What did you watch this week in classic TV on DVD(or Blu)? (2 Viewers)

[Rustifer]

George Reeves January 5, 1914 - June 16, 1959

George Reeves was born George Keefer Brewer in Woolstock, Iowa, to Helen Roberta (Lescher) and Donald C. Brewer. He was of German, English, and Scottish descent. Following his parents' divorce and his mother's remarriage to Frank J. Bessolo, Reeves was raised in Pasadena, California, and educated at Pasadena Junior College.

He was a skilled amateur boxer and musician. He interned as an actor at the famed Pasadena Playhouse, performed in dozens of plays, and was discovered there by casting director Maxwell Arnow. He was cast as Stuart Tarleton in Gone with the Wind (1939). While shooting the film, he appeared in another play at the Pasadena Playhouse and was seen there and signed by Warner Bros. studios. Over the next ten years he was contracted to Warners, Fox and Paramount.

He achieved near-stardom as the male lead in So Proudly We Hail! (1943), but war service interrupted his career, and after he returned it never regained the same level. While in the Army Air Corps he appeared on Broadway in "Winged Victory", then made training films. Career difficulties after the war led him to move to New York for live television. It was television where he achieved the kind of fame that had eluded him in films, as he was cast in the lead of the now-iconic Adventures of Superman (1952). He got a few film roles in the early 1950s, but he was mostly typecast as Superman, and other acting jobs soon dried up. His career had slid to the point where he was considering an attempt at exhibition wrestling when he committed suicide by shooting himself.

Controversy still surrounds his death, due mainly to the fact of his longtime affair with Toni Lanier (aka Toni Mannix), the wife of MGM executive E.J. Mannix. Many of Reeves' friends and colleagues didn't believe that he had committed suicide but that his death was related to the Mannix situation. However, no credible evidence has ever been produced to support that contention. (From IMDb)​

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Uncanny timing, Neal! I'm doing a Superman commentary that I plan to drop in tomorrow.
Nice background post.
Mine won't be quite as factual.

 

[The 1960's]

Adventures of Superman (1952-1958)

S02E10 The Face and the Voice (Nov.21.1953)

Cast:
George Reeves as Boulder
Jack Larson Jimmy Olsen
John Hamilton Perry White
Robert Shayne Inspector Henderson
Carleton G. Young as Fairchild
Percy Helton as Hamlet
George Chandler as Scratchy
William Newell as Grocery Store Clerk
Nolan Leary as Jewelry Store Guard
Sam Balter as The Radio Announcer
I. Stanford Jolley as The Plastic Surgeon
Hayden Rorke as Tom
Chet Brandenburg Man listening To Hamlet
Bill Kennedy Announcer
Bert Stevens Man Listening To Hamlet

Writer:
Jackson Gillis
Director:
George Blair

Petty thief Boulder has a slight resemblance to Superman aka Clark Kent. Incredibly, after some plastic surgery he becomes a dead ringer for The Man of Steel! Problem is Boulder sounds just like someone from Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn NY. In comes Hamlet (Percy Helton) for some lessons in grammar and speech articulation. Wearing a Superman costume with a bullet-proof vest underneath Boulder convinces just about everyone that he is The Man Of Steel. The real Superman begins to question his own sanity. The Face and the Voice is a classic episode of this series in that it shows the acting versatility of George Reeves as he plays not one not two but three roles.

While creating this photo essay it occurred to me just how much we all loved George Reeves, how much we love Superman and what his portrayal as the Man of Steel meant to all of us through our lifetimes. From our childhood to adulthood. I know I was not old enough to see it first run but grew to love The Adventures of Superman in syndication. The tragedy surrounding his mysterious death, how it affected the children of that era can only be imagined. We’ll never really know what happened. But what we do know is that thank goodness this series made it to DVD. Yes it’s a damn shame it never has been and probably never will be remastered, but what we have is certainly better than having nothing at all. Due to the inferior prints used for TAOS by Warner the images below were greatly reduced in size in addition to being tweaked as best I could.​

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[The 1960's]

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[The 1960's]

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[Charles 22]

Adventures of Superman Theme + Montage​

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2:30 I wanted Jimmy to die so badly! Yes, Supes needed to save Lois though.

 

[Charles 22]

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People, definitely check out the first video here - hilarious.

 

[Charles 22]

Something weird is going on. The prior post of mine, was a reply to the same post, but when I saw my reply, it looked so different, having lost all it's graphics, I thought I was in error, so I did the same thing here, and sure enough, it keeps doing this. Beware Neal, if this keeps up, I may make a post flurry out of this yet. You saw this coming, didn't you? I think you broke the code.

 

[Charles 22]

Uncanny timing, Neal! I'm doing a Superman commentary that I plan to drop in tomorrow.
Nice background post.
Mine won't be quite as factual.

Supes is such great comical fodder!

 

[bmasters9]

Advanced to the fourth go on Emergency! (1974-75)

 

[Purple Wig]

Alan, thanks for those memories of yours. Your anecdotes and insights are always interesting!

I was driving a 1968 GMC shortbox stepside half-ton, with only a factory stock 292 inline 6 with 4 speed manual transmission. But that engine had tremendous low-end torque and pretty-good acceleration, and also quite good mileage. It was nearly indestructible, and with low production in the late '60s for that sporty bodystyle, highly desirable for the motorhead crowd to throw a V-8 into.

