a while, but that's probably it.

Guess we know what show Sid's been staying up to watch on Saturday nights....

Yeah.

I haven't tried watching the debate yet. Meant to pop it on at bedtime or something last night. It's interesting that this is the first TV debate since Kennedy/Nixon.

Well, Nixon ran in two of the intervening three elections and he probably didn't want to do that again. And I doubt if it's something LBJ would have wanted either.

This I've got the first half-season on DVD, and just ordered the second half. (Packaged in 3 volumes because it ran 1-1/2 seasons.) This is a war show you might like. It's generally got a lighthearted tone, with its protagonists being a group of screwball misfits, but balances that well with serious subject matter; and a strong cast led by Robert Conrad in his prime.

I do like Robert Conrad.

As in you feel theirs is overdone?

I do like U2, but Bono is quite the egomaniac-- but in a way that amuses me rather than irritates me.

I knew this one primarily as a widely reputed "worst song" contender

Aw, c'mon.

Of interest, this had previously been recorded as a single by America, though their version didn't make the Top 40.

Actually, I did know that. I think it showed up in one of their retrospective albums or something. Maybe Time-Life.

Guess we'll never know for sure at this point.

Apparently DC never migrated that character into their main continuity.

Bad guys waiting for offshore deliveries seems kinda H5O-ish.

Maybe it was Wo Fat!

"Oh, just one more thing..."

I'm reminded of how in the Power of Shazam! series Billy played with an ability to cosmetically alter his Captain Marvel appearance. He'd transform into Cap with a beard and civilian clothes to pose as Billy's guardian, as a means of getting away with living alone as a minor.

Very interesting. That opens up a whole can of worms. It also sends a bad message to the kids in the audience.

Ah. Though I hate to put down hard-working late comic artists, good choice...but I'll see your Don Heck and raise you a George Tuska.

I actually like George Tuska, although he's far from my favorite artist. He was the classic Iron Man guy for a long time. And he might be the only artist that Vince Coletta couldn't destroy.

He was also a regular Hulk writer during my first-hand reading years of the title. Looking it up, he did a five-year run starting in 1980.

I remember that. He seemed to show up everywhere eventually, but usually only briefly. But he did seem to create a lot of popular new characters, like Cloak and Dagger and some others.

 

[The Old Mixer]

I'm not familiar with this one. I do remember a movie called Behind the Green Door.

I'd never heard of it until I came upon it while populating my collection. It's kind of cute.

What a shame. Who knows what he would have gone on to do.

Like astronaut stuff?

I probably remember this from the Time-Life series or something. It's a good one.

I don't remember this one, but it's not bad.

Neither especially familiar, both good, the former is stronger and more memorable.

It seems weird that this is even legal.

Well, it was the '50s....

I can't be sure if I know this one. It's got a very cool sound, but also very familiar.

It's definitely a familiar-sounding style of blues, so we may know other songs that sound like it. It was making me think of Clapton, but if he covered it, I don't have it. It turns out that Led Zep did it on their first album, which I do have.

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That could be.

The more familiar names among the acts who played there are Siouxsie and the Banshees, The Clash, and the Sex Pistols.

Yeah, but they mostly died quick deaths. I guess Donny and Marie did well for a while, but that's probably it.

However long individual shows may have lasted (and in the Osmonds' case, three years isn't quite nothing), the format was definitely experiencing a boom at the time. The bust may be relatively near, but it's definitely premature to call it dead at this point.

Yeah.

Sid probably would've been more diplomatic toward Ringo.

Well, Nixon ran in two of the intervening three elections and he probably didn't want to do that again.

True, hadn't thought of that.

I do like Robert Conrad.

He's in great form in this show.

One element of interest is that the sort of black market horse-trading that M*A*S*H likes to do stories about was a common plot element on Black Sheep. They were often perpetrating schemes to get parts for their planes and whatnot.

I do like U2, but Bono is quite the egomaniac-- but in a way that amuses me rather than irritates me.

Alas, the clip of SNL's Sinead O'Connor Awards sketch isn't available. Dana Carvey did Paul and Alec Baldwin did Bono.

Aw, c'mon.

I'm not making that up, the song's reputation precedes it.

Apparently DC never migrated that character into their main continuity.

No, though I've read that a version of her popped up at some point in more recent times. As a licensed property, she clearly doesn't enjoy falling under the DC Comics umbrella the way that the Shazam! properties do.

Maybe it was Wo Fat!

"Where is my gyroscope?"

I actually like George Tuska, although he's far from my favorite artist. He was the classic Iron Man guy for a long time. And he might be the only artist that Vince Coletta couldn't destroy.

He does his part to make early-to-mid-'70s Iron Man a tough read for me. But it turns out that an example of his art I was going to cite was actually Heck, so Heck wins.

Among others, one of Heck's issues was a tendency to not clearly depict action. I recall panels of his Avengers run in the '60s where you couldn't tell visually what the hell was supposed to be going on, and Roy would go out of his way to fill in the gaps with the dialogue and captions. It was like reading a radio show.

I remember that. He seemed to show up everywhere eventually, but usually only briefly. But he did seem to create a lot of popular new characters, like Cloak and Dagger and some others.

