What did you watch this week in classic TV on DVD(or Blu)? (3 Viewers)

[bmasters9]

I had an idea months ago to start a thread entitled ...

Classic TV Promos, Commercials and Bloopers - Post 'Em!

Just for good measure it would also include Singing Actor Video Performance. I have a bunch in all 4 categories I’ve been archiving for the past few years. It's not something where I'd expect to see daily activity, but simply a location where these could be gathered in one place. Would you guys participate if I started it?

My post above wasn't intended to bring that topic over here.

View attachment 140965

By all means!

 

[Purple Wig]

I’d enjoy such a thread.

 

[bmasters9]

Hart to Hart, fifth-and-final-season episode "Slam Dunk" (OAD Tuesday, March 6, 1984 on ABC; Disc 5 in fifth-and-final-season Hart to Hart DVD from Shout!)

Most of us know Fred Dryer for not just being a great NFL defensive player (he was a defensive end for the New York Giants and Los Angeles Rams [this before he went to Hollywood]), but for also being in the title role of Sgt. Rick Hunter in NBC's hit action cop procedural Hunter from 1984-91.

Before and after Hunter (both versions [the longer-running one from 1984-91, and an abortive reboot in 2003 where he was Lt. Rick Hunter]), he had quite a few guest-starring spots on all three networks (he had most of them on NBC and CBS, but also had two on ABC [one in 1980 on comedy Laverne & Shirley, and one later in the 80s, this one being profiled here, on Hart to Hart]).

Specifically, in this outing, a college hoops star is framed for having cocaine in his locker (this star is the nephew of the Harts' butler/majordomo Max, and so Max drives up to take a visit). The framing comes when Max visits the locker room of the team his nephew plays on; Max then calls Jonathan and Jennifer to help out.

Boyd Miller (Dryer's character) is, at the start, the Chairman of the Alumni Association of the school portrayed here; we eventually discover that, somehow, someway, he was the one behind this framing, and he gets his comeuppance at Jonathan's hands (Max's nephew wins the game with two free throws after a late-game foul that delayed the official end of the game).

Screenshots from Shout!'s DVD release, these of Fred Dryer in his role (which is what drew me to this episode): these include his closing-credit billing in the guest role of Boyd Miller; the copyright card for Columbia Pictures Television (where CPT is credited as "A Division of CPT Holdings, Inc."); the Rona II/Spelling-Goldberg IAW card; and the bylineless CPT 80s Torch Lady (same Ciani music as Coke version, albeit bylineless).

One of the shots shows Fred in his role with his eyes closed; it's like that because that's the way I caught it in VLC Media Player.

 

[Rustifer]

Series Commentaries
The English Countryside

I admit it. I'm a sucker for those light-hearted series that are set in small villages around the remote corners of England. I'm especially fond of the stories that commonly feature hapless GPs thanklessly treating eclectic local citizens who generally fear/loathe/or avoid doctors for any number of suspicious reasons. Whether present day or decades earlier, the featured villages are hardly modernized industrial centers, but more likely to cause minor traffic problems due to sheep being herded across narrow roadways and where the local pub proprietor may well be acting Mayor, too. Everyone knows everyone else's business and are not shy in practicing the fine art of nosiness. The doctor is usually the one sane person in the community and is constantly put upon to dispense counseling as well as endure endless house calls and administering fruitless treatments to unwilling patients.
Two of my favorite examples:

The Royal

The setting is fictitious St. Aiden's Royal Free Hospital in the seaside town of Elisby during the swingin' 1960's. By this time, England had graduated to the National Health System which afforded everyone free medical services. Shot in North Yorkshire, the seaside hospital staff consists of three doctors, a number of free-wheeling nurses, a stern by soft-hearted head Matron, a pair of incompetent yet enterprising custodial employees and a receptionist who steals every scene with her hipster, gossipy, flirty and salacious nature and form.
The stories are usually interpersonal relationships that cause either joy or despair--mostly in a humorous vein (pun) but sometimes also end in a sober and heart-rending tragedy. Lasting 8 seasons, it provided me plenty of binge fodder, so I highly recommend the series for any enthusiastic Anglophile.

