From: Marta Dawes Date: Tue May 1, 2001 7:37 am Subject: Re: [probe_control] What's in a NAME? TV Land sometimes runs the series that don't have enough episodes for a daily run, on Saturdays and Sundays at special times. It's possible "Game" may show up on a weekend. Marta Jim Alexander wrote: > > thescope@usa.net wrote: > > > >... Name of the Game used to be on the Encore Mystery channel back > > around 1998. I haven't seen them lately. > > ---------------------------------- > Ahhhhhhh! So ENCORE ran them! > ---------------------------------- > >... Actually, around the same period, the rights to the show was > acquired by TVLAND from Studios USA. I was really looking forward to > seeing them but as far as I know, TVLAND never aired the show. > ---------------------------------- > I've only recently acquired TV LAND. Wouldn't know the answer to > that. > ---------------------------------- > >... The cable channel acquired a whole bunch of shows in that > acquisition, including Dragnet, Kojak, Adam12, Baretta, Ironside, Get > Christie Love, It Takes a THief, Emergency, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, > CHase, CHeckmate, Get Christie Love, Ellery Queen, Delvecchio, City of > Angels, Mickey Spillane, Owen Marshall, M Squad, Court Martial ... > Some of them managed to see the light of day (notice Emergency is > being shown daily). Many have not ;( > --------------------------------- > In addition to the ones mentioned, I saw a snippet of Ron Ely's TARZAN > in a V LAND promo a few months back, and looked for it-- but have > never seen any of the episodes on the schedule. Anyone notice TARZAN > on TV LAND? > > Thanks, 'scope'! ;) > > Jim > probecontrol@dynasty.net > Yahoo! Groups Sponsor > [www.debticated.com] > > > Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service. -- Marta "The Graveyards of Omaha" http://members.nbci.com/martadawes "The New Twilight Zone" http://members.nbci.com/newtwilzone Help save the Indian Hills Theatre in Omaha! The Last Round Super-Cinerama Theatre left in the World! Call Stephen Long, CEO at Methodist Hospital, 402-354-4000 and let him know you'd like this theatre to be saved. Join the Cinerama and Widescreen Movie Discussion Group http://www.egroups.com/group/cinerama_widescreen_movies Lord Byron, Mary Shelley and Percy Bysshe Shelley Discussion Group http://www.egroups.com/group/mary_percy_shelley From: Michael Rupert Date: Tue May 1, 2001 10:29 am Subject: Re: [probe_control] Got Game? Encore and A&E are two separate channels. Encore Mystery Channel, not A&E, was showing "The Name of the Game" Monday through friday. It stopped running "The Avengers" and then began airing it again. One of the reason I purchased a satellite dish was to tape those two shows.. As soon as I got the dish, Encore stopped airing Name. Like "The Avengers", it may come back. Mike Rupert Jim Alexander wrote: Marta Dawes wrote: >... I'm in Omaha, Nebraska, and on our Mystery Channel listings for the next 6 days it's not anywhere. However, they are showing "Avengers" once again; they had quit these for awhile, so it's possible they will eventually start showing "Game" again. ------------------------------------- Soooooooooo... A&E has shown NAME OF THE GAME? How long ago was that? A&E's MYSTERY CHANNEL is on their second run of the 161-episode AVENGERS series. They've been running them for quite a while, now. They have, however, been stop-starting their run of the much-briefer THE NEW AVENGERS. ---------------------------------------- >...dghprobe3@aol.com wrote: > I don't get cable, so someone on this list who has access to Encore's Mystery Channel, please find out if they are still running "Game." I'd be interested in getting a few more of the Leslie Stevens/Tony Franciosa episodes. ---------------------------------------- I don't recall having seen GAME on MYSTERY. I'll punch up the Digital Cable Guide and run a check on it, though. Jim probecontrol@dynasty.net From: actingman@iname.com Date: Tue May 1, 2001 11:27 am Subject: OT: Marta's site and The New Twilight Zone I greatly enjoyed seeing Marta's New Twilight Zone site. http://members.nbci.com/newtwilzone I agree with her that the first season "Her Pilgrim Soul" was simply one of the best things ever written for television...period. I also made sure I taped "A Message From Charity" and "Profile In Silver". I missed the chance to tape "Palladin of the Lost Hour." Also, and Marta can help us out here...wasn't it the New Twilight Zone that first did the story about the person who discovers his whole life is actually a tv show? I remember being ticked off that I never read anything about it, and that credit was given, when the Jim Carrey movie was released. The New Twilight Zone got canceled during its second season. The owners of the show decided to produce a third season of first run syndication half hour episodes, in order to have enough segments for the series as a whole to be syndicated in half hour format. What I think is very interesting about this is the show was successful in first run syndication, and stations wanted another season, but the owners didn't want to spend the money to make more episodes. They weren't interested in having a hit show on the air...they just wanted enough episodes for a syndication package, so they ended it after that third season, chopped up the hour long episodes into half hour segments, and put the series into general rerun syndication. (The same thing happened with Sliders...it was a hit on Sci-Fi, but they ended it after the fifth season because the owners felt there were enough episodes made for future reruns.) I also agree with Marta that the third season was not very good. I remember at the time thinking the reason, among other things was that with the amount of commercial time required in syndicated shows, there just wasn't enough time for story content. As I think about it now, that is probably wrong. They just didn't have very good stories. I've read that it is much harder to write good short-form fiction then it is long-form fiction. One exception was an episode (I can't remember the title) written by Harlen Ellison, about, if I remember correctly, a fast talking devil. It was good, and I remember thinking that Ellison came back to the show (after walking off in a dispute with CBS in the second season) to show us how it is supposed to be done. And to bring this whole thing slightly back to list topic: who played the charismatic fast-talking devil? Tony Franciosa! From: richard.rutherford@chch.ox.ac.uk Date: Tue May 1, 2001 2:07 pm Subject: first message from new member Hello, fellow members of this group, from new member Richard Rutherford in Oxford, England. I came across this site by accident a week ago and couldn't believe my eyes! I've been absorbing its goodies ever since (with some time off for work and sleep and other minor details). Congratulations to all those involved in setting it up: if I'd been asked to design my ideal website on Search, it wouldn't have offered as much as you have. I was 17 when I saw Search when the BBC showed it here in 1973-4 (British tv lagging behind American showing). I thought it was a terrific concept, and loved the style of acting and the often tense, sometimes humorous relation between agents and Control. I was dismayed that it never got extended. I had a few episodes badly taped on audiocassette but otherwise only the memories. A breakthrough came in 1993 when they reshowed the 'Probe' pilot on BBC, and I hoped for a reshow of the whole series, but no such luck. Now the prospect of viewing those classic episodes again is opening up. I've been in touch with those benefactors of mankind, Jim and Dan, about getting the dubs, but I'm keen to support the group as well. There's obviously a lot of varied expertise out there! But better still, a lot of people who have a proper respect for a classic series which never got the recognition it deserved. There's already so much on the website (and so well designed!) that it seems greedy to ask for more, but if and when you're developing it further I hope the other scripts might go up as well in some form (maybe you dont have all the epsidoes in shooting script form, but a transcript would be nearly as good.) And wav files of short exchanges (favourite lines etc) would be fun, and more downloadable than the huge file of The Bullet, for which the best 'estimated time' my computer has so far given me is over 7 hrs! But not to worry--there's plenty to enjoy already. Will be in touch again; meanwhile, accept my enthusiastic thanks! Richard From: Marta Dawes Date: Tue May 1, 2001 5:24 pm Subject: Re: [probe_control] OT: Marta's site and The New Twilight Zone Thank you, thank you (I'm blushing). It's taking quite a while to get the scans done and up on the site, but I enjoy taking the time going through the episodes, since I love the series so much. The 3rd season was so awful because the original team had all left and they brought in new people with no imagination to write the stories, and no connection to the original vision. If anyone on here is a fan of Babylon 5 I'll apologize first, then say the J. Michael Stracynski was the guy who did the awful 3rd season stories. Alan Brennert, the head story consultant on the 1st and 2nd seasons of NTZ, stumbled across the website and has also said some very nice things about it; he has been a big help with trivia and answering questions, and is also a very nice person, since he takes the time to answer my email! His short story was adapted for "Her Pilgrim Soul;" he wrote the story as a tribute to a friend who died of cancer. The short story is almost verbatim captured on the screen, which is unusual, but accounts I think for the magical quality of the episode, and the fact that Alan got to supervise the making of the show. The "TV show about a persons life" question is something that might be up for debate, I think. In the terrible 3rd season, broadcast during the latter half of 1988, there was an episode called "Special Service". The synopsis reads "A man's private life is upset when he discovers that people have been secretly watching him." Now, to the crux: "Amazing Stories" broadcast on 4/6/86 an episode called "Secret Cinema," about a woman who finds out her life has been secretly filmed, and parts of it become a movie. These two episodes are so very much alike that I wonder why they gave credit to the later show and not the earlier story. The episode Tony F. was in is "Crazy as a Soup Sandwich." And, there is also a "Probe" connection to this email, so it's not off topic. ;-) Alan told me that for the NTZ episode "Palladin of the Lost Hour," they had tried very hard to get Burgess Meredith for the part that Danny Kaye ended up doing. Unfortunately, Meredith was sick at the time and couldn't do the show. Marta actingman@iname.com wrote: > > I greatly enjoyed seeing Marta's New Twilight Zone site. > http://members.nbci.com/newtwilzone > > I agree with her that the first season "Her Pilgrim Soul" was simply > one of the best things ever written for television...period. > > I also made sure I taped "A Message From Charity" and "Profile In > Silver". I missed the chance to tape "Palladin of the Lost Hour." > > Also, and Marta can help us out here...wasn't it the New Twilight > Zone that first did the story about the person who discovers his > whole life is actually a tv show? I remember being ticked off that I > never read anything about it, and that credit was given, when the Jim > Carrey movie was released. > > The New Twilight Zone got canceled during its second season. The > owners of the show decided to produce a third season of first run > syndication half hour episodes, in order to have enough segments for > the series as a whole to be syndicated in half hour format. What I > think is very interesting about this is the show was successful in > first run syndication, and stations wanted another season, but the > owners didn't want to spend the money to make more episodes. They > weren't interested in having a hit show on the air...they just wanted > enough episodes for a syndication package, so they ended it after > that third season, chopped up the hour long episodes into half hour > segments, and put the series into general rerun syndication. (The > same thing happened with Sliders...it was a hit on Sci-Fi, but they > ended it after the fifth season because the owners felt there were > enough episodes made for future reruns.) > > I also agree with Marta that the third season was not very good. I > remember at the time thinking the reason, among other things was that > with the amount of commercial time required in syndicated shows, > there just wasn't enough time for story content. As I think about it > now, that is probably wrong. They just didn't have very good > stories. I've read that it is much harder to write good short-form > fiction then it is long-form fiction. > > One exception was an episode (I can't remember the title) written by > Harlen Ellison, about, if I remember correctly, a fast talking > devil. It was good, and I remember thinking that Ellison came back > to the show (after walking off in a dispute with CBS in the second > season) to show us how it is supposed to be done. > > And to bring this whole thing slightly back to list topic: who > played the charismatic fast-talking devil? Tony Franciosa! > > > > > Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ -- Marta "The Graveyards of Omaha" http://members.nbci.com/martadawes "The New Twilight Zone" http://members.nbci.com/newtwilzone Help save the Indian Hills Theatre in Omaha! The Last Round Super-Cinerama Theatre left in the World! Call Stephen Long, CEO at Methodist Hospital, 402-354-4000 and let him know you'd like this theatre to be saved. Join the Cinerama and Widescreen Movie Discussion Group http://www.egroups.com/group/cinerama_widescreen_movies Lord Byron, Mary Shelley and Percy Bysshe Shelley Discussion Group http://www.egroups.com/group/mary_percy_shelley From: bryankd@mac.com Date: Tue May 1, 2001 7:26 pm Subject: Search logo in Illustrator by Mike Okuda Mike, I have tried to download the Illustrator and Freehand files a couple of times, but haven't had any luck. I just get a error message. I would love to get a copy of this file, could you email to bryankd@mac.com Thanks. Bryan From: bryankd@mac.com Date: Tue May 1, 2001 7:14 pm Subject: Re: first message from new member Great to hear from another new member! A quick followup. John has all the scripts, and is scanning them all, it just takes a long time! I am working on a sound page now, and have many sounds to post, but they will all be in .mp3 format, not .wav. Don has provided me with many more slides that I need to get converted and posted, and there are more in the publicity section too. There will also be a links, merchandise, characters (stealing Don's great synopsis he posted here), sections too. Better navigation is also planned and will be in place. I know I'm slow on getting these things done, but thought I would give a quick post on what's still to come. Bryan --- In probe_control@y..., richard.rutherford@c... wrote: > Hello, fellow members of this group, from new member Richard > Rutherford in Oxford, England. I came across this site by accident a > week ago and couldn't believe my eyes! I've been absorbing its > goodies ever since (with some time off for work and sleep and other > minor details). Congratulations to all those involved in setting it > up: if I'd been asked to design my ideal website on