January 29 - February 4:

Beneath the 12-Mile Reef (1953)
Robert Wagner, Terry Moore
Really boring film, which seems to be an excuse for some really gorgeous underwater cinematography. I enjoyed Robert Wagner as a Greek who gets repeatedly beaten up by whitey. Terry Moore has, without a doubt, the most irritating laugh in film, but she grated on me less as the film wore on.

The Girl from U.N.C.L.E. ("The Dog-Gone Affair" (premiere episode)) (1966)
Stefanie Powers, Noel Harrison and Princess Heidi as Putzi (the dog)
Viewed at the Museum of Television and Radio, NYC. I'd never seen this show, since it only lasted one season, isn't on DVD and wasn't syndicated much, but now I'm a huge fan! The young Stefanie Powers is so fabulous. In this episode she travels to an island off of Greece to deliver a dachshund who has the antidote to a gas that causes people to move in slow motion (created by the evil organization T.H.R.U.S.H.) in its fleas. Of course danger and adventure ensue, but the best part is when she drops the little dog (on a parachute) out of a plane.

The Doris Day Show (pilot) (1968)
Doris Day, Denver Pyle and Lord Nelson (as the dog)
Viewed at MT&R. Widowed Doris (her name is Doris in the show, too) moves to her father's ranch with her two young boys, but New York and her writing career are still calling her and she has a decision to make: stay on the ranch, where they're all happy and secure or creative fulfillment and success in the big city? This is Doris Day--what do you think she chose? (Although, ironically, by the end of the series her family apparently disappears and she's strictly a career woman!)

Private Secretary (1954)
Ann Sothern, Don Porter (no dog that I could see)
Viewed at MT&R. Susie and her fellow secretaries don't get much work done, since they're far too busy with their personal and romantic problems. In this episode Susie's best friend Sylvia hooks up with a jerk who hits on Susie while letting Sylvia think they're getting married. Zany mayhem ensues.

Phyllis (premiere episode) (1975)
Cloris Leachman, Jane Rose, Henry Jones
Viewed at MT&R. You might remember this spinoff of The Mary Tyler Moore Show, in which newly widowed Phyllis (a lot of '60s and '70s sitcoms seem to center around widows, I'm finding) and her teenage daughter move to San Francisco to live with her in-laws. She has no job skills, but one of her husband's exes gives her a job in a photo studio. I wish MT&R had more episodes, since it's a really funny show.

America 2Night (premiere episode) (1978)
Martin Mull, Fred Willard, special guest star Charlton Heston
Viewed at MT&R. The premise of America 2Night is that Fernwood 2Night has gone network (on UBS, where "U come before the BS") and moved their operations to Alta Coma, California, although the format, set and stars are exactly the same. This episode features a gay doctor (who has determined that homosexuality is caused by a virus), a group of cloying kids singing "Tomorrow" from Annie, an interview with a serial killer and a contest to determine who gets to throw the switch at his execution, and Charlton Heston (who never does get a word in edgewise).

January 22 - January 28:

Lady Gangster (1942)
Faye Emerson, Julie Bishop, a young Jackie Gleason
Dorothy isn't having much success in her acting career, so she gets involved with a gang of bank robbers. She naively confesses to a friend she thought would help her, but instead he turns her in and she does time. This, of course, doesn't keep her from agreeing to marry Mr. Sanctimonious at the end.

77 Sunset Strip (Episode: "The Bridal Trail Caper") (1962)
Roger Smith, Edd "Kookie" Byrnes, Robert Logan and special guest stars Dyan (or "Diane," as she was known then) Cannon and Jack Cassidy
Viewed at the Museum of Television and Radio, NYC. I live for this stuff: Kathy, a young bride, is being blackmailed about her past (not even that sordid by 1962 standards), and is framed for murder to boot. Spencer saves the day and we get to see both fabulous 1962 shots of Vegas (where the wedding took place) and the tikified terminal at LAX as the newlyweds leave for their honeymoon in Hawaii. Sheer TV-viewing bliss!

That Girl (Episode: "My Sister's Keeper") (1969)
Marlo Thomas, Ted Bessell and practically the entire Thomas family
Also viewed at the Museum of Television and Radio. Ann books a commercial as the singing "Pop Girl." She can't sing, but that's okay, because she lip syncs really well. You guessed it: zany mayhem ensues, this time when Ann decides to promote the career of the singer who dubs her voice, not knowing she's really a nun.

