The Classic/Retro Pop Culture Thread

TREK_GOD_1 · Dec 3, 2018

The Old Mixer said:
I've been sampling a lot of highly regarded albums from the same period this past year, and even flawed Beatles product is better to my ear, pound-for-pound, than pretty much anything else.

Yikes. Of the albums of 1968, I would not even dream of rating The Beatles/White Album over much--certainly not Beggars Banquet, Waiting for the Sun, Creedence Clearwater Revival, or Bookends. That's a collection of albums that were not riddled with holes or wrongheaded decisions like the White Album.

Well yeah, that's what I was referring to when I brought the 1996 sales up in context of the interest in their unreleased material. Some of that sales bump was their back catalog, but a good deal of it was the Anthology albums themselves. And once again the Beatles were the trendsetters...after that, suddenly lots of artists of similar vintage were digging into their vaults and putting out previously unreleased material.

I don't see a spike thanks to a new media push as being the mark of a trendsetter, particularly when the Monkees and other acts enjoyed albums re-charting, along with new songs becoming hits.

Really? Moreso than Let It Be?

Yes. Let it Be--despite the circumstances that shaped its production (such as the horrible Spector re-shaping of tracks), it was a more coherent product than The Beatles, which was overflowing with no structure and the oft-noted self indulgent flights of nonsense.

Yeah, I can see where this is going....

Revisit the 1968 Rolling Stones. That's all I can say.

RJDiogenes said:
t
Kind of religious, but very nice.

That's why its nice.

The Old Mixer · Dec 3, 2018

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50th Anniversary Viewing

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The Ed Sullivan Show
Season 21, episode 6
Originally aired November 24, 1968
As represented in The Best of the Ed Sullivan Show

As one might have guessed, Dusty Springfield is on to promote "Son of a Preacher Man":
Her movements and gestures, including prayer hands when she says "preacher man," are a bit busy.

Next up is Nancy Wilson singing an uptempo pop song I wasn't familiar with, "Out of This World", from her 1968 album The Sound of Nancy Wilson. This is followed up by her recent #29 hit, "Face It Girl, It's Over," which is a decent song, but I wasn't sorry when it left the weekly playlist. She puts some added live flourishes in the climax of her Sullivan performance.

From Germany, the Kessler Twins, Alice and Ellen, give us yet another version of "I Say a Little Prayer":
Here the gimmick is having a couple of slinky model-looking types singing it in unison while dancing about the set, also in unison. Their vocals are a bit spotty to my ear.

The comedy team of Burns & Schreiber play a sarcastic NY cab driver and his overly talkative passenger (small portion here). The sketch pushes the line a bit between the passenger twice referring to "you people" after learning that the cabbie is Jewish and the topic of homosexuality coming up implicitly toward the end.

"Here for the youngsters, the wonderful Muppets," closing the Best of installment with a nonsense number titled "Sclrap Flyapp":
Note at the climax when the little Muppet "shoots" the larger one, you can clearly see Henson's hand under the head of the latter.

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Mission: Impossible
"The Elixir"
Originally aired November 24, 1968

Wiki said:
In South America, the IMF must prevent a vain, Evita-like matriarch (Ruth Roman) from seizing power in a coup.

The reel-to-reel tape in a projection booth that's playing Jim's briefing photos on a theater screen said:
This tape will self-destruct in ten seconds. Good luck, Jim.

A portfolio scene that begins with Jim thinking over a chess board--filler! The scene in general serves a purpose here, as we have a plastic surgeon guest operative, Dr. Paul van Bergner (George Gaynes).

Riva Santel (Roman)'s husband has died and she's planning to overthrow the Deputy Premier (Ivor Barry), who intends to institute free elections. Jim and Cin from Trans-Americo Television show up at her palace to do a documentary on her. With Barney and Willy as the TV crew, they pull a con job to convince Santel that Cin's character is over 70 and in possession of a secret to prolonged beauty. Enter Rollin as Cin's Fake Doctor, who claims to use a combination of plastic surgery and hormonal serum to keep her looking 30 until she's 100. Meanwhile, Barney and Willy use some techno-wizardry to spy on Santel's combination safe being opened and to get their own recording of what Santel intends to be her coup speech.

Santel goes straight into surgery after taping her speech, while Barney doctors his copy into an announcement of retirement and swaps it with the one in the safe. Cin does a disguise job on herself to make her look vaguely like Santel (actually Bain in wig, dark makeup, and veil), and a fake presidential limo carries Fake Santel out of the country, escorted by Motor Cop Jim, as a show for the border guards to back up what's on the tape. When the bandages are taken off, it's revealed that Santel has been made over to look like Irene Kelly (Sirah from "The Omega Glory"), so that nobody will believe she's Santel...though her right-hand man, Raoul, should be able to back her up. And the Trans-Americo Television crew drives away...Mission: Accomplished.

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The Avengers
"False Witness"
Originally aired November 6, 1968 (UK); November 25, 1968 (US)

Wiki said:
When all the witnesses involved in the prosecution of Lord Edgefield, suspected of blackmailing key security and foreign service personnel, suddenly start lying - including Tara - Steed must discover how they have been got at. Meanwhile, Tara becomes suspicious of DreemyKreem Dairies, but discovers she is literally incapable of telling anyone.

This time around Mother has his own double-decker bus, which Steed stops by putting up a sign.

A murdered agent leaves evidence in a dustbin across from Steed's before going in and telling Tara about it, so she brings it in Steed's flat and empties it all over the floor.

The effect of what turns out to be milk containing a hallucinative "lie drug" includes causing lookout men not to warn of incoming hostiles. The drug causes its victims to say the opposite of what they mean (a simple transposition of yes's and no's in most of the incidents that we see). When tested by lie detector, they believe what they're saying. We get what's effectively a variation of the old "multiple attacks" formula, but in this case it's multiple questionings being frustrated by the brainwashing milk. Steed is present at all or most of the questionings.

Tara follows the milk but gets dunked in a vat of the stuff during a fight. She tries to warn Sir Joseph, the investigating official with whom Steed is working, by phone, but gets out the opposite of what she wants to say: "This is very unimportant!" In the following interrogation scene, Sir Joseph has been gotten to via his tea and angrily declares Edgefield "not guilty".

Steed gets a special delivery and Tara does her best to warn him while continuing to say the opposite of what she means, even in writing: "The milk is harmless." But it doesn't affect her actions, so she goes back to the plant and tries to destroy all of the containers...and is of course captured. Meanwhile Steed catches on to what Tara was trying to tell him. Steed sneaks into the plant and slips some of the drug into some celebratory champagne with Edgefield before taking the baddies on and rescuing Tara from a butter machine. When he lets her out, she's encased up to her neck in a giant stick of butter.

Tara said:
Steed, I really do hate you.

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Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In
Season 2, episode 10
Originally aired November 25, 1968

The Wiki list of guest appearances said:
Perry Como, Joseph Cotten, Arlene Dahl, Phyllis Diller, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Otto Preminger, Vincent Price, Tiny Tim, Henny Youngman

This episode opens with a Joke Wall, and the opening monologue mentions Thanksgiving coming up Thursday of that week.

Tiny Tim does duets with Joanne Worley, Ruth Buzzi (during the week's news segment), Goldie Hawn, and Judy Carne, as well as group song with the guys during the Burbank sequence. Other sketches that he participates in include a recurring Three Musketeers gag.

After being the subject of a running gag all season, Henny Youngman appears on the show.

