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

[Jeff Flugel]

Seeing as we all are sharing and I'm one of the really old farts...
When I was very young we sometimes were allowed to watch tv and eat for one program only - Kukla, Fran & Ollie. My grandmother adored the show.

When I was a youngster going to the early grades we stayed in school for lunch most days but occasionally we got to go home and then I got to watch Soupy Sales (I was a Detroit brat)

The first TV show I remember ever watching was Howdy Doody.

I bet most of these references go right over most of you.

Of course I've heard of these shows, but never saw them growing up...I do have very vague memories of seeing repeats of Fran and her puppet buddies hosting the CBS Children's Film Festival.

Talking about local morning show hosts...we had one in the Sea-Tac area that ran for years (from 1958 to 1981): The J.P. Patches Show. My main memories of it would have been from the 70s. Patches lived in a junkyard and was visited by several weird characters, such as Gertrude (a guy in drag), arch-villain Boris S. Wort, and the Swami of Pastrami. These live segments were interspersed with cartoons and old movie serials (such as Captain America). Patches was famous enough to get a mention on an episode of The Simpsons.

For a while I'd watch this show before leaving for school...though as I got older I switched over to Star Blazers for my post-breakfast, pre-school entertainment.

 

[MartinP.]

Unless it was a Bewitched over Jeannie preference you had. I get that,

Yes, that's what I meant.

 

[ScottRE]

Yeah, I totally understand that. A lot of people saw IDOJ is a rip off of Bewitched (and the plots - not to mention the neighborhood - were very similar). For me it boils down to the characters. I enjoyed the cast and characters of Jeannie more and also found the NASA location to be more along the line of my interests (science fiction and so on). In a lot of ways, they were the same show. It's like preferring The Munsters over The Addams Family.

 

[Montytc]

I've been watching some newer stuff recently, but I did finally dig back in to the classic stuff.


The Fugitive: Season 4
Episode 18 - The Breaking Of the Habit

A good episode that is actually one of the only times I remember him going back to someplace he's been before. He needs help from a nun who he had met and helped in a season 1 episode, and she does reluctantly end up helping him. Once again he escapes by the skin of his teeth since one of the students in the nuns school figures out who he is and brings the law in.

Leave it To Beaver: Season 3
Episode 39 - Beavers team

A fun episode in which Beaver and his buddies form a football team. Everyone including Ward somehow decide it would be a good idea for Wally and Eddie to coach. Wally gives the team a secret play which Beaver then blabs to a little girl at school who tips off the opposing team. Another lesson learned the hard way by Beaver.

Petrocelli: Season 1
Pilot - Night Games
Episode 1 - The Golden Cage

A strong start for the series with these two episodes, with the basic themes pretty well established right away. Stefanie Powers is the innocent victim in the pilot and Joseph Campanella plays the bad guy in the first episode. I'm blaming you guys for my purchase of this set. It has been discussed a lot here, so even though I have thousands of still not watched episodes on the shelf, I just had to grab this

 

[JohnHopper]

The Fugitive: Season 4
Episode 18 - The Breaking Of the Habit

A good episode that is actually one of the only times I remember him going back to someplace he's been before. He needs help from a nun who he had met and helped in a season 1 episode, and she does reluctantly end up helping him. Once again he escapes by the skin of his teeth since one of the students in the nuns school figures out who he is and brings the law in.

I remember that one. Kimble hides in the rooftop of the establishment like a trapped cat.
Besides, it features stock music from Dominic Frontiere's Daystar series (Stoney Burke, The Outer Limits).

 

[Jeff Flugel]

Petrocelli: Season 1
I'm blaming you guys for my purchase of this set. It has been discussed a lot here, so even though I have thousands of still not watched episodes on the shelf, I just had to grab this

Heh. Well, guess we're doing our job then, Tim!

I don't think you'll regret your Petrocelli purchase...it's a really good show. Appealing main cast and great guest stars. There is a definite formula to many of the episodes, though, so I'd recommend spreading them out over time (which is something I think you do anyway with most of the classic shows you watch).

 

[bmasters9]

Besides, it features stock music from Dominic Frontiere's Daystar series (Stoney Burke, The Outer Limits).

What do you mean by Daystar series?

 

[John*Wells]

House of cards UK series

 

[Jeff Flugel]

The High Chaparral - 1.2 "The Arrangement"
Strong continuation of the story set up in the pilot episode, with lots of action and some good father-son-uncle dynamics and even a few touching moments. Cameron Mitchell continues to shine as the devil-may-care Uncle Buck, and his close bond with Blue Boy is nicely handled. Big John's wedding to Victoria sure was wrapped up in no time at all, with the lady apparently having little say in the matter. Big John sure lucked out that Don Sebastian's unmarried daughter looked like Linda Crystal! He could've really drawn the short straw there in different circumstances. I still think cold fish Leif Erickson is a slightly odd choice as the lead for a series of this type, but he's convincing as the hard, ambitious yet fair-minded patriarch.

