Week of Dec. 24: Happy Holidays!

By Sylvia Gurinsky

As YesterTube takes a two-week hiatus for the holidays, here are some happy holiday memories:

For this week, the irresistible performance of "The Nutcracker" that made its television debut on PBS in 1977. The ballet, and this clip, star the great Mikhail Barishnikov and Gelsey Kirkland:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wb4Ps7vqgU0

For next week, it's not just another New Year's Eve when Barry Manilow sings his holiday classic, "It's Just Another New Year's Eve." Can't find a performance from one of Dick Clark's NYE specials (Though he has sung it), so this will have to do:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P66Bjh0IcRo

Have a festive holiday season and a happy, healthy and classic-TV-filled 2011.

Oh, yes - Happy Viewing!!!! See you next year!

Week of 12/17: Larry King's Miami Roots

By Sylvia Gurinsky

With the end of Larry King's interview show on CNN, it's a good time to look back at his television roots in Miami.

From 1957 to 1978, King's home base and audience were in South Florida. Whether it was a newspaper, a radio station or a television station, King's words could be read or heard. And while his home bases included television stations WLBW (now WPLG) -Channel 10 and what was then WTVJ-Channel 4, they could also include the old Pumpernick's restaurant across the street from the Deauville Hotel in Miami Beach. King might interview anyone who stopped by.

Here's a 1974 interview that King did for WTVJ (in the studio, not in Pumpernick's). The suspenders may be out of view, but the style is the same:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCH0BQ2nSMo&feature=related

The Miami years weren't easy ones for King; serious financial problems got him into repeated trouble.

But the Magic City can rightly claim a share of King's success during the last two decades. Larry Zeiger may have been born in Brooklyn, but the interviewer CNN viewers came to know during the last quarter-century was born in Miami.

See you next week. Until then, Happy Viewing!

Week of 12/10: Remembering Monday Night Mayhem

By Sylvia Gurinsky


The death of former football player and announcer "Dandy" Don Meredith this week triggered memories of the legendary ABC Monday Night Football. During the years Meredith, Howard Cosell and Frank Gifford were in the booth, nothing topped the trio for entertainment value - often including the game:



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dOkgcFj6MJQ

No need to turn out the lights on this.

See you next week. Until then, Happy Viewing!

Week of Dec. 3: Surely, Nielsen Was Tops (And Don't Call Him Shirley)

By Sylvia Gurinsky

The story about Leslie Nielsen is that he was generally a serious actor until 1980, when his comic talent was discovered by everyone in "Airplane!" and the series of "Naked Gun" movies later on.

As usual, it's less simple than that. Nielsen broke in as a young actor in secondary roles in various MGM films, then turned to television.

He set up a solid career in various television series; he was featured in "Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color" in "The Swamp Fox":

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pc7tbE7VPh0

He had the distinction of guest-starring in the pilot episode of "Hawaii Five-O" (the real one) as intelligence chief Brent, and in a later episode of the long-running series as well.

Nielsen guest-starred in many popular series of the 1960s and 70s, from "Ironside" and "Cannon" to "M*A*S*H."

The "Naked Gun" movies were so successful that it's easy to forget the character of Frank Drebin actually originated in a brief ABC series called "Police Squad!" Only six episodes long (the epitome of "Brilliant But Cancelled"), the series spoofed "Five-O" and other beloved police shows and spawned the legend of the films:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FLXyC1cuN3M

Besides the first episode of "Hawaii Five-O," Nielsen also had the distinction of being in the final episodes of NBC's "The Golden Girls" as the groom of Dorothy (Bea Arthur).

Here's an appropriate goodbye. Goodbye, as a Nielsen comic character would probably say, is a way of leaving. Fortunately, we'll always have the clips:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_3rJqHWYjs

*********************************************************************

Al Masini, who created "Entertainment Tonight" and "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous," has also died. Here's a look at the show's 1982 opening with its original hosts, Ron Hendren and Dixie Whatley, back when there were actually stars to cover:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIwBE6Tq3J0

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Finally, a little geographic fun.

Looking through vintage postcards yesterday, I came on one of "Surfside Six," the little houseboat and the title of the popular early 1960s ABC series that starred Troy Donahue. A few miles down the road from the real Surfside, Florida, the setting is actually mid-Miami Beach, in front of the classic Fontainebleau and Eden Roc hotels.

But the series was filmed at the Warner Brothers backlot in California. It would take more than two decades and visionaries named Mann, Yerkovich and Tartikoff to bring "Miami Vice" to Miami.

Here's a link to the postcard with "Surfside":

http://cgi.ebay.com/Television-Show-Surfside-Six-Miami-FL-1960-62-Postcard-/180595169256

See you next week. Until then, Happy Viewing!

Week of 11/19: A 71-Year-Old Thanksgiving "Experiment"

By Sylvia Gurinsky

Next Thursday, NBC (officially) and CBS (unofficially) will carry on an annual Thanksgiving tradition by telecasting the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

That tradition started as a local experiment in New York in 1939, then picked up again after World War II. NBC started transmission "In Living Color," of course, in 1960.

Parade lovers have favorite televised moments. A highlight is the introduction of the Kermit the Frog balloon during the 1977 parade. Other lovable balloon creatures have included Snoopy, Garfield and Big Bird.

Another favorite is this stat: Milton DeLugg, who is 92 years old, continues to be music director for NBC's coverage.

The parade is also locally televised in New York, and here's a look from 1990 at Kermit - with Miss Piggy, of course:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=355zeNySn10

Happy Thanksgiving! And since I'll be off next week, see you in two weeks. Happy Viewing!

Week of November 12: Robert Wagner: Man About Town

By Sylvia Gurinsky

In this week's episode of "NCIS," it was fun to see the return of Robert Wagner as the debonaire, but broke, father of Tony (Michael Weatherly).

(How much did I pay attention to Wagner? I just found out Bruce Boxleitner ("Scarecrow and Mrs. King") was also on the episode, so I've got to go back and re-watch. Ah, the perils.....)

The role is a variation on the portrayals Wagner has perfected in more than 40 years on television.

Wagner started in the movies during the 1950s. He was a featured player in such films as "With a Song In My Heart" and "The Pink Panther," but it took television to really let him shine.

Wagner is one of the rare "television triples" - a star with three hit shows:

*"It Takes a Thief," ABC, 1968-70: Wagner came to television prominence with this show, where he played cat burglar Alexander Mundy, who was recruited by the federal government to do his stealing for them as a spy. Part of the fun of this series was that legendary dancer Fred Astaire played Alistair Mundy, Alex's father.

Unbelievably, this series isn't yet available on DVD. Episodes could be seen on Hulu.com until a few months ago, but don't seem to be available now, alas.

*"Switch," CBS, 1975-78:

"Do you ever stop being a con man?"

"Do you ever stop being a cop?"

That was how the introduction between Eddie Albert's character, retired police officer Frank McBride, and Wagner's character, ex-con man Pete Ryan - both turned detectives - went each week. Sharon Gless ("Cagney and Lacey") was also in the cast as their receptionist, as was comedian Charlie Callas. Sorry, no DVD release yet.

*"Hart To Hart," ABC, 1979-84: The delightful best is saved for last with this series, a takeoff on the classic movie series "The Thin Man," with Wagner and Stefanie Powers starring as millionaire industrialist Jonathan Hart and his writer wife, Jennifer, whose hobby (so well put by butler/confidant Max, played by Lionel Stander) "is...murder." They also had one of the cutest dogs in television history, little Freeway.

The first two seasons have been released on DVD.

This is one series that's worth making into a big-screen film (but never, never remake it as a series, PLEASE!!!!).

So lift a glass of champagne to R.J. for truly gracing us with his television presence.

See you next week. Until then, Happy Viewing!

Week of November 5: Fall Classic Memories To Take Us Into Winter

By Sylvia Gurinsky

It was a bittersweet final week of the baseball season in 2010, with the San Francisco Giants getting it off to a happy start with their first World Series Championship in the City By the Bay (The last time they won, in 1954, they were in New York.).

