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Post by topbilled on Jan 31, 2023 3:17:38 GMT
Any favorite episodes? Do you have the entire series on DVD?
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Post by Newbie on Jan 31, 2023 3:37:26 GMT
That's right, I forgot about House Calls and Lynn Redgrave. It seems so strange not to let the star of a show breastfeed on set. Were there other problems before hand and they just used it as an excuse to get rid of her?
On Valerie Harper 's show they killed off her character. Not a great story line for a sitcom.
What a difference a few years makes. On Seinfeld, Julia Louise Dreyfus was pregnant twice while playing Elaine. I don't know the circumstances but I'd wager that they were accommodating to her needs as a new mother.
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Post by topbilled on Jan 31, 2023 14:58:36 GMT
That's right, I forgot about House Calls and Lynn Redgrave. It seems so strange not to let the star of a show breastfeed on set. Were there other problems before hand and they just used it as an excuse to get rid of her? On Valerie Harper 's show they killed off her character. Not a great story line for a sitcom. What a difference a few years makes. On Seinfeld, Julia Louise Dreyfus was pregnant twice while playing Elaine. I don't know the circumstances but I'd wager that they were accommodating to her needs as a new mother.
I read an article after the end of the original Roseanne in the late 90s. Roseanne Barr said that at the end of one of the early seasons, she was in a stalemate with the producers and network about her salary. Her agent advised her to threaten to walk off the show, if their demands weren't meant...but she was reluctant to do that, because she knew that it backfired for Valerie Harper...and the idea was that if the show continued without Roseanne, the title character, it would be retooled with John Goodman and Laurie Metcalfe (who played Roseanne's sister) as the leads. She knew this was a possibility, because Sandy Duncan had proved to be a successful fill-in for Valerie Harper on The Hogan Family and networks now realized that stars whose names were in the title could be replaced.
Ironically, when Roseanne was rebooted years later, and Roseanne made unflattering politically incorrect remarks on social media, she was fired by ABC and the show was ultimately retooled as The Conners with Goodman, Metcalfe and Sara Gilbert taking over.
Harper's character was killed off-screen in a car accident. Barr's character died off-screen because of an opioid overdose. Yes, hardly warm and fuzzy sitcom material.
Re: Lynn Redgrave, she had been nominated for an Emmy on House Calls and the ratings were very good. I believe it followed M*A*S*H on Monday nights. Redgrave was very popular with audiences. After she was dropped and replaced in the middle of the third season, it only ran 13 more episodes with Sharon Gless taking over. The ratings took a nosedive the minute Redgrave left. I don't think CBS and Universal counted on Redgrave gaining public sympathy in the wake of her firing.
Supposedly Universal claimed that Redgrave's argument to be allowed to breastfeed her newborn daughter was a ploy to get more money. So it seems like there may have been other issues occurring behind the scenes. Redgrave never did another weekly series. Gless would go right into Cagney & Lacey after the cancellation of House Calls which would cement her place in TV history.
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Post by Newbie on Jan 31, 2023 15:32:43 GMT
That's right, I forgot about House Calls and Lynn Redgrave. It seems so strange not to let the star of a show breastfeed on set. Were there other problems before hand and they just used it as an excuse to get rid of her? On Valerie Harper 's show they killed off her character. Not a great story line for a sitcom. What a difference a few years makes. On Seinfeld, Julia Louise Dreyfus was pregnant twice while playing Elaine. I don't know the circumstances but I'd wager that they were accommodating to her needs as a new mother.
I read an article after the end of the original Roseanne in the late 90s. Roseanne Barr said that at the end of one of the early seasons, she was in a stalemate with the producers and network about her salary. Her agent advised her to threaten to walk off the show, if their demands weren't meant...but she was reluctant to do that, because she knew that it backfired for Valerie Harper...and the idea was that if the show continued without Roseanne, the title character, it would be retooled with John Goodman and Laurie Metcalfe (who played Roseanne's sister) as the leads. She knew this was a possibility, because Sandy Duncan had proved to be a successful fill-in for Valerie Harper on The Hogan Family and networks now realized that stars whose names were in the title could be replaced.