F-Troop - 1.2 "One of Our Cannons is Missing"
The Hakawi want to borrow the fort's cannon to celebrate the Moon Festival. O'Rourke and Agarn have a problem on their hands when they need to get the cannon back for an inspection by Gen. Grant, and the Hakawi aren't ready to return it...Not one of the better episodes of the show, it must be said, though it's still amusing. Edward Everett Horton makes an appearance as Roaring Chicken, Frank de Kova is very funny (if highly un-P.C.) as Chief Wild Eagle, and the chemistry between Forrest Tucker and Larry Storch is perfect. Ken Berry spends several minutes of the episode making out with Melody Patterson. Apparently the producers found out that she was only 16 after they hired her...wonder if they told Berry?

The Snoop Sisters - 1.4 "A Black Day for Bluebeard"
Quite a quality dip from the pilot to this, the last episode in the series' brief run - at least when it comes to the so-called "mystery" plot. But, this does have a big ace in the hole: Vincent Price, hamming it up shamelessly (and deliberately) as a has-been horror film star who is implicated in the death of his rich wife. Price is absolutely wonderful throughout, and makes this one worth watching despite many of the silly elements. Lou Antonio is OK as Barney, but certainly no Art Carney. Also with David Huddleston, Mort Sahl, William Devane and Roddy McDowell.

I Dream of Jeannie - 1.1 "The Lady in the Bottle"
Hadn't seen this show in several decades, but watching the animated credits sequence brought back vivid memories from my misspent youth. Can't recall if I've ever seen this pilot episode of the series before, but it was a hoot. Larry Hagman is quite good as the put-upon Tony, and I like the astronaut angle as a set-up for a sitcom. Needless to say, Barbara Eden is sexy as all get out; she even spends several minutes dressed only in a men's dress shirt...yum yum. Between pratfalls, Hagman spends nearly half the episode necking with either Eden or scrummy Karen Sharpe (soon to be Mrs. Stanley Kramer). Tough gig. The episode on YouTube looked good and appeared to be complete and uncut at 25:47.

The Saint - 1.1 "The Talented Husband"
The Saint hangs out in a rural English village to prevent an unsuccessful theatrical director (Derek Farr) from murdering his current wife for her money - something he's apparently done twice before. Simon Templar is aided by sultry siren Shirley Eaton as an insurance investigator also on the case. The mystery seems awfully small scale compared to the usual assignments the Saint tangles with, but it's well done for all that. How anyone could fall for the disguise employed by the baddie here is a bit of a stretch, but it adds a fun angle to proceedings. Roger Moore's confidence and charisma is already very apparent.

 

[Jeff Flugel]

What do you mean by Daystar series?

From IMDB:

"In the early 1960s, Leslie Stevens was the head of Daystar Productions, one of the few independent TV production companies to survive amid the majors. Daystar created the Stoney Burke (1962) and The Outer Limits (1963) series."

 

[bmasters9]

From IMDB:

"In the early 1960s, Leslie Stevens was the head of Daystar Productions, one of the few independent TV production companies to survive amid the majors. Daystar created the Stoney Burke (1962) and The Outer Limits (1963) series."

I never knew that Daystar was the vanity card behind those two ABC series!

 

[Purple Wig]

I've been watching some newer stuff recently, but I did finally dig back in to the classic stuff.


The Fugitive: Season 4
Episode 18 - The Breaking Of the Habit

A good episode that is actually one of the only times I remember him going back to someplace he's been before. He needs help from a nun who he had met and helped in a season 1 episode, and she does reluctantly end up helping him. Once again he escapes by the skin of his teeth since one of the students in the nuns school figures out who he is and brings the law in.

Leave it To Beaver: Season 3
Episode 39 - Beavers team

A fun episode in which Beaver and his buddies form a football team. Everyone including Ward somehow decide it would be a good idea for Wally and Eddie to coach. Wally gives the team a secret play which Beaver then blabs to a little girl at school who tips off the opposing team. Another lesson learned the hard way by Beaver.

Petrocelli: Season 1
Pilot - Night Games
Episode 1 - The Golden Cage

A strong start for the series with these two episodes, with the basic themes pretty well established right away. Stefanie Powers is the innocent victim in the pilot and Joseph Campanella plays the bad guy in the first episode. I'm blaming you guys for my purchase of this set. It has been discussed a lot here, so even though I have thousands of still not watched episodes on the shelf, I just had to grab this

Need to get that Petrocelli set myself. Campanella and Barry Newman, great combo!

 

[Montytc]

Need to get that Petrocelli set myself. Campanella and Barry Newman, great combo!

