Good Evening Alfred Hitchcock

October 14, 2024March 14, 2024 / thewritelife61 / 2 Comments

In October, we are tackling a blog series on Eerie Shows. It would be almost impossible to not include Alfred Hitchcock Presents which was on television for a decade.

The show premiered in 1955. Hitchcock had been directing films for more than three decades at that time. The series experienced several changes. It began as Alfred Hitchcock Presents on CBS but would switch both nights and networks during its run. In 1962 it became an hour-long show and was called The Alfred Hitchcock Hour.

Many fans recall the opening. There is a line-drawing of Hitchcock’s profile with the “Funeral March of a Marionette” playing in the background. Hitchcock appears at the edge of the screen and walks to the center where he fades into the caricature line drawing. Then he said, “Good evening.” The silhouette was one that Alfred drew. He began his entertainment career illustrating title cards for silent movies.

Hitchcock himself directed 17 of the episodes of the series. Two of those were nominated for Emmy awards: “The Case of Mr. Pelham” in 1955 with Tom Ewell and “Lamb to the Slaughter” in 1958 with Barbara Bel Geddes.

Hitchcock’s job during this series was to introduce the story and then to wrap it up at the end. Both the openings and closings were written by James B. Allardice. Allardice wrote for 38 different shows, many of them very popular series in the fifties and sixties. Norman Lloyd, who produced the show and appeared in five episodes, said Hitchcock respected Allardice so much that he never even changed a comma that he wrote.

The network demanded that if a character got away with murder during the show, then Hitchcock would let them know during the closing that he was eventually brought to justice; in the TV Guide, Hitch described this as “a necessary gesture to morality.” Lloyd gave an example of this in a Television Academy interview. In one episode, a woman kills her husband with a frozen lamb’s leg and gets away with it. At the end of the show, Alfred explains that she later remarried and tried the same trick again but when she took out the leg and hit her husband with it, it was not frozen enough, so he caught her in the act and turned her in.

The episodes were not your average thriller shows. They included drama, suspense, and humor. Audiences never knew just “who done it” till the end.

The show debuted on CBS on Sunday nights for five years, up against drama anthologies for two years and then competing with The Dinah Shore Show for three years. For the next two seasons it moved to NBC on Tuesday nights. It aired against The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis on CBS those years and against Wyatt Earp on ABC. For three months it went back to CBS on Thursdays before moving to Fridays on CBS the next season with The Price is Right and 77 Sunset Strip. The ninth year found it on CBS on Fridays with little competition and the final year it showed up on NBC’s schedule on Mondays against Ben Casey. I could never find the reason for cancelling the show. I’m assuming ratings began to decline but if anyone knows, I’d love to hear it.

NBC chose not to air a 1962 episode called “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice” because the sponsor felt the ending was too gruesome. In the episode, a magician’s helper is supposed to help in a trick where he “sawed” a woman in half, but he doesn’t realize he truly saws her in half.

As you might guess, with a new story every week, many celebrities appeared on the show including Charles Bronson, Bette Davis, Bruce Dern, Robert Duvall, Clint Eastwood, Peter Falk, Joan Fontaine, Peter Lorre, Walter Matthau, Steve McQueen, Vera Miles, Claude Rains, Robert Redford, Burt Reynolds, Thelma Ritter, George Segal, and Jessica Tandy.

In addition to the Hitchcock-directed episodes, the show received Emmy nominations for Best Series four times. In 1956 it was up for Best Action or Adventure Series, but it lost to Disneyland. The following year found the show in the Best Series – Half Hour or Less category, but it lost to The Phil Silvers Show. 1958 found it in the category of Best Dramatic Anthology Series. You would think that would be a no-brainer win for this show, but it lost to Playhouse 90. It had its fourth category nomination in 1959 as Best Dramatic Series – Less Than One Hour and lost to Alcoa Theatre. I guess the Emmy committee had a hard time determining categories for a few years.

In a different twist, NBC tried to air the show again in 1985. Hitchcock had passed away five years earlier from renal failure. A made-for-TV-movie combined new stories with colorized segments from the original show. It lasted a year before NBC canceled it. USA picked it up for three more seasons.

The original show can still be seen on a few different networks including MeTV.

With Hitchcock’s popularity in 1955, it’s no wonder that this show was a successful series for a decade. The episodes were well written, and they had a wonderful cast of actors. Many people probably tuned in just to see Hitchcock, and his personality was larger than life, even if his behavior was a bit despicable at times. One of Alfred’s quotes about the show was that “television has brought murder back into the home – where it belongs.”

Eerie, Indiana: This Show is Doubly Eerie

October 7, 2024October 4, 2024 / thewritelife61 / 2 Comments

It just doesn’t seem right to do a blog series on Eerie Shows and not include Eerie, Indiana. This series ran on NBC for two seasons but only produced 19 episodes. It was later shown on both The Disney Channel and Fox Kids Network. A version of the show, Eerie, Indiana: The Other Dimension, lasted one season on Fox Kids in 1998.

The show was created by Jose Rivera and Karl Schaefer. Joe Dante, who directed Gremlins and Gremlins 2, served as creative consultant.

Marshall Teller (Omri Katz) is a teen who moves to the small town of Eerie, Indiana with this family. There are not a lot of normal people in Eerie, but Simon Holmes (Justin Shenkarow) is one of them. Marshall and Simon become friends, and they are faced with a variety of bizarre situations that they investigate, including intelligent dogs taking over the world; a tornado hunter; Bigfoot; and of course, Elvis Presley, whom we all knew was alive somewhere in the world–we just didn’t know he was in Eerie, Indiana. Marshall and Simon learn something about themselves, or their town, every time they solve a mystery. Every piece of evidence accumulated was stored in a locker and noted in a diary.

