The Day the Running Started
December 3, 2007
I’ll be posting some more substantial content here in the next few days, but first, here’s a quickie blog entry to note with the launch of my website devoted to all things TV. I’m putting up this post mainly to create a space for comments on the initial content of the site. Interviews with five television pioneers. Long looks at the production history of two classic shows. Throwing down the gauntlet on the best 100 episodes ever (well, only half of them for now). Surely that’s worth a response or two, hmm? Don’t make me beg.
This also seems like a good place to offer up a shout of gratitude to my father for the eleventh hour technical support, and to Jonathan Ward and Stuart Galbraith IV for some feverish proofreading. The usual disclaimer: Everything that’s still bad is not their fault.
Check back soon for some thoughts on one of the enduring cult shows of the ’80s . . . .
December 6, 2007 at 4:58 am
Some of my nominations:
Bus Stop: A Lion Walks Among Us…this one stimulated Congressional investigation of violence on tv
77 Sunset Strip: Silent Caper….Roger Smith pulls off an hour episode with no words of dialogue
Twilight Zone: Time Enough at Last…Serling shows us the fate of the self-indulgent
Twilight Zone: Invaders….Agnes Moorhead also does a wonderful job in an episode with no dialogue
Naked City: Case Study of Two Savages…sometimes violence is simply crude and random….
Naked City: Golden Lads and Girls….goes head on with the subject of domestic violence…one of the first to do so
Route 66: Black November…the first episode is film noir writ large.
Defenders: Ordeal…vengeance is enacted in a most bizarre way by a woman scorned
Ben Casey: A Cardinal Act of Mercy…Kim Stanley and Glenda Farrell both win Emmy’s in this dark look at drug addiction
Insight: A Gun for Mandy…Lois Nettleton wins an Emmy in this tragic indictment of gun ownership
Dr. Kildare: Lullaby for an Indian Summer…a surprisingly believe early treatment of pregnancy in the autumn of life
Dr. Kildare: The Life Machine…kidney dialysis is brand new in the mid 60s…hard decisions must be made
It’s a Man’s World: Winter Song.a warm and tender treatment of the transition from childhood to adolescence
Stoney Burke…this and Naked City: Prime of Life, both show the wrath of tv writers after the cancellation of a great show is announced
Combat: Hills are For Heroes…a powerful look at what happens when bravery is trumped by futility
Nurses: The Saturday Evening of Time…Peggy Wood confronts aging, the end of a long career, and a bleak road ahead….one of the best treatments of aging issues in tv of that era
Outer Limits: The Zanti Misfits…outcasts come in small packages, but are no less frightening
Eastside West: Few 60s shows more powerful that Who Do You Kill or No Hiding Place, two provocative treaments of racial prejudice.
Fugitive: Nightmare at North Oak…often considered the best entry from this series, as the fugitive receives help from a most unlikely source…
Channing: Last Testament of Buddy Crown….Buddy is different, or so say the young men troubled by his behavior
Bob Hope Chrysler Theater: A Small Rebellion…Simone Signoret and George Maharis as two actors in conflict…epic performances
February 16, 2008 at 7:03 pm
My Best Epsiodes?
Here goes:
Superman-The Animated Series-Apokolips….NOW!, part 2:One of the most tragic endings for an animated series, especially on Saturday mornings. Metropolis SCU officer ‘Terrible’ Dan Turpin makes the ultimate sacrifice in the fight against an invasion by Darkseid. ‘Nuff said.
Buffy The Vampire Slayer-The Body: Joyce Summers dies,and everybody must deal with the fallout, especially her two daughters, Buffy and Dawn.
Buffy The Vampire Slayer-Once More With Feeling: The musical episode that EVERBODY sings to at conventions!
Batman: The Animated Series-Heart Of Ice: The tragic story of Dr. Victor Fries/Mr. Freeze (Michael Ansara) and his misguided attempt at justice against a corporate head and his cost-cutting measures.
Star Trek: The Next Generation-Sarek: How does one deal with losing one’s facilities as one gets older, especially if you’re a Vulcan? This episode shows how in painful detail, with great performances by Mark Lenard and Patrick Stewart.
Star Trek: The Next Generation-The Inner Light: Living eighty years in thirty minutes-what an amazing journey.
The Twilight Zone-Three O’ Clock: Karmic justice was never this precise as it was for Oliver Crangle (Theodore Bikel) who suffers when his own attempt to get rid of all the ‘evil’ people gets him instead.
Star Trek-Court-Martial: What is the measure of a man? And what does he do to defend himself?
Star Trek: The Next Generation-The Drumhead: What are universal rights, and how do we protect them when terrorist calamities happen?
