NBC
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.
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.
"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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The Taking of Pelham 123
October 13, 2009
by David Krell
david@davidkrell.com
The remake of The Taking of Pelham 123 opened in theaters this past summer. The film stars three actors who got their big breaks on the small screen.
Denzel Washington.
In Pelham, Washington plays Walter Garber, a New York City civil servant who becomes the link of communication to hostage takers on a subway train.
Washington was part of the terrific ensemble cast of St. Elsewhere. In this 1980’s NBC drama set in a Boston hospital, Washington plays the Yale-educated Dr. Phillip Chandler.
His breakthrough movie was Glory, a 1989 film set during the Civil War. Washington earned on Oscar for Best Supporting Actor.
John Travolta.
In Pelham, Travolta plays Ryder, the leader of the hostage takers.
Travolta exploded onto America’s consciousness as dim-witted, girl-crazy, and self-involved high school student Vinnie Barbarino in Welcome Back, Kotter.
Kotter premiered in 1975. In the space of three years, Travolta’s career became hotter than a supernova. On the silver screen, he starred in 1977’s Saturday Night Fever and 1978’s Grease.
For the most part, notoriety subsided during the 1980’s. Travolta signaled his comeback in Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction in 1994.
James Gandolfini.
In Pelham, Gandolfini plays the Mayor of New York City. If managed properly, the hostage crisis can be good for the politics business. Or very bad.
After highly significant roles on Broadway and supporting roles in films, Gandolfini got the role for which he will forever be identified.
Henry Winkler has Fonzie.
Alan Alda has Hawkeye.
And James Gandolfini has Tony Soprano, the main character in The Sopranos.
Gandolfini’s emotions as the New Jersey mafia don range from the tender to the explosive. He reveals a touching side when talking about or interacting with animals, like his racehorse, Pie-Oh-My.
There is a flip side. Disloyalty, betrayal, and disrespect trigger rage, violence, and an underlying fear of a weakened position in the Soprano mob family.
In 1973, Morton Freedgood wrote the novel The Taking of Pelham 123 under the pseudonym John Godey.
A year later, the story hit the big screen for the first time with Walter Matthau as Garber, Robert Shaw as Ryder, and Lee Wallace as the mayor.
The film accurately captures the aura of violence, fear, and despair surrounding New York City in the 1970’s. Riots. Crime. Financial turmoil. They all contributed to the pressure.
The feeling permeates the film. Walter Matthau’s Garber is in the middle -- a civil servant trying to do his job. On this particular day, it is an ordinary job under extraordinary circumstances. Matthau perfectly fits the role of the rumpled Garber.
The ending of this version of Pelham is an excellent example of a setup and payoff. Something occurs early in the story that recurs at the end.
Hector Elizondo and Earl Hindman play two of the hostage takers. Elizondo later starred in Chicago Hope and played supporting roles in a deep roster of films that include The Flamingo Kid, The Princess Diaries, and Pretty Woman.
Hindman’s face is not recognizable from his signature role -- Wilson, the neighbor on Home Improvement. The running gag on the show was the hiding of Wilson’s face behind the backyard fence and other objects.
Jerry Stiller plays a policeman working with Matthau. Maybe the hostage crisis was a source of sorts for Frank Costanza’s anger.
david@davidkrell.com
The remake of The Taking of Pelham 123 opened in theaters this past summer. The film stars three actors who got their big breaks on the small screen.
Denzel Washington.
In Pelham, Washington plays Walter Garber, a New York City civil servant who becomes the link of communication to hostage takers on a subway train.
Washington was part of the terrific ensemble cast of St. Elsewhere. In this 1980’s NBC drama set in a Boston hospital, Washington plays the Yale-educated Dr. Phillip Chandler.
His breakthrough movie was Glory, a 1989 film set during the Civil War. Washington earned on Oscar for Best Supporting Actor.
John Travolta.
In Pelham, Travolta plays Ryder, the leader of the hostage takers.
Travolta exploded onto America’s consciousness as dim-witted, girl-crazy, and self-involved high school student Vinnie Barbarino in Welcome Back, Kotter.
Kotter premiered in 1975. In the space of three years, Travolta’s career became hotter than a supernova. On the silver screen, he starred in 1977’s Saturday Night Fever and 1978’s Grease.
For the most part, notoriety subsided during the 1980’s. Travolta signaled his comeback in Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction in 1994.
James Gandolfini.
In Pelham, Gandolfini plays the Mayor of New York City. If managed properly, the hostage crisis can be good for the politics business. Or very bad.
After highly significant roles on Broadway and supporting roles in films, Gandolfini got the role for which he will forever be identified.
Henry Winkler has Fonzie.
Alan Alda has Hawkeye.
And James Gandolfini has Tony Soprano, the main character in The Sopranos.
Gandolfini’s emotions as the New Jersey mafia don range from the tender to the explosive. He reveals a touching side when talking about or interacting with animals, like his racehorse, Pie-Oh-My.
There is a flip side. Disloyalty, betrayal, and disrespect trigger rage, violence, and an underlying fear of a weakened position in the Soprano mob family.
In 1973, Morton Freedgood wrote the novel The Taking of Pelham 123 under the pseudonym John Godey.
A year later, the story hit the big screen for the first time with Walter Matthau as Garber, Robert Shaw as Ryder, and Lee Wallace as the mayor.
The film accurately captures the aura of violence, fear, and despair surrounding New York City in the 1970’s. Riots. Crime. Financial turmoil. They all contributed to the pressure.
The feeling permeates the film. Walter Matthau’s Garber is in the middle -- a civil servant trying to do his job. On this particular day, it is an ordinary job under extraordinary circumstances. Matthau perfectly fits the role of the rumpled Garber.
The ending of this version of Pelham is an excellent example of a setup and payoff. Something occurs early in the story that recurs at the end.
Hector Elizondo and Earl Hindman play two of the hostage takers. Elizondo later starred in Chicago Hope and played supporting roles in a deep roster of films that include The Flamingo Kid, The Princess Diaries, and Pretty Woman.
Hindman’s face is not recognizable from his signature role -- Wilson, the neighbor on Home Improvement. The running gag on the show was the hiding of Wilson’s face behind the backyard fence and other objects.
Jerry Stiller plays a policeman working with Matthau. Maybe the hostage crisis was a source of sorts for Frank Costanza’s anger.
Three Blind Mice
October 02, 2009
by David Krell
david@davidkrell.com
In the 1980’s, America’s three television networks changed hands.
ABC to Capital Cities.
NBC to General Electric.
CBS to Loews.
Ken Auletta’s 1991 book Three Blind Mice: How the TV Networks Lost Their Way chronicles the takeovers, trials and travails of the players involved.
In a ratings game dominated by numbers, the 1980’s saw the rise of the Video Cassette Recorder and the increased attention paid to demographics.
Auletta goes through a tremendously detailed approach to bring the reader the thoughts, strategies, and fears of the media moguls in television’s executive suites.
In the chapter NBC: Tartikoff In His Sandbox, 1987, Auletta writes about a favorite son of the television industry -- NBC Entertainment President Brandon Tartikoff. Auletta zeroes in on the programming wunderkind’s observations of the obstacles for network television.
Nor was Tartikoff sure that with the explosion of buyers -- from cable, Fox, and first-run syndication, among others -- there was sufficient talent to stock a twenty-two hour prime-time schedule. Tartikoff knew that success in network television often came when a producer believed passionately in a project -- be it Norman Lear with All in the Family, James Brooks with The Mary Tyler Moore Show, or Steven Bochco with Hill Street Blues. But Tartikoff also knew the network television production system was a sausage factory.
In addition, the Big Three also faced the VCR, an affordable device by the mid-1980’s that allowed viewers to tape shows off the air and watch them at their leisure. No longer viewers tied to air times.
If viewers could shift the viewing times of their favorite shows, they would probably fast forward through the commercials. Consequently, advertisers become unhappy. Networks become worrisome about the prospect of ad dollars decreasing or disappearing.
In a world where viewers are no longer captive, advertisements can lose their impact.
The Big Three faced another challenge in the upstart FOX network. In its nascent days in the mid-1980’s, FOX did not have seven nights of programming each week. It did not have a network news division. And it did not have recognizable stars, save for one.
Its first programming attempt was The Late Show starring Joan Rivers in November 1986 followed by Sunday night programming in Spring 1987.
But it did have sister companies in other areas of media. A movie studio. A publishing house. Newspapers.
This synergy was attractive. And great ideas have to start somewhere. With the edgy sitcom Married With Children, the innovative cartoon show The Simpsons, and the funny sketch comedy program The Tracey Ullman Show, FOX began to make pinpricks in the armor of the Big Three. Their invulnerability proved to be a fallacy in the 1990’s when FOX attracted the highly valuable younger demographic of teenagers and twentysomethings with nighttime soap operas -- Beverly Hills 92010 and Melrose Place.
In the chapter ABC: More Sancho Panza Than Machiavelli, September to December, 1986, Auletta summarizes the impact of FOX chieftain Rupert Murdoch’s initial foray into network television.
The future also belonged, some feared, to Rupert Murdoch’s scheme to make Fox a fourth network by acquiring stations in six of the top ten markets, lining up affiliated stations, and setting up a programming department, just as the three networks did.
Auletta delves deeply beneath the surface to get to the heart of the matter for television networks. Really, it is the heart of the matter for business. Money.
Auletta frequently writes about the costs of contracts and programming. He shows that programs may be part creativity, part talent, and part instinct. But it is part dollars and cents, too.
david@davidkrell.com
In the 1980’s, America’s three television networks changed hands.
ABC to Capital Cities.
NBC to General Electric.
CBS to Loews.
Ken Auletta’s 1991 book Three Blind Mice: How the TV Networks Lost Their Way chronicles the takeovers, trials and travails of the players involved.
In a ratings game dominated by numbers, the 1980’s saw the rise of the Video Cassette Recorder and the increased attention paid to demographics.
Auletta goes through a tremendously detailed approach to bring the reader the thoughts, strategies, and fears of the media moguls in television’s executive suites.
In the chapter NBC: Tartikoff In His Sandbox, 1987, Auletta writes about a favorite son of the television industry -- NBC Entertainment President Brandon Tartikoff. Auletta zeroes in on the programming wunderkind’s observations of the obstacles for network television.
Nor was Tartikoff sure that with the explosion of buyers -- from cable, Fox, and first-run syndication, among others -- there was sufficient talent to stock a twenty-two hour prime-time schedule. Tartikoff knew that success in network television often came when a producer believed passionately in a project -- be it Norman Lear with All in the Family, James Brooks with The Mary Tyler Moore Show, or Steven Bochco with Hill Street Blues. But Tartikoff also knew the network television production system was a sausage factory.
In addition, the Big Three also faced the VCR, an affordable device by the mid-1980’s that allowed viewers to tape shows off the air and watch them at their leisure. No longer viewers tied to air times.
If viewers could shift the viewing times of their favorite shows, they would probably fast forward through the commercials. Consequently, advertisers become unhappy. Networks become worrisome about the prospect of ad dollars decreasing or disappearing.
In a world where viewers are no longer captive, advertisements can lose their impact.
The Big Three faced another challenge in the upstart FOX network. In its nascent days in the mid-1980’s, FOX did not have seven nights of programming each week. It did not have a network news division. And it did not have recognizable stars, save for one.
Its first programming attempt was The Late Show starring Joan Rivers in November 1986 followed by Sunday night programming in Spring 1987.
But it did have sister companies in other areas of media. A movie studio. A publishing house. Newspapers.
This synergy was attractive. And great ideas have to start somewhere. With the edgy sitcom Married With Children, the innovative cartoon show The Simpsons, and the funny sketch comedy program The Tracey Ullman Show, FOX began to make pinpricks in the armor of the Big Three. Their invulnerability proved to be a fallacy in the 1990’s when FOX attracted the highly valuable younger demographic of teenagers and twentysomethings with nighttime soap operas -- Beverly Hills 92010 and Melrose Place.
In the chapter ABC: More Sancho Panza Than Machiavelli, September to December, 1986, Auletta summarizes the impact of FOX chieftain Rupert Murdoch’s initial foray into network television.
