A Christmas Present for Everyone: Robert Urich in Winter Wear in Vega$!

I was hoping to get in my annual holiday post, and thought that there was no better way to celebrate the season than with a gorgeous Robert Urich wearing a bunch of incredible sweaters!

I know, I know. Christmas cheer for everyone!

Don't worry, Dan Tana. We also love you for your mind.

The Vega$ episode Christmas Story originally aired on December 17th, 1980, and places Dan Tana in the middle of small town seasonal mystery and intrigue when he takes his girlfriend Rocket (the lovely Lindsay Bloom) to what looks like a cozy ski resort just outside of Reno, only to be greeted by a young girl claiming to be his daughter! Is he the father? Where is her mother? Who will survive and what will be left of them?

Does it matter, because Urich looks oh-so-heavenly in his array of colorful sweaters, scarves and ski wear. Luckily, this episode of Vega$ is really quite sweet, so if you can get past the drooling over Urich stage, you are in for a treat!

Check out my image gallery, and happy holidays!

Looking for more small screen Christmas offerings? Check out the following:

My Very Merry MeTV Blogathon posts:

Kojak: How Cruel the Frost, How Bright the Stars
Father Dowling Mysteries: A Christmas Mystery

And my reviews of:

A Mouse, a Mystery and Me
An American Christmas Carol
A Very Brady Christmas
Bernard and the Genie
Ebbie
Petticoat Junction: A Cannonball Christmas
Terror on the 40th Floor

A guest review post from Joanna Wilson of Christmas TV History:

The Gathering

I also did a guest review I did for Christmas TV History:

Nestor, The Long Eared Christmas Donkey

Finally, The Made for TV Mayhem Show recorded two holiday podcasts. You can check them out on the website, or via iTunes.

What I'm Watching Now: Emergency!

Sometimes life makes it difficult to commit yourself to even just one film. When I was in the midst of school, even taking 74 minutes out for a Movie of the Week was a daunting task. However, being the bull headed retro TV lover I am, I scaled back and made a compromise. I decided to just fall into the arms of episodic television. Even though these shows ran longer than the modern fare, they were still only 50 minutes apiece. Yet, I continued to struggle. (Look world, I needed a brain break, but I wanted to dive into the retro hues of 70s small screen offerings, can you help a girl out?) And, it was here in the throes of desired escapism that I discovered Emergency!

The first scene from the first episode of Emergency!

It was the perfect match for me. Although a single story tends to string an episode together (usually via funny moments at Station 51), the paramedics often jumped from one isolated rescue to the next. This meant that I could easily watch 20 minutes, get the meat of the story, and then drift off to academic dreamland (you know, where your dream has mathematics symbols floating amongst terminology like “hegemony” and “patriarchy”). All I had to remember from each episode is that Dr. Brackett is one dreamy cat and Dix ain’t taking your flack. It was easy-peasy!

Pitter-patter goes my heart...

After a few shots of the series, I became a full fledged junkie, staying up just a little later every night so I could venture farther and farther into the episodes. Before I knew it, I was wishing I’d gone to school to be a paramedic because I was so intrigued by the number of well organized boxes Johnny and Roy kept on their truck. I was also intrigued by Johnny and Roy who were adorable and heroic to boot! It was meant to be!

Adorbs.

I am ashamed to admit that I was woefully ignorant when it came to this series. I'm not sure why, but despite my love of small screen car accidents, general chaos and things that go boom, Emergency was not registered on my radar. But I've seriously made up for it in the last few months and have seen almost every episode (granted some were only in pieces, but I'm getting there). Recently, Me-TV aired the Emergency finale TVM, and I dug up a bit of trivia for a live tweet. I don’t want to force anyone to scroll through my feed, so here are the highlights of what I learned about the series:

Robert Fuller, who played Dr. Kelly Brackett said no one thought the series would be successful. In an interview he revealed, “Everyone expected us to fold after the first thirteen weeks. But we surprised ‘em!”

Brackett and Dix were an item in the pilot TVM. I think she feels the same about him as I do!

