Jack Bauer, Ozzie and Harriet, and Paul Newman: This Week on TV CONFIDENTIAL

Spend part of your Labor Day weekend by joining us for the next edition of TV CONFIDENTIAL, airing the weekend of Sept. 2 at the following times and venues:

Share-a-Vision Radio
KSAV.org
Friday 9/2
7pm ET, 4pm PT
10pm ET, 7pm PT

KWDJ 1360-AM
Ridgecrest, Calif.
Saturday 9/3
8pm PT
Sunday 9/4
2pm PT

InternetVoicesRadio.com
Tuesday 9/6
11:05pm ET, 8:05pm PT

Tony Figueroa and Donna Allen will join us in our first hour as we pay tribute to Ozzie and Harriet, the life of Frank Capra and other notable events that originally occurred This Week in TV History. We’ll also replay our conversation with Emmy and Golden Globe Award-winning writer/producer Howard Gordon about his work on such shows as 24, The X Files, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel and Spenser: For Hire, as well as his novel, Gideon’s War, which none other than Kiefer Sutherland describes as a “rip-roaring thriller.”

Our second hour will include an encore presentation of our conversation with author Marian Edelman Borden. Marian’s books include Paul Newman: A Biography, a comprehensive look at Newman’s long and distinguished motion picture career, his early work in television, his passion for auto racing, his business acumen, his work with various charities, his political activism, and his 50-year marriage to actress and fellow Oscar winner Joanne Woodward.

TV CONFIDENTIAL: A radio talk show about television
Fridays 7pm ET and PT
Share-a-Vision Radio, KSAV.org
Saturdays 8pm PT
Sundays 2pm PT
KWDJ 1360-AM (Ridgecrest, Calif.)
Tuesdays 11:05pm ET, 8:05pm PT
Passionate World Radio
www.tvconfidential.net
blog.tvconfidential.net
Also available as a podcast via iTunes and FeedBurner
Find us now on Facebook

This Week in Television History: August 2011 PART III

Listen to me on me on TV CONFIDENTIAL:

InternetVoicesRadio.com

Tuesday 8/2

11:05pm ET, 8:05pm PT



Share-a-Vision Radio

KSAV.org

Friday 8/5

7pm ET, 4pm PT

10pm ET, 7pm PT



KWDJ 1360-AM

Ridgecrest, Calif.

Saturday 8/6

8pm PT



ShokusRadio.com

Tuesday 8/2 – Sunday 8/7

11am ET, 8am PT

9pm ET, 6pm PT

2am ET, 11pm PT

September 3, 1966

The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet airs its last episode. The sitcom focused on the comic antics of a young family based on the real-life family of show founders and stars Ozzie and Harriet Nelson. The show premiered as a radio comedy in 1944 and ran for 10 years. Even before the radio show ended, a TV version launched in 1952; the television show ran until 1966. The Nelson's two sons, Ricky and David, played themselves on the TV version.

September 3, 1991

Frank Capra dies at the age of 94 at his home in La Quinta, California.



According to his obituary in the New York Times: “Capra movies were idealistic, sentimental and patriotic. His major films embodied his flair for improvisation and spontaneity, buoyant humor and sympathy for the populist beliefs of the 1930s.”

Capra was born in Sicily, on May 18, 1897, and as a young boy sailed to America in steerage with his family, who settled in Los Angeles. After graduating from the California Institute of Technology and serving in the U.S. Army, Capra worked his way up through the movie industry; he had his first big success as a director with 1933’s Lady for a Day, which received a Best Picture Academy Award nomination. The following year, Capra helmed the comedy It Happened One Night, starring Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert. The film took home Oscars in five categories: Best Director, Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Actor and Actress. Capra won a second Best Director Oscar for Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936), which starred Gary Cooper as a man who inherits a large fortune and wants to use it to help Depression-era families. Capra received a third Best Director Oscar for You Can’t Take It With You (1938), a movie about an eccentric family that starred James Stewart, Jean Arthur and Lionel Barrymore and was based on the Pulitzer prize-winning play of the same name by Moss Hart and George Kaufman.