I just evaded the gasoline shortages that hit America with the Arab Oil Embargo the previous months over the winter and spring of 1973-74, in the aftermath of the Yom Kippur war in the mideast. I couldn't have made that trip any earlier than I did. And it was my only chance to see America on my own for the first time as an adult, as I was soon off to serve in the Canadian Army. (yes, we have one, ha, ha).

The Cop that ticketed me (Tucumcari, not N.M. State police) was somewhat apologetic but at the Cop-Shop insisted that as a foreigner I had to pay it before I could leave. I was doing everything on the cheap as an 18 year old and had to get a Western Union wire transfer from my parents to pay it, which was embarassing. The cop escorted me every step of the way as I got it at a bank on Railroad Avenue, not far from the Route 66 museum, which is where I was coming from. It turned out to be an expensive visit. He was a junior officer and a local, very friendly and laughingly greeted people along the way as we went. Those people were wondering what kind of suspicious stranger I was, ha, ha...as I say, this cop was great otherwise, and then offered to buy my truck! (yes, he was a motorhead, excitedly examining my Canadian made GMC truck, something new to him). I had to ask him, if I was to do that, how the hell would I continue my trip (Texas bound) and get home? He pointed out the Greyhound bus station! I'd already had my fill of travelling by interstate bus. No Gracias, adios amigo!

Weird but wonderful (much smaller in those days) little town, and one of the best places to see shabby-chic Route 66 roadside attractions going way-back to the '20s to the '50s. As you know, I'm a big fan of the Route 66 TV show, too bad that they didn't film at Tucumcari. I didn't know the connection to Rawhide until many years later.

Randall, last night I watched an episode of S.W.A.T. called “The Steel Plated Security Blanket”. Farrah Fawcett played Miss New Mexico, who would do anything to not have to go back home to Tucumcari.

 

[Charles 22]

My friends, I have an announcement, and this is MAJOR. I once put up a thread based on disc commentaries, and thank you all for those that read and/or contributed, but from its loins I have a very special treat to show you. Neal has introduced me to the art of compressing, and though I've yet to try it, I now have an extra reason to do this.

This reason was the commentary I raved about, the Land of the Lost commentaries from the original out-of-press run. IMO, it was by far, from the humor angle, the best commentary I have ever heard, and you are quite likely to LYAO. I'm likely just to select the best clip, but they do comment a lot, and as I'm thinking now, I'm not too comfortable putting a lot of it out there. This is major, because as far as I know, and I have looked hard, aside from finding this used somewhere, you will not find it on the net AT ALL, until what I'm likely to do pretty soon here. Stay tuned (this isn't a joke, just to be clear). I can't believe this frankly. It will be the first time I've exposed this to anybody else. I hope I don't lose any sleep over this, and I can't wait.

 

[Flashgear]

Randall, last night I watched an episode of S.W.A.T. called “The Steel Plated Security Blanket”. Farrah Fawcett played Miss New Mexico, who would do anything to not have to go back home to Tucumcari.

Ha, ha, Alan! I guess that Tucumcari had a bad reputation way back then! Even after becoming an unwilling taxpayer of the day for that town's coffers, I didn't think it was that bad.

Thanks for suggesting that episode, in addition to Farrah, I see that Loni Anderson is also in it! And a bevy of other lovelies. Needless to say, I'll check it out forthwith!

I'm glad to have S.W.A.T. (1975-76) in my collection. Not a truly great show, but often enough it is pretty darn good. Loaded with action, a welcome selection of great guest stars and familiar faces, and as you said, a wealth of fine L.A. and area location filming. Old (but lovable!) retreads like Rose Marie, Phil Silvers, Forrest Tucker, Elisha Cook Jr., Sam Jaffe, Cameron Mitchell, Aldo Ray, Simon Oakland, William Windom, James Shigeta, Anne Francis, Robert Webber, Anthony Eisely, Peter Breck, Brad Dexter, James Hong, Phillip Pine, John Dehner, Frank Gorshin, Etc.

The series looks great in the Mill Creek complete series set. 37 episodes presented on 6 discs. And even better, it was very affordable when I got it. I paid $18 Canadian, about $14.50 American.

I'm old enough to remember when LAPD's pioneering SWAT team became a sensation (a controversial sensation to some) in the aftermath of the Patty Hearst 'Symbionese Liberation Army' gun-battle in Compton (May 1974). Aired live on network TV, with 400 LAPD, County Sheriff and FBI involved, 9000 rounds fired (almost evenly divided between law enforcement and the SLA, who also had fully automatic weapons!), ultimately leaving 6 dead among the SLA. Because of the enormous publicity, the TV series soon launched with good ol' Steve Forrest and Robert Uhrich and company...and police departments across the USA and Canada soon established their own SWAT teams. My own backwoods hometown had a SWAT team ready for our own big shoot-out in 1976 (well, big for our standards, with a bodycount of two, one cop and one glue-sniffer). Considering today's absurd turmoil, the 1970s seem more and more sedate, naive and peaceful in retrospect. Even though it certainly didn't feel that way at the time.

Steve Forrest, Paul Mantee, Aldo Ray and a very lovely Susan Sullivan in SWAT S2E6, The Vendetta (Oct. 11, 1975).

