TV Shows – Page 2 – PowerPop… An Eclectic Collection of Pop Culture

Kolchak: The Night Stalker – The Devil’s Platform

November 15, 1974 Season 1 Episode 7

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

This episode stands out as one of the most polished and eerie episodes of Kolchak: The Night Stalker. It blended political ambition with supernatural horror in a way that worked. The episode follows Carl Kolchak (Darren McGavin), the Chicago reporter who never backs down from a strange lead, as he investigates a string of mysterious deaths, all linked to a political figure, Robert Palmer (played by a favorite actor of mine, Tom Skerritt). Palmer’s charm and clean-cut image make him the perfect candidate for office, except for one detail: he’s literally made a deal with the Devil.

What makes this story memorable is how grounded it feels. The murders are bad enough, but the real horror comes from the suggestion that evil often hides behind respectability. Kolchak’s investigation takes him through a web of corruption and secrecy, from a reporter’s curiosity to outright disbelief that someone could strike a deal with the devil in modern Chicago. Yet as always, Kolchak’s sense for the bizarre proves right, and the evidence, mysterious paw prints, unexplained fires, and a black dog that appears and vanishes, points squarely toward the supernatural. The dog starts to follow Kolchack at the beginning. My guess is that this was influenced by The Exorcist, which was released a year earlier.

Skerritt plays Palmer as a man who seems almost too perfect, a slick politician whose every move is rehearsed. The scenes between McGavin and Skerritt are great, especially when Kolchak pushes too hard and Palmer’s mask slips just enough to reveal him. Tony Vincenzo (Kolchak’s boss) is more open in this one to Carl investigating this politician, although minus the he made a deal with the devil part. He is willing to go along with everything but that.

It remains one of Kolchak’s finest episodes so far, smartly written and unsettling. It captures everything that made the series unique. It’s a good commentary about power, ambition, and the price of selling one’s soul.

SPOILER

The climax, involving a showdown between Kolchak and Palmer, delivers both suspense and irony, as the Devil’s disciple realizes that even dark deals have expiration dates.

One line I loved, Kolchak’s boss, Tony Vincenzo, and Kolchak were arguing about Carl’s suit and hat. Kolchak asked him what bothered him so much about his hat? Vincenzo’s reply was classic: “What’s under it.”

The Complete Episode

Star Trek Continues

***I have the next Kolchak written up, but I didn’t want to post two television shows in one day, so I’m going to go over the entire season of Star Trek Continues with this post, and I’ve scheduled Kolchak for next Friday! Sorry for the interruption. *** BTW… the link to next week’s episode is THIS.

I can’t tell you how excited I was when I found this 11-episode Star Trek a few years ago. It’s called Star Trek Continues, and it’s so well done! That link gives you ALL the episodes on YouTube. I added an episode at the bottom so you can check out the look of this. The only non-consistent thing is…much like the original (another doctor in the pilot), one actor plays Dr. McCoy in the first two episodes and another (a better one) plays him in the rest of the series. The same characters: Spock, Captain Kirk, Dr. McCoy, Scotty, Sulu, Chekov, and Uhura. It’s as if they went back in time and took over the sets while the original stars were on break, then filmed this show.

When I did the Star Trek series, going over every episode, I meant to write this one up, but never did. This series was made between 2013 and 2017. They were professionally made but fan-made. When I say “fan-made,” what I mean is a Kickstarter drive with professional actors who are huge fans. They got it down almost perfectly. Good writing and a talented cast to bring the original characters to life. It’s such a labor of love with these Star Trek-obsessed actors. They went to great lengths to recreate the original atmosphere. The space scenes even look like the remastered original series.

This is not a “Star Trek: The Next Generation”; it’s a copy of the original with new stories. They have the lighting, look, feel, and everything pretty much on target. This show only has 11 episodes total. Some shows are continuations of the original shows. It was a 5-year mission, but the original series only got 3 years. So this picks up in the 4th year and goes through the 5th and even sets up the first movie, Star Trek: The Motion Picture.

When I watch Star Trek TOS and get through every episode, I wish there was more… then I found this. They have some guest stars from the original series, and Chris Doohan, son of Scotty (James Doohan), plays Scotty, and the rest of the cast is really good. The only one that is hard to get is Todd Haberkorn, who played Spock. That is probably the hardest role you could get, but he does make it work. I don’t think he got Leonard Nimoy’s toughness as much.

