So the 1971 prime-time TV schedule debuts tonight (Tuesday, Sept. 14), and I'm very much enjoying reading about it in the Sept. 11, 1971, TV Guide. Truthfully, though, there's not much here that grabs me on the new Tuesday nights ...
It makes me strangely happy to find on YouTube the actual episodes of The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour and ABC Movie of the Week that aired tonight 1971 ...
I have a bit of a George Kennedy thing. And, once with Mom, I saw a William Conrad stage production in Chicago, and it was exciting to see real, live Cannon in person (even if the show did turn out to be a little too blue for her taste). Nonetheless, of the three new shows, the only one I'm much interested in is The Funny Side.
John Amos's Wikipedia page doesn't mention The Funny Side. In fact, he appears to have just kept playing his part on CBS's Mary Tyler Moore Show the whole time he was on this NBC show.
I didn't know anything about John Amos's football career, which was substantial. He even got a shot with the 1967 Kansas City Chiefs. "John approached Coach Stram with a poem he wrote about the mythical creature that passed the door of all players who are cut from the team. He read it to the team and received a standing ovation from all the players and coaches. Amos said Coach Stram pushed him in the direction of writing after he was released from training camp."
I would freaking love to read that poem! Wikipedia is so terrific. We really do live in an age of miracle and wonder.
I love television so much.
ReplyDeleteNice sendup of the Grass Roots' "Sooner Or Later" by Glen Campbell here to get the show rolling in earnest.
ReplyDeleteOooh, unbilled Carol Burnett guest spot! That's how you kick off a new season, baby!
ReplyDeleteThis is outstanding. Carol Burnett and Glen Campbell together. Game respects game.
ReplyDeleteWell, I had never heard of the Mike Curb Congregation.
ReplyDeleteWow. I love Carole King's "Home Again" original, but check out Glen Campbell's live version. What a guitar player he was!
ReplyDeleteFor a George Kennedy guy like me, that Sarge opening sequence is just pure gold.
ReplyDeleteAnd, of course, the Cannon opening, being a Quinn Martin production, is sublime. We should all be so lucky to have at least a small part of our lives to be packaged as stylishly as a Quinn Martin production.
ReplyDeleteI'll have to go lookup Cannon as I don't recall what it is about.
DeleteI am so fascinated by TV such as The Funny Side--I guess because I do so much writing in committee for a living. I haven't found much history on this show, but it sure feels like the kind of thing written in committee. I know everybody says hardly anything good gets written in committee, and certainly I've never been part of writing something in committee that you'd wouldn't be able to put down at night when you go to bed. But it turns out that I am actually kind of wired to thrive in that sort of environment, and it is a proven way to actually get me to do something. On the other hand, there's zero evidence that giving me fewer constraints is any way to get me produce anything--much less anything good. So, whatever, I at least stand in praise in 2017 of the four 1971-72 months of The Funny Side (almost none of which I've actually seen). I'll bet none of them particularly loved the work, but I'm sure they did the best that they could--and they did actually produce something, which is impressive to me.
ReplyDeleteAmen, George Kennedy.
ReplyDelete