77 Sunset Strip / Hawaiian Eye, etc. (1 Viewer)

[Flashgear]

Thanks Gary for posting the article too,,,77 Sunset Strip with 20 million viewers must refer to where the show finished in the ratings for season three, tied at #13 with My 3 Sons for a 25.8 rating (Brooks and Marsh, Complete Directory to Prime Time TV Shows)...by the end of season four, 77 Sunset Strip still enjoyed relatively strong ratings, but was now out of the top 20...four hot new series that debuted in the fall of 1961, Dr. Kildare, Ben Casey, Hazel and Car 54, Where Are You? had all played a part in bumping 77 Sunset Strip out of the top 20...but by that point, none of the WB detective and western series were top 20 shows...previously, in 1959-60, 77 Sunset Strip had finished at #6, tied with Father Knows Best, and Lawman, Cheyenne and Maverick were all in the top 20...

Of course, ratings were garbage then and now as to truly and accurately measuring a show's reach and popularity...but of course, the vaunted Nielsen's determined what shows would draw the deep pocket national sponsors...and what shows would be driven off the air...any show today in the fragmented TV audience would kill for 20 million viewers and a 26 share...also, back in the '60s and '70s, the networks and sponsors were routinely killing off shows with as much as 14 million viewers!

From the article, it's good to know that somebody on the 77 Sunset Strip and WB production and writing team likely reached out for technical advice from the staff at Popular Electronics for tech support and advice about the capabilities and usage of CB band radios...the audiences of the day undoubtedly found the depiction of their usage to be upping the "Cool" factor...much like Richard Diamond's mobile car phone...long before the '70s CB radio craze...

I can remember the first time I regularly drove a car with a 12 channel mobile phone (and a cranky and slow mobile phone fax machine in a shiny aluminum attache case!), nearly everyone I encountered was fascinated and astounded at such wonders...some joked that I was a private eye or even a spy...to use the fax machine at a landline pay phone sometimes drew a crowd of onlookers...and on one occasion the police were called to the scene while I waited for the usual 6 to 7 minutes for one page to be scanned by the fax and finally sent...I had to pull my car up close to the phone booth and lay the fax machine on the hood of my car...nobody had ever seen such things in the mid '70s, including the cops...I tried to find the most deserted locations with a pay phone so as to not have to explain over and over what I was doing, seeing as I obviously didn't work for the phone company...the mobile phone was unreliable to complete the lengthy transmission of tonal data, and not secure either for confidential messages, necessitating my usage of landlines...when I was in the Army, I also had the privilege of using a first generation NAVSTAR GPS transponder, in a big backpack with a small satellite dish and with gyros spinning at 20K rpm that you could just feel the power of while you carried it on your back...now, everything is exponentially more powerful and carried in the palm of our hand...

 

[criblecoblis]

Here’s the article. It even mentions the episodes to watch (near the bottom).

Thanks! And silly me; it took me a whole season to start noticing the CB placement! See, I'm really not all that observant. . . .

 

[criblecoblis]

Some time back, we were pondering the question of whether the theatrical release of Girl on The Run was longer than the 77-minute version that ran as S1E1. I've found another bit of evidence that it was.

The online streaming service Mubi has a listing for the film: https://mubi.com/films/girl-on-the-run-1958. It lists the length as 87 minutes.

The film is not currently playing on the service, but I'll keep my eye out for when it will be available.

 

[Rustifer]

Thanks Gary for posting the article too,,,77 Sunset Strip with 20 million viewers must refer to where the show finished in the ratings for season three, tied at #13 with My 3 Sons for a 25.8 rating (Brooks and Marsh, Complete Directory to Prime Time TV Shows)...by the end of season four, 77 Sunset Strip still enjoyed relatively strong ratings, but was now out of the top 20...four hot new series that debuted in the fall of 1961, Dr. Kildare, Ben Casey, Hazel and Car 54, Where Are You? had all played a part in bumping 77 Sunset Strip out of the top 20...but by that point, none of the WB detective and western series were top 20 shows...previously, in 1959-60, 77 Sunset Strip had finished at #6, tied with Father Knows Best, and Lawman, Cheyenne and Maverick were all in the top 20...

Of course, ratings were garbage then and now as to truly and accurately measuring a show's reach and popularity...but of course, the vaunted Nielsen's determined what shows would draw the deep pocket national sponsors...and what shows would be driven off the air...any show today in the fragmented TV audience would kill for 20 million viewers and a 26 share...also, back in the '60s and '70s, the networks and sponsors were routinely killing off shows with as much as 14 million viewers!

From the article, it's good to know that somebody on the 77 Sunset Strip and WB production and writing team likely reached out for technical advice from the staff at Popular Electronics for tech support and advice about the capabilities and usage of CB band radios...the audiences of the day undoubtedly found the depiction of their usage to be upping the "Cool" factor...much like Richard Diamond's mobile car phone...long before the '70s CB radio craze...

I can remember the first time I regularly drove a car with a 12 channel mobile phone (and a cranky and slow mobile phone fax machine in a shiny aluminum attache case!), nearly everyone I encountered was fascinated and astounded at such wonders...some joked that I was a private eye or even a spy...to use the fax machine at a landline pay phone sometimes drew a crowd of onlookers...and on one occasion the police were called to the scene while I waited for the usual 6 to 7 minutes for one page to be scanned by the fax and finally sent...I had to pull my car up close to the phone booth and lay the fax machine on the hood of my car...nobody had ever seen such things in the mid '70s, including the cops...I tried to find the most deserted locations with a pay phone so as to not have to explain over and over what I was doing, seeing as I obviously didn't work for the phone company...the mobile phone was unreliable to complete the lengthy transmission of tonal data, and not secure either for confidential messages, necessitating my usage of landlines...when I was in the Army, I also had the privilege of using a first generation NAVSTAR GPS transponder, in a big backpack with a small satellite dish and with gyros spinning at 20K rpm that you could just feel the power of while you carried it on your back...now, everything is exponentially more powerful and carried in the palm of our hand...

Great background on TV ratings, Randall! Really good info.

Your story on old mobile car phones reminded me that my dad, a district sales manager, had one installed in his car back around 1959 or 1960. I felt like we were the Jetsons, employing such space age technology. Unfortunately, the image was somewhat tempered by the fact he was driving a 1957 Chevy Bel Air---a classically cool car now, but in those days about as exciting as a leaf pile. It did have the "wonder bar" automatic radio tuning--so very convenient on AM car radios capable of picking up about 3 stations....

 

[criblecoblis]

Ah, the customary lull in the thread as the sixth season spools on by. . . .

 

[Gary16]

Ah, the customary lull in the thread as the sixth season spools on by. . . .

But “88 Bars” airs late Thursday night as previously posted. There are some other good ones if taken on their own without comparing directly to seasons 1-5.

 

[criblecoblis]

But “88 Bars” airs late Thursday night as previously posted. There are some other good ones if taken on their own without comparing directly to seasons 1-5.

And Russ has said he will provide commentary upon that episode! So we have that to look forward to. But you don't have to sell me on the sixth season, Gary. I think that at least half of the episodes are good, if taken out of the context of seasons 1–5, and the last episode, "Queen of The Cats," was better than half of the season 5 episodes.

 

[Rustifer]

And Russ has said he will provide commentary upon that episode!

Loooking forward to it.

"Queen of The Cats," was better than half of the season 5 episodes.

Agreed.

 

[Gary16]

And Russ has said he will provide commentary upon that episode! So we have that to look forward to. But you don't have to sell me on the sixth season, Gary. I think that at least half of the episodes are good, if taken out of the context of seasons 1–5, and the last episode, "Queen of The Cats," was better than half of the season 5 episodes.

