Best of Route 66

Re: Best of Route 66

I thought this was one of the lesser episodes of season 2 . . . . just way too many scenes of Buz running back and forth to the beach shack and around Catalina Island like a madman. For me, this is one of the few episodes that I've seen thus far that would have played much better in a half hour format. Still, there is tension created in the episode with the rising tide creeping up around Moore. The seemingly endless shots of Buz running just seemed like unnecessary padding, IMHO.

Re: Best of Route 66

S2cents con'd

"between hello and goodbye" I could stare at Susan Oliver (with or without a platinum or brunette wig) all day, but this predictable episode doesn't do much but provide her a nifty showcase for playing a schizophrenic. And if you think that writer Silliphant's eccentric, kooky, and often crazy women are unrealistic, just spend 10 minutes talking to an aspiring actress hanging out at the Improv on Melrose Avenue and you'll see that Claire, Chris, Vicki, "Sweet Thing," and all the others are more documentary than fiction. And it's very cool to see the Ocean Park pier with its roller coaster, cable cars and fake aquarium before it burned down later in the decade after this was shot.

"a feat of strength" Jack Warden is always good, even when doing a poor Hungarian accent, but there's a lot of motionless talking scenes getting us to that penultimate moment where we come to accept that being a monkey on a string professional wrestler entertainer can have its noble purpose. I think Mickey Rourke is spinning pure Oscar gold after this same premise in the current feature, "The Wrestler." And the scene where Tod gets tossed around by a double that bears no resemblance whatsover to Jack Warden is a hoot.

Re: Best of Route 66

S2cents con'd

Last two episodes of Season 2

"hell is empty, all the devils are here" Great title. And it's true. This episode revolves entirely around the device of jungle show owner Peter Graves getting his theatrical agent drunk and trapping him in a cage to have him torn apart by an enraged tiger in an act of vengeance. Gee, I wonder what inspired the writer (Silliphant) to come up with this concept? Oh, that's right ... he HAS an agent, too. And keep this in mind; Ari Gold is one of the NICER ones.

"from an enchantress fleeing" Now here's a real oddball episode that I don't remember seeing before, where Arthur O'Connell plays a cybernetic inventor running away from a wealthy, all-business wife who runs an orthodontic clinic where Tod is employed to use "psycho-dontia" to distract kids before they get their teeth drilled. There's a scene where the inventor unveils a "love machine" (a computer) that interfaces with a woman and produces violin music, perfume scents and bouquets to her exact desires. There's a scene where the inventor, a washed up boxer, and a film producer trade philosophies about women while wearing robes in a men's meditation retreat (is that the Self-Realization center off Sunset?). Listen to the film producer complain about all the interference he gets, and then speculate ... "I should go into television, I bet it never happens there." In other words, this is Stirling Silliphant's episode to do just whatever the heck he feels like doing, say whatever he wants to say, and get a few licks in. On controlling women. On controlling studios. On a life punched out like a computer card itself.

For me, the most brilliant moment of the writer's 'uncontrolled' philosophy on display is the scene where O'Connell has retreated to Mexico to carve chairs and is selling them for $35 for one, or $1,000.50 for six. Tod asks him how he came up with this pricing. O'Connell replies basically, "Well, carving the one chair was fun. Making five more just like it would be boring." That basically tells you everything you need to know about his attitude about writing for television, and why he put up a noble fight against cookie cutter TV scripts.

The other thing most stark about these last four episodes is just how dead on arrival they are without Buz (George Maharis). It's easy to understand how the producers basically knew the series would never survive without him. It's like a brain with only the left side and not the right. The analytical without the poetic or irrational. It doesn't make for good theater. It's missing the passion and soul. And Glen Corbett's dreamy eyes (I remember my mom always swooned over him) are just no substitute.

I'm sure there are good episodes coming in Season 3 (Vicki, the sequel!), but with the world weariness on display from the principal writer in the last episode here, and Maharis missing in action, we may have passed the stage where this classic Corvette was running on all cylinders.

But please, Infinity, continue to let it run it's course for us on DVD.

