MetaFilter posts tagged with classic and TV

Just the facts Ma'am

tylerfulltilt — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 22:40:07 -0800

This is the city, Los Angeles California. I work Here. I carry a badge. My name's Friday. Jack Webb envisioned Dragnet as a showcase for the realities of police work. The original Radio Series debuted on NBC radio in 1949. The show's insistence on realism and naturalistic dialogue were a departure from the melodrama found on radio at the time. Using plots pulled directly from the case files of the LAPD, the show covered topics considered harsh and taboo by the standards of the day. Its depiction of sex crimes, crimes against children, and drug use were edgy for the time. Although it was slow to gain listeners, Dragnet found it's audience. Jump ahead a couple of years to 1952 and the first television series begins. This version of the show is probably not familiar to most people. Filmed in black and white, The TV version brought the radio show's grittiness and realism to the burgeoning format of Television. Both the radio show and the black and white television version ran successfully and consecutively until the late 1950's Webb mounted a revival of the television series in 1967. This version of the show is most familiar to modern viewers, as this was the version picked up for syndication by Nick at Nite. It ran from 1967 to 1970. Although it seems hokey by today's standards, Dragnet's legacy in the history of entertainment is secured. It was voted into Time Magazine's list of the 100 greatest tv shows of all time. Its use of actual case files as the basis for plots makes it the forerunner to Law and Order. The show's insistence on using technical jargon and details of investigation make it a forerunner of shows like CSI. The show's main four note theme is instantly recognizable. And it even spawned a catchphrase that can still be heard today. Webb was attempting to mount third revival of the show when he passed away in 1982. His funeral was attended by officals from the LAPD, the badge he used on the show, 714, was retired from service, and an LAPD police academy auditorium was named in his honor. Auditorium was named in his honor.

Mubetubafubiltuber

not_on_display — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 13:52:33 -0800

Write ZOOM, Z-double-oh-M, Box three-five-oh, Boston, Mass, OH-two-ONE-three-FOURRRR! C'mon and Zooma Zooma Zooma ZOOM! ZOOM was produced for PBS by WGBH in Boston, and originally aired from 1972 through 1978. It literally was television for kids, by kids -- the show's various segments were culled from thousands of ideas submitted by viewers (by mail to the address above). Sometimes these kids were featured in the clips themselves. From a 1972 Time Magazine article: "Virtually all the material is by children and is selected by the seven-member cast (ages nine through 13). The kids sing, dance. play games, talk in 'Ubbi-Dubbi'--a catchy code language reminiscent of past generations' pig Latin-show home movies and give laconic instructions in all manner of skills. The first show featured a filmed demonstration of how to build a raft from tree limbs, leaves and an old tarpaulin. A 4-minute karate exhibition aimed at defeating bicycle thieves was on the second. The third will include a thoroughly befuddling lesson in the game of "cat's cradle," with a perplexed young instructress tangling her string and admitting, 'I got it wrong.'" Ubbi-Dubbi? Well, let Wikipedia break it down for you. Wait, that was no fun... better yet, pbs.org has a Flash-based Ubbi-Dubbi Translator. I had it translate its own instructions into Ubbi-Dubbi: "Uball yubou hubave tubo dubo ubis subay UBUB bubefubore ubevuberuby vubowubel subound. Uband thubis Ububbubi Dububbubi mubachubine hubas bubeen prubogrubammubed wubith thube ubabubilubituby tubo rubecubognubize whubich vubowubels ubare suboundubed, uband whubich ubare subilubent!" You can hear Ubbi-Dubbi spubokuben fubulubentluby by nubatubives at the beginning of thubis clubip of the ZOOMers' production of the Mad Tea Party scene from Alice in Wonderland. Wikipedia also comes close to de-funnifying Fannee Doolee: "Fannee Doolee is a fictitious girl acted in the playhouse by the ZOOMers on ZOOM. During the play, Fannee Doolee does not face the audience and she does not speak; instead, Fannee Doolee's unheard dialog is exposed when the person she was seen talking to turns to talk with others. The play is a comedy and the repeating gag is that Fannee Doolee likes and dislikes things that are similar and the people around her are perplexed by this inconsistency. For example, she likes stools but not chairs; she likes coffee but not drinks; she likes rolls but not bread; she likes cheese but not dairy. (I bet she loves LOLLing but hates MetaFilter.) Here's a clip of the cool Fannee Doolee song'n'dance. Here are some segments: - Roll out the ZOOMBarrel: a game called "Cracker Whistle" - this clip made me laugh when I was young, and again now. Play "Cracker Whistle" responsibly. It's fun. - ...doo-wah-zoom-doo, Do A ZOOMDo! These girls show (not tell) you how to make Stained Glass Cookies! - Bernadette shows us how she does that thing with her arms. Bernadette has her own ZOOMstalgia web page, too. This guy gets all mushy, shooting an eight-minute Youtube about how Bernadette answered his email. - ZOOM's Play of the Week: A melodrama about two lost fishermen. Written by someone just like you were back before the web sucked all the imagination out of you. - A nice piece of music: "I am a City Child I live on the tip-top floor Of an old apartment building With a very creaky door" And, as a bonus, here's the first episode of ZOOM, before the rugby shirts were de rigeur: Part 1 - Intro to the Merrymac, Intro to Ubbi-Dubbi, the ZOOM Play of the Week (an absurdist classic) Part 2 - ZOOMovie (Rated R, "Ristricted"), ZOOM Guest (Roy West, wordlessly showing you how to build a cool raft), The Ubbi-Dubbi Weather Report Part 3 - ZOOMgame (A Merrymac), ZOOMrap (a really nice piece that has the kids talkin' about their experiences with doctors and hospitals), a song ("The Cat Came Back") Part 4 - The address rap (Joe's and Nancy's lines are the best), and Closing Credits. Rugby shirts, jeans, and bare feet. The second season won a daytime Emmy. C'mon and ZOOM! (ZOOM was revived by PBS in 1999, but we'll save that for an FPP in 2035.)

Did You Hear What Happened to Andrea?

GaelFC — Wed, 22 Sep 2004 23:18:01 -0800

After School Specials. Is that a Trapper Keeper in your locker or are you just happy to see me? Next month, two volumes of ABC's "After School Specials" will be released on DVD (in DVD sets designed to look like Trapper Keepers). After the first two sets, at least four more will follow. TV Shows on DVD has the names of many the specials ("Schoolboy Father," "She Drinks a Little," "Did You Hear What Happened to Andrea?") to jog your memory. Of course, Jump the Shark has plenty of memories of them, too. And anyone who saw Helen Hunt host "SNL" knows that in at least one (possibly two), she jumps out the window. Those were the days.

jcterminal — Sat, 14 Jul 2001 17:17:24 -0800

The end of an era, and now I can't trust *any* of my neighbours.

"After 33 years, PBS' longest-running series, Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, is signing off. Fred Rogers, one of TV's most familiar faces, says it's time to say goodbye. "

Thank god he's going into syndication. The world will always need a beacon of positive thought.

hijinx — Wed, 26 Apr 2000 08:36:54 -0800

It's like a party in my monitor. I adore TV Party. Tons of old commercials, show snippets, and jingles. But most importantly, Supertrain, the show that seemed bad then and is even worse now! (Yet its theme stuck in my head for days on end....)