The future also belonged, some feared, to Rupert Murdoch’s scheme to make Fox a fourth network by acquiring stations in six of the top ten markets, lining up affiliated stations, and setting up a programming department, just as the three networks did.
Auletta delves deeply beneath the surface to get to the heart of the matter for television networks. Really, it is the heart of the matter for business. Money.
Auletta frequently writes about the costs of contracts and programming. He shows that programs may be part creativity, part talent, and part instinct. But it is part dollars and cents, too.
Leonard Goldenson
October 02, 2009
by David Krell
david@davidkrell.com
Leader. Visionary. Gentleman.
Leonard Goldenson. The founder of ABC.
In the early years of television, NBC and CBS had glamor, prestige, and history.
ABC had Leonard Goldenson.
NBC and CBS had marquee A-list talent.
ABC had Leonard Goldenson.
NBC and CBS had their blueprints for running a television network based on their predecessor radio networks.
ABC had Leonard Goldenson.
A leader who gained the trust of his business partners, the loyalty of his staff, and the admiration of his competitors.
A visionary who took a struggling, unstable, third-rate television network and shaped, built, and transformed it into a massive media force.
A gentleman who knew everyone’s name in the building, from the executive suite to the janitorial staff.
Leonard Goldenson could see around corners where his competitors could not even see the corners.
But this commentary is not about Leonard Goldenson’s business instincts.
It is not about ABC’s groundbreaking programming during his reign -- Wide World of Sports, Monday Night Football, Roots.
It is not even about television.
It is about one man’s dream to make the world better for those in need.
Leonard Goldenson’s oldest daughter, Genise, was born in 1943 with cerebral palsy. Soon, Leonard and Isabelle Goldenson met Jack and Ethel Hausmann. The Hausmanns faced a similar circumstance.
As he did so often in building ABC into a media colossus, Leonard Goldenson saw opportunity where others saw obstacles. While Leonard Goldenson’s power opened doors to the political, cultural, and business elite, other doors remained closed, unanswered, or slammed in the face.
People were ignorant, cruel, or just plain unknowing about treating the disabled both medically and personally.
The Goldensons and the Hausmanns joined to form United Cerebral Palsy in 1948. They formed the United Cerebral Palsy Research and Educational Foundation in 1955. Because of the framework established by the Goldenson and Hausmann families, researchers developed the first fetal heart monitor, isolated the rubella virus, and took the first steps towards conquering neonatal jaundice.
Behind every great man, there’s a woman. And Isabelle Weinstein Goldenson was no ordinary woman. Concerning the lives of the disabled, she was a force to be reckoned with. Her passion for improving the conditions, treatment, and access regarding disabled people led to new laws that seem simple in retrospect, but revolutionary at the time of their respective creations.
Buses allowing wheelchair access with special steps.
Ramps at crosswalks and public buildings.
Handicapped Only parking spaces.
This commentary does not begin to scratch the surface of the societal contributions of Leonard Goldenson and his wife, nor does it pretend to.
These are just the headlines.
david@davidkrell.com
Leader. Visionary. Gentleman.
Leonard Goldenson. The founder of ABC.
In the early years of television, NBC and CBS had glamor, prestige, and history.
ABC had Leonard Goldenson.
NBC and CBS had marquee A-list talent.
ABC had Leonard Goldenson.
NBC and CBS had their blueprints for running a television network based on their predecessor radio networks.
ABC had Leonard Goldenson.
A leader who gained the trust of his business partners, the loyalty of his staff, and the admiration of his competitors.
A visionary who took a struggling, unstable, third-rate television network and shaped, built, and transformed it into a massive media force.
A gentleman who knew everyone’s name in the building, from the executive suite to the janitorial staff.
Leonard Goldenson could see around corners where his competitors could not even see the corners.
But this commentary is not about Leonard Goldenson’s business instincts.
It is not about ABC’s groundbreaking programming during his reign -- Wide World of Sports, Monday Night Football, Roots.
It is not even about television.
It is about one man’s dream to make the world better for those in need.
Leonard Goldenson’s oldest daughter, Genise, was born in 1943 with cerebral palsy. Soon, Leonard and Isabelle Goldenson met Jack and Ethel Hausmann. The Hausmanns faced a similar circumstance.
As he did so often in building ABC into a media colossus, Leonard Goldenson saw opportunity where others saw obstacles. While Leonard Goldenson’s power opened doors to the political, cultural, and business elite, other doors remained closed, unanswered, or slammed in the face.
People were ignorant, cruel, or just plain unknowing about treating the disabled both medically and personally.
The Goldensons and the Hausmanns joined to form United Cerebral Palsy in 1948. They formed the United Cerebral Palsy Research and Educational Foundation in 1955. Because of the framework established by the Goldenson and Hausmann families, researchers developed the first fetal heart monitor, isolated the rubella virus, and took the first steps towards conquering neonatal jaundice.
Behind every great man, there’s a woman. And Isabelle Weinstein Goldenson was no ordinary woman. Concerning the lives of the disabled, she was a force to be reckoned with. Her passion for improving the conditions, treatment, and access regarding disabled people led to new laws that seem simple in retrospect, but revolutionary at the time of their respective creations.
Buses allowing wheelchair access with special steps.
Ramps at crosswalks and public buildings.
Handicapped Only parking spaces.
This commentary does not begin to scratch the surface of the societal contributions of Leonard Goldenson and his wife, nor does it pretend to.
These are just the headlines.
Crime Story
October 01, 2009
by David Krell
david@davidkrell.com
In the 1980’s, an NBC show about cops had it all.
A new look.
Story arcs that existed over several episodes.
And the elevation of lesser known actors into household name status.
Hill Street Blues? No.
Miami Vice? No.
Crime Story.
Michael Mann’s production of a Chicago cop and his mobster prey only lasted two seasons from 1986-1988.
But it was a terrific two years.
Set in the early 1960’s, Crime Story followed the exploits of Chicago Police Department Lt. Mike Torello and his squad at MCU or Major Crimes Unit. Their mission is to take down mobster Ray Luca.
When Luca moves his base of operations to Las Vegas, Torello and team follows, only to trade in their Chicago police badges to work for the feds.
At the end of the first season, Ray Luca and his addlebrained sidekick, Paulie Taglia, escape to the desert where they find themselves in the middle of nuclear testing. Because they survive, the federal government gives them immunity from prosecution and increases the difficulty of Torello’s job.
The medical information learned from their survival is simply invaluable during the Cold War and immunity from prosecution is the government’s compensation.
Crime Story was created by Gustave Reininger and Chuck Adamson. It starred Dennis Farina as Mike Torello. In a perfect example of art imitating life, Adamson and Farina worked for the Chicago Police Department before their show business careers. John Santucci played Paulie Taglia. Santucci was a thief in Chicago in his previous career. Adamson and Farina knew Santucci from their Chicago days. They arrested him!
Anthony Denison played Ray Luca. He went to the other side of law enforcement during a brief stint on Wiseguy when he replaced Ken Wahl. Denison played a former FBI agent drawn back into the fight against crime.
A reading of the list of guest stars on Crime Story is impressive.
Kevin Spacey. David Caruso. Julia Roberts. Ving Rhames. Gary Sinise. David Hyde-Pierce. Billy Zane. Laura San Giacomo. Dennis Haysbert.
Regular and recurring actors on Crime Story will also be familiar.
Before he was Corky’s dad on Life Goes On, Bill Smitrovich was Detective Danny Krycheck.
Before he was a single dad looking for a chance at true love on Once and Again, Billy Campbell was Detective Joey Indelli.
And before he sold out sports arenas, comedian Andrew Dice Clay was Max Goldman, a savvy partner of Ray Luca.
Del Shannon’s Runaway was the show’s theme song. It set the tone perfectly for the series. An upbeat tune balanced by somber words.
Crime Story paid great attention to style, setting, and detail. It captured the viewer. In Chicago, Torello and his squad often regrouped at a bar called the Orbit Room, a nod to the fascination inspired by the Space Age of the 1960’s.
In one episode, Torello and the guys talk about the Chicago Bears. He says that Ditka is the best player on the team. It was essentially a wink to the viewer. Mike Ditka played for the Bears in the 1960’s and coached the team during the mid-1980’s, the period of the show’s broadcast history.
Cars with fins. Suits with thin ties. Men with hats. All details of another era. But Crime Story recaptured them in an old-fashioned good guy vs. bad guy story line.
Crime Story ended with a cliffhanger. The principal characters airborne in a pilotless plane. Maybe one day, a tv-movie will tie up loose ends. And we will find out the ultimate destiny of Torello and Luca. Until then, you can create your own Crime Story ending.
david@davidkrell.com
In the 1980’s, an NBC show about cops had it all.
A new look.
Story arcs that existed over several episodes.
And the elevation of lesser known actors into household name status.
Hill Street Blues? No.
Miami Vice? No.
Crime Story.
Michael Mann’s production of a Chicago cop and his mobster prey only lasted two seasons from 1986-1988.
But it was a terrific two years.
Set in the early 1960’s, Crime Story followed the exploits of Chicago Police Department Lt. Mike Torello and his squad at MCU or Major Crimes Unit. Their mission is to take down mobster Ray Luca.
When Luca moves his base of operations to Las Vegas, Torello and team follows, only to trade in their Chicago police badges to work for the feds.
At the end of the first season, Ray Luca and his addlebrained sidekick, Paulie Taglia, escape to the desert where they find themselves in the middle of nuclear testing. Because they survive, the federal government gives them immunity from prosecution and increases the difficulty of Torello’s job.
The medical information learned from their survival is simply invaluable during the Cold War and immunity from prosecution is the government’s compensation.
Crime Story was created by Gustave Reininger and Chuck Adamson. It starred Dennis Farina as Mike Torello. In a perfect example of art imitating life, Adamson and Farina worked for the Chicago Police Department before their show business careers. John Santucci played Paulie Taglia. Santucci was a thief in Chicago in his previous career. Adamson and Farina knew Santucci from their Chicago days. They arrested him!
Anthony Denison played Ray Luca. He went to the other side of law enforcement during a brief stint on Wiseguy when he replaced Ken Wahl. Denison played a former FBI agent drawn back into the fight against crime.
A reading of the list of guest stars on Crime Story is impressive.
Kevin Spacey. David Caruso. Julia Roberts. Ving Rhames. Gary Sinise. David Hyde-Pierce. Billy Zane. Laura San Giacomo. Dennis Haysbert.
Regular and recurring actors on Crime Story will also be familiar.
Before he was Corky’s dad on Life Goes On, Bill Smitrovich was Detective Danny Krycheck.
Before he was a single dad looking for a chance at true love on Once and Again, Billy Campbell was Detective Joey Indelli.
And before he sold out sports arenas, comedian Andrew Dice Clay was Max Goldman, a savvy partner of Ray Luca.
Del Shannon’s Runaway was the show’s theme song. It set the tone perfectly for the series. An upbeat tune balanced by somber words.
Crime Story paid great attention to style, setting, and detail. It captured the viewer. In Chicago, Torello and his squad often regrouped at a bar called the Orbit Room, a nod to the fascination inspired by the Space Age of the 1960’s.
In one episode, Torello and the guys talk about the Chicago Bears. He says that Ditka is the best player on the team. It was essentially a wink to the viewer. Mike Ditka played for the Bears in the 1960’s and coached the team during the mid-1980’s, the period of the show’s broadcast history.
Cars with fins. Suits with thin ties. Men with hats. All details of another era. But Crime Story recaptured them in an old-fashioned good guy vs. bad guy story line.
Crime Story ended with a cliffhanger. The principal characters airborne in a pilotless plane. Maybe one day, a tv-movie will tie up loose ends. And we will find out the ultimate destiny of Torello and Luca. Until then, you can create your own Crime Story ending.
Baa Baa Black Sheep
September 30, 2009
by David Krell
david@davidkrell.com
After the United States pulled out of the Vietnam War in 1975, a war-weary country looked back to a simpler time for war heroes.
The Flying Misfits was a television pilot based on Baa Baa Black Sheep, the autobiography of World War II Marine pilot ace Greg “Pappy” Boyington.
Bruce Gamble wrote two authoritative books about Boyington and his pilots -- Black Sheep Squadron and Black Sheep One: The Life of Gregory “Pappy” Boyington.