Marshall’s parents are Edgar (Francis Guinan) and Marilyn (Mary-Margaret Humes) and his sister is Syndi Marie Priscilla (Julie Condra). There were also a variety of recurring community characters.

Pop culture references are a big part of the writing, especially horror films. The first episode was titled “Foreverware.” Betty Wilson and her twin sons come to welcome the family to the neighborhood. Betty and the boys look like they came from a 1960s sitcom. And there’s a reason for that. Betty sells a Tupperware type of product that her husband invented before he passed away. It supposedly preserves food for a decade. However, one of the twins passes a note to Marshall that Betty uses the containers to keep herself and her children preserved from what they looked like in 1964. The boys are tired of middle school and want to move forward in their lives.

The critics liked the show. Entertainment Weekly’s Ken Tucker noted that “you watch Eerie for the small-screen spectacle of it all—to see the way . . . feature-film directors . . . oversaw episodes that summoned up an atmosphere of absurdist suburban dread.” Ray Richmond of the Orange County Register said, “it’s the kind of knowingly hip series with equally strong appeal for both kids and adults, the kind that preteens will watch and discuss.” USA Today described it as “Stephen King by way of The Simpsons.”

So, with all this positive press, why did it only last for 19 episodes? It was at the cusp of time when shows for tweens would become very popular. When the show aired, the 9-12-year-old audience was not catered to. It was also more expensive to produce because the directors wanted it on film rather than video.

The DVD was released in 2004, and it can be streamed on Amazon. In 1997, a series of books came out with seventeen volumes. The series has held up very well and was considered ahead of its time. It paved the way for similar shows that would do much better in the ratings in the mid-nineties. If it had debuted half a decade later, it probably would have been a huge hit. It was such a unique concept for a show—something that we need a bit more of in television now thirty years later.

The Rifleman: Spinning Through Life

September 30, 2024March 14, 2024 / thewritelife61 / 2 Comments

As we wind up our Riding the Range blog series, we end with another show set in the 1880s: The Rifleman.

The series was set in the New Mexico Territory and starred Chuck Connors as Lucas McCain and Johnny Crawford as his son Mark. The show was on ABC from 1958 through April 1963. Lucas McCain was one of the first single parents on television.

The show was created by Arnold Laven and developed by Sam Peckinpah. Peckinpah would go on to direct many famous westerns. The pilot episode was written by Peckinpah and Dennis Hopper starred in it. It was aired on Dick Powell’s Zane Grey Theatre. Some famous people worked behind the scenes. Connors would write several of the episodes and Robert Culp, who would become the co-star of I Spy, wrote a two-part episode. Ida Lupino directed “The Assault” in 1961.

McCain was a Union soldier in the American Civil War. His wife died from smallpox when their son was six, and McCain and Mark move from Oklahoma to New Mexico where Lucas buys a ranch outside North Fork. McCain is not a perfect father; he is often stubborn and opinionated. Sometimes he seems overprotective of his son. He tries to teach Mark life lessons. In one episode, he tells him “A man doesn’t run from a fight, Mark, but that doesn’t mean you go looking to run to one.”

Chuck Connors was offered the role of McCain but turned it down because he thought the salary was too low. Several other actors were tested but no one had the same chemistry with the young boy that Connors did, so they made him another offer with a higher salary.

There are some North Fork folk who show up on many of the shows including bartender Marshal Micha Torrance (Paul Fix), Frank (Bill Quinn), hotel owner Lou (Patricia Blair), blacksmith Nels (Joe Higgins), banker John (Harlan Warde), general store owners Milly (Joan Taylor) and Hattie (Hope Summers), and hotel clerk Eddie (John Harmon). Bill Quinn was Bob Newhart’s father-in-law. Patricia Blair left in 1963 to star in Daniel Boone. Hope Summers moved to Mayberry after the show ended and became Aunt Bee’s best friend. Joan Taylor only did a few shows after The Rifleman, but she came into the show with quite a few television appearances. Higgins, Warde, and Harmon were prolific actors who had very successful careers.

Quite a few well-known stars make their appearance during the run of the show. Some of them include Harry Carey Jr., John Carradine, Lon Chaney Jr., Ellen Corby, Robert Culp, Sammy Davis Jr., Jack Elam, Dabbs Greer, Buddy Hackett, Michael Landon, Agnes Moorehead, Denver Pyle, Pernell Roberts, Robert Vaughn, and Adam West.

There were so many westerns on the air during the fifties and sixties that most of them needed a hook to set them apart. McCain was called The Rifleman because he used a modified Winchester Model 1892 rifle with a large ring lever. The lever design allowed him to cock the rifle by spinning it in his hand and it was rigged to rapid fire which we saw demonstrated in the opening of every show. I guess no one was bothered by the fact that McCain used a rifle that would not be invented until ten years later than the time the show was set in.

The show was on Tuesday nights for the first three seasons. For season four, it moved to Mondays. After the fifth season, the show was canceled due to low ratings. However, Connors and Crawford remained life-long friends. Connors admired Crawford’s work on the set and said he always respected the cast and crew.

Crawford began his career as a Mouseketeer, one of the original 24. After the show ended, he became a pop singer with five hits. “Cindy’s Birthday” was his most famous and it was No. 8 on the Billboard 100 in 1962. Crawford came into the show with thirty acting credits, and he would go on to have thirty more after the show ended, but he never starred in another series.

Fun fact, The Rifleman was one of the few American shows that was allowed to be shown on Russian television. Apparently Breshnev loved the show. Later he met Chuck Connors when he came to the US. The actor made several trips to Russia.

I have seen this show on MeTV, and it is okay. I’m guessing that the reason it was on five seasons, and the reason it was canceled after five seasons, is because it was another western. Almost every western seemed to be successful in the fifties and sixties, but five years seems to be about the length of most of them with the exception of Gunsmoke, Bonanza and a handful of others. I have to admit that I am not drawn to McCain as a character, although I didn’t dislike him either. If you like westerns and have not seen it, it might be worth checking out.