Probably the highlight of his run was the extended storyline of Hulk having Banner's intelligence/personality.

Another substantial gig of his was the Micronauts series, which I enjoyed the first few years of.

 

[RJDiogenes]

I'd never heard of it until I came upon it while populating my collection. It's kind of cute.

Yes, I forgot to mention that I got a kick out of it.

Like astronaut stuff?

That's what I was thinking, yeah.

Well, it was the '50s....

True. I wonder if he was allowed to play night games.

It's definitely a familiar-sounding style of blues, so we may know other songs that sound like it. It was making me think of Clapton, but if he covered it, I don't have it. It turns out that Led Zep did it on their first album, which I do have.

Wow, even Led Zep did covers.

The more familiar names among the acts who played there are Siouxsie and the Banshees, The Clash, and the Sex Pistols.

I know all of them, of course, although I could not name a single Siouxsie song.

However long individual shows may have lasted (and in the Osmonds' case, three years isn't quite nothing), the format was definitely experiencing a boom at the time. The bust may be relatively near, but it's definitely premature to call it dead at this point.

True, but it was like the networks were desperately trying to keep the format alive and it wasn't working.

Sid probably would've been more diplomatic toward Ringo.

He could hardly be less diplomatic.

One element of interest is that the sort of black market horse-trading that M*A*S*H likes to do stories about was a common plot element on Black Sheep. They were often perpetrating schemes to get parts for their planes and whatnot.

Did they have a Radar?

I'm not making that up, the song's reputation precedes it.

I believe you, but I just don't understand it. It's adorable.

No, though I've read that a version of her popped up at some point in more recent times. As a licensed property, she clearly doesn't enjoy falling under the DC Comics umbrella the way that the Shazam! properties do.

I meant the Mentor character and his mysterious true nature. DC never seems to have bothered with him, as far as I know.

View attachment 56108
"Where is my gyroscope?"

Now that would have been cool.

He does his part to make early-to-mid-'70s Iron Man a tough read for me. But it turns out that an example of his art I was going to cite was actually Heck, so Heck wins.

Poor Don Heck.

Among others, one of Heck's issues was a tendency to not clearly depict action. I recall panels of his Avengers run in the '60s where you couldn't tell visually what the hell was supposed to be going on, and Roy would go out of his way to fill in the gaps with the dialogue and captions. It was like reading a radio show.

It always surprised me how certain artists got work, especially high profile assignments like that. It seems unbelievable that there weren't better people out there looking for work.

Probably the highlight of his run was the extended storyline of Hulk having Banner's intelligence/personality.

Yeah, I liked that. It was something I was actually hoping for for a long time.

Another substantial gig of his was the Micronauts series, which I enjoyed the first few years of.

My friend was really into that. The Mike Golden art was beautiful, but it never clicked for me.

 

[The Old Mixer]

---

50th Anniversary Viewing

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The Midnight Special
September 17, 1976
Guest hosts: The Spinners
Featuring Kiki Dee; Dr. Hook; Electric Light Orchestra; England Dan & John Ford Coley; Elton John; Junior Walker; Salute to Wolfman Jack

Yes, Elton & Kiki appear via their video for the third time.

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---

Shazam!
"Bitter Herbs"
Originally aired September 18, 1976

Yale is a teenage boy who wants to join a club called "the Overlanders". The leader of the club does not want Yale to join because he is Jewish, but soon the racist gets what he deserves when a mountain lion attacks him.

Mentor's lost on the way to Desert City when a pickup with a blown tire screeches by the pulled-over van. Billy changes to Cap, who digs in his heels to serve as the crate-laden truck's emergency brake. When Mentor catches up and tells the driver, Orin Clyde (Linden Chiles), that he's on his way to visit his old friend, Jack Michaels (Milt Kogan), Clyde dismisses the Michaelses as that new Jewish family in town. Soon Billy and Mentor are at the modest Michaels homestead wearing yamakas in observation of Sukkot. Mentor learns that Jack is working with the authorities to track down some artifact smugglers working in the area; while Jack's son, Yale (David Gruner), is preoccupied with trying to get into a local club called the Overlanders--a name that was on the door of Clyde's truck. After the guests leave, they get their obligatory call from the Elders, who briefly speak of the importance of learning to understand those who are different (Mercury getting in the odd line for a change). Meanwhile, Clyde has instructed club member Harry (James Van Patten) to scare Yale off from his initiation, so the reluctant Overlander sabotages the chain of Yale's motorbike. The van's driving by when Yale's chain comes off on a rugged, windy desert road. Billy changes to Cap again, moving a boulder out of Yale's way and tossing a plank over a crevice in the road before catching the bike.