Doc Martin

Starring the wonderfully goofy-looking Martin Clunes as Doctor Martin Ellingham (locally pronounced Elly-gum but parsed down to simply Doc Martin), a brilliant top London surgeon who develops a phobia of seeing blood and gets downgraded to a simple GP in the impossibly picturesque village of Portwenn. Grumpy even in the best of moods, Doc Martin does not suffer fools which, unfortunately, represent the majority of the village inhabitants. The Doc's Asperger Syndrome leaves him with little or no social interaction skills whatsoever--almost sociopathic to human condition without the murderous tendencies. His bedside manner is abrupt and dismissive, perplexing his patients to no end.
In one of the most mismatched unions imaginable, he eventually marries the vivacious and pretty local school headmistress and between the two, have a baby. Although their relationship is painfully awkward and strained, there underlies an endearing love and affection between them. Humor is provided by what seems to be an English staple in these sorts of series--the duo of a local plumber and his son who often engage in shady business ventures that always fail spectacularly.
I'm on the last season and dread having to end this most delightful of binges.

Both these series aired within the past 15 years (Doc Martin is still on-going) and, as such, can hardly be considered "classic" TV, but I decided to post them in here anyway because I haven't written anything in a few days and just felt the need to share.

 

[BobO'Link]

I've never heard of The Royal - I'll be looking for discs... I absolutely love Doc Martin (and most other series' in which Clunes appears) and am waiting for the last 2 series to drop to "reasonable" prices to pick them up.

 

[bmasters9]

More on the "Slam Dunk" outing of Hart to Hart (remembrances from director Ralph Senensky):

Slam Dunk - Ralph's Cinema Trek

FILMED January 1984 I loved Hart to Hart. One of my fave (sic) shows. Hart to Hart was one of my favorite shows … brings back good memories. I absolutely LOVED Hart to Hart. I had a crush on RJ … Continue reading →

senensky.com

 

[The 1960's]

More on the "Slam Dunk" outing of Hart to Hart (remembrances from director Ralph Senensky):

Slam Dunk - Ralph's Cinema Trek

FILMED January 1984 I loved Hart to Hart. One of my fave (sic) shows. Hart to Hart was one of my favorite shows … brings back good memories. I absolutely LOVED Hart to Hart. I had a crush on RJ … Continue reading →

senensky.com

Ben lots of good reading about so many great series, thank you. Plus your commentary-photo essay's are looking better and better!!

 

[bmasters9]

Ben lots of good reading about so many great series, thank you. Plus your commentary-photo essay's are looking better and better!! View attachment 141063

Thanks very much! I'm happy to do 'em.

 

[ScottRE]

I had an idea months ago to start a thread entitled ...

Classic TV Promos, Commercials and Bloopers - Post 'Em!

Just for good measure it would also include Singing Actor Video Performance. I have a bunch in all 4 categories I’ve been archiving for the past few years. It's not something where I'd expect to see daily activity, but simply a location where these could be gathered in one place. Would you guys participate if I started it? If I see enough likes posted below I'll do it.

My post above wasn't intended to bring that topic over here.

View attachment 140965

That would be a fun thread. You have my blessing.

 

[Jeff Flugel]

I've never heard of The Royal - I'll be looking for discs... I absolutely love Doc Martin (and most other series' in which Clunes appears) and am waiting for the last 2 series to drop to "reasonable" prices to pick them up.

Yes, I also have never heard of The Royal. Sounds interesting. Thanks for showing some love to those gentle comedy/dramas from across the Pond, Russ!

