TV Spot Tuesday: Just Me and You (1978)

Road trip, people!

It never occurred to me that Louise Lasser and Charles Grodin might be two great tastes that taste great together, but then I stumbled across the promo for the NBC tele-film Just Me and You. This quirky comedy which originally aired on May 22nd, 1978 appears to be a bit of a Planes, Trains and Automobiles precursor. According to Arvin H. Marill's Movies Made for Television, the film is a "comedy-drama about a slightly daffy New Yorker with a compulsion to talk who shares a cross-country drive with a down-to-earth salesman."

I will admit that I have not dipped my toes too deeply into the world of Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman, but I've been a big fan of Lasser ever since I caught Isn't it Shocking (aka one of my favorite made for TV movies of all time) years ago. Her career has been one that has always intrigued me. Aside from Shocking and Mary Hartman, Louise has appeared in everything from the splat-tastic horror film Blood Rage (aka Nightmare at Shadow Woods) to the camp classic Frankenhooker to the quirky and disturbed Todd Solondz tragicomedy Happiness. She has always charmed me with her offbeat beauty and great comedic timing. And well, Grodin is just adorable. But I wonder, is it bad that the thing I remember him best for is his cameo as himself on Laverne and Shirley? Hey, that's how I roll.

I was doubly pleased when I discovered that Lasser also wrote the screenplay for Just Me and You. She said it was a way to work out some personal angst. In an interview Lasser remarked, "I'd like to feel, uh... less anxious,,, all the time about what I'm gonna do this day or this night or this holiday or this Sunday. I don't want to worry about that."

She began her script while Mary Hartman was in production, and resumed writing after going into seclusion when the series was cancelled. She decided that Just Me and You should be her next project despite the fact that her original script was nothing more than 300 pages of conversation. The writing was cathartic and she found that while the character Jane, whom Lasser played in the tele-film, started off very flighty, the actress found that when she calmed down, the character also also took a chill pill. She gave the original script to an executive producer at NBC named Deanne Barkley, and she encourage Louise to work on it. Critics found that final product to be "warm," "enchanting," and most importantly, "funny."

Just Me and You was the 1st of what was to be a three picture deal with NBC. However, this remains the only produced script that is solely Louise's (in 1966 she co-wrote What's Up, Tiger Lily). That seems really sad to me. This film was obviously a labor of love, and I would have liked to have seen more scripts by this charming and lovable actress. Just Me and You did enjoy a VHS release.

Here is the promo spot for Just You and Me: 

Marcia and Jan Brady vs. Frank Hardy

Picture it. February 6th, 1981 just happened to fall on a cold Friday, and all you've got that night to keep you warm is the prime time television schedule. In fact, just to set the mood, here's a look at the general weather patterns on that day:

Who'd want to go out in that? Looks like you've got some serious viewing decisions to make. The ABC Friday Night Movie was premiering This House Possessed, and NBC was bringing the world the long awaited Brady Bunch reunion, featuring  Jan and Marcia tying the knot in The Brady Girls Get Married. Also on CBS we had the much beloved Friday night institutions The Incredible Hulk, The Dukes of Hazzard and Dallas.

Who knew that February 6th, 1981 was a night full of such excruciating choices? Although I consider myself a fairly stalwart Brady Bunch fan, I know for certain Parker Stevenson got all my love that night. I have distinct memories of not just watching House but of also waiting for the premiere, so I could continue my undying love for all things Frank Hardy (and to be honest, I'm not even sure the schedule over at CBS even tempted me on this night, that's how much I love my Bradys and possessed houses). House is still my favorite made for TV movie of all time. Eventually, I got around to the pilot and subsequent series for The Brady Brides, and loved it. I'd be lying if I said I didn't have a crush on Jan's pragmatic beau, Philip. But he would never win in a death match against Parker. No one would.

 So, which movie did you choose?

Did you know that Made for TV Mayhem, along with several other bloggers, dedicated a week of love to This House Possessed?