Star Trek:Deep Space Nine-In The Pale Moonlight: How far will Captain Benjamin Sisko go to enlist Romulan help in the Dominion War? Pretty far.
April 29, 2008 at 10:24 am
Fascinating choices.
Some other ideas:
The Psychiatrist: “Par for the Course”. Clu Gulager as a vital young golfer dying from cancer. Directed by Steven Spielberg.
The Psychiatrist: “The Private World of Martin Dalton”. About a 12-year old boy with emotionally remote parents who tries to escape into a dream world. Directed by Steven Spielberg.
The Senator: “Power Play”. Hal Holbook and Burgess Meredith face off in an acting duel. Stunningly directed by Jerrold Freedman. Written by Ernest Kinoy.
77 Sunset Strip: “Once Upon a Caper”. Rex Randolph is told three very different versions of how Bailey and Spencer got together. Written by Roger Smith.
The Lieutenant: “The Proud and the Angry”. Rip Torn as a tough drill sergeant who may be responsible for the death of a trainee. Lt. Bill Rice (Gary Lockwood) goes
undercover as recruit to investigate Torn’s methods.
The Dick Powell Show: “Thunder in a Forgotten Town”. Jackie Cooper as a Korean War POW who is released by the North Korerans ten years after the war ends. Cooper, an angry, brooding man, returns to his home town. No one is glad to see him except his old best friend who is now mayor (David Janssen). And then Janssen mysteriously dies. A good pulp melodrama. One of the writers was Richard Carr. Bernard Kowalski directed.
Lou Grant: “Hollywood”. Animal investigates an unsolved 1940’s murder. Laraine Day, Howard Duff, Paul Stewart and Margaret Hamilton are among the guest stars.
Police Story: “Little Boy Lost”. Detective Robert Forster investigates the disappearance of a young boy.
April 30, 2008 at 7:51 am
I’ve never seen it, but that Clu Gulager episode of THE PSYCHIATRIST just came up in passing at a taping session I attended with Roy Thinnes. According to Thinnes, the series had already been cancelled before the producer-writer, Jerrold Freedman, finished the script, and the ending of the episode was basically improvised by Thinnes, Gulager, and Spielberg. Freedman told them by phone, “Trust Steven.” Since Freedman hadn’t had time to write any dialogue, the three of them decided to play the scene without words.
April 30, 2008 at 9:28 am
TV Guide did an interview with Spielberg shortly after “Duel”. He said now that “The Senator” and “The Psychiatrist” were gone, he wanted to focus on TV movies and eventually feature films. He didn’t want to do any more episodic television. He knew that whatever he did now had to be good. He said he was working on a script called “Slide” (which became “The Sugarland Express.”)
Spielberg talks a little about his early TV work on a recent “Duel” DVD release. He says he wasn’t that happy with the material he was getting at Universal. He was directing episodes of shows he didn’t like that much. And the shows he did like wouldn’t hire him.
Jerrold Freedman was a friend of Spielberg who asked him to direct a couple of episodes of “The Psychiatrist”. Spielberg said Freedman offered him complete artistic freedom to do whatever he wanted. Freedman told him to make an avant guarde film if he wanted to and Spielberg said that is what he did. Spielberg also talks about how “wild” Gulager was and how he improvised a scene in the hospital when Thinnes and some of his other friends bring him the 18th hole of a golf course. Spielberg still seems proud of that work. I think Spielberg was 24 or 25 and Freedman was 28.
April 30, 2008 at 9:41 am
As with Sydney Pollack, I think Spielberg abruptly stops being interesting right after the episodic TV and the first couple of features. If Universal (or one of the companies that’s sublicensing their TV product) were smart, they’d issue a DVD collection of Spielberg’s TV episodes; marketed properly, it’d probably outsell any given season of IRONSIDE or NIGHT GALLERY by a wide margin, and we’d get a few episodes of obscure series that will otherwise never see the light of day.
April 30, 2008 at 10:13 am
Some other memorable (to me) television episodes:
Checkmate: “The Murder Game”. An Agatha Christie like murder mystery by Douglas Heyes. An attorney who never lost a capital case finds out that one of his clients was guilty. He plans to murder the murderer at a party he is throwing. He invites Don Corey and Carl Hyatt of Checkmate to the party to see if they can stop him.
The Outer Limits: “Demon with a Glass Hand”. Robert Culp at his coolest. A lovely Arlene Martel. Stunning direction by Byron Haskin. Amazing black and white photography. Superb script by Harlan Ellison.
Route 66: Ever Ride the Waves in Oklahoma?”. Jeremy Slate as an arrogant surfer who Buz blames for the death of a young man. Buz decides to take Slate down.