The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai... (1984)
Peter Weller, John Lithgow
I had never seen this movie before, believe it or not. I expected to hate it, since I usually hate films that have been built up to me as being reallyreallyreally great, but I actually thought it was fun. I have to confess I was cracked up by the very '80s synthesizer score and hairstyles on all concerned. Who would have thought back then that those hairstyles would look so goofy in 20 years?

January 15 - January 21:

The Facts of Life (1960)
Lucille Ball, Bob Hope
Neighbors Larry and Kitty (Hope and Ball) loathe each other until they find themselves alone in Acapulco and strike up an affair. Adultery doesn't prove to be their bag, although they do give it the old college try. Theme song by Johnny Mercer, sung by Steve and Eydie.

All That Heaven Allows (1955)
Rock Hudson, Jane Wyman
Widowed Cary (Wyman) falls for hunky Ron (Hudson), 15 years her junior, setting off a torrent of gossip and intolerance you wouldn't believe (or maybe you would). The fact that wussy Cary would give one damn about the opinions of her irritating, moronic friends and family when she had the opportunity to marry Rock Hudson was beyond my comprehension, but this IS a Douglas Sirk film.

Mr. Belvedere Goes to College (1949)
Clifton Webb, Shirley Temple
He may have been a genius, but he didn't have a college degree, hence his zany adventures in the hallowed halls of learning. Notable for its sordid examples of hazing.

Surfside 6 (Episode: "Love Song for a Deadly Redhead") (1962)
Lee Patterson, Van Williams, Troy Donahue and special guest stars (from 77 Sunset Strip) Roger Smith and Edd "Kookie" Byrnes
Viewed at the Museum of Television and Radio, NYC. I am a huge fan of Surfside 6. It's got great mid-century beachfront style AND Lee Patterson, whom I adore and choose to believe is a long-lost relative, since his name is so close to my father's. In this episode, Jeff Spencer (Smith), in Miami on a case, is used as a pigeon in a scheme by an old girlfriend to off her husband and collect the insurance money. Yeah, nice try. Not with Surfside 6 on the case!

The Ghost & Mrs. Muir (Episode: "Mr. Perfect") (1968)
Hope Lange, Edward Mulhare and guest star William Daniels
I'd never seen this show before, but Paul described an episode to me that he'd once seen that sounded so titillatingly campy that I had to see if MT&R had any episodes and they do have one! This particular episode has the ghost becoming jealous because an old boyfriend wants to marry the widowed Mrs. Muir. He creates zany mayhem, but the real entertainment is her little daughter, in an amazing '60s A-line dress, go-go dancing along with a transistor radio. If TV was this incredible now I'd watch a lot more!

The Beatniks (1960)
Tony Travis, Joyce Terry
This movie is notable for the fact that it featured zero beatniks. However, there were five gang punks, whose personalities ranged from obnoxious to psychotic. One gets discovered as a singing star and has to come to grips with his violent past. Fabulous in its utter awfulness. I'd watch it again!

Spinout (1966)
Elvis Presley, Shelley Fabares
One of the seemingly many films in which Elvis plays a singer/racecar driver. Hey, it's got Elvis, so I loved it!

January 8 - January 14:

The Bob Newhart Show (The Complete First Season) (1972)
Bob Newhart, Suzanne Pleshette
It's so great to rediscover this show as an adult, since it's really funny. The entire cast was great--not a weak link among them.

The Little Foxes (1941)
Bette Davis, Herbert Marshall
Kind of a hard movie to watch, but I'm very into Bette Davis these days. She's incredible in this one--pure evil and totally unapologetic.

Voyage to the Prehistoric Planet (1965)
Basil Rathbone, Faith Domergue
So awful it's utterly fascinating. American International Television took a Russian sci-fi movie and edited in scenes (in English) with Domergue and Rathbone, dubbing the rest into English. This little ditty features two groups of astronauts on an expedition to explore Venus. You have never seen such stupid astronauts in your life. They managed to survive the experience, despite their best efforts to Darwinize themselves.