While Mentor and Billy learn at a bike shop that the chain was cut, Clyde and the club members are present as Yale starts his initiation, a hike up a Snake Mountain against the clock. Clyde's quick to split when he sees the van approaching, but orders Harry to do more than putting salt water in Yale's canteen to see that the boy doesn't pass. Harry catches up to Yale to taunt and discourage him, only to fall down a ravine, injuring his ankle. Yale springs into first aid action, causing a shamed Harry to confess to all he's been doing. Harry tries to discourage Yale from helping him to Clyde's nearby place; and indeed, Clyde chastises Harry for bringing Yale there. Clyde nevertheless proceeds to drive the two of them into town, but when a crate falls off the back, stolen Mexican art objects come out, and Yale puts together that Clyde is the smuggler his father's been after. The van passes in the opposite direction as Clyde proceeds to take the youths away from town. An Elders flashback motivates Billy into catching up with the truck as Cap. Clyde lets the youths out in the wilderness to hobble their way back to civilization while he makes a getaway; but is then pounced by a mountain lioness who's subbing for Chekhov's Snake. Cap lands as the lioness is approaching the mobility-challenged youths and gently wrassles her into splitting the scene. Then, with the aid of really fakey effects, Cap stops a revived Clyde from splitting in his truck by lifting the vehicle onto a perch between two rocks.

In the coda, Harry and a red-headed sidekick (Darel Glaser, whose character is billed as Joe Oliveira, though that's the name on the sign of the bike repair shop and no connection is made) join the Shazamic Duo at the Michaelses for a Sukkhot dinner...Harry now displaying interest in learning more about his hosts' ways and finding common ground with them.

Cap: Prejudice and bigotry are two words that mean not liking somebody...calling them names because they're different than we are. Pretty silly, isn't it? In some ways, all of us are different; in others, we're all the same. The important thing about a person is not the color of his hair or skin, his religion, or whether he's tall or short, skinny or fat. What is important is something called character. [Audio interruption] yourself, "Is he honest? Does he care about others? Is he good?" If the answer is "Yes," call him friend. [Cap nods because he's outta time to get in a "see you next week".]​

Boy, could people today use some learnin' from this episode...!

---

The Secrets of Isis
"The Hitchhiker"
Originally aired September 18, 1976

A girl learns a lesson about the dangers of hitchhiking when the boy she rides with loses control of his car.

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Isis's magic powers become ever more ill-defined even as she introduces inconsistency with whether or not she needs to rhyme. And it just seems odd for the incarnation of an ancient Egyptian deity to be calling upon molecules to do her bidding. Plus they've got her talking to herself in flight.

Say, I remember railroad crossings without gates!

---

NBC's Saturday Night
Season 2, episode 1
Originally aired September 18, 1976
Host: Lily Tomlin
Guests: James Taylor; Jim Henson's Muppets

The cold open has Chevy fretting that Lily's too big and won't show; she blitzes in with an entourage, getting everyone's names wrong (including referring to Gilda as Goldie). This transitions into Chevy in a conversation with her little person chauffeur. Chevy's dismayed that they're not opening with a sketch that involves him falling, so the chauffeur trips him. In her monologue, Lily makes a show of seeming grateful and humble, only to drop the facade when she thinks they've cut to commercial.

Oddly, they do a presidential debate sketch ahead of the first actual debate, which means they couldn't have directly parodied it. This includes the famous moment of Chevy's Ford objecting, "It was my understanding that there would be no math"; while Dan's Carter flip-flops about flip-flopping. Ford takes a tumble, of course, and drags Carter down with him when he tries to help.

James Taylor performs "Shower the People," accompanied by a backing vocal tape that's plainly shown playing on camera.

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The filmed message is Lily as Ernestine doing a spot for the phone company. Slogan: "We don't care, we don't have to."

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The episode marks the final appearance of the characters from "The Land of Gorch". In this appearance, King Ploobis, Queen Peuta, Scred, and Wisss wake up in a filing cabinet assuming that they are in the afterlife. They find The Mighty Favog under a dust cover. The Mighty Favog states that this may be their last chance on the show and that they must do whatever they're told to do. The Muppets are then visited by Lily Tomlin. When Lily states that she heard about The Muppet Show that came out last week, Wisss states that they won't let them be on their show since it's a family show.

Lily: Aren't you family entertainment?​

Scred: Hell, yes!​

Lily and the Muppets try to sing "I Whistle a Happy Tune". Unfortunately, the Muppets can't whistle. Lily Tomlin leaves, promising to find something else for them to do.

This transitions into Lily asking James about his next number, a cover of Jr. Walker's "(I'm a) Road Runner," accompanied by David Sanborn on sax.

In the next sketch, Lily plays an uncouth woman in a shabby apartment who has a salesman played by Garrett over ostensibly to look at a high-priced vacation home, but it becomes apparent that this is just as an opportunity to socialize and possibly pick up a man.

James returns for a third number, "Sweet Baby James".

Dan hosts a commercial in which he asks Lily as a housewife to engage in an increasingly surreal variety of product demonstrations.

Laraine plays a spotlighted female author of the 1930s who just wrote mundane, plainspoken diary entries.

The Gary Weis film has Taylor Mead talking about watching television.

Following up on the punchline of the last commercial sketch, Lily sings a song to show the audience how to do the Antler Dance. Paul Shaffer does some of the singing as the cast members and James perform the dance onstage. This continues into the final bow segment, with the audience and Muppets joining in.

---

I know all of them, of course, although I could not name a single Siouxsie song.

Nor can I.

True, but it was like the networks were desperately trying to keep the format alive and it wasn't working.

I get the impression that it was genuinely popular for a spell, but then the bubble burst and that glitzy wave of variety shows joined disco in becoming a relic of the '70s.