Did they ever! The show ran for seven seasons, and it never veered from its original formula. The chemistry between Johnny Gage (Randolph Mantooth) and Roy DeSoto (Kevin Tighe) was practically intoxicating and came from a very real place. The two actors remain the best of friends and Tighe was even best man at Mantooth’s wedding in the early 2000s. Do I hear, “Awwww?” I’m sure I do.

Emergency-cam!

Emergency co-creator Robert A. Cinader got the idea for a series when he was working on another project and interviewing firemen who seemed to have a lot of medical knowledge. Although we take it for granted now, the job of being a paramedic was a very new vocation in the early 1970s. With Jack Webb behind the production, the series took on that Webb-flair (if you will) of bare-bones procedural fare, and sometimes felt downright life-like. Cinéma vérité - Webb style!

God-cam!

When Emergency first aired on NBC on January 15th, 1972, there were only six paramedic units in the United States. The filmmakers were extremely serious about their programming and filmed in co-operation with the LA Fire Department. Many stories featured throughout the run of the series were based on actual events. This somewhat realistic approach is considered a catalyst for many who would become paramedics.

Zoinks-cam!

The filmmakers also hired Jim Page, an LA County Battalion Chief as their technical editor for the show. Mike Stoker (who played Mike Stoker!) was a real life fireman and a long-standing actor on the series.

The Stoker, yo!

Mike Norell, who played Captain Hank Stanley, is an accomplished TV movie writer. He penned several teleplays, including one of my faves, Three on a Date. Oh my gawd, it's love.

He might be putting out that fire, but he's ignited a different one in my heart!

Gorgeous singer Julie London was the ex-Mrs. Webb, and obviously remained on good terms with him because he invited her and her current hubby, the affable bandleader Bobby Troup to round out the cast. In an interview, London, who travelled a lot, said she embraced the chance to work on a series, stating, “I have three children at home and wanted to be with them instead of being a long distance mother from some hotel in a distant city.” She later commented that Troup, who played Dr. Joe Early (the slowest doctor ever) came to work with her even on days he wasn’t scheduled for filming. More awwws.

He might move a little slow, but Dr. Early rules. It's true.

Exteriors of the firehouse were provided by LA County Fire Department Station 127 in Carson, CA. The station house has since been renamed the Robert A. Cinader Memorial Fire Station. Rampart General was Harbor General Hospital, which is now known as the Harbor UCLA Medical Center in Torrace, CA.

For all your hospital action needs, please visit Rampart General.

As you may have guessed, the series has left a long and wonderful legacy. In 1972 a California Senator named Alan Cranston wrote a letter to Jack Webb stating, “Emergency has dramatized the potential of the paramedic.”

Paging the Gage Brigade... Paging the Gage Brigade...

Did you know that May 15th is Emergency Fest Day in Maryland? Well, it is.

Mantooth has a fan club who call themselves the Gage Brigade!

Malloy and Reed visit Dix at Rampart General.

Although Webb is most famous for his economical productions and deadpan delivery, he had a meta-moment on Emergency:

In the first episode titled The Wedsworth-Townsend Act, Officers Jim Reed (Kent McCord) and Pete Malloy (Martin Milner) from Adam-12 appear as a way to bridge the shows and perhaps attract curious Adam-12 fans. In this episode, the actors are clearly performing as their characters from the beloved series. And in an Adam-12 episode titled Lost and Found the Emergency crew repays the favor by appearing in an episode about a suicide hotline. However, in-between those two episodes, in the Emergency episode Hang Up, Johnny laments having to leave the station house right in the middle of an airing of Adam-12 for a rescue. It’s simply post-modern!

The guys of Station 47.

Also, Emergency’s legacy spread far and wide and into other non-Webb related shows:

The other day I watched a Quincy episode titled Cover Up, which originally aired on February 7th, 1980. In this episode, paramedics from Station 47 are called out to a bowling alley for a potential heart attack. They make their call to Rampart Emergency, but are told the patient seems OK so he can go to a smaller emergency room that is closer. Of course, with Quincy being a coroner and all, you can probably guess that this doesn’t end so well for the patient. Rampart would have been the obvious better choice!

