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What did you watch this week in classic TV on DVD(or Blu)? (4 Viewers)

Rustifer

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And regardless of how it's reported the planet killer is a "windsock dipped in cement," it's obviously a proper model and based not on a windsock but - appropriately - a sperm whale.
Hey Scott,
Nice review of this episode. I was about to do this one myself--and still might if you have no objection to my generally skewed take of stuff on one of your faves.

Also, I think the 'planet killer' almost exactly resembles an Alaskan king crab leg I had for dinner this weekend.
 

The 1960's

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Episode Commentary
Leave It To Beaver
"The Boat Builders" (S2E18)

Ignoring parents' warnings against doing something stupid is one of the joys of growing up. While running with scissors may be dangerous, we kids thought it should be an Olympic sport. So many actions could "put your eye out". We say, bring it on! Jumping off the roof into a sandbox could break your leg. "Awright! I can miss school for weeks!" Thus did work our Errol Flynn tendencies to do bravely stupid stuff. I once snuck out at 2:00 a.m. to help my buddies paint a giant picture of Charlie Brown on a street nearby. Being the resident neighborhood artist, I was quickly fingered as the culprit. I caught hell for it, but not as much as I would have if I'd painted what my friends really wanted...

Wally (Tony Dow) and his buddies are inspired to build a kayak after seeing a movie feature of Eskimos constructing such crafts. Since Marvel Super Hero movies hadn't yet been invented, this passed for bombastic adventure of the most stimulating sort. Busting up a barrel for its staves serves as the infrastructure of the boys' kayak. Upon seeing this, Ward (Hugh Beaumont) explains to Wally that their efforts would most likely lead to an floatless piece of sh*t, and to never never try and launch it into any body of water. Promptly ignoring his advice, Wally and friends plan to try out the boat on Millers Pond. When June (Barbara Billingsley) notices the boys and boat have gone missing, she nearly collapses in the vapors of consternation. Ward assures her that Wally probably just moved the contraption to a neighbor's garage. It takes a double vodka and handful of Xanax to calm down June.

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Only the finest materials are used; Capt. Beaver sets sail; Bacterial Pneumonia quickly begins to set in

Once at the pond, the boys discover that only Beaver is the right size to fit into the tiny Titanic. As expected, the boat flips over, tossing Beaver into the 8" depth pond. It's now incumbent to sneak Beaver into the house and into dry clothes before being caught. This plan has about as much chance of success as a 747 landing in Times Square. Despite all attempts at misdirection, the boys' plot is discovered when Beaver takes an uncharacteristic bath in the middle of the day to rid himself of pond scum odor.

The Moral: When man plans, God laughs.


 

ScottRE

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Hey Scott,
Nice review of this episode. I was about to do this one myself--and still might if you have no objection to my generally skewed take of stuff on one of your faves.

Also, I think the 'planet killer' almost exactly resembles an Alaskan king crab leg I had for dinner this weekend.
Awww, well you were so nice to be concerned about my feelings, so go right on ahead and put your unique and much less reverent spin on it.
 

JohnHopper

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TELEFILM

title
: Snatched
year: 1973
genre: crime
written by Rick Husky
directed by Sutton Roley
cast:

Howard Duff
Leslie Nielsen
Sheree North
Barbara Parkins
Robert Reed
John Saxon
Tisha Sterling
Anthony Zerbe
Richard Davalos
Frank McRae

summary:
The wives of three wealthy men are kidnapped and held for a $3 million ransom, but one of the men doesn't want to pay his share.

review:
For the completists of director Sutton Roley who enjoys a good solid cast. Above all, it's a dual huit-clos: the house of the feuding husbands and the cell of the suffering wives in the lighthouse. But things are not what they appear to be: don't miss the twist!

 
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Montytc

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Tim Montavon
July DVD Schedule
Bold dates are the weekend.
Bold shows are ones not watched in at least a year.

1 Leave it to Beaver, Star Trek The Original Series
2 What's New Scooby Doo, Dr. Who Classic (Tom Baker), Wagon Train, Saturday night movie Davy Crockett King of the Wild Frontier
3 Twilight Zone, Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman
4 The Odd Couple, Hawaii Five-O classic
5 The Joey Bishop Show, Ironside
6 The Patty Duke Show, The Rockford Files
7 Family Matters, The Equalizer
8 The Andy Griffith Show, Star Trek Enterprise
9 The Yogi Bear Show, Border Town, Rawhide, Saturday night movie Kindergarten Cop
10 Gentle Ben, McMillan and Wife
11 The Donna Reed show, The FBI
12 Dharma and Greg, NCIS New Orleans
13 F Troop, JAG
14 The Office, MacGyver classic
15 Gilligan's Island, Star Trek The Next Generation
16 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles classic, Sherlock Holmes (Ronald Howard), The Virginian, Saturday night movie Pillow Talk
17 Decoy, The Love Boat
18 Father Knows Best, Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
19 Fresh Prince of Bel Air, The Waltons
20 The Bob Newhart Show, Rosemary and Thyme (Brit Wednesday)
21 The Big Bang Theory, The Avengers
22 That Girl, Stargate SG1
23 The Flintstones, The Protectors, Bonanza, Saturday night movie Francis The Talking Mule
24 Adam-12, McCloud
25 Gomer Pyle, Perry Mason
26 Growing Pains, Eureka
27 My Three Sons, Vegas (2012) (Single Season show Wednesday)
28 As Time Goes By, The Bionic Woman
29 The Doris Day Show, Star Trek Deep Space Nine
30 Top Cat, Amazing Stories, Maverick, Saturday night movie Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol
31 The Third Man, Sliders
Looks like another entertaining month.
 

Rustifer

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Awww, well you were so nice to be concerned about my feelings, so go right on ahead and put your unique and much less reverent spin on it.
Episode Commentary
Star Trek
"The Doomsday Machine" (S2E6)

OMG! What appears to be a mammoth Ben & Jerry's ice cream cone is floating in space, blasting planets willy-nilly into driveway gravel. Among its destruction is the highly crippled starship Constellation, piloted by Commander Decker (William Windom). Concerned over the welfare of the ship and crew, Capt. Kirk, Mr. Spock, Dr. McCoy and Scottie beam aboard the Constellation because it always makes good sense to first send the Enterprise's most senior, non-expendable officers into certain peril. They find the interior of the once pristine Constellation to now resemble a condemned Ghetto walk-up, draining any reasonable resale value of the ship. Kirk finds Commodore Decker slumped over a control panel, either grievously injured or sleeping off a three day tequila bender. To avoid massive casualties, Decker explains that he sent his entire crew down to the nearest planet--only to see it immediately get demolished by the Doomsday ice cream cone. It was not Decker's most astute call of the day.