Directed by Robert Gist. Written by Borden Chase and Frank Chase.
Maverick: “Gun-Shy”. A very funny send-up of “Gunsmoke” written by Marion Hargrove and directed by Leslie Martinson. James Arness did not find it amusing.
Gunsmoke: “Cale”. Matt tries to help a difficult but decent young man (Carl Reindel) who may have broken the law. I think Reindel was up for a regular role on “Gunsmoke” as Cale but the producers finally went with Burt Reynolds as Quint Asper. The script was by Kathleen Hite who did many fine episodes of the series but who quit out of loyalty when producer Norman MacDonnell was fired.
Hennesey: “The Nogoodnick”. Written by Richard Baer. Charles Bronson guest stars as Lt. Commander Steve Ogrodowski, a Shore Patrol investigator. Hennesey has a young man in the infirmary who is accused of a crime. Hennesey believes the young man may be innocent and begins looking into the matter. Bronson is absolutely furious when he learns that Hennesey is infringing on his investigation. He has a show down with Hennessey where he violently pushes him up against a wall. Hennessey is almost speechless and he is trembling. I don’t think I have ever seen a series lead so completely humiliated. It turns out Hennesey’s young patient is guilty as sin.
April 30, 2008 at 11:15 am
“The Murder Game” is a classic, another instance of a great episode emerging from a mediocre show. Douglas Heyes did some similar locked room-type material on the Lawyers segments of THE BOLD ONES, where it didn’t work out as well. Talented guy though; I’d like to know more about him.
I was trying to set up an interview with Richard Baer when he died in February, and even if I had talked to him, I wouldn’t have known to ask about that HENNESEY episode. I feel like I’m forever playing catchup on this stuff.
May 3, 2008 at 9:13 am
The Senator: “A Single Blow of the Sword”. An arrogant senior civil servant is a staunch opponent of the welfare system. Logan Ramsey, who I had never seen before, made a marvelous opponent for liberal Senator Hays Stowe (Hal Holbrook). The episode was written by Jerrold Freedman and was directed by John Badham. This was only the second TV episode that Badham directed, and he was already brilliant. “The Senator” used no background music which was enormously effective. I wonder why someone doesn’t try that again. Badham likes to show TV screens in his early TV episodes (something John Frankenheimer also liked to do as you point out in your essay.) Badham who was associate producer of “The Senator” received an Emmy nomination for the episode, but lost to Daryl Duke for another episode of “The Senator”.
Badham’s first directing episode was called “Someday They’ll Elect a President” (the “They” was organized crime.)It was written by Leon Tokatyan. It was also a strong episode.
I became a big fan of Badham, but I don’t think he has done anything yet that matches his work on “The Senator”.
Gunsmoke: “The Gallows”. Written by John Meston and directed by Andrew V. McLaglen. Jeremy Slate as a likeable young man who gets into a dispute with a difficult older man over $100. Both men stuggle over a knife after drinking heavily. When Slate wakes up, the other man is dead with a knife in his chest. While Matt Dillon is bringing Slate back to Dodge to stand trial, Matt is shot by a deranged man. Slate takes the bullet out and nurses Matt back to health. Slate is sentenced to die at his trial, despite Matt’s strong testimonay in Slate’s behalf. Matt lets Slate go when he is taking him to be hung. Slate rides off but eventually changes his mind and catches up with Matt. Slate is hung in Hayes City.
Director Andrew McLaglen showed a lot of talent on shows like “Gunsmoke”, “Have Gun Will Travel” and “Perry Mason” but his eventual movie career was a little disappointing.
I Spy: “Home to Judgment”. Written by Robert Culp. Excellent direction by Richard Sarafian. Culp and Cosby are back in the United States. They are on the run from assassins. They seek shelter with Culp’s relatives. Aunt Alta (Una Merkel) and Uncle Harry (Will Geer) live on a farm in the midwest. The suspenseful episode has a Hitchcock feel to it. According to a DVD commentary by Culp, Cosby thinks this is the best episode of the series. Cosby loves Una Merkel’s performance although writer Culp thinks she is all wrong for the part. As usual, I think Cosby’s judgment about the episode and about Merkel is on the money.
Twilight Zone: “In His Image”. George Grizzard was never more appealing than in this episode. Directed by Perry Lafferty and written by Charles Beaumont.
The Eleventh Hour: “Something Crazy’s Going on in the Back Room”. Directed by Robert Gist. Written by Jerry De Bono. The cast makes this memorable. Dr. Paul Graham (Jack Ging) is doing family therapy. The family: Angela Lansbury and Martin Balsam as the parents, Tuesday Weld as the daughter and Roy Thinnes and Don Grady as the sons. This was the first time I saw Roy Thinnes.
