From: Bryan Date: Mon Apr 1, 2002 8:44 pm Subject: Re: [probe_control] My change of address Interesting. Are they still in business and just going web only? > My permanent, free Iname address is going the way of the dodo. > > For those who keep track, please change my email address > to actingman@m... > > It is up and working. > > My iname address will supposedly still work, but only deliver mail to a web > account, which I won't be checking often. > > John From: actingman@m... Date: Wed Apr 3, 2002 2:46 am Subject: Web site fixed Bryan and I finally connected and he told me what might be wrong with the probe site. After three hours of reloading everything, I think all links are working. So please let me know privately if you find any bad links. I added one minor change to the scripts page. Where I have the original air dates with each episode title, I now also have the dates of each rerun...based on the list Don H. wrote on this list a while back. Interesting to see that NBC did not rerun three of the episodes. From: "dghprobe3" Date: Wed Apr 3, 2002 3:54 am Subject: Re: Web site fixed --- In probe_control@y..., actingman@m... wrote: > Interesting to see that NBC did not rerun three of the episodes. Curious that NBC and the SEARCH crew decided to rerun rather flat episodes like "Goddess of Destruction" and "Mattson Papers" instead of fun episodes like "Gold Machine" and "In Search of Midas." Back when SEARCH was on NBC in '72 and '73, another problem the series faced was that it was a favorite show for local stations to pre-empt whenever such affiliate had an off-network series, movie or special to run in its place. Back then, our Atlanta affiliate, WSB (stands for "We're So Boring"), pre-empted a lot of SEARCH episodes in the summer of '73. I called them on the phone to complain about the large number of pre- emptions. I remember the girl at the other end of the line basically yawned at my complaint and said that SEARCH was basically a gimmick show. What was interesting to me was that the week after my phone call, the station started carrying SEARCH again and picked a different NBC show to pre-empt. They still pre-empted SEARCH a few more times, but the actual number of pre-emptions decreased notably. I don't know if my call made a difference, but it's possible that my call, combined with others who may have called, helped change the situation somewhat. Interesting to look back on some of that. Thanks, John, for reminding me. :-) --Don H. From: "deanosbeeno" Date: Wed Apr 3, 2002 11:35 pm Subject: New to the group I've just joined the group, and been reading through (some of!) the messages... There have been quite a few saying just what I feel - amazing to know there are other people out there who remember this show! I knew it as "Search Control" here in England, where I'm pretty sure it ran in late 1973 to early 1974. That would be about right, in those days US shows always took a long time to show up here. My best friend at the time (sadly, we've long since lost touch) and I used to drive our families mad insisting on watching the tv undisturbed on a Wednesday evening, followed by long, long phone calls to discuss the show afterwards (including arguments over who was better, Bianco or Lockwood, and sharing insulting comments about Cameron's awful hair - glad to see that's been up for discussion in this group!) As far as I knew, we were the only two people in the world who watched it! I would love to see some of the episodes again - after the series dropped off our screens I never heard of it again, except for an occasional showing of the pilot episode. I read in a couple of early messages that some of you (Jim and Don?) had video copies available. Is this still the case, and if so would you send them overseas? (Obviously I would expect to pay more for the postage.) Kate From: "crayresearch2001" Date: Sun Apr 7, 2002 10:28 pm Subject: Re: New to the group Hello Kate, I am not the 'official welcomer' but I haven't seen Jim around lately, so WELCOME TO THE GROUP! I know I certainly appreciated it when I joined. One fact that might interest you is that the two most recent episode discoveries, come to us by way of England(?) and were recorded on PAL video to start off with. If you get in touch with Actingman (John) perhaps you can persuade him to give you the contact info of the person to get in touch with over there. If that person made you PAL to PAL cpoies of THE