Gamble’s comprehensive research details the story of the real-life heroes of the VMF 214 squadron.
Known as the ‘black sheep,’ these pilots were the champions of the World War II Pacific Theatre.
In one chapter, Gamble nicely explains the genesis of The Flying Misfits and the subsequent television series Baa Baa Black Sheep, also known as Black Sheep Squadron.
Frank Price was the head of Universal Television in 1975.
He commissioned Stephen J. Cannell to write the script for Flying Misfits.
The tv auteur behind The A-Team, Hardcastle & McCormick, and The Rockford Files admitted that he took some pretty good liberties.
NBC aired The Flying Misfits in 1976 and picked up the series loosely based on Boyington and the VMF 214 pilots.
The liberties that Cannell mentioned are evident and sometimes necessary in writing a television series based on real people and real events.
Indeed, the premise of the show seems like The Dirty Dozen meets World War II Marine pilots.
In fact, pilots of VMF 214 were not misfits or screwballs.
They were fine pilots with sharp senses, killer instincts, and rare skills.
Their ability to confront, engage, and defeat the Japanese in the Pacific Theater was a key element to the Allies victory in World War II.
But the creative powers looked at the bigger picture -- the relationships, respect, and regard between Boyington and his men.
In Black Sheep One, Gamble quotes Robert Conrad, the tough guy actor who portrays Boyington.
His feeling about the show was that if the producers wanted to embellish it, if they wanted to Hollywood it, that was fine with him. Poignant moments between the commanding officer and his pilots were important to him. How his character related and played that part. Esprit de corps was very important to him. Anything that was fictionalized didn’t bother Boyington.
Inspired by the success of Charlie’s Angels, Price looked for sex appeal to attract more viewers. Four nurses known as Pappy’s Lambs became fixtures in the show’s later episodes.
Baa Baa Black Sheep left the airwaves in 1978. But the show about masters of the air laid the groundwork for a tremendous television legacy.
John Larroquette plays Lt. Bob Anderson. He later won several Emmys as Assistant District Attorney Dan Fielding on Night Court.
Larry Manetti plays Lt. Bobby Boyle. He later moved to a Hawaii setting as Rick Wright -- friend, confidante, and information feeder to Thomas Magnum, Hawaii’s favorite private investigator, on Magnum, p.i.
And Donald Bellisario, a former Marine Corps sergeant, wrote and produced for Baa Baa Black Sheep. He became one of television’s most successful creators -- Magnum, p.i., JAG, Airwolf, NCIS, and Quantum Leap.
It might not have been true to detail.
It might not have been exact to history.
And it might not always have been recognizable to the actual participants and witnesses.
But Baa Baa Black Sheep deserves recognition as a show that honored the spirit of the Marine Corps.
david@davidkrell.com
After the United States pulled out of the Vietnam War in 1975, a war-weary country looked back to a simpler time for war heroes.
The Flying Misfits was a television pilot based on Baa Baa Black Sheep, the autobiography of World War II Marine pilot ace Greg “Pappy” Boyington.
Bruce Gamble wrote two authoritative books about Boyington and his pilots -- Black Sheep Squadron and Black Sheep One: The Life of Gregory “Pappy” Boyington.
Gamble’s comprehensive research details the story of the real-life heroes of the VMF 214 squadron.
Known as the ‘black sheep,’ these pilots were the champions of the World War II Pacific Theatre.
In one chapter, Gamble nicely explains the genesis of The Flying Misfits and the subsequent television series Baa Baa Black Sheep, also known as Black Sheep Squadron.
Frank Price was the head of Universal Television in 1975.
He commissioned Stephen J. Cannell to write the script for Flying Misfits.
The tv auteur behind The A-Team, Hardcastle & McCormick, and The Rockford Files admitted that he took some pretty good liberties.
NBC aired The Flying Misfits in 1976 and picked up the series loosely based on Boyington and the VMF 214 pilots.
The liberties that Cannell mentioned are evident and sometimes necessary in writing a television series based on real people and real events.
Indeed, the premise of the show seems like The Dirty Dozen meets World War II Marine pilots.
In fact, pilots of VMF 214 were not misfits or screwballs.
They were fine pilots with sharp senses, killer instincts, and rare skills.
Their ability to confront, engage, and defeat the Japanese in the Pacific Theater was a key element to the Allies victory in World War II.
But the creative powers looked at the bigger picture -- the relationships, respect, and regard between Boyington and his men.
In Black Sheep One, Gamble quotes Robert Conrad, the tough guy actor who portrays Boyington.
His feeling about the show was that if the producers wanted to embellish it, if they wanted to Hollywood it, that was fine with him. Poignant moments between the commanding officer and his pilots were important to him. How his character related and played that part. Esprit de corps was very important to him. Anything that was fictionalized didn’t bother Boyington.
Inspired by the success of Charlie’s Angels, Price looked for sex appeal to attract more viewers. Four nurses known as Pappy’s Lambs became fixtures in the show’s later episodes.
Baa Baa Black Sheep left the airwaves in 1978. But the show about masters of the air laid the groundwork for a tremendous television legacy.
John Larroquette plays Lt. Bob Anderson. He later won several Emmys as Assistant District Attorney Dan Fielding on Night Court.
Larry Manetti plays Lt. Bobby Boyle. He later moved to a Hawaii setting as Rick Wright -- friend, confidante, and information feeder to Thomas Magnum, Hawaii’s favorite private investigator, on Magnum, p.i.
And Donald Bellisario, a former Marine Corps sergeant, wrote and produced for Baa Baa Black Sheep. He became one of television’s most successful creators -- Magnum, p.i., JAG, Airwolf, NCIS, and Quantum Leap.
It might not have been true to detail.
It might not have been exact to history.
And it might not always have been recognizable to the actual participants and witnesses.
But Baa Baa Black Sheep deserves recognition as a show that honored the spirit of the Marine Corps.
My Favorite Year
September 30, 2009
by David Krell
david@davidkrell.com
Everybody has a favorite movie star.
For some of us, our favorite movie star is an everyman, like Tom Hanks or Jimmy Stewart.
For some of us, our favorite movie star is a sex symbol, like Marilyn Monroe or Jennifer Lopez.
For some of us, our favorite movie star is a swashbuckling action hero.
The 1982 movie My Favorite Year pays homage to this popular actor genre.
Set in 1954, My Favorite Year focuses on one week in the life of junior television comedy writer Benjy Stone and his hero, movie star Alan Swann.
Benjy’s assignment -- make sure that Alan Swann is sober, prepared, and ready to be the guest star on Comedy Cavalcade starring Stan “King” Kaiser and airing Saturday nights at 8:00pm on NBC.
Mark Linn-Baker plays Benjy.
Peter O’Toole plays Swann.
And Joe Bologna plays Stan “King” Kaiser.
The movie takes us on a journey through Benjy’s eyes as he balances on the line between being Swann’s worshipper and his chaperone.
It’s a wonderful tale about hero worship, identity, and fame.
On the day of the show, Swann reveals a deep secret to Benjy.
His name is not really Alan Swann. It’s Clarence Duffy.
Alan Swann is a fictional name, created by a Hollywood studio in the 30s, a common practice in those days.
Another secret revealed -- the only reason Swann agreed to do the guest spot on Comedy Cavalcade is to satisfy a debt to the IRS.
Later that day, Swann tries to reach out to his estranged 12-year-old daughter, Tess. But when he arrives at the house in Connecticut, he cannot even bring himself to get out of the car. He instructs his driver, Alfie, to take him back to the city.
In just a few hours, the live broadcast of Comedy Cavalcade will take place. When Swann finds ouit it’s actually a live broadcast with no chance of a second or third take, he ends his quasi-sobriety and begins drinking. Heavily.
Benjy calls his hero’s bluff and tells Swann that he did not even have the courage to see his daughter, so his backing out of the show is not a surprise.
Now Benjy gives instructions to Alfie. Take Swann back to the Waldorf.
Alfie, disgusted with Swann by this point, throws the keys at Swann. It’s a turning point because Alfie has been Swann’s loyal driver and confidante for years whenever Swann comes to New York City.
And now the emotional climax comes when Swann makes his way into the halls of 30 Rockefeller Center and tells Benjy that he’s just a man, life-size, not the hero on the silver screen.
Benjy then screams the lament of any hero worshipper. Don’t tell me you’re life-size. I can’t use you life-size. I need Alan Swanns as big as I can get them. What does it matter if it was an illusion? It worked!
While Benjy and Swann make their way to the studio balcony, King Kaiser has an urgent problem.
He frequently parodies a well-known mob boss, Carl Rojeck. Kaiser’s character of Boss Hijack inspires the rage of the real mob boss. He sends henchmen after King Kaiser in front of a live studio audience and 40 million people watching at home.
A brawl begins on the Boss Hijack set.
Alan Swann then becomes that hero on the silver screen.
Captain from Tortuga.
Defender of the Crown.
The Last Knight of the Round Table.
With improvisation, athleticism, and grace.
Swann grabs a rope, swings down to the stage, and joins King Kaiser in beating up the henchmen.
The studio audience erupts in applause because it all looks planned.
Kaiser grins at Swann and whispers sarcastically before introducing him to the audience, What took you so long?
Already dressed as a swashbuckler for a musketeer sketch later in the show, the scene of Swann swinging down to save the day seems plausible and actually parallels an earlier scene when Benjy shows the writing staff a similar clip from one of Alan Swann’s movies as an introduction to Swann’s work.
Benjy tells us in the closing narration while Swann takes an extended bow that Swann saw his daughter the following day.
The characters and setting of My Favorite Year are very loosely based on fact.
Alan Swann and Errol Flynn.
King Kaiser and Sid Caesar.
Comedy Cavalcade and Your Show of Shows.
Indeed, Your Show of Shows starring Sid Caesar aired Saturday nights at 8:00pm on NBC just like its fictional counterpart.
The writing, producing, and broadcasting of the fictional Comedy Cavalcade and the real Your Show of Shows both take place at NBC’s headquarters, 30 Rockefeller Center or 30 Rock
And there is yet another connection.
Mel Brooks. Yes, that Mel Brooks. He was a writer on Your Show of Shows and his company produced My Favorite Year.
david@davidkrell.com
Everybody has a favorite movie star.
For some of us, our favorite movie star is an everyman, like Tom Hanks or Jimmy Stewart.
For some of us, our favorite movie star is a sex symbol, like Marilyn Monroe or Jennifer Lopez.
For some of us, our favorite movie star is a swashbuckling action hero.
The 1982 movie My Favorite Year pays homage to this popular actor genre.
Set in 1954, My Favorite Year focuses on one week in the life of junior television comedy writer Benjy Stone and his hero, movie star Alan Swann.
Benjy’s assignment -- make sure that Alan Swann is sober, prepared, and ready to be the guest star on Comedy Cavalcade starring Stan “King” Kaiser and airing Saturday nights at 8:00pm on NBC.
Mark Linn-Baker plays Benjy.
Peter O’Toole plays Swann.
And Joe Bologna plays Stan “King” Kaiser.
The movie takes us on a journey through Benjy’s eyes as he balances on the line between being Swann’s worshipper and his chaperone.
It’s a wonderful tale about hero worship, identity, and fame.
On the day of the show, Swann reveals a deep secret to Benjy.
His name is not really Alan Swann. It’s Clarence Duffy.
Alan Swann is a fictional name, created by a Hollywood studio in the 30s, a common practice in those days.
Another secret revealed -- the only reason Swann agreed to do the guest spot on Comedy Cavalcade is to satisfy a debt to the IRS.
Later that day, Swann tries to reach out to his estranged 12-year-old daughter, Tess. But when he arrives at the house in Connecticut, he cannot even bring himself to get out of the car. He instructs his driver, Alfie, to take him back to the city.
In just a few hours, the live broadcast of Comedy Cavalcade will take place. When Swann finds ouit it’s actually a live broadcast with no chance of a second or third take, he ends his quasi-sobriety and begins drinking. Heavily.
Benjy calls his hero’s bluff and tells Swann that he did not even have the courage to see his daughter, so his backing out of the show is not a surprise.