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Decker suddenly remembers he forgot to pick up milk at the store; Size matters; Heading for the used ship lot...

Half crazed and needing to dry out, Decker is sent by Kirk to the Enterprise while he and Scottie stay aboard the Constellation to search for valuable knick knacks to later sell on eBay. We learn that the Doomsday Machine was most likely built by Burger King executives with the aim of destroying all McDonalds franchises, but over time it developed massive planet-destroying powers while running amok through the universe. With Capt. Kirk stuck on the Constellation, Decker takes command of the Enterprise, focused only on the complete destruction of the Doomsday Machine despite sensible warnings from Mr. Spock. Decker wastes no time in attacking the machine, putting the Enterprise in grave danger and causing most of the crew to pen their resignation letters.

In order to save his ship from the crazed orders of Decker, Kirk orders Spock to take command from the more senior officer. When Spock attempts to do so, Decker snarls, "You're bluffing!" Spock responds with Valium-like calmness, "Vulcans never bluff, which is why we rarely win at poker." Decker does not capitulate without a struggle, and eventually escapes aboard a poorly parked shuttlecraft with which he intends to ram into the Doomsday device. Decker will soon be in line at the pearly gates.

In the end, Kirk steers the Constellation into the fiery maw of the machine to destroy it, while narrowly being split-second beamed back aboard the Enterprise. Once safe, Kirk's first point of order is to change his underwear and order a double Makers Mark.

Hope you get a chuckle out of this, Scott.
 

Jeff Flugel

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Mannix - 1.7 "Warning: Live Blueberries"
Lively episode of this venerable P.I. drama finds Joe (Mike Connors) tasked with checking up on old friend Max Bonnett's (Booth Colman) wayward daughter, Jill (blue-eyed blonde Brooke Bundy, looking smashing). Of course, the girl is up to her neck in trouble, involved with a suspicious hippie commune funded by underworld connections, which Joe soon links to blackmail, drug abuse, illegal sports betting and murder. Valora Noland, perhaps best known for her work in the Star Trek: The Original Series episode "Patterns of Force" (the one with the Nazis) plays Jill's slinky blonde roommate, Cindy, who takes a shine to Mannix and helps him out of a jam or two. Ol' Joe proves that he's already taken a few too many saps to the skull, as he makes a couple of bonehead rookie mistakes here...but he manages to get by on sheer guts, resourcefulness and determination (not to mention some helpful scripting). There's a nice rogues' gallery of bad guys for Mannix to tangle with here, including reliably sweaty, unctuous Robert Emhardt (as the slimeball money man); Sherwood Price as his chief enforcer; and scary-looking Alan Jaffe as the hired muscle. Tom Skerritt is also on hand as a student journalist. Lots of fights, escapes, sneaking around and generally exciting business in this episode, which is nicely directed by Vincent McEveety. This episode is also notable for featuring snatches of a live performance by Dusty Springfield, who appear as themselves in a couple of scenes set in a groovy hippie hangout. Very entertaining...though I've yet to figure out the title.

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Barnaby Jones - 2.2 "Death Leap"
A slightly older but still attractive Ms. Bundy has a small role here as Barnaby's client. Tim O'Connor is clearly having fun playing a right rat bastard, lawyer Peter Harris who, needing a fat stack of cash to pay off heavy gambling debts, hires Bundy's fiancee, a highwire artist, to fake a suicide attempt to distract the police while two other hirelings (Jonathan Lippe and Ben Frank) rob a jewelry company down the hall for half a mil's worth. Cold-blooded Harris then proceeds to knock off his partners, beginning with the highwire guy, shooting him through the knee and causing him to fall to his death. The dead man's girlfriend can't believe he committed suicide, so Barnaby is soon engaged in his patented down home country boy Columbo shtick, badgering Harris until he finally gets the goods on him. A radiant, pre-Petrocelli Susan Howard co-stars as Harris's innocent young wife. Also starring Ramon Bieri as the police lieutenant on the case.

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While former Playboy Playmate June Blair (pictured above) is probably best known as David Nelson's wife (lucky fella), joining The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet in its tenth season and retiring from the biz after that series ended, she enjoyed a brief if busy career beforehand, appearing in a number of B-pictures and TV shows, including the following, all of which aired in 1960:

Tombstone Territory - 3.26 "Revenge"
When stalwart Sheriff Clay Hollister (Pat Conway) is forced to kill ruthless bank robber and general no-goodnik Jonas Bell, Jonah's son Noah (Andrew Prine) and daughter Lady (June Blair) concoct a plan to exact their revenge. But Lady soon gets cold feet once she meets Clay and receives nothing but kindness and understanding from him. Clay sets her up with a job in the restaurant belonging to Nellie Cashman (Mary Anderson), and before long, she becomes more established in Tombstone. As Lady starts to develop romantic feelings for the sheriff, she grows increasingly reluctant...yet her brother Noah is hellbent on carrying things through to the bitter end. Another rock-solid outing of this sturdy, consistently entertaining ZIV western, and the stacked Ms. Blair is a real beauty (and a decent actress, too).

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The Texan - 2.28 "Town Divided"
I love how studios back in TV's Golden Age were able to churn out taut, 25 minute episodes like this one, one after the other, each absolutely jam-packed with action and incident. Tough Bill Longley (Rory Calhoun) rides into town looking for Dr. Andrew Nelson (Walter Coy), a former commanding officer he served under in the Civil War, and steps straight into a violent conflict between rival rancher families, the Warrens and the Crowleys. Longley soon discovers that the Crowley's chief ramrod (Morgan Woodward, already a memorably intimidating presence) is definitely up to no good, egging the feud on as a distraction while he prepares to rustle cattle from both sides. Calhoun is always a first-class cowboy, and his Longley is a convincing badass who backs down from nobody. Ms. Blair's part is smaller here than in the previously-mentioned episode, but she's a welcome feminine presence in this otherwise action-packed, muscular tale. Robert Foulk (who had a recurring role as outlaw Curly Bill Brocious in the first season of Tombstone Territory a few years before), pops up here as a hostile bartender, who has the temerity to tell Longley that his custom is not welcome. Big mistake, mister.

