It's the Summer of Amazon Prime!

As a full time student, I know how important it is to stretch a penny so thin you can see through it. Tuition is expensive enough, but add the extra costs of textbooks, parking and other sundries and you have to be pretty crafty if you want to afford other things. You know, like food. I buy most of my books through Amazon because it is super cheap and it makes me feel super smart. But I also know that sometimes you need to spend money to make money. I decided to take advantage of Amazon Prime because I get a lot of stuff and the free shipping allows me to hold onto my holier-than-thou-look-what-I-saved-smugness that I enjoy so much. Amazon Prime is for more than free shipping though, as it has given me access to a whole new avenue of streaming TV movies! Who knew, right? I didn’t until recently, when I was poking around the net and came across the Scarecrow and Mrs. King episodes on AP. After I screamed in utter delight, I started surfing and found not jut a decent amount of TV movies streaming, I found some super crazy cool titles. I came across way more than ten, but here is a list of the films I think might be of interest, and some I plan on watching this summer myself (and some of which I've already watched, of course). You can access the TVMs by clicking on the titles. So simple. So awesome. Enjoy!

 
Death Follows a Psycho: I was gobsmacked when I ran across this TVM, which is actually two episodes of the short-lived series Griff edited together. Griff ran on ABC during the 1973 season and only produced 13 episodes. Griff, played by Lorne Greene is a private eye who used to be a cop. His assistant is played by Ben Murphy and The series has an interesting history. According to Wikipedia, the pilot didn’t actually air until 1975, but the reason is unknown (although I'm sure someone out there can tell me why). There were also two movies compiled from different episodes. Psycho was comprised of the episodes Countdown to Terror and Elephant in the Cage. The editing is clumsy and odd, as you can tell that footage/sound was added after the fact to make the two episodes feel like they existed simultaneously. However, it’s worth seeing for Montalban’s harrowing performance as the lunatic with a bomb strapped to his chest. As far as I know, Griff is fairly rare, making this TVM an ultra-rare TVM treat. See it.

The Defiant Ones: Robert Urich and Carl Weathers team up for the small screen remake of the classic film, which originally starred Tony Curtis and Sidney Poitier. Wowee wow wow. Although it’s been years since I saw the 1958 version, I love the original film. However, I’ve been dying to see this remake, which originally aired on ABC on January 5th, 1986, because the charm factor of both Urich and Weathers can go a long way. The biggest issues critics had with the film was that they felt it didn’t carry the racially charged politics of the first film, and was therefore rendered moot. In 2009, a writer for the Michigan Daily picked The Defiant Ones as one of the top five most unnecessary remakes (along with Psycho and the 2004 TV remake of Spartacus). I dunno. I can think of at least ten movies less interesting as far as remakes go, but of course I haven’t seen this one yet. But I will. Mark my words. I will.

Dixie: Changing Habits: OK, let me get this straight – The premise for Dixie, which originally aired on CBS on February 16th, 1983, is that Suzanne Pleshette is a madame who must go to a convent as part of a rehabilitation sentence (!) and goes up against Mother Superior, who is played by Cloris Leachman?!? Surely, I’ve died and gone to TV movie heaven! Maybe Dixie will show the nuns a trick or two, or maybe old habits die hard… har. This is also on DVD.

Murder of Innocence: I caught this movie by accident when it originally ran on CBS on November 30th, 1993, and was completely swept away with Valerie Bertinelli’s harrowing turn as a young woman dealing with a serious mental disorder. For whatever reason, I was not able to finish the movie and had never had a chance to catch up with it. Well, here it is on AP (and DVD and Hulu!), and it’s very close to the top of my Must See Stream list!

Rebecca: This is a 1962 adaptation of the classic Daphne Du Maurier novel, which had been turned into a fantastic motion picture by the one and only Alfred Hitchcock in 1940. I have not seen this adaptation, but love Joan Hackett and I think it’s pretty damn cool that this live broadcast is still with us. After a brief google search, it seems the biggest gripe is that the story had to be told in under an hour. Otherwise, the critics were kind to this adaptation. NBC’s Theatre ’62 seems to have been short lived, but featured many interesting actors, including Elizabeth Montgomery and Lee Remick, among others and was produced by the man behind Playhouse 90, Fred Coe. As far as I know, this is the only episode from the series that is available. The original airdate was April 8th, 1962.