Circus Boy (Premiere episode) (1956)
Mickey Dolenz, Noah Beery, Jr., Bimbo the Elephant
This show came up when we were playing Trivial Pursuit, the TV edition, with Kristy and Geoff a couple of weeks ago, so I decided to check it out at the Museum of Television and Radio. Little orphaned Corky (Dolenz) travels with the circus for which his acrobat parents worked before they died. The new owner decides he should be in school and kicks him out, but Corky saves the day and gets to return. He is, after all, "the heart of the circus."

Fernwood 2 Night (1977)
Martin Mull, Fred Willard
Highlights of this episode include Happy Kyne (Frank DeVol, whom I adore) singing his original song "Ice Cream Baby," an interview with three criminals wearing masks (a pig, a rabbit and the Hulk) to better understand Fernwood's crime problem, a visit from William W.D. "Bud" Prize and Barth receiving a singing subpoena.

Blackadder's Christmas Carol (1988)
Rowan Atkinson, Tony Robinson
Okay, I'm a little behind in my viewing! I love this Christmas Carol in reverse. The townsfolk are so stupid and irritating that you're actually glad to see Ebenezer Blackadder tell them off!

January 1 - January 7:

A Shot in the Dark (1964)
Peter Sellers, Elke Sommers
Hysterical Pink Panther sequel, featuring the first appearances of Cato and Inspector Dreyfus in the series. Physical comedy just doesn't get any better than the unkillable Clouseau!

Victor/Victoria (1982)
Julie Andrews, Robert Preston
It was a Blake Edwards kind of day for us! Seeing this movie right after A Shot in the Dark you see just how many themes run through Blake Edwards' work, like the slapstick comedy. I've always loved this film. All of the performances are dead-on and, hey, it's Julie Andrews and Robert Preston!

Letter to Loretta (Episode: "Earthquake") (1953)
Loretta Young, John Agar
This 1950s anthology series is available for your viewing pleasure in the $1 DVD bin at Wal-Mart. This incredibly turgid episode features a polio patient in an iron lung who believes his wife would be better off if he'd just die. He learns differently when their power goes out during an earthquake and she has to manually work the iron lung (until the handle falls off), then push up and down on his chest for four hours, keeping him alive until the power comes back, begging him not to die all the while. Spoiler: All ends happily and he decides he wants to get well after all.

Hollywood Palace (Special guest host: Robert Goulet) (1966)
Nancy Sinatra, Chita Rivera
I got incredible Christmas gifts this year, including a membership to the Museum of Television and Radio in NYC from Paul, which is where I watched this little gem. I chose it because Nancy sang "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'," but it was chock full of other goodies as well: Chita Rivera sang "I'm Right at Home in My Shoes," comedian Jan Murray (I'd never heard of him before, but he was funny), "magician" Mac Ronay, Goulet and Sinatra dueting on a medley about shoes and much more. I miss the variety show era and I wasn't even around for most of it.

77 Sunset Strip (Episode: "Publicity Brat") (1960)
Efrem Zimbalist, Jr., Pamela Britton
I just love this show. This episode featured a child star who'd do anything for publicity, including arrange to have her mother's expensive necklace stolen so that she could recover it and save the day. Too bad she was dealing with real criminals. The best part was that the little moppet looked and sounded like Rhoda from The Bad Seed, minus the homicidal tendencies.

Fernwood 2 Night (1977)
Martin Mull, Fred Willard
The grand finale of my visit to MT&R. This episode centered on Jerry Hubbard's sex book for children, Barth was presented a plaque from his fan club and Lou Moffett tried to sell us on the Mister Boogie Dance School. They really need to put these out on DVD.

Wild Guitar (1962)
Arch Hall, Jr., Nancy Czar
Okay, it's bad, but in a fun way. Interestingly, it happens to be a dead-on portrayal of the sleazy world of pop music at the time (and probably later). You won't wonder why Arch Hall, Jr.'s career didn't go further, but I have to admit I kind of enjoyed Nancy Czar.

The Best of Everything (1959)
Hope Lange, Suzy Parker, Diane Baker
I love, love, love, love, LOVE this movie and I hadn't seen it for about four years, so what a treat to now own the DVD (and special thanks to Kristy and Geoff for taking me to BJ's, where I bought it on the cheap)! It's got everything: late '50s fashion, incredible NYC scenes (color by DeLuxe), booze, sex and more tawdry sleaze than you can shake a stick at. It's even got a theme song sung by Johnny Mathis! Based on the book of the same name by Rona Jaffe, which I'll add to the Reading Room one of these days...