BULLET and ONE OF OUR PROBES IS MISSING, you would have one generation better tapes than anyone on this side of the atlantic has. Supposedly some image quality is lost in the transfer from PAL to NTSC. Good luck. Don-2 From: "dghprobe3" Date: Mon Apr 8, 2002 3:37 am Subject: Re: New to the group --- In probe_control@y..., "crayresearch2001" wrote: > I am not the 'official welcomer' but I haven't seen Jim around > lately, so WELCOME TO THE GROUP!... Hi Don-2: Jim forwarded me a copy of a private email he sent to Kate on dubs, but you raise a good point. She would certainly need PAL dubs unless she has one of those "dual PAL/NTSC" decks they have overseas. So, Kate, let us know the format you prefer. I don't think John can do PAL to PAL, but he can do NTSC back to PAL again. --Don H. From: "deanosbeeno" Date: Mon Apr 8, 2002 11:36 pm Subject: Re: New to the group Hi everyone Thanks for the welcome and the messages. I've got a problem with my e-mail at the moment and can't get into it (I was about to reply to an e-mail from Mark - so, Mark and anyone else who's e-mailed me in the last day or so, please bear with me until I can get the problem sorted out). I do have a VCR that plays NTSC as well as PAL, so there shouldn't be any problem with videos, though I suppose it would make sense to get PAL copies if that's what format the original is in anyway, especially if it improves the quality. Really, I'd just like the best quality I could get, whatever the format. I'm interested to know how anybody got these episodes onto video in the first place. Surely people didn't have VCRs that long ago, or was Search shown much later in places like Australia? (Having lived in Oz myself, I know how long they kept reviving dreadful British sitcoms which should have been dead and buried many years before.) Kate --- In probe_control@y..., "dghprobe3" wrote: > --- In probe_control@y..., "crayresearch2001" wrote: > > I am not the 'official welcomer' but I haven't seen Jim around > > lately, so WELCOME TO THE GROUP!... > > Hi Don-2: Jim forwarded me a copy of a private email he sent to Kate > on dubs, but you raise a good point. She would certainly need PAL > dubs unless she has one of those "dual PAL/NTSC" decks they have > overseas. So, Kate, let us know the format you prefer. I don't > think John can do PAL to PAL, but he can do NTSC back to PAL again. > > --Don H. From: "Jim Alexander" Date: Tue Apr 9, 2002 2:21 am Subject: Technology "issues" I've been having e-mail "issues" for the past few days. They're corrected now, if anyone's tried to e-mail me personally. Didn't want'cha to think I was "rude"... ;) Thanks! Jim Alexander probecontrol@sigecom.net From: dghprobe3@a... Date: Sun Apr 14, 2002 6:35 am Subject: Filmclip Scans Updated on Website Howdy folks: John (actingman) has updated and improved the SEARCH filmclip image section of probecontrol.com. Added are a set of buttons near the top of each page allowing you to go forward or backward to the next photo in sequence. To go to the page of image links: http://probecontrol.com/Scans.html For the newly posted scans of "A Honeymoon to Kill": http://probecontrol.com/Episodes/honey.html For the updated "Various Episode Clips": http://probecontrol.com/Episodes/various.html I just finished scanning clips from "The Packagers," so those scenes will be appearing soon. Let us know your reactions to these images, which were taken from the actual 35mm film shot for the series. That's why some of the shots are bloopers, or have clapboards, or have a technician standing in the scene, etc. If anyone has trouble viewing these images, let John know at: actingman@myrealbox.com From: "crayresearch2001" Date: Sun Apr 14, 2002 5:18 pm Subject: Doug Mclure TV Guide article in probe_control files Well, as promised - they're here. Two JPEG's from the 1973 Kelowna B.C. Teleguide featuring Doug Mclure plus a listing for SEARCH episode "Suffer My Child" which of course starred Hugh O'Brien. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/probe_control/files/Doug%20Mclure%20TV% 20Guide%20Article/Doug%20Mclure%20Cover.jpg http://groups.yahoo.com/group/probe_control/files/Doug%20Mclure%20TV% 20Guide%20Article/Doug%20Mclure%20Article.jpg http://groups.yahoo.com/group/probe_control/files/Doug%20Mclure%20TV% 20Guide%20Article/Tue.Mar.27%2C1973.jpg If the links don't work, you can find theese in Files, in the folder: Doug Mclure TV Guide Article. Don-2 From: "deanosbeeno" Date: Sun Apr 14, 2002 7:19 pm Subject: Re: New to the group ADVERTISEMENT --- In probe_control@y..., "dghprobe3" wrote: > --- In probe_control@y..., "crayresearch2001" wrote: > > I am not the 'official welcomer' but I haven't seen Jim around > > lately, so WELCOME TO THE GROUP!... > > Hi Don-2: Jim forwarded me a copy of a private email he sent to Kate > on dubs, but you raise a good point. She would certainly need PAL > dubs unless she has one of those "dual PAL/NTSC" decks they have > overseas. So, Kate, let us know the format you prefer. I don't > think John can do PAL to PAL, but he can do NTSC back to PAL again. > > --Don H. Just reading this message again...assuming this is referring to me, I didn't receive any e-mail from Jim - just thought I'd mention this! I think you were having problems with e-mail too, mine seem to have been sorted out now, but I haven't received anything at this address for a while. Kate From: dmanmetz@a... Date: Tue Apr 16, 2002 2:29 am Subject: Re: [probe_control] Doug Mclure TV Guide article in probe_control files Don't know what happened, but for some reason the file could not be read. Was really intrested to see what Mr. McClure had to say about Search. Don't know if this true for everyone or not. Chris From: dmanmetz@a... Date: Tue Apr 16, 2002 12:38 pm Subject: Re: Re: [probe_control] Doug Mclure TV Guide article in probe_control files Disregard my last transmission. Read a little more into your e-mail. I read the article in the Doug Mcclure folders. It pays to read. Wow, you think they could have asked him more than questions. It was intresting to read that McClure was becoming the more popular of the three leads. Funny to read that because I never associate SEARCH with the word popular (LOL). Chris From: "rbrfab" Date: Tue Apr 16, 2002 1:36 pm Subject: Re: Filmclip Scans Updated on Website Hi John and Don, and this is just to say thanks and congratulations on the host of new images now added to the website. Great work! I've only had a chance to whiz through, but there's obviously some fascinanting stuff there. The stills from 'Honeymoon to Kill' are especially welcome, as that's one episode I never saw. And the increased stock of 'Moonrock' stills makes it possible to enjoy the audio of that episode even more. Keep up the good work! Not that I'm complaining, but nobody has reacted to the questions I raised in message 1329 about those possible sources of episodes; is there anything new to report on that? (By the way, someone asked recently about the Centre for Film and Television in New York, but that's a non-starter. I visited it in '99 with high hopes and found they didn't have anything, not even the 'Probe' pilot. Had to console myself with the first episode of Time Tunnel... And I think a much earlier message said the other branch of it in LA was no help either. We go on hoping... Richard From: brdlymcknz1@c... Date: Wed Apr 17, 2002 5:05 am Subject: Re: Re: [probe_control] Doug Mclure TV Guide article in probe_control files I have the Entire Series of PROBE on video for $50.00 to: Man from UNCLE, Inc. Fan Club Box 857 Iowa City, IA 52240 From: brdlymcknz1@c... Date: Wed Apr 17, 2002 5:09 am Subject: Re: [probe_control] Doug Mclure TV Guide article in probe_control files Didn't Doug Mc Clure play in another spy tv series called SEARCH or SEAR- CHERS where the agents wore a medal- lion or necklace of some kind? From: "rbrfab" Date: Wed Apr 17, 2002 11:31 am Subject: Re: brdlymcknz1@c... 's message Before everybody gets excited about the alleged total series on video, I guess this is that common confusion between 'Probe' the prototype for Search, and the shortlived series called Probe starring Parker Stevenson in the late 1980s. The latter is quite well known and certainly is available on video. There's an entry for it in IMDB. Richard From: "actingman_jc" Date: Wed Apr 17, 2002 4:43 pm Subject: Re: brdlymcknz1@c... 's message Yes...if someone want's to email this person privatly to confirm...just ask if he actually has all 23 episodes...and when he goes "huh?" you will know. I've removed him from the list. His first message indicates he has no idea what the show is, and posting the same message several times is just spam. I would be delighted to be proved wrong...but I reached the same conclusions that Richard did. John --- In probe_control@y..., "rbrfab" wrote: > Before everybody gets excited about the alleged total series on video, > I guess this is that common confusion between 'Probe' the prototype > for Search, and the shortlived series called Probe starring Parker > Stevenson in the late 1980s. The latter is quite well known and > certainly is available on video. There's an entry for it in IMDB. > > Richard From: "Jim Alexander" Date: Thu Apr 18, 2002 12:45 pm Subject: brdlymcknz1@c... 