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TV Draft Round 3 – Pick 7 – King Of The Hill

Welcome to the Hanspostcard TV Draft. The remaining 8 rounds will be posted here. We will have 64 different TV Shows by 8 different writers. I hope you will enjoy it! Today’s post was written by Dave from https://soundday.wordpress.com/

First I’d like to thank Max for keeping this project running, and for inviting me to take part. There are so many good TV shows to choose from, it’s hard to know where to begin, but I’ll opt for one that seems to hit close to home for me (LOL – literally)… King of the Hill.

King of the Hill was a long-running animated prime-time cartoon that somehow had characters a lot more “real” than most of its contemporaries made with real actors. It ran on Fox Network for 259 episodes from 1997- 2010, and has been seen in re-runs in syndication and on some of the streaming services. I’m not a gigantic fan of Fox overall, but one thing they do well is cartoons!

It typically ran on Sunday nights after The Simpsons, – itself a hilarious and ground-breaking show – at 8:30 Eastern time. Fox seemed to clue in on how much of a good thing they had going with Sunday night cartoons aimed at adults and forever were searching for ones to lineup with their corporate flagship show and its yellow-skinned Springfielders. Some of them caught on (e.g. Family Guy or, though I can’t fathom why, Bob’s Burgers), others were come and gone faster than you could say “Eat my shorts” …anyone remember Border Town? Although a few of the post-Bart and Homer series might have now topped King of the Hill in episodes, I don’t think any have topped it for humor and creating characters we felt we could relate to. No wonder Time magazine once called it “the most acutely-observed and realistic sitcom about American life, bar none.” Perhaps all the more surprising since its main creator was Mike Judge, whose previous claim to fame was Beavis and Butthead.

King of the Hill revolved around Hank Hill and his family – wife Peggy, tween son Bobby and their dog, a lazy hound called Ladybird. And the niece who lived with them, to Hank’s mild disapproval, Luanne. They were a typical, middle-class Texan family living somewhere in the suburbs, in the city of “Arlen.” Hank sold propane, and propane products and was proud of it. Peggy was a substitute teacher, specializing in Spanish classes (although her knowledge of the language was barely functional) who loved Boggle and making green bean casseroles; a woman described as “confidant, sometimes to the point of lacking self-awareness.” Like most Texans, they loved things like rodeos, pickup trucks and Dallas Cowboys football – in one memorable episode Hank tries to get together a movement to move the Cowboys training camp to Arlen, but they pick Wichita Falls. To which Hank replies that city which claims to be “north Texas! More like south Oklahoma if you ask me!” a pretty stinging insult in the Lone Star State! Bobby, to his dad’s chagrin, is chubby, has little interest in sports and wants to be a stand-up comedian or worse yet, a clown.

Joining Hank is a supporting cast of neighbors we all seem to know in real life. There’s Bill, balding, overweight veteran who’s lonely and cuts hair on the nearby military base for income and amusement. Boomhauer, the suave, thin ladies man with the weird hillbilly accent who always seems to have female companionship and little to do outside of that but drink beer with the other guys and watch the world go by. (In the final episode’s surprise twist, we see his wallet lying open and find he’s a Texas Ranger – the elite branch of the state police.) And there’s Dale, a man ahead of his time. Chain-smoker, exterminator by day, full-time conspiracy theorist and paranoid political commentator at night. Somehow he’s married to the lovely Nancy, the local TV weather girl and they have a son, Joseph… who looks nothing at all like him nor the blonde Nancy…but suspiciously like John Redcorn, the Native “healer” who has been giving her lengthy massages for her migraines for years. Dale has trouble figuring out why Joseph looks like that…but thinks maybe his wife was abducted and impregnated by aliens. And we can’t forget Cotton, Hank’s cranky old father, lacking the bottom of his legs due to a war injury, nor the Khans. The Khans are from Laos, and while their daughter, Kahn Jr. (Connie to her friends) has assimilated well and is Bobby’s erstwhile girlfriend, and mother Mihn tries, Kahn Sr. fancies himself a successful businessman and can’t believe his bad luck landing up on a street full of hillbillies and rednecks. Somehow, the men all seem to get along and bond over things like appreciation of a good garbage can or love of (in Khan’s case, grudging acceptance of) Alamo Beer.

For the most part, the stories were fully relatable. They never starred in freaky Halloween episodes nor a big Broadway show (although ZZ Top did guest star once and put Hank unwillingly into a reality show following him around) or get abducted by aliens, perhaps to Dale’s surprise. Instead there were events like Hank trying to get the city to rescind it’s bylaw necessitating water-conserving toilets, or camping out in the local Megalomart with Dale (which bears a lot of resemblance to another American big box department store) trying to catch a rat. In one episode, Bobby gets picked on by bullies leading Hank to try to get the boy into a boxing class. Instead of that, Bobby ends up in a women’s self-defence course and learns to kick anyone he’s mad at in the testicles…Hank included. And one of the final episodes really amused me … I was born and raised near Toronto, if you didn’t know that already. In it, Boomhauer decides to take a vacation in Canada and temporarily trades houses with a Canadian family. Hank and the Canadian dad take an instant disliking to each other, with them competing over who brews the best beer and whose brand of lawn mower rules. End result? Both get arrested for DWI while mowing their lawns; Hank and his buddies eventually sell a “keginator” beer-pump to bail the Canuck out of jail, because that’s what neighbors do. “We’re Americans,” Hank declares “we’re the world’s welcome mat. It doesn’t matter if they’re from Canada, Laos, or God forbid, even California!”

The show had Greg Daniels co-writing early on, a good pedigree since he’d worked on Saturday Night Live, the Simpsons and co-wrote the Seinfeld episode “The Parking Space”… Music City Mike probably remembers that one. When it first came on, I liked it and often watched it, but it took years for it to really grow on me and come to appreciate how fully nuanced the characters were and how much attention to detail of human nature it showed…all the while being hilarious. There was a great sense of humanity in it all. People like Hank were trying their best, having a hard time keeping up with the changing times (he was the holdout on the office’s love of Facebook, for example) but doing his best to understand and be better. Nancy had her ongoing affair, but called it off eventually when she realized it was wrong to do to her husband, wacky as he was. And Luanne, sweet as pie and about as dumb as one too, with her little Christian puppets trying to teach kids right from wrong, boyfriend Lucky in tow. Lucky got his nickname when he slipped on pee at a Walmart and sued them for hundreds of thousands! (That makes watching it a tiny bit sad as both of the voice actors are gone – Brittany Murphy who did Luanne, and the one and only Tom Petty who was ‘Lucky’). They were all good people and the shows funny. But once I came to Texas…boy howdy, it took to another level for me.

Judge spent time in the Dallas Metroplex when young and said he based it on the suburbs like Arlington and Garland, Texas. Once I saw Waco, it seemed like Waco was Arlen…or vice versa. There are so many details that ring true like the Bush’s beans at dinner or love of Whataburger. When Peggy wants to have a serious talk with Bobby, she’ll treat him to one of those burgers…leading him to suspiciously note last time she took him there, she told him about Doggie Heaven!

