What did you watch this week in classic TV on DVD(or Blu)? (12 Viewers)

[Flashgear]

Here's another somewhat treasured 1970s TV artifact from Youtube, uploaded by some kind soul and probably derived from the Madman R4 DVD sets...McCloud season three's The Barefoot Stewardess Caper (Dec.3, 1972)...Britt Ekland, Jo Anne Pflug, Marlene Clark, Ginny Golden as sexy stewardesses who indulge in jewel thievery in Europe on the side...orchestrated by slick sleazeball Patrick O'Neal...John Williams, Don Knight, Lincoln Kilpatrick, Jacques Aubuchon, Oscar Beregi and Ken Lynch among the other familiar faces...this kind of thing stirred my teenage hormones into a frenzy back then, and I remember well seeing this episode first run...



For me, it still remains a confounding mystery as to why VEI hasn't been able to release McCloud seasons 3 to 7 in R1, or a complete series set...must be some reason, as I'm sure they would have done so by now...some arcane and unfathomable literary, music (John Denver, Hoyt Axton, Barbi Benton, Don Ho, others? either performed their own music or it is heard) or talent rights issues involved, I wish I knew what...I have the S1 and 2 Universal set, and seasons 4 and 6 from Madman...I still regret not buying all the Madman sets when I had the chance, as they're all OOP and insanely overpriced if you can find them...

 

[morasp]

Here's another somewhat treasured 1970s TV artifact from Youtube, uploaded by some kind soul and probably derived from the Madman R4 DVD sets...McCloud season three's The Barefoot Stewardess Caper (Dec.3, 1972)...Britt Ekland, Jo Anne Pflug, Marlene Clark, Ginny Golden as sexy stewardesses who indulge in jewel thievery in Europe on the side...orchestrated by slick sleazeball Patrick O'Neal...John Williams, Don Knight, Lincoln Kilpatrick, Jacques Aubuchon, Oscar Beregi and Ken Lynch among the other familiar faces...this kind of thing stirred my teenage hormones into a frenzy back then, and I remember well seeing this episode first run...



For me, it still remains a confounding mystery as to why VEI hasn't been able to release McCloud seasons 3 to 7 in R1, or a complete series set...must be some reason, as I'm sure they would have done so by now...some arcane and unfathomable literary, music (John Denver, Hoyt Axton, Barbi Benton, Don Ho either performed their own music or was overplayed) or talent rights issues involved, I wish I knew what...I have the S1 and 2 Universal set, and seasons 4 and 6 from Madman...I still regret not buying all the Madman sets when I had the chance, as they're all OOP and insanely overpriced if you can find them...

I would by that set. It also confounds me why Shout factory never finished the Ironside series. Probably not as many people liked it as much as I did but that's another one I would buy.

 

[Flashgear]

A number of pages back, I highlighted, with screen caps and synopsis, the unsold 1965 TV pilot, Dark Intruder, produced by Hitchcock's Shamley company for a proposed occult horror series The Dark Cloak to star Leslie Nielsen as a proto-Kolchak type occult scholar and amateur detective solving crimes of the supernatural...though the pilot was highly regarded upon theatrical release by Universal, it failed to sell to any of the networks...coincidentally, within a week of my post, Kino-Lorber announced it for re-release on DVD and first time Blu from a new 2K scan...great news!

I wonder how much Leslie Nielsen's earlier appearance in an occult themed season two episode of The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, The Magic Shop (Jan. 10, 1964), based on the 1903 story by H.G. Wells, directed by Robert Stevens with a wonderful score by Lyn Murray, factored into his being cast in Dark Intruder? Whatever the reason, I believe both Leslie Nielsen and Darren McGavin were good choices to engender both chills and humor to their characters fighting inexplicable evil phenomenon...no question that by the 1970s, this concept was a far easier sell to network TV...my screen caps from the Fabulous Films R2 DVD sets...

Hitchcock's intro..."Good evening. Greetings fellow astronauts. I believe the search for inexpensive space travel is at an end. Our program thus far has achieved untold of heights, in a budgetary sense...simplicity is the key note, I believe a child could operate this ship, thus freeing men for more important tasks. We shall stage a demonstration this evening..."

"Our intrepid astronaut sustained a skinned knee but that only made the sight more colorful. As for the criticism that our launching lacks dramatic sounds, I believe his screams will soon put an end to that loose talk...they say that what goes up must come down, so while we wait for that truth to be verified..."