All of that, just to say Emergency is streaming on Netflix and airing weekdays on Me-TV. It’s well worth checking out or rediscovering.

Luv.

Chain of Passion Part 2: Harlequin Adaptations and the Shades of Love Series

Here is part two of my look at Romance TV movies. If you were curious about part one, you can click on this link , or just keep in mind that the mid 80s were all about the revolution of Romance Theatre on VHS and hot kisses in cool rain. OK, you're set! Enjoy!

 ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Showtime took a shot at bringing the passion and moniker of the Harlequin romance books to the small screen in 1986. The first film, Love with the Perfect Stranger, starred Marilu Henner as an American businesswoman who finds love and adventure in Italy. Such a no-brainer. Sign me up!

From Harlequin's At the Midnight Hour
The Harlequin films were a co-production between Harlequin Books, Showtime, Video Ventures and Yorkshire Television, Ltd. Harry Chandler, who was in charge of Showtime’s program development remarked that “romance was something the audience wasn’t getting,” and that it was a “good compliment for male orientated programming, like boxing.” And how!

At the time, Harlequin romance novels accounted for 35% of all book sales! What a great market to tap into and in 1987, Showtime also aired Cloud Waltzing and Dreams Lost, Dreams Found. There have been over a dozen Harlequin movies released to date, some of which aired on Showtime, while the rest were televised in the 90s as Sunday afternoon movies on CBS. Lest we forget that the success of these films is often considered the precursor to our favorite television for women, Lifetime.

Thank. You. Harlequin.

The success of the Romance Theatre distribution and perhaps the release of the Harlequin movies prompted the creation of the Shades of Love Series in 1987. Shades has a somewhat dicey history. Co-producer L/A House, which was run by Kenneth Achity saw great potential in the market. However, every source I checked has a different story on where Shades was originally released. Some say the series was made for television, others say they were produced for the direct to home video market and still there are others who claim some were made for cable TV and also made for video! Geesh! Can anyone clear this up?

I’m a huge Shades of Love fan. This Canadian series of films featured many a hunky and familiar TV face, such as Dack Rambo, Simon MacCorkindale and the swoon-erific Parker Stevenson. The female love interests were lesser-known Canadian actresses. The idea was that the viewers could envision themselves in the female role, and fantasies would ensue! Shades had much higher production values than Romance Theatre, and a bit of nudity which I assume was to entice the boyfriends/husbands who were forced to watch it. Hey, everybody wins, right?

The 80s were a great place to find love in the afternoon, on cable and on video. It’s unfortunate that most of these movies have fallen by the wayside, with the exception of the latter round of Harlequin TV movies, which are mostly available on DVD. Below are my recommendations for the Shades of Love and Harlequin series, should you so desire. And it’s all about desire, right?

Shades of Love:

Make Mine Chartreuse: Yes, this is perhaps the worst titled movie ever, but boy, is it ever romantic and fun! Chartreuse converted me into a complete Joseph Bottoms lover. He plays a romance writer who falls for a pretty business executive (played well by Catherine Colvey). Their careers keep getting in the way of the sexy stuff, but by the end, you know these two are destined for long nights of… um, chartreuse, which is the name of a drink in the movie. OK. It’s still romantic and silly and all those things that make me giggle. I love.

Honorable Mention: I like all of the Shades of Love movies I’ve seen so far, and I’m going to mention two more.  

Champagne for Two: This was the first movie in the Shades series I saw and it is just the cutest movie ever (yes, that’s my critical review of it). It’s sweet, the leading lady is great and the love interest (Nicholas Campbell) is pretty damn sexy. See it!

The Rose Café: Full disclosure: It’s really not my favorite in the series, but it does feature Parker Stevenson as the perfect leading man. The lead actress (Linda Smith) is a bit grating, but Parker smoothes the whole thing out with his luscious locks and gorgeous blue eyes. I’ve seen this one probably more than the others in the series because I just can’t get enough of Mr. Stevenson. And I’m thinking I need to give it another spin soon!

Harlequin: I haven’t seen as many of these, so I’m only able to recommend one, but it’s great.