 

[Rustifer]

Episode Commentary
The Adventures Of Superman
Peril By Sea (S4E4)

Perry White (John Hamilton) takes time off from his chair-warming job as Editor of the Daily Planet to spend time at his seaside cottage. Even though he's older than the Blarney Stone, Perry hasn't been idling away his hours with a stack of Readers Digests and bowls of prunes. Upon a visit from Clark, Jimmy and Lois, he proudly presents the results of his experiments as an amateur scientist.

At first, Perry attempted to transform bird droppings from his window sill into gold nuggets. That idea got quickly flushed. Next was converting goat urine into hi-test gasoline. Baaaaad idea. But Eureka! He finally hits on a formula that changes seawater into uranium! Notwithstanding he brazenly stole the idea from Archimedes, who toyed with the idea 1000 years ago, but back then nobody knew the value of uranium other than use as a handy paperweight. Perry's formula requires about 70,000 gallons of seawater to excrete one millionth of a gram of uranium. Clark quietly question's Perry's understanding of supply curve economics.

Meanwhile, there's a mysterious submarine--powered by baking soda--floating around Perry's cottage and spying on him. Head submariner and gangster Ace Miller (Claude Akins) learns of Perry's experiment after Jimmy Olsen stupidly writes an article about the secret process. Ace sees there's bucks to be made by stealing and selling the formula to shady governments who dislike Truth, Justice and the American Way. After forming a plan on a strip club paper napkin, Ace and his cohorts kidnap Lois and Jimmy--forcing them to assist in stealing Perry's formula and perhaps enjoy some of his famous fried bologna sandwiches.

The origin of Ace's submarine; Ace and cohort invade the lab; Superman finds prayer helpful in some situations

Perry's cottage, which appears to be about 1200 square feet from the outside houses a lab that's a good 10,000 square feet inside which--from a practical standpoint--adds significant value to the resale price. Ace traps Perry, Jimmy and Lois in the lab and seals shut the heavy metal door with wads of chewing gum. Once they have the formula in hand, the team heads back to the sub with the intention of torpedoing the cottage into matchsticks.

Clark, back at the office, senses there's evil afoot and quickly repairs to the restroom for a much needed dump, shave and change into his costume--then flying to the coast to save his colleagues. Superman spies Ace's torpedo speeding towards the cottage, retrieves it, and returns it to Ace by shoving it up his...well, missile chute. A torpedo enema, as it were.

The Aftermath
Perry continues to fiddle with his experiments and eventually invents a process for molding pencil shavings into decorative garden nymphs, to be marketed as Perry's Fairies.

 

[Sky King]

Neal,

Very thorough write up of George Reeves…good job.
The only part where I question your biography of Reeves is where you say he was despondent. Although he was now starting to feel too old for the part, at 45 years of age, he was looking forward to doing another set of episodes for the 1959-60 season. The show was becoming more popular around the world and still had its Kellogg sponsorship. Two of his costars whom I met, (Noel Neill and Jack Larsen) told me he was in a positive and upbeat mood prior to starting the upcoming season. He was told he could do more directing which he enjoyed doing during the previous season of Superman.
Prior to his death, he had been in a minor auto accident which left a small gash on his forehead and a possible concussion. He was taking pain medication and this in addition to some possible alcohol consumption earlier in the evening, may have clouded his judgement while handling the gun. We’ll probably never know the real reason. Eddie Mannix could have played a part in Reeves demise also, as Reeves was “dating” Mannix’s wife and had recently dumped her.
His death investigation was handled poorly by the LA Police.
I’m enclosing a picture of Reeves taken 3 days before his death, posing with his brand new ‘59 Oldsmobile. Doesn’t look too despondent here.

John

 

[Charles 22]

well, big for our standards, with a bodycount of two, one cop and one glue-sniffer

And the count was reduced even more, when you learned the cop was the glue-sniffer.

 

[Jeff Flugel]

Jonny Quest – 1.4 “Pursuit of the Po-Ho”
Early episode of this Hanna Barbera prime time animated classic is the usual retro "Boy's Own adventure" ride - if pretty damn un.-P.C. by today’s standards - as Race Bannon pretends to be a water god in order to rescue Dr. Quest from imminent sacrifice by hostile Po-Ho natives. This is one of the early episodes featuring John Stephenson as the voice of Jonny's father, Dr. Benton Quest, which always sounds odd to me, as I’m more familiar with the voicework of Don Messick, who took over from episode 6 on (and also provided the yips and barks of the Quest family's pet pooch, Bandit).

Matt Houston
1.6 “Recipe for Murder”
1.22 “A Novel Way to Die”
Two more fun, frothy detective romps, especially “Recipe for Murder,” which features not only an outrageous crime (the murder victim’s head suspended in a mold of orange jello), but also a deliciously camp performance by James Coco, as an arrogant restaurant critic and food writer who might be the next target. Also with Sid Caesar (playing a Russian!), David Hedison, Hope Lange and nubile Misty Rowe as Coco's very hands-on bimbo secretary.

“A Novel Way to Die,” set at a mystery writers’ convention, is sort of a take on a Columbo / Barnaby Jones-style “howcatchem.” Ageless Richard Anderson guest stars as a publisher who shoots one of his clients (Terry Moore) and then stages a watertight alibi for himself. Houston, originally scheduled to give a speech at the convention, investigates the crime instead, eventually unravelling the truth and bitch-slapping evil Oscar Goldman around. Also with former Tarzan Denny Miller, Markie Post and Joseph Campanella (mostly wasted as a Joseph Wambaugh type).

