What did you watch this week in classic TV on DVD(or Blu)? (13 Viewers)

[Jack P]

Yes, good point...sometimes too much reality in our TV is more than we might wish!

The ultimate example if we carried it to movies would be prehistoric women as personified by Raquel Welch.

With westerns its probably easier to be charitable, but OTOH, no one was buying Scott Baio's hair on "Happy Days"! (and Alda's on MASH was about as un-50s as you could get)

 

[BobO'Link]

Not only hair, Jeff. Female couture of the TV era is nowhere near what the ladies were actually wearing in the mid-19th century. I give you the examples of Linda Evans in The Big Valley, and a non-TV celebrity from 1870:

Old Bessie (on the right) kinda makes you wonder how any children were conceived back then. But by golly, she could whip up a mean skillet cornbread.

Gee, Russ... are you from The South? Most folks north of the Mason-Dixon line don't know what "skillet cornbread" is.

 

[Rustifer]

Gee, Russ... are you from The South? Most folks north of the Mason-Dixon line don't know what "skillet cornbread" is.

Cooking shows, Howie. Watching way too many cooking shows.

 

[Ron1973]

Apparently I was already aware of my missing disc on S2 of The Beverly Hillbillies. Somehow I have wound up with a complete set plus an extra disc 5.

I just finished disc 2 of S1, so I'll watch disc 1 tonight and then find another comedy to watch. I still can't say enough about the picture quality that CBS has laboriously restored. It is a bit grainy at times, but I can live with that. My only gripe is the volume level on the commercials at the end of each episode. It is significantly lower than the rest of the show and you have to careful to turn it back down before going to the next episode. I wish CBS would have taken the time to digitally restore the commercials and bring the sound level up to the rest of the show, but their inclusion is still worth watching. I hate that CBS chose not to restore commercials for the color seasons. There used to be a color clip on YouTube of a commercial with Jed and Jethro plugging Corn Flakes, so I know at least some episodes had them that way. I'm still happy with the series treatment as a whole, but I do wish they would hurry up and get the rest of the series out to DVD.

On the last disc of S3 there is a bonus of The Legend of The Beverly Hillbillies. It initially aired in 1992 when CBS was on a kick of doing specials on their old shows. It's nice in a way because you see Max Baer, Jr. returning as Jethro instead of someone else playing the part as in The Return of The Beverly Hillbillies. Donna Douglas and Buddy Ebsen return as their characters with appearances by Larry Pennell and Louis Nye as Dash and Sonny arguing over who Ellie Mae liked more. Roy Clark returns as Cousin Roy telling how Granny cured him one summer when he was sick. Earl Scruggs and Jerry Scoggins return to do the theme song with Roy Clark taking Lester Flatt's place on guitar. Reba McEntire tells the story of how Jed missed and struck oil instead of getting his food-one of her kinfolks borrowed Jed's gun and bent the barrel. Ray Charles explains that at one point he and the Clampetts were the only two black families in Beverly Hills! Mac Davis hosts the special.

The part that really bugged me was how they treated the absence of Nancy Kulp and Raymond Bailey. Instead of acknowledging their passing as they did with Irene Ryan as Granny, the story was concocted that Milburn Drysdale was in jail for frauding his depositors, including the Clampetts, and Miss Jane had turned state's evidence on him and was in the witness protection program. They deserved better than that.

Now back to my music. I'm on a Andrews Sisters kick the last few days!

 

[JohnHopper]

Not only hair, Jeff. Female couture of the TV era is nowhere near what the ladies were actually wearing in the mid-19th century. I give you the examples of Linda Evans in The Big Valley, and a non-TV celebrity from 1870:

Old Bessie (on the right) kinda makes you wonder how any children were conceived back then. But by golly, she could whip up a mean skillet cornbread.

People look ‘rather’ like that in the Old West.

McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971)

 

[Rustifer]

People look ‘rather’ like that in the Old West.

McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971)

I wonder if the womenfolk had the same access to makeup professionals as Julie Christie?
Still, more realistic than most of our TV Westerns.

 

[Flashgear]

Good discussion about the highly made-up cosmetic beauty of our beloved western TV babes...of course, they were all naturally beautiful to begin with... and I don't think we never noticed their '60s eye shadow, artificial eyelashes, blush, lipstick and hair extensions/wigs back when I viewed them on a 19-21" b+w tube TV. But now with remastered DVD (and occasionally HD) quality resolution and widescreen HDTV big panel displays, they're a hoot to behold only in terms of the inaccuracy of their presentation in the context of how basic and grimly primitive pioneer life in the 19th century actually was, especially for women, who often first had to survive the perils of childbirth on the frontier...many of our grandfathers and great grandfathers remarried after losing their first betrothed in the act of childbirth...tough, tough people who settled the west...