Leslie Nielsen and Peggy McCay play the parents of young John Megna, outwardly a normal and well adjusted young lad in a loving home...with birthday money in hand, the boy wants to spend it at that magic shop downtown...he specifies the address, to which his parents react with confusion, telling him that there is no magic shop at that address...they know that street well, and there is only a travel agency at that site...but the boy insists that there is indeed a magic shop there...the next day, his father takes him downtown, and sure enough, the magic shop does miraculously appear...they enter an apparently deserted shop, dimly lit and full of grotesque and horrific masks, sorcerer's paraphernalia, potions and occult games...they move about the quiet shop, the father uneasy but his son increasingly delighted and excited by what they find there...a strange mirror that only reflects the boy but not his father, and that mysteriously fogs over spontaneously as they turn away...suddenly, as though just an apparition, the proprietor, "Mister Dulong" (the wonderfully creepy David Opatoshu) appears...performing magic tricks and taking an immediate interest in the apparent talent of the young boy...Dulong beckons the boy into entering a cabinet for another disappearing act magic trick...whereupon the boy does indeed disappear, followed by Dulong himself...in a panic the father casts about the shop, trying to find his missing son and the bedeviling sorcerer Dulong...he seizes upon what he thinks is Dulong, whereupon Dulong's face disintegrates as a papier mache mask and a flash of light leaves the father lying in the street outside...the "magic shop" itself has also disappeared, and only the familiar travel agency remains...

Having been missing for 24 hours, the frantic parents are suddenly startled to find the boy reappearing in their home, as though out of thin air...the boy insists he was only gone for a few hours, and is now strangely remote and even cruel in his manner...concerned, the parents take him to see a child psychologist, who suggests a pet for the boy...the therapist is also conveniently an amateur historian of local folklore...he tells dad that in colonial times, that address downtown was reputedly an apothecary who's proprietor was accused of sorcery, tried and hanged as a witch in 1692!

Hoping to return to normal, and having allowed the boy to select a pet for himself, they come home with a sinister looking hell-hound that the boy insists on calling "Dulong", saying "he'll do everything I tell him to, and I'll do everything he tells me to do too"! The dog proceeds in terrorizing the street, and the boy can also start fires spontaneously throughout the neighborhood...burning down the house across the street and killing their kindly elderly neighbor, who had previously shown only kindness to their son! Mom and dad confront their heartless boy, who responds by scratching at a photo of his father with a knife...drawing real-life blood from a wound on his face! The evil boy, now a master of sorcery, holds the fate of his terrorized parents in the palm of his hand...

When The Magic Shop first aired in early 1964, it provoked a strong outcry from critics and elements in the television audience who considered it too dark and troubling of a story...but no more horrifying than Twilight Zone's It's a Good Life, featuring a telekinetic little monster played by Billy Mumy which had already shocked TV audiences in 1961...The Magic Shop was the kind of thing that Alfred Hitchcock, with all his swag, could get away with routinely in the television landscape of the era...I remember my Mother hating Hitchcock, or at least detesting these kinds of episodes...and as Hitchcock was a fellow Catholic, we had to pray for his everlasting soul and redemption, ha, ha....

 

[Jeff Flugel]

When The Magic Shop first aired in early 1964, it provoked a strong outcry from critics and elements in the television audience who considered it too dark and troubling of a story...but no more horrifying than Twilight Zone's It's a Good Life, featuring a telekinetic little monster played by Billy Mumy which had already shocked TV audiences in 1961...The Magic Shop was the kind of thing that Alfred Hitchcock, with all his swag, could get away with routinely in the television landscape of the era...I remember my Mother hating Hitchcock, or at least detesting these kinds of episodes...and as Hitchcock was a fellow Catholic, we had to pray for his everlasting soul and redemption, ha, ha....

You don't post nearly as often as many of us would like, Randall - but when you do post, it's always worthwhile! Great tease for this imaginative and creepy-sounding Alfred Hitchcock Hour episode. And what crisp screengrabs! It certainly looks like those Region 2 season sets are quality releases.

 

[Rustifer]

Episode Commentary
Leave It To Beaver
"Beaver Joins a Record Club" (S6E9)

We've all fallen into this trap in our younger years. You see an ad where you can get your favorite records, or books, or magazines for JUST A NICKEL A WEEK! You jump at this opportunity to get your favorite stuff so cheap--without first reading the small print. By responding to the company's ad, you've inadvertently opened the gate to a long term contract. It's now stuck to you like chewing gum on a cat.

This, then, is essentially Beaver's dilemma. At wily Gilbert's urging, Beaver joins a rock 'n roll record club that costs 87 cents a week. To make it financially feasible, he implores his dad Ward (Hugh Beaumont) to increase his allowance so that he can buy "classical" music. Ward, apparently born yesterday, agrees and thinks Beaver will thus learn fiscal responsibility. This discussion takes place over dinner which consists of mashed potatoes, pork chops and peas--the era when three squares a day was eaten by the entire family together. Such was the faux reality of sitcoms. Just bet that June (Barbara Billingsley) fried those pork chops in a pound of butter and lard, which is why the average age expectancy in 1959 was 36 years old before one's ticker finally gave up the ghost in a greasy last gasp.

