What did you watch this week in classic TV on DVD(or Blu)? (2 Viewers)

[The 1960's]

The Twilight Zone (1959-1964)

S05E15 The Long Morrow (Jan.10.1964) BluRay

Stars
Robert Lansing … Commander Douglas Stansfield
Mariette Hartley … Sandra Horn
Edward Binns … General Walters
George Macready … Dr. Bixler
William Swan … Technician
Don Spruance … (as Donald Spruance)
Rod Serling … Narrator / Self - Host (uncredited)

Robert Florey … Director
Rod Serling … Writer, Creator
William Froug … Producer
George T. Clemens .. Cinematographer, Director of Photography
Richard V. Heermance … Editor​

Just about one year after her first of five Gunsmoke roles and in her fourth television role Mariette Hartley appeared in this memorable Twilight Zone episode. It’s December 1987, and for The Twilight Zone, circa 1960’s, this was the future. Think about that for a moment. Rod Serling chose 1987 as and example of the future, 23 years into the future from it’s original 1964 airdate to be exact. But here in 2024 it’s been 37 years since 1987! Wow, we are really the ones in the future.

Partially told in flashback sequence, this is a love story. One wouldn’t expect that from The Twilight Zone. But there’s something special about this episode, you just know it upon hearing the first few lines spoken between Sandra Horn (Mariette Hartley) and Commander Douglas Stansfield (Robert Lansing). He is leaving Earth in a spaceship soon to be in suspended animation, cryogenically frozen on a decades-long round trip mission. You can feel the intense attraction right into your soul. This is a very underappreciated episode. Both Robert Lansing and Mariette Hartley later guest starred on Star Trek: The Original Series (1966). Lansing played Gary Seven in Assignment: Earth (1968), Hartley played Zarabeth in All Our Yesterdays (1969).

Intro & Opening Narration

​

Opening Narration:

It may be said with a degree of assurance that not everything that meets the eye is as it appears. Case in point: the scene you're watching. This is not a hospital, not a morgue, not a mausoleum, not an undertakers parlor of the future. What it is is the belly of a spaceship. It is en route to another planetary system an incredible distance from the Earth. This is the crux of our story, a flight into space. It is also the story of the things that might happen to human beings who take a step beyond, unable to anticipate everything that might await them out there.

​

The following contains SPOILER Transcript, Video Clips and Images.

Love at First Sight

Sandra Horn: General Walters.
General Walters: Miss horn. You're looking very well indeed. You look fine. Sounds idiotic, doesn't it but what do you say to somebody who's been asleep for 40 years?
Sandra Horn: I was told commander Stansfield...
General Walters: Yes his ship landed six hours ago. I asked to see you.
Sandra Horn: What about him?
General Walters: In good health naturally... very tired.
Sandra Horn: I want to see him.I must see him.
General Walters: You shall see him in just a moment. I... I had to speak to you first. I'll try to make this as brief as possible. Commander stansfield suffered a communications failure. It probably occurred within the first 12 hours after his departure. There was only sporadic contact made during the entire flight both there and back.
Sandra Horn: He reached the other solar system?
General Walters: Yes, he reached it. He landed, he took off, he returned. He found no life. But we found that 20 years ago. That's one of the ironies of progress, Miss Horn. could have saved the trip, could have saved him... his anguish. His anguish being the following: Unknown to us here on earth, to my predecessors and to theirs, because of the lack of communication, Commander Stansfield arbitrarily removed himself from hibernation six months after leaving earth. He did this because...
Sandra Horn: I know why. Oh, god help me. I know why.
General Walters: Over 40 years, Miss Horn. 40 years in the cockpit of a ship, 40 years. His loneliness must have been... something brand-new in the human experience. I wish to heaven he could have returned to you just as he left, but... as it is, he...

The Irony

​

Closing Narration:

Commander Douglas Stansfield, one of the forgotten pioneers of the space age. He's been pushed aside by the flow of progress and the passage of years and the ferocious travesty of fate. Tonight's tale of the ionosphere and irony delivered from... the Twilight Zone.

Closing Narration & Credits

The morale of the story? Nice guys finish last.

 

[ScottRE]

Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea
Terror On Dinosaur Island (2.14) Paul Carr,Paul Trinka, Terry Becker, Robert Dowdell, Del Monroe. Allen utilizes film clips from his own “The Lost World”.

Killers Of The Deep (2.15) Michael Ansara, Patrick Wayne, James Frawley, Bruce Mars, Gus Trikonis. Cold War submarine film where Admiral Nelson is on a ship and Captain Crane is on the Soviet sub. I liked this one.

The next two episodes were unplayable on my recently purchased used set.

The Sky's On Fire (2.18) Frank Marth, Robert H. Harris, David J. Stewart. An alternate retelling of the 1961 feature film. I sure do miss Barbara Eden.

Graveyard Of Fear (2.19) Robert Loggia, Marian McCargo. Using that oft used sci-fi trope of immortality/immensely old character who is glimpsed in the final scene.

You're deep into my favorite portion of the season.

Terror on Dinosaur Island is better than it sounds, mostly thanks to the interpersonal dramatics provided by Paul Carr and the incredibly fun banter between Richard Basehart and Terry Becker. Legend has it the episode came up short so they were asked to improvise a bit of business to fill time. The result was the "little black book" scene and Basehart enjoyed the interaction so much, he asked for more scenes with Becker. The two struck up a friendship because of it.

Killers of the Deep. For an episode that leans so heavily on footage from The Enemy Below, this episode is incredibly good. The script it taught, the enemy sub commander is realistic and well played by Michael Ansara and the whole episode moves quickly. It's one of my favorite episodes of the season.

