David Krell
Return of Television Legends
July 03, 2010
by David Krell
david@davidkrell.com
In the 1986 song Modern Woman, Billy Joel sings, And after 1986, what else could be new?
Nothing if you consider the return of two television legends to the small screen
Their television personas were extraordinarily familiar to us.
Andy Griffith appeared as Atlanta-based attorney Ben Matlock in Matlock. The show aired on NBC from 1986 to 1992 and then switched to ABC where it aired from 1992 to 1995.
Matlock was a Harvard-educated but folksy defense attorney who had strong friendships with his staff and opposing counsel.
In the spring of 1986, Griffith reprised his hallmark role of Sheriff Andy Taylor in the NBC tv-movie Return To Mayberry. Its tremendous success, nostalgic appeal, and safe familiarity undoubtedly influenced NBC and Griffith to find a new but familiar television vehicle for him.
Simply, Matlock is Perry Mason by way of Sheriff Andy Taylor.
Former Andy Griffith Show co-stars Aneta Corsaut and Don Knotts made guest appearances on Matlock.
Unfortunately, Lucille Ball did not fare so well in the Fall of 1986.
She returned to television with the sitcom Life with Lucy on ABC. Co-starring with Ball was her familiar foil, Gale Gordon. He played her in-law. On the show, the daughter of Ball’s character was married to the son of Gordon’s character.
Life With Lucy only lasted a couple of months.
Aaron Spelling produced Life with Lucy with Douglas Cramer and E. Duke Vincent. The sitcom starring an aging but appealing legend contrasted with Spelling’s shows based in adventure, glitz, and glamour. Vega$. Charlie’s Angels. Hotel. The Love Boat. Hart to Hart.
During the mid-1980’s, nostalgia abounded. In the 1985 box office blockbuster Back to the Future, the story recaptured a slice of life in 1955, complete with fashion, music, and popular culture indicators.
Return to Mayberry recalled a simpler time when a transistor radio was the groundbreaking technology achievement for teenagers compared to the 1980’s Sony Walkman or today’s iPod.
Life with Lucy brought back the biggest comedienne of the 20th century in a pre-TGIF family sitcom.
Lucy was a grandmother in the show, not the young or middle-aged housewife or mother we remembered fondly from decades past. Was the show a mistake? Were the physical antics of a 75 year-old woman frightening rather than entertaining for the audience?
Maybe. Maybe not.
But there’s nothing wrong with bringing back a legend to recapture previous glory. The failure of Life With Lucy doesn’t make Ms. Ball’s work on the program any less significant compared to her other work on more popular shows.
She was, indeed, the same Lucy. She gave 1000 percent for her fellow castmates and the audience.
As Peter Allen once sang, Quiet please. There’s a lady on the stage. She may not be the latest rage. But she’s singing. And she means it.
david@davidkrell.com
In the 1986 song Modern Woman, Billy Joel sings, And after 1986, what else could be new?
Nothing if you consider the return of two television legends to the small screen
Their television personas were extraordinarily familiar to us.
Andy Griffith appeared as Atlanta-based attorney Ben Matlock in Matlock. The show aired on NBC from 1986 to 1992 and then switched to ABC where it aired from 1992 to 1995.
Matlock was a Harvard-educated but folksy defense attorney who had strong friendships with his staff and opposing counsel.
In the spring of 1986, Griffith reprised his hallmark role of Sheriff Andy Taylor in the NBC tv-movie Return To Mayberry. Its tremendous success, nostalgic appeal, and safe familiarity undoubtedly influenced NBC and Griffith to find a new but familiar television vehicle for him.
Simply, Matlock is Perry Mason by way of Sheriff Andy Taylor.
Former Andy Griffith Show co-stars Aneta Corsaut and Don Knotts made guest appearances on Matlock.
Unfortunately, Lucille Ball did not fare so well in the Fall of 1986.
She returned to television with the sitcom Life with Lucy on ABC. Co-starring with Ball was her familiar foil, Gale Gordon. He played her in-law. On the show, the daughter of Ball’s character was married to the son of Gordon’s character.
Life With Lucy only lasted a couple of months.
Aaron Spelling produced Life with Lucy with Douglas Cramer and E. Duke Vincent. The sitcom starring an aging but appealing legend contrasted with Spelling’s shows based in adventure, glitz, and glamour. Vega$. Charlie’s Angels. Hotel. The Love Boat. Hart to Hart.
During the mid-1980’s, nostalgia abounded. In the 1985 box office blockbuster Back to the Future, the story recaptured a slice of life in 1955, complete with fashion, music, and popular culture indicators.
Return to Mayberry recalled a simpler time when a transistor radio was the groundbreaking technology achievement for teenagers compared to the 1980’s Sony Walkman or today’s iPod.
Life with Lucy brought back the biggest comedienne of the 20th century in a pre-TGIF family sitcom.
Lucy was a grandmother in the show, not the young or middle-aged housewife or mother we remembered fondly from decades past. Was the show a mistake? Were the physical antics of a 75 year-old woman frightening rather than entertaining for the audience?
Maybe. Maybe not.
But there’s nothing wrong with bringing back a legend to recapture previous glory. The failure of Life With Lucy doesn’t make Ms. Ball’s work on the program any less significant compared to her other work on more popular shows.
She was, indeed, the same Lucy. She gave 1000 percent for her fellow castmates and the audience.
As Peter Allen once sang, Quiet please. There’s a lady on the stage. She may not be the latest rage. But she’s singing. And she means it.
Space Craze of the 1960's
July 03, 2010
by David Krell
david@davidkrell.com
NASA’s Golden Age of Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo during the 1960’s inspired television decision makers to use space as a theme.
I Dream of Jeannie featured Larry Hagman as Tony Nelson, an astronaut in the starring male role. Several scenes featured Captain (later Major) Nelson’s job responsibilities at Cape Canaveral, known as Cape Kennedy from 1963 to 1973. Nelson lived in a small house in Cocoa Beach with Jeannie, a beautiful blonde genie played by Barbara Eden who couldn’t stop herself form trying to help her master. Nelson met Jeannie after his space capsule splashed down and he washed up on the beach. He found her bottle, opened it, and out came Jeannie. He rescued her and she served him as payback. Eventually, they married.
Set in the future, Star Trek explored worlds, universes, and planets. The U.S.S. Enterprise went where no man had gone before. Essentially Wagon Train in space, Star Trek showcased the adventures of the Enterprise staff. The episodes were often allegories about peace, war, brotherhood, and racism.
Lost In Space showed us a space launch gone awry. A space takeoff on Swiss Family Robinson, Lost In Space depicted weekly adventures of the Robinson family on strange planets. Initially, the Robinsons’ mission is to colonize space for the United States. A foreign agent, Dr. Zachary Smith, caused the Robinson’s space craft to malfunction. His efforts backfire as he can’t leave the space craft before it launches. Smith becomes the comic relief, foil, and wacky neighbor character.
The Twilight Zone had episodes with a space theme. The Little People tells a lesson about bullying.
Astronauts William Fletcher and Peter Craig encounter a malfunction with their space ship, so they land on a planet to make repairs. Craig discovers an area inhabited by people who are the size of ants. He destroys their property and declares himself their god. He forces them to build a statue of him. Fletcher finishes repairing the space craft but Craig wants to stay. You reap what you sow. Two giant explorers from another planet are repairing their ship. One accidentally kills Craig. The “little people”are ecstatic and they bring the statue down.
david@davidkrell.com
NASA’s Golden Age of Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo during the 1960’s inspired television decision makers to use space as a theme.
I Dream of Jeannie featured Larry Hagman as Tony Nelson, an astronaut in the starring male role. Several scenes featured Captain (later Major) Nelson’s job responsibilities at Cape Canaveral, known as Cape Kennedy from 1963 to 1973. Nelson lived in a small house in Cocoa Beach with Jeannie, a beautiful blonde genie played by Barbara Eden who couldn’t stop herself form trying to help her master. Nelson met Jeannie after his space capsule splashed down and he washed up on the beach. He found her bottle, opened it, and out came Jeannie. He rescued her and she served him as payback. Eventually, they married.
Set in the future, Star Trek explored worlds, universes, and planets. The U.S.S. Enterprise went where no man had gone before. Essentially Wagon Train in space, Star Trek showcased the adventures of the Enterprise staff. The episodes were often allegories about peace, war, brotherhood, and racism.
Lost In Space showed us a space launch gone awry. A space takeoff on Swiss Family Robinson, Lost In Space depicted weekly adventures of the Robinson family on strange planets. Initially, the Robinsons’ mission is to colonize space for the United States. A foreign agent, Dr. Zachary Smith, caused the Robinson’s space craft to malfunction. His efforts backfire as he can’t leave the space craft before it launches. Smith becomes the comic relief, foil, and wacky neighbor character.
The Twilight Zone had episodes with a space theme. The Little People tells a lesson about bullying.
Astronauts William Fletcher and Peter Craig encounter a malfunction with their space ship, so they land on a planet to make repairs. Craig discovers an area inhabited by people who are the size of ants. He destroys their property and declares himself their god. He forces them to build a statue of him. Fletcher finishes repairing the space craft but Craig wants to stay. You reap what you sow. Two giant explorers from another planet are repairing their ship. One accidentally kills Craig. The “little people”are ecstatic and they bring the statue down.
These Were Their Stories
May 25, 2010
by David Krell
david@davidkrell.com
“Appointment television” may be defined as the need to be home when a television show airs to ensure we capture every second of the show.
In a Hulu-You Tube-On Demand universe, appointment television in the strictest sense is no longer necessary. We’ll still seek quality, although the viewing time is in our hands. We need to make the appointment to watch the show, not the broadcast or cable networks. But after 24, Law & Order, and Lost, will prime time television ever be that good again?
On Sunday night, we learned that the Flash Sideways story line on Lost was really a waiting state for the dead. Our favorite characters remained there until they remembered their time on the island. Apparently, they needed to remember so they could move forward on their afterlife’s journeys.
Last night, we said goodbye to Jack Bauer. He’s on the run after triggering the exposure of a massive cover-up that reached the Oval Office, not to mention pulling the trigger to seek revenge on almost everyone involved. The cover-up killed Renee Walker, Jack’s paramour and fellow CTU agent.
We also bid adieu last night to Law & Order, one of television’s true stalwarts. With twenty years of episodes, we will easily have ample time to relive the stories of Lennie Briscoe, Mike Logan, Jack McCoy, Anita Van Buren, and the many others who dramatized true-life stories.
When a television show creator pitches a show, he or she explains the first few story lines or ‘bible.’ On Inside the Actors Studio, Dick Wolf recalled pitching L&O to Brandon Tartikoff, then the President of NBC Entertainment. When Tartikoff asked about the story bible, Wolf said that he would get his stories from the front page of the New York Post.
david@davidkrell.com
“Appointment television” may be defined as the need to be home when a television show airs to ensure we capture every second of the show.
In a Hulu-You Tube-On Demand universe, appointment television in the strictest sense is no longer necessary. We’ll still seek quality, although the viewing time is in our hands. We need to make the appointment to watch the show, not the broadcast or cable networks. But after 24, Law & Order, and Lost, will prime time television ever be that good again?
On Sunday night, we learned that the Flash Sideways story line on Lost was really a waiting state for the dead. Our favorite characters remained there until they remembered their time on the island. Apparently, they needed to remember so they could move forward on their afterlife’s journeys.
Last night, we said goodbye to Jack Bauer. He’s on the run after triggering the exposure of a massive cover-up that reached the Oval Office, not to mention pulling the trigger to seek revenge on almost everyone involved. The cover-up killed Renee Walker, Jack’s paramour and fellow CTU agent.
We also bid adieu last night to Law & Order, one of television’s true stalwarts. With twenty years of episodes, we will easily have ample time to relive the stories of Lennie Briscoe, Mike Logan, Jack McCoy, Anita Van Buren, and the many others who dramatized true-life stories.
When a television show creator pitches a show, he or she explains the first few story lines or ‘bible.’ On Inside the Actors Studio, Dick Wolf recalled pitching L&O to Brandon Tartikoff, then the President of NBC Entertainment. When Tartikoff asked about the story bible, Wolf said that he would get his stories from the front page of the New York Post.
Saturday Night Live and TV Icons
May 19, 2010
by David Krell
david@davidkrell.com
Saturday Night Live has been and continues to be a launching pad for actors to break into the movies.
Chevy Chase and Foul Play.
John Belushi and Animal House.
Eddie Murphy and 48 Hours.
Mike Myers and Wayne’s World.
Tina Fey and Mean Girls.
But Saturday Night Live is also the launching pad for television icons beyond Saturday nights in Studio 8H in Rockefeller Center.
In 1993, SNL creator and executive producer Lorne Michaels took over NBC’s Late Night franchise after David Letterman bolted for CBS. Michaels tapped Conan O’Brien to succeed Letterman. O’Brien was a writer on Saturday Night Live in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s. He hosted Late Night for sixteen years, from 1993 to 2009.
Again, Michaels need to find a Late Night host. He went to the ultimately likable Jimmy Fallon, an SNL icon who had the keystone role of a Weekend Update co-anchor with Tina Fey.
Fey created and stars in the comedy 30 Rock airing Thursday nights on NBC. Michaels’ company Broadway Video produces 30 Rock.
30 Rock, a multiple Emmy Award winner, concerns the behind-the-scenes antics of the staff at TGS or The Girlie Show, an NBC comedy-variety show, like Saturday Night Live. Fey plays Liz Lemon, the head writer. Alec Baldwin, a longtime guest host of SNL, also stars on 30 Rock. He plays NBC executive Jack Donaghy. Donaghy retools TGS by bringing in Tracy Jordan, played by Tracy Morgan in a thinly veiled depiction of his bombastic, hilarious, and affable public persona.
Another former Weekend Update anchor has a Thursday night comedy on NBC. From the team that brought you The Office, you now have Parks and Recreation starring Amy Poehler as Leslie Knope, a dedicated public servant in the fictional Pawnee, Indiana. Though idealistic about Pawnee’s Parks and Recreation Department, she encounters apathy, bureaucracy, and ignorance among her staff, the town, and other public servants.
david@davidkrell.com
Saturday Night Live has been and continues to be a launching pad for actors to break into the movies.
Chevy Chase and Foul Play.
John Belushi and Animal House.
Eddie Murphy and 48 Hours.
Mike Myers and Wayne’s World.
Tina Fey and Mean Girls.
But Saturday Night Live is also the launching pad for television icons beyond Saturday nights in Studio 8H in Rockefeller Center.
In 1993, SNL creator and executive producer Lorne Michaels took over NBC’s Late Night franchise after David Letterman bolted for CBS. Michaels tapped Conan O’Brien to succeed Letterman. O’Brien was a writer on Saturday Night Live in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s. He hosted Late Night for sixteen years, from 1993 to 2009.
Again, Michaels need to find a Late Night host. He went to the ultimately likable Jimmy Fallon, an SNL icon who had the keystone role of a Weekend Update co-anchor with Tina Fey.
Fey created and stars in the comedy 30 Rock airing Thursday nights on NBC. Michaels’ company Broadway Video produces 30 Rock.
30 Rock, a multiple Emmy Award winner, concerns the behind-the-scenes antics of the staff at TGS or The Girlie Show, an NBC comedy-variety show, like Saturday Night Live. Fey plays Liz Lemon, the head writer. Alec Baldwin, a longtime guest host of SNL, also stars on 30 Rock. He plays NBC executive Jack Donaghy. Donaghy retools TGS by bringing in Tracy Jordan, played by Tracy Morgan in a thinly veiled depiction of his bombastic, hilarious, and affable public persona.
Another former Weekend Update anchor has a Thursday night comedy on NBC. From the team that brought you The Office, you now have Parks and Recreation starring Amy Poehler as Leslie Knope, a dedicated public servant in the fictional Pawnee, Indiana. Though idealistic about Pawnee’s Parks and Recreation Department, she encounters apathy, bureaucracy, and ignorance among her staff, the town, and other public servants.
Hill Street Blues
May 14, 2010
by David Krell
david@davidkrell.com
Hill Street Blues began NBC’s tradition of quality drama in the Thursday night 10:00pm time slot. That tradition ended in 2009 when The Jay Leno Show took over 10:00pm time slot. Now The Marriage Ref owns the time slot.
Airing from 1981 to 1987, Hill Street Blues changed television.
The bad guys didn’t always get caught by the end of the hour.
The good guys weren’t always angels.
And story lines could last for multiple episodes, maybe even a season.
At the heart of Hill Street Blues was Captain Frank Furillo, a recovering alcoholic who guided the Hill Street precinct with compassion, toughness, and experience. He was trusted by his officers, detectives, and the gangs. Jesus Martinez, leader of the Diablos, often called him ‘Frankie’ out of affection, respect, and teasing. In later years, Jesus became a paralegal.
If Frank Furillo was the Hill Street precinct’s heart, Sergeant Phil Esterhaus was its soul. Played by Michael Conrad with a textbook definition of being avuncular, Esterhaus led off each episode in the middle of the morning Roll Call with the phrase Let’s be careful out there. Conrad died in 1983. Robert Prosky replaced him at the Roll Call as Sergeant Stan Jablonski with the less watchful and more bombastic Let’s do it to them before they do it to us.
Veronica Hamel played the sensitive, skilled, and sexy Joyce Davenport of the Public Defender’s office. The advocate shared a bed with Captain Furillo and later married him.
Despite the urban chaos surrounding them, the officers and detectives never stopped in their mission to clean up the streets.
And creators Steven Bochco and Michael Kozoll set a standard for television producing. Multiple story arcs, scenes involving walking and talking, and three dimensional characters are hallmarks seen in St. Elsewhere, L.A. Law, thirtysomething, ER, The West Wing, and Friday Night Lights, to name a few.
david@davidkrell.com
Hill Street Blues began NBC’s tradition of quality drama in the Thursday night 10:00pm time slot. That tradition ended in 2009 when The Jay Leno Show took over 10:00pm time slot. Now The Marriage Ref owns the time slot.
Airing from 1981 to 1987, Hill Street Blues changed television.
The bad guys didn’t always get caught by the end of the hour.
The good guys weren’t always angels.
And story lines could last for multiple episodes, maybe even a season.
At the heart of Hill Street Blues was Captain Frank Furillo, a recovering alcoholic who guided the Hill Street precinct with compassion, toughness, and experience. He was trusted by his officers, detectives, and the gangs. Jesus Martinez, leader of the Diablos, often called him ‘Frankie’ out of affection, respect, and teasing. In later years, Jesus became a paralegal.
If Frank Furillo was the Hill Street precinct’s heart, Sergeant Phil Esterhaus was its soul. Played by Michael Conrad with a textbook definition of being avuncular, Esterhaus led off each episode in the middle of the morning Roll Call with the phrase Let’s be careful out there. Conrad died in 1983. Robert Prosky replaced him at the Roll Call as Sergeant Stan Jablonski with the less watchful and more bombastic Let’s do it to them before they do it to us.
Veronica Hamel played the sensitive, skilled, and sexy Joyce Davenport of the Public Defender’s office. The advocate shared a bed with Captain Furillo and later married him.
Despite the urban chaos surrounding them, the officers and detectives never stopped in their mission to clean up the streets.
And creators Steven Bochco and Michael Kozoll set a standard for television producing. Multiple story arcs, scenes involving walking and talking, and three dimensional characters are hallmarks seen in St. Elsewhere, L.A. Law, thirtysomething, ER, The West Wing, and Friday Night Lights, to name a few.
The Larry Sanders Show
May 14, 2010
by David Krell
david@davidkrell.com
With all of the talk about the late night talk show wars during the past few months, one name has been left out of the discussion.
Larry Sanders.
From 1992 to 1998, The Larry Sanders Show aired on HBO. It was a look at a fictional late night talk show hosted by Larry Sanders, played by Garry Shandling.
Occasionally, episodes featured scenes from the actual talk show hosted by Sanders in front of a television audience.
Stars played themselves.
Dana Delany. Sharon Stone. Dana Carvey.
For advice about navigating the shark-infested waters of the entertainment industry and his own staff, Larry frequently turned to veteran producer Artie for advice. Rip Torn played Artie while Jeffrey Tambor played sidekick announcer Hank Kingsley.
Jeremy Piven played Jerry, a young writer on Larry’s staff. Years later, a mini-reunion occurred when Jeffrey Tambor played himself on an episode of Entourage while Piven played his agent, Ari Gold.