Gilbert pulls Beaver into another plot; Beaver rests in-between foreplay with the baby sitter; Wally knows all about gals who smoke

Anyway, Beaver's record club begins to inundate him with platters since he fails to send in the weekly return slips to avoid additional costs. He quickly works up a bill that--if continued--will allow the company to take over the Cleaver house, car and bank accounts. June will soon be forced to the streets to earn some extra scratch for the family. Fortunately, the onslaught is discovered when the invoice hits $17.18, which might as well been $1,000 in ratio to Beaver's allowance bucket. As Wally explains, "Your liabilities exceed your assets".
"Don't use such big words", complains a downtrodden Beaver.

In the end, an important financial lesson is learned. Ward realizes the family income can be greatly increased if June starts frequenting bars dressed in a tube top, leather skirt and a tattoo in that "special" place. Wink, wink.

 

[Darby67]

You don't post nearly as often as many of us would like, Randall - but when you do post, it's always worthwhile! Great tease for this imaginative and creepy-sounding Alfred Hitchcock Hour episode. And what crisp screengrabs! It certainly looks like those Region 2 season sets are quality releases.

I second that emotion, Jeff. Randall is an outstanding resource and resident scholar on classic television here on HTF and his posts are always enlightening.

 

[Rustifer]

I remember my Mother hating Hitchcock, or at least detesting these kinds of episodes

Same here. The Untouchables were also on the blackout list as too "violent". However, Barbara Eden's cleavage and belly button in I Dream of Jeannie were fair game for the entire family. It was clean fun, you see.

 

[morasp]

Last week was a great line up of shows with my favorite comedy being F-Troop and favorite drama JAG.

F-Troop Season 1 Episode 5 The Return of Bald Eagle OCT 12, 1965
Only two seasons and 65 episodes but this was a very good show. It's hard to fit this great cast of Forrest Tucker, Larry Storch, Ken Berry, Melody Patterson, and Frank DeKova into each episode. Add guest star Don Rickles who played Bald Eagle and I found myself wanting more from each character. Bald Eagle returns and wants to attack Fort Courage but since the Hekawi are friends with the fort they decline at least until the spring sale. Bald Eagle attacks the fort alone chanting Kill Kill Kill and almost takes it until the lookout tower's floor gives out. He still manages to escape and kidnapping Capt. Parmenter in the process. The first season of this show was black and white and the second was in color and the picture quality on this episode was pristine.

JAG Season 2 Episode 13 Code Blue Air Date APR 4, 1997
JAG has one of my favorite introductions, the combination of dramatic military style music complete with drum line and the sequence of Naval scenes interspersed with scenes of the cast members does a great job of setting the stage for what's to follow. Harm and Mac were the only regular cast members in this fast paced hostage episode. The action was non stop from start to end with terrorist holding an Israeli Minister hostage as he lies on the operating table waiting for a heart transplant. Lela Ivey is excellent as the pregnant woman about to give birth as she bursts into rooms at the most inopportune times forcing Harm to divert his attention from the terrorist to give her assistance.
Quote:
Terrorist: Do you know who your talking to, I'm the leader of the Palestinian liberation army!
Mac: You'll have to get through me first hotshot


Here's this weeks schedule
Monday
Hot In Cleveland (this show got pre-empted last week by The Lucy Show)
Hawaii Five-0 (2010) Season 1 Episode 10 "Heihei" "Race"
Tuesday
Mary Tyler Moore Show Season 1 Episode 8 The Snow Must Go On
Warehouse 13 Season 2 Episode 2 Mild Mannered
Wednesday
3rd Rock From the Sun Season 1 Episode 16 Dick Like Me
Diagnosis Murder Season 1 Episode 19 Sister Michael wants you
Thursday
Addams Family Season 1 Episode 5 The Addams Family tree
Avengers Season 4 Episode 7 The Murder Market
Friday
Mad About You Season 2 Episode 3 Bedfellows
Stargate SG-1 Season 2 Episode 1 The Serpent's Lair
Saturday
Batman Season 1 Episode 6 Batman is Riled
Bonanza Season 3 Episode 5 The Burma Rarity
Sunday
Peter Gunn Season 1 Episode 17 Let's Kill Timothy
Early Edition Season 1 Episode 8 Gun

 

[Jeff Flugel]

Episode Commentary
Leave It To Beaver
"Beaver Joins a Record Club" (S6E9)

Great stuff, Russ! But you never explained that last photo, with Wally chatting up the "gal who smokes." What goes on there? Has Wally gone over to the wild side and begun a life of hanging out in seedy bars, smoking and boozing and chatting up floozies? Do tell.

I've always preferred the early seasons of LITB, as at least Jerry Mathers has the "adorable little kid" thing going in his favor, which leavens the Beaver's at times jaw-dropping stupidity. When he gets older in those later seasons, the cuteness is gone, but the dim bulb-ness remains. Also, unlike many LITB fans, for me, a little of Eddie Haskell and his cronies goes a long way, and there's more of their shenanigans as the show goes on. To be fair, it's been a looooooooooong time since I've watched any later season episodes. I might like them quite a bit more now.