The Sky's On Fire is an okay rewrite of the 1961 Voyage movie, again with more stock footage (that's three in a row). The weird spy ring business brings it down. Not my favorite effort. You missed little. Except this was the episode that originally killed off Chief Sharkey when Terry Becker left the series due to a salary dispute. They hastily filmed a "he's alright folks!" ending once Becker signed on the dotted line. It's still the last episode of the season he's in, not counting stock shots.

Graveyard of Fear is exceptional. A solid sea monster yarn with a great "science gone wrong" premise and a smashing final shot.

Some goofiness arrives with Dead Men's Doubloons and Shape of Doom is another stock footage episode, but the show is still pretty strong at this point with some great 60's sci-fi action.

 

[Flashgear]

Beautiful post Neal on Twilight Zone's The Long Morrow! I agree that this poignant episode with fine performances by Robert Lansing and Marriette Hartley gets lost in the mix of that series' many great episodes, and deserves to be remembered!

Great rundown Doug of your varied and numerous viewings, always compelling, informative and interesting...among other shows you have me re-visiting, I'm thinking I might need to get a DVD set of the 1990s second season of The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest, which I've never seen but sounds great!

As for some of my viewing...

The Rifleman S2E22, Heller (Feb. 23, 1960) W: Christopher Knopf, D: Joseph H. Lewis. Starring Chuck Connors, Johnny Crawford, Paul Fix. Guest starring Gigi Perreau, Don Grady, Peter Whitney, K.T. Stevens, Hope Summers.

Shocker: Chuck Connors doesn't shoot anyone in this episode! Surprising, as there's one nasty varmint that needs killin' for sure...Shocker: Lucas McCain as child welfare social worker! (still totin' his Winchester, natch.) Nonetheless, this is one of the best episodes I've seen of this well known and much loved Western TV series! The reason: a powerful script, strong performances all around, especially by 18 year old Gigi Perreau. A lovely and fine actress that I've long been fond of (to me, she's insanely pretty, one of my favorite classic TV fantasy girlfriends, ha, ha)...

One evening in North Fork, Lucas McCain (the great Chuck Connors, natch.) and son Mark (Johnny Crawford) are visiting Sherriff Micah Torrance (Hollywood veteran Paul Fix), when they're alerted to a break-in at the dry goods store...they surprise two young thieves, siblings Heller (Gigi Perreau) and David (a pre-My Three Sons Don Grady). But they don't appear to have stolen anything, and Micah lets them off with a warning. The sister and brother are known as likeable and law abiding kids, so this was out of character...what Micah and Lucas don't know is that the siblings did take the shopkeeper's handgun, but having been caught in the act, they were forced to hide it in an apple barrel to be retrieved later...and the kids want the gun in order to kill their abusive alcoholic step-father! (scary looking Peter Whitney, a guy who played many parts on this show with no regard to continuity, he played a good guy just months before!) But here, the step-father is a hateful, despicable and out of control drunk...beating the kids and their fearful mother (KT Stevens) viciously nearly everyday, and he's so reckless that he dares Lucas to do anything about it! I'd shrink into the floorboards if I caught the gaze of Lucas McCain with his 'I'll tear your heart out' icy stare when he's angry!

My screencaps from the official series DVDs, which are excellent but pricey. Jeff Flugel has told us that the series is available for viewing on YT. Jeff recently reviewed the excellent Sammy Davis Jr, episode from S4, Two Ounces of Tin. I also recommend Heller highly!

The much acclaimed live NYC based drama anthologies of this period (Playhouse 90, Kraft Television Theatre, Four Star Playhouse, United States Steel Hour, etc.) were the leading purveyors of high-minded, aspirational prestige drama on TV, and were much praised for it by critics of those days...what many of those same critics ignored was the often astoundingly brilliant achievements in important drama that was frequently on offer in that same era's Western TV series...in my mind, no greater examples could be found than on series like Gunsmoke, HGWT, Rawhide, Bonanza, The Rifleman and many others to come. Too many of the self-important big urban newspaper critics dismissed the Western TV genre, without actually examining it on a weekly basis. They assumed that this pre-eminently popular TV genre was just pablum for middle America, the great swath of the viewing public that didn't know any better, were easily entertained and could be looked down upon in the "great wasteland of television" as an FCC commissioner would soon label it....wrong, wrong, wrong!

The climax of this episode is frantic and emotionally intense...at wit's end after another beating of her mother by her cruel step-father, young Heller holds the raging and abusive drunk at gunpoint, as she struggles with the moral enormity of killing the violent bum, who is now on his knees begging for his life!...while Heller's brother David yells: "kill him! kill him!... Just then, Lucas McCain enters and pleads with the girl not to throw her innocent, young life away on this bum who just isn't worth the cost to her soul...one of those great moments when Chuck Connors just shines...as does lovely young Gigi Perreau, an already accomplished actor who started as a child star some ten years before. And Don Grady is very good too. This must have been around the time that Don Grady filmed the pilot for Fred MacMurray's upcoming My Three Sons, which debuted that fall of 1960 and would last for 12 seasons!