All of these were released straight on YouTube when made. If you like the original series and wish they had made more…this is for you. Rod Roddenberry, son of Gene Roddenberry, said the show was superb and should be in the canon.

Some of these episodes are great, especially the two-part ending. You do get one character that was made up just for this. That would be the ship’s counselor, Michele Specht, as Dr. Elise McKennah. They do explain in the last show why she isn’t in the movies.

You also get a character named “Smith” played by Kipleigh Brown, which I think is super cool. The reason is there WAS a “Smith” in the original episode Where No Man Has Gone Before. She only had one line, but they used her in this series. She ties into the two-parter conclusion because of what happened in that original episode. This was brilliant to me. Getting a basically unknown character and making a story around her.

The original Barbara Smith is holding hands with Marshall in that episode.

The new Barbara Smith…same character

Pilgrim of Eternity: A direct sequel to the TOS episode “Who Mourns for Adonais?”, featuring the return of the character Apollo. Michael Forest played Apollo in the original AND in this one.
Lolani: Inspired by the portrayal of Orion slave girls (Green is my favorite color!) in the original series. Lou Ferrigno makes an appearance and is GREEN again.
Fairest of Them All: A continuation of the Mirror Universe, picking up from the events of “Mirror, Mirror“.
The White Iris: A head trip for Kirk that deals with the fates of women he met on previous missions, such as Rayna from “The Ultimate Computer” and Miramanee from “The Savage Curtain” and more women that Kirk was involved with. Even the Joan Collins character (Edith Keeler) from The City On The Edge Of Forever.
Divided We Stand: Kirk and McCoy are trapped in an incident from the American Civil War, inspired by the time travel episode “Tomorrow Is Yesterday“.
Come Not Between the Dragons: The Enterprise is threatened by a pursuing alien creature.
Embracing the Winds: Kirk is recalled to a starbase to face an ethical dilemma.
Still Treads the Shadow: The Enterprise discovers a lost starship and an unlikely passenger.
What Ships Are For: Kirk struggles to aid a society with a unique view of their world.
To Boldly Go, Part I: The Enterprise returns to the starting point of Kirk’s five-year mission. These last two episodes go back to Where No Man Has Gone Before.
To Boldly Go, Part II: The series finale concludes Kirk’s mission with a final battle. This episode takes you up to the movies.

Primary Cast
Vic Mignogna as Captain James T. Kirk
Todd Haberkorn as Mr. Spock
Larry Nemecek as Dr. McCoy (Episodes 1 & 2)
Chuck Huber as Dr. McCoy (Vignettes & Episodes 3-11)
Chris Doohan as Mr. Scott
Grant Imahara as Mr. Sulu
Kim Stinger as Lt. Uhura
Wyatt Lenhart as Ensign (Later Lt.j.g.) Pavel Chekov
Michele Specht as Dr. Elise McKennah, ship’s Counselor
Recurring Cast
Steven Dengler as Lt. William C. Drake, Security chief
Kipleigh Brown as Lt.j.g. Barbara Smith, relief Conn officer (formerly Ship’s Yeoman)
Cat Roberts as Lt. Elizabeth Palmer, relief Communications officer
Martin Bradford as Dr. Jabilo G. M’Benga, relief Medical officer/Vulcan specialist
Reuben Langdon as Lt. Kubaro Dickerson, Security officer
Liz Wagner as Ensign Lia Burke, nurse
Marina Sirtis as ship’s Computer voice
Amy Rydell as Romulan Commander

I hope you enjoy this!

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Kolchak: The Night Stalker – Firefall

November 08, 1974 Season 1 Episode 6

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

This episode brought to mind the Twilight Zone episode, Mirror Image. A much more deadly version, though. The noir type of narration helps in this one because of the unusual story. Kolchak gets more involved in this one than most… he is in the center of it.

This one has a very different storyline from the others so far. By the time Kolchak: The Night Stalker aired this episode, the series had already established itself as a mix of noir and dark humor. This episode presents one of the show’s more psychologically complex stories. Instead of a vampire, werewolf, or zombie, this one focuses on a ghost-like “doppelganger,” a mysterious double that stalks its victim until it kills him. The result is a haunting-filled hour that shows just how flexible the Kolchak format could be.

