In Memoriam :: To Boldly Go in Another Direction.

"Lost civilizations ... Extraterrestrials ... Myths and Monsters ... Missing persons ... Magic and witchcraft ... Unexplained phenomenon ... In Search Of... cameras are traveling the world, seeking out these great mysteries. This program was the result of scientists, researches, and a group of highly skilled technicians."

Now, I love Mr. Spock as much as the next person, but I kinda grew up in a Star Trek vacuum, meaning no local stations had it in syndication after I was old enough to really pay attention to such things. (I still have only seen a handful of the original series episodes, slowly trying to rectify that on Netflix.) But In Search Of..., on the other hand, was a weekend staple for nearly ten years and this is why it came to mind first when I heard of Leonard Nimoy's passing yesterday. 

I remember clearly getting itchy at Sunday School when I was kid, hoping things would get wrapped up in time to get home to catch it. (I also remember if a football or baseball game got done earlier than expected on our local NBC affiliate, In Search Of... episodes would be used to plug up the gap.) And then there I sat, invited in and given a tour by our most gracious host, enraptured by the mysteries of the unknown. Haven't been the same since. Ask anybody. 

"The miracle is this: the more we share, the more we have." 

Leonard Nimoy

(1931-2015)

Fractured Flickers :: Logic. Logic Will Keep Us Together -- Or -- Who Was That Masked Man Behind the Pie?

 That's right, Boils and Ghouls. It's TVs Leonard Nimoy.

"Master Joke Theater is made possible by a grant from United States Post Office. Which means, You should get tonight's joke in about seven days."

These caps were taken from an episode of The Captain & Tennille Show, perhaps the absolute zenith of the 1970s era of musical variety television. Even though the ratings were astronomical, the show only ran for one season when the artists walked away to focus on their music careers. Anyhoo, this particular week, Leonard joined two other very special guest stars, Andy Griffith and Rita Moreno, in a running gag involving 'The William Tell Overture', a stick-pony, and a masked man through a series of  skits about a plumber, a dentist and, apparently, Liberace's other brother.

And on top of The Master Joke Theater sketch (another weekly gag where more than one guest star pied themselves in the face), Nimoy was also featured in a poetry jam session, where he presented some of his writings with musical accompaniment. 

I, for one, will always be eternally thankful to The Captain & Tennille Show for The Bionic Watermelon skit. But after stumbling upon these clips deep in a YouTube hole (-- I was looking for the song 'Muskrat Love', after hearing it back to back on my grocery store's muzak channel with Cher's 'Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves' and achieving total plutonic reversal), and another bit involving very special guest star, Vincent Price, found me ordering the complete series boxset, currently ranging at dirt cheap on Amazon. It should be here in couple of days. So, if you never hear from me again, you will all know what happened.