Search, it > wouldn't have offered as much as you have. > I was 17 when I saw Search when the BBC showed it here in 1973-4 > (British tv lagging behind American showing). I thought it was a > terrific concept, and loved the style of acting and the often tense, > sometimes humorous relation between agents and Control. I was > dismayed that it never got extended. I had a few episodes badly taped > on audiocassette but otherwise only the memories. A breakthrough came > in 1993 when they reshowed the 'Probe' pilot on BBC, and I hoped for > a reshow of the whole series, but no such luck. > Now the prospect of viewing those classic episodes again is opening > up. I've been in touch with those benefactors of mankind, Jim and > Dan, about getting the dubs, but I'm keen to support the group as > well. There's obviously a lot of varied expertise out there! But > better still, a lot of people who have a proper respect for a classic > series which never got the recognition it deserved. > There's already so much on the website (and so well designed!) that > it seems greedy to ask for more, but if and when you're developing it > further I hope the other scripts might go up as well in some form > (maybe you dont have all the epsidoes in shooting script form, but a > transcript would be nearly as good.) And wav files of short exchanges > (favourite lines etc) would be fun, and more downloadable than the > huge file of The Bullet, for which the best 'estimated time' my > computer has so far given me is over 7 hrs! But not to worry--there's > plenty to enjoy already. > Will be in touch again; meanwhile, accept my enthusiastic thanks! > Richard From: Marta Dawes Date: Tue May 1, 2001 6:46 pm Subject: Neat TV site Here's a neat site that has quite a bit of unusual stuff on 60's/70's TV. http://tesla.liketelevision.com/liketelevision/search/search.php?q=Commercials&t\ heme=guide -- Marta "The Graveyards of Omaha" http://members.nbci.com/martadawes "The New Twilight Zone" http://members.nbci.com/newtwilzone Help save the Indian Hills Theatre in Omaha! The Last Round Super-Cinerama Theatre left in the World! Call Stephen Long, CEO at Methodist Hospital, 402-354-4000 and let him know you'd like this theatre to be saved. Join the Cinerama and Widescreen Movie Discussion Group http://www.egroups.com/group/cinerama_widescreen_movies Lord Byron, Mary Shelley and Percy Bysshe Shelley Discussion Group http://www.egroups.com/group/mary_percy_shelley From: actingman@iname.com Date: Tue May 1, 2001 11:20 pm Subject: Re: [probe_control] first message from new member Very nice thoughts...thank you. I am John, the lazy or too busy scanner of the scripts that go on the web site. I do have all the final draft shooting scripts for the show. Currently I am in the middle of Short Circuit. It will all get done someday. but I think we should eat right and exercise and drive slowly so we can stay alive long enough to see me actually finish the project. Bryan and I (and anybody else who has any ideas) will discuss the audio idea as well as the problem with the huge download of The Bullet. I haven't tried yet, but I assume the site has the ability to resume downloads, so if you want to dedicate some time each night, you might try a resume program like Get Right or Gozilla. I've used both and they are great. At 06:07 PM 5/1/2001 +0000, you wrote: >Hello, fellow members of this group, from new member Richard >Rutherford in Oxford, England. I came across this site by accident a >week ago and couldn't believe my eyes! I've been absorbing its >goodies ever since (with some time off for work and sleep and other >minor details). Congratulations to all those involved in setting it >up: if I'd been asked to design my ideal website on Search, it >wouldn't have offered as much as you have. >I was 17 when I saw Search when the BBC showed it here in 1973-4 >(British tv lagging behind American showing). I thought it was a >terrific concept, and loved the style of acting and the often tense, >sometimes humorous relation between agents and Control. I was >dismayed that it never got extended. I had a few episodes badly taped >on audiocassette but otherwise only the memories. A breakthrough came >in 1993 when they reshowed the 'Probe' pilot on BBC, and I hoped for >a reshow of the whole series, but no such luck. >Now the prospect of viewing those classic episodes again is opening >up. I've been in touch with those benefactors of mankind, Jim and >Dan, about getting the dubs, but I'm keen to support the group as >well. There's obviously a lot of varied expertise out there! But >better still, a lot of people who have a proper respect for a classic >series which never got the recognition it deserved. >There's already so much on the website (and so well designed!) that >it seems greedy to ask for more, but if and when you're developing it >further I hope the other scripts might go up as well in some form >(maybe you dont have all the epsidoes in shooting script form, but a >transcript would be nearly as good.) And wav files of short exchanges >(favourite lines etc) would be fun, and more downloadable than the >huge file of The Bullet, for which the best 'estimated time' my >computer has so far given me is over 7 hrs! But not to worry--there's >plenty to enjoy already. >Will be in touch again; meanwhile, accept my enthusiastic thanks! >Richard From: Jim Alexander Date: Wed May 2, 2001 1:06 am Subject: Got Game? Mike Rupert wrote: >... Encore and A&E are two separate channels. ------------------------------- You are correct, of course, Mike! However, I was thinking that ENCORE was a 'subsidiary' of A&E. Perhaps I am wrong. That's why I phrased it that way. On the same note-- I am under the impression that A&E also operates the HISTORY and BIOGRAPHY cable channels, too. I have MY fingers crossed that NAME OF THE GAME may be run again! Thanks! Jim probecontrol@dynasty.net ------------------------------------------- Encore Mystery Channel, not A&E, was showing "The Name of the Game" Monday through friday. It stopped running "The Avengers" and then began airing it again. One of the reason I purchased a satellite dish was to tape those two shows.. As soon as I got the dish, Encore stopped airing Name. Like "The Avengers", it may come back. Mike Rupert Jim Alexander wrote: Marta Dawes wrote: >... I'm in Omaha, Nebraska, and on our Mystery Channel listings for the next 6 days it's not anywhere. However, they are showing "Avengers" once again; they had quit these for awhile, so it's possible they will eventually start showing "Game" again. ------------------------------------- Soooooooooo... A&E has shown NAME OF THE GAME? How long ago was that? A&E's MYSTERY CHANNEL is on their second run of the 161-episode AVENGERS series. They've been running them for quite a while, now. They have, however, been stop-starting their run of the much-briefer THE NEW AVENGERS. ---------------------------------------- >...dghprobe3@aol.com wrote: > I don't get cable, so someone on this list who has access to Encore's Mystery Channel, please find out if they are still running "Game." I'd be interested in getting a few more of the Leslie Stevens/Tony Franciosa episodes. ---------------------------------------- I don't recall having seen GAME on MYSTERY. I'll punch up the Digital Cable Guide and run a check on it, though. Jim probecontrol@dynasty.net From: actingman@iname.com Date: Tue May 1, 2001 11:00 am Subject: USA Studios Taking a quick look at the list of shows TVLand acquired...it looks like they acquired the Universal/MCA library. They may have acquired Search as well...let's hope so...although I don't have TVLand...but at least it would be running somewhere. It's hard to trace ownership...things have changed hands so many times it's not funny. And in a way, history is being rewritten. Example: 20th Century Fox bought the MTM library. St. Elsewhere now has at the end...instead of the MTM cat meowing with a scrub hat and mask on...the 20th Century Fox logo. "Hey look Rick...the same company that made Star Wars made St. Elsewhere!" Not Quite. To me it's tampering. I would find it less objectionable if they stuck the Fox logo on after the cat, but to replace it? It's not right. Another example: I watched Forbidden Planet on DVD this weekend. The box has the Warner Brothers logo on it. I had to think for awhile how Warners was distributing an MGM movie. I figured it out at the end of the movie when I saw glued onto the end the Turner logo. Ted Turner bought the MGM library. Time-Warner then bought out Ted Turner. So now the MGM classic is out on the Warner's label. It's enough to make your hair hurt. From: actingman@iname.com Date: Wed May 2, 2001 9:53 am Subject: Re: [probe_control] Search logo in Illustrator by Mike Okuda I've written to Yahoo about the last couple of posted files producing error messages. If anybody out there has posted something in the files section and finds it won't download, feel free to contact me, and/or send me the file and I will work on getting it posted. John At 11:26 PM 5/1/01 +0000, you wrote: >Mike, > >I have tried to download the Illustrator and Freehand files a couple of >times, but haven't had any luck. I just get a error message. > >I would love to get a copy of this file, could you email to >bryankd@mac.com > >Thanks. >Bryan From: dghprobe3@aol.com Date: Thu May 3, 2001 4:25 pm Subject: Studios USA on SEARCH Hi gang, I sent an email to Studios USA and below is their response. My initial email to them is below that. Looks like our focus should still be toward Warner Brothers and the major cable outlets like Encore's Mystery Channel, etc. I thought it would be worth clearing up the Studios USA question. It's possible my contact who worked formerly with Armed Forces Net confused "Chase" with "Search." Don H. =============================================== Subj: Re: SEARCH television series Date: 5/3/01 2:11:42 PM Eastern Daylight Time From: feedback@studiosusa.com (Studios USA Feedback) To: Dghprobe3@aol.com Mr. Harden, I'm sorry, but we don't have any information on this show ("SEARCH"). USA and Fox have something to do with a show called "IN SEARCH OF". Maybe that's what you heard? The website is http://www.insearchofonline.com/ Thanks, Studios USA ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ --- Dghprobe3@aol.com wrote: > > Hi there: Don Harden here and I heard a while back that Studios USA > had > acquired the rights to a television series called "SEARCH." > > This show ran on NBC back in 1972-73 and starred Hugh O'Brian, Tony > Franciosa > and Doug McClure as private investigators of the future. It lasted > one > season. > > The series was produced by Leslie Stevens at Warner Bros. and it > started with > a two-hour pilot movie called "Probe." > > Any information you can provide will be very much appreciated. Thank > you. > > Sincerely, > > Don Harden From: A Taylor Date: Thu May 3, 2001 4:07 pm Subject: Re: [probe_control] Digest Number 190 Hi all- If anyone needs the Logo file in vector form, just email me and I will be happy to send it out. Thanks again, Mike for doing such a bang up job on this! Anthony From: "Bob Greenberger" Date: Mon Apr 30, 2001 8:35 pm Subject: Re: [probe_control] More on Name of the Game Like the others, I knew Name of the Game through WCBS's Sunday night broadcasts throughout the '70s. It was one of the first signature shows for Universal TV, setting the template for the Sunday Night Mystery Movie, Wednesday Mystery Movie, etc. Originally, it ran Friday nights at 8:30 which was an odd time slot for a 90 minute drama but that was then. There were two threads holding the series together, one being Howard Publishing modeled loosely on Time, Inc. with gene Barry as Glenn Howard, the founder and publisher. Robert Stack was the ex-FBI (!) man turned editor for Crime Magazine and then there was Tony Franciosa as the reporter (I believe) for People Magazine (how prophetic). The other thread was Susan St. James as the perky gal Friday. The series was introduced in a TV movie called Fame is the Name of the Game, which was St. James' screen debut. It was successful enough to spawn the series. Not the first of the "wheel" series, but the most stylish of them all. With that said, it should be noted that while Universal gave us a show that led to Search, the latter was a Warner production. For whatever reason, audiences preferred candy stick sucking Frank Cannon to our high tech wonder. Go figure. ----- Original Message ----- From: Marta Dawes To: probe_control@yahoogroups.com Sent: Monday, April 30, 2001 6:14 PM Subject: Re: [probe_control] More on Name of the Game I'm in Omaha, Nebraska, and on our Mystery Channel listings for the next 6 days it's not anywhere. However, they are showing "Avengers" once again; they had quit these for awhile, so it's possible they will eventually start showing "Game" again. Marta dghprobe3@aol.com wrote: > > Hi gang, I've been enjoying the posts on "The Name of the Game." It > was a classy show and had a fairly successful network run on NBC, > although it was not that great of a syndicated success (partly due to > it being a 90-minute show). > > Our interest in it, of course, is due to the presence of star Tony > Franciosa and Leslie Stevens as one of the writer/producers. > > I have one episode produced by Stevens and Dominic Frontiere is > listed at the end as having done the background music. There is a > chase scene in that episode which has music very similar to the chase > music heard during "The Murrow Disappearance." Dave Grusin is the > one who composed the distinctive opening "Game" theme music. Grusin > also did the theme for "It Takes a Thief," which also had Stevens as > a writer/producer. > > That series ran here in Atlanta during late Saturdays during the mid- > 70's. At times the Franciosa episodes seem like you're watching > SEARCH because he approached the character similarly. I'm told > that "Game" ran for a while in recent years on Encore's Mystery > Channel. > > For those on the list who are interested, I have five episodes > of "Game." Four of them are Franciosa shows, which are: > > "The Incomparable Connie Walker," writer/producer Leslie Stevens > "The Other Kind of Spy," directed by Boris Sagal > "Blind Man's Bluff" > "Jenny Wilde is Drowning," directed by Boris Sagal > > The fifth episode I have is the celebrated Gene Barry episode: > > "L.A. 2017" directed by one Steven Spielberg. > > That last one is a sci-fi/fantasy episode in which Gene Barry > seemingly travels to the future and sees the effects of pollution and > environmental damage years hence. > > For those who want dubs, note that I can only get two episodes on a T- > 160 at SP speed. Otherwise, it would be one episode per T-120. > > I don't get cable, so someone on this list who has access to Encore's > Mystery Channel, please find out if they are still running "Game." > I'd be interested in getting a few more of the Leslie Stevens/Tony > Franciosa episodes. > > Don Harden > > ============================================================== > > --- In probe_control@y..., actingman@i... wrote: > > > ...It's a show A & E should run. Since we can't get anybody to run > Search. > > > > > Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ -- Marta "The Graveyards of Omaha" http://members.nbci.com/martadawes "The New Twilight Zone" http://members.nbci.com/newtwilzone Help save the Indian Hills Theatre in Omaha! The Last Round Super-Cinerama Theatre left in the World! Call Stephen Long, CEO at Methodist Hospital, 402-354-4000 and