The Texan – 1.8 “Caballero”
Stalwart Bill Longley (Rory Calhoun), a.k.a. The Texan, teams up south of the border with a suave Mexican federale (Cesar Romero) to put a stop to an opportunistic weasel (Whit Bissell) selling rifles to the Apache. Mari Blanchard plays the bad guy’s ward who innocently acts as his go-between.

The Rat Patrol – 2.7 “The Death Do Us Part Raid”
Capt. Dietrich (regal Eric Braedon, here credited as "Hans Gudegast") and his men ambush the Rat Patrol, and only a wounded Sgt. Troy (Christopher George) manages to escape, hidden by Drucilla (Pippa Scott), a neutral Irish teacher reluctant to get involved. Drucilla must ultimately choose a side when the Germans discover that her star Arab pupil is an Allied spy and plan to execute him, along with Troy’s men. Lovely redhead Ms. Scott makes a welcome addition to the usual testosterone heavy, explosive action.

The Streets of San Francisco
1.0 “Pilot"
2.21 “The Hard Breed”
Despite having owned S1 on DVD for many years, I had somehow never gotten around to watching the 2-hour pilot episode. It’s a good one, as, with very little preamble, we’re introduced to veteran Det. Lt. Mike Stone (Karl Malden, possessor of the largest schnozz in show business) and his college educated hotshot young partner, Inspector Steve Keller (edgy Michael Douglas), as they investigate the case of a murdered young woman washed up on the beach (Kim Darby, mid-20s at the time but looking more like 15 in several flashback sequences). A lot of their initial focus is on the enigmatic playboy lawyer (Robert Wagner) who had been seeing the woman before she was killed, but the plot takes a hard right turn in the last 30 minutes into real freak-a-deak territory. Features a ton of splendid Bay Area location work, not to mention liberal doses of Patrick William's funky-ass theme music.

S2's “The Hard Breed” makes for a interesting change of pace episode, as city boys Stone and Keller mingle with a tight knit troupe of rodeo cowboys to find out who might have cut the safety rope of an unpopular bull rider, leading to his death. Two Gunsmoke alumni (Ron Bishop and Jim Byrnes) provided the story and script for this one, and while they understandably nail the cowboy characterizations, giving them complex shadings and authentic sounding dialogue, their mystery plotting is fairly rudimentary...I was able to spot the guilty party within the first five minutes. Excellent guest cast here, including Jim Davis, Sam Elliott, Harry Carey, Jr., Noah Beery, Jr. and another pretty (if pensive) redhead, Lane Bradbury.

Danger Man – 2.12 “A Date with Doris”
British superspy John Drake (Patrick McGoohan, always an electric screen presence) arrives in an island nation (never named but obviously meant to be Cuba), posing as a journalist, ostensibly there to interview egocentric Revolutionary leader, Paratore (Ronald Radd). But that’s merely a cover for Drake’s real mission, which is to smuggle a badly-wounded M9 agent (James Maxwell), accused of murdering Paratore's actress mistress (Magda Konopka), out from under the watchful eyes of the military police. Drake is aided by his fresh-faced liaison from the Ministry of Culture (beautiful Jane Merrow, her spectacular body covered in unflattering, baggy military fatigues). The “Doris” of the title is a Naval submarine, waiting off the coast, ready to extract the two agents to safety if they can manage to get to the rendezvous point on time. Full of suspense, narrow escapes and the usual display of Drake’s endless resourcefulness in the face of grave danger. McGoohan is superb in the lead role, unflappably cool, the gears of his nimble mind constantly whirring. Also with Eric Pohlman and Marne Maitland.

A few days ago, I received the latest care package from my family in America, which contained, among other useful goodies hard to find here in Japan, several shiny new DVD and Blu-Ray discs. So I promptly slapped some of those suckers on, including:

Gentle Ben – 1.1 “Hurricane Coming”
While Flipper was a constant presence in reruns when I was growing up, Ivan Tors’ other animal adventure shows, Daktari and Gentle Ben, never were...at least not in my neck o' the woods, to the best of my recollection. So this was my first exposure to the two-season Gentle Ben, centered around a little boy and his 'Nilla Wafer-scarfing bruin pal - and it’s a charming little slice of family drama. As Paul Mavis notes in his DVD Talk review, Ben the bear is not as lively company as the various dolphins who played the redoubtable Flipper, but the human cast here – including easygoing, charismatic Dennis Weaver as Everglades game warden Tom Wedloe; Beth Brickell as his pretty wife, Ellen; and Clint Howard as their adorable, gap-toothed and trouble-prone 8-year-old son, Mark – make for more interesting and lively company than the regulars that Flipper hangs out with. This first episode features some impressive wind machine effects, as a hurricane hits the 'Glades, resulting in Tom and nature-loving neighbor Henry Boomhauer (Rance Howard, Clint’s dad) braving the storm to find the missing Mark, who’s holed up in a cave with Ben, plus vacationing new friend Rob (Rusty Weaver) and Rob's overprotective mom (Mala Powers).