Sea Hunt
3.2 "Water Nymphs"
3.19 "Cross Current"
A couple of neat episodes of this syndicated adventure show, perhaps the biggest jewel in the ZIV crown. Ace diver Mike Nelson (Lloyd Bridges), in the Bahamas on a nature photography assignment, gets offered a side job by suspicious swimsuit designer Edith Judd (Maris Wrixon) to photograph a pair of her models underwater. Both bodacious babes, Inez (Blair) and Wanda (Jean Ingram), show more than a professional interest in the manly Mike, but only Inez's interest is genuine. The treacherous Wanda is in cahoots with another photographer (William Duffy) who is out to steal Edith's designs for a rival company. When Inez ends up knowing too much about his plans, the nasty "style pirate" leaves her stranded on the rocks while the tide comes crashing in. It's up to Mike to affect a daring underwater rescue and subsequently pummel the creep into the sand. It's subtly implied at the coda that he's got one hot date coming up later with the grateful Inez.

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In "Cross Current," Blair plays Sherry Bishop, a most attractive scientist pal of Mike's who has been studying ocean currents down in the Caribbean. She calls Mike and asks him to come out and give her a hand (ahem)...but when he shows up a few days later, she's disappeared. With the assistance of Sherry's friend Fran (Shirley O'Hara) and reluctant local police Lt. Campos (Jerome Loden), Mike uses her research notes to find her, weak and suffering from dehydration and a broken arm on an uncharted island where the fierce currents had deposited her several days before. Mike must once again undertake a dangerous, desperate gambit to bring them both back to safety...

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I'm frequently impressed by just how many changes in scenario the Sea Hunt writers and production staff came up with on a weekly basis, a show whose premise seems like it should be thin gruel storywise, but ended up with a surprisingly varied range of engaging and dramatic plots - all held together by Lloyd Bridges' plain-spoken, rugged charisma.

The Lucy Show - 1.18 "Lucy and Viv Put in a Shower"
The episode title tells the whole plot in a nutshell. Tired of managing with only one shower (seeing as it's being bogarded by Lucy's teen daughter, Chris, most of the time), Lucy decides to have a shower installed in the boys' closet. But, typical Lucy, she's too cheap to pay a plumber to do it. So she tries to finagle her neighbor, Harry (a pre-Laugh-In Dick Martin) and Viv's boyfriend Eddie (Donald Briggs) into doing it instead. The guys, tired of being taken advantage of, then engage a real plumber, Joe (Stafford Repp) to do the work. But Joe quickly gets fed up with Lucy's haranguing and walks off the job...so Lucy ropes Viv in to help her finish the installation. The expected disaster ensues.

I sat through the first two-thirds of this episode with nary a laugh, finding both Lucy and Viv a bit shrill for my tastes. But all was forgiven during the riotous (and legitimately dangerous) physical stunts at the climax, as Lucy and Viv end up trapped in the stall with the water rising. I've seen a few S1 episodes of Ms. Ball's follow-up to I Love Lucy by now, enough to get me to interested in purchasing the S1 DVD set, which is cheap as chips anyway, at around $9 on Amazon.

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Dragnet 1967 - 3.12 "Internal Affairs: DR-20"
Despite being a stickler for "just the facts, ma'am" authenticity (occasionally to the detriment of riveting drama), Jack Webb so frequently rotated Joe Friday and Ed Gannon's police duties on this show that it becomes something of a joke. This third season episode sees the detective pair on temporary assignment working, as the title suggests, for Internal Affairs. I guess I've been spent too much time over the years watching '90s and beyond police dramas to expect the regular officers to regard Internal Affiars with anything but hostility and distrust (Dennis Franz's surly Sipowicz on NYPD Blue constantly referred to them as the "rat squad")...here, Friday and Gannon are treated with such respect and decorum, it's hard to buy into (but certainly fits this show's positive police profile mandate). Friday and Gannon (Harry Morgan) are tasked with determining if upstanding, decorated Korean war vet patrolman, Ed Hillier (John McCook) is guilty of an excessive force charge, reportedly backhanding a drunken and verbally-abusive salesman (Peter Duryea, son of Dan). This should be rather dry stuff, really, but there's something reassuring and infinitely watchable about the deadpan, poker-faced Webb and his rat-a-tat-tat patter during numerous interviews with witnesses and suspects. Officers Reed (Kent McCord) and Malloy (Martin Milner) show up in a brief crossover with sister show Adam-12, and look for Anne Whitfield (who played Dean Jagger's granddaughter in White Christmas) in a single scene as Hillier's concerned wife.

The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet
1.1 "The Rivals" - David has a rival, and his name is Will Thornberry - his next door neighbor.
1.2 "The Poet" - Ozzie and Harriet read the newspaper and talk about Nancy Walker.
1.3 "The Pills" - Ozzie decides to diet so he can fit into a pair of size 33 pants.
This post is running long and I'm tired after a long and busy work week, so forgive me for borrowing the above plot synopses from IMDB (which don't really come close to accurately describing the episodes - especially in the case of "The Poet" - but there you are). All three episodes were charming and delightful in this series' typical low-key, naturalistic way, with several moments and lines which made me laugh out loud. My favorite exchange in "The Rivals" was this one, between David and Ricky, as Ricky watches David spruce himself up in preparation for a visit from a cute classmate (Eilene Janssen):

Ricky (munching grapes): What the heck are you going to do?
David: What do you think I'm going to do?
Ricky: Looks like you're going to shave.
David: And that's exactly right, sonny boy.
Ricky: Are you kidding? I've got more fuzz on these grapes.


"The Poet" was also quite enjoyable, with the first of three brief appearances by Ellen "Grandma Walton" Corby as Harriet's Aunt Ellen. The highlight here is the sight of Ozzie, flirting with pretentiousness as he believes that he might actually be gifted in verse, a pipe clenched in his mouth as he vainly tries to find the right keys on the typewriter.

Equally good is "The Pills," which finds Ozzie once again spurred onto action by some whim of his gregarious and sly neighbor, Thorny (Don DeFore)...this time, to begin dieting after he can't fit into a pair of size 33 pants that Harriet bought him. Of course, he ends up taking Ricky's appetite-increasing pills by mistake, thinking they are appetite supressors.

