What did you watch this week in classic TV on DVD(or Blu)? (7 Viewers)

[Bob_S.]

Continued watching Father Knows Best Season 3 after a long hiatus. Forgot how much I love this show. Probably my third favorite comedy behind The Dick Van Dyke Show and The Carol Burnett show.

 

[Doug Wallen]

Doctor Who - Season 18 (Tom Baker Season 7 Bluray)
Meglos (18.5, 18.6, 18.7, 18.8) - lalla Ward, Bill Fraser, Frederick Treves, Edward Underdown, Jacqueline Hill. K-9 is nearly repaired by wiggling his tail, The Doctor and Romana are caught in a time loop and the BBC have some new video editing techniques to showcase. Another "us" versus "them" scenario involving living plants (a cactus) and very stupid space pirates. Enjoyable on a "check your brain" level.

Have Gun - Will Travel - Complete Series
The Bostonian (1.21) - Harry Townes, Constance Ford, Joe de Santis, Chris Alcaide. Paladin offers his aid to an Eastern "dandy" who owns a large ranch that others want. He is a pacifist by nature and that upsets his wife who threatens to leave him. Paladin works to insure that she sees the man her husband truly is.

The Singer (1.22) Richard Long, Joan Weldon, Denver Pyle. A young lady uses anyone to acheive her dreams of being an opera singer. She wants to escape her husband and flirts overtly to be taken away. Paladin helps the young man and sets up an audition to expose her true colors. Nice twist at the end.

Bitter Wine (1.23) Eduardo Ciannelli, Rita Lynn, Richard Shannon. Paladin is hired as an intermediary to dispute a conflict between Italian vintners and Irish oilmen.

Girl From Picadilly (1.24) Betsy von Furstenberg, Charles Aidman, Carl Benton Reid, Fintan Meyler, William Schallert. A greiving father hires Paladin to find the daughter-in-law he has never met. This episode is like a locked door mystery with plenty of red herrings and a now oh-so-predictable twist.

The O'Hare Story (1.25) Herbert Rudley, Victor McLaglen, Christine White, John Doucette. Paladin is asked to settle a difference between engineers (constructing a dam0 and a storeowner who owns water rights. An episode where Paladin has a shift in allegiances.

Birds of a Feather (1.26) Harry Bartell, James Craig, Robert H. Harris, Joan Marshall, Bill Erwin. Railroad dispute makes for a town on the edge. Paladin offers his help to the first railroad that will meet his price. The more he works, he becomes friendly with his "competition" and asks to meet.

Lost In Space - Complete Series Remastered in Widescreen
Wish Upon A Star (1.11) No Guest Cast. Smith is making life miserable for all involved, so he leaves the family and finds a machine that grants wishes. he returns to the Jupiter 2 hoping to redeem himself by offering the use of the machine. Penny lise to Will and gets parental correction while everyone else receives a gentle lecture that things are not as valuable when they are gifted to you, there is more value in working for what you need. Ultimately, selfish Smith creates the problem for the week and must be saved by the Robinsons. Not to bad because I really liked the family meeting to handle the correction of Penny.

I am finding this first season to be better than I remember. Smith is still mostly sinister. Flashes of the later over the top character are relatively limited in these first few episodes. Sure wish he had remained this way.

The Raft (1.12) No Guest Cast. Another good episode that is anchored by Smith's obsession to return to earth. Bill Mumy really sold his "homesickness" speech to Dr. Smith as well as explaining that he needs someone to care for him as he is just a child. i even felt that this conversation affected Dr. Smith. Good stuff in this one.

One Of Our Dogs Is Missing (1.13) No Guest Cast. A rather lame episode with Smith in charge while the men are working on the relay stations. Smith's "comical" persona kicks in this episode. Such a shame as the only memorable scene involves Maureen and Dr. Smith as they converse about his skill at cleaning their guns. Will reassembles them quickly.

Attack Of the Monster Plants (1.14) No Guest Cast. Probably the most sinister turn by Dr. Smith since the Pilot. Jonathan Harris was so adept at playing sinister. Should have stayed that way insted of turning into a caricature of himself. I truly felt Smith was evil and understood Major West trying to choke him. Effects cheesy, but that is to be expected. Props also to Marta Kristen for playing the duplicate so unlike Judy.

