With the success of Gilligan's Island (1964) under his belt, Sherwood Schwartz forged ahead with this closely tied concept. Two astronauts travel around the earth close the speed of light and upon landing, find they've traveled back in time. They're "marooned on the desert island" of the paleolithic era and taken in by caveman, Gronk (Joe E. Ross) and his wife, Shag (later Shad when network censors learned the meaning of the word in the UK) (Coca). Will they get back to the 20th century? Well, yes. They found their way back as soon as the ratings started to flag, and they brought Gronk, Shag(d) and their kids Mlor and Breer with them. The last seven episodes of the series were all about the cave family assimilating into contemporary America, so the series went from Gilligan's Island to The Beverly Hillbillies (1962).
This series has never rated a commercial DVD release, though unofficial copies are available. You can also find complete episodes on YouTube. Above is the promo reel for the show, uploaded to YouTube by RetroGoop.
Obscurity factor: 7 (not on DVD, has small cult following, episodes available on YouTube)
Well, it's obviously the "Gilligan" set, and the "capsule" is on an episode of that show, so this was a series on the cheap. According to IMDb, they even use the "bumper" and segue music from "Gilligan". Good grief. I will try to YouTube the pilot, though. I was only four when this aired, and I never saw it in repeats, as there wouldn't have been enough episodes to syndicate.
ReplyDeleteI was also four when this aired, and do not recall ever seeing it during the original run. However, I do remember a popular little rhyme during my early school years that went, "It's about time, it's about place, it's about time I slapped your face." It was not until years later when I saw a bit of this show via YouTube that I learned that it was a parody of the lyrics from this show's theme song.
DeleteLyrics which, just as those for Gilligan's Island, were written by Sherwood Schwartz himself...
DeleteHe was assisted by George Wyle, co-songwriter of the Christmas classic "The Most Wonderful Time of the Year," as well as the kitsch holiday tune "Santa Claus's Party." The latter I first heard this past season, and can't get the thing out of my head...."Come on, everybody, to Santa Claus's party..."
DeleteBackground music - for "Gilligan" and "It's About Time" - was written by Gerald Fried. It's obvious that he often used the same melodies, in a different key, or arrangement.
I have a recording of that song Santa Claus's Party in which the word "party" is pronounced with a soft "r" so it sounds like Santa Claus's potty, which puts a completely different slant on the lyric.
DeleteI first, bizarrely, heard it as "Santa's crawfish party," and wondered what the hell I was listening to. Somehow, I missed this "classic" during my youth. Les Baxter recorded the most popular version.
DeleteLOL, I was in the second grade when this was on and I remember "It's About Time", as well as the silly rhyme quoted by Anonymous above--it was a playground staple in those days.
ReplyDeleteI must have had a talent for watching "obscure" TV in the late 60s/early 70s because I remember a lot of the shows featured on this blog, including "Shirley's World" and "The New Dick Van Dyke Show", as well as "Bracken's World" and "Then Came Bronson." I also remember a lot of the "Movies of the Week" you've featured very vividly.
BTW, there was a trend in those days for aging stars from the Golden Age of Hollywood to have their own TV series (usually sitcoms.) In addition to Shirley McLean, Henry Fonda had his own show in the early 70s called "The Smith Family" and Jimmy Stewart had one also, although I forget the name (IMDB would have it.) The only one that was semi-successful however was The Doris Day Show, which lasted I think for around three seasons; the others were one-season wonders.
Some other shows from the period you might be interested in checking out: "The Men From Shiloh" which was a short-lived sequel to the long-running "The Virginian" Western after it folded, starring Lee Majors (in between "The Big Valley" and "The Six Million Dollar Man")and "Alias Smith and Jones" which was a quirky Western that was popular until one of the young stars unfortunately committed suicide; he was replaced, but the magic was gone and the show went downhill quickly. "Alias Smith and Jones" is available on DVD and Hulu.com.
Also, I would love to see "The Name of the Game" available on DVD or online, but the only episode I could find online was "2017" which is on Youtube, and is probably the most famous episode of that show because it was directed by Steven Spielberg (he was only in his early 20s at the time.)
Doesn't 2017 feature Joan Crawford? I'll check those other shows out. Thanks for checking in and suggesting some titles!