In 1940, Capra took home a fourth Best Director Oscar for Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939), which featured Stewart as an incorruptible U.S. senator. After the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, Capra joined the Army again and during his time in the service made several well-received propaganda films, including Prelude to War (1943), which earned an Academy Award for Best Documentary. Capra went on to co-write and direct 1946’s It’s a Wonderful Life, perhaps his best-known work. The film again starred Stewart, this time as George Bailey, a small-town man who is saved from suicide by a guardian angel. Although the film was considered a box-office disappointment when it was first released, it garnered five Oscar nominations, including one for Best Picture, and eventually gained widespread appeal when it was broadcast annually on TV around Christmastime, starting in the 1970s.

Capra’s final film was Pocketful of Miracles (1961), a remake of Lady for a Day starring Bette Davis as a street vendor who needs to remake herself into a society dame in order not to disappoint her daughter.

As always, the further we go back in Hollywood history, the more that fact and legend become intertwined. It's hard to say where the truth really lies.

To quote the Bicentennial Minute, "And that's the way it was".

Stay Tuned

Tony Figueroa

TV Confidential Archives Aug. 22, 2011

Show No. 102 Aug. 22, 2011

First hour: Tony Figueroa, Donna Allen and Ed celebrate the legacy of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry, who was born 90 years ago This Week in Television History. Also in this hour: DVD picks, plus Ed discusses the findings of a recent study in Australia that suggests watching too much television can reduce one's lifespan. Second hour: Ed welcomes James Christie, author of You’re the Director, You Figure It Out: The Life and Films of Richard Donner, a comprehensive biography that also examines Donner’s career in film and television. Topics include Donner's work on Superman, The Omen and the Lethal Weapon series, plus a look at how his early experiences on such TV series as The Twilight Zone, Get Smart, The Man from U.N.C.L.E. and The Wild, Wild West helped shape many of his sensibilities as a motion picture director.

The Mad Men® Collection at Banana Republic

Donna discuses The Mad Men® Collection at Banana Republic

The Mad Men® Collection bracelet sleeve jacket Banana Republic

Rated 5 stars
Review Summary: Beautiful Tailoring
Comment: What a beautiful jacket! I'd looked forward to seeing the collection in person but feared it may be too "costumey". This isn't the case as the collection contains wearable 60's inspired peices with a modern edge. This jacket is one of the standout peices. It is beautifully tailored with wonderful detailing at the collar and in the back. The cut accentuates the waist. I've been playing with the collar and have found different ways of waering it which will make it even more versatile. (In the store I was in skinny jeans and ballet flats and it looked great.) The fabric is lighter than expected and very soft. This is a peice that must be tried on as it looks rather ordinary on the hanger, but once it contours to the body it looks amazing! I wear vintage clothing because of it's timelessness and classic lines. I see myself wearing this vintage inspired jacket for years to come.

Your Mental Sorbet: Tom Wilson - Biffs Question Song

Here is another "Mental Sorbet" that we could use to momentarily forget about those things that leave a bad taste in our mouths.

Tom Wilson - Biffs Question Song

The Question Song - watch more funny videos

Stay Tuned

Tony Figueroa

TV Confidential Archives Aug. 15, 2011

Show No. 101 Aug. 15, 2011

First hour: Television writer, producer, singer and lyricist Deborah Pearl (Head of the Class, Designing Women, Waiting for Yvette, Chick Singers, Souvenir of You: New Lyrics to Benny Carter Classics) joins Ed for a conversation about writing for music and television, the creative process, and Deborah's work with such legends as Andrew Gold, Jackson Browne, Linda Ronstadt, Katey Sagal, Betty Garrett, Ted Danson, Johnny Carson and Barbra Streisand. Also in this hour: Tony Figueroa and Donna Allen remember Rose Marie's birthday, the final broadcast of Charlie's Angels and other events that occurred This Week in TV History. Plus: a look at entertainment headlines. Second hour: Ed welcomes Academy Award-nominated writer, producer and director Pen Densham (Backdraft, Blown Away, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, Moll Flanders, The Outer Limits). Pen's book, Riding The Alligator: Strategies for a Career in Screenplay Writing (And Not Getting Eaten), is a how-to guide to screenwriting that advises writers to filter their product by channeling their passion.

