There is another thread in this forum about the worst popular TV show of all time. It made me think of TV shows that I’d seen but want to see again.
There are some shows that seeing again made me wonder why I ever liked it in the first place. But there are some I just know would retain my interest.
This can also serve as a “I remember this great series but can’t remember its name” thread.
For instance:
A great series I hope there are copies of:
‘T.H.E. Cat’, a cat burgler gone good in the B/W era. The best way to describe this better than ‘Peter Gunn’ series is with a mood setting scene from Ian Fleming’s stories that was used in “The Living Daylights.” (Timothy Dalton) 007 is being shown the flat from which he is to assassinate (Maryam d’Abo) Kara Milovy. The person showing the flat to him, the Moscow agent, is a fool. 007 yells, “Turn off the light” and then covers all the white of his formal wear before stepping out onto the balcony. In other words a pro.
This one was probably on for too few episodes to be rerun:
Title Unknown, a science fiction about a group of people returning from Tibet years after a plane crash.
Each one of the group had special abilities.
Another “series” lasted for just one episode. It came on during the ‘Rowan and Martin Laugh-In’ era. It was a comedy that was pulled immediately because of its offensive nature. Now, if I could on remember anything from it other than the fact that I saw it. I only remember that it wasn’t so bad.
Anyone else have a TV series that they just loved way back when and have been waiting for it to reappear on the cable Rerun Network?
The television show about the adventurers who return from Tibet with special powers was called The Champions. One of the stars was Stuart Damon, who now plays “Alan Quartermain” on General Hospital.
M SQUAD-----with LEE MARVIN
DAN RAVEN—with SKIP HOMEIER
AND-----
A Canadian production of HAMLET-1964—starred CHRISTOPHER PLUMMER and three gentlemen I’d never seen before. MICHAEL CAINE, ROBERT SHAW and DONALD SUTHERLAND. I remember making a note of their names.
Probe with Parker Stevenson. A cool little SF show (I think you could call it SF - maybe not) about a geeky quirky computer guy who invented gadgets all the time, that came in really handy to solve mysteries. Totally funky.
Automan which in retrospect was probably really crap, but I still want to see it again.
The Tomorrow People the original. Or if they made a (proper) remake, they keep the original premise instead of the stupid nonsense they made up for the 90’s series.
Dr Who done properly for once.
I must say I’m looking forward to Bryan Singer’s reinvention of Battlestar Galactica.
I’d really like to see Mel Brooks’ When Things Were Rotten again. I have vague memories of enjoying that, back in the 70s, along with Gemini Man and a few other cheesy SF series.
I second Police Squad! on general principles, but I don’t need to – I managed to make a dupe of its six episodes when they were briefly released on videotape during the middle 80s… I also second Probe… the IMDB has some great quotes for it, so someone must have copies somewhere…
Fernwood 2Nite, the Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman spinoff, with Martin Mull as local TV talk show host Barth Gimble, Jerry Willard as his sidekick, and Fred deVol as musical director Happy Kyne, not to mention Jim Varney, and appearances by Harry Shearer and Tom Waits.
I thought I was the only one who remembered When Things Were Rotten.
I wouldn’t mind seeing “When Things Were Rotten” again, but as I recall, it wasn’t as good as it should have been.
I saw “Turn-on” when it was originally run, but I wouldn’t mind seeing it again as a point of interest.
My first choice:
“The Duck Factory” – frankly, I’m surprised this hasn’t reappeared (or maybe I just missed it). Jim Carrey starred as the head of a cartoon production company. Great cast, including Jack Guilford (as the old pro cartoonist), Don Messick (as the voice man, naturally*), Jay Tarses (as the writer, also naturally**), and Teresa Ganzel (as the company’s receptionist and owner). Carrey was quite charming – nothing like his roles these days. And one episode had Bill Scott*** singing the “Super Chicken” theme.
Others:
“Quark” – Science fiction parody.
“My So-Called Life” – especially “So-Called Angel”
“Once a Hero” – Wish I taped this one. Extremely clever show that no one ever watched.
“All That Glitters” – a follow-up to “Mary Hartman,” set in a world where women ruled and men were treated like sex objects. Very similar to Thomas Berger’s “Regiment of Women.”
“Rescue 8” – the oldest TV title I remember. Would love to see it again.
“Buffalo Bill” – Dabney Coleman as a talk show host in Buffalo, NY. Great cast – Geena Davis (her first role), John Fiedler, Max Wright, Joanna Cassidy, Meshach Taylor, Charles Robinson. The two-part episode, “Jo Jo’s Problem” managed to be very funny while dealing with a serious issue – abortion.
“The Aquanauts” – A “Sea Hunt” ripoff that I loved as a kid.
“The Americans” – A Civil War drama. One brother (Darryl Hickman, Dobie Gillis’s brother) fought for the North; the other the South.
“VR5” – Great little series. One of the few shows that made the concept of virtual reality interesting. Killed off a main character three episodes in! Also, Anthony Stewart Head of Buffy played a character much like Giles.
“Callucci’s Department” – James Coco as the head of a welfare office. Barney-Miller-esque.
*Messick was one of the great TV voice actors – Boo Boo Bear, Dr. Benton Quest, Atom Ant, and Scooby Doo.
**Tarsis was a major league writer/producer of TV shows – “Bob Newhard,” “Molly Dodd.”
***Oh, please. Voice of Bullwinkle.
Eerie, Indiana
I got the DVD of the first three episodes of this series, watched it with a friend, and just howled. Funny, funny stuff. Surprisingly adult moments, neat little surrealistic plots, and all surprisingly faithful to a kid’s imagined world.
Cupid
Best dialog on TV, ever. Great chemistry. Neat plots. Sucky timeslot. Man, I loved that show.
Peter Benchley’s Amazon
I got hooked, and now I’ll never know what happened. All that I have to go on is that final image of C. Thomas Howell standing on top of that waterfall, bible in one hand, automatic weapon in the other. Dammit!
Indeed it would – as Jerry Hubbard. And Frank de Vol, not Fred – I hate it when I mis-place my Fred.
I plead the pernicious influence of baseball: Jerry Willard, the alert fans among us are no doubt aware, was a journeyman catcher/first baseman for the Indians, A’s, White Sox, Braves, and Mariners. He sticks out in my mind from the 1991 season with the Braves, when he was part of the worst-to-first National League Champions team that started the Braves current run of consecutive playoff appearances.
So, to sum up:
Fred Willard (the actor) played Jerry Hubbard (the talk show sidekick). Jerry Willard (the ballplayer) played catcher, and played on two of the same teams as Glenn Hubbard (another ballplayer), but not at the same time.
I noticed both mistakes after posting (but not when I previewed, of course), and tried to correct myself, but the board was so slow I had to leave the office before the post page came up (yeah, that’s it).
Jerry Willard was also part of one of the most infamous trades in Phillies history. In 1982, he was one of five players sent by the Phils to the Indians for outfielder Von Hayes (with Julio Franco being the biggest name of the bunch). Didn’t know he was on the '91 Braves, though!
Had to look that one up, not being a Phils or Indians fan. I’d have thought Manny Trillo would have been the best-known in a group with Willard, Franco, Jay Baller, and George Vukovich.