But events turned sad on Thursday with the announcement of the death of Hall of Fame manager Sparky Anderson.

It's a good time, then, to go back and savor World Series of seasons past.

Last year, "The Official World Series Film Collection" was released on DVD, featuring highlights of all World Series from 1943 to 2008. It includes 20 discs, and familiar memories for baseball fans everywhere.

Want individual games? It's still possible to find "Baseball's Greatest Games," released on VHS during the 1990s. They include the thrilling, 12-inning Game 6 of the 1975 World Series, which Anderson's Cincinnati Reds lost to the Boston Red Sox on Carlton Fisk's foul pole home run; Game 6 of the 1986 World Series, when a ground ball hit by New York Met Mookie Wilson went between Boston Red Sox first baseman Bill Buckner's legs, allowing the Mets to win ; and Game 1 of the 1988 World Series, another thriller that the Los Angeles Dodgers' injured Kirk Gibson ended with a home run that beat the Oakland A's.

Add "The Tenth Inning," Ken Burns' new sequel to "Baseball," to your collection as well. And have a great offseason!

See you next week. Until then, Happy Viewing!

October 29: Definitive Danno

By Sylvia Gurinsky

The sad news of James MacArthur's death at the relatively young age of 72 was surprising. MacArthur will eternally be the boyish Hawaii Five-O detective Danny Williams - forever "Danno" - in the original version of the series.

Here are a few definitive "Five-O" episodes centered around Danny. All are available on DVD:

*"And They Painted Daisies On His Coffin" (Season 1): Danny shoots a teenager who is apparently unarmed. But Danny insists the boy had a gun. Where is it?

*"Most Likely To Murder" (Season 2): Tom Skerrit ("Picket Fences") guest-stars as Lew Morgan, Danny's childhood friend and a police officer, whose wife is murdered.

*"Beautiful Screamer" (Season 3): Danny's girlfriend, played by Anne Archer ("Fatal Attraction") is murdered, and an emotional Danny tries to find out who did it and why.

*"Pig In a Blanket" (Season 5): Somewhat similar to "Daisies" in that Danny shoots an unarmed teen. Is it in revenge for the murder of a police officer who is Danny's friend?

*"Retire In Sunny Hawaii....Forever" (Season 8): MacArthur's real-life mother, Helen Hayes, guest-stars as Danny's Aunt Clara Williams and helps Five-O solve the murder of a friend of hers. Stage and screen star Charles Durning is also in this episode, as a baddie.

Aloha and Mahalo, Danno.

Week of 10/29: Bionic Release and Lamont Johnson's Best

By Sylvia Gurinsky

Considering that a not-long-lasting but much hyped new version of "The Bionic Woman" was put on the air by NBC several years ago, it seems strange that Season 1 of the original wasn't released on DVD until a few days ago.

Before that, the best way to catch Jaime Sommers was in the episodes of ABC's "The Six Million Dollar Man" where the character made her debut. Fans will recall that Jaime was the fiancee of Steve Austin (Lee Majors), the astronaut who was made bionic after a plane crash. Jaime is made bionic after a skydiving accident.

Various actresses were considered for the role; Lindsay Wagner, previously best known for appearing in a two-part episode of "The Rockford Files," was cast. The "Six Million Dollar Man" episodes in which she was featured struck ratings gold and compelled ABC to launch a spinoff.

By series standards, "The Bionic Woman," which spent two years on ABC and a season on NBC, didn't last very long. But Wagner won an Emmy for her role. Children across America were buying bionic character dolls and lunch boxes - now collectibles - during the mid-1970s.

The year on NBC also created some trivia, with Richard Anderson, who played Steve and Jaime's boss, Oscar Goldman, and Martin E. Brooks, who played bionic doctor Rudy Wells, becoming the first actors in television history to play the same character on two networks at once.

The 2007 series, which starred British actress Michelle Ryan (one of my pet peeves: Non-American actors and actresses playing Americans) had Jaime in humorless, high-tech situations, and took out the fun that had been in the original series. That show was ultimately a victim of the 2008 writers' strike, and it was just as well.

Here's the original introduction to "The Bionic Woman":

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qcba-ZgtsT4

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Lamont Johnson, who died this week, directed television productions for almost half a century. Besides his work on television series such as "Peter Gunn," "Dr. Kildare" and "The Twilight Zone," there were the miniseries and televison movies based on real life that were his crowning achievements - including 1974's "The Execution of Private Slovik" with Martin Sheen; 1981's "Crisis At Central High," with Joanne Woodward; 1985's "Wallenberg: A Hero's Story," with Richard Chamberlain and 1988's "Gore Vidal's Lincoln," with Sam Waterston and Mary Tyler Moore.

According to IMDB.com, he said, "Projects about human problems, about the testing of the human experience, about the pressures which exist upon human beings in a difficult world, are what really involve me. The traps people get into and have to battle out of are the elements of drama with which I like to deal."

Most of those projects are available on DVD.

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See you next week. Until then, Happy Viewing!

Week of October 22: So Long, Mr. C

By Sylvia Gurinsky

Tom Bosley, who died earlier this week, was still going strong earlier this year with appearances on television and in feature films - a career that started in the late 1950s.

He had a number of featured roles in television series, including "The Debbie Reynolds Show," "The Sandy Duncan Show" and his most famous recurring role as Cabot Cove Sheriff Amos Tupper in "Murder She Wrote."

He starred in three series - "Wait Till Your Father Gets Home," "Father Dowling Mysteries," which ran for two years......

And, oh yes, an American icon: "Happy Days," which ran on ABC from 1974-84.

It'll be for the decade of playing Howard Cunningham, of course, that Bosley is best remembered. While he guest-starred several times on the ABC hit show "Love, American Style," Bosley did not play the character in the segment that generated "Happy Days" (That was Harold Gould, who died just a few weeks ago.).

Howard was a hardware salesman, husband to Marion (Marion Ross), father to Richie (Ron Howard), Joanie (Erin Moran) and the disappeared Chuck (Gavan O'Herlihy, son of actor Dan and nephew of director Michael), as well as surrogate father to Fonzie (Henry Winkler). The affection with which his co-stars saluted Bosley this week is a testament to how important he was to the series.

Here's a look at the whole gang, including Donny Most as Ralph Malph and Anson Williams as Potsie Weber:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xflf41nvSyY

The first four seasons of "Happy Days," when the show was at its creative and ratings peak, are available on DVD. "Murder She Wrote" is available as well.

Here's to you, Mr. C.

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See you next week. Until then, Happy Viewing!

Week of October 15: Yabba Dabba Doo!

By Sylvia Gurinsky

Happy 50th, Flintstones!

The "Modern Stone-Age Family," produced by Hanna-Barbera, began airing on ABC Sept. 30, 1960. The original show was reportedly inspired by "The Honeymooners" and featured Fred and Wilma Flintstone and Barney and Betty Rubble living in stone houses with the modern (for 1960) conveniences of life, including animals as appliances and feet being used to get the stone car off to a running start. During the series, Fred and Wilma had baby Pebbles, while Barney and Betty adopted the very strong Bamm-Bamm.

Voice legend Mel Blanc (Barney), Alan Reed(Fred) , Jean Vander Pyl (Wilma) and Bea Benaderet (Betty until she went to CBS to play Kate Bradley in "Petticoat Junction") made the four principal characters their own. The original series ran until 1966. There have been various spinoffs, including one that featured Sally Struthers ("All In the Family's" Gloria Stivic) as a grown-up Pebbles.

Everybody sing along:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2PPf3aaZmUw

See you next week. Until then, Happy Viewing!

Week of October 8: Farewell To the Man At the Typewriter

By Sylvia Gurinsky

He was an iconic figure at the end of most episodes of the shows he produced, typing and then taking the paper out of the typewriter and throwing it back into a graphic that revealed the production belonged to Stephen J. Cannell.