Gather Round: It’s Time for Tales of Wells Fargo

September 23, 2024March 14, 2024 / thewritelife61 / 2 Comments

This month we are Riding the Range, exploring some of the westerns from the fifties and sixties. One of those shows that was on the air from 1957-1962 was Tales of Wells Fargo.

The show was produced by Revue Productions and set in the 1870s and 1880s. Gene Reynolds was one of the creators of the show, along with Frank Gruber and James Brooks. Reynolds would go on to great success as a director, producer and writer, and my favorite of his was M*A*S*H. Although this show was set in the same time as Daniel Boone, it was better at getting history correct. The show featured special agent Jim Hardie (Dale Robertson) with his horse Jubilee. It was loosely based on the life of real detective Fred J. Dodge. Sometimes Hardie ran into characters from history including Jesse James and Belle Starr.

Fred Dodge was born in California in 1854. He went to work as an undercover agent for Wells Fargo, working in California, Nevada, and Arizona. In 1979 he was in Tombstone and recommended hiring Wyatt Earp as guard for the stage line. He became great friends with Earp. Later Dodge became constable of Tombstone while working undercover. In 1890 he left his undercover work and became a known employee of Wells Fargo in Texas. He purchased a 2,000-acre ranch near Boerne, Texas and when he retired in 1917, he lived there with his family. Dodge was described as an intelligent and successful investigator. He wrote 27 journals during his career, noting his activities and travels in them. Some of these were used for Tales of West Fargo.

I had always assumed this show was about stagecoach travel, but it was not, although stage coaches played a part. In the mid-1800s, the Wells Fargo stage line was the primary connection between the East and West coasts. Wells Fargo did not operate a stage coach line, but they did use that form of transportation for money, gold and other valuables to be delivered. Trains are involved in many of the plots. One of the trains used in the show would eventually travel to Hooterville and be renamed the Cannonball.

The first five seasons were black and white half-hour shows, while the final season switched to a color, hour-long show. During the last season, Hardie settles on a ranch near San Francisco and several recurring characters (Jack Ging, William Demarest, Virginia Christine, Lory Patrick, and Mary Jayne Saunders) were added to the series. Earle Lyon replaced Nat Holt as producer in 1960.

The theme song was written by Stanley Wilson and Mort Greene. Wilson was a prolific composer, amassing 147 credits for composing and 278 for music department credit on television and in movies. Mort Greene was best known as a writer for The Red Skelton Show and for his musical role for Leave it to Beaver.

The number of well-known actors who appeared on the show was surprising. Here are just a few of the huge number: Claude Akins, Eddie Albert, Hugh Beaumont, Dan Blocker, Charles Bronson, Edgar Buchanan, Harry Carey Jr., Chuck Connors, Buddy Ebsen, Beverly Garland, George Kennedy, Tina Louise, Steve McQueen, Jack Nicholson, Leonard Nimoy, Denver Pyle, Jason Robards, Vito Scotti, Dawn Wells, and Adam West.

It was an NBC show. The pilot premiered on Schlitz Playhouse of Stars. Its biggest competition was Father Knows Best in seasons two and three. It was very popular with the viewers. The show was in the top ten during seasons one through four. For the sixth season, with an entire new cast, new theme song, and color, it was almost like a new show. NBC moved it to Saturday nights against Perry Mason and ratings declined drastically, costs went up significantly, and it was canceled.

Robertson thought the key to the popularity of the show was because it was not geared specifically to adults or kids. It was a family show. When Robertson first read the script, it was terrible, but he owed Nat Holt a favor, so he accepted the role, assuming that it would never make it. Robertson received a 50% ownership in the show, so he said of course it made him want the show to be better and he convinced them to replace most of the original script. He said that he enjoyed his time on the show a lot and that the crew was close and professional. They never went over schedule or over budget during the entire run.

The first two seasons were released on DVD in 2011 if you want to check them out. It sounds like this was a solid show. The network supported them, the cast was close, the production team was on top of things, and they all enjoyed their time with the show. That is a rare thing to hear in the television business. They took a gamble in the last season, and it didn’t work out, but perhaps it was for the best. It sounds like the actual show ended the season before because the last season things changed so much it was a completely new production. I would like to read more about Fred Dodge. His life sounds fascinating.

Whoa Nelly: Roy Rogers Rides the New West in a Jeep

September 16, 2024March 14, 2024 / thewritelife61 / 2 Comments

We are Riding the Range today with Roy Rogers and Trigger. This western moved from radio (1944-1955) to television for six years from 1951 through 1957. While I have heard a lot about The Roy Rogers Show, I was surprised to learn that this show had a contemporary setting. Rather than being set in the Old West, it was set in the fifties with automobiles, modern appliances, and telephones.

The show featured Rogers who owned a ranch; his wife Dale Evans who was the owner of the Eureka Café and Hotel in Mineral City; and Pat Brady, who was Roy’s friend and Dale’s cook. Roy often traveled with his horse Trigger and his German Shepherd Bullet. Dale’s horse was named Buttermilk.

Sheriff Tom was played by Harry Harvey Sr. and Reed Howes, depending on the episode.

In many of the episodes, Rogers and Evans took in abandoned children and became surrogate parents to them. This mirrored real life. The couple adopted five children from a variety of ethnicities and received many awards for their humanitarian work with children.

Despite the 1950s setting, cowboys and cowgirls were hanging about the town. Just like the westerns set in the 1800s, the town folk were busy with bank robberies, cattle rustling, con artists trying to steal land, and an assortment of other bad guys.