 

[Jeff Flugel]

F-Troop Season 1 Episode 5 The Return of Bald Eagle OCT 12, 1965
Only two seasons and 65 episodes but this was a very good show. It's hard to fit this great cast of Forrest Tucker, Larry Storch, Ken Berry, Melody Patterson, and Frank DeKova into each episode. Add guest star Don Rickles who played Bald Eagle and I found myself wanting more from each character. Bald Eagle returns and wants to attack Fort Courage but since the Hekawi are friends with the fort they decline at least until the spring sale. Bald Eagle attacks the fort alone chanting Kill Kill Kill and almost takes it until the lookout tower's floor gives out. He still manages to escape and kidnapping Capt. Parmenter in the process. The first season of this show was black and white and the second was in color and the picture quality on this episode was pristine.

View attachment 75744

Another good mix of older and newer shows, Steve! Love F Troop...always good for a laugh or three. And Wrangler Jane ain't half bad, either.

Melody Patterson is sweet as can be on F Troop, so it was fun to see her in a brief bit as a reckless driver, furious and snappish at getting a ticket from Officer Malloy on a S1 episode of Adam-12.

 

[BobO'Link]

Episode Commentary
Leave It To Beaver
"Beaver Joins a Record Club" (S6E9)

We've all fallen into this trap in our younger years. You see an ad where you can get your favorite records, or books, or magazines for JUST A NICKEL A WEEK! You jump at this opportunity to get your favorite stuff so cheap--without first reading the small print. By responding to the company's ad, you've inadvertently opened the gate to a long term contract. It's now stuck to you like chewing gum on a cat.

This, then, is essentially Beaver's dilemma. At wily Gilbert's urging, Beaver joins a rock 'n roll record club that costs 87 cents a week. To make it financially feasible, he implores his dad Ward (Hugh Beaumont) to increase his allowance so that he can buy "classical" music. Ward, apparently born yesterday, agrees and thinks Beaver will thus learn fiscal responsibility. This discussion takes place over dinner which consists of mashed potatoes, pork chops and peas--the era when three squares a day was eaten by the entire family together. Such was the faux reality of sitcoms. Just bet that June (Barbara Billingsley) fried those pork chops in a pound of butter and lard, which is why the average age expectancy in 1959 was 36 years old before one's ticker finally gave up the ghost in a greasy last gasp.

View attachment 75716 View attachment 75717 View attachment 75718
Gilbert pulls Beaver into another plot; Beaver rests in-between foreplay with the baby sitter; Wally knows all about gals who smoke

Anyway, Beaver's record club begins to inundate him with platters since he fails to send in the weekly return slips to avoid additional costs. He quickly works up a bill that--if continued--will allow the company to take over the Cleaver house, car and bank accounts. June will soon be forced to the streets to earn some extra scratch for the family. Fortunately, the onslaught is discovered when the invoice hits $17.18, which might as well been $1,000 in ratio to Beaver's allowance bucket. As Wally explains, "Your liabilities exceed your assets".
"Don't use such big words", complains a downtrodden Beaver.

In the end, an important financial lesson is learned. Ward realizes the family income can be greatly increased if June starts frequenting bars dressed in a tube top, leather skirt and a tattoo in that "special" place. Wink, wink.

I built up quite a collection "milking" the record and book clubs. I discovered you could sign up someone in your house (like my dad who didn't care just as long as I took care of things), get bonus records for them signing up, cancel your account and fulfill theirs. Wash, rinse, repeat back to yourself. But, yeah, that "fine print" can get you if you don't read carefully.

Pork chops... blech... I never did like them. Too much fat - I'd cut it all off before I'd eat one (mom didn't add any other fat/grease to the pan to cook them). Of course this was also the days when you ate whatever was put on your plate and didn't complain (well... you did but you still had to at least try it). Dad wasn't around for breakfast and lunch (he was chief engineer at the local radio station and worked from 6am until 2pm) but we *always* had supper together (until I was old enough to drive and would go to the "Cow Bar" or "Dairy Freeze" for a burger/fries if I didn't like what was on the table - which was pork chop night and chicken and dumplin's night).

The "Cow Bar" (It goes by a different name now but it's the same building):

It didn't have a drive through back then (the only change to the building) - just car hops (yep... car hops). Lots of parking. That "dining room" area on right of the bottom photo had a few pool tables and pinball machines. It connected to the front only by an order window (and private door for staff).

The "Dairy Freeze" did have a drive through - and a speaker system (that's now gone) for the 2 cars before the pickup window:

They had a milkshake called a "Purple Cow" - essentially a grape soda milkshake. Goes great with a "Steak Sandwich" and onion rings (my "go to" meal in HS).

