David Von Pein Posted June 11, 2011 Share Posted June 11, 2011 I had a lot of fun recently talking with a fellow by the name of Mitchell Hadley, who maintains multiple blogs and websites pertaining to television and American culture. Mitchell interviewed me about my collection of TV coverage on the JFK assassination, plus some other stuff. So, I thought I'd share the link to the article: http://www.ItsAboutTV.com/2011/06/its-about-tv-interview-jfk.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Hogan Posted June 11, 2011 Share Posted June 11, 2011 Yawn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Von Pein Posted June 11, 2011 Author Share Posted June 11, 2011 (edited) Edited June 11, 2011 by David Von Pein Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Von Pein Posted June 11, 2011 Author Share Posted June 11, 2011 (edited) I will never ever forget the Leave it To Beaver program where the Beaver got stuck in a giant cereal bowl. It had me in stitches. It wasn't cereal, James. It was a soup bowl. But, we all make mistakes sometimes. Unless, perhaps (just perhaps) the film of that episode--entitled "In The Soup"--was altered at Hawkeyeworks in Rochester shortly after it was filmed at Universal in Hollywood, in order to turn a Wheat Chex cereal bowl into a Zesto soup bowl. That's something for inquiring minds to ponder indeed. http://Leave-It-To-Beaver-On-DVD.blogspot.com Edited June 11, 2011 by David Von Pein Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cliff Varnell Posted June 11, 2011 Share Posted June 11, 2011 Its always painful to agree with DVP on anything. But I would have to agree with four of the six choices for his best TV series. I am a big retro TV fan also and I would say that in any Top Ten TV series, Dick Van Dyke, The Fugitive, MTM, and Leave it to Beaver would have to figure. There was never a better acted, better cast, better written comedy series than the DIck Van DYke Show on TV. And Mary Tyler Moore was a close second. I don't really understand the inclusion of Father Knows Best and Andy Griffith. But those other four shows were really good. I will never ever forget the Leave it To Beaver program where the Beaver got stuck in a giant cereal bowl. It had me in stitches. Here's a fun off-topic! Ten top favorite TV series from the 60's: The Avengers Twilight Zone The Prisoner Man From U.N.C.L.E. Addams Family Combat Batman Wild Wild West Dobie Gillis Alfred Hitchcock Presents Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg Burnham Posted June 11, 2011 Share Posted June 11, 2011 Wild Wild West Mission Impossible I Spy Man from U.N.C.L.E. Rat Patrol The Avengers Bat Masterson Have Gun Will Travel Twilight Zone Outer Limits Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg Burnham Posted June 11, 2011 Share Posted June 11, 2011 (edited) ... Combat and Wild, WIld West were Ok I thought. (Although the film they made from the latter was awful.) ... Yeah, the film: "Wild, Wild West" was indeed awful, Jim. The character of Secret Service Agent James (Jim) West was originally played by Robert Conrad in the TV series, Wild, Wild West. He also played the part of Greg "Pappy" Bowington from the series: "Black Sheep Squadron" that aired more than a decade after Wild, Wild West (the TV series) was long gone. Not to be racist in any way, but--facts are facts: The character of that same individual, Secret Service Agent James West, was played by Will Smith in the movie! Yes, the African-American, Will Smith. Well, that is simply unacceptable from a HISTORY point of view. There were no African American Secret Service Agents employed by the Treasury Department in that capacity during the Grant Administration!! So, SS Agent James West could not have been the ethnicity attributed to him in the movie... So much for historical accuracy. But, the TV series was very cool at the time... Edited June 11, 2011 by Greg Burnham Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cliff Varnell Posted June 11, 2011 Share Posted June 11, 2011 (edited) Cliff, I hate to say this, but I agree more with DVP than I do you. Just wait 'til we start talkin' about music... (Does this mean I will now reverse myself on Bugliosi's book?) The Adams Family? (I don' t like camp.) I think you're missing the satire, Jim. Not only was AF a send-up of horror movies, it was a hilarious satire on the "American nuclear family" idealized in those shows you like so much -- Father Knows Best, Dick Van Dyke and the Beav. I must confess I had a crush on Morticia. Slender brunette, dressed all in black, sweetly evil. Works for me! Man from Uncle? Kind of silly I think. I should add that these 10 were my favorite shows during that time, during the 60's, a period covering the ages of 5 to 15. Other than The Twilight Zone and The Prisoner, I haven't seen much of these shows since the 60's, so I can't say which ones have held up. Man from Uncle may be dated, I can't say since I haven't watched it in 40 odd years. But at the time it was the American TV version of James Bond, which I loved. I was reading the Ian Fleming Bond books at the time, and Man from UNCLE fit into the whole Cold Warrior spy stuff I was into. ...As if I'm not into that now! I also enjoyed Mission Impossible, Secret Agent, I Spy, and Get Smart. I was too young for I Led 3 Lives...maybe it