ReplyDeleteNo, it's got Sharon Farrell and Gene Barry (one of the three "rotating stars" of the series). Farrell also starred in one of the other most famous eps, playing a character most definitely based on Janis Joplin. I think Crawford was in one of the other eps though; there were a lot of old Hollywood stars doing guest spots on that series.
ReplyDeleteThe Name of the Game was real quality stuff, compared to what you see on T.V. today; another of the most famous eps featured a voiceover narration by Orson Welles! Another one featured Sammy Davis Jr. and cameos by almost the entire Rat Pack.
Some more "obscurity" you may never have heard of: "Apple's Way"--from around 1974-75, this was a drama created by Earl Hamner Jr. of "The Walton's" fame about a high school teacher played by Ronnie Cox (of "Deliverance" fame).
"W.E.B"--around '78 or '79-a harsh view of network T.V. that was loosely inspired by Lumet's "Network;" only made a few episodes before it disappeared.
"Eddie Capra Mysteries"--again, 1979-1980, an above-average detective show starring Vincent Bagatta; only lasted a season.
"Barbary Coast"--William Shatner as a spy and "master of disguises" in lawless, mid-19th Century San Francisco. I kid you not.
Cheers, MP.
I knew I wasn't crazy! Here's the entry from JoanCrawfordBest.com about her alleged appearance in 2017:
Delete"[disputed] The Name of the Game
Broadcast info: January 15, 1971. The IMDb lists Joan as appearing as "Board Member" in the "Los Angeles 2017" episode, directed by Steven Spielberg. However, Joan historian John Epperson (aka "Lypsinka") writes in an e-mail of July 2010: "I watched the whole episode at the Library of Congress recently, on 16 mm film, and her name is not in the credits at the beginning and end, and she's not in the episode. As I slogged through the dull thing, I kept wondering if she might make an unbilled cameo...as a favor to Spielberg, her former director, but she is nowhere to be seen." "
Yup, I saw that in the IMDB also. Maybe Crawford did have a cameo in that ep, but it was later cut out in the editing process.
DeleteIt's kind of amazing that Spielberg was getting relatively big-time directing jobs straight out of film school--he would have been only in his early 20s when he directed that episode.
PS--I just looked up "The Men from Shiloh" on Youtube and there is a clip of the intro--the theme music was written by Ennio Maricone!
ReplyDeleteJoan Crawford was in Spielberg's episode of "Night Gallery" - actually, part of the pilot episode, entitles "Eyes."
ReplyDeleteAlso, "The Doris Day Show" was on for five seasons, and probably breaks the record for a show continually reinventing itself. While she plays the same character in every season, the surroundings and characters change...her children even disappear! Lucy was an expert at evolving, as well, as can be seen throughout her two 60s sitcoms.
DeleteYeah, I looked up Doris Day on IMDB later and saw that it lasted longer than I remembered. I also read parts of her autobiography which was serialized in Good Housekeeping magazine in the 70s; she said she hated the original show's format with the kids and grandpa living on a farm. She was the one that got them dumped in favor of a "single girl on the town" format like Mary Tyler Moore.
DeleteDoes anybody remember "Cowboy in Africa?" There are eps posted on Youtube, believe it or not.
Actually, Day was surprised to find out that her recently deceased husband, had locked her into a TV contract. The details of her financial situation, at the time, are available via Google.
DeleteI believe that it was the final three seasons, when the "fashion show" episode became a "must see". If you haven't seen them, it's a wonderful period "time capsule."
DeleteLeighton, I watched it on and off as a kid. I actually liked the "single girl on the town" shows better than the ones with the folksy grandpa and too-cute kids (I was a kid myself at the time, but I was into Barbie and fashion dolls and I loved Doris's hip "single girl" wardrobe.) She was in her late 40s at the time but still looked pretty darn good!
DeleteI'm particularly fond of the fashion show Doris episodes. They're utterly ridiculous and supremely delicious at the same time. The first season is a bit of a drag, but the second season it starts to pick up. Doris was still living on the farm, but commuting to SF for work.
DeleteThen she moved to the city with her kids, living over an Italian restaurant...THEN the kids vanished. They decided to go with an MTM style, but nobody could beat that show. Speaking of which, I was VERY disappointed with the SAG Awards last night - their honoring of MTM was lackluster, at best.
DeleteI'm having "obscurity" deprivation! A whole week!!!!!