Phyllis Diller hosts a look at Beautiful Downtown Burbank:
Note the mention of Phyllis having a show on Sundays.

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"The Seventh Time Around"
Originally aired November 28, 1968

Wiki said:
Donald interviews a wealthy heiress named Trixie Weatherby (Benay Venuta), a woman who has been married six times, that Ann fears might turn Donald into her seventh husband.

This episode features one of the more creative intro lines..."That Girl" in this case refers to Trixie in that it's how she's signed a package to Donald. Trixie is said to be 70; Venuta was 58 at the time, and is hardly the image of the "little old lady" that Donald initially describes, being more of a brazen, bawdy type.

This episode gives us a very direct implication of sex--In a comedic context, Ann says that she has the "urge to do something very physical" after a romantic kiss with Donald.

Thanks to Trixie turning out to be the publisher of NewsView, Donald gets promotion to foreign correspondent, which would involve traveling around a lot to places where she has homes, and not spending as much time with Ann.

Jerry said:
Ruthie I could stay away from for years.

This after last week's episode, when he was crying over a baked apple?

Trixie finally relents after a failed attempt to bribe Ann into giving up Donald.

In the coda, Ann and Donald play what appears to be Monopoly with differently named properties.

This was more entertaining than the usual "relationship rival" episode because of the novel angle...but it looks like they're going to the same well in a much more traditional manner next week.

"Oh, Donald" count: 3

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Ironside
"The Macabre Mr. Micawber"
Originally aired November 28, 1968

Wiki said:
A myna bird that screeches in riddles provides leads to a murderer.

What's with all the mynah birds on TV lately?

Our top-billed guest this week is Burgess Meredith as Alfred Carney, the victim's disgruntled house man (butler/chauffeur)...and the bird, Mr. Micawber, belongs to him! WAUGH WAUGH WAUGH!

Also guesting Kathie Browne, the night before her Trek appearance in "Wink of an Eye," as Elda Thompson, the female accomplice of the killer, Arnie Simms (Bill Fletcher), who's really after after the bird; to that end he bombs Ironside's office to fake a fire, complete with a really fake-looking exterior shot of smoke coming out of a broken window. This would be because the distinctive building featured in the exterior shots no longer existed at this point.

Team Ironside pieces together that the bird was trained by a San Quentin death row inmate who'd been involved in an armored car robbery, as a way of covertly conveying the location of the loot to his accomplices, Simms and ex-con turned pet store proprietor Conny McKay (Jack Kruschen). In the coda, after the bad guys' plans have been foiled, Ironside arranges to have Carney take over McKay's pet shop.

Another Trek guest in a smaller role: Joseph Mell (Earth Trader, "The Cage") as a hotel manager.

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Star Trek
"Wink of an Eye"
Originally aired November 29, 1968
Stardate 5710.5

H&I said:
When a landing party investigating Scalos begins to vanish one by one, Kirk, Spock and McCoy try to find out what is happening before more of the crew disappears.

See my post here.

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Adam-12
"Log 132: Producer"
Originally aired November 30, 1968

Wiki said:
As officers Reed and Malloy track down a prowler and deal with a young boy who somehow got his head stuck in a fence, Reed tries to pawn off his dog's litter of puppies to fellow members of the precinct.

Following the introduction of the puppy situation at the station, the first call is a 459 (burglary) silent at a swim wear outlet. Inside the officers find a long-haired young man in a nehru jacket, and a female accomplice tries to flee but is caught by Reed.

Next they arrive at the scene of the boy who has his head stuck in a cast iron fence (Richard Steele). Since Emergency! hasn't been spun off yet, it falls to the police to handle this sort of thing. Malloy has another boy bring some grease and applies it to the sides of Tommy's head. Then they get the jack from the car and use it to widen the bars, freeing the lad.

Next we see Malloy and Reed on a Code 7 in progress! Enjoy every meal you can get, guys. Returning to their patrol, the respond to a call about a prowler. Knocking on the door, they find that the caller is a young woman in a nightgown. The lady gets a bit flirty with Malloy, and seems very happy to give him her phone number. Reed interrupts the moment to pounce on the opportunity to offer her one of the puppies for protection. She likes the idea, but wants Malloy to pick one out for her and bring it over. Back in the squad car, Malloy cites an anti-fraternization regulation for his lack of interest in following up on her advances. But it gives Malloy the idea of calling some of his existing ladyfriends about the pups.

I don't know what they were cutting out, but there were signs of some really rough syndication editing in the scene shifts of this one.

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Get Smart
"The Laser Blazer"
Originally aired November 30, 1968

Wiki said:
Max's assignment in Hong Kong is to get a new secret weapon from a tailor (Leonard Strong). The new weapon, as it turns out, is a man's blazer with a button on it that activates a laser beam of great strength — a "laser blazer". However, Max doesn't know that the blazer is the weapon...in his view, he's left the tailor's shop merely with a sportscoat he didn't want. Confusion ensues afterward as various people activate the laser by mistake. Julie Newmar guest stars as the new maid 99 hires who is really an undercover KAOS agent after the sportscoat.

The Hong Kong opening, of course, features some bits of business that would be considered offensive today, including the Chief in a Fu Manchu-style disguise and a sign that reads:

HONG KONG TAILORS
WE DUPRICATE ANYTHING

99, now Mrs. Smart, is now living in Max's apartment...and still being referred to by number, even in the privacy of her new home. Max is adamant against hiring the maid, Ingrid...until he sees her.

The accidentally activated laser keeps disintegrating objects while Max is looking elsewhere. Once Ingrid has it smuggled out of the apartment for cleaning, others have even worse luck. A presser at the first dry cleaner's gets killed offscreen; a second dry cleaning establishment gets disintegrated except for the front desk; and a third seems to take the whole block with it. When the blazer is back in Max's apartment, a bank across the street falls victim to it.

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Hogan's Heroes
"No Names Please"
Originally aired November 30, 1968

Wiki said:
Hogan and Klink deal with a Gestapo spy among the guards after a war reporter reveals details of Hogan’s operation to the newspapers.

The prisoners rescue the journalist when he bails from a plane, then smuggle him out of the camp. He does his story despite Hogan's warnings not to...that's gratitude for ya.

The spy, "Private Berger," is James Sikking--Captain Stiles from ST III.

Hogan arranges to help Klink get the Gestapo out from underfoot by revealing an escape tunnel in another barracks, with the plan of letting Klink catch the prisoners attempting to escape. Everyone, including the Gestapo, moves up their plans by one day as Klink anticipates Hogan trying to use the tunnel sooner, while Hochstetter and Hogan anticipate what Klink plans to do.

DIS-missed!

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RJDiogenes said:
Epic classic.

Indeed. One of those songs you're surprised to learn wasn't even a single back in its day.

Kind of religious, but very nice.

Not really catching on for me. I can definitely hear why it wasn't a bigger hit...not up to par with their string of stone-cold classics.

Always pleasant to listen to.

Read something interesting about this and Canned Heat's previous hit...both were radically rearranged '20s blues numbers.

A classic by two classics (and featuring a goddess).

And just one single from an entire collaborative album, Diana Ross & the Supremes Join the Temptations!

RJDiogenes · Dec 3, 2018

The Old Mixer said:
When the bandages are taken off, it's revealed that Santel has been made over to look like Irene Kelly (Sirah from "The Omega Glory"), so that nobody will believe she's Santel...though her right-hand man, Raoul, should be able to back her up. And the Trans-Americo Television crew drives away...Mission: Accomplished.

