Forgotten Tv Shows: CHEF

This BBC sitcom starring Lenny Henry was on when we were in England in 1994-95 and we found it very entertaining. Of course, this was long before chefs became a staple of TV reality series. Henry was king of the castle in his work kitchen, but at the mercy of his wife (Caroline Johnson) at home.

He was probably too unlikable to suceed on US TV then or now. We like more sugar in our recipes and only tolerate chefs as egotistical as this one on reality shows. But the Brits between Basil Fawlty and Chef seem to find nasty people quite charming--at least on TV.

This may have run here on PBS at one time. It seems like I have some memory of it.

Forgotten TV: I LED THREE LIVES

From Wikipedia

I LED THREE LIVES was loosely based on the life of Herbert Philbrick, a Boston advertising executive who infiltrated the U.S. Communist Party on behalf of the FBI in the 1940s and wrote a bestselling book on the topic, I Led Three Lives: Citizen, 'Communist', Counterspy (1952). The part of Philbrick was played by Richard Carlson.

I Led Three Lives lasted 117 episodes. Philbrick narrated each episode and served as a technical consultant — and all scripts were approved by J. Edgar Hoover and the FBI. Nonetheless, the episodes often had very little to do with the actual events of Philbrick's life, with plotlines taking Philbrick on journeys to Europe and South America. They gradually became more and more outlandish, featuring such supposed "Communist plots" as an attempt to convert vacuum cleaners into bomb launchers.

ILTL was on from 1953-56 and I barely remember it. I do remember that a nest of Communists was routed out of the house behind me when I was a child. The people who bought the house next became friends and it was fun to go down to their basement and see the knotty pine paneling, the bar, the furniture where these blackhearts had conducted their business. It was scary much as the show. 

THE AMERICANS has a bit of the feel of it, but of course, hindsight makes it much less shrill than it was when the red menace was part of our life. Any kid from the era remembers the world maps where the Communist bloc was all in red, and seemingly growing bigger every day. 

Forgotten TV: The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd

Interesting the credits list only Blair Brown and the creator, Jay Tarses. This was another show that looked at a woman with a bit more sophistication than other shows of the time. It was on from 1987-91, changing from NBC to LIFETIME. It used arcs rather than stories complete in an episode.

Molly was divorced and single in New York. Love interests were played by David Straitharn, Victor Garber and others. The rest of the cast was fairly unknown. Blair Brown made Molly Dodd into a real person and was nominated for an Emmy during every year of the show.

This was a series way ahead of its time and it got poor treatment from NBC in particular. They only ran it as a summer replacement. To my knowledge, it is still not on DVD.

Forgotten Commericials

Forgotten TV: IN SEARCH OF:

Hosted by Leonard Nimoy, this show (1976-82) looked at various paranormal or odd phenomenon.

But this is more a question than a review here: when did we lose our interest in such things as Big Foot, The Lochness Monster, the Bermuda Triangle, Ancient Astronauts, people with E.S. P., people that could bend forks with their mind, etc.

Was there one particular debunking that took them out of the public awareness? 

Forgotten TV Shows: Spin and Marty

The Adventures of Spin and Marty was on for three years in the mid-fifties as part of THE MICKEY MOUSE CLUB. The series was set at a western boys' camp.Tim Considine played Spin, a boy of poorer means. David Stollery played Marty, who came from a well to do family. Various Mouseketeers lent a land over time, especially Annette, the real crowd- pleaser. I can still sing this song. Each episode occupied about 25 minutes. It alternated with a couple of other series they did. Very enjoyable at the time when we all wanted to be cowboys or cowgirls.

Forgotten TV: TWTWTW

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0057789/

That Was The Week That Was was on telly in Britain around 1962-63 and in the US in 1964-65. David Frost did the original. Steve Allen was part of the US version. The show looked at current events in a satirical way. Not sure why the runs were short. Perhaps shows like LAUGH-IN were more entertaining a year or two later.

Tribute to TV Shows of the Sixties

Forgotten TV: Crusader Rabbit

No, not Happy Days but Crusader Rabbit.

I was quite attached to this show growing up. From what I can tell, it was aired here and there.It was the first animated TV series and began airing in 1948.For more information, you can go to this site.
Sorry to be quick today. 

Forgotten TV: Checkmate

Anthony George, Doug McClure and Sebastian Cabot solved mysteries on CHECKMATE. At the time (1960-62) this seemed like the height of sophistication to me. Very debonair and cultured. Eric Ambler had something to do with the show and Johnny (John) Williams wrote the jazzy theme. You can watch episodes on you tube if you want a taste. I wonder why detectives were always portrayed as sophisticated in that era?
Or perhaps everyone was before the advent of realism that came five or so years later.The entire series is on DVD.

Forgotten TV: THE BOB CUMMINGS SHOW

I took a lot away from this show--one of the secrets of being an adult was knowing the ways of the flirtatious Bob Collins, a photographer who chased his models every week. Although I was 7-9 when this show aired, I remember it fairly well. Adored by his secretary,(Ann B. Davis) Bob was also joined in the cast by Rosemary DeCamp, as his sister, and Dwayne Hickman, as his nephew (who learned to chase girls too). The series was the first ever mid-season replacement and ran for about three years in the late fifties.But coming into it at a fairly advanced age, I think Bob Cummings soon seemed a bit old (for the networks at least) to be chasing models and they never were able to develop other story lines.BACHELOR FATHER was another show that mimed the girl-chasing theme, if a little less leeringly at around the same time. Apparently girl-chasing men were popular in the early days of TV.

Check with Todd Mason for more forgotten films and TV shows.