Did they have a Radar?

Indeed--Lt. Casey (W. K. Stratton), their admin specialist, tended to make things happen via creative paperwork, as I recall; which included aiding Pappy in forming the squadron for himself in the first place.

I believe you, but I just don't understand it. It's adorable.

One person's adorable is another's cloying.

I meant the Mentor character and his mysterious true nature. DC never seems to have bothered with him, as far as I know.

Ah...as I believe came up before, during the period when they retooled the Shazam! comic to reflect the situation in the TV show, they had Uncle Dudley made over to resemble Mentor.

I recall a cute moment in a '90s Shazam crossover in a Superman title when Pa Kent, who was traveling in an RV with Martha, offered to let Billy join them and made a comment about serving as his mentor.

Poor Don Heck.

He earned his name.

Yeah, I liked that. It was something I was actually hoping for for a long time.

Unfortunately, it segued into the "mindless Hulk wandering other dimensions" phase that put me off the series...though I returned for Byrne's super-brief fix-it run. Now when the creative teams switched places, I hated Mantlo on Alpha Flight. He couldn't get rid of everything Byrne had done to make the series unique fast enough.

My friend was really into that. The Mike Golden art was beautiful, but it never clicked for me.

You could say that in its early days, it was a better Star Wars comic than the Star Wars comic.

Speaking of bad influences on the kiddies...

 

[RJDiogenes]

Yes, Elton & Kiki appear via their video for the third time.

No wonder I saw it. I had so many opportunities.

Mentor's lost

That's not good mentoring.

a pickup with a blown tire screeches by the pulled-over van.

Drink!

Clyde dismisses the Michaelses as that new Jewish family in town.

Foreshadowing.

Mentor learns that Jack is working with the authorities to track down some artifact smugglers working in the area

"Er... you don't say... maybe they're hiding them in crates on pickup trucks."

(Mercury getting in the odd line for a change).

You'd think he'd always be first.

Billy changes to Cap again, moving a boulder out of Yale's way and tossing a plank over a crevice in the road before catching the bike.

That was a complicated save.

Mentor and Billy learn at a bike shop that the chain was cut

But it would have broken anyway, because this is SHAZAM.

Harry catches up to Yale to taunt and discourage him, only to fall down a ravine

Drink!

Yale springs into first aid action, causing a shamed Harry to confess to all he's been doing.

That was easy.

Harry tries to discourage Yale from helping him to Clyde's nearby place; and indeed, Clyde chastises Harry for bringing Yale there.

"These were not my instructions."

a crate falls off the back

Drink!

stolen Mexican art objects come out, and Yale puts together that Clyde is the smuggler his father's been after.

"I have singlehandedly solved the completely unrelated B-Plot!"

Clyde lets the youths out in the wilderness to hobble their way back to civilization while he makes a getaway

"If you make it back alive, you're in the club."

but is then pounced by a mountain lioness

Drink!

who's subbing for Chekhov's Snake.

Cap lands as the lioness is approaching the mobility-challenged youths and gently wrassles her into splitting the scene.

"We'll change the name of the mountain for you."

[Cap nods because he's outta time to get in a "see you next week".]

They shoulda cut Mercury's line.

Boy, could people today use some learnin' from this episode...!

Monetized social media has been a bit of a setback.

Isis's magic powers become ever more ill-defined even as she introduces inconsistency with whether or not she needs to rhyme.

She probably just likes it.

And it just seems odd for the incarnation of an ancient Egyptian deity to be calling upon molecules to do her bidding.

Could be a modernized translation of Ancient Egyptian terminology. She does have control over the elements-- that may mean more than the "four elements."

Plus they've got her talking to herself in flight.

Actually, that's comic book accurate.

Say, I remember railroad crossings without gates!

Me too. In fact, I may still know of one. Not sure.

The cold open has Chevy fretting that Lily's too big and won't show; she blitzes in with an entourage, getting everyone's names wrong (including referring to Gilda as Goldie).

This transitions into Chevy in a conversation with her little person chauffeur. Chevy's dismayed that they're not opening with a sketch that involves him falling, so the chauffeur trips him.

Nice. I wonder if that was really her chauffeur.

Oddly, they do a presidential debate sketch ahead of the first actual debate, which means they couldn't have directly parodied it.

Weird that they didn't wait. It would have made for meatier satire.

Ford takes a tumble, of course, and drags Carter down with him when he tries to help.

James Taylor performs "Shower the People," accompanied by a backing vocal tape that's plainly shown playing on camera.

They should have had the Muppets do it.

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The filmed message is Lily as Ernestine doing a spot for the phone company. Slogan: "We don't care, we don't have to."

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What a bunch of sickos.

Lily: Aren't you family entertainment?
Scred: Hell, yes!

Didn't they wake up in a filing cabinet before, or did we peek ahead?

I get the impression that it was genuinely popular for a spell, but then the bubble burst and that glitzy wave of variety shows joined disco in becoming a relic of the '70s.

Well, they were certainly popular throughout the 50s and 60s, but it seems like Carol Burnett was the last one with any substantial popularity. Except maybe Donny & Marie.

