The NBC Mystery Movie

Following the success of NBC's 90 minute wheel series "Name of the Game", they launched The NBC Mystery Movie. Henry Mancini, who was doing a lot of music for NBC at the time, penned this iconic theme. The anthology ran for 8 years. When it disappeared, so did most of the individual shows. The excepts are; "Quincy, ME" which had a very popular 8 year run on NBC, and "Columbo". Columbo went to be featured in several stand-alone movies and then eventually in The ABC Mystery Movie in the late 80's.

ABC Movie of the Week opening sequence, created in 1969

One of the most beautiful pieces of music ever written. It's the instrumental version of the song "Nikki" written by Burt Bacharach for his newborn daughter, Nikki, back in 1966. This version is more richly orchestrated than Bacharach's arrangement. Legendary Jazz composer Harry Betts arranged and recorded this.

By the way, for you trivia buffs, Nikki's mom is also very famous...Angie Dickinson. Sadly, Nikki passed away a few years ago.

For those of you not old enough to remember, this opening sequence was done in 1969. Before CGI. These were cutting edge graphics back then. The ABC Movie of the Week, Tuesday Movie of the Week and Wednesday Movie of the Week all used variations of this open. The series ran from 1971-1976

Danny Kaye: WONDER MAN (2)

I discovered this movie by accident in 1974. I had just seen Cathy Lee Crosby's "Wonder Woman" which had aired as an ABC Movie of the Week. Our independent station in the Twin Cities, WTCN-TV, Channel 11 (now KARE-TV) always ran old movies in the afternoon. When I saw they were running a movie called "Wonder Man", I had to watch thinking it was another superhero flick. I was not disappointed, despite the fact that it was not a superhero movie. It was, in fact, one of the funniest movies I had ever seen (not to mention the fact that I fell madly in love with Vera Ellen).

This is the main musical/dance number from that movie. An incredible performance by both Danny Kaye and Vera Ellen.

The Short Circus - "Sweet Sweet Sway"

This is actually a musical number from The Electric Company, circa 1973. Playing the emcee is none other than Oscar-winning actor Morgan Freeman, who was with The Electric Company during its entire run. The lead singer of the all kid group is Denise Nickerson, best known for her role as the gum-chewing Violet Beauregarde in 1971's Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory.

The Guiding Light 1974 Open and Closing theme

Part of my childhood was to make it clear to everyone that I wasn't a child. My father and brother were very sick and my mom had her hands full with them. So, I decided it was my job to grow up as fast as possible. With that in mind, I started watching soap operas at the tender age of 8. I couldn't always watch because that silly thing they call "school" got in the way, But, when I could, I watched The Guiding Light. Here's what the opening and closing looked like when I first started watching it in 1974.

Match Game: Cuckoo _____!

Take heart 40-somethings! The next time one the younglings laughs at you because you don't understand their latest internet meme or other defiling of the English langauge, try this one on them. Of course, this woman was 30-ish back in 1980 and she's the one who made this historic Match Game blunder.

Monkees Kelloggs Commercial 1

And now, a word from our sponsor...

Emergency +4 (1973) - OPENING

Emergency was such a huge hit that it was turned into an animated series in 1973.  It would run for three seasons on NBC's Saturday morning schedule.

Of course, my most favorite episode of this series is when Roy and Johnny and kids were involved with that tornado in Wichita, KS.  Don't ask me how two LA County firefighters/paramedics ended up in Kansas.  I don't remember the episode that well.  I just remember the tornado.  Yes, I've been a weather geek my whole life.

Emergency- Pilot Episode Open

Jack Webb had already had two huge hits with Dragnet and Adam-12.  In 1972, he cooked up a two-hour movie about a new trend in emergency medicine.  Emergency became a smash hit and NBC put in on the schedule as a mid-season replacement.  The show would go on to inspire many kids to become paramedics and to this day is regarded as one of the best medical dramas ever.

This is the opening credits sequence to the made-for-TV movie that launched that historic series.

UFO Opening Theme - Remastered in STEREO!

One of my favorite shows from the early 1970's was also a show that lasted just one season.  UFO was a cross between James Bond and Star Trek.  It was a BBC show that ran in the US from 1972-1973.  The show dealt with a secret organization called SHADO that was set up to defend the Earth from aliens who were carving up humans for body parts.  A kind of involuntary organ donor program.

Barry Gray composed the theme to this show.  In my opinion, the music ranks right up there with Hawaii Five-0 and Mission: Impossible.

A feature film version of UFO is due out in 2012.

Many, many thanks to Michelle66 on YouTube for posting this.  If you love this kind of stuff, I urge you to subscribe to her channel.  She posts some of the best 60's nostalgia on YouTube.

Welcome to my blog

I've tried blogs before.  Some have worked.  Most have not.  Mainly because they lacked focus.

On my Facebook page, I've been posting a great deal of stuff from the 1960's and 1970's.  YouTube is a treasure chest of childhood memories.  However, it was taking over my Facebook page.  So, I decided to start a blog.  A blog dedicated to the 1960's and early 1970's.

You will find lots of old commercials and TV show themes here.  You will also find articles that list what I feel are best (or worst) of a particular genre, year, etc.  I will also be comparing and contrasting the 60's and 70's with our world today.  Don't be surprised if I seem a little biased toward the past.  I am.

I am proudly stuck in the 1960's and 1970's.

So sit back, buckle up, crank up your Way Back Machine and get ready to take a trip back in time.   Until I can find a way to actually send myself back to the Kennedy, Johnson or Nixon administrations...I guess this will have to do.