Smash-Up on Interstate 5: Fantastic 70s tele-drama with a cavalcade of friendly small screen faces, Smash Up is surprisingly moving, and extremely well crafted. The film, which originally aired on ABC on December 3rd, 1976, starts at a major crash site and then backtracks 48 hours to show how everyone arrived at this moment. And not unlike the great theatrical disaster movies of the same decade, you are never quite sure who will make it out alive. Seriously amazing storytelling, this is one to put at the top of your list. Click here for a full review.

Starflight One (aka Starflight: The Plane that Couldn’t Land): At the tail end of the disaster genre, Starflight One comes along to kiss the beloved world of all-star-casts-in-big-time-calamity-flicks goodbye. Starflight, which originally aired on ABC on Febrary 27th, 1983, stars Lee Majors as Captain Cody Briggs, a philandering airplane pilot who must find a way to get his new hypersonic plane back into earth’s orbit! Yes sir, this is one crazy premise for a fun, if silly, made for TV movie. The cast alone makes it worth seeing. Check out Hal Linden, Lauren Hutton, Tess Harper, Ray Milland other great faces in one of the last of great disaster flicks (for more small screen supersonic mayhem - and you know you want it - check out SST: Death Flight).

The Stranger Who Looks Like Me: This is a rare ABC Movie of the Week featuring Meredith Baxter and Beau Bridges as two adoptees looking for their biological parents. The tele-film featured a scene between Baxter and her real life mom Whitney Blake and was well received upon its original release. Director Larry Peerce had just come off two theatrical films that did not meet box office expectations, A Separate Piece and Ash Wednesdays. In an interview he said he asked to make a TV movie because he “needed money to live on.” Stranger, which originally aired on March 6th, 1974, was a success and he returned to, and became a prolific, tele-film director in the 80s and 90s. Stranger also features great early performances from Patrick Duffy and Jocelyn Jones during a groovy rap session in the film.

 

Through Naked Eyes: OK, so I’m not a super huge fan of this movie, which originally aired on ABC on December 11th, 1983, but unless you have the VHS and a VCR to watch it in, this one is a little rare. It’s definitely worth checking out at least once, if only to see the great John Llewellyn Moxey’s take on small screen sex thrillers. David Soul is appropriately creepy as the weird voyeur who finds a beautiful young woman (Pam Dawber) who likes to be looked at, which further provides some interesting small screen scopophillia! Unfortunately, a rash of killings begin to occur in the area and guess which creepy peeper is Suspect #1? I do have a copy of Naked Eyes on VHS, but I plan on giving the movie a second shot this summer on AP, if only to see if the print has been improved upon… Hope is good.

The Women of San Quentin: This NBC tele-film, which originally aired on October 23rd, 1983, features an elite team of female prison guards stationed at one of the most infamous male prisons in America. Stella Stevens, Debbie Allen, Amy Steel and Rosana Desoto make up the group of guards. Apparently this film features self-reflection, female bonding and riots. One critic said the movie made your living room feel like a drive in! Oh yeah, I’m watching this one soon!

And here are some other cool tele-films floating around AP's ether:

Assassin (also on DVD)

The Burning Bed (also on DVD, but tre expensive)

The Last Days of Patton (also on DVD)

The Pioneer Women of Television (this one has Stefanie Powers, Nichelle Nichols, Linda Evans and Angie Dickinson... if that's not must see TV, I don't know what is!)

Return of the Rebels (also on DVD, and click here for my review)

And there's plenty more. So, why don't you stop by, say hi, kick back and stay awhile. 

TV Spot Tuesday and an Announcement: It’s Soapalicious!