This Week in Television History: August 2011 PART IV

Listen to me on me on TV CONFIDENTIAL:

Shokus Radio Mondays 9pm ET, 6pm PT with replays three times a day, seven days a week at 11am ET, 8am PT 9pm ET, 6pm PT and 1am ET, 10pm PT

Passionate World Radio Tuesdays 11:05pm ET, 8:05pm PT KSAV – San Francisco Bay Area Fridays 7pm ET and PT

KWDJ 1360 AM – Ridgecrest, CA Saturdays 11pm ET, 8pm PT Sundays 5pm ET, 2pm PM As always, the further we go back in Hollywood history, the more that fact and legend become intertwined. It's hard to say where the truth really lies

August 25, 1931

Regis Francis Xavier Philbin is born. Media personality and occasional actor, known for fronting various talk and game shows. Appearing on television since the late 1950s. Philbin holds the Guinness World Record for the most time spent in front of a television camera. His trademarks include his excited manner, his New York Bronx accent, his wit, and irreverent ad-libs. He is most widely known for Live with Regis and Kelly, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, Million Dollar Password, and for hosting the first season of America's Got Talent. He is the cousin of singer-songwriter and American Idol judge Kara DioGuardi.

August 27, 1964

Comedian Gracie Allen died.

Burns and Allen started performing a successful vaudeville act in the early 1920s and married in 1926. In 1932, they first appeared on the popular radio program The Guy Lombardo Show. Audiences loved Allen's gentle, ditzy character, and CBS launched a half-hour show, The Adventures of Gracie, in 1934. Renamed The Burns and Allen Show in 1936, the radio show ran until 1950, achieving Top 10 ratings almost continually.

The pair launched a TV series that ran from 1950 to 1958, and they appeared in more than a dozen movies during their 35-year career together in what became one of the most successful and beloved comedy acts in history. Allen retired after a mild heart attack in 1958. After her death, Burns visited her grave once a month while continuing to work in TV, theater, nightclubs, and movies. He wrote many books, including Gracie: A Love Story, a tribute to his wife. Burns died in 1996 at the age of 100.

 

To quote the Bicentennial Minute, "And that's the way it was".

Stay Tuned

Tony Figueroa

 

The Life and Career of Richard Donner: Next on TV CONFIDENTIAL

You’ll believe a man can fly as we profile Richard Donner, the director of such films as Superman, The Omen and the Lethal Weapon series, on the next edition of TV CONFIDENTIAL, premiering Monday, August 22 at 9pm ET, 6pm PT on Shokus Internet Radio, with additional airings throughout the week at the following times and venues:

InternetVoicesRadio.com
Tuesday 8/23
11:05pm ET, 8:05pm PT

Share-a-Vision Radio
KSAV.org
Friday 8/26
7pm ET, 4pm PT
10pm ET, 7pm PT

KWDJ 1360-AM
Ridgecrest, Calif.
Saturday 8/27
8pm PT

ShokusRadio.com
Tuesday 8/23 – Sunday 8/28
11am ET, 8am PT
9pm ET, 6pm PT
2am ET, 11pm PT

The phenomenal success of Superman, coupled with that of The Omen, established Richard Donner as one of the most influential directors in American film history. And yet, Superman was incredibly difficult to make ― while it didn’t require Donner to leap tall buildings in a single bound, he did have to overcome an incredible array of obstacles behind the scenes in order to bring Superman to the big screen.

We’ll talk about this, and more, in our second hour when we welcome James Christie, author of You’re the Director, You Figure It Out: The Life and Films of Richard Donner, a comprehensive biography that also provides an extensive look at Donner’s career in film and television. Among other things, we’ll take a look at how Donner’s experience on such shows as The Twilight Zone, Get Smart, The Man from U.N.C.L.E. and The Wild, Wild West helped shape many of the sensibilities that would later characterize his work as a major motion picture director.




