The story begins when Kolchak investigates a series of spontaneous combustions connected to a famous symphony conductor, Ryder Bond. People around Bond are dying in fiery, unexplained accidents, and Kolchak quickly suspects something supernatural. But this isn’t your standard ghost story. What sets this one apart is its odd concept: a ghostly twin, born out of a near-death experience, who appears whenever the conductor falls asleep, a sleeping phantom trying to take his place in the world.

Director Don Weis uses shadows, flickering lights, and slow zooms to heighten the tension. Also, he makes the Chicago nights look especially moody here. Darren McGavin’s performance is typically sharp; his Kolchak is funny yet genuinely frightened. He balances humor with desperation as he realizes he’s chasing something that can’t be photographed or fought. The episode also benefits from a solid supporting cast, including Fred Beir as Bond and Madlyn Rhue as his wife.

It stands out more than the Alien episode because it dives heavily into psychological horror rather than pure monster-of-the-week thrills. It’s about the fear of losing yourself and being replaced by something that looks like you but isn’t. For a 1970s network TV show, that’s surprisingly territory. While it doesn’t have the flashy monster effects of “The Werewolf” or “The Zombie,” it lingers in your mind long after it’s over.

The COMPLETE EPISODE

Kolchak: The Night Stalker – The Werewolf

November 01, 1974 Season 1 Episode 5

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

I’m loving going through these episodes. Like the X-Files, this show has a monster and humor. Sometimes serious and sometimes camp. There is something for everyone. With Star Trek and Twilight Zone, I tried to hide what the monster or whatever was, but with the titles to this series, not much cause for that.

This is one of the great atmospheric episodes in the series. This time, our ever-skeptical reporter Carl Kolchak (played with perfect disheveled energy by Darren McGavin) finds himself aboard a cruise ship bound for New York, covering what should have been a puff piece about fun on the high seas. Naturally, things go sideways when passengers start turning up brutally mauled, and the only clues are shredded clothing and what look like animal bites. Kolchak’s sense for the bizarre kicks in, and soon he suspects that a werewolf might be loose on the ship, a premise that turns an already claustrophobic voyage into pure nightmare.

The episode cleverly uses its limited setting to heighten suspense. The cruise ship’s narrow hallways and locked cabins create a sense of entrapment — there’s nowhere to run when the full moon rises. The story also dips into old-school monster-movie tradition: silver bullets, cursed bites, and the doomed man who becomes the beast. The makeup effects, while modest by today’s standards, deliver a creepy punch, a classic, snarling wolf-man straight out of a Universal horror movie. Kolchak, armed only with his typewriter wit and some makeshift silver, must find a way to stop the creature before the ship reaches port.

This episode is a good example of the show’s formula: horror meets journalism, with humor and cynicism woven through. The episode’s director, Allen Baron, keeps the pacing tight, and the contrast between McGavin’s wisecracking performance and the grim killings maintains that strange Kolchak balance between camp and dread. It also helped solidify the series’s reputation for finding horror in everyday or unexpected places, in this case, a pleasure cruise turned into a deathtrap.

This episode feels like a monster-of-the-week done with a touch of humor and melancholy. This one has the feel of a late-night drive-in flick, half spooky and half funny, and it remains a fan favorite…per IMDB. Two standout guest stars were Nita Talbot as Kolchak’s cohort, Paula Griffin. She was no one’s fool and quite a match for Kolchak. Also, Eric Braeden as Bernhardt Stieglitz who plays the title role of the show.

The FULL EPISODE! The reason I don’t embed the video is that Dailymotion just keeps playing every time you pull up my site. It gets on your nerves and mine as well.

Kolchak: The Night Stalker – The Vampire

October 04, 1974 Season 1 Episode 4

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

This show acted as a direct sequel to the original TV movie The Night Stalker. It’s a really good episode! This story has Kolchak chasing down Janos Skorzeny’s (the original vampire in the movie) “offspring,” a female vampire who rises in Los Angeles after a series of mysterious murders. Where the original movie thrived on Darren McGavin’s tense battles with a powerful vampire in Las Vegas, this time Kolchak is once again the only man connecting the dots as bodies begin piling up with familiar fang marks and drained blood.

We can always rely on Carl Kolchak to stubbornly pursue the strange stories even when under orders to pursue something decidedly more mundane. Carl is sent to Los Angeles to interview a young guru and instead becomes intrigued by a series of killings involving the draining of blood, first told to him by an old acquaintance named “Swede” (guest star Larry Storch). Kolchak is once again quick to jump to the most extravagant conclusion, and of course, he’s right: the culprit is a sexy female vampire unearthed from her slumber by a highway crew outside Las Vegas.