I'm starting to think that the IMF may be in violation of international law sometimes.

The drug causes its victims to say the opposite of what they mean (a simple transposition of yes's and no's in most of the incidents that we see).

Which leads to a long philosophical discussion of what "opposite" means in context.

Tara follows the milk but gets dunked in a vat of the stuff during a fight.

But of course! :rommie:

She tries to warn Sir Joseph, the investigating official with whom Steed is working, by phone, but gets out the opposite of what she wants to say: "This is very unimportant!"

Wouldn't this be easily solved by just trying to say the opposite of what you mean?

When he lets her out, she's encased up to her neck in a giant stick of butter.

Okay, yeah, it's getting a bit silly.

Tiny Tim does duets with Joanne Worley, Ruth Buzzi (during the week's news segment), Goldie Hawn, and Judy Carne, as well as group song with the guys during the Burbank sequence. Other sketches that he participates in include a recurring Three Musketeers gag.

I liked it when he was part of the cast and not just an object of mockery.

Trixie is said to be 70; Venuta was 58 at the time, and is hardly the image of the "little old lady" that Donald initially describes, being more of a brazen, bawdy type.

A mixture of plastic surgery and hormones.

This episode gives us a very direct implication of sex--In a comedic context, Ann says that she has the "urge to do something very physical" after a romantic kiss with Donald.

Hey, Ann! Leave room for Jesus!

In the coda, Ann and Donald play what appears to be Monopoly with differently named properties.

Well, it is an alternate universe, after all.

Our top-billed guest this week is Burgess Meredith as Alfred Carney, the victim's disgruntled house man (butler/chauffeur)...and the bird, Mr. Micawber, belongs to him! WAUGH WAUGH WAUGH!

Holy Type-Casting!

to that end he bombs Ironside's office to fake a fire, complete with a really fake-looking exterior shot of smoke coming out of a broken window. This would be because the distinctive building featured in the exterior shots no longer existed at this point.

Kinda makes the bombing superfluous.

Since Emergency! hasn't been spun off yet, it falls to the police to handle this sort of thing.

Maybe this gave them the idea! "Y'know, we have better things to do than pulling kids out of fences. There are women in nightgowns out there who need police assistance!"

99, now Mrs. Smart, is now living in Max's apartment...and still being referred to by number, even in the privacy of her new home.

You'd think he'd at least call her "Nigh" or something.

Hogan arranges to help Klink get the Gestapo out from underfoot by revealing an escape tunnel in another barracks, with the plan of letting Klink catch the prisoners attempting to escape.

Wait, he allowed them to capture and execute a bunch of NPCs to protect the main cast?!

Indeed. One of those songs you're surprised to learn wasn't even a single back in its day.

But easy to see why it wasn't. :rommie:

Read something interesting about this and Canned Heat's previous hit...both were radically rearranged '20s blues numbers.

Very interesting indeed. I did not know that.

And just one single from an entire collaborative album, Diana Ross & the Supremes Join the Temptations!

I did know that, though I had forgotten.

The Old Mixer · Dec 3, 2018

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55 Years Ago Spotlight

Mark Lewisohn's The Beatles Day by Day said:
December 2 – The Beatles record three songs and a sketch for the Morecambe and Wise Show at ATV studios, Boreham Wood. (It is transmitted on 18 April 1964 and repeated 24 July 1965.)

Mark Lewisohn's liner notes for Anthology 1 said:
Asked in 1994 to name his favourite of the many television programmes the Beatles had appeared on, Paul McCartney scarcely hesitated in responding The Morcambe and Wise Show.

Mark Lewisohn's The Beatles Day by Day said:
December 6 – First UK release of The Beatles' 1963 Christmas Record, made especially for the group's official fan club.

Selections from Billboard's Hot 100 for the week:

3. "Everybody," Tommy Roe
4. "Louie Louie," The Kingsmen
5. "She's a Fool," Lesley Gore
6. "Sugar Shack," Jimmy Gilmer & The Fireballs
7. "You Don't Have to Be a Baby to Cry," The Caravelles
8. "Be True to Your School," The Beach Boys
9. "Washington Square," The Village Stompers
10. "Walking the Dog," Rufus Thomas
11. "Deep Purple," Nino Tempo & April Stevens
12. "Little Red Rooster," Sam Cooke
13. "Hey Little Girl," Major Lance
14. "Since I Fell for You," Lenny Welch
15. "Drip Drop," Dion
16. "It's All Right," The Impressions

18. "(Down at) Papa Joe's," The Dixiebelles w/ Cornbread & Jerry
19. "Wonderful Summer," Robin Ward
20. "Loddy Lo," Chubby Checker
21. "I Wonder What She's Doing Tonight," Barry & The Tamerlanes

25. "Have You Heard," The Duprees feat. Joey Vann

27. "Can I Get a Witness," Marvin Gaye
28. "In My Room," The Beach Boys
29. "Bossa Nova Baby," Elvis Presley

32. "Popsicles and Icicles," The Murmaids

34. "Quicksand," Martha & The Vandellas
35. "Baby Don't You Weep," Garnet Mimms & The Enchanters
36. "Midnight Mary," Joey Powers
37. "I Adore Him," The Angels
38. "The Nitty Gritty," Shirley Ellis
39. "The Boy Next Door," The Secrets

42. "Kansas City," Trini Lopez
43. "Fools Rush In," Rick Nelson

46. "Saturday Night," The New Christy Minstrels

66. "For Your Precious Love," Garnet Mimms & The Enchanters

70. "Drag City," Jan & Dean

72. "That Lucky Old Sun," Ray Charles

75. "When the Lovelight Starts Shining Through His Eyes," The Supremes

82. "Somewhere," The Tymes
83. "Hooka Tooka," Chubby Checker

85. "Out of Limits," The Marketts

97. "Surfin' Bird," The Trashmen

100. "Anyone Who Had a Heart," Dionne Warwick

Leaving the chart:

"Cry to Me," Betty Harris (11 weeks)
"I Can't Stay Mad at You," Skeeter Davis (13 weeks)
"Mean Woman Blues," Roy Orbison (13 weeks)
"Misty," Lloyd Price (9 weeks)

New on the chart:

"Anyone Who Had a Heart," Dionne Warwick
(#8 US; #2 AC; #6 R&B; #42 UK)

"Surfin' Bird," The Trashmen
(#4 US)

"Out of Limits," The Marketts
(#3 US)

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51st Anniversary Viewing

The Wild Wild West
"The Night of the Turncoat"
Originally aired December 1, 1967

Wiki said:
Jim's temper flares as he seems to be under stress and making many mistakes, resulting in his resignation from the Secret Service. Shortly afterwards, he is recruited by some member of the underworld who seeks to capitalize on his misfortune.

Trek guesting Marj Dusay (Kara from "Spock's Brain") as villain moll Crystal Fair.

I could tell from the episode description that it was going to be a ruse; West's uncharacteristic behavior only reinforced that.
Gambling debts...acting vaguely drunkish...hitting Artie in public. To its credit, the episode revealed that is was by the second act. We learn that a mystery villain had been doing his part to discredit West, so the Secret Service played along to see what their game was.

The villain turns out to be a character called Elisha Calamander, whose MO includes acquiring very rare and valuable items. John McGiver had good spy fi villain presence in the role.

It was obvious from her accent that Bebe Louie, in the role of Calamander's servant Song, was a native English speaker attempting to do pidgin English.