The Larry Sanders Show debuted in the firestorm of the early 1990’s when Johhny Carson left The Tonight Show, David Letterman started a late night franchise at CBS, and the audience split its loyalties between Jay Leno and David Letterman.
The area was ripe for exploration as the public became more aware of the business side of show business.
But The Larry Sanders Show explored another side beyond advertisers, demographics, and ratings. This side features topics familiar to every industry -- insecurity, office politics, and the high pressure of job performance in an increasingly competitive atmosphere.
david@davidkrell.com
With all of the talk about the late night talk show wars during the past few months, one name has been left out of the discussion.
Larry Sanders.
From 1992 to 1998, The Larry Sanders Show aired on HBO. It was a look at a fictional late night talk show hosted by Larry Sanders, played by Garry Shandling.
Occasionally, episodes featured scenes from the actual talk show hosted by Sanders in front of a television audience.
Stars played themselves.
Dana Delany. Sharon Stone. Dana Carvey.
For advice about navigating the shark-infested waters of the entertainment industry and his own staff, Larry frequently turned to veteran producer Artie for advice. Rip Torn played Artie while Jeffrey Tambor played sidekick announcer Hank Kingsley.
Jeremy Piven played Jerry, a young writer on Larry’s staff. Years later, a mini-reunion occurred when Jeffrey Tambor played himself on an episode of Entourage while Piven played his agent, Ari Gold.
The Larry Sanders Show debuted in the firestorm of the early 1990’s when Johhny Carson left The Tonight Show, David Letterman started a late night franchise at CBS, and the audience split its loyalties between Jay Leno and David Letterman.
The area was ripe for exploration as the public became more aware of the business side of show business.
But The Larry Sanders Show explored another side beyond advertisers, demographics, and ratings. This side features topics familiar to every industry -- insecurity, office politics, and the high pressure of job performance in an increasingly competitive atmosphere.
Baseball and Television
April 20, 2010
by David Krell
david@davidkrell.com
For most of us, baseball games have always been televised.
People listening to baseball games on radio or watching highlights in newsreels are events depicted in movies, though our parents and grandparents can actually remember doing those things.
For those of us who weren’t at the ballpark, we’ve had the good fortune to see some of baseball’s greatest moments from the comfort of our couch.
Carlton Fisk’s body language that practially willed his home run over Fenway Park’s Green Monster during an epic World Series game in 1975.
Tom Seaver getting his 300th win at Yankee Stadium on a hot August day in 1985 when he played for the Chicago White Sox.
Kirk Gibson winning Game 1 of the World Series for the Dodgers with a home run and his subsequent limping trot around the bases that let us know he wasn’t truly in top form.
And then there were and continue to be the announcers whose voices form the background of our summers.
Vin Scully calling Sandy Koufax’s perfect game in 1965.
Phil Rizzuto reminiscing about playing with Mickey Mantle, Billy Martin, Whitey Ford, and Yogi Berra.
Lindsay Nelson, Ralph Kiner, and Bob Murphy forming the initial trio of Mets announcers and staying in that position for several years.
Ernie Harwell and the Tigers.
Harry Caray and the Cubs.
Harry Kalas and the Phillies.
Red Barber and the Dodgers.
Bob Costas.
Howard Cosell.
Joe Garagiola.
Play ball.
david@davidkrell.com
For most of us, baseball games have always been televised.
People listening to baseball games on radio or watching highlights in newsreels are events depicted in movies, though our parents and grandparents can actually remember doing those things.
For those of us who weren’t at the ballpark, we’ve had the good fortune to see some of baseball’s greatest moments from the comfort of our couch.
Carlton Fisk’s body language that practially willed his home run over Fenway Park’s Green Monster during an epic World Series game in 1975.
Tom Seaver getting his 300th win at Yankee Stadium on a hot August day in 1985 when he played for the Chicago White Sox.
Kirk Gibson winning Game 1 of the World Series for the Dodgers with a home run and his subsequent limping trot around the bases that let us know he wasn’t truly in top form.
And then there were and continue to be the announcers whose voices form the background of our summers.
Vin Scully calling Sandy Koufax’s perfect game in 1965.
Phil Rizzuto reminiscing about playing with Mickey Mantle, Billy Martin, Whitey Ford, and Yogi Berra.
Lindsay Nelson, Ralph Kiner, and Bob Murphy forming the initial trio of Mets announcers and staying in that position for several years.
Ernie Harwell and the Tigers.
Harry Caray and the Cubs.
Harry Kalas and the Phillies.
Red Barber and the Dodgers.
Bob Costas.
Howard Cosell.
Joe Garagiola.
Play ball.
Long Gone
April 19, 2010
by David Krell
david@davidkrell.com
Long Gone is a 1987 tv-movie that first appeared on HBO.
Based on a novel by Richard Hemphill, it’s a tale about baseball, corruption, and sex centered on a minor league baseball team in Florida in the late 1950’s.
At the heart of the Tampico Stogies baseball team is Cecil “Stud” Cantrell, a long-time minor-league pitcher, manager, and slugger who almost made the big leagues with the St. Louis Cardinals.
He competed with Stan Musial. Cantrell says that he hit the ball harder but Stan the Man had a prettier swing. It was at the dawn of World War II. Cantrell served his country, but war injuries prevented him from going farther than minor league ball.
William Petersen of CSI fame plays Cantrell.
His protégé is Jamie Don Weeks, played by Dermot Mulroney. At first a naive player who simply wants to play baseball, Jamie transforms into a grown man and emulates Stud’s mannerisms.
He also gets his girlfriend pregnant -- Esther Wrenn, played by Katy Boyer.
Cantrell’s girlfriend is the young but world-wise Dixie Lee Boxx, played by Virginia Madsen.
Henry Gibson plays Hale Buchman, owner of the Stogies. Teller of Penn and Teller plays his son in a rare talking performance.
Larry Riley plays Joe Louis Brown, a catcher with tremendous power. In one scene, the KKK stops the Stogies’ team bus in the middle of the night. The Stogies chase off the Klan with baseball bats and Brown knocks a burning cross to the ground with a powerful swing.
The Stogies’ chief rival is the Dothan Cardinals. J. Harrell Smythe, the Cardinals’ owner, makes Cantrell and Riley an offer. Throw a decisive game against the Cardinals. Brown gets a brand new car. Cantrell gets a contract with the Dothan Cardinals. An enticing offer for Cantrell considering he never gave up his dream of working in the Cardinals’ organization after losing a spot to Musial.
To see how the story ends, check out Long Gone if you can find it.
Long Gone may be long gone, but not forgotten.
david@davidkrell.com
Long Gone is a 1987 tv-movie that first appeared on HBO.
Based on a novel by Richard Hemphill, it’s a tale about baseball, corruption, and sex centered on a minor league baseball team in Florida in the late 1950’s.
At the heart of the Tampico Stogies baseball team is Cecil “Stud” Cantrell, a long-time minor-league pitcher, manager, and slugger who almost made the big leagues with the St. Louis Cardinals.
He competed with Stan Musial. Cantrell says that he hit the ball harder but Stan the Man had a prettier swing. It was at the dawn of World War II. Cantrell served his country, but war injuries prevented him from going farther than minor league ball.
William Petersen of CSI fame plays Cantrell.
His protégé is Jamie Don Weeks, played by Dermot Mulroney. At first a naive player who simply wants to play baseball, Jamie transforms into a grown man and emulates Stud’s mannerisms.
He also gets his girlfriend pregnant -- Esther Wrenn, played by Katy Boyer.
Cantrell’s girlfriend is the young but world-wise Dixie Lee Boxx, played by Virginia Madsen.
Henry Gibson plays Hale Buchman, owner of the Stogies. Teller of Penn and Teller plays his son in a rare talking performance.
Larry Riley plays Joe Louis Brown, a catcher with tremendous power. In one scene, the KKK stops the Stogies’ team bus in the middle of the night. The Stogies chase off the Klan with baseball bats and Brown knocks a burning cross to the ground with a powerful swing.
The Stogies’ chief rival is the Dothan Cardinals. J. Harrell Smythe, the Cardinals’ owner, makes Cantrell and Riley an offer. Throw a decisive game against the Cardinals. Brown gets a brand new car. Cantrell gets a contract with the Dothan Cardinals. An enticing offer for Cantrell considering he never gave up his dream of working in the Cardinals’ organization after losing a spot to Musial.
To see how the story ends, check out Long Gone if you can find it.
Long Gone may be long gone, but not forgotten.
Bob Crane
April 05, 2010
by David Krell
david@davidkrell.com
Most of us know Bob Crane as the actor who played Colonel Robert Hogan in Hogan’s Heroes, a kind of Mission: Impossible set in a POW camp in Germany during World War II.
Some of us know Bob Crane as a darker figure in his private life. The 2002 movie Auto Focus explores this area.
Bob Crane began his career as a disc jockey. He made his way to the West Coast where he starred in his own radio show in morning drive time on KNX in Los Angeles. Crane branched out into television. His resume includes guest appearances on The Dick Van Dyke Show and The Twilight Zone.
He increased his exposure with a regular role on The Donna Reed Show.
And in 1965, Crane got his big break when he was cast as the lead role in Hogan’s Heroes.
During the run of Hogan’s Heroes, Crane met John Henry Carpenter, a video expert from Sony. Fascinated by the new technology of the VCR only available to the elite in the 1960’s, Crane formed a friendship with Carpenter. The video salesman introduced the television star to a world of underground sex. Crane frequently photographed and videotaped his bedmates.
The Murder of Bob Crane by Robert Graysmith details Crane’s biography and his murder that took place on June 29, 1978 in Scottsdale, Arizone where Crane was performing in a dinner theatre production of Beginner’s Luck.
Paul Schrader directed Auto Focus based on Graysmith’s book.
In Auto Focus Greg Kinnear plays Bob Crane. Kinnear’s dramatic portrayal of a television icon reveals a private side of Bob Crane that the public never knew about when he was alive.
Crane was bludgeoned to death in his sleep. Allegedly, on the night that he was killed, Crane told Carpenter that he wanted a new life. No more parties or anonymous women. The friendship was over.
DNA testing did not exist in 1978. But Carpenter was arrested and indicted on murder charges in 1992. He was acquitted in 1994. He died in 1998.
The murder of Bob Crane remains an unsolved case.
Bob Crane’s story is one of a gradual but inevitable rise to television icon status that he could never recapture after Hogan’s Heroes ended.
But it is also a story of sadness.
david@davidkrell.com
Most of us know Bob Crane as the actor who played Colonel Robert Hogan in Hogan’s Heroes, a kind of Mission: Impossible set in a POW camp in Germany during World War II.
Some of us know Bob Crane as a darker figure in his private life. The 2002 movie Auto Focus explores this area.
Bob Crane began his career as a disc jockey. He made his way to the West Coast where he starred in his own radio show in morning drive time on KNX in Los Angeles. Crane branched out into television. His resume includes guest appearances on The Dick Van Dyke Show and The Twilight Zone.
He increased his exposure with a regular role on The Donna Reed Show.
And in 1965, Crane got his big break when he was cast as the lead role in Hogan’s Heroes.
During the run of Hogan’s Heroes, Crane met John Henry Carpenter, a video expert from Sony. Fascinated by the new technology of the VCR only available to the elite in the 1960’s, Crane formed a friendship with Carpenter. The video salesman introduced the television star to a world of underground sex. Crane frequently photographed and videotaped his bedmates.
The Murder of Bob Crane by Robert Graysmith details Crane’s biography and his murder that took place on June 29, 1978 in Scottsdale, Arizone where Crane was performing in a dinner theatre production of Beginner’s Luck.
Paul Schrader directed Auto Focus based on Graysmith’s book.
In Auto Focus Greg Kinnear plays Bob Crane. Kinnear’s dramatic portrayal of a television icon reveals a private side of Bob Crane that the public never knew about when he was alive.
Crane was bludgeoned to death in his sleep. Allegedly, on the night that he was killed, Crane told Carpenter that he wanted a new life. No more parties or anonymous women. The friendship was over.
DNA testing did not exist in 1978. But Carpenter was arrested and indicted on murder charges in 1992. He was acquitted in 1994. He died in 1998.
The murder of Bob Crane remains an unsolved case.
Bob Crane’s story is one of a gradual but inevitable rise to television icon status that he could never recapture after Hogan’s Heroes ended.
But it is also a story of sadness.
A Face in the Crowd
April 05, 2010
by David Krell
david@davidkrell.com
A Face in the Crowd is a 1957 film about corruption rooted in ego, power, and fame. Budd Schulberg wrote the screenplay based on his short story The Arkansas Traveler.
Andy Griffith stars as Larry “Lonesome” Rhodes, a southern storyteller and singer with an abundance of charm.
Griffith’s portrayal reveals his deep acting talent. Lonesome Rhodes is an upside down and backwards version of Griffith’s iconic character, Sheriff Andy Taylor.
Marcia Jeffries discovers Rhodes and soon helps catapult him to stardom. Patricia Neal plays Jeffries.
Rhodes is also helped by Mel Miller, an intellectual writer. Walter Matthau plays Miller.
Anthony Franciosa plays an agent who puts Rhodes on national television.
While charming in public, Rhodes is egocentric to the point of being abusive in private.
He advises a presidential candidate on communications and image but his comments in private belie his true condescending feelings about the candidate.
Jeffries cannot help but fall in love with the star she helped create. But she feels betrayed because he is not divorced from his first wife and he marries a teenage baton twirler played by Lee Remick.
Jeffries brings down the Frankenstein monster that she nurtured, inspired, and built.
During a live television performance when Rhodes thinks the broadcast has ended, Jeffries keeps the microphones live so the national television audience can hear Rhodes’ caustic comments about the audience. Now revealed as an egomaniac with no respect for his fans, Rhodes faces an incredible plunge in popularity.
He breaks down at his apartment and pleads for Jeffries’ help. Miller tells her that Rhodes will never have the acclaim or fame that he once enjoyed but his career may be somewhat salvageable.
Nevertheless, despite the shouts and pleas from Rhodes, Jeffries leaves with Miller and leaves the audience wondering what ever became of Lonesome Rhodes.
david@davidkrell.com
A Face in the Crowd is a 1957 film about corruption rooted in ego, power, and fame. Budd Schulberg wrote the screenplay based on his short story The Arkansas Traveler.
Andy Griffith stars as Larry “Lonesome” Rhodes, a southern storyteller and singer with an abundance of charm.
Griffith’s portrayal reveals his deep acting talent. Lonesome Rhodes is an upside down and backwards version of Griffith’s iconic character, Sheriff Andy Taylor.
Marcia Jeffries discovers Rhodes and soon helps catapult him to stardom. Patricia Neal plays Jeffries.
Rhodes is also helped by Mel Miller, an intellectual writer. Walter Matthau plays Miller.
Anthony Franciosa plays an agent who puts Rhodes on national television.
While charming in public, Rhodes is egocentric to the point of being abusive in private.
He advises a presidential candidate on communications and image but his comments in private belie his true condescending feelings about the candidate.
Jeffries cannot help but fall in love with the star she helped create. But she feels betrayed because he is not divorced from his first wife and he marries a teenage baton twirler played by Lee Remick.
Jeffries brings down the Frankenstein monster that she nurtured, inspired, and built.
During a live television performance when Rhodes thinks the broadcast has ended, Jeffries keeps the microphones live so the national television audience can hear Rhodes’ caustic comments about the audience. Now revealed as an egomaniac with no respect for his fans, Rhodes faces an incredible plunge in popularity.
He breaks down at his apartment and pleads for Jeffries’ help. Miller tells her that Rhodes will never have the acclaim or fame that he once enjoyed but his career may be somewhat salvageable.
Nevertheless, despite the shouts and pleas from Rhodes, Jeffries leaves with Miller and leaves the audience wondering what ever became of Lonesome Rhodes.
Sorkin Similarities
January 27, 2010
by David Krell
david@davidkrell.com
Before he became the architect of the fictional Bartlet presidency by creating The West Wing, Aaron Sorkin designed a slice of the fictional Shepherd presidency in The American President.
The American President shows us the end of the first term of democrat Andrew Shepherd, a widower whose wife died before the election that sent him to the White House.
The most notable link between The American President and The West Wing is Martin Sheen.
In The American President, Sheen plays Shepherd’s Chief of Staff, A.J. Macinerney.
In The West Wing, Sheen plays President Bartlet.
Anna Deavere Smith is another link between the two stories.
She plays Press Secretary Robin McCall in The American President.
She has a recurring role on The West Wing -- Dr. Nancy McNally, National Security Advisor.
Joshua Malina also has roles in both Sorkin stories.
In The American President, Malina has a minor role -- an associate of President Shepherd’s environmental activist girlfriend, Sydney Ellen Wade, played by Annette Bening.
Malina replaced Rob Lowe in The West Wing. When Lowe’s character of Sam Seaborn runs for Congress, Malina’s character of Will Bailey replaces Sam as Deputy Communications Director.
In West Wing canon, the last real president acknowledged in dialogue is President Nixon. However, one scene takes place outside the Ronald Reagan Institute of Emergency Medicine at George Washington University Hospital. The West Wing does not directly reference Reagan as a U.S. president.
We also do not know whether President Shepherd is part of the post-Nixon history of The West Wing.
david@davidkrell.com
Before he became the architect of the fictional Bartlet presidency by creating The West Wing, Aaron Sorkin designed a slice of the fictional Shepherd presidency in The American President.
The American President shows us the end of the first term of democrat Andrew Shepherd, a widower whose wife died before the election that sent him to the White House.
The most notable link between The American President and The West Wing is Martin Sheen.
In The American President, Sheen plays Shepherd’s Chief of Staff, A.J. Macinerney.
In The West Wing, Sheen plays President Bartlet.
Anna Deavere Smith is another link between the two stories.
She plays Press Secretary Robin McCall in The American President.
She has a recurring role on The West Wing -- Dr. Nancy McNally, National Security Advisor.
Joshua Malina also has roles in both Sorkin stories.
In The American President, Malina has a minor role -- an associate of President Shepherd’s environmental activist girlfriend, Sydney Ellen Wade, played by Annette Bening.
Malina replaced Rob Lowe in The West Wing. When Lowe’s character of Sam Seaborn runs for Congress, Malina’s character of Will Bailey replaces Sam as Deputy Communications Director.
In West Wing canon, the last real president acknowledged in dialogue is President Nixon. However, one scene takes place outside the Ronald Reagan Institute of Emergency Medicine at George Washington University Hospital. The West Wing does not directly reference Reagan as a U.S. president.
We also do not know whether President Shepherd is part of the post-Nixon history of The West Wing.
Television Ad Agencies
January 27, 2010
by David Krell
david@davidkrell.com
If you had to choose an advertising agency, which one would you choose?
Would it be McMahon & Tate? You might bump into Darrin Stephens, a good-natured, smart, creative ad executive with a wife named Samantha who is a little mysterious. You might even say she is bewitching.
Would it be Livingston, Gentry & Mishkin? You might see artist Kip Wilson and word man Henry Desmond. They report to Ruth Dunbar, a red-headed, confident, experienced ad woman.
Kip, Henry, Ruth and Amy, a secretary, start their own commercial production company -- Sixty Seconds Street.
Henry and Kip are friends since childhood. They’re bosom buddies.
Would you choose Jack MacLaren’s agency? He is a success in advertising who started his own agency. He looks a lot like Tom Selleck. You might hear the words ‘the closer’ around his office.
Would you choose The Michael & Elliott Company? Two thirtysomethings named Michael and Elliott started this ad agency in mid-1980’s Philadelphia. By the late 1980’s, the agency went under. Michael and Elliott joined DAA, an advertising powerhouse.
Would you choose Rothman, Greene & Moore? Creative Director Mason McGuire and his irresponsible yet productive copywriter colleague Conner will treat you right. Their slogan might as well be called Trust Me.
Would you choose Sterling Cooper, the prototypical 1960’s ad agency with a charming, mysterious, and instinctive Creative Director -- Don Draper.
Who would you choose to do the photographs for print ads? Would it be Felix Unger, portraits a specialty?
Who would you choose to write a jingle? Would it be Charlie Harper, a womanizing, alcohol loving, Malibu beach house owning songwriter who also houses his brother, a chiropractor, and his brother’s son. Together, they comprise two and a half men.
Whichever agency, photographer, or jingle writer you select to promote your product or service, you have plenty of choices in the annals of television history.
david@davidkrell.com
If you had to choose an advertising agency, which one would you choose?
Would it be McMahon & Tate? You might bump into Darrin Stephens, a good-natured, smart, creative ad executive with a wife named Samantha who is a little mysterious. You might even say she is bewitching.