Change of Place: This piece of fluffy goodness is about a top model that has to go into rehab so she asks her mousey art historian twin sister to replace her! No joke. Rick Springfield owns the fashion house she works for, and love blooms amongst the shoulder pads and stonewashed jeans. I bought this movie on a whim because I adore Rick, and I was happily pleased with it. The lead actress, Andrea Roth is gorgeous and talented and I was rooting for her the whole way.

And just cuz it’s my blog, here are some Danielle Steel adaptation recommendations:

Daddy: Yes, I know this is not the fan favorite of Steel’s wonderful tele-films, but it’s the one I watch the most. Patrick Duffy is fantastic as the happy family man who has his life torn apart when his cold-hearted wife (Kate Mulgrew playing one of the most dislikable characters I have ever come across) leaves him. He ends up meeting the gorgeous Lynda Carter, and the story is just so darn engaging and well done. It’s a perfect rainy afternoon movie, and one I love with all my heart.

Secrets: I can’t say enough good things about this one. It’s pretty over the top, featuring a story about a nighttime soap where the actors’ lives are just as melodramatic as their characters. This is a fast and fun flick. And I have to give a nod to Stephanie Beacham who appears in both this and A Change of Place. I so want to be her!
 

Five Reasons You Should be Watching General Hospital

As some of you may know, I was a big One Life to Live fan, but my fandom was cut short when the suits at ABC cancelled my story. I migrated over to General Hospital because it was announced that some of the OLTL crew was heading to Port Charles. I used to watch GH back in the 80s and a little into the 90s, so I was excited to see who had survived and what was left of the actors from their heyday. I’ll be honest, I thought this current mobster ridden version of GH was a mess. When I started watching it earlier this year, the series was dealing with the Woman in White and some guy with a fedora. The pacing and dialog was hackneyed. I know it’s hard getting into a show like GH when it’s been on for years and has a ton of history, but I’m not going to lie - It was bad.

Fast-forward 10 months: Now I am knee deep in romance and suspense and could not be happier with the show. It recently moved to a new time slot, inviting much speculation about its future. Actually, there’s been a lot of gossip going ‘round about the future of daytime dramas in general. It looks dim guys, but let me tell you that there is still plenty of great entertainment to be had. And here are five reasons why you should check out GH:

The One Life to Live Characters are awesome!

OK, I’m biased on this one, and it’s actually my number one reason to tune in. However, I am not deaf to the negative reaction the migration has caused among some die-hard GH viewers. In some ways I get it, maybe I’d have my own nose out of joint if the same thing had been done to OLTL. But in the end, I think this addition only makes the show more fun, and it gives us fans a nod that we have not been forgotten. That said, the three main recurring characters from OLTL: Starr, McBain and the delicious Todd Manning have been wonderful additions to Port Chuck. There’s been a backlash regarding McBain cheating on Natalie, but Soaps in Depth recently featured an article on yo-yo relationships and highlighted the couple’s tumultuous history. I think sometimes we want to remember certain couples as perfect - and don’t get me wrong, when Vicki and Clint separated, I was devastated, but soap life goes on. I grew to love every single one of Vicki’s husbands (Sloane, I still miss you). I do like McBain and Sam together and I think it will be nice to watch a new relationship blossom.

That said, Todd is the real standout on the show. Roger Howarth has some insanely wonderful comic timing, and I’m glued to my seat every time he's is on screen. Even though I’m not a huge Carly nut, I have to admit that they make an interesting potential couple. I’ll be tuning in tomorrow for sure!

The mobster stuff isn’t as overwhelming as it used to be!