 

[SuperClark]

The Royal is streaming for free here.
See on Amazon

 

[Rustifer]

Episode Commentary
Wings
"Emotionally Yours" (S5E17)

This was one of the more successful shows from the 90's by way of launching a number of its cast members into bigger and better things--Tim Daly, Thomas Hayden Church and Tony Shalhoub most specifically. I'm kind of disappointed that Crystal Bernard, who I considered to be a talented and attractive actor, never found any solid footing after the series' end. Set in a small commuter airport in Nantucket that services such jet lag routes as Martha's Vineyard to New Bedford, the show focuses on two pilot brothers, Joe (Tim Daly) and Brian (Steven Weber) who operate Sandpiper Airlines--consisting of one twin engine Cessna, a mechanic and a gate operator (Rebecca Schull), who's sort of a B-level Betty White. Stories take place mostly on a stage set consisting of one boarding gate and a lunch counter. The set decoration budget must've run nearly $100.

How did she miss out?? The cast; The models arrive...

In this particular episode, Brian has committed his heart, soul and any leftover lasagna in the fridge to helicopter pilot Alex (Farrah Forke). Brian's emotional attachment to her will be sorely tested when Joe flies in a bevy of long-legged models for a local photo shoot. The easily distracted Brian looks heavenward and groans, "This is a test, right?"
Meanwhile, lunch counter operator Helen (Bernard) decides to name her menu items after the airport employees. Anthony's (Shalhoub) dish is predictably named "Scarpacci Spaghetti and Meatballs". Rival airline owner Roy (David Schramm) is "Biggins Giant Turkey Leg", although based on the amount of oil he uses on his hair, "Bacon Slider" might have been more appropriate. Mechanic Lowell (Church), who's so dimwitted as to not be able to pour water out of a boot even with the instructions written on the heel, becomes "Lowell Slaw". Apparently no one fit the avocado and grape jelly salad dish.

Brian unconvincingly explains to the disinterested models that he's in a committed relationship and is therefore unmoved to the idea of Joe throwing a party for the lovely ladies after the shoot. "I'm uninterested in a party," Brian lies. "Y'know, hot sweaty, freaky sex..." He convinces not a soul. The party progresses with drinks, dancing and heaps of indelicate innuendos. To avoid temptation, Brian has Joe lock him in the bedroom, unbeknownst to both it's also occupied by a model taking a shower. Oh, the irony is turgid. So to speak.

 

[BobO'Link]

Wings is one of those shows I thought to be rather insipid when watching the first few episodes... it grew on me to the point it became a favorite by the end of the first season (I can say exactly the same thing about 3rd Rock from the Sun). I had somewhat of a crush on Farrah Forke, who died of cancer in Feb. 2022, as well as Crystal Bernard which made it easy to watch even those lesser episodes (of which there are surprisingly few). Tony Shalhoub is, IMHO, the absolutely best "breakout" character of the series with Thomas Hayden Church not far behind. Shalhoub's involvement is what got me to sample Monk, which turned out to be a superb series.

Forke and Bernard:

 

[morasp]

Episode Commentary
Wings
"Emotionally Yours" (S5E17)

This was one of the more successful shows from the 90's by way of launching a number of its cast members into bigger and better things--Tim Daly, Thomas Hayden Church and Tony Shalhoub most specifically. I'm kind of disappointed that Crystal Bernard, who I considered to be a talented and attractive actor, never found any solid footing after the series' end. Set in a small commuter airport in Nantucket that services such jet lag routes as Martha's Vineyard to New Bedford, the show focuses on two pilot brothers, Joe (Tim Daly) and Brian (Steven Weber) who operate Sandpiper Airlines--consisting of one twin engine Cessna, a mechanic and a gate operator (Rebecca Schull), who's sort of a B-level Betty White. Stories take place mostly on a stage set consisting of one boarding gate and a lunch counter. The set decoration budget must've run nearly $100.

View attachment 141127 View attachment 141128 View attachment 141129
How did she miss out?? The cast; The models arrive...

