From: "Don Harden" Date: Sun Sep 3, 2000 6:08 am Subject: probecontrol.com has been updated Hi everyone, Don Harden here again. Thanks to the efforts of Bryan Durk, the probecontrol.com website has some new links and features. Members of the SEARCH Mailing List may want to take a look. The new features include a large number of slide scan images from various SEARCH episodes. There is a section devoted to "The Gold Machine," the only episode we don't have on either video or audiotape. Here's the link: http://probecontrol.com Those of us with AOL-type browsers might have trouble opening the pages. If you get an error message, try opening the above link by using your AOL-supplied Internet Explorer (that's the button next to the AOL button, it's shaped like a blue "e".) Bryan explained to me: "AOL tries to cache pages which is causing your problem. After about 8 hours AOL finally catches up. You would be better off if you connected using AOL, then switched to either Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator. AOL will work fine, but new changes will not be updated." He added that part of the key in getting the pages to show up is to keep hitting your RELOAD button. If you are able to open the pages and see the new images, please share your reactions with us here. Thanks! From: "Don Harden" Date: Wed Sep 6, 2000 3:45 am Subject: Another SEARCH paperback on eBay! That auction site, eBay, has up for bids the following SEARCH item: SEARCH - TV movie book; p.back Item #427685110 http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=427685110 This is the paperback book by Robert Weverka based on the pilot movie, "Probe," involving Lockwood seeking the Entourage gem collection. The bidding starts at $3.00 and the auction ends on Sept. 13th. Good luck! From: "Bryan Durk" Date: Thu Sep 7, 2000 10:32 pm Subject: Movies Unlimited now selling Probe. Movies Unlimited is finally showing that Probe is available for order. They even have it at a good price. Although they did get the director wrong. http://www.moviesunlimited.com/musite/find_title.asp?mscssid= GKJTSGB0G5SR2GXK00LHRULEW5RRB7K3 From: "Bryan Durk" Date: Thu Sep 7, 2000 10:38 pm Subject: E! Online showing Probe is available. E!Online is finally showing now that Probe is available in VHS format! http://eonline.com/Facts/Movies/0,60,21545,00.html They showed that it was not available for a long time. Most of the search engines that I have tried seem to come up with this link. Anyone have an idea on listing it on Amazon.com? From: "Bryan Durk" Date: Fri Sep 8, 2000 12:47 am Subject: The Bullet I'm just listening to "The Bullet" audio CD provided by Don Harden, about 8 minutes into the show their is a great scene that fully demonstrates the concept of Search. Lockwood is caught in a lie. The commander of the Statspol is abusing a woman. Lockwood interferes. He is asked what he's doing in the country. He replies that he is studying the history. Lockwood is then asked a esoteric history of the country question by the commander. Probe control instantly hears the question, does some quick computer research and tells Lockwood the answer to the question. An excellent use of the concept. From: Jim Alexander Date: Fri Sep 8, 2000 1:42 am Subject: PROBE Morse Code Bryan Durk wrote: I'm just listening to "The Bullet" audio CD provided by Don Harden, about 8 minutes into the show their is a great scene that fully demonstrates the concept of Search. Lockwood is caught in a lie. The commander of the Statspol is abusing a woman. Lockwood interferes. He is asked what he's doing in the country. He replies that he is studying the history. Lockwood is then asked a esoteric history of the country question by the commander. Probe control instantly hears the question, does some quick computer research and tells Lockwood the answer to the question. An excellent use of the concept. ---------------------------------------- Yes-- it IS a good scene. And that reminds me... I've been listening to a couple of the 'new' CD's too, courtesy of Don, and have come across a sequence in MOONROCK where Lockwood is using his dental contact switch for Morse Code. I saw MOONROCK when it was first televised, but had forgotten about this usage of the mechanism in this fashion. Any other episodes where it's used this way (Morse Code), or is MOONROCK the only instance? I can think of ways in other episodes where using the dental contact in this fashion would have been a lifesaver. Or, was it like the Shuttlecrafts in STAR TREK-- brushed aside in certain plots 'cuz they would have "saved the day"? Jim probecontrol@d... From: "Don Harden" Date: Wed Sep 13, 2000 2:02 am Subject: SEARCH writer Judy Burns--Part One Hi, gang. Don Harden here again. Members of the SEARCH Mailing List will be interested to know that since early July, I have received email correspondence from