Not “must see TV,” certainly, but an enjoyable, easygoing family adventure show. I just wish it had received the same vibrant and crystal-clear transfers that grace its sister show, Flipper, on home video; sadly, while the color on this Paramount DVD set is decent, we're stuck with old, fuzzy tape masters, about on a par with Timeless’ Guns of Will Sonnett, Laredo, Branded, etc. – in other words, watchable...just. The good news is that the episodes seem to be uncut, and both S1 and S2 can be had dirt cheap, at around $10 each on Amazon. Anyway, I had a surprisingly good time with this one, and am looking forward to hanging out some more with the winning cast as they meander through some more low-key Florida adventures.

Kolchak: The Night Stalker – 1.1 “The Ripper”
Kino Lorber Studio Classics did a dynamite job remastering this short-lived iconic horror series from ABC's 1974-1975 lineup. It was only fitting to start with this first episode, which closely follows the template of the previous, highly-rated TV movies, The Night Stalker (1972) and The Night Strangler (1973) - both also remastered and looking splendid on Blu from Kino. Irrepressible wiseass reporter Carl Kolchak (Darren McGavin, never better), now working for the Independent News Service, is up to his old shenanigans, ignoring the commands of his long-suffering editor, Tony Vicenzo (Simon Oakland, wonderfully apoplectic) to sit at his desk answering "Dear Emily" letters, instead sneaking out to nose around the lurid case of a mysterious killer slashing up sex workers. The police (here embodied by gravel-voiced Ken Lynch) dismiss the culprit as yet another Jack the Ripper copycat, despite the suspect’s seemingly supernatural strength and resistance to bullets. Kolchak soon susses that the killer is in actual fact the original Jack, seemingly immortal, and, as is the case with nearly every one of the series' 20 episodes, our intrepid (if sometimes slightly shady) reporter hero must go it alone, dispatching the monster of the week singlehandedly at the climax.

By all accounts K:TNS was a troubled production behind the scenes: treated like the proverbial redheaded stepchild by Universal, suffering from tight shooting schedules, minuscule budgets, and constant feuding between star McGavin and producer Cy Chermak. Despite all of this, and some occasionally-shoddy monster costumes and not-so-special effects, the show overall remains a total blast. “The Ripper” is one of the stronger episodes, helped by effective, atmospheric direction (by Allen Baron), a neat guest cast and the always-captivating performance of McGavin, as the downtrodden yet undaunted, seersucker-suited Everyman.

After watching the episode, I sampled its commentary track (by Mark Dawidziak, author of the indispensable “making of” reference book, The Night Stalker Companion). Long-time Kolchak fans won’t find too much new in Dawidziak’s otherwise enjoyable and enthusiastic commentary, but we do get the nice little treat of an excerpt from one of the author’s interview tapes with McGavin). I also sampled some additional commentaries from other episodes on disc one, including the one recorded by Tim Lucas (for “The Vampire”), to which I listened in full. I also checked out the two interviews included on the set, one with writer and series’ script editor David Chase (later of The Sopranos fame) and another with writer/producer and fan, Dana Gould. All in all, it's a marvelous package that any self-respecting Kolchak fan shouldn't do without.

The Abbott & Costello Show – 1.1 ”Drug Store”
Another beautiful restoration job here, an even greater achievement and a true labor of love, courtesy of Bob Furmanek and his fellow fine folks at the 3D Film Archive, who partially funded their painstaking transfer of all 26 first season episodes from original film elements, via a successful Kickstarter campaign (to which I was happy to contribute, in exchange for a copy). The resulting 3-disc Blu-Ray set from Classic Flix is a thing of beauty, each episode resplendent in lustrous black-and-white.

While I've been a big fan of A & C's films over the years, I'd not seen their television work, other than a couple episodes of them hosting the Colgate Comedy Hour. Needless to say, I was very impressed with this first episode of The Abbott & Costello Show. Really fast, loose and funny stuff, with only a tiny sliver of plot setup that acts less as a formal structure and more as a simple scenario that allows the great comic duo to engage in their tried-and-true burlesque routines, plus other inspired bits of slapstick, wordplay and outright zaniness. This one ends on a high, with Lou running rampant behind a soda fountain, flirting with statuesque blonde Hillary Brooke and flinging scoops of ice cream hither and yon. I’ve never had much time for Joe Besser as replacement Stooge, but he’s legit hilarious here as violent man-child Stinky Davis. Looking forward to diving deeper into this set, which also includes numerous commentaries by A & C experts.

Poirot – 7.2 “Lord Edgware Dies”
In 2000, the Belgian master detective returned to British airwaves on ITV after a four year gap, with two feature-length adaptations of the Agatha Christie novels The Murder of Roger Ackroyd and Lord Edgware Dies (published in 1933, and also known as Thirteen for Dinner, adapted under that title for a 1985 TV movie starring Peter Ustinov as Poirot, alongside Faye Dunaway). Poirot’s rather thick but steadfast companion, Capt. Hastings (Hugh Fraser), returns from Argentina, just in time to assist him on a twisty murder case. Seductive actress Jane Wilkinson (Helen Grace) begs Poirot to intervene on her behalf, in order to gain a divorce from her nasty bully of a husband, Lord Edgware (John Castle). When the repellent Edgware winds up murdered, stabbed in the neck with a dagger, Mme. Wilkinson seems to be the prime suspect…but she has a cast-iron alibi, as a guest at a dinner party at the exact time of the murder. Poirot is confronted with a host of suspects who not only wanted Edgware dead, but also bear a grudge against his widow…perhaps even enough to send her to the gallows by setting her up for his murder.

