Wednesday, October 10, 2012
The Golden Age of Radio - 1942-43 Season
As you know my favorite OTR podcaster Buck Benny has started his new season of shows and among the seasons he is spotlighting is the 1942-43 season. That season in during the Golden Age of Radio holds a special place in the annals of old time radio.
1942-43 was the highest rated season of the 1940s and being in the heart of the war years, radio provided not only top notch entertainment but up to the minute news of the war raging now raging on two fronts.
This season Buck is highlighting these wonderful shows, The Grape Nuts Flakes Program starring Jack Benny, Raleigh Cigarette Program starring Red Skelton, Fibber McGee and Molly and Texaco Star Theater starring Fred Allen. All of these programs rated in the Top 15 of the show airing that season, and 3 of these were in the Top 5 (Jack, Fibber and Red).
NBC ruled the airwaves in the 40s with all these programs. They would have 15 of the top 20 programs for 1942-43 and Tuesday night was the night of, (to borrow a television theme) Must Hear Radio:
9-930pm - Burns and Allen
930-10pm - Fibber McGee and Molly
10-1030pm - The Pepsodent Show with Bob Hope
1030-11pm - Raleigh Cigarette Program withe Red Skelton
Here are the top 5 final season ratings for 1942-43:
1 - The Pepsodent Show starring Bob Hope (40.9 rating)
sadly there are not many surviving episodes of this wonderful from 1942-43
2 - Raleigh Cigarette Program starring Red Skelton (40.7)
3 - The Johnson Wax Program starring Fibber McGee and Molly (37.7)
4 - Chase and Sanborn Program with Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy (34.8)
again we are missing several season of the Edgar and Charlie, but here is one from the 1937 season.
5 - Grape Nuts and Grape Nuts Program starring Jack Benny (33.9)
coming in at #15 with his new 30 minute version of Texaco Star Theater, Fred Allen (21.6)...Fred would eventually find his way to #1 in the 1947-48 season.
Thursday, October 4, 2012
Sunday, September 30, 2012
Bonanza Season 6 - The Scapegoat
Our continuing look at Season 6 of Bonanza, 1964-65. This was the first season it was the #1 show in prime time television.
Episode 6
The Scapegoat
originally aired October 25th 1964
Guest star George Kennedy (Waldo Watson)
Waldo Watson, a born loser who has decided to end it all. Feeling pity for Waldo, Hoss hires him as a Ponderosa ranch hand. Waldo is a clumsy and inept worker, but he also puts the Cartwrights lives' in danger with a gang of eastern gamblers who want to collect a long-standing debt from the hapless Waldo.
Saturday, September 29, 2012
New York Times Bestseller List NonFiction 09/30/2012
NY Times Bestseller List NonFiction
Week ending September 30th 2012
(click on title to get it at Amazon)
10 - The Revenge of Geography - Robert D. Kaplan
(Debut)
Predicting the next cycle of conflict on the basis of temperature and topography.
9 - How Children Succeed - Paul Tough (2nd week on list)
The author argues that the qualities that matter most have to do with character, not intelligence.
8 - Wild - Cheryl Strayed (22 weeks on list)
A Woman's account of a life changing 1,100 mile hike along the Pacific Crest Trail.
7 - Mortality - Christopher Hitchens (3 weeks on list)
Reports and reflections on his illness and impending death by the writer, who died in December 2011.
6 - Unbroken - Laura Hillenbrand (96 weeks on list)
An Olympic runner's story of survival as a prisoner of the Japanese in World War II after his bomber went down over the Pacific.
5 - The Amateur - Edward Klein (18 weeks on list)
A journalist argues that President Obama is unable to lead.
4 - Obama's America - Dinesh D'Souza (5 weeks on list)
An arguement that President Obama is the architect of American decline.
3 - Killing Lincoln - Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard (51 weeks on list)
The host of the O'Reilly Factor recounts the events surrounding the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln.
2 - The Price of Politics - Bob Woodward
(Debut)
Inside the debt-ceiling negotations of 2011 with the Washington Post journalist.
1 - No Easy Day - Mark Owen with Kevin Maurer
(2nd consecutive week at #1 and on the list)
An account by a former member of the Navy SEALs team, written pseudonymously of the mission that killed Osama bin Laden.
New York Times Bestseller List Fiction September 30th 2012
Top 10 Novels on the NY Times Bestseller list for Fiction
Week ending September 30th 2012
(click on the title to get it at Amazon.com)
10 - Robert B. Parker's Fool Me Twice - Michael Brandman
(Debut)
Jesse Stone, the chief of police in Paradise, Mass., deals with the arrest of a troubled movie star;
a continuation of the series by Parker who died in 2010
9 - The Tombs - Clive Cussler and Thomas Perry (2nd week on list)
Sam and Remi Fargo, a husband and wife treasure hunting team, search for the tomb of Atilla the Hun.
8 - Frozen Heat - Richard Castle
(Debut)
The NYPD homicide detective Nikki Heat investigates the case of a woman whose body is found in a freezer.
7 - Zoo - James Patterson (2nd week on list)
A young biologist warns world leaders about the reasons for escalating animal attacks on cities.
6 - This is How You Lose Her - Junot Diaz
(Debut)
Stories of love, loss and family history from a Pulitzer Prize winning novelist.
5 - Telegraph Avenue - Michael Chabon
(Debut)
Fathers and sons in Berkeley and Oakland, California.
4 - Delusion in Death - J.D. Robb
(Debut)
Lt. Eve Dallas investigates a mass delusion at a bar her husband owns; by Nora Roberts.
3 - The Time Keeper - Mitch Albom (2nd week on list)
(Last week's #1)
A fable about the inventor of the world's first clock, who returns to our world after centuries of banishment.
2 - Gone Girl - Gillian Flynn (15th week on list)
1 - A Wanted Man - Lee Child
(Debut)
A carload of people involved in a conspiracy pick up a disheveled hitchhiker.
In Case You Missed It
For many years I have had a fascination with all things Japan and especially wrestling but also for the ancient sport of sumo wrestling.
This week was a special week in the world of sumo with the elevation of the 70th Yokozuna, the highest rank one can achieve in sumo. The 70th Yokozuna is mongolina born, Harumafuji Kohei. He is the 3rd consecutive mongolian born wrestler and 5th overall foreign born wrestler to attain this exalted rank.
Harumafuji qualified for consideration for promotion to Yokozuna by winning 2 successive tournaments or honbasho. He had done this twice before but wasnt elevated, this time after winning the Nagoya Basho (July tournament) and Aki Basho (September tournament) while going undefeated in both. These Basho's last 15 days and the elite wrestlers compete once a day. Harumafuji defeated Hakuho in the final day of both tournaments.
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
Friday, September 21, 2012
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
Bonanza - Season 6 - Logan's Treasure
Season 6 of Bonanza, 1964-65. The first season Bonanza was the #1 show in Prime Time television.
Logan's Treasure
Episode 5
aired October 18th 1964
NBC
Logan has just been released from prison after serving 20 years for stealing $100,000 of gold dust. It has never been found and a bounty hunter decides it may be worth his while to keep an eye on him in case he still has it hidden.
Little Joe and Adam do not appear in this episode, they are in San Francisco.
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