Re: Best of Route 66

"From an Enchantress Fleeing" originated with Abe Ginnes, a terrific writer and a friend, late in his life. Also blacklisted, like Will Lorin. Silliphant kept rewriting him on ROUTE 66 -- his one subsequent episode bears a pseudonym (I'll let you guess which one it is). But rent Ginnes's NAKED CITYs; that was more Howard Rodman's show than Silliphant's, and Ginnes's contributions there are unfettered and mostly brilliant.

Re: Best of Route 66

Thanks for the information. Forgive me for not mentioning his story credit on that episode (I believe the episode itself lists him along with Silliphant, or at least a story credit. Imdb does not. But then it is NOT complete on these things or anything else). It was just obviously a writer's episode, too, where there was some self-commentary on the process, the grind, etc., and I enjoyed it for those reveals.

I have some Naked City sets and will look for Ginnes' work there. I suppose he didn't use Alan Smithee as a psuedonym since that would be the director.

Re: Best of Route 66

No, that's a great observation about that speech being an obvious bit of writer's autobiography. And I honestly have no idea which one wrote it, Silliphant or Ginnes.

Re: Best of Route 66

Okay, I confess, I double-dipped and ordered the Producer's Picks DVD (aka Best of Route 66). The more support we can give to these releases, the better chance Infinity sticks with their release schedule for Season 3 (or so my twisted logic goes).

I also figure that once I watch the four episodes I haven't already seen recently (from Seasons 3 and 4), I can always pass this set on to the un-initiated friend or relative and help create another fan for the show (again with the twisted logic).

Also, I spent more on lunch today than this release (boy, the rationalizations just keep on coming).

Movies Top Sellers - Route 66-producer's Picks

And then there's the part about keeping this thread active.

BTW - since there are multiple producers credited, it should be called Producers' Picks. And that's not twisted logic, that's just correct grammar.

Re: Best of Route 66

Oh, I agree with you Wayne, and with the same reasoning...I'm thinking of getting the "...Picks" collection too...because I just can't wait for season 3 and really want to see "Poor little Kangaroo Rat" and "Soda pop and paper flags"...There's something about this series that still deeply affects me...yes, the eloquence and intelligence evident in MOST episodes...I want to commit to memory some of the beautiful dialogue heard here...complex, conflicted, vulnerable and tragic characters encountered along the way...the allure of the road trip undertaken by unencumbered youth...carrying their own burden along the way, but retaining the optimism that youth should grant them...the panorama of America as I remember it from my youth...people of the everyday working world that you rarely see depicted in contemporary shows...I'm politically and philosophically conservative, but with an appreciation for the good accomplished for the greater society by people of liberal ideals...very much in evidence in this series...it's fascinating to see the incipient social revolution just getting underway in the early '60s as depicted on Route 66...even with the constraints of network TV back in the day, a lot is said that amazes me and more yet hinted at...yes, it appeals to my nostalgia, but with a realistic retrospection too...the early '60s were a great time, but with the rot of racial, ethnic and religious bigotry much in evidence...I remember loving this show as a kid and it's only better now...

Re: Best of Route 66

Full circle. This thread is actually now about the Best of Route 66 again, or Producer's Picks, as it's now called.

I was pleasantly surprised to find the episodes include the original Chevrolet ads AND previews of the next show with voiceovers from Maharis or Milner. How cool is that? (Rod Steiger coming in a Season 3 episode). But it makes me wonder why these prints weren't available for the Season sets. I haven't cross checked against the Season 1 set the one episode from the first half of Season 1 here, "play it glissando," but the print here looks good. Imagine someone picking up this best of set, running out to get the Season 1 set, and discovering the hideous quality of the first half of that set. Talk about switch/bait advertising.

But, hey, I can now do another episode mini-review starting with a Season 3 selection ...