The climax is classic Kolchak. Armed with a cross, hammer, and stake, he hunts the vampire into her lair beneath the city. The episode builds tension with along the way with lighting, camera work, and McGavin’s energy as he fends off a supernatural predator. Unlike many horror shows of the era that shied away from violence, Kolchak goes into the dread of facing a creature of legend. The confrontation with the vampire feels unsettling, reminding viewers that Kolchak isn’t a superhero; he’s just a reporter willing to risk his life for the truth.

Watching McGavin shuffle around Los Angeles in his seersucker suit, trying to convince hardened cops that a vampire is on the loose, is both hilarious and chilling. For me, this one stands out because it proves Kolchak never gets an easy win, and he doesn’t even get peace of mind. But what he does get is the truth, and he’ll drive a stake through anything, or anyone, that tries to bury it.

The change of setting also works well for the episode, allowing Kolchak to comment on the nature of L.A. and demonstrating some ingenuity in the end when it comes to dispatching his unearthly foe; there’s some good imagery there.

Here is the COMPLETE EPISODE!

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Kolchak: The Night Stalker – They Have Been, They Are, They Will Be…

September 27, 1974 Season 1 Episode 3

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

I’m really liking this series. It’s a shame it only lasted 1 season, but I can see why. It was so different for the time.

This episode isn’t as cut and dry as the others so far. Unlike the zombie, vampire, or werewolf stories that had clear monster traditions, here the writers took a sharp turn into sci-fi, giving us a story about mysterious cattle mutilations, vanishing zoo animals, and an unseen extraterrestrial presence wandering through Chicago. I have said before how this show influenced the X-Files, none more than this episode.

The episode begins with odd reports: animals in the zoo are vanishing, bones are found curiously stripped clean, and a trail of strange electromagnetic interference follows the incidents. Naturally, Carl Kolchak, with his nose for weird stories, senses a huge story. His digging leads him to discover that the culprit may not be human at all.

As always, Kolchak’s determined spirit and undeterred methods make for the typical conflict with authorities, but in this one, that conflict is much more subdued and believable as the police bosses are as much in the dark as he, and prone to benefit from what Kolchak learns on his own.

Written by Dennis Clark and directed by Allen Baron, the episode was praised for its eerie, almost minimalist approach. The producers intentionally avoided showing the alien much, knowing that the limited 1970s TV budget would probably betray the effect. In other words, they didn’t make the same mistake that Star Trek would make at times. The choice worked in their favor; what we don’t see is far scarier.

A funny subplot, as the hometown Cubs are battling the Boston Red Sox in the World Series (both would have to wait decades to end their respective droughts). Darren McGavin later cited this as one of his favorite episodes because it strayed from the usual monster formula and went for something more mysterious and unsettling.

The COMPLETE EPISODE

https://m.ok.ru/video/3288132749931

Kolchak: The Night Stalker – Zombie

September 20, 1974 Season 1 Episode 2

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

This episode was written by David Chase, yes, the same David Chase who would go on to create The Sopranos; the script is one of the tightest of the entire run. You can already see Chase’s fascination with mobsters, moral issues, and revenge from beyond the grave.

In the first two movies and the first episode, we have been visiting different cities in each one. This time, it opens with a string of mob-related murders and he is still in Chicago. At first, the killings look like standard gangland executions, but Kolchak quickly uncovers that something darker is at play: the mob has wronged a Haitian family, and in retaliation, a dead man has been raised from the grave to exact revenge.

This episode leans more on pure horror than the others. Where the pilot movies (The Night Stalker and The Night Strangler) established Kolchak’s mix of noir and horror, The Zombie proved the series could have frights. The scenes of the zombie slowly rising in the mortuary are classic TV horror, low budget, yes, but brilliantly lit and paced.

When this was aired, blaxploitation movies were all the rage, and this does borrow some from them. One actor in this one was Antonio Fargas, who would later become widely known to television audiences as restaurant owner and informant Huggy Bear on Starsky & Hutch.

In a comedy subplot, Vincenzo wants Kolchak to show an executive’s niece from New York the ropes of journalism. Little does she know that it will involve seeing the mangled corpses of mob enforcers lying in the street. This was creepy, moody, and more disturbing than network TV usually allowed in the mid-1970s. A must-watch for fans of horror television.

