The Classic/Retro Pop Culture Thread
- Thread starter The Old Mixer
- Start date
Well, Morrison could send the needle redlining on the pompous meter, so one can see why he wanted separate credits. Ironically (or maybe not in the grand scheme of things) Krieger wrote not only the best track of the album, but one of their--and the decade's--signature songs, with the innovative "Touch Me." I guess Morrison got what he asked for...
The album also contains Cobert cues used since the early days of the series. If you ever have a desire to go deep into the Dark Shadows music pool, I highly reccomend the 8-disc Dark Shadows: Complete Soundtrack Music Collection (MPI, 2006). Every single cue, reprise, alternate take and theme variations are in this collection. It is easily one of the most comprehensive soundtracks of any kind ever released, right on par with La-La Land Records' Star Trek: The Original Series Soundtrack Collection.
This song epitomized what James Brown and his band brought to funk music. To someone hearing the record for the first time, it may sound like total chaos, with all the instruments playing their own rhythm, kind of like what ragtime may have sounded like to someone who had never heard anything but classical music a hundred years ago.
George Clinton and P-Funk get a lot of credit for being funk pioneers but they cut way back on the most important parts of this music, poly rhythms and delayed beats, in order to "sell" their music to a crossover audience.
I liked some P-Funk songs but as a band, they weren't nearly as important to the music as James and the JB's (along with Sly and the master musicians of New Orleans) were.
Myron Cohen used to crack me up as a kid. I'm not Jewish and many of the nuances of his jokes and stories went over my head, but his timing, the characters he created, and many of his punchlines, I could understand even as a child. He was great.
Oh, yes.
We had relatives who got color TV before us, so it's possible that I saw Trek in color before we got ours, but I don't remember anything specific. But I definitely remember being knocked out by the View-Master reels and wishing I could get every episode.
I don't know. I saved the link, but haven't really looked at it closely. There could be issues with copyrighted material.
Sounds like Science Fiction to me. I remember when this show was grounded in reality.
It never pays to get greedy.
Out of the friar pan....
Oh, yeah, I saw this part a few weeks ago.
My Sister was always quick to point that out.
Yeah, I was being a little sarcastic.
I'm always surprised when I re-learn that it's not just John & Yoko. I get a kick out of the refrain. It's a little amazing that this song got mainstream play.
Ugh, I hate that. Maybe the episodes are available online somewhere.
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50th Anniversary Viewing
_______
The Ed Sullivan Show
Season 21, episode 33
Originally aired June 8, 1969
As represented in The Best of the Ed Sullivan Show
Also in the original episode according to tv.com:
_______
50th Anniversary Viewing
_______
The Ed Sullivan Show
Season 21, episode 33
Originally aired June 8, 1969
As represented in The Best of the Ed Sullivan Show
I wasn't able to confirm that this specific Myron Cohen performance was from this date, but given the dates of the surrounding material in the mixed Best of installment, this listing on tv.com seemed to be the most likely suspect. Cohen tells one brief story about a woman who's shown the same chicken twice by a butcher and wants to take them both; then another about a woman facing a major surgery who gives her husband permission to find happiness with another woman should anything happen to her, with the punchline indicating that he's already got one picked out.Ed said:
Also in the original episode according to tv.com:
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I was referring to my decision of whether or not to get that specific single.
Ooooh...woulda given you extra points for "out of the friar pen"...!
Pass that Like on to your sis for me, will ya?
It's not one of those shows that I'd go out of my way to pursue for the sake of continuing it. Hopefully, eventually Cozi will move it again or my affiliate will stop preempting it.
And while it certainly has the tone of John flipping the bird to his critics, it's not nearly as self-indulgent as his post-Beatles work in the '70s. Besides, it's a catchy little tune.