I hope I haven’t oversold “88 Bars” but the cast alone is worthwhile (I’ve watched it four times).

 

[Rustifer]

Ah, the customary lull in the thread as the sixth season spools on by. . . .

I never based any of my commentaries on MeTV's 77 SS schedule. I just picked out various episodes that I had DVR'd--which I'll continue to do although my remaining list is getting a bit thin.
I think we can all continue to jump in with thoughts regardless of the TV rotation. For example, Marv came up with a great quiz on his 30's-40's Mystery Series thread--I'd like to try to put together something similar for 77 SS. Maybe that's something we can both work on...

 

[Rustifer]

I hope I haven’t oversold “88 Bars”

I'll let you know...

 

[criblecoblis]

I think we can all continue to jump in with thoughts regardless of the TV rotation.

Russ, I actually agree with you on this. I was just trying to stimulate discussion, and for once I did!

 

[criblecoblis]

I hope I haven’t oversold “88 Bars” but the cast alone is worthwhile (I’ve watched it four times).

Indeed. It's one of the few non-Trek DeForest Kelley performances I like.

 

[Rustifer]

Episode Commentary
"The One That Got Away" (S2E17)

Yes, I'm delving once again into the dreaded "international" bag to come up with this episode. What's worse, this is one of the "Mexico" capers, which is about as authentic Mexican as Ft. Wayne, Indiana.

Opening Scene: Kookie is trying on scuba gear in Dino's parking lot, per Jeff Spencer's instructions. He's to assist Jeff in an insurance investigation regarding the death of a famous underwater photographer Wheeler Carthwright (Brad Weston). Wheeler's wife, Diana (Whitney Blake) is the eager beneficiary of a $250,000 policy. As we we shortly learn, Diana is not exactly a grieving widow.

Roscoe and Jeff are off to a remote village in Mexico to hunt for Wheeler's favorite model, Pilar (Lisa Montell)--"The most photographic woman he ever met", which is a bold (and somewhat idiotic) statement coming from a guy who had been married to the likes of Whitney Blake.
Jeff has reason to believe Wheeler is still alive and shacking up with Pilar, masquerading as her deaf cousin Manuel. Jeff confronts Manuel in a cantina, who readily admits to being Wheeler and explains his and Diana's marriage was never one made in heaven--so he wants out. This information inspires Jeff into picking up a guitar and spanking out a song in his peculiar fashion until a female guest at the bar, overcome with lust, rushes up and plants a big one on him in gratitude. The same thing always happened to me whenever I strummed the guitar in a remote cantina. It just seems to go with the territory.

Whitney Blake; Lisa Montell; Pedro

Meanwhile, Roscoe engages in some competitive cockroach races which appear to be as exciting as applying table varnish, but he's able to foster a winning bug named Pedro (Pedro).
Jeff flies Diana to Mexico to meet face-to-face with Wheeler, a meeting that predictably does not go well. She immediately plots to kill him and Pilar and stage it like a murder / suicide. The gal wants that insurance money, dammit. In the middle of this, Jeff--for some foggy reason--is kidnapped, but saved by Roscoe and his champion cockroach Pedro. I'm not kidding. Just in time, by the way, to also save Wheeler, Pilar and Diana from a burning shack. The good news--no one dies. The bad news--no one gets insurance money.

Closing scene: Roscoe brings back Kookie a genuine Tijuana sombrero, which he immediately dons with a chuckle--"Nervous,man!"

This is a rather unmemorable episode. I say it with confidence because I realized after typing up this commentary that I already reviewed it many pages back. Gee, I thought it looked familiar. I hope this version is better second time around. Senility is a terrible thing to waste.

Coming up next: "88 Bars".

 

[Mysto]

Episode Commentary
"The One That Got Away" (S2E17)

Yes, I'm delving once again into the dreaded "international" bag to come up with this episode. What's worse, this is one of the "Mexico" capers, which is about as authentic Mexican as Ft. Wayne, Indiana.

