IT’S A BIRD … IT’S A PLANE … IT’S SUPERMAN! (1975) – It’s the bomb that asks the musical question “How many Lembecks can you handle?” Even the most die-hard Superman fans would have a hard time forcing themselves to watch all of this made for tv movie version of the 1966 stage musical.
The needlessly awkward title is a viewer’s first hint that this cringe-inducing production will fail to live up to its potential. The second hint comes in the form of the distractingly cheap illustrated backdrops in every scene. Even Donny and Marie would have nixed those sets.
Despite music by Charles Strouse, lyrics by Lee Adams and script by David Newman & Robert Benton this Superman musical was Broadway’s biggest flop in history as of the 1960s. It’s no great shakes in its televised form, either.
An early song, titled We Need Him, is actually pretty catchy and had me hoping for something halfway decent. Unfortunately most of the other songs are weak at best and annoying at worst. You’ve Got Possibilities and Ooh, Do You Love You are the only other standouts.
Some of the comedy bits are reminiscent of the intentional camp of the 1960s Batman tv series, except for very seldom being actually funny. Only a few of the jokes land, but the failings of the songs and comedy bits are not the fault of the cast members, who try very hard and who have proven themselves in many other productions. Continue reading
TOGETHER WE STAND (1986-1987) – With the new attention being paid to Ke Huy Quan/ Short Round in recent years, I decided to take a look at the sitcom he co-starred in with Elliott Gould, Dee Wallace Stone and others. 
The first episode unrealistically dealt with a social worker leaning on the Randalls to adopt two more children, Sam (Quan) and an African American girl named Sally (Natasha Bobo). But hey, My Mother the Car and The Flying Nun proved long ago that realism isn’t necessary. 
BRACKEN’S WORLD (1969-1970) – This one-hour drama has the dubious distinction of being the series that replaced Star Trek on NBC’s Fall Schedule for the 1969 into 1970 season. The program was set at fictional Century Studios in Hollywood and presented dramas about life in the film industry. Dorothy Kingsley created and produced the show and wrote several episodes. 
The episodes were sometimes self-contained with assorted guest stars at the center of each week’s backstabbing and maneuvering, but most revolved around a regular cast portraying figures who worked at or were under contract to Century Studios. 
101. FADE IN – Brandoesque Tom Hudson tries to make his mark as an actor, Paulette Douglas is reluctant to do a nude scene in her first film, but her ambitious show-business mother (Jeanne Cooper) insists she do it. Producer Kevin Grant’s marriage is in trouble over his use of the casting couch. Tony Curtis, Omar Sharif and Raquel Welch make brief appearances as themselves to sell the supposed “star power” of Century Studios. 
EMPIRE (1962-1963) – Ryan O’Neal, Charles Bronson, Richard Egan and Terry Moore starred in this modern-day (1960s) drama about a family ranch in New Mexico. 
RICHARD EGAN starred as Jim Redigo, the brawny ranch manager with an MBA. That was an intriguing idea, and this character helped capture the new complexities of operating a ranch in the modern era while retaining the raw machismo that 1960s viewers would have expected from a ranch manager. 
RYAN O’NEAL played Tal Garret, Lucia’s son who was being groomed to take over the family ranch one day. His relationship with Redigo went from being like an uncle and nephew to more like a father and son but Tal struggled for the respect that he felt the older man was not giving him. Neither as a young man nor a rancher. 
THE SUCCESSOR (1965) – This made for British television drama was as deep as a 1965 production was going to go in depicting the deliberations and the behind the scenes maneuvering as the College of Cardinals chooses the next Pope. All the characters are fictional, but it’s acknowledged that the events are slightly based on the election of Pope John XXIII in October of 1958. 
HOLLYWOOD DETECTIVE (1991) – I want to be very clear – this review covers the six-episode Arts & Entertainment Network original program Hollywood Detective, NOT the 1989 Telly Savalas made for TV movie The Hollywood Detective.
The stories are played straight but there’s always a tongue-in-cheek air about the proceedings because the nostalgia and quasi-historical events are more than half the appeal. Some critics complained about the less than trail-blazing mystery writing in the series but that’s like complaining about how the shows Columbo or Monk didn’t reflect authentic police work. Or how the Moses Wine novels had the detective interacting with pastiches of recognizable 1960s and 1970s public figures. 
THE ENGELBERT HUMPERDINCK SHOW (1969-1970) – No, it wasn’t a Meeting of Minds type of educational program depicting the long-ago German composer Engelbert Humperdinck interacting with other historical figures. Although I would have watched a show like that! (But I’m kind of weird.)
PILOT (Dec 2nd, 1969) – The Dinckster shared the stage with Barbara Eden, Jose Feliciano, Dionne Warwick and his entertainment doppelganger Tom Jones. The Mike Sammes Singers, the Jack Parnell Orchestra and the Paddy Stone Dancers were on hand as well. This episode was rebroadcast on December 26th. 
EPISODE ONE (Jan 21st, 1970) – E-Bert’s guests this time were Tony Bennett, Leslie Uggams, Donald O’Connor and Ed Bishop from UFO. The Irving Davies Dancers joined the Mike Sammes Singers and the Jack Parnell Orchestra as the figurative house entertainers. 
DAS BLAUE PALAIS (1972-1974) – This German science fiction series is criminally neglected. The title building is where scientists led by Louis Palm (Silvano Tranquilli) conduct interdisciplinary research and investigate unusual phenomena. 
Additional regulars included Lyne Chardonnet as Yvonne Boucher, Jean-Henri Chambois as Professor Manzini, Luminata Iacobescu as Sibilla Jacopescu and Dieter Laser as Enrico Polazzo. Rainer Erler wrote and directed every installment. 
ONE: THE GENIUS (October 15th, 1974) – The international group of scientists at the Blue Palace are pursuing their usual boundary-pushing research while periodically debating the ethics of various projects. 
BEACON HILL (1975) – An attempt at an American version of Great Britain’s Upstairs, Downstairs, this short-lived series was set in Boston following World War One. As opposed to the British program’s “rich pigs upstairs” and “servants downstairs” dichotomy, Beacon Hill presented the wealthy Irish-American family the Lassiters and their servants, who live in a cheaper neighborhood. 
George Rose co-starred as Arthur Hacker, head butler and quasi-patriarch of the servants. Beatrice Straight played his wife Emmeline, the head housekeeper. Arthur’s nephew Brian Mallory (Paul Ryan Rudd) was the Lassiter chauffer who was having an affair with one of the Lassiter women, and his niece Maureen Mahaffey (Susan Blanchard) worked as one of the maids. 
AMY PRENTISS – Long before she was known as Archer’s mother, the talented Jessica Walter had churned out powerful performances of all kinds in movies and television. Jessica’s short-lived run as the sleuth Amy Prentiss is a reminder that a program can be a bit too far ahead of its time to thrive. 
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