Pop Culture Roundup for June 6-July 18: Old, New, Borrowed, and Blue, TV Style
by Karen A. Romanko
For this edition of Pop Culture Roundup, I’ve got old shows, new series, borrowed character names and a “blue” movie. Hope you enjoy my little TV smorgasbord!
June 6: Last night I watched “The Deadly Cure,” a 1976 episode of McMillan & Wife. In it, Mac (Rock Hudson), pictured below with his distraught wife Sally (Susan Saint James), witnesses a murder in a hospital while he’s partially sedated. Sound familiar? I can think of several similar plot lines in TV mysteries, plus more episodes which use the general “murder in the hospital” trope. So tell me, TV mystery fans, which ones pop to mind for you? Thanks to Elaine Chick for the screen cap.
June 16: I wasn’t expecting a good cry in the middle of the day, but this did it. I am researching Rosa Parks for my book in progress, Historical Women on Scripted Television, and watched this clip from the Doctor Who episode “Rosa.” This type of moving and informative history lesson is one of the reasons I’m writing this book.
June 24: William Shatner, star of TJ Hooker and Boston Legal, and my favorite Star Trek captain as James T Kirk, was the answer to yesterday‘s Hollywood Stardle.
June 28: We watched the first episode of Foyle’s War last night. I love period mysteries, and I’ve seen many recommendations for this series, so I bought the season one DVD. I’m not sure it will be my cup of Earl Grey, but we’ll see how it goes. Hubby and I both found it a bit too pokey and low-key. I do like some humor in my mysteries, so I appreciated the character of Samantha (Honeysuckle Weeks), who was like a breath of fresh air every time she showed up. Fingers crossed for a better response to episode two! Pictured: Weeks, Michael Kitchen as DCS Foyle, and Anthony Howell as Paul Milner.
July 2: Bob and I just watched episode three of Dark Winds on AMC. Set in 1971, the series follows Navajo Tribal Police Lieutenant Joe Leaphorn (Zahn McClarnon) as he investigates two strange murders, but a deadly armored truck robbery and other crimes may be related. The series has already been renewed for another six-episode season. If you’ve watched, what are your thoughts on the show? (No SPOILERS, please!) Pictured: Jessica Matten, McClarnon, and Kiowa Gordon.
July 5: Some characters exist to bedevil the series protagonist, and Jim Rockford (James Garner) had more than his share on The Rockford Files. He’s with one such character here, Freddie Beamer (James Whitmore Jr.), left. Beamer drove me crazy!
July 10: Last night I watched “Dog Day Morning,” a 2021 episode of The Brokenwood Mysteries. This was a darkly hilarious story about four criminals in dog masks who attempt to rob a bank, but find they’re really bad at it. Definitely a standout. A note of TV trivia. The new detective at the station is named Daniel Chalmers (Jarod Rawiri). Now where have I heard that name before? Why, on Remington Steele! Mr. Steele’s mentor in crime was also named Daniel Chalmers, as portrayed by Efrem Zimbalist Jr. I’m wondering if it’s a coincidence or a little homage. Pictured: pups in crime.
July 13: Great shot of Peter Falk and Jack Cassidy from Columbo, “Now You See Him” (1976). Jack Cassidy‘s dimples should have had their own zip code.
July 15: I just finished writing the entry for Grace Kelly in my book in progress, Historical Women on Scripted Television (McFarland, forthcoming). Cheryl Ladd is radiant in the title role of Grace Kelly, a 1983 TV movie, as you can see in the photo on the left with Ian McShane, who was pretty radiant himself as Prince Rainier. On the right the real Rainier and Princess Grace of Monaco.
July 18: Continued my Elvis rewatch with Blue Hawaii this weekend, another I hadn’t seen in decades. “Rock A Hula Baby” was a great number. You will spot Angela Lansbury here, who portrayed the mother of Elvis’s character Chad, although she was only 10 years older than Elvis.
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I've been following you awhile, but here is my first comment. I love Foyle's War, and have it ranked in my top ten of all time. As you go along, actual WWII events are woven into the plot lines. I hope you begin to enjoy it as much as I do. I also love Sam!
ReplyDeleteThanks for following and for your comment! We have watched three episodes now, and I’m not sure we’ll be continuing past episode four. The series is certainly well done, but falls in the “not right for me” category. As a movie, it would probably work for me, but as a regular series it is a bit too intense. What happened to the young boy in episode three would be an example. I’m too sensitive for war-themes as regular viewing. I had assumed the war would be running more in the background, so to speak. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
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