Tony Figueroa and Donna Allen will join us in our first hour as we pay tribute to Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry as part of an expanded edition of This Week in TV History.

















TV CONFIDENTIAL: A radio talk show about television
Mondays 9pm ET, 6pm PT
Shokus Internet Radio
Tuesdays 11:05pm, 8:05pm PT
Passionate World Radio
Fridays 7pm ET and PT
Share-a-Vision Radio, KSAV.org
Saturdays 8pm PT
Sundays 2pm PT
KWDJ 1360-AM (Ridgecrest, Calif.)
www.tvconfidential.net
blog.tvconfidential.net
Also available as a podcast via iTunes and FeedBurner
Find us now on Facebook

Your Mental Sorbet: Brandis Kemp as The Sensuous Nurse - FRIDAYS, ABC 1982

Here is another "Mental Sorbet" that we could use to momentarily forget about those things that leave a bad taste in our mouths.

Brandis Kemp and FRIDAYS cast parodies The Sensuous Nurse. Which was a mid 70s Italian Film starring Ursula Andress. This skit also shows other FRIDAYS regulars: Michael Richards, Bruce Mahler, Melanie Chartoff, Maryedith Burrell, and John Roarke as the old man!



Stay Tuned

Tony Figueroa

TV Confidential Archives Aug. 8, 2011

Show No. 100 Aug. 8, 2011

First hour: Ed welcomes Herbie J Pilato, founder of The Classic TV Preservation Society and author of Bewitched Forever, The Bionic Book: The Six Million Dollar Man and The Bionic Woman Reconstructed and other books on classic TV series. Topics include Herbie’s thoughts on Lucille Ball’s final weekly television series, Life with Lucy, which premiered 25 years ago this fall, and the demise of the much ballyhooed Wonder Woman pilot produced by David E. Kelley. Second hour: Tony Figueroa and Donna Allen remember the birth of Alex Haley and the cultural impact of the ABC-TV miniseries Roots. Also in this hour: An encore presentation of our Jan. 24, 2011 conversation with Ray Starman, author of TV Noir: The Twentieth Century, which discusses the portrayal of film noir in such classic shows as Dragnet, The Fugitive, The Untouchables, M Squad, The Lineup and other popular television series over the past 60 years.

This week in Television History: August 2011 Part III

Listen to me on me on TV CONFIDENTIAL:

Shokus Radio Mondays 9pm ET, 6pm PT with replays three times a day, seven days a week at 11am ET, 8am PT 9pm ET, 6pm PT and 1am ET, 10pm PT



Passionate World Radio Tuesdays 11:05pm ET, 8:05pm PT



KSAV – San Francisco Bay Area Fridays 7pm ET and PT



KWDJ 1360 AM – Ridgecrest, CA Saturdays 11pm ET, 8pm PT Sundays 5pm ET, 2pm PM As always, the further we go back in Hollywood history, the more that fact and legend become intertwined. It's hard to say where the truth really lies.

August 15, 1923

Rose Marie, actress and comedian who also had a successful singing career as Baby Rose Marie was born.

A veteran of vaudeville, Rose Marie's career includes film, theater and television. Her most famous acting role came as television comedy writer Sally Rogers on CBS's classic sitcom The Dick Van Dyke Show. She later portrayed Myrna Gibbons on CBS's classic sitcom The Doris Day Show and she was also a frequent panelist on the game show Hollywood Squares.

August 19, 1981

Charlie's Angels aired its final episode.

The detective series featured crime-solving beauties instructed by a mysterious voice on a speaker phone known only as Charlie. Kate Jackson, Jaclyn Smith, and Farrah Fawcett played the original Angels. Fawcett's blown-dry, feathered hair launched a national fad, and the actress left the show after a year to pursue a career in movies. Subsequent Angels included Cheryl Ladd, Shelley Hack, and Tanya Roberts. In 2000, Drew Barrymore, Cameron Diaz, and Lucy Liu played the Angels in a movie version of the show.

