What did you watch this week in classic TV on DVD(or Blu)? (10 Viewers)

[brynmill]

Been watching my Blurays of Mission Impossible (just got onto s3), and the original Outer Limits (on disc 3 at the moment).
DVD Wise, been having some good laughs with the 1973-74 LWT Sitcom "Billy Liar" with hilarious performances and scripts

 

[Rustifer]

Episode Commentary
Gomer Pyle, USMC
"The Price of Tomatoes" (S4E25)

Tomatoes are a wonderful product. Without them, we'd have no spaghetti sauce, ketchup, salsa, tomato soup, BLTs, BBQ sauce or round squishy orbs to hurl at crappy stage performers. Personally, tomatoes give me heartburn, yet I eat them like apples. A fresh-picked, non hothouse brandywine tomato is one of the few pleasures left, notwithstanding sweat pants, nasal spray and Netflix. Wouldn't it be great if we discovered that tomatoes cure cancer, destroy Covid viruses and prevent male pattern baldness? It would then rise to the top of the news, thus squashing all the dismal topics currently on the airwaves.

Gomer is assigned the task to clear out tract 38 of the camp base for preparation of installing a military launch site. It's not particularly a feather in the Marines' think cap to assign an important task to a pebble brain like Pvt. Pyle. Gomer soon discovers tract 38 is an entirely cultivated tomato farm of Titus Purcell (Denver Pyle, apparently without enough time to change out of his Uncle Jesse character from Dukes of Hazzard). Gomer, having farmed tomatoes in his civilian life, affords Mr. Purcell deferential treatment and reports back to the base as to the dilemma.

Carter shows Purcell a map of Austria for no reason; Gomer spots a neck centipede; Purcell's codicil shows up...

Sgt. Carter (Frank Sutton) is apoplectic at Pyle's failure and follows him back to the farm to throw Titus Purcell off military land.
"How nice to see you again, Pvt. Pyle--and I see you brought a friend," greets Titus warmly. "I'm not his friend, sir--I'm his Sergeant. Not the same thing," growls Carter. Using a level of tact and diplomacy that Carter never has come close to possessing, he and Purcell argue over who exactly owns tract 38. Titus is unmoved. As a result, the military sends a Jag officer to debate the point--uselessly--then a full blown Colonel, to no avail--and then as a last resort, a buxom cast member from Hee Haw to change Purcell's mind. It's all for naught when Purcell produces not only a legal deed for the property at tract 38, but also for tract 104, where the camp headquarters sit. Needless to say, the military brass experiences a collective intestinal discharge into their khakis.

In order to avoid a nasty legal confrontation requiring the services of Perry Mason and Matlock, Gomer works out a sensible solution--the camp will buy up all of Purcell's surplus tomato crop for their mess hall at a hefty profit. A codicil to the agreement assures a weekly visit to Mr. Purcell from the Hew Haw actress, preferably in her daisy dukes.

The Moral: You say po-tay-to, I say po-tah-to. You say to-may-to, I say Bloody Mary.

 

[ScottRE]

Episode Commentary
Gomer Pyle, USMC
"The Price of Tomatoes" (S4E25)

(Denver Pyle, apparently without enough time to change out of his Uncle Jesse character from Dukes of Hazzard).

Funnily enough, Denver Pyle did supply his own overalls for Dukes.

 

[Rustifer]

Funnily enough, Denver Pyle did supply his own overalls for Dukes.

Sartorial splendor was never much of a hallmark for Denver Pyle. But I tip my hat to any man who assumes one-piece apparel is equally appropriate for weddings, funerals and dinner parties as for visiting John Deere facilities.

 

[ScottRE]

When I watched Escape to Witch Mountain and saw Pyle, clean shaven and dressed like a suburbanite, I felt like the universe slipped a few inches to the left.