Ironically, when Roseanne was rebooted years later, and Roseanne made unflattering politically incorrect remarks on social media, she was fired by ABC and the show was ultimately retooled as The Conners with Goodman, Metcalfe and Sara Gilbert taking over.
Harper's character was killed off-screen in a car accident. Barr's character died off-screen because of an opioid overdose. Yes, hardly warm and fuzzy sitcom material.
Re: Lynn Redgrave, she had been nominated for an Emmy on House Calls and the ratings were very good. I believe it followed M*A*S*H on Monday nights. Redgrave was very popular with audiences. After she was dropped and replaced in the middle of the third season, it only ran 13 more episodes with Sharon Gless taking over. The ratings took a nosedive the minute Redgrave left. I don't think CBS and Universal counted on Redgrave gaining public sympathy in the wake of her firing.
Supposedly Universal claimed that Redgrave's argument to be allowed to breastfeed her newborn daughter was a ploy to get more money. So it seems like there may have been other issues occurring behind the scenes. Redgrave never did another weekly series. Gless would go right into Cagney & Lacey after the cancellation of House Calls which would cement her place in TV history.
Not to be that guy but ... these examples are all actresses. There must be some examples of actors having similar issues. I can think of a few examples where an actor left a successful show on his own, looking for greener pastures. Many of those famously flopped. But an actor getting forced out? I can't think of one right now. I was surprised to learn that Elinor Donahue, Princess on Father Knows Best, was pregnant on the show. She wore big coats to cover her expectant belly. I think I first read about this in the old TCM board. I had no idea. If course, Princess couldn't get knocked up! |
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Post by topbilled on Jan 31, 2023 15:48:04 GMT
Shelley Long and Rhea Perlman were both pregnant during the run of Cheers. Shelley's was not written into the show, but Rhea's was. Both kept their jobs.
I read an article after the end of the original Roseanne in the late 90s. Roseanne Barr said that at the end of one of the early seasons, she was in a stalemate with the producers and network about her salary. Her agent advised her to threaten to walk off the show, if their demands weren't meant...but she was reluctant to do that, because she knew that it backfired for Valerie Harper...and the idea was that if the show continued without Roseanne, the title character, it would be retooled with John Goodman and Laurie Metcalfe (who played Roseanne's sister) as the leads. She knew this was a possibility, because Sandy Duncan had proved to be a successful fill-in for Valerie Harper on The Hogan Family and networks now realized that stars whose names were in the title could be replaced.
Ironically, when Roseanne was rebooted years later, and Roseanne made unflattering politically incorrect remarks on social media, she was fired by ABC and the show was ultimately retooled as The Conners with Goodman, Metcalfe and Sara Gilbert taking over.
Harper's character was killed off-screen in a car accident. Barr's character died off-screen because of an opioid overdose. Yes, hardly warm and fuzzy sitcom material.
Re: Lynn Redgrave, she had been nominated for an Emmy on House Calls and the ratings were very good. I believe it followed M*A*S*H on Monday nights. Redgrave was very popular with audiences. After she was dropped and replaced in the middle of the third season, it only ran 13 more episodes with Sharon Gless taking over. The ratings took a nosedive the minute Redgrave left. I don't think CBS and Universal counted on Redgrave gaining public sympathy in the wake of her firing.
Supposedly Universal claimed that Redgrave's argument to be allowed to breastfeed her newborn daughter was a ploy to get more money. So it seems like there may have been other issues occurring behind the scenes. Redgrave never did another weekly series. Gless would go right into Cagney & Lacey after the cancellation of House Calls which would cement her place in TV history.
Not to be that guy but ... these examples are all actresses. There must be some examples of actors having similar issues. I can think of a few examples where an actor left a successful show on his own, looking for greener pastures. Many of those famously flopped. But an actor getting forced out? I can't think of one right now. I was surprised to learn that Elinor Donahue, Princess on Father Knows Best, was pregnant on the show. She wore big coats to cover her expectant belly. I think I first read about this in the old TCM board. I had no idea. If course, Princess couldn't get knocked up!
