TV Obscura: The Last Precinct

 The Last Precinct
1986 NBC

8 Episodes

Hour long Police Academy knock-off with an amazing pedigree: created by Stephen J. Cannell

Frank Lupo, starring Ernie Hudson, Adam West, Wings Hauser, Keenan Wynn, and Randi Brooks from Hamburger: The Movie.

TV Obscura: The People Next Door

 The People Next Door
1989, CBS
10 episodes, 5 unaired

Created by Wes Craven and Bruce Wagner, of all people, The People Next Door is a sitcom about a cartoonist with an imagination so strong it comes to life, with hilarious consequences. Starring Jeffrey Jones, a man whose fantasies got put him on a register. Guest starring a bunch of folks who weren't too busy in 1989, including Tony Danza, Margaret Cho, Rob Lowe, and Alan Cumming.

TV Horror Anthology: Quinn Martin's Tales of the Unexpected

 Quinn Martin's Tales of the Unexpected
8 Episodes
1977 CBS

Slow paced drudgery with recycled plots, such as this episode, a remake of the Invaders pilot.

TV Obscura: Outlaws (1986)

 A sheriff faces off with the villainous Pike Gang in 1899.  Lightning strikes them, sending them into the year 1986, where they hold a truce and start a detective agency.  With Charles Napier and Richard Roundtree.

Welcome to the Fun Zone (1984)

Dr. Demento hosts three other hosts who host Welcome to the Fun Zone, originally aired in the SNL time slot.  The show peaks early with the best of Dr. Demento, which is of course Weird Al.  John Candy and John Carradine are in a weird horror parody short film which feels like it was unfinished footage of an abandoned project.  There's a perverted version of MST3K doing It Conquered the World, and various other novelty comedy acts.  Also with Santana playing with Booker T and the MGs playing with the Fabulous Thunderbirds.  None of it is funny, but it's a time capsule for this kind of thing.  Dr. Demento is wisely almost completely absent.

TV Obscura - Beane's of Boston

I was watching midnight PBS one night with a British friend and he was terrified to see a few seconds of Grace & Favour under the stupid American title Are You Being Served Again!  He couldn't see why anyone would voluntarily watch Are You Being Served, much less import it.  Unfamiliar with the re-titling, he thought it was only for the American market.

Turns out there was at least an Australian version with John Inman (and who else do you need, really), and this attempt at an American version by Gary Marshall in 1979.



Some good casting, and I'm afraid that my brain is softening in my advancing age to the point where I'm starting to enjoy 70s sitcoms again.  I appreciate their commitment to the original in having the exact same set.

Probe (1988)

An eccentric genius and a frazzled secretary consult with the police solving crime.  Isaac Asimov is co-credited as creator, because he evidently needed help coming up with the idea of doing Sherlock Holmes again.

The whole show has the look and feel of something that came out five years earlier, especially in the treatment of computers as a novelty.  It doesn't go as far as Whiz Kids in that direction, and the forced quirkiness of the characters fails to add any charm or humor.

TV Obscura: Half Nelson (1985)

Starring Joe Pesci, Victoria Jackson, Fred Williamson, Bubba Smith, and Dick Butkus.  Had celebrity guests such as Rod Taylor and Dean Martin.

TV Obscura: Homes & Yo-Yo

Another robot buddy cop show, one that not even Harlan Ellison bothered to try suing.

TV Obscura: Dean Jones vs Ken Berry

I don't know why I've always mixed up Dean Jones and Ken Berry.  I guess because one was in That Darn Cat and the other in The Cat From Outer Space.  But they both had horrible musical comedy variety shows trying to chase that Laugh In dragon.

Here's Dean Jones in What's It All About World?



And Ken Berry on the Ken Berry Wow Show




They're not very good.

TV Obscura: Steel Collar Man 1985

Failed pilot with Charlie Rocket, Hoyt Axton, and Chuck Connors.

TV Obscura: Future Cop / Cops and Robin 1976

Starring Ernest Borgnine and John Amos.


There was a TV movie in 1976, a brief series in 1977, and a failed retitled pilot in 1978 under Cops and Robin.  Harlan Ellison and Ben Bova won a plagiarism lawsuit.

RIngo

Ringo
NBC 4/26/78



With Carrie Fisher, John Ritter, and Art Carney.

Jackson 5: Going Back to Indiana

Jackson 5: Going Back to Indiana
ABC 9/16/71



Featuring Bobby Darin and Rosey Grier, who were both present at RFK assassination.  Bill Cosby and Michael Jackson have something in common as well.

Ran across this the same day I heard about Cosby sucker punching Tommy Smothers at the Playboy Mansion.

TV Obscura: 33 1/3 Revolutions per Monkee

33 1/3 Revolutions per Monkee
NBC, April 19th, 1969

The last thing done by the Monkees until their 1986 reunion, this is the most baffling thing ever aired on network TV.  Somehow includes Jerry Lee Lewis, Fats Domino, and Little Richard.

TV Obscura: Charo TV Special

The Charo Show, Unsold pilot 1976

Just found out she was the child bride of Xavier Cugat.

TV Obscura: The Magic Planet

The Magic Planet
ABC March 1983
TV Special

Canadian Olympic ice skater Toller Cranston in a scifi/fantasy concept piece.  Narration by a mumbling William Shatner, and Ann Jillian is in there somewhere.  I won't blame you for not having much patience with this - if you only watch one, try the third video.

TV Obscura: Tiny Tim Australian TV Special 1970

Tiny Tim Australian TV Special 1970



Fun fact: Tiny Tim buried his stillborn child under a gravestone that read: "It"

TV Obscura: Casablanca

Casablanca
NBC 1983
5 episodes



Scatman Crothers is Sam to David Soul's Rick.  Also with Ray Liotta.

TV Obscura: One of the Boys

One of the Boys
1982 NBC
13 episodes




Scatman Crothers and Mickey Rooney move out of the nursing home and move in with college students Dana Carvey and Nathan Lane.  Also starring Meg Ryan.