I took some more screen caps from Bonanza season 8 DVDs, the lovelies Lois Nettleton and Dina Merrill in the epic two-parter, The Pursued (Oct. 2 and 9, 1966)...

 

[Flashgear]

I think this two part episode from Bonanza season 8, The Pursued (Oct. 2 and 9, 1966) represents the best and most ambitious location filming in the long history of the ratings champion in the '60s...the spectacular vistas of Lone Pine California, the Alabama Hills and Anchor Ranch of the High Sierra...the familiar scenery of countless western films and TV shows for well over a century...this episode also made use of an extra large cast, an epic cross country chase with spectacular stunt work and terrific action...it also features brilliant performances by Lois Nettleton and Dina Merrill...and the usual solid and strong performance by Eric Fleming (Rawhide, of course) in what proved to be his last completed work on film...The Pursued was filmed July 5 to July 20, 1966...Eric Fleming would die tragically two months later on September 28, in a preventable and almost criminally irresponsible accident while filming for the new MGM Four Star series Off To See the Wizard for the episode High Jungle, drowning in the Huallaga river in Peru...fellow actor Nico Minardos barely escaped with his life from the rapids that overturned their boat...so, this especially great and truly epic Bonanza episode represents as fine a TV epitaph as we could have hoped for...Fleming was a hard working and humble journeyman actor from a poverty stricken, abusive and abandoned childhood background, a veteran of the US Navy Seabees (naval construction engineers) in WW2...in interviews he referred to himself as an unremarkable actor, humbly claiming that the horses who worked on Rawhide were better actors than he...and of his poverty stricken and abused childhood, abandoned on the streets as a teenager, "I've been living out of a paper bag my whole life"...his legacy is fully established as one of the great actors in TV westerns...the immortal Gil Favor, trail boss on the Sedalia Trail...

This epic two part episode filmed on a grand scale was, I believe, re-cut into a theatrical version for foreign cinemas...as was the previous season 7 two parter...it certainly has real and spectacular action packed cinematic sweep to it...and a grim story with a decidedly unhappy ending...strong performances by Lois Nettleton, Dina Merrill and Eric Fleming...one of Bonanza's all time great episodes...Bonanza was a rating powerhouse throughout the '60s...a top ten show from 1961-71, and #1 from 1964-67...at first going head to head with Perry Mason on Saturday nights for it's first 3 seasons, nobody wanted to be programmed against it on Sunday nights where it landed in fall 1961...only in 1967 did Bonanza find some serious competition in the Nielsens with the advent of The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour...

 

[Rustifer]

Yes, good point...sometimes too much reality in our TV is more than we might wish! Give me that big-haired, California blonde surfer girl look in my TV westerns any day of the week, I say.

Yeah, well unfortunately she's beginning to look a bit more like a pioneer lady of old.*

*Apologies to Linda Evans' fans...

 

[Rustifer]

Remember Her?
Classic TV Guest Star Tidbit

If you didn't blink twice when Michele Carey appeared on your TV screen, you were either blind or dead. This beauty showed up on such series as Man From UNCLE, Gunsmoke, T.H.E. Cat, Starsky & Hutch, Burke's Law and more.

Michele starred in a failed pilot "Where's Mama" in 1974, where she played the ghost of a real estate agent's wife who's come back to help him raise their two kids. I'm guessing that was a concept with about as much longevity as spit on a Miami sidewalk in August. But I sure would have watched it.
Ms. Carey left us a little less than a year ago at age 75.

 

[JohnHopper]

Remember Her?
Classic TV Guest Star Tidbit

If you didn't blink twice when Michele Carey appeared on your TV screen, you were either blind or dead. This beauty showed up on such series as Man From UNCLE, Gunsmoke, T.H.E. Cat, Starsky & Hutch, Burke's Law and more.

View attachment 63186

View attachment 63187

Michele starred in a pilot "Where's Mama" in 1974, where she played the ghost of a real estate agent's wife who's come back to help him raise their two kids. I'm guessing that was a concept with about as much longevity as spit on a Miami sidewalk in August. But I sure would have watched it.
Ms. Carey left us a little less than a year ago at age 75.

She was a real knockout!
She appeared twice on The Wild Wild West:
“The Night of the Feathered Fury” (season 2) as ex-Eccentrics member and golden woman Gerda Sharff
“The Night o f the Winged Terror” (season 4) as Raven executive Laurette

 

[Jeff Flugel]