In an article on reddit.com (https://www.reddit.com/r/Westerns/comments/vw8i9ca_tv_western_each_year_1951_the_roy_rogers_show/), the show was described as surreal with everyone looking like they stepped out of the 1800s but using electric lights and modern technology. Some of the plots were described: corrupt ranchers stealing each other’s land aplenty, crooked lawmen, a mayor trying to steal money from an Indian burial ground, weak-willed sheriffs, thieving professors, con men, and more.

Even if you don’t know a lot about Roy Rogers, you probably know the theme song from this series, “Happy Trails.” It was written by Dale Evans, and she and Roy sang the song. Another thing you probably know from this show is the expression, “Whoa Nelly.” Pat Brady had a jeep, a 1946 Willys CJ-2A, that often didn’t behave very well. Sometimes the jeep began moving without a driver. Even with a driver, it might get a bit out of control. When it did, Brady would yell “Whoa Nelly” because the jeep’s name was Nellybelle.

The show was in the top thirty for most of its existence. I’m not sure what the competition was because it was on from 6-7 pm, so it doesn’t show up on most television schedules. One hundred episodes were made, ensuring that it would be around for syndication.

Critics also liked the show, and it was nominated for an Emmy for Best Western or Adventure Series in 1955. Other nominees included Annie Oakley, Death Valley Days, and the Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok. It lost to a show most of us probably aren’t familiar with at all, Stories of the Century. It looks like it might have been an interesting show. According to imdb.com, it was about a railroad detective, Matt Clark, who roamed the west, tracking down outlaws and bandits who are preying on the railroad. It was only on the air for one season.

Merchandising was a big industry during this decade. The show spun out comic books, playsets, costumes, pistols, lunch boxes, and board games, just to name a few.

In 1961, the show was rerun on Saturday mornings. The show can still be found on several networks in 2024.

I remember my mom had fond memories of Roy Rogers growing up. She would have been ten when this show first aired. Generations of kids have tuned in, taking the opportunity to visit the Old West, well sort of—more like the Old West with benefits, like phones and cars.

Betting on a Full House of Mavericks Just To Keep the Show Going

September 9, 2024March 14, 2024 / thewritelife61 / 2 Comments

Welcome to the Riding the Range blog series. We are looking at some of the best-loved westerns from the fifties and sixties. Today Maverick is up.

James Garner plays poker-playing Bret Maverick on this show that featured a bit more humor than some westerns. Set on riverboats and in old west saloons, the show ran from fall of 1957 through July of 1962.

The show, created by James Huggins, debuted on NBC on Sunday nights. It was up against some tough competition with Jack Benny which alternated weeks with Bachelor Father. The show remained on Sunday nights for its entire run.

While Garner was the star, during the first season, Bret’s brother Bart (Jack Kelly) shows up. The brothers appear in alternate episodes, sometimes teaming up for a game or two. The brothers were drawn to adventure and to dangerous situations. They often found trouble in finances or love. However, they were true gentlemen and always did the right thing. Unfortunately, they were both slow with the gun, but fast with the fist. In one episode, Bart mentioned that “my brother Bret can outdraw me any day of the week, and he’s known as the Second-Slowest Gun in the West.”

After season three, Garner left due to contract disputes. Garner sued Warner Brothers for breach of contract. They had suspended him without pay during a writers’ strike. The studio claimed they had no scripts with the writers on strike, but court testimony revealed that they had about 100 scripts on hand and could have been filming, so Garner was released from his contract.

After Garner’s departure, Roger Moore made his appearance as Beau Maverick, cousin. The first choice to fill the role was given to Sean Connery who turned it down. Later Connery would play James Bond and his replacement when he left was Roger Moore. However, it wasn’t long before Moore chose to leave and was replaced by Robert Colbert as brother Brent.

During the last season, Colbert was just not called back or notified that he was no longer part of the show. However, they had a season to fill so Garner reruns were alternated with Kelly original episodes for the fifth season. I guess all the other Maverick brothers and cousins had moved out west. Are you confused yet because I am.

The announcer for the show was Ed Reimers. Reimers was the “Voice of Allstate” from 1957-1979, reminding people that they were “in good hands with Allstate.”

The theme song was written by David Buttolph and Paul Francis Webster.

There were some fun episodes on the show. “Shady Deal at Sunny Acres” featured Garner in a rocking chair, whittling and seeming to “ponder” a way to get $15,000 back which was stolen while brother Bart is running a complicated sting operation to do just that.

“Duel at Sundown” is fun for the cast. Clint Eastwood shows up as one of the bad guys. Edgar Buchanan and Abby Dalton are also featured in the show.

“Escape to Tampico” used items from the set of Rick’s Café Americain and the show includes to many Casablanca references to people and dialogue in the show.

Despite the short time he was on the show, Garner got a statue in honor of his character. Norman, Oklahoma has a ten-foot-tall statue of Garner as Bret Maverick, which was dedicated in 2006.

It’s too bad that neither the network nor Warner Brothers could not get its act together with this show. It had a bit of everything: drama, comedy, romance, adventure. However, you are already starting off alternating the brothers, and with the constant replacements, it’s no wonder fans just walked away, and the ratings dropped drastically. Some of the episodes were so unusual and creative for their time that the show could have been a huge hit and a long-running show. I’m amazed the show managed to stick around for five seasons. Garner, Kelly, Moore, and Colbert all went on to prolific and successful careers in film and television.

Daniel Boone Existing Somewhere Between Fact and Fiction

September 2, 2024March 14, 2024 / thewritelife61 / Leave a comment

This month we are Riding the Range. Up first is Daniel Boone. I remember watching this series with my son when he was in second and third grade and loved everything western. He bought vintage western board games and read western stories. He wore a cowboy hat around the house with a pair of boots. Email was somewhat new then, but he was able to contact Fess Parker and Clayton Moore. They both sent him back nice emails, and Clayton Moore sent him an autographed biography.

