This being Thursday, it's time for another edition of Thursday Movie Picks, the blogathon run by Wandering Through the Shelves. Once again, we've reached the last Thursday of the month, which means it's time for another TV-themed edition. This time, the subject is anthologies. I suppose I could have used the shows that some of the classic stars did, like Loretta Young or Dick Powell, but not having seen any of those, I decided to go in a different direction, with three shows that discussed different stories from real life every week:
In Search Of... (1977-1982). Each week, host Leonard Nimoy engaged in conjecture about various scientific and natural phenomena, from more grounded in reality ideas like the earthquakes mentioned in the opening of the episode above, to nonsense like alien abductions. The show has been revived on multiple occasions, although obviously without the now-deceased Nimoy, whose presence on the original was my first exposure to Nimoy as a little kid even before Star Trek.
Unsolved Mysteries (1988-1999). Robert Stack hosted this show about mysteries, many of the unsolved legal type although some closer to the In Search Of... type, with re-enactments of the crimes positing what may have happened. It grew out of some TV specials hosted by Stack as well as Karl Malden and Raymond Burr, and got a revival hosted by Dennis Farina.
Rescue 911 (1989-1996). William Shatner hosted this show which consisted of re-enactments of emergencies in which people called 911 and were saved. It should probably be noted that 911 was not yet universal at the time the series began. We only got the sort of 911 that sent the caller's location to the dispatcher around the time the show premiered, as it necessitated a change in addresses from rural route addresses to street addresses.
I'll assume the reason shows like this got produced and lasted as long as they did is that they must have been dirt cheap to produce, even with name talent hosting. It can't possibly have been for their quality.
Take a Girl Like You (1970)
15 hours ago
3 comments:
I didn't even think of Rescue 911. I was addicted to that show as a kid. My friend and I watched it all the time. I watched Unsolved Mysteries as well.
Oh man, I haven't thought of either of these shows in years.
"In Search of" rings a bell but I never watched it. Now, I have to wonder why not. I remember watching "Unsolved Mysteries" on occasion. That was a good show. "Rescue 9-1-1" is another program I caught every now and then. I liked it but it wasn't my favorite show. Trying to make time to catch regularly broadcast program took a lot of effort and dedication in those early days. I by far prefer today's streaming on demand over a forced time slot. Thanks for sharing your TMP. Have a purrrfectly delightful weekend!
I loved the first 2 shows especially Unsolved Mysteries. I. search Of was a good show because it went with a more scientific theory even when they went to Outer Space. I thought Unsolved Mysteries started in the mid 80’s not the year my dad died. I always think of that year as a pre and post kind of way. I loved it when they spoke about supernatural like past lives and ghosts which was done quite well. I never watched 911 but remember it and it didn’t feel as sensationalized as today’s show. I could have chosen 2 Canadian shows come to think about it. disasters of the Century was great and Haunted Canada was fun to watch.
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