Both were (are?) on the "regular drag" route and about 1/2 mile apart (and just over 1 mile from where I lived).

Anyway... you'd think that by S6, Beaver would know that whenever Gilbert shows up he's going to be on the hook for something...

 

[Doug Wallen]

M Squad - The Complete Series
The Fight (1.30) Charles Bronson, John Harmon. A boxer (Bronson) is trying to make a run for the championship and is blamed for the death of an opponent. The opposition manager makes threats and the boxer finds his life being threatened. Ballinger becomes involved.

Guilty Alibi (1.31) Ross Elliot, Meg Wylie, Brook Byron. A hit-n-run accident and a cross-town murder might be related.

The Healer (1.32) Gloria Talbott, Robert Carson, Sarah Selby. A fake psychiatrist dispenses bad advice to a disturbed young lady who then shoots an individual. Ballinger tries to bust the charlatan.

Day Of Terror (1.33) Fay Baker, Barbara Benson, Doris Packer. Children being sold for illegal adoption.

Tarzan - The First Season Part 2
A Pride of Assassins (1.20) Michael Witney, Jill Donohue, Victor French, Gene Evans. Tarzan is a threat and paid killers are hired to terminate him and a wayward wife.

The Golden Runaway (1.21) Sean McClory, Gia Scala, Stacy Harris. Tarzan rescues children from a burning orphanage and receives a mysterious donation to rebuild. A woman comes to the jungle to clear her brother's name as he was accused of stealing the money used to refinance the orphanage. Excellent episode for me.

Daniel Boone - Season 2
Gabriel (2.16) Ceasr Romero, Vincent Beck. Daniel Boone was mistaken for a gun runner and is used to track the elusive gunrunner by the Spanish government.

Seminole Territory (2.17) Leonard Nimoy,Diane Ladd, Judson Pratt, Channing Pollock, Richard Devon. Daniel and Mingo travel to Florida and meet a traveling magician named Cameron. His illusions impress the Seminole's chief who considers him a god. Cameron then tries to use the same tricks to win over other tribes-hoping to rule them all.

Perry Mason - Seasons 7-9
The Case of the Baffling Bug (9.13) Grant Williams, Dee Hartford, Ben Cooper, Aliza Gur, Teru Shimada. Dr. Todd Meade works for a company developing a new secret process. The company hires Paul to ensure security for a meeting but the details leak. Meade had worked for the competition so, when a man is killed in his lab, he is charged.

The Case of the Golden Girls (9.14) Philip Borneuf, Paula Stewart, Jean Engstrom, Mark Roberts. A Hugh Hefneresque case. Victor Montalvo picks up a young lady hitchhiking which results in being blackmailed by her. He is part owner of a storied men's club but a new co-owner is changing the format. When he is killed, Victor is charged and she is a key witness.

The Case of the Bogus Buccaneers (9.15) Rhodes Reason, Patricia Cutts, Richard Jaeckel, Kathleen Crowley, John Milford, Leonard Stone. Ex-con Tony Polk is given a job playing a TV pirate giving gifts to selected viewers. He arrives at an address where an angry woman answers wanting her money. He fights to leave and an eye witness identifies him as her killer.

WKRP In Cincinnati - The Complete Series
Baby If You've Ever Wondered (2.9) Arbitron ratings improve and all are happy except for Andy.

Bailey's Big Break (2.10) Bailey applies to be a newsreader and Andy is all for it, Les is against it since she is a "girl".

Jennifer's Home For Christmas (2.11) George Gaynes. Everyone has plans for the holiday except Jennifer. The crew visit her home with Christmas trees and gifts only to find out that she has the best plan of all.

Sparky (2.12) Sparky Anderson. The "Big Guy" entices Sparky to return to Cincinatti to do a sports "call-in" type show with mixed results.

The Rat Patrol - Complete Series
The Wild Goose Raid (1.25) Martin Milner, William Bryant. The Rat Patrol is assigned to oversee security for an important high level meeting occurring at headquarters.

The Bring 'Em Back Alive Raid (1.26) William Schallert. Sgt. Troy kidnaps a German Research Doctor, but the others are captured in the process. Troy is unaware that the Doctor possesses a vial of deadly radioactive Radium.

Take Me To Your Leader Raid (1.27) Richard Mulligan, Vincent Gardenia. Capt. Dietrich contrives to have a German soldier impersonate Major Lansing, be picked up by the Rat Patrol and taken to headquarters, where he is to assassinate an Allied general.

The Double Or Nothing Raid (1.28) Ben Wright. Sgt. Moffitt is wounded, taken prisoner and about to be executed by the Germans. After the Rats initial rescue fails, Moffitt learns from a doctor that he is being used as bait to trap the rest of the patrol and eliminate them.