 

I wasn’t joking when I said that soap operas were just like their characters – they never truly die. And it looks like All My Children and One Life to Live will be resurrected yet again when they return to television for a limited engagement on Oprah’s OWN cable channel! Beginning July 15th, OWN will air the first 40 episodes of the revived serials. 

I think many soap fans remember how we turned to Oprah when the shows were cancelled and she said financing them was not a feasible option. Well, times and hearts change and it would appear that picking up the shows rather than producing them makes it a much more viable option for OWN. While I was not particularly pleased with Oprah’s original rejection, I have to say this seems like a really smart win-win for both OWN and the shows’ production company Prospect Park. The largest obstacle going against the new shows is that some fans have been extremely resistant when it comes to changing their viewing habits from television to the internet. I hope this draws them in and if they are successful, it is possible some will move over to Hulu or that OWN will continue to air the shows. 

Oh yeah, and if you can't wait for next week, you can stream all the episodes for AMC here and OLTL here. Presto. 

All My Children will air Monday-Thursday at 1 PM. and One Life to Live will air Monday-Thursday at 3 PM.

Yes sir, it looks like love has returned to the afternoon, so I thought it might be fun to post some promos from the 80s. I do hope everyone tunes in to this 10 week run. We are proving to be a force, and while this may seem low on some people’s importance scale, it is imperative to note that when you organize yourself and others around something your are passionate about, you really can make a difference. And that's my pep talk for the day!

So what are you waiting for? Let’s get our soap-promo-groove-on!

Here are some great promos for AMC: 

And here are some more for OLTL: 

And here is a double whammy twofer combo batch of awesomeness: 

Me-TV's Summer of Classic TV Blogathon

As a non-cable-renting-retro-TV-loving gal, I adore Me-TV. It is our home's one stop shop for great entertainment. You can imagine my excitement when the folks at the Classic TV Blog Association and Me-TV joined forces for Me-TV's Summer of Classic TV Blogathon, which is coming your way from July 15th - 19th. I'll be talking about Columbo on the 15th, and posting links to the other content as we go along.

The Classic TV Blog Association is looking for other people to join the podcast and they also sent out this press release, so here are all the deets you need to know:

"The Classic TV Blog Association will host Me-TV's Summer of Classic TV Blogathon on July 15-19. The blogathon will consist of blog posts about TV series currently on the Me-TV schedule. A blogathon post may be: an overview of a TV series; a profile of one of the series' stars; an article on the blogger's favorite episode(s), etc. Any blogger may participate, providing that he or she complies with the family-friendly blogging guidelines of the Classic TV Blog Association.

No more than three bloggers can post about the same TV series. All posts will appear on the blogger's web site. Individuals are responsible for the content of their blog posts, to include the use of any photographs, video clips, etc. A master schedule of all blogathon posts will appear on the Classic TV Blog Association's web site. The number of participating bloggers will be limited to 60 and posting dates will be assigned to participants.

Each post will contain the following verbiage at the beginning or end: "This post is part of Me-TV's Summer of Classic TV Blogathon hosted by the Classic TV Blog Association. Click here to view more posts in this blogathon. You can also click here to learn more about Me-TV and view its summer line-up of classic TV shows."

If you're interested in participating, send an e-mail to classic.tv.blog.assoc@gmail.com with the subject line of "Me-TV Blogathon." Be sure your e-mail includes your name, blog's name and web address, and the title of your post about a TV series on Me-TV's summer schedule.

The cut-off date for accepting blogathon entries will be Friday, July 12."

Oh, and one more thing... 

You can also see who is currently participating, what they are writing about, when they are writing it and where you can find them by clicking on this all-purpose link.

TV Spot Tuesday: Toma

I shouldn’t be too ashamed to admit that I’ve never seen Toma. According to Wikipedia, the short-lived series never ran in syndication. For years, I’ve heard of the infamous show but had no idea it was based on a Newark, NJ cop named David Toma. The real life Toma was some kind of badass! The veteran cop gained fame because he often wore disguises so he could infiltrate various criminal rings and, after thousands of arrests, he enjoyed a 98% conviction rate. Toma and his outlandish cop-style became so famous that ABC decided to create a series based on his larger than life persona, and the ruggedly handsome Tony Musante was cast as the reel-life police officer.