Would it be Livingston, Gentry & Mishkin? You might see artist Kip Wilson and word man Henry Desmond. They report to Ruth Dunbar, a red-headed, confident, experienced ad woman.
Kip, Henry, Ruth and Amy, a secretary, start their own commercial production company -- Sixty Seconds Street.
Henry and Kip are friends since childhood. They’re bosom buddies.
Would you choose Jack MacLaren’s agency? He is a success in advertising who started his own agency. He looks a lot like Tom Selleck. You might hear the words ‘the closer’ around his office.
Would you choose The Michael & Elliott Company? Two thirtysomethings named Michael and Elliott started this ad agency in mid-1980’s Philadelphia. By the late 1980’s, the agency went under. Michael and Elliott joined DAA, an advertising powerhouse.
Would you choose Rothman, Greene & Moore? Creative Director Mason McGuire and his irresponsible yet productive copywriter colleague Conner will treat you right. Their slogan might as well be called Trust Me.
Would you choose Sterling Cooper, the prototypical 1960’s ad agency with a charming, mysterious, and instinctive Creative Director -- Don Draper.
Who would you choose to do the photographs for print ads? Would it be Felix Unger, portraits a specialty?
Who would you choose to write a jingle? Would it be Charlie Harper, a womanizing, alcohol loving, Malibu beach house owning songwriter who also houses his brother, a chiropractor, and his brother’s son. Together, they comprise two and a half men.
Whichever agency, photographer, or jingle writer you select to promote your product or service, you have plenty of choices in the annals of television history.
"My Life" as sung by Conan O'Brien
January 15, 2010
by David Krell
david@davidkrell.com
To the tune of “My Life”
Got a call from Jeff Zucker
We used to be real close
Said he wanted to give my time slot to Jay
Told my staff, told my reps
That I’m staying at 11:35
Now I’m learning all about life in L.A.
I don't need you to worry for me cause I'm alright
I don't want you to tell me it's time to move my show
I don't care what you say anymore, read my contract
Go ahead and schedule prime time, leave me alone
I never said you had to offer me “The Tonight Show”
(I never said you had to)
I never said you had to take it away from Leno
(I never said)
I still belong, don't get me wrong
You can talk a lot
But stay away from my time slot
They will tell you, you can't trust anybody in showbiz
Then they'll tell you, your soda is losing its fizz
Ah, but sooner or later my agents will handle it
Either way it's okay, no biz like showbiz
I don't need you to worry for me cause I'm alright
I don't want you to tell me it's time to move my show
I don't care what you say anymore, read my contract
Go ahead and schedule prime time, leave me alone
I never said you had to offer me “The Tonight Show”
(I never said you had to)
I never said you had to take it away from Leno
(I never said)
I still belong, don't get me wrong
You can talk a lot
But stay away from my time slot
I don't care what you say anymore, read my contract
Go ahead and schedule prime time, leave me alone
david@davidkrell.com
To the tune of “My Life”
Got a call from Jeff Zucker
We used to be real close
Said he wanted to give my time slot to Jay
Told my staff, told my reps
That I’m staying at 11:35
Now I’m learning all about life in L.A.
I don't need you to worry for me cause I'm alright
I don't want you to tell me it's time to move my show
I don't care what you say anymore, read my contract
Go ahead and schedule prime time, leave me alone
I never said you had to offer me “The Tonight Show”
(I never said you had to)
I never said you had to take it away from Leno
(I never said)
I still belong, don't get me wrong
You can talk a lot
But stay away from my time slot
They will tell you, you can't trust anybody in showbiz
Then they'll tell you, your soda is losing its fizz
Ah, but sooner or later my agents will handle it
Either way it's okay, no biz like showbiz
I don't need you to worry for me cause I'm alright
I don't want you to tell me it's time to move my show
I don't care what you say anymore, read my contract
Go ahead and schedule prime time, leave me alone
I never said you had to offer me “The Tonight Show”
(I never said you had to)
I never said you had to take it away from Leno
(I never said)
I still belong, don't get me wrong
You can talk a lot
But stay away from my time slot
I don't care what you say anymore, read my contract
Go ahead and schedule prime time, leave me alone
"Is NBC Really Going With Jay?"
January 14, 2010
by David Krell
david@davidkrell.com
To the tune of “Is She Really Going Out With Him?”
Execs are here and walking down the NBC halls
From my office I'm staring while my coffee grows cold
Look over there! (Where?)
There's a man that I used to know
He’s firing me or moving my show so I’m told
(Chorus)
Is NBC really going with Jay?
Are they really gonna give him my “Tonight”?
Is NBC really going with Jay?
'Cause if my eyes don't deceive me,
There's something going wrong around here
Tonight's the night when I go to all the parties in the hills
I wash my hair and I kid myself I look real smooth
Look over there! (Where?)
Here comes Zucker with his best friend Jay
They say that contracts don't count for much
If so, there goes your proof
(Chorus)
Is NBC really going with Jay?
Are they really gonna give him my “Tonight”?
Is NBC really going with Jay
'Cause if my eyes don't deceive me,
There's something going wrong around here
But if looks could kill
There's a man there who's marked down as dead
Cause I've had my fill
Listen you, read my contract it says
I get to stay or you pay me forty-five mil
(Chorus)
Is NBC really going with Jay?
Are they really gonna give him my “Tonight”?
Is NBC really going with Jay?
'Cause if my eyes don't deceive me,
There's something going wrong around here
david@davidkrell.com
To the tune of “Is She Really Going Out With Him?”
Execs are here and walking down the NBC halls
From my office I'm staring while my coffee grows cold
Look over there! (Where?)
There's a man that I used to know
He’s firing me or moving my show so I’m told
(Chorus)
Is NBC really going with Jay?
Are they really gonna give him my “Tonight”?
Is NBC really going with Jay?
'Cause if my eyes don't deceive me,
There's something going wrong around here
Tonight's the night when I go to all the parties in the hills
I wash my hair and I kid myself I look real smooth
Look over there! (Where?)
Here comes Zucker with his best friend Jay
They say that contracts don't count for much
If so, there goes your proof
(Chorus)
Is NBC really going with Jay?
Are they really gonna give him my “Tonight”?
Is NBC really going with Jay
'Cause if my eyes don't deceive me,
There's something going wrong around here
But if looks could kill
There's a man there who's marked down as dead
Cause I've had my fill
Listen you, read my contract it says
I get to stay or you pay me forty-five mil
(Chorus)
Is NBC really going with Jay?
Are they really gonna give him my “Tonight”?
Is NBC really going with Jay?
'Cause if my eyes don't deceive me,
There's something going wrong around here
Opie the Birdman
January 03, 2010
by David Krell
david@davidkrell.com
In the Opie the Birdman episode of The Andy Griffith Show, we learn a valuable lesson about creative parenting.
Andy Taylor, Sheriff of Mayberry, North Carolina, orders his son, Opie, not to use his slingshot.
Opie ignores the mandate and plays with the slingshot anyway.
Consequently, he kills a mother bird and leaves three baby birds without a parent.
Andy punishes Opie.
Not by a spanking.
And not by a lecture.
By leaving the window open so Opie can hear the birds chirping and crying for their mother throughout the night.
The punishment proves inspirational.
The following morning, Opie takes responsibility to repair the damage he caused and decides to raise the birds himself in a cage. He names them Winkin, Blinkin, and Nod.
Clearly, Opie learns his lesson about the importance of obeying instructions and the consequences of disobeying.
But soon, the birds prove too big for the cage that Opie provides. And the time comes to let them fly.
It’s a bittersweet moment. He laments the cage’s emptiness. But Andy points out that the trees are full.
david@davidkrell.com
In the Opie the Birdman episode of The Andy Griffith Show, we learn a valuable lesson about creative parenting.
Andy Taylor, Sheriff of Mayberry, North Carolina, orders his son, Opie, not to use his slingshot.
Opie ignores the mandate and plays with the slingshot anyway.
Consequently, he kills a mother bird and leaves three baby birds without a parent.
Andy punishes Opie.
Not by a spanking.
And not by a lecture.
By leaving the window open so Opie can hear the birds chirping and crying for their mother throughout the night.
The punishment proves inspirational.
The following morning, Opie takes responsibility to repair the damage he caused and decides to raise the birds himself in a cage. He names them Winkin, Blinkin, and Nod.
Clearly, Opie learns his lesson about the importance of obeying instructions and the consequences of disobeying.
But soon, the birds prove too big for the cage that Opie provides. And the time comes to let them fly.
It’s a bittersweet moment. He laments the cage’s emptiness. But Andy points out that the trees are full.
Hotel
January 03, 2010
by David Krell
david@davidkrell.com
The Hotel television series was more a land-locked The Love Boat with revolving guest stars and less a hard-hitting drama.
Starring James Brolin as Peter McDermott, Hotel aired for five seasons, from 1983 to 1988.
Before Hotel was a 1980’s television series produced by Aaron Spelling, it was a 1967 movie starring Rod Taylor, Merle Oberon, Karl Malden, Kevin McCarthy, and Melvyn Douglas.
Before Hotel was a movie, it was a 1965 novel by Arthur Hailey.
While the television series was set at the fictional Saint Gregory Hotel in San Francisco, the movie and novel were both set at the fictional Saint Gregory Hotel in New Orleans.
Arthur Hailey’s origin story of Hotel takes place during one week in the life of the Saint Gregory, its employees, and its guests. The main character is Peter McDermott, the hotel’s General Manager with a past.
McDermott has to run the hotel while navigating a possible takeover, handling the aftermath of an attempted rape of a young woman by sons of prominent local businessmen, and tending to a mysterious guest who falls ill.
In addition, a Duke and Duchess are guests trying to avoid capture for a hit-and-run.
A local thief named Keycase Milne furthers his craft at the Saint Gregory.
An elevator with serious mechanical problems has potentially disastrous consequences.
And racial policies indicative of the deep south in the 1960’s manifest to the massive dismay of the president of a dentist convention at the Saint Gregory.
Hotel by Arthur Hailey.
Check it out.
Or should I say, “check in?”
david@davidkrell.com
The Hotel television series was more a land-locked The Love Boat with revolving guest stars and less a hard-hitting drama.
Starring James Brolin as Peter McDermott, Hotel aired for five seasons, from 1983 to 1988.
Before Hotel was a 1980’s television series produced by Aaron Spelling, it was a 1967 movie starring Rod Taylor, Merle Oberon, Karl Malden, Kevin McCarthy, and Melvyn Douglas.
Before Hotel was a movie, it was a 1965 novel by Arthur Hailey.
While the television series was set at the fictional Saint Gregory Hotel in San Francisco, the movie and novel were both set at the fictional Saint Gregory Hotel in New Orleans.
Arthur Hailey’s origin story of Hotel takes place during one week in the life of the Saint Gregory, its employees, and its guests. The main character is Peter McDermott, the hotel’s General Manager with a past.
McDermott has to run the hotel while navigating a possible takeover, handling the aftermath of an attempted rape of a young woman by sons of prominent local businessmen, and tending to a mysterious guest who falls ill.
In addition, a Duke and Duchess are guests trying to avoid capture for a hit-and-run.
A local thief named Keycase Milne furthers his craft at the Saint Gregory.
An elevator with serious mechanical problems has potentially disastrous consequences.
And racial policies indicative of the deep south in the 1960’s manifest to the massive dismay of the president of a dentist convention at the Saint Gregory.
Hotel by Arthur Hailey.
Check it out.
Or should I say, “check in?”
Year in Review
December 31, 2009
by David Krell
david@davidkrell.com
As 2009 turns into 2010, we take a look back at the year in television.
We saw Ziva David leave her role as a Mossad liaison in NCIS and return to the Mossad full-time under the reign of her father, Mossad Chief Eli David.
After she got captured during a mission in North Africa, the NCIS crew rescued her.
And Ziva returned to NCIS as a full-fledged member of the team, thereby abandoning any remaining and confusing loyalties to her father.
We met the team’s Los Angeles counterparts in a crossover appearance that set the stage for the spinoff NCIS: Los Angeles.
We saw Sarah Palin confront David Letterman in the media because of a joke about her daughter’s pregnancy.
And we saw David Letterman in another media controversy rooted in his extracurricular relationships with female staff members.
We saw Jay Leno move to 10:00 pm with the slogan It’s About Time. We saw Conan O’Brien move into The Tonight Show host position with a new studio at NBC Universal.
We saw Jimmy Fallon take over Conan’s old job as the host of Late Night.
We saw Julianna Marguiles return to network prime time as the scorned spouse of an adulterous Chicago politician in The Good Wife. Her character returns to the practice of law after a 15-year absence so she can support her children.
We saw a story line span all three CSI shows during the November sweeps period.
On Entourage, we saw Ari Gold merge his agency, Miller Gold, with the agency of his mentor and nemesis, Terrence McQuewick.
We saw Johnny Chase get his big break with a network holding deal for a television series to be centered on him.
We saw Eric fold up his small talent management company to take a job with a legendary talent management company.
We saw Turtle and Jamie-Lynn Sigler break up.
And we saw Eric and Sloane get engaged.
On cable news channels, we saw a balloon that looked like a huge Jiffy Pop container travel across Colorado and we feared that a six-year-old boy was inside the balloon.
We soon learned that no one was inside. It was a hoax so the parents could get media attention and pitch themselves for a reality show.
We saw Jon and Kate split up.
We saw Southland get cancelled before its second season even aired one episode because its content is suited for a 10:00 pm broadcast time slot, but NBC does not have that time slot available. TNT picked up the show.
We saw the return of sitcom favorites.
Courtney Cox in Cougar Town.
Ed O’Neill in Modern Family.
Kelsey Grammer in Hank.
Patricia Heaton in The Middle.
Ray Romano in Men of a Certain Age.
We saw Jim and Pam get married on The Office.
We saw the end of King of the Hill and the launch of its replacement -- Family Guy spinoff The Cleveland Show.
We saw The Simpsons begin its 20th season.
We saw the debut of Amy Poehler’s comedy, Parks and Recreation.
We saw Chevy Chase finally ready for prime time as part of the ensemble cast of NBC’s rookie comedy, Community.
And we saw America’s favorite high school football coach, Eric Taylor, begin the next chapter of his career in Friday Night Lights. Same town -- Dillon, Texas. Different high school -- East Dillon High.
We saw unknown Taylor Schilling capture our hearts as the lead character in Mercy, Veronica Callahan, a nurse at the fictional Mercy Hospital in Jersey City, New Jersey.
We saw Saturday Night Live begin its 35th season.
We saw a remake of The Prisoner, the revolutionary late 1960’s drama.
And we saw a Seinfeld reunion of sorts on Curb Your Enthusiasm.
We said hello to Royal Pains, White Collar, and Castle.
We said goodbye to Monk, The Unusuals, and Life on Mars.
We also said goodbye to icons of the 60’s, 70’s, and 80’s.
Soupy Sales, who entertained children of the 1960’s as an unofficial precursor to Pee Wee Herman.
Farrah Fawcett, who inspired women in the late 1970’s to wear their hair long and feathered.
And Michael Jackson, who helped launch MTV in the 1980’s with videos that told stories.
2010 is just around the corner. If it’s anything like 2009, it should take us on quite an odyssey in the world of television.
david@davidkrell.com
As 2009 turns into 2010, we take a look back at the year in television.
We saw Ziva David leave her role as a Mossad liaison in NCIS and return to the Mossad full-time under the reign of her father, Mossad Chief Eli David.
After she got captured during a mission in North Africa, the NCIS crew rescued her.
And Ziva returned to NCIS as a full-fledged member of the team, thereby abandoning any remaining and confusing loyalties to her father.
We met the team’s Los Angeles counterparts in a crossover appearance that set the stage for the spinoff NCIS: Los Angeles.
We saw Sarah Palin confront David Letterman in the media because of a joke about her daughter’s pregnancy.
And we saw David Letterman in another media controversy rooted in his extracurricular relationships with female staff members.
We saw Jay Leno move to 10:00 pm with the slogan It’s About Time. We saw Conan O’Brien move into The Tonight Show host position with a new studio at NBC Universal.
We saw Jimmy Fallon take over Conan’s old job as the host of Late Night.
We saw Julianna Marguiles return to network prime time as the scorned spouse of an adulterous Chicago politician in The Good Wife. Her character returns to the practice of law after a 15-year absence so she can support her children.
We saw a story line span all three CSI shows during the November sweeps period.
On Entourage, we saw Ari Gold merge his agency, Miller Gold, with the agency of his mentor and nemesis, Terrence McQuewick.
We saw Johnny Chase get his big break with a network holding deal for a television series to be centered on him.
We saw Eric fold up his small talent management company to take a job with a legendary talent management company.
We saw Turtle and Jamie-Lynn Sigler break up.
And we saw Eric and Sloane get engaged.
On cable news channels, we saw a balloon that looked like a huge Jiffy Pop container travel across Colorado and we feared that a six-year-old boy was inside the balloon.
We soon learned that no one was inside. It was a hoax so the parents could get media attention and pitch themselves for a reality show.
We saw Jon and Kate split up.
We saw Southland get cancelled before its second season even aired one episode because its content is suited for a 10:00 pm broadcast time slot, but NBC does not have that time slot available. TNT picked up the show.
We saw the return of sitcom favorites.
Courtney Cox in Cougar Town.
Ed O’Neill in Modern Family.
Kelsey Grammer in Hank.
Patricia Heaton in The Middle.
Ray Romano in Men of a Certain Age.
We saw Jim and Pam get married on The Office.
We saw the end of King of the Hill and the launch of its replacement -- Family Guy spinoff The Cleveland Show.
We saw The Simpsons begin its 20th season.
We saw the debut of Amy Poehler’s comedy, Parks and Recreation.
We saw Chevy Chase finally ready for prime time as part of the ensemble cast of NBC’s rookie comedy, Community.
And we saw America’s favorite high school football coach, Eric Taylor, begin the next chapter of his career in Friday Night Lights. Same town -- Dillon, Texas. Different high school -- East Dillon High.
We saw unknown Taylor Schilling capture our hearts as the lead character in Mercy, Veronica Callahan, a nurse at the fictional Mercy Hospital in Jersey City, New Jersey.
We saw Saturday Night Live begin its 35th season.
We saw a remake of The Prisoner, the revolutionary late 1960’s drama.
And we saw a Seinfeld reunion of sorts on Curb Your Enthusiasm.
We said hello to Royal Pains, White Collar, and Castle.
We said goodbye to Monk, The Unusuals, and Life on Mars.
We also said goodbye to icons of the 60’s, 70’s, and 80’s.
Soupy Sales, who entertained children of the 1960’s as an unofficial precursor to Pee Wee Herman.
Farrah Fawcett, who inspired women in the late 1970’s to wear their hair long and feathered.
And Michael Jackson, who helped launch MTV in the 1980’s with videos that told stories.
2010 is just around the corner. If it’s anything like 2009, it should take us on quite an odyssey in the world of television.
Murphy Brown
December 08, 2009
by David Krell
david@davidkrell.com
From 1988 to 1998, Murphy Brown showed us the personal and professional lives of a fictional, accomplished, perpetually single television newswoman.
Candice Bergen stars in the title role -- a Motown-loving, Barry Manilow-detesting, alcoholic-reforming anchor of the fictional FYI prime time news program. Each FYI show begins with anchor Jim Dial saying some variation on the phrase For your information, tonight.
Bergen had the great fortune of solid writing, a strong cast, and exemplary guest stars and recurring actors.
In the guest star category, Darren McGavin and Colleen Dewhurst play Murphy’s parents, Morgan Fairchild plays an actress researching a sitcom role loosely based on Murphy, and Harry Shearer plays an image consultant.
Real-life celebrities play themselves, including Connie Chung, John F. Kennedy, Jr., Walter Cronkite, Katie Couric, and Paula Zahn.
Jane Leeves plays the recurring role of Audrey, girlfriend of FYI Executive Producer Miles Silverberg.
Alan Oppenheimer and Garry Marshall play the recurring roles of network executives Eugene Kinsella and Stan Lansing, respectively.
The central cast gives Murphy a strong quasi-family.
Charles Kimbrough plays veteran television newsman Jim Dial.
Grant Shaud plays the young, eager, and initially inexperienced executive producer, Miles Silverberg.
Faith Ford plays beauty queen turned television journalist Corky Sherwood.
And Joe Regalbuto plays Murphy’s best friend and investigative journalist Frank Fontana.
One hallmark of Murphy Brown is the constant changing of Murphy’s secretaries.