Now Benjy gives instructions to Alfie. Take Swann back to the Waldorf.
Alfie, disgusted with Swann by this point, throws the keys at Swann. It’s a turning point because Alfie has been Swann’s loyal driver and confidante for years whenever Swann comes to New York City.
And now the emotional climax comes when Swann makes his way into the halls of 30 Rockefeller Center and tells Benjy that he’s just a man, life-size, not the hero on the silver screen.
Benjy then screams the lament of any hero worshipper. Don’t tell me you’re life-size. I can’t use you life-size. I need Alan Swanns as big as I can get them. What does it matter if it was an illusion? It worked!
While Benjy and Swann make their way to the studio balcony, King Kaiser has an urgent problem.
He frequently parodies a well-known mob boss, Carl Rojeck. Kaiser’s character of Boss Hijack inspires the rage of the real mob boss. He sends henchmen after King Kaiser in front of a live studio audience and 40 million people watching at home.
A brawl begins on the Boss Hijack set.
Alan Swann then becomes that hero on the silver screen.
Captain from Tortuga.
Defender of the Crown.
The Last Knight of the Round Table.
With improvisation, athleticism, and grace.
Swann grabs a rope, swings down to the stage, and joins King Kaiser in beating up the henchmen.
The studio audience erupts in applause because it all looks planned.
Kaiser grins at Swann and whispers sarcastically before introducing him to the audience, What took you so long?
Already dressed as a swashbuckler for a musketeer sketch later in the show, the scene of Swann swinging down to save the day seems plausible and actually parallels an earlier scene when Benjy shows the writing staff a similar clip from one of Alan Swann’s movies as an introduction to Swann’s work.
Benjy tells us in the closing narration while Swann takes an extended bow that Swann saw his daughter the following day.
The characters and setting of My Favorite Year are very loosely based on fact.
Alan Swann and Errol Flynn.
King Kaiser and Sid Caesar.
Comedy Cavalcade and Your Show of Shows.
Indeed, Your Show of Shows starring Sid Caesar aired Saturday nights at 8:00pm on NBC just like its fictional counterpart.
The writing, producing, and broadcasting of the fictional Comedy Cavalcade and the real Your Show of Shows both take place at NBC’s headquarters, 30 Rockefeller Center or 30 Rock
And there is yet another connection.
Mel Brooks. Yes, that Mel Brooks. He was a writer on Your Show of Shows and his company produced My Favorite Year.
Uncle Miltie's Lifetime Contract
September 03, 2009
by David Krell
david@davidkrell.com
When did Milton Berle debut as the host and star of Texaco Star Theatre on NBC?
Before.
Before Jackie Gleason introduced Ralph Kramden.
Before Lucille Ball began a 20+ year career on network television sitcoms bearing the shortened version of her name -- Lucy.
Before Phil Silvers showed the art of con artistry as Sergeant Ernie Bilko.
Milton Berle was the first television star. He made his television debut in 1948.
Berle had a rich history in show business prior to 1948. He started at the age of five in silent movies.
Vaudeville, nightclubs, and films followed.
Berle's deep experience as a Master of Ceremonies in nightclubs gave him a nice foundation for keeping the attention of the live audience of Texaco Star Theatre, a variety show.
And Berle dominated America's attention in the infant days of television on Tuesday nights at 8:00pm.
A television soon became a household necessity, not merely a luxury, thanks to Uncle Miltie.
And it replaced radio as the primary medium of entertainment.
With relatively little competition, Berle was a sensation.
So sensational that NBC gave him a lifetime contract.
Signed on May 3, 1951, the exclusive contract bound Berle to NBC for $200,000 per year for thirty years.
Locking America's Uncle Miltie into an exclusive deal showed the confidence that NBC had in its first television personality.
And it showed the confidence that Berle had in NBC.
The glory days of television looked endless with a corresponding limitless reign of its king.
But like all good things, it came to an end.
In 1953, the show changed sponsors.
The Buick-Berle Show a.k.a. The Milton Berle Show aired until 1956.
With increasing competition, Berle could never recapture the wonder of America that he enjoyed as the country's first television superstar.
Because of the exclusive contract with NBC, Berle could not appear on other networks.
And his program offerings diminished.
Jackpot Bowling was one of them.
To expand his possibilities, Berle renegotiated with NBC in 1965 and the exclusive contract became a non-exclusive contract. And the yearly salary of $200,000 became $120,000.
The end date of 1981 stayed.
Berle appeared rather steadily on television as a guest star during the remainder of the contract, including appearances on Here's Lucy, The Joey Bishop Show, The Mod Squad, Batman, Love, American Style, Mannix, and The Love Boat.
But the record will show that his greatest television contribution was his first. So great that he got a 30-year deal.
david@davidkrell.com
When did Milton Berle debut as the host and star of Texaco Star Theatre on NBC?
Before.
Before Jackie Gleason introduced Ralph Kramden.
Before Lucille Ball began a 20+ year career on network television sitcoms bearing the shortened version of her name -- Lucy.
Before Phil Silvers showed the art of con artistry as Sergeant Ernie Bilko.
Milton Berle was the first television star. He made his television debut in 1948.
Berle had a rich history in show business prior to 1948. He started at the age of five in silent movies.
Vaudeville, nightclubs, and films followed.
Berle's deep experience as a Master of Ceremonies in nightclubs gave him a nice foundation for keeping the attention of the live audience of Texaco Star Theatre, a variety show.
And Berle dominated America's attention in the infant days of television on Tuesday nights at 8:00pm.
A television soon became a household necessity, not merely a luxury, thanks to Uncle Miltie.
And it replaced radio as the primary medium of entertainment.
With relatively little competition, Berle was a sensation.
So sensational that NBC gave him a lifetime contract.
Signed on May 3, 1951, the exclusive contract bound Berle to NBC for $200,000 per year for thirty years.
Locking America's Uncle Miltie into an exclusive deal showed the confidence that NBC had in its first television personality.
And it showed the confidence that Berle had in NBC.
The glory days of television looked endless with a corresponding limitless reign of its king.
But like all good things, it came to an end.
In 1953, the show changed sponsors.
The Buick-Berle Show a.k.a. The Milton Berle Show aired until 1956.
With increasing competition, Berle could never recapture the wonder of America that he enjoyed as the country's first television superstar.
Because of the exclusive contract with NBC, Berle could not appear on other networks.
And his program offerings diminished.
Jackpot Bowling was one of them.
To expand his possibilities, Berle renegotiated with NBC in 1965 and the exclusive contract became a non-exclusive contract. And the yearly salary of $200,000 became $120,000.
The end date of 1981 stayed.
Berle appeared rather steadily on television as a guest star during the remainder of the contract, including appearances on Here's Lucy, The Joey Bishop Show, The Mod Squad, Batman, Love, American Style, Mannix, and The Love Boat.
But the record will show that his greatest television contribution was his first. So great that he got a 30-year deal.
Underdog
August 11, 2009
by David Krell
david@davidkrell.com
There's no need to fear, Underdog is here!
That's the motto of America's Canine Crusader.
With speed of lightning and roar of thunder, Underdog sprung onto the pop culture scene in 1964 on NBC.
He made a lasting impression on the hearts and minds of baby boomers who grew up cheering him in his adventures.
Mega-star Tom Hanks proved Underdog's enduring popularity into the 1990's by recanting the theme song word-for-word on The Rosie O'Donnell Show.
In addition, Friends mentioned the Underdog balloon, a Thanksgiving Day Parade staple. The occasion was a story line focused on the holiday.
And in 2008, Underdog reached the big screen in a live-action feature film of the same name.
Only a year after his television debut, Underdog made his inaugural Thanksgiving Parade appearance with a special showcase following the parade.
In a shrewd cross-promotion, NBC aired the parade from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm Eastern on Thanksgiving Day -- November 25, 1965. A thirty-minute Underdog show followed from 12:00 pm to 12:30 pm. The name of the episode is No Thanksgiving.
No Thanksgiving features Underdog squaring off against Simon Barsinister.
The evil scientist wants to use a time machine to cancel the first and all subsequent Thanksgivings so he can stop the current parade and capture the entire city.
Underdog's name has great appeal because everyone has felt like an underdog at one time or another.
Indeed, character names were descriptive.
Riff Raff is a stogie-smoking bad buy whose name tells us he is nothing more than a common hood.
Simon Barsinister's name certainly sends a message that the character's scientific knowledge will not be used to help society.
Sweet Polly Purebred's name tells us that she is the ideal dog.
The mutual devotion between this rather perky television news reporter and her champion reinforces a romantic match made in doggie heaven.
After all, every hero needs a damsel in distress.
Underdog valiantly fights evildoers, changing immediately from his identity as Shoeshine Boy whenever he saw trouble on the horizon. Each episode put Underdog in a seemingly impossible situation to overcome. But he always emerged the victor.
Shrinking Water -- Simon Barsinister wants to become the biggest man in the world.
Vacuum Gun -- Simon Barsinister captures crooks to build his own criminal army.
Safe Waif -- Underdog's focus is a young boy who gets locked in a bank vault.
Riffraffville -- Underdog fights Riff Raff when the villain leaves the city to take over the west. The story culminates in an old-fashioned showdown in a western town.
From Hopeless to Helpless -- Riff Raff uses an Underdog lookalike to commit crimes.
Tricky Trap By Tap Tap -- A sequel to From Hopeless to Helpless showing what happens to Underdog's lookalike, Tap Tap, when he tries to disguise himself as the Canine Crusader again.
Because Underdog originally appeared during the Space Age of the 1960's, space themes fit naturally in some episodes.
Underdog vs. Overcat -- Underdog fights the toughest alien in the galaxy -- Overcat.
The Flying Sorcerers -- Aliens force Sweet Polly Purebred to bake for them, but she falls into the giant mixer.
david@davidkrell.com
There's no need to fear, Underdog is here!
That's the motto of America's Canine Crusader.
With speed of lightning and roar of thunder, Underdog sprung onto the pop culture scene in 1964 on NBC.
He made a lasting impression on the hearts and minds of baby boomers who grew up cheering him in his adventures.
Mega-star Tom Hanks proved Underdog's enduring popularity into the 1990's by recanting the theme song word-for-word on The Rosie O'Donnell Show.
In addition, Friends mentioned the Underdog balloon, a Thanksgiving Day Parade staple. The occasion was a story line focused on the holiday.
And in 2008, Underdog reached the big screen in a live-action feature film of the same name.
Only a year after his television debut, Underdog made his inaugural Thanksgiving Parade appearance with a special showcase following the parade.
In a shrewd cross-promotion, NBC aired the parade from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm Eastern on Thanksgiving Day -- November 25, 1965. A thirty-minute Underdog show followed from 12:00 pm to 12:30 pm. The name of the episode is No Thanksgiving.
No Thanksgiving features Underdog squaring off against Simon Barsinister.
The evil scientist wants to use a time machine to cancel the first and all subsequent Thanksgivings so he can stop the current parade and capture the entire city.
Underdog's name has great appeal because everyone has felt like an underdog at one time or another.
Indeed, character names were descriptive.
Riff Raff is a stogie-smoking bad buy whose name tells us he is nothing more than a common hood.
Simon Barsinister's name certainly sends a message that the character's scientific knowledge will not be used to help society.
Sweet Polly Purebred's name tells us that she is the ideal dog.
The mutual devotion between this rather perky television news reporter and her champion reinforces a romantic match made in doggie heaven.
After all, every hero needs a damsel in distress.
Underdog valiantly fights evildoers, changing immediately from his identity as Shoeshine Boy whenever he saw trouble on the horizon. Each episode put Underdog in a seemingly impossible situation to overcome. But he always emerged the victor.
Shrinking Water -- Simon Barsinister wants to become the biggest man in the world.
Vacuum Gun -- Simon Barsinister captures crooks to build his own criminal army.
Safe Waif -- Underdog's focus is a young boy who gets locked in a bank vault.
Riffraffville -- Underdog fights Riff Raff when the villain leaves the city to take over the west. The story culminates in an old-fashioned showdown in a western town.
From Hopeless to Helpless -- Riff Raff uses an Underdog lookalike to commit crimes.