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50th Anniversary Album Spotlight
Odessey and Oracle
The Zombies
Released April 19, 1968 (UK); June 1968 (US)
Chart debut: March 15, 1969
Chart peak: #95, May 10, 1969
#80 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time
To my ear, this album sort of finds its tone in the first couple of songs and just stays there. The individual songs sound perfectly pleasant, but there's a certain samety-sameness about it all. The album doesn't take me on a journey like a good Beatles or Doors album, nor is it as rawly experimental as Jimi Hendrix. The only song that really stands out from the others is the big single, "Time of the Season," because it's the only one that has that Zombies sound that I recognize from their three major singles. You can easily tell that it's from the same band as their early pair of hits from '64 and '65, but it's not as easy to tell that the rest of the album is by the same band that did those three. In fact, the bulk of the album reminds me a lot of 1967-68's Something Else by The Kinks, in that it seems to share that undefinable extra-British quality about it that makes me feel that something's being lost in translation for me.
The lyric videos below appear to be official Zombies product, but be warned that (a) they don't display the full lyrics of the songs, and (b) they're in mono, so you won't be getting the full auditory experience of the stereo version of the album.
The album opens with "Care of Cell 44," which...
Next is "A Rose for Emily," which relates the melancholy existence of an unloved woman. In this it touches upon very similar ground as "Eleanor Rigby," but only foretells of her eventual lonely death, rather than depicting it in the here-and-now of the narrative.
"Maybe After He's Gone," the story of a man who's lost his love to another, perhaps comes close to finding that more recognizable Zombies sound.
"Beechwood Park" is part of a recurring theme on the album of nostalgia for a cherished time and place.
"Brief Candles" sounds like Emily found a date, but with somebody who's as relationship-dysfunctional as she is. The switch in perspective from one character to the other is interesting.
The first side closes with "Hung Up on a Dream," which evokes the flower power that was in full bloom when the album was being recorded.
Side 2 opens with "Changes," another nostalgia-fueled song, but with a distinctive medievalish quality about it.
"I Want Her, She Wants Me" may have dubious the honor of being the least distinctive song on the album. About all it's got to set it apart is that harpsichord sound, which isn't terribly unusual in this period.
"This Will Be Our Year" seems like it maybe wants to be the closing song, contrasting the album's more backward-looking songs with optimism for the future.
This was released on 45 as the B-side of the next song in June 1968, and also appears to have been a promotional single.
"Butcher's Tale (Western Front 1914)" is an odd follow-up for it.
"Friends of Mine" is back to sounding like pretty much everything else on the album, though the chanting of names in the backing vocals is somewhat catchy.
That the album closes with "Time of the Season," already the odd song out in the collection, makes it sound tacked on as an afterthought.
(Charted Feb. 8, 1969; #3 US)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Odessey_and_Oracle#Reception
Next up: Dusty in Memphis, Dusty Springfield
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50th Anniversary Album Spotlight
Odessey and Oracle
The Zombies
Released April 19, 1968 (UK); June 1968 (US)
Chart debut: March 15, 1969
Chart peak: #95, May 10, 1969
#80 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time
Wiki said:
To my ear, this album sort of finds its tone in the first couple of songs and just stays there. The individual songs sound perfectly pleasant, but there's a certain samety-sameness about it all. The album doesn't take me on a journey like a good Beatles or Doors album, nor is it as rawly experimental as Jimi Hendrix. The only song that really stands out from the others is the big single, "Time of the Season," because it's the only one that has that Zombies sound that I recognize from their three major singles. You can easily tell that it's from the same band as their early pair of hits from '64 and '65, but it's not as easy to tell that the rest of the album is by the same band that did those three. In fact, the bulk of the album reminds me a lot of 1967-68's Something Else by The Kinks, in that it seems to share that undefinable extra-British quality about it that makes me feel that something's being lost in translation for me.
The lyric videos below appear to be official Zombies product, but be warned that (a) they don't display the full lyrics of the songs, and (b) they're in mono, so you won't be getting the full auditory experience of the stereo version of the album.
The album opens with "Care of Cell 44," which...