When I decided to do a series about westerns and include Daniel Boone, I was surprised to learn that it was on the air from 1964-1970. That means it went off the air when I was in fourth grade—I always assumed it was produced in the fifties.

The series was on NBC during those years. It starred Fess Parker as Daniel Boone and Ed Ames as Mingo, his Cherokee friend. Boone’s wife Rebecca was portrayed by Patricia Blair and his son Israel was played by Darby Hinton. Dallas McKennon played store owner Cincinnatus. For the first two seasons before just vanishing, his daughter Jemima (Veronica Cartwright) was on and for the final two seasons, Rosy Grier, former NFL player, was Gabe Cooper.

From Cartwright’s complaints, it seems that Blair complained about having an older daughter and felt it made her seem older than she wanted to appear, so the show just got rid of a kid. If you have read my former blogs about disappearing characters, you realize that this is just one of many shows that insult viewers’ intelligence enough to just remove a character without an explanation, assuming everyone will just accept it.

Unfortunately for kids who tuned in to learn about their hero, the show did not contain a lot of historical accuracy. The show is set in the 1770s and 1780s in the town of Boonesborough, Kentucky. Daniel Boone had ten children, but only two in this show. In real life, Boone was an explorer, but on the series, he was much more of a family man. One episode was centered around Aaron Burr, but it was about an event that happened in 1806?!?!

The inconsistencies were so bad that at one point, the Kentucky legislature condemned the show. A coalition of activists asked the local television station to not air 37 different episodes in reruns because they were offensive to the local Native Americans.

Oddly, one area they did try to stay true to was the construction of the fort. They used authentic wooden pegs to build it like it would have been at the time, and it collapsed, having to be replaced by modern construction. Why the fort was the only authentic fact they worried about is beyond me.

Ed Ames did not love playing Mingo on the show. He admitted that he signed on for a regular paycheck, assuming the show would not last long. In 1968, he told TV Guide “Work is tight and if you get a decent part on Broadway every three years, you’re lucky. Whereas you can just keep hackin’ ‘em out week after week on TV. And then, of course, you have to eat.” He ended up getting more fan mail than Parker, and it caused some bad blood between them.

There were three versions of the theme song used during the show’s run. It was written by Vera Matson and Lionel Newman. Fess Parker originally sang the song for the show, but later seasons used a version by the Imperials. The song played up Boone as a larger-than-life hero:

“Daniel Boone was a man. Yes, a big man.

With an eye like an eagle and as tall as a mountain was he.

Daniel Boone was a man. Yes, a big man.

He was brave, he was fearless, and as tough as a mighty oak tree.

From the coonskin cap on the top of ol’ Dan to the heel of his rawhide shoe,

The rippin’est, roarin’est, fightin’est man the frontier ever knew.”

Parker not only sang for the show, but he directed five of the episodes.

Although the history was embarrassing on the show, the series is often celebrated for the attitude Daniel Boone displayed that every man was to be treated with respect and as an equal. That is not to say that it was ever politically correct, as we think of that term today, but for the era it debuted, it was a refreshing, perspective. One episode that demonstrates this is season 2, episode 4. Rafer Johnson (an Olympian and civil rights activist) plays a former enslaved person who is stealing trappers’ furs to sell to earn money to return to Africa. Boone tells him he can’t condone the stealing and “arrests” him for that crime. However, he takes him into his custody to protect him and raises enough money for him to travel to Africa, refusing to return him to the former slave owner.

Before the show ended, Parker wanted to open a Daniel Boone amusement park in Kentucky. He bought some land near the junction of I-71 and I-75, but before he could build Frontier World, another park opened nearby in Ohio and Boone’s never happened. He did later buy a ranch in California and started the Fess Parker Winery.

I guess Fess Parker enjoyed making people dizzy whether it was riding a roller coaster, drinking wine, or trying to figure out if the television Boone was a good or bad influence on the fans who watched the show.

One Day at a Time

August 26, 2024September 4, 2024 / thewritelife61 / 2 Comments

For this Reboot series, we are ending with One Day at a Time. This show was about a divorced mom, Ann Romano (Bonnie Franklin) whose father is not in the picture much anymore. She moves her two teenaged daughters, Barbara (Valerie Bertinelli) and Julie (Mackenzie Phillips) from Logansport, Indiana to Indianapolis. Barbara is the funny daughter who is always doing the right thing, while Julie is rebellious and angry. Schneider (Pat Harrington Jr.) is their building supervisor, and he takes on a bit of a parental role with the girls.

In the early seasons, Ann dates her divorce lawyer David (Richard Masur). However, after becoming engaged, Ann realizes David wants children of his own and she is not ready to go down that road again, so they break up. Her ex remarries and he eventually enters their lives again.

Julie marries Max (Michael Lembeck), a flight attendant, and they eventually have a daughter. Barbara marries a dental student Mark (Boyd Gaines). In the finale, Ann decides to take a job in London and Schneider moves to Florida to take care of his niece and nephew.

The series was created by husband-and-wife team Whitney Blake and Allan Manings. Blake was Dorothy Baxter on Hazel. Blake based the show on her experiences as a single mother raising three children. It debuted in 1975 and aired until 1984.

Franklin was not happy with the scripts in the first season. She said that she threatened to quit unless the quality improved for the second season.

Phillips dealt with substance abuse, and she was fired after the fifth season. She did come back later for a few appearances. When she entered rehab in 1980, the plot was that Julie and Max moved to Houston. In the seventh season, she returned for a two-part episode. In the final season, she collapsed on the set. When the producer asked her to take a urinalysis test, she told them not to bother and she was fired for the last time. Lembeck continued with the show, and he raised their daughter after it was said Julie left them. While Phillips was unkind, to put it nicely, to Bertinelli early in the series, they eventually became closer. Bertinelli was one of the few people who stood by her after she released a shocking autobiography. Later Glenn Scarpelli joined the cast as Alex. His father had been Ann’s boyfriend and after his father dies in a car accident, Alex asks to move in with Ann and Barbara.