Tricky Trap By Tap Tap -- A sequel to From Hopeless to Helpless showing what happens to Underdog's lookalike, Tap Tap, when he tries to disguise himself as the Canine Crusader again.
Because Underdog originally appeared during the Space Age of the 1960's, space themes fit naturally in some episodes.
Underdog vs. Overcat -- Underdog fights the toughest alien in the galaxy -- Overcat.
The Flying Sorcerers -- Aliens force Sweet Polly Purebred to bake for them, but she falls into the giant mixer.
The Ultimate TV Network
July 21, 2009
by David Krell
david@davidkrell.com
If I created the ultimate television network, the prime time program lineup would probably look like this:
On Sunday, I would start with the legends. I Love Lucy at 8:00pm followed by The Jack Benny Program at 8:30pm.
The pairing makes sense since Lucille Ball and Jack Benny were not only show business icons, but also neighbors in real life. They lived next door to each other on North Roxbury Drive in Beverly Hills.
Then, we turn to the rural heavyweights. The Andy Griffith Show at 9:00pm and The Beverly Hillbillies at 9:30pm.
Sunday nights should be nice and easy, after all. And what's nicer and easier than our friends in Mayberry and the hillbilly transplants to the land of Rodeo Drive?
At 10:00pm, The Sopranos.
On Monday nights, I would pair The Dick Van Dyke Show and Mary Tyler Moore in the 8 o'clock hour, followed by M*A*S*H and Murphy Brown in the 9 o'clock hour.
At 10:00pm, St. Elsewhere.
Tuesday nights would start with family comedy. The Cosby Show and Family Ties 8:00pm and 8:30pm respectively.
Everybody Loves Raymond at 9:00pm and Two and a Half Men at 9:30pm.
At 10:00pm, Law & Order.
Wednesday nights would start with sophistication.
Frasier at 8:00pm and The Odd Couple at 8:30pm. I'm sure Felix Unger would have enjoyed talking wine, opera, and art with the Crane brothers.
The 9 o'clock hour would consist of You'll Never Get Rich starring Phil Silvers as Sergeant Bilko and The Twilight Zone.
At 10:00pm, Hill Street Blues.
Of course, Thursday nights would truly be Must See TV with Cheers, Taxi, Seinfeld, and Friends followed by ER at 10:00pm.
Friday night would be another family-friendly night, starting with The Brady Bunch at 8:00pm and The Wonder Years at 8:30pm.
At 9:00pm, Friday Night Lights, a depiction of a west Texas town obsessed with high school football.
At 10:00pm, The Wire.
Saturday night begins with cartoons.
The Simpsons at 8:00pm and King of the Hill at 8:30pm.
The Honeymooners at 9:00pm and Curb Your Enthusiasm at 9:30pm.
At 10:00pm, Homicide: Life on the Street, an undervalued, underrated, and underwatched program during its tenure on NBC in the 1990's.
Reasonable minds can differ.
Should Happy Days be in the lineup instead of The Brady Bunch?
What about L.A. Law, thirtysomething, Scrubs, or All in the Family?
What's the standard for making the linuep?
All good questions.
For now, it's merely instinctive.
Programs can be replaced.
Or I can start another network.
david@davidkrell.com
If I created the ultimate television network, the prime time program lineup would probably look like this:
On Sunday, I would start with the legends. I Love Lucy at 8:00pm followed by The Jack Benny Program at 8:30pm.
The pairing makes sense since Lucille Ball and Jack Benny were not only show business icons, but also neighbors in real life. They lived next door to each other on North Roxbury Drive in Beverly Hills.
Then, we turn to the rural heavyweights. The Andy Griffith Show at 9:00pm and The Beverly Hillbillies at 9:30pm.
Sunday nights should be nice and easy, after all. And what's nicer and easier than our friends in Mayberry and the hillbilly transplants to the land of Rodeo Drive?
At 10:00pm, The Sopranos.
On Monday nights, I would pair The Dick Van Dyke Show and Mary Tyler Moore in the 8 o'clock hour, followed by M*A*S*H and Murphy Brown in the 9 o'clock hour.
At 10:00pm, St. Elsewhere.
Tuesday nights would start with family comedy. The Cosby Show and Family Ties 8:00pm and 8:30pm respectively.
Everybody Loves Raymond at 9:00pm and Two and a Half Men at 9:30pm.
At 10:00pm, Law & Order.
Wednesday nights would start with sophistication.
Frasier at 8:00pm and The Odd Couple at 8:30pm. I'm sure Felix Unger would have enjoyed talking wine, opera, and art with the Crane brothers.
The 9 o'clock hour would consist of You'll Never Get Rich starring Phil Silvers as Sergeant Bilko and The Twilight Zone.
At 10:00pm, Hill Street Blues.
Of course, Thursday nights would truly be Must See TV with Cheers, Taxi, Seinfeld, and Friends followed by ER at 10:00pm.
Friday night would be another family-friendly night, starting with The Brady Bunch at 8:00pm and The Wonder Years at 8:30pm.
At 9:00pm, Friday Night Lights, a depiction of a west Texas town obsessed with high school football.
At 10:00pm, The Wire.
Saturday night begins with cartoons.
The Simpsons at 8:00pm and King of the Hill at 8:30pm.
The Honeymooners at 9:00pm and Curb Your Enthusiasm at 9:30pm.
At 10:00pm, Homicide: Life on the Street, an undervalued, underrated, and underwatched program during its tenure on NBC in the 1990's.
Reasonable minds can differ.
Should Happy Days be in the lineup instead of The Brady Bunch?
What about L.A. Law, thirtysomething, Scrubs, or All in the Family?
What's the standard for making the linuep?
All good questions.
For now, it's merely instinctive.
Programs can be replaced.
Or I can start another network.
Dennis Franz
July 15, 2009
by David Krell
david@davidkrell.com
Dennis Franz stayed with NYPD Blue for its entire 12-year run from 1993 to 2005.
But before his Emmy-winning turn as Detective Andy Sipowicz, Franz starred in some television series that are long gone and perhaps forgotten.
After the critically acclaimed debut of Hill Street Blues in 1981, NBC aired an even more ambitious ensemble program in 1982 -- Chicago Story.
Each episode was 90 minutes in length.
The stories centered on doctors, cops, and the justice system.
Naturally, Franz played a tough Chicago cop -- Officer Joe Gilland.
Chicago Story did not last, perhaps because of the length of each episode and despite an outstanding cast -- Craig T. Nelson, Maud Adams, Vincent Baggetta, Molly Cheek, Kristoffer Tabori, Daniel Hugh Kelly, Richard Lawson.
In 1983, Franz was part of Steven Bochco's attempt at a baseball-themed ensemble drama. Set in fictional Bay City, California, the short-lived Bay City Blues focused on a AA minor league team, the Bluebirds.
Bay City Blues starred Michael Nouri, Ken Olin, Sharon Stone, and Bernie Casey. Franz played pitching coach Angelo Carbone.
In Bochco's more successful 1980's ensemble drama Hill Street Blues, Franz played two roles.
He first guest starred as dirty cop Sal Benedetto in a multi-episode story arc. After Benedetto's story line ended with his suicide, Bochco brought Franz back to Hill Street Station as Detective Norman Buntz.
Buntz' informant was Sid the Snitch, played by another Bay City Blues alumnus, Peter Jurasik.
The pair offered comic relief and gained enough confidence from NBC to star in a spinoff -- Beverly Hills Buntz.
The show lasted a few episodes in 1987 and featured Buntz opening a private investigation agency in the glamorous southern California locale of Beverly Hills.
In 1989, Franz starred in a 2-hour NBC tv-movie entitled Nasty Boys. The theme song was the popular eponymous song of the day.
Nasty Boys featured an elite undercover narcotics squad in Las Vegas led by Franz' Lieutenant Krieger.
In 1990, NBC expanded Nasty Boys into a television series. Benjamin Bratt of Law & Order also starred.
In addition to these starring roles, Franz' resume includes numerous guest spots -- Hunter, Matlock, The A-Team, Riptide, Simon & Simon, Street Hawk, T.J. Hooker.
Dennis Franz' work on NYPD Blue secured his place in the annals of television history.
But his earlier television work ought not be overlooked.
And the aforementioned shows starring Franz have a common thread with NYPD Blue -- the ensemble.
david@davidkrell.com
Dennis Franz stayed with NYPD Blue for its entire 12-year run from 1993 to 2005.
But before his Emmy-winning turn as Detective Andy Sipowicz, Franz starred in some television series that are long gone and perhaps forgotten.
After the critically acclaimed debut of Hill Street Blues in 1981, NBC aired an even more ambitious ensemble program in 1982 -- Chicago Story.
Each episode was 90 minutes in length.
The stories centered on doctors, cops, and the justice system.
Naturally, Franz played a tough Chicago cop -- Officer Joe Gilland.
Chicago Story did not last, perhaps because of the length of each episode and despite an outstanding cast -- Craig T. Nelson, Maud Adams, Vincent Baggetta, Molly Cheek, Kristoffer Tabori, Daniel Hugh Kelly, Richard Lawson.
In 1983, Franz was part of Steven Bochco's attempt at a baseball-themed ensemble drama. Set in fictional Bay City, California, the short-lived Bay City Blues focused on a AA minor league team, the Bluebirds.
Bay City Blues starred Michael Nouri, Ken Olin, Sharon Stone, and Bernie Casey. Franz played pitching coach Angelo Carbone.
In Bochco's more successful 1980's ensemble drama Hill Street Blues, Franz played two roles.
He first guest starred as dirty cop Sal Benedetto in a multi-episode story arc. After Benedetto's story line ended with his suicide, Bochco brought Franz back to Hill Street Station as Detective Norman Buntz.
Buntz' informant was Sid the Snitch, played by another Bay City Blues alumnus, Peter Jurasik.
The pair offered comic relief and gained enough confidence from NBC to star in a spinoff -- Beverly Hills Buntz.
The show lasted a few episodes in 1987 and featured Buntz opening a private investigation agency in the glamorous southern California locale of Beverly Hills.
In 1989, Franz starred in a 2-hour NBC tv-movie entitled Nasty Boys. The theme song was the popular eponymous song of the day.
Nasty Boys featured an elite undercover narcotics squad in Las Vegas led by Franz' Lieutenant Krieger.
In 1990, NBC expanded Nasty Boys into a television series. Benjamin Bratt of Law & Order also starred.
In addition to these starring roles, Franz' resume includes numerous guest spots -- Hunter, Matlock, The A-Team, Riptide, Simon & Simon, Street Hawk, T.J. Hooker.
Dennis Franz' work on NYPD Blue secured his place in the annals of television history.
But his earlier television work ought not be overlooked.
And the aforementioned shows starring Franz have a common thread with NYPD Blue -- the ensemble.
Michael Jackson
June 25, 2009
by David Krell
david@davidkrell.com
In the 1980's, three revolutions took place in the entertainment industry.
Steven Bochco and Michael Kozoll changed a major production techniques of television drama with their show Hill Street Blues. They favored story arcs instead of self-contained episodes. Producers continued that technique with Hall of Fame television dramas -- St. Elsewhere, L.A. Law, thirtysomething, ER, The Shield, The Sopranos, and Rescue Me.
Television networks went the conglomerate route. Loews, GE, and Capital Cities took over Network Row as they incorporated CBS, NBC, and ABC respectively into their massive corporate families. Gone were the days of network chiefs like William Paley, David Sarnoff, and Leonard Goldenson being synonymous with the networks they founded.
And Michael Jackson, for all intents and purposes, made the marriage of music and television complete with his numerous music video plays on MTV. Before he danced on a car and made a mockery of court proceedings concerning child molestation allegations, before he underwent massive plastic surgery that drastically altered his appearance, and before his deep money troubles, Michael Jackson had it all -- fame, money, adoration of fans.
Jackson's 1982 album Thriller gave him terrific fodder for music videos. He defined the genre by creating visual stories to match the songs. He set the bar higher for bands and singers who wanted rotation on MTV. And he formed the center for USA For Africa's We Are the World in 1985 by singing the first chorus. Forty-five singers comprised an inspirational unit to sing this song that raised money for Ethiopian famine sufferers, but Michael Jackson was arguably a keystone to the song's success.
