Fantasy/Family Fridays: Lily takes up modeling (The Munsters, 1965)

 From season 1 of The Munsters:

When Herman (Fred Gwynne) turns down a night out with Lily (Yvonne DeCarlo), Lily starts looking for a job, and becomes a model. Chaos then ensues. Roger C. Carmel guest stars in "Lily Munster: Girl Model":

Spook Rock: Marie Laveau (1974)

 Bobby Bare hit #1 on the country charts in the US & Canada with 1974's "Marie Laveau".

Bobby performs live on Pop! Goes The Country, with host Ralph Emery encouraging audience participation.....

Bare is still going strong at 91. Turns out his lone #1 was a cover, as Dr. Hook recorded "Laveau" 2 years earlier!

When Icons Meet: Elvira on The Fall Guy (1984)

 From season 4 of The Fall Guy:

Not only does Elvira (Cassandra Peterson) turn up, but so does the Carradine family and Orson Bean (ex-To Tell The Truth), playing an oblivious director on a movie that Elvira and Colt Seavers (Lee Majors) are working on.

And since when does Elvira have powers?

The last time the Carradines had acted together had been about a decade earlier on David's series, Kung Fu.

Insight Sundays: Dangerous Airs of Amy Clark (1970)

 In 1970, the year 1986 was still far into the future. In "Dangerous Airs of Amy Clark", it's speculated that Earth will be overcome with pollution by 1986. It didn't really happen, of course.

Our cast includes Jane Wyatt (ex-Father Knows Best), Ivor Francis (who would recur on Room 222), William Windom (fresh from My World...And Welcome To It), Hayden Rorke (fresh from I Dream of Jeannie), Chris Connolly (ex-Peyton Place), Heather Young (fresh from Land Of The Giants), and Nicholas Georgiade and Paul Picerni (ex-The Untouchables).

Fantasy Fridays: Masquerade (Thriller, 1961)

 A family of cannibals lures in a couple lost on the road, but there are some unexpected twists and surprises in this season 2 entry from Thriller, hosted, of course, by Boris Karloff. Elizabeth Montgomery, three years before Bewitched, and Tom Poston, long associated with Steve Allen before becoming a panelist on To Tell The Truth, are the "endangered" couple. John Carradine co-stars.

I think there was a similar plot on radio in one of those Magic Castle specials 20 years later that I'm trying to find.

Weird Wednesdays: The Standells visit the Munsters (1965)

 From season 1 of The Munsters: 

The Standells, famous for "Dirty Water", do indeed pay a visit, as Herman (Fred Gwynne) is persuaded to lease the house to the band........

Unfortunately, the Standells were a 1-hit wonder......

Musical Interlude: One Less Bell to Answer (1970)

 From season 3 of It Takes a Thief:

The 5th Dimension are the musical guests, and the episode closes with a rendition of "One Less Bell to Answer". Marilyn McCoo not only sings, but, as you can see, she is also on guitar.

Family/Fantasy Fridays: Herman The Rookie (The Munsters, 1965)

 From season 1 of The Munsters:

Leo Durocher appears as himself in this entry. Trying to teach Eddie how to hit, Herman (Fred Gwynne) hits a ball that goes 8 blocks from the community park to downtown, where it hits Durocher in the head. Durocher needs a power hitter, and he may have just found one in "Herman The Rookie". Directed by Jerry Paris (The Dick Van Dyke Show).

The philosophy of politicians explained......by the Addams Family (1964)

 From season 1 of The Addams Family:

Gomez (John Astin) throws his support behind a city council candidate. He also shows Morticia (Carolyn Jones) how the family has had a history of supporting losing candidates. Pay attention to what he says about politicians, who say one thing, and do another. Kind of like today's GOP.....

Insight Sundays: Incident on Danker Street (1970)

 This installment of Insight takes a look at the relationships between police and the African American community in 1970. The cast includes Gail Fisher (Mannix), Beau Bridges, Andrew Duggan (Lancer), Malachi Throne (Lancelot Link, Secret Chimp), and Hilly Hicks.

Cinema Saturdays: Bonanza: The Next Generation (1988)

Bonanza had long ended production for more than 15 years before series creator David Dortort was contacted by NBC about a TV-movie to revive the franchise.

Small problem. Lorne Greene had passed on before production began on the movie. Michael Landon, David Canary, & Pernell Roberts either had passed on the project (Landon was working on Highway to Heaven at the time, and Canary, I think, had moved on to daytime soaps such as All My Children), or were not approached. Dortort & his staff stupidly passed on Dan Blocker's son, Dirk (ex-Black Sheep Squadron), who could've filled his father's 10 gallon hat with ease.