Opening Scene: Kookie is trying on scuba gear in Dino's parking lot, per Jeff Spencer's instructions. He's to assist Jeff in an insurance investigation regarding a famous underwater photographer Wheeler Carthwright (Brad Weston). Wheeler's wife, Diana (Whitney Blake) is the eager beneficiary of a $250,000 policy. As we we shortly learn, Diana is not exactly a grieving widow.

Roscoe and Jeff are off to a remote village in Mexico to hunt for Wheeler's favorite model, Pilar (Lisa Montell)--"The most photographic woman he ever met", which are bold (and somewhat idiotic) words coming from a guy who had been married to the likes of Whitney Blake.
Jeff has reason to believe Wheeler is still alive and shacking up with Pilar, masquerading as her deaf cousin Manuel. Jeff confronts Manuel in a cantina, who readily admits to being Wheeler and explains his and Diana's marriage was never one made in heaven--so he wants out. This information inspires Jeff into picking up a guitar and spanking it in his peculiar fashion until a female guest at the bar, overcome with lust, rushes up and plants a big one on him in gratitude.The same thing always happened to me whenever I strummed the guitar in a remote cantina. It just seems to go with the territory.

View attachment 57599

Whitney Blake; Lisa Montell; Pedro

Meanwhile, Roscoe engages in some competitive cockroach races which appear to be as interesting as coffee table varnish, but he fosters a winning bug named Pedro (Pedro).
Jeff flies Diana to Mexico to meet face-to-face with Wheeler, a meeting that predictably does not go well. She immediately plots to kill him and Pilar and make it look like a murder / suicide. The gal wants that insurance money, dammit. In the middle of this, Jeff is--for some foggy reason--kidnapped, but saved by Roscoe and his champion cockroach Pedro. I'm not kidding. Just in time, by the way, to also save Wheeler, Pilar and Diana from a burning shack. The good news--no one dies. The bad news--no one gets insurance money.

Closing scene: Roscoe brings back Kookie a genuine Tijuana sombrero, which he immediately dons with a chuckle--"Nervous,man!"

This is a rather unmemorable episode. I say it with confidence because I realized after typing up this commentary that I already reviewed it many pages back. Gee, I thought it looked familiar. I hope this version is better second time around. Senility is a terrible thing to waste.

Coming up next: "88 Bars".

I thought the cockroach looked familiar. Here in Florida we don't have cockroaches - we have palmetto bugs. The difference? You can put a saddle on a palmetto bug.

 

[Rustifer]

I thought the cockroach looked familiar. Here in Florida we don't have cockroaches - we have palmetto bugs. The difference? You can put a saddle on a palmetto bug.

Ewwwwwwwwwwwwwww....

 

[criblecoblis]

Roscoe and Jeff are off to a remote village in Mexico to hunt for Wheeler's favorite model, Pilar (Lisa Montell)--"The most photographic woman he ever met", which is a bold (and somewhat idiotic) statement coming from a guy who had been married to the likes of Whitney Blake.

Well, while Whitney Blake is very pretty, maybe he just preferred brunettes.

That is an inept line you quote. It clanks loudly as it is spoken. It's so bad that I've always assumed that it was written as "photogenic" rather than "photographic," and it was simply misspoken. I can't believe a professional writer would write such a line as was spoken, unless he was writing for Norm Crosby or Parkyakarkus.

Speaking of Whitney Blake, I think it's hilarious that she played portly old Don DeFore's wife in Hazel. He was 13 years older than she was, and looked it. Oh, and she was a local girl, having been born in Eagle Rock, just west of Pasadena.

 

[Rustifer]

Speaking of Whitney Blake, I think it's hilarious that she played portly old Don DeFore's wife in Hazel.

Yeah, I always felt that, too. In fact, everything about that show was a little incongruous--from a housemaid in uniform (what did Whitney herself do around the house?) right down to their nerdy kid Bobby Buntrock.