Must See Streaming TV of the Week: Quincy - Hot Ice

As you probably know, I am a big fan of Quincy M.E. But I didn't start out that way. My mother tortured me with the series back in the 1970s, and I remember thinking it was mostly worth watching for Sam, who I thought was pretty cute (and still do). But overall, I tended to be cold on medical thrillers, preferring either fast cars (Dukes of Hazzard) or free love on the high seas (obviously, Love Boat). In 2009, I rediscovered the series when it ran on the local station and I devoured every single episode. I really like the later seasons where Quincy tackles the hippest and most relevant social causes of the day (you can read my take on some of those episodes here). Quincy is currently streaming on Netflix and so I have returned to my favorite chronically angry pathologist for one more dose. What’s so odd is that I don’t recall seeing any of the episodes I’ve been watching online. Was my local channel holding out?

No need to point out how awesome you are Quincy. I already knew!

Hot Ice was the 5th episode of season 5, and it originally aired on October 18th, 1979. It is really two episodes mashed together to make one of the most engaging and fast paced Quincys I can remember seeing. The first half is told with panache, allowing Klugman to showcase his comedic charms.

Romance blooms at the 1st Annual Miss Coroner Beauty Pageant

The story is simple but insane: A jewel heist goes awry, leaving one man dead, and full of diamonds! During the autopsy Quincy and Sam uncover the precious jewels and the government enlists the forensic genius to aid them in a sting operation. Luckily, this coincides with the Miss Coroner Pageant (!) in Vegas and Quincy is soon elected as a judge (with the help of the government). After a couple of scary run-ins with the mob, our favorite pathologist decides that stress has gotten the best of him, but the exhaustion he’s experiencing has a lot more to do with a deadly poison someone has injected him with! No kidding, folks. So now, the clock is ticking and Quincy is determined to solve his own murder!

Everyone is looking for clues, but I'm looking at Sam

 If this isn’t Must See TV, I have no idea what is! And I’d be terrified to find out! Netflix is currently streaming most of the Quincy episodes and you can watch Hot Ice here.

Here is a peek at Hot Ice:  

Zombies on parade

The face anyone would make if they pulled diamonds out of a corpse!

Best show in Vegas. Ever. 

The stethoscopes will get your hearts racing at this pageant! 

A very intense game of Drop the Diamond in a Packet

Not the love triangle I was expecting!

A subliminal message that the government is all washed up?

I know he's just been poisoned, but this is the best Quincy has ever looked!

Asten kicks major ass in this episode!

Does this not look like the end of every Magnum P.I. episode?

TV Spot Tuesday Twofer: Suzanne Pleshette and Gil Gerard!

I am surprised and somewhat shocked that I had no idea that Suzanne Pleshette and Gil Gerard made two TV movies together – and then appeared yet again in the short lived series Nightingales! Where have I been?

I have loved Help Wanted: Male since I first laid eyes on it. Aside from Pleshette and Gerard, Harold Gould and Bert Convy also appear in this adorable comedy about a sharp and successful businesswoman who wants to have a child. Airing on CBS on January 16th, 1982, Help Wanted seeks to speak to that blurred lined of the then forming feminist ideology, where some women weren’t sure if having a career meant giving up a family. Pleshette is beyond sophisticated but is also caught up in the same dilemma that many women tackled during the era. Of course, choosing between Gerard and Convy is a nice perk, and this romantic comedy tends to speak more to the heart and only slightly to feminism. Take that as you will.

Help Wanted was a booming success, garnering 47.7 in the ratings for the evening, and coming in at the number 3 in the Nielsen ratings for the week!

Here is the promo for Help Wanted: Male:


For Love or Money was another CBS TV movie that paired Gerard and Pleshette together. It originally aired on November 20th, 1984, and I have not seen it, but it looks like a lot of fun. The premise revolves around a television producer (Mary Kay Place) who comes up with an idea for a game show: Find two extremely compatible people (Pleshette and Gerard) and offer them the choice of marriage or a huge amount of money.

This seems to be both a spoof of game shows and a parody of modern romance. Based on the chemistry exuded from Ms. Pleshette and Gerard in Help Wanted, I think we can assume that their touch of gold most likely applies to For Love or Money as well. Although it doesn’t seem to have garnered the same positive reviews of Help Wanted, anything with Jamie Farr as a sleazy game show host must be worth seeing!

Here is the promo for For Love or Money:


And finally, Gerard and Pleshette teamed up for the series Nightingales! Nightingales also starred Barry Newman who appeared with Pleshette in one of my all time favorite TV movies, Fantasies (you can read my reviews here and here). I’m not sure where Gerard fits into the series, but I think he would make for a nice triangle with Newman and Pleshette! Again, I have yet to see this show, but as a bonus here is the opening credit sequence below.