SEARCH scriptwriter Judy Burns. She wrote the episodes "The Bullet" and "Countdown to Panic" (aka "The Carrier"). Anyway, back in July, someone was selling their personal 16mm copy of the classic "Star Trek" episode "The Tholian Web" on one of the Internet auction sites and I asked a few questions about it. It turned out that the film belonged to screenwriter Judy Burns! She thanked me for my questions and was considering relisting the film with perhaps a different description. I took the opportunity to ask her a little about her work for SEARCH. The following are condensations of some of our emails: --------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------- Subj: Re: Hi, there Date: 7/3/00 8:47:54 PM Eastern Daylight Time From: Dghprobe3 (sent to Judy Burns) Hello Judy Burns: Don Harden here. Thank you so much for the email you sent regarding THE THOLIAN WEB. You have a really nice one-of-a- kind item there. I find it very interesting and I wish you much luck in selling it! 16mm is a rather specialized hobby--different from collecting VHS video or DVDs... ...On another note, I have in my video collection a copy of a SEARCH episode you wrote back in 1972: "Countdown to Panic" with Hugh O'Brian. I am a member of the SEARCH Mailing List (at www.egroups.com/messages/probe_control) and we have found about 16 of the 23 SEARCH episodes on video--all from overseas! These were difficult to come by, but we were very happy to find them. We have been trying to find your other episode, "The Bullet," but no luck so far. I have an audio recording of that episode only. If you'd be interested in a VHS video copy of "Countdown to Panic" or a homemade audio CD of "The Bullet," I would love to send you FREE copies. Just let me know and email me a P.O. Box number or a shipping address I can send them to. Thanks again and good luck... ---------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------- Subj: Re: Hi, there Date: 7/4/00 12:04:40 PM Eastern Daylight Time (email from Judy Burns) To: Dghprobe3 My God... The Search episodes... Wow. I don't even have a copy of them, I'm sure. I didn't start collecting episodes until later. I'm amazed that anybody knows or cares. I appreciate the information on the film. I'm actually giving it to my kid... to fund part of her life for Law School... so the info is good to know. I don't want to cause you expense. But I appreciate the offer on the Show. My goodness... I don't even have, I think... the scripts from that show. Now, that would be nice. Anyway... I'll think about your lovely offer. Judy ---------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------- Subj: More on SEARCH Date: 7/4/00 7:33:01 PM Eastern Daylight Time From: Dghprobe3 (sent to Judy) Hello Judy: Thank you so much for the last email you sent regarding SEARCH... ...Don't worry about any expense on my part. It would be an honor for me to do this for you. The only thing I would ask in return is this: after you receive the scripts and look at the SEARCH episode video, could you send any recollections or remembrances of some of your experiences with the series. Anything you might remember about Leslie Stevens, Bob Justman, John Strong, Anthony Spinner or any of the other production crew would be of interest to me and the other members of the SEARCH mailing list. We would be delighted with anything you send in this regard. As you know, SEARCH disappeared completely after it's NBC run during 1972-73. A couple of our mailing list members looked into why this was. It seems that Warner Bros., for whatever reason, classified SEARCH as a "for export only" series. They made this decision in 1973, years before cable TV outlets sprang up running one season series all over the place. The only places we've been able to find tapes of SEARCH is Japan and Australia! Again, I would be delighted to send these SEARCH materials to you. After all, you created them and we've been enjoying them... -------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------- Subj: Re: More on SEARCH Date: 7/5/00 3:34:10 AM Eastern Daylight Time (email from Judy) To: Dghprobe3 Dear Don, thanks for your offer. I know Bob Justman, and Tony Spinner was a terrific Story editor. I never met Leslie except in the big main pitch meeting. I will try to think of things about that series that I could share and send them along. Judy ---------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------- Note from Don on the above: So now we know that Judy Burns was there near the beginning of the series. She was at "the big main pitch meeting" with Leslie Stevens. At that time, the series was still being called PROBE. Since Robert H. Justman and Anthony Spinner were the two line producers for SEARCH, they would have worked more closely with writers such as Judy Burns. As executive producer, Leslie Stevens was more involved with