August 19, 1921

TV producer Gene Roddenberry, best known as the creator of Star Trek, is born in El Paso, Texas.

His family moved to Los Angeles when Roddenberry was a toddler, and his father became a police officer. Roddenberry also studied criminal justice at Los Angeles City College but became a pilot instead through the Civilian Pilot Training Program. During World War II, Roddenberry flew bombing missions in the South Pacific with the U.S. Army Air Corps. Shot down during a raid, he survived and won a medal. A second crash, when he was working as a Pan Am pilot after the war, killed 14 people and convinced Roddenberry to give up flying. Instead, Roddenberry became a police officer like his father. But before long, he discovered that living the police life paid less than writing about it for TV, so he began writing scripts for Dragnet and other police TV dramas. In 1963, he produced a short-lived NBC show, The Lieutenant, about life in the U.S. Marines.

A lifelong science-fiction fan, Roddenberry wanted to try his hand making a sci-fi TV program. He convinced superstar Lucille Ball to fund a pilot. Although the first pilot was rejected, a second take was picked up, and Star Trek premiered in 1966.

Although the show ran for only three years and never placed better than No. 52 in the ratings, Roddenberry's sci-fi series became a cult classic and spawned four television series and nine movies. Roddenberry died on October 24, 1991, and was one of the first people to be "buried" in space.

To quote the Bicentennial Minute, "And that's the way it was".

Stay Tuned


Tony Figueroa

Riding the Alligator with Oscar nominee Pen Densham: Next on TV CONFIDENTIAL

Academy Award-nominated writer, producer and director Pen Densham and singer, writer and producer Deborah Pearl will join us on the next edition of TV CONFIDENTIAL, premiering Monday, August 15 at 9pm ET, 6pm PT on Shokus Internet Radio, with additional airings throughout the week at the following times and venues:

InternetVoicesRadio.com
Tuesday 8/16
11:05pm ET, 8:05pm PT

Share-a-Vision Radio
KSAV.org
Friday 8/19
7pm ET, 4pm PT
10pm ET, 7pm PT

KWDJ 1360-AM
Ridgecrest, Calif.
Saturday 8/20
8pm PT
Sunday 8/21
following Dodgers baseball

ShokusRadio.com
Tuesday 8/16 – Sunday 8/21
11am ET, 8am PT
9pm ET, 6pm PT
2am ET, 11pm PT

Pen Densham’s credits as a screenwriter, producer and director include such feature films as Backdraft (directed by Ron Howard), Blown Away, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves and Moll Flanders. In addition, he adapted The Magnificent Seven for CBS Television, as well as produced the successful remakes of The Outer Limits for Showtime, and The Twilight Zone for UPN.

Pen Densham is also the author of Riding The Alligator: Strategies for a Career in Screenplay Writing (And Not Getting Eaten), a how-to guide to screenwriting that advises writers to filter their product by channeling their passion. A wonderful storyteller, Pen brings a hands-on and very heartfelt approach to the craft of screenwriting, which he’ll share with us when he joins in our second hour.

















Our first hour will include Part 2 of our conversation with television writer, producer, singer and lyricist Deborah Pearl (Head of the Class, Designing Women, Waiting for Yvette, Chick Singers, Souvenir of You: New Lyrics to Benny Carter Classics). Deborah will share more stories about her work with the likes of Andrew Gold, Jackson Browne, Linda Ronstadt, Katey Sagal, Betty Garrett, Ted Danson, Johnny Carson and Barbra Streisand.

Deborah Pearl will also be performing at Culver’s Club for Jazz at the DoubleTree Westside Hotel, 6161 West Centinela Avenue in Culver City on Friday, August 26. There will be two shows that night: one at 7:30pm, the other at 9:30pm. Tickets are $10, plus a $15 minimum for food and drink. For reservations, call (310) 649-1776, ext. 4137.

All this, plus a brand new edition of This Week in Television History honoring Rose Marie. It’s a full program as always... we certainly hope you’ll join us.