One of the many things I like about this series is just how much funny stuff they can wring out of such simple situations, which at this stage consist mostly of a couple of people talking in a room. These early episodes somewhat betray their radio show roots (the O & H radio show was still in production at this time, making the real-life Nelsons one busy family), not only with their small casts and general confinement to the interior of the Nelson's home, but are no less enjoyable for that. The newly-released MPI S1 and S2 DVDs display the series in about the best shape they have ever been seen. Sure, there are a few video and audio anomalies in some of the episodes, particularly "The Rivals," including some odd "warping" here and there, especially over the end credits...but they're nothing serious and never took me out of the story. And things just get better from there, with "The Pills" looking and sounding very nice indeed, considering the dire conditions of the original source material. With seasons 3 and 4 due for release at the end of July, and S5 and 6 on track to be out in September, 2022 is shaping up to be a banner year for Ozzie and Harriet fans.
 
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GMBurns

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Episode Commentary
Star Trek
"The Doomsday Machine" (S2E6)

OMG! What appears to be a mammoth Ben & Jerry's ice cream cone is floating in space, blasting planets willy-nilly into driveway gravel. Among its destruction is the highly crippled starship Constellation, piloted by Commander Decker (William Windom). Concerned over the welfare of the ship and crew, Capt. Kirk, Mr. Spock, Dr. McCoy and Scottie beam aboard the Constellation because it always makes good sense to first send the Enterprise's most senior, non-expendable officers into certain peril. They find the interior of the once pristine Constellation to now resemble a condemned Ghetto walk-up, draining any reasonable resale value of the ship. Kirk finds Commodore Decker slumped over a control panel, either grievously injured or sleeping off a three day tequila bender. To avoid massive casualties, Decker explains that he sent his entire crew down to the nearest planet--only to see it immediately get demolished by the Doomsday ice cream cone. It was not Decker's most astute call of the day.

View attachment 143359 View attachment 143361 View attachment 143362
Decker suddenly remembers he forgot to pick up milk at the store; Size matters; Heading for the used ship lot...

Half crazed and needing to dry out, Decker is sent by Kirk to the Enterprise while he and Scottie stay aboard the Constellation to search for valuable knick knacks to later sell on eBay. We learn that the Doomsday Machine was most likely built by Burger King executives with the aim of destroying all McDonalds franchises, but over time it developed massive planet-destroying powers while running amok through the universe. With Capt. Kirk stuck on the Constellation, Decker takes command of the Enterprise, focused only on the complete destruction of the Doomsday Machine despite sensible warnings from Mr. Spock. Decker wastes no time in attacking the machine, putting the Enterprise in grave danger and causing most of the crew to pen their resignation letters.

In order to save his ship from the crazed orders of Decker, Kirk orders Spock to take command from the more senior officer. When Spock attempts to do so, Decker snarls, "You're bluffing!" Spock responds with Valium-like calmness, "Vulcans never bluff, which is why we rarely win at poker." Decker does not capitulate without a struggle, and eventually escapes aboard a poorly parked shuttlecraft with which he intends to ram into the Doomsday device. Decker will soon be in line at the pearly gates.

In the end, Kirk steers the Constellation into the fiery maw of the machine to destroy it, while narrowly being split-second beamed back aboard the Enterprise. Once safe, Kirk's first point of order is to change his underwear and order a double Makers Mark.

Hope you get a chuckle out of this, Scott.

Russ, thanks for your hilarious send-up of one of my favorite STOS episodes. By the way, did you ever write for Mad magazine? 😁
 

ScottRE

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Episode Commentary
Star Trek
"The Doomsday Machine" (S2E6)

OMG! What appears to be a mammoth Ben & Jerry's ice cream cone is floating in space, blasting planets willy-nilly into driveway gravel. Among its destruction is the highly crippled starship Constellation, piloted by Commander Decker (William Windom). Concerned over the welfare of the ship and crew, Capt. Kirk, Mr. Spock, Dr. McCoy and Scottie beam aboard the Constellation because it always makes good sense to first send the Enterprise's most senior, non-expendable officers into certain peril. They find the interior of the once pristine Constellation to now resemble a condemned Ghetto walk-up, draining any reasonable resale value of the ship. Kirk finds Commodore Decker slumped over a control panel, either grievously injured or sleeping off a three day tequila bender. To avoid massive casualties, Decker explains that he sent his entire crew down to the nearest planet--only to see it immediately get demolished by the Doomsday ice cream cone. It was not Decker's most astute call of the day.

View attachment 143359 View attachment 143361 View attachment 143362
Decker suddenly remembers he forgot to pick up milk at the store; Size matters; Heading for the used ship lot...

Half crazed and needing to dry out, Decker is sent by Kirk to the Enterprise while he and Scottie stay aboard the Constellation to search for valuable knick knacks to later sell on eBay. We learn that the Doomsday Machine was most likely built by Burger King executives with the aim of destroying all McDonalds franchises, but over time it developed massive planet-destroying powers while running amok through the universe. With Capt. Kirk stuck on the Constellation, Decker takes command of the Enterprise, focused only on the complete destruction of the Doomsday Machine despite sensible warnings from Mr. Spock. Decker wastes no time in attacking the machine, putting the Enterprise in grave danger and causing most of the crew to pen their resignation letters.

In order to save his ship from the crazed orders of Decker, Kirk orders Spock to take command from the more senior officer. When Spock attempts to do so, Decker snarls, "You're bluffing!" Spock responds with Valium-like calmness, "Vulcans never bluff, which is why we rarely win at poker." Decker does not capitulate without a struggle, and eventually escapes aboard a poorly parked shuttlecraft with which he intends to ram into the Doomsday device. Decker will soon be in line at the pearly gates.

In the end, Kirk steers the Constellation into the fiery maw of the machine to destroy it, while narrowly being split-second beamed back aboard the Enterprise. Once safe, Kirk's first point of order is to change his underwear and order a double Makers Mark.

Hope you get a chuckle out of this, Scott.
Haha why do I get the feeling you went easy on this one?

I laughed out loud here:

"Vulcans never bluff, which is why we rarely win at poker."



Well played, Russ!
 

morasp

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Oct 14, 2016
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steve
Episode Commentary
Bonanza
"Four Sisters From Boston" (S8E8)

TV Westerns were always fond of themes featuring Eastern folks making the trek to the hinterlands of the West like fish out of water. Unaware of the hardships of pioneer life, proper big city women would show up clad in suffocating bustles, jacket bodices, square necklines and an abundance of flounces, frills and ruffles. But TV has educated us that true "Western" gals had shed all extraneous clothing in favor of butt-hugging Levis, form fitting blouses and preferring commando style over cumbersome underwear. At least that's the way we liked Linda Evans on The Big Valley--perfectly clad for life on a dusty ranch and enticing cowboys behind the saloon after last call.