One secretary ran a phone sex line from her desk!
Another hallmark is Murphy’s house painter Eldin Bernecky, played by Robert Pastorelli. Eldin is Murphy’s sounding board at home because he always finds new work to do in Murphy’s elegant house.
In 1992, art met life on Murphy Brown.
Murphy got pregnant by an old flame. But he did not stick around because his passion is traveling the world to help less fortunate people.
Murphy decides to have the baby. And Vice President Dan Quayle criticizes the Murphy Brown character for having a child out of wedlock and calling it just another lifestyle choice.
Quayle’s comments reflect the importance of a father in a child’s life. But it triggered a media firestorm.
Murphy Brown incorporated Quayle’s comments into the show. In the Murphyverse, Quayle criticizes the real-life Murphy Brown rather than a fictional character.
Murphy Brown responded to the vice president’s criticism by saying that families come in all shapes and sizes.
In a later season, Kay Carter-Shepley replaces Miles Silverberg as Executive Producer of FYI. Lily Tomlin plays Carter-Shepley.
In the final season, Murphy battles and defeats breast cancer.
Murphy Brown. For your information, she’s America’s favorite fictional television news superstar.
david@davidkrell.com
From 1988 to 1998, Murphy Brown showed us the personal and professional lives of a fictional, accomplished, perpetually single television newswoman.
Candice Bergen stars in the title role -- a Motown-loving, Barry Manilow-detesting, alcoholic-reforming anchor of the fictional FYI prime time news program. Each FYI show begins with anchor Jim Dial saying some variation on the phrase For your information, tonight.
Bergen had the great fortune of solid writing, a strong cast, and exemplary guest stars and recurring actors.
In the guest star category, Darren McGavin and Colleen Dewhurst play Murphy’s parents, Morgan Fairchild plays an actress researching a sitcom role loosely based on Murphy, and Harry Shearer plays an image consultant.
Real-life celebrities play themselves, including Connie Chung, John F. Kennedy, Jr., Walter Cronkite, Katie Couric, and Paula Zahn.
Jane Leeves plays the recurring role of Audrey, girlfriend of FYI Executive Producer Miles Silverberg.
Alan Oppenheimer and Garry Marshall play the recurring roles of network executives Eugene Kinsella and Stan Lansing, respectively.
The central cast gives Murphy a strong quasi-family.
Charles Kimbrough plays veteran television newsman Jim Dial.
Grant Shaud plays the young, eager, and initially inexperienced executive producer, Miles Silverberg.
Faith Ford plays beauty queen turned television journalist Corky Sherwood.
And Joe Regalbuto plays Murphy’s best friend and investigative journalist Frank Fontana.
One hallmark of Murphy Brown is the constant changing of Murphy’s secretaries.
One secretary ran a phone sex line from her desk!
Another hallmark is Murphy’s house painter Eldin Bernecky, played by Robert Pastorelli. Eldin is Murphy’s sounding board at home because he always finds new work to do in Murphy’s elegant house.
In 1992, art met life on Murphy Brown.
Murphy got pregnant by an old flame. But he did not stick around because his passion is traveling the world to help less fortunate people.
Murphy decides to have the baby. And Vice President Dan Quayle criticizes the Murphy Brown character for having a child out of wedlock and calling it just another lifestyle choice.
Quayle’s comments reflect the importance of a father in a child’s life. But it triggered a media firestorm.
Murphy Brown incorporated Quayle’s comments into the show. In the Murphyverse, Quayle criticizes the real-life Murphy Brown rather than a fictional character.
Murphy Brown responded to the vice president’s criticism by saying that families come in all shapes and sizes.
In a later season, Kay Carter-Shepley replaces Miles Silverberg as Executive Producer of FYI. Lily Tomlin plays Carter-Shepley.
In the final season, Murphy battles and defeats breast cancer.
Murphy Brown. For your information, she’s America’s favorite fictional television news superstar.
The Last Great Ride
December 07, 2009
by David Krell
david@davidkrell.com
Brandon Tartikoff saw the best of times and the worst of times during his reign as NBC’s uberprogrammer.
The best of times -- Hill Street Blues, L.A. Law, Night Court, Cheers, The Cosby Show, St. Elsewhere, Family Ties, Miami Vice, Crime Story, Hunter, Late Night with David Letterman.
The worst of times -- Manimal, Misfits of Science, Supertrain, Lewis & Clark, Hull High, Pink Lady, Gavilan, Nightingales, The Nutt House, Partners in Crime.
Tartikoff was a rare television executive in that the general public knew his name. He was a guest host on Saturday Night Live. He appeared as himself in an episode of Night Court.
Tartikoff passed away in 1997. Fortunately, he recorded his life story in his 1992 autobiography, The Last Great Ride with Charles Leerhsen.
Tartikoff explains the television business as if he was talking to you informally at the kitchen table, the corner bar, or the airport terminal. And he’s fiercely honest about the realities of ratings, missed opportunities, and severe pressure in television’s executive suites.
The Last Great Ride unveils terrific television stories through the eyes of a baby boomer who possessed extraordinary passion, talent, and drive.
Tartikoff tells the details of how NBC cast Michael J. Fox instead of Matthew Broderick for the role of Alex P. Keaton in Family Ties, how William Devane lost the role of Sam Malone during his audition for Cheers, and how The Cosby Show helped rebuild NBC.
We also learn the turning points in Tartikoff’s career and personal life, including his battle with Hodgkins Disease. Ultimately, he lost the battle. But his constant strive to win under pressure in his personal life matched the same desire in his professional life.
Consequently, NBC’s peacock rose like a phoenix with newfound success in the 1980’s.
Indeed, when Brandon Tartikoff was at the helm, NBC’s shows, stations, and viewers enjoyed a great ride.
david@davidkrell.com
Brandon Tartikoff saw the best of times and the worst of times during his reign as NBC’s uberprogrammer.
The best of times -- Hill Street Blues, L.A. Law, Night Court, Cheers, The Cosby Show, St. Elsewhere, Family Ties, Miami Vice, Crime Story, Hunter, Late Night with David Letterman.
The worst of times -- Manimal, Misfits of Science, Supertrain, Lewis & Clark, Hull High, Pink Lady, Gavilan, Nightingales, The Nutt House, Partners in Crime.
Tartikoff was a rare television executive in that the general public knew his name. He was a guest host on Saturday Night Live. He appeared as himself in an episode of Night Court.
Tartikoff passed away in 1997. Fortunately, he recorded his life story in his 1992 autobiography, The Last Great Ride with Charles Leerhsen.
Tartikoff explains the television business as if he was talking to you informally at the kitchen table, the corner bar, or the airport terminal. And he’s fiercely honest about the realities of ratings, missed opportunities, and severe pressure in television’s executive suites.
The Last Great Ride unveils terrific television stories through the eyes of a baby boomer who possessed extraordinary passion, talent, and drive.
Tartikoff tells the details of how NBC cast Michael J. Fox instead of Matthew Broderick for the role of Alex P. Keaton in Family Ties, how William Devane lost the role of Sam Malone during his audition for Cheers, and how The Cosby Show helped rebuild NBC.
We also learn the turning points in Tartikoff’s career and personal life, including his battle with Hodgkins Disease. Ultimately, he lost the battle. But his constant strive to win under pressure in his personal life matched the same desire in his professional life.
Consequently, NBC’s peacock rose like a phoenix with newfound success in the 1980’s.
Indeed, when Brandon Tartikoff was at the helm, NBC’s shows, stations, and viewers enjoyed a great ride.
Philadelphia TV
November 28, 2009
by David Krell
david@davidkrell.com
It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia returned to FX this fall.
The show about four slackers who run a bar in the City of Brotherly Love derives its comedy from a zany, chaotic, and somewhat nonsensical base.
But it works. And it benefits from veteran actor Danny DeVito playing the father of two of the characters.
Before Sunny rose on FX, Philadelphia served as the setting for other television shows, all of which were short-lived but of solid quality.
Angie aired on ABC in the late 1970’s. This sitcom features a post-Saturday Night Fever Donna Pescow in the title role as working class waitress Angie Falco.
Angie’s paramour was Dr. Brad Benson, member of an old-line, wealthy Philadelphia family. Robert Hays plays Brad.
And before she found fame as Raymond’s mother, Marie Barone, Doris Roberts played Angie’s mom, Theresa Falco.
Angie was a sweet sitcom with likable leads, but despite ABC’s build-up, it did not last more than a couple of seasons.
Neither did The Tony Randall Show, another late 1970’s entry based in Philadelphia. Randall plays Judge Walter O. Franklin in this offering from MTM Productions. Like Mary Tyler Moore, The Tony Randall Show focuses on the home life and work life of its star’s character.
thirtysomething lasted four seasons, from 1987 to 1991. The show’s stories about Philadelphia yuppies in their thirties showed us the true depths of emotions during the time in our lives when we reach adulthood but yearn for our youth.
Shannon’s Deal stars Jamey Sheridan as Philadelphia lawyer Jack Shannon, a former big-time lawyer with a big-time gambling problem. After losing his job and his marriage, Shannon starts over as a solo practitioner.
While Shannon battles the District Attorney, he has a solid support system -- a secretary who works for him in exchange for legal services concerning her boyfriend, a fellow solo practitioner in his office building, and a daughter approaching her teenage years.
Shannon’s Deal was a 1989 pilot. It lasted less than a full season in 1990 on NBC.
The aptly named Philly from Steven Bochco Productions lasted a single season -- 2001-2002.
Philly stars NYPD Blue alumnae Kim Delaney as attorney Kathleen Maguire, a woman trying to balance her work life with a personal life after the ending of her bad marriage to an Assistant District Attorney.
david@davidkrell.com
It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia returned to FX this fall.
The show about four slackers who run a bar in the City of Brotherly Love derives its comedy from a zany, chaotic, and somewhat nonsensical base.
But it works. And it benefits from veteran actor Danny DeVito playing the father of two of the characters.
Before Sunny rose on FX, Philadelphia served as the setting for other television shows, all of which were short-lived but of solid quality.
Angie aired on ABC in the late 1970’s. This sitcom features a post-Saturday Night Fever Donna Pescow in the title role as working class waitress Angie Falco.
Angie’s paramour was Dr. Brad Benson, member of an old-line, wealthy Philadelphia family. Robert Hays plays Brad.
And before she found fame as Raymond’s mother, Marie Barone, Doris Roberts played Angie’s mom, Theresa Falco.
Angie was a sweet sitcom with likable leads, but despite ABC’s build-up, it did not last more than a couple of seasons.
Neither did The Tony Randall Show, another late 1970’s entry based in Philadelphia. Randall plays Judge Walter O. Franklin in this offering from MTM Productions. Like Mary Tyler Moore, The Tony Randall Show focuses on the home life and work life of its star’s character.
thirtysomething lasted four seasons, from 1987 to 1991. The show’s stories about Philadelphia yuppies in their thirties showed us the true depths of emotions during the time in our lives when we reach adulthood but yearn for our youth.
Shannon’s Deal stars Jamey Sheridan as Philadelphia lawyer Jack Shannon, a former big-time lawyer with a big-time gambling problem. After losing his job and his marriage, Shannon starts over as a solo practitioner.
While Shannon battles the District Attorney, he has a solid support system -- a secretary who works for him in exchange for legal services concerning her boyfriend, a fellow solo practitioner in his office building, and a daughter approaching her teenage years.
Shannon’s Deal was a 1989 pilot. It lasted less than a full season in 1990 on NBC.
The aptly named Philly from Steven Bochco Productions lasted a single season -- 2001-2002.
Philly stars NYPD Blue alumnae Kim Delaney as attorney Kathleen Maguire, a woman trying to balance her work life with a personal life after the ending of her bad marriage to an Assistant District Attorney.
Thursday Nights at 10pm
November 27, 2009
by David Krell
david@davidkrell.com
Now that The Jay Leno Show is in the 10 pm time slot on NBC, a look back at Thursday nights at 10 on the Peacock Network reveals an amazing consistency of quality for nearly thirty years.
Hill Street Blues debuted in 1981 and changed the production of television drama.
Story lines became story arcs and lasted several episodes.
Moving cameras shifted seamlessly from one set of characters having a conversation to another set of characters. Gone were standard cuts.
And sometimes the good guys lost.
Hill Street Blues focused on the gritty, tough, and somewhat chaotic life in an unnamed metropolitan precinct, specifically, an area known as ‘The Hill.’ However, early visual evidence indicates Chicago and early dialogue indicates New York City.
Created by Steven Bochco and Michael Kozoll, Hill Street Blues ended its run in 1987.
Just a year prior, L.A. Law premiered in the Friday at 10 pm time slot following Miami Vice. Steven Bochco teamed with Terry Louise Fisher to create this show about yuppie lawyers in Los Angeles.
When Hill Street Blues ended, L.A. Law took its Thursday at 10 pm time slot and enjoyed a successful tenure until its end in 1994. Eight years of serious legal issues, comical legal issues, and everyday legal issues.
ER continued the tradition of quality drama. It captivated the audience immediately upon its debut in September 1994. And it secured the NBC Must See TV Thursday night programming block.
Revived from an old movie script by Michael Crichton, the ER pilot showed life in a Chicago emergency room on Saint Patrick’s Day.
Casts changed. Characters died. Quality continued.
For fifteen years.
An astounding record for a television show.
Hill Street Blues, L.A. Law, and ER won several Emmy awards, broke ground in the issues they covered and how they covered them, and captured our hearts.
For twenty-eight years, from 1981 to 2009
From Captain Frank Furillo’s leadership to Sergeant Phil Esterhaus’ avuncular delivery at Roll Call.
From Arnie Becker’s sleazy tactics as McKenzie Brackman’s family law attorney to Arnie Becker’s heart of gold in acting like a big brother at times to mentally retarded office worker Benny.
From Mark Greene’s quiet determination to practice emergency medicine in the face of massive bureaucracy, office politics, and budget concerns to John Carter’s slow emergence from clueless intern to confident ER chief.
And hey, one more thing -- Let’s be careful out there.
david@davidkrell.com
Now that The Jay Leno Show is in the 10 pm time slot on NBC, a look back at Thursday nights at 10 on the Peacock Network reveals an amazing consistency of quality for nearly thirty years.
Hill Street Blues debuted in 1981 and changed the production of television drama.
Story lines became story arcs and lasted several episodes.
Moving cameras shifted seamlessly from one set of characters having a conversation to another set of characters. Gone were standard cuts.
And sometimes the good guys lost.
Hill Street Blues focused on the gritty, tough, and somewhat chaotic life in an unnamed metropolitan precinct, specifically, an area known as ‘The Hill.’ However, early visual evidence indicates Chicago and early dialogue indicates New York City.
Created by Steven Bochco and Michael Kozoll, Hill Street Blues ended its run in 1987.
Just a year prior, L.A. Law premiered in the Friday at 10 pm time slot following Miami Vice. Steven Bochco teamed with Terry Louise Fisher to create this show about yuppie lawyers in Los Angeles.
When Hill Street Blues ended, L.A. Law took its Thursday at 10 pm time slot and enjoyed a successful tenure until its end in 1994. Eight years of serious legal issues, comical legal issues, and everyday legal issues.
ER continued the tradition of quality drama. It captivated the audience immediately upon its debut in September 1994. And it secured the NBC Must See TV Thursday night programming block.
Revived from an old movie script by Michael Crichton, the ER pilot showed life in a Chicago emergency room on Saint Patrick’s Day.
Casts changed. Characters died. Quality continued.
For fifteen years.
An astounding record for a television show.
Hill Street Blues, L.A. Law, and ER won several Emmy awards, broke ground in the issues they covered and how they covered them, and captured our hearts.
For twenty-eight years, from 1981 to 2009
From Captain Frank Furillo’s leadership to Sergeant Phil Esterhaus’ avuncular delivery at Roll Call.
From Arnie Becker’s sleazy tactics as McKenzie Brackman’s family law attorney to Arnie Becker’s heart of gold in acting like a big brother at times to mentally retarded office worker Benny.
From Mark Greene’s quiet determination to practice emergency medicine in the face of massive bureaucracy, office politics, and budget concerns to John Carter’s slow emergence from clueless intern to confident ER chief.
And hey, one more thing -- Let’s be careful out there.
Lucy Meets John Wayne
November 27, 2009
by David Krell
david@davidkrell.com
When Lucy and Ricky went to Hollywood with Fred and Ethel, Lucy’s mission changed. Instead of trying to be a part of Ricky’s nightclub act, she tried to meet movie stars. And she succeeded -- Harpo Marx, Richard Widmark, William Holden.
But Lucy’s encounter with John Wayne presents an interesting moment. Business historians might call it one of the first instances of cross-marketing on television.
Lucy and Ethel steal John Wayne’s footprints from Grauman’s Chinese Theater. Then, they attempt to convince Wayne to make another set of footprints. The dialogue references the current movie on which John Wayne is working -- Blood Alley.
It sets the stage for the cross-marketing.
In a later scene set in John Wayne’s trailer, an assistant shows John Wayne the proposed movie poster.
Wayne thinks it is okay. But he suggests that the assistant show the poster to Mr. Wellman -- William Wellman, the film’s director.
Although the exchange lasts a few seconds, it is brilliant in its simplicity, subtle in its promotion of Blood Alley, and viable in its fit into the story line.
First, the simplicity.
The scene revolves around a simple question asked by the assistant with a one sentence response by Wayne. No elaborate explanation of the film. No empty dialogue. No complications.
Simple. Strong. To the point.
Just like John Wayne’s characters.
Second, the subtlety.
The assistant holds up the poster for John Wayne, the studio audience, and the television audience. Because he only shows the poster for a few seconds, the scene does not insult, browbeat, or overtake the audience. The impression is made, however.
Third, the viability.
Because John Wayne was shooting Blood Alley at the same time he shot this I Love Lucy episode, the scene is perfectly logical.
Why wouldn’t John Wayne see the draft of the movie poster?
Wayne shows tremendous comedic talent in the episode. More than fifty years after its first broadcast, it still holds up.
david@davidkrell.com
When Lucy and Ricky went to Hollywood with Fred and Ethel, Lucy’s mission changed. Instead of trying to be a part of Ricky’s nightclub act, she tried to meet movie stars. And she succeeded -- Harpo Marx, Richard Widmark, William Holden.
But Lucy’s encounter with John Wayne presents an interesting moment. Business historians might call it one of the first instances of cross-marketing on television.
Lucy and Ethel steal John Wayne’s footprints from Grauman’s Chinese Theater. Then, they attempt to convince Wayne to make another set of footprints. The dialogue references the current movie on which John Wayne is working -- Blood Alley.
It sets the stage for the cross-marketing.
In a later scene set in John Wayne’s trailer, an assistant shows John Wayne the proposed movie poster.
Wayne thinks it is okay. But he suggests that the assistant show the poster to Mr. Wellman -- William Wellman, the film’s director.
Although the exchange lasts a few seconds, it is brilliant in its simplicity, subtle in its promotion of Blood Alley, and viable in its fit into the story line.
First, the simplicity.
The scene revolves around a simple question asked by the assistant with a one sentence response by Wayne. No elaborate explanation of the film. No empty dialogue. No complications.
Simple. Strong. To the point.
Just like John Wayne’s characters.
Second, the subtlety.
The assistant holds up the poster for John Wayne, the studio audience, and the television audience. Because he only shows the poster for a few seconds, the scene does not insult, browbeat, or overtake the audience. The impression is made, however.
Third, the viability.
Because John Wayne was shooting Blood Alley at the same time he shot this I Love Lucy episode, the scene is perfectly logical.
Why wouldn’t John Wayne see the draft of the movie poster?
Wayne shows tremendous comedic talent in the episode. More than fifty years after its first broadcast, it still holds up.
Growing Up Brady
November 26, 2009
by David Krell
david@davidkrell.com
For television historians, fans, and enthusiasts, Growing Up Brady is a must-have book. Written by Barry Williams with Chris Kreski in the early 1990’s, Growing Up Brady gives an inside view of life at the fictional address of 4222 Clinton Way -- the home of The Brady Bunch.
The Brady Bunch aired on ABC from 1969 to 1974. Barry Williams plays Greg Brady, the oldest sibling.
Growing Up Brady tells us how Barry Williams got the part.
Growing Up Brady tells us about the fights, arguments, and tension between Robert Reed and Sherwood Schwartz, the show’s lead actor and creator/executive producer, respectively.