We hear a classical waltz playing in a restaurant scene...did restaurants hire orchestras in the day? Jim leaves a message for Waiter Artie with a carbon paper backup under the tablecloth to account for the message being swiped by one of Calamander's men.

It turns out that Calamander is after "chylesium," a rare, deadly substance that is said to be capable of decimating the country if it existed in sufficient quantity. Only one vial of the substance exists, but it turns into the deadliest known poison gas at room temperature and in normal air pressure. Jim's been hired to steal it from another person who stole it by diving sans equipment into an inland salt water pipeline that leads to the tank where the other villain is keeping the substance. Jim gets caught in the act, but fortunately Artie has infiltrated the installation as an old mailman who insists upon being given exact change...and he brought a miniature blowtorch to boot! In the climax, both sets of bad guys meet in a tunnel just as the chylesium goes up in brightly-colored gas.

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TREK_GOD_1 said:
Yikes. Of the albums of 1968, I would not even dream of rating The Beatles/White Album over much--certainly not Beggars Banquet, Waiting for the Sun, Creedence Clearwater Revival, or Bookends. That's a collection of albums that were not riddled with holes or wrongheaded decisions like the White Album.

Everyone's taste differs, but for my money, Waiting for the Sun isn't playing in the same league as The White Album (and I love the Doors); and Bookends didn't do that much for me.

I don't see a spike thanks to a new media push as being the mark of a trendsetter

The trend was that many other vintage artists dug into their vaults for unreleased material in the wake of Anthology's success. This was being commented on in the media at the time. This included, but was by no means limited to, the Stones finally officially releasing Rock 'n' Roll Circus in '96.

Yes. Let it Be--despite the circumstances that shaped its production (such as the horrible Spector re-shaping of tracks), it was a more coherent product than The Beatles

I can't think of a less coherent Beatles album than Let It Be.

Revisit the 1968 Rolling Stones. That's all I can say.

They were already scheduled to get their turn.

RJDiogenes said:
I'm starting to think that the IMF may be in violation of international law sometimes.

Which suits the concept just fine...much better than taking down produce protection rackets.

Wouldn't this be easily solved by just trying to say the opposite of what you mean?

I'd assume that it didn't work like that.

A mixture of plastic surgery and hormones.

Heh.

Holy Type-Casting!

Well, he didn't turn out to be the culprit, though he was played up as the most obvious suspect early in the story. Maybe it was all a clever ploy to make the citizens of San Francisco think that he'd turned over a new leaf, so he could run for mayor! WAUGH WAUGH WAUGH!

Wait, he allowed them to capture and execute a bunch of NPCs to protect the main cast?!

No no no...it was Hogan and a couple of the regulars feigning the escape attempt. The idea was to make Klink look competent by catching them in the act, and Klink would put Hogan in the cooler just long enough for the Gestapo to get out of his ha...er, camp.

But easy to see why it wasn't.

True! I'm just used to hearing it on classic rock radio.

GNDN18 · Dec 4, 2018

White Chrimble said:
put Hogan in the cooler just long enough for the Gestapo to get out of his ha...er, camp.

Very droll.

So, let me guess. Thirty days in the cooler?

The Old Mixer · Dec 4, 2018

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50th Anniversary Album Spotlight

The Beatles ("The White Album")
The Beatles
(Part 2 of 4)

Side 2 opens with Paul's "Martha My Dear". Paul himself has said that it's not really about his sheepdog at the time, Martha...but it always sounded like it was to me, and I can't stop hearing it being about the dog.

Single-album note: This is a fun, distinctive track, so I'd be personally inclined to keep it...but if space for Paul is an issue, this one could go. Let's call it a definite maybe.

Written when John found himself having trouble sleeping in India, "I'm So Tired" is the insomiacs' anthem, and a powerful John contribution:

(#83 on Rolling Stone's 100 Greatest Beatles Songs)

Single-album note: A definite keeper, especially as it contains the backwards message that had to have sparked the Paul Is Dead conspiracy madness.

Accounts vary as to what "Blackbird" is about, though reportedly Paul's claim that it was about race relations goes back as far as 1968.

(#38 on Rolling Stone's 100 Greatest Beatles Songs; most popular download from the White Album on iTunes, and 5th most popular Beatles download overall)

Trivia note...

Wiki said:
"Blackbird" is, by one count, one of the top ten most recorded songs of all time.

Single-album note: Paul at his best, definite keeper.

George's "Piggies" is quite sonically distinctive, with its harpsichord, pig grunts, and other assorted flourishes, but rather blunt in its social commentary about greed.

Single-album note: It was customary for George to have an average of two songs per album, and the White Album has four. With "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" being a given, each of George's three remaining tracks has its pros and cons for being included as his other contribution. So this constitutes one third of a three-way "maybe".

Now somewhere in the black mining* hills of Dakota there lived a young boy named "Rocky Raccoon":
(7th most popular download from the White Album on iTunes)

Single-album note: George Martin himself reportedly said that this song only made it because it was a double album...but it's such a fun, well-known, and beloved Beatles number that I'm strongly inclined to keep it. Plus, it inspired a comics character who's now a popular part of a multi-billion dollar movie franchise.

Trivia note...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rocky_Raccoon#Composition

Wiki said:
"Rocky Raccoon" is also the last Beatles song to feature John Lennon's harmonica playing.

*My apologies, @Nerys Myk ...the lyric sheet says "mountain," but it's always sounded like "mining" to me, and the new mix doesn't change that.

"Don't Pass Me By" has the distinction of being Ringo's first solo writing credit, goes back at least as far as 1964, and...well, it's Ringo.

Single-album note: As Ringo nearly always got a track on the original albums, and I find this one much preferable to the the alternative...it's a keeper by default.

Inspired by monkeys that Paul saw copulating in India, "Why Don't We Do It in the Road?" is indeed about exactly what it sounds like. Now I love it for its kooky weirdness...

Single-album note: ...but it definitely qualifies as double-album filler, and thus stands as an easy candidate for being left off despite its charm.

"I Will" is a perfectly pleasant Paul contribution...

(8th most popular download from the White Album on iTunes)

...but nevertheless doesn't really "pop" for me the way many other songs on the album do.

Single-album note: With multiple acoustic Paul numbers on the album, I'd be inclined to leave this one off...but in deference to its download popularity, I'll chalk it up as a "maybe" and see what happens.

A plaintive tribute to his mother, whom he lost when he was a teenager, "Julia" stands out among John's many strong contributions to the album for its gentle beauty:

(#69 on Rolling Stone's 100 Greatest Beatles Songs)

Single-album note: Definite keeper.

Trivia note...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Beatles_(album)#Side_two

Wiki said:
This is the only Beatles song on which Lennon performs alone

To be continued with Side 3....

_______

NXmas-01 said:
So, let me guess. Thirty days in the cooler?

Didn't catch an exact time reference, but I'm guessing he'll be out next week....

GNDN18 · Dec 4, 2018

White Chrimble said:
Didn't catch an exact time reference, but I'm guessing he'll be out next week....

I haven’t watched in a while, but thought “thirty days in the cool-AH!” was something of a catchphrase, like “DIS-missed!”

The Old Mixer · Dec 4, 2018

^ Ah, haven't had occasion to notice that. I'll be on the listen-out now.

Now imbibing every time somebody threatens to send Klink or Schultz to the Russian front would definitely be a rule in the drinking game....