Well, I had found a full episode of this one, but they took it down. Most of them I will be able to supply, but I struck out on this one. If any of you find it, please tell me.

Here is a video of someone talking about the show, but it plays a lot of the show. I would put my version here, but I know I would violate some copyright.

Kolchak: The Night Stalker – The Ripper

September 13, 1974 Season 1 Episode 1

To view our current progress, click here for a list of episodes.

What better way to kick this series off than by dragging one of history’s most infamous villains out of the fog and dropping him right in 1970s Chicago? The pilot episode, The Ripper, set the tone for the whole series: a mix of supernatural, dark humor, and the persistence of Mr. Carl Kolchak.

Carl Kolchak, now in Chicago working for INS (International News Service) with his old boss Tony Vincenzo (Simon Oakland), is still involved in supernatural cases. This first episode deals with a rash of murders that have all the trademarks of the London murderer, Jack the Ripper. It has to be a copycat killer, right? Don’t ever count anything out in this series.

The direction and atmosphere are strong here, with nighttime chases through shadowy alleys, and grim murders are more suggestion rather than gore. It’s shot in a way that feels both television-tight and surprisingly cinematic; it shows how much the show did with a limited budget. The Ripper character himself is handled with restraint, making him scarier: he’s often seen in fleeting glimpses, an unstoppable figure who seems both human and otherworldly.

This is one of the best examples of why this show became such a cult classic. It combines a timeless horror with Kolchak’s pursuit of the truth, all wrapped in that 1970s mix of camp and creepiness. That’s the thing about this show: it can be very creepy. While some of the effects may feel dated today, it still works; the suspense and Darren McGavin’s performance more than carry it. For fans of horror television, this episode remains a must-watch, a great marriage of folklore and late-night chills.

*Sorry, I’m late on this post, but work was chaotic this week and looks to be for a while. So, I’ll probably do this post on Fridays instead. I’m sorry about changing it mid-stream, but Fridays will be the best day.

The entire episode is in the link below. It’s on Daily Motion, and if I embed it, it plays automatically and will drive people crazy when they open their browser.

Go to THIS LINK.

Kolchak: The Night Stalker origin

I wanted to post this first before I start posting the movies and television shows starting on Thursday, September 4. This is to provide a little history to the two movies and the twenty episodes of the television series. The reviews for the movies are going to be a little longer than the TV episode reviews. I’ll try to keep those brief.

It all started with a writer named Jeff Rice, who in 1970 finished a novel called The Kolchak Papers. It told the story of a wisecracking reporter investigating a string of murders in Las Vegas, murders that turned out to be the work of a real vampire. Networks weren’t sure what to do with it; horror on TV wasn’t exactly safe material at the time. But producer Dan Curtis (of Dark Shadows) saw the potential, and ABC bit and ran with it.

Richard Matheson, the legendary writer behind I Am Legend and many Twilight Zone episodes, was brought in to adapt Rice’s manuscript into a teleplay. He smoothed over some of Rice’s rough edges and made some tight structure and sharp dialogue changes. And Darren McGavin, already a seasoned character actor, was cast as Carl Kolchak.

The result was The Night Stalker, a TV movie that aired in January 1972. It pulled in a staggering 33.2 rating and a 48 share, at the time, the highest-rated TV movie ever, beating out 1971’s Brian’s Song. Viewers were glued to the sight of a driven reporter chasing a vampire through neon-lit Vegas while the cops were pummeled by this thing. It was funny, scary, and unique.

With ratings like that, ABC wanted more. In 1973 came The Night Strangler, also penned by Matheson and directed by Curtis. This time, Kolchak was in Seattle chasing an immortal doctor who needed to kill every 21 years to survive. It wasn’t as tight as the first, but it gave McGavin more space to talk and cemented Kolchak’s character. Once again, the audience tuned in big numbers. A third TV movie was planned, The Night Killers, involving androids in Hawaii, but ABC passed. They wanted a full series.

In 1974, Kolchak: The Night Stalker hit ABC’s Friday night lineup. Each week, Kolchak stumbled into another supernatural situation: werewolves on a cruise ship, a lizard monster in the sewers, a headless motorcyclist, an Aztec mummy, aliens, you name it. It was part horror, part comedy, part newsroom. The production values weren’t up to movie standards, but McGavin’s energy sold it. He made Kolchak more than just a reporter; he was a lovable pest who wouldn’t stop until he uncovered the truth.