Besides frequent guest star appearances on many TV shows, Gigi Perreau would be cast as a lead on the great mystery series Follow the Sun in the fall of 1961-62. Created and produced by the great Roy Huggins for 20th Century Fox Television, Gigi's co-stars were newcomers Gary Lockwood, Barry Coe and Brett Halsey, and also featured an impressive number of big guest stars. The show was about a newsmagazine's Hawaii based investigative journalists, editorial staff and police, getting involved with newsmaker and celebrity mysteries on a weekly basis for 30 episodes. One of the great unseen and forgotten TV shows for which I'm glad to have 19 out of 30 episodes in variable PQ on DVD-R from collector's circles. Sadly, with 20th Century Fox being acquired by what's now the damnable Disney Corp., all of the old Fox library is apparently consigned to oblivion as far as those that would want to see them.

Gigi Perreau was also in another excellent episode of The Rifleman in season three, Death Trap (May 9, 1961) with Philip Carey (later of the comedy/western series Laredo) and James Drury (soon to be TV's The Virginian)...another terrific episode that appeared to be intended as a back-door pilot...and which I intend to feature in my next post...

 

[Wiseguy]

Beautiful post Neal on Twilight Zone's The Long Morrow! I agree that this poignant episode with fine performances by Robert Lansing and Marriette Hartley gets lost in the mix of that series' many great episodes, and deserves to be remembered!

Great rundown Doug of your varied and numerous viewings, always compelling, informative and interesting...among other shows you have me re-visiting, I'm thinking I might need to get a DVD set of the 1990s second season of The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest, which I've never seen but sounds great!

As for some of my viewing...

The Rifleman S2E22, Heller (Feb. 23, 1960) W: Christopher Knopf, D: Joseph H. Lewis. Starring Chuck Connors, Johnny Crawford, Paul Fix. Guest starring Gigi Perreau, Don Grady, Peter Whitney, K.T. Stevens, Hope Summers.

Shocker: Chuck Connors doesn't shoot anyone in this episode! Surprising, as there's one nasty varmint that needs killin' for sure...Shocker: Lucas McCain as child welfare social worker! (still totin' his Winchester, natch.) Nonetheless, this is one of the best episodes I've seen of this well known and much loved Western TV series! The reason: a powerful script, strong performances all around, especially by 18 year old Gigi Perreau. A lovely and fine actress that I've long been fond of (to me, she's insanely pretty, one of my favorite classic TV fantasy girlfriends, ha, ha)...

One evening in North Fork, Lucas McCain (the great Chuck Connors, natch.) and son Mark (Johnny Crawford) are visiting Sherriff Micah Torrance (Hollywood veteran Paul Fix), when they're alerted to a break-in at the dry goods store...they surprise two young thieves, siblings Heller (Gigi Perreau) and David (a pre-My Three Sons Don Grady). But they don't appear to have stolen anything, and Micah lets them off with a warning. The sister and brother are known as likeable and law abiding kids, so this was out of character...what Micah and Lucas don't know is that the siblings did take the shopkeeper's handgun, but having been caught in the act, they were forced to hide it in an apple barrel to be retrieved later...and the kids want the gun in order to kill their abusive alcoholic step-father! (scary looking Peter Whitney, a guy who played many parts on this show with no regard to continuity, he played a good guy just months before!) But here, the step-father is a hateful, despicable and out of control drunk...beating the kids and their fearful mother (KT Stevens) viciously nearly everyday, and he's so reckless that he dares Lucas to do anything about it! I'd shrink into the floorboards if I caught the gaze of Lucas McCain with his 'I'll tear your heart out' icy stare when he's angry!

My screencaps from the official series DVDs, which are excellent but pricey. Jeff Flugel has told us that the series is available for viewing on YT. Jeff recently reviewed the excellent Sammy Davis Jr, episode from S4, Two Ounces of Tin. I also recommend Heller highly!
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The much acclaimed live NYC based drama anthologies of this period (Playhouse 90, Kraft Television Theatre, Four Star Playhouse, United States Steel Hour, etc.) were the leading purveyors of high-minded, aspirational prestige drama on TV, and were much praised for it by critics of those days...what many of those same critics ignored was the often astoundingly brilliant achievements in important drama that was frequently on offer in that same era's Western TV series...in my mind, no greater examples could be found than on series like Gunsmoke, HGWT, Rawhide, Bonanza, The Rifleman and many others to come. Too many of the self-important big urban newspaper critics dismissed the Western TV genre, without actually examining it on a weekly basis. They assumed that this pre-eminently popular TV genre was just pablum for middle America, the great swath of the viewing public that didn't know any better, were easily entertained and could be looked down upon in the "great wasteland of television" as an FCC commissioner would soon label it....wrong, wrong, wrong!

The climax of this episode is frantic and emotionally intense...at wit's end after another beating of her mother by her cruel step-father, young Heller holds the raging and abusive drunk at gunpoint, as she struggles with the moral enormity of killing the violent bum, who is now on his knees begging for his life!...while Heller's brother David yells: "kill him! kill him!... Just then, Lucas McCain enters and pleads with the girl not to throw her innocent, young life away on this bum who just isn't worth the cost to her soul...one of those great moments when Chuck Connors just shines...as does lovely young Gigi Perreau, an already accomplished actor who started as a child star some ten years before. And Don Grady is very good too. This must have been around the time that Don Grady filmed the pilot for Fred MacMurray's upcoming My Three Sons, which debuted that fall of 1960 and would last for 12 seasons!