RJDiogenes · Dec 4, 2018

White Chrimble said:
"Anyone Who Had a Heart," Dionne Warwick

Not her best, but plaintive.

"Surfin' Bird," The Trashmen

How can you not love this? Not only is it a fun song, but it incorporates another novelty classic, "Papa Oom Mow Mow" (which now reminds me of that interstellar comet or alien artifact or whatever it is).

"Out of Limits," The Marketts

Hmm. Referencing "The Outer Limits," but mimicking the "Twilight Zone" theme. Weird.

I could tell from the episode description that it was going to be a ruse; West's uncharacteristic behavior only reinforced that.

Here's a trope you don't see much anymore. They should have had Artie "kill" him so that he could infiltrate the enemy in disguise.

Jim gets caught in the act, but fortunately Artie has infiltrated the installation as an old mailman who insists upon being given exact change... and he brought a miniature blowtorch to boot!

And then he went postal.

Which suits the concept just fine...much better than taking down produce protection rackets.

Sometimes you just have to kick back and veg out.

No no no...it was Hogan and a couple of the regulars feigning the escape attempt. The idea was to make Klink look competent by catching them in the act, and Klink would put Hogan in the cooler just long enough for the Gestapo to get out of his ha...er, camp.

Whew! I didn't think they would go that far.

White Chrimble said:
Side 2 opens with Paul's "Martha My Dear". Paul himself has said that it's not really about his sheepdog at the time, Martha...but it always sounded like it was to me, and I can't stop hearing it being about the dog.

I wonder how many songs appear to be about people but are really about pets. I immediately thought of "Shannon" when you said this, which is a song you would never guess is about a dog if you didn't know.

Written when John found himself having trouble sleeping in India, "I'm So Tired" is the insomiacs' anthem, and a powerful John contribution:

I can dig it. :rommie:

Accounts vary as to what "Blackbird" is about, though reportedly Paul's claim that it was about race relations goes back as far as 1968.

A classic with a really timeless sound, whatever it's about.

The Old Mixer · Dec 5, 2018

RJDiogenes said:
Not her best, but plaintive.

We'll be hearing more from Dionne in the New Old Year.

How can you not love this?

It was quite the find for me a few years back.

Not only is it a fun song, but it incorporates another novelty classic, "Papa Oom Mow Mow" (which now reminds me of that interstellar comet or alien artifact or whatever it is).

Had to look up what that's about.

Hmm. Referencing "The Outer Limits," but mimicking the "Twilight Zone" theme. Weird.

Not that weird...they're similar, contemporaneous shows that people would naturally have associated with one another.

Here's a trope you don't see much anymore. They should have had Artie "kill" him so that he could infiltrate the enemy in disguise.

But the idea was to find out what the mystery villain wanted with Jim, and it turned out he was trying to recruit Jim for his special skill set.

I wonder how many songs appear to be about people but are really about pets. I immediately thought of "Shannon" when you said this, which is a song you would never guess is about a dog if you didn't know.

I had to look up what song that was, then discovered that I have it. If you remember working on your '70s playlist, you weren't there.

RJDiogenes · Dec 5, 2018

White Chrimble said:
Had to look up what that's about.

Quite fascinating, whatever it is.

Not that weird...they're similar, contemporaneous shows that people would naturally have associated with one another.

I suppose that's true. To me, they're almost opposites, but I'm an SF nerd.

But the idea was to find out what the mystery villain wanted with Jim, and it turned out he was trying to recruit Jim for his special skill set.

I know, I was joking about "The Enterprise Incident," which used that same hero-gone-bad trope.

I had to look up what song that was, then discovered that I have it. If you remember working on your '70s playlist, you weren't there.

That one always sticks in my mind because I have a cousin named Shannon. :rommie:

TREK_GOD_1 · Dec 6, 2018

White Chrimble said:
New on the chart:

"Anyone Who Had a Heart," Dionne Warwick
(#8 US; #2 AC; #6 R&B; #42 UK)

Another instant classic for Warwick.

"Surfin' Bird," The Trashmen
(#4 US)

Something for that rocket headed to the sun.

"Out of Limits," The Marketts
(#3 US)

Silly song, and for a title based on The Outer Limits TV series, its guitar lick is apeing the composer Marius Constant's famous, repeating four note introduction to his main title theme for The Twilight Zone, for which they were sued by Rod Serling. In short, The Marketts were confused or believed they could get away with their sticky-fingered recording.

White Chrimble said:
The Beatles ("The White Album") The Beatles (Part 2 of 4)

Side 2 opens with Paul's "Martha My Dear". Paul himself has said that it's not really about his sheepdog at the time, Martha...but it always sounded like it was to me, and I can't stop hearing it being about the dog.

Not too creatively appealing from Paul.

Single-album note: This is a fun, distinctive track, so I'd be personally inclined to keep it...but if space for Paul is an issue, this one could go. Let's call it a definite maybe.

Written when John found himself having trouble sleeping in India, "I'm So Tired" is the insomiacs' anthem, and a powerful John contribution:
(#83 on Rolling Stone's 100 Greatest Beatles Songs)

Its rankings like that which add to the impression that RS employs people who blindly praise that which does not deserve it.

Accounts vary as to what "Blackbird" is about, though reportedly Paul's claim that it was about race relations goes back as far as 1968.

....and Charles Mason certainly interpreted the song to be a prediction / call to action of black people "rising" to take on / eliminate white people.

George's "Piggies" is quite sonically distinctive, with its harpsichord, pig grunts, and other assorted flourishes, but rather blunt in its social commentary about greed.

Pretentious.

Now somewhere in the black mining* hills of Dakota there lived a young boy named "Rocky Raccoon":
Single-album note: George Martin himself reportedly said that this song only made it because it was a double album..

Meaning, he did not think it was worthy, and if that was his opinion, he was correct.

.but it's such a fun, well-known, and beloved Beatles number that I'm strongly inclined to keep it. Plus, it inspired a comics character who's now a popular part of a multi-billion dollar movie franchise.

Relevance? You're referring to a film franchise that was already a money-inhaling juggernaut long before the Guardians, and that character is nowhere near the reason for its continued success.

"Don't Pass Me By" has the distinction of being Ringo's first solo writing credit, goes back at least as far as 1964, and...well, it's Ringo.

Starr would come into his own during his early solo career. I'll take "It Don't Come Easy", "Photograph" (both co-written with Harrison), "Oh My My", and his remake of "You're Sixteen" over this, or many of his contributions to the Beatles, with the possible exception of "Yellow Submarine".

Inspired by monkeys that Paul saw copulating in India, "Why Don't We Do It in the Road?" is indeed about exactly what it sounds like. Now I love it for its kooky weirdness...

Primarily memorable for the kind of production sound that would define early solo McCartney.

The Old Mixer · Dec 8, 2018

_______

50 Years Ago This Week

December 9 – Douglas Engelbart publicly demonstrates his pioneering hypertext system, NLS, in San Francisco, together with the computer mouse, at what becomes retrospectively known as "The Mother of All Demos".
December 10 – Japan's biggest heist, the never-solved "300 million yen robbery", occurs in Tokyo.

December 11

The film Oliver!, based on the hit London and Broadway musical, opens in the U.S. after being released first in England. It goes on to win the Academy Award for Best Picture.

The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus is filmed but is not released until 1996.

Mark Lewisohn's The Beatles Day by Day said:
December 11 – Paul, with his new girlfriend Linda Eastman and her daughter Heather, flies to Algrave, Portugal for a holiday with Hunter Davies and his family.