Growing Up Brady tells us about Barry Williams interconnected social life on The Brady Bunch -- his date with Florence Henderson who plays his stepmother on The Brady Bunch and his romance with Maureen McCormick who plays his stepsister, Marcia.
Growing Up Brady also displays Williams’ view on the continuous reinvention of The Brady Bunch -- The Brady Kids (early 1970’s Saturday morning cartoon show), The Brady Bunch Hour (1977 variety show), The Brady Girls Get Married (tv-movie), The Brady Brides (sitcom), A Very Brady Christmas (1988 tv-movie), The Bradys (1990 drama series).
Additionally, Paramount produced two feature films in the 1990’s -- The Brady Bunch Movie (1995) and A Very Brady Sequel (1996). Finally, The Brady Bunch in the White House was a tv-movie that aired on FOX in 2002. The main story line features patriarch Mike Brady becoming President of the United States.
Robert Reed wrote the Foreword for Growing Up Brady. Williams does more than explain Reed’s aforementioned conflicts with Sherwood Schwartz. He uses Reed’s own words -- memoranda that Reed wrote to Schwartz concerning various points of contention in the scripts.
Williams provides another bonus for Brady fans. He frequently shares opinions, memories, and personal stories. Williams’ efforts complement the factual information of episode title, synopses, and credits. It truly is a behind-the-scenes peek.
He also reveals the harsh realities of show business. In excruciatingly honest detail, Williams portrays the contract renegotiations between the child actors’ representative and Schwartz and the consequent effect on the relationship between the actors and their father figure boss.
Williams writes, All along, we had basically been a bunch of ordinary kids who liked each other and who interacted naturally with each other on camera. Now, with burnt business deals, lawsuits, angry parents, and a jaded mistrust of those in charge thrown into the mix, our chemistry went from spontaneous to stilted and our united ensemble mentality burst into six-sided selfishness. Worst of all, our spirits were dampened and that resulted in some noticeably low energy episodes. We listened to the hype, believed it, and screwed up big time.
Growing Up Brady -- a behind-the-scenes look at an American television icon.
david@davidkrell.com
For television historians, fans, and enthusiasts, Growing Up Brady is a must-have book. Written by Barry Williams with Chris Kreski in the early 1990’s, Growing Up Brady gives an inside view of life at the fictional address of 4222 Clinton Way -- the home of The Brady Bunch.
The Brady Bunch aired on ABC from 1969 to 1974. Barry Williams plays Greg Brady, the oldest sibling.
Growing Up Brady tells us how Barry Williams got the part.
Growing Up Brady tells us about the fights, arguments, and tension between Robert Reed and Sherwood Schwartz, the show’s lead actor and creator/executive producer, respectively.
Growing Up Brady tells us about Barry Williams interconnected social life on The Brady Bunch -- his date with Florence Henderson who plays his stepmother on The Brady Bunch and his romance with Maureen McCormick who plays his stepsister, Marcia.
Growing Up Brady also displays Williams’ view on the continuous reinvention of The Brady Bunch -- The Brady Kids (early 1970’s Saturday morning cartoon show), The Brady Bunch Hour (1977 variety show), The Brady Girls Get Married (tv-movie), The Brady Brides (sitcom), A Very Brady Christmas (1988 tv-movie), The Bradys (1990 drama series).
Additionally, Paramount produced two feature films in the 1990’s -- The Brady Bunch Movie (1995) and A Very Brady Sequel (1996). Finally, The Brady Bunch in the White House was a tv-movie that aired on FOX in 2002. The main story line features patriarch Mike Brady becoming President of the United States.
Robert Reed wrote the Foreword for Growing Up Brady. Williams does more than explain Reed’s aforementioned conflicts with Sherwood Schwartz. He uses Reed’s own words -- memoranda that Reed wrote to Schwartz concerning various points of contention in the scripts.
Williams provides another bonus for Brady fans. He frequently shares opinions, memories, and personal stories. Williams’ efforts complement the factual information of episode title, synopses, and credits. It truly is a behind-the-scenes peek.
He also reveals the harsh realities of show business. In excruciatingly honest detail, Williams portrays the contract renegotiations between the child actors’ representative and Schwartz and the consequent effect on the relationship between the actors and their father figure boss.
Williams writes, All along, we had basically been a bunch of ordinary kids who liked each other and who interacted naturally with each other on camera. Now, with burnt business deals, lawsuits, angry parents, and a jaded mistrust of those in charge thrown into the mix, our chemistry went from spontaneous to stilted and our united ensemble mentality burst into six-sided selfishness. Worst of all, our spirits were dampened and that resulted in some noticeably low energy episodes. We listened to the hype, believed it, and screwed up big time.
Growing Up Brady -- a behind-the-scenes look at an American television icon.
Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon
November 26, 2009
by David Krell
david@davidkrell.com
Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon is a game that can be played anytime and anywhere by anybody. Perfect light enjoyment for holiday conversation during travel, turkey, or dessert.
The purpose is to connect an actor or actress to Kevin Bacon in six steps or less by using movies as the connectors.
For example, William Holden can be connected in three steps. Holden was in Network with Faye Dunaway. Dunaway was in Chinatown with Jack Nicholson. Nicholson was in A Few Good Men with Kevin Bacon.
Television icons can also be used as starting points because their resumes include movies. Mary Tyler Moore was in Change of Habit with Elvis Presley and Ed Asner. Presley plays a doctor and Asner plays a cop. Asner also plays a cop in Fort Apache, The Bronx with Paul Newman. Newman was in The Road to Perdition with Tom Hanks. Hanks was in Apollo 13 with Kevin Bacon.
Dick Van Dyke was in Mary Poppins with Julie Andrews. Andrews was in 10 with Dudley Moore. Moore was in Arthur with Liza Minelli. Minelli was in New York, New York with Robert de Niro. de Niro was in Sleepers with Kevin Bacon.
Alan Alda was in Same Time, Next Year with Ellen Burstyn. Burstyn was in Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood with Sandra Bullock. Bullock was in Speed with Keanu Reeves. Reeves was in The Devil’s Advocate with Charlize Theron. Theron was in That Thing You Do! with Tom Hanks. Hanks was in Apollo 13 with Kevin Bacon.
Lucille Ball was in Yours, Mine, and Ours with Henry Fonda. Fonda was in Mr. Roberts with Jack Lemmon. Lemmon was in JFK with Kevin Bacon.
Sid Caesar was in Grease with John Travolta. Travolta was in Moment By Moment with Lily Tomlin. Tomlin was in Nine to Five with Dabney Coleman. Coleman was in North Dallas Forty with Nick Nolte. Nolte was in Cape Fear with Robert de Niro. de Niro was in Sleepers with Kevin Bacon.
Bob Hope was in Spies Like Us with Chevy Chase. Chase was in Caddyshack with Rodney Dangerfield. Dangerfield was in Back to School with Sally Kellerman. Kellerman was in M*A*S*H with Tom Skerritt. Skerritt was in Singles with Kyra Sedgwick. And Kyra Sedgwick is married to Kevin Bacon.
david@davidkrell.com
Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon is a game that can be played anytime and anywhere by anybody. Perfect light enjoyment for holiday conversation during travel, turkey, or dessert.
The purpose is to connect an actor or actress to Kevin Bacon in six steps or less by using movies as the connectors.
For example, William Holden can be connected in three steps. Holden was in Network with Faye Dunaway. Dunaway was in Chinatown with Jack Nicholson. Nicholson was in A Few Good Men with Kevin Bacon.
Television icons can also be used as starting points because their resumes include movies. Mary Tyler Moore was in Change of Habit with Elvis Presley and Ed Asner. Presley plays a doctor and Asner plays a cop. Asner also plays a cop in Fort Apache, The Bronx with Paul Newman. Newman was in The Road to Perdition with Tom Hanks. Hanks was in Apollo 13 with Kevin Bacon.
Dick Van Dyke was in Mary Poppins with Julie Andrews. Andrews was in 10 with Dudley Moore. Moore was in Arthur with Liza Minelli. Minelli was in New York, New York with Robert de Niro. de Niro was in Sleepers with Kevin Bacon.
Alan Alda was in Same Time, Next Year with Ellen Burstyn. Burstyn was in Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood with Sandra Bullock. Bullock was in Speed with Keanu Reeves. Reeves was in The Devil’s Advocate with Charlize Theron. Theron was in That Thing You Do! with Tom Hanks. Hanks was in Apollo 13 with Kevin Bacon.
Lucille Ball was in Yours, Mine, and Ours with Henry Fonda. Fonda was in Mr. Roberts with Jack Lemmon. Lemmon was in JFK with Kevin Bacon.
Sid Caesar was in Grease with John Travolta. Travolta was in Moment By Moment with Lily Tomlin. Tomlin was in Nine to Five with Dabney Coleman. Coleman was in North Dallas Forty with Nick Nolte. Nolte was in Cape Fear with Robert de Niro. de Niro was in Sleepers with Kevin Bacon.
Bob Hope was in Spies Like Us with Chevy Chase. Chase was in Caddyshack with Rodney Dangerfield. Dangerfield was in Back to School with Sally Kellerman. Kellerman was in M*A*S*H with Tom Skerritt. Skerritt was in Singles with Kyra Sedgwick. And Kyra Sedgwick is married to Kevin Bacon.
Jimmy Smits
November 25, 2009
by David Krell
david@davidkrell.com
Prime time soap operas dominated the 1980’s. In the 2000’s, not so much, except for the teenage version of the genre on the CW television network.
Jimmy Smits was part of an effort to reignite the genre with Cane, a short-lived offering on CBS in 2007. Cane revolved around a Cuban-American family and its power, wealth, and dynasty stemming from its rum and sugar business interests.
This is the third consecutive decade where Jimmy Smits has been a focal point of a prime time television series.
In the 1980’s, he played Victor Sifuentes on L.A. Law. Sifuentes worked in the Public Defender’s office before Michael Kuzak recruited him to the private law firm sector.
While Victor began as the ‘cleanup’ attorney for McKenzie Brackman, Chaney & Kuzak, handling the firm’s pro bono cases and other matters that burdened the firm’s workload, he ventured into other legal territories.
In the episode Victor Sifuentes confronted legendary attorney August Redding, played by legendary actor Ralph Bellamy. Victor’s client sues Redding for legal malpractice. In the episode’s climactic scene, Victor puts Redding on the witness stand. He reveals Redding’s deep loss of memory when the aging lawyer cannot remember Victor’s name.
Victor confronted another legendary attorney in Hamilton Schuyler, a dwarf attorney who specializes in products liability cases.
Nominated for an Emmy Award for Best Actor six times during his L.A. Law tenure, Smits won once.
In the 1990’s, Smits took over the lead position in NYPD Blue after the sudden departure of David Caruso. Smits’ Bobby Simone character is suave, sophisticated, and strong. With quiet confidence, he gains the respect of his partner, Andy Sipowicz. He also wins the love of fellow detective Diane Russell.
NYPD Blue eased out Bobby Simone in a story arc centering on a terrific heart problem. In the episode where Bobby dies, the last scene shows him flatlining and then we see the Executive Producer credits in black against a white background. It’s a direct contrast to the usual format -- white lettering against a black background.
Smits returns as Bobby Simone in an episode near the show’s end. Andy has a waking dream where he talks to Bobby.
Smits also hosted the retrospective that aired near the end of the show’s successful twelve-year run.
Smits did not win an Emmy Award for his work on NYPD Blue, though he received five nominations.
In the 2000’s, Smits appeared on The West Wing as Matthew Santos, a three-term congressman from Texas and former Mayor of Houston who wants to be the Democratic Party’s nominee for president.
White House Deputy Chief of Staff Joshua Lyman convinces Santos that he has a legitimate shot at the presidency. Initially an also-ran candidate, Santos slowly gains recognition during the primaries. The Democratic National Convention occurs with the delegates still unsure of a nominee. Santos gives an inspiring speech concerning the voters’ freedom to choose a nominee without the pressure of power brokers making the decision for them.
The speech inspires many delegates to vote for Santos. He also gets a little help from President Bartlet who convinces an influential New York delegate to cast the Empire State’s delegate votes for Santos.
Santos’ choice for the VP nominee slot -- Leo McGarry, President Bartlet’s Chief of Staff.
In a narrow election, Santos beats a veteran politician, Senator Arnold Vinick from Santa Paula, California.
Jimmy Smits’ contributions to television have been significant, enjoyable, and challenging. Making a name for himself while part of an ensemble on L.A. Law. Taking over a lead position on a hit show from an actor who made a notorious exit from success on NYPD Blue. Joining a team that’s played together for several years while adding to the chemistry of the cast on The West Wing.
Bringing interest, enthusiasm, and novelty is a difficult challenge for any actor. Smits met the challenge directly.
By the way, Jimmy Smits also deserves a place in television trivia history. Smits plays Eddie Rivera, the partner of Detective Sonny Crockett in the pilot of Miami Vice. Rivera died in a car bomb explosion triggered by Crockett’s nemesis.
david@davidkrell.com
Prime time soap operas dominated the 1980’s. In the 2000’s, not so much, except for the teenage version of the genre on the CW television network.
Jimmy Smits was part of an effort to reignite the genre with Cane, a short-lived offering on CBS in 2007. Cane revolved around a Cuban-American family and its power, wealth, and dynasty stemming from its rum and sugar business interests.
This is the third consecutive decade where Jimmy Smits has been a focal point of a prime time television series.
In the 1980’s, he played Victor Sifuentes on L.A. Law. Sifuentes worked in the Public Defender’s office before Michael Kuzak recruited him to the private law firm sector.
While Victor began as the ‘cleanup’ attorney for McKenzie Brackman, Chaney & Kuzak, handling the firm’s pro bono cases and other matters that burdened the firm’s workload, he ventured into other legal territories.
In the episode Victor Sifuentes confronted legendary attorney August Redding, played by legendary actor Ralph Bellamy. Victor’s client sues Redding for legal malpractice. In the episode’s climactic scene, Victor puts Redding on the witness stand. He reveals Redding’s deep loss of memory when the aging lawyer cannot remember Victor’s name.
Victor confronted another legendary attorney in Hamilton Schuyler, a dwarf attorney who specializes in products liability cases.
Nominated for an Emmy Award for Best Actor six times during his L.A. Law tenure, Smits won once.
In the 1990’s, Smits took over the lead position in NYPD Blue after the sudden departure of David Caruso. Smits’ Bobby Simone character is suave, sophisticated, and strong. With quiet confidence, he gains the respect of his partner, Andy Sipowicz. He also wins the love of fellow detective Diane Russell.
NYPD Blue eased out Bobby Simone in a story arc centering on a terrific heart problem. In the episode where Bobby dies, the last scene shows him flatlining and then we see the Executive Producer credits in black against a white background. It’s a direct contrast to the usual format -- white lettering against a black background.
Smits returns as Bobby Simone in an episode near the show’s end. Andy has a waking dream where he talks to Bobby.
Smits also hosted the retrospective that aired near the end of the show’s successful twelve-year run.
Smits did not win an Emmy Award for his work on NYPD Blue, though he received five nominations.
In the 2000’s, Smits appeared on The West Wing as Matthew Santos, a three-term congressman from Texas and former Mayor of Houston who wants to be the Democratic Party’s nominee for president.
White House Deputy Chief of Staff Joshua Lyman convinces Santos that he has a legitimate shot at the presidency. Initially an also-ran candidate, Santos slowly gains recognition during the primaries. The Democratic National Convention occurs with the delegates still unsure of a nominee. Santos gives an inspiring speech concerning the voters’ freedom to choose a nominee without the pressure of power brokers making the decision for them.
The speech inspires many delegates to vote for Santos. He also gets a little help from President Bartlet who convinces an influential New York delegate to cast the Empire State’s delegate votes for Santos.
Santos’ choice for the VP nominee slot -- Leo McGarry, President Bartlet’s Chief of Staff.
In a narrow election, Santos beats a veteran politician, Senator Arnold Vinick from Santa Paula, California.
Jimmy Smits’ contributions to television have been significant, enjoyable, and challenging. Making a name for himself while part of an ensemble on L.A. Law. Taking over a lead position on a hit show from an actor who made a notorious exit from success on NYPD Blue. Joining a team that’s played together for several years while adding to the chemistry of the cast on The West Wing.
Bringing interest, enthusiasm, and novelty is a difficult challenge for any actor. Smits met the challenge directly.
By the way, Jimmy Smits also deserves a place in television trivia history. Smits plays Eddie Rivera, the partner of Detective Sonny Crockett in the pilot of Miami Vice. Rivera died in a car bomb explosion triggered by Crockett’s nemesis.
ER
November 25, 2009
by David Krell
david@davidkrell.com
An emergency room in a Chicago hospital.
A multi-racial cast.
Humor covering up the pain of working in a trauma situation.
Sounds like ER.
It is ER. But it’s not the one that immediately comes to mind.
Not the one that debuted in 1994.
Not the one that was a cornerstone of NBC’s Thursday night lineup for fifteen years.
This ER lasted only one season.
It was a sitcom based on a 1982 play. It was a nicely written, nicely acted, nicely produced show that aired on CBS during the 1984-85 season.
Elliott Gould plays Dr. Howard Sheinfeld, a twice divorced doctor who moonlights at Clark Street Hospital’s Emergency Room to pay his alimony bills. With Gould’s veteran comedy instincts, ER seems like a good idea for a sitcom. And it was, particularly in hindsight considering
the show’s talent, star power, and ensemble performances.
Conchatta Ferrell plays veteran nurse Thor. She later appeared on L.A. Law as entertainment attorney Susan Bloom. Currently, she stars as Berta, the wisecracking maid on Two and a Half Men.
Mary McDonnell took over the role of Dr. Eve Sheridan, Sheinfeld’s boss and potential love interest. Five years after ER, McDonnell captured America’s attention in Dances With Wolves. Marcia Strassman, Julie Kotter in Welcome Back, Kotter, plays Sheridan in the ER pilot.
Pamela Adlon plays Jenny Sheinfeld, the daughter of Dr. Sheinfeld. She voiced Bobby Hill on the long-running cartoon series King of the Hill.
Before he found fame, accolades, and notoriety as Larry David’s alter ego on Seinfeld -- George Costanza -- Jason Alexander played hospital administrator Harold Stickley on ER.
Lynne Moody plays young, love-seeking, good-natured nurse Julie Williams. In a bit of inspired crossover casting, Sherman Helmsley brought his George Jefferson character to ER as Julie’s uncle in a guest appearance.
Luis Avalos plays Dr. Tomas Esquivel. Avalos is probably best known to Generation Xers from The Electric Company.
And, of course, George Clooney. He appears on both ER shows. In the sitcom, he is Ace -- a heart-throbbing, pulse pounding, personality plus paramedic with rock and roll dreams. The name of his band is The Body Fluids.
Ace’s nickname reinforces his reputation as a ladies man -- My Place Ace. Coincidentally, Tomas reminisces about his younger days with a corresponding nickname -- Mi Casa Tomasa.
Like Night Court, Barney Miller, or Taxi, ER revolved around the workplace. But the potential romance between Sheinfeld and Sheridan, the wonderful acting and writing, and the quirky patients who populated the emergency room at Clark Street Hospital were not enough to keep ER from flatlining.
ER holds a special significance for me. In one episode, a guest character named Dr. Krell makes an appearance. Dr. Sheinfeld remarks on the name. He says, If I wasn’t a Sheinfeld, I’d like to be a Krell.
david@davidkrell.com
An emergency room in a Chicago hospital.
A multi-racial cast.
Humor covering up the pain of working in a trauma situation.
Sounds like ER.
It is ER. But it’s not the one that immediately comes to mind.
Not the one that debuted in 1994.
Not the one that was a cornerstone of NBC’s Thursday night lineup for fifteen years.
This ER lasted only one season.
It was a sitcom based on a 1982 play. It was a nicely written, nicely acted, nicely produced show that aired on CBS during the 1984-85 season.
Elliott Gould plays Dr. Howard Sheinfeld, a twice divorced doctor who moonlights at Clark Street Hospital’s Emergency Room to pay his alimony bills. With Gould’s veteran comedy instincts, ER seems like a good idea for a sitcom. And it was, particularly in hindsight considering
the show’s talent, star power, and ensemble performances.
Conchatta Ferrell plays veteran nurse Thor. She later appeared on L.A. Law as entertainment attorney Susan Bloom. Currently, she stars as Berta, the wisecracking maid on Two and a Half Men.
Mary McDonnell took over the role of Dr. Eve Sheridan, Sheinfeld’s boss and potential love interest. Five years after ER, McDonnell captured America’s attention in Dances With Wolves. Marcia Strassman, Julie Kotter in Welcome Back, Kotter, plays Sheridan in the ER pilot.