Besides frequent guest star appearances on many TV shows, Gigi Perreau would be cast as a lead on the great mystery series Follow the Sun in the fall of 1961-62. Created and produced by the great Roy Huggins for 20th Century Fox Television, Gigi's co-stars were newcomers Gary Lockwood, Barry Coe and Brett Halsey, and also featured an impressive number of big guest stars. The show was about a newsmagazine's Hawaii based investigative journalists, editorial staff and police, getting involved with newsmaker and celebrity mysteries on a weekly basis for 30 episodes. One of the great unseen and forgotten TV shows for which I'm glad to have 19 out of 30 episodes in variable PQ on DVD-R from collector's circles. Sadly, with 20th Century Fox being acquired by what's now the damnable Disney Corp., all of the old Fox library is apparently consigned to oblivion as far as those that would want to see them.

Gigi Perreau was also in another excellent episode of The Rifleman in season three, Death Trap (May 9, 1961) with Philip Carey (later of the comedy/western series Laredo) and James Drury (soon to be TV's The Virginian)...another terrific episode that appeared to be intended as a back-door pilot...and which I intend to feature in my next post...

But Don Grady would only last eleven seasons (despite being credited).

 

[Jeff Flugel]

World of Giants – 1.6 “Chemical Story”
Shrunken spy Mel Hunter (Marshall Thompson) and his normal-sized partner, Bill Winters (Arthur Franz), investigate a spate of thefts of the isotope yttrium at a lab. Alice Lane (slinky Peggie Castle, later of Lawman), the secretary at the lab, along with another scientist named Lars Kroner (John Van Dreelen) - who’s actually working for a foreign power - have manipulated weak-willed lab tech Arthur Olson (Gavin MacLeod) into fudging the books. When Bill demands a closer look at the lab's ledger, Kroner coldly guns down Olson and flees with Alice, with the miniature Mel tagging along, hidden in his specially-made briefcase, which the duplicitous pair have loaded up with yttrium in their haste to vacate the premises. Mel manages to spill enough of the stuff to leave a glowing trail for Bill to follow, but ends up trapped inside a refrigerator at the baddies' lair for his trouble. It’ll take all of his ingenuity and resourcefulness to stay alive. Another fun atomic age spy-fi yarn with some clever use of giant-sized props.

Poirot – 2.9 “The Adventure of the Western Star”
The prim Belgian sleuth (David Suchet) is excited to meet “Belgium’s greatest ever movie actress” Marie Marvelle (Rosalind Bennett), who wants to consult Poirot about having received threats to steal a massive diamond called the Eastern Star, gifted to her in mysterious circumstances by her husband, Gregorie Rolf (Oliver Cotton). Around the same time, the aristocratic Lady Yardley (Caroline Goodall) comes calling at Poirot’s flat, relating a similar tale. Poirot and his loyal albeit somewhat dim associate Captain Hastings (Hugh Fraser) travel to Yardley Manor, where Lady Yardley’s famed diamond is seemingly stolen right in front of their eyes. Of course, a tangled web of lies and deceit lies behind the theft, and Poirot’s razor-sharp “little grey cells” swiftly suss out the truth. One of the few Poirot cases which doesn’t involve a murder, but the droll script, lush production values, evocative period detail and a talented cast who know how to pitch their performances just right, make this another fun and stylish entry in ITV’s long-running series.

Peter Gunn – 1.26 “Skin Deep”
Nervous heiress Helena Mears (Katharine Baird) hires Gunn (Craig Stevens) to find her missing sister, Katie (played by Marian Collier in a blink-and-you’ll-miss her cameo). Turns out the sister was murdered, beaten to death by a fireplace poker. Gunn discovers that the flirtatious Katie was involved in a “lonely hearts” club, and was involved with several men, one of whom is a weightlifting gigolo jock (Eduardo Noriega) who tries to go mano y mano with Gunn and quickly learns the difference between being a pretend tough guy and the real deal. Another stylishly-shot, moody slice of noir, anchored by Steven’s unflappable, calm presence. The supporting cast is quirky, too, with Hal “Otis the drunk” Smith as a loquacious florist, Pedro Gonzalez-Gonzalez as a pal of Gunn’s who runs a Mexican restaurant (and who is apparently a poor cook), and Willard Sage, who steps in for an absent Herschel Bernardi as Gunn’s police detective contact.

Inspector Morse – 1.1 “The Dead of Jericho”
When Anne Stavely (Gemma Jones), an attractive but troubled divorcee who Morse (John Thaw) knows through their local amateur choir and is romantically interested in, ostensibly commits suicide at her home in Jericho, a shocked Morse is convinced there’s more to the case than meets the eye. Obviously personally involved in the investigation, he finagles his way into taking over from newly-promoted Chief Inspector Bell (Norman Jones), inheriting Bell’s bright, dogged and, as it turns out, long-suffering Detective Sergeant, Robbie Lewis (Kevin Whately). The beer and crossword-loving Morse, pensive, acerbic, intellectual, sensitive and gentle with women, though perennially unlucky in love, is a terrific character, wonderfully embodied by the talented Thaw, who became an international star with this series of feature-length mysteries adapted from Colin Dexter’s novels, which aired between 1987-2000. Morse might be frequently (though erratically) brilliant, but is by no means an easy boss, as Lewis learns all too quickly...but the bond between them gradually grows as the series progresses.

I watched and greatly enjoyed all 33 Morse telefilms at the time they originally aired on PBS' Mystery! (as well as having read all 13 of Colin Dexter's Morse novels), but it's been ages since I've re-watched (or re-read) one. This first episode, written by feature film scribe Anthony Minghella, does an excellent job introducing the audience to Morse and his world, accompanied by extensive and highly scenic location shooting around its principal setting, Oxford. The guest cast is strong, too, including one of Second Doctor Who Patrick Troughton's very last filmed roles before his untimely passing (he plays a real skeevy perv in this one, too, whose attempts at blackmail go fatally awry). Brit TV fans are likely aware of Morse’s two popular spinoffs, sequel series Lewis - in which Kevin Whately’s character takes the lead for a further 33 two-hour episodes- and prequel Endeavour, starring Shaun Evans as a young, swinging ‘60s-era Morse, which just ended its run in 2023. Special kudos go to the late Barrington Pheloung, who composed the haunting main theme.