ReplyDeleteLeighton,
ReplyDeleteYou might enjoy watching "Scream Pretty Peggy" on youtube in the meantime. A pretty good early 70s murder mystery starring Bette Davis (in one of her typical late-career, weird/mysterious old lady roles) and Ted "That Girl" Bessel, plus Sian Barbara Allen (the "ingenue" star of the 70s-she was once engaged to John Boy Walton.)
One of my favorites.
Add to the list of old Hollywood greats who tried the small screen in the early 70s and failed--Tony Curtis of "The Pursuaders" and William Holden (the original "Blue Knight" which was a well-reviewed miniseries--and which later morphed into a regular mid-70s series starring George Kennedy in the Holden role.)
ReplyDelete"The Pursuaders" was a U.K. production and had a large following in Europe although I'm not sure it was that popular in the U.S. I remember seeing reruns in the 70s on Saturday or Sunday afternoons when nothing else was on.
Yes, I believe "Scream Pretty Peggy" has been covered in here - I watched it last year.
ReplyDeleteHi-Is there a way to contact you? I came across your site while researching something. I have a lot of these shows (and more) on DVD. I have a collection of more than 13,000 shows. In addition to TV shows and movies, I also have tons of broadway shows, documentaries, animated shows, Disney stuff, etc. Almost everything has never been released commercially. I'm not sure how to contact you, but you can contact me at BostonBred1@aol.com. Tim.
ReplyDeleteOf course, Schwartz was never one to give up on ripping off his own shows. 1973 brought "Dusty's Trail," which is basically a clone of "Gilligan's Island", set in the Old West, with none other than Bob Denver and six other castaw....oops, I mean traveling pioneers (blustery sidekick, the older couple...the two girls...etc.). Even as kids, we were put off by the lameness of the concept. A group is separated from a wagon train, and wandering in the wilderness - with rehashed story lines from "the island."
ReplyDeleteLOL, Dusty's Trail! I remembered that Bob Denver had another series after Gilligan but I forgot the title!
DeleteAnother forgotten flop from the early-mid-70s starring Martin Millner from Adam-12 in a series based on The Swiss Family Robinson, an Irwin Allen production.
I never watched a whole episode, but I remember the heavily promoted promos and I caught a few minutes here and there when the series on. But I was never willing to give the show a chance because I was too freaked out by seeing laconic, square-jawed Martin Millner from Adam-12 tricked out in blonde curls and leiderhosen.
Denver had another show between "Gilligan" and "Dusty" - "The Good Guys" (1968). He actually played a "normal" character, and it bombed after a season-and-a-half. It was NOT a Schwartz production. Two longtime friends open a diner together. It WAS on CBS, and filmed on the lot, like "Gilligan." Alan Hale, Jr. and Jim Backus showed up in cameo roles. Denver also had the Saturday morning kids' show, "Far Out Space Nuts" (75 - 77). I met Denver back in the early 90s, when he "opened" a water park at the local "Sea World" (yes, we have one in SAN ANTONIO). He was incredibly nice.
DeleteLeighton, do you remember "The Good Life" (70-72), the show that Larry Hagman did just after the end of "Jeannie?"
DeleteHe and Donna Mills played a middle class couple who sign on as the maid and chauffeur for a super-rich family so they can sample all the delights of super-rich living in their off-hours.
I don't even think it lasted for a full season, but I remember it fondly, especially the catchy theme song, "Oh, the good life. . " which played over a montage of Hagman and Mills playing tennis and doing other rich-people stuff.
Never heard of it. I had to look it up on IMDB - 13 episodes (1971). Theme song by Tony Orlando and Dawn. Sounds like you have similar TV interests! Feel free to contact me - "ripshin" via excite and com.
DeleteThat sounds like fun! Expect to see it here if I can find video for it...
DeleteI remember liking "Dusty's Trail" as a kid, and was somewhat fascinated that it was basically "Gilligan's Island" in the old west. I definitely remember "The Good Life," and watched it regularly.
DeleteBen - hope you're OK. Getting worried!
ReplyDeleteI am, thank you. Have just been incredibly busy with a project. Someone is paying me for knowing all this stuff - I'm finding scripts for an acting school's annual film program final project, which has been great! Hopefully will find time for a Saturday Cartoons entry tomorrow.
DeleteThat IS a good thing. I have a degree in film, and haven't been able to utilize it recently. Are these original scripts that you're locating?
DeleteNo, existing scripts...
Delete