Return From Outer Space (1.15) Reta Shaw, Walter Sande, Donald, Losby, Helen Kleeb, Robert Easton. This is one I remember and enjoy. Will finds a long range "transporter" and ends up going back to earth. No one believes that he is "the" Will Robinson from the missing space mission. He is unable to contact Alpha Control and is on a tight deadline befor he is whisked back to Preplanis. He does manage to get the much needed carbon tetrachloride for their food preservation. Loved seeing the Robot zap Dr. Smith.

The Outer Limits - Season 2 Bluray
The Inheritors Part 2 (2.110 Robert Duvall, Steve Inhat, Ivan Dixon, James Frawley, Ted deCorsia, Donald Harron, Dee Pollock. Conclusion to an excellent 1st half. this episode continues to up the ante now that child kidnapping is involved. The force field, design, atmospher and power begin to come together. Rockets, kidnapped crippled children and four unrelated men all together with the abilty to be untouched, what does it all mean. Hope folks, that is what it means. I thought this story was excellent.

 

[JohnHopper]

The Outer Limits - Season 2 Bluray
The Inheritors Part 2 (2.110 Robert Duvall, Steve Inhat, Ivan Dixon, James Frawley, Ted deCorsia, Donald Harron, Dee Pollock. Conclusion to an excellent 1st half. this episode continues to up the ante now that child kidnapping is involved. The force field, design, atmospher and power begin to come together. Rockets, kidnapped crippled children and four unrelated men all together with the abilty to be untouched, what does it all mean. Hope folks, that is what it means. I thought this story was excellent.

It's one of the best two episodes from that inferior season because of the story, the film-making and the cast.

 

[Mysto]

Doctor Who - Season 18 (Tom Baker Season 7 Bluray)
Meglos (18.5, 18.6, 18.7, 18.8) - lalla Ward, Bill Fraser, Frederick Treves, Edward Underdown, Jacqueline Hill. K-9 is nearly repaired by wiggling his tail, The Doctor and Romana are caught in a time loop and the BBC have some new video editing techniques to showcase. Another "us" versus "them" scenario involving living plants (a cactus) and very stupid space pirates. Enjoyable on a "check your brain" level.

Have Gun - Will Travel - Complete Series
The Bostonian (1.21) - Harry Townes, Constance Ford, Joe de Santis, Chris Alcaide. Paladin offers his aid to an Eastern "dandy" who owns a large ranch that others want. He is a pacifist by nature and that upsets his wife who threatens to leave him. Paladin works to insure that she sees the man her husband truly is.

The Singer (1.22) Richard Long, Joan Weldon, Denver Pyle. A young lady uses anyone to acheive her dreams of being an opera singer. She wants to escape her husband and flirts overtly to be taken away. Paladin helps the young man and sets up an audition to expose her true colors. Nice twist at the end.

Bitter Wine (1.23) Eduardo Ciannelli, Rita Lynn, Richard Shannon. Paladin is hired as an intermediary to dispute a conflict between Italian vintners and Irish oilmen.

Girl From Picadilly (1.24) Betsy von Furstenberg, Charles Aidman, Carl Benton Reid, Fintan Meyler, William Schallert. A greiving father hires Paladin to find the daughter-in-law he has never met. This episode is like a locked door mystery with plenty of red herrings and a now oh-so-predictable twist.

The O'Hare Story (1.25) Herbert Rudley, Victor McLaglen, Christine White, John Doucette. Paladin is asked to settle a difference between engineers (constructing a dam0 and a storeowner who owns water rights. An episode where Paladin has a shift in allegiances.

Birds of a Feather (1.26) Harry Bartell, James Craig, Robert H. Harris, Joan Marshall, Bill Erwin. Railroad dispute makes for a town on the edge. Paladin offers his help to the first railroad that will meet his price. The more he works, he becomes friendly with his "competition" and asks to meet.