 

[Flashgear]

Here's a dapper Denver Pyle (with Stacy Keach Sr. and Don 'Red' Barry) in Code 3 (1957-58), some caps I took from the recently released MPI DVD set...I agree, it's startling...I'd still like to think he went home from Malibu in his bib coveralls and had his white lightnin' jug waiting for him...

 

[Rustifer]

Here's a dapper Denver Pyle (with Stacy Keach Sr. and Don 'Red' Barry) in Code 3 (1957-58), some caps I took from the recently released MPI DVD set...I agree, it's startling...I'd still like to think he went home from Malibu in his bib coveralls and had his white lightnin' jug waiting for him...
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That's just not natural. My only guess is that Mr. Pyle was scheduled to visit his grandma in the nursing home directly after filming this...

 

[Rustifer]

Episode Commentary
Richard Diamond, Private Detective
"Picture of Fear" (S1E5)

Nancy Miller (Judith Braun) is traipsing around the woods taking scenic photos and captures on film a couple of guys hunting. You know instantly that they're hunters from the prevalent plaid in their clothing. That, and both have rifles. The two demand that Nancy relinquish her film to them--with feeble excuses about being caught playing hooky from the office. She refuses. More threatening, they identify her as staying at the aptly named Twin Peaks Lodge, cabin 8. Nancy guesses the two are either perverts or investment bankers, interchangeable in her mind. However, there's something fishy here.

Speaking of which, enter Richard Diamond (David Janssen), private detective--and made possible by Maxwell House Coffee (with flavor buds!)--who happens to be on a fishing vacation in the area. Most of his business has already been stolen by those snooty guys at 77 Sunset Strip, so he has plenty of time on this hands.
"Any man with good sense who goes fishing is not a man with good sense", muses Richard as he wanders back to the lodge in wading boots carrying poles and an empty creel. After spending the entire day, he was successful in hooking only a tree limb--possibly a harbinger of his skill as a private detective.

Richard has managed to hook up with Nancy in hopes of displaying ability with his rod. However, she's not all that interested in his man tackle today and tries to brush him off--until she spots the two hunters spying on her. She practically drags Richard to the lodge's restaurant for root beer and cheeses puffs to escape her followers. No luck--while at the table, one of the hunters, Adams (George Neise), accosts her and demands the film again. Richard's radar is now activated and he senses there's more baloney here than in their sandwiches.

Richard proudly displays his rod; The hunters demand film; Nancy gets a whiff of Richard's creel

Nancy maintains a cool attitude towards Richard but he's able to wrangle her back to his cabin for a refreshing glass of tap water. Nancy lets slip that she has a boyfriend back home--a short order cook who really knows how to fry her bacon---so Richard's streak at fishing failure continues. She convinces him to drive her into town, during which Richard pries into why her film is so important. Before getting an answer, bullets begin to fly past the car from the hunters following them. Richard thoughtfully pushes her head down into his lap to hopefully save her life and stimulate his. The chase is on down a twisty mountain road. Richard pulls a fast one by pushing his car over a cliff--a used Nash Rambler, so no big loss--and it fools the chasers into thinking the couple has been crushed to death.

In the end, we learn that the two hunters are wanted criminals and that Nancy works at an expose newspaper, assigned to nail these guys.

The Moral: Inviting a girl to your room for tap water is not a proven aphrodisiac.

 

[The 1960's]

Episode Commentary
Richard Diamond, Private Detective
"Picture of Fear" (S1E5)

Nancy Miller (Judith Braun) is traipsing around the woods taking scenic photos and captures on film a couple of guys hunting. You know instantly that they're hunters from the prevalent plaid in their clothing. That, and both have rifles. The two demand that Nancy relinquish her film to them--with feeble excuses about being caught playing hooky from the office. She refuses. More threatening, they identify her as staying at the aptly named Twin Peaks Lodge, cabin 8. Nancy guesses the two are either perverts or investment bankers, interchangeable in her mind. However, there's something fishy here.