This is another fine adaptation, full of impeccable period detail. It’s a treat to see David Suchet’s fussy, fastidious yet deeply moral Poirot once more reunited not only with Capt. Hastings, but also prim secretary Miss Lemon (Pauline Moran) and dogged and dour Chief Inspector Japp (Phillip Jackson). Unlike later "solo" Suchet adaptations, where the producers think they can one-up the Queen of Crime by disastrously rejiggering her plots, this one stays quite true to Christie’s original, and is all the better for it. I mean, really, why mess with the master? When it comes to this sort of Golden Age mystery plotting, no one does it better than Dame Agatha.

Unfortunately, I don’t currently have the capability to take Blu-Ray screen captures, but take it from me that all three of the series mentioned above look (and sound) absolutely fabulous in HD.

 

[Charles 22]

Jonny Quest – 1.4 “Pursuit of the Po-Ho”
Early episode of this Hanna Barbera prime time animated classic is the usual retro "Boy's Own adventure" ride - if pretty damn un.-P.C. by today’s standards - as Race Bannon pretends to be a water god in order to rescue Dr. Quest from imminent sacrifice by hostile Po-Ho natives. This is one of the early episodes featuring John Stephenson as the voice of Jonny's father, Dr. Benton Quest, which always sounds odd to me, as I’m more familiar with the voicework of Don Messick, who took over from episode 6 on (and also provided the yips and barks of the Quest family's pet pooch, Bandit).

Matt Houston
1.6 “Recipe for Murder”
1.22 “A Novel Way to Die”
Two more fun, frothy detective romps, especially “Recipe for Murder,” which features not only an outrageous crime (the murder victim’s head suspended in a mold of orange jello), but also a deliciously camp performance by James Coco, as an arrogant restaurant critic and food writer who might be the next target. Also with Sid Caesar (playing a Russian!), David Hedison, Hope Lange and nubile Misty Rowe as Coco's bimbo very hands-on secretary.

“A Novel Way to Die,” set at a mystery writers’ convention, is sort of a take on a Columbo / Barnaby Jones-style “howcatchem.” Ageless Richard Anderson guest stars as a publisher who shoots one of his clients (Terry Moore) and then stages a watertight alibi for himself. Houston, originally scheduled to give a speech at the convention, investigates the crime instead, and eventually unravels the truth. Also with Denny Miller, Markie Post and Joseph Campanella (mostly wasted as a Joseph Wambaugh type).

The Texan – 1.8 “Caballero”
Stalwart Bill Longley (Rory Calhoun), a.k.a. The Texan, teams up south of the border with a suave Mexican federale (Cesar Romero) to put a stop to an opportunistic weasel (Whit Bissell) selling rifles to the Apache. Mari Blanchard plays the bad guy’s ward who innocently acts as his go-between.

The Rat Patrol – 2.7 “The Death Do Us Part Raid”
Capt. Dietrich (regal Eric Braedon, here credited as "Hans Gudegast") and his men ambush the Rat Patrol, and only a wounded Sgt. Troy (Christopher George) manages to escape, hidden by Drucilla (Pippa Scott), a neutral Irish teacher reluctant to get involved. Drucilla must ultimately choose a side when the Germans discover that her star pupil is an Allied spy and plan to execute him, along with Troy’s men. Lovely redhead Ms. Scott makes a welcome addition to the usual testosterone heavy, explosive action.

The Streets of San Francisco
1.0 “Pilot"
2.21 “The Hard Breed”
Despite having owned S1 on DVD for many years, I had somehow never gotten around to watching the 2-hour pilot episode. It’s a good one, as, with very little preamble, we’re introduced to veteran Det. Lt. Mike Stone (Karl Malden, possessor of the largest schnozz in show business) and his college educated hotshot young partner, Inspector Steve Keller (edgy Michael Douglas), as they investigate the case of a murdered young woman washed up on the beach (Kim Darby, mid-20s at the time but looking more like 15 in several flashback sequences). A lot of their initial focus is on the enigmatic playboy lawyer (Robert Wagner) who had been seeing the woman before she was killed, but the plot takes a hard right turn in the last 30 minutes into real freak-a-deak territory. Features a ton of splendid Bay Area location work, not to mention liberal doses of Patrick William's funky-ass theme music.

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S2's “The Hard Breed” makes for a interesting change of pace episode, as city boys Stone and Keller mingle with a tight knit troupe of rodeo cowboys to find out who might have cut the safety rope of an unpopular bull rider, leading to his death. Two Gunsmoke alumni (Ron Bishop and Jim Byrnes) provided the story and script for this one, and while they understandably nail the cowboy characterizations, giving them complex shadings and authentic sounding dialogue, their mystery plotting is fairly rudimentary...I was able to spot the guilty party within the first five minutes. Excellent guest cast here, including Jim Davis, Sam Elliott, Harry Carey, Jr., Noah Beery, Jr. and yet another pretty (if pensive) redhead, Lane Bradbury.

