Last week I linked to Classic Film and TV Cafe write-up of the '60s British spy drama Man In a Suitcase. This week, my go-to blog for Brit shows, Cult TV Blog, presents a dissenting opinion on Suitcase. I think I come down somewhere in-between; I said last week that based on the episodes I'd seen, the series was very good. However, I think it could have been much better. (By the way, I like the new picture in the header!)Speaking of Classic Film and TV Cafe, this week's entry is on the Ava Gardner Museum in Smithfield, North Carolina. I remember one of the first movies I saw Ava Gardner in - I don't remember the name anymore, but I remember clearly thinking, "That's Ava Gardner." I lived in North Carolina for thirteen months, drove past billboards advertising the Museum, but do you think I ever made it there? The answer would be no.
It looks to me as if I'm always going to be about a week late with this, but from last Friday, it's the second installment of Television Obscurities' look at TV Guide for the season 1964-65, this time the issue of September 26, 1964 - another issue I don't have, so I enjoyed the recap immensely. As I said last week, Robert really gives you a feel for what the issue is like.
Comfort TV is back with another look at TV themes, this time from the 1960s. What an iconic list of themes! If you're my age, you know them all, can sing along with them whenever they're on TV, and probably even remember what the credits backing them looked like. Several of them are better than the shows themselves. Hawaii Five-O is fortunate to not be using the Sammy Davis Jr. version. The only bone I'd pick with the list is that it's missing my favorite theme of the decade, The FBI.
Over at Professor Barnhardt's Journal, the good Professor takes a look at fall previews over the years from each of the four networks (Fox, NBC, CBS and ABC). They come from a variety of decades; I'll let you decide for yourself as to whether or not things have gotten better.
A great article at TV Party from frequent contributor Cary O'Dell on how the TV you watch now is different from how it used to be, i.e. when I was young. Among the things: the national anthem to signal the end of the broadcast day, news breaks between programs, and the networks giving new series the time to succeed. I remember them all.
All Things Kevyn presents the '80s version of The Alphabet Game, with a number of those letters having a television connection. My favorite: M is for Martha Quinn. Remember her? She was one of the original MTV veejays (back, as Kevyn says, when they actually played videos). "Dwight Garner recalled: 'Every sentient straight male in the country developed a schoolboy crush on Martha Quinn, one of the first V.J.'s, fresh out of New York University and so cute she could make your cranium detonate.' Yup. Sounds about right to me." Sounds about right to me too, Kevyn.
Well, that ought to keep you busy for awhile, hmm? Back here on Saturday for another trip to the '80s with TV Guide.