Speaking of which, enter Richard Diamond (David Janssen), private detective--and made possible by Maxwell House Coffee (with flavor beds!)--who happens to be on a fishing vacation in the area. Most of his business has already been stolen by those snooty guys at 77 Sunset Strip, so he has plenty of time on this hands.
"Any man with good sense who goes fishing is not a man with good sense", muses Richard as he wanders back to the lodge in wading boots carrying poles and an empty creel. After spending the entire day, he was successful in hooking only a tree limb--possibly a harbinger of his skill as a private detective.

Richard has managed to hook up with Nancy in hopes of displaying ability with his rod. However, she's not all that interested in his man tackle today and tries to brush him off--until she spots the two hunters spying on her. She practically drags Richard to the lodge's restaurant for root beer and cheeses puffs to escape her followers. No luck--while at the table, one of the hunters, Adams (George Neise), accosts her and demands the film again. Richard's radar is now activated and he senses there's more baloney here than in their sandwiches.

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Richard proudly displays his rod; The hunters demand film; Nancy gets a whiff of Richard's creel

Nancy maintains a cool attitude towards Richard but he's able to wrangle her back to his cabin for a refreshing glass of tap water. Nancy lets slip that she has a boyfriend back home--a short order cook who really knows how to fry her bacon---so Richard's streak at fishing failure continues. She convinces him to drive her into town, during which Richard pries into why her film is so important. Before getting an answer, bullets begin to fly past the car from the hunters following them. Richard thoughtfully pushes her head down into his lap to hopefully save her life and stimulate his. The chase is on down a twisty mountain road. Richard pulls a fast one by pushing his car over a cliff--a used Nash Rambler, so no big loss--and it fools the chasers into thinking the couple has been crushed to death.

In the end, we learn that the two hunters are wanted criminals and that Nancy works at an expose newspaper, assigned to nail these guys.

The Moral: Inviting a girl to your room for tap water is not a proven aphrodisiac.

I keep hoping and hoping that Richard Diamond, Private Detective will someday be released on DVD or at least be remastered by one of the retro networks or even streamed somewhere. I know it's unlikely and that I'll never be able to enjoy this series. This one is on YouTube. There's a kook who actually bothers to colorize these muddy prints which makes them look even worse. The only slightly viewable episodes have been uploaded on one of the THE ALLISON HAYES channels where most originate from TVLand.

 

[Charles 22]

Episode Commentary
Richard Diamond, Private Detective
"Picture of Fear" (S1E5)

Nancy Miller (Judith Braun) is traipsing around the woods taking scenic photos and captures on film a couple of guys hunting. You know instantly that they're hunters from the prevalent plaid in their clothing. That, and both have rifles. The two demand that Nancy relinquish her film to them--with feeble excuses about being caught playing hooky from the office. She refuses. More threatening, they identify her as staying at the aptly named Twin Peaks Lodge, cabin 8. Nancy guesses the two are either perverts or investment bankers, interchangeable in her mind. However, there's something fishy here.

Speaking of which, enter Richard Diamond (David Janssen), private detective--and made possible by Maxwell House Coffee (with flavor beds!)--who happens to be on a fishing vacation in the area. Most of his business has already been stolen by those snooty guys at 77 Sunset Strip, so he has plenty of time on this hands.
"Any man with good sense who goes fishing is not a man with good sense", muses Richard as he wanders back to the lodge in wading boots carrying poles and an empty creel. After spending the entire day, he was successful in hooking only a tree limb--possibly a harbinger of his skill as a private detective.

Richard has managed to hook up with Nancy in hopes of displaying ability with his rod. However, she's not all that interested in his man tackle today and tries to brush him off--until she spots the two hunters spying on her. She practically drags Richard to the lodge's restaurant for root beer and cheeses puffs to escape her followers. No luck--while at the table, one of the hunters, Adams (George Neise), accosts her and demands the film again. Richard's radar is now activated and he senses there's more baloney here than in their sandwiches.