TV CONFIDENTIAL: A radio talk show about television
Mondays 9pm ET, 6pm PT
Shokus Internet Radio
Tuesdays 11:05pm, 8:05pm PT
Passionate World Radio
Fridays 7pm ET and PT
Share-a-Vision Radio, KSAV.org
Saturdays 8pm PT
Sundays 2pm PT
KWDJ 1360-AM (Ridgecrest, Calif.)
www.tvconfidential.net
blog.tvconfidential.net
Also available as a podcast via iTunes and FeedBurner
Find us now on Facebook

Your Mental Sorbet: Burt and Alien Burt

Here is another "Mental Sorbet" that we could use to momentarily forget about those things that leave a bad taste in our mouths.

I've been watching Soap on Antenna TV and thinking about Burt and Alien Burt.

Later Burt tells Alien Burt the meaning of life.


Stay Tuned

Tony Figueroa

TV Confidential Archives Aug. 1, 2011

Show No. 99 Aug. 1, 2011

First hour: Tony Figueroa and Donna Allen join Ed for a look at some notable anniversaries that occur This Week in Television History, including the 30th anniversary of the premiere of MTV, the 40th anniversary of the premiere of The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour and the 100th anniversary of the birth of Lucille Ball. Second hour: Ed and Tony welcome Edgar Award-nominated writer, producer and novelist Lee Goldberg (Diagnosis Murder, Monk, Psych, Hunter, Spenser: For Hire, Remaindered, Successful Television Writing). Lee's latest books include Watch Me Die, a fast-paced whodunit with humor about a would-be private eye who finds himself embroiled in a real-life mystery, drawing on knowledge he’s learned from reading Spenser novels and watching Mannix reruns (only to find that real-life detective work can be hazardous to his health); and Mr. Monk on the Couch, the latest edition in the best-selling Monk mystery novels based on the popular USA-TV series starring Tony Shalhoub

This Week in Television History: August 2011 PART II

Listen to me on me on TV CONFIDENTIAL:

Shokus Radio Mondays 9pm ET, 6pm PT with replays three times a day, seven days a week at 11am ET, 8am PT 9pm ET, 6pm PT and 1am ET, 10pm PT

Passionate World Radio Tuesdays 11:05pm ET, 8:05pm PT

KSAV – San Francisco Bay Area Fridays 7pm ET and PT

KWDJ 1360 AM – Ridgecrest, CA Saturdays 11pm ET, 8pm PT Sundays 5pm ET, 2pm PM

As always, the further we go back in Hollywood history, the more that fact and legend become intertwined. It's hard to say where the truth really lies.

August 10, 1948
Candid Camera, produced and hosted by Alan Funt debuted.

Funt had originally created the concept for radio, debuting Candid Microphone in 1947. When it premiered as a television show, the program kept the name Candid Microphone until its second season. Both the radio and TV versions featured unsuspecting people captured in their natural, bemused responses to comic setups. Candid Camera ran on network television from 1948 to 1950, again in 1953, and once again from 1960 to 1967. In 1989, Alan's son Peter became his father's co-host in a series of Candid Camera specials. In 1991, CBS tried to revive the show with Dom DeLuise and Eva LaRue as co-hosts, but the show flopped.

August 11, 1921
Alex Haley, author of Roots (1976), was born in Ithaca, New York. After 20 years in the U.S. Coast Guard, Haley retired and wrote books, including The Autobiography of Malcolm X (1965). In 1976, he published his best-known work, Roots: The Saga of an American Family. The blend of fact and fiction, drawn largely from stories recited by Haley's grandmother, chronicles seven generations of Haley's family history, from the enslavement of his ancestors to his own quest to trace his family tree.

Roots became a TV miniseries in 1977. The eight-part series was aired on consecutive nights and became the most watched dramatic show in TV history. Some 130 million people-nearly half the country's population at the time--watched the final episode of the series. Haley died on Feb. 10, 1992.

To quote the Bicentennial Minute, "And that's the way it was".

