tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5408368436169661319.post6132205367744217353..comments2024-03-28T10:48:48.561-04:00Comments on Joe Torcivia's The Issue At Hand Blog: LSD on NBC! (A Looong TV History Lesson!)Joe Torciviahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00421096229407174474noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5408368436169661319.post-24300714577207156762010-11-29T18:54:45.404-05:002010-11-29T18:54:45.404-05:00I vaguely remember the 1960s Dragnet; I caught a f...I vaguely remember the 1960s <i>Dragnet</i>; I caught a few reruns in syndication when I was a kid. The show has become notorious for dealing with the hippie counterculture in a less-than-understanding manner; see some of the criticism at http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Dragnet, for example.<br /><br />I've seen a handful of <i>Ironside</i>s as well. The one I remember best was an early episode called "The Man Who Believed", in which Ironside sets out to prove that the death of hippie folksinger Samantha Dain (played by Marcia Strassman, the future "Mrs. Kotter") was murder, not suicide. I still have a minor crush on poor, doomed Samantha...Mark Lungohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14470025194827675845noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5408368436169661319.post-71300677000924355982010-11-06T21:57:08.413-04:002010-11-06T21:57:08.413-04:001970, if you take it to the end of LAND OF THE GIA...1970, if you take it to the end of LAND OF THE GIANTS. <br /><br />But, 1968 was the year most of it “went away”, and TV and pop culture as a whole was all the worse for that!Joe Torciviahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00421096229407174474noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5408368436169661319.post-52026332005080053692010-11-06T20:39:45.542-04:002010-11-06T20:39:45.542-04:00Joe,
Interesting observation. AS A WHOLE, the er...Joe,<br /><br />Interesting observation. AS A WHOLE, the era of "fantastic TV" extended through at least 1969 (cancellation of STAR TREK), it just wasn't as dominant.<br /><br />ChrisChris Barathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06845538037091279990noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5408368436169661319.post-6909962000731155992010-11-06T08:57:46.614-04:002010-11-06T08:57:46.614-04:00Great points all, Bruce!
Even though the resul...Great points all, Bruce! <br /><br />Even though the resultant shift in TV programming would probably have been the same, the impact of CONTRAST would have been considerably lessened if Webb and DRAGNET 1967 led off with a story about bank robbers, kidnappers, or white collar crime… instead of LSD! <br /><br />It was that particular contrast of a “new” and very dangerous drug (far from TV’s usual subject matter of the day) with “Squires of Gothos”, “Heat Monsters”, and “Questing Beasts” that I find so fascinating. <br /><br />Um, not that I don’t love “Squires of Gothos”, “Heat Monsters”, and “Questing Beasts”, you understand! :-)<br /><br />I should also mention that first DRAGNET – and soon thereafter IRONSIDE – both started first as TV movies and quickly moved on to series. <br /> <br />THAT was the beginning of a trend, too!Joe Torciviahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00421096229407174474noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5408368436169661319.post-58774849005245216882010-11-05T22:58:04.245-04:002010-11-05T22:58:04.245-04:00Joe,
I remember the 1960s DRAGNET well - no nonse...Joe,<br /><br />I remember the 1960s DRAGNET well - no nonsense from the straight-shooting stars. (This tradition was somewhat carried on by Jack Lord in his mega-hit HAWAII FIVE-O.)<br /><br />And you're right - in the midst of all sorts of fantasy shows ranging from spies to superheroes to sci-fi comes Jack Webb.<br /><br />He and his TV series (and I mean that in the plural sense, since DRAGNET wasn't his only vehicle) were akin to that time-honored technique of imagining ball players to calm oneself down when...<br /><br />Ooops - this is a family blog, no?<br /><br />Great point, Joe, re: a transition happening at that point in television, from, as said, fantasy-type shows to more serious-minded stuff.<br /><br />I think, too, that this was a reflection of what was going on in America at the time. After all, the 60s began with the Camelot Administration (Kennedy) that, due to an unfortunate assassination, became what was still a progressive and somewhat liberal administration (Johnson).<br /><br />But by the mid/late 60s this was slip-sliding towards a more conservatively-run government under Nixon.<br /><br />So you had the fantasy world of open-minded and progressive politicians (the Kennedys, Johnson, Humphrey, etc.) giving way to no-nonsense Nixon & co. (that is, until they pulled THEIR version of nonsense in the 70s that led to their demise!).<br /><br />Sounds like TV paralleled this, to an extent.<br /><br />Loved your summary of TV series and episodes on at the time! Ah - M/UNCLE in its 3rd season and STAR TREK in its first.<br /><br />Wotta time!!<br /><br />Regards,<br /><br />BruceBruce Kaninhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02552314055059324512noreply@blogger.com