By Sylvia Gurinsky
A fond farewell to Don Grady, who played Robbie Douglas, really the second of four sons (often depicted as the oldest after Tim Considine left the show) on the long-running "My Three Sons." As Robbie, Grady went from teenager to married and a father. Here's a look at the pre-fatherhood phase:
Life Begins In Katie
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Sad to say, there is late word of the death of Doris Singleton, one of the longest lasting character actresses in television history. She was probably best known as Carolyn Appleby, the friend/rival of Lucy Ricardo on "I Love Lucy."
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Before YesterTube goes off for a July 4 hiatus, let's go to the beach with Gidget (courtesy of Sally Field and Martin Milner):
Gidget and the Great Kahuna
Happy Independence Day and Happy Viewing! See you in two weeks!
Friday, June 29, 2012
Friday, June 22, 2012
Week of June 22: Abraham Lincoln, Television Star
By Sylvia Gurinsky
Well, we trust a generation of schoolchildren WON'T be thinking of the 16th president of the United States as a vampire hunter.
President Abraham Lincoln's true legacy, of course, is much different. Television has presented it numerous times, in documentary and dramatic form.
For documentaries, PBS' excellent "Abraham and Mary Lincoln: A House Divided" is top of the line. This multi-part series, from the network's "American Experience," spans Lincoln's entire life. It is available on DVD.
NBC made two docudramas about Lincoln. The first one, "Sandburg's Lincoln," based on Carl Sandburg's writing, was created in 1974, with Hal Holbrook in the role.
Holbrook, of course, is best known for his portrayal of another American legend, writer Mark Twain. He won an Emmy for his portrayal of Lincoln. Here's a clip:
Sandburg's Lincoln
Fourteen years later, the Peacock network came up with "Gore Vidal's Lincoln." Unlike the 1974 version, "Lincoln," based on Vidal's book, made somewhat less of a mark.
The reason may have been, surprisingly, the lead actor. Sam Waterston, known for great work in dramas ranging from the brief "I'll Fly Away" to the long-lasting "Law & Order," played Lincoln. He's played the president on the stage as well. But critics and the public were divided over a portrayal that deviated from long-time perceptions of Lincoln. There were also questions about accuracy.
The biggest problem may actually have been Ernest Kinoy's script. Kinoy won an Emmy for his writing on "Roots" and wrote such excellent dramas as 1981's "Skokie," about the battle over attempts by neo-Nazis to march in Skokie, Illinois. But Kinoy's adaptation of Vidal's work lacks zing.
Still, director Lamont Johnson won an Emmy for directing "Lincoln." Mary Tyler Moore was nominated for an Emmy for her portrayal of Mary Todd Lincoln.
Here's a look at Waterston's portrayal:
Gore Vidal's Lincoln
Both are also available on DVD.
********************************************************************
See you next week. Until then, Happy Viewing!
Well, we trust a generation of schoolchildren WON'T be thinking of the 16th president of the United States as a vampire hunter.
President Abraham Lincoln's true legacy, of course, is much different. Television has presented it numerous times, in documentary and dramatic form.
For documentaries, PBS' excellent "Abraham and Mary Lincoln: A House Divided" is top of the line. This multi-part series, from the network's "American Experience," spans Lincoln's entire life. It is available on DVD.
NBC made two docudramas about Lincoln. The first one, "Sandburg's Lincoln," based on Carl Sandburg's writing, was created in 1974, with Hal Holbrook in the role.
Holbrook, of course, is best known for his portrayal of another American legend, writer Mark Twain. He won an Emmy for his portrayal of Lincoln. Here's a clip:
Sandburg's Lincoln
Fourteen years later, the Peacock network came up with "Gore Vidal's Lincoln." Unlike the 1974 version, "Lincoln," based on Vidal's book, made somewhat less of a mark.
The reason may have been, surprisingly, the lead actor. Sam Waterston, known for great work in dramas ranging from the brief "I'll Fly Away" to the long-lasting "Law & Order," played Lincoln. He's played the president on the stage as well. But critics and the public were divided over a portrayal that deviated from long-time perceptions of Lincoln. There were also questions about accuracy.