It has since developed a huge cult following. Without this show, we may not get the X-Files and many shows to follow.

Next week I’ll feature The Night Stalker TV movie in 1972.

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Kolchak: The Night Stalker …coming soon

I guess this is like a trailer or a commercial for coming attractions. I’m going to tackle this series in a few weeks, with each episode getting a post. There are only 20 episodes plus two movies, so this won’t be a year and a half of The Twilight Zone or Star Trek like I did a few years back. I hope some of you readers are fans. It was totally different for its time and really for now. We will follow Carl Kolchak (Darren McGavin) as he chases monsters in the seventies.

Music posts will not be interrupted…this will be on Thursday, and I may sneak one in earlier in the week if possible. I hope you will enjoy it. I’m going to write up a few before I start posting. Also, Thanks to Lisa, who brought up this series when I told her I was watching The Night Gallery. I have watched this series over the years, but I don’t know the episodes as well as I do The Twilight Zone and Star Trek, so this will be a fun learning experience for me. I had watched The Twilight Zone and Star Trek so much that I didn’t need to research many of them when I covered their episodes.

I hope you will enjoy them. I will start them sometime in September. Also, I think most of the episodes are on YouTube.

Here is a fan-made trailer of the TV movie that spawned the show.

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Twilight Zone 1980s – I, of Newton

Many of the reboots of the Twilight Zone in the 80s were weak, but there were a few that hit the mark. The one I remembered the most is this one. An eight-minute episode of Ron Harris (Barney Miller) and Sherman Hemsley (The Jeffersons). It’s quick and straight to the point, and I thought written and acted brilliantly. The perfect task to send the devil on.

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Underdog Is Here!

There’s no need to fear…Underdog is here!

Thanks, Keith, for hosting this and coming up with this great idea! Today, we go back to Saturday mornings. This was when we sat in front of the TV with our favorite cereal and watched hours of cartoons. So I asked my guests to write about their favorite cartoon or cartoon character growing up.

When I was growing up, we kids had two prime times for cartoons. Saturday mornings were our Super Bowl, packed with classics from Warner Bros. and Hanna-Barbera. Even Land of the Lost—though live-action—was a can’t-miss favorite. But not all the best cartoons aired on Saturdays. Every weekday morning, from 6 to 7 a.m. before school, we had another dose of animated fun, with shows like Rocky and Bullwinkle and Courageous Cat and Minute Mouse keeping us entertained.

Underdog debuted October 3, 1964, on the NBC network under the primary sponsorship of General Mills, and continued in syndication until 1973 (although production of new episodes ceased in 1967, for a run of 124 episodes.

Underdog’s secret identity was Shoeshine Boy. He was in love with Sweet Polly Purebred, who was a news reporter. I would watch this cartoon before going to school in 1st and 2nd grade. Underdog would use his secret ring to conceal pills that he would take when he needed energy. NBC soon put an end to that.

For many years, starting with NBC’s last run in the mid-1970s, all references to Underdog swallowing his super energy pill were censored, most likely out of fear that kids would see medication that looked like the Underdog pills (red with a white “U”) and swallow them. Two instances that did not actually show Underdog swallowing the pills remained in the show. In one, he drops pills into water supplies; in the other, his ring is damaged, and he explains that it is where he keeps the pill—but the part where he actually swallows it was still deleted.

The shows introduced such characters as King Leonardo, Tennessee Tuxedo, Commander McBragg, Klondike Kat, and more. Underdog was voiced by Wally Cox. Underdog always talked in rhyme and I’m a sucker for that in this and Dr Seuss. Two of the villains every week were Simon Bar Sinister and Riff Raff.

W. Watts Biggers teamed with Chet Stover, Treadwell D. Covington, and artist Joe Harris in the creation of television cartoon shows to sell breakfast cereals for General Mills. The shows introduced such characters as King Leonardo, Tennessee Tuxedo, and Underdog. Biggers and Stover contributed both scripts and songs to the series.

When Underdog became a success, Biggers and his partners left Dancer Fitzgerald Sample to form their own company, Total Television, with animation produced at Gamma Studios in Mexico. In 1969, Total Television folded when General Mills dropped out as the primary sponsor (but continued to retain the rights to the series until 1995; however, they still own TV distribution rights.

