TV Stuff

Hmmm, even though all six seasons of McMillan and Wife are on DVD, this little two episode disc was released recently. Both episodes, Downshift to Danger and The Game of Survival are from season 4 as well. So, why is this release so cool? Check out the little NBC Mystery Movie title at the top. Call me a Mystery Wheel nerd, but I think that's kind of neat. I'd like to see more releases like this only with different shows put on the disc. Like, how cool would an episode of Cool Million be if it was double featured with McCloud? Ummm, pretty freakin' awesome! (although it should be noted, I'll just take the Cool Million episode!)

Also, I stumbled across this great article with a list of some of the more obscure and short lived TV series from the 70s. Check it out!

Can You Hear the Laughter (1979)

Network: CBS
Original Air Date: September 11th, 1979

Can You Hear the Laughter is based on Peter S. Greenberg’s 1977 Playboy article titled Good Night Sweet Prinze, which was adapted for television by Dalene Young (Dawn: Portrait of a Teenage Runaway) and it concentrates on the comedian’s heavy drug and depression problems. It is true that Prinze became one of the most infamous tragedies in Hollywood history, but he was also a delightful performer with a knack for showcasing stereotypes as inherently goofy, which took some of the sting out of them. Laughter concentrates on Prinze’s fall rather than his rise, and by hanging in the darker realm it does a grand disservice to Prinze, because it makes him seem utterly forgettable through the film’s blandness.

Angustain promotes the movie for People Magazine
The bright spot of Laughter is the cast, who put a lot of heart into their portrayals. Ira Angustain (The White Shadow) is a dead ringer for Prinze whom he idolized. In a 1979 interview with The St. Petersburg Times Angustain said, “When I heard they were going to do a movie about his life, I wanted the part more than anything else.” The California born Mexican American actor even joked with People Magazine in 1979, “Of course I had to learn a New York Puerto Rican accent for the part.” Angustain won the role over such Hollywood big names as Erik Estrada (!) and he does his best, but the character itself is rather one-sided. Randee Heller (SOAP) was especially good as Freddie’s kind secretary Carol, as was actor-turned-director Kevin Hooks who played Freddie's friend Nate.

However, Freddie’s mother, Maria Pruetzel was not pleased with Angustain and when referring to his imitation of Freddie’s standup, she said he was a “disaster.” She also felt the movie delved only into the darkness of Freddie’s life and she told The Calgary Herald that, “he took drugs, he was depressed. But they should have showed him going to his doctor sometimes trying to get help.” Freddie’s parents were actually omitted from the film, which made Maria feel like they were attempting to portray Freddie as “a kid brought up in the streets.” There is very little recreated footage of Chico and the Man as well, and Art Carney’s brother Fred took on the small role of Jack Albertson in the movie.

This painting by Alan Magee accompanied Greenberg's Playboy article
Angustain believed that “Freddie was a complicated man who wasn’t the happy go lucky guy he appeared to be in public,” but I think that somewhere between Greenberg’s nihilistic portrayal and Maria’s loving biography lies the real truth of Freddie’s rise and fall, and that’s the film I’d like to see (to be fair, I have not read Greenberg's article). Perhaps no other Hollywood star has risen so fast and fallen so quickly as Prinze’s and there is an important and moving story just waiting to be told, I just wish Laughter had been the film to tell it.

For further reading, here is a link to an incredible interview with Tony Orlando discussing Prinze's death with People Magazine.

Mork + Mindy = Mearth... WTF?!?

OK, so out of the blue I started to think about Mork and Mindy and the wild decline from hit show to total miss. While I still find many of the episodes after Season One quite entertaining, the whole Mearth thing was... ummm... just weird. Now that I am older, I have been able to put those obtuse thoughts I had as a kid into some kind of words.

Mork laid an egg.

The look on Exidor's face explains it all

Even as a kid watching the fourth season of Mork and Mindy I knew something was not only wrong with Mork’s pregnancy, but also with the concept of an earthling and an alien mating. I can accept an alien wanting to get it on with Pam Dawber… just look at her… but Pam wanting to do it with an E.T. left a strangely uncomfortable feeling inside me. Plus he wore those horrible suspenders… And now I find myself wondering how Mork got Mindy’s DNA (and/or egg!). I mean, what exactly did he snatch (!) from her during those... ummm... copulatory sessions of love? I keep having visions of Mork drinking with his finger. OK, I refuse to even try to wrap my brain around that…

The craziest Easter Egg hunt ever!

Mindy even discusses how she is missing out on the wonder of childbirth and like any awesome sitcom, her trauma is quickly glossed over as Mearth is hatched from a giant egg. Eventually, he gets a creepy pair of overalls and learns to call her "Shoe." How sweet parenting can be.

The fourth season of Mork and Mindy was an undisputed bomb, landing in 60th place! I think pairing Jonathan Winters with Robin Williams was an ingenious bit of casting, but suffice to say Mork not only laid an egg, but so did the show.

No caption needed!
Oh yeah, and Mindy had the best apartment ever.

I have not seen the Curious Case of Benjamin Button, but here is an article explaining why the movie will never be as good as Mork and Mindy.

And is it just me, or does Mearth remind anyone of The Baby? I mean, minus the electric cattle prod.