Family members Nanette Fabray and Shelly Fabares both took roles in the series; Nanette played Ann’s mom and Shelly was a coworker. Howard Hesseman also joined the cast as Sam who would marry Ann.

The show was filmed before a studio audience. That surprised me a bit. I went back to watch a few shows for this blog, and I was surprised how dark the series was for a sitcom. Many of the shows, especially Norman Lear shows, were not very light-hearted. I remember liking this show as a teenager/young adult, but I must admit, they were hard to sit through the second time around, and it is not a show that I would choose to watch again.

The theme song was “This Is It.” Brill Building composed the music with lyrics by Jeff and Nancy Barry. Polly Cutter sang the song.

It is amazing that the show did so well in the ratings because it was moved around on the schedule eleven times during its run. For most of its life, it was in the top 20.

The show still had decent ratings after its nine seasons, but Franklin decided she was ready to be done. Harrington was the only cast member to win an Emmy. A 1984 spinoff was discussed for Schneider, but that show never came to fruition. It seems fitting for Harrington to win the Emmy. He has 166 acting credits, and appeared in movies with Elvis Presley and Robert Redford. He said 100 actors auditioned for the role of Schneider. He said that he was a family man with four kids and needed to put food on the table, so he went for it.

In 2005, there was a One Day at a Time Reunion on CBS. Franklin, Phillips, Bertinelli, and Harrington discussed their time on the show. The documentary featured private interviews with Masur, Fabares, Fabray, Lembeck, and Scarpelli.

At least three seasons were released on DVD, but I have not seen any references to seasons four-nine.

In 2017 a reboot was made of One Day at a Time. Three original cast members showed up on the new series. Phillips appeared as a counselor and former veteran leading a support group with PTSD, Glenn Scarpelli was in season three, and Lembeck directed the season one episode “Sex Talk.”

The remake was developed by Gloria Calderon Kellett and Mike Royce with a Latino cast for Netflix. The stars were Justina Machado, Todd Grinnell, Marcel Ruiz, Stephen Tobolowsky, and Rita Moreno. The Cuban family lives in LA. A single mother and former veteran dealing with PTSD, Penelope Alvarez (Justina Machado) lives with her daughter, Elena (Isabella Gomez), and son Alex (Marcel Ruiz), and her mom Lydia (Rita Moreno). Pat Schneider (Todd Grinnell) is the supervisor. Penelope works for Dr. Leslie Berkowitz (Stephen Tobolwsky). The reboot also focused on some tough subjects including mental illness, immigration, sexism, homophobia, gender identity, and racism. It aired for four seasons.

The critics were all on board. It was listed as one of the best shows of 2017 and received a variety of awards including four Emmy nominations. Robert Lloyd of the Los Angeles Times wrote that it was “lively without being rushed” and David Wiegand of the San Francisco Chronicle felt it “was nicely written . . . and the performances are almost universally engaging.” Verna Gay of Newsday called Machado “flat out terrific.”

This time around, Gloria Estefan sang “This Is It.”

The series was canceled after four seasons. The network said it did not have enough viewers, despite the fact that Rotten Tomatoes gave it a 100% rating for every year. It was praised for dealing with many hard subjects and featuring a matriarchy of three generations of women who make their way through life and support each other even when they don’t agree with each other.

I think that the failure of this show to make it to five seasons is a common factor that we will see in streaming shows. Networks had more of an incentive to keep shows around when there were fewer options. Now there are so many shows available that it’s almost impossible to know what is available to watch. Considering that three networks used to get most of the viewers tuning in, now you can multiply that by hundreds. I’m not sure what it will take to keep a show running more than three years anymore.

I hope you enjoyed taking a look at four reboots that succeeded in bringing back original viewers and building a new fan base for themselves. I’d love to hear if any of these were shows you would root for.

MacGyver: Noun or Verb?

August 19, 2024August 14, 2024 / thewritelife61 / 4 Comments

Before I get into our topic today, I just want to thank all of you who have been supporting my blog. Today marks the first blog of my ninth year. Not sure where the time went, but it has been so much fun and I have learned an incredible amount of television knowledge. I spent some time this summer putting together new schedules, so I’m committed to 2030 for more fun and learning.

This month we are Rebooting. Almost every month I mention some reboot or another about a show that was on in the fifties, sixties, seventies, or eighties. Many of them have been on and off the air in a blink. Some of them stuck around for a season or two. Others rivaled the original in the quality of the scripts and characters in the reboot. Those more popular shows are the shows we are zeroing in on this month.

Today is all about MacGyver. The original show was on ABC from 1985-1992. Created by Lee David Zlotoff, this show starred Richard Dean Anderson. Henry Winkler and John Rich were the executive producers.

Angus MacGyver (Anderson) was a secret agent. MacGyver works for the Phoenix Foundation in LA. He is an agent for the Department of External Services, a made-up agency. He had been a bomb team technician in the US Army Special Forces in Vietnam and was a scientist majoring in Physics at Western Tech. The show started out with moderate success and gained a loyal following. MacGyver creates things from ordinary objects to solve complex problems. These creations were vetted by scientists before being integrated into the plots.

Arsenio Hall mentioned in 1989 that he heard “MacGyver” used as a verb meaning “to do the impossible.” In 2015, the term did become part of the Oxford Dictionaries to mean “make or repair an object in an improvised or inventive way, making use of whatever items are at hand.”

MacGyver prefers not to carry any firearms due to an accident in his childhood which resulted in the death of a friend. Instead, he packs a Swiss army knife and a roll of duct tape.