Indeed--Lt. Casey (W. K. Stratton), their admin specialist, tended to make things happen via creative paperwork, as I recall; which included aiding Pappy in forming the squadron for himself in the first place.

What was it, some kind of off-the-books operation?

One person's adorable is another's cloying.

Ouch.

Ah...as I believe came up before, during the period when they retooled the Shazam! comic to reflect the situation in the TV show, they had Uncle Dudley made over to resemble Mentor.

Ah, yes, Uncle Dudley. Definitely not an Elder or former Cap.

I recall a cute moment in a '90s Shazam crossover in a Superman title when Pa Kent, who was traveling in an RV with Martha, offered to let Billy join them and made a comment about serving as his mentor.

That's a nice little homage.

He earned his name.

"Hey, Roy, Don is here to draw your comic."
"Aw, heck."

Unfortunately, it segued into the "mindless Hulk wandering other dimensions" phase that put me off the series...though I returned for Byrne's super-brief fix-it run.

I recall that. I had a nice idea for where he could have taken it when he split up Hulk and Banner. That was also when Rick Jones became the Hulk for a minute, but they seemed to abandon that quickly when things got messy behind the scenes.

Now when the creative teams switched places, I hated Mantlo on Alpha Flight. He couldn't get rid of everything Byrne had done to make the series unique fast enough.

The art was not good, either, as I recall. Nobody ever really did Alpha Flight as good as Byrne during that first year.

You could say that in its early days, it was a better Star Wars comic than the Star Wars comic.

I never read Star Wars either. I wasn't into SW, for one thing, plus the Howie Chaykin art was a turn off.

Speaking of bad influences on the kiddies...

"Buy our multi-purpose shoes. They're excellent for sneaking up on people."

 

[The Old Mixer]

You'd think he'd always be first.

His voice sounds kinda silly, for one thing.

That was a complicated save.

But it gave him a chance to show off a little.

But it would have broken anyway, because this is SHAZAM.

Drink!

*Hic!*

Nice. I wonder if that was really her chauffeur.

I think he may have been an actor whom I've seen in something or another.

Weird that they didn't wait. It would have made for meatier satire.

It definitely doesn't fit with the M.O. that was eventually established.

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They should have had the Muppets do it.

Not a bad idea! Or a duet with "Joe Cocker".

Didn't they wake up in a filing cabinet before, or did we peek ahead?

I think it was a trunk before.

What was it, some kind of off-the-books operation?

No, just Pappy leveraging a desk job to get himself back in the air again by reallocating resources.

"Hey, Roy, Don is here to draw your comic."
"Aw, heck."

And we've been giving him...

I never read Star Wars either. I wasn't into SW, for one thing, plus the Howie Chaykin art was a turn off.

Chaykin wasn't around as long as his successor, Carmine Infantino.

"Buy our multi-purpose shoes. They're excellent for sneaking up on people."

 

[RJDiogenes]

His voice sounds kinda silly, for one thing.

Like it's sped up?

But it gave him a chance to show off a little.

Which is good, since it's a superhero show.

It definitely doesn't fit with the M.O. that was eventually established.

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That's hilarious. I really wish they'd post the one between Bill and George. That was the best.

Not a bad idea! Or a duet with "Joe Cocker".

I think it was a trunk before.

Ah, right.

No, just Pappy leveraging a desk job to get himself back in the air again by reallocating resources.

So he pulled a Kirk.

And we've been giving him...

Chaykin wasn't around as long as his successor, Carmine Infantino.

I don't remember that. It wouldn't have mattered, since I was no big fan of Infantino either. He kind of ruined Nova for me.

 

[The Old Mixer]

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50 Years Ago This Week

---

September 26

• Four Palestinian guerrillas, opposed to Syria's occupation of Lebanon, seized the Hotel Semiramis in Damascus and took 90 guests and workers hostage. The Syrian Army stormed the building seven hours later and captured three of the four terrorists. Four of the hostages were killed in the gun battle, along with the leader of the guerrilla group, while another 34 hostages were wounded.

September 27

• The government of Syria carried out the trial, conviction, and public execution of the three surviving Palestinian guerrillas who had taken the guests and staff of the Semiramis Hotel hostage the day before. In an emergency meeting after midnight, the nation's Supreme State Court of Security tried the three men, found them guilty of "crimes against the security and integrity of our people," and issued a death sentence that was signed by President Hafez al-Assad. At daybreak, in order to make an example for future terrorists, the three men were driven back to the city square and hanged from a gallows that had been constructed in front of the hotel. The bodies, with posters attached, were left on display for the rest of the morning.
• Wings played at the Olympiahalle, Munich, West Germany, ending their short European tour.

September 28

• The value of the British pound sterling against the U.S. dollar fell four cents, after falling two cents the day before, a 3½ percent decline in value over two days to only USD $1.63, its lowest level ever. The Bank of England moved to stem the decline after being contacted by Denis Healey, the Chancellor of the Exchequer.
• The third Muhammad Ali vs. Ken Norton boxing bout took place in front of 30,296 spectators at Yankee Stadium in New York. Ali, the defending world heavyweight boxing champion, had one loss and one win in his previous matches with Norton. Although Norton landed more punches and with greater accuracy than Ali, neither man was able to knock down the other. Ali won the fight in a unanimous decision of the judges, who concluded that Ali outpointed Norton in 8 of the 15 rounds.
• A free live concert by the rock band Queen in London's Hyde Park attracted 150,000 spectators. The event was sponsored by Richard Branson, known at the time as the co-founder of Virgin Records.
• American singer Stevie Wonder released his hit album Songs in the Key of Life (#56 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time [2003]).