This was released on both sides of the pond as the first single from the album in November 1967, but didn't chart.Wiki said:
Next is "A Rose for Emily," which relates the melancholy existence of an unloved woman. In this it touches upon very similar ground as "Eleanor Rigby," but only foretells of her eventual lonely death, rather than depicting it in the here-and-now of the narrative.
"Maybe After He's Gone," the story of a man who's lost his love to another, perhaps comes close to finding that more recognizable Zombies sound.
"Beechwood Park" is part of a recurring theme on the album of nostalgia for a cherished time and place.
"Brief Candles" sounds like Emily found a date, but with somebody who's as relationship-dysfunctional as she is. The switch in perspective from one character to the other is interesting.
The first side closes with "Hung Up on a Dream," which evokes the flower power that was in full bloom when the album was being recorded.
Side 2 opens with "Changes," another nostalgia-fueled song, but with a distinctive medievalish quality about it.
"I Want Her, She Wants Me" may have dubious the honor of being the least distinctive song on the album. About all it's got to set it apart is that harpsichord sound, which isn't terribly unusual in this period.
"This Will Be Our Year" seems like it maybe wants to be the closing song, contrasting the album's more backward-looking songs with optimism for the future.
This was released on 45 as the B-side of the next song in June 1968, and also appears to have been a promotional single.
"Butcher's Tale (Western Front 1914)" is an odd follow-up for it.
I dunno if it's all that...the subject matter is heavy, but the music sounds quirky and carnivalesque, and thus squanders the album's best opportunity to more decisively vary its tone.Wiki said:
"Friends of Mine" is back to sounding like pretty much everything else on the album, though the chanting of names in the backing vocals is somewhat catchy.
That the album closes with "Time of the Season," already the odd song out in the collection, makes it sound tacked on as an afterthought.
(Charted Feb. 8, 1969; #3 US)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Odessey_and_Oracle#Reception
So while Odessey and Oracle has retrospectively accumulated a list of accolades that can't be ignored, even the acclaim for the album paints it as obscure and fluky. In cases like this, I find that I'm inclined to side with the original impressions of the record buyers and critics of the day. This album doesn't do enough to stand out from the pack in an incredible, boundary-pushing era of music.Wiki said:
Next up: Dusty in Memphis, Dusty Springfield
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Something the song has going against it for me is that it's an early example of John indulging in the sort of "song journalism" that will be the basis of 1972's dreadful Some Time in New York City.
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Yeah, I remember seeing this one a few months ago.
Ah, I wish I had thought of that.Ooooh...woulda given you extra points for "out of the friar pen"...!
Will do.
I didn't look into it deeply, but Amazon Prime does have old Dragnet episodes-- the catch being that they're about two bucks apiece.
Yeah, it all really lacks that ethereal quality that made The Zombies unique-- at least for that handful of singles.
Yeah, its really one of the more eye-catching View-Master subjects, and it did not hurt that the V-M photographers largely used the same lighting set-up as the actual episode.
Agreed. When they were at their best, early Zombies had a voice and mood of their own, despite the idea that they were influenced by other acts, as heard in a track such as "Leave Me Be" (released in November of 1964)--
A standout song for the band.
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Dragnet 1968
"The Suicide Attempt"
Originally aired February 29, 1968
Monday, November 25 (1968?): Friday and Gannon are working the day watch out of Homicide Division when they take a call from a woman in New York whose son--Ralph Harmon, an architectural engineer living in Los Angeles who has a wife and child--called her to say goodbye. The detectives visit his wife, Anna Marie (Luana Anders), who informs them that they've split up and he's now living with his sister, Nina Draper (Jill Donohue), and her husband. They wait for Nina at her apartment. When they tell her the situation, she's confident that Ralph will call her before he goes through with it.
Ralph calls and Nina tries to keep him talking so that the call can be traced, and learns that he's already taken an overdose of sleeping pills. When it seems like he's about to lose consciousness and Nina loses her composure, Friday gets on and forcefully attempts to get information out of the fading Harmon, but can't understand what he's trying to say. Tracing the pills that he took to the doctor who prescribed them, Friday and Gannon deduce that they've got maybe 90 minutes to find him, on the outside, before it's too late to pump his stomach.