's message I e-mailed the feller last night regarding the possible confusion. I'll let you know if he responds. Jim probecontrol@sigecom.net ----- Original Message ----- From: actingman_jc To: probe_control@yahoogroups.com Sent: Wednesday, April 17, 2002 11:43 AM Subject: [probe_control] Re: brdlymcknz1@c... 's message Yes...if someone want's to email this person privatly to confirm...just ask if he actually has all 23 episodes...and when he goes "huh?" you will know. I've removed him from the list. His first message indicates he has no idea what the show is, and posting the same message several times is just spam. I would be delighted to be proved wrong...but I reached the same conclusions that Richard did. John --- In probe_control@y..., "rbrfab" wrote: > Before everybody gets excited about the alleged total series on video, > I guess this is that common confusion between 'Probe' the prototype > for Search, and the shortlived series called Probe starring Parker > Stevenson in the late 1980s. The latter is quite well known and > certainly is available on video. There's an entry for it in IMDB. > > Richard From: "Skip Brown" Date: Thu Apr 18, 2002 4:07 pm Subject: About those missing SEARCH 16 MM movies Its been a while since I posted on this list, but I wanted to give you all an update for my search for SEARCH Through our list, I discovered the existence of several episodes of the show on 16 mm, available for borrow in the data base of a interlibrary loan system. As it turns out, those prints are available to card holders in that area only. On the web site in question, http://envpol.dra.com/LCMARC a search under "Search by subject" can be used to find the titles that Kevin found, back in early February. You can use it to find the SEARCH 16 mm prints, by typing "Detective Films". Apparently, this website is for a system located in Washington D.C., which is part of the international SIRSI corporation. I have contacted several key individuals in the SIRSI corporation, and they are still working out the details for letting me borrow these prints, if they can. My library system is through the Orange County Library System (Orlando, Florida) and the closest location they have is in Alabama. I am still trying to lockdown the price for "borrowing" those prints, which I can then view on a 16mm film projector I have access to. I can imagine that the prints, being 30 years old, are not in the best shape, but I hoping that once I see them I can give a good report. (Thats only to assume that I will actually see them!). I'll keep you updated. Skip From: dmanmetz@a... Date: Thu Apr 18, 2002 9:11 pm Subject: Re: [probe_control] Re: brdlymcknz1@c... 's message I have e-mailed him asking him to confirm if it is our series or the 1988 Parker Stevens' series. I have heard nothing yet. Chris From: michael beacom Date: Sat Apr 20, 2002 3:07 pm Subject: Re: [probe_control] Re: brdlymcknz1@c... 's message Thanks for looking out for the group's interests. If the dedicated individuals on this site don't have access to all episodes of Search/Probe I find it unlikely, to be polite about it, that this person has "the entire series". Will be interested to see how Brdlymcknz1 responds if anyone contacts this person. Michael B. actingman_jc wrote: Yes...if someone want's to email this person privatly to confirm...just ask if he actually has all 23 episodes...and when he goes "huh?" you will know. I've removed him from the list. His first message indicates he has no idea what the show is, and posting the same message several times is just spam. I would be delighted to be proved wrong...but I reached the same conclusions that Richard did. John --- In probe_control@y..., "rbrfab" wrote: > Before everybody gets excited about the alleged total series on video, > I guess this is that common confusion between 'Probe' the prototype > for Search, and the shortlived series called Probe starring Parker > Stevenson in the late 1980s. The latter is quite well known and > certainly is available on video. There's an entry for it in