I started this thinking I wouldn’t have enough to say about King of the Hill. Turns out I have too much to say for one column really. So one more thing – I just reminded myself how funny the show was. I think I’m going to go watch a few now!

Twilight Zone – The Brain Center at Whipple’s

★★★★ May 15, 1964 Season 5 Episode 33

If you want to see where we are…HERE is a list of the episodes.

For years I would skim over this episode until I watched it again and really got the message. It’s a good show and true to life. Rod Serling had his crystal ball at full power with this episode and could see what was happening. The message that Serling gets across is a stronger one today. It has been reported that automation could destroy as many as 73 million jobs by 2030…paving the way for further dehumanization.

Richard Deacon as Wallace V. Whipple, most famous for “The Dick Van Dyke Show” has control of his late father’s company. Despite the fact that his father doubled his production, the son sees him as a failure. His solution is to go to an almost totally computerized and mechanized factory, eliminating nearly all the workers, even the ones who have been there for years. Paul Newlan as Walter Hanley steals the show as a longtime principled employee with common sense and morals who picks Whipple apart.

I also have to mention Ted de Corsia who plays a frustrated worker named Dickerson who has had enough and takes some revenge against the machine taking his job.

The Brain Center At Whipple’s hits a chord with jobs being taken away from us by technology. We have corporations that only care about the bottom line and less about people who have helped make them. Technology is a great resource when used as a tool and should help employees do their jobs but not take them.

The episode is a little over the top but worth the ride.

IMDB Trivia: Richard Deacon and Rod Serling both grew up in Binghamton, New York and were graduates of Binghamton Central High School. There was a very popular lumber yard on Upper Court Street in Binghamton named “Whipple’s Lumber Yard”, thus the name for Deacon’s character in this episode. Rod Serling would often use names of places in and around Binghamton for names of places and characters in the series.

Select scenes and segments of dialogue from this episode were featured within the context of the ‘Information Age: People, Information and Technology’ exhibit at the Smithsonian Museum of American History. The exhibit ran from May 9, 1990 through September 4, 2006.

The new computer that is installed is the same one used in, “The Old Man and the Cave”.

This show was written by Rod Serling

Rod Serling’s Opening Narration:

These are the players — with or without a scorecard. In one corner a machine; in the other, one Wallace V. Whipple, man. And the game? It happens to be the historical battle between flesh and steel, between the brain of man and the product of man’s brain. We don’t make book on this one and predict no winner….but we can tell you for this particular contest, there is standing room only — in the Twilight Zone.

Summary

The W.V. Whipple Manufacturing Co. introduces a new automated manufacturing machine that will eliminate 61,000 jobs and the company’s president, Wallace V. Whipple, is quite proud of his achievement. Not everyone agrees with him, especially the loyal and longstanding employees who will be out of work. Foreman Vic Dickerson has plans for the machine – plans that land him in the hospital. When the machine is fully operational, it’s Wallace V. Whipple who learns just what it is he has created.

Rod Serling’s Closing Narration:

There are many bromides applicable here: ‘too much of a good thing’, ‘tiger by the tail’, ‘as you sow so shall you reap’. The point is that, too often, Man becomes clever instead of becoming wise; he becomes inventive and not thoughtful; and sometimes, as in the case of Mr. Whipple, he can create himself right out of existence. As in tonight’s tale of oddness and obsolescence, in the Twilight Zone.

CAST

Rod Serling … Host / Narrator – Himself
Richard Deacon … Wallace V. Whipple
Paul Newlan … Walter Hanley
Ted de Corsia … Dickerson
Thalmus Rasulala (credited … Jack Crowder) … Technician
Shawn Michaels … Bartender
Burt Conroy … Watchman
Robby the Robot … Himself

TV Draft Round 3 – Pick 6 – Lovecraft Country

Saturday 041622 Lisa – TV Draft Round 3 Pick 6 – Lovecraft Country
(2020) 1 season 10 episodes, originally on HBO
Starring:
Jonathan Majors as Atticus “Tic” Freeman
Jurnee Smollett as Letitia “Leti” Lewis
Aunjanue Ellis as Hippolyta Freeman
Wunmi Mosaku as Ruby Baptiste
Abbey Lee as Christina Braithwhite
Jamie Chung as Ji-Ah
Jada Harris as Diana Freeman
Michael Kenneth Williams as Montrose Freeman
Jordan Patrick Smith as William
Courtney B. Vance at George Freeman

Director: Daniel Sackheim (2 episodes and the rest, 1 each,) Yann Demange, Cheryl Dunye, Misha Green, Victoria Mahoney, Nelson McCormick, Jeffrey Nachmanoff, Helen Shaver, Charlotte Sieling
Genres: drama, fantasy, horror
Synopsis: Set in the 1950’s Jim Crow Era, as the story opens Tic is on a bus, a soldier coming home from the Korean War to his small southern town. He reconnects with his Uncle George, Aunt Hippolyta, and young cousin, Jada. Uncle George publishes a regional issue of “The Green Book,” which is a travel guide for people of color that lists safe places to dine, lodge, shop, etc., which he learns by going into the field on road trips. Aunt Hippolyta is a mother, wife, and amateur astronomer. Jada is a budding artist. Tic learns that Montrose, his father, and brother to Uncle George, has disappeared. He also learns that his dad is on a quest to investigate long-suggested mysteries around his family’s heritage. He leaves behind enough clues to compel Tic and Uncle George to go looking for Montrose. Enter Leti, who just got back to town and is only temporarily staying with her sister, Ruby. Leti is penniless and needs a ride to her brother’s house, which happens to be on the way to where Tic and Uncle George are headed. And so begins a rousing cross-country adventure that provides excitement, danger, terror, and more pieces to the puzzle every step along the way. The plot throughout mixes Jim Crow South with Lovecraft Horror skillfully as it puts our heroes through challenges nobody would ever wish to be put through in order to get to the truth.
Impressions: It’s been a long time since I’ve encountered a series this dense with creativity, action/adventure, plot intricacy, depiction of institutionalized racism (and educating, in the process,) and resonance as Lovecraft Country. It may be that I’ve never come across a TV series just that good before. I literally had no clue what was going to happen next, and being that on the edge of my seat throughout 10 episodes was like going to an amusement park where every ride has no dead space.

Image Link

This series is not for the faint of heart. There are hauntings, mythical and otherworldly beasts, curses, time travel, old secret societies that practice magic and other rituals, and shapeshifting with the Lovecraft aspect. With the Jim Crow aspect, there are “sunset towns, police racists/fascists threatening and variously harassing people of color, separate dining and lodging mandates, neighborhood and employment exclusions, and other things that create a hostile environment for anyone whose skin is not white. There are pervasive ongoing activities that are designed to keep our heroes from feeling welcome or safe. The closer they get to solving the mystery the more threatening and dangerous the forces become.
Grade: 10
Etc.: It’s based on a novel by Matt Ruff, but it is a refashioning of a pulp fiction novel by H.P. Lovecraft, who is reported to have been a rabid racist. It is my understanding that Lovecraft Country was designed to be one season, based on the novel. Various sources give suggestions that there could have been another season, but it hasn’t happened, at least not yet.
Awards: 24 wins and 104 nominations
Website: There is a wealth of information on the series at the HBO website.

