Tonight’s TV Guide pages start with a compelling Dracula ’79 advertisement. But that’s playing later tonight. This afternoon is pretty boring stuff. I well remember Saturday afternoon television; the glorious morning cartoons are over, and all that’s left is bowling and the Wide World of Sports. Fortunately, there’s a special on the Loch Ness Monster.
Looks like we’re stuck watching Hee-Haw and Hee-Haw Honeys until prime time. I will say that I recently watched some reruns, and there were actually some really good musical performances. It’s when it tried to be the Hillbilly Laugh-In that it failed.
Man, look at the options at 7:00. We have a new series, Bad News Bears, which looks to be absolutely awful, and this Dracula TV movie. Evidently, it was part of an NBC series called “Cliffhangers”, which were serialized dramas – a rather unique format brought to the small screen. It’s described in detail at TV Obscurities.
The one I’d really like to watch today is the Paul Lynde special featuring Gary Coleman and send-ups of Invasion of the Body Snatchers and Grease.
Ugh, our choices at 7:30 are slim – notably a new series starring the dreadful Steve Guttenberg. The Close-Up section highlights a romance starring John Boy Walton and Julie Kavner – sister of Rhoda Morganstern, and then the voice of Marge Simpson.
Tonight on The Love Boat – Toni Tennille (The Captain and Tennille), Robert Reed (The Brady Bunch), Todd Bridges (Diff’rent Strokes), and Marilyn McCoo (The 5th Dimension, Solid Gold).
Also, if you’d like some amphetamines, Dex-A-Diet is on sale.
It’s an embarrassment of riches this evening. The Rockford Files and Fantasy Island at 9:00. Then, a music show featuring Twiggy and Slade. Saturday Night Live looks pretty lame tonight with Robert Klein and Bonnie Raitt, but the Easter Seals Telethon is slammed full of interesting celebs: Meadowlark Lemon (Harlem Globetrotters), The Village People, Donny Most (Happy Days), Bruce Jenner, Stevie Nicks, George Peppard, Phoebe Snow (“Poetry Man”), and Wolfman Jack!
Retro Hound 