Television Obscurities » Video Vault

40th/41st Emmy Awards Promo Spots

RGJ — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 23:10:07 +0000

Here are two promotional spots for the 40th Primetime Emmy Awards, broadcast by FOX on Sunday, August 28th, 1988. It was the first year for which cable programming was eligible. FOX first aired the awards ceremony in 1987 and would ultimately air it for six years in a row.

View a Promotional Spot for the 40th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards

40th/41st Emmy Awards Promo Spots

View a Promotional Spot for the 40th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards

40th/41st Emmy Awards Promo Spots

And here’s a spot for the 41st Annual Primetime Emmy Awards, broadcast on Sunday, September 17th, 1989. FOX won its first awards this year.

View a Promotional Spot for the 41st Annual Primetime Emmy Awards

40th/41st Emmy Awards Promo Spots

Bonanza Action Figures Commercial

RGJ — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 03:05:58 +0000

In 1966, the American Character Doll Company released four action figures based on NBC’s Bonanza: Adam, Little Joe, Hoss and the dastardly Outlaw. There were also horses and a 4-in-1 wagon available. The Bonanza World website suggests that the Outlaw figure was originally supposed to be Adam but after Pernell Roberts left the series it was reworked so the company could still sell it. VintageDollCollector.com has an extensive overview of the various dolls sold by the American Character Doll Company; apparently the Bonanza figures were the only action figures the company ever released. Judith Izen wrote an identification and value guide called American Character Dolls that was published in 2003. I don’t know if it mentions the Bonanza figures.

View a Commercial for the Action Men from Bonanza

Bonanza Action Figures Commercial

These figures, some loose, some with their original packaging, can occasionally be found on eBay.

F Troop Promotional Spots

RGJ — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 15:47:57 +0000

Earlier this month I wrote about F Troop and whether or not the ABC sitcom was supposed to continue for a third season only to be canceled by the new owners of its producer, Warner Brothers (all signs point to this being true). Here’s a promotional spot for the premiere of F Troop in which Forrest Tucker introduces the show:

View a Promotional Spot for F Troop
(Courtesy of Maureen)

F Troop Promotional Spots

And here’s a brief spot featuring Ken Barry advising viewers to watch F Troop on Thursdays for its second season:

View a Promotional Spot for F Troop
(Courtesy of Maureen)

F Troop Promotional Spots

During its first season the show was seen on Tuesdays and was filmed in black and white. For its second season, ABC moved the show to Thursdays and it was filmed in color, meaning this second spot was likely also seen in color by viewers with color sets.

The Ghost & Mrs. Muir Promotional Spot

RGJ — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 11:15:49 +0000

Here’s a very brief spot for The Ghost & Mrs. Muir in which Hope Lange and Edward Mulhare tell viewers that their show is coming up next and is in color. It probably aired in the final commercial break of the previous program. I’m not sure of the technical term. It’s not really a bumper, used to separate programs and commercial breaks. I suppose it could be called a program announcement, like this spot for That Girl featuring Marlo Thomas or these spots from the 1984-1985 season for NBC programs.

Anyway, during the 1968-1969 season The Ghost & Mrs. Muir was broadcast from 8:30-9PM on Saturdays on CBS following Get Smart. For the 1969-1970 season it switched to ABC and initially aired from 7:30-8PM on Tuesdays, meaning it kicked off ABC’s schedule that evening. It then moved to Fridays from 8:30-9PM where it followed The Brady Bunch. Thus, if this appeared in a commercial break during the program preceding The Ghost & Mrs. Muir, this spot must either be from the first season or the latter half of the second season.

View a Brief The Ghost & Mrs. Muir Intro

The Ghost & Mrs. Muir Promotional Spot

“Chiefs” Miniseries Promotional Spots

RGJ — Tue, 18 May 2010 18:45:28 +0000

“Chiefs,” a three-part, six-hour CBS miniseries based on a novel by Stuart Woods, premiered on Sunday, November 13th, 1983, continued on Tuesday, November 15th and finished on Wednesday, November 16th. The first installment ran from 8-10PM; the other two from 9-11PM. The miniseries spanned four decades, from the 1920s through the 1960s, as a small Southern town in Georgia grappled with the social change, political machinations and murder. Charlton Heston starred as the town’s patriarch, while Wayne Rogers, Brad Davis and Billy Dee Williams played the town’s successive police chiefs, after which the novel and miniseries were named. “Chiefs” also starred Stephen Collins, Paul Sorvino, Victoria Tennant, Lane Smith, Keith Carradine and many others. It was directed by Jerry London, who had previously directed NBC’s phenomenally successful “Shogun” miniseries in 1980.

Here are two short promotional spots for “Chiefs.” The first was broadcast on Monday, October 31st, 1983; the second aired on Monday, November 14th.