View attachment 125240 View attachment 125242 View attachment 125245
Richard proudly displays his rod; The hunters demand film; Nancy gets a whiff of Richard's creel

Nancy maintains a cool attitude towards Richard but he's able to wrangle her back to his cabin for a refreshing glass of tap water. Nancy lets slip that she has a boyfriend back home--a short order cook who really knows how to fry her bacon---so Richard's streak at fishing failure continues. She convinces him to drive her into town, during which Richard pries into why her film is so important. Before getting an answer, bullets begin to fly past the car from the hunters following them. Richard thoughtfully pushes her head down into his lap to hopefully save her life and stimulate his. The chase is on down a twisty mountain road. Richard pulls a fast one by pushing his car over a cliff--a used Nash Rambler, so no big loss--and it fools the chasers into thinking the couple has been crushed to death.

In the end, we learn that the two hunters are wanted criminals and that Nancy works at an expose newspaper, assigned to nail these guys.

The Moral: Inviting a girl to your room for tap water is not a proven aphrodisiac.

Tree limb? When fishing. that was known as tree bass in these parts. Tree bass don't put up much of a fight, compared to their more lively cousins.

 

[Jack P]

In memoriam, Yvette Mimieux.

Dr. Kildare, S3-"Tyger, Tyger" (2 Parts)

 

[Jeff Flugel]

In memoriam, Yvette Mimieux.

Very sad to hear of the lovely Yvette Mimieux's passing. She was one of my first teen crushes as Weena in George Pal's The Time Machine. I will try and watch one of her infrequent TV appearances later tonight (either Yancy Derringer or Mr. Lucky) to pay my respects. R.I.P.

 

[Jeff Flugel]

Firefly – 1.4 “Shindig”
This might be stretching the general definition of "vintage TV" by the standards of this thread, but since this rousing, short-lived space-western series created by Joss Whedon is now nearly 20 years old, I think it squeaks over the line. Cancelled early (and stupidly) by the short-sighted suits at Fox, Firefly went on to gain a sizable cult following over the years - even spawning a theatrical follow-up 2005 film, Serenity (also highly recommended viewing)...not to mention assorted tie-in novels, comics, script books and merchandise.

The background and world-building of the series is too detailed and complex to go into here (click here for further info), but in brief: the show follows Captain Malcolm Reynolds (Nathan Fillion), former soldier on the losing side in a space-age civil war with the Alliance, an all-powerful governmental body which now rules the central – and more civilized – part of the galaxy. Now, Mal and his ragtag crew of misfits and renegades on his scrappy "Firefly"-class spaceship, Serenity, keep one step ahead of the Alliance, while taking on miscellaneous jobs – not all of them legal, out on the outer rim among rough-hewn settler worlds - in order to keep his crew fed and his ship in the air.

Serenity’s crew and passengers are a colorful, engaging bunch: tough, pragmatic second-in-command Zoe (Gina Torres), who’s married to Wash (Alan Tudyk), the ship’s easy-going pilot; Kaylee (Jewel Staite), the bubbly young ship’s mechanic; Jayne (Adam Baldwin), a brutish mercenary who might not be the brightest or most trustworthy, but is very useful in a scrap; Inara (the ravishingly beautiful Morena Baccarin), bringing some respectability to the vessel as a registered Companion (sort of a high-class space geisha); Shepherd Book (Barney Miller's Ron Glass), a preacher with a mysterious past; and fugitives Simon (Sean Maher), a former surgeon now acting as ship's medic, and his somewhat cray-cray younger sister, River (Summer Glau), who Simon rescued from top-secret Alliance experiments, and who might just have some sort of superhuman powers - if she can learn to control them.