let him know you'd like this theatre to be saved. Join the Cinerama and Widescreen Movie Discussion Group http://www.egroups.com/group/cinerama_widescreen_movies Lord Byron, Mary Shelley and Percy Bysshe Shelley Discussion Group http://www.egroups.com/group/mary_percy_shelley From: "Mark Speck" Date: Fri May 4, 2001 12:34 am Subject: Re: Name of the Game Hey Guys! Ron Evans has a number of Name of the Game episodes available through his excellent epPartners site (http://www.networksplus.net/caseyguy/epPartners.htm) His prices are very reasonable (or you can trade for 'em as well) and his service is fantastic. You could probably get the tapes in a week or less. Oh yeah, he has lots of other great shows you probably couldn't find anywhere else, so give him a shout! Best, Mark From: "Mark Speck" Date: Fri May 4, 2001 12:36 am Subject: Welcome Newbies! Hi Connie and Richard, and welcome to the list! Best, Mark From: actingman@iname.com Date: Sat May 5, 2001 1:34 pm Subject: Yahoo has been having trouble Someone on another list got this message from Yahoo in response to complaints about message delays: Yahoo! Groups recently experienced some minor technical difficulties that caused group message delivery to be delayed. We believe that this issue has been resolved and expect these delays to diminish gradually over the next 24 hours and return to normal. No messages were lost during this time. Please be assured that we are doing everything possible to continue to provide you with the excellent service you've come to expect from Yahoo! Groups. Thank you for your patience and understanding. Thank you for using Yahoo!, and please let us know if we can be of further assistance. From: actingman@iname.com Date: Sat May 5, 2001 9:07 pm Subject: OT...the loss and recovery of one show Below is a link to the specific text detailing the efforts to track down and preserve episodes of the British show Dr. Who. I am not a Dr. Who fan, but just glancing at parts of the article, I am horrified when such carelessness with the property, and the amazing efforts and luck when copies turn up. Some moron at NBC once decided to deal with the problem of self space scarcity in New Jersey by ordering all the films from the late 40''s through the 50's burned. They could have made one call to someone like Steve Allen and said "Hey, were going to destroy all this material, and some of it is yours...do you want any of it?" He would have probably arranged to take all of it. Instead, things like his amazing 90 minute interview with Lincoln Biographer Carl Sandburg on the Tonight show...and god knows what else...are now lost for all time. Hopefully Search is safe in the vaults...but who knows with anything. http://www.purpleville.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/archive.htm If anyone is interested in the whole site the above artilce is from, here's the main page link: http://www.restoration-team.co.uk/ From: dghprobe3@aol.com Date: Sat May 5, 2001 9:37 pm Subject: SEARCH logo in vector form Hi Anthony: Don here again and yes, if it's not too much trouble, go ahead and send me the Okuda SEARCH logo file in vector form. I use Windows 98 but I have access to a Windows version of Adobe Photoshop. =============================================== (Original message) <<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>> From: Marta Dawes Date: Sat May 5, 2001 10:20 pm Subject: Re: [probe_control] OT...the loss and recovery of one show On the alt.movies.silent newsgroup, the preservation problem in TV and movies is something that has been discussed plenty. The idiocy of the networks is surpassed by no company I've ever heard of. They simply had no concept of the value of the stuff they were destroying, and didn't care anyway. For awhile, there was the belief that all of Milton Berle's show from the early 50's had been destroyed; however, I believe they later found most of the shows in another storage facility. While that wouldn't have been a tragedy of national proportions, it would have been a shame. Search is new enough that I believe it's out there somewhere. If it had been the 50's and early 60's, it might be a different story. Marta actingman@iname.com wrote: > > Below is a link to the specific text detailing the efforts to track down > and preserve episodes of the British show Dr. Who. I am not a Dr. Who fan, > but just glancing at parts of the article, I am horrified when such > carelessness with the property, and the amazing efforts and luck when > copies turn up. > > Some moron at NBC once decided to deal with the problem of self space > scarcity in New Jersey by ordering all the films from the late 40''s > through the 50's burned. They could have made one call to someone like > Steve Allen and said "Hey, were going to destroy all this material, and > some of it is yours...do you want any of it?" He would have probably > arranged to take all of it. Instead, things like his amazing 90 minute > interview with Lincoln Biographer Carl Sandburg on the Tonight show...and > god knows what else...are now lost for all time. > > Hopefully Search is safe in the vaults...but who knows with anything. > > http://www.purpleville.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/archive.htm > > If anyone is interested in the whole site the above artilce is from, here's > the main page link: http://www.restoration-team.co.uk/ > > > > Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ -- Marta "The Graveyards of Omaha" http://members.nbci.com/martadawes "The New Twilight Zone" http://members.nbci.com/newtwilzone Help save the Indian Hills Theatre in Omaha! The Last Round Super-Cinerama Theatre left in the World! Call Stephen Long, CEO at Methodist Hospital, 402-354-4000 and let him know you'd like this theatre to be saved. Join the Cinerama and Widescreen Movie Discussion Group http://www.egroups.com/group/cinerama_widescreen_movies Lord Byron, Mary Shelley and Percy Bysshe Shelley Discussion Group http://www.egroups.com/group/mary_percy_shelley From: actingman@iname.com Date: Sat May 5, 2001 11:17 pm Subject: More on the Yahoo problems Another note from another list about the Yahoo problems. "And the response was not the whole explaination either. Apparently their servers had a MAJOR meltdown earlier in the week...I got that from the list mom on another list. They were supposed to have contacted all the List owners with an explaination. There have been times when I've posted that nothing shows up for hours, if at all. Some are days late." As list moderator, I never received any kind of note from Yahoo. The above writer also complained that this never happened before Yahoo took over the lists. The above list was Egroups, just like our Search list was...and it did have the same problems. Nothing's ever perfect. Again, if anybody has tried to post a file and it won't work, please send it to me, and I will try posting it to the list file section. John From: actingman@iname.com Date: Sun May 6, 2001 4:48 pm Subject: Fwd:Recent trouble with yahoo egroups Here's more on Yahoo problems from other lists. >Subject: [seaview] Recent trouble with yahoo egroups > >Well, the explaination I got when I asked was a glossover to what was being >sent out. I'm enclosing an explaination sent to the list mom of another list >that I'm on. When she asked last week (after many complaints from members) >this is what she received. >************* >From: Michael Golliday [mailto:golliday@y...] >Sent: Wednesday, May 02, 2001 4:48 PM >To: eGroups-status@yahoogroups.com >Subject: [eGs] Mail delays and other site problems >I appologize for the delay in getting this out... > >Yesterday morning, we had some network issues involving our service. On >top of this, we had problems with both our mail processing machines and four >of our archive servers (which led to sporadic 'archive temporarily >unavailable' messages for groups on those machines). > >These problems resulted in a mail backlog that's continuing into today. > >The current delivery delay is on the order of two to three hours, though for >larger domains the delay is longer, due to the volume of mail those sites >receive from us. > >Sorry for the inconvenience, and thank you for your patience. >Mike >******** >Then the next day (Thursday), this was received and she posted this on our >list: >"I'm sure many of you have noticed already, but I thought I'd update >everyone on the situation today. > >Sometime last night, we had networking problems at our hosting center. On >top of this, we had problems with four of our archive servers, which led >to the 'archive temporarily unavailable' message for groups on those >machines. Mail sent to these groups while the servers were down was >queued here, and doesn't need to be re-sent. > >The above problems had a cascading effect on all mail delivery, which is >still backed up on the order of two hours. Some machines are less loaded >than others though, so your mileage may vary. > >Sorry for the inconvenience. >Mike" >****** >And here's a 2nd message, later that same day: > >"I don't have an estimated end time. We were hoping the backlog would clear >overnight, it didn't. > >There's no need to resend mail, only a need to be patient. Yes, I realize >it's not easy, and I appreciate the fact it's annoying. We use the service >for all of our internal lists. Sending more mail to see if it gets through >is only going to make the situation worse. > >I'll post something later to egroups-status, when I have a handle on the >resolution. > >Thanks, >Mike" >************** > >So, you see, Yahoo doesn't have a clue as to what's going on in the first >place. And Hester, I think your statement about being spread too thin might >well have some merit. > >Jane From: A Taylor Date: Sun May 6, 2001 4:39 pm Subject: Re: [probe_control] Digest Number 193 Hi all- I think I should point out that to open the vector based SEARCH logo that was uploaded, you must have either Freehand 9 or Illustrator 7 or 8. I am sending both files to John tomorrow to see if he can get them loaded correctly, but this may be part of the problem some of you are having. THanks Anthony From: "Mark Speck" Date: Mon May 7, 2001 12:39 am Subject: Re: OT: The loss and recovery of one show Hi John! There is one case where a '50s TV classic was saved by the actions of an employee at NBC. John Guedel was the producer of You Bet Your Life, and he received a call from someone at NBC who told him that the prints of the classic game show were going to be destroyed, as there was no room in the NBC vaults for them, and would he like a few prints as souvenirs. A panicked Guedel rushed down to NBC to stop the destruction, and he wound up buying the prints, ensuring the syndication revival of the show and exposing a new generation to the talents of the one, the only...GROUCHO! Best, Mark From: Jim Alexander Date: Mon May 7, 2001 12:40 am Subject: The recovery of YOU BET YOUR LIFE > The Secret Woid is... Guedel!!! Cool story, Mark! Thanks for sharing! Jim probecontrol@dynasty.net From: actingman@iname.com Date: Mon May 7, 2001 9:28 am Subject: Re: [probe_control] Re: OT: The loss and recovery of one show Yes...I had forgotten about that. The rest of that story is Guedel asked a UHF station in LA to run the show late at night, so the ailing Groucho could watch himself before he died. To everyone's great delight, the show got ratings and write ups...so back into syndication it went. So because of all that, I got to watch the show in 1974 weeknights at 11pm on channel 5 in New York. At 04:39 AM 5/7/01 +0000, you wrote: >Hi John! > >There is one case where a '50s TV classic was saved by the actions of an >employee at NBC. > >John Guedel was the producer of You Bet Your Life, and he received a call >from someone at NBC who told him that the prints of the classic game show >were going to be destroyed, as there was no room in the NBC vaults for them, >and would he like a few prints as souvenirs. A panicked Guedel rushed down >to NBC to stop the destruction, and he wound up buying the prints, ensuring >the syndication revival of the show and exposing a new generation to the >talents of the one, the only...GROUCHO! > >Best, > >Mark From: dghprobe3@aol.com Date: Mon May 7, 2001 1:55 pm Subject: the Okuda SEARCH logo In a message 5/6/01 8:35:15 PM EDT, ataylor@mindspring.com writes: I think I should point out that to open the vector based SEARCH logo that was uploaded, you must have either Freehand 9 or Illustrator 7 or 8. Hmm. I don't have any of the above image programs. Is there any way a simple JPG can be posted either on the mailing list or in the files section so we can see what the image looks like? Thanks. Don H. From: dghprobe3@aol.com Date: Mon May 7, 2001 2:14 pm Subject: OT--'You Bet Your Life' The "You Bet Your Life" story is a fascinating one indeed. I'm surprised that anyone took the trouble to contact the producer. Did they ever try to contact Groucho himself? With this in mind, I'm wondering whether the Steve Allen situation was more a case of NBC not being able to make contact. It would be sad to discover that something as simple as an unlisted phone number contributed to the loss of several television gold mines. Don H. ======================================================== --- In probe_control@y..., "Mark Speck" wrote: > ...John Guedel was the producer of You Bet Your Life, and he received a call > from someone at NBC who told him that the prints of the classic game show > were going to be destroyed, as there was no room in the NBC vaults for them, > and would he like a few prints as souvenirs... From: dghprobe3@aol.com Date: Tue May 8, 2001 12:55 am Subject: 'Modern Problems'--Search connections There are a couple of SEARCH connections to the 1981 Chevy Chase movie "Modern Problems." They are: Dabney Coleman ("Suffer My Child") appeared as Darcy. Dominic Frontiere composed the original music. I came across this info when I ran "Dominic Frontiere" through eBay's search engine. Neat, huh? From: dghprobe3@aol.com Date: Tue May 8, 2001 1:13 am Subject: Name of the Game TV Guide I put "Name of the Game" into the eBay search engine and came up with a lot of stuff that pertained to Abba and electronic gadgets, among other things. However, one item of interest to us appeared. A TV Guide cover for March 29, 1969 featuring Tony Franciosa as he appeared in "The Name of the Game." (A copy of their scan is attached.) From: dghprobe3@aol.com Date: Tue May 8, 2001 10:27 pm Subject: more on Columbia Ranch sets Previous posts have discussed Columbia Ranch, and that portion of it which contains the neighborhood of house facades used for Anne Francis' house in the SEARCH episode "Countdown to Panic." http://groups.yahoo.com/group/probe_control/message/496 I've found another webpage which gives information and photos on other aspects of Columbia (now known as Warner Bros.) Ranch. Some of the "New York" sets look similar to some of the filmclips we have posted from "The Bullet." http://probecontrol.com/Episodes/bullet.html Judy Burns mentioned a while back that scenes in her episode "The Bullet" were filmed there. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/probe_control/message/262 This new Columbia Ranch page is at: http://employees.oxy.edu/jerry/colranch.htm Thanks to everyone and take care. Don Harden From: bryankd@mac.com Date: Wed May 9, 2001 3:07 pm Subject: New photos available. I have posted new photo's that Don Harden has finished scanning to the website. www.probecontrol.com Click on the episodes link, then there are 2 more finished links. Live Men, and Various. Both contain new photos. Thanks, Bryan From: dghprobe3@aol.com Date: Thu May 10, 2001 12:58 am Subject: Re: New photos available. Many thanks to Bryan Durk for posting the latest SEARCH filmclip slide scans to probecontrol.com :-) "Live Men Tell Tales" is one of the episodes we do NOT have on video, so folks who want a preview of this episode, check this link: http://probecontrol.com/Episodes/livemen1.html The images are arranged roughly in order of appearance, as per the audiotape I have and what I remembered from watching the episode back in 1973! (Whoever wants an audio CD of this episode, please contact me at dghprobe3@aol.com) Actingman's post of the "Live Men" script is at: http://probecontrol.com/Scripts/Live%20Men.txt These filmclips are from the actual 35mm film that ran through the cameras as they filmed the show back in 1972-73. We got them from a company called Lincoln Enterprises, which was started by Star Trek producer Gene Roddenberry and is still being run by his wife, Majel Barrett. Unfortunately, they no longer sell SEARCH related material. Newly scanned supplemental images, including Grover scenes are at: http://probecontrol.com/Episodes/various1.html I'd be interested in hearing reactions from the members of the mailing list. Thanks and take care. Don Harden From: actingman@iname.com Date: Thu May 10, 2001 11:25 am Subject: Reposting of Mike Okuda's logo I reposted to the files section the Search Logo in Freehand 9 by Mike Okuda. Looks like it's working now. Of course I need to figure out how to read the file now. Hmmmmmm... Anyway, if any of the other files are not working, send them to me and I will repost them to the site. John From: dmanmetz@aol.com Date: Thu May 10, 2001 1:05 pm Subject: Search Sad Triva Greetings Search fans. While looking up the guest stars of Search on IMDB (internation mivie data base), I came across some sad triva of the guest star leading ladies. Brenda Benet who played Carol Lesco in "The Adonis File:" was in real life married to Bill Bixby while they filmed that episode. They later divorced, but tragic inncidents happened to the Bixby's afterwards. Their son died of some kind inffection or rare diease and Brenda Benet committed suicide in 1982 after their son's death. I also saw a story on Bill Bixby on E- The true hollywood story, which went into depth of what actually happened.. Very sad. Capucine, who starred in the first episode, "The Murrow Disappearance" as Silvana Tristano, committed suicide in 1990 by jumping off an 8 story building in Switzerland. Appreantly, she suffered from manic depression and had tryed to committe suicide a number of times. She was close friend to Audrety Hepburn and dated William Holden. She is best remember for starring in the original Pink Panther (1964). Finally, I think I posted this before, Diana Hyland who played Anjanette in "Let us prey" died of cancer in 1977 in the arms of her then boyfriend, John Travolta, while he was filming Saturday Night Fever. She was the original mother on Eight is Enough when her death occured. Well, just thought may be intrested to know the fate of some of the supporting guest stars. Chris From: actingman@iname.com Date: Thu May 10, 2001 4:29 pm Subject: Freehand logo converted to EPS I've posted to the files section a postscript version of Mike's Freehand9 logo. Search title.eps can be read by Paint Shop Pro (and I'm sure Photoshop as well.) Then you can convert it to a file format you can use. I did so and printed it out on the nice color printer at the office. Looks great. Amazing how we have to keep changing the color cartridges here at the office...I can't understand why... From: Date: Fri May 11, 2001 11:17 am Subject: New file uploaded to probe_control Hello, This email message is a notification to let you know that a file has been uploaded to the Files area of the probe_control group. File : /searchvhs.jpg Uploaded by : ataylor@mindspring.com Description : JPEG file for my SEARCH Vhs color cover. Quicker DL You can access this file at the URL http://groups.yahoo.com/group/probe_control/files/searchvhs.jpg To learn more about file sharing for your group, please visit http://help.yahoo.com/help/us/groups/files Regards, ataylor@mindspring.com From: "Chiang Kaishecky Rabinowitz" Date: Fri May 11, 2001 11:23 am Subject: VHS cover Hi All- I posted the final generic SEARCH VHS cover as a jpg, and tried to post a higher resolution version as a .pdf Acrobat file, but it was apprently too large a file for Yahoo. Hope you all enjoy this! Bryan, contact me again re: upcoming print run, I lost your message. Thanks Anthony From: dghprobe3@aol.com Date: Fri May 11, 2001 5:05 pm Subject: Re: VHS cover Anthony: Wow! What a terrific and colorful design for our SEARCH tapes! :-) Really nice work. I was glad to see you were able to work in some of Chris Metz's suggested text, along with mine and some of your own. I like the way the text flows. Your photo choices were interesting--you cleverly keyed in on shots of the Probe agents actually making use of the scanner. On getting this file printed, if you use your desktop printer, you will use a lot of black ink quickly. Best best would be to take the file to a printer who has a computer, have them make one clear laser print of it. Then make color xeroxes of that. This way you save wear and tear on everyone's printers. (Does anyone else have other printing suggestions?) Instead of just handwriting the names of the episode titles on the side of the box design, you can use one of the SEARCH fonts we have posted in the Files section and print out your episode titles and paste it in the areas indicated on the side of the graphic. Be sure to use a point size which will fit in the area without going over. This box design should fit easily into those snapable clamshell-like slipcases which are generally used by video rental places. The actual size of the printed design should be 7 and 3/4 inches tall by 10 and 1/8 inches wide. Actually the width could be a touch more or less depending on the design of the slipcover you are using. Trim to the edge of the graphic and then slide it under the slipcover. Don Harden ========================================================== --- In probe_control@y..., "Chiang Kaishecky Rabinowitz" wrote: > Hi All- > I posted the final generic SEARCH VHS cover as a jpg... From: richard.rutherford@chch.ox.ac.uk Date: Sun May 13, 2001 8:07 am Subject: development of Search-- a few thoughts I've been reading the messages on this list with great interest since joining, and have a few thoughts to throw in about the recurring topic of the development of `Search' in its later period, esp. the switch from the style of the first 15 episodes to the last 8. One striking thing about the final 8 is that Lockwood only figures in one of them (Grover has 3, Bianco 4). This seems odd when O'Brian was so clearly the star of the show--in the pilot, in the first 3 episodes filmed, in the ViewMaster etc. Anybody got any facts/theories about this? Did O'Brian want out, did he suspect the series was going downhill? Somebody on this list mentioned that he had some financial involvement with the show-- how do we know that, and could that be connected? People have already said a lot about the more cops-chase-gangsters feel of the later episodes, and the way in which the technology and the role of Control took a back seat. The paring down of the Control team also went alongside a reduction in their personalities, I think: Cameron is still himself, but Miss James and Harris are much more sedate and deferential operatives than the original team: can anyone name a single occasion when either of these cracks a joke over the air with one of the agents? The other thing I'm struck by is the reduction in the last group of episodes of the romantic element. The `Probe' pilot set the tone in its final scene, with L ignoring Control's requirements and heading off to the sun with the girl of the moment: what my wife calls the `Probe out of control' sequence. This was repeated in at least 5 of the subsequent episodes (I'm not sure about `Short Circuit', which I never saw), and was becoming a cliché. Even where that wasn't used, there tends to be a girl along for the ride (Hart in `Adonis', Zura warming to Grover in `Packagers'). Sometimes there were neat variations: in `Flight to Nowhere' the girlfriend turns out to be the villain, in `Honeymoon' Grover is under arrest at the end and it's Cam who goes off with the girl for the evening, and in `Let us Prey' Bianco could have gone off with AnnJeanette at the end but rejects her. What's surprising in the final eight is how few involve any romantic interest at all. In `Numbered for death' Grover gets as far as suggesting to Hauser that they have dinner that night, but previously there's been no flirtation, strictly business. In `Goddess of destruction' it looks as though he's going to do some comforting of the disillusioned fiancee, but there's nothing very emphatic about it. In `Moment of Madness' he's well on course with the `Grover baby' groupie, but drops that as soon as he knows Cam is in trouble; and there's no sign of anything much getting going with Ginny, Cameron's niece. It does look as though there was actually some kind of studio decision to minimise the Bond-style `Probe agent as sex god' routine which was more typical of the earlier episodes. In view of this, it's natural that they also dropped the cheeky or off-the-record comments by the female operatives at Control. I don't think it's enough to say that the later plots didn't admit so much romancing, when there's such a dramatic change. It seems to go with the more hard-edged, syndicate and other mobsters type plots. Probably some modification was desirable (as I say, the scenes with the Probe heading off to spend money with Cameron helplessly expostulating were becoming too frequent), but they went too far, unfortunately. The notion that the agent was a smooth operator in the high life as well as in espionage was part of the real appeal of the series. Completely different topic: has everybody seen Robert Wise's film of The Andromeda Strain (1971), based on the M Crichton novel? I taped it when it last re-ran here and was very struck on watching it by how similar the title graphics and effects were to those of `Probe' next year: not computer-typeface, but the same device of key terms gliding across the screen, receding or approaching: not the title but `Secret', `Classified', `Scoop Mission Control', plus various official looking printouts, circuit diagrams, etc. I checked the credits and sure enough the titles and opticals in both films are by the strangely named Attila George de Lado. The style is very closely similar, though no doubt also partly of its period. Does anyone know of other play-ins done by him that we could compare? (Otherwise, of course, the film has quite a strong high-tech presence but not much that's comparable to `Probe': various screen printout effects are similar, and the scene in which Dr Stone is being flown to the danger zone in a big jet on which he's the only passenger anticipates the 747 in `Moonrock' but is more probably indebted to the space shuttle transporting Dr Floyd to the moon in `2001'. But it's not bad as a techno-thriller, though rather slow-moving.) I'll be interested to see if anyone has any reactions to these points. Apologies if they're all well-known already. Richard From: dmanmetz@aol.com Date: Sun May 13, 2001 9:26 am Subject: Re: [probe_control] development of Search-- a few thoughts Hi Richard, nice write up and observation of the series. I just wanted to fill in the blanks for some of your questions: - A NOV 25, 1972 TV Guide with Search on the cover has a Hugh O'Brian article were it points out that he was enjoying doing Search and that he was part owner in of the series. In the 700 some plus messages, I recall someone posting the interview. - I posted an LA Herald Examiner article with Hugh O''Brian. In the article he states or hints why the change of series occurs. This can be found on Message 534 - 538. - Hugh O'Brian only appeared in 1 of the last 8 episodes because just about all of his shows were shot first and shown in the first part (1972) of the season. Only one of his episodes have the white brick Probe Control room (Countdown to Panic). During the first part of the season (1972) Only 2 of McClure's episodes were shown and 3 of Tony Franciosa's. For second half of the season (1973) The majority of shows left to air were Bianco and Grover episodes. For what every reason, NBC ended the season and series with 2 holdover shows. The last 2 shows were outstanding episodes, Lockwood's "Suffer my Child" which was suppose to air on Dec 12, 1972, but didn't show up until Mar 28, 1973. The last original episode was the above average Grover episode "The Packagers". The tip off that these are holdover episodes is the Black/ Red Probe Control Room and Computers squares that go across the screen. There is OCT 17 message posted by Don Harden that list the squence in which the episodes were aired. Hope this answers some of your questions. Chris From: "Kenneth Carroll" Date: Sun May 13, 2001 11:58 am Subject: Re: [probe_control] VHS cover This is great! Thanks a bunch! I'm going to try a photographic quality color cartridge in my old outdated hp printer, if I'm not satisfied with that result, I may put it on disc and take it to someone who has a laser printer as suggested or even Kinko's copies and run some nice ones that way. It's been really nice seeing the series again. I must have only seen a couple of eps as a kid, there's only a couple I remember seeing out of this first batch I got. Short Circuit was a fave of mine back in 72 and still is now! I loved the Bianco ep Operation Iceman. The multiple Probe agents part of the plot made this one very interesting. Numbered For Death is an interesting story, though I don't like the white brick control room or the techs as much as the earlier eps, I have to admit the differences make it all the more interesting in seeing these shows! Thanks Jim again! Me and my family are enjoying these, I consider the quality as good as can be expected for the time frame these came from. I have no trouble looking at these! There are people out there who will charge unbelievable amounts of cash for absolutely horrible hard to watch video. I have a gut feeling that we are on the verge of getting perfect quality video soon. It's great to see all the interest from everyone on the list and our newbies! Keep Searchin'! Ken From: dghprobe3@aol.com Date: Sun May 13, 2001 11:33 pm Subject: development of Search (+ article links) Howdy, just wanted to add a little to this thread. As Chris mentioned, the two final first-run NBC SEARCH episodes were postponed from an earlier date. What's interesting, though, as you look through the list of NBC airdates is that the network was careful to group the last eight episodes together as much as possible, even in the reruns. "Suffer" and "Packagers" seem to have been grouped to lead in to the repeats of the earlier episodes, instead of mixing them up with the newer white brick Probe set shows. However, since there were more Lockwood shows in the first group, that formula didn't work too well as they went with "Adonis File" as one of the last repeats. The NBC airdate list is at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/probe_control/message/293 In my post of the 1975 Tony Franciosa interview, he mentioned that he was contracted to do eight shows. O'Brian did eight and McClure did seven, which adds up to 23. Early press articles on SEARCH say O'Brian was supposed to be in the series more than the other two, but it turned out that the shows were divided fairly evenly. Also, if Franciosa signed to do eight shows from the outset, does that mean that SEARCH was always intended to run for a full season? Obviously this is the sort of info we hope to nail down as we hear from some of the behind the scenes people. For the 1975 Franciosa interview: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/probe_control/message/77 For the 11-25-72 TV Guide article on Hugh O'Brian & Search: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/probe_control/message/245 For the first page of the '72 Herald Examiner (O'Brian) article: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/probe_control/message/534 Don H. ------------------------------------------------- --- In probe_control@y..., dmanmetz@a... wrote: <<<...For what every reason, NBC ended the season and series with 2 > holdover shows. The last 2 shows were outstanding episodes, Lockwood's > "Suffer my Child" which was suppose to air on Dec 12, 1972, but didn't show > up until Mar 28, 1973. The last original episode was the above average > Grover episode "The Packagers"...