would have been my favorite show if I'd been a little older... Batman, nope. Best villains in the history of television! Joker, Riddler, Penguin, Catwoman -- yeah, I'll take the Pepsi challenge on "best TV villains of all-time"! Consider the actors -- Cesar Romero, Frank Gorshin, Burgess Meredith. Top notch. Julie Newmar as Catwoman was something else -- as was Eartha Kitt. Dobie Gilis, c'mon, Dwayne Hickman was Mr. Nothing. Maynard, baby, Maynard. I wanted to be a beatnik before I was out of grade school. Maynard G. Krebs: "Werk??!" Classic TV comedy, as I recall. Yeah, Maynard. And Tuesday Weld. I never missed Dobie, even when they took Weld off for looking too sexy. Combat and Wild, WIld West were Ok I thought. (Although the film they made from the latter was awful.) WWW married the spy and western genres and didn't take itself too seriously. Consistently great as I recall. As for Combat...when I was a little kid I loved war movies and loved playing war. The first time that the tragedy of war hit me was after watching a particular episode of Combat. Realizing that war wasn't all glory was one of the salient moments of my childhood. I never really understood or bought the premise of the Avengers. More stylish spies. After my crush on Morticia I had a crush on Emma Peel. Thin brunette, black catsuit, sweet and dangerous...you get the idea. So I agree with three of yours: Hitchcock, Twilight Zone and The Prisoner. The last was really underrated, and unfortunately it lasted only briefly. But it was really a good show. Edited June 11, 2011 by Cliff Varnell Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Jeffries Posted June 11, 2011 Share Posted June 11, 2011 Andy Griffith Show Green Acres Beverly Hillbillies Twilight Zone Dick Van Dyke Show Lost In Space The Flintsones The Munsters Alfred Hitchcock Presents The Addams Family Favorites that didn't last long enough were The Time Tunnel and The Invaders. I didn't appreciate The Wild, Wild West, Route 66 or The Outer Limits until catching them later in reruns. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tom Scully Posted June 11, 2011 Share Posted June 11, 2011 Some good picks have already been posted, so I'll add these, from my earliest recollection, forward. I recall having had a crush on Angela Cartwright, on Lost in Space. http://www.entertainmentscene.com/top_tv_shows_50s.html http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rkLL3reXYY Spin and Marty Cheyenne -Clint Walker Swamp Fox http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EHi7WJQ-D5s The Defenders The Invaders -Roy Thinnes http://www.entertainmentscene.com/top_tv_shows_60s.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Hogan Posted June 11, 2011 Share Posted June 11, 2011 Some of the best TV shows had relatively short runs and are largely forgotten today: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:1960s_American_television_series Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Hogan Posted June 13, 2011 Share Posted June 13, 2011 Favorites that didn't last long enough were The Time Tunnel and The Invaders. The Invaders Kenn Thomas has a new book out which discusses The Invaders and Fred Crisman. According to Thomas, "Crisman felt The Invaders was based on his life." JFK & UFO Military-Industrial Conspiracy and Cover-Up from Maury Island to Dallas by Kenn Thomas http://feralhouse.com/jfk-ufo/ Richard Dolan's UFOs and the National Security State 1973-1991 also explores the Crisman stories and possible relationships to the Kennedy assassination. http://keyholepublishing.com/V2.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dean Hagerman Posted June 13, 2011 Share Posted June 13, 2011 Bonanza The Twilight Zone Alfred Hitchcock Presents The Outer Limits Green Acres The Untouchables The Carol Burnett Show The Dick Van Dyke Show Mr Ed Beverly Hillbillies Of course I watched all of these shows in the early 80s when they were re-ran, and later on Nick at Night My two favorite shows came a little bit later In Search Of... with Leonard Nimoy Ripleys Believe it or Not with Jack Palance Lucky for me when A&E and the History channel started showing old episodes in the 90s I recorded all of them on VHS and later transfered them to DVD My two shows have never been relesed on DVD but the recordings I have do just fine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Kingsbury Posted June 13, 2011 Share Posted June 13, 2011 We got quite a few in U.K. too The Prisoner the Avengers Danger man Outer limits Rowan and Martins Laugh in Bonanza Wagon train Gunsmoke My Favourite Martian Get Smart Man from uncle but the campest ever ....Batman....... Adam west had the physique of an old oven glove Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Hocking Posted June 13, 2011 Share Posted June 13, 2011 Appears a few of these most everyone liked. The Twilight Zone (first two seasons were the best) Alfred Hitchcock Presents The Outer Limits Rawhide Gunsmoke Star Trek Get Smart (Agent 99) Wild Wild West (James West was good. Artemis was even more entertaining). Have Gun Will Travel (Philosopher gunslinger) Dick Van Dyke (all around funny cast) Alcoa Presents One Step Beyond (tales of the supernatural) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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