The biggest problem may actually have been Ernest Kinoy's script. Kinoy won an Emmy for his writing on "Roots" and wrote such excellent dramas as 1981's "Skokie," about the battle over attempts by neo-Nazis to march in Skokie, Illinois. But Kinoy's adaptation of Vidal's work lacks zing.
Still, director Lamont Johnson won an Emmy for directing "Lincoln." Mary Tyler Moore was nominated for an Emmy for her portrayal of Mary Todd Lincoln.
Here's a look at Waterston's portrayal:
Gore Vidal's Lincoln
Both are also available on DVD.
********************************************************************
See you next week. Until then, Happy Viewing!
Friday, June 15, 2012
Week of June 15: How "Dallas" Became An International Sensation
By Sylvia Gurinsky
The saga of the Ewing family resumed this week on cable's TNT.
But no one knew what to expect when "Dallas" made its debut on CBS on April 2, 1978. (History has it as a miniseries, though this writer remembers it as a mid-season replacement. Of course, I was only 9. :)
Ratings for the story that started with Bobby Ewing (Patrick Duffy) marrying Pamela Barnes (Victoria Principal) were nothing to dance about - the first episodes finished in 44th place. But CBS was satisfied enough to allow the show to continue as a weekly series during the 1978-79 season.
Head writer David Jacobs and executive producer Leonard Katzman kept it as mostly a family drama, with stand-alone episodes, until about a third of the way through that season, when he turned the show into a soap opera, with the storylines that would send its ratings on a steady climb. It did well enough to be renewed for a third season.
The third season would turn "Dallas" into a hit, with the central focus shifting to J.R. Ewing, played by Larry Hagman. Hagman, the son of Broadway legend Mary Martin, became famous playing astronaut Anthony Nelson during the long-running NBC comedy "I Dream of Jeannie."
Prime-time television had never seen a character like J.R. - lying, scheming, cheating, manipulative. And he was the star. Larry Hagman obviously has had a ball playing the character.
Then came the end of the March 21, 1980 episode "A House Divided":
Cliffhanger
There was a presidential campaign that year, but the most asked question became, "Who Shot J.R.?"
The actors' strike of 1980 put off the answer to that question until the Nov. 7 Season 4 premiere, when Kristin Shepard, Sue Ellen's (Linda Gray) sister (played by Mary Crosby, Bing's daughter) was revealed as the shooter. Kristin herself would die in the cliffhanger at the end of Season 4, in the Southfork Ranch pool.
Incidentally, the Nov. 7, 1980 episode became the most watched television program in history until the last episode of "M*A*S*H" passed it in February, 1983. To date, it is still the second most-watched episode of a scripted (non-sports) television program.
Season 3 kicked off the golden era of "Dallas." It would dominate ratings during the first half of the 1980s and provide reliable programming for CBS on Friday nights.
"Dallas" also had an ongoing intramural competition with ABC's "Dynasty," which went on the air in 1981 with a look at various types of lying, scheming and backstabbing among a Denver oil family.
"Dallas" would also become among the most successful American television series sold overseas - and symbolic of both U.S. abundance and greed. It showed up in references in series such as Britain's "Are You Being Served?"
Another cliffhanger would bring the golden era of "Dallas" to an end - the finale of Season 8 and the start of Season 9, which revealed that Pam had dreamed about Bobby's death, her marriage to Mark Grayson (John Beck) and other plot points. The reason for the twists was that Patrick Duffy had left the show for a year and come back. But fans were so angry at the twists that many stopped watching. The twist would be spoofed - splendidly so by the finale of the same network's "Newhart," which had that series as a dream by Dr. Bob Hartley of "The Bob Newhart Show."
After the Bobby-in-the-shower twist, "Dallas" would go through a slow decline in ratings, coupled with the success of a new Friday rival - the NBC hit "Miami Vice." But "Dallas" would actually outlast "Miami Vice," as well as "Dynasty," going off the air after 14 seasons with the May 3, 1991 finale.
Arguably, "Dallas" revolutionized prime-time drama - right down to the now very-annoying habit of practically every show, be it comedy, drama or procedural, ending its season with a cliffhanger. (The CBS police show "Blue Bloods," starring Tom Selleck, is a refreshing exception.)
Barbara Bel Geddes, who played family matriarch Miss Ellie, won an Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama in 1979, and Hagman was nominated twice.