Pamela Adlon plays Jenny Sheinfeld, the daughter of Dr. Sheinfeld. She voiced Bobby Hill on the long-running cartoon series King of the Hill.
Before he found fame, accolades, and notoriety as Larry David’s alter ego on Seinfeld -- George Costanza -- Jason Alexander played hospital administrator Harold Stickley on ER.
Lynne Moody plays young, love-seeking, good-natured nurse Julie Williams. In a bit of inspired crossover casting, Sherman Helmsley brought his George Jefferson character to ER as Julie’s uncle in a guest appearance.
Luis Avalos plays Dr. Tomas Esquivel. Avalos is probably best known to Generation Xers from The Electric Company.
And, of course, George Clooney. He appears on both ER shows. In the sitcom, he is Ace -- a heart-throbbing, pulse pounding, personality plus paramedic with rock and roll dreams. The name of his band is The Body Fluids.
Ace’s nickname reinforces his reputation as a ladies man -- My Place Ace. Coincidentally, Tomas reminisces about his younger days with a corresponding nickname -- Mi Casa Tomasa.
Like Night Court, Barney Miller, or Taxi, ER revolved around the workplace. But the potential romance between Sheinfeld and Sheridan, the wonderful acting and writing, and the quirky patients who populated the emergency room at Clark Street Hospital were not enough to keep ER from flatlining.
ER holds a special significance for me. In one episode, a guest character named Dr. Krell makes an appearance. Dr. Sheinfeld remarks on the name. He says, If I wasn’t a Sheinfeld, I’d like to be a Krell.
Brian's Song and Something For Joey
November 24, 2009
by David Krell
david@davidkrell.com
In the 1970’s, two tv-movies became instant classics, particularly with men. With football as a backdrop, Brian’s Song and Something For Joey are at the top of the list of guy-cry entertainment fare. These tv-movies don’t merely tug at heartstrings. They grab them.
Statistics measure an athlete’s performance. But no statistic can measure the impact of Brian’s Song and Something For Joey or their real-life inspirations.
In 1964, Brian Piccolo was the top college football rusher in the country. His success capped a terrific college football career at Wake Forest. Surprisingly, his credentials did not impress any NFL team during the draft. Fourteen teams. Twenty rounds. No Brian Piccolo. Ultimately, Chicago Bears owner and coach George Halas signed Piccolo as a free agent.
Piccolo soon discovered he had cancer --embryonal cell carcinoma. He died in 1970 at the age of 26.
In 1971, the country discovered Brian Piccolo’s story in Brian’s Song, an ABC tv-movie produced by Columbia. The Columbia set used for the home of Bears player Gale Sayers and his wife may look familiar. It is the set for Darrin and Samantha Stephens on Bewitched, another Columbia property.
Brian’s Song showed Brian Piccolo’s gifts of courage, friendship, and strength.
Courage -- Brian Piccolo fought cancer with the same fierce competitiveness he displayed on the gridiron.
Friendship -- Brian Piccolo bonded with Sayers. Each player encouraged the other during their competition to play in the Bears backfield rather than ride the bench. Piccolo and Sayers were the first interracial roommates in the NFL.
Strength -- Brian Piccolo tackled his disease head-on.
Brian’s Song reveals the brutal honesty of pain in an athlete cut down in his prime. It also reveals two stars to be. Before their signature roles in The Godfather and Lady Sings the Blue, James Caan and Billy Dee Williams took on the immense responsibility of playing Brian Piccolo and Gale Sayers respectively. No easy task, considering the subject matter.
They made the somber story interesting, compelling, and inspiring, not maudlin, depressing, and angry.
Sayers’ locker room speech in one of the final scenes makes grown men cry and shows children that even tough guys weep when a friend battles an opponent meaner, tougher, and more vicious than any football player.
In another powerful scene, Sayers accepts the George S. Halas Most Courageous Player Award. He dedicates the award to Brian Piccolo because of Piccolo’s courage in battling cancer. The last part of the speech is particularly compelling.
I love Brian Piccolo. And I’d like all of you to love him too. And tonight, hit your knees, please ask God to love him.
Brian’s Song grabs at the heartstrings and doesn’t let go. Not for a scene. Not for a minute. Not for a second. Michael Legrand’s theme song The Hands of Time compounds the story’s emotional intensity.
Brian Piccolo’s story reflects the A.E. Housman poem To An Athlete Dying Young. One passage in particular stands out.
Smart lad, to slip betimes away
From fields where glory does not stay
And early though the laurel grows
It withers quicker than the rose
In 2001, ABC aired a remake of Brian’s Song with Sean Maher as Brian Piccolo and Mekhi Pfifer as Gale Sayers. The remake focused more attention than the original on the physical effects of Piccolo’s disease.
No less compelling of a story is Something For Joey, a 1977 fact-based NBC tv-movie about Penn State powerhouse running back John Cappelletti and his kid brother, Joey.
While John tramples over opponents on his way to winning the Heisman Trophy in 1973 Joey suffers from leukemia. Their interdependence makes Joey’s fight all the more noble and John’s helplessness all the more saddening. Powerful on a football field, John Cappelletti embodies the powerless suffering that anybody endures with a family member battling a fatal disease.
Upon winning the Heisman Trophy, John has to make a speech as is the custom with Heisman winners.
Where John’s physical ability gained him respect as a football player, his emotional strength cemented his respect as a man.
During his speech, John dedicates the award to his eleven year-old brother Joseph because college football is a battle fought on Saturdays in the fall, but his brother’s battle with leukemia is year-round.
Joseph Cappelletti died in 1976. John went to the NFL and played for the Los Angeles Rams and San Diego Chargers in a nine-year career.
Marc Singer plays John and Jeffrey Lynas plays Joey in Something For Joey.
Brian’s Song and Something For Joey are two outstanding examples of high quality television. While football is a backdrop, the stories are universal.
Everyone knows the reality of disease. A friend, a loved one, maybe even we have suffered the harshness.
Brian’s Song and Something For Joey are for everyone.
For everyone who’s ever won.
For everyone who’s ever lost.
And for everyone who’s still in there trying.
david@davidkrell.com
In the 1970’s, two tv-movies became instant classics, particularly with men. With football as a backdrop, Brian’s Song and Something For Joey are at the top of the list of guy-cry entertainment fare. These tv-movies don’t merely tug at heartstrings. They grab them.
Statistics measure an athlete’s performance. But no statistic can measure the impact of Brian’s Song and Something For Joey or their real-life inspirations.
In 1964, Brian Piccolo was the top college football rusher in the country. His success capped a terrific college football career at Wake Forest. Surprisingly, his credentials did not impress any NFL team during the draft. Fourteen teams. Twenty rounds. No Brian Piccolo. Ultimately, Chicago Bears owner and coach George Halas signed Piccolo as a free agent.
Piccolo soon discovered he had cancer --embryonal cell carcinoma. He died in 1970 at the age of 26.
In 1971, the country discovered Brian Piccolo’s story in Brian’s Song, an ABC tv-movie produced by Columbia. The Columbia set used for the home of Bears player Gale Sayers and his wife may look familiar. It is the set for Darrin and Samantha Stephens on Bewitched, another Columbia property.
Brian’s Song showed Brian Piccolo’s gifts of courage, friendship, and strength.
Courage -- Brian Piccolo fought cancer with the same fierce competitiveness he displayed on the gridiron.
Friendship -- Brian Piccolo bonded with Sayers. Each player encouraged the other during their competition to play in the Bears backfield rather than ride the bench. Piccolo and Sayers were the first interracial roommates in the NFL.
Strength -- Brian Piccolo tackled his disease head-on.
Brian’s Song reveals the brutal honesty of pain in an athlete cut down in his prime. It also reveals two stars to be. Before their signature roles in The Godfather and Lady Sings the Blue, James Caan and Billy Dee Williams took on the immense responsibility of playing Brian Piccolo and Gale Sayers respectively. No easy task, considering the subject matter.
They made the somber story interesting, compelling, and inspiring, not maudlin, depressing, and angry.
Sayers’ locker room speech in one of the final scenes makes grown men cry and shows children that even tough guys weep when a friend battles an opponent meaner, tougher, and more vicious than any football player.
In another powerful scene, Sayers accepts the George S. Halas Most Courageous Player Award. He dedicates the award to Brian Piccolo because of Piccolo’s courage in battling cancer. The last part of the speech is particularly compelling.
I love Brian Piccolo. And I’d like all of you to love him too. And tonight, hit your knees, please ask God to love him.
Brian’s Song grabs at the heartstrings and doesn’t let go. Not for a scene. Not for a minute. Not for a second. Michael Legrand’s theme song The Hands of Time compounds the story’s emotional intensity.
Brian Piccolo’s story reflects the A.E. Housman poem To An Athlete Dying Young. One passage in particular stands out.
Smart lad, to slip betimes away
From fields where glory does not stay
And early though the laurel grows
It withers quicker than the rose
In 2001, ABC aired a remake of Brian’s Song with Sean Maher as Brian Piccolo and Mekhi Pfifer as Gale Sayers. The remake focused more attention than the original on the physical effects of Piccolo’s disease.
No less compelling of a story is Something For Joey, a 1977 fact-based NBC tv-movie about Penn State powerhouse running back John Cappelletti and his kid brother, Joey.
While John tramples over opponents on his way to winning the Heisman Trophy in 1973 Joey suffers from leukemia. Their interdependence makes Joey’s fight all the more noble and John’s helplessness all the more saddening. Powerful on a football field, John Cappelletti embodies the powerless suffering that anybody endures with a family member battling a fatal disease.
Upon winning the Heisman Trophy, John has to make a speech as is the custom with Heisman winners.
Where John’s physical ability gained him respect as a football player, his emotional strength cemented his respect as a man.
During his speech, John dedicates the award to his eleven year-old brother Joseph because college football is a battle fought on Saturdays in the fall, but his brother’s battle with leukemia is year-round.
Joseph Cappelletti died in 1976. John went to the NFL and played for the Los Angeles Rams and San Diego Chargers in a nine-year career.
Marc Singer plays John and Jeffrey Lynas plays Joey in Something For Joey.
Brian’s Song and Something For Joey are two outstanding examples of high quality television. While football is a backdrop, the stories are universal.
Everyone knows the reality of disease. A friend, a loved one, maybe even we have suffered the harshness.
Brian’s Song and Something For Joey are for everyone.
For everyone who’s ever won.
For everyone who’s ever lost.
And for everyone who’s still in there trying.
1970's Saturday Morning Music Toons
November 22, 2009
by David Krell
david@davidkrell.com
Between the hard rock sounds of Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, and the Doors and the disco beat of the Bee Gees, bubble gum music thrived in the early 1970’s, specifically on Saturday morning cartoons.
Whether used as literary devices to complement the story line or merchandising tools to promote record sales, songs added a dimension to the cartoons. They provided another example of the inevitable connection between music and television.
Kid Power is a show that may be described as Peanuts meeting the Rainbow Coalition. The late 1960’s and early 1970’s messages of peace, friendship, love, and harmony filled the series. Based on Morrie Turner’s Wee Pals comic strip, Kid Power revolved around a melting pot of kids in a group called Rainbow Club. Different colors, nationalities, and backgrounds did not stop the kids from joining forces to accomplish their goals.
Music giant Mike Curb was the show’s Music Consultant. The song for each episode illustrated that episode’s lesson.
Kid Power aired on ABC during the 1972-73 season with seventeen episodes. The following season consisted of reruns.
The Partridge Family went off the air in 1974 after four seasons. In the fall of 1974, Partridge Family, 2200 A.D. showed us a futuristic view of America’s favorite singing family.
Except for Shirley Jones and David Cassidy, the cast voiced their cartoon counterparts.
The Brady Kids capitalized on the popularity of Greg, Marcia, Peter, Jan, Bobby, and Cindy from The Brady Bunch.
Music was a natural fit for the cartoon because the child actors released albums, toured in concert, and performed on The Brady Bunch. Unlike Partridge Family, 2200 A.D., however, The Brady Kids broadcast history coincided with its parent show. The Brady Kids aired 22 episodes and debuted in the fall of 1972.
The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show depicted Bedrock’s favorite boy and girl as teenagers. Sally Struthers (All in the Family) and Jay North (Dennis the Menace) voiced the title characters.
Pebbles, Bamm-Bamm and their friends -- Moonrock, Penny, and Wiggy -- formed The Bedrock Rollers, a stone age rock and roll group.
Plots in The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show focused on Pebbles’ outrageous ideas that often recalled Lucy Ricardo. Pebbles and Lucy shared enthusiasm, optimism, and inspiration. But their plans often went awry, aside, and down the tubes.
The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show first aired in September of 1971.
Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids showed stories that were universal to growing up. Bill Cosby’s stand up comedy routines about his childhood in Philadelphia laid the groundwork for this animated version of Fat Albert, Weird Harold, Cosby and his brother Russell, and the rest of the gang.
Cosby addressed the audience about the lesson in the story and the kids sang a song corresponding with the lesson learned.
Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids debuted in September of 1972.
Rankin-Bass produced two shows about family singing groups at the pinnacle of their respective successes -- The Osmonds and Jackson Five.
Jackson Five debuted in September of 1971 on the heels of their four number-one hits in 1970 -- I Want You Back, The Love You Save, ABC, and I’ll Be There.
The Jacksons voiced their animated likenesses for the show’s twenty-three episodes.
The Osmond brothers from Utah who got their big break on The Andy Williams Show got their shot at cartoon fame a year later. Debuting in September of 1972, The Osmonds featured the boys with big smiles, harmonious sounds, and innocence.
The Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan featured a cartoon version of Charlie Chan with ten kids. Chan led his children in solving crimes. The older kids had a rock band -- The Chan Clan. Ron Dante, the lead singer for The Archies, filled the same role here.
Josie and the Pussycats also enjoy a connection to the Archieverse. The title character first appeared under the Archie comics banner in 1963. In Television Cartoon Shows, Hal Erickson writes, It was at the suggestion of CBS executive Fred Silverman that Hanna-Barbera (taking over from The Archies’ home studio Filmation, then overloaded with product) reshape Josie into the lead singer of a rock group -- hoping no doubt for a reprise of the success that greeted the Archies’ hit single Sugar Sugar.
After the show aired during the 1970-71 season, Hanna-Barbera retooled it with a space theme. Josie and the Pussycats in Outer Space aired for two seasons -- 1972-74.
Josie’s comic book cousins from Riverdale, Archie et. al., inspired the music-cartoon nexus. The Archie Show is the first show in the Saturday morning music toon genre. It debuted in September of 1968 and lasted one season. Sugar, Sugar launched during The Archie Show tenure in 1969. It became a #1 song.
The Archie characters continued in different shows and formats between 1969 and 1978 -- The Archie Comedy Hour, Archie’s Fun House Featuring the Giant Juke Box, Archie’s TV Funnies, Everything’s Archie, U.S. of Archie, The New Archie / Sabrina Hour, Archie’s Bang-Shang Lalapalooza Show.
Although Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids aired for several years on television (1972-84), the other programs did not fare as well. But they were still enjoyable to watch, listen to, and learn from, especially during a time where real-life events increasingly challenged innocence -- assassinations, riots, Vietnam War.
On those sleepy Saturday mornings in the early 1970’s, children woke up to these shows that gave entertainment, optimism, and hope.
david@davidkrell.com
Between the hard rock sounds of Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, and the Doors and the disco beat of the Bee Gees, bubble gum music thrived in the early 1970’s, specifically on Saturday morning cartoons.
Whether used as literary devices to complement the story line or merchandising tools to promote record sales, songs added a dimension to the cartoons. They provided another example of the inevitable connection between music and television.
Kid Power is a show that may be described as Peanuts meeting the Rainbow Coalition. The late 1960’s and early 1970’s messages of peace, friendship, love, and harmony filled the series. Based on Morrie Turner’s Wee Pals comic strip, Kid Power revolved around a melting pot of kids in a group called Rainbow Club. Different colors, nationalities, and backgrounds did not stop the kids from joining forces to accomplish their goals.
Music giant Mike Curb was the show’s Music Consultant. The song for each episode illustrated that episode’s lesson.
Kid Power aired on ABC during the 1972-73 season with seventeen episodes. The following season consisted of reruns.
The Partridge Family went off the air in 1974 after four seasons. In the fall of 1974, Partridge Family, 2200 A.D. showed us a futuristic view of America’s favorite singing family.
Except for Shirley Jones and David Cassidy, the cast voiced their cartoon counterparts.
The Brady Kids capitalized on the popularity of Greg, Marcia, Peter, Jan, Bobby, and Cindy from The Brady Bunch.
Music was a natural fit for the cartoon because the child actors released albums, toured in concert, and performed on The Brady Bunch. Unlike Partridge Family, 2200 A.D., however, The Brady Kids broadcast history coincided with its parent show. The Brady Kids aired 22 episodes and debuted in the fall of 1972.
The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show depicted Bedrock’s favorite boy and girl as teenagers. Sally Struthers (All in the Family) and Jay North (Dennis the Menace) voiced the title characters.
Pebbles, Bamm-Bamm and their friends -- Moonrock, Penny, and Wiggy -- formed The Bedrock Rollers, a stone age rock and roll group.
Plots in The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show focused on Pebbles’ outrageous ideas that often recalled Lucy Ricardo. Pebbles and Lucy shared enthusiasm, optimism, and inspiration. But their plans often went awry, aside, and down the tubes.
The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show first aired in September of 1971.
Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids showed stories that were universal to growing up. Bill Cosby’s stand up comedy routines about his childhood in Philadelphia laid the groundwork for this animated version of Fat Albert, Weird Harold, Cosby and his brother Russell, and the rest of the gang.
Cosby addressed the audience about the lesson in the story and the kids sang a song corresponding with the lesson learned.
Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids debuted in September of 1972.
Rankin-Bass produced two shows about family singing groups at the pinnacle of their respective successes -- The Osmonds and Jackson Five.
Jackson Five debuted in September of 1971 on the heels of their four number-one hits in 1970 -- I Want You Back, The Love You Save, ABC, and I’ll Be There.
The Jacksons voiced their animated likenesses for the show’s twenty-three episodes.
The Osmond brothers from Utah who got their big break on The Andy Williams Show got their shot at cartoon fame a year later. Debuting in September of 1972, The Osmonds featured the boys with big smiles, harmonious sounds, and innocence.
The Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan featured a cartoon version of Charlie Chan with ten kids. Chan led his children in solving crimes. The older kids had a rock band -- The Chan Clan. Ron Dante, the lead singer for The Archies, filled the same role here.
Josie and the Pussycats also enjoy a connection to the Archieverse. The title character first appeared under the Archie comics banner in 1963. In Television Cartoon Shows, Hal Erickson writes, It was at the suggestion of CBS executive Fred Silverman that Hanna-Barbera (taking over from The Archies’ home studio Filmation, then overloaded with product) reshape Josie into the lead singer of a rock group -- hoping no doubt for a reprise of the success that greeted the Archies’ hit single Sugar Sugar.
After the show aired during the 1970-71 season, Hanna-Barbera retooled it with a space theme. Josie and the Pussycats in Outer Space aired for two seasons -- 1972-74.
Josie’s comic book cousins from Riverdale, Archie et. al., inspired the music-cartoon nexus. The Archie Show is the first show in the Saturday morning music toon genre. It debuted in September of 1968 and lasted one season. Sugar, Sugar launched during The Archie Show tenure in 1969. It became a #1 song.
The Archie characters continued in different shows and formats between 1969 and 1978 -- The Archie Comedy Hour, Archie’s Fun House Featuring the Giant Juke Box, Archie’s TV Funnies, Everything’s Archie, U.S. of Archie, The New Archie / Sabrina Hour, Archie’s Bang-Shang Lalapalooza Show.
Although Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids aired for several years on television (1972-84), the other programs did not fare as well. But they were still enjoyable to watch, listen to, and learn from, especially during a time where real-life events increasingly challenged innocence -- assassinations, riots, Vietnam War.
On those sleepy Saturday mornings in the early 1970’s, children woke up to these shows that gave entertainment, optimism, and hope.
Harry Morgan
November 21, 2009
by David Krell
david@davidkrell.com
Before he was Colonel Potter on M*A*S*H, Harry Morgan was one of Hollywood’s cornerstone character actors. He shared the silver screen with legends.
Inherit the Wind with Spencer Tracy and Fredric March.