In this particular episode, Brian has committed his heart, soul and any leftover lasagna in the fridge to helicopter pilot Alex (Farrah Forke). Brian's emotional attachment to her will be sorely tested when Joe flies in a bevy of long-legged models for a local photo shoot. The easily distracted Brian looks heavenward and groans, "This is a test, right?"
Meanwhile, lunch counter operator Helen (Bernard) decides to name her menu items after the airport employees. Anthony's (Shalhoub) dish is predictably named "Scarpacci Spaghetti and Meatballs". Rival airline owner Roy (David Schramm) is "Biggins Giant Turkey Leg", although based on the amount of oil he uses on his hair, "Bacon Slider" might have been more appropriate. Mechanic Lowell (Church), who's so dimwitted as to not be able to pour water out of a boot even with the instructions written on the heel, becomes "Lowell Slaw". Apparently no one fit the avocado and grape jelly salad dish.

Brian unconvincingly explains to the disinterested models that he's in a committed relationship and is therefore unmoved to the idea of Joe throwing a party for the lovely ladies after the shoot. "I'm uninterested in a party," Brian lies. "Y'know, hot sweaty, freaky sex..." He convinces not a soul. The party progresses with drinks, dancing and heaps of indelicate innuendos. To avoid temptation, Brian has Joe lock him in the bedroom, unbeknownst to both it's also occupied by a model taking a shower. Oh, the irony is turgid. So to speak.

Informative and entertaining as always Russ. I really liked your overview of the show at the beginning. There were a lot of good comedies in the 90s and Wings is definitely one of my top 5

 

[Rustifer]

Episode Commentary
The Beverly Hillbillies
"The Clampetts Entertain" (S1E31)

I was never a really big fan of this rural-Ozarks-dirt transported to urban-Beverly Hills-'cee-ment' series. Paul Henning's twist on the Horatio Alger rags-to-riches theme was a clever concept that unfortunately devolved into a canvas of highly predictable laugh track humor. I hastily add, however, that it's almost inconceivable of anyone other than Buddy Ebsen, Irene Ryan, Donna Douglas, Max Baer or Nancy Kulp to credibly pull off their respective characters--regardless of how silly and stereotypical. Despite their solecistic propensity, the Clampetts come across as coherently loving, kind and worthy of respect. As Max Baer was once quoted, "If you live like a dick, you'll die as a dick." Take that, Mr. Drysdale.

Granny's feeling down in the dumps. Jed explains, "The good woman is as low as a fat frog in a dry whale." Knowing that nothing perks her up more than "doing" for other folks, Jed invites the Drysdales (Raymond Bailey, Harriet MacGibbon) to come to dinner. Who can turn down a potful of grits drowned in bacon grease and possum offal? Drysdale, ever eager to please his biggest depositor, readily agrees--much to the regret of his snobbish, feather-headed wife. Complicating matters, the bank's chairman of the board, Marty Van Ransohoff (Jim Backus), pays a surprise visit to the office and demands to join the Drysdales at the Clampett's dinner party. Marty has developed an impression that Jed singularly imbues the financial wisdom of Goldman Sachs, as he explains in Backus' patented talk-while-chuckling manner.

Drysdale always enjoys a good Mr. Magoo impression; Elly offers to prepare some roadkill; Jed channels John Jacob Astor

The table is set, so to speak, for a disastrous event. Elly May (Douglas) offers to do the cooking, which immediately sets Granny (Ryan) upright. "If there's gonna be a do, then I'm doing the do!" she cackles. Thankfully, Elly May is relegated to nothing more than hanging out in her two-sizes-too-small blouse and jeans. Drysdale is beside himself, sure that once his boss discovers Jed's backward ways, he'll be sent to manage a bank in Bunghole, Alaska as punishment.

Contrary to expectations, Marty finds the Clampett's rural schtick to be delightfully "clever" and even joins in for an impromptu dosey doe. He happily departs with a party favor of a half dozen buzzard eggs.