Twilight Zone – Mr. Garrity and the Graves

★★★★★ May 8, 1964 Season 5 Episode 32

If you want to see where we are…HERE is a list of the episodes.

This is an excellent episode and what initially seemed like a straight drama actually had a subtle comedic twist. It says a lot about human nature. This may be a lighter episode but it works on many levels. Top to bottom, the comic casting is impeccable. Not a blight to be found in the cast. John Dehner is marvelously dry as a con man in the Old West and there is a good deal of humor as he goes about his business in the town of Happiness, Arizona. The town’s cemetery contained 128 dead, all but one were victims of violence…and as one drunk put it…that was my dear wife Zelda, rest her soul, a fine, healthy, strapping woman of 247 pounds but not unattractive, mind you.

John Dehner’s character Jared Garrity is going to raise the dead in Happiness Arizona. The townspeople in the saloon claim to miss their loved ones. But, upon rethinking the matter, one by one they realize that their late friends, wives, husbands, and drunkards maybe…just maybe weren’t the lovely people they were fondly remembering. Will Garrity be able to pull this feat off or is he taking the town for a ride?

The Twilight Zone’s 5th season lagged a little in the middle but with three more episodes to go…they finished up quite strong.

From IMDB Trivia: This is based on a supposed true story that happened in Alta, UT in 1873. It was initially told on Death Valley Days: Miracle at Boot Hill (1961).

This show was written by Rod Serling and Mike Korologos

Rod Serling’s Opening Narration:

Introducing Mr. Jared Garrity, a gentleman of commerce, who in the latter half of the nineteenth century plied his trade in the wild and wooly hinterlands of the American West. And Mr. Garrity, if one can believe him, is a resurrecter of the dead – which, on the face of it, certainly sounds like the bull is off the nickel. But to the scoffers amongst you, and you ladies and gentlemen from Missouri, don’t laugh this one off entirely, at least until you’ve seen a sample of Mr. Garrity’s wares, and an example of his services. The place is Happiness, Arizona, the time around 1890. And you and I have just entered a saloon where the bar whiskey is brewed, bottled and delivered from the Twilight Zone.

Summary

In the early 1890s Mr. Garrity arrives in Happiness, Arizona apparently knowing a great deal about some of the people who live there. He knows that Jensen the bartender’s brother died and that Gooberman the town drunk lost his wife. Garrity also reveals that he has a very peculiar gift – he can bring back the dead. When a dog is run down by a wagon in the street he resurrects it without any difficulty. When he offers to do the same for the town’s loved one’s, they realize they would rather he not bring back the dearly departed, something they are quite happy to pay him for. Garrity, a charlatan if ever there was one, is glad to accept their money – though he does seem to leave something behind

Rod Serling’s Closing Narration:

Exit Mr. Garrity, a would-be charlatan, a make-believe con man and a sad misjudger of his own talents. Respectfully submitted from an empty cemetery on a dark hillside that is one of the slopes leading to the Twilight Zone.

CAST

Rod Serling … Host / Narrator – Himself
John Dehner … Jared Garrity
J. Pat O’Malley: Mr. Gooberman
Stanley Adams … Jensen
John Mitchum … Ace
Percy Helton … Lapham
Norman Leavitt … Sheriff Gilchrist
Edgar Dearing … First Resurrected Man
Kate Murtagh … Zelda Gooberman
Patrick O’Moore … Man
John Cliff … Lightning Peterson
Robert McCord … Townsman In Black Hat
Cosmo Sardo … Resurrected Man

TV Draft Round 3 – Pick 5 – Upload

Upload

TV Draft - Upload

Upload is a series on Prime that (so far) offers two seasons. I’ve seen both and I recommend this offbeat show. Unfortunately, I thought the premiere episode wasn’t that great and I almost didn’t continue, but I’m glad I did. I encourage you to persevere, if you feel similarly about E1, because the show gets better as the first season rolls on. I enjoyed S2 even more! The show was created by Greg Daniels, and the basic premise is that sometime in the near future, humans will be able to upload their consciousness to another realm where they will continue to exist post-death. It stars Robbie Arnell as Nathan, Andy Allo as Nora, Allegra Edwards as Ingrid, Zainab Johnson as Aleesha, Kevin Bigley as Luke, and Owen Daniels as AI Guy.

I have to tell you something about Robbie: he could be Tom Cruise’s double. It isn’t merely his good looks either, but also his voice and mannerisms are similar. It’s really freaky! And not only that, but there is awareness of it written into the show and at least one joke about it. Anyway, Robbie’s character Nathan dies in a car crash in E1 and his wealthy girlfriend Ingrid pays for him to be uploaded to Lakeview so his consciousness will continue on. Nora is Nathan’s human handler who helps him transition and cope with the new world. Nora has her own drama back in the “real world,” as she desperately tries to find a way for her dying father to upload to the Good Plan that Nathan has, but she can’t afford it. We see the disparity in the afterlife tiers for the wealthy vs the poor, which isn’t a surprise.

We get hints that Nathan wasn’t fully uploaded and part of his memory has been corrupted. Nora tries to fix these files and his memory returns in bits and pieces, but not completely. At his own funeral, which Nathan gets to view remotely, he hears that the software deal he was working on when he died wasn’t worth anything. Other factors make his death begin to look suspicious. We also discover that technology is emerging that may make it possible to regrow your original human body and “download” back into it, with some risks, such as your head exploding. But they’re working on that! E4 is hilarious due to a product known as a “sex suit,” which I will leave to your imagination (or you can watch the show).

After this, the show gets even more interesting with the introduction of new characters, such as Fran, an investigator into Nathan’s death, Byron, a guy Nora hooks up with from a dating app, Nora’s father, who still believes in the old-fashioned “heaven,” et al. S2 begins with Nora needing to go “off-grid,” since she now knows too much about Nathan’s death. We are treated to a wacky couple eps with the LUDDs, a group of anti-tech anarchists. Nora develops feelings for one of the men, maybe, and struggles with that vs her attachment to Nathan. The show now dives into even deeper philosophical themes regarding identity, memory, death, etc. S2 ends with a cliffhanger: Nathan has chosen to download in order to solve some of the mysteries surrounding his death, and at the last moment we see he has a nosebleed.

~*~
Paula Light is a poet, novelist, flash fiction fan, cupcake connoisseur, mom, grandma, cat mommy, etc. Her blog can be found at http://paulalight.com.

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TV Draft Round 3 – Pick 4 – Perry Mason

Welcome to the Hanspostcard TV Draft. The remaining 8 rounds will be posted here. We will have 64 different TV Shows by 8 different writers. I hope you will enjoy it! Today’s post was written by Keith from https://nostalgicitalian.com/

Perry Mason

My choice for the third round draft pick is Hollywood’s first weekly one-hour series that was filmed for television – Perry Mason. The show ran for 9 seasons (September 1957 – May 1966) and starred Raymond Burr in the title role.

Raymond Burr

The character of Perry Mason was well known before he was ever on TV. The attorney was the star of novels and stories written by a lawyer-turned-author Erle Stanley Gardner. There were some movies made by Warner Brothers and also a radio series based starring the character, by Gardner hated them! As a matter of fact, he refused to license the character of Perry mason for any more adaptations. (Interestingly, the radio series continues and evolved into the famous soap opera The Edge of Night.)

