Anthony Lawrence 1928-1924

 
Just recently learned that Anthony Lawrence, co-creator of 70s/80s TV series 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙎𝙞𝙭𝙩𝙝 𝙎𝙚𝙣𝙨𝙚 and 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙋𝙝𝙤𝙚𝙣𝙞𝙭 with wife Nancy, passed away this last January with no media coverage. He was 96. He was a prolific TV writer of westerns, drama, and sci-fi, contributing well over 100 hours of episodic television to our broadcast history. This includes eps of The Outer Limits, Bonanza, The Rat Patrol, Hawaii Five-0, and many others.

A few years before his passing, he had a surprise visitor at the Motion Picture Home, as a fan named Chris wanted to meet him. During his hour-long visit, Chris revealed himself to be a huge follower of Lawrence's career, knowing he was one of the pioneers of 60s/70s sci-fi/fantasy TV. A British Gen Xer, Chris played with his father's old Super 8 camera from a young age and grew up watching many of Lawrence's shows such as The Sixth Sense and The Phoenix. Chris later studied film at UCL and made his first feature in 1998 on a budget of $6000. That visitor was Christopher Nolan, who has either directed or been involved with a dozen of the highest grossing films of the past two decades.

Lawrence's son "Fireball" Tim designs vehicles as a concept artist and has done so for some 400 film/TV productions as well as Disney parks. You may have seen him host shows like World's Most Expensive Rides.

Anthony Lawrence also found love (again) late in life after the passing of his wife Nancy. He and Madeline Smith were the first residents to meet and marry at the Motion Picture Retirement Home in 2016.

The Phoenix was considered in a 2018 episode of Forgotten TV.

Crazy Like a Fox (1984)

On this day in 1984: 𝘾𝙍𝘼𝙕𝙔 𝙇𝙄𝙆𝙀 𝘼 𝙁𝙊𝙓 debuted on CBS-TV.

"𝑯𝒆𝒍𝒍𝒐?"
"𝑯𝒂𝒓𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒐𝒏, 𝑰 𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒉𝒆𝒍𝒑."
"𝑫𝒂𝒅, 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒌𝒆𝒆𝒑 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒈𝒆𝒕𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈. 𝑰'𝒎 𝒂 𝒍𝒂𝒘𝒚𝒆𝒓. 𝒀𝒐𝒖'𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒆𝒕𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆!
"𝑨𝒘, 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒐𝒏 𝒔𝒐𝒏. 𝑨𝒍𝒍 𝑰 𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒔 𝒂 𝒓𝒊𝒅𝒆. 𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒃𝒍𝒚 𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒏?"

This crime drama/comedy was created by John Baskin, Roger Shulman, George Schenck, and Frank Cardea and was co-produced by Columbia Television. It starred Jack Warden as Harry Fox, a free-spirited private detective, and John Rubinstein as his high-strung attorney son, Harrison, who often gets unwillingly involved in his father’s cases. The show's opening would feature Harry and Harrison in a phone conversation, with Harry asking for his son’s help despite Harrison being a lawyer and not a detective. Penny Peyser played Harrison's wife, and Della Reese had a recurring role as a nurse who often assisted Harry.

Airing on Sundays opposite Sunday night movies, the show was initially a hit, but ratings suffered when it got moved around, being cancelled after a season and a half. A year after it went off the air, a reunion TV movie called Still Crazy Like a Fox brought back the characters. The show's theme music was composed by Mark Snow, most famously known for The X-Files. The series has recently been aired on nostalgia network Me-TV.

The Brady Bunch: "The Voice of Christmas" (1969)

On this day in 1969: "The Voice of Christmas" episode of 𝙏𝙃𝙀 𝘽𝙍𝘼𝘿𝙔 𝘽𝙐𝙉𝘾𝙃 aired on ABC-TV.