The Twilight Zone - Season 4 Blu-ray
Printer's Devil (4.9) Burgess Meredith, Robert Sterling, Patricia Crowley. One of my favorite season 4 episodes. Me-TV played this one Sunday evening and I fell asleep on it. So nice to have the fabulous bluray for this episode. What a gem of a story. Nice to see a modern fable showing that every decision you make can have major repurcussions. Burgess Meredith gives a great performance.

 

[MatthewA]

LA Law: “P.S. Your Shrink is Dead” (4/16/1992): Arnie’s therapist dies during a session. Judge Kelton begs Alex to lay off. Susan is getting married to a Russian actor named Mikhail (George De La Pena); Leland agrees to be their best man. Ann fires Ned after he makes a pass at her. Sheila sues Douglas for an extra $5,000 a month in child support. He only agrees to the money if he can take their son Alexander (Billy Corben) for the next two weeks. Arnie confronts Julie about the lie she told Roxanne that made her leave him. This time he gets it on tape so he can prove it to Roxanne. The INS takes Matthew’s new nanny (Theodora Castellanos) in for questioning and deportation. As a result, he and Ann almost miss the wedding.

Music: “I’ve Had the Time of My Life”

LA Law: “Love in Bloom” (4/23/1992): Zoey plays hardball against a multimillionaire accused of a hit-and-run that killed a homeless man. Douglas tells Benny to keep Sam away from Alexander, calling him a bad influence. C.J. represents Mikhail during the immigration process, but he wants more than that. She makes it clear that his lawyer is all she is. Sam is hospitalized with a broken wrist, and Alexander is similarly injured … and they both end up under arrest!

LA Law: “Silence of the Lambskins” (4/30/1992): At a French restaurant, Douglas and Sheila rekindle their old romance as she admits their fights turn her on. Stuart represents a condom manufacturer (Joel Brooks) whose products end up seized by the government because they have the US flag printed on them. When Frank asks Gwen out, Roxanne asks her whether she’s getting serious with him. The firm handles the case of a woman in the early stages of dementia fighting with her daughter to stay out of a conservatorship. The defense attorney (David Garrison, Married with Children) argues the man (Tom Mardirosian) Tommy and Marcia Trafficante (Karen Young) are prosecuting for murder is innocent because his wife Donna, the woman he is accused of murdering, is still alive … and is not the clean-living housewife she made everyone think she was. Benny misses Sam. Jonathan receives an offer to fill a deceased city councilman’s spot at a time when Leland says the firm has too many partners. Zoey is concerned about how some voters might perceive his dating a white woman. Jonathan assures her it’s no big deal.

From the "Better Luck Next Time" Department: David Garrison and Joel Brooks both had short-lived sitcoms during the 1984-1985 TV season. Garrison co-starred with Jason Bateman in NBC's It's Your Move, and Brooks co-starred with Patty Duke playing the first woman President of the United States on ABC's Hail to the Chief.

LA Law: “Beauty and the Breast” (5/7/1992): Jonathan begins a five-month leave of absence to fill in for the late councilman Art Middleman. Arnie goes to Leland saying Frank cost him his latest case. Zoey prosecutes a jailhouse murder case where the defending attorney, Nick Moats (Terry O’Quinn), is also a prisoner. The wife of one of the guards (Becky Ann Baker) comes forward to say that his testimony was perjury. C.J. defends a plastic surgeon in a malpractice suit by an up-and-coming movie star Cheryl Brennen (Rachel York) with a blind lawyer (Harley Venton) named Jeffrey Stern. Sarah wants to live with Stuart and Ann after she had an argument with her mother over a curfew on a school night, but then she doesn’t want to live with them either. Susan thinks Mikhail is cheating with Mimi, his co-star on his new movie, but he assures her otherwise.

From the “A Rose By Any Other Name” Department: Nick Moats was also the name of a rapist on St. Elsewhere.

LA Law: “Double Breasted Suit” (5/14/1992): C.J. goes on a date with Jeffrey Stern while the case of the implants continues. Eventually, he learns her past history includes both men and women. Grace’s client is a widower (Don Lake) suing a psychic who calls herself Madame Eldemira (Janni Brenn-Lowen) for fraud that cost him over $150,000. During the trial, she mentions the name “Boots,” which Grace’s late mother used to call her. An advisor tells Jonathan to think twice about bringing Zoey to the Brotherhood Awards where he will be giving a speech. After Gwen confronts Frank on his lies, Leland threatens to bar him from the office and Arnie threatens to report him to the BAR. Susan resents Leland going over her head. Leland offers Gwen a promotion to law clerk. Sarah finds that life with her boyfriend isn’t what she expected.