It all happened back in the day described eloquently by Bowling For Soup in its song 1985: Way before Nirvana, there was U2 and Blondie and music still on MTV.
david@davidkrell.com
In the 1980's, three revolutions took place in the entertainment industry.
Steven Bochco and Michael Kozoll changed a major production techniques of television drama with their show Hill Street Blues. They favored story arcs instead of self-contained episodes. Producers continued that technique with Hall of Fame television dramas -- St. Elsewhere, L.A. Law, thirtysomething, ER, The Shield, The Sopranos, and Rescue Me.
Television networks went the conglomerate route. Loews, GE, and Capital Cities took over Network Row as they incorporated CBS, NBC, and ABC respectively into their massive corporate families. Gone were the days of network chiefs like William Paley, David Sarnoff, and Leonard Goldenson being synonymous with the networks they founded.
And Michael Jackson, for all intents and purposes, made the marriage of music and television complete with his numerous music video plays on MTV. Before he danced on a car and made a mockery of court proceedings concerning child molestation allegations, before he underwent massive plastic surgery that drastically altered his appearance, and before his deep money troubles, Michael Jackson had it all -- fame, money, adoration of fans.
Jackson's 1982 album Thriller gave him terrific fodder for music videos. He defined the genre by creating visual stories to match the songs. He set the bar higher for bands and singers who wanted rotation on MTV. And he formed the center for USA For Africa's We Are the World in 1985 by singing the first chorus. Forty-five singers comprised an inspirational unit to sing this song that raised money for Ethiopian famine sufferers, but Michael Jackson was arguably a keystone to the song's success.
It all happened back in the day described eloquently by Bowling For Soup in its song 1985: Way before Nirvana, there was U2 and Blondie and music still on MTV.
Tim Russert: One Year Later
June 05, 2009
by David Krell
david@davidkrell.com
Approximately one year has passed since Tim Russert died on June 13, 2008.
And America's Sunday mornings still are not the same.
From 1991 until his death last year, Tim Russert served as the caretaker of NBC's classic jewel, Meet the Press.
He was the everyman.
The favorite uncle who always asks how you're doing.
The neighbor who shares your passion for sports.
The teacher who is truly interested in your ideas.
Tim Russert loved politics and he loved explaining it to us.
Talking with popes, presidents, and prime ministers, Tim Russert never forgot his roots in south Buffalo.
He never let us forget them either, rooting for the Sabres and Bills regularly at the end of Meet the Press.
While other newscasters may come from the Ivy League or work themselves up the ladder from humble beginnings, they often forget about the average Joe.
Tim Russert never forgot about the average Joe.
The son of a sanitation worker, Tim Russert knew, respected, and embraced the working class that comprises the true backbone of America.
Tim Russert let us into his personal world, writing books with a deep appreciation for a father's sacrifice -- Big Russ and Me and Wisdom of Our Fathers.
To say that his passing leaves a void in television news is like saying Babe Ruth could hit a baseball. The words do not even begin to do justice to the reality of the situation.
During the memorial service, we took comfort in Tim Russert's tremendous legacy at NBC News and in his family, primarily his son who gave a thoughtful, inspiring, and deeply touching eulogy. Luke Russert is a tremendously poised, mature, and well-rounded young man who graduated from Boston College last year. The family went to Italy to celebrate Luke's graduation. Tim Russert returned to Washington, D.C. ahead of his wife and son so he could tape his MSNBC show and work on the June 15, 2008 edition of Meet the Press.
Perhaps appropriately, Tim died at work while recording a track for Meet the Press. Luke Russert described the show as "a second child."
At the memorial service, we also saw many colleagues give thanks, condolences, and memories of the political professional turned public personality.
Once a staffer of New York political icons Mario Cuomo and Daniel Patrick Moynihan, Tim Russert became a staple of Sunday mornings -- leisurely breakfast, Sunday newspapers, and Meet the Press.
Luke Russert's eulogy encouraged us to think of a Meet the Press special edition in heaven. Maybe Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr will be on for the full hour. Maybe JFK and Barry Goldwater will debate.
During the 2008 presidential election, transition of presidential power, and these early days of the Obama administration, we miss Tim Russert's enthusiasm as we do his affection, acumen, and stability.
If it's Sunday, it's Meet the Press.
But it's still not the same without Tim Russert.
Go Bills!
david@davidkrell.com
Approximately one year has passed since Tim Russert died on June 13, 2008.
And America's Sunday mornings still are not the same.
From 1991 until his death last year, Tim Russert served as the caretaker of NBC's classic jewel, Meet the Press.
He was the everyman.
The favorite uncle who always asks how you're doing.
The neighbor who shares your passion for sports.
The teacher who is truly interested in your ideas.
Tim Russert loved politics and he loved explaining it to us.
Talking with popes, presidents, and prime ministers, Tim Russert never forgot his roots in south Buffalo.
He never let us forget them either, rooting for the Sabres and Bills regularly at the end of Meet the Press.
While other newscasters may come from the Ivy League or work themselves up the ladder from humble beginnings, they often forget about the average Joe.
Tim Russert never forgot about the average Joe.
The son of a sanitation worker, Tim Russert knew, respected, and embraced the working class that comprises the true backbone of America.
Tim Russert let us into his personal world, writing books with a deep appreciation for a father's sacrifice -- Big Russ and Me and Wisdom of Our Fathers.
To say that his passing leaves a void in television news is like saying Babe Ruth could hit a baseball. The words do not even begin to do justice to the reality of the situation.
During the memorial service, we took comfort in Tim Russert's tremendous legacy at NBC News and in his family, primarily his son who gave a thoughtful, inspiring, and deeply touching eulogy. Luke Russert is a tremendously poised, mature, and well-rounded young man who graduated from Boston College last year. The family went to Italy to celebrate Luke's graduation. Tim Russert returned to Washington, D.C. ahead of his wife and son so he could tape his MSNBC show and work on the June 15, 2008 edition of Meet the Press.
Perhaps appropriately, Tim died at work while recording a track for Meet the Press. Luke Russert described the show as "a second child."
At the memorial service, we also saw many colleagues give thanks, condolences, and memories of the political professional turned public personality.
Once a staffer of New York political icons Mario Cuomo and Daniel Patrick Moynihan, Tim Russert became a staple of Sunday mornings -- leisurely breakfast, Sunday newspapers, and Meet the Press.
Luke Russert's eulogy encouraged us to think of a Meet the Press special edition in heaven. Maybe Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr will be on for the full hour. Maybe JFK and Barry Goldwater will debate.
During the 2008 presidential election, transition of presidential power, and these early days of the Obama administration, we miss Tim Russert's enthusiasm as we do his affection, acumen, and stability.
If it's Sunday, it's Meet the Press.
But it's still not the same without Tim Russert.
Go Bills!
Get Smart
June 04, 2009
by David Krell
david@davidkrell.com
For those who missed it by "that much," the 2008 film Get Smart comes to cable television this summer.
Perfect casting -- Steve Carrell as Maxwell Smart, Anne Hathaway as Agent 99, and Alan Arkin as the Chief.
The roots of Get Smart date back four decades when it parodied the spy genre in 1960's television. The show countered more serious offerings -- The Man From U.N.C.L.E., The Saint.
Created by comedy giants Mel Brooks and Buck Henry, Get Smart gave America a humorous view of the espionage world.
Don Adams masters the role of Maxwell Smart, a well-meaning, sometimes befuddled, and gadget-dependent spy for C.O.N.T.R.O.L.
Sexy sidekick Barbara Feldon plays Agent 99, always ready to steer Max back on track after a mishap.
Feldon plays a send-up of her spy actress position in the Mad About You episode The Spy Who Loved Me. Feldon's Diane Caldwell is a somewhat airy actress whose high career point was Spy Girl, a 1960's television series.
Once the object of boyhood fantasies for cousins Ira and Paul, she becomes the reality for adult Ira. But one night of fantasy realized with a bubble-headed actress does not go further as Caldwell dispassionately dismisses any thought of a future with Ira.
Edward Platt plays the Chief on Get Smart. The boss of Max and 99 never loses faith in his espionage duo.
Dick Gautier plays Hymie the Robot.
David Ketchum plays Agent 13.
And Bernie Kopell plays Siegfried, a nemesis of Max and Agent 99 from rival agency K.A.O.S.
Get Smart begins each episode with an ominous sounding brass theme and Max pulling up to C.O.N.T.R.O.L. Headquarters in a sports car. Max must go through an elaborate set of doors to get to his ultimate destination, presumably a meeting with the Chief.
Probably the most recognizable props of Get Smart are Max's shoe phone and the constantly malfunctioning Cone of Silence.
Get Smart inspired the 1980 farce The Nude Bomb, a film that sums up the plot in its title. The bomb at the heart of the film has the capability to remove people's clothing.
In 1989, Adams and Feldon returned to their signature roles in Get Smart Again, a tv-movie. Just a few years later in 1995, Get Smart returned as a television series for a post-Cold War incarnation. Andy Dick plays the son of the now long-married spy couple. Max and 99 also have daughter. Like her mother, she does not have a name.
Get Smart holds a tremendous distinction in the annals of television. Its versions have appeared on four major networks.
The original 1960's series first aired on NBC and then switched to CBS. Get Smart Again aired on ABC and the 1995 version of Get Smart aired on FOX.
Echoes of The Brady Bunch.
The original Brady Bunch show aired on ABC as did The Brady Bunch Variety Hour.
The Brady Brides, an early 1980's sitcom aired on NBC as did its progenitor the tv-movie The Brady Girls Get Married.
The 1988 tv-movie A Very Brady Christmas aired on CBS. And the more somber drama series The Bradys followed suit a couple of years later.
The 2002 tv-movie The Brady Bunch in the White House aired on FOX.
But these nostalgic icons are not the only shows to achieve the feat of four incarnations on four television networks.
Tom Corbett, Space Cadet aired in the 1950's on CBS, ABC, NBC, and Dumont.
david@davidkrell.com
For those who missed it by "that much," the 2008 film Get Smart comes to cable television this summer.
Perfect casting -- Steve Carrell as Maxwell Smart, Anne Hathaway as Agent 99, and Alan Arkin as the Chief.
The roots of Get Smart date back four decades when it parodied the spy genre in 1960's television. The show countered more serious offerings -- The Man From U.N.C.L.E., The Saint.
Created by comedy giants Mel Brooks and Buck Henry, Get Smart gave America a humorous view of the espionage world.
Don Adams masters the role of Maxwell Smart, a well-meaning, sometimes befuddled, and gadget-dependent spy for C.O.N.T.R.O.L.
Sexy sidekick Barbara Feldon plays Agent 99, always ready to steer Max back on track after a mishap.
Feldon plays a send-up of her spy actress position in the Mad About You episode The Spy Who Loved Me. Feldon's Diane Caldwell is a somewhat airy actress whose high career point was Spy Girl, a 1960's television series.
Once the object of boyhood fantasies for cousins Ira and Paul, she becomes the reality for adult Ira. But one night of fantasy realized with a bubble-headed actress does not go further as Caldwell dispassionately dismisses any thought of a future with Ira.
Edward Platt plays the Chief on Get Smart. The boss of Max and 99 never loses faith in his espionage duo.
Dick Gautier plays Hymie the Robot.
David Ketchum plays Agent 13.
And Bernie Kopell plays Siegfried, a nemesis of Max and Agent 99 from rival agency K.A.O.S.
Get Smart begins each episode with an ominous sounding brass theme and Max pulling up to C.O.N.T.R.O.L. Headquarters in a sports car. Max must go through an elaborate set of doors to get to his ultimate destination, presumably a meeting with the Chief.
Probably the most recognizable props of Get Smart are Max's shoe phone and the constantly malfunctioning Cone of Silence.
Get Smart inspired the 1980 farce The Nude Bomb, a film that sums up the plot in its title. The bomb at the heart of the film has the capability to remove people's clothing.
In 1989, Adams and Feldon returned to their signature roles in Get Smart Again, a tv-movie. Just a few years later in 1995, Get Smart returned as a television series for a post-Cold War incarnation. Andy Dick plays the son of the now long-married spy couple. Max and 99 also have daughter. Like her mother, she does not have a name.