Gardner’s agent married actress Gail Patrick and she was the one who talked him into adapting the novels into a TV series. He made it clear that he wanted a lot of control over the show and how it was presented. He also had a hand in helping pick the cast. Many of the stories he wrote were turned into episodes for the series.

The Cast

It is hard to imagine anyone other than Raymond Burr as Perry Mason. However, among the actors in the running were Mike Conners, Richard Egan, William Holden, Efrem Zimbalist Jr., William Hopper, and Fred MacMurray. Raymond Burr actually auditioned for the role of Hamilton Burger, the DA. Gail Patrick remembered his performance from the 1951 film “A Place in the Sun” and told him he was perfect for the role.

At the time, Burr was about 60 pounds overweight, so he went on a crash diet and tested for the role again with about 50 other actors. Erle Stanley Gardner saw him and reportedly said, “THAT is Perry Mason!” Burr continued to lose weight as the series continued. He stated, “I just don’t have time to eat.”

Syndicated columnist Erskine Johnson wrote, “Every six days Burr stars in what almost amounts to a full-length feature movie. He’s in 98% of all the scenes.” Burr stated, “I had no life outside of Perry Mason. And that went on 24 hours a day, sox days a week. I never went home at night. I lived on the lot. I got up at 3 o’clock every single morning to learn my lines for that day, and sometimes I hadn’t finished until 9 o’clock. I had a kitchen, bedroom, office space, sitting room – al of that – on every lot I ever worked on.”

Burr won three Primetime Emmy Awards for his portrayal of Perry Mason (1959, 1960, and 1961).

Raymond Burr IS Perry Mason

Other major players in the cast included Barbara Hale as Perry’s secretary, Della Street. Hale had done some feature films, but wanted to avoid going away for long periods of time to shoot them because she had a rather young family. According to Gail Patrick, it was Hale who called her to inquire about the role of Della.

Perry and Della (Barbara Hale)

William Hopper, as I mentioned before, auditioned for the role of Perry Mason (I believe you can find some of the audition tapes on YouTube). After not getting the role of Mason and auditioning for Private Detective Paul Drake, he walked in the room and said, “You hate my mother!” His mother was Hedda Hopper, the famous gossip columnist. Patrick said he was the perfect Paul Drake, so he got the role.

William Hopper as Paul Drake with Burr’s Mason

For the role of District Attorney Hamilton Burger, Patrick knew exactly who she wanted. She had seen William Tallman in The Hitch-Hiker and knew he was perfect for the role. She said, “He never disappointed.” In an interview he was asked how he felt about his character losing to Perry Mason every week. His response is perfect. He stated, “Burger doesn’t lose. How can a district attorney lose when he fails to convict an innocent person?” When Burr was asked by a fan why he won every case, he told her, “But madam, you only see the cases I try on Saturday!”

William Tallman – Hamilton Burger

Another one of Perry’s foils was Police Lt. Arthur Tragg. Ray Collins’ voice was known to so many listeners of the Mercury Theater on radio. He had also been in movies and other TV shows. Patrick joked saying, “We overlooked the fact that on an actual police force, he would probably be long retired.” He was 68 years old when the show debuted on CBS. The playful interaction between Tragg and Mason are priceless.

The great Ray Collins as Lt. Tragg

The Plot

The basic formula for each episode was the same. The first part of the show introduced the viewer to a client who is hiring Perry Mason for some legal work or is introduced to him in some way. We then see the murder victim and other “suspects” introduced. The victim is murdered and Perry’s client is wrongfully accused of the crime. The remainder of the episode focuses on Burger and Tragg gathering evidence to convict the said “murderer”, Perry, Drake and Della take up their own investigation to prove their client is innocent.

The second half of the show would shift to the courtroom where Perry and Hamilton would duke it out in the preliminary hearing. In the novels, Perry likes to clear the client before they are bound over for trial, so this was worked into the show. They happen, but jury trials are rarely seen on the show.

The show would often culminate with Mason recalling a witness and questioning them until they cracked and admitted committing the murder OR causing someone else in the courtroom to admit that THEY committed the murder. The show would then wrap with a scene in Perry’s office or the courtroom where details would be presented on what led Perry to discover the real killer.

The formula worked for 9 seasons and eventually 30 TV made for TV movies.

Episodes of Interest

Throughout the run of the series, there were some very unique episodes. In the entire run of the series, Perry tackles an astounding 271 cases, and wins almost all of them! He actually lost thre cases (that we know of). In The Case of the Witless Witness, he loses a non-murder case. In The Case of the Terrified Typist, his client is found guilty of murder, but he is eventually able to clear her name. Finally, in The Case of the Deadly Verdict his client is found guilty of murder and is actually sentenced to death in the gas chamber! Perry, of course, is able to save the day before the execution is scheduled to take place.

A fun episode to watch is The Case of the Dead Ringer. Raymond Burr plays a dual role in this episode playing a man named “Grimes.” It’s fun to watch Burr question Burr as two different characters!

In season 6, Burr had some episodes where is appeared briefly, but guest actors filled in for Perry. Among those actors were Bette Davis, Michael Rennie, Hugh O’Brian, and Walter Pidgeon. Two years later, Burr was hospitalized for jaw surgery and Mike Conners and Barry Sullivan filled in for him.

How about the three that never set foot in a courtroom? Those were The Case of the Baited Hook, The Case of the Velvet Claws, and The Case of the Careless Kitten.

One of the most interesting shows was the one – and only – show that was shot in color. In the 9th season, CBS was hoping that the show would shoot a 10th season. Many shows were being shot in color by this time and they wanted to see what the show would look like. The Case of the Twice-Told Twist aired – in color – on February 27, 1966.

A must see episode is the series finale, The Case of the Final Fade-Out. First of all, it features cameos by all of the Perry Mason Crew in various roles. Second, it features the creator of the character, Erle Stanley Gardner, as the judge, and the murderer is … spoiler alert … a young Dick Clark!

Before They Were Famous

Many soon-to-be stars appeared on Perry Mason. I guess that is another reason why I love watching it. You never know who will pop up. Some examples: Barbara Eden, Cloris Leachman, Lee Meriwether, Pat Priest, Yvonne Craig, James Coburn, Angie Dickenson, George Kennedy, Diane Ladd, Frankie Laine, Ryan O’Neal, Robert Redford, Burt Reynolds, Claude Akins, Richard Anderson, Barbara Bain, James Best, Whit Bissell, Frank Cady, Bert Convey, Richard Deacon, Norman Fell, Alan Hale Jr., Harvey Korman, Gavin MacLeod, Allan Melvin, Leonard Nimoy, Denver Pyle, Marion Ross, Adam West, and MORE!

The Theme Song

Let’s be honest, the Perry Mason Theme Song is one of the most recognizable in all of television. The task of writing the theme went to composer Fred Steiner. He set out to write a song that would convey two of Perry’s prime characteristics – sophistication and toughness. The piece he wrote was called “Park Avenue Beat.”