The phone company traces the call to a lobby phone at the Hollywood Elsinore Hotel. The manager (Don Ross) doesn't show Ralph being registered at the hotel, but gathers the bellboys so that Friday can read his description. This is one of those moments when TV budgeting really draws attention to itself...the six of them indicate that they haven't seen Harmon solely via looking at each other and shaking their heads, without any of them emitting so much as a murmur or grunt. They check the hotel bar and learn from the bartender (Herb Vigran) that Ralph had been seen talking to a woman named Tami (Quinn O'Hara), whom he thinks might be a go-go dancer. They track her down to a nearby club where she works, and although she's generally defensive and didn't leave the bar with him, she recalls enough individual clues about where he was staying from their conversation that the detectives are able to narrow it down to three likely rooms at the Elsinore. Checking those rooms, they find him lying on the bed in 616.
"The Big Departure"
Originally aired March 7, 1968
Wednesday, January 3 (1968!): Friday and Gannon are working the day watch out of Juvenile Division when they respond to a 459 at a grocery store. The middle-aged owner caught the young group of burglars in the act and got roughed up. While he wasn't able to see them because he lost his glasses in the scuffle, his description makes them sound like hippie types, of course, and he heard them debating their actions and mentioning that they were a sovereign political body. A hardware and drug store have also been hit by burglars who match the M.O. The suspects have been methodical about what they've taken, which includes lots of practical items, like first aid supplies, tools, and cookware. Friday wryly notes that they've missed two opportunities to steal some soap. Over the next couple of weeks, the burglars also hit an electrical supply house, stealing a generator, and a record store.
The detectives get a break when three groovily dressed young male suspects are caught robbing a sporting goods store: Paul Seever (Kevin Coughlin), Charles L. Vail (Roger Mobley), and Dennis J. Meldon (Lou Wagner). They engage in a lot of "smart talk" and are eventually persuaded to describe how they plan to build a new society that denounces material values, with a "perfect form of government."
Friday brings in a stolen rifle that they'd planned to use for hunting and makes a point when none of them knows where the safety is. He also demonstrates their lack of gardening knowledge when he points out that the asparagus seeds they stole will need two years to grow. The detectives take turns mentioning all the things that could wrong, like injury and death, and how they'll eventually run out of all those supplies. Then Gannon points out the obvious, that $4,000 worth of stolen property is pretty material. Challenging their ideals, Friday indicates that 6 or 7 times the number of people who die in Vietnam this year will die in car accidents. Then Gannon goes for the soft sale and points out that they shouldn't give up their dissatisfaction and desire to change things, but they should put it to work where they're at. The kids reluctantly agree to snitch on who their confederates are.
These kids were pushovers compared to Not Leary.
_______
Dragnet 1968
"The Suicide Attempt"
Originally aired February 29, 1968
Xfinity said:
Sgt. Joe Friday said:
Monday, November 25 (1968?): Friday and Gannon are working the day watch out of Homicide Division when they take a call from a woman in New York whose son--Ralph Harmon, an architectural engineer living in Los Angeles who has a wife and child--called her to say goodbye. The detectives visit his wife, Anna Marie (Luana Anders), who informs them that they've split up and he's now living with his sister, Nina Draper (Jill Donohue), and her husband. They wait for Nina at her apartment. When they tell her the situation, she's confident that Ralph will call her before he goes through with it.
Ralph calls and Nina tries to keep him talking so that the call can be traced, and learns that he's already taken an overdose of sleeping pills. When it seems like he's about to lose consciousness and Nina loses her composure, Friday gets on and forcefully attempts to get information out of the fading Harmon, but can't understand what he's trying to say. Tracing the pills that he took to the doctor who prescribed them, Friday and Gannon deduce that they've got maybe 90 minutes to find him, on the outside, before it's too late to pump his stomach.