Underdog became a pop culture icon, with reruns airing for decades. The character was featured in toys, comics, and even a 2007 live-action film starring Jason Lee as the voice of Underdog. The theme song remains one of the most recognizable in cartoon history.

The Dick Cavett Show

I remember being a kid and how ABC, which was our “channel 2,” never came in clearly. The picture was snowy, but I still recall catching glimpses of The Dick Cavett Show. Of course, I also remember Johnny Carson—he and Cavett were the two big talk show hosts of the time. While it might be sacrilegious to say, I always favored Cavett over Carson. Even as a kid, Cavett seemed more interesting.

The Dick Cavett Show on ABC was a smart alternative to The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. Cavett frequently booked intellectuals and gave them time for extended, in-depth conversations. You truly got to know his guests—he took more than 10 minutes, unlike the rushed format of today. There were no distractions, no flashy sets, just meaningful conversations. That was the key: Cavett didn’t just interview his guests… he had real conversations with them. No gimmicky skits, just an authentic exchange.

Cavett had his critics. Some called him a snob, a name-dropper, or too controversial. All three were true—and I loved it. Yes, he went to Yale, and yes, he dropped names. But honestly, if I’d spent time with people like Groucho Marx, I’d name-drop too. Cavett’s guest list was legendary: John Lennon, Jimi Hendrix, Katharine Hepburn, Bette Davis, and so many more. He embraced the counterculture, but he also joked about the counterculture, staying balanced in his approach. In modern times, Conan O’Brien and David Letterman came closest to that spirit…and Charlie Rose as far as having conversations.

One of Cavett’s trademarks was his unique mix of guests. Where else would you see Janis Joplin, Raquel Welch, and Gloria Swanson sharing the same stage? His early 1970s ABC show was the pinnacle of his career. When he booked a rare or special guest, he often dedicated the entire episode to them. Bette Davis and Katharine Hepburn each had an entire show to themselves. Can you imagine that happening today? Is it because today’s stars aren’t as compelling, or has the audience’s attention span shrunk too much to appreciate such depth?

Cavett also thrived on risk. He hosted Norman Mailer and Gore Vidal, who famously clashed, and another episode featured Salvador Dalí, Lillian Gish, and Satchel Paige. These combinations were bold, and they worked. Even Johnny Carson admitted that Cavett was the only talk show host who could’ve seriously challenged him, though ABC’s third-place standing in the network race kept Cavett from overtaking Carson’s dominance.

This isn’t a knock on Johnny at all—his show set the blueprint for today’s talk shows. But Cavett offered something different: a smarter, more thoughtful experience. Watching his episodes now feels like opening a time capsule. While some moments are tied to their time, much of it remains timeless. Hearing from legends like Marlon Brando and Katharine Hepburn, who rarely did talk shows, is especially fascinating.

It wasn’t one of those “Hi, my name is Miss/Mr. So-and-So, my favorite color is blue, and goodbye until next time I have something to promote” situations. With Dick Cavett, you really got to know the person. He had a knack for drawing out something truly interesting. My favorite interview is the one with George Harrison. It didn’t seem promising at first—George wasn’t particularly eager to be on any show at the time—but Dick managed to get him to open up. You could see Cavett’s relief when George finally warmed up. This interview, which came right after John and Yoko’s appearance, turned out to be one of George’s best.

Here are some YouTube comments for these older talk shows:

I’m amazed when I go back and watch interviews from older talk shows, because it’s more quiet and the celebrity hosts and celebrity guests actually engage in authentic conversation with pure respect.

Jimmy Fallon should watch this video. No stupid laughing constantly, no sound effects and no fake laughter from the host. Just a meaningful conversation

Man no wonder podcasts have taken over. This interview was far more interesting and informative than any late night tv interview we get these days.

Miskel Spillman on SNL

These are the kind of posts I like the most. They are fun to write.

Remember the SNL episode where Elvis Costello stopped playing a song and instead played a song Lorne Michaels did not want him to play? The song was Radio, Radio so Elvis defied Michaels and played it anyway. He banned Elvis from ever performing again on SNL. That was eventually lifted but that show is important and not only for that. The host of that show was special, to say the least.