Sarah Lowell (Vera Miles) and her sisters Gabby (Lyn Edgington), Lorraine (Madeline Mack) and Heather (Melinda Casey), have made the trip to Virginia City from Boston to claim ownership of their deceased Uncle's property before it goes up for auction for delinquent taxes. Sarah quickly establishes herself as a pretty but overly bossy creature that suffers no foolishness. Unfortunately, Sarah confesses to the auctioneer she doesn't have the cash for pay off the property's debt. Unbeknownst to her, Ben Cartwright overhears this and just happens to have enough spare change in his saddlebag to close out the taxes.

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Sarah touches a tree for the first time; Ben leads the sisters to a lingerie shop; Catching Little Joe relieving himself

Lurking in the background are a couple of businessmen who want the land for their own purposes, maybe for a Best Western motel or a Dunkin' Donuts franchise. Sarah, by nature a distrustful sort, suspects Ben has ulterior motives in his generosity. After all, he's unmarried and probably hasn't dipped the old cattle prod in the trough for some time. Sarah looks like a pretty good candidate.

Meanwhile, the business guys plot to scare the sisters off the property by setting fire to a bag of cow poop left on the porch. It's an old trick that works particularly well on displaced Boston women. Little Joe rides out to investigate the land to find out why the business guys want it so bad. Sarah suspects Joe of poisoning the well, putting her sister on the edge of death. To defend themselves, she buys a crate of AR-15s, which are legal in Nevada.

In the end, the Cartwright's generosity wins over the sisters, especially when Little Joe texts each of them a pic of him in the shower.
Always enjoy Bonanza write ups.
 

Flashgear

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Mannix - 1.7 "Warning: Live Blueberries"
Lively episode of this venerable P.I. drama finds Joe (Mike Connors) tasked with checking up on old friend Max Bonnett's (Booth Colman) wayward daughter, Jill (blue-eyed blonde Brooke Bundy, looking smashing). Of course, the girl is up to her neck in trouble, involved with a suspicious hippie commune funded by underworld connections, which Joe soon links to blackmail, drug abuse, illegal sports betting and murder. Valora Noland, perhaps best known for her work in the Star Trek: The Original Series episode "Patterns of Force" (the one with the Nazis) plays Jill's slinky blonde roommate, Cindy, who takes a shine to Mannix and helps him out of a jam or two. Ol' Joe proves that he's already taken a few too many saps to the skull, as he makes a couple of bonehead rookie mistakes here...but he manages to get by on sheer guts, resourcefulness and determination (not to mention some helpful scripting). There's a nice rogues' gallery of bad guys for Mannix to tangle with here, including reliably sweaty, unctuous Robert Emhardt (as the slimeball money man); Sherwood Price as his chief enforcer; and scary-looking Alan Jaffe as the hired muscle. Tom Skerritt is also on hand as a student journalist. Lots of fights, escapes, sneaking around and generally exciting business in this episode, which is nicely directed by Vincent McEveety. This episode is also notable for featuring snatches of a live performance by Dusty Springfield, who appear as themselves in a couple of scenes set in a groovy hippie hangout. Very entertaining...though I've yet to figure out the title.

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Thanks much for the great write-ups and screen caps Jeff! Especially of all these choice 1950s and 1960s babes! Makes my day! And good ol' Joe Mannix...another day, another concussion. But he gets to kiss the girls!
Tombstone Territory - 3.26 "Revenge"
When stalwart Sheriff Clay Hollister (Pat Conway) is forced to kill ruthless bank robber and general no-goodnik Jonas Bell, Jonah's son Noah (Andrew Prine) and daughter Lady (June Blair) concoct a plan to exact their revenge. But Lady soon gets cold feet once she meets Clay and receives nothing but kindness and understanding from him. Clay sets her up with a job in the restaurant belonging to Nellie Cashman (Mary Anderson), and before long, she becomes more established in Tombstone. As Lady starts to develop romantic feelings for the sheriff, she grows increasingly reluctant...yet her brother Noah is hellbent on carrying things through to the bitter end. Another rock-solid outing of this sturdy, consistently entertaining ZIV western, and the stacked Ms. Blair is a real beauty (and a decent actress, too).

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Great stuff, Jeff! And your beautiful screen caps show that this ZIV Western series (91 episodes, 1957-60) was presented on DVD in CBS-like quality transfers. One of Timeless' most stunning releases from MGM 35mm vault elements! Anybody who loves '50s Western TV needs to pick this one up! I got mine on pre-order in 2013 at a dirt-cheap price (approx. $16 U.S., $20 Canadian for this 10 DVD set!). And Tombstone Territory is the unsung equal to any number of more well known shows from the Golden Age. June Blair was a real hottie!
The Texan - 2.28 "Town Divided"
I love how studios back in TV's Golden Age were able to churn out taut, 25 minute episodes like this one, one after the other, each absolutely jam-packed with action and incident. Tough Bill Longley (Rory Calhoun) rides into town looking for Dr. Andrew Nelson (Walter Coy), a former commanding officer he served under in the Civil War, and steps straight into a violent conflict between rival rancher families, the Warrens and the Crowleys. Longley soon discovers that the Crowley's chief ramrod (Morgan Woodward, already a memorably intimidating presence) is definitely up to no good, egging the feud on as a distraction while he prepares to rustle cattle from both sides. Calhoun is always a first-class cowboy, and his Longley is a convincing badass who backs down from nobody. Ms. Blair's part is smaller here than in the previously-mentioned episode, but she's a welcome feminine presence in this otherwise action-packed, muscular tale. Robert Foulk (who had a recurring role as outlaw Curly Bill Brocious in the first season of Tombstone Territory a few years before), pops up here as a hostile bartender, who has the temerity to tell Longley that his custom is not welcome. Big mistake, mister.
The Texan is another good TV Western from the same Golden Age (79 episodes, 1958-60). Another splendid 10 DVD set from Timeless in 2014, but carrying the Shout! Factory moniker by this time, post takeover. The film sources for this Desilu filmed series are good, but not at all in the ultra dimension seen with Tombstone Territory. Yet another highly welcomed and cheaply priced mega set for me, I got this for about $16 American.
Sea Hunt
3.2 "Water Nymphs"
3.19 "Cross Current"
A couple of neat episodes of this syndicated adventure show, perhaps the biggest jewel in the ZIV crown. Ace diver Mike Nelson (Lloyd Bridges), in the Bahamas on a nature photography assignment, gets offered a side job by suspicious swimsuit designer Edith Judd (Maris Wrixon) to photograph a pair of her models underwater. Both bodacious babes, Inez (Blair) and Wanda (Jean Ingram), show more than a professional interest in the manly Mike, but only Inez's interest is genuine. The treacherous Wanda is in cahoots with another photographer (William Duffy) who is out to steal Edith's designs for a rival company. When Inez ends up knowing too much about his plans, the nasty "style pirate" leaves her stranded on the rocks while the tide comes crashing in. It's up to Mike to affect a daring underwater rescue and subsequently pummel the creep into the sand. It's subtly implied at the coda that he's got one hot date coming up later with the grateful Inez.