"Shindig" comes early in the show’s all-too-short run, and is one of its more light-hearted outings. The ship lands on the planet Persephone, where Inara has been hired as Companion by entitled, upper-crust creep, Atherton (Edward Atterton), to act as his consort at an exclusive party held for the big muckity-mucks on Persephone. Meanwhile, Mal recruits Kaylee as his date to the same ball, in hopes of making contact with a local merchant (Larry Drake), who wishes to smuggle some valuable goods off planet (the cargo is amusingly revealed later to be not guns or other illicit supplies, but simply...cattle). While there, Mal – who has a series’ long fiery, "will they or won't they?" romantic attraction thing going on with Inara – witnesses Atherton manhandle her, and subsequently knocks the jerk on his ass. But Mal, unaccustomed to the ways of the gentry on Persephone, finds that his punch is taken most seriously indeed...in fact, it is a formal challenge to Atherton, and Mal finds himself locked into a duel to the death, scheduled for the following dawn. The catch, Atherton's choice of weapons - swords. Mal, adept with firearms and his fists, is a complete novice with a sword, and thus is in big trouble, as Atherton is a master swordsman who has killed several men in previous duels. Inara tries to help Mal sneak away in the middle of the night, but, rather uncharacteristically for the highly-practical captain, he refuses to back down. With the other crew members held under gunpoint on Serenity to prevent them from interfering, it’s up to Mal to extricate himself from his predicament…

Far and away one of my all-time favorite shows to hit the airwaves in the last 40 years, Firefly is a heady stew of exciting space opera, shoot-‘em-up western-style action, intergalactic intrigue (including a massive conspiracy subplot involving River, set up as an overriding arc) and sharp, bantering humor. Whedon and his stable of writers create an unique, flavorful vernacular for the dialogue, a combination of made-up slang, futuristic cowboy speak and Chinese swear words. The diverse cast of lovable characters all do memorable work, but for me, Nathan Fillion - before he went on to broader fame on shows like Castle and The Rookie - is the standout. He shines here as the wry, no-nonsense yet sensitive captain, bringing a Han Solo-ish swagger and unpredictability to the role. The budget for each episode (around $2 million) was quite high for the time, which is reflected in the production values, props, costuming and especially the first-rate special effects (done by the same company, Zoic Studios, that provided the F/X for the rebooted Battlestar Galactica).

Fans of this show mourned what might have been, though some of the lost story potential was realized in the follow-up movie. I was overseas teaching in Korea when the series first aired, and by the time I caught up with the show, it had already been cancelled. Too bad, as it seemed a program tailor-made for me. At least I can watch the lovingly-crafted episodes (fourteen in total, including a two-hour pilot) and sequel film Serenity to my heart’s content on their shiny Blu-Ray editions. Maybe not a series that will resonate with everyone, but I have no hesitation in giving it my highest recommendation, for those that haven't seen it and tend to like this sort of thing.

And, have I mentioned how gorgeous Morena Baccarin is?

(Insert drool bucket emoji here.)

 

[Rustifer]

Cancelled early (and stupidly) by the short-sighted suits at Fox

...and a source of never-ending disappointment to Sheldon Cooper...

for me, Nathan Fillion - before he went on to broader fame on shows like Castle and The Rookie - is the standout.

Fillion, generally a husky, well-groomed guy with a $500 haircut--in his current show The Rookie, appears to have lost about 250 lbs. and is as gaunt as Marley's ghost. Unnerving.

 

[Rustifer]

Episode Commentary
The Twilight Zone
"The Obsolete Man"

Romney Wordsworth (Burgess Meredith) is an ordinary man in an unordinary society. In this futuristic, totalitarian setting, Romney-- a simple librarian--is considered "obsolete" and therefore on trial for his life. Overseeing his trial is Chancellor (Fritz Weaver), who takes a dim view of books and views Romney as an "ugly, malformed human being".