signing the bills and delivering the series episodes to the network within budget. Executive producers generally don't work closely with any of the series writers except perhaps in special circumstances. (More to come from Judy Burns in Part Two. Stay tuned.) From: "Don Harden" Date: Wed Sep 13, 2000 2:13 am Subject: SEARCH writer Judy Burns--Part Two Hi gang, Don Harden again. Here is Part Two, the second series of emails between SEARCH scriptwriter Judy Burns and myself. I have included some comments at the bottom of this post. --------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------- Subj: More on SEARCH: why Leslie Stevens left the show Date: 7/26/00 10:49:08 PM Eastern Daylight Time From: Dghprobe3 (sent to Judy) Hello Judy: Don Harden here again. I didn't want to let too much time pass before I forwarded you this email that the SEARCH Mailing List received about a year ago from Angel Tompkins via a third party. It goes into why Leslie Stevens left SEARCH during the midseason point during 1972-73. You may be able to confirm or deny this report, or it may be something you never heard before. Sometimes reports on the "behind the scenes" of TV shows can be either overdone or underplayed depending on how close one is to the actual events. But since you contributed a good bit to the series and was there near the beginning, I thought you might be interested: >"O.K., gang. Angel came through with the answer to why LeslieStevens >left SEARCH prematurely. I'll give her answer here, as she sent it to >me: > >"Leslie Stevens shot himself in the foot (got greedy) and killed the >show. While he was shooting SEARCH for NBC, he (at the same time) had >sold a concept to CBS to make movies-of-the-week, splitting them up >into five half-hour episodes and then splicing them back together for >release to theatres. > >"When NBC got word (of his deal with CBS), it got so pissed at Leslie >that he quit SEARCH in a snit, and the show only stayed on for one >year, with four producers trying to fill Leslie's shoes. Leslie was >the spark that ignited the show, and John Christopher Strong III, who >was the associate producer, just couldn't pull it off without our >insane, greedy leader." > >And now we know the rest of the story." The above is posted at this link: http://www.egroups.com/message/probe_control/62?&start=61 ...Believe me, there are still folks out there who would be interested in hearing things they've never heard before about SEARCH. Thank you so much for your time and for reading my email. ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- Subj: More on SEARCH: why Leslie Stevens left the show Date: 7/27/00 (email from Judy) To: Dghprobe3 Hey thanks so much. You know, I really don't know the scuttlebutt on the show. I know that we went over to Columbia ranch to film the episode where Hugh does the slide for life. I spent the day over there watching and chatting. And I met Dana Wynter there... a favorite of mine. What a classy lady. We spent about ten hours on the set that day... into the night. They actually shot night for night on that slide down over the wall. Great fun. Judy -------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------- Notes from Don on the above: So now we know that the ending scenes in "The Bullet" were shot at Columbia ranch. The "slide for life" is the scene near the end of the episode where Lockwood escapes over the wall with Alexia (Ina Balin). Here is the link to Judy's "The Bullet" script: http://probecontrol.com/Scripts/Bullet.txt Here is the link to her script "The Carrier": http://probecontrol.com/Scripts/Carrier.txt Here is the link to my filmclip slide scans of "The Bullet": http://probecontrol.com/Episodes/bullet.html I have one filmclip scan of Lockwood just before he goes over the wall. Here is the link to that scene: http://probecontrol.com/Episodes/images/09act4_5.jpg Too bad we don't have "The Bullet" episode on video (yet). Actress Dana Wynter played Helena Alexandra Trimble in Gene Roddenberry and Gene L. Coon's "The Questor Tapes," but she was not in "The Bullet" or any episode of SEARCH as I recall. If anyone has questions they would like to ask Judy Burns on SEARCH, email them to me at dghprobe3@a... and I will forward them to her. Thank you. From: "Don Harden" Date: Wed Sep 13, 2000 5:00 am Subject: SEARCH Premiere Anniversary Howdy folks, Don once more. It just occurred to me that this Wednesday, September 13, 2000 is an anniversary date. It was on a Wednesday night, September 13 in 1972 that SEARCH premiered with "The Murrow Disappearance." (It is also interesting that the calendar for the year 2000 is the same as the year 1972.) That was exactly 28 years ago! Have I succeeded in making everyone feel old? Some of us were teen-agers back then! Depending on how you look at it, though, the show sort of brings us back to our