Mr. Toma was proud of the 90 minute pilot movie. He said in an interview, “It’s not the story of a cop. It’s the story of a human being who happens to be a cop. It shows why I’m different.” No shrinking violet, Toma added, “You must have an ego to do what I’ve done and you must believe in yourself. Everybody I work with realizes, ‘why fight him, join him.’ I’m news and everybody wants me… I’ve worked hard and I like the flamboyant life.” Although Toma did work briefly as an actor in the 70s, including landing a small part in the Columbo episode Lovely but Lethal, he said he was committed to working as a police officer, and stated, “It’s in my blood.” Toma is now a public speaker helping people with addiction issues. You can read more about him at his website. And yes, I now totally love him.

Courtesy of Vintage Toledo TV: This has to be one of the strangest lineups ever.

Despite ABC’s desire to renew Toma for a second season, Musante walked away. It was rumored that he only wanted to do one season so he could continue to pursue other acting endeavors, but in an interview Musante attempted to clear up the rumors regarding his willingness to play America's favorite master-of-disguise-copper. Mustante said, “Before I made the pilot, we all agreed that if the pilot was successful, and ABC picked it up, I would do a full series – a weekly hour show for only one year. If ABC wanted to continue, I would do it as a mini—series. I have a contract that says just that. Maybe they figured I didn’t mean what I said.” Apparently, Musante was offered a nice amount of money to return, but still decided to decline. Musante reasoned, “Doing a series is a seven-days-a-week thing, especially when you’re the leading actor. You’re on the set five days, in the studio watching rushes on Saturday, and holding discussions with the writers on Sundays. I want to work in television, but I also want time to do films and theater.” Indeed, Musante has worked steadily on both television and Broadway.

After Musante left, ABC pulled off its greatest undercover assignment by changing Tony Musante into Robert Blake and renaming the series Baretta. The show, which was a midseason replacement, lasted 3 ½ seasons.

Check out the promo for Toma: 

TV Movie Memes!

On a whim I decided to see if I could live in the modern world and make a bunch of memes. Of course, I had to keep it all retro, and I had fun. So, I went crazy and created all of the images below.

Most of the following stills came from TV movies (note: MFTVM reader and all around TVM nut Amyellyn came up with the idea for the "Drink Coffee" Stranger Within meme. Thank you Amy!). I'm not sure who will like them, or even care about them, but that little voice inside kept saying, "Ahhhh," while I was making 'em. Isn't it all about inner peace?

If you like these, please free to share them where ever your heart takes you. All I ask is that you keep the little "MadeForTVMayhem.com" tag on them, so other TV movie luvin' people know where to find me.

What memes do you like?

TV Movie Memes

Bad Ronald:

The Devil's Daughter:

Dark Night of the Scarecrow:

Do Not Fold, Spindle or Mutilate:

Don't Be Afraid of the Dark:

Duel:

Gargoyles #1:

Gargoyles #2:

Revenge:

The Stranger Within #1:

The Stranger Within #2:

This House Possessed #1:

This House Possessed #2:

This House Possessed #3:

TV Show Memes 

Dallas:

Fantasy Island:

Flo from Alice:

Policewoman:

Twiki from Buck Rogers:

Richard Matheson (1926 - 2013)

When it comes to made for TV movies, it’s not often that I’m at a loss for words. But here I am thinking about what I’d like to say about the great Richard Matheson, and I can’t seem to form my thoughts into any sort of coherence. He was a wonderfully talented man who brought so much entertainment to the world as an author and screenwriter. I have indeed read many of his short stories (starting with Born of Man and Woman, which as it turned out was his first published piece), but I know him best for the work he brought to the small screen.