IMDB. > > Richard From: "rbrfab" Date: Mon Apr 22, 2002 3:11 pm Subject: OT: Time Tunnel videos I seem to recall some of the group are also fans of The Time Tunnel and that videos are hard to come by. I came across a site that claims to offer tapes of all episodes for $75. It's at http://home.rochester.rr.com/timetunnel/index.html/Page_1x.html I haven't investigated further, as to whether one can buy specific episodes. Anybody know? Is this old news to everybody concerned? Richard From: "observer345" Date: Tue Apr 23, 2002 1:50 am Subject: Re: OT: Time Tunnel videos These episodes air occasionally on the SciFi Channel. They were showing them recently at 8AM central time, or somewhere near that timeslot. Right now they're doing Land Of The Giants, another Irwin Allen series. The SF Channel showings are edited for length, but not in too grim a fashion. If you're patient, they'll probably air again in a few weeks. If you already get the SciFi Channel, you'll probably find this a cheaper option. Craig --- In probe_control@y..., "rbrfab" wrote: > I seem to recall some of the group are also fans of The Time Tunnel > and that videos are hard to come by. I came across a site that claims > to offer tapes of all episodes for $75. It's at > > http://home.rochester.rr.com/timetunnel/index.html/Page_1x.html > > I haven't investigated further, as to whether one can buy specific > episodes. Anybody know? Is this old news to everybody concerned? > > Richard From: "dghprobe3" Date: Tue Apr 23, 2002 2:48 am Subject: Search 16mm Library prints Hi Skip: Thanks for keeping us up-to-date on the list about those 16mm SEARCH library prints. Good also to hear that you've contacted people who are part of the library system... (From reading around the site, my understanding is that the library has two offices. One in St. Louis and the other in Huntsville, Ala. I'm only 3 or 4 hours out of Huntsville; let me know if it would work better if I went there and checked out any or all of the films on site and in person. I have a 16mm projector and could do a homemade transfer for reference purposes.) Even though we already have these episodes on video, it would be interesting to see how uncut these prints are. They could have the original "scenes to next week" trailers intact, or even have some or all of the original commercials, unless they are used or overseas syndicated prints. This may be how we got a 16mm video transfer of "The Gold Machine"--some library probably had a print somewhere. --Don H. ============================================= --- In probe_control@y..., "Skip Brown" wrote: > Its been a while since I posted on this list, but I wanted to give you all an update for my search for SEARCH > Through our list, I discovered the existence of several episodes of the show on 16 mm, available for borrow in the data base of a interlibrary loan system. As it turns out, those prints are available to card holders in that area only... From: "jack_bagley" Date: Thu Apr 25, 2002 10:45 pm Subject: Found my clips! I just found all of my "Search" film clips, purchased from Lincoln Enterprises all those years ago. Dozens and dozens (well, a lot) of shots of our favorite people in our favorite show. I wish I could share them; I don't have anything that would scan film clips, and I rather doubt my regular scanner is up to the task. Ideas? I'd love to know what some of these are. Now that I have episodes, I can identify a lot of them (one great shot of Kurt Kasznar from "The Gold Bug" is in there) but I imagine you all would have better knowledge of what they are than I would. Anyway, just thought I'd let the group know that a lot more clips are now in hand! End run... Jack Check out the finest in independent Science Fiction at Fine Line Publishing: http://www.Fine-Linepc.com/AC.html http://www.Fine-Linepc.com/TWLB.html From: probe_control@yahoogroups.com Date: Fri Apr 26, 2002 2:24 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 : /Idling Pattern.wav Uploaded by : actingman_jc Description : Transistion SFX from Search You can access this file at the URL http://groups.yahoo.com/group/probe_control/files/Idling%20Pattern.wav To learn more about file sharing for your group, please visit http://help.yahoo.com/help/us/groups/files Regards, actingman_jc From: "actingman_jc" Date: Fri Apr 26, 2002 2:36 am Subject: Search Sound Effect File Posted A further explanation: This is the sound of the squares going across