"lizard's legs and owlet wings" Route 66 has done silly before, but never this corny. But who's going to complain? It's got horror legends Peter Lorre, Lon Chaney Jr. and Boris Karloff meeting at a hotel near Chicago to debate whether the "old" monsters still have it, or it's time to move on. And, of course, the hotel is also hosting a convention of executive secretaries, so much fainting ensues as Lon dons his Wolf Man garb and howls through the hallways overacting to the moon. Boris even puts on his Frankenstein make up for the first time in about 30 years. And Peter Lorre, well, with those rolling eyeballs, he doesn't need any monster make up. Tod and Buzz take another back seat in this episode with minimal screen time. And Buz dons his goofy smile for his appearances (last seen mooning over Vicki in "how much a pound of albatross?"). Silliphant probably could have done something meatier with this unique cast, but his fondness for these legends shines through with an unusual lack of cynicism, and that makes for a sweet valentine to the "old" masters of horror.

I once attended a memorial event for Boris Karloff at the Motion Picture Academy hosted by Vincent Price and featuring film clips from throughout his career and testimonials from his fans and fellow actors. What a personal thrill that was. And what a tribute it would be to finally get Thriller on DVD to help keep his legacy alive.

Re: Best of Route 66

It's not much, but a single public domain episode from "Thriller" titled "The Return of Andrew Bentley" has surfaced on Mill Creek's Sci-Fi TV collection.

Mill Creek Details Page

Re: Best of Route 66

Wayne, I wish I was caught up with you on viewing R66 S2 as I'd love to comment on your reviews. My wife, who wouldn't watch the S1 vol. 1 episodes with me due to the washed out ruddy prints is now hooked on the series after we viewed the nicer looking ones. Now I have to wait until she's available to watch the series with me. She loved "Good Night, Sweet Blues" when we watched it over the weekend and the tears really flowed at the end (for both of us, actually). When I finally get caught up, I know I'll have alot of re-reading I can do in this thread!

Re: Best of Route 66

Producer's Picks my 2 cents for a S3 ep ...

"poor little kangaroo rat" I'm not sure why this mediocre episode is on a 'best of' DVD unless you find a 6 year-old Ronny Howard adorable. Okay ... I guess that's enough. Leslie Nielsen plays a medical researcher catching sharks through Marineland for experimental purposes, and then shooting them when he gets frustrated (hey, where's PETA?) He's also neglecting his wife and his son, gasp, Opie (I forget his name, but let's face it, it's Opie) for his work. Buz has one of his signature moments where he gives a brief, impassioned speech (scripted this time by Les Pine, not Stirling Silliphant)that immediately changes the mind and action of one of the characters. When I spend most of the episode admiring Leslie Nielsen's magnificent hair, I know I'm not seeing a great script realized, but it's still Buz and Tod and it will just have to do to hold me off until the full load of Season 3 episodes (or at least volume 1) come out this summer.

P.S. - Just curious. Does anyone remember where Marineland was along the California coast north of La Jolla? Was it in Long Beach?

Re: Best of Route 66

Wayne,

A map from a 1959 brochure. I have fond memories of visiting Marineland sometime around 1967.

http://www.image-archeology.com/Mari...e_Map_1959.jpg

Re: Best of Route 66

Aah, the tip of Palos Verdes, so that's where it was. Thanks for that, Michael. Cool map.

Re: Best of Route 66

Producer's Picks S3 2 cents con'd

"soda pop and paper flags" The last episode of Season 3. Again, I'm trying to figure out why this is considered a best of. It's an okay enough story by John McGreevey about a hobo (great Chester Morris) who may or may not have brought a "sleeping sickness" virus into a tight knit and self protective small town. Perhaps it's the co-stars. You've got Tom Bosley as a sleazy businessman who takes Linc (Glen Corbett) out for drinks on the pretext of ... I love this ... pimping his looks out to score chicks so he can get some strange (please don't tell Mrs. Cunningham). And there's a cameo featuring Alan Alda playing a lab doctor that barely registers because you never ever see him crack even the faintest smile (course he's supposed to be testing for a deadly virus, so it's excusable, but come on, Hawkeye, a little blood never stopped you before). Chester Morris is always good, and I just saw him in the Studio One teleplay by Rod Serling called "The Arena" where he was fantastic counseling a Senator on the ropes of the game in Washington. Joseph Campanella also shows up as a cop. So, I guess the theme criteria for including this episode was familiar faces who went on have their own successful series.