The phone company traces the call to a lobby phone at the Hollywood Elsinore Hotel. The manager (Don Ross) doesn't show Ralph being registered at the hotel, but gathers the bellboys so that Friday can read his description. This is one of those moments when TV budgeting really draws attention to itself...the six of them indicate that they haven't seen Harmon solely via looking at each other and shaking their heads, without any of them emitting so much as a murmur or grunt. They check the hotel bar and learn from the bartender (Herb Vigran) that Ralph had been seen talking to a woman named Tami (Quinn O'Hara), whom he thinks might be a go-go dancer. They track her down to a nearby club where she works, and although she's generally defensive and didn't leave the bar with him, she recalls enough individual clues about where he was staying from their conversation that the detectives are able to narrow it down to three likely rooms at the Elsinore. Checking those rooms, they find him lying on the bed in 616.
The Announcer said:
"The Big Departure"
Originally aired March 7, 1968
Xfinity said:
Sgt. Joe Friday said:
Wednesday, January 3 (1968!): Friday and Gannon are working the day watch out of Juvenile Division when they respond to a 459 at a grocery store. The middle-aged owner caught the young group of burglars in the act and got roughed up. While he wasn't able to see them because he lost his glasses in the scuffle, his description makes them sound like hippie types, of course, and he heard them debating their actions and mentioning that they were a sovereign political body. A hardware and drug store have also been hit by burglars who match the M.O. The suspects have been methodical about what they've taken, which includes lots of practical items, like first aid supplies, tools, and cookware. Friday wryly notes that they've missed two opportunities to steal some soap. Over the next couple of weeks, the burglars also hit an electrical supply house, stealing a generator, and a record store.
The detectives get a break when three groovily dressed young male suspects are caught robbing a sporting goods store: Paul Seever (Kevin Coughlin), Charles L. Vail (Roger Mobley), and Dennis J. Meldon (Lou Wagner). They engage in a lot of "smart talk" and are eventually persuaded to describe how they plan to build a new society that denounces material values, with a "perfect form of government."
Friday: Nobody's ever made it work.
Seever: We will.
Friday: No you won't.
Seever: Why not?
Friday: You haven't got perfect people.
Seever: We will.
Friday: No you won't.
Seever: Why not?
Friday: You haven't got perfect people.
Friday brings in a stolen rifle that they'd planned to use for hunting and makes a point when none of them knows where the safety is. He also demonstrates their lack of gardening knowledge when he points out that the asparagus seeds they stole will need two years to grow. The detectives take turns mentioning all the things that could wrong, like injury and death, and how they'll eventually run out of all those supplies. Then Gannon points out the obvious, that $4,000 worth of stolen property is pretty material. Challenging their ideals, Friday indicates that 6 or 7 times the number of people who die in Vietnam this year will die in car accidents. Then Gannon goes for the soft sale and points out that they shouldn't give up their dissatisfaction and desire to change things, but they should put it to work where they're at. The kids reluctantly agree to snitch on who their confederates are.
The Announcer said:
These kids were pushovers compared to Not Leary.
_______
If it's the same set they have on iTunes, it's a "best of" collection from Seasons 1 and 2, so stuff that I've seen anyway.
I'm gratified that it's not just me.
God, I haven't heard this song in 100 years.
The Zombies were still pretty good in 1990 as well:
Yeah, that's more like it.
That sounds like it was pretty suspenseful. And an interesting episode, with no crime or violence, just a race to save somebody from himself. Did they ever say what brought him to this?
See, the Right Wing and the Left Wing can find common ground.
It always comes down to that.
Defeated by the relentless hammer of Joe Friday's hard-boiled pragmatism.
Actually, it seems to be seasons 2, 3, and 4.
Presumably how his wife had split with him because of his floundering career.
Interesting...not a bad price point per episode if buying full seasons...but I was planning to use that approach very sparingly. For Dragnet, I think I'll wait and see if it becomes watchable on Cozi again.