>>> From: A Taylor Date: Mon May 14, 2001 6:18 pm Subject: Re: [probe_control] Digest Number 199 Hi gang- Thanks for the positive feedbackon the VHS cover. Jim pointed out to me that I had mispelled Obie's last name under his picture, so I have corrected that and uploaded it again, in case any of you wants to get the corrected version. Anthony Taylor From: dghprobe3@aol.com Date: Thu May 17, 2001 12:05 am Subject: Wireless minicams & Scanner replicas? Hi folks: Well, it's not quite the SEARCH scanner, but it is interesting and approaches the ballpark. Check out the wireless color mini video cameras at: http://x10.com/ I have seen some mini cameras in the past, but those were usually black & white with a wire running from them, or built into a clock or picture frame. Does anyone out there already have one of these? I'd like to know a bit more about the overall picture quality and reliability, etc. before purchasing one. Which raises the question that certainly there should be other competing manufacturers making similar items. One could possibly make their own "working" replica of the "Probe Scanner." Anyone have any ideas or sources? Don H. From: richard.rutherford@chch.ox.ac.uk Date: Thu May 17, 2001 5:49 am Subject: jump the shark Following up comments in message 442 and 448 on www.jumptheshark.com, which I found today independently. There is now a proper entry for `Search', and it's not bad—praises the style and the foresightedness of the show (maybe the wording is supplied by somebody in our group?). Doesn't tell us anything much we don't know, of course, but there is a statement I haven't seen elsewhere that Burgess Meredith found the role of Cameron boring; he is quoted as telling the AP [who they?] that he was `phoning it in'. Distressing if true! But as they say, he didn't show it. I did once look at a biography of BM and was annoyed to find no reference in it to Probe or Search. You'd have thought the connection with John Gielgud at least would have caught the biographer's eye. `Jump the shark' also says that copies of episodes are now available only through `underground traders.' So that's what we are! Richard From: dmanmetz@aol.com Date: Thu May 17, 2001 7:29 am Subject: Re: [probe_control] jump the shark To answer Rich's question about Jump the Shark. I confess, I wrote the first entry and I think Don or Jim wrote the second entry. We posted our entries to generate discussion and make others aware of the show who may or may not help us in our quest to get all the episodes and fill in the blanks. I have no clue who wrote the third entry. Many people remember Search as Probe because that was the name of the Pilot movie and was suppose to be the name of the series, but was changed to Probe3 and then to Search. Also there was a 1988 short lived TV show called Probe starring Parker Stevens (Hardy Boys fame), if you look under that entry for Jump the Shark, sombody wrote about Search in that entry because they remembered it as Probe. Also look under Name of the Game in Jump the Shark and you will see several Search reference for that write up. Hope this answers some of your questions. Chris From: actingman@iname.com Date: Thu May 17, 2001 9:50 am Subject: Re: [probe_control] jump the shark Jump The Shark also has an email group here on Yahoo. I just wrote them a message that I suspect will make people angry. Someone there wrote a long message about why it takes so long for postings to go up on the site. The poster included such things as the popularity of the site, the fact that they are building a second site dedicated to music jumping the shark, and that they might be as much as two months behind in their postings. I wrote back that my postings were at least four months ago, and that if they can't keep up with one site, they shouldn't be attempting a second site they won't be able to keep up with. I also named two of the shows I posted on were ones that don't get many submissions, so it's not like mine are getting lost in a pile of messages on some current pop show. Finally I pointed out the folly of defending them when they've got a backlog of messages going back at least four months, and yet their home page is boasting of new shows added to their list. I'm mentioning this because if anything stupid or wrong were posted on Search...we might not be able to correct it. Or at least it seems I can't. I will be interested if anybody here tries posting to the Shark web site and it actually goes up. At 07:29 AM 5/17/01 -0400, you wrote: > To answer Rich's question about Jump the Shark. I confess, I wrote > the first entry and I think Don or Jim wrote the second entry. We posted > our entries to generate discussion and make others aware of the show who > may or may not help us in our quest to get all the episodes and fill in > the blanks. I have no clue who wrote the third entry. Many people > remember Search as Probe because that was the name of the Pilot movie and > was suppose to be the name of the series, but was changed to Probe3 and > then to Search. Also there was a 1988 short lived TV show called Probe > starring Parker Stevens (Hardy Boys fame), if you look under that entry > for Jump the Shark, sombody wrote about Search in that entry because they > remembered it as Probe. Also look under Name of the Game in Jump the > Shark and you will see several Search reference for that write up. Hope > this answers some of your questions. > > >Chris From: dghprobe3@aol.com Date: Thu May 17, 2001 12:57 pm Subject: Jumping Sharks and such Hi folks: I've been following the comments about the Jump the Shark site. I don't know if it's really fair to say that SEARCH went exactly downhill at any point. The cynical Cleveland Amorys out there would say that the entire series jumped the shark from the get-go, but that's an obvious extreme. Everyone points to those last eight episodes, and I agree that the shows got less humorous and the Probe set was less cool. But there were some good shows among those eight. One of our episode polls rates "Numbered for Death" and "Moment of Madness" above the earlier episodes. However, I have never posted anything to the Jump the Shark site. If Chris posted the first one, it would be interesting to know who posted the other two. I would never say "BC" Cameron when it was always "V.C." or "V.C.R." One complaint I have with Jump the Shark is that there is no way to post a link to probecontrol.com or this mailing list so folks can get further and more accurate info. Maybe someone can make a new post and slip a reference in there. Another complaint is that a lot of people post either wierd or inaccurate things or they tend to confuse about five different shows and lump them all together. Another thing about it is that they are in over their heads, as has been mentioned by John (Actingman). When SEARCH premiered, the only thing folks could compare it to was "The Man From UNCLE." But I found "UNCLE" rather fluffy and tongue-in-cheek campy compared to SEARCH. "UNCLE" was more of a spoof of James Bond. SEARCH, while it had its fun moments, had a more serious tone to it. A better comparison would be to call SEARCH a sort of high-tech "Name of the Game." For folks who want to check it out: http://www.jumptheshark.com/ Don H. From: "Kenneth Carroll" Date: Thu May 17, 2001 5:22 pm Subject: Re: [probe_control] jump the shark Hi folks, just for those of you who don't know what "Jump the Shark" is: the web site basically lists TV shows and the people who log onto the site have the opportunity to talk about a certain show and when they think it "jumped the shark". The frame of reference for this idiom is a "Happy Days" episode where Fonzie water-ski jumped a shark. A lot of folk felt that was the beginning of the end for that show. I first learned about this in TV Guide, then while I was on a list for the show "UFO" the subject came up and I remember one list member typing "What the heck is 'Jump the Shark'?" I found the little glib about Burgess not liking Search surprising and disturbing. By the way he handled his role I figured he loved it. I can't imagine Search without him. Ken From: "Bob Greenberger" Date: Thu May 17, 2001 9:05 pm Subject: Re: Meredith as Cameron As the one who posted the item in question, let me tell you that the Associated Press story ran back during the show's run. Read it in the late, lamented Long Island Press. being such a big fan of the series at the time, I was crushed to see how unhappy he was. There's little doubt he was a consummate professional but his unhappiness certainly explains the series' absence in his autobiography. ----- Original Message ----- From: Kenneth Carroll To: probe_control@yahoogroups.com Sent: Thursday, May 17, 2001 5:22 PM Subject: Re: [probe_control] jump the shark Hi folks, just for those of you who don't know what "Jump the Shark" is: the web site basically lists TV shows and the people who log onto the site have the opportunity to talk about a certain show and when they think it "jumped the shark". The frame of reference for this idiom is a "Happy Days" episode where Fonzie water-ski jumped a shark. A lot of folk felt that was the beginning of the end for that show. I first learned about this in TV Guide, then while I was on a list for the show "UFO" the subject came up and I remember one list member typing "What the heck is 'Jump the Shark'?" I found the little glib about Burgess not liking Search surprising and disturbing. By the way he handled his role I figured he loved it. I can't imagine Search without him. Ken From: richard.rutherford@chch.ox.ac.uk Date: Fri May 18, 2001 12:18 pm Subject: Re: Meredith as Cameron Thanks for clarifying the source of this statement, Bob. As you imply, I think it must be Meredith's autobiog I was remembering. It was called 'So far, so good' and there are some reviews on Amazon.com. They don't seem to list a biography--it seems surprising if there really hasn't been one. I suppose we can see that compared with the action scenes and varied settings available to the agents in the field there was less scope for Meredith's talents in the static role of Cameron (excepting of course 'Moment of Madness'). But he played the role superbly and evidently must have underrated his own performance. Even as a boy it wasn't Lockwood I identified with, but the sceptical and often wittily ironic figure at the centre of that technological powerhouse. Richard R. --- In probe_control@y..., "Bob Greenberger" wrote: > As the one who posted the item in question, let me tell you that the Associated Press story ran back during the show's run. Read it in the late, lamented Long Island Press. being such a big fan of the series at the time, I was crushed to see how unhappy he was. > > There's little doubt he was a consummate professional but his unhappiness certainly explains the series' absence in his autobiography. From: actingman@iname.com Date: Fri May 18, 2001 2:13 pm Subject: Search bio of Hugh O'Brian Here's the background: Lincoln Enterprises sold copies of the bio/press releases that Warner Brothers issued on the actors and the show itself. I purchased the bio on the show itself, and have posted to the web site http://probecontrol.com/WBPressRelease.html , and may have posted here as well...I don't remember. Don bought all of the bios way back when and was kind enough to photocopy them for me. I agreed to type them up and post them, and here's the first. I've tried to keep the usage, spelling and hypenations the same as from the copy...although the facts are the important thing here. NEWS FROM WARNER BROS. TELEVISION Biography of HUGH O'BRIAN Hugh O'Brian returned to series television for the 1972-73 season, following an absence of more than a decade. During that period, the actor refused more than 50 TV series; it wasn't until offered the starring role in the "Search" (re-titled from "Probe") series, that O'Brian was provoked to re-enter the TV series scene. When O'Brian signed for the original two-hour pilot, he felt it was the first projected series that was fresh enough in approach to hold his interest and enjoyable enough to harness up again for long-term appearances. Too, he would not have to appear in each "Search" episode as "Probe Number One." These are Leslie Stevens Productions-Warner Bros. Television one-hour segments for NBC. As such, O'Brian stars in half the series, with Tony Francisoa and Doug McClure appearing as stars of alternate episodes throughout the season. With such latitude, O'Brian can also fulfill other commitments, such as films and his first love, the theatre. To O'Brian, variety is the spice of life, which makes him a diversified man. He feels it is important to work in the other fields of show business, as well as having time to devote to his many philanthropic interests. Born in Rochester, New York, O'Brian's introduction to diversification came early through his family's subsequent moves to Chicago; Lancaster, Pennsylvania; Garden City, Long Island and Wilmette, Illinois. He attended school in Winnetka, Illinois; Aledo, Illinois; and Booneville, Mississippi. In high school, his sports activities were diversified among football, basketball, wrestling and track, winning letters in all four sports. Another indication of O'Brian's omnipresent interest in diversification comes in investments of monies he's earned: he's in stocks and bonds, real estate, bowling alleys, a building equipment firm, a theatre-in-the-round, an oil syndicate and his own TV production company for which he plans to produce TV series and specials. After a semester at the University of Cincinnati, with studies planned toward a law career, O'Brian at 18, enlisted in the Marine Corps. He became the youngest drill instructor in the Corps' history and, during his four year service, won a coveted Fleet appointment to Annapolis. He refused the appointment, intending to enroll at Yale in pre-law. Upon discharge from the Corps, O'Brian came to Los Angeles where he planned to earn money for his tuition. As seems to happen too often to O'Brian for it to be coincidence - he met a group of girls, two of them interested in film careers - Ruth Roman and Linda Christian, which led him to a little theatre group. When a leading man became ill, O'Brian