As a writer and producer, Cannell, who died late last week, was a constant presence from the early 1970s on. He had the occasional failure (His 1997 version of a new Hawaii Five-O television series was short on quality and memories of the original series, but at least it didn't have the LSD-trip-type editing the new show - which he was not responsible for - has.).

But Cannell had many more successes, including "The A-Team," "Hunter," "21 Jump Street," "Baretta," "The Greatest American Hero" and unquestionably his greatest series of all, "The Rockford Files." He lived up to that end credit, writing many episodes of his shows.

One little exaggeration in that end credit was the number of Emmy awards he had in his office. He won a single Emmy, for "The Rockford Files" as best drama in 1974. But he helped along the careers of others, such as David Chase and Johnny Depp.

Here's a typically great clip from "Rockford":

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PNjv35DfSo4&feature=related

That and the other Cannell hit shows can be found on DVD.

Rest in peace, Mr. Cannell....

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See you next week. Until then, Happy Viewing!

Week of September 29: Let's Go To the Videotape

By Sylvia Gurinsky

A chance viewing of an episode of the British comedy "To the Manor Born" generates this column about, of all things, videotape.

The episode of this comedy, aired by the BBC from 1979-81, featured a lot of exterior shots. All of those, as was the tradition at the time, were shot on film, while the interior shots were on videotape. That was a tradition in Britain as late as 1992, when early exterior shots on the comedy "As Time Goes By" were on film.

The genesis of videotape on live television in the United States took place during the 1950s; the first major color videotape presentation was the NBC special "An Evening With Fred Astaire" in 1958.

Daytime television programs such as soap operas and game shows were starting to show up on color videotape during the late 1960s (Sadly, many were erased and are now lost.). But the first primetime television series to be shown on videotape was "All In the Family" in 1970.

Exterior shots on videotape on American television series were already common by the mid-1980s. One of the most famous examples was on a soap opera - Luke and Laura's wedding on "General Hospital" in 1981. It was watched by 30 million viewers.

These days, most American prime-time television shows are shot on film. While film provides a sense of "urgency," one misses the you-are-there, intimate atmosphere generated by videotape.

See you next week. Until then, Happy Viewing!

Week of 9/21: One-O (That's 10) Classic Five-O Episodes

By Sylvia Gurinsky

Viewers as a whole seemed to be underwhelmed by the debut of a new "Hawaii Five-O" on CBS last night - particularly viewers who loved the original series.

That's not surprising. Leonard Freeman's "Hawaii Five-O," which ran on CBS from 1968-80, set standards for location shooting and casting, as well as the quality of writing and directing; the show had some of the best of both in the business.

"Five-O" was a bridge between the "Dragnets" and "Hill Street Blues" - a bit personal with the lives of its police without getting too personal and socially conscious besides, with themes (terrorism, police conduct, rape, drug abuse, gun control) that still resonate today.

The most useful function of the new show might be to make viewers curious about the original. For those who haven't been exposed, here are 10 classic "Five-O" episodes to watch from the first five seasons (Everything through Season 9 has been released on DVD.):

*"And They Painted Daisies On His Coffin" (Season One; Air date: November 7, 1968): John D.F. Black, who wrote some of "Five-O's" best episodes, penned this one about the consequences when Danny Williams (James MacArthur) shoots a teenaged boy who is apparently unarmed. Directed by John Peyser, this episode includes a lot of hand-held camera work; the sequence in which Steve McGarrett (Jack Lord) goes over the shooting scene with Honolulu Police Department internal affairs investigators is especially good, as is the scene with McGarrett's admonitions to Williams about the consequences of shooting someone.

*"Once Upon a Time" (Season One; February 19 and 26, 1969): Freeman, who would die after heart surgery in 1974, wrote this two-parter based on some of his experiences with medical quacks. McGarrett's sister, Mary Ann Whalen (played by Nancy Malone), is desperate to save her infant son, who is dying from leukemia. When she can't, McGarrett sets out to have the quack who took Mary Ann and hubby Tom's money prosecuted - for murder. Joanne Linville plays the evil doc. Lots of great moments in these episodes, shot mostly in Los Angeles, without a gunshot fired. Look for Beah Richards in Part 2. Look for McGarrett crying in Part 1.

*"The Singapore File" (Season Two; November 19, 1969): One of the most fun episodes of the show, in which McGarrett heads to Singapore (which was played by Honolulu after dark) to rescue witness Nicole Wylie (Marj Dusay) from a mobster intent on murder. Jack Lord has never been looser than in this episode, where McGarrett is trying to keep romance out of his relationship with Nicole.

*"Three Dead Cows at Makapuu" (Season Two; February 25 and March 4, 1970): In a season filled with fantastic shows, this two-parter about a biological terror threat was the capper, with Ed Flanders in a heartbreaking performance as scientist Alexander Kline, who is debating whether to set off the destructive force he created on Oahu. A pre-"M*A*S*H" Loretta Swit is excellent as the telephone operator who tries to help him. Joseph Sirola, the best actor to play the government bigwig Jonathan Kaye, is chilling in his defense of maintaining the biological hazard, triggering this McGarrett quote: "You people frighten me." Indeed.

*"Over Fifty? Steal!" (Season 3; November 25, 1970): Hume Cronyn is memorable as Lewis Avery Filer, the master of disguise who takes McGarrett and Five-O on a wild goose chase. There is an undertone of sadness to Filer's actions, and it's nicely counterbalanced by the humor in E. Arthur Kean's script. Watch Jack Lord play the straight man to Cronyn in a scene involving a safe.

*"To Kill Or Be Killed" (Season 3; January 13, 1971): Freeman and Anthony Lawrence's script was no doubt inspired by the reporting of the My Lai massacre in Vietnam; McGarrett and Williams - and the audience - are sad observers as a military family literally tears itself in two over the war and the actions of one of its members.

*"Rest In Peace, Somebody" (Season 4; November 16, 1971): Who's out to kill someone connected to McGarrett? And who is to be killed? Another John D.F. Black-written episode does a great job with the twists and turns of this mystery, from the shooter to the target. Suggestion: Don't watch the episode promo first; it gives away the target.

*"The Ninety-Second War, Part 1" (Season 4; January 11, 1972): One of the best of the McGarrett battles with Wo Fat (Keigh Deigh), his nemesis throughout the series, features the Five-O boss temporarily paralyzed and framed for embezzlement. His quest both to walk and to find answers is compelling. Part 2 is so-so; this is the one to watch.

*"The Clock Struck Twelve" (Season 5: December 5, 1972): Season 5 was another terrific year, capped by the Vashon trilogy, but this is a suspenseful episode about Williams' efforts to disarm two bombs placed inside the old Honolulu courthouse.

*"I'm a Family Crook - Don't Shoot!" (Season 5: December 12, 1972): The following week saw a switch from suspense to humor, as Andy Griffith played a small-time con family patriarch who messes with the mob. Carol Burnett was originally supposed to play his wife, but Joyce Van Patten does just fine in the role (including her classic quote, "You're not Errol Flynn!" when hubby considers leaping out the window).

Those episodes will give a taste of this excellent series, which proves just how good it is by what follows.

Next week, be here. Aloha.

And until then, Happy Viewing!

Week of 9/17: Aloha To a Distinguished Trio

By Sylvia Gurinsky

How strange and sad, when a new CBS show called "Hawaii Five-0" is about to debut, that three men who distinguished themselves on the original, classic series die in the same week.

The first was Morgan White, who appeared occasionally during the first season (1968-69) as Hawaii Attorney General Walter Stewart, but was beloved by Hawaii television viewers as Pogo on the "Checkers and Pogo" children's series.

Kevin McCarthy had a distinguished career as a movie and television actor, and was working up until recently - at age 96! IMDB.com lists his first television appearance in 1949 on "The Ford Theatre Hour" in "The Man Who Came To Dinner." He was a frequent performer in the live television dramas of the 1950s and had a long line of guest-starring roles on successful television series, including "The Fugitive," "Mission: Impossible," "Columbo," "The Love Boat," "Murder, She Wrote" and "Early Edition." He co-starred in three series - "Flamingo Road," "Bay City Blues" and "The Colbys."