MacGyver lives on a houseboat which was credited to Winkler. His favorite sport is hockey, and he often sports a Calgary Flames hat. He also enjoys racecar driving, chemistry, and baccarat. What he does not like are heights.

Joining MacGyver was Pete Thornton (Dana Elcar), his boss and best friend. When Thornton was made director of operations at the Phoenix Foundation, he brought MacGyver into the program. His other friend is Jack Dalton (Bruce McGill).

In a weird meeting of the minds, Rich was working on a sitcom called Mr. Sunshine for ABC, Winkler was finishing his run as the Fonz on Happy Days, and Zlotoff was producer for Remington Steele on NBC. The three got together to propose MacGyver, and ABC found room in its schedule for the series.

Winkler convinced Anderson to audition for the role of MacGyver after seeing him on The Love Boat.

During its second season, MacGyver became a bigger hit.

So, what are some of the fun inventions MacGyver came up with: using jumper cables, a generator, and 2 quarters, he invented a welder. With satellite parts and a plastic shield, he made a hang glider. A blood pressure pump and alarm clock became a lie detector test. A bazooka was made from a muffler, gear shift knob, seat cushion stuffing and a cigarette lighter. And sunglasses with nail polish remover and a lamp equal a spectroscope.

From 2016-2021, a reboot series debuted on CBS which owns the rights to both series after acquiring the original series from Paramount Television. In 2015, Winkler signed on to produce the reboot with James Wan and R. Scott Gemmill for CBS. The reboot was canceled in 2021. In this version, Lucas Till became MacGyver.

Anderson was asked if he had seen the reboot in 2019. His response was that “I have, and I’m not real crazy about it, I’ll be honest. They approached me early on. They’d done a test for the show and found it wasn’t as attractive as they wanted it to be, so they called and asked if I wanted anything to do with it, and I said no. It’s a business, but . . . I don’t think they’ve been fair or true to the series. They’re shooting up everybody and there’s so much going on that you don’t see the thought process that we prided ourselves on. You know, MacGyver sees the problem, he sees the solutions to the problem, you see him gathering the solution, and then solving the problem. In this new one, its boom-boom-boom, and it happens so fast.”

Perhaps this lack of letting viewers in on the process and adding more violence hurt the reboot. The series was never a huge hit. I read several reviews from fans of the original show that referred to some of the issues. One said that George Eads isn’t the same free spirit that Jack was on the original. Making MacGyver part of a team instead of a maverick agent was also mentioned. A couple reviewers said that the original not only explained the scientific processes but there was a moral embedded into most episodes about the use of technology or social behavior.

While these are all valid viewpoints, other factors that might have had more to do with the series ending was the decline in numbers and the dysfunction on the set. From season four to five, the series lost 20% of its audience which is quite a bit.

After learning about the show’s cancellation, Till wrote on his Instagram account that “the past five years have been what I will look on later as the most formative years of my life. Lots of tough, lots of love. I made lifelong friends, actually no, family. I learned to push myself to new limits, breaking through and through and through. Was nervous to take up the mantle of an icon and you guys allowed me into your homes and accepted me. I’m like the Roger Moore of MacGyvers now thanks to your support.” While he dwells on the positive things that came out of the show, the “tough” things he was referring to was probably the toxic work environment created by executive producer Peter M. Lenkov. I read many articles that discussed the difficulties he created in filming before he was fired in 2020.

Given the difficulties of the show and the differences between the original and the reboot version, it’s probably not surprising it was cancelled, but I think the fact that it went five years before being cancelled is a win for the cast.

Book ’em Danno: Hawaii Five-O or 0

August 12, 2024May 18, 2024 / thewritelife61 / 2 Comments

This month we are looking at some recent reboots of popular shows from the the past. We are ending our series with what I think was the best of the reboots in recent history: Hawaii Five-O.

Originally, one source said the show was developed with a house detective for a chain of Hawaiian hotels. Someone on the production team thought it would limit the plots too much, so it was expanded to crime throughout Hawaii.

From 1968 to 1980, Hawaii Five-O was on CBS. Created by Leonard Freeman and set in Hawaii, it starred Jack Lord as Captain Steve McGarrett, former Korean War veteran. McGarrett heads a special task force appointed by the governor. His team includes Danny Williams (James MacArthur), Chin Ho Kelly (Kam Fong), Kono Kalakaua (Zulu). Police officer Duke Luekla (Herman Wedemeyer) lent a hand often. The task force is run out of offices at the Iolani Palace.

Richard Boone was offered the part of McGarrett, but he turned it down. Gregory Peck was also in consideration for the role. Eventually, Jack Lord auditioned on a Wednesday, received the part, and was in Hawaii filming on Monday. Lord was the only actor to appear in all 281 episodes of the series. A couple members of the cast came on board with little-to-no acting experience. Zulu, who played Kono, was a beach boy and local DJ. Fong, who played Kelley, had been a police officer in Honolulu for sixteen years before retiring to work in real estate.

McGarrett and his team investigated crimes by international secret agents, organized crime syndicates, and ordinary criminals. Some of the villains were played by celebrities including Gavin MacLeod, Ross Martin, and Ricardo Montalban.

McGarrett’s ongoing battle throughout much of the series is with Wo Fat (Ihigh Dhiegh), a rogue intelligence officer from China. In the finale, “Woe to Wo Fat,” McGarrett is finally able to land him in jail. However, the series ends with Wo Fat retrieving a file from his boot, making us wonder if we might be able to escape. The name “Wo Fat” came from a restaurant in downtown Honolulu.

In the original show, little time was given to the personal lives of the team; the plots all centered around solving the crime of the week.

The show was filmed in Hawaii: the first location was in Pearl City in a hut where the roof leaked and rats gnawed at cables; then it moved to Fort Ruger and for the final four seasons, a set was built at Diamond Head. Hawaii had only been a state for nine years when the series started, so most Americans were not familiar with the islands.