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After Timeless gave us a wealth of great ZIV shows, along came TGG Direct with several of the now MGM/UA owned series, including the most well known ZIV-UA shows like Highway Patrol, Sea Hunt, Bat Masterson, Ripcord and My Mother the Car...other than season one of Highway Patrol, which MGM/UA released themselves (in a pricey 10 disc set that I have!), all of the subsequent TGG Direct DVD releases were also had at dirt-cheap prices ($12 to $16 each!) when first released back in 2012-13. it's been awhile since I viewed these June Blair guest appearances, but you have me racing back to my collection tonight! Same with all of the shows featured in your fine reviews Jeff!
The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet
1.1 "The Rivals" - David has a rival, and his name is Will Thornberry - his next door neighbor.
1.2 "The Poet" - Ozzie and Harriet read the newspaper and talk about Nancy Walker.
1.3 "The Pills" - Ozzie decides to diet so he can fit into a pair of size 33 pants.
This post is running long and I'm tired after a long and busy work week, so forgive me for borrowing the above plot synopses from IMDB (which don't really come close to accurately describing the episodes - especially in the case of "The Poet" - but there you are). All three episodes were charming and delightful in this series' typical low-key, naturalistic way, with several moments and lines which made me laugh out loud. My favorite exchange in "The Rivals" was this one, between David and Ricky, as Ricky watches David spruce himself up in preparation for a visit from a cute classmate (Eilene Janssen):

Ricky (munching grapes): What the heck are you going to do?
David: What do you think I'm going to do?
Ricky: Looks like you're going to shave.
David: And that's exactly right, sonny boy.
Ricky: Are you kidding? I've got more fuzz on these grapes.


"The Poet" was also quite enjoyable, with the first of three brief appearances by Ellen "Grandma Walton" Corby as Harriet's Aunt Ellen. The highlight here is the sight of Ozzie, flirting with pretentiousness as he believes that he might actually be gifted in verse, a pipe clenched in his mouth as he vainly tries to find the right keys on the typewriter.

Equally good is "The Pills," which finds Ozzie once again spurred onto action by some whim of his gregarious and sly neighbor, Thorny (Don DeFore)...this time, to begin dieting after he can't fit into a pair of size 33 pants that Harriet bought him. Of course, he ends up taking Ricky's appetite-increasing pills by mistake, thinking they are appetite supressors.
I'm loving these great new MPI season sets! It's almost like discovering the Nelson family for the first time. Every episode seems to offer several laugh-out-loud moments in this superbly written series. I'm hoping we get the entire series (14 seasons!) in these superb MPI sets by the end of next year!
This post is running long and I'm tired after a long and busy work week,
Thank you for this epic and lengthy post Jeff! The enormous effort (and labor of love) is obvious, and your wonderfully written reviews and screen caps are greatly appreciated!
 
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Jeff Flugel

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Thank you for this epic and lengthy post Jeff! The enormous effort (and labor of love) is obvious, and your wonderfully written reviews and screen caps are greatly appreciated!
And many thanks to you, Randall, for the kind words and thoughtful feedback...very much appreciated!

I wholeheartedly agree with you about all the gems that the late, great Timeless brought classic TV (especially western) fans before the Shout! takeover...ditto the short-lived but glorious run from TGG Direct. Timeless didn't always have the best elements to work with (witness their terrible Laramie releases), but their hands were tied by the studios on many of those. At other times, their sets could compete with nearly any other studio, such as the aforementioned Tombstone Territory, Peter Gunn, Johnny Staccato, Stoney Burke, The Virginian and a handful of others. A large swath of their releases fell in the very watchable middle ground, like The Texan (a bit washed out, but fine), Mr. Lucky, Laredo, Going My Way, The Rebel, The Westerner, Wide Country, etc. A fine company which put out many wonderful and rare shows...gone too soon, but responsible for several prized possessions in my DVD library.
 
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JohnHopper

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Mannix - 1.7 "Warning: Live Blueberries"
Lively episode of this venerable P.I. drama finds Joe (Mike Connors) tasked with checking up on old friend Max Bonnett's (Booth Colman) wayward daughter, Jill (blue-eyed blonde Brooke Bundy, looking smashing). Of course, the girl is up to her neck in trouble, involved with a suspicious hippie commune funded by underworld connections, which Joe soon links to blackmail, drug abuse, illegal sports betting and murder. Valora Noland, perhaps best known for her work in the Star Trek: The Original Series episode "Patterns of Force" (the one with the Nazis) plays Jill's slinky blonde roommate, Cindy, who takes a shine to Mannix and helps him out of a jam or two. Ol' Joe proves that he's already taken a few too many saps to the skull, as he makes a couple of bonehead rookie mistakes here...but he manages to get by on sheer guts, resourcefulness and determination (not to mention some helpful scripting). There's a nice rogues' gallery of bad guys for Mannix to tangle with here, including reliably sweaty, unctuous Robert Emhardt (as the slimeball money man); Sherwood Price as his chief enforcer; and scary-looking Alan Jaffe as the hired muscle. Tom Skerritt is also on hand as a student journalist. Lots of fights, escapes, sneaking around and generally exciting business in this episode, which is nicely directed by Vincent McEveety. This episode is also notable for featuring snatches of a live performance by Dusty Springfield, who appear as themselves in a couple of scenes set in a groovy hippie hangout. Very entertaining...though I've yet to figure out the title.