"Five-O" fans remember him for two episodes - as forger Hunter R. Hickey in Season 9's "The Last of the Great Paperhangers," and as widow murderer Victor Reese in the series' first regular episode, "Full Fathom Five":

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7FhDGWTsUiw

Later in the week, Harold Gould, also working until recently, died.

Gould's television career started in 1961. It included two stints as the dad in a television pilot - Lou Marie in the pilot of "That Girl" (Lew Parker wound up playing the role.) and Howard Cunningham in the "Love and Happy Days" segment of "Love, American Style that was turned into "Happy Days" (in which Tom Bosley played Howard).

But the third time was the charm - as Martin Morgenstern, father of Rhoda (Valerie Harper) - first on "The Mary Tyler Moore Show," then on "Rhoda":

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lC9_YNmUbts&feature=related

Later, he played the boyfriend of Rose Nylund (Betty White) on "The Golden Girls."

His Five-O turn came in what series fan Karen Rhodes called the show's magnum opus in her "Booking Hawaii Five-O": The Vashon trilogy.

He played Honore Vashon, the second generation of a crime family that Five-O was determined to bring to justice. These scenes are from the first episode of the original three-parter, "V For Vashon: The Son":

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tmh_xd59uew

He also appeared in a followup episode, "The Case Against McGarrett."

Lots of good viewing with this trio. The first nine seasons of "Hawaii Five-O" are available on DVD, as are the first season of "Rhoda," all of Gould's appearances on "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" and "The Golden Girls" and many of McCarthy's appearances on various shows.

Aloha to all.

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See you next week. Until then, Happy Viewing!

Week of Sept. 3: Emmy Suggestion Reflects How Networks Have Fallen in Prestige Programming

By Sylvia Gurinsky

Now that the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences is looking for a new contract for the televising of the Emmy Awards, there are some downright goofy suggestions for future telecasts. The goofiest would split up the programming awards between commercial and cable television. Cable, which does most movies and miniseries, would televise those categories.

It says a lot about the mess network television has become. Remember when movies and miniseries used to be part of the prestige claims for networks? These days, with rare exceptions in hour-long series, CBS, NBC and ABC (Never mind Fox, which never aspired to the prestigious) are the equivalent of fast-food restaurants - filling and sometimes enjoyable, but hardly ever nourishing.

On the other hand, cable networks such as HBO are at the other end of the spectrum - like dinner at Elaine's, which is certainly fancy, but not affordable by everyone.

That leaves PBS, whose development of programming depends on funding from everywhere. PBS is a class act, of course, but even its long-form programming depends on the kindness of friends on both sides of the Atlantic.

The last time a commercial network movie was nominated for an Emmy was in 2008, when ABC's "A Raisin In the Sun" was tapped. The last time a network movie won an Emmy was in 2000, when the Oprah Winfrey-produced "Tuesdays With Morrie" took the statue, also for ABC. Only a handful have been nominated since 1994, when four of the five nominees were from networks (but interestingly, the HBO-produced "And the Band Played On" won that year).

As for miniseries, PBS is the only network that has seen Emmy nominations and glory since 2005, when CBS' "Elvis" was one of the nominees. ABC's "Anne Frank" was the last commercial-network miniseries to win, in 2001. The last time all miniseries nominees did not include a cable entry was 1997.

It's depressing for those who love the history of commercial television and know how good it was when it scaled the peaks. While much of what's produced on cable is excellent, it doesn't transform the landscape because it's not available to the entire television audience.

What if "Roots" had been telecast on HBO, instead of on ABC? It still would have won awards, but it wouldn't have been the revolutionary program it was, not just for the craft of television, but also for society.

One of the reasons network television is in so much trouble is that it's gotten out of the creativity business to save money. Viewers still want their imaginations stirred. But if commercial networks don't do it, they'll go elsewhere. Splitting up the Emmys won't help that. It will only reflect how far the mighty have fallen.

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YesterTube will be on hiatus next week. Enjoy Labor Day and Happy Jewish New Year to those who celebrate. Meanwhile, Happy Viewing!

Week of August 27: Rob Reiner On the Small Screen

By Sylvia Gurinsky

Long ago, Rob Reiner became a successful film director; his latest release is "Flipped," a film about pre-teen crushes.

But he's never abandoned his television roots. The son of legendary comedian Carl Reiner, Rob Reiner began his small screen success as a writer on CBS' "The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour." As a young actor, he had a number of guest-starring roles (including a memorable role as Snake on "The Partridge Family"). But he shot to stardom with:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4XNLOGrnmIw

He played Michael Stivic, a character close to his own political leanings and a constant foil for father-in-law Archie Bunker, who gave him the unceremonial nickname of "Meathead," in CBS' long-running "All In the Family," a show just as relevant today as when it went on the air 40 years ago.

The role gave Reiner two Emmy awards and a springboard to a long directing career.

Other television credits include the 1978 ABC television movie "More Than Friends," done with then-wife Penny Marshall, and "Free Country," a 1978 sitcom about Lithuanians coming to American at the start of the 20th century. He's continued to do voice-over roles on television shows such as NBC's "Frasier."

It's possible to access a comprehensive interview with Reiner about his career from the Archive of American Television at

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFEBeMFuL_M


See you next week. Until then, Happy Viewing!

Week of August 20: A Sense of Places

By Sylvia Gurinsky


The Christian Science Monitor has an article about how communities become characters in television series where they're supposed to be set:


http://www.csmonitor.com/The-Culture/TV/2010/0811/A-character-not-listed-in-TV-dramas-The-city-itself


From time to time, that can happen even when a television program isn't shot where it's set.


YesterTube takes a look at settings this week - the five best on-location shows and the five best shows at setting a location:


First, let's go travelling, in no particular order:


*Hawaii: "Hawaii Five-O," CBS, 1968-80: There's nothing the new production can do to make Hawaii look any better than the original series made it look for 12 years, and still makes it look in the DVDs. Series creator Leonard Freeman and the equally talented directors he hired (including Charles Dubin, Michael O'Herlihy and Leo Penn (father of Sean)) were able to get Hawaii's seamy and glamorous sides.


*New York City: "Law & Order," NBC, 1990-2010: New York has a sense of loss for this show, which let The Big Apple be itself, warts and all.


*Los Angeles: "Adam-12," NBC, 1969-75: Producer Jack Webb was terrific at realism, through "Dragnet" and many of his other shows - including this one, which featured two patrol officers in their often less-than-routine days.


*Miami: "Miami Vice," NBC, 1984-89: When NBC programming head Brandon Tartikoff suggested "MTV Cops" to Michael Mann and Anthony Yerkovich, the pair came up with a city on its way back from race riots and refugee resettlement. Miami during the 1980s was, indeed, a city on the verge, and the show featured its architecture and colors like nothing else.


*Everywhere: "Route 66," CBS, 1960-64: It's been forgotten just how gutsy this series was. It's still the only fictional series in television history that used all of the United States as its backlot.



Now for five series that made the California backlot look like home:


*Korea, "M*A*S*H," CBS, 1972-83: It was shot at the 20th Century Fox ranch in the mountains of Southern California, but the cast and crew really did make this look like the Korean War - complete with similar unpredictable weather and creepy-crawly creatures.


*Walnut Grove, Minnesota, "Little House On the Prairie," NBC, 1974-83: Michael Landon and Ed Friendly and company were able to take their California set back a century, to Laura Ingalls Wilder's time.


*Walton's Mountain, Virginia, "The Waltons," CBS, 1972-82: Like "Little House," this series touched hearts with its realistic portrayal of a past time - in this case, series creator Earl Hamner's youth in Depression-era Virginia.


