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Classic Halloween TV Movie: Moon of the Wolf
Every October I like to look back on at least one of the classic TV horror movies, just in time for Halloween. And every year I realize, given the number of memorable films presented by the networks,...
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In Memoriam: The Pie in the Face Gag
Serious question for anyone still watching scripted television today – when was the last time (if ever) you saw a character take a pie in the face? I’m guessing the answer will be zero. Like funny...
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My Journey Through 1970s TV: Sunday Nights, 1975
Time to start a new year in our journey through the 1970s, and to realize we’re already halfway through the decade. I hope you’ve enjoyed these pieces as much as I have – celebrating some iconic...
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Classic TV Shows That (Almost) Made Me Cry
I’ve never been a crier. I don’t say that with either pride or shame – it’s just the way I’ve always been. I feel the emotions I’m supposed to feel if the show has earned its desired response, but...
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Men of Action: New Book Celebrates Four TV Classics
The community of people still writing books about classic television is rather small, and I’ve been fortunate enough to meet and/or have some interaction with many of those who do it well. One of...
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My Journey Through 1970s TV: Monday Nights, 1975
Monday blues? Not around here – it’s time for a look at another Monday night in the 1970s, with the usual mix of hits and misses. And thankfully no new shows to add to my “missed series” list – have...
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Some Things Change…Others Don’t
When we watch classic TV, we may be struck by how American life, culture and attitudes are different now than they were in the era in which these shows were set - sometimes progressing to a more...
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My Journey Through 1970s TV: Tuesday Nights, 1975
If you’ve been keeping track on our journey through the 1970s, or if like me you’re old enough to remember when these shows were new, you’ve noticed that the first half of the decade largely belonged...
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Doorbells
"Not Knowing when the dawn will come, I open every door." - Emily DickinsonThe first time I saw comedian Sebastian Maniscalco was when he was performing the routine that brought him to the attention of...
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My 50 Favorite Classic TV Characters: Don Adams as Maxwell Smart
Let's first acknowledge the obvious reasons why Get Smart remains one of the crown jewels of television comedy.Start with the clever foundation laid by genius creators Mel Brooks and Buck Henry; the...
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My Journey Through 1970s TV: Wednesday Nights, 1975
Continuing our journey through the prime-time schedules of the 1970s, and we’re now halfway through the decade, and halfway through the week in 1975. How many of these new hits, returning favorites and...
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Top TV Moments: Tony Roberts
The obituaries for the recently passed Tony Roberts identified him as a sidekick in Woody Allen films and a Tony-nominated Broadway star. All of which is true – but to me he’ll always be the guy who...
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Saturday Night Live: 50 Years of Apologies
I didn't watch the recent 50th anniversary celebration for Saturday Night Live. But in reading about the presentation I was intrigued by one segment, in which Tom Hanks introduced an “In Memoriam” for...
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My Journey Through 1970s TV: Thursday Nights, 1975
Welcome back to my journey through the 1970s prime time schedules. In looking at Thursday nights in 1975, what I found most interesting is how one network introduced four new shows, two of which had...
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What Might Have Been: Gene Hackman as Mike Brady
No one thinks of television first when they recall the career of Gene Hackman – though like many young actors in the 1960s he first found work on shows like The United States Steel Hour, Naked City,...
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The Twilight Zone, Season One - 3 Classics and 3 Wasted Trips
I can't remember the first time I watched The Twilight Zone– though it was probably at least 50 years ago. I’ve checked in and out of the series over the course of many years but never added this crown...
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My Journey Through 1970s TV: Friday Nights, 1975
The prime-time network schedules from Friday in 1975 offer something we haven’t seen for a while in these reviews – a winning night for NBC. With the first half of the decade dominated by CBS, and ABC...
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If You’ll Pardon the Expression
These days every time I watch a classic TV episode I am reminded of how these shows and characters existed in a very different country than the one we’re in now. But don’t panic – this will not be...
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“Wow – Who’s that?”
The title of this piece is a quote attributed to me, which I have used at various times along my Comfort TV journey when struck by the appearance of an actress of exceptional beauty, whose name at that...
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My Journey Through 1970s TV: Saturday Nights, 1975
We close out our look back at the television shows from the year 1975 with appearances from several returning favorites, and one infamous misfire.ABCSaturday Night Live with Howard CosellSWATMatt...
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50 Years Ago: “Free to Be…You and Me”
One of the many debates currently raging in our culture and politics is focused on education, particularly at the elementary school level. There is a widely held belief that public school teachers,...
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Top TV Moments: Ruth Buzzi
As happens following the death of every classic TV star, the passing of Ruth Buzzi generated its share of online coverage. But it seemed the tributes were more frequent and heartfelt in this case,...
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My Journey Through 1970s TV: Sunday Nights, 1976
As we begin to look forward to celebrating America’s 250th anniversary, our journey through the 1970s has reached our bicentennial year – remember the “Bicentennial Minutes” that played between CBS...
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Terrible Shows I Like: The Charmings
I haven't done one of these pieces in a while. But in the wake of the recent crash-and-burn of Disney’s live-action remake of Snow White, it seemed like a fitting time to look back at an earlier...
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Classic TV vs. Computers
About 30 years ago a book came out entitled War of the Worlds: Global Dispatches. It was a collection of stories by different authors, all of whom took H.G. Wells tale of Earth being attacked by...
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