Stay Tuned

Tony Figueroa

Life with Lucy, Wonder Woman and More: This Week on TV CONFIDENTIAL

Actor, author, producer and television historian Herbie J Pilato will join us on the next edition of TV CONFIDENTIAL, premiering Monday, August 8 at 9pm ET, 6pm PT on Shokus Internet Radio, with additional airings throughout the week at the following times and venues:

InternetVoicesRadio.com
Tuesday 8/9
11:05pm ET, 8:05pm PT

Share-a-Vision Radio
KSAV.org
Friday 8/12
7pm ET, 4pm PT
10pm ET, 7pm PT

KWDJ 1360-AM
Ridgecrest, Calif.
Saturday 8/13
following Dodgers baseball

ShokusRadio.com
Tuesday 8/9 – Sunday 8/14
11am ET, 8am PT
9pm ET, 6pm PT
2am ET, 11pm PT


Author of Bewitched Forever, The Kung Fu Book of Caine, The Bionic Book: The Six Million Dollar Man and The Bionic Woman Reconstructed and other books on classic TV series, Herbie J Pilato also blogs about television for MediaBizBloggers.com.

Herbie’s recent posts include thoughtful essays on Lucille Ball’s final weekly television series, Life with Lucy, which premiered 25 years ago this fall, the demise of the much ballyhooed Wonder Woman pilot produced by David E. Kelley, and the upcoming reimaging of Charlie's Angels. We'll talk about these topics, and more, when Herbie J joins us in our first hour.








Also scheduled this week: a brand new edition of This Week in TV History, plus an encore presentation of our interview with Ray Starman, author of TV Noir: The Twentieth Century, an excellent book that discusses the portrayal of film noir in such classic shows as Dragnet, The Fugitive, The Untouchables, M Squad, and other popular television series over the past 60 years. Though often considered a genre that strictly applies to crime and detective dramas, film noir lends itself to other TV genres, including war dramas such as Twelve O’Clock High, as well as explorations of paranoia and the paranormal, as seen in The Invaders and The X Files. We’ll talk about these shows, as well as the various kinds of film noir depicted on television, during our second hour.













TV CONFIDENTIAL: A radio talk show about television
Mondays 9pm ET, 6pm PT
Shokus Internet Radio
Tuesdays 11:05pm, 8:05pm PT
Passionate World Radio
Fridays 7pm ET and PT
Share-a-Vision Radio, KSAV.org
Saturdays 8pm PT
Sundays 2pm PT
KWDJ 1360-AM (Ridgecrest, Calif.)
www.tvconfidential.net
blog.tvconfidential.net
Also available as a podcast via iTunes and FeedBurner
Find us now on Facebook

Your Mental Sorbet: Miller Lite Commercial with Bubba Smith

Here is another "Mental Sorbet" that we could use to momentarily forget about those things that leave a bad taste in our mouths.

R.I.P. Bubba Smith

Stay Tuned

Tony Figueroa

TV Confidential Archives July 25, 2011

Show No. 98 July 25, 2011

First hour: TV Confidential remembers the life and career of Emmy Award-winning actor Peter Falk (Columbo, Murder by Death, The Cheap Detective, Pocketful of Miracles, Murder, Inc.) along with author Mark Dawidziak, whose books on film and television include The Columbo Phile, the definitive book on the classic TV mystery series. Topics include Falk's dedication to Columbo, both on camera and behind the scenes; his favorite episodes and favorite Columbo clues; and his collaborations with Neil Simon, Frank Capra, Ben Gazzara and John Cassavetes. Second hour: Emmy Award-winning writer/producer William Link (Columbo, Mannix, Ellery Queen, Murder, She Wrote, The Columbo Collection) joins Ed this hour as TV Confidential continues its tribute to Peter Falk. Topics include the origins of the Columbo character, which Bill created along with his longtime collaborator, Richard Levinson; Falk's friendship with Levinson and Link, which predated their work on the Columbo television series; how Falk came to be cast as Columbo; and the enduring appeal of the character.