What I Am Watching Now: Paper Dolls (1984)

Network: ABC
Original Air Dates: September 23rd - December 25th, 1984 It must have been a very sad Christmas back in 1984, since that was the last night the completely over the top night time soap Paper Dolls aired. With only 13 episodes to its name, Paper Dolls took everything about the world of daytime soaps that I love so much and upped the budget (and neon colored clothes) to make it just that much more glamorous.

Hawt!

Currently, I am on episode 10 and will be sad when everything is said and done. This show so far has had everything from kidnapping, miscarriages, teen models, stalkers, John Waite (yes, John "Missing You" Waite is in two episodes!), photos shoots done like short films, designer sweats, lots of hairspray, loan sharks, porn stars, sex, sex and more sex and Dack Rambo! I could just die!

Double hawt!

Paper Dolls' big problem is that there really isn't a bad guy. I mean, Racine (Morgan Fairchild), who owns the modeling agency is a bitch and extremely sarcastic (and afforded the best lines) and her not-so-secret lover Wesley Harper (the awesome Dack Rambo) are slightly evil, but not so horrible they'd start a war in a third world country just to get what they want, which JR did on Dallas. Still, the character of Julia Blake (Brenda Vaccaro) was definitely modeled after Brooke Shield's mom. Her stage mother aggressiveness is pretty incredible, especially when she does it in fur!

Too handsome!

Paper Dolls was originally a made for television movie which aired on May 24th, 1982 and featured an (almost) completely different cast. I have not seen that little slice of television heaven, but it gives me something to work towards!

And check out this awesome promo:

Supertrain: Express to Terror (1979)

Network: NBC
Original Air Date: February 7th, 1979

I sat down and watched the pilot to this infamous flop of a series (reported to be one of the biggest financial disasters for NBC) a couple of weeks ago. What struck me most about the whole thing was how unmemorable any of it was. And now I’m struggling to recall what I saw in the first place.

Concept-wise, Supertrain is gold: A futuristic train, roughly the size of a small city, or rather a boat… a Love Boat presumably… takes off to parts unknown as the kooky crew and passengers find themselves in various hijinky situations. Seriously, how can this premise executed by the normally deft hands of Dan Curtis turn out to be such a misfire? I still can’t figure out why it didn’t work. It’s another one of those things where the elements are all there, but for whatever reason, it just doesn’t gel. Like those tee shirts in the 80s that were supposed to change color based on your body temp, i.e. a mood ring made of cotton. Sure it sounds cool, but basically it’s just changing colors because you’re sweating. Yuck.

I would very much like to dance, dig?


The great Keenan Wynn is Winfield Root, this kind of mad-genius-half-senile-super-millionaire who devises a way to get the train systems back on, uh, track. He builds a large “super train” that is two stories and seems to run the length of forever. The best part of his brilliant invention is that for it to work, all of the America would have to redo their train tracks. But never you mind, the train business is ready to boom again and somehow get this puppy going. On the inside, you would never guess you were in a train and unlike the semi-realness of the Love Boat set, not once do you truly believe this set is in motion.

The crew themselves are so forgettable that I’m wracking my brain right now trying to remember who was who. I can’t even bring to mind any images of the wonderful Robert Alda who played Dr. Dan Lewis. I feel all bad about it too.

Where Supertrain gets really, uh, derailed is with its “all star” cast, who, again, must have looked great on paper, but the majority of them are given such little screen time you have to wonder why anyone bothered. Yes, you’ll see Fred Williamson, George Hamilton, Vicki Lawrence & Stella Stevens and the cumulative amount of time they spend on screen is less than 10 minutes. I mean, why bother?

The main story revolves around the always fun Steve Lawrence who thinks someone is out to kill him. He might be right too. Seems creepy hit man Don Stroud (oh Don, how I love you!) might be out for a little bloodshed (or he might not be…), and his adorable girlfriend Char Fontaine (who owns the greatest disco wardrobe in history) seems more interested in Lawrence than hot old Mr. Stroud. Well, go girl! Don Meredith is Lawrence’s buddy and well, that’s about it.

A woman and her hat terrified!

There is a Gopher inspired subplot with Patrick Collins trying to get laid while the rest of the crew seems to determined to make sure he doesn’t. It’s cute, but not all that funny.

I guess when you call your pilot Express to Terror and then waffle it between a legit mystery and semi-comedy (and aren't very adept at either), you’re kind of risking losing your audience. And while I’m all forgiving and stuff, its obvious most of the attention was paid on the sets and less on the writing.

The Supertrain series bombed but managed to run for about 10 episodes and featured some great actors like Rebecca Balding, Victor Buono, Elaine Joyce and Dennis Dugan (my god, I love that guy!), but ultimately, people weren’t that curious about the monstrous train that could and tuned out.

Express to Terror did see a limited vhs release but the majority of Supertrain has faded into obscurity, and like the train itself, in a big way. However, if you are so inclined (and you certainly should be), this incredible Supertrain website run by a man named Tony Cook should satiate your hunger for this ill-fated series. I wanted to love it. Truly I did, and I’m glad I saw the pilot, but for someone who loves retro television as much as myself, to feel all blah about it makes me feel all blah about it. Ya dig?

Heading off into the sunset... forever