youth. That may partially explain why some of us are such devoted fans. (Or not.) With this in mind, I guess I can understand more why some older fellows are still fans of such things as Hopalong Cassidy, Roy Rogers and Gene Autry, etc. What does everyone else think? From: Jim Alexander Date: Wed Sep 13, 2000 12:37 pm Subject: SEARCH 'First Episode' Anniversary > >... Howdy folks, Don once more. It just occurred to me that this > Wednesday, September 13, 2000 is an anniversary date. It was on a > Wednesday night, September 13 in 1972 that SEARCH premiered with "The > Murrow Disappearance." (snip) With this in mind, I guess I can > understand more why some older fellows are still fans of such things as > Hopalong Cassidy, Roy Rogers and Gene Autry, etc. What does everyone else > think? ----------------------------------- "Older fella" Jim Alexander, here! You're right-- I think that's why I still get a big kick out of shows like SEARCH, THE TIME TUNNEL, THE WILD, WILD WEST, THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E., LAND OF THE GIANTS, JONNY QUEST, LOST IN SPACE, THE GREEN HORNET, and BATMAN! They really take me back to the time when TV seemed a bit more creative, and not afraid to give the viewer their share of fantasy and adventure! Yup! Those SEARCH-oriented wheels are always clicking in Don Harden's brain! Thanks for clueing us in on the anniversary! From: "Don Harden" Date: Wed Sep 13, 2000 6:07 pm Subject: Judy Burns interview on screenwriting Christopher Wehner of screenwritersutopia.com conducted an interview with screenwriter Judy Burns in 1998 which the group may find interesting. SEARCH is not mentioned, but she gives details of her background, how she approaches her craft and even details of how she got started in her career. Among her credits: M.A., C.Phil., Writer/Producer/Story Consultant. Her extensive credits include "Star Trek", "MacGyver", "T. J. Hooker", "Magnum P.I.", "Cagney & Lacey", and "Stingray", among others (including two "SEARCH" episodes). She has written three pilots, including ABC's "San Francisco Blues", and she is currently working on a pilot with Christi Productions. Here is the link: http://www.screenwritersutopia.com/interviews/interview_burns.html From: actingman@i... Date: Sun Sep 17, 2000 5:10 am Subject: List of traders I found a long list of video traders. Some of these links are email links; some are web site links. It's a long list, so I am posting the link to it here so maybe we can all try different ones as our schedules allow...to see if we can shake out another Search episode or two. And maybe everyone can also find something else on their video wish list. http://suzann.com/tv/tradelists.htm From: "Don Harden" Date: Mon Sep 18, 2000 5:40 am Subject: Movie Databases Hi gang, Don again. Just wanted to pass along these links to two different movie databases on the Internet. The first one is the overall best. It's the Internet Movie Database. You can do searches on your favorite actors, film titles, and whathaveyou. There are a few errors here and there, but they are amazingly accurate for the most part. I use this database frequently for lists of credits. The link: http://www.imdb.com/ Their page for "Probe" (1972) is: http://us.imdb.com/Title?0069125 The above page has numerous links to the various actors and production people connected with the movie. Their page for Leslie Stevens: http://us.imdb.com/Name?Stevens,+Leslie+(I) ---------------------------------------------------------- A different database, which is not quite as comprehensive as the imdb, but which does seem to have some different information is Hollywood Online's MoviePeople Database. Their home page is: http://moviepeople.hollywood.com/ Their "Probe" page: http://moviepeople.hollywood.com/movie.asp?v_id=V||||39379 Leslie Stevens page: http://moviepeople.hollywood.com/people.asp?p_id=P112749 Robert H. Justman: http://moviepeople.hollywood.com/people.asp?p_id=P217644 Anthony Spinner: http://moviepeople.hollywood.com/people.asp?p_id=P118492 Dominic Frontiere: http://moviepeople.hollywood.com/people.asp?p_id=P|90667 S. S. (Paddy) Schweitzer (writer): http://moviepeople.hollywood.com/people.asp?p_id=P164705 Hugh O'Brian page: http://moviepeople.hollywood.com/people.asp?p_id=P|53252 Anthony Franciosa page: http://moviepeople.hollywood.com/people.asp?p_id=P|24663 Doug McClure page: http://moviepeople.hollywood.com/people.asp?p_id=P|47043 Burgess Meredith: http://moviepeople.hollywood.com/people.asp?p_id=P102566 Angel Tompkins: http://moviepeople.hollywood.com/people.asp?p_id=P|71297 From: Jim Alexander Date: Sat Sep 30, 2000 4:46 am Subject: Official World Securities business Jim Alexander, here! I've been stunningly busy with work and personal stuff-- but I didn't want anyone I'd been in contact with to think that I'd forgotten about them! As far as SEARCH episode