Alas, Jacobs isn't part of the TNT continuation. But it's still good to see Hagman, Duffy and Gray back in these roles.
The entire series is available on DVD.
Here's a little more classic J.R.:
J.R.
***************************************************************
See you next week. Until then, Happy Viewing!
The saga of the Ewing family resumed this week on cable's TNT.
But no one knew what to expect when "Dallas" made its debut on CBS on April 2, 1978. (History has it as a miniseries, though this writer remembers it as a mid-season replacement. Of course, I was only 9. :)
Ratings for the story that started with Bobby Ewing (Patrick Duffy) marrying Pamela Barnes (Victoria Principal) were nothing to dance about - the first episodes finished in 44th place. But CBS was satisfied enough to allow the show to continue as a weekly series during the 1978-79 season.
Head writer David Jacobs and executive producer Leonard Katzman kept it as mostly a family drama, with stand-alone episodes, until about a third of the way through that season, when he turned the show into a soap opera, with the storylines that would send its ratings on a steady climb. It did well enough to be renewed for a third season.
The third season would turn "Dallas" into a hit, with the central focus shifting to J.R. Ewing, played by Larry Hagman. Hagman, the son of Broadway legend Mary Martin, became famous playing astronaut Anthony Nelson during the long-running NBC comedy "I Dream of Jeannie."
Prime-time television had never seen a character like J.R. - lying, scheming, cheating, manipulative. And he was the star. Larry Hagman obviously has had a ball playing the character.
Then came the end of the March 21, 1980 episode "A House Divided":
Cliffhanger
There was a presidential campaign that year, but the most asked question became, "Who Shot J.R.?"
The actors' strike of 1980 put off the answer to that question until the Nov. 7 Season 4 premiere, when Kristin Shepard, Sue Ellen's (Linda Gray) sister (played by Mary Crosby, Bing's daughter) was revealed as the shooter. Kristin herself would die in the cliffhanger at the end of Season 4, in the Southfork Ranch pool.
Incidentally, the Nov. 7, 1980 episode became the most watched television program in history until the last episode of "M*A*S*H" passed it in February, 1983. To date, it is still the second most-watched episode of a scripted (non-sports) television program.
Season 3 kicked off the golden era of "Dallas." It would dominate ratings during the first half of the 1980s and provide reliable programming for CBS on Friday nights.
"Dallas" also had an ongoing intramural competition with ABC's "Dynasty," which went on the air in 1981 with a look at various types of lying, scheming and backstabbing among a Denver oil family.
"Dallas" would also become among the most successful American television series sold overseas - and symbolic of both U.S. abundance and greed. It showed up in references in series such as Britain's "Are You Being Served?"
Another cliffhanger would bring the golden era of "Dallas" to an end - the finale of Season 8 and the start of Season 9, which revealed that Pam had dreamed about Bobby's death, her marriage to Mark Grayson (John Beck) and other plot points. The reason for the twists was that Patrick Duffy had left the show for a year and come back. But fans were so angry at the twists that many stopped watching. The twist would be spoofed - splendidly so by the finale of the same network's "Newhart," which had that series as a dream by Dr. Bob Hartley of "The Bob Newhart Show."
After the Bobby-in-the-shower twist, "Dallas" would go through a slow decline in ratings, coupled with the success of a new Friday rival - the NBC hit "Miami Vice." But "Dallas" would actually outlast "Miami Vice," as well as "Dynasty," going off the air after 14 seasons with the May 3, 1991 finale.
Arguably, "Dallas" revolutionized prime-time drama - right down to the now very-annoying habit of practically every show, be it comedy, drama or procedural, ending its season with a cliffhanger. (The CBS police show "Blue Bloods," starring Tom Selleck, is a refreshing exception.)
Barbara Bel Geddes, who played family matriarch Miss Ellie, won an Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama in 1979, and Hagman was nominated twice.
Alas, Jacobs isn't part of the TNT continuation. But it's still good to see Hagman, Duffy and Gray back in these roles.
The entire series is available on DVD.
Here's a little more classic J.R.:
J.R.
***************************************************************
See you next week. Until then, Happy Viewing!