Get Smart holds a tremendous distinction in the annals of television. Its versions have appeared on four major networks.
The original 1960's series first aired on NBC and then switched to CBS. Get Smart Again aired on ABC and the 1995 version of Get Smart aired on FOX.
Echoes of The Brady Bunch.
The original Brady Bunch show aired on ABC as did The Brady Bunch Variety Hour.
The Brady Brides, an early 1980's sitcom aired on NBC as did its progenitor the tv-movie The Brady Girls Get Married.
The 1988 tv-movie A Very Brady Christmas aired on CBS. And the more somber drama series The Bradys followed suit a couple of years later.
The 2002 tv-movie The Brady Bunch in the White House aired on FOX.
But these nostalgic icons are not the only shows to achieve the feat of four incarnations on four television networks.
Tom Corbett, Space Cadet aired in the 1950's on CBS, ABC, NBC, and Dumont.
Law & Order
June 04, 2009
by David Krell
david@davidkrell.com
Last night, Law & Order completed its 19th season.
The current detectives on NBC's long-running Law & Order came to Manhattan's fictional 27th precinct with rich resumes.
Jeremy Sisto plays Cyrus Lupo. But fans of HBO's Six Feet Under will recognize Sisto as the actor who plays Billy, brother of Brenda and sometimes bane of the existence of Brenda's significant other, Nate.
Sisto brings depth, pain, and reality to Billy, a truly three-dimensional character with three-dimensional mental issues.
He intrigued us and inspired our empathy.
He scared us and inspired our curiosity.
He welcomed us and inspired our interest in the causes, effects, and monitoring of mental illness.
Sisto's film career began with the 1991 film Grand Canyon where he enjoys a stellar cast including Kevin Kline, Mary McDonnell, Steve Martin, Mary-Louise Parker, and Danny Glover.
In the film, Kline and McDonnell play the parents of Sisto's character, Roberto. Inspired by baseball great Roberto Clemente, Kline's character names his son after the Pittsburgh Pirates legend.
Although he plays a relatively small part, Sisto stays pace with the veteran actors/
In addition to Law & Order, Sisto delves into another fictional crime fighting world with its own iconic status.
He voices Bruce Wayne and Batman in the 2008 direct-to-video offering Justice League: The New Frontier.
Anthony Anderson plays Kevin Bernard in Law & Order. Bernard is a recently transferred detective from Internal Affairs. Anderson has big gumshoes to fill as he succeeds Jesse Martin. Martin debuted as Ed Green in Season 10. He left in Season 18.
Martin's Ed Green left the NYPD after Bernard investigated him because of a shooting. At the time, Bernard worked for Internal Affairs.
Although the department dropped the charges, Green left the force rather than fight disciplinary action.
Anderson recently starred in K-Ville where he paired with Cole Hauser. This buddy cop show on FOX was set in New Orleans. It incorporated the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina into the story line.
Anderson also played a significant, recurring role in The Shield -- drug kingpin Antwon Mitchell.
Back in prison after enjoying a brief stay on the outside, Mitchell reinforces his status as a player. Indeed, when the cops from the fictional Farmington section of an unnamed southern California city need a favor on the inside, they must strike a deal with their sometimes nemesis, sometimes ally Antwon Mitchell.
Anderson's comedy roles include a part in Malibu's Most Wanted, a hysterical, perhaps politically incorrect film starring Jaime Kennedy as a wannabe boy from the hood. Ryan O'Neal and Bo Derek play Kennedy's parents.
Anderson's film resume includes King's Ransom, Big Momma's House, and Scary Movie 3.
Additionally, he had a short-lived sitcom on the WB -- All About the Andersons.
david@davidkrell.com
Last night, Law & Order completed its 19th season.
The current detectives on NBC's long-running Law & Order came to Manhattan's fictional 27th precinct with rich resumes.
Jeremy Sisto plays Cyrus Lupo. But fans of HBO's Six Feet Under will recognize Sisto as the actor who plays Billy, brother of Brenda and sometimes bane of the existence of Brenda's significant other, Nate.
Sisto brings depth, pain, and reality to Billy, a truly three-dimensional character with three-dimensional mental issues.
He intrigued us and inspired our empathy.
He scared us and inspired our curiosity.
He welcomed us and inspired our interest in the causes, effects, and monitoring of mental illness.
Sisto's film career began with the 1991 film Grand Canyon where he enjoys a stellar cast including Kevin Kline, Mary McDonnell, Steve Martin, Mary-Louise Parker, and Danny Glover.
In the film, Kline and McDonnell play the parents of Sisto's character, Roberto. Inspired by baseball great Roberto Clemente, Kline's character names his son after the Pittsburgh Pirates legend.
Although he plays a relatively small part, Sisto stays pace with the veteran actors/
In addition to Law & Order, Sisto delves into another fictional crime fighting world with its own iconic status.
He voices Bruce Wayne and Batman in the 2008 direct-to-video offering Justice League: The New Frontier.
Anthony Anderson plays Kevin Bernard in Law & Order. Bernard is a recently transferred detective from Internal Affairs. Anderson has big gumshoes to fill as he succeeds Jesse Martin. Martin debuted as Ed Green in Season 10. He left in Season 18.
Martin's Ed Green left the NYPD after Bernard investigated him because of a shooting. At the time, Bernard worked for Internal Affairs.
Although the department dropped the charges, Green left the force rather than fight disciplinary action.
Anderson recently starred in K-Ville where he paired with Cole Hauser. This buddy cop show on FOX was set in New Orleans. It incorporated the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina into the story line.
Anderson also played a significant, recurring role in The Shield -- drug kingpin Antwon Mitchell.
Back in prison after enjoying a brief stay on the outside, Mitchell reinforces his status as a player. Indeed, when the cops from the fictional Farmington section of an unnamed southern California city need a favor on the inside, they must strike a deal with their sometimes nemesis, sometimes ally Antwon Mitchell.
Anderson's comedy roles include a part in Malibu's Most Wanted, a hysterical, perhaps politically incorrect film starring Jaime Kennedy as a wannabe boy from the hood. Ryan O'Neal and Bo Derek play Kennedy's parents.
Anderson's film resume includes King's Ransom, Big Momma's House, and Scary Movie 3.
Additionally, he had a short-lived sitcom on the WB -- All About the Andersons.
Boston TV
June 03, 2009
by David Krell
david@davidkrell.com
Boston is a terrific site for television programs.
Where do you go when you want to be where you can see the troubles are all the same and everybody knows your name?
Cheers in Boston -- Cheers.
Where do you go when you want to hire Spenser, the private investigator?
A revamped firehouse turned living quarters in Boston -- Spenser: For Hire.
Where do you go when you need Dr. Marc Craig, an egotistical, egocentric, and egomaniacal heart surgeon who is also a leader in the field of cardiac care?
St. Eligius Hospital in Boston -- St. Elsewhere.
Goodnight Beantown is also set in Boston. This mid-1980's sitcom revolved around a male-female television news anchor team played by Bill Bixby and Mariette Hartley.
Boston Common enjoyed a coveted role on NBC's Thursday night Must See TV lineup in the mid-1990's. The show features stand up comedian Anthony Clark, familiar to fans of Yes, Dear as good-natured, hard-working, and fun-lacking Greg Warner.
Crossing Jordan stars Jill Hennessy of Law & Order fame as a coroner who goes beyond the obvious to solve crimes. The show exists in the same televerse as Las Vegas.
David Kelley's legal trifecta of Ally McBeal, The Practice, and Boston Legal takes place in Kelley's old stomping grounds of Boston. One can trace Kelley's creative roots in the Boston law genre to his 1987 movie From the Hip starring Judd Nelson.
Kelley also created Boston Public, a show about a high school that enjoyed a crossover with The Practice as did Ally McBeal.
George Peppard plays the title role in Banacek, a 1970's show on NBC about an insurance investigator in Boston who receives a percentage of a property's value upon recovering it after a theft.
Two Guys, a Girl, and a Pizza Place, later simply named Two Guys and a Girl, centers around...well, the title says it all. Three platonic twentysomething friends share misadventures, advice, and problems, in college and thereafter.
For the younger set, the Disney Channel's The Suite Life of Zack & Cody takes place in the fictional Tipton Hotel in Boston. Twin boys, Zack and Cody, live in a hotel because their mom is the headline singer and the residence is part of the contract.
HBO made a first in 2006 when it aired its first sitcom, the adult-themed, Boston-set Lucky Louie featuring stand up comedian Louis C. K.
Beyond the racy language, adult themes, and spare apartment set lay a working-class basis that parallels All in the Family and The Honeymooners.
Lucky Louie only aired six episodes in the summer of '06.
Boston is the setting for later episodes of Dawson's Creek when the core characters attend college.
And even though we never saw Boston through his eyes, we certainly heard about it from his nostalgic recounts, the Boston revered by Major Charles Emerson Winchester III on M*A*S*H.
Boston is a great sports town.
Boston is a great history town.
And Boston is a great television town.
david@davidkrell.com
Boston is a terrific site for television programs.
Where do you go when you want to be where you can see the troubles are all the same and everybody knows your name?
Cheers in Boston -- Cheers.
Where do you go when you want to hire Spenser, the private investigator?
A revamped firehouse turned living quarters in Boston -- Spenser: For Hire.
Where do you go when you need Dr. Marc Craig, an egotistical, egocentric, and egomaniacal heart surgeon who is also a leader in the field of cardiac care?
St. Eligius Hospital in Boston -- St. Elsewhere.
Goodnight Beantown is also set in Boston. This mid-1980's sitcom revolved around a male-female television news anchor team played by Bill Bixby and Mariette Hartley.
Boston Common enjoyed a coveted role on NBC's Thursday night Must See TV lineup in the mid-1990's. The show features stand up comedian Anthony Clark, familiar to fans of Yes, Dear as good-natured, hard-working, and fun-lacking Greg Warner.
Crossing Jordan stars Jill Hennessy of Law & Order fame as a coroner who goes beyond the obvious to solve crimes. The show exists in the same televerse as Las Vegas.
David Kelley's legal trifecta of Ally McBeal, The Practice, and Boston Legal takes place in Kelley's old stomping grounds of Boston. One can trace Kelley's creative roots in the Boston law genre to his 1987 movie From the Hip starring Judd Nelson.
Kelley also created Boston Public, a show about a high school that enjoyed a crossover with The Practice as did Ally McBeal.
George Peppard plays the title role in Banacek, a 1970's show on NBC about an insurance investigator in Boston who receives a percentage of a property's value upon recovering it after a theft.
Two Guys, a Girl, and a Pizza Place, later simply named Two Guys and a Girl, centers around...well, the title says it all. Three platonic twentysomething friends share misadventures, advice, and problems, in college and thereafter.
For the younger set, the Disney Channel's The Suite Life of Zack & Cody takes place in the fictional Tipton Hotel in Boston. Twin boys, Zack and Cody, live in a hotel because their mom is the headline singer and the residence is part of the contract.
HBO made a first in 2006 when it aired its first sitcom, the adult-themed, Boston-set Lucky Louie featuring stand up comedian Louis C. K.
Beyond the racy language, adult themes, and spare apartment set lay a working-class basis that parallels All in the Family and The Honeymooners.
Lucky Louie only aired six episodes in the summer of '06.
Boston is the setting for later episodes of Dawson's Creek when the core characters attend college.
And even though we never saw Boston through his eyes, we certainly heard about it from his nostalgic recounts, the Boston revered by Major Charles Emerson Winchester III on M*A*S*H.
Boston is a great sports town.
Boston is a great history town.
And Boston is a great television town.
Homicide: Life Everlasting
May 31, 2009
by David Krell
david@davidkrell.com
After Homicide: Life on the Street ended its seven-year run on NBC from 1993-1999, a final story came in the form of a tv-movie in 2000.
Homicide: Life Everlasting used the assassination of Lieutenant Al Giardello as the main plot point.
Giardello runs for Mayor of Baltimore with a platform hinging on a drug legalization strategy. Apparently, his days in the homicide squad convince him that legalizing drugs will decrease murders. During a campaign stop, Giardello is assassinated.
His subordinates rise to the occasion. Their loyalty for "G" is so deep that they return to find the shooter even though they have moved on to other careers and jobs.