View a Promotional Spot for the Premiere of “Chiefs”

“Chiefs” Miniseries Promotional Spots

View a Promotional Spot for the Second Installment of “Chiefs”

“Chiefs” Miniseries Promotional Spots

“Chiefs” was nominated for three Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Limited Series and Keith Carradine for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or a Special but didn’t win any. Stuart Woods wrote a series of novels based on the character of Will Lee (played by Wayne Rogers in the miniseries). The fourth, Grass Roots, was also turned into a miniseries, airing over the course of two nights in February of 1992, this time on NBC. An edited version of “Chiefs” was released on VHS in 1994. It has also been released on DVD, in Region 2, but I don’t know if that version is edited as well.

Daktari Episode Preview

RGJ — Wed, 05 May 2010 01:52:39 +0000

Daktari premiered on CBS in January of 1966 as a mid-season replacement for Rawhide. Based on the 1965 film Clarence, the Cross-Eyed Lion, the hour-long drama starred Marshall Thompson as Dr. Marsh Tracy, a veterinarian working in Africa. Cheryl Miller played his daughter Paula. The series was created by Ivan Tors. It would run for 89 episodes, the last of which would air in December of 1968. Here’s a 60-second preview for the 16th episode (“Wall of Flames, Part 1″), aired on May 3rd, 1966. Although the series was aired in color this preview is from a black-and-white print.

Daktari Episode Preview

The Outer Limits Promotional Spot

RGJ — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 23:07:06 +0000

Of the two classic science-fiction/horror anthology series that aired, at least partially, during the early 1960s, The Twilight Zone (CBS, 1959-1964) has always been my favorite. But The Outer Limits (ABC, 1963-1965) produced some equally as enjoyable and intriguing episodes. Personally, I’m fond of the two episodes that Sally Kellerman appeared in (“The Bellero Shield” and “The Human Factor”). Here’s a promotional spot for The Outer Limits that I believe is for the first season. The opening scene is from the seventh episode of the series (“O.B.I.T.,” originally broadcast November 4th, 1963) and if I’m not mistaken there is also a scene from the series premiere (“The Galaxy Being,” originally broadcast September 16th, 1963).

The Outer Limits Promotional Spot

The ABC Wednesday Night Movie Promotional Spot

RGJ — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 18:33:43 +0000

William Asher’s Bikini Beach, produced by American International Pictures, was released theatrically during the summer of 1964. The third of seven “Beach Party” movies, Bikini Beach starred — like most of the others — Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello. (Personally, I’m not sure why 1966′s The Ghost in the Invisible Bikini is considered a beach party movie when there was no beach involved.) It had its broadcast television debut, as far as I can tell, on Wednesday, July 9th, 1969 as part of The ABC Wednesday Night Movie. Here’s a 60-second promotional spot:

The ABC Wednesday Night Movie Promotional Spot

The Persuaders Promotional Spot

RGJ — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 02:05:07 +0000

Here’s a sixty second promotional spot for ABC’s The Persuaders, which ran from 1971 to 1972, first on Saturdays from 10-11PM and later on Wednesdays from 9:30-10:30PM. Produced in the United Kingdom, the series starred Tony Curtis and Roger Moore as millionaire playboys who, despite vastly different backgrounds and personalities, are persuaded to work together to fight crime and solve mysteries. Television critic Harry Harris of the Philadelphia Inquirer wrote that the series “hardly persuades that the British are masters of merry melodrama” while Bernie Harrison of the Washington Star called it “slick, souped-up melodrama with glittering girls, action, repartee that passes for wit, and far gone, if not foregone, conclusions” [1]. The series premiere, broadcast on Saturday, September 18th (apparently just a day after it bowed in the United Kingdom), ranked 56th out of 68 programs for the week in the Nielsens [2].

The Persuaders Promotional Spot

Some sources (chiefly Wikipedia) indicate that ABC pulled the series before all 24 episodes were broadcast. I’ve actually had trouble finding an episode guide that gives the ABC air dates rather than those for the United Kingdom. Several episodes were later edited into made-for-TV movies.

Works Cited:

1 “It’s anyone’s guess – and they’re all guessing.” Broadcasting. 27 Sep. 1971: 12-19.
2 “Film Stars Do Poorly.” Hartford Courant. 28 Sep. 1971: 19.

Rare Footage from 1975 Star Trek Convention Surfaces

RGJ — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 21:33:40 +0000

This is truly fascinating. Richard Portnoy shot the following footage in August of 1975 at the Star Trek Chicago ’75 Convention with an 8mm camera. It was the first time the entire cast of Star Trek had reunited in front of fans. Between 15,000 and 16,000 were on hand for the convention, held from August 22nd to August 24th. Portnoy provides narration over the silent footage, which runs roughly three minutes.

Courtesy of TrekMovie and BroadBarn.com.