The executive producer of this fine psychiatry series was Norman Felton (”Dr. Kildare”, “The Man from Uncle”). When Felton decided to do another psychiatry series seven years later, he hired Roy Thinnes to play “The Psychiatrist”.
Bourbon Street Beat: “Target of Hate”. Written by Richard Matheson and William L. Stuart. James Coburn, Richard Chamberlain and John Marley plan to assasinate a political candiate. They take over Rex Randolph’s elegant home (which is also the office of “Randolph and Calhoun”). The candidate is scheduled to make a speech outside the home. The script uses all four of the series stars (Richard Long, Andrew Duggan, Arlene Howell and Van Williams.) Each of the regulars as well as the guest stars have some fine moments. Leslie Martinson’s direction is very good as is the black and white photography. The script was probably based on the movie “Suddenly”. A strong series episode from Warner Brothers, who weren’t noted for spending much money on their television product.
May 4, 2008 at 8:15 am
12 O’Clock High: “The Loneliest Place in the World”.
This should have been one of the great TV episodes but wasn’t.
Quinn Martin made one of the stupidest creative decisions in television history when he fired Robert Lansing. Martin apparently didn’t like Lansing’s brooding, low key, pensive and intense performance from the beginning. (And Lansing may not have shown Martin enough respect.) It was obvious to everyone else that Lansing’s performance was brilliant but Martin had something lighter and less layered in mind. Its hard to fathom the decision since Vic Morrow’s war weary performance on the highly rated “Combat” seemed to be cut out of the same cloth as Lansing’s. And so, for that matter, did David Janssen’s performance on Martin’s “The Fugitive”.
You have to wonder why Martin hired Lansing in the first place. Maybe Paul Monash, who developed the show for 20th Century Fox, hired Lansing.
Anyway, the death of Brigadier General Frank Savage should have made a great emotional episode. Maybe Savage is shot down and is captured by the Germans. The Germans hold Savage in key factory that the Americans need to destroy. Colonel Gallagher (Paul Burke) decides he needs to bomb the factory even if it means
the certain death of Savage. Maybe Savage has a plan to escape.
Lansing refused to be in the episode because he said his part wasn’t strong enough, and indeed Savage is dead at the end of the opening tease. Martin should have found a way to get Lansing on board. The year after Lansing was fired he worked as a guest star on other peoples’ shows (”Slattery’s People”, “Gunsmoke”, “The Virginian”) so he was available for free lance work. Martin should have had an episode written that was so strong Lansing couldn’t turn it down.
Gallagher dealing with his guilt over Savage’s death and his trying to stretch to replace a great commander could have given the second season some real emotional weight. Maybe Gallagher’s men are reluctant to accept him as their new leader (similar to much of the audience’s reaction.) Some flash-back scenes of the strained realtionship between Gallagher and Savage could have been effective. Gallagher might have appeared an underdog, and people might have started rooting for him.
But Quinn Martin pretty much squandered all opportunities that the death of a great series hero provided.
May 6, 2008 at 8:05 am
THE SENATOR was not only well written (I think between us Brian and I have singled out almost every episode), it was also formally innovative. Not only was there no scoring, but it was shot in a lot of either authentic locations or sets with ceilings, and the lighting was designed to capture that drab, fluorescent haze of office building interiors; it was one of the only TV shows of the era to approximate the grungy, naturalistic look of the 70s “New Hollywood” movies of Altman, Pakula, Hal Ashby, etc. Several episodes also incorporated cutaways to mock-documentary “man-on-the-street” interviews. The political documentaries of Robert Drew and Emile de Antonio (and maybe some of the TV docs from Wolper, Mel Stuart, etc.) probably inspired the look of the show.
It’s pretty amazing something so distinctive could come
out of the drab, cookie-cutter backlot factory that was Universal at that time; I’m guessing the unsung hero was the producer, David Levinson. Levinson produced the final season of “Doctors” segments on THE BOLD ONES and there are at least a half-dozen masterpieces in there, too.
May 10, 2008 at 9:33 am
World Premiere Movie: “The Law”. Written by Joel Oliansky based on a story by William Sackheim. Directed by John Badham. Produced by William Sackheim. Oliansky, Sackheim and Badham worked together on “The Senator” in 1970. They hit another one out of the park in 1974 with this Frederick Wiseman like look at the justice system.