agreed to substitute. Originally, he felt the experience might be helpful in his legal career; he got such good reviews in Somerset Maugham's play "Home and Beauty," however, that he decided momentarily to by-pass Yale. He became a resident member of a Santa Barbara stock company. Opting to resume his formal education, O'Brian enrolled at L.A. City College. He worked at a variety of jobs, including some local, live TV shows. While selling shirts and ties in a Beverly Hills office building, he attracted the attention of agent Milo Frank. Frank took him to Ida Lupino, who set him to portray a polio victim in "Young Lovers." This brought him a long-term contract with Universal - where he appeared in 18 films in three years. Feeling that he was not progressing and being used only as a utility actor, he left Universal in March, 1954, to free-lance. He guest-starred in numerous TV shows and in such films as "Broken Lance," "No Business Like Show Business" and "White Feather." Then came the big step forward in his career with his signing to portray "Wyatt Earp" on TV. Shortly after the series debuted, it became a top-rated show and O'Brian a much discussed talent. During the annual six-month hiatus of the "Earp" series, O'Brian diversified; he did singing appearances on the Ed Sullivan, Dinah shore and Jackie Gleason shows; he recorded an album of popular songs; he appeared on-stage on Broadway, in winter and summer stock. Interest provoked in good citizenry after a 1959 visit to the late Dr. Albert Schweitzer, O'Brian founded the Hugh O'Brian Youth Foundation. Its purpose is accenting the positive side of American's teenagers. Young men, 14 to 15 years of age, sophomores in high school are eligible. The final selections are made by NASSP. (National Association of Secondary School Principals) and the NASC (National Association of Student Councils). The final selections include one youth from each state and ten foreign countries and ten from minority groups. The boys are chosen for their sense of purpose and understanding of their responsibilities as future leaders. The annual week-long seminars are held at a place of political or scientific interest, most recently at Cape Kennedy. O'Brian was awarded one of the space community's highest honors, the 1972 Freedom Award, sponsored by the National Space Club in association with NASA. He received the Award for a variety of space orientated projects, including the Youth Foundation seminars at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. His "Hugh O'Brian Acting Awards Competition" was established in 1964 at UCLA. Cash awards totaling $1,800 annually go to the best actor and actress and the best supporting player in the Theatre Arts Department as judged by a panel comprising faculty members and film industry leaders. These awards, like the Youth Foundation, have been endorsed in perpetuity by Mr. O'Brian's will. O'Brian also was one of the founders and first and second President of "The Thalians," a charitable organization which yearly raises hundreds of thousands of dollars to aid mentally disturbed children. As California's chairman of fund-raising for the American Cancer Society, he once raised more than $4,100,000 in a six-week intensified campaign. He has been the National Chairman for the National Cystic Fibrosis Research Foundation since 1969. Space does not permit a listing of all O'Brian's charitable efforts, nor would his modesty allow it. It should be noted that he was one of the first celebrities to do a frontline tour of Vietnam in 1965 at the State Department's request. He also donated his services in 1967 in organizing, staging and directing a touring company of "Guys and Dolls" for the U.S.O. He portrayed Sky Masterson in the show which toured Vietnam, Thailand and Japan for five weeks, doing three and four shows daily for the troops. President Johnson invited O'Brian to the White House to report on his Vietnam experiences, and to participate in the President's "Salute to Congress." He did a dramatic reading of Thomas Wolfe's "Burning in the Night," before an audience of the First Couple, the Cabinet, the Supreme Court and the 82nd Congress. O'Brian's Broadway debut came in 1960 as Andy Griffith's replacement in "Destry Rides Again." The following year, he did "First Love," directed by Alfred Lunt and later, starred as Sky Masterson in "Guys and Dolls" at City Center. To satisfy his thirst for the legitimate theatre, the actor has toured in summer and winter stock in such hit plays as "Cactus Flower," "The Rainmaker," "Hamlet," "Heaven Can Wait," "Mr. Roberts," "The Tender Trap," "Mourning Becomes Electra," "Two For the Seesaw," and "Picnic." Early in 1972, O'Brian starred in "A Thousand Clowns," in Chicago, for eight weeks. His 1972 filming schedule on "Probe," was arranged so that he could fulfill a four-week summer stock engagement in "1776." O'Brian tries to do one play each year. O'Brian, a bachelor, lives in a sprawling hilltop home over-looking Beverly Hills with his two dogs, Brut, a white German Shepherd, and Panda, a small spaniel of questionable lineage. Diverse as ever, his sports activities now include sailing, skin-diving, swimming, parachute jumping, tennis and long-distance bicycling. VITAL STATISTICS Birthplace: Rochester, New York Eyes: Brown Birthdate: April 19 Hair: Brown Height: 6' Status: Single Weight: 175 lbs. From: actingman@iname.com Date: Fri May 18, 2001 3:38 pm Subject: Tony Franciosa bio from Warner Brothers from 29 years ago NEWS FROM WARNER BROS. TELEVISION BIOGRAPHY OF TONY FRANCIOSA Fourteen years ago Tony Franciosa said: "I'll never make a TV series." Franciosa since has had reason to regret the statement; TV's been quite good to him. There's too little space to report all his TV commitments in the past 14 years, but there was the "Valentine's Day" series and "Name of the Game," both highly successful. More recently, he did a two-hour film, "Earth II," plus another titled "The Catcher." He's recently completed an independent film, "Across 110th Street," with Tony Quinn in New York. Admittedly, film is his favorite medium but, as he says, "I do TV for the bread. I've a lotta family to support." So, he's back in TV again, this time starring in the "Search" (formerly "Probe") series, a Leslie Stevens Productions-Warner Bros. Television one-hour series for NBC. Hugh O;Brian and Doug McClure also star in "Search," with guest stars added. His character name for the series is Nick Bianco. Of the Bianco character he created, executive producer Leslie Stevens notes: "A razor-sharp character, he is a smooth, funny 'street specialist.' He knows every gang, bookie, pool hustler, mobster, consigliere, cop, commissioner, FBI, CIA, DFI agent - he is an encyclopedia of the underworld... Placed in fish-out-water situations, he is able to dazzle the Lady Dean of a wealthy Girls' School or even a Jackie Kennedy..." For an interested researcher, there's much corroborative evidence Franciosa closely resembles the summation. Tony Franciosa grew up in New York's East Harlem. He drifted into acting when he accompanied a friend to an audition at the YWCA (to meet the girls) and was handed a role. He quickly became comfortable in the theatre. Taking his mother's name, Franciosa, he won a four-year scholarship to the Dramatic Workshop and appeared in several off-Broadway plays. In November, 1955, he hit big time on Broadway with "A Hatful of Rain," winning the New York Critics' Award for best actor in a supporting role. Later, repeating the role in films, he won an Oscar nomination. Among Franciosa's other major films are "A Face in the Crowd," "The Long Hot Summer," "Wild is the Wind," "Career," "Period of Adjustment," "In Enemy Country," "A Man Called Gannon" and "The Sweet Ride." He also starred in "World Premiere: "Fame Is The Name Of The Game," from whence came the TV series. Formally, Francisoa's education ended at New York's Benjamin Franklin High School. Following his YWCA dramatic debut, he went into experimental theatre, Dramatic Workshop training, and New York Repertory Theatre, performing in "Hamlet," "Taming of the Shrew, "Six Characters in Search Of An Author" and "Yes Is For A Very Young Man." Broadway first saw him in a supporting role in "End As A Man," followed by "The Wedding Breakfast" - and then came "A Hatful of Rain." His film career soared rocket-like. Capsulated, it looks easy, but it wasn't; he knew days of gut-hunger and several scrapes with the law are a matter of court record. Of course, he's also a volatile man, as are most Latins. Franciosa's marital record - he's now in his fourth - would give a priest fits. Currently, he's married to former top model Rita Thiel. They have two sons, Christopher, 3, Marco, 1. (He has a daughter, Nina, 9, by ex-wife Judith Balaban.) They live in a secluded area named Hidden Valley off the Coldwater Canyon section north of Beverly Hills. He swims daily in his pool and plays tennis on public courts as often as possible. He reads quite a bit, both submitted scripts, fiction and non-fiction and, except on-screen, dresses casually and has a "modest" wardrobe. He indulges a hobby of photography, mostly of the children, but doesn't do his own lab work. He writes poetry, "but not for anyone to see. Well, maybe Rita sees some of it." He has no idea how he'd go about making a living if it weren't for acting. VITAL STATISTICS Birthplace: New York City Birthdate: October 25 Height: 6' 1" Weight: 175 lbs. Color of Eyes: Hazel Color of Hair: Brown From: actingman@iname.com Date: Fri May 18, 2001 4:59 pm Subject: Doug McClure Warner Bros Search bio...including their typos NEWS FROM WARNER BROS. TELEVISION DOUG MC CLURE BIOGRAPHY If Doug McClure weren't an actor, he'd doubtless be riding the rodeo ciruit. This fact is reflected in that he owns four horses - an Arabian, a thoroughbred and two quarter-horses - plus the physical shape the man's in: at six feet, two inches and 190 pounds, his belt size is a compact 32 inches. He does, however, make his living at acting almost constantly. Currently, he's starring before the cameras in the Leslie Stevens Productions - Warner Bros. Television "Search" series for NBC, along with Hugh O'Brian and Tony Franciosa. The three stars appear on a rotating basis as world-wide investigators operating out of a NASA-type home base against a romantic-adventure backdrop. Sports have ever run a close second to acting in McClure's life. California born, his family moved to Pacific Palisades overlooking the Pacific Ocean when Doug was three. By the time he was eight, he was riding his own horse and body-surfing; later, surfing consumed much of the time he wasn't studying at Santa Monica Jr. College and U.C.L.A. It was while a student at U.C.L.A. that McClure began a career in TV commercials; it was the result of being seen in one of them that he was selected for a role in a TV production, "Man of Annapolis" and, through the years, advanced to his current prominence in the field of both films and TV. Unquestionably, McClure's proximity to sport led to the kind of outdoor-adventure series from which fame and fortune has come to him. His series debut came with the late William Bendix in a year's series of "Overland Trail." This was followed by two years "Checkmate," and a total of nine years in "The Virginian." In all, he spent a total of 14 years working at Universal Studios; even today, headed to work, he sometimes absent-mindedly takes the Studio City turnoff from the freeway. Along with these years in TV, McClure also managed to appear in features. He was in "Shenandoah," "The King's Pirate," "Beau Geste," "The Enemy Below," "The Unforgiven," and others. He admits he'd rather do feature films than TV, but TV keeps offering and he keeps accepting - "for the money. Nine years of "The Virginian' took a lot out of me," he says. "We filmed a 90-minute show in each seven working days. I don't know how we did it. Certainly, we had no time for anything else. It's not natural to work like that day-in and day-out; I saw nothing but the Universal backlot." Actually, he did see some rodeo activity. Whenever possible, he did the circuit with his specialties, calf-roping team-roping and bareback riding. Today, that kind of participation is an ex-luxury; "when a close friend of mine lost a finger while roping, I sorta lost interest," he says, while also admitting time has taken a toll, too. Today, his sport is confined almost solely to tennis, with some hiking added. He plays tennis "with anyone who'll play," and in July (1972), with Jack Banker as partner, won the doubles championship in the Pebble Beach Celebrity Tournament. He will do some surfing for his starring role in "SEARCH," but, until recently, hadn't surfed for more than yen years. "It's not like bicycle riding, something you never forget. You remember the technique, but the conditioning's gone. It'll take some doing to get that back," McClure said. Now married to a girl named Diane who's never been connected with show business, McClure is father of two daughters, Tane (pronounced "Tawny"), 14 years old, and Valerie, 15 months. (Tane is the daughter of an earlier marriage, lives with the McClures.) When he's in the Hollywood area working, the McClure's live on a small Encino ranch, shared with two horses, a thoroughbred and a one-quarter horse. When he can get away, he moves the family to a home on the beautiful 17-mile drive, scenic area of Monterey Peninsula near the Pebble Beach golf course. There, he keeps an Arabian horse, "largely for Tane to ride." The famed Pebble Beach golf course doesn't challenge him; "I don't play golf. TV actors don't have the time to perfect the game." Summing up his career, McClure says humbly, "I'm fortunate to keep working so busily." VITAL STATISTICS: BIRTHPLACE: Glendale, Calif. BIRTHDATE: May 11 HEIGHT: 6' 2" WEIGHT: 180 lbs COLOR OF EYES: Blue COLOR OF HAIR: Sandy From: actingman@iname.com Date: Fri May 18, 2001 5:42 pm Subject: Burgess Meredith Warner Bros. Search bio NEWS FROM WARNER BROS. TELEVISION BIOGRAPHY OF BURGESS MEREDITH In a career spanning nearly four decades, Burgess Meredith has run a lengthy course in various roles - actor, director, producer, writer in the legitimate theatre, motion pictures, TV and radio. He's conducted symphony orchestras, narrated films and TV commercials. He's at it as actively as ever today essaying his current and continuing guest-star role in the "Search" (formerly "Probe") series. His role is that of Probe Control director, V.C.R. Cameron, in the Leslie Stevens Production-Warner Bros. Television one-hour episodes for NBC. Hugh O'Brian, Tony Franciosa and Doug McClure star in the season's series, with various guest-stars added. Meredith was born in Cleveland, Ohio, the youngest of three children of Dr. William George Meredith. His early education was in Ohio schools and prep school at Hoosick Falls, N.Y. He showed an early interest in acting via school plays and, at prep school, edited his school paper. He entered Amherst in 1926 as an English major with a scholarship, but was an early drop-out. He worked as a reporter on two separate papers for a total of 10 months, sold haberdashery and then returned to Amherst for a year. Leaving school again, he tried a variety of jobs before deciding to try the stage. Early in 1930, Meredith joined Eva La Gallienne's student repertory group. It was here that he had his first small role as Peter in "Romeo and Juliet" - and did several others. During the summer, he did summer stock. During the summer