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Danger Man – 2.12 “A Date with Doris”
British superspy John Drake (Patrick McGoohan, always an electric screen presence) arrives in an island nation (never named but obviously a Cuba-analogue), posing as a journalist ostensibly there to interview egocentric Revolutionary leader, Paratore (Ronald Radd). But that’s merely a cover for Drake’s real mission, which is to smuggle a badly-wounded M9 agent (James Maxwell), accused of murdering Paratore's mistress (Magda Konopka), a famous actress, out from under the watchful eyes of the military police. Drake is aided by his fresh-faced liaison from the Ministry of Culture (beautiful Jane Merrow, her spectacular body covered in unflattering, baggy military fatigues). The “Doris” of the title is a Navy submarine, waiting off the coast, ready to extract the two agents to safety if they can manage to get to the rendezvous point on time. Full of suspense, narrow escapes and the usual display of Drake’s endless resourcefulness in the face of grave danger. McGoohan is superb in the lead role, unflappably cool, the gears of his nimble mind constantly whirring. Also with Eric Pohlman and Marne Maitland.

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A few days ago, I received the latest care package from my family in America, which contained, among other useful goodies hard to find here in Japan, several shiny new DVD and Blu-Ray discs. So I promptly slapped some of those suckers on, including:

Gentle Ben – 1.1 “Hurricane Coming”
While Flipper was a constant presence in reruns when I was growing up, Ivan Tors’ other animal adventure shows, Daktari and Gentle Ben, never were...at least not in my neck o' the woods, to the best of my recollection. So this was my first exposure to the two-season Gentle Ben, centered around a little boy and his 'Nilla Wafer-scarfing bruin pal - and it’s a charming little slice of family drama. As Paul Mavis notes in his DVD Talk review, Ben the bear is not as lively company as the various dolphins who played the redoubtable Flipper, but the human cast here – including easygoing, charismatic Dennis Weaver as Everglades game warden Tom Wedloe; Beth Brickell as his pretty wife, Ellen; and their adorable, gap-toothed and trouble-prone 8-year-old son Mark (Clint Walker) – make for more interesting and pleasant company than the regulars that Flipper hangs out with, IMO. This first episode features some impressive wind machine effects, as a hurricane hits the 'Glades, resulting in Tom and nature-loving neighbor Henry Boomhauer (Rance Howard, Clint’s dad) braving the storm to find the missing Mark, who’s holed up in a cave with Ben, plus vacationing new friend Rob (Rusty Weaver) and Rob's overprotective mom (Mala Powers).

Not “must see TV,” but an enjoyable, easygoing family adventure show. I just wish it had received the same vibrant and crystal-clear transfers that grace its sister show, Flipper, on home video; sadly, while the color on this Paramount DVD set is decent, we're stuck with old, fuzzy tape masters, about on a par with Timeless’ Guns of Will Sonnett, Laredo, Branded, etc. – in other words, watchable...just. The good news is that the episodes seem to be uncut, and both S1 and S2 can be had dirt cheap, at around $10 each on Amazon. Anyway, I had a surprisingly good time with this one, and am looking forward to hanging out some more with the winning cast as they meander through some more low-key adventures.

Kolchak: The Night Stalker – 1.1 “The Ripper”
Kino Lorber Studio Classics did a dynamite job remastering this short-lived iconic horror series from ABC's 1974-1975 lineup. It was only fitting to start with this first episode, which closely follows the template of the previous, highly-rated TV movies, The Night Stalker (1972) and The Night Strangler (1973) - both also remastered and looking splendid on Blu from Kino. Irrepressible, wiseass reporter Carl Kolchak (Darren McGavin, never better), now working for the Independent News Service, is up to his old shenanigans, ignoring the commands of his long-suffering editor, Tony Vicenzo (Simon Oakland, wonderfully apoplectic) to sit at his desk answering "Dear Emily" letters, instead sneaking out to nose around the lurid case of a mysterious killer slashing up sex workers. The police (here embodied by gravel-voiced Ken Lynch) dismiss the culprit as yet another Jack the Ripper copycat, despite the suspect’s seemingly supernatural strength and resistance to bullets. Kolchak soon susses that the killer is in actual fact the original Jack, seemingly immortal, and, as is the case with nearly every one of the series' 20 episodes, our intrepid (if sometimes slightly shady) reporter hero must go it alone, dispatching the monster of the week singlehandedly at the climax.

By all accounts K:TNS was a troubled production behind the scenes: treated like the proverbial redheaded stepchild by Universal, suffering from tight shooting schedules, minuscule budgets, and constant feuding between star McGavin and producer Cy Chermak. Despite all of this, and some occasionally-shoddy monster costumes and not-so-special effects, the show overall remains a total blast. “The Ripper” is one of the stronger episodes, helped by effective direction (by Allen Baron), a neat guest cast and the always captivating performance of McGavin, as the downtrodden yet undaunted, seersucker-suited everyman, Kolchak.

After watching the episode, I sampled the commentary track (by Mark Dawidziak, author of the indispensable “making of” reference book, The Night Stalker Companion). Long-time Kolchak fans won’t find too much new in Dawidziak’s enthusiastic commentary, but we do get the nice little treat of an excerpt from one of the author’s interview tapes with McGavin). I also sampled some additional commentaries from other episodes on disc one, including listening to the one recorded by Tim Lucas (for “The Vampire”) in full. I also checked out the two interviews included on the set, one with writer and series’ script editor David Chase (later of The Sopranos fame) and another with writer/producer and fan, Dana Gould. A marvelous package that any fan of Kolchak shouldn't do without.