Appropriately, Detectives Tim Bayliss and Frank Pembleton track down the shooter. The two were clear opposites during the run of Homicide.
Pembleton betrayed little, if any, emotion.
Bayliss strove for a deeper relationship with his colleagues.
Pembleton saw meaning in the work.
Bayliss sought a Zen philosophy for deeper meaning.
Pembleton was a pure detective. Natural police.
Bayliss came from the mayor's security detail.
If Homicide had a center, it was this odd couple relationship of Bayliss and Pembleton. Homicide was a true ensemble show, however. In Homicide: Life Everlasting, we saw again the characters we enjoyed throughout the show's run.
Still, the teamwork of Pembleton and Bayliss allows for an exchange framed by the picturesque Baltimore skyline at night.
Bayliss confesses to Pembleton that he murdered a criminal. The investigation is still open.
Despite Bayliss' pleadings, Pembleton refuses to arrest him. Now a teacher, Pembleton does not even have the authority to arrest. But that's a minor point. He simply refuses.
Ultimately, Bayliss hands his badge to Pembleton. Did he resign or turn himself in? The choice is up to the viewer.
After this exchange, Pembleton offers his condolences to Giardello's son, Michael, in what used to be Giardello's office.
Pembleton: Death goes on and on and on.
Giardello: And that's because life goes on and on.
As Michael Giardello and Pembleton leave the squad room, Al Giardello enters and encounters two detectives who are dead -- Crosetti and Felton.
They're playing cards and they invite G to sit down. The scene marks G's official transition into the afterlife.
And another homicide on the board goes from red to black.
david@davidkrell.com
After Homicide: Life on the Street ended its seven-year run on NBC from 1993-1999, a final story came in the form of a tv-movie in 2000.
Homicide: Life Everlasting used the assassination of Lieutenant Al Giardello as the main plot point.
Giardello runs for Mayor of Baltimore with a platform hinging on a drug legalization strategy. Apparently, his days in the homicide squad convince him that legalizing drugs will decrease murders. During a campaign stop, Giardello is assassinated.
His subordinates rise to the occasion. Their loyalty for "G" is so deep that they return to find the shooter even though they have moved on to other careers and jobs.
Appropriately, Detectives Tim Bayliss and Frank Pembleton track down the shooter. The two were clear opposites during the run of Homicide.
Pembleton betrayed little, if any, emotion.
Bayliss strove for a deeper relationship with his colleagues.
Pembleton saw meaning in the work.
Bayliss sought a Zen philosophy for deeper meaning.
Pembleton was a pure detective. Natural police.
Bayliss came from the mayor's security detail.
If Homicide had a center, it was this odd couple relationship of Bayliss and Pembleton. Homicide was a true ensemble show, however. In Homicide: Life Everlasting, we saw again the characters we enjoyed throughout the show's run.
Still, the teamwork of Pembleton and Bayliss allows for an exchange framed by the picturesque Baltimore skyline at night.
Bayliss confesses to Pembleton that he murdered a criminal. The investigation is still open.
Despite Bayliss' pleadings, Pembleton refuses to arrest him. Now a teacher, Pembleton does not even have the authority to arrest. But that's a minor point. He simply refuses.
Ultimately, Bayliss hands his badge to Pembleton. Did he resign or turn himself in? The choice is up to the viewer.
After this exchange, Pembleton offers his condolences to Giardello's son, Michael, in what used to be Giardello's office.
Pembleton: Death goes on and on and on.
Giardello: And that's because life goes on and on.
As Michael Giardello and Pembleton leave the squad room, Al Giardello enters and encounters two detectives who are dead -- Crosetti and Felton.
They're playing cards and they invite G to sit down. The scene marks G's official transition into the afterlife.
And another homicide on the board goes from red to black.
Heeere's Conan!
May 29, 2009
by David Krell
david@davidkrell.com
Tonight is Jay Leno's last night as host of The Tonight Show.
Leno enjoyed great success because of his immense dedication to the craft of comedy, a Must See TV lineup lead-in with powerhouses Law & Order, Law & Order: SVU, Friends, Seinfeld, and ER, and a 1995 appearance by Hugh Grant after his arrest for soliciting a prostitute that turbocharged ratings.
But great success came with a cost. Leno's tenure at The Tonight Show will be forever marked by intense competition with Late Show with David Letterman preceded by the confusion over which comedian would succeed Johnny Carson. Additionally, the furor created by Leno's manager Helen Kushnick when she was the initial Executive Producer of The Tonight Show triggered her dismissal only four months into the show. A seventeen-year relationship between the likable comedian and tough entertainment manager evaporated. This, after building Jay Leno's career, increasing his exposure, and taking him from small clubs to the most coveted job in comedy.
Leno will be gone from late night after tonight's broadcast, but not from NBC. In a few months, we will see him on prime time as the host of a Monday-Friday 10:00 pm show (9:00 pm in the Midwest).
Ironically, this is the same time slot that NBC offered to David Letterman after they gave The Tonight Show to Jay Leno. Letterman refused and went to CBS.
A Jay Leno talk-variety show in prime time will be cheaper to produce with more original shows than a drama. But is NBC foregoing potential licensing dollars by not investing in a drama?
To put a spin on a well-known phrase, prime time will tell.
Conan O'Brien takes the baton of The Tonight Show on Monday, June 1st.
david@davidkrell.com
Tonight is Jay Leno's last night as host of The Tonight Show.
Leno enjoyed great success because of his immense dedication to the craft of comedy, a Must See TV lineup lead-in with powerhouses Law & Order, Law & Order: SVU, Friends, Seinfeld, and ER, and a 1995 appearance by Hugh Grant after his arrest for soliciting a prostitute that turbocharged ratings.
But great success came with a cost. Leno's tenure at The Tonight Show will be forever marked by intense competition with Late Show with David Letterman preceded by the confusion over which comedian would succeed Johnny Carson. Additionally, the furor created by Leno's manager Helen Kushnick when she was the initial Executive Producer of The Tonight Show triggered her dismissal only four months into the show. A seventeen-year relationship between the likable comedian and tough entertainment manager evaporated. This, after building Jay Leno's career, increasing his exposure, and taking him from small clubs to the most coveted job in comedy.
Leno will be gone from late night after tonight's broadcast, but not from NBC. In a few months, we will see him on prime time as the host of a Monday-Friday 10:00 pm show (9:00 pm in the Midwest).
Ironically, this is the same time slot that NBC offered to David Letterman after they gave The Tonight Show to Jay Leno. Letterman refused and went to CBS.
A Jay Leno talk-variety show in prime time will be cheaper to produce with more original shows than a drama. But is NBC foregoing potential licensing dollars by not investing in a drama?
To put a spin on a well-known phrase, prime time will tell.
Conan O'Brien takes the baton of The Tonight Show on Monday, June 1st.
John Stamos
May 28, 2009
by David Krell
david@davidkrell.com
John Stamos has a deep television resume indicative of an actor destined for television icon status enjoyed by the likes of Robert Urich and Tony Danza.
Starting in daytime television, Stamos earned his heartthrob stripes in the early 1980's as Blackie Parrish on General Hospital.
In 1984, Stamos tackled prime time with Dreams, a short-lived CBS show about a rock and roll group trying to get its big break.
Later in the Reagan decade, Stamos partnered with veteran television actor Jack Klugman in You Again?, an NBC sitcom about a teenager who moves into his father's home after a long estrangement.
You Again? lasted one season.
The third prime time's a charm.
Stamos struck gold with Full House, an ABC sitcom that served as an anchor for the alphabet network's TGIF lineup.
The three father figures on Full House present distinct personalities. Bob Saget plays Danny Tanner, the actual father of the three daughters on the show.
Danny is the practical one.
Dave Coulier plays Joey Gladstone.
Joey is the childlike one.
Stamos plays Uncle Jesse.
Jesse is the creative one. Following his musical background, Stamos infused his character with a musical bent.
Full House lasted eight years, from 1987 to 1995.
Stamos' post-Full House television work includes the short-lived 2001 entry Thieves and Jake In Progress, a one hour drama with strong comedy elements that debuted in 2005.
Jake In Progress stars Stamos in the title role as a successful New York City publicist who reexamines his approach to women, that is to say, his womanizing.
Even a terrific supporting cast did not provide enough fuel to let Jake progress on his journey of finding his other half, his soulmate, his counterpart. Wendie Malick of Just Shoot Me and Dream On plays Stamos' boss.
After a guest spot on Friends in 2003, Stamos joined the cast of NBC's long-running drama ER as Tony Gates, Initially a recurring character, Gates became a fixture at Cook County General Hospital. Initially a paramedic, Gates became a doctor.
Stamos also appears in the 2007 HBO documentary Mr. Warmth: The Don Rickles Project. He joins a roster of legendary interviewees, including the Smothers Brothers, Robin Williams, Bob Newhart, Martin Scorsese, Regis Philbin, Jay Leno, Debbie Reynolds, Clint Eastwood, and Carl Reiner.
Stamos talks kindly about Rickles' impact on younger entertainers. He expands his comments to include others of Rickles' generation.
In a separate interview, Stamos' Full House co-star Bob Saget also appears on the documentary. And the two separately square off with some choice comments about each other. In essence, Saget claims that Stamos simply kisses the ring of Rickles, to put the phrase euphemestically.
John Stamos has a resume that is synonymous with television. One major hit in the form of Full House has not made him a one-hit wonder. Although his characters don't always know how to go about doing the right thing, they always want to do the right thing. They try. Which is just about all you can ask for.
david@davidkrell.com
John Stamos has a deep television resume indicative of an actor destined for television icon status enjoyed by the likes of Robert Urich and Tony Danza.
Starting in daytime television, Stamos earned his heartthrob stripes in the early 1980's as Blackie Parrish on General Hospital.
In 1984, Stamos tackled prime time with Dreams, a short-lived CBS show about a rock and roll group trying to get its big break.
Later in the Reagan decade, Stamos partnered with veteran television actor Jack Klugman in You Again?, an NBC sitcom about a teenager who moves into his father's home after a long estrangement.
You Again? lasted one season.
The third prime time's a charm.
Stamos struck gold with Full House, an ABC sitcom that served as an anchor for the alphabet network's TGIF lineup.
The three father figures on Full House present distinct personalities. Bob Saget plays Danny Tanner, the actual father of the three daughters on the show.
Danny is the practical one.
Dave Coulier plays Joey Gladstone.
Joey is the childlike one.
Stamos plays Uncle Jesse.
Jesse is the creative one. Following his musical background, Stamos infused his character with a musical bent.
Full House lasted eight years, from 1987 to 1995.
Stamos' post-Full House television work includes the short-lived 2001 entry Thieves and Jake In Progress, a one hour drama with strong comedy elements that debuted in 2005.
Jake In Progress stars Stamos in the title role as a successful New York City publicist who reexamines his approach to women, that is to say, his womanizing.
Even a terrific supporting cast did not provide enough fuel to let Jake progress on his journey of finding his other half, his soulmate, his counterpart. Wendie Malick of Just Shoot Me and Dream On plays Stamos' boss.
After a guest spot on Friends in 2003, Stamos joined the cast of NBC's long-running drama ER as Tony Gates, Initially a recurring character, Gates became a fixture at Cook County General Hospital. Initially a paramedic, Gates became a doctor.
Stamos also appears in the 2007 HBO documentary Mr. Warmth: The Don Rickles Project. He joins a roster of legendary interviewees, including the Smothers Brothers, Robin Williams, Bob Newhart, Martin Scorsese, Regis Philbin, Jay Leno, Debbie Reynolds, Clint Eastwood, and Carl Reiner.
Stamos talks kindly about Rickles' impact on younger entertainers. He expands his comments to include others of Rickles' generation.
In a separate interview, Stamos' Full House co-star Bob Saget also appears on the documentary. And the two separately square off with some choice comments about each other. In essence, Saget claims that Stamos simply kisses the ring of Rickles, to put the phrase euphemestically.
John Stamos has a resume that is synonymous with television. One major hit in the form of Full House has not made him a one-hit wonder. Although his characters don't always know how to go about doing the right thing, they always want to do the right thing. They try. Which is just about all you can ask for.