Lost In Space - Complete Series Remastered in Widescreen
Wish Upon A Star (1.11) No Guest Cast. Smith is making life miserable for all involved, so he leaves the family and finds a machine that grants wishes. he returns to the Jupiter 2 hoping to redeem himself by offering the use of the machine. Penny lise to Will and gets parental correction while everyone else receives a gentle lecture that things are not as valuable when they are gifted to you, there is more value in working for what you need. Ultimately, selfish Smith creates the problem for the week and must be saved by the Robinsons. Not to bad because I really liked the family meeting to handle the correction of Penny.

I am finding this first season to be better than I remember. Smith is still mostly sinister. Flashes of the later over the top character are relatively limited in these first few episodes. Sure wish he had remained this way.

The Raft (1.12) No Guest Cast. Another good episode that is anchored by Smith's obsession to return to earth. Bill Mumy really sold his "homesickness" speech to Dr. Smith as well as explaining that he needs someone to care for him as he is just a child. i even felt that this conversation affected Dr. Smith. Good stuff in this one.

One Of Our Dogs Is Missing (1.13) No Guest Cast. A rather lame episode with Smith in charge while the men are working on the relay stations. Smith's "comical" persona kicks in this episode. Such a shame as the only memorable scene involves Maureen and Dr. Smith as they converse about his skill at cleaning their guns. Will reassembles them quickly.

Attack Of the Monster Plants (1.14) No Guest Cast. Probably the most sinister turn by Dr. Smith since the Pilot. Jonathan Harris was so adept at playing sinister. Should have stayed that way insted of turning into a caricature of himself. I truly felt Smith was evil and understood Major West trying to choke him. Effects cheesy, but that is to be expected. Props also to Marta Kristen for playing the duplicate so unlike Judy.

Return From Outer Space (1.15) Reta Shaw, Walter Sande, Donald, Losby, Helen Kleeb, Robert Easton. This is one I remember and enjoy. Will finds a long range "transporter" and ends up going back to earth. No one believes that he is "the" Will Robinson from the missing space mission. He is unable to contact Alpha Control and is on a tight deadline befor he is whisked back to Preplanis. He does manage to get the much needed carbon tetrachloride for their food preservation. Loved seeing the Robot zap Dr. Smith.

The Outer Limits - Season 2 Bluray
The Inheritors Part 2 (2.110 Robert Duvall, Steve Inhat, Ivan Dixon, James Frawley, Ted deCorsia, Donald Harron, Dee Pollock. Conclusion to an excellent 1st half. this episode continues to up the ante now that child kidnapping is involved. The force field, design, atmospher and power begin to come together. Rockets, kidnapped crippled children and four unrelated men all together with the abilty to be untouched, what does it all mean. Hope folks, that is what it means. I thought this story was excellent.

Doug - Just wanted to say your concise and frequent reviews continue to enlighten me. Great job.

 

[Mysto]

If you like detective TV here is a great list of all the shamus shows in chronological order.

http://www.thrillingdetective.com/trivia/tvchron.html

I have started try to watch a sample of as many of these as possible. Many I have never seen. For year 1949 - three of the shows have a sample on youtube. Stand by for Crime, alas, appears to only be available as a radio show.

It's fun to find a favorite and then see what was running at the same time. Enjoy.

 

[Rustifer]

If you like detective TV here is a great list of all the shamus shows in chronological order.

Cool list, Marv! Although I'm still scratching my head at the inclusion of Have Gun, Will Travel as a detective series. I guess one could stretch the concept that Paladin was a gumshoe of sorts--but c'mon--the guy wore black, rode a horse, had a gun holstered to his hip, bounty-hunted and shot bad guys dead on the spot, generally inside/outside of a saloon. I might be rudely slapping the intent of subjective interpretation in its face, but that spells Western to me.

Detective?

 

[Mysto]

Cool list, Marv! Although I'm still scratching my head at the inclusion of Have Gun, Will Travel as a detective series. I guess one could stretch the concept that Paladin was a gumshoe of sorts--but c'mon--the guy wore black, rode a horse, had a gun holstered to his hip, bounty-hunted and shot bad guys dead on the spot, generally inside/outside of a saloon. I might be rudely slapping the intent of subjective interpretation, but that spells Western to me.