A world famous football player is murdered. Public defender Judd Hirsch is assigned to defend slow witted druggie Gary Busey, who doesn’t know who Tom Seaver or Ernest Hemingway is but does know Herman Hesse. Sam Wanamker is the show-boating nationally famous attorney who says he was played by George C. Scott in a movie. None of the cast were stars at the time, which is pretty much unheard of for a TV movie before or since. The network thought George Segal might be good in the Hirsch role, but somehow Sackheim convinced them that known actors would detract from the realism.
The script was so good you could easily imagine it as theatrical film with Dustin Hoffman or Gene Hackman. Olianksy thought “And Justice for All” with Al Pacino was an uncredited rewrite of “The Law”.
This is still probably John Badham’s best film. I think its a great legal film, on a par with “Anatomy of a Murder” and “The Verdict”.
ABC Movie of the Week: “A Cold Nights Death”. Written by Christopher Knopf. Directed by Jerrold Freedman. Two scientists at a research center in the Arctic begin to wonder how their predecessors died. Robert Culp and Eli Wallach are superb as the scientists. Jerrold Freedman’s direction was sensational. The film had a look and sound and feel that were stunning and original. It didn’t look like a Movie of the Week. Freedman’s work was similarly stunning on the “Power Play” episode of “The Senator”. I think he was going for a cinima verite look on both projects. “A Cold Nights Death” is a beautifully made little thriller.
Movie of the Week: “The Night Stalker”. Written by Richard Matheson based on a story by Jeff Rice. Directed by John Llewellyn Moxey. A vampire is stalking modern day Las Vegas. A down and out, wise guy reporter is on the case (Darren McGavin uncorking a terrific performance). Great entertainment. Hitchcock wasn’t getting scripts this good at the time. The direction by Moxey was just as impressive as Spielberg’s on “Duel”.
ABC Sunday Night Movie: “One of My Wives is Missing”. Written by Peter Stone, based on a play by Robert Thomas. Directed by Glenn Jordan. James Franciscus can’t find his wife. Sexy Elizabeth Ashley finally shows up claiming to be the wife. But Franciscus says this is not my beautiful wife. Jack Klugman is the cop on the case. An absorbing mystery with an ending I didn’t see coming.
World Premiere: “Guilty or Innocent: The Sam Sheppard Murder Case”. Written by Harold Gast, based on a story by Lou Randolph. Directed by Robert Michael Lewis. George Peppard is very fine as Dr. Sheppard. Harold Gast had written for “The Defenders” and “For the People” and had produced “Judd for the Defense”. Gast knew how to make a compelling legal drama. Peppard had not been used to best advantage on the “Banacek” series. I think he might have been more interesting as Philip Marlowe or Travis McGee. Maybe he could have toned down his natural arrogance just a little.
Twilight Zone: “Nightmare at 20,000 Feet”. Written by Richard Matheson. Directed by Richard Donner. Thirty-four year old William Shatner has just recovered from a nervous breakdown. He and his wife are heading home on a plane flight. Complications ensue. Arguably the best series episode ever. William Shatner is a walking history of TV, starting with “Studio One” and “Playhouse 90″ and moving forward to the present. I hope TV historians are taking note.
Run For Your Life: “Hoodlums on Wheels”. Written by Halstead Welles (the screenplay for “3:10 to Yuma”). John Drew Barrymore and his gang of beatnik/Hell’s Angels terrorize a resort town. They take the residents of a house prisoner, including hero Paul Bryan (Ben Gazzara). Lovely Karen Jensen is also one of the prisoners. A standard plot for a series episode, but here the writing, directing and acting made it a standout episode. Barrymore tries to kiss Gazzara in one scene and Gazzara spits in his face. Universal’s “Run For Your Life” was one of the best shows of its time.
Alfred Hitchcock Hour: “Forecast: Low Clouds and Coastal Fog”. Written by Lee Erwin. Directed by Charles Haas. Inger Stevens lives at the beach with her much older, rather emotionally remote husband. The husband goes away on business despite Inger’s asking him not to. Three beautiful young beach boys keep Inger company (Chris Robinson, Peter Brown, Richard Jaeckal). So does a lecherous novelist who lives next door (Dan O’Herlihy). One night a Hispanic man (Christopher Dark) knocks on Inger’s door, begging for help. Inger is afraid and doesn’t let him in. This leads to the death of the man’s wife. Who killed the wife and is the man out for vengeance against Inger? As a kid, I think I had a crush on Inger Stevens from her fine early 1960’s guest star roles. Inger and the rest of the cast are excellent in this episode and so is the moody direction.