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​

(released only as a promotional single that didn't chart on the Hot 100)​

• A&M Records sued George Harrison over the non-delivery of his first contracted album.

September 30

• The United States Centers for Disease Control began its nationwide program to vaccinate all Americans against the swine flu, with the first inoculations being administered at a health fair in Indianapolis, Indiana.
• The Nancy Walker Show, a situation comedy starring Nancy Walker, premiered on ABC. Walker was also playing a recurring character on the CBS situation comedy Rhoda and had recently had a supporting role as comic relief on the NBC detective series McMillan & Wife. Her show was canceled after 13 episodes.

October

• During this month, John Lennon began his "househusband" period, staying inside the Dakota apartment building and looking after Sean.

October 1

• Hurricane Liza killed more than 600 people in Mexico's Baja California Peninsula, striking the resort city of La Paz, Baja California Sur.
• California became the first state to grant terminally ill hospital patients the right to the "living will," in which they could opt to withdraw life-sustaining procedures if there was no hope of recovery. Governor Jerry Brown signed the bill into law after it had passed both houses of the California state legislature.
• U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Earl Butz was reprimanded by President Gerald Ford after racist jokes and remarks that Butz had made against African American people were printed in the magazine New Times. Ford summoned Butz to the White House for "a rare public upbraiding of a Cabinet official" and Butz apologized to the lone black U.S. Senator, Edward Brooke. Most newspapers avoided quoting the joke directly.
• The alcohol industry in the United States switched to the metric system in identifying the volume of liquor. Notably, the fifth (1/5 of a U.S. gallon) was replaced by the 750 mL bottle and the pint bottle (1/8 of a gallon) was replaced by the 500 mL bottle.

October 2

• Danny Thompson, a shortstop for baseball's Texas Rangers, played his final game, after having played for four seasons with leukemia. He died on December 10.

---

Selections from Billboard's Hot 100 for the week:

1. "Play That Funky Music," Wild Cherry
2. "I'd Really Love to See You Tonight," England Dan & John Ford Coley
3. "A Fifth of Beethoven," Walter Murphy & The Big Apple Band
4. "Disco Duck (Part I)," Rick Dees & His Cast of Idiots
5. "Lowdown," Boz Scaggs
6. "Devil Woman," Cliff Richard
7. "Summer," War
8. "If You Leave Me Now," Chicago
9. "(Shake, Shake, Shake) Shake Your Booty," KC & The Sunshine Band
10. "Still the One," Orleans
11. "Say You Love Me," Fleetwood Mac
12. "A Little Bit More," Dr. Hook
13. "Getaway," Earth, Wind & Fire
14. "She's Gone," Daryl Hall & John Oates
15. "With Your Love," Jefferson Starship
16. "Wham Bam Shang-a-Lang," Silver
17. "That'll Be the Day," Linda Ronstadt
18. "Rock'n Me," Steve Miller Band
19. "I Only Want to Be with You," Bay City Rollers
20. "Magic Man," Heart
21. "You'll Never Find Another Love Like Mine," Lou Rawls
22. "You Should Be Dancing," Bee Gees
23. "(Don't Fear) The Reaper," Blue Öyster Cult
24. "Beth" / "Detroit Rock City," Kiss
25. "One Love in My Lifetime," Diana Ross
26. "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald," Gordon Lightfoot
27. "Who'd She Coo?," Ohio Players
28. "Don't Go Breaking My Heart," Elton John & Kiki Dee
29. "It's O.K.," The Beach Boys
30. "Fernando," ABBA

32. "Love So Right," Bee Gees
33. "You Are the Woman," Firefall

35. "Nadia's Theme (The Young & the Restless)," Barry De Vorzon & Perry Botkin Jr.

37. "The Best Disco in Town," The Ritchie Family

40. "The Rubberband Man," The Spinners

44. "Just to Be Close to You," Commodores
45. "Shower the People," James Taylor
46. "Heaven Must Be Missing an Angel," Tavares
47. "Do You Feel Like We Do," Peter Frampton
48. "Muskrat Love," Captain & Tennille
49. "Let 'em In," Wings

54. "Love Is Alive," Gary Wright
55. "More Than a Feeling," Boston

57. "This Masquerade," George Benson
58. "A Dose of Rock 'n' Roll," Ringo Starr
59. "You Don't Have to Be a Star (To Be in My Show)," Marilyn McCoo & Billy Davis, Jr.

