ghost of miles Posted May 2, 2003 Report Share Posted May 2, 2003 I was perusing the jumptheshark site tonight as work slowed down and looked up a favorite childhood show of mine--The Six Million Dollar Man. Funny that I always made sure to catch the opening credits, as I loved that sequence, and only recently found out that none other than the great Oliver Nelson wrote the music for the show. God, I'd forgotten how ludicrous some of the plots were, though! Like the classic two-part Sasquatch/space aliens show, with Sasquatch played by Andre the Giant: Here's the description of the plots: Epilog: Steve is in Northern California searching for two missing scientists, Ivan and Marlen Becky, who have mysteriously disappeared while placing earthquake sensors near a fault line. During his search he discovers giant footprints that he follows until he is approached by the giant hairy beast. A small battle is fought and the creature runs into a cave. Steve follows, but passes out due to a futuristic whirling entrance. When he awakens, he is on an operating table and a beautiful being, Shalon, and her alien assistants are studying him. Refried: Oscar and Steve help with the search-and-rescue of two researchers, Ivan and Marlene, who have disappeared while testing classified earthquake sensors near a remote California fault line. They find Ivan, along with the footprint of the Sasquatch, the Indian name for the creature of legend that roams the mountains. Later, the project's base camp is wrecked by what is sketchily identified as a huge beast. Steve gives chase and encounters the Sasquatch, who attacks Steve and who proves to be at least as strong. Steve tears off his opponent's arm during the fight and discovers the arm to be of advanced bionic construction. Steve follows Sasquatch into a cavern where a group of people with advanced technology render Steve unconscious and examine him. Meanwhile, the other scientists discover that a major earthquake will strike California cities unless a manmade quake can be made to happen first. Stephanie Powers and Andre The Giant guest star. (5) (PLOT OVERSIGHTS: During the fight, Steve's left shoulder (i.e., his normal one) gets bashed in with a huge tree trunk that Sasquatch has swung like a baseball bat. He acts like the impact hurts. One of the aliens, watching on the monitor, says, "apparently only his right arm is of special construction." And yet, Steve is still able to function and continue fighting. Sorry, the left arm and shoulder should be pulverized.) Part 2: Epilog: Steve becomes friendly with the aliens who are conducting tests in the underground cave laboratory. Bigfoot turns out to be an experiment that the visitors created. Sensors indicate that a major quake is about to happen and Oscar must decide whether to set off a nuclear device that will relieve the Earth's pressure and divert the quake even though Steve may be killed in the blast, or let the quake happen on its own Refried: Steve's captors inform him that they are a group of deep space explorers, conducting a peaceful, secret study of Earth's societies -- and that the Sasquatch is their creation and protector. They have been here for two hundred and fifty years, accomplished with a time-rate altering device. They had recently sent the Sasquatch to buy time for the aliens to construct a jamming device, to protect the aliens' base from discovery by the humans' sensors. When the aliens learn that the humans plan to trigger a manmade quake nearby to prevent a larger quake from striking West Coast cities, they send Shalon, one of their own, to stop it. Steve is able to escape from the aliens' base and to stop Shalon, thereby allowing the manmade quake to proceed. Then Shalon, Steve and the Sasquatch help the earthquake survivors in the aliens' base. Finally, the aliens have the Sasquatch return Steve to the outside, with his memory of the contact erased. (4) Guest stars: Andre the Giant as Bigfoot, Stefanie Powers as Shalon Writer: Kenneth Johnson Director: Alan Crosland Wow! As an adolescent, I watched Hill Street Blues religiously. I also caught many, many reruns of Sanford and Son. My wife and I have deliberately lived without cable for several years now, but I tell ya, I feel myself weakening sometimes, particularly whenever I see a TVLand schedule (or TMC, when it comes to movies). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooster_Ties Posted May 2, 2003 Report Share Posted May 2, 2003 If you wanna talk about a really crap TV show - my wife and I took a week to paint the living room and dining room last month, and while we were having lunch on a weekday, we saw an old episode of Buck Rogers (from the early 80's I believe), probably on the Sci-Fi channel. Uugh, what a stupid and horibly dated show that was!