the screen, which they used as a transition. The scripts made reference to an "idling pattern"...which I always thought was the squares transistion. The file is called "idling pattern.wav" Wasn't until I saw the episodes again that I realized the idling pattern was the effect you see, such as in this clip on the web site. http://probecontrol.com/Episodes/imagepages/04prod.html But old habits are hard to break...and I didn't know what else to call it. From: dghprobe3@a... Date: Fri Apr 26, 2002 3:42 am Subject: Jack's SEARCH filmclips Hi Jack: Glad you were able to find your SEARCH filmclips from Lincoln Enterprises. You should check and compare what we have posted at the website at: http://probecontrol.com (If the link doesn't work, try again a little later.) Look for the link to "images," and a page will open with links to the episode filmclip scans. Under "various episodes," you will find a mixture of scans from actingman, Jim Alexander, and myself. The other episode scans are from my Lincoln Enterprises filmclip collection. So far I'm nearly halfway through the collection. By the way, John has posted new filmclip scans for "The Packagers," so check those out as well. For some reason, Lincoln sent out a lot of black & white clips for this episode, but there are some color clips too. Jack, let us know how your scenes compare with what we have posted. More later, Don H. From: dghprobe3@a... Date: Fri Apr 26, 2002 4:02 am Subject: Re: Search Sound Effect File Posted Hi John: Thanks for the idling pattern WAV file, another item we can add to our SEARCH Desktop Theme files. Actually, this sound effect was used in classic Trek--especially during the second season--as a stray bridge sound effect, or occasionally whenever someone appeared onscreen. I think there were several variations of the effect, so folks might listen out for them. More later, Don H. From: "kevin_searchprobe" Date: Fri Apr 26, 2002 6:22 am Subject: SEARCH TV Guide cover I ran across this site for Bob Peak, the artist who did the SEARCH TV Guide cover & many others. They've put up a nice clear scan of the SEARCH cover, and without the TV Guide price, article titles, and all that junk. http://www.bobpeak.com/artpage.cfm?artid=70 From: "kevin_searchprobe" Date: Fri Apr 26, 2002 6:51 am Subject: Library Site I ran across another Library Site that seems to have SEARCH episodes. The bad news, this one is in Italian. SEARCH goes by it's regular title, but I noticed the old "POLICE WOMAN" series is listed as "PEPPER ANDERSON AGENTE SPECIALE"! http://www.garzantilibri.it/articoli_main.php?sezione=Percorsi%20di% 20lettura&pag=4&CPID=12 From: "Jim Alexander" Date: Sat Apr 27, 2002 12:18 am Subject: O'BRIAN Signing Hey, gang! I just got a piece of mail from Ray and Shannon Courts. They're the folks who organize big celebrity conventions, specializing in stars from the 50's, 60's and 70's TV and Motion Pictures. I've never been to one of their shows, but they're packed-to-the-gills with stars, and they've been doing them for some time, now--so they must be doing SOMETHING right... I notice that Hugh O'Brian will be at their next Chicago show, at the Ramada Plaza Hotel O'Hare, at 6600 North Mannheim Road, in Rosemont, Illinois. It's all happening Saturday May 18th from 10am 'til 5pm, and Sunday, May 19th, from 10 'til 4. I have further details, if anyone's interested. I'm wonderin' if anyone (who might plan to attend) can get autographs for us??? Thanks! Jim Alexander probecontrol@sigecom.net From: "dghprobe3" Date: Sat Apr 27, 2002 12:58 am Subject: Re: Library Site --- In probe_control@y..., "kevin_searchprobe" wrote: > I ran across another Library Site that seems to have SEARCH > episodes. The bad news, this one is in Italian... > http://www.garzantilibri.it/articoli_main.php?sezione=Percorsi%20di% > 20lettura&pag=4&CPID=12 Hi Kevin: Thanks for another great find on your part. It would be interesting to have tapes of SEARCH as it was dubbed in other languages. I'm sure some of our overseas friends would especially want them. (We've already had a query about Spanish-dubbed episodes.) Do they have the show on 16mm film or videocassette? And what would it take to check out at least one episode? Let us know if you find out anything more. Beyond that, if anyone out there has tapes of SEARCH as dubbed in other languages, let us know. Even an audio CD or cassette dub would be great. --Don H. From: "Marta Dawes" Date: Sat