Ad courtesy of Vintage Toledo TV

My first exposure to the greatness of Matheson came in the mid 1970s when, on one balmy Saturday afternoon, I came into the house for lunch. My parents were watching the Afternoon Movie and seemed transfixed by whatever was on the screen. From my point of view, I could only see their faces and the back of the TV. As I walked towards them, I distinctly remember turning around and seeing a woman running hysterically around her apartment. I was probably about seven at the time, and as with any kid that age, I was instantly drawn into the scenario playing out on the screen. I don’t think anyone in the room moved until the credits rolled, and at that point I was near tears. I had no idea what I’d just experienced, but to think that such terror could exist when the sun was shining so brightly outside, brought a new sense of fear into my life (I had a similar experience when I was even younger watching Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark, that I’m only now recalling as I write this), and, needless to say, I loved it!

Eventually, I came to see the entire Trilogy of Terror film, and always loved when it would show up on the local channel. During this time, in the late 1970s, Matheson was all over the television, although I’m sure I had no idea I was watching his work at the time. I have distinct memories of being enthralled by Duel, loving the Martian Chronicles and gasping in terror during William Shatner's major freak out in the Twilight Zone episode Nightmare at 20,000 Feet. I had no idea all of these great stories came from one brilliant mind. In fact, I’m not really sure when I made the connection, but it was probably as a teen when I was beginning to venture into the world of slashers and other late 80s stonewashed horror madness. The fans of those films always brought up Matheson, Dan Curtis, demented fetish dolls, and of course, Kolchak. As I started digging back into my dusty childhood memories, I was astonished by all the Matheson stuff I had seen growing up. And of course, I was still seeing it. From Jaws 3D (I know, what’s up with that one?!?) to Stir of Echoes, I was constantly pleased by the Matheson output (and yes, that means I love Jaws 3D, even if Matheson didn't).

George Grizzard and Barbara Eden in The Stranger Within

In the early 2000s, Matheson spoke to one of my horror writing classes. He was a bit frail, but very kind and signed everything the students brought for him. What I remember most about his talk was that he encouraged us all to avoid saying the word “try.” He said if someone asks you if you are a writer, just tell them you are, never say “I’m trying to be one.” I can’t even imagine how many great writers have surfaced thanks to Matheson’s inspiration.

Aside from his tremendous work as an author, his tele-plays continue to fascinate those interested in the fantastic worlds of “What if?” I know that whenever I’m considering zooming past a large truck on a deserted highway, I think twice about it. Thank you Mr. Matheson for making me afraid to look under my bed, or even out of an airplane window. Thank you for making me believe in vampires, and for making me run away from kids named Bobby. Thank you for opening up my imagination, and for terrifying me to the very core. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Here's a look at some of my favorite Matheson tele-films:

Duel (1971): This certified classic originally aired as an ABC Movie of the Week on November 13th, 1971, and the world didn’t know what hit them. Directed by a then-unknown Steven Spielberg, and written by the master of suspense, Richard Matheson, Duel pits David Mann (Dennis Weaver in top form) against a malevolent truck with an unseen driver. Sometimes referred to as the Jaws of the highway, this film certainly positions man against the unknown, and manages to make the long stretches of road feel about as claustrophobic as a boat that may need to be bigger. This is perfect filmmaking. End of discussion. Duel is on DVD!

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The Night Stalker (1972)): Based on the unpublished manuscript The Kolchak Papers by Jeff Rice, Richard Matheson brought vampires into our homes on January 11th, 1972 in another ABC Movie of the Week. Although Kolchak would go on to become a beloved small screen figure (and inspiration for The X-Files), according to The ABC Movie of the Week Companion, Darren McGavin thought the series was not going in the right direction. Saul Fischer says, “He felt like it should have been The Fugitive with Kolchak chasing the undead, as opposed to the monster of the week format.” However, before the series, the movie was a knockout success. Even by 1980, eight years after the film’s initial release, it was ranked as the 27th highest rated movie to air on television (tying with The Ten Commandments Part One!). This was also the first team up for Matheson and the great Dan Curtis (Curtis produced, and the other small screen great, John Llewellyn Moxey directed). Click on the link to buy the DVD!