*Washington, D.C., "The West Wing," NBC, 1999-2006: From time to time, the cast and crew would use the real Washington as their back lot. But they took a lot of Eastern influence for their genuine-looking White House set in sunny Cal. Of course, the show's West Wing had a lot more corridors than the real White House reportedly has!


*Mayberry, "The Andy Griffith Show," CBS, 1960-68: Was there ever really such a place? Perhaps just in the imagination of series creator Sheldon Leonard.


See you next week. Until then, Happy Viewing!

Week of August 13: David L. Wolper, Patricia Neal and More

By Sylvia Gurinsky


From the 1960s onward, David L. Wolper was the first name that came to mind when thoughts turned to television's biggest events.


Wolper, who died this week, produced the opening ceremonies for the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles - complete with 84 grand pianos playing George Gershwin's "Rhapsody In Blue." He also produced the 1986 Liberty Weekend, which included some of the world's biggest entertainers (back when there were many big entertainers) and President Ronald Reagan re-lighting the restored Statue of Liberty during its 100th birthday celebration.


As a television producer, Wolper shot to fame creating documentaries such as "The Making of the President: 1960," followed by a series of National Geographic specials and "The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau."


He was a champion of diversity, producing the NBC sitcom "Chico and the Man," the ABC comedy "Welcome Back, Kotter" and his crowning glory, the 1977 miniseries "Roots" - still the most-watched miniseries in television history.


The David Wolper Center at the University of Southern California features the entire collection of his work. Much of the most successful work is available on DVD. That work will remain as a lasting tribute to him.


****************************************************************************

Given her great success in film, it sometimes comes as a surprise to know that Patricia Neal, who also died this week, had a large television resume as well. During the 1950s, she was featured in such programs as CBS' "Playhouse 90" and "Omnibus." Through the years, she had guest-starring roles in such shows as "The Untouchables," "Little House On the Prairie" and "Murder, She Wrote."

Unquestionably, her crowning glory on the small screen came during the holiday season of 1971, when she starred as Olivia Walton in "The Homecoming: A Christmas Story," the predecessor to the long-running series "The Waltons."

In the series, Michael Learned, as Olivia, would successfully share the screen with Ralph Waite, as John Walton, as well as Ellen Corby (Grandma), Will Geer (Grandpa), and Richard Thomas (John-Boy). But given the plot of the pilot film (Olivia and the entire Walton family wait all day Christmas Eve for John (Andrew Duggan) to come home), the script required a dominant actress. Neal was perfect, especially in her scenes with then-18-year-old Thomas. Here's an example:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3LaDngGBoE

Neal was nominated for an Emmy, and the film was a hit that CBS would repeat for years during the holiday season. Thomas, Corby and the remaining cast of Walton children would go on to the series, and more ratings and Emmy glory.

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Fans of classic TV are also mourning the death of Lorene Yarnell, once part of the mime team Shields and Yarnell.

Yarnell was a dancer on variety shows when she met Robert Shields in 1972. The two married, were originally street performers as mimes and later went onto success, again on variety shows. CBS gave them their own show in 1977. While that show didn't last long and Shields and Yarnell would later divorce, the team created memorable characters that fans still enjoy.

Here are two of them, the Clinkers, saying "Good Morning."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=km1QRnzIKpI

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Finally, "At the Movies" is coming to an end after 35 years.

It's a quiet end, but its peak years, of course, were when film critics Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times and Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune were doing the weekly reviews. After Siskel died of cancer in 1999, Ebert teamed with Sun-Times columnist Richard Roeper until Ebert got sick. They had a falling-out with producing company Disney, and the show went through assorted hosts after that.

Here's a Siskel and Ebert review from 1989, of a certain Kevin Costner film about a farmer plowing his corn to build a baseball field. Yep, they disagreed about the classic "Field of Dreams":

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1gLX2t5GEc

But like "Field of Dreams," Siskel and Ebert were magic together on "At the Movies." So sorry the balcony is closed.

See you next week. Until then, Happy Viewing!

Week of Aug. 6: Presidential Themes

By Sylvia Gurinsky

This week included President Barack Obama's 49th birthday and the summer session for the Television Critics Association to hear about - and write about - new television shows for fall.

One has nothing to do with the other, but it's fun to combine the two purposes and recall past television series with presidential themes. Here are four, from least successful to most successful:

*"Nancy": This should have been successful, because it was a good idea: A small-town veterinarian from Iowa, played by John Fink, meets the president's daughter, played by Renne Jarrett. Courtship and marriage ensue. Good ratings didn't, however. The most famous alumnus of the show is Academy Award winner Celeste Holm, who played Abby Townsend, the First Lady's press secretary. Holm would later be featured on the CBS show "Promised Land."

"Nancy," which ran on NBC in 1970-71, lasted just 17 episodes, not even long enough to introduce actors as the First Couple. Curiously, it produced a book, which is a collector's item.

Interestingly, "Nancy" was cancelled just as the public started hearing about the upcoming real-life wedding of Tricia Nixon, the oldest daughter of President Richard Nixon, to Harvard law student Edward Cox.

*"Hail To the Chief": This show, which ran on ABC in 1985, was disgraceful, wasting the talents of Patty Duke as President Julia Mansfield and Ted Bessell ("That Girl") as her philandering husband, as well as character actors like Richard Paul ("Carter Country"), Pat Hingle ("Murphy Brown"), Rose Marie ("The Dick Van Dyke Show") and Herschel Bernardi. Mercifully, it lasted just seven episodes. It was created by the same folks who were responsible for "Soap," "Benson," "The Golden Girls" and "Empty Nest," but there was no magic to this one.

*"Commander In Chief": What a lost opportunity this one was. This show, which starred Academy Award winner Geena Davis as President Mackenzie Allen and Donald Sutherland as House Speaker Nathan Templeton, started so well in 2005; it was created by Rod Lurie, who had successfully explored the presidential theme in the film "The Contender."

But an impatient ABC pushed out Lurie because he was having trouble adjusting to the television schedule. Rather than getting him some help, they replaced him with Steven Bochco, who is much better at police shows than presidential shows. That move effectively ruined the series, as Bochco changed the tone.

Though Davis won a Golden Globe and was nominated for an Emmy, the show's ratings sagged with all the changes, and it lasted just one season. It is available on DVD.

*"The West Wing": The absolute gold standard, and one of the finest dramas in commercial television history.

Aaron Sorkin, John Wells and Thomas Schlamme were the creators of this show, which ran on NBC from 1999-2006, and the original intent was to look simply behind the scenes at the White House staff - including John Spencer as Chief of Staff Leo McGarry; Bradley Whitford as Assistant Chief of Staff Josh Lyman; Richard Schiff as Communications Director Toby Ziegler; Rob Lowe as his deputy, Sam Seaborn; Allison Janney as Press Secretary C.J. Cregg and at the beginning, Moira Kelly as strategist Mandy Hampton.

But then President Josiah Bartlet, played by Martin Sheen, entered during the last scene of the first episode, and the dynamic was altered; Sheen was so good (and should have won an Emmy, which he never did) that he got a much bigger role.

The show sagged somewhat after Sorkin's departure at the end of Season 4, but picked up a bit during its seventh, and last season, as Congressman Matt Santos (Jimmy Smits) and Senator Arnold Vinick (Alan Alda) ran for the chance to succeed Bartlet. Vinick was modeled after Sen. John McCain, and Santos was reportedly modeled after a new United States senator named Barack Obama.

"The West Wing" wound up with 26 Emmys - not to mention a lot of miles walked around those fictional White House corridors.

I'll end with some classic West Wing, when Josh pinch-hit at a press conference for C.J., who had a root canal:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oG5AwvS5WFQ&feature=related

See you next week. Until then, Happy Viewing!

Week of July 30: Happy 70th, Bugs Bunny!

By Sylvia Gurinsky

"What's up, Doc?"

Fans of Bugs Bunny know the answer: It's the 70th birthday for the carrot- and mischief-loving wascally wabbit (to quote Elmer Fudd).