of 1932, Meredith did the Duck, the Dormouse and Tweedle Dee in "Alice In Wonderland" at the New Amsterdam Theatre, with La Gallienne. He left "Alice" to portray Crooked Finger Jack in "Three Penny Opera," at New York's Empire Theatre. When the "Opera" played Philadelphia, he was offered the lead in "Little Ol' Boy." Commuting between Philadelphia and New York daily, Meredith rehearsed in one town while performing nightly in the other. He opened "Little Ol' Boy" in New York in April, 1933; the play was unsuccessful, but Meredith's performance was said by critics to be best of the year. August, 1934, marked Meredith's radio debut as "Red Davis," appearing twice nightly in addition to other activities in entertainment fields. The program continued for 80 weeks. With Katherine Cornell, he opened in "Barretts of Wimpole Street," February, 1935. He later did "Flowers of the Forest," with Miss Cornell. It is as Mio of "Winterset," a play written for him by Maxwell Anderson, that oldsters fondly recall Meredith's artistry. Drama critics later chose it as "Best Play of the Year," and it was in the film of "Winterset" that he made his motion picture debut. He returned from Hollywood to open in "High Tor," another Maxwell Anderson play written for Meredith. Said Richard Watts, Jr., "That Mr. Meredith is the best young actor on the American stage is generally conceded - as a matter of fact, there is no particular reason why the limiting adjective 'young' should be included...for there isn't a better American actor of any age available." When Meredith did a radio version of "Hamlet" for CBS, his performance was hailed as equal to those of (John) Gielgud, (Leslie) Howard and (John) Barrymore. After another Hollywood film in 1937, titled "There Goes The Groom," Meredith returned to New York to open "The Star Wagon," with Lillian Gish - his third successive Maxwell Anderson play. That spring he toured with it, then returned to Hollywood to film "Spring Madness," then "Idiot's Delight" with Norma Shearer and Clark Gable. Noting the highlights only: In March, 1939, Amherst College awarded him an honorary degree as Master of Arts; same year, a film "Of Mice and Men;" 1941, lead with Ingrid Bergman on the New York stage in "Liliom;" February of 1942 saw Meredith inducted into the army, Rank: private. Army authorities gave him permission in spring of that year to appear as Marchbanks in "Candida," with Katherine Cornell and Raymond Massey - a benefit for the Army & Navy Relief Fund. June of 1942 saw him commissioned a second lieutenant and, in May, he was sent overseas. In November he produced and acted in "Welcome to Britain," for the Office of War Information. He returned to the U.S. in January, 1944. In the fall, he was placed on inactive duty in order to appear as the late Ernie Pyle in "The Story of GI Joe." The film was widely hailed, General Eisenhower declaring it "the best war film" he had ever seen. He returned to active status on completion of filming and was discharged approximately nine months later with a Captain's rank. After his 1945 discharge, Meredith completed "Diary of a chambermaid;" he wrote the screenplay, co-produced and co-starred in the film directed by Jean Renoir. The following year he produced and starred in "A Miracle Can Happen," heading a film production company, Motion Picture Stages, as its president. Space does not permit a continuing list of Meredith's many accomplishments on and in the various mediums of the entertainment world: stage, TV, films, records as both performer and narrator. It may be summed up by saying that beyond his performance in the current "Search" film, Meredith has four others awaiting release dates - he's making 'em faster than they can release 'em. When he can spare time, he likes to spend it with his family at the 70-acre Mount Ivy, N.Y. ranch where he raises jumping horses. He was married in 1950 to former dancer Kaja Sundsten. They have two children: a son, Johnathon, 20, a student at California's University of the Pacific, and Pala, 19, at Franklin College in Switzerland. From: michael beacom Date: Fri May 18, 2001 11:41 pm Subject: Re: [probe_control] Burgess Meredith Warner Bros. Search bio Just wanted to give a much deserved "thank you" to all of you for all of the information -- I haven't had a lot to say on the subject of Search/Probe lately because even though I started loving it as a kid, in this rich environment of information I find that I have a lot more to learn than to talk about so far. So just because some of us are silent in the group, don't think we're not loving it! I can't get enough. Michael B. actingman@iname.com wrote: > NEWS FROM > WARNER BROS. TELEVISION > > BIOGRAPHY > > OF > > BURGESS MEREDITH > > In a career spanning nearly four decades, Burgess Meredith has run a > lengthy course in various roles - actor, director, producer, writer in the > legitimate theatre, motion pictures, TV and radio. He's conducted symphony > orchestras, narrated films and TV commercials. > > He's at it as actively as ever today essaying his current and continuing > guest-star role in the "Search" (formerly "Probe") series. His role is > that of Probe Control director, V.C.R. Cameron, in the Leslie Stevens > Production-Warner Bros. Television one-hour episodes for NBC. Hugh > O'Brian, Tony Franciosa and Doug McClure star in the season's series, with > various guest-stars added. > > Meredith was born in Cleveland, Ohio, the youngest of three children of > Dr. William George Meredith. His early education was in Ohio schools and > prep school at Hoosick Falls, N.Y. He showed an early interest in acting > via school plays and, at prep school, edited his school paper. He entered > Amherst in 1926 as an English major with a scholarship, but was an early > drop-out. He worked as a reporter on two separate papers for a total of 10 > months, sold haberdashery and then returned to Amherst for a year. Leaving > school again, he tried a variety of jobs before deciding to try the stage. > > Early in 1930, Meredith joined Eva La Gallienne's student repertory > group. It was here that he had his first small role as Peter in "Romeo and > Juliet" - and did several others. During the summer, he did summer > stock. During the summer of 1932, Meredith did the Duck, the Dormouse and > Tweedle Dee in "Alice In Wonderland" at the New Amsterdam Theatre, with La > Gallienne. He left "Alice" to portray Crooked Finger Jack in "Three Penny > Opera," at New York's Empire Theatre. When the "Opera" played > Philadelphia, he was offered the lead in "Little Ol' Boy." Commuting > between Philadelphia and New York daily, Meredith rehearsed in one town > while performing nightly in the other. He opened "Little Ol' Boy" in New > York in April, 1933; the play was unsuccessful, but Meredith's performance > was said by critics to be best of the year. > > August, 1934, marked Meredith's radio debut as "Red Davis," appearing > twice nightly in addition to other activities in entertainment fields. The > program continued for 80 weeks. With Katherine Cornell, he opened in > "Barretts of Wimpole Street," February, 1935. He later did "Flowers of the > Forest," with Miss Cornell. > > It is as Mio of "Winterset," a play written for him by Maxwell Anderson, > that oldsters fondly recall Meredith's artistry. Drama critics later chose > it as "Best Play of the Year," and it was in the film of "Winterset" that > he made his motion picture debut. > > He returned from Hollywood to open in "High Tor," another Maxwell Anderson > play written for Meredith. Said Richard Watts, Jr., "That Mr. Meredith is > the best young actor on the American stage is generally conceded - as a > matter of fact, there is no particular reason why the limiting adjective > 'young' should be included...for there isn't a better American actor of any > age available." > > When Meredith did a radio version of "Hamlet" for CBS, his performance was > hailed as equal to those of (John) Gielgud, (Leslie) Howard and (John) > Barrymore. > > After another Hollywood film in 1937, titled "There Goes The Groom," > Meredith returned to New York to open "The Star Wagon," with Lillian Gish - > his third successive Maxwell Anderson play. That spring he toured with it, > then returned to Hollywood to film "Spring Madness," then "Idiot's Delight" > with Norma Shearer and Clark Gable. > > Noting the highlights only: In March, 1939, Amherst College awarded him > an honorary degree as Master of Arts; same year, a film "Of Mice and Men;" > 1941, lead with Ingrid Bergman on the New York stage in "Liliom;" February > of 1942 saw Meredith inducted into the army, Rank: private. > > Army authorities gave him permission in spring of that year to appear as > Marchbanks in "Candida," with Katherine Cornell and Raymond Massey - a > benefit for the Army & Navy Relief Fund. > > June of 1942 saw him commissioned a second lieutenant and, in May, he was > sent overseas. In November he produced and acted in "Welcome to Britain," > for the Office of War Information. He returned to the U.S. in January, > 1944. In the fall, he was placed on inactive duty in order to appear as > the late Ernie Pyle in "The Story of GI Joe." The film was widely hailed, > General Eisenhower declaring it "the best war film" he had ever seen. He > returned to active status on completion of filming and was discharged > approximately nine months later with a Captain's rank. > > After his 1945 discharge, Meredith completed "Diary of a chambermaid;" he > wrote the screenplay, co-produced and co-starred in the film directed by > Jean Renoir. The following year he produced and starred in "A Miracle Can > Happen," heading a film production company, Motion Picture Stages, as its > president. > > Space does not permit a continuing list of Meredith's many accomplishments > on and in the various mediums of the entertainment world: stage, TV, films, > records as both performer and narrator. > > It may be summed up by saying that beyond his performance in the current > "Search" film, Meredith has four others awaiting release dates - he's > making 'em faster than they can release 'em. > > When he can spare time, he likes to spend it with his family at the > 70-acre Mount Ivy, N.Y. ranch where he raises jumping horses. He was > married in 1950 to former dancer Kaja Sundsten. They have two children: a > son, Johnathon, 20, a student at California's University of the Pacific, > and Pala, 19, at Franklin College in Switzerland. From: Marta Dawes Date: Sat May 19, 2001 7:36 am Subject: Land that Time Forgot If anyone is interested, "The Land that Time Forgot" is on AMC on Sunday, May 20, at 9:30pm CDT time. -- Marta "The Graveyards of Omaha" http://members.nbci.com/martadawes "The New Twilight Zone" http://members.nbci.com/newtwilzone Help save the Indian Hills Theatre in Omaha! The Last Round Super-Cinerama Theatre left in the World! Call Stephen Long, CEO at Methodist Hospital, 402-354-4000 and let him know you'd like this theatre to be reopened. Join the Cinerama and Widescreen Movie Discussion Group http://www.egroups.com/group/cinerama_widescreen_movies Lord Byron, Mary Shelley and Percy Bysshe Shelley Discussion Group http://www.egroups.com/group/mary_percy_shelley From: michael beacom Date: Sat May 19, 2001 11:37 am Subject: Re: [probe_control] Land that Time Forgot I've already got an LBX copy from one of their previous broadcasts, but thanks. Another example of how having the right actor (Doug McClure) can elevate an otherwise so-so movie. RE: INdian Hills. I'm in Omaha too, and for those who don't know this is one of the last 4 true three projector Cinerama theaters in existence. It is THE LAST of it's architectural style (circular, or "Hatbox") in the world, and some of the classiest film events in the midwest have been hosted there; you can see them at www.Omahafilmevents.com -- I've got friends deeply involved in the effort to save it. (Can't you just hear Burgess Meredith in a voice-over saying "That's enough - let's get back on topic, shall we?") End trans. Michael B. Marta Dawes wrote: If anyone is interested, "The Land that Time Forgot" is on AMC on Sunday, May 20, at 9:30pm CDT time. -- Marta "The Graveyards of Omaha" http://members.nbci.com/martadawes "The New Twilight Zone" http://members.nbci.com/newtwilzone Help save the Indian Hills Theatre in Omaha! The Last Round Super-Cinerama Theatre left in the World! Call Stephen Long, CEO at Methodist Hospital, 402-354-4000 and let him know you'd like this theatre to be reopened. Join the Cinerama and Widescreen Movie Discussion Group http://www.egroups.com/group/cinerama_widescreen_movies Lord Byron, Mary Shelley and Percy Bysshe Shelley Discussion Group http://www.egroups.com/group/mary_percy_shelley From: "birdhaus1" Date: Sat May 19, 2001 10:06 am Subject: Biographies - Thanks! Just a brief note of thanks for posting the SEARCh character biographies! I was just going to "scan" them but I got sucked in and read them start to finish. Thanks to "actingman" for taking the time to prepare these fine posts to the list. Kudos! Regards, Ed Novit - Wheeling, IL From: Marta Dawes Date: Sat May 19, 2001 1:10 pm Subject: Re: [probe_control] Land that Time Forgot It's a small world, all right. Actually, the Indian Hills has the largest screen of any movie theatre in the world; the newly remodeled Cinerama Dome theatre in Seattle is smaller. My husband and I are working hard to save the IH, along with Larry Karstens and Matt Lutthans. Did anyone on the list go to the Cinerama showings in Dayton, Ohio? It was fantastic. The guy that has the 3 projectors and all the prints (I forget his name at the moment) will come to Omaha with them, if we can only get Methodist Hospital to let us lease the place. The theatre doesn't need to be restored, because it was never allowed to decay in the first place; the Indian Hills could open up today as a theatre, and that's what we're hoping Methodist will allow us to do. Marta michael beacom wrote: > > I've already got an LBX copy from one of their previous broadcasts, > but thanks. Another example of how having the right actor (Doug > McClure) can elevate an otherwise so-so movie. > > RE: INdian Hills. I'm in Omaha too, and for those who don't know this > is one of the last 4 true three projector Cinerama theaters in > existence. It is THE LAST of it's architectural style (circular, or > "Hatbox") in the world, and some of the classiest film events in the > midwest have been hosted there; you can see them at > www.Omahafilmevents.com -- I've got friends deeply involved in the > effort to save it. > > (Can't you just hear Burgess Meredith in a voice-over saying "That's > enough - let's get back on topic, shall we?") > > End trans. > > Michael B. > > Marta Dawes wrote: > > > If anyone is interested, "The Land that Time Forgot" is on AMC on > > Sunday, May 20, at 9:30pm CDT time. > > -- > > Marta > > > > "The Graveyards of Omaha" > > http://members.nbci.com/martadawes > > > > "The New Twilight Zone" > > http://members.nbci.com/newtwilzone > > > > Help save the Indian Hills Theatre in Omaha! > > The Last Round Super-Cinerama Theatre left in the World! > > Call Stephen Long, CEO at Methodist Hospital, 402-354-4000 > > and let him know you'd like this theatre to be reopened. > > Join the Cinerama and Widescreen Movie Discussion Group > > http://www.egroups.com/group/cinerama_widescreen_movies > > > > Lord Byron, Mary Shelley and Percy Bysshe Shelley Discussion Group > > http://www.egroups.com/group/mary_percy_shelley > > > > > > > > Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to > > http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ > > Yahoo! Groups Sponsor > [Yahoo! Website Services- Click Here!] > Yahoo! Website Services- Click Here! > > > Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service. -- Marta "The Graveyards of Omaha" http://members.nbci.com/martadawes "The New Twilight Zone" http://members.nbci.com/newtwilzone Help save the Indian Hills Theatre in Omaha! The Last Round Super-Cinerama Theatre left in the World! Call Stephen Long, CEO at Methodist Hospital, 402-354-4000 and let him know you'd like this theatre to be saved. Join the Cinerama and Widescreen Movie Discussion Group http://www.egroups.com/group/cinerama_widescreen_movies Lord Byron, Mary Shelley and Percy Bysshe Shelley Discussion Group http://www.egroups.com/group/mary_percy_shelley From: "Mark Speck" Date: Mon May 21, 2001 1:05 am Subject: Re: Jump the Shark Hey Guys! The site has been backed up for some time, ever since they were mentioned on the Howard Stern show (where I first heard about it, incidentally). They're WAY behind, both with posting comments about shows already on the list, and also with newly introduced shows (I started posts on Felony Squad, NYPD, and Cade's County, and have yet to see them come up). Best advice is to be patient. They are a very busy site. Best, Mark From: actingman@iname.com Date: Mon May 21, 2001 11:13 am Subject: Final Bio: Angel Tompkins (including typos) NEWS FROM WARNER BROS. TELEVISION ANGEL TOMPKINS BIOGRAPHY Angel Tompkins is a tall, willowy, blue-eyed blonde divorcee, with soft flowing locks on whom a lot of Hollywood smart money is riding as a cinch winner; an attractive lovely girl with a fine sense of humor, often tinged with truth, a girl who once said: "I live in a garbage can 'cross the street from Bob Hope with my son Troy, two dogs, seven puppies, one cat and a house-full of love." In truth, Bob Hope's neighborhood is the exclusive Tolucca Lake district, her house was a two-bedroom affair with live-in housekeeper, its walls covered with paintings done by friends. Now she has moved to a similar bungalow at the Malibu colony, where garbage cans carefully are screened-off from view by residents. Born in Albany, California, Angel (short for Angeline) currently portrays the role of Gloria Harding, continuing guest-star in "Search" (formerly "Probe") series. She is in charge of medical telemetry at Probe Control, but current episodes see her "emerging from behind the console" to enlarge her role as star Hugh O'Brian's feminine interest. These are in the Leslie Stevens Productions-Warner Pros. Television one-hour segments for NBC. O'Brian, Tony Francisoa and Doug McClure star in the season's series, with various guest-stars added. Early on, Miss Tompkins decided her inclinations were slanted toward show business - and she decided there were a couple of ways to break into it. One was to model, move into commercials, then television and on to films. Another was to model in New York, move to Europe, become a screen siren there, then move back to the United States. Her choice was the former route. With her father in the construction business, Miss Tompkins had bounced around the country as she followed his profession and finally settled in Phoenix, Arizon where she attended high school. Even then, the 5' 7" blonde was unusually attractive. Winning a local beauty contest preparatory to entering the Miss Universe Contest at 16, she was judged too young to compete in the finals. However, she was awarded a trip to Hollywood for an interview with Ben Bard, then talent head at 20th Century-Fox. Bard advised that she return home and continue her education in college prior to coming back. "It was the best advice I've ever received," says Miss Tompkins. After high school, she enrolled in speech and drama courses at the University of Texas, and transferred to the University of Illinois before taking up modeling in Chicago. A Chicago catalogue house signed her as its image-maker and traveling spokeswoman. Touring the country for the firm, she was considered important enough to its business that the company insured her for $1,000,000. When Miss Tompkins conceived an idea to co-host a Chicago TV show, she left modeling to devote her talents to "Ted and the Angel," a one-hour ad-lib, talk and interview show on WCIU-TV. This brought about an invitation to Hollywood from a studio and she won a part after a first reading. Afterward, she returned to Chicago, packed her bags and returned west. During the following eleven months she appeared on "Dragnet," "Wild, Wild West," "Here Come the Brides," "The Good Guys" and a Walt Disney featurette, "Hang Your Hat on the Wind." She marked her feature film debut in "I Love My Wife," but continued to do guest-starring roles on such series at "The Name of the Game," "Bonanza," "The F.B.I.," "Love American Style," "Mannix" and "Ironside." Says Miss Tompkins, who writes in her spare time, "I love what I'm doing as an actress. The challenge, the suspense, the excitement of making good films is worth more to me than achieving pinnacle success." Vital Statistics Birthplace.....................................Albany, California Birthdate.......................................December 20 Height..........................................5' 7" Weight.........................................123 lbs. Eyes............................................Blue Hair.............................................Blonde From: dghprobe3@aol.com Date: Mon May 21, 2001 9:10 pm Subject: Angel Tompkins on 'Name of the Game' --- In probe_control@y..., actingman@i... wrote: > ...She marked her feature film debut in "I Love My Wife," but > continued to do guest-starring roles on such series at "The Name > of the Game"... Does anyone have Angel Tompkins' episode of "Name of the Game"? I'd be interested in a dub. Several others on this list might be interested also. Failing that, does anyone remember seeing the episode? Does she have a fairly good role or is it more of a cameo or walk-on appearance? Be interesting to find out if this was the show that brought her to the attention of Leslie Stevens. Either way, we keep running into "Name of the Game" connections, don't we? Don H. From: dghprobe3@aol.com Date: Mon May 21, 2001 9:50 pm Subject: Hugh O'Brian & Leslie Stevens' vision Hugh O'Brian & Leslie Stevens' vision by Don Harden Hi gang: A while back, I made the observation that after Leslie Stevens left SEARCH, apparently no one was left who would fight for his unique vision of the series. That may not have been entirely true. A few weekends ago, my brother visited and I ran some of my SEARCH video grabs on the computer using one of my slideshow features. We looked particularly at the Probe set shots of the last eight episodes and in production order. We looked over the "24 Carat Hit" and "Numbered for Death" shots. We grumbled about the bright white set, as you might expect. Then we looked at the grabs of the first and only Lockwood episode among those last eight, "Countdown to Panic." We immediately could see that the set was made darker with the addition of fancy lighting pointing downward on the back walls. My brother and I both had the same thought. This is all conjecture, but it might be a pretty good guess. Since this may have been the first time Hugh O'Brian had seen the new sets, he might have blinked upon first seeing them and said something like, "This isn't what Leslie Stevens had in mind for this show, he wanted the dark cockpit look." Someone might have replied, "Well, it ain't no more." As we know, Lockwood doesn't take crap from anybody, so O'Brian might have decided that since he was part owner of the show, they were gonna darken that Probe set or heads would roll. From the looks of it, they seem to have gone for a compromise. That final look stayed much the same for the next six episodes, the last ones they filmed. It's not quite as dark as the earlier Probe Control, but it's certainly darker than what we saw in "Carat" or "Numbered." Another item on our list of things to ask about if we ever get hold of a "behind the scenes" person. I've attached a photo so folks could see the difference. Clockwise, the scenes are from "24 Carat Hit," "Numbered for Death," "Countdown to Panic," and "Clayton Lewis Document." From: richard.rutherford@chch.ox.ac.uk Date: Tue May 22, 2001 4:26 am Subject: biographies of john gielgud flop on 'probe' Some of you may have seen that two posthumous biographies of John Gielgud have recently appeared, by Jonathan Croall and Sheridan Morley--the latter is billed as the 'authorised biography'. I checked them out in a good bookshop yesterday and regret to report, at the risk of fuelling a conspiracy theory regarding 'Probe/Search', that neither of them makes any mention of the film. No index entries for Stevens, O'Brian or Mayberry; there';s a little in M's book about G's links with Meredith, but that comes from an earlier period and is just gossipy stuff about a woman M was having an affair with and used Gielgud as a companion to avoid suspicion. With the limited circulation of the 'Probe' video it's perhaps understandable that these hacks haven't actually seen it (despite the interest of its being G's first tv movie) What's really shocking is that even in the catalogue of stage and screen perfomances by Sir John neither of the books even lists it, under either title. What kind of research is this? If Morley is supposed to be doing the authorised biography he must have had access to all the relevant papers. And even if he didn't, or if Gielgud had dumped them, a search of IMDB or other movie databases would certainly have thrown it up. I've already seen one very disparaging review of Morley's book. At any rate, as a 'Probe'-related document it's a washout. Richard From: Jim Alexander Date: Wed May 23, 2001 12:40 am Subject: Questions--I need QUESTIONS for Ginny Golden! Gentlemen, Ladies, and Anthony Taylor-- Thanks to Don Harden's excellent phone number research, I have been in contact with Ginny "Miss Keach" Golden for the past couple of weeks. We have been playing phone-tag, and have not connected, yet-- but we are bound to soon. She appears open to the prospect of an interview, and I am interested in any questions we want to ask her for a Q&A for www.probe_control.com. I am sure I do not need to suggest to you that in proposing questions to Ginny, that we need to bypass the "What were you thinking when Lockwood asked you "blah blah blah", in episode 3?". Obviously, these episodes were put together almost 30-friggin' years ago, and Ginny (though it appears to have been her only showbiz job) may not have crystal-clear memories of her somewhat brief experiences in Probe Control. Also keep in mind that Ginny was involved in only the Pilot, and first 14(?) episodes. So please-- send questions my way. And thanks very much! Hopefully, Ginny will be the first of many SEARCH interviews that we can put on the site! I am in touch with Hugh O'Brian's personal secretary and Tony Franciosa's agent, as well. I have been asked to FAX them details regarding interviews. Wish me luck! P.S. Forgive the double posts that some of you got, but I wanted to cover folks that may not read their SEARCH eGroups mail quite as often as others. Jim Alexander probecontrol@dynasty.net From: cdrrabenson@aol.com Date: Wed May 23, 2001 10:06 am Subject: Re: [probe_control] Questions--I need QUESTIONS for Ginny Golden! Jim, I am going to reply to you directly, since trying to access the Probe Control site from the Navy's unclas LAN is an absolute nightmare (which is why I have been uncommonly silent these past few months). I have to state that I never recalled Ginny Golden with any great clarity when I was relying on my memories of the pilot and the first couple of episodes. But after I saw the pilot again last year, thanks to Bryan sending me a copy, I paid close attention to her performance. One of the most striking things about PROBE was that the technicians at PROBE Control served as something like a Greek chorus for Lockwood. With minimal dialogue and even less physical bits of business, each actor established an individual personality for his character behind the console. In the case of the female techs, obviously the part one would expect to see would be that of the sassy bombshell in a flirtatious relationship with the hero--and that role had gone to Angel Tompkins. So, the thing for Miss Golden was how to distinguish herself as "Miss Keach". I don't know who figured it out--actress or director--but if you look at the character of Miss Keach, she is portrayed as someone who places competency and ability above socialising. She's good and she knows it. Her fingers move crisply and suredly over the panel buttons and switches, and a little faster than the other techs. During certain moments, when she pulls up some arcane bit of information for Cameron, or when she has just worked out some clever bit of computer-ology, a confident and self-rewarding smile comes over her face. And in one scene, while it may have been just the co-incidence of how the scenes were cut and spliced, but I would swear one of those smiles comes right after Cameron berates Miss Harding for something, then throws a task at Miss Keach which she pulls off like a champ. The timing is such that one could reasonably assume that it was part of the direction and not just a trick of the cutting. The overall effect of Miss Golden's performance is "Miss Harding may get all the attention because of her sassiness and sex appeal, but it is Miss Keach who, without fanfare, is the most competent of the team." After that long-winded speech, Jim, the questions I would ask Miss Golden if I could would be: 1. When she played that part, was there any specific guidence from the director or producer to subtly give her character a distinct personality--or was that her idea and she played it like that? Or was it simply serendipitous? That she simply played the role pretty generically and we, the viewers, are reading things into her performance. 2. The other question is why she left the business, since obviously she was a talented actress, and what she has been doing since. I'm never good as jumping right in with Hollywood-type questions; I've known Angel Tompkins for eleven years and don't think I've asked her a half-dosen "showobiz" questions in all this time. Speaking of which, I recall Angel mentioning that she had run into Ginny Golden in an e-mail last year. I don't think it was a note to me, but in an e-mail to John, which she sent me an info copy. I cannot remember many of the details, for example, if they ran into each other at an audition or what. But I do remember Angel saying that Miss Golden still looked great. That's my imput, Jim. Adam Benson From: dghprobe3@aol.com Date: Wed May 23, 2001 1:29 pm Subject: QUESTIONS for Ginny Golden Hi Jim: Wow--yes, questions for Ms. Keach. Here are some off the top of my head. You pick and choose what you think would work best. The obvious ones are: How were you first contacted to do SEARCH? Did you have to audition or were you a known quantity? Did you do any shows connected to Leslie Stevens before SEARCH, like "Name of the Game"? Were you made certain promises about the Ms. Keach character which never came to be? We notice that Keach had a different hairstyle from show to show. Was this something Ginny Golden was doing, or was this something the production people were doing? You worked most often with Burgess Mer