Apr 27, 2002 12:33 pm Subject: RE: [probe_control] O'BRIAN Signing I’d love to have more details. Chicago’s within driving distance. Marta http://www.steveandmarta.com Home of "The Graveyards of Omaha" and "The New Twilight Zone" websites as well as "Memories of the Indian Hills Theatre in Omaha, Nebraska" The last round Super-Cinerama theatre in the world Demolished August 20, 2001 for absolutely no reason by Methodist Health Systems Sign the Petition to protest the demolition of the Indian Hills Online! http://www.PetitionOnline.com/steve/petition.html Call Stephen Long, CEO of Methodist, at 402-354-4000 and tell him the theatre should have been reopened as a working film venue. Email comments@bestcare.org, Methodist's website, and tell them the theatre should have been saved, and pass the email address and phone number on to everyone you know! And --- Join the Indian Hills and Cinerama and Widescreen 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 -----Original Message----- From: Jim Alexander [mailto:probecontrol@sigecom.net] Sent: Friday, April 26, 2002 7:18 PM To: Search List Subject: [probe_control] O'BRIAN Signing Hey, gang! I just got a piece of mail from Ray and Shannon Courts. They're the folks who organize big celebrity conventions, specializing in stars from the 50's, 60's and 70's TV and Motion Pictures. I've never been to one of their shows, but they're packed-to-the-gills with stars, and they've been doing them for some time, now--so they must be doing SOMETHING right... I notice that Hugh O'Brian will be at their next Chicago show, at the Ramada Plaza Hotel O'Hare, at 6600 North Mannheim Road, in Rosemont, Illinois. It's all happening Saturday May 18th from 10am 'til 5pm, and Sunday, May 19th, from 10 'til 4. I have further details, if anyone's interested. I'm wonderin' if anyone (who might plan to attend) can get autographs for us??? Thanks! Jim Alexander probecontrol@sigecom.net From: actingman@m... Date: Sun Apr 28, 2002 4:55 am Subject: A site with TV Tie-ins Something we don't need to know about. A site selling tv tie-in novels. http://community-2.webtv.net/electriccafe/SparkysCollectible/index.html Of course they don't have the Gomer Pyle novel...but what can I say. They do have both Search novels...but we can find them cheaper on http://www.bookfinder.com/ Interesting to see so many of the books I have listed on a web site. It also ticks me off how many I have missed over the years. I also haven't been in a decent used book store in years. I'm going to go on bookfinder now and look up some titles I saw on the Sparkys site. This is something I didn't need to know about. From: dghprobe3@a... Date: Sun Apr 28, 2002 6:57 pm Subject: another video dealer with 'Let Us Prey' http://www.videounlimited.org/ Above links to yet another one of those video dealers who carry that 16mm transfer we have of SEARCH "Let Us Prey" with o/c (original commercials). However they spell it "Pray" and mistakenly list it as being the series pilot when it actually was one of the middle episodes. When you get to their home page, find the link to their lengthy list of shows. Of interest to Leslie Stevens fans, he has many of the "Stoney Burke" shows. The price is like $20 per 2 hour tape, with discounts for larger orders. I've dealt with this dealer on eBay as "admiralnelson2" and he is reliable. --Don H. From: dghprobe3@a... Date: Tue Apr 30, 2002 8:01 pm Subject: OL List review of PROBE Hi folks: As cleverly arranged by me, "thrucki" of the Yahoo 1960's Outer Limits Group received a dub of PROBE courtesy of our own "actingman." Below is his review of the movie, reprinted with permission, along with my response. His perspective is that of an OL fan who is an admirer of Leslie Stevens' work, and who had not seen PROBE or SEARCH during it's original 1972-73 run on NBC. ------------------------------------------------------------ Message 2916 From: "thrucki" Date: Mon Apr 29, 2002 8:47 pm Subject: From O.B.I.T. to P.R.O.B.E. To Don "The Probe" and all Stevens' fans, I just watched the two hours pilot "Probe"... Run. At first glance, it looks like a blend of the basic concept of two OL episodes (see "The Galaxy Being" and "O.B.I.T.") owing to the technologic side: a TV monitor, various computers and some security personnel. There's nothing really universal and humanist here, just an action-packed espionage plot loaded with tongue-in-cheek humor in the line of "The Man