View attachment 57286
Detective?

Well 77 Sunset Strip was in the west so wouldn't that be a western? Next you're going to tell me Maverick wasn't a detective story. My illusions are shattered.

As the man say - I just sing the music - I don't write the tune. Good to be jousting again.
ADDED: Even if I usually lose!

 

[Rustifer]

As the man say - I just sing the music - I don't write the tune.

Ha!
I've always been in favor of shooting the messenger. There's something so damn poetic about it.

A little target practice on that twerking banana emoji might be kinda justified, too.

 

[Rustifer]

Doug - Just wanted to say your concise and frequent reviews continue to enlighten me. Great job.

I agree with Marv, Doug. I enjoy reading your reviews--especially ones that have a bit of your own personalized slant thrown in.

 

[Jeff Flugel]

Randoms

At 73, John Crawford still retains his lean, boyish looks. A few years back during an interview, he was asked whether he viewed Chuck Connors as a father figure during their stint on the Rifleman series. “Not really. I had great respect for him and I loved working with him but he was very different off screen. He was was incorrigible; a practical joker. It was fun all the time but he wasn’t a good influence on me aside from his acting. He used a lot of four-letter words and he was very imposing. He loved intimidating people. I got a kick out of him, however.”

A long time band leader for a vintage dance orchestra, Johnny was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s earlier this year.

Funny to hear about Chuck Connors being the anti-Lucas McCain on The Rifleman set. I have no trouble believing that he could be intimidating to others when he chose. He's plenty intimidating as the straight-arrow McCain on the show as is.

Bummer to hear about Johnny Crawford's Alzheimer's diagnosis. He always seemed like a good guy. He works well in The Rifleman overall, despite my carping about the overly sensitive nature of Mark's character.

 

[BobO'Link]

Hank came in and I've been watching it the past few days. Based on the roughly half season I've seen so far I have to say this series "failure" was a simple cause of poor programming/scheduling. It had the misfortune of coming on opposite the last half hour of The Wild Wild West on CBS and Tammy on ABC. I think Tammy had a better lead-in coming on after The Flintstones and in true mid-60s style got watched mainly due to people not bothering to get out of the chair to change the channel. Hank's lead in was also a new program, Camp Runamuck, which did poorly - also likely due to its competition. When it came right down to it, CBS won the night with 2 new series, The Wild Wild West and Hogan's Heroes, which were followed by Gomer Pyle U.S.M.C. in its 2nd season.

Hank has some fun and clever plots and isn't as generic, recycled, or cliche' as many other series, failed and successful, of those years. Hank is a lovable character and has many good traits. The writing is good, it's well produced, and is acted well. The music/score is outstanding and reminds me of many theatrical releases of those years, especially the Don Knots movies. The music queues are so much like those in a Knots' movie I keep expecting to see him appear. In one episode there's a song writing contest and the song "Hank" wrote and sings is quite good, unlike the usual tripe generally presented in such episodes of other series in the mid-late 60s.

Based on what I've read, a major plus is the last episode actually has a satisfying conclusion for the season/series. That's a rarity.

I'm glad I purchased a copy of this one. It's a true lost classic.

 

[Purple Wig]

The Beverly Hillbillies S4 "A Real Nice Neighbor", "The Poor Farmer"
Father Knows Best S1 "The Matchmaker"
The Adventures of Kit Carson "Trail To Old Sonora"
Judge Roy Bean - "Vinegarone", "The Travelers"
Rango - "The Spy Who Was Out Cold"
Run For Your Life S1E6 "Our Man In Limbo"

Delved into one of the Mill Creek 150 episode packs. Rango seemed better than I recall, great to hear the distinctive voice of Norman Alden. Judge Roy Bean used to be shown on a religious UHF channel where I lived in the mid-90's(very early in the morning the religious programming was interrupted for a few very old series, Annie Oakley was one of the others) and the snowy reception made it seem like it was a distant time lost transmission. "Run" was on YT, all others DVD.

 

[John*Wells]

Mister Ed. Season 6

Ed the Counterspy
Ed A Go-Go
Cold Finger
Ed breaks the Hip code
Love and the single horse
Anybody got a zebra
TV or not TV

 

[BobO'Link]

Watching the Hank episode "The Ten Lettermen" where Hank is trying to help the coach recruit someone, who'll help his program it suddenly hit me... Every episode has Hank running through some practice the coach is having. Hank always out runs, out jumps, out throws, etc. anyone on the field *on his way through* and the coach chases him yelling "Hey! You! Stop! I'm faculty!", Hank replies "I know!", and keeps on running (to a class he's hijacked). *Hank* is the answer to all the coach's problems and the *coach* is the answer to Hank's. The coach could give Hank a full scholarship to play *any sport he chooses* and Hank would get "free" classes. Oh the irony...

Of course this assumes an under performing athletic department would have money for a scholarship.

 

[Doug Wallen]

Not much this week, just moving on with my Gunsmoke sets.

Gunsmoke - Season 6
Love Thy Neighbor (6.20) Ken Lynch, Warren Oates, Jeannette Nolan, Jack Elam, Harry Dean Stanton, Cyril Delevanti, Nora Marlowe. A bitter feud comes to a head over a sack of potatoes. A child is accused of theft and is left alone while suffering from a barb wire injury. The child dies and sets in motion a terrible chain of consequences. Strong episode (and excellent cast) that points you to the title.

Bad Seed - (6.21) Anne Helm, Roy Barcroft, Burt Douglas. Seems to be a recurring theme; Matt rescues a female/woman child and she develops "feelings" for him. Her home life hints at incest and Matt agrees to take Trudy to Dodge. This child is a bit over the top and uses her "charms" to teach Matt a lesson. The lesson nearly ends in disaster.

Kitty Shot (6.22) George Kennedy, Rayford Barnes, Joseph Mell. Straightforward story. George Kennedy plays one half of a partnership that is uneducated and very selfish. Since he is big, he seems to always get his way as he bullies his partner. The bullying ends in a gunfight and Miss Kitty is wounded. Matt is hot on the trail of the shooter. Even though Kitty's fate is never in doubt, it is interesting to see Matt in full on revenge mode (Chester is left in Dodge!).

About Chester (6.23) Charles Aidman, Mary Munday, Harry Shannon, House Peters, Jr. Doc is missing and all of Dodge is concerned, considering Doc missed an appointment to set a child's leg. Matt and Chester set off to find Doc and must split up. One of them meets peril at the hands of an abusive man. Well acted, but a variation on a theme of beloved character tortured before finding an escape.

Harriet (6.24) Suzanne Lloyd, Tom Reese, Ron Hayes, Howard Culver. Harriet watches two men murder her father. She walks into Dodge and gains sympathy from the men. Soon she is working at the LongBranch to suss out the men. When she meets them, she plays both men against each other to try and exact her own revenge. A nice story that took a sneaky approach with the guest star. I liked this one.

Potshot (6.25) Karl Swenson, Gage Clarke, John Harmon. A dirty visitor comes to town trying to incite excitement by shooting off fireworks to scare horses. Hutch then flashes a wad of cash and begins making friends with everyone in town by buying drinks. Amidst all of the celebrating, Matt and Chester receive word that bank robbers are headed to Dodge, no description given. Chester is shot and Matt tries to fend off the robbery. Hutch is in the ban when the attempt is made and he decides to stay in town since Dodge is now a happening place. Matt finally discovers who shot Chester.

Old Faces (6.26) James Drury, Jan Shepard, George Keymas, Ron Hayes. Drury is a newlywed who is extremely jealous. Unknown to him, his new bride is a former river boat singer only. She meets a former gunslinger, now a rancher, who recognizes her and wants to make trouble for the happy couple. A story about the need to be honest with your spouse. He tells her her past doesn't matter, she just should have been honest with him. A showdown happens as the gunslinger forces one. Matt finishes things up nicely.