In the spring of 1985, Lorimar hired Dack Rambo to start a recurring role on CBS' Dallas. They knew Patrick Duffy was leaving at the end of the season. Rambo was brought in as a Ewing cousin, meant to tangle with J.R. (Larry Hagman) in the subsequent season after Duffy's departure. In the fall of 1985, which was the beginning of the show's infamous 'dream season,' Rambo was upgraded to starring role and his name and image now appeared on the opening credits. He was slated to be a love interest for Priscilla Presley's character, Jenna Wade, who had previously been involved with Duffy's character. Duffy's other leading lady on the show, Victoria Principal who played Pam, was given a different love interest (Marc Singer).
This was at the beginning of public awareness of the AIDS epidemic, when Rock Hudson died and hysteria was running rampant. Priscilla Presley went on an entertainment newsmagazine and was questioned about doing kissing scenes with Rambo. Earlier that year, Rock Hudson had kissed Linda Evans on Dynasty and it was thought the virus could be transmitted through saliva/kissing. Linda Evans did not contract the virus, but there was a fear that other actresses could. Presley might have had those fears. Dack Rambo was known to be bisexual in Hollywood circles.
Needless to say the romance between Rambo's character and Presley's character was scrapped. They kept Rambo confined to business conflicts in the show's ongoing drama...and they gave Presley a new storyline where she losing a grip on reality unable to cope with the death of Duffy's character. They started to build towards a triangle between Presley and the couple played by Steve Kanaly and Susan Howard, who starred on the series as Ray and Donna.
At the end of that season, Duffy was lured back to the show and the whole season turned out to be a dream with his character still alive. Rambo was retained for a few episodes in the fall of 1986 to wrap up his business storyline, but then he was quickly written out.
Of course, they made it seem like Rambo was no longer needed now that Duffy was back. But I think part of it is that they feared Rambo had HIV. Rambo ended up going to New York to take a role on the NBC day time soap opera Another World in 1989, and soon after that he revealed he had HIV. He died from AIDS complications in 1994. |
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Post by topbilled on Jan 31, 2023 16:04:57 GMT
I should add that Dack Rambo was forced off Another World in the summer of 1991, when it became public knowledge that he was HIV positive. He was in the middle of a huge storyline and was abruptly replaced by Procter & Gamble with Mark Pinter.
Procter & Gamble also forced out another popular leading man a few years later. In 1997, Emmy winner Michael Zaslow was unceremoniously dumped from Guiding Light after playing villainous Roger Thorpe to great acclaim since 1971. Zaslow was thought to have had a stroke at the time, but he was actually diagnosed with ALS (commonly called Lou Gehrig's disease).
The production company feared Zaslow was slurring too many of his words and could no longer handle dialogue. They also thought his illness would make his character appear less sexy and villainous. So they replaced him with Dennis Parlato.
Zaslow sued P&G and won an undisclosed settlement. He was then hired by ABC for a role on One Life to Live where his affliction was written into the scenes. He died in late 1998.
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Post by sepiatone on Jan 31, 2023 23:46:41 GMT
I think too (if memory serves) Zaslow may have done some crossover with the soap ALL MY CHILDREN as I recall seeing him on there interacting with AMC character Trevor Dillon( a detective) and his son Tim. I never watched GUIDING LIGHT but recognized Zaslow from TV ads for the soap and other TV appearances he'd done.
Sepiatone
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Post by Mayo on Mar 18, 2023 19:06:37 GMT
Just saw this article interviewing Parker Stevenson and Shawn Cassidy about The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries. Not necessarily a favorite but I do remember watching it. It seems like something that could be rebooted. The reruns can be found on Peacock. ew.com/tv/the-hardy-boys-shaun-cassidy-parker-stevenson-interview/"...There were like 30 shows filming, and the Universal Studios Tour had just started. You'd walk around the corner and Alfred Hitchcock was walking into the commissary... We were the babies on the lot. My first day, I think I was late and panicked and couldn't find where I was supposed to park. I saw this space that had the name "Billy Wilder" on it, and I thought that was a kid. So, I parked in that space — idiot me didn't know who Billy Wilder was yet. I was quickly read the riot act by Scotty, who was the legendary gatekeeper — literally the gatekeeper at Universal. "That is Mr. Wilder's space. You will never park there again." |
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Post by gerald424 on Mar 19, 2023 1:19:14 GMT
This was hard for me. I could have made a list of 30 or more. That was the decade of my childhood.