In this classic episode, the 12th of the series, Carol Brady gets laryngitis from overusing her voice rehearsing for an upcoming solo at a church Christmas service. Meanwhile there are the usual goings-on with preparations for the family's first Christmas together. However, youngest daughter Cindy is prompted to ask a department store Santa for her mommy's voice back instead of any toys for herself. Will the family receive their own Christmas miracle? I think you know the answer.

This was the only Christmas episode produced during the series' five season run and the only one written by John Fenton Murray. The ratings obtained by this episode likely contributed to a full season pickup of the series. The episode also received a callback in 1988's 𝘼 𝙑𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝘽𝙧𝙖𝙙𝙮 𝘾𝙝𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙢𝙖𝙨, which recreated the now adult kids unable to sleep due to their individual problems. At the conclusion, Carol leads a crowd singing "O Come All Ye Faithful" as an inspiration of faith for Mike Brady, stuck in a collapsed building. 

"The Voice of Christmas" can be watched free on Paramount+. https://www.paramountplus.com/shows/video/1816981382/

A Very Brady Christmas (1988)

On This Day in 1988: 𝘼 𝙑𝙀𝙍𝙔 𝘽𝙍𝘼𝘿𝙔 𝘾𝙃𝙍𝙄𝙎𝙏𝙈𝘼𝙎 debuted on CBS-TV!

This 1988 made-for-TV movie reunited almost the entire original cast of the 1969-1974 sitcom The Brady Bunch and was the second-highest rated telefilm that year. The movie follows Brady parents Mike and Carol with secret gift vacation plans for each other to Japan and Greece à la "Gift of the Magi." Instead, they decide to use the vacation fund to bring all of their children and their families home for Christmas.

The Brady children are each facing their own personal challenges: Greg's wife is spending Christmas with her own family, Peter is struggling with self-confidence at work as his fiancé is his boss, Bobby has dropped out of grad school to become a race car driver, Marcia's husband Wally was fired from his job, Jan is separated from husband Philip, and Cindy is lying about college issues and planning to go skiing. In the end, all of the children and their spouses are able to spend Christmas together and resolve their issues. The climax where Mike responds to a construction emergency invokes a classic early episode where Carol sang "O Come, All Ye Faithful", bringing forth a Christmas miracle.

This was the first time viewers revisited the Bradys since the 1981 debacle of The Brady Brides, but to the credit of the producers, story continuity from that short series was continued, bringing back Jerry Houser as Wally Logan, Marcia’s husband, and Ron Kuhlman as Philip Covington III, Jan’s husband. Unfortunately, Allan Melvin did not return as Sam the butcher, with that role filled by Lewis Arquette mostly covered by a Santa costume. (Mike read Sam's 'Dear Alice' letter, which was full of meat-themed double entendres, jarringly out of tone with the rest of the film.) All the Brady actors returned, with the exception of Susan Olsen who was on her honeymoon in Jamaica at the time. According to Olsen, producers only had to deliver five out of six kids returning for the movie to be greenlit-and in order to save on salary, considered Cindy’s character to be the most expendable and didn’t want to pay her on par with the other five. So she decided to head to Jamaica with her new husband. Jennifer Runyon replaced her. You might remember her from Charles In Charge or Ghostbusters.
𝑰 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒈𝒐𝒏𝒏𝒂 𝒔𝒂𝒚…8 𝒐’𝒄𝒍𝒐𝒄𝒌?

The telefilm was very well received (a 39 share!) triggering a dramatic series in the form of The Bradys in 1990, which continued the story of the now-adult children, in an attempt to emulate Thirtysomething. The show was quietly taken off the schedule and canceled after six episodes. However, Paramount Home Video released AVBC on VHS in 1992 - in limited quantities - as the special was largely critically panned. Over time, however, viewer nostalgia took hold as it was recognized as the final decent effort of the original Brady franchise, especially with the deaths of Robert Reed and Ann B. Davis. The demand for the video increased and it was a frequent rental at video stores.