Here is Fred discussing how he came up with the theme:

Here is the theme from the first season:

As much as I love the original version, I have to admit that when Perry Mason returned to TV in the two hour movies, I loved the version used for these films better. They just sound more full and better produced to me. So here it is:

I may as well touch briefly on the TV movies. In December of 1985, Perry Mason Returns aired on NBC.

Perry is now a judge and steps down to defend Della Street, who is accused of murder.

William Hopper died in 1970, so William Katt (Barbara Hale’s son) was called in to play Paul Drake Jr. The movies followed the same formula as the TV show. Burr and Hale had aged, but their on screen chemistry hadn’t changed at all. Burr was fantastic in this of course, he proves that Della is innocent! The successful reception and ratings of the reunion show led to 29 more Perry Mason Movies (Burr starred in 26 of them before passing away in 1993).

I never tire of watching Perry Mason. Despite being a bit dated, I think it still holds up today. HBO has created a “pre” Perry Mason show supposedly showing how he became the famous lawyer. I have no desire to watch it. To me, there is one and only Perry Mason!

FUN FACT: Raymond Burr started playing the character in 1957 and played him until his death in 1993. He played Perry Mason for a whopping 36 years!

So if you ever find yourself accused of murder … there is only one lawyer to call….

TV Draft Round 3 – Pick 3 – Starsky & Hutch

Starsky & Hutch IMDb Amazon Image One — Photo Credit: IMDb & Amazon

I was raised in law enforcement. My dad was a Probation/Parole Officer, his younger brother, a city cop in our hometown and my first cousin became a deputy. Some years later, when my dad re-married, my stepmom was Parking Enforcement for the same city police department. I grew up watching every manner of cop TV show you could find, from re-runs of Dragnet to Hawaii Five-O to Kojak to The Rookies to Baretta to Adam-12 to The Rockford Files to Police Story…and everything in-between. My personal favorite was Starsky & Hutch. I had a “thing” for Paul Michael Glaser. His picture was one of four photos I kept as a kid and young teen. The others were Lindsay Wagner, Olivia Newton-John and John Schneider. I later regretted my attachment to him. I didn’t remember most of the episodes but, I was reintroduced to the show in the 90s with re-runs. ~Vic

Created and written by William Blinn (Brian’s Song, The Rookies, Eight Is Enough & Pensacola: Wings of Gold), it starred David Soul (Det. Sgt. Kenneth Richard “Hutch” Hutchinson), Paul Michael Glaser (Det. Sgt. David Michael Starsky), Antonio Fargas (Informant Huggy Bear) and Bernie Hamilton (Captain Harold C. Dobey). In the Pilot TV Movie, Captain Dobey was played by Richard Ward. Sgt. Hutchinson was from Duluth, MN, was divorced and was a reserved, intellectual type. Sgt. Starsky was from Brooklyn, NY, was an Army veteran, had street-smarts and, could be intense & moody. Informant Huggy Bear was a flashy, ethically ambiguous bar owner that provided the two Sergeants with whatever street action knowledge he could gather. Captain Dobey was their barking & gruff but, fair boss. He had his hands full with those two. One of the main characters of the show was Starsky’s red, 1975 Ford Gran Torino (four of them, actually), nicknamed the “Striped Tomato.” In the show, Hutch calls the car that name in the episode Snowstorm (10-01-1975) but, that crack actually came from Paul Michael Glaser when Aaron Spelling showed him the car (First Season DVD Collection). Hutch’s vehicle was a beat-up, tan, 1973 Ford Galaxie 500, whose horn would blow when the door was opened.

Hutch Gran Torino Colt Python IMDb & Amazon Image Two — Hutch & His Colt Python
Photo Credit: IMDb & Amazon

Favorite Episodes:
♦ The Fix (10-08-1975)
♦ Running (with Jan Smithers/02-25-1976)
♦ The Las Vegas Strangler Part I & Part II (with Lynda Carter/09-25-1976)
♦ Nightmare (11-28-1976)
♦ Starsky’s Lady (with Season Hubley 02-12-1977)
♦ Long Walk Down A Short Dirt Road (with Lynn Anderson/03-12-1977)
♦ Fatal Charm (with Karen Valentine & Roz Kelly/09-24-1977)
♦ I Love You, Rosey Malone (10-01-1977)
♦ Blindfold (with Kim Cattrall/09-26-1978)

Trivia Bits:
☆ Originally, Starsky was supposed to drive a green and white Chevy Camaro but, the producers had a contract with Ford.
☆ On numerous occasions, Paul Michael Glaser has talked about how much he hated the car, as well as playing Starsky and, that he had campaigned to be released from his contract.
☆ Zebra Three was the radio call sign for Starsky, Hutch…and the car.
☆ Starsky and Hutch were based on Lou Telano and John Sepe.
☆ The Colt Python .357 Magnum revolver used by Hutch is the same pistol carried by David Soul in his role as Officer John Davis in Magnum Force.
☆ The show had four different opening theme songs with seasons two and four crafted by Tom Scott and sounding similar. Season one was crafted by Lalo Schifrin and season three crafted by Mark Snow, known for the X-Files theme.

Different Themes

Twilight Zone – The Encounter

★★★★1/2 May 1, 1964 Season 5 Episode 30

If you want to see where we are…HERE is a list of the episodes.

This episode is a serious and powerful episode. Taro (George Takei) lives with the guilt and dishonor that his father brought on the family by turning traitor during World War II, even while employed as a shipbuilder in Hawaii. Fenton (Neville Brand) endures the repressed guilt of having murdered a Japanese soldier after the man had already surrendered.

At first, the two are cordial but you can feel the tension build as the episode proceeds. It deals with themes of guilt and atonement. The dialog sounds authentic and dramatic. George Takei who plays Arthur Takamori would later go on to star in Star Trek. Both actors are superb in this story.

IMDB Trivia: This episode sparked some intense controversy for CBS after it was first aired in 1964. Due to strong critical blow-back for it’s ostensible racist overtones and revisionist history, CBS pulled this episode out of syndication and it was not rebroadcast again on any network in the U.S. until 2016; although it did air in other countries and was also not removed from streaming services or home video/DVD sets. The Encounter triggered audience and reviewer criticism of the episode as antithetical to the series’ normally positive treatment of otherwise sensitive social, religious, and racial subject matter.

During the dialogue, the Pearl Harbor attack was extensively discussed. Six years later, Neville Brand would have a small role in the epic Pearl Harbor film Tora! Tora! Tora!

This episode was finally rerun in the United States, on the Syfy channel, during a complete Twilight Zone marathon on January 3rd, 2016.

This show was written by Rod Serling and Martin Goldsmith

Rod Serling’s Opening Narration:

Two men alone in an attic, a young Japanese-American and a seasoned veteran of yesterday’s war. It’s twenty odd years since Pearl Harbor, but two ancient opponents are moving into position for a battle in an attic crammed with skeletons, souvenirs, mementos, old uniforms, and rusted medals. Ghosts from the dim reaches of the past, that will lead us into the Twilight Zone.