I have also written about some Nightingales trivia, which you can read here!

Here is a newspaper promo for Fantasies that doesn't necessarily apply to this post but I wanted to post it, so there!

TV Spot Tuesday! Night Cries (1978)

 

Network: ABC

Original Air Date: January 29th, 1978

Susan St. James plays Jeannie Haskins, a grade school teacher who loses her baby almost immediately after it’s born. She attempts to return to her everyday life, but is haunted by nightmares of a house, a child and a crying baby. Her husband, Mitch (Michael Parks) sends her to a dream psychoanalyst named Dr. Whelan (William Conrad), and he interprets her imaginings as a message from the past. However, Jeannie insists that the crying in her visions is coming from her baby who is calling for help (how creepy is that?). Eventually she comes to find that her dreams carry two very separate but equally disturbing messages.

Yikes!

I was surprised to see Night Cries was written by Brian Taggert, the man behind Visiting Hours, V and The Spell (among many others). I was his student in the early 2000s when I took a class on horror screenwriting at the UCLA Extension program (I got an A, by the way!). He talked a lot about his films, but I don’t recall hearing him mention Night Cries. Of course that was over ten years ago, but unfortunately, I think my Awesome Radar must have been at the shop, because if I had connected to him to this film, I’m sure I would have asked about a gazillion questions!

This is pretty much how I looked in Brian Taggert's awesome class

What I love about this movie is that it pushes against the authoritarian figures that seem intent on writing Jeannie off as a hysterical woman; instead the film backs her, and speaks to female intuition. Since I have absolutely no maternal instincts, I think Taggert did a commendable job of making me feel for Jeannie and her connection to the baby. However, at the same time, I also found it frustrating that in the end, the authority figures were, to some degree, correct on some of their assumptions. Because Night Cries is really two stories about one woman, the film can veer from the Freudian theory it plays with, as if it is setting out to debunk it, yet it sill confirms its importance later. Half way into the movie I thought it was going to be really progressive, but then it ends up defining Jeannie through her marriage and motherhood. I have to remember this movie was made in the 1970s and strong female figures were sometimes given to us in baby steps.

Calling Dr. Phallic, uh, I mean Freud!

While Night Cries doesn’t quite reach the expectations I had set for it, it does a commendable job of attempting to give us that strong, if problematic, female lead. Susan is fantastic as Jeannie. Casting the quirky actress in a very non-quirky role was interesting, to say the least. At the time she made Night Cries, she was probably best known as Sally McMillan on McMillan and Wife, and the actress used this tele-film to show a more serious side. Aside from proving her child is alive, she must continue to work as a teacher with other baby obsessed co-workers (maddeningly obsessed too... ugh), confront her husband when she thinks he’s cheating, and she has to constantly push against Whelan who refuses to believe her dreams are more than repressed memories. At every turn, this “hysterical” woman has to face extremely difficult situations, and Susan does it with style and grace. By the end of the film, I was totally Team Jeannie!

Bad dreams...

Night Cries comes highly recommended if you like your TV movies filled with creepy dreams and an overload of atmosphere... and who doesn't? Here is the original TV promo spot:

Fire! (1977)

Network: NBC
Original Air Date: May 7th, 1977

Irwin Allen brought disaster movies to both the big and small screen. He produced Fire in between The Poseidon Adventure and The Swarm, along with several other tele-film treats (including Flood). This is so not like me, but I do prefer his theatricals to his television fare. It’s not that Fire is a bad movie really, but it is easy to lose patience with its somnolent pacing and feels just a tad too long.

Fire starts with a bunch of convicts working in the forest. One of them (Neville Brand) starts a somewhat minor blaze, and the rest of the chain gang attempt to extinguish it. However, it reignites and the inferno heads towards the sleepy community of Silverton. The melodrama rages just as strongly in this village as we see that the burning fires are both literal and metaphorical. Alex (Alex Cord) and Peggy (Patty Duke) are reluctantly heading towards a divorce while Sam (Earnest Borgnine, who replaced Fred MacMurray) and Martha (Vera Miles) are heading towards potential coupledom and Harriet (Donna Mills) has her trajectory set towards total hysteria when one of her grade school students is lost in the fiery forest!