12 more episodes and I will then reach the hour long episodes. I am seeing some of them on Inspiration and MeTV, but they are obviously edited. I have three seasons of hour long eps. in the WalMart all in ones that I have yet to get through. Having been an original fan since the 70's (Iremember watching this show on Monday evenings), it has been very entertaining and enlightening to view Gunsmoke from the beginning. Sure do hope WalMart and Paramount continues releasing these all in ones.

 

[bmasters9]

Through 1.5 discs of Season 6 of Have Gun, Will Travel

 

[Jeff Flugel]

Alas, my long vacation is over and it's back to teaching English to 18 to 21-year-old Japanese co-eds. (It's a rough job, but someone has to do it.) Nonetheless, I managed to get a few things watched...

Lost in Space - 1.2 "The Derelict"
Continuing on with my first-time watch of this famed sci-fi series. I thought this episode was pretty good, if a little padded in parts (seems like Will Robinson wanders around the interior of the alien spaceship for a loooong time). Definitely some goofy parts, but entertaining enough so far. In the "Lost in Space Blu-Ray" thread elsewhere on the forum, some members mentioned Alpha Control, a highly enjoyable podcast about the series, which is helping keep me interested in continuing to watch this show.

Strange Report - 1.14 "Kidnap - Whose Little Girl Are You?"
Another short-run ITC series, a little different from the "action man" norm of The Saint, The Baron, Secret Agent Et al. This is more of a Swinging '60s crime procedural, centered around retired Scotland Yard inspector Adam Strange (Anthony Quayle), who investigates unusual cases aided by Yank forensics student, Ham (Kaz Garas) and his dolly bird neighbor, Evelyn (cutie patootie Anneke Wills, famous for playing '60s-era Doctor Who companion, Polly).

In this episode, Strange is called in when a wealthy friend's daughter (Sally Geeson) is kidnapped and a large ransom demanded. But is she really in danger? Or has she orchestrated the whole thing as a way to strike back at her father? Also starring Ian Oglivy (who would go on to play Simon Templar in Return of the Saint) and Richard O'Sullivan.

Overall, this is an excellent series, more grounded than most ITC adventure shows - sort of a less flamboyant Department S. Acting heavyweight Sir Anthony Quayle makes for a strong lead, and his youthful co-stars are charming. It's nice to see more of Anneke Wills (most of whose Doctor Who serials are sadly missing from the archives), and it doesn't hurt that she looks damn good in a miniskirt. The transfers used on the Region 2 DVD set are remastered and look sharp and colorful. No surprise that this is yet another ITC series with a memorably catchy theme tune:



The Hardy Boys / Nancy Drew Mysteries
2.8 "The Strange Fate of Flight 608"
Frank and Joe Hardy's pleasure at cadging a flight on board a jet filled with dozens of stewardess trainees turns sour when the pilots mysteriously become unconscious. It's up to Frank and Joe to make an emergency landing on a deserted island. But who poisoned the pilots, and why? A bit of a different outing, this; more of an adventure tale than a mystery, but still a perfectly watchable slice of cheesy '70s goodness...and thankfully, light on the Shaun Cassidy singing.

The Doombolt Chase - 1.1 "Court of Shame"
A six-part children's adventure serial from the late 1970s, from regional ITV studio HTV (producers of Children of the Stones, Raven, Sky, Follow Me, King of the Castle, etc.). Since I'm fighting off a bad cold, and thus feeling lazy, I'll use Network's description for the serial:

"When Commander David Wheeler is arrested for a seemingly motiveless attack on a mysterious vessel, his son Richard, along with friends Lucy and Peter, embark on a search for the secret information that might clear his name – becoming entangled in an intrigue of codes, espionage and a fearsome new weapon under the sea."

Unlike some of the above-mentioned serials, this one was done all on film and looks pretty slick as a result. Lots of exteriors and messing about on ships and boats, with the cooperation of the British Navy adding welcome verisimilitude. The three young leads are fine, and given able support by some veteran British thesps, including Peter Vaughn, Frederick Jaeger, Donald Burton, Ewen Solon, George Coulouris and Simon MacCorkindale. The pedigree behind the camera is solid, also: the serial was written by Don Houghton and directed by Robert Fuest.