Summary

A man, Fenton, is cleaning out his attic when a Japanese gardener, Arthur Takamori, stops by asking if he would like his grass cut. Fenton invites him up for a beer but, having served in the Pacific during World War II, isn’t quite sure what to make of his visitor. He has his prejudices but wavers as Arthur says he was born in the USA and is no different than any other American. As they discuss their pasts, it’s revealed that both men have lied and are haunted by what happened to them

Rod Serling’s Closing Narration:

Two men in an attic, locked in mortal embrace. Their common bond, and their common enemy: guilt. A disease all too prevalent amongst men both in and out of The Twilight Zone.

CAST

Rod Serling … Host / Narrator – Himself
Neville Brand … Fenton
George Takei … Arthur Takamori/Taro

TV Draft Round 3 – Pick 2 – Seinfeld

Welcome to the Hanspostcard TV Draft. The remaining 8 rounds will be posted here. We will have 64 different TV Shows by 8 different writers. I hope you will enjoy it! Today’s post was written by Mike from https://musiccitymike.net

Seinfeld

I must begin by saying that I’m puzzled as to why it took me so long to decide what my next pick in the TV series draft would be. The number of Seinfeld YouTube clips I’ve watched should alone justify making the “show about nothing” my #3 overall pick.

My history with Seinfeld however is odd in that I did not watch a single episode in real time until I viewed the underwhelming series finale at a private corporate event on their then-expensive big screen. By then though I had at least seen some reruns but had yet to become passionate about the show. But not too long after the series ceased, I got hooked by watching many more reruns and running through my Dad’s DVD collection when I visited my folks. Watching Seinfeld soon became highly addictive for several reasons upon which I will elaborate.

Seinfeld ‘s obvious attractions are of course that it is very funny, all the characters are incredible, and like my prior two series picks, it is set mostly in New York City. And to that last point, the show’s brilliant production never once makes you think that it’s all done in a Hollywood studio. It really feels like it’s all happening in the Big Apple.

Remarkably, I have always been fascinated by how timeless Seinfeld is. Despite the lack of cellphones and the presence of Jerry’s dated haircut and his old Macintosh computer visible in the background, the storylines just seem so relevant to whatever decade you are watching them in. Relationship issues, comical character failures and the unabashed selfishness exhibited by the four main characters are things we can all forever relate to and laugh about.

Seinfeld’s impact on popular culture is also unprecedented. For a show that is now more that 20 years expired, there are so many expressions that are now accepted vernacular. Aside from the obvious “Yada Yada” and “No soup for you!”, quite often, personal situations have made me recall and reference old episodes. One recent example dealt with someone who was perpetuating an obvious lie until when like George Costanza, “He finally reached the end of the Hamptons!” Amazing how many people I said this to remembered that car ride ending in a walk when George didn’t admit to his fiancé’s parents that he didn’t have a house in the Hamptons until they all reached the Atlantic Ocean.

Each Seinfeld episode typically had three or four concurrent storylines and we often forget the classics that intersected with one another. One was when the injured squirrel, for whom George paid for surgery to impress a girlfriend, got snatched away by a hawk during Kramer’s mock Merv Griffin Show. (After he found the old TV show set props in the trash bin.) On the same “show,” Jerry also was outed for drugging his girlfriend so that he could play with her rare vintage toy collection.

Being a baseball fan, having George work for the Yankees and seeing some real-life Yankees and Mets playing themselves on the show was something special. In fact, if I had to pick my favorite episode, it would be the one in which George suggested the Yankees wear cotton uniforms since cotton fabric breathes. Then came the problem when the non-polyester uniforms shrank making play difficult. This was also another great multiple story line show in which the gang watches the hapless Yanks from an Atlantic City hotel room where Jerry also accidently drowns the trained doves from Miss Rhode Island’s talent act. (Kramer was coaching Jerry’s girlfriend for the pageant.)

Writing about this show makes me want to watch it right now. It also makes me ponder where did Kramer get the money to live on and how many girlfriends did Jerry have? It’s hard to imagine what life would be like without the ability to go back and visit Jerry, George, Elaine, and Kramer on a regular basis.

Finally, while there never was an official Seinfeld reunion show, there was a short segment on Seinfeld co-creator Larry David’s Curb Your Enthusiasm where we did see the show’s main four characters in the future. Here’s a look at those snippets all combined in a clever update that makes you long for some more new Seinfeld. Maybe someday.

Twilight Zone – Stopover in a Quiet Town

★★★★★ April 24, 1964 Season 5 Episode 30

If you want to see where we are…HERE is a list of the episodes.

This is a classic episode of the Twilight Zone. The characters are both a little hungover. They can be short-tempered, quarrelsome, and blame each other for their predicament. The wife tends toward hysteria and the man is totally insensitive, but we feel for them. They wake up in a strange house and town after drinking at a party the night before. In this quiet town, the horror is real, and we can sense the panic that the characters are going through. You start caring for the characters and are invested at this point as they think they find the way out time after time.

Serling has used this idea before with the pilot Where Is Everybody? but he explores it more with this episode. Rod Serling achieves a heightened sense of claustrophobia of feeling trapped in this episode. Serling’s closing narration turns it in a warning against drunk driving. “The moral of what you’ve just seen is clear. If you drink, don’t drive. And if your wife has had a couple, she shouldn’t drive either. You might both just wake up with a whale of a headache in a deserted village in the Twilight Zone.”

Earl Hamner Jr: I got that idea walking around the backlot at MGM once, Hamner recalls. Everything was made of papier-mache and was a false front. It suddenly came to me, what if someone woke in this surrounding and there was nothing but false labels on everything, and if you dropped a lighted match on the grass it would catch fire, and if you got on a train it would come all the way around to where you started from?

IMDB Trivia: The abandoned town in which the Frazers find themselves is the same location used for The Twilight Zone: The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street (1960). As the actors move through the ‘town’, they traverse several of the old themed ‘street’ sets which were then standing on the old MGM backlot, including the New England street, the “St Louis” street, and the western town.

The bulletin board in front of the church says that the sermon will be given by Rev. Kogh Gleason. F. Keogh Gleason was a set decorator at M-G-M for many years, and worked on The Twilight Zone (1959).

This is the second episode that shows two people sharing the same bed together on television, something unusual at the time. The first was The Twilight Zone: Person or Persons Unknown (1962). Due to censorship regulations from the networks, TV shows at the time would portray married couples sleeping on separate beds. In both of these cases, the couples were still fully dressed and had gone to sleep while drunk, thus making it clear to the viewer they hadn’t “slept” together.

This show was written by Rod Serling and Earl Hamner Jr.

Rod Serling’s Opening Narration:

Bob and Millie Frazier, average young New Yorkers who attended a party in the country last night and on the way home took a detour. Most of us on waking in the morning know exactly where we are; the rooster or the alarm clock brings us out of sleep into the familiar sights, sounds, aromas of home and the comfort of a routine day ahead. Not so with our young friends. This will be a day like none they’ve ever spent – and they’ll spend it in the Twilight Zone.

Summary

After drinking too much at a party, Bob and Millie Frazier awaken in a strange bed, in a strange house in a strange town. They’re still dressed in the clothes they wore to the party but their memories are fuzzy. Bob was too drunk to drive so Millie was behind the wheel and she vaguely remembers a shadow falling over them. They soon realize that everything in the town is fake: the telephone in the house isn’t wired; the drawers and cupboards in the kitchen are only a façade; even the trees are fake. The town is deserted and Millie begins to wonder if they’re dead. They keep hearing a child laughing and begin a search. They’re not prepared for what they encounter.