The Millionaire: “The Hub Grimes Story”. Written by Doris Hursley and Frank Hursley. Directed by John Brahm. Chuck Connors as a former football player who is confined to an iron lung due to polio. Michael Anthony gives Connors a million dollar check. Anthony has to put a pen in Connors mouth so he can sign the agreement to get the check. The money can’t get back Connor’s health but he can live better. Someone starts trying to kill Connors. The thriller apsect of the show paled next to how you were forced to identify with Connors condition. I found it a very unsettling show.
May 24, 2008 at 6:44 am
World Premiere: “A Case of Rape”. Written by Robert C. Thompson (”They Shoot Horses Don’t They”). Based on a story by Louis Rudolph. Directed by Boris Sagal. Produced by David Levinson (”The Senator”).
Elizabeth Montgomery was excellent in this harrowing drama. Also in the cast: Rosemary Murphy, William Daniels, Ronny Cox, Cliff Potts and Tom Selleck.
Columbo: “Murder by the Book”. Written by Steven Bochco based on a story by Richard Levinson and William Link.
Directed by Steven Spielberg.
Peter Falk only wanted proven directors during the first season of “Columbo”, terrific pros like Bernard Kowalski, Jack Smight and Norman Lloyd. But after producers Levinson and Link showed Falk part of Spielberg’s “Par for the Course” episode of “The Psychiatrist”, Falk agreed to give Spielberg a chance.
Spielberg’s direction was superb. It looked and sounded far richer than any other of the first season episodes of “Columbo” or any other series for that matter. And Speilberg was able to restrain those two magnificent hams Peter Falk and Jack Cassidy without taking away the fun. And he got fine, fresh work out of supporting players Martin Milner, Rosemary Forsyth and Barbara Colby. Spielberg was already a more facinating director than the great TV pros. Maybe he went over budget or over the alloted time, but if he did, the results were well worth it. I think Spielberg was 25 at the time. This was his last TV episode for many years.
Hong Kong: “Jumping Dragon”. Written by Robert Buckner (”Yankee Doodle Dandy”). Directed by Jus Addis.
Two fisted foreign correspondent Glenn Evans (Rod Taylor) is romancing a lovely blond stewardess (Taina Elg) in hopes of breaking a smuggling story. In the last scene, heavy Jay Novello has the drop on Evans and Elg. Evans makes a move and Novello pushes Elg out of the plane into the nighttime sky. Taylor’s acting is quite good in simultaneously registering disbelief, anger, grief and guilt. A decidedly unhappy ending for an adventure series episode and a very memorable one.
Robert Buckner was credited as the creator of “Hong Kong” but the series was clearly based on the movie “Soldier of Fortune” written by Ernest Gann. “Hong Kong” made Rod Taylor a star even though it only lasted a year. Taylor was dazzling in all facets of the role of Glenn Evans, whether romancing the beautiful guest stars, fighting with the villains or bantering with buddies Lloyd Bochner and Jack Kruschen. The producer was Herbert Hirschman, who had worked with Taylor on “Playhouse 90″.
Hong Kong: “Colonel Cat”. Written by Robert Buckner. Directed by Budd Boetticher (”Seven Men for Now”).
Colonel Cat (Teru Shimada) was the brutal commander of a Japanese POW camp during World War 11. The deadly Cat is a master of the martial arts including kung fu. He may be the most deadly man alive, and he has escaped from prison and is in Hong Kong. The climactic fight scene between Rod Taylor and Colonel Cat is a humdinger, a fight to the death. Taylor uses good old fashioned American boxing against Cat’s devastating martial arts. A beautifuly staged and acted fight.
Roy Huggins was the head of TV production at Fox at the time, and he probably contributed to the quality of “Hong Kong”. Huggins used Boetticher to direct the first three episodes of “Maverick” so he probably brought him in for “Hong Kong”. Boetticher didn’t disappoint him.
Rod Taylor had another memorable fight scene at the end of the movie “Darker Than Amber”. William Smith was his great opponent in that one. Smith says Taylor was the toughest guy he ever fought and he never wants to do it again.
“The Missiles of October”. Written by Stanley Greenberg. Directed by Anthony Page. Produced by Herbert Brodkin.
An excellent docudrama about the Cuban missle crisis. Hal Holbrook was the first choice to play JFK, but he was ill or injured. (Holbrook had worked with the same creative team on “Pueblo”.) But even the great Holbrook might not have been as good a JFK as William Devane was.
May 26, 2008 at 6:36 am
Police Story: “Dangerous Games”. Written by Robert Collins. Directed by John Badham.