dubs for: David (DBoysen@aol.com), Anthony (ataylor@Mindspring.com), and Ian (imckinnon@fibernet.co.uk)... well, I just picked up a truckload of videocassettes this evening-- and will commence to dubbin' over the weekend! There're many hours of episodes here, and I'm sure you'll be patient with me in getting them finished! I'm happy to do it! If there's anyone that I've forgotten (someone else I need to dub episodes for) please contact me! If I haven't shared 'terms' with anyone-- here's what I hope you'll find fair: $8 per 2-episode videocassette (BEST QUALITY-SP speed) or $20 per 6-episode videocassette (LOWER QUALITY-EP speed) As far as Ian's overseas Shipping Costs-- I will take the parcel to the Post Office when I am finished dubbing and get an actual cost! Anthony was kind enough to ask about the long-awaited SEARCH TV GUIDE cover. No news, really-- except that I MAY have to charge for the printing (I was originally hoping to get these printed for free). The printing fee is separate from what we're paying the artist-- who retouched the cover. However, since Anthony seemed interested in a copy of the cover, his "going in" on the deal will decrease the cost for the rest of the interested parties even more-- meaning that the $6 or so that I may have to add "per print" for printing will almost be negated, anyway. Get it? I will try and get this cover-thing done soon. The hold-up has really been a factor of trying to save interested parties the printing costs-- but that no longer seems like it's going to be something I will be able to do. Sorry. I'll get new price totals for everyone ASAP. They'll be really close to the ones I already gave you. Sorry about the lack of personal replies to each individual-- but I figure more time DUBBIN' and less time responding to each individual was a GOOD thing. ;) Sorry to clutter the mailboxes of those not involved... Enjoy your weekend(s)! Jim Alexander probecontrol@dynasty.net From: actingman@i... Date: Sat Sep 30, 2000 7:17 pm Subject: OT: CBS Radio Mystery Theatre I've had an experience similar to seeing my first Search episode for the first time in 25 years. Anybody out there ever listen to the CBS Radio Mystery Theatre? It aired in the 70's and 80's. It was on five nights a week. It was hosted by E.G. Marshall, and always started with a creaking door opening and spooky music. For a production class in college, we did a take-off of this show. I've always remembered one episode in particular. It starred Howard DeSilva, and it was about a man who traveled into the future, was falsely convicted of murder, and sentenced to Show Business...where the convicts made entertainment programs...and they had to do for real what the script called for them to do...get shot, die on the operating table, step on a land mine, etc. I don't remember why, but I missed the ending of this episode and never learned how it turned out. Now it's the year 2000 and my crazy friend George tells me that he has found a site that has almost all of the 1000+ episodes for download in mp3 format (mind you, we had never discussed this series). I did a search (back on topic for a second) found the program, downloaded it, and just finished listening to it. Finished what I started back in January of 1976. That is cool. I'm just as crazy as George is, and he's starting from the beginning of the list, and I'm starting from the end of the list, and we will meet in the middle and trade disks so we both will have all of the programs available. And just like Search, we hope the site finds all of the episodes. If anybody wants to check it out, here's the URL: http://argonath.utah.edu/cbsotr/ From: actingman@i... Date: Sat Sep 30, 2000 8:22 pm Subject: Fwd: Leslie Stevens Here's a post about Stevens' other work from the Battlestar Galactica mailing list. >X-Auth-No: >From: Susan Paxton >To: "BSG Listserv" >Subject: Leslie Stevens >Date: 28 Sep 00 22:02:09 EDT >Reply-to: BSG-THEME@L... >Sender: Maiser@L... >Comments: Originally To: >X-Mailer: USANET web-mailer (34FM.0700.4.03) (via Mercury MTS (Bindery) v1.44) >X-MIME-Autoconverted: from quoted-printable to 8bit by smv19.iname.net id >WAA23289 > >Just talked to Alan Levi tonight, who directed half of the premiere (over >half, actually, since he reshot a lot of Colla's work, it turns out) and >"Gun." I asked him about the origin of BG controversy. > >He was a friend of Leslie Stevens, and Stevens evidently implied to him that >the idea for BG was his, as was the first draft of the premiere. Stevens went >to Universal with it and Universal then put Larson in charge. I'll have exact >quotes after I transcribe the tape, but that's the gist of what he said. > >Hm. Looks like I owe "Loony Andy" Fullen an apology. > >Susan > >www.geocities.com/sjpaxton >www.geocities.com/syendurance > > >We Ernest Shackleton fans are getting OUR movie, soooooo.....