From watching these first two episodes I am sure it is a show I am going to enjoy. Barry Newman and the rest of the main cast are very good which obviously is important with any series. I'm looking forward to mixing it in with everything else over time.

 

[Rustifer]

Episode Commentary
Bewitched
"Man of the Year" (S4E32)

Since I feel at least partly responsible for the I Dream of Jeannie vs. Bewitched funnybone discussion, I am galvanized to shred a Samantha / Darrin episode.

Darrin (Dick York) is named "Advertising Man of the Year" by the Huxters Club--a distinction worthy of a couple of giant martinis shared by Samantha and Darrin before the big dinner awards banquet. Sam (Elizabeth Montgomery) tries to convince Endora (Agnes Moorehead) that such an honor would not go to Darrin's humble head. Speaking of Darrin's head, I must take this opportunity to discuss his haircut--which always looked like it was executed with a food blender, then plastered over in whatever road crews use to fill pot holes on city streets. You'd think that Dick's agent, or his mother, or best friend would have eventually steered him to a qualified hair stylist.

Dick York's haircut, Elizabeth Montgomery needing no magic here, David White being wishy-washy

To prove Samantha wrong, Mother-in-Law Endora imbues Darrin with a charm spell that captivates everyone in his aura. As a result, Darrin begins to spew out ridiculous advertising concepts to a number of clients who buy into them wholeheartedly. For a food client: "We're nuts about our soup!" For Hercules Tractor Company: a picture of the contraption pulling up a tree stump--"Let Herc give it a jerk".
Being part of advertising in Chicago in the 70's, I can pretty much guarantee any of those concepts would have immediately found the circular file next to the desk. To spur Darrin along in his folly, Larry Tate (David White) is his weaselly best by agreeing with anything that flies the client's kite at the moment.

Before Darrin can actually believe he's that clever, Samantha removes the spell--thus returning him back to the creative level of gouda cheese. The only thing remotely funny about this episode is David White's endearing portrayal of an absolutely amoral ad executive.
The series almost single-handedly turned the advertising industry into its most simplest and stereotypical portrayal. Thank god for "Mad Men" eventually rectifying advertising's actual image in the 1960's.

 

[Jeff Flugel]

I enjoy both Bewitched and I Dream of Jeannie...both reliably funny, if at times silly. The cast of supporting characters is perhaps more memorable in Bewitched...but then, Jeannie has the interesting astronaut /space program milieu. Then there are the leading ladies....Elizabeth Montgomery or Barbara Eden...hmm. It's a toss-up, really.

 

[Rustifer]

The High Chaparral - 1.2 "The Arrangement"
Strong continuation of the story set up in the pilot episode, with lots of action and some good father-son-uncle dynamics and even a few touching moments. Cameron Mitchell continues to shine as the devil-may-care Uncle Buck, and his close bond with Blue Boy is nicely handled. Big John's wedding to Victoria sure was wrapped up in no time at all, with the lady apparently having little say in the matter. Big John sure lucked out that Don Sebastian's unmarried daughter looked like Linda Crystal! He could've really drawn the short straw there in different circumstances. I still think cold fish Leif Erickson is a slightly odd choice as the lead for a series of this type, but he's convincing as the hard, ambitious yet fair-minded patriarch.

F-Troop - 1.2 "One of Our Cannons is Missing"
The Hakawi want to borrow the fort's cannon to celebrate the Moon Festival. O'Rourke and Agarn have a problem on their hands when they need to get the cannon back for an inspection by Gen. Grant, and the Hakawi aren't ready to return it...Not one of the better episodes of the show, it must be said, though it's still amusing. Edward Everett Horton makes an appearance as Roaring Chicken, Frank de Kova is very funny (if highly un-P.C.) as Chief Wild Eagle, and the chemistry between Forrest Tucker and Larry Storch is perfect. Ken Berry spends several minutes of the episode making out with Melody Patterson. Apparently the producers found out that she was only 16 after they hired her...wonder if they told Berry?

The Snoop Sisters - 1.4 "A Black Day for Bluebeard"
Quite a quality dip from the pilot to this, the last episode in the series' brief run - at least when it comes to the so-called "mystery" plot. But, this does have a big ace in the hole: Vincent Price, hamming it up shamelessly (and deliberately) as a has-been horror film star who is implicated in the death of his rich wife. Price is absolutely wonderful throughout, and makes this one worth watching despite many of the silly elements. Lou Antonio is OK as Barney, but certainly no Art Carney. Also with David Huddleston, Mort Sahl, William Devane and Roddy McDowell.

