Hawaiian Honeymoon

The final episode of GREEN ACRES acted a s backdoor pilot for an unrealized sitcom which would have starred Elaine Joyce as an Ann Sothern-style private secretary. Something I had forgotten until today, however is that the episode preceding that was also a backdoor pilot. "Hawaiian Honeymoon" has Lisa and Oliver on a "5th Honeymoon" but they take a back seat to Don Porter as the owner of the hotel they go to in Hawaii and his interfering, somewhat ditzy daughter, played by Pamela Franklin. Porter had previously played the father of ditzy, interfering daughter, GIDGET in that series! Gidget, who spent a lot of time on a beach. So most likely, this series was passed over as being too like the other show which had only been gone for about 6 years at that point.

Seen below is Mary Mayumi, an amazingly cute actress who plays the desk clerk at the hotel. She's sort of a combination of a Disney girl and an Asian Brady. IMDB shows her as being in an episode of BONANZA around the same time. They also show her as being the same person as Rinko Mayumi, an actress who appeared in Japanese films 25 years later. I'm thinking that could be a mistake on IMDB. Does anyone know anything about Mary Mayumi?

The Carpenters Christmas Special-1977

Like it or not, Christmas always brings to mind those who are no longer with us. We all lose so many people in life ho are important to us. One of the greatest singing voices of the 20th Century belonged to Karen Carpenter and her music was a major part of my teenage years. I was 18 when this holiday special aired. Almost 19 really. Looking back with Karen so healthy still tears me up.

My Prime Time Christmas Week-1980

Christmas week, 33 years ago, in 1980. I was not only still addicted to television but earlier in that year I had purchased my first Betamax machine! Let’s take a look at what I probably watched on prime tome TV that week!

Saturday, December 20^th, 1980

8:00-9:00PM

CBS-New Christmas-themed episodes of WKRP IN CINCINNATI and THE TIM CONWAY SHOW

9:00-10:00PM

The TV series version of FREEBIE & THE BEAN was on CBS and a football game on NBC but, as I recall, I opted for a new episode of THE LOVE BOAT on ABC reuniting singer Jack Jones (best known for that show’s theme) and his father Allan Jones (best known for the Marx Brothers movie, A NIGHT AT THE OPERA).

10:00-11:00 PM

With a choice between CBS’s SECRETS OF MIDLAND HEIGHTS (a show I don’t even remember) and ABC’s FANTASY ISLAND with Toni Tennille, I think I opted for the latest chapter of the mini-series, TINKER, TAILOR, SOLDIER, SPY with Sir Alec Guinness on PBS.

Sunday, December 21^st, 1980

7:00-8:00pm

NBC-THE GHOSTS OF BUXLEY HALL on DISNEY’S WONDERFUL WORLD

CBS-60 MINUTES

ABC-A YEAR WITHOUT A SANTA CLAUS—It was a rerun but I was a sucker for holiday specials then so I went with this. And besides, PBS was only offering an hour of a women’s bowling championship.

8:00-9:00 PM

I most likely skipped CBS’s ARCHIE BUNKER’S PLACE and ONE DAY AT A TIME (my favorite show 3 years earlier), ABC’s CHARLIE’S ANGELS rerun and NBC’s CHIPS (which I never watched) and PBS’s COSMOS in favor of an hour of ED SULLIVAN SHOW clips on the local independent UHF channel.

9:00-11:00PM

A Kate Mulgrew TV movie and a Robert Conrad TV movie canceled each other out and I settled for ALICE on CBS, followed by THE JEFFERSONS and TRAPPER JOHN, MD.

Monday, December 22^nd, 1980

8:00-9:00PM

I never watched NBC’s LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE (especially not, as in this case, a 3 hour rerun!) or ABC’s THAT’S INCREDIBLE which means I most likely watched CBS’s forgotten sitcom duo of FLO and LADIES’ MAN. If I’d had any sense I would have watched John Carradine as Dick Cavett’s guest on PBS!

9:00-10:00PM

I believe I skipped CBS’s reruns of M*A*S*H and HOUSE CALLS as well as the local station’s Fu Manchu flick with Christopher Lee, all so I could watch SHE LOVES ME on PBS, the musical version of THE SHOP AROUND THE CORNER starring TV’s POLDARK, Robin Ellis, with Gemma Craven. It’s been a favorite ever since.

10:00-11:00PM

If I’m right about the above, that also eliminated my watching a rerun of LOU GRANT, possibly my favorite show at that time.