While I do love a good soap, and I certainly enjoy watching things go up in flames, the romance stories simply aren’t that captivating. The section of the film dedicated to a convict named Frank (Erik Estrada) attempting to escape so he can prove his innocence leads nowhere, and that desperate search for a child named Judy (Michelle Stacy) is anti-climatic at best.

Although the stories are bare and mostly uninvolving, seeing this cavalcade of small screen actor awesomeness made up for a lot of Fire’s downfalls. The film, which was shot at Burbank Studios and in Oregon, cost $2.7 million, making it the most expensive TVM at the time of its production. The crew took advantage of slash burnings in Oregon and used them in their footage. So, what Fire does have, obviously, is lots and lots of fire, and true to Allen’s slick sense of suspense, you are never sure who is going to get out alive. There was one death in the film that had me gasping, and isn’t that why we are drawn to the disaster genre? These films feature large scale calamities with all the glamour of any other major film but are also all the more traumatic through the unknown tragedies that may lie ahead! We are a complicated species!

Irwin Allen liked to think big with his small screen disasters and made a deal with Warner Bros. to release his tele-films overseas theatrically. In an interview Allen joked, “I created a marriage between Warner Bros. International and the network. To the profit of both and to myself, of course.” For Fire and Flood, the network and the studio put up the money, which made the films half as expensive for both companies. Allen liked that his films were about big visuals, and could translate to any audience. He said, “They can almost be seen without dialogue. They are action films with basic human appeal.” There is a reason this guy was nicknamed the Master of Disaster!

The 120-minute film was re-edited into a 90-minute feature and aired as a twin bill alongside Flood, on June 11th, 1978. It was nicknamed TV’s first disaster double feature! And if you'd like to reenact this doubleheader, you can buy both Flood and Fire on DVD through Warner Archive!

The theatrical poster for Fire

A Radio Show about TV Movies!

Sorry for the late notice, but I just heard that the radio series, TV Confidential is going to be discussing TV movies tonight! Yes, yes, and YES!

From their website:

"Joseph Dougherty and Dan Farren will join us in our first hour for a roundtable discussion on the made for TV movie — a staple of television for more than four decades (particularly during the era of The ABC Movie of the Week) that has all but disappeared from network TV in recent years. We’ll talk about that, but we’ll also take a look at some of the great Movies of the Week from the 1970s that have stayed with us for one reason or another." 

Check out the rest of the deets here. TV Confidential airs in several cities and can also be accessed through iTunes, so don't forget to tune in!

And thank you Dominic for bringing this to my attention! Always love the TV movie love!

Update (6/11/2013): TV Confidential posted links to their discussion, and you can access their show by clicking either here, here or here (if you're using the iTunes option, look for the show that is labeled with the date 5/28/13). Enjoy!

TV Spot Tuesday: Bionic Showdown (1989)

You know what they say, you can't keep a good robot down.

Er, or something like that!

I love the Bionic reunion movies, and remember Bionic Showdown fairly well (not small feat, considering I haven't seen it about 15 years!). It stands out because the powers that be cast a very young and adorable Sandra Bullock as a handicapped woman fitted with the latest state of the art bionic technology. A series featuring Bullock was planned but sadly never came to be. Can you image what her bionic powers could have done to that bus in Speed? The mind boggles.

Bionic Showdown was the second of three reunion movies. The first, titled The Return of the Six Million Dollar Man and the Bionic Woman came out in 1987, followed by this showdown, and then followed again with Bionic Breakdown in 1994! That's a whole lot of electromechanical parts!

While Bullock is as cute as a button, I think the failure to get a new series off the ground only proves that you can make things all shiny and tech-y, but that one-of-a-kind-chemistry that both Majors and Wagner possessed cannot be replaced. On their separate shows they were fantastic, but together... Oh yes!

Bionic Showdown premiered on April 30th, 1989 on NBC, and it came in #11 on the Neilsen ratings for the week. If you are going to admit to your shortcomings in life on a blog, I have to confess that I did not see this airing. I caught it a few years later on a Bionic Movie Marathon that the local station was hosting (gawd, I miss local TV). Honestly, that's probably the only way to watch these crazy silly fun flicks!

 Here are two promos: