Month: November 2011

Classic TV

Lost Gems: The Name of the Game (1968-1971)

17 November 2011 Rob Buckley 5 Comments

The Name of the Game

‘Wheel’ series have just about disappeared now. What’s a ‘wheel’ series? Well, imagine a series with some high-profile stars, but they’re so high-profile, there’s not room for them in each episode. So each week, you have an episode that invariably features only one of those stars.

One of the pioneers of wheel series was NBC’s The Name of the Game, which starred Tony Franciosa, Gene Barry and Robert Stack. Running for 76 episodes, it was based on the TV movie Fame is the Name of the Game and looked at three characters working at Howard Publications, a large magazine company. Franciosa played Jeff Dillon, a crusading reporting with People magazine; Gene Barry played Glenn Howard, the company’s owner and publisher; and Robert Stack played Dan Farrell, the editor of Crime magazine.

Here’s the ever-so-60s title sequence. Well, one of them. I’ll explain after the jump.

Continue reading “Lost Gems: The Name of the Game (1968-1971)”

Thursday’s “no creatures, great or small” news

17 November 2011 Rob Buckley Post a comment

Doctor Who

Film

Theatre

British TV

US TV

Question of the week: what new, non-US shows float your boat the most?

16 November 2011 Rob Buckley 2 Comments

Bob asked last week, so this week’s question follows on from last week’s:

What new non-US TV shows have you seen recently – either that you’ve watched or only seen trailers for – that you like the look of?

They can be from anywhere except the US, including Britain, France, Canada, Australia and Scandinavia.

I’ve only seen Braquo, recently, if that helps. It probably doesn’t though.

Wednesday’s “towards cancellation, saved from cancellation” news

16 November 2011 Rob Buckley 2 Comments

Doctor Who

Film

Canadian TV

US TV

Sitting Tennant

Tuesday’s Sitting Tennant (week 42, 2011)

15 November 2011 Rob Buckley 5 Comments

Hebbie's Sitting Tennant

There should be no doubt this is a Sitting Tennant. But what is he thinking? Whatever it is, Hebbie gets 10 points this week.

  1. Hebbie: 325
  2. Sister Chastity: 305
  3. Erin C: 150
  4. Rullsenberg: 55
  5. Janice: 20
  6. esgaril: 10
  7. theriverlady, Toby: 5

It was Ms Rullsenberg who provided the best caption last week – although I shudder at the thought of a Doctor Who/The Hour crossover – so 10 points to her and five points to everyone else who provided a caption. Good luck this week everyone!

  1. Rullsenberg: 240
  2. Marie: 195
  3. SK: 195
  4. Toby: 170
  5. Electric Dragon: 115
  6. Lisa G, Jane Henry: 55
  7. theriverlady: 35
  8. Virpi: 30
  9. Janice: 25
  10. Hebbie: 20
  11. Joe B: 15
  12. whoficwriter, Jeri: 10
  13. kallan: 5

Got a picture of David Tennant sitting, lying down or in some indeterminate state in between? Then leave a link to it below or email me and if it’s judged suitable and doesn’t obviously infringe copyright, it will appear in the Sitting Tennant gallery. Don’t forget to include your name in the filename so I don’t get mixed up about who sent it to me.

The best pic in the stash each week will appear on Tuesday and get ten points; the runners up will appear on Friday (one per person who sends one in) and get five points.

You can also enter the witty and amusing captions league table by commenting on Tuesday’s Sitting Tennant photo, the best caption getting 10 points, everyone who contributes getting five points.