 

[Rustifer]

Episode Commentary
"88 Bars" (S6E7)

If you were to drive along the 8500 block of Sunset Boulevard today, all you would see are cloned modern glass and steel towers. Long gone are the decades old mish-mash of unrelated architectures that housed the existence of Dino’s, 77 Sunset Strip (Mary Webb Davis building), the Sea Witch, etc. lining the block. In the black and white world of the early '60's, this was the vibrant color that painted the series. All disappeared now in the mists of inevitable renovation.

I make the same correlation to Season 6 of the show. To me, this season deserted almost all the earmarks of the previous seasons that were so familiarly wrapped in a jacket of ambiance. As a result, I studiously avoided watching any of it for years. At least until now, when some of my valued colleagues in this thread convinced me to catch a few selected episodes to see if my view could be changed. At first, no. Then came "Queen of the Cats", and I was pleasantly surprised. I was therefore curious to see if "88 Bars" would follow suit.

Opening Scene: Vic Connors (Bobby Troup) tickling the ivories in a fancy club, champagne glass balanced atop the piano. At one of the tables sits admiring Connie Wingate (Cloris Leachman), third richest woman in the world, with her faithful secretary Lisa Cabot (Joanna Barnes) and brother Phil Wingate (DeForest Kelley). You now have the checklist of most of the main characters in the story. As they leave the club, a shot is fired at Phil. Pay attention. The whole story revolves around this.

Stu with Connie; Stu with Lisa, Brother Phil

Stu Bailey is confronted in his office by a strange fellow by the name of Mainwaring, the chauffeur of the Wingates who has been dispatched to take him to Connie's estate. "Where does she live?" inquires Stu. "In Pasadena", offers Mainwaring. Stu wearily nods "Of course. Doesn't everyone?" As they drive through the neighborhood, Stu observes "estates the size of Grand Central. Just screams capital gains." Lisa the secretary greets him at the door and immediately kisses him. No reason. Just wants to. Stu learns he has been hired to find out who wants brother Phil to end up on the wrong side of the grass. Phil laughs off his attack.
"Not too many laughs in a bullet", opines Stu. I half expected Deforest Kelley to respond "Dammit! I'm a doctor, Stu!"

Stu embarks on his investigation for the culprit, taking him through Las Vegas, a burlesque joint, a bar and any number of other places where the Wingates seemingly have more enemies than ATMs have $20 bills. He learns that Connie's one true love is pianist Vic Connors, whom Phil regards as useful as a boil on his derriere. Part of Stu's travels lands him in Lisa's apartment, where she serves up coffee as well as herself. Both piping hot. To her disappointment, Stu falls asleep on the couch before even a button can come undone.

Bailey eventually determines that Phil had hired a professional hit man (Lee Van Cleef) to make it appear as if Vic Connors was the aspiring shooter. Never mind that poor Vic was busy playing the piano when the shot was fired. Phil feared that if Connie married Vic, he'd be put out on the doorstep like a cat with a pending hairball, since all the money was in Connie's name. Not to fear, for she had already set up a tidy trust fund just for him. So the whole charade was for nuthin'.

Notes:
Production endeavored to set up a lot of arty close-ups swathed in shadow--a nice nod to a noirish effort.
There's also some interesting footage of downtown LA at that period and although stock, a nice departure from the ubiquitous WB back lot.
A fight scene between Lee Van Cleef and EZ was too obviously staged with stunt doubles.
Stu maintained a Philip Marlowe-style patter that just doesn't suit his Bailey character.
I still can't get over the opening credits underlaid with Stu walking through the Bradley building. It just seems to defeat the purpose of the series' title.

Admittedly, although I enjoyed the episode I did not hold it as highly as "Queen of the Cats" --which had a great script, superior acting and a smooth flow.
There were way too many characters forced into this story, as if to accommodate all the guest stars instead of accentuating the plot.