Bugs Bunny became an almost instant movie star during the 1940s, with cartoons that spoofed everything from opera to politics. It was inevitable that the character would head to television.

In 1960, "The Bugs Bunny Show" began on ABC, featuring old "Looney Tunes" skits from film and new ones created for the show. Some variation of a Bugs Bunny or Looney Tunes program featuring Bugs Bunny, Elmer Fudd, Daffy Duck and the rest of the gang would continue to run on television into the 21st century. Bugs and the other characters were also featured prominently through the early years of the WB network during the 1990s.

For most of the first 50 years of his existence, Bugs Bunny and many of his Looney Tunes cohorts were voiced by Mel Blanc, who also found fame in front of the cameras on "The Jack Benny Show." Blanc died in 1989.

Bugs has since been played by assorted voice actors, the latest being Sam Vincent. In 2002, Bugs Bunny was TV Guide's choice as the best cartoon character of all time.

Happy Birthday, Bugs! Thank goodness you didn't take that turn at Albuquerque.

**************************************************************************

Larry Keith died this week.

Keith worked in theater and television almost up to his death. His most famous role was as Nick Davis on ABC's "All My Children." Here he is in a scene from the earliest episodes, in 1970, with Frances Heflin as Mona Kane and a kid named Susan Lucci as her troublesome daughter, Erica. Got to watch out for that one:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9_QFqGv3W8

**************************************************************************

See you next week. Until then, Happy Viewing!

Week of July 23: Revisiting "Baseball"

By Sylvia Gurinsky

Recently, PBS rebroadcast Parts (or Innings) 5, 6 and 7 of Ken Burns' 1994 documentary, "Baseball." It was something of a lead-in to "The Tenth Inning," which covers the last two decades and will air September 28.

But the entire series, which is available on DVD, is worth another look. It begins with "Our Game," which was not invented by Abner Doubleday in Cooperstown, N.Y., but may have had its origins during the 1700s, or may have evolved from a British game called Rounders, or maybe something else. In any case, "Our Game" covers the 1800s in baseball.

"Baseball" is OK as history (For those who don't know the game, it's a good introduction, but there are some mistakes and some overemphasis on certain historians and commentators), but at its best as social commentary, tracking the history of the major leagues' exclusion of blacks until Jackie Robinson suited up for the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947. That story is told in "The National Pasttime," and sources include Robinson's widow, Rachel. That was one of the three parts ("Shadow Ball" and "The Capitol of Baseball" were the other two) in the PBS rebroadcast.

The original series was narrated by the great NBC newsman John Chancellor. "The Tenth Inning" will be narrated by actor Keith David, who narrated the Burns documentary "The War."

The 1994 airing proved something of a salve to baseball fans infuriated by the strike that cancelled that year's World Series. When the ratings were in, 42 million viewers had watched.

That strike, the Steroid Era, the Red Sox' two world championships and Cal Ripken's setting of the all-time record for consecutive games will be part of "The Tenth Inning."

And no, the Chicago Cubs still haven't won a World Series since 1908.

See you next week. Until then, Happy Viewing!

Week of July 16: We Love Desi, Too

By Sylvia Gurinsky

Recently, Miamians got to enjoy a concert called "Babalu" and devoted to - who else? - Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball. The show was created by and features their children, Lucie Arnaz and Desi Arnaz, Jr.

One of the treats of watching "I Love Lucy," besides the comedy, was the chance to watch Desi Arnaz' musical performances. He spent years on the road performing many of them before he had the chance to display his singing and drumming talents on the show:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rAV3bOJaQuY

Interestingly, what we know today as the introduction for the show, with the iconic theme song, only came about when the show was repeated after the series had ended its run in 1957. The song "I Love Lucy," written by Harold Adamson and Eliot Daniel, would not be presented on the show until close to the end of the second season, when Ricky Ricardo would sing it to his wife during the episode "Lucy's Last Birthday."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7fn7PKzf5tk

The most moving moment on this comedy came in "Lucy is Enceinte," which is about......well, just watch and you'll remember:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6UPbOtpM5OQ

It staggers the imagination that next year will be the 60th anniversary of the premiere of "I Love Lucy." People will still enjoy it 600 million years from now. Now that's a classic.

*************************************************************************

George Steinbrenner, the New York Yankees owner since 1973, died this week at age 80. Among his television appearances were two great commercials: One for Miller Lite Beer with Billy Martin, his many-times-hired-and-fired manager:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_zDcQV6_6k

And one in 2002 with Yankee star Derek Jeter for Visa:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yH7BaQEguYs

So long to one of a kind.

Week of July 2: All-American Entertainment

By Sylvia Gurinsky

It's almost Independence Day. And what could be more American than the Beaver, Wonder Woman and the Boston Pops?

All three have been in the news.

*The entire series of "Leave It To Beaver" was released in a box set this week. Today, people often poke fun at the sunny (and not too diverse) depiction of the life of the Cleaver family in the show that ran on CBS, then ABC from 1957-63, but it remains popular - probably because of that optimistic outlook. Quite a few of the things that happened to Theodore "Beaver" Cleaver (played by Jerry Mathers) were based on real-life incidents of the children of series producers Joe Connelly and Bob Mosher.

Certainly, Mathers, Tony Dow (Wally Cleaver), Ken Osmond (Eddie Haskell) and the rest of the young cast have provided fine examples in the years since of child and teen actors who grew up to have happy, fulfilling lives.

*"Wonder Woman" has been in the news this week because DC Comics is giving the character a clothing makeover. It's a good chance to take a look at how the character has been portrayed on television.

Three probably stand above all:

-The first is in animated form, as part of the ABC series "Super Friends." Shannon Farnon, a character and voice actress whose sister is Charmian Carr (who played Liesel in "The Sound of Music"), did the voice of "Wonder Woman" during the 1970s and 80s.

-In 1974, ABC would air a television movie - and potential pilot - called "Wonder Woman," starring Cathy Lee Crosby ("That's Incredible") and Ricardo Montalban. Some may wince at a blonde title character, and the film wasn't widely embraced. But......

-One of those who auditioned for the role in the ABC film was a young actress named Lynda Carter. The network didn't forget, and cast her as the lead in "The New Adventures of Wonder Woman" a year later. She's been the quintessential Wonder Woman so far.

Working with her on the show, which ran on ABC and CBS from 1975-79, was Lyle Waggoner, who had been part of "The Carol Burnett Show." Another cast member was Debra Winger, who played Drusilla, the sister of Wonder Woman's alter ego Diana Prince; Winger would later win an Academy Award for "Terms of Endearment."

The entire series is available on DVD.


*Finally, the Boston Pops, which is celebrating its 125th anniversary, has become a summer tradition; while CBS currently carries the orchestra's July 4 concerts, the Pops made their national name via "Evening at Pops" on PBS, which ran from 1970-2005 (Blame parent Boston Symphony Orchestra for not continuing to fund the telecasts.) and featured the three men who have been the orchestra's official conductors: Arthur Fiedler, John Williams and Keith Lockhart.

The program has featured a Who's Who of classical, popular and jazz music for the last half-century. Incidentally, during the Fiedler and Williams years, one of the orchestra's primary arrangers was Morton Stevens - composer of the theme for "Hawaii Five-O."

Here's a link to Williams conducting John Phillip Souza's "Stars and Stripes Forever" in a 1980 performance (alas, in Tokyo, and not from "Evening at Pops," but what the heck):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aqh4hksjAdA

See you in two weeks! Until then, Happy Independence Day and Happy Viewing!

Week of June 25: Judy and Television

By Sylvia Gurinsky

Judy.

Nothing more needs to be said beyond that first name. Judy Garland is a star who transcends everything else; that's just as true today, 41 years after her tragic, premature death at the age of 46, as it ever was during her career.

The release this week of a special edition of the 1954 film "A Star Is Born" refocuses the spotlight on Garland's career - not that it's ever been off. Garland began working in show business as a little girl, became a star at 16 with "The Wizard of Oz" and has always glittered, despite her personal troubles.