High Noon with Gary Cooper and Grace Kelly.
The Glenn Miller Story with Jimmy Stewart and June Allyson.
The Shootist with John Wayne.
Frankie and Johnny with Elvis Presley.
Support Your Local Sheriff with James Garner.
Dragnet with Tom Hanks and Dan Aykroyd. In Dragnet, Morgan reprises his role of Bill Gannon from the television series of the same name in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s. Gannon has climbed the ranks to become a police captain.
Morgan played Pete Porter in the television series December Bride and its spinoff -- Pete & Gladys. He also played Judge Bell in the trio of 1990’s Incident tv-movies starring Walter Matthau -- The Incident, Against Her Will: An Incident in Baltimore, Incident in a Small Town.
But Harry Morgan’s role of the authoritative, compassionate, and wise Colonel Potter on M*A*S*H is likely the role most identified with Morgan. Potter is Morgan’s signature character.
Morgan had big shoes to fill. When M*A*S*H producers killed off Colonel Henry Blake in the spring of 1975, the creative decision sparked shock, dismay, and even outrage. Who ever heard of a show killing a major, beloved, and valuable character? Blake’s death offered no chance for a spinoff, return appearance, or revival.
While McLean Stevenson’s popularity soared as the affable, bumbling, and concerned Colonel Blake who was also one of the guys, Harry Morgan won the respect of fans by playing Colonel Potter with dignity, understanding, and a voice of experience.
Potter led Hawkeye, B.J. and the rest of the M*A*S*H 4077th, but he never talked down to them. He was a Regular Army style solider but he ignored the rules and regulations if they interfered with treating wounded soldiers.
Potter was a combat veteran who became a doctor. But he never forgot the courage of soldiers in the field.
In a vicious ocean of injury, violence, and death, Morgan’s Colonel Potter was the calm oasis of experience, wisdom, and compassion.
Harry Morgan actually made a pre-Potter appearance on M*A*S*H. In the third season premiere -- The General Flipped At Dawn -- he plays General Steele, a half-crazed general. Morgan received an Emmy nomination for his guest appearance in this episode that kicked off the 1975-76 season.
For his role as Colonel Potter, Morgan received eight nominations for Best Supporting Actor. He won once. He also received an Emmy nomination for Best Director.
Harry Morgan continued playing Colonel Potter in the sequel After M*A*S*H. The show is set in a stateside Veterans Administration hospital in Missouri. Jamie Farr and William Christopher joined Morgan to continue their roles as Max Klinger and Father Mulcahy respectively.
After After M*A*S*H, Morgan mostly enjoyed guest appearances on television shows -- The Jeff Foxworthy Show, Grace Under Fire, Third Rock from the Sun, and The Simpsons.
On The Simpsons, Morgan once again reprised his role of Bill Gannon.
david@davidkrell.com
Before he was Colonel Potter on M*A*S*H, Harry Morgan was one of Hollywood’s cornerstone character actors. He shared the silver screen with legends.
Inherit the Wind with Spencer Tracy and Fredric March.
High Noon with Gary Cooper and Grace Kelly.
The Glenn Miller Story with Jimmy Stewart and June Allyson.
The Shootist with John Wayne.
Frankie and Johnny with Elvis Presley.
Support Your Local Sheriff with James Garner.
Dragnet with Tom Hanks and Dan Aykroyd. In Dragnet, Morgan reprises his role of Bill Gannon from the television series of the same name in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s. Gannon has climbed the ranks to become a police captain.
Morgan played Pete Porter in the television series December Bride and its spinoff -- Pete & Gladys. He also played Judge Bell in the trio of 1990’s Incident tv-movies starring Walter Matthau -- The Incident, Against Her Will: An Incident in Baltimore, Incident in a Small Town.
But Harry Morgan’s role of the authoritative, compassionate, and wise Colonel Potter on M*A*S*H is likely the role most identified with Morgan. Potter is Morgan’s signature character.
Morgan had big shoes to fill. When M*A*S*H producers killed off Colonel Henry Blake in the spring of 1975, the creative decision sparked shock, dismay, and even outrage. Who ever heard of a show killing a major, beloved, and valuable character? Blake’s death offered no chance for a spinoff, return appearance, or revival.
While McLean Stevenson’s popularity soared as the affable, bumbling, and concerned Colonel Blake who was also one of the guys, Harry Morgan won the respect of fans by playing Colonel Potter with dignity, understanding, and a voice of experience.
Potter led Hawkeye, B.J. and the rest of the M*A*S*H 4077th, but he never talked down to them. He was a Regular Army style solider but he ignored the rules and regulations if they interfered with treating wounded soldiers.
Potter was a combat veteran who became a doctor. But he never forgot the courage of soldiers in the field.
In a vicious ocean of injury, violence, and death, Morgan’s Colonel Potter was the calm oasis of experience, wisdom, and compassion.
Harry Morgan actually made a pre-Potter appearance on M*A*S*H. In the third season premiere -- The General Flipped At Dawn -- he plays General Steele, a half-crazed general. Morgan received an Emmy nomination for his guest appearance in this episode that kicked off the 1975-76 season.
For his role as Colonel Potter, Morgan received eight nominations for Best Supporting Actor. He won once. He also received an Emmy nomination for Best Director.
Harry Morgan continued playing Colonel Potter in the sequel After M*A*S*H. The show is set in a stateside Veterans Administration hospital in Missouri. Jamie Farr and William Christopher joined Morgan to continue their roles as Max Klinger and Father Mulcahy respectively.
After After M*A*S*H, Morgan mostly enjoyed guest appearances on television shows -- The Jeff Foxworthy Show, Grace Under Fire, Third Rock from the Sun, and The Simpsons.
On The Simpsons, Morgan once again reprised his role of Bill Gannon.
America
November 21, 2009
by David Krell
david@davidkrell.com
God bless America.
Take a look at a program schedule from the last few years.
Patriotic fever apparently strikes television executives.
America’s Next Top Model.
America’s Most Wanted.
American Chopper.
American Masters.
American Hot Rod.
America’s Next Producer.
American Justice.
America’s Got Talent.
American Experience.
American Inventor.
American Idol.
American Dad.
What accounts for these allusions to the red, white, and blue in television program titles that we might expect during an anniversary year, like a bicentennial?
First, size matters.
America is a pretty big, powerful, and awesome place. With a version of the word America in the title, the program naturally targets a mass audience -- all of us.
Second, success matters.
American Idol is popular, so subsequent offerings borrow from the name as well as the format
Models meet American Idol = America’s Next Top Model.
Inventors meet American Idol = American Inventor.
Third, pride matters.
America gives the audience a sense of pride -- the show could not take place anywhere but America.
For example, American Chopper is a series about the prototypical American success story of a family business -- Orange County Choppers. But success does not come easy for this upstate New York business focused on making one-of-a-kind motorcycles. It is a result of hard work, dedication, and passion.
Paul Teutul started Orange County Choppers in his basement because of his passion for building motorcycles. The business ballooned into a marketing, licensing, and television juggernaut.
Although Made in the U.S.A. fever seems to be contagious given the numerous America-based titles, we’ve actually seen the use of America throughout television history.
American Gladiators.
Good Morning, America.
America’s Funniest Home Videos.
American Dream was a short-lived series in the early 1980’s centering on a family’s move back to the city from their quiet home in suburbia.
American Dreamer took an opposite premise. This early 1990’s sitcom stars Robert Urich as a widower who trades in his globetrotting journalism work for a quiet life in Wisconsin with his family and a job as a newspaper columnist.
Amerika was a 1987 miniseries on ABC that depicted life ten years after a Soviet takeover. Robert Urich also starred in this offering along with Kris Kristofferson.
Americathon was a 1979 tv-movie showing what the country would be like in 1998 -- America is bankrupt, the president is a skirt chaser, and the oil supply is facing depletion. Were the writers prescient or was the plot line simply a coincidence?
The title comes from a telethon to save America.
American Bandstand starred eternally youthful Dick Clark from the 1950’s to the 1980’s. Clark capitalized on the American Bandstand brand and library with American Dreams. This NBC show enjoyed a three-season run -- 2002-2005. It showed us life in the 1960’s through the Pryor family, specifically Meg Pryor. Meg was an All-American teenage girl in Philadelphia who faced the trials and tribulations of growing up as she fulfilled her dream of being an American Bandstand dancer.
Finally, Love, American Style used an anthology format and featured guest stars in love stories that were varied, funny, and somewhat realistic.
Coincidentally, except for American Dreams and American Dreamer, many of the shows mentioned appeared on ABC -- American Broadcasting Company.
david@davidkrell.com
God bless America.
Take a look at a program schedule from the last few years.
Patriotic fever apparently strikes television executives.
America’s Next Top Model.
America’s Most Wanted.
American Chopper.
American Masters.
American Hot Rod.
America’s Next Producer.
American Justice.
America’s Got Talent.
American Experience.
American Inventor.
American Idol.
American Dad.
What accounts for these allusions to the red, white, and blue in television program titles that we might expect during an anniversary year, like a bicentennial?
First, size matters.
America is a pretty big, powerful, and awesome place. With a version of the word America in the title, the program naturally targets a mass audience -- all of us.
Second, success matters.
American Idol is popular, so subsequent offerings borrow from the name as well as the format
Models meet American Idol = America’s Next Top Model.
Inventors meet American Idol = American Inventor.
Third, pride matters.
America gives the audience a sense of pride -- the show could not take place anywhere but America.
For example, American Chopper is a series about the prototypical American success story of a family business -- Orange County Choppers. But success does not come easy for this upstate New York business focused on making one-of-a-kind motorcycles. It is a result of hard work, dedication, and passion.
Paul Teutul started Orange County Choppers in his basement because of his passion for building motorcycles. The business ballooned into a marketing, licensing, and television juggernaut.
Although Made in the U.S.A. fever seems to be contagious given the numerous America-based titles, we’ve actually seen the use of America throughout television history.
American Gladiators.
Good Morning, America.
America’s Funniest Home Videos.
American Dream was a short-lived series in the early 1980’s centering on a family’s move back to the city from their quiet home in suburbia.
American Dreamer took an opposite premise. This early 1990’s sitcom stars Robert Urich as a widower who trades in his globetrotting journalism work for a quiet life in Wisconsin with his family and a job as a newspaper columnist.
Amerika was a 1987 miniseries on ABC that depicted life ten years after a Soviet takeover. Robert Urich also starred in this offering along with Kris Kristofferson.
Americathon was a 1979 tv-movie showing what the country would be like in 1998 -- America is bankrupt, the president is a skirt chaser, and the oil supply is facing depletion. Were the writers prescient or was the plot line simply a coincidence?
The title comes from a telethon to save America.
American Bandstand starred eternally youthful Dick Clark from the 1950’s to the 1980’s. Clark capitalized on the American Bandstand brand and library with American Dreams. This NBC show enjoyed a three-season run -- 2002-2005. It showed us life in the 1960’s through the Pryor family, specifically Meg Pryor. Meg was an All-American teenage girl in Philadelphia who faced the trials and tribulations of growing up as she fulfilled her dream of being an American Bandstand dancer.
Finally, Love, American Style used an anthology format and featured guest stars in love stories that were varied, funny, and somewhat realistic.
Coincidentally, except for American Dreams and American Dreamer, many of the shows mentioned appeared on ABC -- American Broadcasting Company.
Hill Street Blues
November 20, 2009
by David Krell
david@davidkrell.com
To kick off its third season in 1982, Hill Street Blues used a story that could make a combat veteran cry.
The episode Trial By Fury featured the Hill Street precinct investigating the rape and assault of a nun that results in her death.
The episode still holds up today, nearly thirty years after its initial broadcast.
The story line is shocking, revolting, and riveting.
In its first two seasons, Hill Street Blues proved it was not just another cop show.
Car chases featured standard, boring cop cars instead of souped up roadsters.
Story lines overlapped and continued beyond a single episode.
Characters had depth, pain, and curiosity.
Meanwhile, urban blight, gang warfare, and office politics contributed to the chaos on the Hill. Like the USS Enterprise, Hill Street Blues went where no one had gone before. Trial By Fury cements the evidence.
When Officers Bobby Hill and Andy Renko catch the two suspects -- Celestine Gray and Gerald Chapman -- the case seems like a lock. But Captain Frank Furillo soon realizes that the case will not be successful because of a lack of hard evidence.
With a city calling for swift retribution, a virtual lynch mob threatening violence, and organized crime holding killing contracts on the suspects, Captain Furillo has a snowball of a problem that can easily become an avalanche of bloodshed.
Enter Lieutenant Howard Hunter -- Hill Street Station’s resident military historian, strategist, and tactician. As head of the Emergency Action Team (EAT), Lieutenant Hunter’s responsibilities include overseeing tactical operations in hostage negotiation and gang violence countermeasures.
What better place to share his view of the situation than the Hill Street Station’s Men’s Room?
Lieutenant Hunter says that he would just as soon let the outraged public decide the fate of Gray and Chapman. Hunter’s offhand comment inspires Furillo.
Furillo wants to turn the liability of a lack of hard evidence into an asset. He believes that he can use the lynch mob as leverage. He wants Assistant District Attorney Irwin Bernstein to drop the charges against Gray and Chapman because he gambles that the suspects would rather face the justice system than mob justice.
Better to be tried by twelve jurors than carried by six pallbearers.
Enter Joyce Davenport -- Public Defender, Furillo’s girlfriend, and attorney for one of the suspects.
After a verbal outburst targeting the judge in the courtroom and a consequent, quick, and severe admonishment, Davenport confronts Furillo and his manipulation of the system to get what he wants -- a confession.
She argues that the confessions were coerced -- dropping the charges without putting forth a legitimate attempt at prosecution is tantamount to beating a confession out of a suspect with a lynch mob ready, willing, and able to dispense its own form of justice in addition to the looming threat of organized crime contracts.
Furillo justifies his actions, or lack thereof, by pointing out that Gray and Chapman committed the crimes even though the evidence cannot prove their guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. A confession by one of the suspects is proof enough.
The ends justify the means.
Furillo confidently furthers his argument by saying that he did nothing different than what he’s seen Davenport do for her clients. He used the system.
When Davenport says that she can’t be with Furillo tonight, the police captain’s respect for the tenacious lady lawyer shows clearly when he responds that he understands.
In a twist ending, we see Furillo drive to a church and enter the confessional.
The episode ends with Captain Furillo saying, Bless me Father, for I have sinned.
Somewhere, O. Henry is smiling.
david@davidkrell.com
To kick off its third season in 1982, Hill Street Blues used a story that could make a combat veteran cry.
The episode Trial By Fury featured the Hill Street precinct investigating the rape and assault of a nun that results in her death.
The episode still holds up today, nearly thirty years after its initial broadcast.
The story line is shocking, revolting, and riveting.
In its first two seasons, Hill Street Blues proved it was not just another cop show.
Car chases featured standard, boring cop cars instead of souped up roadsters.
Story lines overlapped and continued beyond a single episode.
Characters had depth, pain, and curiosity.
Meanwhile, urban blight, gang warfare, and office politics contributed to the chaos on the Hill. Like the USS Enterprise, Hill Street Blues went where no one had gone before. Trial By Fury cements the evidence.
When Officers Bobby Hill and Andy Renko catch the two suspects -- Celestine Gray and Gerald Chapman -- the case seems like a lock. But Captain Frank Furillo soon realizes that the case will not be successful because of a lack of hard evidence.
With a city calling for swift retribution, a virtual lynch mob threatening violence, and organized crime holding killing contracts on the suspects, Captain Furillo has a snowball of a problem that can easily become an avalanche of bloodshed.
Enter Lieutenant Howard Hunter -- Hill Street Station’s resident military historian, strategist, and tactician. As head of the Emergency Action Team (EAT), Lieutenant Hunter’s responsibilities include overseeing tactical operations in hostage negotiation and gang violence countermeasures.
What better place to share his view of the situation than the Hill Street Station’s Men’s Room?
Lieutenant Hunter says that he would just as soon let the outraged public decide the fate of Gray and Chapman. Hunter’s offhand comment inspires Furillo.
Furillo wants to turn the liability of a lack of hard evidence into an asset. He believes that he can use the lynch mob as leverage. He wants Assistant District Attorney Irwin Bernstein to drop the charges against Gray and Chapman because he gambles that the suspects would rather face the justice system than mob justice.
Better to be tried by twelve jurors than carried by six pallbearers.
Enter Joyce Davenport -- Public Defender, Furillo’s girlfriend, and attorney for one of the suspects.
After a verbal outburst targeting the judge in the courtroom and a consequent, quick, and severe admonishment, Davenport confronts Furillo and his manipulation of the system to get what he wants -- a confession.
She argues that the confessions were coerced -- dropping the charges without putting forth a legitimate attempt at prosecution is tantamount to beating a confession out of a suspect with a lynch mob ready, willing, and able to dispense its own form of justice in addition to the looming threat of organized crime contracts.
Furillo justifies his actions, or lack thereof, by pointing out that Gray and Chapman committed the crimes even though the evidence cannot prove their guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. A confession by one of the suspects is proof enough.
The ends justify the means.
Furillo confidently furthers his argument by saying that he did nothing different than what he’s seen Davenport do for her clients. He used the system.
When Davenport says that she can’t be with Furillo tonight, the police captain’s respect for the tenacious lady lawyer shows clearly when he responds that he understands.
In a twist ending, we see Furillo drive to a church and enter the confessional.
The episode ends with Captain Furillo saying, Bless me Father, for I have sinned.
Somewhere, O. Henry is smiling.
Archie: The First Fifty Years
November 18, 2009
by David Krell
david@davidkrell.com
(This entry is an abridged version of an article featuring Archie. For the expanded article, click here.)
He doesn’t have superpowers resulting from a yellow sun like Superman or a radioactive spider bite like Spiderman.
He’s not a quasi-vigilante hero avenging the death of loved ones like Batman or the Lone Ranger.
And he never saved the universe like Flash Gordon or Buck Rogers.
In fact, his extraordinary characteristics appear to be his uncanny ability to get in trouble and his immense inability to choose between two extremely attractive girls.
Who is this mere mortal?
Archie Andrews, of course. The All-American Teenager and Riverdale’s favorite son.
As the United States entered World War II in December of 1941, Archie debuted in Pep #22 as a supporting feature. This initial Archie story also features Jughead and Betty.
MLJ Comics published Pep, the arena for its contribution to the superhero genre -- The Shield. Three publishing colleagues formed MLJ. They named the company after their initials -- Maurice Coyne, Louis Silberkleit, and John Goldwater complemented each other with their experience as an accountant, publisher, and reporter/editor respectively.
Artist Bob Montana gave the Archie universe its center. He drew upon his own experiences growing up in Haverhill, Massachusetts.
Bob Montana drew. Vic Bloom wrote. Harry Shorten edited.
Truth be told, though, Montana gave the Archie stories their heart, soul, and ultimate appeal.
In the retrospective book Archie: The First 50 Years, Charles Phillips credits Montana.
A rootless child who loved his high school years, Montana gave more than the statue of The Thinker, the hometown soda shop, and a number of his teenage pals to Riverdale. He gave the strip the emotional strength of his own nostalgia to create an idealized picture of teenage life that we all recognize but none of us quite lived.
Montana and the creative team behind Archie added new characters in the adventures of Riverdale’s red-headed Romeo. Waldo Weatherbee -- Riverdale High School’s beloved, bald, benign principal -- first appeared in Jackpot #5 (Spring 1942). The story contains the mainstay Archie elements of slapstick, Weatherbee’s rotund shape, and Archie’s penchant for getting in hot water with “the Bee.”
Jackpot #5 also introduces, albeit briefly, Reggie Mantle.
Pep #26 (April 1942) introduces rich girl Veronica Lodge and compares her to Egypt’s Cleopatra and Hollywood’s Hedy Lamarr. Although Pep #26 showcases Veronica’s first appearance, Archie #1 (Winter 1942) revisits the origin of Veronica in the story Prom Pranks.
Prom Pranks sets the foundation for a well-known Archie hallmark -- the Archie-Veronica-Betty love triangle.
Where familiar themes provide reliability, stability, and continuity, signs of the times reflect an ever-changing society. They continually challenge Archie writers to pace fads, norms, and popular culture.
In the 1950’s, Archie stories frequently paralleled benchmarks of the rock and roll decade -- hula hoops, sock hops, beatniks.
Celebrities, fictional and real, also enjoy depictions in Archie stories -- Elvis Presley, Fonzie, Tom Cruise.