Fans often talked about the beauty of the scenery for the show. They also appreciated the intelligent writing and believable plots.

Many locals were used in the show, partly because the television and movie industry was not well represented in Hawaii, so everyone learned along the way. This made the cast much more diverse than most shows in the sixties.

The show was known for its theme song written by Morton Stevens. The Ventures recorded the theme, and it reached No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. It was popular with high school and college bands across the country; when I was a majorette in the mid-seventies, it was one of the songs our band performed.

One of the most popular catchphrases from the seventies was “Book ‘em Danno,” a phrase used sparingly in the reboot.

The original Five-O was the longest-running crime show until Law & Order surpassed it in 2002. In began on Thursdays but moved to Wednesdays later in the year. From 1971-1974 it aired on Tuesdays. In 1975 it started out on Friday nights, moving to Thursdays where it stayed till 1979. That December it moved to Tuesdays for two months before switching to Saturdays for the rest of its run. This doesn’t seem like a great strategy for keeping fans.

While the show was popular with viewers, its only two Emmy wins were for music composition. It received ten nominations, but the only person to be nominated for acting was a special guest appearance by Helen Hayes in 1976. There were no nominations for acting, writing, or best series.

A one-hour pilot for a reboot was made in 1996 but never aired on television. Written by Stephen J. Cannell, it starred Gary Busey and Russell Wong as the Five-O team along with MacArthur who returned as Danny Williams, now governor of Hawaii.

The reboot we are discussing today began in 2010, also on CBS. To distinguish it from the original show, it was Hawaii Five-0 (using a zero in place of a capital letter O). Most of the characters are similar to the original. They are still a special task force appointed by the governor who is now a woman, Pat Jameson (Jean Smart). Steve McGarrett (Alex O’Louglin), a former Navy SEAL and son of Jack Lord’s character, partners with Danny Williams (Scott Caan) in this version. Other teammates included Chin Ho Kelly (Daniel Dae Kim) and Kono Kalakaua (Grace Park). Kono’s gender switched from the a male to bring a female perspective to the team.

For the eighth season Tani Rey (Meaghan Rath) and Junior Reigns (Beulah Koale) came on board. Several other regulars during the years included Lou Grover (Chi McBride), medical examiner Max Bergman (Masi Oka), Jerry Ortega (Jorge Garcia), Chin’s classmate and a local conspiracy theorist whose vast knowledge often comes in handy, and Sgt Duke Lukela (Dennis Chun) is still around from the original show.

A season or two into the show, Steve’s girlfriend, Lt. Catherine Rollins (Michelle Borth) works with the team and Adam Noshimuri (Ian Anthony Dale) joins the group. When Dr. Bergman heads overseas, he is replaced by Noelani Cunha (Kimee Balmilero). Another member of the surrogate family is Kamekona (Taylor Wily) who owns a food stand. He often helps the team because he knows almost everyone and has great intel for Steve and Danny. In this version, Steve’s father was a cop and Steve is still hunting down Wo Fat to avenge his father’s death. Chin and Kono are cousins and eventually Kono and Adam marry.

O’Loughlin was born in Canberra, Austrialia on August 24, 1976, and Caan was born in Los Angeles on August 23, 1976, but since Australia is twenty-four hours ahead of the US time, they were essentially born on the same day. Perhaps that’s why they had such great chemistry. Their witty bantering is fun to listen to. They remind me of an older couple who have been married a long time. They know each other so well, and can afford to be critical, because you know they have each other’s backs and would die for each other if they needed to.

This new version continued to show the beauty of the Hawaiian Islands. Viewers learned more about the culture of the state.

In the reboot we also got to know the characters much better; half the show concentrated on their personal lives and how those lives sometimes had an effect on what they did as detectives, right or wrong.

Peter M. Lenkov, who was one of the creators of this reboot, was also part of the team that debuted MacGyver and Magnum PI reboots, all of which are set in Hawaii.

The show was popular with viewers when it returned to the schedule. The Honolulu Advertiser wrote that “a smart script, slick production values and maybe a splash of nostalgia got the remake of Hawaii Five-0 placed on the CBS prime-time lineup this fall.”

One fun carryover from the original series was the character of August March. Played by Ed Asner in the original show in season two, March was a jeweler who was arrested by Lord’s character. In season three of the reboot, August March is back played by Asner again.

📷inner toob.com Asner on the original . . . and

The series debuted on Monday nights. Season four found it on Fridays where it stayed for the final seven seasons.

Viewers had strong reactions to the theme song. For the early shows, the original theme song was used but updated which fans did not appreciate, so the original theme was used for most of this series as well.

The new show had a positive impact on Hawaii’s economy. Businesses that were featured on the show saw an increase in visitors. When McGarrett mentioned Kona Brewing Company beers were his choice of beverage, sales shot up 60%.

One fun fact for those car collectors is that Jack Lord drove a Mercury Marquis in several seasons of the first show. On this edition, Steve works on his father’s car. The owner, stuntman John Nordlum, allowed the show to use the car, which still has its old license plate of F6-3958.

Comparing these shows is a little tough because television culture and shows changed so much during the 42 years that the show was off the air. The original series had 281 episodes while the reboot comes in with 240. I remember watching the original as a kid, and it was just another police drama to me. Personally, I like the reboot. Continuing to portray the culture as another character adds a lot of charm to the show. I would rather see the personal lives of the characters especially because they spend a lot of time out of work together and that adds to their team chemistry. I also like the banter between Steve and Danny.

There have been many reboots of classic shows, especially on other streaming services, and most of them do not live up to the original standards at best and can be plain awful at worst. This is one of the few that did it right and succeeded for all the right reasons. If you never saw the original, check out a season or two and compare the shows for yourself.

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