71. "Baby, I Love Your Way," Peter Frampton

76. "Kiss and Say Goodbye," The Manhattans
77. "Love Ballad," L.T.D.
78. "I Never Cry," Alice Cooper

81. "Tonight's the Night (Gonna Be Alright)," Rod Stewart

83. "Get Closer," Seals & Crofts (feat. Carolyn Willis)

85. "Love Me," Yvonne Elliman

98. "Rock and Roll Music," The Beach Boys
99. "Got to Get You into My Life," The Beatles

Leaving the chart:

• "Turn the Beat Around," Vicki Sue Robinson (25 weeks)

New on the chart:

"A Dose of Rock 'n' Roll," Ringo Starr

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(#26 US; #44 AC)

"Love Ballad," L.T.D.

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(#20 US; #1 R&B)

"Love Me," Yvonne Elliman

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(#14 US; #5 AC; #6 UK; written by Barry & Robin Gibb)

"Tonight's the Night (Gonna Be Alright)," Rod Stewart

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(#1 US the weeks of Nov. 13, 1976, through Jan. 1, 1977; #42 AC; #5 UK)

---

And new on the boob tube:

• The Six Million Dollar Man, "Nightmare in the Sky"
• Baa Baa Black Sheep, "Best Three Out of Five"
• M*A*S*H, "Margaret's Engagement"
• The Bionic Woman, "In This Corner, Jaime Sommers"
• All in the Family, "Archie's Brief Encounter: Part 3"
• Charlie's Angels, "The Mexican Connection"
• Hawaii Five-O, "Nine Dragons" (two-hour Season 9 premiere)
• Shazam!, "Finders Keepers"
• The Secrets of Isis, "The Cheerleader"
• Emergency!, "Not Available"
• The Mary Tyler Moore Show, "Mary the Writer"
• The Bob Newhart Show, "Caged Fury"
• NBC's Saturday Night, Season 2, episode 3, hosted by Eric Idle

---

Timeline entries are quoted from the Wiki page for the month and Mark Lewisohn's The Beatles Day by Day, with editing as needed.

---

Like it's sped up?

Maybe. Very light and airy, sounds a little too cartoonish.

That's hilarious. I really wish they'd post the one between Bill and George. That was the best.

Not a debate sketch, but this one ranks up there with the best of their political humor.

Ah, right.

But I believe we read about the filing cabinet.

I don't remember that. It wouldn't have mattered, since I was no big fan of Infantino either. He kind of ruined Nova for me.

He kind of did his own impressionistic thing with the ships, not even trying for screen accuracy.

Al Williamson, OTOH, who did the Empire and Jedi adaptations, did photorealistic versions of the hardware and the actors.

 

[Candleicious Ghost]

The Secrets of Isis
"The Hitchhiker"
Originally aired September 18, 1976

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Isis's magic powers become ever more ill-defined even as she introduces inconsistency with whether or not she needs to rhyme. And it just seems odd for the incarnation of an ancient Egyptian deity to be calling upon molecules to do her bidding. Plus they've got her talking to herself in flight.

Say, I remember railroad crossings without gates!

I remember this show. It didn't last long but I remember it first as Saturday morning show followed by the 70s version of Shazam where it was the teenager traveling in a motor home with an old guy as his mentor. Later in repeats it did the rounds of all 3 of our commercial channels on regular TV and sometimes appeared at the oddest hours as filler content.

 

[RJDiogenes]

Four Palestinian guerrillas, opposed to Syria's occupation of Lebanon, seized the Hotel Semiramis in Damascus and took 90 guests and workers hostage. The Syrian Army stormed the building seven hours later and captured three of the four terrorists. Four of the hostages were killed in the gun battle, along with the leader of the guerrilla group, while another 34 hostages were wounded.

Kinda makes you not want to leave the house.

The government of Syria carried out the trial, conviction, and public execution of the three surviving Palestinian guerrillas

Now that was a speedy trial.

At daybreak, in order to make an example for future terrorists, the three men were driven back to the city square and hanged from a gallows that had been constructed in front of the hotel.

I guess they didn't think these guys had any valuable information.

The third Muhammad Ali vs. Ken Norton boxing bout took place in front of 30,296 spectators at Yankee Stadium in New York. Ali, the defending world heavyweight boxing champion, had one loss and one win in his previous matches with Norton. Although Norton landed more punches and with greater accuracy than Ali, neither man was able to knock down the other. Ali won the fight in a unanimous decision of the judges, who concluded that Ali outpointed Norton in 8 of the 15 rounds.

That's about as evenly matched as it gets, I suppose.

American singer Stevie Wonder released his hit album Songs in the Key of Life (#56 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time [2003]).

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Great song, strong nostalgic value. That album also included "I Wish" and "Sir Duke," my personal fave of Stevie Wonder songs.

A&M Records sued George Harrison over the non-delivery of his first contracted album.

"Oh, man, was that today?"

The United States Centers for Disease Control began its nationwide program to vaccinate all Americans against the swine flu, with the first inoculations being administered at a health fair in Indianapolis, Indiana.

"Balloons will be given out with all vaccines."

The Nancy Walker Show, a situation comedy starring Nancy Walker, premiered on ABC.

I do remember that this one existed, but I remember nothing about it.

During this month, John Lennon began his "househusband" period, staying inside the Dakota apartment building and looking after Sean.

Imagine.

Hurricane Liza killed more than 600 people in Mexico's Baja California Peninsula, striking the resort city of La Paz, Baja California Sur.

Geez, that's a lot for one storm.