LA Law: “Say Goodnight, Gracie” (5/21/1992): Douglas learns Sheila has given up the pool man to be with him, and they plan to remarry while Jonathan and Zoey break up. Alex takes the case of a prisoner who got AIDS from being raped. As Roxanne has to interview new secretaries for Arnie, a woman from his past comes to say she has AIDS and wants to draw up a living will. A premonition from Madame Eldemira comes true when Victor comes back into Grace’s life. He wants her back, but he is moving to New York and he wants her to come with him. Zoey admits to Ruby the testimony she gave on the stand was untrue.

This is Susan Dey’s final episode as well as Jimmy Smits’.

 

[Flashgear]

You don't post nearly as often as many of us would like, Randall - but when you do post, it's always worthwhile! Great tease for this imaginative and creepy-sounding Alfred Hitchcock Hour episode. And what crisp screengrabs! It certainly looks like those Region 2 season sets are quality releases.

I second that emotion, Jeff. Randall is an outstanding resource and resident scholar on classic television here on HTF and his posts are always enlightening.

Thank you Jeff and Sean! You guys are too kind, I'm just another bug-eyed classic TV addict like yourselves, rubbing my sore eyes after 6 hours of classic TV viewing, realizing that the sting in my eyes is as much due to the Cheeto cheese dust on my fingertips, ha, ha...

These Fabulous Films R2 DVD sets of Alfred Hitchcock Presents and Alfred Hitchcock Hour are first rate, and I encourage any fan thus far frustrated with Universal never releasing these sets in R1 to buy them, especially those in the U.S. for whom the exchange rate with the Pound might still be advantageous. Although they are also still available on Amazon priced in U.S. dollars...here's what my sets look like for those curious...

The season 7 AHP premiere episode, directed by Alfred Hitchcock himself, was Bang, You're Dead!, where a young Billy Mumy steals his Uncle's very real and loaded gun, touring the neighborhood and supermarket pointing it at various people playfully while his frantic family, horrified to discover that he has taken the gun and ammunition, search for him...I took these screen caps from the S7 set...Billy Mumy is united with his future Lost in Space co-star Marta Kristen, four years before that later series...

The Lil' bastard finally realizes that the revolver is too hard for him to pull the trigger in double-action mode and finally cocks the hammer...Hitchcock goes in for some extreme close-ups of the gun to ramp-up the tension...

Between this and Twilight Zone's It's a Good Life, Billy Mumy was one scary little TV monster in the fall of 1961...

In later years, Billy Mumy would recall a sweating Hitchcock (the episode being filmed on a very hot July day), being irritated with his youthful fidgeting on set, as whispering to him: "listen little boy, if you don't stand still on your mark, I'll nail your feet to the floor"! Good ol' Hitch...

Same here. The Untouchables were also on the blackout list as too "violent". However, Barbara Eden's cleavage and belly button in I Dream of Jeannie were fair game for the entire family. It was clean fun, you see.

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A staple in my household as well, and Barbara Eden made frequent appearances in my dreams too, ha, ha...and as to the violence of The Untouchables, I'll never forget the episode where good ol' Elliott Ness mows down a bunch of moon-shining mobsters, already burning to death in a fire, with his Tommy-gun! Enjoy your wry take on LITB and other shows, Russ...keep it up, please...

F-Troop Season 1 Episode 5 The Return of Bald Eagle OCT 12, 1965
Only two seasons and 65 episodes but this was a very good show. It's hard to fit this great cast of Forrest Tucker, Larry Storch, Ken Berry, Melody Patterson, and Frank DeKova into each episode. Add guest star Don Rickles who played Bald Eagle and I found myself wanting more from each character. Bald Eagle returns and wants to attack Fort Courage but since the Hekawi are friends with the fort they decline at least until the spring sale. Bald Eagle attacks the fort alone chanting Kill Kill Kill and almost takes it until the lookout tower's floor gives out. He still manages to escape and kidnapping Capt. Parmenter in the process. The first season of this show was black and white and the second was in color and the picture quality on this episode was pristine.

Love it! Agarn, Wrongo Star (Henry Gibson), Von Zeppel (Harvey Korman), Count Sforza (Vincent Price), Wise Owl (Milton Berle), Wild Eagle, Crazy Cat, Bald Eagle, Roaring Chicken, Yellow Bird (Julie Newmar!), and the rest of the Hekawi tribe were the source of a lot of delighted children's conversations the next day in school as I remember it during the original run, and for years after in syndication, I'm sure!

I've always preferred the early seasons of LITB, as at least Jerry Mathers has the "adorable little kid" thing going in his favor, which leavens the Beaver's at times jaw-dropping stupidity. When he gets older in those later seasons, the cuteness is gone, but the dim bulb-ness remains.

Yes, Jeff, It's a little jarring to see him in season 6! Who is this full-grown man and what has he done with our Beave? Ha, ha...

Melody Patterson is sweet as can be on F Troop, so it was fun to see her in a brief bit as a reckless driver, furious and snappish at getting a ticket from Officer Malloy on a S1 episode of Adam-12.