James Farentino as undercover cop Charlie Czonka. Czonka has learned to use people on the job to get what he wants, and this carries over to his personal life with his girl friend (Janet Margolin). Czonka knows how to play roles and to be what people want him to be. This hero is one cool customer. Elizabeth Ashley plays a prostitute who Czonka forcibly persuades to help him get a bad guy (Fred Williamson). Ashley and Farentino had once been married so this must have been an interesting shoot. In one touching scene Ashley asks Farentino if she is still attractive. Ashley later gets her face slashed for helping Czonka. Czonka says he is sorry.
Writer Robert Collins went on to direct the episodes he wrote. He excelled at both jobs. His episodes were among the best of the series. “The Wyatt Earp Syndrome” with Cliff Gorman was one of his best efforts.
“Police Story” was a fine drama series, but one thing I hated was the background music. It was horribly obtrusive and overdone. Less would have been a lot more.
Lou Grant: “Venice”. Written by Patti Shea and Harriett Weiss. Directed by Paul Stanley.
Animal sees a drowned woman in Venice who was probably a suicide. He looks into the woman’s past to try to find a motive. A compelling mystery/character study.
It took me a while to warm up to “Lou Grant”. I didn’t like the bright look of the show. To me a newspaper drama set in Los Angeles should have had a rich noir look. I also didn’t like the light weight opening theme
music. But the show quickly sucked me in. I grew to love the characters and the stories. It was perhaps the only show of its time I tried never to miss.
Lou Grant: “Samaritan”. Written by Elliot West. Directed by Paul Leaf.
Ben Piazza as a middle aged reporter who thinks a serial killer from long ago is back at work.
July 25, 2008 at 9:30 am
Buddy
I couldn’t agree with you more about Robert Lansing, he was a terrific, great actor, however he will admit that during that period in his life he was a very bad alcoholic and was difficult, perhaps that was why Quinn Martin decided to write him out.
July 26, 2008 at 1:23 pm
Thanks for the thoughts on Robert Lansing. It seems more actors had serious drinking problems than didn’t. So did many great novelists like Hemingway, Faulkner, and Fitzgerald. I guess it was just part of being a man in the early to mid 20th century. What a waste of talent.
August 10, 2008 at 12:15 pm
Sarge: “A Terminal Case of Vengeance”. Written by Joel Oliansky. Directed by John Badham. Produced by David Levinson. Oliansky, Badham and Levinson had worked together the previous season on “The Senator” with Hal Holbrook. Oliansy and Levinson won Emmys for their work on “The Senator” and Badham recieved a nomination.
This was the first regular episode of “Sarge”, and it appeared Levinson was determined to match his fine work on “The Senator”. Jack Albertson played a man who learns he only has a short time to live. Many years earlier Albertson had been brutally humiliated in front of his young son by a gangster (Roy Poole). Albertson has been brooding about this event since, and he now has a bizarre plan to humiliate the still very dangerous gangster as payback. Sarge tries to find Albertson before it is too late.
Mike Farrell played Alberton’s now grown son. James Wainwright and Barra Grant were other guest stars.
Forty-six year old George Kennedy was in top form as Sarge, a cop turned priest. Peter Falk got most of the attention that year for his amazing performance as Columbo, but Kennedy was in many ways just as cool.
One thing I didn’t like about “Sarge” was the freeze frame ending. Producer David Levinson was trying to give his shows their own distinctive look the way Quinn Martin did. The freeze frame had worked very well on “The Senator”, sometimes even to the point of being haunting. But on “Sarge” it just seemed trite, particulary since each freeze frame was always on a solo George Kennedy. It was probably in Kennedy’s contract. The guest star wasn’t even in the close up.
David Levinson had used no music background on “The Senator”, which was stunningly effective. On “Sarge” David Shire gave some effective, understated backgound music.
Sarge: “The Combatants”. Written by Walter Black. Directed by Walter Doniger. Don Johnson as a sweet, naive boy from the hills of Kentucky who has joined the Marines. Morgan Woodward was extremely scary as the near psychotic drill sergenat who has it in for Johnson. The episode ends with the hulking Sarge and Woodward fighting it out in a burning building. Randolph Mantooth gave a juicy performance in this episode as a cunning company clerk. Lindsay Wagner played Johnson’s girl friend. Tom Selleck was a Marine captain who is asked to help Sarge. Gordon Pinsent and Jeff Morrow were also in the cast.
The Fugitive: “Fear in a Desert City”. Written by Stanford Whitmore. Directed by Walter Grauman. This was the pilot episode in which 32-year old David Janssen created his hugely sympathetic portrayal of Dr. Richard Kimble. There were many great series performances in the 60’s, but perhaps none better than Janssen’s. Film director Paul Schrader once asked Christopher Walken to study old episodes of “The Fugitive” for an upcoming role. Schrader said Janssen was the only actor who could make being passive sexy. Director Walter Grauman probably deserves a lot of credit for helping Janssen to get the character of Kimble up and running. As far as I know, Janssen had never before given such a compelling performance.