John Ireland was cast as Ben Cartwright's previously unseen brother, Aaron, a seaman by trade. Landon's son, Michael, Jr., plays Little Joe's son. Our cast also includes Barbara Anderson (ex-Ironside), Robert Fuller (ex-Laramie, Wagon Train, Emergency!), Peter Mark Richman (ex-Cain's Hundred), and John Amos (ex-Good Times, The Mary Tyler Moore Show).

Now, saddle up for "Bonanza: The Next Generation" (italics mine):

The younger Landon was the only one to return for "Bonanza: The Return" 5 years later.

Wild West Wednesdays: The Vote (Trackdown, 1959)

 From season 2 of Trackdown:

We all know that women weren't granted the right to vote until the 19th Amendment was passed in 1920. In this episode, the rise of the women's rights movements are dividing couples. Ellen Corby guest stars.

Celebrity Rock: Don't Go Breakin' My Heart (1976)

 From season 2 of One Day At a Time):

Barbara & Julie (Valerie Bertinelli & Mackenzie Phillips) masquerade as Elton John & Kiki Dee to cover "Don't Go Breakin' My Heart". Intro by Schneider (Pat Harrington):

Hard to believe Valerie was just 16 when she taped this.

Family Fridays: Meanwhile, Back at The Cabin (Beverly Hillbillies, 1962)

 From season 1 of The Beverly Hillbillies:

While the Clampetts have settled in Beverly Hills, Cousin Pearl (Bea Benaderet, The Flintstones) is minding the store back in their old cabin. However, the Clampetts have run out of water, except for what is in their cement pond.

Includes an in-show ad for Kellogg's Corn Flakes with Jethro (Max Baer) & Jane (Nancy Kulp).

Insight Sundays: A Thief Named Dismas (1965)

 Insight Sundays returns with 1965's "A Thief Named Dismas", starring Beverly Garland, John Dehner, & Marge Redmond.

The introduction of Aunt Jemima syrup (1967)

 Quaker Oats was a primary sponsor of Bewitched in its early years, leading to plenty of in-show commercials, like this one, which introduced Aunt Jemima syrup. Not sure if this is from season 3 or 4.

Prefaced with a sponsor tag with an animated Darrin holding a box of Life cereal (voiceover by Gary Owens):

Today, of course, Aunt Jemima was rebranded as the Pearl Milling Company, and Quaker sold off much of the products to Pinnacle Brands.

Wild West Wednesdays: Shoot Out at Dark (Tombstone Territory, 1957)

 From season 1 of Tombstone Territory:

John Beradino guests as a parolee looking to get married and live a peaceful life. Some old friends have other ideas......

Classic TV: Dinah! (1974)

 Dinah Shore had her NBC daytime show, Dinah's Place, cancelled after 4 years because incoming programming boss Lin Bolen wanted to skew younger. Yeah, sure, and Dinah gets replaced with a revival of Name That Tune. That landed like a wet fart, because the following fall, Shore hooked up with 20th Century Fox to distribute a 60-or-90 minute talk show to compete with the likes of Mike Douglas & Merv Griffin.

Dinah! ran for 6 seasons (1974-80), with the title change to Dinah! & Friends in the final season.

From season 4, Dinah goes on location in Utah for a show with the Osmonds.

Rating: A.

Family Fridays: The Brady 500 (1990)

 Following the success of "A Very Brady Christmas" in 1988, CBS brought back The Bradys as a winter replacement series in February 1990. As we documented when reviewing the series, the network mistakenly assumed viewers would gravitate to the franchise, 9 years after The Brady Brides tanked on NBC. Yes, it was on a Friday night, but viewer tastes had changed in the 16 years since the original series had ended.

I remember sitting in the kitchen, watching the show on a battery powered TV, since the parents weren't interested.

As you already know, Maureen McCormick decided not to return, though she's changed her tune in recent years, so Leah Ayres was cast as Marcia. Greg (Barry Williams) had gotten married in the last film to Nora (Caryn Richman, ex-The New Gidget), and, as we'll see by the end, Bobby (Mike Lookinland) becomes the 4th Brady sibling to walk down the aisle.........

Sherwood Schwartz & CBS executives thought bringing in MTV doll Martha Quinn would pull in the youth demo, since she had her own show on MTV, airing 4 nights a week at that point. However, she was savaged by critics, undeservedly.

Rating: A-.

Yes, there are emergency panelists (Match Game, 1975)

 While Charles Nelson Reilly was away taping Uncle Croc's Block, Gary Burghoff (M*A*S*H) usually filled in. However, at the start of Daylight Saving Time, Burghoff missed an episode of Match Game, forcing the producers to scramble. Announcer Johnny Olson filled in, and, as you'll see, fit in quite well......

Wild West Wednesdays returns next month.