The "Star Is Born" extras include a television special broadcast - live - of the Hollywood premiere of the film in 1954. Ironically, after that film, which gave Garland a comeback story and probably should have given her an Oscar, Garland would do much more television work than film work.

Garland was a frequent guest on variety and talk shows during the 1950s and 60s. The centerpiece is "The Judy Garland Show," which ran for just 25 episodes on CBS in 1963-64.

Putting Garland in her own variety show was a good idea on paper. Its production crew included two people - assistant costume designer Bob Mackie and choreographer Ernie Flatt - who would go on to the great success of "The Carol Burnett Show," also on CBS.

But though the variety format worked well for such people as Andy Williams, Perry Como and Danny Kaye, Garland had problems. The chief problems were squabbles among CBS executives, the show's producers - there were four, including George Schlatter (later to produce NBC's "Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In") and Norman Jewison (later to find fame as a film director) - and Garland's then-husband, Sid Luft. The format would shift from mainly music to mainly humor and back again. Worst of all, the show was competing against NBC's "Bonanza." Garland never had a chance.

But the show is a treasure. Garland worked with some show-business legends, including her old film partner, Mickey Rooney; comedian Bob Newhart; singers Lena Horne, Peggy Lee, Tony Bennett, Steve Lawrence, Mel Torme, Bobby Darin, Ethel Merman and a 21-year-old kid named Barbra Streisand.

Garland also worked with her own kids - Lorna Luft, Joey Luft and their big sister, Liza Minnelli, who has gone on to some pretty great success herself.

In a show taped after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, Garland gave a moving tribute with "The Battle Hymn of the Republic":

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4Xz7WV_qJs

The shows have been released in spits and spurts on DVD, and they're very much worth having. Also worth having is "Judy Garland: The Concert Years," a documentary first shown on PBS during the 1980s and narrated by Lorna Luft (It appears the DVD currently for sale has about 30 minutes chopped off from the original broadcast, so grab an old VHS version, if possible, and get it transferred.). The full documentary includes lots of clips from the CBS program. It also includes a memorable television recording of "Over the Rainbow," in a 1955 special:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8UWNv4wkb0

Catch this star however you can.

See you next week. Until then, Happy Viewing!

Week of June 18: The Highest National Urgency - Oval Office Addresses

By Sylvia Gurinsky

President Barack Obama delivered his first televised address from the Oval Office of the White House this week, about the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. It brings to mind the significance of the location, and of some of the televised speeches that have been delivered there.

President Dwight D. Eisenhower may have been the first president to deliver a televised address from that location, and it was a major one: He dealt with the matter of sending federal troops to Arkansas to make sure Central High School in Little Rock followed the law and was integrated.

Above all, there are three televised speeches that are most remembered and still discussed by scholars today.

*The first was delivered by President John F. Kennedy Oct. 22, 1962, during the Cuban Missile Crisis, after Press Secretary Pierre Salinger had said Kennedy would make an announcement "of the highest national urgency."

In his speech, Kennedy revealed to the public the presence of Soviet missiles in Cuba, announced a "quarantine" of all Soviet ships and stressed that "It shall be the policy of this nation to regard any nuclear missile launched from Cuba against any nation in the Western Hemisphere as an attack by the Soviet Union on the United States, requiring a full retaliatory response upon the Soviet Union."

Fortunately, it never came to that; Soviet Chairman Nikita Khrushchev agreed to withdraw the missiles.


*The second speech was delivered by President Lyndon Johnson March 31, 1968, when the Vietnam War was tearing at the nation. Most of the speech was about Vietnam, but five paragraphs from the end came a surprising announcement:

"I shall not seek, and I will not accept, the nomination of my party for another term as your President."

It was the first of numerous earth-shattering events of 1968.


*The third speech was delivered by the president who succeeded Johnson, Richard Nixon, Aug. 8, 1974. To no one's surprise after the turmoil of the Watergate scandal, Nixon was announcing his resignation. He said he did not have a strong enough political base to continue:

"I have never been a quitter. To leave office before my term is completed is abhorrent to every instinct in my body. But as President, I must put the interests of America first."

Nixon announced he would resign at noon the following day, and Vice President Gerald Ford "will be sworn in as President, at that hour, in this office."

All three speeches, as well as other Oval Office speeches, are available online.

*******************************************************************************

This week, Jimmy Dean died. Dean, a country singer, made a fortune with his sausages and other breakfast products, and made a name for himself on television, too.

"The Jimmy Dean Show" achieved its greatest success on ABC during the 1960s. Dean's folksy humor and variety of music and comedy helped the network, which was then running a distant third to CBS and NBC. Some have credited him with helping to bring country music to a new generation with the show.

He also helped one other person - Jim Henson, whose Muppets were a staple of variety shows. While Kermit the Frog is the most famous Muppet, Rowlf, the adorable dog with the floppy ears (and my mother's favorite Muppet) became a star on Dean's show.

Here's a clip, via YouTube (Note: Despite the name of my blog, I have no YouTube connection.), from "The World of the Muppets," featuring Dean and Rowlf, along with interviews with Frank Oz and Jane Henson. Enjoy:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EKTbq5_L1dA

See you next week. Until then, Happy Viewing!

Week of June 11: Listen To the Sound of The Partridge Family

By Sylvia Gurinsky

The current popularity of music-oriented programs such as Fox's "Glee" and "American Idol" recalls the most successful program that had music as an engine - "The Partridge Family."

Created by Bernard Slade, who wrote for "Bewitched" and helped create "The Flying Nun," "The Partridge Family" ran for four seasons (1970-74) and 96 episodes on ABC. It was loosely based on the experiences of the Cowsills, a real-life family band. At one point, the Cowsills were targeted to star in a series, but for various reasons (including the fact that Shirley Jones had already been cast as the mother), they didn't.

Jones, already a movie star and Academy Award winner for "Elmer Gantry," was cast - as Connie Partridge, according to the 1970 fall preview issue of TV Guide. The name was later changed to Shirley.

David Cassidy, Jones' real-life stepson (His father, Jack Cassidy, was Jones' husband at the time; his mother is actress Evelyn Ward, who appeared on various shows during the 1950s and 60s.), was cast as Keith Partridge, the oldest son. He and the other cast members - Susan Dey (Laurie), Danny Bonaduce (Danny), Jeremy Gelbwaks (Chris) and Suzanne Crough (Tracy) were slated to lip-synch the songs, which were to be performed by the Ron Hicklin Singers and the Wrecking Crew. Jones, known for her gorgeous voice from the Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals "Oklahoma" and "Carousel," would also sing on the soundtracks.

In fact, the two songs in the pilot ("Together/Having a Ball" and "Let the Good Times In") were performed that way. But something funny happened on the way to success: Slade and company discovered David Cassidy could sing. Man, could he sing.

The show aired back-to-back with "The Brady Bunch" in ABC's successful Friday night lineup. What made it better than "Brady," besides the music, was the family's socially conscious nature and the snappy scripts, whose writers included Susan Harris ("Soap," "The Golden Girls"), Michael Leeson (creator of "The Cosby Show"), Martin Cohan ("Diff'rent Strokes") and many more. Dave Madden played Reuben Kincaid, the group's manager.

Guest stars included two of the three original "Charlie's Angels," Jacklyn Smith and Farrah Fawcett, as well as Rob Reiner (while he was playing Michael Stivic on "All In the Family"!), Bert Convy, Harry Morgan, Ray Bolger, a young Jodie Foster, Meredith Baxter, Vic Tayback ("Alice"), Arte Johnson ("Laugh-In") and on and on.......

What keeps the show beloved, above all, is the music. Wes Farrell was the music producer and wrote or co-wrote 33 songs that were heard on the series. Other composers included Paul Anka, Carol Bayer (Sager), Neil Sedaka, Tony Romeo - and David Cassidy.