As I've mentioned before, these so-called "kids" dramas from the U.K. are nothing like the kind of juvenile fare we get in the States, but instead are pretty serious, meaty and at times downright creepy, and should keep most adult viewers engaged. An added plus: all 6 parts are available on YouTube.

Dragnet 1967 - 1.8 "The Candy Store Robberies"
Despite being very aware of the basic elements of this show, not to mention all the parodies, I've never actually sat through an entire episode before. I have to confess that I quite enjoyed it. I love Jack Webb's rat-a-tat-tat narration and the whole procedural aspects of it. The case of the week was nothing special, but I did enjoy spotting Virginia Gregg as a talkative witness. And Merry Anders' sexy policewoman makes a nice change from gazing at Webb and Harry Morgan's ugly mugs.

The Munsters - 1.18 "If a Martian Answers, Hang Up"
Herman's got a new ham radio set and it's not long before he thinks he's communicating with a Martian landing party. Of course, the "Martians" are actually a couple of little boys playing around with their walkie-talkies. Herman comes off even dumber than normal here, but watching the skilled cast do their thing is always a good time.

 

[Rustifer]

Alas, my long vacation is over and it's back to teaching English to 18 to 21-year-old Japanese co-eds. (It's a rough job, but someone has to do it.)

I think that's a fascinating undertaking, Jeff. I'm always impressed with bilingual people--the ability to own mastery of two different languages is akin to having each foot in two different cultures. I would think it gives one a better understanding of surroundings and, as such, just makes you a better person.
My mom and grandparents were Romanian and that's all I spoke for the first few years of my life. I wish I had kept up with it, but alas the language has slipped from my memory.

The Hardy Boys / Nancy Drew Mysteries

Cheesy, indeed. Yet I watched every episode with glee. I was a voracious reader of Franklin W. Dixon's Hardy Boy novels as a kid. I've read each one several times. Although the 70's remake with Shaun Cassidy and Parker Stevenson aren't anything like the actual books' characters, they were still engaging and fun--and the episodes were properly atmospheric.

My favorite interpretation, however, was Disney's serial version from the 50's Mousketeer Show with Tommy Kirk and Tim Considine...

 

[Mysto]

I think that's a fascinating undertaking, Jeff. I'm always impressed with bilingual people--the ability to own mastery of two different languages is akin to having each foot in two different cultures. I would think it gives one a better understanding of surroundings and, as such, just makes you a better person.
My mom and grandparents were Romanian and that's all I spoke for the first few years of my life. I wish I had kept up with it, but alas the language has slipped from my memory.


Cheesy, indeed. Yet I watched every episode with glee. I was a voracious reader of Franklin W. Dixon's Hardy Boy novels as a kid. I've read each one several times. Although the 70's remake with Shaun Cassidy and Parker Stevenson aren't anything like the actual books' characters, they were still engaging and fun--and the episodes were properly atmospheric.

My favorite interpretation, however, was Disney's serial version from the 50's Mousketeer Show with Tommy Kirk and Tim Considine...

View attachment 57350

The Applegate Treasure was a treasure but the follow up (which almost nobody has seen or remembers - Ghost Farm was terrible.

 

[Jeff Flugel]

Cheesy, indeed. Yet I watched every episode with glee. I was a voracious reader of Franklin W. Dixon's Hardy Boy novels as a kid. I've read each one several times. Although the 70's remake with Shaun Cassidy and Parker Stevenson aren't anything like the actual books' characters, they were still engaging and fun--and the episodes were properly atmospheric.

My favorite interpretation, however, was Disney's serial version from the 50's Mousketeer Show with Tommy Kirk and Tim Considine...

View attachment 57350

Yes, one thing I've been struck with in rewatching these Hardy Boys/ Nancy Drew Mysteries is how frequently atmospheric they are. And the opening credits set the mood nicely, with that spooky theme and the use of the blue hardback book covers mixed with live action.

I've been meaning to check out that Mickey Mouse Club "Applegate Treasure" Hardy Boys serial. I think the complete run is available on YouTube. I think Kirk and Considine are a bit young for my image of the Hardy Boys, but I'm curious to give it a look.