The Chancellor, not mincing vehemous words, finds Romney as GUILTY of being obsolete and must be liquidated. Options for execution include pills, gas or electrocution--as long as it takes place within 48 hours. Romney cleverly requests a twist on his options--that an assassin be assigned to him by which only he and Romney will choose the form of his death, and that it be televised. The Chancellor is ecstatic over this unique opportunity, without realizing how cleverly Romney has duped him.

Although most TZ episodes now suffer a bit of outdated content, this one sparkles with Burgess Meredith's marvelous acting and interfacing with a somewhat overblown role by Fritz Weaver. The ingenious ending is a tribute to the difference between misjudgment and underestimation.

Burgess Meredith; Fritz Weaver

 

[Flashgear]

 

[BobO'Link]

Firefly – Cancelled early (and stupidly) by the short-sighted suits at Fox...

Truer words have not been spoken... I've often felt they had some sort of vendetta against Whedon and used this series to get back at him. It was run out-of-order - and is a series with a somewhat continuing story, constantly moved/rescheduled/pre-empted when it *did* air, and just generally crapped on by the suits. IIRC it got very good ratings even when bounced around.

Fans of this show mourned what might have been, though some of the lost story potential was realized in the follow-up movie.

I guess it depends on who you talk to. While I somewhat like the movie it was just too much story crammed into to little time to be told properly.

And, have I mentioned how gorgeous Morena Baccarin is?

Yes, but I had a crush on Kaylee (Jewel Staite) and still think she's the "hotter" of the two...

 

[The 1960's]

In memoriam, Yvette Mimieux.

Dr. Kildare, S3-"Tyger, Tyger" (2 Parts)

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Very sad to hear of the lovely Yvette Mimieux's passing. She was one of my first teen crushes as Weena in George Pal's The Time Machine. I will try and watch one of her infrequent TV appearances later tonight (either Yancy Derringer or Mr. Lucky) to pay my respects. R.I.P.

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Great tributes by all! Her loss was a particularly tough one to take because by today’s standards 80 is not considered to be old. Miss. Mimieux had recently celebrated her milestone 80th birthday on January 8th. Here’s a few images most of which I did not post at Obscure Classic TV Shows - Post Your Favorites!

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[Charles 22]

Comeback of the Day

X-Files S3E24 - Talitha Cumi

I just saw this at lunch. It's a pretty good episode, and is the season ender, which, continues to S4. I deliberately don't keep track of which disc in the season I am on, or anything to do with any outside source, or even if it continues, so I'm seeing these with possibly less info than even the original first viewers had. One thing that made this episode not a real solid one, was the fact that it's throwing an awful lot of mystery out there, and as far as I can tell, it's central to the smoking man plot, but may have nothing to do with aliens (in a sense), but of course, being this ended up continuing, I may still see some alien portion of their plot go further on.

What surprised me quite a bit, was seeing a very familiar face, only maybe thirty years older than I last saw him. I wasn't sure it was him, and then he did some special things, and I thought to myself, "Man, wouldn't it be great if that was him, because he would fit perfectly into X-Files". But I couldn't be too certain, for from what little I knew of him, he stopped acting in the seventies some time. And, yes, it was ROY THINNES! I feel kind of bummed out that he's not part of some alien sort of thing too much here, but it's great to see him again, especially on this show. Now I looked ahead after viewing this and saw him in three episodes for the series, all while playing this same character, Jeremiah Smith (he can shape shift his head, and heal dying people on contact). He obviously will be in S4E1, but I don't know if they have a three-part story or just the more common two.

According to some net info, he's supposed to be an alien of sorts, and on the episode they referred to him as a drone.

 

[JamesSmith]

Never saw Dr. Kildeer's "Tyger, Tiger." Wish I had. I remember it being mentioned in one of TVGuide's Most memorable romantic or tragic episodes. Anybody else wish to comment on it? The list also mentioned Bonanza's "Forever," which got my attention, because at the time it was one of the lost episodes which hadn't been rerun very often.

--jthree