The person hosting that show was the only non-celebrity they ever had to host. At the time, she was the oldest person to host SNL at 80 years old. That record stood until 2010 when an 88-year-old Betty White hosted. Miskel Spillman won the “Anyone Can Host” contest that SNL had in 1977. The finalists were an unemployed Oregonian, a divorced mother of three, a freshman college student, the governor of South Dakota (Richard F. Kneip), and Miskel, an 80-year-old grandmother from New Orleans.

The official “Anyone Can Host” ballot from November 1977

The show got over 150,000 entries. They all had them on an earlier show with Buck Henry as the host. The opening skit had John Belushi, Loraine Newman, and Buck Henry talking about how out of it Miskel Spillman seemed. Belushi then said he shared a joint with her. He said: WE SMOKED A JOINT OF OAXACAN AND MAUI WOWIE, A LITTLE HASH OIL…IT CALMED HER RIGHT DOWN.

Miss Spillman did a great job on the show. They limited her to an extent but she did well considering she had no experience. During her hosting stint, Spillman participated in various sketches, including one where she played the elderly girlfriend of John Belushi’s character. Her appearance remains a unique moment in SNL history.

Lorne Michaels made the show to appeal to baby boomers with a touch of Avant-Garde and “guerrilla-style comedy.” It was a game-changer much like All In The Family was to sitcoms. Late night was never again a wasteland. This show helped open the doors for David Letterman and other shows to follow it.

It started out as “Saturday Night.” The Saturday Night Live title belonged to ABC for a show hosted by Howard Cosell who was out of his league. After Cosell’s show was canceled, ABC let Saturday Night have the “Live” part.

Who was the best cast through the years? This is a question that is debated over and over again. People argue and usually pick the cast they grew up with. I grew up in the Eddie Murphy and Joe Piscopo era. Personally, I always thought the original cast was the best era of the show. Yes, I thought the Murphy and Piscopo casts were very funny along with later casts that had Dana Carvey, Michael Myers, Chris Farley, Chris Rock, and many others that followed. The first five seasons had something extra that others would not and could not have. It had an underground feel that vanished after it became a pure comedy show. They had a massive amount of talent in that first class.

In the first 5 seasons, they tried things out, some failed some didn’t but they were going out on a limb and trying. The musical guests were also usually artists that didn’t appear on television at the time. If a guest host was too popular…Lorne would reject them. He would NEVER do that now.

Miskel would live a long life. She lived until she was 94 years old in 1992. She was one of only two hosts that were born in the 1800s. The other one was actress Ruth Gordon (She was a tad bit younger when she hosted). I would have loved to have met Miss Spillman…she looks like a lively fun lady. They did bring her up on the 50th anniversary.

Miskel Spillman: “I love everyone in the cast, I watch it every Saturday night, and I thought, as I am 80 years old, I want a lot of old old people all over the world to watch it and get the thrill that I have every Saturday night watching it.”

…

Frosty The Snowman

Most of us had favorite Christmas specials we would watch as kids. Mine was Rudolph, A Charlie Brown Christmas, The Grinch, and this one was fourth…Frosty The Snowman. These four would get me primed and ready for Christmas…as if I needed anything else.

“Frosty the Snowman,” debuted in 1969. It was by Rankin/Bass Productions, the same company that produced many holiday specials.

Narrated by the legend Jimmy Durante, the special involves a magic hat that transforms a snowman, Frosty, into a living being. The magician who owned the hat wanted it back now that he knew it contained actual magic, so the kids had to get together and find a way to bring Frosty to the North Pole to keep him from melting. However, once there, Frosty sacrifices himself to warm up the little girl, Karen, who took him to the North Pole. He melts, but Santa Claus explains that Frosty is made out of special Christmas snow and thus can never truly melt. Frosty then comes back to life and everyone has a Merry Christmas.

The song was written in 1950 by Walter “Jack” Rollins and Steve Nelson. They wrote it for Gene Autry, especially, after Autry had such a huge hit with “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” the previous year. It was later recorded by Jimmy Durante as we hear in this wonderful cartoon.

This wasn’t the only animation of Frosty…

In 1954, United Productions of America (UPA) brought Frosty to life in a short cartoon that is little more than an animated music video for a jazzy version of the song. It introduced the characters mentioned in the lyrics visually, from Frosty himself to the traffic cop. The three-minute, black-and-white piece quickly became a holiday tradition in various markets, particularly in Chicago, where it’s been broadcast annually on WGN since 1955.

The complete Frosty The Snowman