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Out2Lunch Posted May 2, 2003 Report Share Posted May 2, 2003 If you want to talk about great classic TV, "The Honeymooners" is right up there in the top ten. I've been watching a lot of them on VHS lately and the comedy holds up pretty well. I think its head and shoulders above a lot of the crap that passes for situation comedy today!! Gleason and Carney really were the Greatest! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghost of miles Posted May 2, 2003 Author Report Share Posted May 2, 2003 I'm hoping to pick up the two DVD sets of Peter Gunn later this year--ED! sparked my interest on the old BN board with a thread about that show, and I'm really interested in the portrayal of jazz in film and television. I'd be curious to see All In the Family again, wondering if it's aged badly. That show seemed to be to the 70's what I Love Lucy was to the 50's. I also watched a lot of reruns of The Dick Van Dyke Show as a kid--hell, I watched a lot of tube, and I read a lot and played a lot outdoors too. On top of school, I can't figure out how I had so much time on my hands. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooster_Ties Posted May 2, 2003 Report Share Posted May 2, 2003 Maybe it's a generational thing (I was born in 1969), but personally I have never found much to like in "The Honeymooners". There are plently of other 'classic' TV shows that I really do like, but Gleason's character always just seemed (to me) like a overbearing, loudmouthed jerk. And his continual threats of "pow, right to the moon" aways seemed bad on about a half-a-dozen different levels. (Then again, I've never liked The Three Stooges either, so what do I know??) I do really like Abbott and Costello however!!! And those old Francis, The Talking Mule movies were a lot of fun too!! Anybody remember the old "Ma and Pa Kettle" movies?? I know, I know, these weren't TV shows, but I saw them all on TV when I was growing up in the late 70's and early 80's, on the "Saturday or Sunday afternoon movie" on the independant TV station in town (we never had cable TV). My Mom always had a peculiar fondness for Dark Shadows, that oddball soap opera in the late 60's, about a vampire. Kinda of the first "X-Files", in some ways, only without any budget!! It's been years and years, but I remember seeing a few Dark Shadows episodes in syndication back in the early 80's I think. Kind of had a charm all it's own. And, of course, there's Dr. Who. My favorite was always the 3rd Doctor, the one before Tom Baker (the most famous one). The 3rd Doctor was played by John Pertwee (see pic below). I always loved this era of Dr. Who because 1) I love the look and feel of TV shows from the late 60's and early 70's (despite the fact that I didn't even see all that much TV then, cuz I wasn't even born until 1969). AND, 2) the 3rd Doctor (Pertwee) always reminded me of my favorite uncle.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jazzmoose Posted May 2, 2003 Report Share Posted May 2, 2003 Gleason's character was a loud-mouthed jerk; that was the point. I love the show myself, but not as much as The Phil Silvers Show (aka Sgt. Bilko); a true primer on military life! Childhood favorites were Batman (of course), Gilligan's Island, and such that I couldn't bear to watch these days, plus "serious" shows (yeah, right!) like Time Tunnel and Wild, Wild West. High School brought my choice for all-time underrated classic, Barney Miller. Later favorites: Call to Glory, Twin Peaks, and the first couple of seasons of L.A. Law. Recent faves: The Practice (although worn VERY thin by now; kill it already!!) and Miracles (which isn't really getting a chance; don't bother-it won't be around long!) Of all the shows I've enjoyed, I think the one that holds up the best is The Twilight Zone. Isn't it amazing that those still look "live", while stuff from the seventies looks as dated as old new footage shown at the wrong speed? Weird... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooster_Ties Posted May 2, 2003 Report Share Posted May 2, 2003 Yes indeed, Barney Miller was incredibly underrated. I think it was every bit as good as M*A*S*H (the early seasons, before it got more serious, or at least less slapstick), or WKRP, or Cheers, or any of those kinds of many-characters-all-in-the-same-situation sitcoms. I don't think I ever saw it when it first ran, but rather I saw most of the episodes in syndication, in the early and mid 80's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alexander Posted May 2, 2003 Report Share Posted May 2, 2003 My favorite TV shows are/were: The Honeymooners, The Dick Van Dyke Show (BRILLIANT writing, very funny material, great performances and Mary Tyler Moore was a BABE), Taxi, and the Simpsons. I have gone through Star Trek and X-Files phases, and while I still have a sentimental attachment to them, I no longer regard them as favorites (their declines were too slow and painful). I loved "The Six Million Dollar Man" as a kid (I also loved the Lou Ferrigno/Bill Bixby "Hulk" series) but, frankly, that show made for better toys than TV watching. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim R Posted May 2, 2003 Report Share Posted May 2, 2003 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe G Posted May 2, 2003 Report Share Posted May 2, 2003 My wife and I have deliberately lived without cable for several years now, but I tell ya, I feel myself weakening sometimes, particularly whenever I see a TVLand schedule (or TMC, when it comes to movies). God! How I wish I could live without cable! That's my wife's life's blood, however. I was born in 1970, so I'm sure we watched the same shows, including Six Million Dollar Man (6 mil sure wouldn't get you far today!), and yes, it was total cheese! BTW, did anyone else watch Jacques Cousteau? Wild Kingdom? National Geographic? Just this morning I saw part of an episode of Gunsmoke, which I never watched as a kid, and I was suprised by the heavy drama in it. The conflict was about one of the characters having taken part in a massacre of an Indian village as a sargent in the army. He was having all these flashbacks of women and children being shot and run through with bayonets. Of course in the end, all was forgiven. I was just suprised to see a viewpoint sympathetic to the Indians being expressed at that time, though I guess it was the late 60's, correct? Recently, Star Trek the next generation, was, at its best, a great show. A final note: I HATE sitcoms!!! And anything to do with MTV's real world/road rules/sorority house/fraternity house. Insert vomiting emoticon here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jazzmoose Posted May 2, 2003 Report Share Posted May 2, 2003 "Just as his anti-snake belt prevents the snakes from pulling Jim underwater and devouring him, Mutual of Omaha's....Jim? Jim?" Never has any commercial been parodied so often by so many... My wife's with you (and you two had better knock that shit off! I mean, hang on...) on the sitcom thing, Joe. She can't stand any of them. Thing is, she loves the Three Stooges. (Hey, find a woman who loves the Three Stooges, and you've figured out how to be happy in life!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catesta Posted May 2, 2003 Report Share Posted May 2, 2003 Hell Yeah!! B) The Honeymooners was the best. Gom, All In The Family is still as great as it ever was. I dig these. Barney Miller always floored me, especially the episodes with Jack Soo. My favorite might be the one when they ate the marijuana brownies. "Has anyone seen my legs?" Good Times Hill Street Blues S.W.A.T. Bob Newhart Sanford and Son Andy Griffith SOAP Columbo Rockford Files Welcome Back Kotter (early episodes) Happy Days (early episodes) M.A.S.H. Of course in my opinion, this show sucked after Henry and Trapper left. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alexander Posted May 2, 2003 Report Share Posted May 2, 2003 M.A.S.H. Of course in my opinion, this show sucked after Henry and Trapper left. I watched MASH when I was a kid and enjoyed it. Then I saw the Altman film and I've never been able to watch the show the same way since. It seems horribly watered down. I had the same experience with "The Odd Couple". Once you've seen Lemmon and Matthau, Tony Randal and Jack Klugman don't really cut it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuck Nessa Posted May 2, 2003 Report Share Posted May 2, 2003 Probably my favorite show only aired for one season - Tim Reid's "Frank's Place". Tim's previous gig, "WKRP" wasn't bad either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christiern Posted May 2, 2003 Report Share Posted May 2, 2003 Still love The Honeymooners, it holds up better than many comedies from that period, I think. Also love Barney Miller and Golden Girls, but one of my favorite old shows was Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman--very off-beat. One of my favorite episodes was the one in which the factory blew up and Ferndale's only black resident was accused of doing it, because a Marvin Gaye single was found in the rubble. Just as he is about to be sent up the river, the Mayor's wife appears to declare his innocence--he was sleeping with her at the time of the explosion, she said. For pure camp/nostalgia value, I watch the Ed Sullivan reruns. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooster_Ties Posted May 2, 2003 Report Share Posted May 2, 2003 (edited) Wasn't there a very short (and painfully unsuccessful) spin-off to "Welcome Back Kotter"??? Something like "Kotter's Back Again", something that wasn't set in the classroom??? Or am I imagining things again... Or maybe it was some other sit-com staring that same main guy from Kotter??? Edited May 2, 2003 by Rooster_Ties Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kdd Posted May 2, 2003 Report Share Posted May 2, 2003 Get Smart and Soap were always my favorites. Barney Miller, early MASH, WKRP, Cheers were all great too. For drama, Hill Street Blues Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alexander Posted May 2, 2003 Report Share Posted May 2, 2003 Or maybe it was some other sit-com staring the main guy from Kotter??? I seem to recall that in the last season or so of "Kotter", Gabe Kaplan had actually left the show. So there was this show called "Welcome Back Kotter" that had no Kotter... For a while, my wife was addicted to "Beverly Hills 90210" (God, that show sucked) and I would watch it with her and groan every once in a while (kind of like I do now with "American Idol"). For those who never watched 90210, the show was supposedly about the Walsh family, late of Minnesota, who moved to Beverly Hills. Over the years, the show was slowly de-Walsh-ed as each family member left the show. First Brenda, then the parents, and finally Brendan. In the end, they had "Beverly Hills 90210", a fish-out-of-water show about a midwestern family living in sunny Cali...with no midwestern family! Yet, for some strange reason, the other characters continued to live in the Walsh's house! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooster_Ties Posted May 2, 2003 Report Share Posted May 2, 2003 Or maybe it was some other sit-com staring the main guy from Kotter??? I seem to recall that in the last season or so of "Kotter", Gabe Kaplan had actually left the show. So there was this show called "Welcome Back Kotter" that had no Kotter... That might have been it. I remember the setting not being in the school nearly as much, and more focus on the wife, and now that you mention it - less Kotter. Man, my wife got me hooked on American Idol last season, and now I'm just as hooked as she is with the 2nd season. Go Ruben!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AfricaBrass Posted May 2, 2003 Report Share Posted May 2, 2003 Speaking of 90210. I have a confession to make. During the first season of the show my roomate and I watched it a couple times, so we could make fun of it and put it down. Well, we got hooked. During the course of the show, we completely stopped watching tv for about 5 years, except for Wednesday night when we'd pull the tv out of the closet and hook up the rabbit ears and watch 90210. Ooof! As for classic tv. I love the first Bob Newhart show, Get Smart, the old western shows, and any sixties show that would have some groovy fake psychedelic band play in an episode (Bewitched, I Dream of Jeanie), Dragnet's always good for a laugh (especially when Joe Friday talks about the evils of marijuana). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghost of miles Posted May 2, 2003 Author Report Share Posted May 2, 2003 but one of my favorite old shows was Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman--very off-beat. Ornette Coleman & Charlie Haden covered the Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman theme on SOAP SUDS. Just my odd note of jazz trivia--it was a really good show. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooster_Ties Posted May 2, 2003 Report Share Posted May 2, 2003 SOAP!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe G Posted May 2, 2003 Report Share Posted May 2, 2003 My wife's with you (and you two had better knock that shit off! I mean, hang on...) Crap! I blew our cover! "Just as his anti-snake belt prevents the snakes from pulling Jim underwater and devouring him, Mutual of Omaha's....Jim? Jim?" Never has any commercial been parodied so often by so many... Exactly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim R Posted May 2, 2003 Report Share Posted May 2, 2003 The photo I posted above was from a 60's WWII drama called "Combat!". Some great writing, and great acting both by the regular cast as well as a long list of guest stars. I'm hoping this will come out on DVD. I grew up with the Beave, Dick Van Dyke, Andy Griffith, Lassie, Ed Sullivan, Red Skelton, The Twilight Zone, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, 77 Sunset Strip, Perry Mason, Burke's Law, The Real McCoys, The Rifleman, Father Knows Best, The Addams Family, Get Smart, Bonanza, Hogan's Heroes, F Troop... man I watched a lot of TV... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noj Posted May 2, 2003 Report Share Posted May 2, 2003 OK, I'm going obscure on y'all... SLEDGE HAMMER--detective who conversed with his gun! This show was hilarious, I don't know why it only lasted two seasons. "Trust me, I know what I'm doing..." DR. JECKLE & MR. HYDE TOGETHER AGAIN--HBO cocaine spoof movie! STEVE MARTIN'S GREATEST SHOW EVER--HBO special, Steve Martin wins the Olympic diving competition! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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