Scooby Doo, Where Are You - 2.6 "A Tiki Scare Is No Fair"
The Scooby Gang are in Hawaii, a fun location that this episode doesn't really take full advantage of. Not one of the better ones - let's face it, a witch doctor and a rolling statue on wheels are not among the creepier monsters this series has to offer - but still plenty watchable.
Jonny Quest - 1.23 "The House of Seven Gargoyles"
An atmospheric espionage yarn amidst the Norwegian fjords, where enemy spies (including a circus acrobat disguised as one of the titular gargoyles) are after a professor's antigravity device. The design and backgrounds on this H-B classic are always a joy to look at - and the story is good fun, too. Jonny Quest is that rare classic animated show where the villains usually bite it at the end of each episode, which endeared it to me as a youngster...and makes the show stand out today.
Bewitched - 2.7 "Trick or Treat"
Endora is up to her usual cruel shenanigans here, as she turns Darrin into a werewolf on Halloween night, just as he's due to entertain an important client and his wife. Dick York has fun chewing up pillows, snarling and going full-on wolfman in some good old school make up. Look for a young Maureen "Marcia Brady" McCormick, returning for the second and last time as the child version of Endora. Elizabeth Montgomery is visibly pregnant in this episode, but as they write her pregnancy into the storyline, it all fits fine.
Hunter - 1.10 "The Shooter"
Some punk is killing motorcycle cops, "Wild West" showdown style, and Hunter and McCall are on the trail. Pretty boilerplate 80s cop show stuff here, with plenty of cliched dialogue, but Fred Dryer and Stepfanie Kramer have good chemistry together, and I like Dryer's droll Dirty Harry-lite shtick.
Barnaby Jones - 1.11 "To Denise, with Love and Murder"
Bill Bixby guest stars as a sneaky gigolo killer who manages to outfox Barnaby for a good chunk of this episode. Of course it's only a matter of time before Barnaby turns the tables and gets his man.
It's a kick to see Bixby play a smug bad guy.
The Dick Van Dyke Show - 5.1 "Coast to Coast Big Mouth"
Of course, this is a famed classic episode of this terrific sitcom, but a first time watch for me. Needless to say, I enjoyed it immensely. Laura appears on a TV game show and is tricked by the host into blurting out that Rob's boss, egomaniac Alan Brady (Carl Reiner, hilarious here), wears a toupee. I've made up my mind...Mary Tyler Moore narrowly edges out Elizabeth Montgomery to win the title of "Sexiest 60s Sitcom Wife."
Red Dwarf - 6.2 "Legion"
"Legion" is up there with my favorite episodes of this, my all-time favorite comedy. The jokes fly nonstop as the boys from the Dwarf contend with a gestalt-identity android on an abandoned space station. For my money, series VI is Red Dwarf at its absolute peak, with just the right balance of character comedy, very funny zingers and high-concept sci-fi plots. This might not seem to fall into the time frame most think of as "Classic TV," but as it's now been 25 years since this season first aired in the U.K., I'd say it qualifies.
The Six Million Dollar Man - 3.17 "The Secret of Bigfoot, Part 1"
Every child of the 70s remembers the appearance of Bigfoot on this show. This one is, as usual for this series, good fun, even if its story is virtually nonexistent, basically consisting of Steve Austin running around the woods (that said - does anyone look as cool running as Lee Majors?) The make up job on Andre the Giant is pretty dang effective, and he and Majors have a good, knock-down drag out fight...though I do have to ask, what's going on with the sound effects when Steve is being thrown around by Bigfoot (or vice versa)? It's the same "falling missile" sound effect heard when he bionically throws a rock or ball of wire in previous episodes. Seems a bit odd used here, though. Stefanie Powers shows up at the finale as an alien hottie. The funky, energetic music by Luchi de Jesus is a highlight. Apparently part 2 is a bit of a letdown...
The Scooby Gang are in Hawaii, a fun location that this episode doesn't really take full advantage of. Not one of the better ones - let's face it, a witch doctor and a rolling statue on wheels are not among the creepier monsters this series has to offer - but still plenty watchable.
Jonny Quest - 1.23 "The House of Seven Gargoyles"
An atmospheric espionage yarn amidst the Norwegian fjords, where enemy spies (including a circus acrobat disguised as one of the titular gargoyles) are after a professor's antigravity device. The design and backgrounds on this H-B classic are always a joy to look at - and the story is good fun, too. Jonny Quest is that rare classic animated show where the villains usually bite it at the end of each episode, which endeared it to me as a youngster...and makes the show stand out today.
Bewitched - 2.7 "Trick or Treat"
Endora is up to her usual cruel shenanigans here, as she turns Darrin into a werewolf on Halloween night, just as he's due to entertain an important client and his wife. Dick York has fun chewing up pillows, snarling and going full-on wolfman in some good old school make up. Look for a young Maureen "Marcia Brady" McCormick, returning for the second and last time as the child version of Endora. Elizabeth Montgomery is visibly pregnant in this episode, but as they write her pregnancy into the storyline, it all fits fine.
Hunter - 1.10 "The Shooter"
Some punk is killing motorcycle cops, "Wild West" showdown style, and Hunter and McCall are on the trail. Pretty boilerplate 80s cop show stuff here, with plenty of cliched dialogue, but Fred Dryer and Stepfanie Kramer have good chemistry together, and I like Dryer's droll Dirty Harry-lite shtick.
Barnaby Jones - 1.11 "To Denise, with Love and Murder"
Bill Bixby guest stars as a sneaky gigolo killer who manages to outfox Barnaby for a good chunk of this episode. Of course it's only a matter of time before Barnaby turns the tables and gets his man.
It's a kick to see Bixby play a smug bad guy.
The Dick Van Dyke Show - 5.1 "Coast to Coast Big Mouth"
Of course, this is a famed classic episode of this terrific sitcom, but a first time watch for me. Needless to say, I enjoyed it immensely. Laura appears on a TV game show and is tricked by the host into blurting out that Rob's boss, egomaniac Alan Brady (Carl Reiner, hilarious here), wears a toupee. I've made up my mind...Mary Tyler Moore narrowly edges out Elizabeth Montgomery to win the title of "Sexiest 60s Sitcom Wife."
Red Dwarf - 6.2 "Legion"
"Legion" is up there with my favorite episodes of this, my all-time favorite comedy. The jokes fly nonstop as the boys from the Dwarf contend with a gestalt-identity android on an abandoned space station. For my money, series VI is Red Dwarf at its absolute peak, with just the right balance of character comedy, very funny zingers and high-concept sci-fi plots. This might not seem to fall into the time frame most think of as "Classic TV," but as it's now been 25 years since this season first aired in the U.K., I'd say it qualifies.
The Six Million Dollar Man - 3.17 "The Secret of Bigfoot, Part 1"
Every child of the 70s remembers the appearance of Bigfoot on this show. This one is, as usual for this series, good fun, even if its story is virtually nonexistent, basically consisting of Steve Austin running around the woods (that said - does anyone look as cool running as Lee Majors?) The make up job on Andre the Giant is pretty dang effective, and he and Majors have a good, knock-down drag out fight...though I do have to ask, what's going on with the sound effects when Steve is being thrown around by Bigfoot (or vice versa)? It's the same "falling missile" sound effect heard when he bionically throws a rock or ball of wire in previous episodes. Seems a bit odd used here, though. Stefanie Powers shows up at the finale as an alien hottie. The funky, energetic music by Luchi de Jesus is a highlight. Apparently part 2 is a bit of a letdown...
Last edited:
