Hi all.

 

Sorry it has been a while since I added a new update to the blog, but I have been fairly bogged down with my regular day job. (Aren't we all) Plus, the current article that I have been working on was original supposed to be an entry in our "Looking at the First Season" feature department. I had selected the first season of THE ROCKFORD FILES and there is so much interesting material in the classic James Garner series I am re-writing this feature to cover a more in depth analysis of the character and the series. I had not watched the series since the early 1980's and, trust me, the series has held up tremendously over the years. Really, THE ROCKFORD FILES is one of the most underrated great televisions series in history. Look for the in depth feature in the upcoming weeks.

here is the third part of the lost (well, it ain't lost no more) pilot for Three's Company. One thing to point out here is the fact that there was a SECOND unaired pilot that was produced prior to the actual series that made it to air. it is a good thing they stuck it out and kept tweaking this series until they got it on the air. After all, it was a great series that remains incredibly popular today even after leaving the airwaves almost 25 years ago. On a side note, why did they cancel the funny "sequel" series THREE'S A CROWD? The show was funny and did well in the ratings. Oh well, that is a subject for another day...

Here is the second part. Ritter is great. The rest of this pilot is pretty awful. Who would have though they would eventually tweak it into one of the funniest and most memorable sitcoms ever? The Incredible Hulk Movie Iron Man Movie Review

Upon reading about the lawsuit surrounding the passing of the lat John Ritter I was looking for footage of the underrated comedian (anyone remember Hooperman?) I discovered this on youtube - the original pilot episode of Three's Company. Try and see if you can count the differences. The chicks are awful but Ritter is hilarious as always.

Yes, I know that one of my bad habits on this blog is writing about the same shows but the way it always works for me is to follow the theme for a while and then move on to another one. I have been re-examining the old prime time soap operas of the 1980's for a while mainly reviewing DALLAS and DYNASTY. Since I have just watched the Season two DVD of Dynasty and the 8^th Season DVD of DALLAS this will be my last mention of these two for a while mainly because these are the most recent volumes of the series and the next season releases won't be for a few months from now…so, we'll start a moratorium on these two series for the foreseeable future. 

Anyways….It is not hard to see why DALLAS went into a decline in the mid-1980's as the 8^th season DVD of DALLAS is abominably boring that it was a true endurance test to get through it. This is stunning as Season 7 was a fantastic season with twists and turns galore. This season featured a very disinteresting series of storylines that were little more of rehashes of prior seasons. Will Cliff outsmart JR? Will Priscilla Presley survive their murder trial? (Jock  did when they first ran this storyline years arlier….and DYNASTY ran the same storyline in 1981) Will Sure Ellen start drinking again? Please. There was not one original idea in this season and the Who Shot Bobby storyline was a disgraceful rehash of Who Shot JR. (When I was a little kid and saw the advertisement for that episode of DALLAS even at a young age I was shocked at how lame of a rehash that was) Worst of all the cliffhanger would set the stage for the deplorable dream sequence season….

The DALLAS shark definitely jumped with this season.

Next time…I will write up the very well done second season of DYNASTY.

 

 

 

 

 

A Team DVDs! Now, how could I have missed the release of these DVD's when they appeared in store shelves. I guess my eyesight must be failing me. A-Team was a program that drew a lot of its popularity from the Rambo action adventure genre that was popular at the time although the A Team always was more comic book oriented than the R Rated films that were popular. The show still was a lot of fun to watch and it was great action adventure entertainment which is sorely missing from TV these days. I do wonder, however, if there is any truth to the old rumors that George Peppard and Mr. T did not get along or if they was just tabloid driven rumors.

My most stunning observation about the pilot episode of The Fall Guy after receiving th DVD? Yes, folks, there was a second verse to the legendary theme song! No, it was no where near as good as the original. Then again, maybe I am being a grouch.

There is a lot I could say about the DVD release of The Fall Guy and I probably will as things come to me as I watch th episodes over the next several days. But the thing that stands out is how important it was that they made him a bounty hunter who didn't carry a gun. This is  a critical point because it  allows the program to follow a pattern of being much more  campy, fun and adventurous as opposed to being a shoot 'em up. Then again, there were a number of complaints against violence on TV at the time with much venom labeled against the forgotten program STRIKE FORCE ao it is understandable that there was a need for a wholesome hero for the 8pm time slot. Any, making Colt Seavers a Saturday Afternoon Chapter Play type star was a smart move and it greatly made the character memorable and the program extremely enjoyable.

On a side note: the Six Million Dollar Man originally carried a gun in the TV movies but that idea was scrapped. What the heck would th Bionic Man need a gun for anyway?

Since I have also received the DVD that covers the first half of the first season of the brilliant 1960's television program ROUTE 66 I thought I would also add the open to that program here as well. Since it may take me a couple days to review the DVDs I thought I would provide the open as a sort of "teaser" for the reviews of the series. Unfortunately, this is not the best quality of clip but it does contain a welcome surprise: Darrin "Kolchak" McGavin's name appears in the credits as a guest star. I am not 100% sure if McGavin appeared in the first season or not but that is besides the point. McGavin always proved to be a welcome addition to any program. And, on a side note, why has ROUTE 66 long been dropped from television syndication. I personally do not remember EVER seeing the reruns pop up on UHF channels in the Philly/NJ area even when a number of rare programs from the 1960's popped up on television. Oh well. At least we have the DVD's now.

Since my DVD's for the first season of the Fall Guy have finally arrived I thought I would post the intro to the program mainly because it was most definitely one of the most memorable opens to a television program in TV history. In a way, this intro had a lot to do with making the program so fondly remembered today. While some of the more "highbrow" critics may scoff at the theme's lyrics the fact remains that it is probably one of the best television themes in history. And Lee Majors sang it himself! now, how can you beat that?