Today, it is on DVD https://amzn.to/4gIiPCu and can be streamed free on Pluto TV.

The Simpsons Christmas Special (1989)

On this day in 1989: 𝙏𝙃𝙀 𝙎𝙄𝙈𝙋𝙎𝙊𝙉𝙎 𝘾𝙃𝙍𝙄𝙎𝙏𝙈𝘼𝙎 𝙎𝙋𝙀𝘾𝙄𝘼𝙇 debuted on FOX-TV!

Also known as "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire," this holds the distinction of being both the first episode of The Simpsons series, and the only episode to air in the 1980s, as the series proper began airing January 14, 1990.

𝑭𝒓ö𝒉𝒍𝒊𝒄𝒉𝒆 𝑾𝒆𝒊𝒉𝒏𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒕𝒆𝒏. 𝑻𝒉𝒂𝒕'𝒔 𝑮𝒆𝒓𝒎𝒂𝒏 𝒇𝒐𝒓 "𝑴𝒆𝒓𝒓𝒚 𝑪𝒉𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒎𝒂𝒔". 𝑰𝒏 𝑮𝒆𝒓𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒚, 𝑺𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒂'𝒔 𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝑹𝒖𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒉𝒕 𝒈𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒔 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒈𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒅𝒓𝒆𝒏, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒑𝒑𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒓𝒐𝒅𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒃𝒂𝒅 𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒔!

Written by Mimi Pond and directed by David Silverman, the episode was originally intended to be the 8th series episode, but due to animation issues with "Some Enchanted Evening", it effectively became the series premiere. The episode introduces the Simpson family as they prepare for the Christmas season, with Bart getting a tattoo and Marge spending the family's Christmas money to have it removed. Homer, facing the cancellation of his Christmas bonus, takes a job as a mall Santa, leading to a series of events that ultimately bring the family closer and introduce them to their pet dog, Santa's Little Helper. This Christmas episode laid the foundation for the blend of humor and heart that would define the series.

The creation of The Simpsons began when Matt Groening was asked by James L. Brooks to pitch ideas for animated shorts for The Tracey Ullman Show. Groening initially planned to use his Life in Hell series, but instead created a dysfunctional family, which became the Simpsons, first appearing as short interstitials in 1987.

The production of this episode included a few notable details. The "Santas of Many Lands" scene was based on Groening's own second-grade experience with a report on Christmas in Russia. In the episode, Barney Gumble had yellow hair, which was later changed because it was decided that only the Simpson family should have that color hair. The episode lacked the now famous opening sequence, which was added in the second episode. Many characters made their first appearances in this episode, including Seymour Skinner, Milhouse Van Houten, and Ralph Wiggum. The episode was well-received, nominated for two Emmy Awards in 1990.

House Calls (1979)

On this day in 1979: HOUSE CALLS debuted on CBS-TV.

Produced by Universal Television and based on the 1978 film of the same name, this sitcom focused on hospital administrator Ann Atkinson (Lynn Redgrave) and the doctors she managed. The main character dynamic was her relationship with Dr. Charley Michaels (Wayne Rogers), with whom she had a romantic tension, while Dr. Solomon (Ray Buktenica) acted as Dr. Michaels's pal and a counterbalance to his headstrong nature, and Dr. Weatherby (David Wayne) was an older, mean-spirited doctor close to retirement. Other characters included Head Nurse Bradley (Aneta Corsaut), Mrs. Phipps (Deedy Peters), a somewhat over-the-hill but enthusiastic candy striper, and Conrad Peckler (Mark L. Taylor), who served as the antagonist trying to bring order to the hospital.

Notably, Lynn Redgrave was fired from the series after the birth of her child because she insisted on bringing her daughter to work to breastfeed on schedule. The studio interpreted this as her holding out for more money and being disruptive, leading to a lawsuit, which she ultimately lost. Halfway into the third season, Redgrave was replaced by Sharon Gless, who also had a love/hate relationship with Dr. Michaels, but the show's ratings suffered from the transition. Despite still finishing the season in the Top 25, the show was cancelled.