The Night Strangler (1973): Dan Curtis replaced John Llewellyn Moxey in the director’s chair for this ABC Movie of the Week, which originally aired on January 16th, 1973. The sequel features Kolchak chasing after a 100-year-old alchemist who is draining women of their blood. According to IMDb: “Director Dan Curtis and screenwriter Richard Matheson had actually planned to do a third Kolchak movie set in NYC. In New York, Kolchak was going to discover that Janos Skorzeny - the vampire from the first film - was not only not dead, but active again! This film was going to complete a planned trilogy of Kolchak movies, entitled The Trilogy of Terror.” What could have been (and what was, considering they eventually made a Trilogy of Terror)! Pick up the Night Strangler on DVD!













Dying Room Only (1973): I was introduced to Dying Room Only pretty late in the game, when a friend (intensely) recommended I see it. He was right, and I couldn’t believe I had gone all those years without laying my eyes on what I consider a pretty perfect little suspense film. What works best about this ABC Movie of the Week that originally aired on September 18th, 1973 (because so many things do work) is Leachman’s everywomen character. I was with her through the entire ordeal, and felt every second of fear and frustration that she encountered. I’m sorry I didn’t see this when I was younger, but Warner Archives has righted a wrong, by making this little film available on DVD for anyone to see. And anyone means everyone, because it needs to be seen. Click on link for my review.

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Scream of the Wolf (1974): I just saw this one last summer as a double feature with Moon of the Wolf. This was another re-teaming of Curtis and Matheson, but to lesser results. The cast is great (and of course, I have to give a special nod to Phil Carey who always makes me smile). The movie, which was yet another ABC Movie of the Week and aired on January 16th, 1974, was based on a short story called The Hunter by David Case. Ultimately it feels like a riff on The Most Dangerous Game, and lacks that oomph that normally made both Curtis and Matheson so fascinating. Still worth a watch for the cast. But Scream of the Wolf on DVD!

The Stranger Within (1974): Wow, the ABC Movie of the Week definitely loves Matheson! The author adapted the tele-play from his own short story, and it’s a doozy (both versions)! Stranger, which originally aired on October 1st, 1974, is no political thriller, but it certainly speaks to many of the most pertinent issues of the era as it taps into all of those motherhood anxieties, plays on the fear of hospitals and subtly comments on Roe v. Wade. It’s also beautifully shot, wonderfully creepy and led with dignity and style by Barbara Eden. It’s must see TV for sure (or at least must see DVD)! Click on title for review.

Trilogy of Terror (1975): It shocks me that I have never written a proper review of this ABC Movie of the Week, which originally aired on March 4th, 1975. Probably because it’s so famous, and so well regarded that I can’t imagine what I could possibly add to the pot. That said, I think the first two segments, Julie and Millicent and Therese probably deserve a little love, and now I’ve inspired myself to get back on the ball. OK, at any rate, this is probably my favorite film on this list, because that doll obviously had a heady effect on Amanda By Night’s love of horror. Go Zuni! Buy Trilogy of Terror on DVD!

Dead of Night (1977): Richard Matheson and Dan Curtis teamed up yet again for another anthology that aired on NBC on March 29th, 1977. Much like Trilogy, it's the final segment that everyone terrifyingly recalls. Bobby is one knock-down drag out short that still gives me nightmares. In some ways it’s damn Zuni-esque, but that’s all I want to say in case you haven’t seen it. Click on title for review. And click here to buy Dead of Night on DVD.

Here are some links that will lead you articles on Matheson’s life and work:

Tor.com has a wealth of info on Matheson. A must read. 
Here's a link to the New York Times obit.
i09 pays tribute to Matheson.
John Kenneth Muir has written a series of articles on Matheson's career. 

I desperately wanted to writing something about The Strange Possession of Mrs. Oliver, but it's been so long since I've seen it, it is only a hazy memory. This one is sitting pretty high on my "To (Re)Watch" pile, so hopefully I can give it some proper love soon.