Cannon – 1.14 “Flight Plan”
Posing as a Cuban refugee doctor being hunted by political enemies, Sandoval (Cesare Danova) hires Cannon to plan a foolproof escape route out of the country for him. But Sandoval is actually a cold-blooded casual killer who has embezzled a group of Cuban activists out of $250,000, and once he has Cannon’s escape plan in hand, cold cocks him and leaves unconscious in a locked garage to die from exhaust fumes, and goes on the lam with his lover (Barbra Luna). But hard-headed Cannon is a tough nut to crack, and soon he’s down in Mexico, one P.O’d hombre hot on the Sandoval’s trail. A crackerjack episode, fast-paced and tense, marred only by an unlikely stunt during the climax, as our portly private eye somehow manages to pursue and jump aboard a hijacked bus as it speeds away. You gotta love those opening credit announcements in Quinn-Martin productions, which always manage to educate viewers on how best to pronounce guest star names (now I know Danova’s first name is pronounced “Chez-er-ay”). Luna’s part is fairly small here but she's always a sight for sore eyes (though I must say I prefer her with long hair).

The Texan
2.8 “Stampede
2.9 “Showdown in Abilene”
2.11 “Trouble on the Trail”
Bill Longley, a.k.a. The Texan (Rory Calhoun, steely-eyed and formidable) acts as trail boss for rancher Atkins (Robert Burton) to lead a herd of cattle over the harsh 1,000 miles to Abilene. The best price for beef goes to the first herd to arrive, and unscrupulous rival rancher, Bishop (Roy Bancroft), will stop at nothing to make sure he beats Longley’s crew to the punch. Longley also has to contend with a jealous, hot-headed drover (Michael Dante) in love with Atkins' attractive blonde daughter (Shirley Knight), who makes trouble for Longley along the way. There's also a traitor in their midst, one of Bishop's hired guns waiting for just the right moment to strike.

Epic cattle drive story spread out over four parts; unfortunately, the third segment, “The Reluctant Bridegroom" (in which Longley is held captive by the Kiowa and forced to fight for an Indian princess, played by Barbara Luna, who also briefly appears in "Showdown at Abilene"), was (along with 7 other episodes) deemed too sub-par in video quality to be included on Timeless Media Group’s "Complete Series" set. Going by the airdates listed on IMDB, it also appears that these episodes were aired out of order, as “Trouble on the Trail” is actually part two, and "Showdown in Abilene" the concluding chapter. At any rate, what's available to watch is good solid western action...though heavily fortified by stock footage and some (and very fakey) process shots. Also with Mario Alcalde, Frank DeKova, Charles Horvath and the always-delightful Pedro Gonzalez-Gonzalez.

Have Gun – Will Travel – 1.37 “Silver Convoy”
Having barely survived a two-day ordeal crossing the Sonora Desert without water, Paladin (Richard Boone) arrives at the hacienda of Don Francisco (Donald Randolph) and immediately mixes it up with the Don’s spoiled son, Pablo (Nico Minardos) and cruel henchman Regaldo (George Keymas). Even in his exhausted state, Paladin wipes the floor with the two bullies and impresses Don Francisco enough to hire him to escort the family’s next shipment of silver. But once Paladin learns that the Francisco family are greedy predators, using and abusing prisoners long past when their sentences are up to mine the silver, he decides to bring the whole evil enterprise down, with the help of some fed-up locals led by Carlos (Mario Alcalde). Barbara Luna co-stars as Lupita, a fiery senorita held captive by Pablo to lure Carlos into a trap. Typically well-written entry in this, one of the finest of all classic TV westerns, with Boone on commanding form as the principled mercenary who brooks no nonsense from anyone. Also with Rodolfo Hoyas, Jr. and Abel Fernandez.

 

[dietcola]

this week so far:

THE MUNSTERS 1x01-1x20
MANNIX 2x10-2x14
MUNSTERS TODAY 1x00-2x01 (yes, 26 of them . . . )

 

[Jeff Flugel]

this week so far:

THE MUNSTERS 1x01-1x20
MANNIX 2x10-2x14
MUNSTERS TODAY 1x00-2x01 (yes, 26 of them . . . )

You're a brave soul, Les, tackling 26 episodes of Munsters Today in a row.

What are your thoughts on S2 of Mannix so far? IMO it's a pretty strong season overall.

 

[Desslar]

I watched and greatly enjoyed all 33 Morse telefilms at the time they originally aired on PBS' Mystery! (as well as having read all 13 of Colin Dexter's Morse novels), but it's been ages since I've re-watched (or re-read) one. This first episode, written by feature film scribe Anthony Minghella, does an excellent job introducing the audience to Morse and his world, accompanied by extensive and highly scenic location shooting around its principal setting, Oxford. The guest cast is strong, too, including one of Second Doctor Who Patrick Troughton's very last filmed roles before his untimely passing (he plays a real skeevy perv in this one, too, whose attempts at blackmail go fatally awry). Brit TV fans are likely aware of Morse’s two popular spinoffs, sequel series Lewis - in which Kevin Whately’s character takes the lead for a further 33 two-hour episodes- and prequel Endeavour, starring Shaun Evans as a young, swinging ‘60s-era Morse, which just ended its run in 2023. Special kudos go to the late Barrington Pheloung, who composed the haunting main theme.