I heard through the sudsy grapevine that GH survived the ax because the ex President of ABC Daytime, Brian Frons had a serious hard-on for mobsters. But GH was never The Sopranos. It has some great hunky bad guys, but a mob war turned some people away. Many of those gangsters remain amongst the locals, but they are more focused on other issues. I’m not quite sure how you rid Port Charles of the mob clans, because characters like Sonny and Johnny remain extremely popular (while also being just as unpopular). Steve Burton who has played Jason Quatermaine/Morgan recently left the show after spending over 20 years as that guy with the anime hair and a black tee shirt. I know he was a very popular character, but this will probably level the mobster stuff a bit more. I think they’ve done well to give Johnny a guilty conscience and in the end this will diffuse a lot of the gunplay. If I could have suggested one thing regarding these changes it would have been to focus on the Quatermaines. And they did! Monica and Tracy are awesome and beloved characters who have been enjoying some well deserved screen time.

On a side note, I was extremely sad to read of John Ingle’s passing. Ingle had played the loveable curmudgeon Edward Quartermaine since 1993. The show wrote in the death of his character and featured a voice over from the late actor, as well as one from Anna Lee, the actress who played his wife Lila. Lee died in 2004, so it was pretty amazing how they worked her into the episode. Kleenex, please!

The stories are insane and insanely gripping!

It might be impossible for me to actually tell you everything that’s been going on since February because sooooo much has happened. From Robin’s fake death to Anna and Luke sharing some bed time, to the whole Kate/Connie story to Patrick’s drug abuse to learning the surprising truth about Lisa Niles’ death to Jerry Jacks poisoning the town’s water supply, to the awesome latex Duke mask to the sweet and romantic Ellie/Spinelli/Maxie triangle, most of the stories have kept my head appropriately spinning at the end of every episode. The stories are fantastic and rolled out at lightening speed. The way the Jerry Jacks story unfolded was a work of complete daytime artistry. I don’t have clever words to describe the tremendous leaps and bounds the show has grown, so I'll just say it is fantastic.

The acting is great!

OK, I know. Soaps are famous for running the continuum of great to horrible acting. Even actors who normally knock it out of the park have bad days, especially now with the new one-take policy that seems so popular on these daytime shows. So I just want to focus on one actor in particular who has done an incredible job with his storyline. Jason Thompson plays Patrick Drake and recently he lost his wife (who isn’t really dead) and then became addicted to drugs (which he beat fairly easily) and has now become a crush for a sweet new character. Since I just stepped into Port Charles only earlier this year, I found that Patrick's story was the one that instantly captivated me. Perhaps some of that is due to the fact that I’m still quite familiar with Robin Scorpio, who was his wife, but I think most of it boils down to Thompson’s performance. Also worth noting is that he plays Noah Drake’s son. Noah was played by Rick Springfield and I do admit, I see a nice resemblance between the two. I love the Drake history on the show and I’m pleased they are rolling out Patrick’s story slowly, so we can feel the process of grief and recovery along with him. That’s what daytime is all about really. If it can’t get to the heart of our deepest emotions (good and bad), then it’s a failed experiment, but Thompson makes the whole thing a success.

And as a sidenote: Todd is hilarious! Wait, I think I already said that. He's also adorable, in case you were wondering. 

Soap Opera Digest named General Hospital as the Most Improved Soap!

And they aren’t the only ones heaping praise on the once beleaguered sudser (I loved writing that sentence). The Hufington Post and even Hollywood Reporter have written some very encouraging things about the series, and it continues to rise in the ratings.

I would be fooling myself if I thought the soap genre had an infinite lifespan. These are dark days. Soaps are expensive and don’t garner the huge numbers they used to. However, that does not mean that we have to go gently into that good night. Indeed, we should be kicking and screaming the entire way. There are still a few million passionate fans out there and this has been an interesting time to have something called the interwebs. I’ve been watching some wild dissension among fans, mostly because we are in a panic. Sometimes the knee jerk reactions from fans are even more dramatic than the soaps themselves! However, aside from those dark bits of negativity, which the net is unfortunately prone to, the internet is also a great way to have your voice heard. I have actually emailed everyone from network execs to advertisers in an effort to let them know how important the genre is to me. If you like soaps, you should take a shot on one of the four remaining shows. We have hit a high with stories, acting and pacing. This is a great time to rediscover love in the afternoon!

Update: And as luck would have it, One Life to Live and All My Children may, like so many characters from their shows, rise from the dead. Check out this breaking news article about the shows going online here!