The Moral: To get ahead in the business world, nothing impresses more than a well-prepared repast of roasted squirrel testicles in rhubarb aspic.

 

[RBailey]

Marty Van Ransohoff ... Good one, Mr. Henning!

 

[Jeff Flugel]

Here's the belated part two of my Andra Martin mini-marathon. After watching a hefty sampling of the late Ms. Martin's TV work, one thing has become very clear: despite her short career as a WB contract player, she was an accomplished actress, capable of playing both sweet ingenue types as well as more wily femme fatales. Of course, it doesn't hurt that she was a real looker.

Bronco - 1.12 "Borrowed Glory"
Though Andra Martin co-stars alongside then-husband Ty Hardin, they barely exchange a line of dialogue here. Nonetheless, this is a strong episode which sees straight-shooting, forthright Bronco (Hardin) befriending young Lloyd Stover (Robert Vaughn) returning home after the Civil War, apparently the recipient of a Congressional Medal of Honor. The proud townspeople make Stover the new sheriff, but Stover is not what he seems, later confiding to Bronco that he took the medal off what he presumed was the corpse of a dead soldier, and, a self-avowed coward, is ill-prepared for the job of lawman. Bronco agrees to act as Stover's temporary deputy, but problems arise when the supposedly dead soldier, Dick Nelson (William Reynolds, later co-star with Efrem Zimbalist, Jr. on The F.B.I.) shows up in town, very much alive and up to no good. Nelson doesn't want the medal back...but he does insinuate that he expects some favors in return - i.e., looking the other way while he engages in some criminal enterprises. No surprise that Vaughn tuns in a fine, typically edgy performance as the conflicted Stover. Reynolds, resembling a cross between Audie Murphy and Rod Serling, makes for a smooth, charismatic snake of a baddie. Martin plays Stover's pre-war sweetheart, who has since gotten engaged to Stover's dismissive, wheeler-dealer brother (Charles Cooper). Also with Russell Thorson, Hal Baylor and Sailor Vincent. There's no indication of who the saucy blonde playing a saloon girl in the pic below is, but she makes an impression.

Maverick - 2.16 "Gun-Shy"
There's little I can add to Randall's fabulous write-up and photo essay from a couple months back of this very funny (and rather merciless) parody of top dog TV western Gunsmoke, written by Marion Hargrove and directed by Leslie H. Martinson...so I'll just quote from Ed Robertson's terrific book on the series, Maverick: Legend of the West:

"Maverick is perhaps the only Western that could [poke fun at Gunsmoke] and get away with it," wrote Marion Hargrove in 1959. "Gunsmoke could do nothing in retaliation. It cannot parody Maverick without endangering its own impressive dignity, and Maverick has no dignity to attack." Though Gunsmoke did threaten to retaliate (Time reported plans for an episode featuring a villainous character named "Huggins") nothing ever came of it.

Though "Gun-Shy" is remembered for its lampoon of Gunsmoke, Hargrove's script nudges another popular Western series, and also contains several other "in" jokes. Mort Dooley asks Doc if he remembers a gunman who handed out business cards - a sly reference to Paladin, the character played by Richard Boone in Have Gun, Will Travel. Meanwhile, Bret disposes of Mort with messages that either send him to nearby "Haglund's farm" (named after Oren W. Haglund, production manager for all Warner Bros. television series), or to Kansas City to capture Hognose Hughes, the character named after Maverick writer Russell Hughes. Also, Hargrove christened "Doc Stucke" after Carl Stucke, who was the assistant story editor on all Warners series.

Of the actors cast as faux-Gunsmoke analogues, Walker Edmiston, as Deputy Clyde Diefendorfer (great name!) impresses most, doing a spot-on impersonation of Dennis Weaver's garrulous Chester. This is basically a clever but rather inconsequential shaggy dog story, so the plot doesn't much matter. Instead, one should revel in the humor and some wonderful character turns by Reginald Owen and Gage Clark, not to mention a litany of "Hey, it's that guy" character actors who pop up in bit parts, including Roscoe Ates, Doodles Weaver, Irene Tedrow and William Fawcett. Ms. Martin has fun playing what at first seems a rather shifty character.