Are there any Thaw series/films that you would recommend other than Morse and The Sweeney? Recently I watched the first episode of Kavanagh QC - in which he plays a lawyer with a family - but found it rather dull. He wasn't in the episode that much, and was very subdued when he did appear (At least with Morse you see a brief flash of that ol' Sweeney temper now and again). Plus, in contrast to Morse, the plot was quite cliched and predictable.

 

[Jeff Flugel]

Are there any Thaw series/films that you would recommend other than Morse and The Sweeney? Recently I watched the first episode of Kavanagh QC - in which he plays a lawyer with a family - but found it rather dull. He wasn't in the episode that much, and was very subdued when he did appear (At least with Morse you see a brief flash of that ol' Sweeney temper now and again). Plus, in contrast to Morse, the plot was quite cliched and predictable.

His first series, Redcap, is very good as well, Stephen. (Yet another Network release). It's got some of the limitations endemic to early '60s British TV, mostly filmed on soundstages with occasional 16mm O.B. (outside broadcast) location filming. It's a very tough, gritty and well-acted series. Thaw was only in his early 20s when he starred in it, but comes across fully mature. He plays a sergeant in the Special Investigation Department of the British Army, usually dropped in at several British military bases around the world to act as a solo detective looking into various cases of murder, espionage, etc. There were two 13-episode seasons produced, of which 23 still exist. Network's Complete Series set is still available for decent prices on Amazon UK.

Randall also owns this series, and might be persuaded to chime in with his thoughts on it.

A fun still, featuring young Mr. Thaw goofing around with the stunning Diana Rigg (both Redcap and The Avengers were ABC Weekend TV productions):

Here's a clip from Redcap's first episode, though it's unfortunately been stretched to fit a 16:9 aspect ratio. Should give you a sense of the show, at any rate:



In a more humorous vein, I also very much recommend the limited series A Year in Provence, comprised of four TV movie length parts (one part for each season). Thaw and Lindsay Duncan play a couple who quit their rat race jobs in dreary London and buy a house in the south of France. Based on the best-selling autobiographical books by Peter Mayle. Of course, filmed entirely on location, and very amusing "fish out of water" stuff. I watched this on A & E back in the early '90s.

There's also Mitch, a single-season series with Thaw as an investigative reporter. Haven't seen this one, but from what I've read online, it has pretty good reviews. Network also released this one.

Believe it or not, the gruff Thaw featured in a few sitcoms, the most highly-regarded of which is Home to Roost. Thaw stars as a divorced middle-aged man whose romantic life is complicated when his adult son (Reece Dinsdale) moves in with him. It ran for four seasons and 29 episodes. Released on DVD by (you guessed it) Network.

 

[Desslar]

His first series, Redcap, is very good as well, Stephen. (Yet another Network release). It's got some of the limitations endemic to early '60s British TV, mostly filmed on soundstages with occasional 16mm O.B. (outside broadcast) location filming. It's a very tough, gritty and well-acted series. Thaw was only in his early 20s when he starred in it, but comes across fully mature. He plays a sergeant in the Special Investigation Department of the British Army, usually dropped in at several British military bases around the world to act as a solo detective looking into various cases of murder, espionage, etc. There were two 13-episode seasons produced, of which 23 still exist. Network's Complete Series set is still available for decent prices on Amazon UK.

Randall also owns this series, and might be persuaded to chime in with his thoughts on it.

View attachment 214902

A fun still, featuring young Mr. Thaw goofing around with the stunning Diana Rigg (both Redcap and The Avengers were ABC Weekend TV productions):

View attachment 214903

Here's a clip from Redcap's first episode, though it's unfortunately been stretched to fit a 16:9 aspect ratio. Should give you a sense of the show, at any rate:



In a more humorous vein, I also very much recommend the limited 6 hour series A Year in Provence. Thaw and Lindsay Duncan play a couple who quit their rat race jobs in dreary London and buy a house in the south of France. Based on the best-selling autobiographical books by Peter Mayle. Of course, filmed entirely on location, and very amusing "fish out of water" stuff. I watched this on A & E back in the early '90s.



View attachment 214901

There's also Mitch, a single-season series with Thaw as an investigative reporter. Haven't seen this one, but from what I've read online, it has pretty good reviews. Network also released this one.

There's a complete episode of this one on YouTube:



Believe it or not, the gruff Thaw featured in a few sitcoms, the most highly-regarded of which is Home to Roost. Thaw stars as a divorced middle-aged man whose romantic life is complicated when his adult son (Reece Dinsdale) moves in with him. It ran for four seasons and 29 episodes. Released on DVD by (you guessed it) Network.

Thanks Jeff for the wealth of information. Those all look intriguing.

I did see a bit of Redcap before - will take a closer look based on your recommendation (I do struggle a bit with dramas that are primarily on sets, but it's an interesting premise - sounds a little like JAG).

Home to Roost looks like it could be fun. I could imagine Thaw getting steamed up Archie Bunker-style at his family's antics.

 

[JohnHopper]

---

I’m re-watching and reviewing the season 4 opener of Mannix entitled “A Ticket to the Eclipse”,
guest starring the great Darren McGavin, known for his part of reporter Carl Kolchak.
His performance is fabulous, delirious and not heroic at all.
It’s a must see for the Mannix crowd. Highly recommended!

---

 

[dietcola]

You're a brave soul, Les, tackling 26 episodes of Munsters Today in a row.