Good ol’ Joe! Actress Brooke Bundy shines.
One of the best episodes from that unique season.
It features a fine score by Jerry Fielding.
 

bmasters9

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Timeless didn't always have the best elements to work with (witness their terrible Laramie releases), but their hands were tied by the studios on many of those. A large swath of their releases fell in the very watchable middle ground, like The Texan (a bit washed out, but fine), Mr. Lucky, Laredo, Going My Way, The Rebel, The Westerner, Wide Country, etc. A fine company which put out many wonderful and rare shows...gone too soon, but responsible for several prized possessions in my DVD library.

And responsible for at least one in mine-- namely, M Squad w/Lee Marvin (and when they said they were going off the best they had available, they really meant it; they were committed to bringing you an experience as close to what it was then as they could).
 

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Thanks much for the great write-ups and screen caps Jeff! Especially of all these choice 1950s and 1960s babes! Makes my day! And good ol' Joe Mannix...another day, another concussion. But he gets to kiss the girls!
Great carousel of reviews by Jeff and pithy follow up responses by Randall. I really appreciate solid back-and-forth posts that raise this thread to a higher level. You two are among our best.
 

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Episode Commentary
That Girl
"Fur All We Know" (S2E17)

My wife and I rarely go to "formal" parties. She's much too busy, and I promised myself after retirement to never attend anything that doesn't allow me to wear sweat pants and a t-shirt. Any gatherings on our part are usually unplanned, unscheduled get-togethers with neighbors or family at our house--mostly for free food and booze. As long as we have a block of Velveeta, a box of Ritz crackers and a bottle of Jack Daniels, we can accommodate. I once found some sliced pepperoni in the back of the fridge, which kicks up any fete to a new level.

In the recurring theme of this series, Ann (Marlo Thomas) is about to get immersed in another silly circumstance that will happily get resolved because she's pert, cute, unassuming, energetic and seemingly impervious to any sexual needs. Her boyfriend Donald (never just 'Don'), a card-carrying member of the Eunuch Guild, generally accompanies Ann on her frivolous escapades. Even if he's not exactly a human throbbing sequoia, at least he's presentably groomed and dressed.

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Ann models as a human checkerboard; Chinchilla builds confidence; Donald's jealousy is transforming

As a journalist, Donald gets assigned to attend a "jet set" party at the Plaza Hotel. Ann is nearly prostrate with excitement to join Donald (Ted Bessell), especially since she's lent a $3000 chinchilla stole by the furrier for which she's modeling. At the party, Ann quickly attracts the attention of 'Buzzy' Cavanaugh III, a handsome sort who finds Ann as fascinating. Buzzy monopolizes all of Ann's time until she's finally rescued by Donald to be taken home--but not before Buzzy has extracted a lunch date from her. Donald is insanely jealous, accusing Ann of deploying her "ski-swing" hips to attract Buzzy. The last time Ann swung her hips for anything was to bump shut the bloomers drawer in her dresser.

Ann promises to have only one lunch date with the most insistent Buzzy, then call it quits. A telltale sign of Buzzy's true intentions emerge when he asks Ann to pay for the taxi, then lunch. Seems Buzzy is a broke gigolo and because of the chinchilla, he has mistaken Ann as an wealthy mark. Ann is now out $84 and will have to spend the rest of the week hooking at the corner of 42nd and Lexington to make rent.
 

Doug Wallen

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Combat
A Gift Of Hope (3.11) Anthony Eisley, Rip Torn. During R&R, Kirby spots a man who he believes deserted their company during a horrific skirmish, Saunders believes the man is dead. Once again the man is seen, Kirby is correct but the Sergeant (Torn) has an excuse. Saunders and the man go on a fact finding trip to see if his “story” can be verified. At every turn, there appears to be no evidence that he was a victim as opposed to running. Saunders and he are pinned down under fire and the truth is exposed. He didn't run away, he was aided by the French resistance, he just didn't recover and return as soon as he could. He enjoyed his recuperation. He almost left the wounded Saunders and was still thinking of deserting until he crossed paths with some very inexperienced “replacements”. He found his purpose.

A Walk With An Eagle (3.24) Lee Phillips, William Cort, Pat Colby. While returning from a mission with Doc, Privates Harmon and Palmer, Lt. Hanley is assigned to rescue a downed pilot, Maj. Caldwell (Phillips) behind enemy lines. Caldwell is a valuable asset and a very arrogant, stubborn person. He refuses to leave without his wing man who has also been shot down. This places the rescue in jeopardy since the pilot is only experienced in the air and not on the ground. Excellent acting by Phillips as the pilot.

Birthday Cake (3.15) Phillip Pine, Jean Del Val. Littlejohn has received a birthday gift from his mother, a cake he is not to open until his birthday. It is tomorrow and he is carrying the cake everywhere, even on a recon mission where he creates problems on their mission. The recon mission needs a soldier who can speak German. Saunders picks Private Cantrell (Pine), sue to return home trough rotation. He doesn't want to go on a mission and is being a pain who ends up wounded. Cantrell blames Littlejohn.

The Cassock (3.17) James Whitmore, Mart Hulswit. As our troops enter a French Village, the Germans are trying to destroy a bridge. Hertzbrun (Whitmore) nearly succeeds. Since receiving a minor leg wound, he impersonates a priest. He hopes to continue with setting the explosives to detonate. Saunders and company are happy to find an ally. They do not realize he is still attempting to complete his mission. He is tripped up by his lack of Catholic knowledge as one of Saunder's men is a devout Catholic. Excellent episode.

The Big Valley
Lightfoot (4.17) Joe Don Baker, Bill Quinn, Amy Thomson, Harry Lauter, Harry Swoger, Peter Brocco, Douglas Kennedy. An episode dealing with the then prevalent prejudice of “white” civilization and an educated “redskin”. Lightfoot (Baker) arrives on the stage after having graduated from Harvard. He is looking for acceptance and approval of an Indian reparations bill and is met with nothing but hostility. Lightfoot makes some choice comments that make him the only suspect in a local murder. He refuses help and is nearly lynched. Baker does an admirable job as an angry Indian.

Alias Nellie Handly (4.18) Richard Anderson, Gavin MacLeod, Susan Oliver. Victoria goes undercover to uncover and stop a sadistic prison warden(Anderson) and his second in command (a very creepy MacLeod – shades of Big Chicken). Naturally, Victoria did not tell anyone where or what she was doing. Her only contact was killed and Jarrod eventually figures out her location to rescue her. Seems like Victoria goes through this at least once a season.