- Sandford and Son
- All in the Family
- Little House on the Prairie
- Columbo
- Three's Company
- Six Million Dollar Man ( I had the action figure
 ) - M.A.S.H.
- Happy Days
- Wonder Woman
- Fantasy Island
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Post by topbilled on Mar 19, 2023 2:47:01 GMT
This was hard for me. I could have made a list of 30 or more. That was the decade of my childhood.
- Sandford and Son
- All in the Family
- Little House on the Prairie
- Columbo
- Three's Company
- Six Million Dollar Man ( I had the action figure )
- M.A.S.H.
- Happy Days
- Wonder Woman
- Fantasy Island
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Post by gerald424 on Mar 19, 2023 3:17:51 GMT
This was hard for me. I could have made a list of 30 or more. That was the decade of my childhood.
- Sandford and Son
- All in the Family
- Little House on the Prairie
- Columbo
- Three's Company
- Six Million Dollar Man ( I had the action figure )
- M.A.S.H.
- Happy Days
- Wonder Woman
- Fantasy Island
Westerns were my dad's thing, cop shows were my older brother's thing. I liked everything else. |
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Post by topbilled on Jun 14, 2023 17:04:59 GMT
Recently I was cleaning out a walk-in closet in the guest bedroom, and I found a box with some DVDs. Inside this box was Season 10 of Hawaii Five O which I had bought ages ago, watched and set aside to collect dust!
I started re-watching all the episodes (24 of them) and I was hooked on this classic crime drama all over again. I then ordered Season 11 on Amazon, which has 22 episodes. I am halfway through those and I'm really enjoying them.
The eleventh season is James MacArthur's last year on the show. I am not sure if I will buy Season 12, the final season, since those episodes are rated rather poorly on the IMDb and only four of the 20 episodes produced for Season 12 were put into the syndication package which indicates that even Jack Lord and the producers thought some of them were inferior.
I think the consensus is that the earlier seasons were best, though the show actually had its highest ratings during the middle years. I really loved every episode in season 10 and so far, I have loved every episode I've watched in season 11...so despite what others may say online, I don't think the quality really dipped, until the last season.
My favorite episodes from Season 10-- "Up the Rebels" with Stephen Boyd as an IRA terrorist posing as a Catholic priest; "The Ninth Step" with Gil Gerard as a recovering alcoholic ex-cop trying to make up for his mistakes; "Deep Cover" with Maud Adams in femme fatale mode as a Soviet spy causing all sorts of trouble for McGarrett and the men she encounters; "Angel in Blue" with Carol Lynley as a female cop who goes undercover to help McGarrett bring down a cocaine operation; and "Frozen Assets" with Mildred Natwick as an Agatha Christie type novelist who interferes with one of McGarrett's investigations. Miss Natwick would return for a 'sequel' episode in Season 11 which is just as much fun!
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Post by jinsinna13 on Jun 17, 2023 13:51:30 GMT
Recently I was cleaning out a walk-in closet in the guest bedroom, and I found a box with some DVDs. Inside this box was Season 10 of Hawaii Five O which I had bought ages ago, watched and set aside to collect dust!
I started re-watching all the episodes (24 of them) and I was hooked on this classic crime drama all over again. I then ordered Season 11 on Amazon, which has 22 episodes. I am halfway through those and I'm really enjoying them.
The eleventh season is James MacArthur's last year on the show. I am not sure if I will buy Season 12, the final season, since those episodes are rated rather poorly on the IMDb and only four of the 20 episodes produced for Season 12 were put into the syndication package which indicates that even Jack Lord and the producers thought some of them were inferior.
You never know what you can find when you go through things. That's part of the fun.
The final season was rough because of James MacArthur's departure. MacArthur quit because he wanted to do other things, but his absence was very noticeable. What made it worse was his character fell victim to the Chuck Cunningham Syndrome.
If you don't want to buy the final season, try looking for some of those episodes on YouTube. You'll have the same experience without paying a cent.
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Post by topbilled on Jun 17, 2023 15:07:42 GMT
If you don't want to buy the final season, try looking for some of those episodes on YouTube. You'll have the same experience without paying a cent.