Jacqueline Susann's Valley of the Dolls (1981)

Network:CBS
Original Air Dates: October 19th - 20th, 1981

Although Catherine Hicks proclaimed she didn’t want to do anymore television after her well-received performance as Marilyn Monroe in Marilyn: The Untold Story, the actress returned to the small screen just one year later to take on all the soapy goodness of The Valley of the Dolls. In an interview, Catherine revealed that she modeled her version of Anne Welles (originally played by the gorgeous Barbara Parkins) after Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz. You see, Hollywood is a lot like Oz with its color and dreams and drugs… or something like that.

Produced by Jacqueline Susann’s widower, Irving Mansfield, he called this remake a “labor of love,” and it also marked his return as a producer (he’d quit the business to become his wife’s press agent). Mansfield fell under the scrutiny of Reverend Donald Wildmon who ran the Coalition for Better Television and threatened a boycott of the movie. At the time the book had sold more than 27 million copies, and CBS seemed unfazed by dedicating five hours of their time to this objectionable content, er, I mean programming. As far as I know, It aired in its intended form, objectionable content and all.

In the remake, Anne is now an entertainment lawyer, young, hungry and well on her way to success. Her roommate is the spunky Neely O’Hara (Lisa Hartman) who’s got the pipes for a singing career but lacks confidence unless it comes out of a bottle of alcohol or pills. And there’s Jennifer North (Veronica Hamel) who was 37 at the time of filming. I only mention this because Sharon Tate, who played Jennifer in the original, was just 25 and much closer to a realistic modeling age. That said, Hamel is amazing in the role, and the best part of the movie. She has a lot of problems, and has to deal with several hefty issues such as abortion and breast cancer.

The trio are varied in their connections to each other. Jennifer is more on the outskirts and seems to form her own movie (the part in France is ridiculously awesome), but Neely and Anne are extremely close. And then there’s Lyon Burke (David Birney) who is a successful director and a major seducer. He’s also pretentious as all get out, but since I think Birney is sex-on-a-stick, I let my few quibbles go. I should mention that Bert Convy has a smaller role, but the idea of him and Birney in the same room was enough to make me squeal in delight. Convy is fantastic as Tony Polar the famous crooner who doesn’t know he has a degenerative mental disease. And hunky Gary Collins shows up for awhile as well. However, the true stud of Dolls is James Coburn who plays Henry Bellamy, a big time attorney whom Anne works for. He’s wonderful, charismatic and definitely the best catch in the movie (he would have been second best if Tony didn’t have dementia).

Someone on IMDb called this movie “Valley of the Dulls,” and unfortunately, I would have to agree. While I enjoyed the movie – of course I’d enjoy it, look at the cast – it definitely lacks the camp appeal that made the first film so damn fabulous. Of course, it’s been eons since I’ve seen the original movie, so maybe I’m remembering it wrong, but I recall O’Hara’s big catfight with Helen Lawson as being much more fun (the gorgeous Jean Simmons plays Helen in the remake - with perhaps too much dignity). In the remake that scene just sort of is. Why don’t you watch ‘em and compare for yourself by clicking on this link.

The film is most appealing for its costumes and the game cast who do their best to keep things realistically dramatic. And as I mentioned, Hamel is a knockout as Jennifer. Her story is nothing short of tragic, and the actress did a wonderful job making her ride seem so very painful. She also shares a short scene with the late, great David Hess who plays a French artist. I had to sigh when I saw him, since he passed away just a few months ago. Looking back, my general reaction was to sigh at the loss of so many wonderful actors (Coburn, Convy, Simmons), while also lamenting the missed potential of some grand absurdities. It should also be mentioned that the dolls in the title are a little lacking here as well. Neely indulges big time, but in the just-shy-of-a-four-hour-running-length, it’s simply not enough.

Although Dolls aired it’s second night’s episode against the World Series’ opening game, the mini-series did alright in the ratings, scoring a spot at #6 for the first part (tying with Dukes of Hazzard!) and falling to #20 on the next night. Yes, that’s a big drop, but it did still make the top twenty. And yes, that’s me making excuses.