Social conscience features prominently in one story from the 1970’s -- A Matter of Prejudice. The story sends a powerful message about the dangers of prejudging the views of others. When Veronica explains that some of Archie’s friends are not welcome at her party because they simply don’t fit in, Archie immediately thinks the reference points to Chuck Clayton, a black student at Riverdale High.
In fact, Veronica likes Chuck. She declares, He’s welcome at my house any time he pleases to come.
Jughead, on the other hand, needs to change his slovenly ways for the party. Chuck and Archie tell him that Veronica is prejudiced...against slobs!
Expanding into other media was inevitable for the Archieverse. It occurred almost from the beginning. Archie and the gang found success on a radio program in the 1940’s.
In the late 1960’s and throughout the 1970’s, Archie characters found success in Saturday morning animation.
In 1978, two live-action music and comedy specials on ABC featured the characters. Dennis Bowen plays Archie.
Riverdale High’s 15-year reunion served as the basis for the 1990 NBC tv-movie To Riverdale and Back. Archie returned to Riverdale, reunited with friends, and reignited passions for Betty and Veronica. This time, he’s in Riverdale to stay. But the choice between Veronica and Betty remains undecided.
Some things never change.
The best things never do.
(For an expanded article on Archie, click here.)
david@davidkrell.com
(This entry is an abridged version of an article featuring Archie. For the expanded article, click here.)
He doesn’t have superpowers resulting from a yellow sun like Superman or a radioactive spider bite like Spiderman.
He’s not a quasi-vigilante hero avenging the death of loved ones like Batman or the Lone Ranger.
And he never saved the universe like Flash Gordon or Buck Rogers.
In fact, his extraordinary characteristics appear to be his uncanny ability to get in trouble and his immense inability to choose between two extremely attractive girls.
Who is this mere mortal?
Archie Andrews, of course. The All-American Teenager and Riverdale’s favorite son.
As the United States entered World War II in December of 1941, Archie debuted in Pep #22 as a supporting feature. This initial Archie story also features Jughead and Betty.
MLJ Comics published Pep, the arena for its contribution to the superhero genre -- The Shield. Three publishing colleagues formed MLJ. They named the company after their initials -- Maurice Coyne, Louis Silberkleit, and John Goldwater complemented each other with their experience as an accountant, publisher, and reporter/editor respectively.
Artist Bob Montana gave the Archie universe its center. He drew upon his own experiences growing up in Haverhill, Massachusetts.
Bob Montana drew. Vic Bloom wrote. Harry Shorten edited.
Truth be told, though, Montana gave the Archie stories their heart, soul, and ultimate appeal.
In the retrospective book Archie: The First 50 Years, Charles Phillips credits Montana.
A rootless child who loved his high school years, Montana gave more than the statue of The Thinker, the hometown soda shop, and a number of his teenage pals to Riverdale. He gave the strip the emotional strength of his own nostalgia to create an idealized picture of teenage life that we all recognize but none of us quite lived.
Montana and the creative team behind Archie added new characters in the adventures of Riverdale’s red-headed Romeo. Waldo Weatherbee -- Riverdale High School’s beloved, bald, benign principal -- first appeared in Jackpot #5 (Spring 1942). The story contains the mainstay Archie elements of slapstick, Weatherbee’s rotund shape, and Archie’s penchant for getting in hot water with “the Bee.”
Jackpot #5 also introduces, albeit briefly, Reggie Mantle.
Pep #26 (April 1942) introduces rich girl Veronica Lodge and compares her to Egypt’s Cleopatra and Hollywood’s Hedy Lamarr. Although Pep #26 showcases Veronica’s first appearance, Archie #1 (Winter 1942) revisits the origin of Veronica in the story Prom Pranks.
Prom Pranks sets the foundation for a well-known Archie hallmark -- the Archie-Veronica-Betty love triangle.
Where familiar themes provide reliability, stability, and continuity, signs of the times reflect an ever-changing society. They continually challenge Archie writers to pace fads, norms, and popular culture.
In the 1950’s, Archie stories frequently paralleled benchmarks of the rock and roll decade -- hula hoops, sock hops, beatniks.
Celebrities, fictional and real, also enjoy depictions in Archie stories -- Elvis Presley, Fonzie, Tom Cruise.
Social conscience features prominently in one story from the 1970’s -- A Matter of Prejudice. The story sends a powerful message about the dangers of prejudging the views of others. When Veronica explains that some of Archie’s friends are not welcome at her party because they simply don’t fit in, Archie immediately thinks the reference points to Chuck Clayton, a black student at Riverdale High.
In fact, Veronica likes Chuck. She declares, He’s welcome at my house any time he pleases to come.
Jughead, on the other hand, needs to change his slovenly ways for the party. Chuck and Archie tell him that Veronica is prejudiced...against slobs!
Expanding into other media was inevitable for the Archieverse. It occurred almost from the beginning. Archie and the gang found success on a radio program in the 1940’s.
In the late 1960’s and throughout the 1970’s, Archie characters found success in Saturday morning animation.
In 1978, two live-action music and comedy specials on ABC featured the characters. Dennis Bowen plays Archie.
Riverdale High’s 15-year reunion served as the basis for the 1990 NBC tv-movie To Riverdale and Back. Archie returned to Riverdale, reunited with friends, and reignited passions for Betty and Veronica. This time, he’s in Riverdale to stay. But the choice between Veronica and Betty remains undecided.
Some things never change.
The best things never do.
(For an expanded article on Archie, click here.)
Sixties Sitcom Music
November 17, 2009
by David Krell
david@davidkrell.com
If music be the food of 1960’s television sitcoms, play on.
In the 60’s, the Beatles headed a British invasion across the Atlantic Ocean and inspired sitcom versions of themselves.
We saw the real-life Standells perform I Want To Hold Your Hand on The Munsters.
And who could forget the Bedbugs -- the F Troop answer to the boys from Liverpool.
Gilligan’s Island welcomed the Mosquitoes, known individually as Bingo, Bango, Bongo, and Irving.
On the same episode featuring the Mosquitoes, we saw the girls from Gilligan’s Island transform themselves into the Honeybees. It was an homage to Diana Ross and the Supremes and other members of the girl group genre.
The Beach Boys introduced us to the surfing sound and we heard Jimmy Darren sing Surfing Craze on The Flintstones as Stone Age rock and roller Jimmy Darrock.
The modern Stone Age family embraced rock and roll as a cornerstone of its adventures. By the way, the puns in the previous sentence are intended.
One example is Ann Margret as prehistoric singing sensation Ann Margrock. To the Flintstones and Rubbles, though, she was simply Annie -- Pebbles’ babysitter.
Fred and Barney take Annie under their wing and even bring her into their soft shoe act. They quite a a shocker at the concert when they realize that Annie is really superstar Ann Margrock.
This episode featured Ann Margret’s wonderful rendition of the lullaby The Littlest Lamb and an nergized performance of I Ain’t Gonna Be Your Fool No More.
Another family sitcom benefited from the musical talents of its stars -- The Dick Van Dyke Show. This program frequently featured title star Dick Van Dyke and co-star Mary Tyler Moore dancing and singing.
She, of the 50,000 watt smile, Capri pants, and famous cry Oh Rob! The whole cast got into the act during the only Christmas themed episode -- The Alan Brady Show Presents. For those who need a reminder, Dick Van Dyke’s character -- Rob Petrie -- is Head Writer for The Alan Brady Show, a network television variety program.
The premise was simple. In a show within a show, Alan Brady gives his staff a chance to perform during his Christmas show. Larry Matthews (Richie Petrie) sings The Little Drummer Boy.
Another scene features Rob Petrie, Laura Petrie, Buddy Sorrell, Sally Rogers, and Mel Cooley sing an old favorite -- I Am A Fine Musician.
The characters are played respectively by Dick Van Dyke, Mary Tyler Moore, Morey Amsterdam, Rose Marie, and Richard Deacon.
The Dick Van Dyke Show also gave us its version of the Twist -- the Twizzle. It’s a song and dance made popular at a local bowling alley by Randy Twizzle (Jerry Lanning).
Apparently, Rob Petrie also dabbled in writing songs along with writing comedy. When he hears a certain song on the radio, he claims that he co-wrote the song -- Bupkis. Bupkis is a Yiddish term with a not so family friendly translation. In family friendly terms, Bupkis is a lot of nothing. The song’s lyrics reflect that definition.
david@davidkrell.com
If music be the food of 1960’s television sitcoms, play on.
In the 60’s, the Beatles headed a British invasion across the Atlantic Ocean and inspired sitcom versions of themselves.
We saw the real-life Standells perform I Want To Hold Your Hand on The Munsters.
And who could forget the Bedbugs -- the F Troop answer to the boys from Liverpool.
Gilligan’s Island welcomed the Mosquitoes, known individually as Bingo, Bango, Bongo, and Irving.
On the same episode featuring the Mosquitoes, we saw the girls from Gilligan’s Island transform themselves into the Honeybees. It was an homage to Diana Ross and the Supremes and other members of the girl group genre.
The Beach Boys introduced us to the surfing sound and we heard Jimmy Darren sing Surfing Craze on The Flintstones as Stone Age rock and roller Jimmy Darrock.
The modern Stone Age family embraced rock and roll as a cornerstone of its adventures. By the way, the puns in the previous sentence are intended.
One example is Ann Margret as prehistoric singing sensation Ann Margrock. To the Flintstones and Rubbles, though, she was simply Annie -- Pebbles’ babysitter.
Fred and Barney take Annie under their wing and even bring her into their soft shoe act. They quite a a shocker at the concert when they realize that Annie is really superstar Ann Margrock.
This episode featured Ann Margret’s wonderful rendition of the lullaby The Littlest Lamb and an nergized performance of I Ain’t Gonna Be Your Fool No More.
Another family sitcom benefited from the musical talents of its stars -- The Dick Van Dyke Show. This program frequently featured title star Dick Van Dyke and co-star Mary Tyler Moore dancing and singing.
She, of the 50,000 watt smile, Capri pants, and famous cry Oh Rob! The whole cast got into the act during the only Christmas themed episode -- The Alan Brady Show Presents. For those who need a reminder, Dick Van Dyke’s character -- Rob Petrie -- is Head Writer for The Alan Brady Show, a network television variety program.
The premise was simple. In a show within a show, Alan Brady gives his staff a chance to perform during his Christmas show. Larry Matthews (Richie Petrie) sings The Little Drummer Boy.
Another scene features Rob Petrie, Laura Petrie, Buddy Sorrell, Sally Rogers, and Mel Cooley sing an old favorite -- I Am A Fine Musician.
The characters are played respectively by Dick Van Dyke, Mary Tyler Moore, Morey Amsterdam, Rose Marie, and Richard Deacon.
The Dick Van Dyke Show also gave us its version of the Twist -- the Twizzle. It’s a song and dance made popular at a local bowling alley by Randy Twizzle (Jerry Lanning).
Apparently, Rob Petrie also dabbled in writing songs along with writing comedy. When he hears a certain song on the radio, he claims that he co-wrote the song -- Bupkis. Bupkis is a Yiddish term with a not so family friendly translation. In family friendly terms, Bupkis is a lot of nothing. The song’s lyrics reflect that definition.
The Official Dick Van Dyke Show Book
October 23, 2009
by David Krell
david@davidkrell.com
From 1961 to 1966, America watched the adventures and misadventures of a television comedy writer at work and at home.
The Dick Van Dyke Show broke ground as the first sitcom to regularly show the father’s workplace as a significant part of the show. The workplace was the writers’ room for The Alan Brady Show. It also provided a rich source for story lines.
In 1994, Vince Waldron wrote the definitive book about the program -- The Official Dick Van Dyke Show Book.
It’s a terrific resource.
The episode guide has the following information -- episode titles, air dates, guest stars and their respective characters, writers, directors, and story synopses.
In addition, Waldron details Carl Reiner’s pilot -- Head of the Family. It was the progenitor of The Dick Van Dyke Show.
Head of the Family aired on CBS on July 19, 1960 with Carl Reiner in the lead role of Rob Petrie.
Reiner tweaked his creation and it became The Dick Van Dyke Show.
Waldron also plunges into other parts of the show’s history.
The casting of Mary Tyler Moore as Laura Petrie.
The brink of cancellation because of sponsor Procter & Gamble almost pulling its sponsorship.
The effect of the John Kennedy assassination on the show’s production schedule, not to mention the emotions of the cast and production staff.
Waldron also describes the background, history, and production of key episodes. One example is It May Look Like A Walnut, a takeoff on The Twilight Zone.
The Dick Van Dyke Show was successful largely because of Carl Reiner’s devotion to reality. In the chapter Playing To An Empty House, writer Jerry Belson tells Waldron about Reiner’s commitment to finding realies.
He was always saying, “We need more realies! Give me more realies!” Carl would ask us, “How do you use that rubber thing on the end of a toothbrush? Well, put that in the show!” Carl didn’t care about funny, he wanted realies. If you sat down with Carl, instead of saying, “What’s funny?” he would sit you down and say, “Okay, what happened to you this week? What’d you fight with your wife about?” And those things that happened to you were the realies that Carl wanted. And so we were always searching for more realies.
The Dick Van Dyke Show aired 158 episodes in black and white. Was color given serious thought? Waldron explains in a footnote in the chapter Curtain Calls.
Although Reiner chose not to heed his executive producer’s [Sheldon Leonard] advice to keep the series on the air, Reiner insists that both he and Sheldon Leonard had given serious thought to filming The Dick Van Dyke Show in color as early as the show’s third season. But, says Reiner, the plan was quickly abandoned as soon as they discovered that filming the show in the more expensive color process would have added about seven thousand dollars to their weekly budget. “It didn’t seem to make any sense at the time,” explains the producer. “There was no big argument. It was like, ‘What do we do? It’ll cost us seven thousand dollars a week more to go to color.’ ‘Oh. Well, in that case, let’s not.’”
For a fan of television sitcoms in general and The Dick Van Dyke Show in particular, The Official Dick Van Dyke Show Book by Vince Waldron is a fine addition to the bookshelf.
david@davidkrell.com
From 1961 to 1966, America watched the adventures and misadventures of a television comedy writer at work and at home.
The Dick Van Dyke Show broke ground as the first sitcom to regularly show the father’s workplace as a significant part of the show. The workplace was the writers’ room for The Alan Brady Show. It also provided a rich source for story lines.
In 1994, Vince Waldron wrote the definitive book about the program -- The Official Dick Van Dyke Show Book.
It’s a terrific resource.
The episode guide has the following information -- episode titles, air dates, guest stars and their respective characters, writers, directors, and story synopses.
In addition, Waldron details Carl Reiner’s pilot -- Head of the Family. It was the progenitor of The Dick Van Dyke Show.
Head of the Family aired on CBS on July 19, 1960 with Carl Reiner in the lead role of Rob Petrie.
Reiner tweaked his creation and it became The Dick Van Dyke Show.
Waldron also plunges into other parts of the show’s history.
The casting of Mary Tyler Moore as Laura Petrie.
The brink of cancellation because of sponsor Procter & Gamble almost pulling its sponsorship.
The effect of the John Kennedy assassination on the show’s production schedule, not to mention the emotions of the cast and production staff.
Waldron also describes the background, history, and production of key episodes. One example is It May Look Like A Walnut, a takeoff on The Twilight Zone.
The Dick Van Dyke Show was successful largely because of Carl Reiner’s devotion to reality. In the chapter Playing To An Empty House, writer Jerry Belson tells Waldron about Reiner’s commitment to finding realies.
He was always saying, “We need more realies! Give me more realies!” Carl would ask us, “How do you use that rubber thing on the end of a toothbrush? Well, put that in the show!” Carl didn’t care about funny, he wanted realies. If you sat down with Carl, instead of saying, “What’s funny?” he would sit you down and say, “Okay, what happened to you this week? What’d you fight with your wife about?” And those things that happened to you were the realies that Carl wanted. And so we were always searching for more realies.
The Dick Van Dyke Show aired 158 episodes in black and white. Was color given serious thought? Waldron explains in a footnote in the chapter Curtain Calls.
Although Reiner chose not to heed his executive producer’s [Sheldon Leonard] advice to keep the series on the air, Reiner insists that both he and Sheldon Leonard had given serious thought to filming The Dick Van Dyke Show in color as early as the show’s third season. But, says Reiner, the plan was quickly abandoned as soon as they discovered that filming the show in the more expensive color process would have added about seven thousand dollars to their weekly budget. “It didn’t seem to make any sense at the time,” explains the producer. “There was no big argument. It was like, ‘What do we do? It’ll cost us seven thousand dollars a week more to go to color.’ ‘Oh. Well, in that case, let’s not.’”
For a fan of television sitcoms in general and The Dick Van Dyke Show in particular, The Official Dick Van Dyke Show Book by Vince Waldron is a fine addition to the bookshelf.
Matthew Perry
October 22, 2009
by David Krell
david@davidkrell.com
Before Bradley Whitford and Matthew Perry teamed up in Aaron Sorkin’s Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, they worked together in Aaron Sorkin’s The West Wing.
During the seven season run of The West Wing, Whitford played the knowledgeable, savvy, and cynical but sensitive Josh Lyman -- White House Deputy Chief of Staff, Santos For President Campaign Manager, and White House Chief of Staff.
For three episodes, Perry played White House attorney Joe Quincy.
While interviewing Joe for a position in the White House Counsel’s office, Josh wonders why he has never heard of Joe Quincy, an eminently qualified attorney with experience including a stint in the Solicitor General’s Office.
Josh figures out the mystery -- Joe Quincy is a republican.
He wants to work in public service in a democratic White House because he is in the dog house with his own party. He wrote a memorandum contradictory to the party line on soft money political donations.
With the help of Donna Moss, Josh’s assistant, Joe convinces Josh to hire him.
The interview scene reveals a great chemistry between Whitford and Perry, likely the reason for Sorkin’s casting them in the starring roles of Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip.
On his first day in the new job, Joe Quincy uncovers a massive scandal involving Vice President John Hoynes.
Hoynes told a socialite, Helen Baldwin, that he saw signs of life on Mars in classified reports when he was having an affair with her. He also bragged about a top secret deal involving a Justice Department antitrust settlement with a corporation that resulted in 100,000 computers being given go schools.
Quincy finds out that Baldwin has a book deal. He also discovers phone records that confirm several calls from Hoynes to Baldwin.
Hoynes admits that he likes to show off and Quincy’s investigation results in Hoynes’ resignation of the vice presidency.
And it all takes place on Joe Quincy’s first day at the White House.
Perry’s appearances on The West Wing took place concurrently with his starring role as sarcastic, lovelorn, and wise-cracking Chandler Bing on Friends.
Warner Brothers produced Friends and The West Wing.
david@davidkrell.com
Before Bradley Whitford and Matthew Perry teamed up in Aaron Sorkin’s Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, they worked together in Aaron Sorkin’s The West Wing.
During the seven season run of The West Wing, Whitford played the knowledgeable, savvy, and cynical but sensitive Josh Lyman -- White House Deputy Chief of Staff, Santos For President Campaign Manager, and White House Chief of Staff.
For three episodes, Perry played White House attorney Joe Quincy.
While interviewing Joe for a position in the White House Counsel’s office, Josh wonders why he has never heard of Joe Quincy, an eminently qualified attorney with experience including a stint in the Solicitor General’s Office.
Josh figures out the mystery -- Joe Quincy is a republican.
He wants to work in public service in a democratic White House because he is in the dog house with his own party. He wrote a memorandum contradictory to the party line on soft money political donations.
With the help of Donna Moss, Josh’s assistant, Joe convinces Josh to hire him.
The interview scene reveals a great chemistry between Whitford and Perry, likely the reason for Sorkin’s casting them in the starring roles of Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip.
On his first day in the new job, Joe Quincy uncovers a massive scandal involving Vice President John Hoynes.
Hoynes told a socialite, Helen Baldwin, that he saw signs of life on Mars in classified reports when he was having an affair with her. He also bragged about a top secret deal involving a Justice Department antitrust settlement with a corporation that resulted in 100,000 computers being given go schools.
Quincy finds out that Baldwin has a book deal. He also discovers phone records that confirm several calls from Hoynes to Baldwin.
Hoynes admits that he likes to show off and Quincy’s investigation results in Hoynes’ resignation of the vice presidency.
And it all takes place on Joe Quincy’s first day at the White House.
Perry’s appearances on The West Wing took place concurrently with his starring role as sarcastic, lovelorn, and wise-cracking Chandler Bing on Friends.
Warner Brothers produced Friends and The West Wing.