"I Think I Love You," written by Romeo, was probably the biggest hit, released even before the show had its first broadcast. The music was diverse, ranging from the R & B-influenced "Bandala" (Farrell and Eddie Singleton), to the soulful "One Night Stand," (Farrell and Anka) "I'll Meet You Halfway," (Farrell and Gerry Goffin) "Every Song Is You" (Terry Cashman and Tommy West), and "Together We're Better" (Romeo and Ken Jacobson). During the run of the show, seven albums and a Christmas album were released.

Collectors continue to snap up records, lunchboxes and other artifacts from the show, including a model of that psychedelic bus (with the legendary "Careful: Nervous Mother Driving" written on the back). The bus was a 1957 Chevrolet model.

The entire series is available on DVD and there's a great website, "C'mon Get Happy" (the show's second theme song) with comprehensive information about the show and the songs:

http://www.cmongethappy.com/home.htm

Here's one of the best songs, "Point Me In the Direction of Albuquerque," written by Tony Romeo:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eekbr2EtSyg

See you next week. Until then, Happy Viewing (and singing)!

Week of June 4: Finale Of the Best Show Anywhere

By Sylvia Gurinsky

With all of the recent television finales, it seemed a good opportunity to see again the most-watched finale of all time: "Goodbye, Farewell and Amen," the last episode of "M*A*S*H."

In fact, it was the most-watched television program of all time until the Super Bowl passed it earlier this year. But "Goodbye, Farewell and Amen" wasn't the typical series ender. For one thing, it was broadcast not in May, but on Feb. 28, 1983. It ended "M*A*S*H's" 11th season; before that season, the cast had voted, 4 to 3, to take the show off the air.

(Those voting for were Alan Alda, who played Hawkeye Pierce; Mike Farrell, who played BJ Hunnicut; Loretta Swit, who played Margaret Houlihan and David Ogden Stiers, who played Charles Emerson Winchester. Those voting against - Harry Morgan, who played Colonel Sherman Potter; Jamie Farr, who played Max Klinger and William Christopher, who played Father Mulcahy - went on to star in "AfterM*A*S*H," generally regarded as one of the worst shows of all time.)

There are several subplots in "Goodbye, Farewell and Amen" including BJ's almost-trip home before the war officially ended, Father Mulcahy losing his hearing after an explosion and Hawkeye's nervous breakdown. The best and most emotional one is Winchester's attempt to train five Chinese musicians who are prisoners of war to play Mozart's Clarinet quintet, and the heartbreaking end to that saga.

Some real-life adventure was involved in the filming of the program: A brush fire destroyed much of the 20th Century Fox ranch set where "M*A*S*H" was filmed. It was written into the plot as North Korean incendiary bombs starting a fire.

The show was wrapped up with a moving final scene between best friends Hawkeye and BJ saying goodbye. Hawkeye lifted off in a chopper to show that BJ had spelled, in rocks, the word "Goodbye" - a salute not just to his buddy, but to the show's countless fans.

It hasn't been goodbye, though. "M*A*S*H," which started in syndication while it was still running on CBS, has been shown somewhere, in some form, ever since; it is likely second only to "I Love Lucy" in its success. Most of its 251 episodes, aired from 1972-83, still resonate in the mind and heart.

The best way to view it is with "The Martinis & Medicine Collection," the excellent box set that includes the entire series, virtually all post-series tributes and the 1970 film.

Abyssinia!

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Sadly, there is another death to report: Rue McClanahan, who played Vivian on CBS' "Maude" and really struck gold - Emmy and otherwise - as Blanche Devereaux on NBC's "The Golden Girls."

Here she is, with everyone on that show, including guest stars Herb Edelman and McLean Stevenson (who played Col. Henry Blake on "M*A*S*H"), in yet another funny scene:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eu5Axewy-Sg

What a treasure.

See you next week. Until then, Happy Viewing!

Week of May 28: Greetings, "Law," Linkletter and Gary Coleman

By Sylvia Gurinsky

Hello, classic television fans, and welcome to YesterTube!

Each week, YesterTube will feature tidbits, tidings and some TV clips of favorite series, specials, commercials, news programs, sports programs and more from a time when commercial television always had something interesting and enjoyable to watch. This blog will also spread the word about whether favorite shows are available on DVD or online.

Your participation is encouraged. If you have a memory of classic television, please add your comments to this blog. Keep it as clean as that classic TV usually was.

Now....on with the shows!

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NBC's "Law & Order" bowed out this week in about the same format it was introduced September 13, 1990.

Back then, the cast was all male and included Chris Noth as Detective Mike Logan, George Dzundza as Sgt. Max Greevey, Steven Hill as District Attorney Adam Schiff and Michael Moriarty as Assistant District Attorney Ben Stone. Noth would later go onto fame in cable's "Sex In the City" and is currently in CBS' "The Good Wife." Schiff starred in the first season of CBS' "Mission: Impossible." Dzundza would last only one year on "Law & Order" and be replaced by Paul Sorvino as Sgt. Phil Cerreta.

Season 4 saw the entry of two of the three cast members who would be steadying influences to the show during its glory years: Jerry Orbach, who played the memorable Detective Lenny Briscoe, and S. Epatha Merkerson, who played Lt. Anita Van Buren, supervising various police investigators for the rest of the series. The following year, Sam Waterston would join the cast as Assistant District Attorney (later DA) Jack McCoy. Waterston would also stay until the end.

Other notables who were part of the cast included Jill Hennessy (NBC's "Crossing Jordan"), Benjamin Bratt, Angie Harmon, Carey Lowell, Jesse L. Martin, Academy Award winner Dianne Wiest and former U.S. Sen. Fred Thompson, who was billed with his middle name, Dalton.

Throughout its run, the program had a similar format: During the first half, the police investigated a crime. During the second half, the prosecutors took their case to court. Sometimes they won, sometimes they lost. In rare circumstances, personal matters were involved (a cancer battle for Van Buren, McCoy's romantic relationships with colleagues, Briscoe's alcoholism).

Always, important issues were involved. The show was known for its "ripped from the headlines" mentality. Creator Dick Wolf seemed proud, in different interviews, that the program managed to make one group or another angry in certain circumstances.

Wolf deserved to be proud of the excellent writing and acting "Law & Order" had for much of its run. The show was also a matter of pride for New York, where it was filmed.

There is talk of a final movie to wrap up the series more comprehensively. For now, fans can be satisfied with reruns on cable station TNT, as well as the first seven seasons and Season 14 (No, I don't understand the math, either.), available on DVD.

I can't find the entire intro, including the spoken portion ("In the criminal justice system.....") on YouTube, but here's a link to the introduction for the first season:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TzJm9vTCff8&feature=related

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There's late-breaking news, sadly, of the death of Gary Coleman at age 42.

Coleman was a cautionary note about the perils of show business for children. He charmed television viewers as Arnold Jackson, the younger of two African-American boys adopted by millionaire Philip Drummond (Conrad Bain), on NBC's "Diff'rent Strokes" from 1978-86.

But Coleman waged lifelong battles with kidney disease and other health issues, with his own parents over career and financial control, and with an entertainment industry that never really let him grow up. His two series castmates, Todd Bridges and Dana Plato, also struggled with legal problems, drug use and depression. Plato died in 1999. Bridges seems to have overcome his earlier problems.

Here's a look from YouTube at Coleman at his best - as Arnold, in a "Diff'rent Strokes" episode that featured then-First Lady Nancy Reagan:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KlTx2cGHSh8&feature=fvsr

Rest in peace, Gary.

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When Art Linkletter held a microphone in his hand, well, kids said the darndest things:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fCHIM-bGiTI

But Linkletter did more than the "House Party" and "Kids Say the Darndest Things" programs. He participated in television coverage for both the 1955 opening and the 2005 golden anniversary of Disneyland. His 43rd birthday, July 17, 1955, was the same day as Disneyland's kickoff.

As a television host, he let his guests do the talking - and that's when both kids and adults said the darndest - and most memorable - things.

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See you next week. Until then, Happy Viewing!