I did consider buying all the complete seasons, but decided I don't really enjoy the first few seasons and it is that middle stretch of the series I prefer...season 9, 10 and 11 in particular. Leonard Freeman died in the middle of the run, and Jack Lord struck a deal with Freeman's family and the network to function as an uncredited executive producer. I honestly think the show benefits from Lord's guidance, because you can tell he's a perfectionist, and as a performer with clout, he is bringing in some of his method acting friends and so those later episodes really have an extra zing.
I will probably end up buying season 12, but not right away. I still have about six more episodes to finish this weekend from season 11, then when season 9 arrives, I will go through those.
My favorite episodes so far in season 11 include: 'Horoscope for Murder,' a story that could have been kooky but is actually played straight by guest actress Samantha Eggar, as an astrologist who helps McGarrett solve an unusual case; and 'The Case Against Philip Christie,' where McGarrett winds up on a jury and borrowing from 12 Angry Men, he's the lone holdout on a guilty verdict...yes it's implausible a cop would serve on a jury, but I liked the idea of McGarrett solving a crime with total strangers, not having to rely so much on Danny & Duke...
Another one is 'Small Potatoes,' where Zohra Lampert plays a mobster's girlfriend who has been screwed over for the last time and helps McGarrett bring down her boyfriend and his associate...Lampert is sensational in this one, and I am surprised it has such a mediocre rating on the IMDb. We also have 'Death Mask,' with Cyd Charisse of all people as a killer...it's fascinating to watch a glamorous studio era actress a bit past her prime playing against type. Then there's 'A Long Time Ago,' with Katherine Cannon as an old flame of Danny's who comes to Hawaii to avenge her daughter's death...this episode has a lot of twists and turns, and it's nice to see Danny get more screen time.
Midway through S11 is 'Why Won't Linda Die?' which is my favorite episode with guest star Sharon Farrell...I will share my review in a subsequent post below...
I also like 'The Miracle Man' a story about a fraudster evangelist and the people he deceives...it's predictable but the acting is very good, especially by Jean Marsh who plays one of the faithful members of the flock who is in for a major jolt. Another good one is 'The Meighan Conspiracy' with Robert Reed against type as a bank robber who struggles to stay one step ahead of McGarrett. Also we have 'The Spirit Is Willie' which brings Mildred Natwick back from season 10, this time she and McGarrett go up against Robert Vaughn who plays a deadly spiritualist.
That is as far as I am right now. As I said, I still have about a half dozen more episodes to watch before I finish season 11. But all in all, this is a very entertaining season. Even the episodes where I felt the writing was more routine, those still manage to have sterling performances in them. |
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Post by topbilled on Jun 17, 2023 15:11:33 GMT
Hawaii Five O: Why Won't Linda Die? (1978)
Season 11, Episode 10
Several years ago I had watched season 11 on a streaming service, and this was the story that really captured me. It was the main reason I wanted to buy the whole season on disc, so I could have this episode. Rewatching it now, it's interesting to see what sort of clues the writer provides...before everything clicks into place who Linda is.
Above all this is a brilliant two-character study rendered by guest star Sharon Farrell who would join the cast full time the following season in another role. You can see how she is applying certain method acting 'tricks' to flesh out the two distinct characters...one (Linda) is the outwardly vivacious type, and one (Diana) is the more sexually repressed type with hair tightly pulled back and emotions always in check.
Of course Diana eventually loses control of her emotions, because she cannot keep Linda in check. Part of what makes the story so fascinating as it unfolds is how Jack Lord plays McGarrett's reactions to the two different types...his face registers hints of amusement and hints of pity.
Unlike most episodes of the series, this one doesn't end with McGarrett saying 'book 'em, Danno.' In fact Danny has very little screen time here, it's mostly a showcase for Sharon Farrell's talents. The final scene at the graveyard holds long on McGarrett's pity AND compassion, hauling the culprit off without (yet) booking her.
In addition to the fine work by Miss Farrell, I should give a shout to James Whay who plays one of the murder victims. There is a continuous long shot with a person at the hotel coming down some steps then discovering Whay's character drowned in a pool of water. I am sure they tried to get that in the first take, because Whay has to hold his breath perfectly still under the clear water for a specific period of time, as long as it takes the extra to come down the steps, notice him dead in the water, react and for the camera to pan over and linger on him before fading out. It's a memorable shot in a memorable episode.
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