Friday, June 8, 2012
Week of June 8: Ray Bradbury and Richard Dawson
By Sylvia Gurinsky
Ray Bradbury and Richard Dawson. One influenced the public view, while the other simply had fun with the public.
Ray Bradbury, who died this week at 91, was one of this country's most prolific science fiction writers. He took that talent to television during the medium's infancy. He wrote for everything from "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" to his own anthology series (which aired on cable).
Here's a clip from a "Twilight Zone" episode, "I Sing the Body Electric," Bradbury wrote in 1962:
Twilight Zone
*********************************************************************
Richard Dawson came to prominence as Corporal Peter Newkirk on the CBS comedy series "Hogan's Heroes." During the early 1970s, he alternated guest starring spots on television series and game shows.
Then, in 1976, Goodson/Todman Productions tapped him as the host of a new game show in which families competed to come up with the most popular answers to questions asked in general polls. "Family Feud" was successful during the next decade, both on ABC Daytime and in syndication.
Subsequent editions have been produced. But Dawson's version was immortalized by two items: His "Survey Says" and his kissing of the female guests.
Here's a 1981 show, and watch Gretchen Johnson, in the blue print dress. Dawson did "ask her first": She later became his wife:
Family Feud
**********************************************************************
See you next week. Until then, Happy Viewing!
Ray Bradbury and Richard Dawson. One influenced the public view, while the other simply had fun with the public.
Ray Bradbury, who died this week at 91, was one of this country's most prolific science fiction writers. He took that talent to television during the medium's infancy. He wrote for everything from "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" to his own anthology series (which aired on cable).
Here's a clip from a "Twilight Zone" episode, "I Sing the Body Electric," Bradbury wrote in 1962:
Twilight Zone
*********************************************************************
Richard Dawson came to prominence as Corporal Peter Newkirk on the CBS comedy series "Hogan's Heroes." During the early 1970s, he alternated guest starring spots on television series and game shows.
Then, in 1976, Goodson/Todman Productions tapped him as the host of a new game show in which families competed to come up with the most popular answers to questions asked in general polls. "Family Feud" was successful during the next decade, both on ABC Daytime and in syndication.
Subsequent editions have been produced. But Dawson's version was immortalized by two items: His "Survey Says" and his kissing of the female guests.
Here's a 1981 show, and watch Gretchen Johnson, in the blue print dress. Dawson did "ask her first": She later became his wife:
Family Feud
**********************************************************************
See you next week. Until then, Happy Viewing!
Friday, June 1, 2012
Week of June 1: I Want My MeTV
By Sylvia Gurinsky
Not since the classic Nick at Nite of the 1990s has retro television been so good.
A few years ago, Tribune-owned Antenna TV went on the air with classic television shows. Now, MeTV - owned by Weigel Broadcasting and distributed by MGM - is spreading throughout the country as well.
Antenna TV has a nice combination of shows, including "The Burns and Allen Show," "Adam-12," "All in the Family," "WKRP in Cincinnati" and "NewsRadio," to name a few.
MeTV, which stands for "Memorable Entertainment Television," is even better. Its selections include "The Mary Tyler Moore Show," "The Bob Newhart Show," "Bonanza," "Hawaii Five-O" (the real, original one), "Perry Mason," "The Rockford Files," "I Love Lucy" and more.
It's addictive. Since it appeared in my community a few weeks ago, many people have started watching.
Here's the website:
MeTV
See you next week. Until then, Happy Viewing!
Not since the classic Nick at Nite of the 1990s has retro television been so good.
A few years ago, Tribune-owned Antenna TV went on the air with classic television shows. Now, MeTV - owned by Weigel Broadcasting and distributed by MGM - is spreading throughout the country as well.
Antenna TV has a nice combination of shows, including "The Burns and Allen Show," "Adam-12," "All in the Family," "WKRP in Cincinnati" and "NewsRadio," to name a few.
MeTV, which stands for "Memorable Entertainment Television," is even better. Its selections include "The Mary Tyler Moore Show," "The Bob Newhart Show," "Bonanza," "Hawaii Five-O" (the real, original one), "Perry Mason," "The Rockford Files," "I Love Lucy" and more.
It's addictive. Since it appeared in my community a few weeks ago, many people have started watching.
Here's the website:
MeTV
See you next week. Until then, Happy Viewing!
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