The Abbott & Costello Show – 1.1 ”Drug Store”
Another beautiful restoration job here, an even greater achievement and a true labor of love, courtesy of Bob Furmanek and his fellow fine folks at the 3D Film Archive, who partially funded their painstaking transfer all 26 first season episodes from original film elements, via a successful Kickstarter campaign (to which I was happy to contribute). The resulting 3-disc Blu-Ray set from Classic Flix is a thing of beauty, each episode resplendent in lustrous black-and-white.

While I've been a big fan of A & C's films over the years, I'd not seen their television work, other than a couple episodes of them hosting the Colgate Comedy Hour. Needless to say, I was very impressed with this first episode of The Abbott & Costello Show. Really fast, loose and funny stuff, with only a tiny sliver of plot setup that acts less as a formal structure and more as a simple scenario that allows the great comic duo to engage in their tried-and-true burlesque routines, plus other inspired bits of slapstick, wordplay and outright zaniness. This one ends on a high, with Lou running rampant behind a soda fountain. I’ve never had much time for Joe Besser as replacement Stooge, but he’s hilarious here as violent man-child Stinky Davis. Looking forward to diving deeper into this set, which also includes numerous commentaries by A & C experts.

Poirot – 7.2 “Lord Edgware Dies”
In 2000, the Belgian master detective returned to British airwaves on ITV after a four year gap, with two feature-length adaptations of the Agatha Christie novels The Murder of Roger Ackroyd and Lord Edgware Dies (published in 1933, and also known as Thirteen for Dinner, adapted under that title for a 1985 TV movie starring Peter Ustinov as Poirot, alongside Faye Dunaway). Poirot’s rather thick but steadfast companion, Capt. Hastings (Hugh Fraser), returns from Argentina, just in time to assist him on a twisty murder case. Seductive actress Jane Wilkinson (Helen Grace) begs Poirot to intervene on her behalf in order to gain a divorce from her nasty bully of a husband, Lord Edgware (John Castle). When the repellent Edgware winds up murdered, stabbed in the neck with a dagger, Mme. Wilkinson seems to be the prime suspect…but she has a cast-iron alibi, as a guest at a dinner party at the exact time of the murder. Poirot is confronted with a host of suspects who not only wanted Edgware dead, but also bear a grudge against his widow…perhaps even enough to send her to the gallows by setting her up for his murder...

This is another fine adaptation, full of impeccable period detail. It’s a treat to once more see David Suchet’s fussy, fastidious yet deeply moral Poirot once more reunited not only with Capt. Hastings, but also prim secretary Miss Lemon (Pauline Moran) and dogged and dour Chief Inspector Japp (Phillip Jackson). Unlike later "solo" Suchet adaptations, where the producers think they can one-up the Queen of Crime by disastrously rejiggering her plots, this one stays quite true to Christie’s original, and is all the better for it. I mean, really, why mess with the master? When it comes to this sort of Golden Age mystery plotting, no one does it better than Dame Agatha.

Unfortunately, I don’t currently have the capability to take Blu-Ray screen captures, but take it from me that all three of the series mentioned above look (and sound) absolutely fabulous in HD.

You know your career has hit rock bottom, when your latest work is doing "the voice to Bandit", a dog. But hey, there's nowhere to go, but up from there, right? Right? Oh man, I can just picture him with a leash on him, rearing up on his back legs for a Scooby treat! And no, my avatar being a husky has nothing to do with this, really. See, that's what the little doggies do, they stick out their tongues.

Also, it's always nice to see the Ice Cream Man (AKA Clint Howard) before he became sick and demented. You know, you like to remember them as they were, not as they turned out.

As well, why for all the pitiful years I had to sell World's Finest Chocolates, didn't I have a bikini girl come and give me money? Well Charles, I think with those sort of women, you're supposed to give THEM money.

Oh Jeff, you inspired me, or was that de-inspired me?

 

[Bryan^H]

Emergency

"Gossip" season 4

So far this season the episodes have been just average with a severe drop in quality of both audio, and video quality on the DVD set...I mean really bad. Not sure why Universal released this without remastering the entire run first, but I'm kind of disappointed. I noticed a few season three episodes were this way as well.

Anyway "Gossip" was entertaining. Ayoung nurse is hellbent on bringing down a doctor by saying he is living beyond his means to anyone that will listen. Not true. Will head nurse Dixie find out, and put a stop to it?

 

[bmasters9]

Emergency

"Gossip" season 4

So far this season the episodes have been just average with a severe drop in quality of both audio, and video quality on the DVD set...I mean really bad. Not sure why Universal released this without remastering the entire run first, but I'm kind of disappointed. I noticed a few season three episodes were this way as well.

Anyway "Gossip" was entertaining. Ayoung nurse is hellbent on bringing down a doctor by saying he is living beyond his means to anyone that will listen. Not true. Will head nurse Dixie find out, and put a stop to it?

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That is where I have advanced to on the fourth go, incidentally.

 

[Bryan^H]

The episode features Zina Bethune (who tragically died in a hit and run accident in 2012) from the fantastic episode "The Legacy" the Planet of the Apes TV series, and Yvonne Craig.