Wagon Train - 4.38 "The Don Alvarado Story"
After some amusing and sharply-written banter between new wagon master Chris (John McIntire, a worthy successor to Ward Bond, who died of a sudden heart attack earlier in S4), cook and apparently sometime-barber Charlie Wooster (Frank Magrath) and some other hands, including Denny Miller, this episode then focuses for the rest of its runtime on scout Flint McCullough (Robert Horton, always an engaging lead who is convincing in both the brain and brawn departments).

Flint, on his way to San Francisco for some R & R, instead comes across a dying Spanish nobleman (Charles Garralaga). The don, whose name is Alvarado, and his elder son were on their way to claim their inheritance of a large holding of land in California when they were attacked by four masked men. The dying don begs Flint to impersonate his murdered son long enough to fulfill the claim on their land. Don Alvarado's elderly servant, Felipe (Vladmir Sokoloff, perhaps best known as the "old man" in 1960's The Magnificent Seven), left unharmed by the assassins, accompanies Flint back to the Alvarado estate and acts as his servant, filling Flint in on the various background details necessary for him to carry out his role. But the kind and stalwart Flint finds his promise more than he bargained for when they arrive at the Alvarado hacienda, in the midst of a violent struggle as some local gringos try to muscle in on land belonging to several Mexican ranchers and farmers in the vicinity. A further complication arises when Flint meets the lovely senorita Theresa (Martin), who from birth has been Don Alvarado's intended.

A good episode here, well-written, with plenty of intrigue and action, including a well-staged fencing duel between Flint and Alvarado's jealous cousin, Julio (Michael Forest), who's madly in love with Theresa. Ed Nelson turns up as sheriff who may or may not be on the straight and narrow. We also get veteran character actress Minerva Urecal as the Alvarado family's feisty housekeeper.

The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet
7.2 "David Becomes a Football Coach"
9.22 "The Boys' Portraits"
Ms. Martin guest-starred in three episodes of this long-running, gently surreal family sitcom. I very much enjoyed both of these episodes despite the ugly picture quality of the public domain copies available on YouTube, which are a smeary mess.

"David Becomes a Football Coach" features an interesting set-up for the late '50s. David volunteers as the football coach for a youth team, and ends up enlisting his mom and dad's help when it comes to dealing with the problem of his star quarterback, who is - shock! horror! - a girl named Jane (Jane Moxley). Ms. Martin plays Jane's winsome sister, who apparently was also once quite the rough-and-tumble football player herself. The show takes the easy way out, really, neatly sidestepping this potentially interesting gender role debate to reset the status quo, though it does so in a cute and charming way. Look for an appearance by a very young Stanley Livingston (who would go on to play Chip on My Three Sons a few years later) as one of Jane's teammates. The little tyke is already a scene-stealer.

Martin returns in "The Boys' Portraits," as a talented (and naturally, exceedingly attractive) college art student named Diane, who Ricky becomes interested in. After she paints Rick's portrait (with pipe), Ozzie and Harriet begin to worry that David might feel left out, and so hire Diane to paint a portrait of him, too. They want to surprise David, so Oz tries to find ways to snap some photos of David without giving the game away. David actually doesn't really care one way or the other about having his picture painted, but reacts in his typically polite, amiable fashion when Diane and his folks present the portrait to him. David, like Rick, is much more interested in Diane's looks than her artistic talent...but in the end, it's their irrepressible pal, Wally (Skip Young), who ends up scoring a date with her.