What are your thoughts on S2 of Mannix so far? IMO it's a pretty strong season overall.

no complaints! at this stage i do keep thinking about the decision to discard intertect, wondering about levinson/link's original plans for the show. but i'm happy with the changes and introduction of gail fisher. i was pleased with myself last night, unravelling one of the mysteries far in advance (even if 'blake ritchie's' "a pittance of faith" is far less twisty than usual).

 

[ScottRE]

no complaints! at this stage i do keep thinking about the decision to discard intertect, wondering about levinson/link's original plans for the show. but i'm happy with the changes and introduction of gail fisher. i was pleased with myself last night for unravelling one of the mysteries far in advance (even if 'blake ritchie's' "a pittance of faith" is far less twisty than usual).

I am of two minds about Intertect, but mostly felt the company was eventually superfluous. Mannix was always the wild card, pissing off Wickersham, going against orders, bucking the system and just going his own way. It's manufactured tension. It was just easier to ditch the company and make it a standard P.I. format, which obviously lead to 6 more seasons.

My only complaint was that they brough back Campanella in a guest shot a few seasons later as a different character. He was the second lead in the first season, not just some random guest star. I would have loved a Mannix/Wickersham reunion showing Lew's resentment of Joe quitting but still needing his best guy to clear him of some charge, saving his daughter, finding the killer of his wife or some such, with a resolution at the end where they part friends.

Aside from that, Mannix was a superior detective series, and one I an happy to have discovered so late in life.

 

[dietcola]

re MUNSTERS TODAY: i noticed they couldn't quite decide on herman's makeup -- the first show taped after the pilot (aired 24th out of 24 in season 1!) most closely resembled the original look (comparatively speaking). the rest of that year was sort of flat/featureless (no prominent brow) in combination with camera filters. they drained the color out and used an exaggerated bright soft focus that i found hard to concentrate on for long. S2 is damn ugly! i get the feeling that by then they were more interested in accommodating the actor with the quickest application. they dispensed with the filtering, too, which just draws attention to the substandard makeup... the lighting makes it look patchy & poorly applied! ugh.

top left: unaired pilot (1987); top right: first regular taping, 1x24 (1988)
bottom left: season 1 (1988); bottom right: season 2 (1989)​

all the problems TODAY had, and i'm talking about john schuck's makeup!

 

[Flashgear]

Part deux of my Gigi Perreau on The Rifleman...

Lovely Gigi returned in season three's Death Trap (May 9, 1961, the same week that America's first man-in-space Alan Sheppard flew the first Mercury-Redstone, after an earlier flight with baby chimp 'Ham', who returned safely to great adoration)...tense and authentic episode written by Arthur Browne Jr., directed by creator/producer Arnold Laven.

Lucas (Chuck Connors) and Mark (Johnny Crawford) are in North Fork for a social call on Sheriff Micah (Paul Fix not in this episode), who they find is out of town with the town's only doctor. Soon enough, a townsman arrives with a wounded stranger (William Kendis) at death's door from a mysterious shooting. Lucas, being the fine, resourceful Christian that he is, let's himself into the doctor's office in an attempt to save the man himself...meanwhile across the street in the hotel, a young girl, Carrie Battle (Gigi Perreau), notices what's going on and alerts her father, Dr. Simon Battle (Phillip Carey, later one of the leads on the fine 1965-67 comedy/western Laredo), a former gunslinger reformed into a physician during study at a Chicago medical school, and with his young daughter on their way to his new practice as the only doctor in a huge area of pioneer New Mexico...

Simon and Carrie hurry to the doctor's office to help, and upon entering, Lucas is startled to recognize Simon as the dangerous gunslinger who wounded him ten years before! Lucas and Simon hate each other! And both of their kids, Carrie and Mark sense the tension between the two, and are scared for their dads...Lucas orders Mark out of the office, giving him money to take Carrie to supper at the hotel...they reluctantly leave to do so...while Lucas and Simon cuss each other out in their shared resentment from their past, tangling in a brief fistfight before Simon's fast draw deters Lucas, who can hardly believe his old enemy has transformed himself into a doctor of all things...but Simon soon proves his skill as a surgeon by removing the bullet and treating the mystery man's gunshot wound...with both men agreeing to hold off on their inevitable showdown till later...the fury between these two characters is authentic and convincing!

While Mark and Carrie dine and Carrie reveals her father's backstory (not having known of his gunslinger past), she tells Mark that having lost her mother (something Mark himself has in common), her grieving father vowed to become a healer, taking them to the big town of Chicago (Carrie exclaims "there's half-million people in Chicago!") to study medicine...Mark is enthralled by the pretty girl and falls hard (I can well understand)...what none of them know is that the wounded man is still being targeted for death by four gunmen led by Spicer (James Drury, one year away from his nine seasons as The Virginian), and are now outside in the street threatening to kill Lucas, Simon and anyone who stands in their way!

Men will die tonight, and having set aside their own reckoning, Lucas and Simon stand in the street to meet Spicer and his gunmen...

My screen caps from the official North Fork season three DVDs (released by the Levy-Gardner-Laven estates)...

No surprise, this exciting and tense episode ends happily with a tidy body count....Lucas and Simon find a newfound understanding and respect for each other...and Simon and Carrie are off to their further adventures as a frontier doctor and his teenage nurse daughter...this great episode is so obviously structured as a back-door pilot for a Four-Star spinoff series that never was...it's my impression that this would likely have been a great western...it went unsold, perhaps because the three networks were all paring down the number of westerns on the air by the 1961-62 season, to about a third of the number of westerns on the air at the genre's height in the 1958-59 season...