Rod Serling’s Closing Narration:

The moral of what you’ve just seen is clear. If you drink, don’t drive. And if your wife has had a couple, she shouldn’t drive either. You might both just wake up with a whale of a headache in a deserted village in the Twilight Zone.

CAST

Rod Serling … Host / Narrator – Himself
Barry Nelson … Bob Frazier
Nancy Malone … Millie Frazier
Denise Lynn … Little Alien Girl
Karen Norris … Alien Mother

TV Draft Recap Rounds 1 & 2

Welcome to the Hanspostcard TV Draft. The remaining 8 rounds will be posted here. We will have 64 different TV Shows by 8 different writers. I hope you will enjoy it!

This is a recap of rounds one and two that were held earlier. Hope you will join us on April 11, 2022… Monday at 9am CST to kick it off.

Round 1	TV Show	Who Posted	Home Site
1.	Doctor Who	Vic	https://cosmic-observation.com/blog-posts/
2.	The Sopranos	Mike	https://musiccitymike.net
3.	Bozo’s Circus	John	https://thesoundofonehandtyping.com
4.	Barney Miller	Max	https://powerpop.blog
5.	The Wire	Kirk	https://slicethelife.com/
6.	Police Squad	Keith	https://nostalgicitalian.com/
7.	Only Murders in the Building (OMITB)	Paula	http://paulalight.com

Round 2
1.	The Odd Couple	Mike	https://musiccitymike.net
2.	Cartoon Town	John	https://thesoundofonehandtyping.com
3.	Fawlty Towers	Max	https://powerpop.blog
4.	Rockford Files	Kirk	https://slicethelife.com/
5.	Mission Impossible	Keith	https://nostalgicitalian.com/
6.	Firefly	Vic	https://cosmic-observation.com/blog-posts/

Twilight Zone – The Jeopardy Room

★★★★1/2 April 17, 1964 Season 5 Episode 29

If you want to see where we are…HERE is a list of the episodes.

This is another episode in which I’m in the minority. I rated this one a 4 1/2 -star episode though not many have rated it that high. This one is great. It’s not exactly Twilight Zone-ish. You won’t see science fiction in this one. It could be a separate spy show or something out of a James Bond film. Martin Landau plays Major Ivan Kuchenko and he escaped from the Soviet Union to find freedom. He plays a cat and mouse battle between him and his KGB opponent John van Dreelen who plays Commissar Vassiloff.

You could call this one from a different era… a Cold War film but wait…the era may not be so far gone anymore. Thrilling and suspenseful and worth a watch. It’s one of the highlights of the 5 season. The battle of wills between Kuchenko and Vassiloff is very entertaining.

IMDB Trivia: One of a handful of TZ episodes that, notably, contains no science fiction or fantasy elements. Others include The Twilight Zone: Dust (1961), The Twilight Zone: The Shelter (1961), and The Twilight Zone: The Silence (1961).

Martin Landau (Major Ivan Kuchenko) later played William Cooper-Janes in The Twilight Zone: The Beacon/One Life, Furnished in Early Poverty (1985).

This show was written by Rod Serling

Rod Serling’s Opening Narration:

The cast of characters—a cat and a mouse, this is the latter. The intended victim who may or may not know that he is to die, be it by butchery or ballet. His name is Major Ivan Kuchenko. He has, if events go according to certain plans, perhaps three or four more hours of living. But an ignorance shared by both himself and his executioner, is of the fact that both of them have taken the first step into the Twilight Zone.

Summary

After spending twelve years in a Soviet prison, Major Ivan Kuchenko has fled his homeland and is now in transit in a third country hoping to soon leave and seek asylum in the USA. He is not alone however as Commissar Vassiloff, his torturer during his imprisonment, has caught up with him. Vassilof could easily kill him – he has an assassin with him, Boris – but he decides to give him a chance to walk away. He’s placed a bomb in Kuchenko’s room and he gives the Major 3 hours to find and disarm it. Kuchenko proves himself to be a worthy adversary.

Rod Serling’s Closing Narration:

Major Ivan Kuchenko, on his way West. On his way to freedom: a freedom bought and paid for by a most stunning ingenuity. And exit one Commissar Vassiloff, who forgot that there are two sides to an argument – and two parties on the line. This has been the Twilight Zone.

CAST

Rod Serling … Host / Narrator – Himself
Martin Landau … Major Ivan Kuchenko
John van Dreelen … Commissar Vassiloff
Robert Kelljan … Boris- Vassiloff’s assistant

Twilight Zone – Caesar and Me

★★★1/2 April 10, 1964 Season 5 Episode 28

If you want to see where we are…HERE is a list of the episodes.

This is the second Twilight Zone with a ventriloquist’s dummy that is smarter than his ventriloquist. The episode though doesn’t build the same mystery about the dummy as The Dummy does. Jackie Cooper plays Jonathan West a down-on-his-luck ventriloquist who has no friend but Caesar…the dummy. You do feel some sympathy with this character, but he is far too naive. The trouble starts when Caesar manipulates Jonathan into performing several robberies instead of finding honest work while they are waiting for their big break.

The vicious character in this story is the little girl named Susan played by Suzanne Cupito. She would later play Katherine Wentworth in Dallas. She started out as an insufferable little know it all but ended up as evil as the Caesar. This is the only episode of the series written by a woman. Adele T. Strassfield was the secretary of William Froug, the producer of the second half of the final season of The Twilight Zone.

It was a good episode and an improvement over the previous episode Sounds and Silences.

IMDB Trivia: The ventriloquist’s dummy is a reuse of the one created for The Twilight Zone: The Dummy (1962). It was modeled on George Murdock, one of that episode’s guest stars.

Jackie Cooper’s name previously appeared on a poster for the film O’Shaughnessy’s Boy (1935), in which he starred, in The Twilight Zone: The Incredible World of Horace Ford (1963).

This show was written by Rod Serling and Adele T. Strassfield

Rod Serling’s Opening Narration:

Jonathan West, ventriloquist, a master of voice manipulation. A man, late of Ireland, with a talent for putting words into other peoples’ mouths. In this case, the other person is a dummy, aptly named Caesar, a small splinter with large ideas, a wooden tyrant with a mind and a voice of his own, who is about to talk Jonathan West – into the Twilight Zone.

Summary

Ventriloquist Jonathan West isn’t having much luck finding a job. He’s gone to several auditions but no one has taken him on. He’s falling behind in his rent and is now getting to the point where he’s running out of things to pawn. He has to put up with the taunts of young Susan, the landlady’s niece. He’s also talking to his dummy, Caesar, who has advice for him on how to get ahead. It’s not very good advice however.

Rod Serling’s Closing Narration:

A little girl and a wooden doll. A lethal dummy in the shape of a man. But everybody knows dummies can’t talk – unless, of course, they learn their vocabulary in the Twilight Zone.

