tv shows

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Would You Believe…?

~ michaelhvs ~ Leave a comment

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I was brainstorming with a client who wanted to develop an infomercial for his commercial door company and in discussing potential concepts we remembered an old TV series that featured a number of doors during its opening credits.

Who remembers this show:

Here are some facts about Get Smart:

  • The main character was conceived as a cross between James Bond and Inspector Clousseau, two of the most popular movie characters of the 1960s.
  • The series was co-created by comedy legends Mel Brooks and Buck Henry.
  • The pilot episode featured a bumbling but effective secret agent, Maxwell Smart, played by Tom Poston. It was offered to ABC who allegedly dismissed it as being un-American.
  • NBC picked it up with the stipulation that Maxwell Smart would be played by a star they had under contract, Don Adams.
  • Max was Agent 86. His partner, played by Barbara Feldon was Agent 99 and was never given a real name.
  • The series spawned a number of catch phrases and running gags, many of which came from Don Adams’ comedy sketches
    • Would you believe…
    • Missed it by that much…
    • Sorry about that chief…
    • …and loving it…. among others.
  • Don Adams developed Max’s unique vocal delivery from the clipped stylings of William Powell in The Thin Man series of films.

Michael Ondrasik and Home Video Studio specialize in the preservation of family memories. For more information, call 352-735-8550 or visit http://www.homevideostudio.com/mtd.

It’s About Time

Video ~ ~ michaelhvs ~ Leave a comment

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I have always had a fascination with time travel. Perhaps it all started, as most things usually do, when I was a young lad watching The Rocky and Bullwinkle show. That show contained a segment where Mr. Peabody and his faithful assistant Sherman used their “Wayback Machine” to witness and possibly interfere with well-known historical events.

Since then, I have had my share of “must-see-TV” shows dealing with the possibility of traveling through time.  Among my favorites:

THE TIME TUNNEL

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A pair of “scientists” get trapped in time. Each episode finds them in a different time and place – usually during some historically important moment. Near the end of the episode they somehow activate the time tunnel which deposits them in some other place with another adventure that will await them… same time next week.

IT’S ABOUT TIME

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For sheer silliness this comedy, by the same people that came up with Gilligan’s Island, featured a couple of astronauts who inexplicably end up in prehistoric times. Later, they return to their own time with their new prehistoric friends in tow. It, understandably, only lasted a season but the show’s theme song is still embedded in the minds of whoever heard it.

QUANTUM LEAP

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This show puts a twist on The Time Tunnel conundrum. Not only is the central character (played by Scott Bakula) trapped in a time warp, every time (episode) he is transported to a different when and where, he assumes the character of someone from that time and must complete some cosmic task as that character in order to be released to travel elsewhere in time.

TIMELESS

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A much more recent entry to the world of time travel entertainment, Timeless featured the crews of two time machines chasing each other through the past. One hopes to change the past to shape the future to their liking – the other hopes to stop them. Unfortunately, the show did not last long enough to come to a satisfying conclusion.

I am sure I am not alone with this fascination. There is something about the past that captivates us. Part of us longs to pay a return visit if only we could. It is comforting to know that while it may never be possible to do so physically, no one can stop us from traveling back there in our minds.

Michael Ondrasik and Home Video Studio specialize in preserving family memories. For more information, call 352-735-8550 or visit www.homevideostudio.com/mtd