Still, House Calls received awards and nominations. Lynn Redgrave was nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series in 1981, and she and Wayne Rogers were nominated for Golden Globes. House Calls enjoyed limited reruns in the 80s, but since then is one of the many shows that simply disappeared, never to surface on DVD or streaming.
57 episodes were produced over 3 seasons.

One Day at a Time (1975)

On this day in 1975: 𝙊𝙉𝙀 𝘿𝘼𝙔 𝘼𝙏 𝘼 𝙏𝙄𝙈𝙀 debuted on CBS-TV.

This well-remembered sitcom followed the lives of newly divorced mother Ann Romano (Bonnie Franklin) and her two teenage daughters, rebellious Julie (Mackenzie Phillips), and wisecracking Barbara (Valerie Bertinelli). The family's life was often interrupted by nosy building super Schneider (Pat Harrington Jr.), who offered well-meaning but unsolicited advice. Set in Indianapolis, the unapologetically independent Ann and her daughters tackled serious issues revolving around life and relationships, particularly those related to second-wave feminism.

In addition to the main cast, Richard Masur played Ann's love interest David Kane in the first season but left early in the second season. Mary Louise Wilson was brought in as a replacement, playing Ann's neighbor and friend Ginny Wroblicki, but the character proved unpopular, and Wilson left after one season. Mackenzie Phillips faced personal issues and was let go after the fifth season but later returned in a recurring role. Other notable supporting characters included Michael Lembeck as Julie's husband Max, Glenn Scarpelli as Alex, the son of Ann's boyfriend Nick (played by Ron Rifkin), Boyd Gaines as Barbara's husband Mark, and Shelley Fabares as Ann's business partner and friend Francene. Nanette Fabray also joined the cast in later seasons as Ann's mother.

The show was created by husband-and-wife writing duo Whitney Blake and Allan Manings and was based on Whitney Blake's own experiences as a single mother. Produced by TV legend Norman Lear, One Day at a Time was a ratings success, consistently ranking among the top twenty programs. It received numerous awards and honors, including Golden Globe Awards for Valerie Bertinelli and Primetime Emmy Awards for Alan Rafkin and Pat Harrington.

The show was widely syndicated and released on DVD https://amzn.to/4iBEfmJ and a remake with a Latino cast aired on Netflix from 2017 to 2020, featuring the return of several original cast members.
209 episodes were produced over 9 seasons.

The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries (1977)

The introduction of the Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew characters in 1927/1930 is considered, as well as the Nancy Drew 1938/39 Warner Brothers films; the Hardy Boys Mickey Mouse Club serials; 1957 Nancy Drew CBS pilot; 1967 Hardy Boys NBC pilot; 1969 Hardy Boys animated ABC series; and especially The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries 1977-79 ABC series.

The behind-the-scenes segment covers the origin, production, scheduling, merchandising, recasting of the Nancy Drew role, infamous Playboy appearance, show cancellation, and issues with music clearances.

Timecodes (chapters supported on some podcast players):

2:30 The Stratemeyer Syndicate: Origins of the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew
20:00 Nancy Drew, Detective Warner Bros. 1937-38 films
24:32 The Hardy Boys 1956-57 Mickey Mouse Club serials
34:16 The Hardy Boys books get a makeover
40:10 The Mystery of the Chinese Junk 1967 NBC pilot
41:54 The Hardy Boys 1969 animated ABC series
49:24 Arlene Sidaris and Joyce Brotman concieve a new TV version
54:15 The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries 1977 ABC series
1:33:10 Behind the Scenes
2:16:04 Post Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries
2:37:45 Coming soon/credits

Buy The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries on DVD

Check out the Andy Sidaris Collection

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Amazing Plan by Kevin MacLeod used under a Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License.

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