 

[Gary16]

Episode Commentary
"88 Bars" (S6E7)

If you were to drive along the 8500 block of Sunset Boulevard today, all you would see are cloned modern glass and steel towers. Long gone are the decades old mish-mash of unrelated architectures that housed the existence of Dino’s, 77 Sunset Strip (Mary Webb Davis building), the Sea Witch, etc. lining the block. In the black and white world of the early '60's, this was the vibrant color that painted the series. All disappeared now in the mists of inevitable renovation.

I make the same correlation to Season 6 of the show. To me, this season deserted almost all the earmarks of the previous seasons that were so familiarly wrapped in a jacket of ambiance. As a result, I studiously avoided watching any of it for years. At least until now, when some of my valued colleagues in this thread convinced me to catch a few selected episodes to see if my view could be changed. At first, no. Then came "Queen of the Cats", and I was pleasantly surprised. I was therefore curious to see if "88 Bars" would follow suit.

Opening Scene: Vic Connors (Bobby Troup) tickling the ivories in a fancy club, champagne glass balanced atop the piano. At one of the tables sits admiring Connie Wingate (Cloris Leachman), third richest woman in the world, with her faithful secretary Lisa Cabot (Joanna Barnes) and brother Phil Wingate (DeForest Kelley). You now have the checklist of most of the main characters in the story. As they leave the club, a shot is fired at Phil. Pay attention. The whole story revolves around this.

View attachment 57674 View attachment 57675 View attachment 57676
Stu with Connie; Stu with Lisa, Brother Phil

Stu Bailey is confronted in his office by a strange fellow by the name of Mainwaring, the chauffeur of the Wingates who has been dispatched to take him to Connie's estate. "Where does she live?" inquires Stu. "In Pasadena", offers Mainwaring. Stu wearily nods "Of course. Doesn't everyone?" As they drive through the neighborhood, Stu observes "estates the size of Grand Central. Just screams capital gains." Lisa the secretary greets him at the door and immediately kisses him. No reason. Just wants to. Stu learns he has been hired to find out who wants brother Phil to end up on the wrong side of the grass. Phil laughs off his attack.
"Not too many laughs in a bullet", opines Stu. I half expected Deforest Kelley to respond "Dammit! I'm a doctor, Stu!"

Stu embarks on his investigation for the culprit, taking him through Las Vegas, a burlesque joint, a bar and any number of other places where the Wingates seemingly have more enemies than ATMs have $20 bills. He learns that Connie's one true love is pianist Vic Connors, whom Phil regards as useful as a boil on his derriere. Part of Stu's travels lands him in Lisa's apartment, where she serves up coffee as well as herself. Both piping hot. To her disappointment, Stu falls asleep on the couch before even a button can come undone.

Bailey eventually determines that Phil had hired a professional hit man (Lee Van Cleef) to make it appear as if Vic Connors was the aspiring shooter. Never mind that poor Vic was busy playing the piano when the shot was fired. Phil feared that if Connie married Vic, he'd be put out on the doorstep like a cat with a pending hairball, since all the money was in Connie's name. Not to fear, for she had already set up a tidy trust fund just for him. So the whole charade was for nuthin'.

Notes:
Production endeavored to set up a lot of arty close-ups swathed in shadow--a nice nod to a noirish effort.
There's also some interesting footage of downtown LA at that period and although stock, a nice departure from the ubiquitous WB back lot.
A fight scene between Lee Van Cleef and EZ was too obviously staged with stunt doubles.
Stu maintained a Philip Marlowe-style patter that just doesn't suit his Bailey character.
I still can't get over the opening credits underlaid with Stu walking through the Bradley building. It just seems to defeat the purpose of the series' title.

Admittedly, although I enjoyed the episode I did not hold it as highly as "Queen of the Cats" --which had a great script, superior acting and a smooth flow.
There were way too many characters forced into this story, as if to accommodate all the guest stars instead of accentuating the plot.

I feel somewhat vindicated. Thanks for taking the challenge.