CAST

Rod Serling … Host / Narrator – Himself
Jackie Cooper … Jonathan West / voice of Caesar
Suzanne Cupito (Morgan Brittany) … Susan
Sarah Selby … Mrs. Cudahy
Stafford Repp … Pawnbroker
Don Gazzaniga … Detective
Kenneth Konopka … Mr. Miller
Sidney Marion … Watchman
Robert McCord … Man Watching Audition
Olan Soule … Mr. Smiles

Twilight Zone – Sounds and Silences

★★ April 3, 1964 Season 5 Episode 27

If you want to see where we are…HERE is a list of the episodes.

EXACTLY on April 3, 1964…58 years ago today, this episode was aired for the first time. I wish it would have been a better episode that lined up with the current date. This is a light episode, not one of the great ones. The main character (Roswell G. Flemington) is not likable but played well by John McGiver. He is a very loud man because his mom made him be quiet all of his childhood.

You feel for his long-suffering wife played by Penny Singleton. All that said, the film has some funny moments at the expense of Roswell, particularly his employees talking among themselves about him when he isn’t around. He expects the world to put up with his very loud ways. The episode is harmless enough, but it doesn’t get off the ground. It can be taxing to get through.

On May 1961, a script was submitted to Serling entitled The Sound of Silence, concerning a man who could not hear the sounds around him. Serling rejected it, then forgot all about it. Two years later, he wrote Sounds and Silences. As soon as it aired, the writer of the original script filed suit. Because of the similarities in title and plot, the writer was paid $3500 and the matter was settled. Unfortunately, because the suit was in litigation when Twilight Zone was put into syndication, Sounds and Silences was not included. The episode was aired only once and then put away in the CBS vaults.
.

IMDB Trivia: Shortly after the airing, a writer came up with a lawsuit claiming his script and title was used. It was settled with him receiving $3500 but litigation prevented it from being included in syndication for a time.

The first “sound effect” record played by John McGiver is actually a 78RPM disc on the Deltone label called “You Won’t Believe Your Eyes” sung by Ina Massine. Ina Massine isn’t a real singer; it was Kathryn Grayson’s character name in the 1951 film “Grounds for Marriage.” This Rodgers and Hart song (real title, “Wait Till You See Him”) was recorded for the movie but not used. This record must have been a leftover prop.

Mrs. Flemington is portrayed by Penny Singleton, who is perhaps best known for portraying Blondie Bumstead from the “Blondie!'” movies of the 1930s and 1940s, that were based on the comic strip created by Chic Young. Penny also provided the voice of Jane Jetson on “The Jetsons” (1962).

This show was written by Rod Serling

Rod Serling’s Opening Narration:

This is Roswell G. Flemington, two hundred and twenty pounds of gristle, lung tissue and sound decibels. He is, as you have perceived, a noisy man, one of a breed who substitutes volume for substance, sound for significance, and shouting to cover up the readily apparent phenomenon that he is nothing more than an overweight and aging perennial Sea Scout whose noise-making is in inverse ratio to his competence and to his character. But soon our would-be admiral of the fleet will embark on another voyage. This one is an unchartered and twisting stream that heads for a distant port called the Twilight Zone.

Summary

Rosswell G. Flemington owns a model ship company and loves everything nautical. That’s not his problem, however: he likes everything to be loud. He speaks at the top of his lungs, bellowing commands to his staff. He plays his phonograph records – his favorites include the sound of jets flying off the deck of the USS Hornet – as loud as possible, something that leads his wife to leave him. He’s not prepared for what happens to him in the Twilight Zone however

Rod Serling’s Closing Narration:

When last heard from, Mr. Roswell G. Flemington was in a sanitarium pleading with the medical staff to make some noise. They, of course, believe the case to be a rather tragic aberration – a man’s mind becoming unhinged. And for this they’ll give him pills, therapy, and rest. Little do they realize that all Mr. Flemington is suffering from is a case of poetic justice. Tonight’s tale of sounds and silences from the Twilight Zone.

CAST

Rod Serling … Host / Narrator – Himself
John McGiver … Roswell G. Flemington
Penny Singleton … Mrs. Lydia Flemington
Billy Benedict … Conklin
Francis De Sales … Doctor
Michael Fox … Psychiatrist

Twilight Zone – I Am the Night – Color Me Black

★★★★★ March 27, 1964 Season 5 Episode 26

If you want to see where we are…HERE is a list of the episodes.

IMDB has this one rated with 7.4 out of 10. I think it should have been rated much higher. It is an excellent and powerful episode so I’m giving it 5 stars. A thought-provoking episode that is very original. Rod Serling wrote this and he lashed out at hatred in this episode. It was made only 4 months after JFK was assassinated. I rate this a 5 not because of the action or sci-fi…but it makes you think. The best Twilight Zones do that. Some might not like it because it is very dark.

Serling describes darkness covering various areas of the world simultaneously in reference to the evil happenings of the era. It’s a powerful message about a human sickness that all of us can learn and grow from. It was such a great concept to have the sunlight go away and to have total darkness brought on by hate. Maybe it is an act of God that’s being spurred on by men.

George Lindsey (Goober off of the Andy Griffith Show) plays a backwoods redneck policeman in this one. Michael Constantine plays the sheriff who feels guilty about what is going on and realizes the mistakes that he and everyone else has made. Ivan Dixon plays the Reverend Anderson and he and Constantine are the stars of this episode. The acting, writing, and lessons are great in this one.

IMDB Trivia: This episode takes place on May 25, 1964.

Ivan Dixon (Reverend) previously starred in The Twilight Zone: The Big Tall Wish (1960).

This show was written by Rod Serling

Rod Serling’s Opening Narration:

Sheriff Charlie Koch on the morning of an execution. As a matter of fact, it’s seven-thirty in the morning. Logic and natural laws dictate that at this hour there should be daylight. It is a simple rule of physical science that the sun should rise at a certain moment and supersede the darkness. But at this given moment, Sheriff Charlie Koch, a deputy named Pierce, a condemned man named Jagger, and a small, inconsequential village will shortly find out that there are causes and effects that have no precedent. Such is usually the case—in the Twilight Zone.

Summary

In a small town, a man by the name of Jagger is about to be executed after being found guilty of murder. The local newspaperman, Colbey, is convinced that Jagger is innocent. He accuses Deputy Pierce of having perjured himself to get a conviction and accuses Sheriff Charlie Koch of just plain laziness in investigating the case. As the morning of his execution arrives, the townsfolk realize that the sun hasn’t risen that day. They soon begin to understand the cause of the darkness that surrounds them.

SPOILER WARNING WITH VIDEO

Rod Serling’s Closing Narration:

A sickness known as hate. Not a virus, not a microbe, not a germ—but a sickness nonetheless, highly contagious, deadly in its effects. Don’t look for it in the Twilight Zone—look for it in a mirror. Look for it before the light goes out altogether.

CAST

Rod Serling … Host / Narrator – Himself
Michael Constantine … Sheriff Charlie Koch
Paul Fix … Colbey
George Lindsey … Deputy Pierce
Ivan Dixon … the Reverend Anderson
Terry Becker … Jagger
Eve McVeagh … Ella
Douglas Bank … Man
Russell Custer … Townsman
Elizabeth Harrower … Woman
Michael Jeffers … Deputy
Robert McCord … Townsman
Ward Wood … Man