One episode left from Season 4 on this best of. But man o man, without Buz (and Stirling Silliphant), there's just no passion in this play. It must have been totally obvious to the producers, as well. Glen Corbett might as well have been a mannequin for all the life he provides. This has always been one of my holy grails for TV series to own and re-visit, but I'm re-thinking the necessity of Season 4 at this point.

Re: Best of Route 66

Producer's Picks S4 2 cents con'd

"a cage in search of a bird" Smart choice ending this 'best of' collection on a Silliphant* script. And it's a pretty good one. Dan Duryea (always good) plays an aging criminal returning to the scene of his crime ... the Denver mint, where he and some accomplices robbed $250,000 and killed two armored car guards 35 years earlier. He enlists a young woman (Stephanie Powers, pre Girl From U.N.C.L.E.), in some trouble of her own, to turn in him for the $25,000 reward money as his final act of redemption - trying to finally connect to another human soul and somehow alter their path. The surprise ending has a sweet and poignant twist. Powers also gets a good Silliphant monologue along the way that can only be described as existential in nature (and relates to the title). Oh, yeah, and Tod and Linc get a little screen time.

There are some very ambitious location shots in this episode. We see the (now) '63 Vette entering Denver from a bird's eye perch above the street below. We have a dialogue scene between Duryea and Powers walking up the crowded streets with what looks like a hand held shot tracking with them (unusual for that time). And there's a huge square dance scene with Tod and the girl (Powers) that comes out of nowhere and is a logistical marvel for getting any decent audio. Also, Tod, briefly, gets the big smooch scene. Way to go, Tod, that never would have happened if Buz was still around.

My wife watched this episode with me and here's her comment about Glen Corbett now starring with Martin Milner ... "Wow (not a good 'wow'). Boring. Nothing. They're like the button-down twins." The producers and America voted ... and Route 66, the road ends for you here. Seacrest out.

*I'm reading a book called Pictures at a Revolution about the 5 films that changed the movie business in 1968, and one of them happens to be written by Stirling Silliphant - In the Heat of the Night. And there's a pretty good quote from Silliphant about his Route 66 experience that sums up why the show is so tied up with his talent and his psyche. He referred to the show as ...

" ... a dramatization of my personal four-year psychiatric exhumation of all the shit that was bubbling inside of me." It was some good 'shit,' Mr. Silliphant. Thank you for sharing it with us.

Re: Best of Route 66

What a fascinating revelation--thanks for sharing that Wayne. I had no idea that writing for "Route 66" was in effect a cathartic experience for Mr. Silliphant. Kind of mirrors Serling's psychological tumult and the 90 or so scripts he wrote for "Twilight Zone".

It's as though Stirling was vicariously visiting a headshrinker, lying on a couch and just spouting off his feelings on the human condition for 4 years!

Re: Best of Route 66

Right! I think that's what made the show always so fascinating to me. Tod and Buz were just the link to entering the writer's psyche through the characters they encounter. And there was always one little monologue in an episode that sort of encapsulated what the current state of that psyche was: sometimes inspirational, sometimes cynical; sometimes hysterical; but always searching for the deeper meaning; the true feeling.

Even the lead characters suggest early on that the 'route' in the title was really their search for roots - something to connect to; to discover and then plant themselves firmly to. And the writer's psyche took us all over America showing us how to make those connections.

Re: Best of Route 66

I am getting concerned that we may not see further releases of "Route 66" for several reasons. First, Infinity Entertainment Group's website shows no further releases scheduled at this point. Amazon has a listing for Season 3, Volume 1 for June 23rd, but a second listing for S. 3, V. 1 shows it as being discontinued. The listing at DVD Pacific also shows S. 3, V. 1 as being discontinued. Worst of all, three of Infinity's own retail outlets, Critics Choice Video, Deep Discount, and DVD Planet have no listing whatsoever for a S. 3, V. 1 release.