Tuesday, December 23^rd, 1980

8:00-9:00PM

Four Christmas specials vied for my attention—Greer Garson narrating LITTLE DRUMMER BOY, the animated THE BEAR THAT SLEPT THROUGH CHRISTMAS, a holiday concert from the Cleveland Orchestra and a rerun of John Denver’s now-classic Christmas special with the Muppets. I chose that one. Denver’s specials during the late seventies/early eighties were almost uniformly great!

9:00-10:00PM

More Yuletide joy from NBC with Mac Davis’s Christmas special (guest-starring Mills Watson, Linda Gray and Melissa Manchester). Meanwhile, ABC stuck to its guns with reruns of THREE’S COMPANY (wearing out its welcome by this point) and TOO CLOSE FOR COMFORT. CBS reran Jean Stapleton’s post ALL IN THE FAMILY TV movie, AUNT MARY about a lady baseball coach but I had seen it the first time. PBS, though, was running the conclusion of Dr. Jonathan Miller’s utterly fascinating THE BODY IN QUESTION, which is where I went.

10:00-11:00PM

A HART TO HART rerun on ABC or a new episode of THE STEVE ALLEN SHOW with Bob and Ray?  Hmmm...Knowing myself as I was, I’m sure I went for HART TO HART but I’m kicking myself now!

Wednesday, December 24^th, 1980

8:00-10:00PM

After watching and taping Jimmy Stewart in the Mormon Church’s lovely syndicated special MR. KRUEGER’S CHRISTMAS at 7:30, 8 PM brought a choice between ABC’s 2 hour EIGHT IS ENOUGH rerun, CBS’s FAT ALBERT and NUTCRACKER specials and NBC’s REAL PEOPLE. I probably went for the EIGHT IS ENOUGH, leaving me to also skip DIFF’RENT STROKES and THE FACTS OF LIFE in the next hour as well.

10:00-11:00

There was a David Copperfield magic special on. I never missed those so I skipped QUINCY and VEGAS that night.

Christmas, 1980

8:00-9:00PM

THE WALTONS was new on CBS that night, opposite the perennial SANTA CLAUS IS COMING TO TOWN on ABC and something I don’t recall seeing called GAMES PEPLE PLAY with Bryant Gumbel and Johnny Bench on NBC. I wasn’t watching THE WALTONS regularly anymore but I may have gone with that, having seen the Christmas special so many times already.

9:00-11:00PM

Henry Winkler’s disappointing AMERICAN CHRISTMAS CAROL from a year earlier was on ABC again. A new episode of MAGNUM PI—which I liked but never followed regularly—was on CBS. I’m thinking I opted for Dick Clark’s non-holiday musical special on NBC with Frankie and Annette and, of all people, Vaughn Meader! Thus, I also skipped the never-liked KNOT’S LANDING at 10 as well.

Friday, December 26, 1980

8:00-9:00PM

The day after Christmas saw a new episode of THE INCREDIBLE HULK on CBS opposite a new episode of MARIE (sans Donny by this point) on NBC guest-starring Andy Williams. BENSON and Danny Thomas’s I’M A BIG GIRL NOW with Diana Canova were on ABC. Thinking I went with the green guy.

9:00-1100 PM

Pretty sure I’d seen FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE several times by that point already so I would have thought I’d have skipped that rerunning on ABC. I hated CBS’s DUKES OF HAZZARD with a passion, though. NBC had something that sounds totally alien to me—Betsy Palmer in a comedy-drama series entitled NUMBER 96. (???) Never heard of it. A quick check of IMDB shows it to be a rather tame and very short-lived US adaptation of a mega-popular but controversial Australian soap. Add to that yet another episode of THE SECETS OF MIDLAND HEIGHTS and I probably went with 007 after all.

 And that was my prime-time week, Christmas, 1980!

And that was my prie-time week, Christmas, 1980!

Yvonne Craig on The Dating Game

One of my earliest TV girlfriends--as opposed to TV sisters--, here's Batgirl, Yvonne Craig, on THE DATING GAME in 1967. Almost as interesting is that one of the bachelors she doesn't choose is prolific character actor Charles Cyphers, described here as a "sportsman and poet" some 7 years prior to his first film role.

Merry Christmas From the Flying Nun

 Spotted on Facebook. 

Yes, it was one of the silliest premises ever. It was a wonderful show, though, filled with heart and humor and memorable characters all around. I look at it now and think it would have run for years if they'd dropped the flying schtick completely once the series had been established.

The Blacklist

I never heard of THE BLACKLIST until today's news that it's been renewed for a 2nd season. Just watched the pilot on HULU though and now it's today's new favorite thing. In one sentence--It's SILENCE OF THE LAMBS without the cannibalism aspect. I've always enjoyed James Spader. A unique personality at his best and ideally suited to quirky roles like this. Not sure how long they can realistically draw out the premise but for now I'm enjoying it.