I Dream of Jeannie - 1.1 "The Lady in the Bottle"
Hadn't seen this show in several decades, but watching the animated credits sequence brought back vivid memories from my misspent youth. Can't recall if I've ever seen this pilot episode of the series before, but it was a hoot. Larry Hagman is quite good as the put-upon Tony, and I like the astronaut angle as a set-up for a sitcom. Needless to say, Barbara Eden is sexy as all get out; she even spends several minutes dressed only in a men's dress shirt...yum yum. Between pratfalls, Hagman spends nearly half the episode necking with either Eden or scrummy Karen Sharpe (soon to be Mrs. Stanley Kramer). Tough gig. The episode on YouTube looked good and appeared to be complete and uncut at 25:47.

The Saint - 1.1 "The Talented Husband"
The Saint hangs out in a rural English village to prevent an unsuccessful theatrical director (Derek Farr) from murdering his current wife for her money - something he's apparently done twice before. Simon Templar is aided by sultry siren Shirley Eaton as an insurance investigator also on the case. The mystery seems awfully small scale compared to the usual assignments the Saint tangles with, but it's well done for all that. How anyone could fall for the disguise employed by the baddie here is a bit of a stretch, but it adds a fun angle to proceedings. Roger Moore's confidence and charisma is already very apparent.

Jeff, you watch such cool stuff that I'd run over to your house just to watch with you except for the fact that you live...well..in Japan.

 

[Jeff Flugel]

Jeff, you watch such cool stuff that I'd run over to your house just to watch with you except for the fact that you live...well..in Japan.

Thanks! Unfortunately, pretty much only a few people on this board think most of the stuff I watch is cool. Most of my friends around here wouldn't touch these old shows with a barge pole. But hey, that's OK. Not everyone has our excellent taste...

And you're welcome anytime at my house, Russ, if you're ever in the neighborhood. Hey, it's only about a 16-17 hour flight. No biggie.

 

[Rustifer]

And you're welcome anytime at my house, Russ, if you're ever in the neighborhood. Hey, it's only about a 16-17 hour flight. No biggie.

Right back atcha, Jeff. If you ever come to Carmel, Indiana--and why the hell would you?--ring my doorbell. I make a mean pitcher of martinis.

Little Known Fact: Marv once found himself in Carmel many moons ago.

 

[BobO'Link]

I finally made it through S3 of The Man from U.N.C.L.E. That was a bit tough as the series was in full on camp/comedy mode most of the time. U.N.C.L.E. is played more like a police force and *everyone* knows about them. "Oh... it's one of those U.N.C.L.E. guys..." The musical cues all reminded me of Batman as did much of the "comic" villain segments and action sequences. It plays like a mash up of Batman and Get Smart with U.N.C.L.E. characters thrown in for good measure. I wouldn't exactly call it "bad" as it works in that vein and if you disassociate it from the first two seasons. Heck... one episode was written by Harlan Ellison (caught me by surprise when the credits went by). I don't recall just which or if it was even a "better" episode but it's there. I can't see myself watching that season as much as the first two going forward.

I'm a couple of episodes into season 4 which, so far, is a return to form and the goodness of those first two seasons. The theme song sounds more serious than in season 3 (which sounded like a "mod" version). The camp factor is gone. Thrush is evil, they are all spies, and it's back to covert type operations. The first episode sees a car containing two Thrush agents being blown up in a ball of fire right after Solo manages to jump out. At the wreckage, Elia opens the obviously burnt Thrush woman's hand to get a key needed to access a security box.

I'm fairly sure I watched some of the 4th season during the original airings, but don't recall if I changed channel halfway through to watch Rat Patrol instead. The first half came on after The Monkees and played opposite the last half hour of Gunsmoke (a show I never much cared for but did watch on occasion - I may have watched that waiting for Rat Patrol but just don't remember) and Cowboy in Africa (don't recall one thing about that one). I do know that then it was cancelled mid-season and replaced by Rowan and Martin's Laugh In that I watched.

 

[Jeff Flugel]

I'm fairly sure I watched some of the 4th season during the original airings, but don't recall if I changed channel halfway through to watch Rat Patrol instead. The first half came on after The Monkees and played opposite the last half hour of Gunsmoke (a show I never much cared for but did watch on occasion - I may have watched that waiting for Rat Patrol but just don't remember) and Cowboy in Africa (don't recall one thing about that one). I do know that then it was cancelled mid-season and replaced by Rowan and Martin's Laugh In that I watched.

Glad to hear that S4 of The Man from U.N.C.L.E. gets back on form. I don't believe I've ever seen any episodes from that shortened season.

I've never seen the Chuck Connors series, Cowboy in Africa, but I do remember seeing (as an animal-loving, safari-crazy kid) loving the movie on which it was based, Africa - Texas Style, with Hugh O'Brien in the lead. Not sure what I'd make of the series these days, but I'd love a chance to see the movie again. It reminded me a bit of Hatari!, one of my favorite movies. The film seems to belong to Paramount, but I'm not sure which studio owns the series. Not likely to see it out on DVD, despite Ivan Tors' other more famous shows all making it out on the format.