I think this two part episode from Bonanza season 8, The Pursued (Oct. 2 and 9, 1966) represents the best and most ambitious location filming in the long history of the ratings champion in the '60s...the spectacular vistas of Lone Pine California, the Alabama Hills and Anchor Ranch of the High Sierra...the familiar scenery of countless western films and TV shows for well over a century...this episode also made use of an extra large cast, an epic cross country chase with spectacular stunt work and terrific action...it also features brilliant performances by Lois Nettleton and Dina Merrill...and the usual solid and strong performance by Eric Fleming (Rawhide, of course) in what proved to be his last completed work on film...The Pursued was filmed July 5 to July 20, 1966...Eric Fleming would die tragically two months later on September 28, in a preventable and almost criminally irresponsible accident while filming for the new MGM Four Star series Off To See the Wizard for the episode High Jungle, drowning in the Huallaga river in Peru...fellow actor Nico Minardos barely escaped with his life from the rapids that overturned their boat...so, this especially great and truly epic Bonanza episode represents as fine a TV epitaph as we could have hoped for...Fleming was a hard working and humble journeyman actor from a poverty stricken, abusive and abandoned childhood background, a veteran of the US Navy Seabees (naval construction engineers) in WW2...in interviews he referred to himself as an unremarkable actor, humbly claiming that the horses who worked on Rawhide were better actors than he...and of his poverty stricken and abused childhood, abandoned on the streets as a teenager, "I've been living out of a paper bag my whole life"...his legacy is fully established as one of the great actors in TV westerns...the immortal Gil Favor, trail boss on the Sedalia Trail...

Wonderful stuff, Randall! Thank you for your spirited defense of the at times impressive exterior filming and sweep of Bonanza - and especially for your stirring tribute to Eric Fleming, as fine a TV cowboy as ever graced the screen. Sad to hear of his terrible childhood, and of course his tragic and unnecessary death.

I've not seen this Season 8 two-parter, but am eager to after your post. It's good to be reminded that even a ubiquitous western like Bonanza, that many classic TV fans probably take for granted, was capable of producing episodes of such high quality far more often than we may remember.

 

[Purple Wig]

The ultimate example if we carried it to movies would be prehistoric women as personified by Raquel Welch.

With westerns its probably easier to be charitable, but OTOH, no one was buying Scott Baio's hair on "Happy Days"! (and Alda's on MASH was about as un-50s as you could get)

Also easier to be charitable considering Welch probably looked better than the average cave woman (though maybe there were occasional exceptions, much to the delight of our ancestors) and same goes for the westerns but in the case of Happy Days/MASH/etc genuine 1950's hairstyles would have been more flattering.

 

[Purple Wig]

Apparently I was already aware of my missing disc on S2 of The Beverly Hillbillies. Somehow I have wound up with a complete set plus an extra disc 5.

I just finished disc 2 of S1, so I'll watch disc 1 tonight and then find another comedy to watch. I still can't say enough about the picture quality that CBS has laboriously restored. It is a bit grainy at times, but I can live with that. My only gripe is the volume level on the commercials at the end of each episode. It is significantly lower than the rest of the show and you have to careful to turn it back down before going to the next episode. I wish CBS would have taken the time to digitally restore the commercials and bring the sound level up to the rest of the show, but their inclusion is still worth watching. I hate that CBS chose not to restore commercials for the color seasons. There used to be a color clip on YouTube of a commercial with Jed and Jethro plugging Corn Flakes, so I know at least some episodes had them that way. I'm still happy with the series treatment as a whole, but I do wish they would hurry up and get the rest of the series out to DVD.

On the last disc of S3 there is a bonus of The Legend of The Beverly Hillbillies. It initially aired in 1992 when CBS was on a kick of doing specials on their old shows. It's nice in a way because you see Max Baer, Jr. returning as Jethro instead of someone else playing the part as in The Return of The Beverly Hillbillies. Donna Douglas and Buddy Ebsen return as their characters with appearances by Larry Pennell and Louis Nye as Dash and Sonny arguing over who Ellie Mae liked more. Roy Clark returns as Cousin Roy telling how Granny cured him one summer when he was sick. Earl Scruggs and Jerry Scoggins return to do the theme song with Roy Clark taking Lester Flatt's place on guitar. Reba McEntire tells the story of how Jed missed and struck oil instead of getting his food-one of her kinfolks borrowed Jed's gun and bent the barrel. Ray Charles explains that at one point he and the Clampetts were the only two black families in Beverly Hills! Mac Davis hosts the special.

The part that really bugged me was how they treated the absence of Nancy Kulp and Raymond Bailey. Instead of acknowledging their passing as they did with Irene Ryan as Granny, the story was concocted that Milburn Drysdale was in jail for frauding his depositors, including the Clampetts, and Miss Jane had turned state's evidence on him and was in the witness protection program. They deserved better than that.

Now back to my music. I'm on a Andrews Sisters kick the last few days!

The Legend of the Beverly Hillbillies sounds worth checking out. I was excited about the first reunion special but I don't think I even made it all the way when it was initially shown.

 

[Jeff Flugel]

If you didn't blink twice when Michele Carey appeared on your TV screen, you were either blind or dead. This beauty showed up on such series as Man From UNCLE, Gunsmoke, T.H.E. Cat, Starsky & Hutch, Burke's Law and more.

You always have a fine eye for the ladies, Russ! The first time I noticed the smoky-voiced Ms. Carey was in the great John Wayne western El Dorado. She certainly did catch my eye there.

In the first photo, her hair's all tousled from rolling around in the hay with James Caan (lucky guy):

Incidentally, El Dorado featured another fetching Howard Hawks "discovery" in Charlene Holt.

I've seen little of either actresses' TV work. Will be launching a proper investigation in the coming weeks...

 

[Rustifer]

Episode Commentary
Father Knows Best
"A Friend in Need" (S4E27)--1958

I'm going to surprise some of you by shelving my usually snarky commentary on any particular story. When I first saw this one years ago, I knew I was watching one of the most endearing sitcom episodes I've ever seen. I still think so. It's a bit of a take on a fairy tale, but written into the fabric of the show's premise in such a charming manner as to be just darn heartwarming.

The Anderson family is awakened by the doorbell at 3:00 in the morning. Upon answering, they find a mongrel dog sitting on their porch. She's very cute and smart (rang the doorbell) and her collar identifies her as 'Duchess' but nothing more. She quickly nestles her way into the hearts of the family.

The scene fades into a backstory of Professor Van Deering (wonderfully played by Edwin Jerome) and his traveling show. The kindly old man features Duchess, "the Wonder Dog", to his delighted audiences while selling his health elixir ($1.00 per bottle). When the Professor launches into his well-practiced sales spiel, the crowd quickly disperses after Duchess finishes her tricks. No sales are made. Master and dog console each other as only old friends can. In short order, the police ("minions of the law" per Van Deering) lay chase to the pair. The Professor takes off in his ramshackle truck, unknowingly leaving Duchess behind. He is jailed for operating without a license and has to languish there for a few days. The poor man is beside himself that his devoted dog might be captured and sent to the dog pound, or worse.

The Professor and Duchess; Kathy becomes particularly enamored with the dog

Thus, the wandering Duchess finds the Andersons. The family has grown to love the dog despite Jim's efforts to find the rightful owner. None of them actually want the dog to be retrieved. But the Professor is finally released and begins to tirelessly travel the streets of the city in search of his faithful companion. All night he searches, finally lucking onto the Anderson's street. Duchess hears the truck and rushes out to meet her master--both are happily and winsomely reunited. The Andersons are heartbroken to lose Duchess but understand her joy in finding her rightful home.

If you haven't shed a tear by the end of this story, well, you're just not human. Written and directed by Emmy winners Dorothy Cooper and Peter Tewksberry, I guarantee this is well worth watching if you have the opportunity.

 

[Jeff Flugel]

Episode Commentary
Father Knows Best
"A Friend in Need" (S4E27)--1958

I'm going to surprise some of you by shelving my usually snarky commentary on any particular story. When I first saw this one years ago, I knew I was watching one of the most endearing sitcom episodes I've ever seen. I still think so. It's a bit of a take on a fairy tale, but written into the fabric of the show's premise in such a charming manner as to be irresistible.

I just don't know if I can handle all this sincerity, Russ, Sounds like a good episode...pretty much anything with a dog in it is worth watching.

Peter Tewksbury not only directed 134 episodes of Father Knows Best, but also every episode of the great first season of My Three Sons. The guy obviously knew how to make a family sitcom work.

 

[bmasters9]

Completed through first half-go on Riptide from VEI's all-in-one; on to second go (first full go)

Second-season keepcase within VEI all-in-one:

Second-season title (against a shot of Murray, Cody, Nick and Roboz [forget which episode]):

Second-season DVD menu:

Finally, second-season opening (and closing); title track is shortened from first half-go, and certain scenes from first half-go have sound to them now:

 

[Jeff Flugel]

Completed through first half-go on Riptide from VEI's all-in-one; on to second go (first full go).[/MEDIA]

I assume by "first half-go" you mean that you've just finished the 13 episode first season, Ben? What did you think of the show? Was this your first time watching it, or was it a revisit?

 

[bmasters9]

I assume by "first half-go" you mean that you've just finished the 13 episode first season, Ben? What did you think of the show? Was this your first time watching it, or was it a revisit?

Right on the money-- "half-go" means the first season's worth of any midseason replacement, such as Riptide was on NBC (just as "go" is the word I use for a season [taken from the fact that a green flag is what starts/resumes an auto race; when you get the green flag, that means go, so that's why I took to calling seasons "gos"]).

As for the series itself, this is my first time actually seeing it since it was originally on NBC (I never saw any of it then), and so far, I think it's actually somewhat better than Hardcastle and McCormick was on ABC at that same time (I also completed Hardcastle a long time ago, BTW); Hardcastle wasn't too bad of a show, but I think Riptide is a little better, being that it takes place on the water, as well as on land.