The pilot has classy guest stars in Vera Miles, Brian Keith, Harry Townes, and Dabbs Greer. All the DNA for the show was already in place: Kimble’s tremendous decency, Kimble’s desire not to stand out, Kimble’s ability to attract the most magnifent women, and Kimble’s affinity for children. And best of all Kimble wasn’t a two bit hero who would win every fight and laugh in the face of danger. You could actually smell the fear on him. TV series drama is largely about great series performances, and this was one of the best. It was hard not to identify with Richard Kimble.
August 10, 2008 at 12:52 pm
I think I made a mistake on my posting about “The Fugitive”. Paul Schrader advised Wilem Dafoe, not Christopher Walken, to study Janssen’s work. It was for a film called “Light Sleeper” (1992), where Dafoe played a drug dealer who was a former drug addict.I read it in “The Sunday New York Times” entertainment section at the time the movie was released.
November 23, 2008 at 3:35 pm
Hawaii Five-0, “R&R — &R.” Written by Bill Stratton; directed by Leo Penn.
Five-0’s fourth year was spotty at best, as the series had long since settled into formula and was thoroughly dominated by Jack Lord at the expense of his co-stars. But this episode — the season finale, at least broadcast-wise — is a stunner.
The plot, about a Vietnam vet turned serial killer, is stock “Five-0″ fodder on the surface, but it imparts a genuine and surprising sense of loss for the murderer’s victims and their loved ones — and, more pointedly, for the families of American soldiers at that point still dying in Southeast Asia. It’s visceral and quietly damning of the war, and unlike anything the show had done up to that point. Stratton and Penn did some amazing work here, and the cast rises to the occasion.
For what it’s worth, this episode convinced me to keep going with the Hawaii Five-0 DVD sets.
April 12, 2009 at 7:13 am
As an Englishman I find the list fascinating, full of intriguing information about many shows I’ve never, or barely heard of. Just two points. Though you do address the fact that the list only covers American shows the title doesn’t reflect this. It really should be called ‘The 100 Greatest American Television Episodes of All Time’. And secondly, you wrote ‘it’s not that The Prisoner and Ricky Gervais’ The Office aren’t eminently worthy, but they are products of another culture and an altogether different (i.e., non-commercial) set of production circumstances.’ This is not true. The Prisoner was made for the ITV (Independent Television) network in the UK, which is and always has been a commercial operation and therefore directly comparable with the American production system. It is why many ITV shows, especially from the 1960’s, had much longer episode runs than BBC series. The intention being to sell them to America, if not to the networks, then at least to syndication.
June 22, 2009 at 9:53 pm
Kung Fu: “King of the Mountain”. Written by Herman Miller. Directed by Jerry Thorpe.
The first regular episode of the series after the fine pilot movie. Caine is working for a beautiful widow (Lara Parker) who owns a small ranch. The widow has a sensitive young son. Caine has trouble keeping his eyes off the widow. A bounty hunter (John Saxon) has tracked Caine down. The climatic fight between Carradine and Saxon is beautifully handled by the actors, the stunt men, and the director. Carradine and Saxon have a lot of charisma and Parker is stunning. The series story telling is rather innovative, telling two parallel stories, one a flashback of Caine as a boy and the other Caine’s current adventure. The show is also visually interesting, something rare in the 70’s. A nice try for something different.
Bonanza: “The Crucible”. Written by John T. Dugan. Directed by Paul Nickell.
Lee Marvin thinks he is a better man than Pernell Roberts because he came out of nothing. Roberts was born with a silver spoon. The two men are alone in the desert struggling to survive. Who is the stronger man? A good actors duel. Marvin and Roberts had both played the heavy in Budd Boetticher westerns.
The New Breed: “Ladies Man” (1961). Written by Alfred Brenner. Directed by Walter Grauman. If I remember this episode correctly, Robert Redford played a serial rapist. Anne Francis was a victim and Martin Balsam was her husband. Leslie Nielsen played series lead detective Lt. Price Adams, just the kind of role Nielsen would skewer decades later. The subject matter was quite adult for a show that aired at 8:30 pm. The material was handled in a low key, non sensational way. Redford was very effective. Producer Quinn Martin surely would have recognized Redford’s star potential. I wonder if he offered Redford a series. Redford might have made a good Richard Kimble. Redford later made a fine fugitive in the movie “The Chase”. Meta Rosnenberg said she did offer Redford the lead role of the psychiatrist in “The Breaking Point”.