I really like this extremely pleasant, low-key yet undeniably funny sitcom, featuring characters who, in their own relaxed, laid-back way, seem real and recognizably human despite the occasionally contrived situations they find themselves in. I can't wait to get my hands on MPI's upcoming restored DVD sets of S1 and S2, which should be winging their way to me real soon, with S3 and S4 to follow shortly thereafter in July. I have a feeling it's going to be worth the very long wait.

 

[Desslar]

Here's the belated part two of my Andra Martin mini-marathon. After watching a hefty sampling of the late Ms. Martin's TV work, one thing has become very clear: despite her short career as a WB contract player, she was an accomplished actress, capable of playing both sweet ingenue types as well as more wily femme fatales. Of course, it doesn't hurt that she was a real looker.

Bronco - 1.12 "Borrowed Glory"
Though Andra Martin co-stars alongside then-husband Ty Hardin, they barely exchange a line of dialogue here. Nonetheless, this is a strong episode which sees straight-shooting, forthright Bronco (Hardin) befriending young Lloyd Stover (Robert Vaughn) returning home after the Civil War, apparently the recipient of a Congressional Medal of Honor. The proud townspeople make Stover the new sheriff, but Stover is not what he seems, later confiding to Bronco that he took the medal off what he presumed was the corpse of a dead soldier, and, a self-avowed coward, is ill-prepared for the job of lawman. Bronco agrees to act as Stover's temporary deputy, but problems arise when the supposedly dead soldier, Dick Nelson (William Reynolds, later co-star with Efrem Zimbalist, Jr. on The F.B.I.) shows up in town, very much alive and up to no good. Nelson doesn't want the medal back...but he does insinuate that he expects some favors in return - i.e., looking the other way while he engages in some criminal enterprises. No surprise that Vaughn tuns in a fine, typically edgy performance as the conflicted Stover. Reynolds, resembling a cross between Audie Murphy and Rod Serling, makes for a smooth, charismatic snake of a baddie. Martin plays Stover's pre-war sweetheart, who has since gotten engaged to Stover's dismissive, wheeler-dealer brother (Charles Cooper). Also with Russell Thorson, Hal Baylor and Sailor Vincent. There's no indication of who the saucy blonde playing a saloon girl in the pic below is, but she makes an impression.

View attachment 141253
View attachment 141265 View attachment 141255 View attachment 141256 View attachment 141257 View attachment 141258 View attachment 141259 View attachment 141260
View attachment 141263

Wow, Vaughn looks like he's still in high school in this episode. I've been watching him lately with his long 70s coif in The Protectors, where he gives a fairly wooden performance. Looks much more engaged here.

 

[SuperClark]

I bought the complete series of 'Full House' on itunes in HD for 70 dollars yesterday.Always a fun show.

 

[Flashgear]

Here's the belated part two of my Andra Martin mini-marathon. After watching a hefty sampling of the late Ms. Martin's TV work, one thing has become very clear: despite her short career as a WB contract player, she was an accomplished actress, capable of playing both sweet ingenue types as well as more wily femme fatales. Of course, it doesn't hurt that she was a real looker.

Bronco - 1.12 "Borrowed Glory"
Though Andra Martin co-stars alongside then-husband Ty Hardin, they barely exchange a line of dialogue here. Nonetheless, this is a strong episode which sees straight-shooting, forthright Bronco (Hardin) befriending young Lloyd Stover (Robert Vaughn) returning home after the Civil War, apparently the recipient of a Congressional Medal of Honor. The proud townspeople make Stover the new sheriff, but Stover is not what he seems, later confiding to Bronco that he took the medal off what he presumed was the corpse of a dead soldier, and, a self-avowed coward, is ill-prepared for the job of lawman. Bronco agrees to act as Stover's temporary deputy, but problems arise when the supposedly dead soldier, Dick Nelson (William Reynolds, later co-star with Efrem Zimbalist, Jr. on The F.B.I.) shows up in town, very much alive and up to no good. Nelson doesn't want the medal back...but he does insinuate that he expects some favors in return - i.e., looking the other way while he engages in some criminal enterprises. No surprise that Vaughn tuns in a fine, typically edgy performance as the conflicted Stover. Reynolds, resembling a cross between Audie Murphy and Rod Serling, makes for a smooth, charismatic snake of a baddie. Martin plays Stover's pre-war sweetheart, who has since gotten engaged to Stover's dismissive, wheeler-dealer brother (Charles Cooper). Also with Russell Thorson, Hal Baylor and Sailor Vincent. There's no indication of who the saucy blonde playing a saloon girl in the pic below is, but she makes an impression.