I don't blame you. It seems to me that Dragnet is one of those things that should be free with Prime.
Although I am tempted to buy Blue Boy.
Although I am tempted to buy Blue Boy.
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Dragnet 1968
"The Big Investigation"
Originally aired March 14, 1968
Thursday, February 8 (1968): Friday and Gannon are working the day watch out of Personnel Division when Friday is selected to serve on a board reviewing applicants for the Police Academy. Each board consists of two civilian volunteers and a police sergeant. Friday's board interviews a young man named Howard Digby (Gene Boland). They focus on an incident in which he was let go from a service station job two years prior because he hid in a grease pit during the robbery, getting a description of the robbers and their license plate number, which led to their quick apprehension. The civilians are doubtful if they'd want him as a police officer, but Friday is in Digby's corner, insisting that it was the right thing for a civilian to do.
After that, Friday and Gannon are reviewing the detailed application forms from which background checks will be conducted. They talk to an applicant named Harry Lanham (Don Stewart), questioning him about the cirumstances of his divorce. After the interview, Friday has the sense that Lanham has been questioned before, though he claims to have no record.
Next the detectives are assigned to conduct those background checks, which involves hitting the road and asking lots of questions. They talk to Lanham's ex in Nevada (Susan Seaforth) and get their first indication that he may be lying...she indicates that he left town six months earlier than he claims he did. They then talk to Lanham's old boss, who's very defensive of Harry, and trick him into indicating which one was telling the truth by claiming that the wife had given them the later date. They find that Lanham has indeed been lying about those six months.
The detectives talk to a friend whom Lanham had listed a reference, who tells them that Harry was mailing his temporary payments to his ex from a pool hall in Carson City. Checking that locale proves to be a dead end, but they ask about him at the police department in Wiley while they're passing through that town, and hit the jackpot. Lanham was working those months in their department, but was let go for excessive use of force. The chief they talk to (Ed Deemer) questions how the taxpayers feel about the expense of their background investigations.
This episode spans a period of nearly two months, the last scene taking place on March 29.
I should point out that sources vary regarding how many of these episode titles actually have the word "Big" in them. For these two, it was particularly difficult to tell which version of the title to use.
"The Big Gambler"
Originally aired March 21, 1968
Wednesday, May 1 (1968): Friday and Gannon, working the day watch out of Frauds Division (I think that's the first time it hasn't been followed by "Bunco Section"), talk to the owner of a small electronics firm, Edward Loring (Robert Brubaker), who's found that $100,000 has come up missing from his company. He has it narrowed down to three suspects whom everything goes through, but doesn't believe that any of them would have done it.
One is mild-mannered Sally Fisher (Virginia Vincent), who handles personnel and accounts receivable, and made a mistake in her books a few years previously to the tune of $3,000.
Another is warehouse manager George Barnes (Julian Burton), who acts testy, admits to occasional gambling, has a record for disturbing the peace, and demonstrates financial instability, the last partially to please a girlfriend who likes to have money spent on her.
Finally, there's Henry Pendleton (Vic Perrin), purchasing agent. They speak to his wife (Virginia Gregg...who else?) and learn from her that they're struggling because of alimony payments from a previous marriage, and that he's been moonlighting at a gas station...but they go to the location of Pendleton's second job to find that they've never heard of him. So they follow Pendleton after work to a parking lot where they see him get into a dispute involving money with the attendant. Calling it in, they find that the location is suspected of being involved in bookmaking. They next follow Pendleton to a gambling club in the town of Clover, where draw poker is legal. Questioning the security guard, they learn that Pendleton's not just a regular there, but has a system that includes working a series of clubs.
Taking Pendleton in and questioning him, the detectives learn that the previous marriage is just a story for his wife. Friday gives Pendleton one of his patented rapid-fire lectures about how he's a compulsive gambler and it's a sickness, after which Pendleton admits to having taken the money, and Gannon gets in a plug for Gambler's Anonymous.