I wonder if we're at the end of the road for further DVD releases of "Route 66" or if it's just being delayed. If it's the former, I just may have to get the "Producers Picks" release for a few more season 3 & 4 episodes.

Re: Best of Route 66

That's distressing information (or lack of). If anyone can get any further information from Infinity, it would be appreciated.

Re: Best of Route 66

Wayne, I dashed off an E-mail to Infinity this morning . . . the first E-mail bounced back to me advising that the contact person was no longer there, but there was an E-mail address listed for another person at Infinity, so I sent off another note. If I hear anything, I'll be sure to post here.

Re: Best of Route 66

Thanks Bob. This concern (that we might not see any more R66 sets) has been lingering in my mind for some time now. I'm anxious to find out if Infinity is even still viable as a company at this point. The economy may be causing major chaos for them.

Gary "it would be a shame to see this series cut off at the half way mark" O.

Re: Best of Route 66

Well, Infinity is supposed to release season 1 of "The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp" next week so, hopefully, they're OK. But the other side of the equation is the rights holder, Roxbury Entertainment. They were scheduled to produce a "Route 66" theatrical film which, if I recall correctly, was supposed to be released in 2009. I checked the IMDB.com credits for Roxbury's owner, Kirk Hallam, and there is no "Route 66" credit showing for him now. I'm speculating here, but I wonder if Mr. Hallam sunk a lot of money into the theatrical film and now, with nothing to show for it (insofar as I can tell), Roxbury may not have the financial resources to take the DVD releases further, at least at this time . . . . but I'm just thinking out loud here. Here are a couple of articles that reference the film . . . .

http://rwarn17588.wordpress.com/2008...h-kirk-hallam/

http://www.route66university.com/stu...henews/389.php

I'm certainly not reaching for the panic button just yet, but the information that I can glean (and speculate about) certainly is not positive.

Re: Best of Route 66

From the get-go I felt this was a rather misguided effort and a big waste of money. Interesting argument and potentially quite valid.

I too was getting concerned of late and ready to relegate this title to the "Rawhide"/"Untouchables" pile of permamently sidelined vintage shows.

Re: Best of Route 66

"Other Sources" wins again!

Re: Best of Route 66

I don't think that you can jump to that conclusion . . . . yet. There's been nothing definitive one way or the other to suggest whether the series will be continued on DVD or not. On the one hand, a few online stores are taking pre-orders for a June 23rd release. But other stores don't even have it listed and a few (including a second listing at Amazon) say that it has been discontinued. Based on a few indicators, I'm of the mind that a season 3, volume 1 release is questionable for a June 23rd release, but that doesn't necessarily mean that it won't happen at some point in the future. Eventually, we'll know but, for the time being, I wouldn't write-off further DVD releases of "Route 66" just yet until we learn more.

Re: Best of Route 66

I'd agree, but I do believe we are dangerously close.

No word back yet, Bob?

Gary "while I'm not ready to pull out of town on this one yet, I am gassing up the Corvette" O.

Re: Best of Route 66

I've not heard anything back from Infinity, though the second E-mail that I sent did not bounce back, unlike the first one, so they have it. But as to whether they'll respond or not, your guess is as good as mine.

Re: Best of Route 66

Guess I'll never get to see the episode filmed here in Minneapolis. S4E16 "Kiss the Monster, Make Him Sleep" featured James Coburn and was not seen in the series' original network run. It would have been shown Friday, November 22d, 1963. I did see it once in syndication, circa 1965.

Re: Best of Route 66

Still haven't heard back from Infinity Entertainment (and, at this point, don't expect to), but there may be some good news. Deep Discount is now showing a June 30th release date for season 3, volume 1. However, Infinity Entertainment's web site still isn't showing season 3, volume 1 but, in fairness, their new release listing only goes as far as June 23rd. Also, as of this writing, Infinity's other two on-line retailers, DVD Planet and Critics Choice, are still not showing any listing for season 3, volume 1. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the listing at Deep Discount is legit since DD and Infinity Entertainment are both owned by Infinity Resources.

Movies Top Sellers - Route 66-3rd Season V.01