Wiki said:
December 13 – Prompted by growing unrest and proliferation of pro-communist terrorist actions, Brazilian president Artur da Costa e Silva enacts the so-called AI-5, the fifth of a series of non-constitutional emergency decrees that helped stabilize the country after the turmoils of the early 1960s.

Selections from Billboard's Hot 100 for the week:

1. "I Heard It Through the Grapevine," Marvin Gaye
2. "Love Child," Diana Ross & The Supremes
3. "For Once In My Life," Stevie Wonder
4. "Abraham, Martin and John," Dion
5. "Who's Making Love," Johnnie Taylor
6. "Hey Jude," The Beatles
7. "Wichita Lineman," Glen Campbell
8. "Stormy," Classics IV feat. Dennis Yost
9. "I Love How You Love Me," Bobby Vinton
10. "Magic Carpet Ride," Steppenwolf
11. "Both Sides Now," Judy Collins
12. "Those Were the Days," Mary Hopkin
13. "Cloud Nine," The Temptations
14. "See Saw," Aretha Franklin
15. "Chewy Chewy," Ohio Express
16. "Scarborough Fair," Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66
17. "Cinnamon," Derek
18. "Bring It On Home to Me," Eddie Floyd
19. "Hold Me Tight," Johnny Nash
20. "I'm Gonna Make You Love Me," Diana Ross & The Supremes and the Temptations
21. "Little Arrows," Leapy Lee
22. "Promises, Promises," Dionne Warwick
23. "Hooked on a Feeling," B.J. Thomas
24. "Soulful Strut," Young-Holt Unlimited
25. "Bang-Shang-A-Lang," The Archies
26. "White Room," Cream
27. "Pickin' Wild Mountain Berries," Peggy Scott & Jo Jo Benson
28. "Too Weak to Fight," Clarence Carter
29. "Till," The Vogues
30. "Shame, Shame," Magic Lanterns

32. "Lo Mucho Que Te Quiero (The More I Love You)," Rene & Rene
33. "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag," Otis Redding
34. "Quick Joey Small (Run Joey Run)," Kasenetz-Katz Singing Orchestral Circus

36. "Son of a Preacher Man," Dusty Springfield

39. "A Ray of Hope," The Rascals
40. "If I Can Dream," Elvis Presley
41. "Hang 'Em High," Booker T. & The MG's

50. "This Is My Country," The Impressions
51. "Stand by Your Man," Tammy Wynette
52. "Going Up the Country," Canned Heat

58. "Bella Linda," The Grass Roots

61. "Crosstown Traffic," The Jimi Hendrix Experience

68. "With a Little Help from My Friends," Joe Cocker

72. "Everyday People," Sly & The Family Stone

85. "Crimson and Clover," Tommy James & The Shondells

87. "(There's Gonna Be a) Showdown," Archie Bell & The Drells

94. "I've Gotta Be Me," Sammy Davis, Jr.

Leaving the chart:

"Crown of Creation," Jefferson Airplane (6 weeks)
"Elenore," The Turtles (12 weeks)
"Hi-Heel Sneakers," Jose Feliciano (8 weeks)
"Little Green Apples," O.C. Smith (17 weeks)
"Midnight Confessions," The Grass Roots (15 weeks)

New on the chart:

"(There's Gonna Be a) Showdown," Archie Bell & The Drells
(#21 US; #6 R&B)

"I've Gotta Be Me," Sammy Davis, Jr.
(#11 US; #1 AC)

"Crimson and Clover," Tommy James & The Shondells
(#1 US the weeks of Feb. 1 and 8, 1969)

And new on the boob tube:

The Ed Sullivan Show, Season 21, episode 8, featuring Liza Minnelli and the Association
Mission: Impossible, "The Play"
The Avengers, "Whoever Shot Poor George Oblique Stroke XR40?"
That Girl, "Decision Before Dawn"
Ironside, "Sergeant Mike"
Adam-12, "Log 61: The Runaway"
Get Smart, "Temporarily Out of CONTROL"
Hogan's Heroes, "Will the Blue Baron Strike Again?"

_______

TREK_GOD_1 said:
Another instant classic for Warwick.

Chronologically speaking, arguably her first, as this was her first Top 20 single.

Something for that rocket headed to the sun.

Wouldn't leave Earth without it! :techman:

Single-album note: This is a fun, distinctive track, so I'd be personally inclined to keep it...but if space for Paul is an issue, this one could go. Let's call it a definite maybe.

We seem to be in complete agreement on this.

Its rankings like that which add to the impression that RS employs people who blindly praise that which does not deserve it.

You did catch the name of the list in question, right...?

Relevance?

Pop cultural influence.

RJDiogenes · Dec 8, 2018

Coincidentally, I just saw Oliver at the theater last night. It was this year's Christmas play. I also saw the movie when it came out fifty years and it gave me nightmares. :rommie:

Also, before I forget again, while I was searching for Christmas presents for Mom, I discovered that there is actually a Topo-themed Ed Sullivan DVD. Hurry before they're all gone. :bolian:

White Chrimble said:
"(There's Gonna Be a) Showdown," Archie Bell & The Drells

My mind kinda wandered....

"I've Gotta Be Me," Sammy Davis, Jr.

Don't forget to tip the veal and try your waitress.

"Crimson and Clover," Tommy James & The Shondells

Ah, now there's a classic.

We seem to be in complete agreement on this.

Nerys Myk · Dec 8, 2018

RJDiogenes said:
Coincidentally, I just saw Oliver at the theater last night. It was this year's Christmas play. I also saw the movie when it came out fifty years and it gave me nightmares.

You didn't ask for more?

RJDiogenes · Dec 9, 2018

^^ Actually, I did kind of enjoy nightmares-- once they were over. I usually ended up turning them into stories or comics or something.

scotpens · Dec 9, 2018

White Chrimble said:
. . . From Germany, the Kessler Twins, Alice and Ellen, give us yet another version of "I Say a Little Prayer":

Here the gimmick is having a couple of slinky model-looking types singing it in unison while dancing about the set, also in unison. Their vocals are a bit spotty to my ear.

I take it you hadn't heard of the Kessler twins before? The leggy sisters were very popular singer/dancers in Europe from the 1950s thru the '80s. I discovered the lovely ladies thanks to YouTube.

I assume the somewhat stilted vocals are due to learning the English lyrics phonetically. The twins were fluent in German, Italian and French.

The Old Mixer · Dec 10, 2018

_______

50th Anniversary Viewing

_______

The Ed Sullivan Show
Season 21, episode 7
Originally aired December 1, 1968
As represented in The Best of the Ed Sullivan Show

Engelbert Humperdinck opens the Best of installment with his then-current hit, "Les Bicyclettes de Belsize" (charted Oct. 19; #31 US; #3 AC; #5 UK). This is...pretty much why I didn't dig deeper than Top 10 for Engelbert. I'm sure that he must have been the hottest thing on the easy listening stations at the time.

Next "the fabulous and unbelievable" Tiny Tim does his rendition of the Jerry Lee Lewis classic "Great Balls of Fire," from his then-new release Tiny Tim's 2nd Album. I can see why this wouldn't have been a successful follow-up (assuming that it wasn't, I couldn't find chart information for it), as it doesn't seem to have as much novelty to it as his rendition of "Tulips".