Callsign continuity: Friday and Gannon's car is still 1-K-80.
Funny coincidence department: By the naming/numbering system I've been using for my screencaps, the one above just happens to be...Dragnet68.
And so, thanks to my Cozi affiliate, and paraphrasing Bill Mumy...that's all the Dragnet there is!
_______
Dragnet 1968
"The Big Investigation"
Originally aired March 14, 1968
Xfinity said:
Sgt. Joe Friday said:
Thursday, February 8 (1968): Friday and Gannon are working the day watch out of Personnel Division when Friday is selected to serve on a board reviewing applicants for the Police Academy. Each board consists of two civilian volunteers and a police sergeant. Friday's board interviews a young man named Howard Digby (Gene Boland). They focus on an incident in which he was let go from a service station job two years prior because he hid in a grease pit during the robbery, getting a description of the robbers and their license plate number, which led to their quick apprehension. The civilians are doubtful if they'd want him as a police officer, but Friday is in Digby's corner, insisting that it was the right thing for a civilian to do.
After that, Friday and Gannon are reviewing the detailed application forms from which background checks will be conducted. They talk to an applicant named Harry Lanham (Don Stewart), questioning him about the cirumstances of his divorce. After the interview, Friday has the sense that Lanham has been questioned before, though he claims to have no record.
Next the detectives are assigned to conduct those background checks, which involves hitting the road and asking lots of questions. They talk to Lanham's ex in Nevada (Susan Seaforth) and get their first indication that he may be lying...she indicates that he left town six months earlier than he claims he did. They then talk to Lanham's old boss, who's very defensive of Harry, and trick him into indicating which one was telling the truth by claiming that the wife had given them the later date. They find that Lanham has indeed been lying about those six months.
The detectives talk to a friend whom Lanham had listed a reference, who tells them that Harry was mailing his temporary payments to his ex from a pool hall in Carson City. Checking that locale proves to be a dead end, but they ask about him at the police department in Wiley while they're passing through that town, and hit the jackpot. Lanham was working those months in their department, but was let go for excessive use of force. The chief they talk to (Ed Deemer) questions how the taxpayers feel about the expense of their background investigations.
Friday said:
The Announcer said:
This episode spans a period of nearly two months, the last scene taking place on March 29.
I should point out that sources vary regarding how many of these episode titles actually have the word "Big" in them. For these two, it was particularly difficult to tell which version of the title to use.
"The Big Gambler"
Originally aired March 21, 1968
Xfinity said:
Sgt. Joe Friday said:
Wednesday, May 1 (1968): Friday and Gannon, working the day watch out of Frauds Division (I think that's the first time it hasn't been followed by "Bunco Section"), talk to the owner of a small electronics firm, Edward Loring (Robert Brubaker), who's found that $100,000 has come up missing from his company. He has it narrowed down to three suspects whom everything goes through, but doesn't believe that any of them would have done it.
One is mild-mannered Sally Fisher (Virginia Vincent), who handles personnel and accounts receivable, and made a mistake in her books a few years previously to the tune of $3,000.
Another is warehouse manager George Barnes (Julian Burton), who acts testy, admits to occasional gambling, has a record for disturbing the peace, and demonstrates financial instability, the last partially to please a girlfriend who likes to have money spent on her.
Finally, there's Henry Pendleton (Vic Perrin), purchasing agent. They speak to his wife (Virginia Gregg...who else?) and learn from her that they're struggling because of alimony payments from a previous marriage, and that he's been moonlighting at a gas station...but they go to the location of Pendleton's second job to find that they've never heard of him. So they follow Pendleton after work to a parking lot where they see him get into a dispute involving money with the attendant. Calling it in, they find that the location is suspected of being involved in bookmaking. They next follow Pendleton to a gambling club in the town of Clover, where draw poker is legal. Questioning the security guard, they learn that Pendleton's not just a regular there, but has a system that includes working a series of clubs.