Wagon Train - 4.38 "The Don Alvarado Story"
After some amusing and sharply-written banter between new wagon master Chris (John McIntire, a worthy successor to Ward Bond, who died of a sudden heart attack earlier in S4), cook and apparently sometime-barber Charlie Wooster (Frank Magrath) and some other hands, including Denny Miller, this episode then focuses for the rest of its runtime on scout Flint McCullough (Robert Horton, always an engaging lead who is convincing in both the brain and brawn departments).

Flint, on his way to San Francisco for some R & R, instead comes across a dying Spanish nobleman (Charles Garralaga). The don, whose name is Alvarado, and his elder son were on their way to claim their inheritance of a large holding of land in California when they were attacked by four masked men. The dying don begs Flint to impersonate his murdered son long enough to fulfill the claim on their land. Don Alvarado's elderly servant, Felipe (Vladmir Sokoloff, perhaps best known as the "old man" in 1960's The Magnificent Seven), left unharmed by the assassins, accompanies Flint back to the Alvarado estate and acts as his servant, filling Flint in on the various background details necessary for him to carry out his role. But the kind and stalwart Flint finds his promise more than he bargained for when they arrive at the Alvarado hacienda, in the midst of a violent struggle as some local gringos try to muscle in on land belonging to several Mexican ranchers and farmers in the vicinity. A further complication arises when Flint meets the lovely senorita Theresa (Martin), who from birth has been Don Alvarado's intended.

A good episode here, well-written, with plenty of intrigue and action, including a well-staged fencing duel between Flint and Alvarado's jealous cousin, Julio (Michael Forest), who's madly in love with Theresa. Ed Nelson turns up as sheriff who may or may not be on the straight and narrow. We also get veteran character actress Minerva Urecal as the Alvarado family's feisty housekeeper.

Wonderful tribute to the lovely Andra Martin, Jeff! During the recent Memorial Day Weekend, TCM ran Up Periscope, the 1959 WB movie that she's in with rising star James Garner and Edmond O'Brien (and Edd 'Kookie' Byrnes!).

Great screen caps too! Andra Martin looks even more beautiful with her long hair let down in that Wagon Train episode! I'll be watching that again tonight, thanks to your featuring it here! I have that season in the wacky (but lovable!) Timeless 'Conestoga Wagon' embossed Tin case, with the beautifully illustrated book holding the 10 discs inside. I've been meaning to revisit season four's The Colter Craven Story, directed by none other than John Ford himself, with a cameo from John Wayne in silhouette, both involved here as a tribute to their friend Ward Bond in what turned out to be one of his last episodes. This episode aired on Thanksgiving weekend 1960, ironically just a few weeks after Ward Bond died in Dallas on November 5 at age 57, so it turned out to be especially poignant. In season four, I also intend to revisit the memorable Princess of a Lost Tribe, with Raymond Massey as the last of an Aztec royal line living in hiding with his gold, and lovely Linda Lawson as his daughter! And Wagon to Fort Anderson, with Don Rickles as a grave-robber in the old west! Albert Salmi, Carol Rossen and Candy Moore are also in this one!

You know, it's funny that Wagon Train instills an even-more potent warmth of nostalgia in me than many of the other shows I have in my collection...must have something to do with a dimly-held vestigial memory of watching that series first-run as a little boy, gathered around our 19" B+W tube TV as a loving family way back when...