Engelbert then returns to perform a contemporaneous album cut called "Marry Me," which is more up-tempo than his previous number, but pure lounge music.

Following that, British actor David Hemmings recites Dylan Thomas's "And Death Shall Have No Dominion" while sporting a turtleneck/pendant combo and what used to be considered shockingly long hair four years prior.

Described as being "from the Hotel Plaza's Persian Room," Gloria Loring, apparently a then-new singer and still a future actress, sings a medley of "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" and "I'm Gonna Make You Love Me". She's nice-looking and has a pleasant-sounding voice, but isn't really singing so much as melodically speaking the words. The back-and-forth arrangement of the medley is a bit awkward as well. It comes off as if she couldn't make up her mind which song she wanted to sing.

Next up, dancer Peter Gennaro...dances, to an instrumental arrangement of "I Got Rhythm"...in a banana-yellow nehru suit and big honkin' pendant. (The video linked above appears to be a longer cut of the performance than Best of showed.) He probably would have looked better against something other than the orange background that they gave him.

Finally, Ed brings back "the first...the real love child," Tiny Tim. "My Hero" captures the novelty of "Tulips" a bit better, being sung as a mock-duet.

_______

Mission: Impossible
"The Diplomat"
Originally aired December 1, 1968

Wiki said:
The IMF must discredit an enemy diplomat (Fernando Lamas) who is supplying a foreign power with the locations of U.S. missile control centers.

The reel-to-reel tape in a red box at a park or zoo said:
This tape will self-destruct in five seconds. Good luck, Jim.

Actually, the titular diplomat and enemy operative is Colonel Valentin Yetkoff (Alfred Ryder). Toland (Lamas) is the agent that he brings in to verify the accuracy of the information that they've gained.

This episode has a portfolio scene that includes two guest agents...a suicide prevention clinic doctor (Russ Conway) and the wife of a presidential advisor. The latter, Susan Buchanan (Lee Grant), seems to be subbing for Cin this episode. In an unusual touch, her husband is at the briefing with her to express concern about her safety.

The IMF's first move involves Motorcycle Cop Barney pulling over Willy to give him a ticket, so Willy has the opportunity to slip a capsule into the gas tank of the embassy limo, causing the driver will take it in to Auto Shop Barney, and thus giving Barney and Willy access to the car. They put a compartment in the front seat for Barney to hide in, so that he can slip a fake file on Jim's character into the ambassador's briefcase.

Meanwhile, Phone Company Repairman Jim gains access to the embassy and gets caught snooping around by Grigor (Sid Haig). Jim claims to be a spy in their network, reporting in after his immediate contacts were arrested. The bad guys discover deliberately placed clues of Barney's tampering, causing them to ascertain that Jim's really an American agent...which in this case is part of the plan, of course.

Also meanwhile, News Photog Rollin pretends to be blackmailing Mrs. B, giving Toland (Lamas) a look at Mr. B's wall safe and what's kept in it. He goes after Rollin for the negatives of his blackmail pictures, in an attempt to gain a favor from her, and Rollin fake impales himself trying to flee. Once Mrs. B opens the safe to repay Toland, he openly snatches her husband's little red book and makes her a barbituate cocktail that's intended to be fatal. Never fear, Suicide Doc is standing by outside with Barney and Willy, ready to come to her rescue. While she's under the influence, we get some distorted and color-shifted shots from Mrs. B's drugged perspective. There's a story rationale for why they had to use an actual diplomat's wife in this role, but it could have been interesting if they'd put Cin in such a vulnerable position.

Jim provides intel that further verifies the locations of the missile control centers, backing up Toland's verification...the problem being that since they "know" that Jim's an American agent, it makes them suspect of Toland, so they shoot him on the spot.

The plan was more than sufficiently complex, though I found the way that it came together a bit weak. But we do get a bit of dark humor in the closing lines....

Barney: Toland hasn't come out yet.
Jim: He may be a while.

_______

The Avengers
"All Done with Mirrors"
Originally aired November 13, 1968 (UK); December 2, 1968 (US)

Wiki said:
Secrets are leaking from a defence research establishment, thanks to a new invention: an eavesdropping device which can use any shiny surface to reflect and amplify sound waves. But with Steed unavailable, Tara must investigate with only an inexperienced new agent for support.

Yes, another Tara-centric episode that teams her with a relatively ineffective guest partner. Steed's "under arrest" as part of a counterintelligence ruse; Tara's Substitute Partner of the Week is Watney (Dinsdale Landen). Despite the description, this agent seems older and more experienced than the last, though he's comically pompous. He's also only sporadically in the story, usually in different scenes as Tara investigates mostly solo.

This basically follows the "series of attacks" formula, as a series of individuals is killed by heard-but-not-seen assailants. In the early scenes, it looks like there's an invisibility gimmick involved. Also, very much against standard TV practice, shiny objects are suddenly casting conspicuous amounts of reflected light to get the idea of the actual gimmick across. The bad guys are operating out of a lighthouse within sight of the research facility, which they spy upon using a telescope with two-way sound projection.

Tara gets knocked off a seaside cliff near the lighthouse but survives uninjured, supposedly because she was pushed clear of the rocks.

Tara drops another coy reference to her absent regular partner, as she's attempting to free some prisoners from shackles: "I have a friend who can open these as the drop of a bowler hat." As before, Steed drops in to help only after the situation has been resolved.

The coda has Steed treating Tara to dinner at a nice table set in the middle of a field of dandelions, complete with a steak cooked under the hood of his car.

Mother's unusual perch this episode is sitting in a chair in the middle of a pool.

_______

Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In
Season 2, episode 11
Originally aired December 2, 1968

The Wiki list of guest appearances said:
Joseph Cotten, Tony Curtis, Peter Lawford, Liberace, Cliff Robertson, Henny Youngman

This time the episode opens with the cocktail party, and Dan and Dick then do their opening bit on the party set.

Judy Carne has been named Campus Reporter, giving a Campus Report. Looks like they may be returning to this.

The theme of this week's news segment is that nothing has happened in the past, present, future, or world of sports. Tied in with this...

"I couldn't come up with a poem this week," by Henry Gibson. Well, no muse is good muse.

The theme of the second cocktail party is age.

Laugh-In looks at the Mod World of Tiny, Tiny Children:

Cliff Robertson mentions his new movie Charly, which is based on the short story "Flowers for Algernon".

Arte Johnson's German soldier gives Judy an end-of-episode Sock It to Me.

_______

Singer Presents...Elvis (a.k.a. the '68 Comeback Special)
Originally aired December 3, 1968

The King gets his own post, dammit!

_______

"Ann vs. Secretary"
Originally aired December 5, 1968

Wiki said:
Donald hires a new secretary (Mary Frann), who she suspects is trying to make a move on him...and could actually succeed.

Mary was being credited as Jennifer Douglas in the day.

Donald's previous secretary is said to have been Nora, which wasn't the name of the one that was hitting on Jerry two episodes ago. His new secretary, Pat Crawford is super-efficient and keeping him super-busy at work, such that he has to break a series of dates with Ann. The latest on Donald's dining budget: Now he's taking Ann to an exclusive French restaurant that only has five tables, which he's been trying to get a reservation to for a long time.

When Donald takes Pat with him on a business trip to Washington, Ann assumes the worst and proactively returns his things while taking back hers. Pat does indeed make a move, but Donald asserts his faithfulness to a certain brunette from Brewster and returns from the trip early. When Ann finds out that he's already at the airport, she has to re-exchange everything in comically fast time.