Taking Pendleton in and questioning him, the detectives learn that the previous marriage is just a story for his wife. Friday gives Pendleton one of his patented rapid-fire lectures about how he's a compulsive gambler and it's a sickness, after which Pendleton admits to having taken the money, and Gannon gets in a plug for Gambler's Anonymous.
The Announcer said:
Callsign continuity: Friday and Gannon's car is still 1-K-80.
Funny coincidence department: By the naming/numbering system I've been using for my screencaps, the one above just happens to be...Dragnet68.
And so, thanks to my Cozi affiliate, and paraphrasing Bill Mumy...that's all the Dragnet there is!
_______
Presumably there's another board that screens the civilian volunteers, otherwise they'd be a lot of guys named Vito approving the applicants.
Wow, what did they expect him to do? That certainly seems like the wisest course of action to me.
So... he's been to the Academy before, or Carson City just hires their cops off the street?
Crime writers like to use that template because it's evocative of The Big Sleep, but these guys really overdo it. They should have made it a thing, like Wild Wild West's "Night of the...."
RJDiogenes is the size of a... uh... blueberry bush. Or something.
Oh, what a tangled web he weaves.
I think a little lecture from Joe Friday is in order.
_______
55 Years Ago This Week
Selections from Billboard's Hot 100 for the week:
Leaving the chart:
New on the chart:
"Farmer John," The Premiers
(#19 US)
"Steal Away," Jimmy Hughes
(#17 US; #2 R&B)
"I Wanna Love Him So Bad," The Jelly Beans
(#9 US; #7 R&B)
"Wishin' and Hopin'," Dusty Springfield
(#6 US; #4 AC)
"Rag Doll," The Four Seasons
(#1 US the weeks of July 18 and 25, 1964; #2 UK)
Total positions occupied by Beatles recordings: 3
_______
How long have you got to go, -7 years?
55 Years Ago This Week
Mark Lewisohn's The Beatles Day by Day said:
I may have to read the book....Wiki said:
Mark Lewisohn's The Beatles Day by Day said:
Wiki said:
Selections from Billboard's Hot 100 for the week:
Leaving the chart:
- "Bits and Pieces," The Dave Clark Five (11 weeks)
- "I'm So Proud," The Impressions (11 weeks)
- "Ronnie," The Four Seasons (10 weeks)
- "Wish Someone Would Care," Irma Thomas (12 weeks)
New on the chart:
"Farmer John," The Premiers
(#19 US)
"Steal Away," Jimmy Hughes
(#17 US; #2 R&B)
"I Wanna Love Him So Bad," The Jelly Beans
(#9 US; #7 R&B)
"Wishin' and Hopin'," Dusty Springfield
(#6 US; #4 AC)
"Rag Doll," The Four Seasons
(#1 US the weeks of July 18 and 25, 1964; #2 UK)
Total positions occupied by Beatles recordings: 3
_______
Like his old boss, they questioned his courage; and even when Friday told them that it was the right thing for a civilian to do, they wondered how he'd perform as a police officer. Friday responded that there was one way to find out.
It was a smaller town, and it was implied that he'd just been hired for the job. The Chief there said that he should have done a more careful background check himself.
How long have you got to go, -7 years?
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Dusty was probably born 60 or 70 years too soon, something that could have been said about so many. Today she could have lived her life the way she wanted, loved who she wanted, and still had a music career. But, as was true of so many back in the day, the pressure of keeping her lifestyle and sexual orientation secret likely led to most of her troubles.
Regardless, she was as beautiful and elegant and soulful as it got back then. Always loved this rather obscure cover of Baby Washington's hit.
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Guess you had to be there.
Kind of meh.
Here's a good one I never heard before. Yep, sounds like the 50s.
Here's a classic.
And here's an even classicer classic.
I'm with Friday. He basically nailed the perps without getting anybody hurt or killed.
Sort of like the Old West. "We need a deputy. You're the deputy."
Exactly. That was my seventh birthday.