But sweet and pretty Gigi Perreau would be cast as a lead that fall of 1961-62 in the 20th Century Fox TV series Follow the Sun, a truly excellent mystery series on ABC from the great producer/creator Roy Huggins, with Gigi's young co-stars Gary Lockwood, Barry Coe and Brett Halsey...Follow the Sun was in tough for the ratings on Sunday nights by being up against Dennis the Menace and The Ed Sullivan Show on CBS...and NBC's Disney's Wonderful World of Color...no wonder Follow the Sun only lasted one season of 30 episodes!

Here's the opening credits for Follow the Sun, with the lovely and lush theme music by the great Lionel Newman and Sonny Burke, one of my all-time favorites...

 

[Flashgear]

Good guy Will Hutchens (Sugarfoot), WB studio chief (and tightwad) Jack Warner and good guy Clint Walker (Cheyenne) looking like they're enjoying each others' company...

 

[dietcola]

this week:

GILLIGAN'S ISLAND (1964) 1x01-10
MANNIX (1968) 2x17-24

keeps getting better. standout in this batch was possibly "the odds against donald jordan" -- great misdirection, movie-like photography, paul winfield! speaking of guest stars, i wish they'd listed them up-front. the more i tried to get sally kellerman's name (2x23, "the solid gold web") the more i pushed it away; kept repeating M*A*S*H & loretta swit over and over!! looking forward to season 3!

MUNSTERS (1965) 2x01-2x06 (not entirely sure yet if this has dropped off some from year one.)
JOHNNY STACCATO (1959) 1x20-21
TWIN PEAKS (1990) 1x00-1x02 (movie-length pilot & first two eps)

 

[Rustifer]

Episode Commentary
The Gene Autry Show
"Guns Below The Border" (S5E6)

When I was a kid growing up in Indiana in the 50's (yep, I'm that old), there were few horses around and even less cowboys. So my idea of a real cowboy was shaped by Gene Autry--who sang while playing a guitar on his horse Champion ("The Wonder Horse"). Good thing Gene didn't take up the piano or poor Champion would have developed a very bad case of spinal stenosis. Nonetheless, I wanted to grow up to be a cowboy--probably the impetus for my parents to start a college fund so that my education could lead me to more practical employment. As a result I ended up in advertising, playing a guitar to write jingles for various businesses. I accomplished this without riding a horse, but clearly Gene Autry left an impression on me.

In this episode, Gene is a U.S. Border Patrol agent investigating gun runners providing Winchester rifles to Mexican renegades who would eventually be bussed to NYC for their misdeeds and become short order cooks and bathroom renovation carpenters. Gene joins forces with Captain Fernando (George J. Lewis) of the Mexican Federales to figure out how some unscrupulous Americans are smuggling guns to the notorious outlaw Gregario (Lane Bradford) who intends to overthrow the Mexican government.

Meanwhile, Gene's somnambulant and squeaky-voiced sidekick Pat Butram is helping Padre Francisco Rio (David Leonard) transport a new mission bell to San Angelo. Unbeknownst to both, the bell's wagon also contains a load of guns destined to be delivered to Gregario. This is a clever ruse, for--as we all know-- rifles are often mistaken for mission bells. Gregario overtakes the wagon but is interrupted in his thievery by Gene, and a furious gunfight ensues. Gregario, sans guns, escapes during the melee and heads for the nearest Taco Bell to hide.

Pat and the Padre get ready for their trip; Gene examines the amount of wax in Pat's ear; The lovely Marquita

Somehow, Gene and Pat are coerced in escorting Captain Fernando's beautiful daughter Marquita (Eugenia Paul) on their way to San Angelo. Fortunately, Marquita just happens to have a guitar in her luggage. She pulls out the instrument and strums a decent version of La Vita Loco while Gene struggles with the unfamiliar lyrics and bouncing in his saddle. Along the way, Gene discovers the bootleg Winchesters hidden under the floorboards of the wagon.

Gregario has been foiled and the new mission bell is hoisted up to the tower of the San Angelo church to be caretaken by resident bell ringer, Juan Quasimodo. Marquita and Gene end the long day by warbling "Bells Are Ringing For Me And My Gal" only to be sued later for copyright infringement from the original artists, Gene Kelly and Judy Garland.

 

[Jeff Flugel]

Episode Commentary
The Gene Autry Show
"Guns Below The Border" (S5E6)

Great to see you back, Russ...and on fine funny form, too!

 

[Jeff Flugel]

The Rifleman S2E22, Heller (Feb. 23, 1960) W: Christopher Knopf, D: Joseph H. Lewis. Starring Chuck Connors, Johnny Crawford, Paul Fix. Guest starring Gigi Perreau, Don Grady, Peter Whitney, K.T. Stevens, Hope Summers.

Part deux of my Gigi Perreau on The Rifleman...

Lovely Gigi returned in season three's Death Trap (May 9, 1961, the same week that America's first man-in-space Alan Sheppard flew the first Mercury-Redstone, after an earlier flight with baby chimp 'Ham', who returned safely to great adoration)...tense and authentic episode written by Arthur Browne Jr., directed by creator/producer Arnold Laven.

Terrific reviews of those two Rifleman episodes, Randall! Thanks for the great screencaps, plus all of your usual fascinating historical background, including details about contemporary events when these two episodes originally aired. I've seen "Heller" before and enjoyed it very much...though wasn't aware of who Gigi Perreau was at the time...I'm much more discerning now.

What a cutie!