"Oh, Donald" count: 5

_______

Ironside
"Side Pocket"
Originally aired December 5, 1968

Wiki said:
Ironside goes through a series of deceptions to find out why a youth gave up a promising career to become a pool hustler.

Tim Patterson (Michael Christian), already a pool hustler, and a former criminal whom Ironside had previously given a break, had been planning to give it up and go to college to become an engineer. But his brother Bobby (Carl Reindel) owes money to a loan shark from betting against him in a game against the champion pool hustler, Money Howard (Jack Albertson)...though it's suggested that Howard threw that game as part of his long game.

Ironside finds out the why of Tim choosing to stay with pool fairly quickly. He then goes into action to try to get the Pattersons out from under Phil Vance (H.M. Wynant)'s thumb. But Bobby blows the plan and Tim has to play Money again for his brother's well-being. Some undercover cops save Bobby from an attempted hit outside the pool hall, after which Vance's middleman implicates him.

At the end, the Chief and Mark hustle Money with a trick shot that involves putting the cue on the table to guide the ball.

There's no murder in this one, but the pool hall wheeling and dealing was a bit of a mystery to me.

_______

Star Trek
"The Empath"
Originally aired December 6, 1968
Stardate 5121.5

H&I said:
On a planet doomed to destruction, Kirk, Spock & McCoy become involved with two aliens who use them as laboratory animals in a bizarre series of tests on an alien empath who may be the savior of her planet.

See my post here.

I've seen Jason Wingreen come up on a number of shows, but didn't realize that he was a Trek guest.

_______

Adam-12
"Log 111: The Boa Constrictor"
Originally aired December 7, 1968

Wiki said:
A young woman got bitten by a boa constrictor... the one stuffed in the trunk of her car, a 1958 Ford convertible. The only clues Malloy and Reed have to go on is the one that the ditzy blonde blurts out: the large snake kept in the trunk of her car. Reed and Malloy have to keep their wits when stopping every car matching the description, but happening upon a garage burglary provides the biggest clue.

That description is both inaccurate and poorly constructed in its repetitiveness. The woman wasn't bitten, the boa is her pet. And they only stop one car in the episode.

At the beginning of the episode, Reed is on a high from having been one of a handful of probationary officers who had a meeting with the Chief. The first call is to see a woman about a stolen vehicle. The woman (played by Luana Anders) proves to be an airheaded hippie. After a long questioning during which she goes off on a few tangents--including trying to hit on Malloy--the officers learn about Arthur, the titular reptile that she left in the trunk of her stolen car.

Resuming their patrol, the officers smell smoke and come to a house on fire, from which they rescue two unconscious stoners...one of whom reacts negatively when he comes to and learns that he was saved not by the fire department, but by the "lousy, stinkin' fuzz".

The officers then respond to a call about a neighbor dispute. A pair of young wives have been fighting, which includes spraying each other with hoses. Reed calms them down by telling them that if they get taken into the station, they'll have their pictures taken as they are.

Back on patrol, Malloy and Reed spot a car matching the description of the one that was stolen, so they pull over the driver, who's acting "hinky" as Malloy puts it. Checking the trunk, they find not a snake, but a half a pound of marijuana! In the coda, we learn that another pair of officers found Arthur, who'd surprised the thieves when they found him while stripping the car.

_______

Get Smart
"The Farkas Fracas"
Originally aired December 7, 1968

Wiki said:
The Farkases (Tom Bosley and Alice Ghostley)—neighbors of Max and 99—are in the employ of KAOS. When KAOS needs the contents of an attaché case the Chief is carrying, Mrs. Farkas arranges to supply 99 with a dessert for the supper she has prepared for Max and the Chief... a poisoned mousse. While Max and the Chief suffer the gastric effects of the mousse, Mr. Farkas is to go in and capture the contents of the case. Agent 99 discovers what has happened and is kidnapped, tied up and zipped up in a garment bag. Will Max live to stop them?

In the opening, Max gets a call from the missus on his shoe phone while he and the Chief are in the middle of a firefight with KAOS agents.

Chief, I can't hear a word 99 is saying. Could you put a silencer on your gun?

In the same scene, the Chief does the "I asked you not to tell me that" gag.

Max sneaks up on 99 for a kiss when he gets home and she instinctively slugs him.

Naomi and Emil Farkas are an actual bickering couple behind closed doors. When she wonders out loud what they can poison the Smarts with, he hands her the dinner plate that he's been eating. When they eavesdrop on the Chief's reaction to the chocolate mousse...

Emil said:
You'd think the poison would've improved the taste.

After he and the Chief have been enduring the effects of the poison for a while, Max goes into the kitchen to destroy what they assume is 99's recipe.

The Chief said:
If she tries to stop you, kill her.

When Naomi objects to letting 99 know that they're KAOS agents...

Emil said:
You're holding a gun on her while I'm taking pictures of secret documents. Who else would she think we were, Sonny and Cher?

After this, 99 is briefly tied up in the closet...there's no garment bag involved.

_______

Hogan's Heroes
"Bad Day in Berlin"
Originally aired December 7, 1968

Wiki said:
To catch a spy, Hogan teams up with a deep-cover American spy (Harold J. Stone) and takes a trip to Berlin.

Stone is playing Major Teppel, a German American who's embedded in German intelligence. He needs Hogan's help because there's a British intelligence officer, Decker, who was also a double agent, and he's gone back to Berlin with extensive info about Allied underground operations, including Hogan's.

Teppel uses a trick ring to drug Decker with a handshake, Carter and Newkirk smuggle him out of his hotel dressed as an ambulance crew.

John Hoyt appears as Colonel Braun of the Gestapo, who gets shot by some Allied agents outside the hotel who are intended to serve as backup for taking out Decker. With Decker already taken care of, Hogan has to find a way to leave a hotel with the agent's identifying briefcase, so he arranges for the colonel to carry it out for him.

I agree with one of the IMDb reviewers...while I'm sure that Hogan's panickiness as elements of the plan go awry was supposed to be humorous, as Teppel's playing the straight man, it seems out of character for the usually calm, cool, and collected colonel who's always ready to seize an opportunity on the fly.

In the coda, Klink's upset with Hogan after reading Teppel's falsified transcript of his interrogation of Hogan (the cover for taking the trio of prisoners to Berlin), which has Hogan describing Klink as "very humane".

DIS-missed!

_______

RJDiogenes said:
My mind kinda wandered....

Can't say that I blame you this time. Anyway, this was the last of Archie & the Drell's three Top 40 hits.

Don't forget to tip the veal and try your waitress.

Yeah, I skipped this one. I respect Sammy, but like the song in question says....

Ah, now there's a classic.

Indeed! This single marked the beginning of Tommy James assuming greater control over the band's direction, hence the Shondells catching up a bit more with the times.

scotpens said:
I take it you hadn't heard of the Kessler twins before?

Nope.

GNDN18 · Dec 10, 2018

White Chrimble said:
Following that, British actor David Hemmings recites Dylan Thomas's "And Death Shall Have No Dominion" while sporting a turtleneck/pendant combo and what used to be considered shockingly long hair four years prior.

The Old Mixer · Dec 10, 2018

Monty Python?

(Googles.)

Yep, Monty Python.

OK, this one has been bugging me for some time--Would anyone have any idea who the hell this guy is? Because he sure doesn't look anything like the Oliver that Music Choice seems to think he is....

The Classic/Retro Pop Culture Thread

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