from U.N.C.L.E.". It reminds me the mood of the last James Bond film with Sean Connery: "Diamonds Are Forever" (1971). Notice during the 1970's, the spy trend is over. We can recognize musical snippets from the pilot of "The Invaders": "Beachhead"; moreover, we can hear sound effects from "Star Trek". On the whole, "Probe" has a late 1960's style with a nice techno art direction (thanks to Leslie Stevens' input: the opening titles, display details, the use of the negative reverse effects and the set design of the building's interior) but too graphic and dated compared to our contemporary standards [I like the close-up of Lockwood's hand when he identifies himself]. The idea behind "Probe" is world wide control which anticipates today's totalitarian state of the world. Stevens' belief in advanced technology as a solution to solve all the difficulties is rather ambiguous; he re-joins the theories of the XIXth Century philosophers who used to claim this simple equation: rationality+science=human advancement. But, unfortunately, it leads to the destruction of human freedom [another benevolent idea which turns into nightmare]. The main character, Lockwood, makes reference to the "Peeping Tom machine" (see "O.B.I.T.") when he deals with the computerized control room. The course of the story breeds humorous situations rather than philosophical dilemma (see "The Outer Limits"), especially when the leading agent stares at a European/Germanic blonde lady which provokes a jealous reaction from one of the female personnel: the Allyson Ames-like actress, Angel Tompkins. The actor who plays Lockwood (Hugh O'Brian) is much too physical and lacks of depth. Sometimes, he acts like a model from an ad but, above all, he is a kind of Mannix with a fancy dandy attitude and who chases skirts all around the globe. Burgess Merdith's acting is still amusing as the control man ("Do you copy, Lockwood?"). From "Probe", you can understand the orientation of most 1970's sci-fi shows. End Run... Probe 1 PS: I discovered the tv film "Probe" via a satisfactory PAL format videotape. ----------------------------------------------------------- Message 2918 From: "dghprobe3" Date: Tue Apr 30, 2002 2:31 am Subject: Re: From O.B.I.T. to P.R.O.B.E. Hi Thomas: Glad to hear you got a kick out of Leslie Stevens' PROBE pilot of 1972. Hard to believe the pilot is now some 30 years old. Stevens' vision that computers would become much more interwoven into society was scarcely appreciated back then and no wonder. Home computers didn't come into vogue until the early to mid-1990's and even the home VCR didn't become accepted until the early to mid- 1980's. Keep in mind that in 1972, the technology as portrayed in PROBE was way ahead of the average person's anticipation. Looking at the pilot today, the technology is essentially within reach. Thomas, I'm told you were also sent the first episode of the subsequent SEARCH series entitled, "The Murrow Disappearance," written by Stevens. The series was line produced by Robert Justman and the music was by Dominic Frontiere. And yes, certain strains of Frontiere's previous work appeared in SEARCH now and then. True, Hugh O'Brian approached Lockwood as a sort of high-tech but fairly typical square-jawed hero. But I also note similarities with Jack Lord's tough Stoney Burke characterization. It was reported in in a 1972 TV Guide that O'Brian was attracted to the PROBE/SEARCH concept because of his personal interest in the space program, NASA, and telemetry. If you want some more of the episodes, let us know. Tony Franciosa and Doug McClure rotated with O'Brian as stars similar to Stevens' "Name of the Game" series of the late '60s. As I posted a few weeks ago, there are many OL guest stars, writers and directors who contributed to SEARCH. End run, Don PS: I'd like to run your review of PROBE on the SEARCH list. I think the members would find it interesting. Let me know if that would be okay. Thanks. :-) ----------------------------------- Message 2919 From: "thrucki" Date: Tue Apr 30, 2002 5:59 am Subject: Re: From O.B.I.T. to P.R.O.B.E. > PS: I'd like to run your review of PROBE on the SEARCH list. I > think the members would find it interesting. Let me know if that > would be okay. Thanks. :-) Yes, of course. My pleasure. End run... Probe 1 ------------------------------------------- http://groups.yahoo.com/group/the_outer_limits_1960s/ ----------------------------------