Saturday TV - This Is Your Life

Y'know, Kiddies, I suspect that with all the papparazzi and stalkers and such, a show such as This Is Your Life, at least as originally conceived, just wouldn't work today. Of course, considering Punked and other surprise shows, maybe all they'd need to do is get Ashton Kutcher to host it.

The concept was simple, really. Each week, host Ralph Edwards would surprise someone, usually, though not always, a clebrity, and take them to the studio where, in front of a live audience he would begin to reount the details of their biography. Where the true fun (and sometimes pathos) came in, though, was that along with the retelling, the network would bring in various people from throughout the guests life, often people they had not seen in years, and the show would turn into a mini reuinion as these people would share stories about the guest of honor. Quite often, it was these stories, rather than the actual biographical information imparted, that were the heart of the show.

In the episode posted below, for instance, the surprise guest is Lou Costello, half of the famous comedy team of Abbott and Costello. However, as host Edwards says at the start, if all you know about Lou is his onscreen antics, then you really don't know the reall Lou Costello. Let's take a look, shall we?



You can find more episodes of This Is Your Life by searching archive.org or on DVD from Amazon: This Is Your Life - The Ultimate Collection, Vol. 1



Until next time, Happy Treasure Hunting,
-Professor Damian

Saturday TV - You Bet Your Life

I suppose you could say this was one case where someone would be happy to hear the word "Duck!" intead of scared.

The story goes that Groucho Marx was supposed to make a guest appearance on Bob Hope's radio show. Miffed at having been made to wait too long in the dressing room, when he finally came on the show and was asked by Hope "Groucho, what brings you here from the hot desert?" his response was "Hot desert, my foot, I've been standing in the cold waiting room for 40 minutes." From that point on, Hope never regained control of his show, as Groucho improvised and wisecracked his way through the rest of the alotted time and beyond. Meanwhile producer John Guedel was listening in and afterward approached Groucho about hosting a game show that would be part interview and part quiz, but which would mostly focus on Groucho's impromptu style. At first reluctant, Groucho finally agreed, and You Bet Your Life was born.

The show began on radio in 1947 and moved to TV in the 50's. for awhile it was actually run both on the radio and television. The show lasted until 1961 when it was finally brought down in the wake of the 50's game show scandals. (Though YBYL itself was clean, because of the accusations of cheating running rampant through the industry, the public simply soured on game shows in general, and not even Groucho's brashness (nor a name change to The Groucho Show) could save it.)

Here, then, is an episode from the mid 50's:


Unitl next time, Happy Treasure Hunting,
-Professor Damian

Saturday TV - The Lucy Show (1962-1968) - Season 5, Ep 1 - Lucy Meets George Burns

Happy Saturday, Kiddies! We're gonna take a bit of a break from the movies today and instead look at TV shows that are also in the Public Domain. Like the movies, some of these shows will be well known, some of them won't, some of them will be great and some, well... let's just say there's a reason the copyrights weren't renewed.

Today, however, we're looking at one of the all-time classics. One of the things that truly warms your old professor's heart is sharing the things I love with my children. Showing them that there actually were movies and television shows (and even radio shows and music) that were made before they were born, and that lots of that stuff can still be entertaining today.

Recently I had the opportunity to do just that with my nine-year old daughter. Like most girls her age, she's completely addicted to the Disney channel and shows like iCarly. But every once in awhile I'll pop in a disk of something that she's never seen, just to give her a taste of what came before. That's how we recently wound up watching The Lucy Show (starring, of course, Lucille Ball).We started with an ever-popular favorite, the one where Lucy and her house-mate Viv (Vivian Vance) try to install a shower in their boys' closet. With it's combination of verbal repartee and water-logged slapstick, the episode was a hit. Then we moved on to one of the color episodes. In this one, Lucy is working at the bank with Mr. Mooney (the wonderfully full of bluster Gale Gordon). In walks George Burns, who is there to transact some bank business upon encountering Lucy, however, Burns decides that she would make a wonderful partner for his new act. After a quick training session and negotiations between Mr. Mooney and Burns' agent (a perfectly placed voice cameo by Jack Benny), the episode ends with an extended on-stage routine by Ball and Burns that perfectly showcases the comedic timing and talents of both stars. Of course for me it was a nostalgic tour-de-force. But what did the nine-year old think? Well, considering the room was full of laughs through the show, I'd say it was a hit.

As far as their public domain status,  most episodes of the show are still under copyright, but there are some 30-35 episodes that never had their copyright renewed, and they are now in the public domain and available for free viewing, showing, remixing, or whatever other uses you might wish.

Ok, usually I'd give you a preview or trailer, but I think since we're only talking a thirty minute TV show, I'll go ahead and embed the whole thing below:


The skinny? yeah, here ya go:
Title: The Lucy Show
Original Broadcast Dates: 1962-1968
Total Number of Episodes: 156
Stars: Lucille Ball, Vivian Vance, Gale Gordon
Directors: Maury Thompson, Jack Donohue
Production Company: Desilu

This show (and quite a few other episodes of this series) is available for download here.


It's also available on DVD from Amazon: Best of Lucy & Friends (4pc)

And Netflix has a number of Lucy shows avaiable for rent, including this one: The Lucy Show: The Lost Episodes Marathon: Vol. 1

Until next time, Happy Treasure Hunting,

-Professor Damian