The alcohol industry in the United States switched to the metric system in identifying the volume of liquor. Notably, the fifth (1/5 of a U.S. gallon) was replaced by the 750 mL bottle

It doesn't have quite the same ring to it.

"A Dose of Rock 'n' Roll," Ringo Starr

I'm not sure if I know this or not. I might know it from Lost 45s, but I think it reminds me of another song.

"Love Ballad," L.T.D.

I definitely don't know this one.

"Love Me," Yvonne Elliman

This is a nice one. Strong nostalgic value.

"Tonight's the Night (Gonna Be Alright)," Rod Stewart

One of my favorites from Rod. Strong nostalgic value.

Not a debate sketch, but this one ranks up there with the best of their political humor.

That's funny. It would be a good premise for a movie or comic or something.

But I believe we read about the filing cabinet.

I thought it sounded familiar.

Al Williamson, OTOH, who did the Empire and Jedi adaptations, did photorealistic versions of the hardware and the actors.

Al Williamson was amazing. He was like the reincarnation of Alex Raymond.

 

[The Old Mixer]

Kinda makes you not want to leave the house.

Or at least not wander as far as Syria.

That's about as evenly matched as it gets, I suppose.

And yet Ali will go on to cream Superman.

Great song, strong nostalgic value. That album also included "I Wish" and "Sir Duke," my personal fave of Stevie Wonder songs.

Both of which will be coming up as singles.

I do remember that this one existed, but I remember nothing about it.

The main in-the-day thing that I remember her for are the Bounty commercials.

It doesn't have quite the same ring to it.

And I trimmed out where the Wiki contributor felt the need to clutter things up by further parenthetically including the exact metric equivalents of the English amounts.

I'm not sure if I know this or not. I might know it from Lost 45s, but I think it reminds me of another song.

It's only vaguely familiar to me, and not from back in the day.

I definitely don't know this one.

Also seems vaguely familiar. Hasn't made much of an impression yet.

This is a nice one. Strong nostalgic value.

This one I was completely unfamiliar with, though I have it.

One of my favorites from Rod. Strong nostalgic value.

I guess this was something of a career reigniter for him. The song has a Bond connection, as his then girlfriend Britt Ekland did the French bits at the end. Can't tell if that's her in the video.

Al Williamson was amazing. He was like the reincarnation of Alex Raymond.

He also worked on the Star Wars comic strip for a few years, though I wasn't regularly catching that in the day.

 

[RJDiogenes]

Or at least not wander as far as Syria.

True. Which I seldom do.

And yet Ali will go on to cream Superman.

Well, there were extenuating circumstances.

Both of which will be coming up as singles.

Spoiler alert: Strong nostalgic value.

The main in-the-day thing that I remember her for are the Bounty commercials.

Yeah, I remember those. She popped up all over the place. And she never seemed to change throughout her career.

And I trimmed out where the Wiki contributor felt the need to clutter things up by further parenthetically including the exact metric equivalents of the English amounts.

I love the Metric System. For scientific research.

It's only vaguely familiar to me, and not from back in the day.

I think it reminds me of "Stay," that song that Jackson Brown and a bunch of other people did.

This one I was completely unfamiliar with, though I have it.

Nothing too special about it, but it's got a nice sound and Yvonne Elliman's voice.

I guess this was something of a career reigniter for him.

This is his best period for me. Before this, he was okay. After this, not so great.

The song has a Bond connection, as his then girlfriend Britt Ekland did the French bits at the end. Can't tell if that's her in the video.

That's a fun fact that I don't think I knew. They probably just used a model with her hair for the video. They'd have no reason to be coy about showing her face.

He also worked on the Star Wars comic strip for a few years, though I wasn't regularly catching that in the day.

I don't remember the comic strip being in either of our papers, but I wasn't paying a lot of attention at that point.

 

[The Old Mixer]

Well, there were extenuating circumstances.

"Mm-hmm. 'Space aliens'--Right, Superman."

I think it reminds me of "Stay," that song that Jackson Brown and a bunch of other people did.

Originally Maurice Williams (1960).

This is his best period for me. Before this, he was okay. After this, not so great.

Single performance-wise, though, he proved to have legs. Seems like his most solid run chart-wise was in the late '80s/early '90s.

That's a fun fact that I don't think I knew. They probably just used a model with her hair for the video. They'd have no reason to be coy about showing her face.

Possibly there may have been a contractual reason for not fully appearing in the video. I'm getting multiple search results affirming that it is her, including the video's IMDb listing, for what that's worth.

 

[RJDiogenes]

"Mm-hmm. 'Space aliens'--Right, Superman."

"You've got a super imagination, big guy!"

Originally Maurice Williams (1960).

Four more years.

Single performance-wise, though, he proved to have legs. Seems like his most solid run chart-wise was in the late '80s/early '90s.

Oh, yeah, he did have a comeback. I remember liking "Downtown Train," and maybe a couple of others that aren't coming back to me right now.

Possibly there may have been a contractual reason for not fully appearing in the video. I'm getting multiple search results affirming that it is her, including the video's IMDb listing, for what that's worth.

Interesting. Then it must have been some legal or contractual thing, since it would have been great for him to have her in the video. I wonder what the specific reason was.