Cutie Melody Patterson in a Volkswagen 'Bug'!...along with Russ' comment about girl smokers, this was another go-sign for my raging hormones of youth...every girl I ever knew that drove a bug was a 'hot' girl...even better if she knew how to handle a 'shift', ha, ha...

M Squad - The Complete Series

Daniel Boone - Season 2

Great and varied viewing as always, Doug! You pick the best shows. Even with the problematic sources that TMG was forced to use for M Squad, I find the majority of episodes to look quite good anyway...man, there's never been a tougher cop than Lt. Ballinger!

The Rat Patrol - Complete Series
The Wild Goose Raid (1.25) Martin Milner, William Bryant. The Rat Patrol is assigned to oversee security for an important high level meeting occurring at headquarters.

I always love to see Martin Milner turn up as a guest star on many shows...good ol' Tod Stiles...for me he'll always be behind the wheel of my mind's-eye Corvette daydreams...a coast-to-coast journey of idyllic discovery on America's 'Mother Road'...you know, before the place went to hell, ha, ha...

 

[bmasters9]

Thank you Jeff and Sean! You guys are too kind, I'm just another bug-eyed classic TV addict like yourselves, rubbing my sore eyes after 6 hours of classic TV viewing, realizing that the sting in my eyes is as much due to the Cheeto cheese dust on my fingertips, ha, ha...

These Fabulous Films R2 DVD sets of Alfred Hitchcock Presents and Alfred Hitchcock Hour are first rate, and I encourage any fan thus far frustrated with Universal never releasing these sets in R1 to buy them, especially those in the U.S. for whom the exchange rate with the Pound might still be advantageous. Although they are also still available on Amazon priced in U.S. dollars...here's what my sets look like for those curious...
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Thanks for putting that up! It seems, from one of those shots, that you're on the second disc of the second go on The Alfred Hitchcock Hour.

 

[Flashgear]

Thanks for putting that up! It seems, from one of those shots, that you're on the second disc of the second go on The Alfred Hitchcock Hour.

Yes Ben, good eye as always! Among other episodes on that disc, I'm re-visiting one of my absolute favorite Alfred Hitchcock Hour episodes of all...Nothing Ever Happens in Linvale...guest starring the great Fess Parker, about one year before his epic run on Daniel Boone! Terrific episode, also with Phyllis Thaxter and Gary Merrill...

By the way, are any of the cable channels currently showing AHP or AHH? Hope so...

 

[Rustifer]

Pork chops... blech... I never did like them. Too much fat - I'd cut it all off before I'd eat one (mom didn't add any other fat/grease to the pan to cook them).

I put forth that pork chops took a turn for the worse when General Mills introduced Shake 'n Bake in 1965. In order to reach a crispy breaded coating, one had to bake the poor chop until it achieved the molecular consistency of tree bark. All fat and flavor had long been vaporized away.

The go-to drive-in in my neck of the woods in the 1960's was the Tee Pee Lodge.

Their Big Chief double decker burgers were served up in cellophane sleeves imprinted with a colorful image of an Indian warrior. Native American political correctness had not yet garnered a toe hold in Indianapolis. Be that as it may, along with onion rings having a grease content equal to that found in John Travolta's hair, was a must-have combo. My taste buds have yet to experience anything like it since. Of course, when I was sixteen I could eat a car tire and be okay with it. Based on my dietary habits back then, I'm astounded to have reached the age of 70.

 

[Rustifer]

Has Wally gone over to the wild side and begun a life of hanging out in seedy bars, smoking and boozing and chatting up floozies? Do tell.

Apparently Wally's portrayer, Tony Dow, was much along the clean cut image of the character. He was modeled after writer/creator Joe Connelly's 14 year-old son, Jay.
I have no further first-hand knowledge of Wally's congress with booze and floozies.

 

[bmasters9]

I put forth that pork chops took a turn for the worse when General Mills introduced Shake 'n Bake in 1965. In order to reach a crispy breaded coating, one had to bake the poor chop until it achieved the molecular consistency of tree bark. All fat and flavor and long been vaporized away.

That brand has been around that long? Never would have imagined!

 

[BobO'Link]

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That gun's not loaded... you can normally see the bullet tip inside the cylinder when looking at it from the front like that. You can't even see empty casings in this shot. They needed fake bullets...

Yes, Jeff, It's a little jarring to see him in season 6! Who is this full-grown man and what has he done with our Beave? Ha, ha...
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Ain't that the truth! I never much cared for S6 because we had a "grown up" Beaver acting like a little kid. He's now the age Wally was in the early seasons (In S1, Beaver is "7, almost 8," and Wally is 13) but hasn't gotten any smarter.

And just what *is* the holdup with R1 release of Alfred Hitchcock Presents S7?!? Did the series have really poor sales numbers in the US?