The Royal Road (4.19) Kathy Garver, Harold Gould, Sajid Khan, Douglas Kennedy. Jarrod has no children, so the story gives him a ward so he can dispense fatherly advice. Laura (Garver) falls for a visiting Indian prince who is mixed up with a con man (Gould). Before long, she falls in love and wants to run away with the prince. Jarrod helps the young man see his error and offers to give him a job so his ward will continue her schooling.

A Passage Of Saints (4.20) Fritz Weaver, Donna Baccala, Paul Lambert, Olive Dunbar, Douglas Kennedy. The struggle of Mormons is dramatized as they are unwelcome in most towns since their practices have been made illegal, multiple marriage partners can cause the husband to be arrested. Hebron (Weaver) refuses to give up his younger wife and also refuses to leave the home he has rented from Jarrod. Conflicts abound within the family as well as in Stockton. The solution is heartrending for the characters.

The Battle Of Mineral Springs (4.21) Jack Albertson, Dennis Patrick, Conlan Carter, Janis Hansen. Two small towns engage in a battle for survival. After being conned into Mineral Springs and then fined and placed in jail for multiple infractions, the Barkleys soon find themselves helping the townspeople in their fight for survival. Mineral Springs law book is hilarious.

Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea
Eleven Days To Zero (1.1) Eddie Albert, John Zaremba, Werner Klemperer/Theo Marcuse, Mark Slade, Booth Colman. I am saving the color version after I finish the episodes in order. This does everything that a pilot should do. High stakes – survival against an unfathomable natural disaster, lots of action, conflict with the government and finally, being out of touch with the team deploying the “cure”. Oh, we also have enemy agents trying to sabotage the Seaview.

The City Beneath The Sea (1.2) Hurd Hatfield, Linda Cristal. Standard spy plot utilizing Capt. Crane trying to foil a low rent Dr. No (Hatfield). Great eye candy in underwater scenes with Linda Cristal.

The Fear-Makers (1.3) Edgar Bergen, Lloyd Bochner, Walter Brooke. We get to see Bergen without Charlie McCarthy playing a scientist with an unscrupulous assistant (Bochner at his nasty best). Ostensibly on board to study crew reactions to stress. He is actually testing a mist that can induce and increase people's fear reaction. A rather well written and intense episode.

The Mist Of Silence (1.4) Rita Gam, Alejandro Rey, Henry Darrow, Booth Colman, Mike Kellin. Another spy episode. Mike Kellin chews the scenery as a wanna be dictator. Nelson and Crane are trying to help a Central American country determine who the real tyrant is. Is it the wanna be or the wartime hero who now appears to be a puppet? A resistance leader is along to make the choice.

The Price Of Doom (1.5) Steve Ihnat, Pat Priest, David Opatoshu, John Milford, Jill Ireland. The first rubber suited monster episode. Story is promising, the episode rises and falls on the monster version of the evil plankton. Story written by Cordwainer Bird (Harlan Ellison). I believe this was the first time he used his pen name. He did not want to be associated with this version of his story.

The Sky Is Falling (1.6) Charles McGraw, Adam Williams, Frank Ferguson. Re-use of opening footage from The Day The Earth Stood Still. Interesting story showing trust and acceptance from the Admiral and Captain as well as from the alien who needs help to repair his spacecraft. A shame that the military elite are stuck on the “attack at all costs” mindset.

For the most part, I have enjoyed getting reacquainted with this series. I know that it eventually goes in the direction of LIS, but for now I am happy I picked this up.

Cheyenne
Mountain Fortress (1.1) L. Q. Jones, Robert J. Wilke, Ann Robinson, James Garner, John Doucette. Introductory episode that puts Cheyenne into a hostage situation with former Rebs looking to rob a stage. All involved parties are required to fight together when the Indians go on the warpath. James Garner in a supporting role before stepping into Maverick.

Julesburg (1.2) L. Q. Jones, Ray Teal, Adelle August, Billy Chapin, Tom Monroe, Ray Montgomery. A crooked businessman steals cattle from a wagon train and Cheyenne and Smitty agree to help.

The Argonauts (1.3) Roc Taylor, Edward Andrews, Steve Conte. Easily discernible remake of Treasure Of The Sierra Madre.

Jonny Quest
The Dreadful Doll (1.12) Voodoo is suspected in the attack on a young girl. Dr. Quest suspects drugs. A voodoo priest is attempting to scare the natives by using drugs to simulate comas. The plan fails.

Dragons Of Ashida (1.14) Quest and company rescue a young man who is fearful of “dragons”. Quest and company investigate by visiting and old colleague. They uncover a man who has gone over the edge believing he is a “god”. He has also grown some impressive monster lizards that he uses as guards. Race must fight a former judo champ in a grueling match.

Ellery Queen
The Adventure Of Veronica's Veils (1.9) Barbara Rhoades (!!!), George Burns, John Hillerman, William Demarest, Don Porter, Jack Carter, Julie Adams. What more is needed in an episode? Barbara Rhoades playing a stripper. Oh, there is a murder and Ellery figures it out. Always amazed at the cast in these episodes. Interesting twist having the victim already dead when the episode begins and seeing him only in a prerecorded film. Always fun to see Simon (Hillerman) in an episode.

The Adventure Of The Pharaoh's Curse (1.10) Simon Oakland, June Lockhart, Nehemiah Persoff, Ross Martin, John Hillerman, Wallace Rooney, and in an early bit part – John Larroquette. Ellery Queen is trying to finish a novel and keeps getting distracted by his father's latest case involving a mummy and a curse. The ending of this one was a surprise. It is so much fun watching Hutton and Wayne inhabit their characters. They seem like father and son. Between the casts and their interactions, I have never been able to understand why this show did not succeed.






 

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1/5 of the way in on the third go on Hill Street Blues (1982-83); this will be Michael Conrad's last full go here, before both he and Esterhaus buy it in the fourth go (1983-84).

Discs are singles in this Shout! all-in-one, unlike the doubles of the original Fox releases, and I think I'll really enjoy  Blues based on that.
 

Jeff Flugel

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The Big Valley
Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea
Cheyenne
Jonny Quest
Ellery Queen
As always, a nicely varied and interesting mix of shows, Doug...good stuff!

Hang in there with Cheyenne...it gets better later in S1 and beyond. There's another "digging into the WB script vaults" knock-off of To Have and Have Not coming up later ("Fury at Rio Hondo"), but the last episode of the season, "The Last Train West" is a real humdinger.
 
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