Electronic Bookshelf/Electronic Bookshelf.iso/movies/tvguide/tvguide.exe/INTRO.TLK

Text File | 1992-12-19 | 15KB | 287 lines

                         TV EPISODE GUIDES - VOLUME I

                             D E D I C A T I O N

                              By Don Hinkle, Jr.

              (c) Copyright VanDon Software Publishing, Co., 1992


         I'd like to dedicate this electronic-book, as well as this
         first volume, of my entire life, to everyone who has ever sat
         in front of a television set, and has been carried off to
         far-away lands and been mystified by travels impossible to
         man.  To you, to me, to miracles!

         And to my daughter, Vanessa R. Davis-Hinkle.  For always
         being there, through good and bad, thick and thin, high and
         low, in and out.  For never giving up on me, and for always
         knowing that I was with you, even 600 miles away!  And for
         having a smile, and answers when everything else seemed
         gloomy.  Mere words can never say everything that I feel for
         you.  You have made my life worth living, and I'll never
         stop loving you!

                           I N T R O D U C T I O N

         The earliest memories I have are of the standard fixture in
         any civilized living room, the box, large or small, black or
         white, new or old, good or bad, working or just barely, the
         thing we call "the TV set."  The magical light at the far
         end of the room, that brought a generation alive, and gave
         birth to the "boob tube" generation.  A small box in
         reality, but infinite in theory.  It was invented in the
         late 40s, and was made popular in the 50s.  Today there is
         only one home out of a thousand that doesn't have one.  Not
         bad for a "box" that was once thought of as a "passing
         fancy!"

         In my youth I traveled to far-away lands, distant planets,
         fought wars, made love, jumped out of planes, flew with
         Superman, made a fortune, lost a fortune, brought the car of
         my dreams, ventured underwater, made friends with a dolphin,
         tamed a grisly bear, cured diseases, fought racism,
         spelunked caves--and dreamed, as no other dreamer had before
         me.  All 3 feet from the glowing wonder and without ever
         leaving my comfortable seat!

         I remember my favorite TV series was the Three Stooges, and
         quite to my suprize, it wasn't really a series, just old
         "shorts" edited into individual episodes.  Much the same way
         the Little Rascals and Laurel and Hardy were.  Whatever the
         cause, when I was a kid the Stooges "boomed" into the scene.
         Everyone I knew was watching.  At school, everyone wanted
         to be Curly.  Me?  I wanted to be Shemp.  I loved Curly, but
         figured Shemp was the odd man out, the one no one
         understood--just like me. As I got older I realized there
         were just three "Stooge stages."  1) You love them (usually
         as a kid).  2) You hate them (as you grow and become
         intellectual, they fall behind and become redundant).  3)
         You love them (you are now an adult.  And "you are now in
         sing-sing!")  You and I both came full-circle.  In contrast,
         a bit of irony, women hate the Stooges.  I never understood
         why they hate those loveable "morons."

         Other series I watched faithfully were Bosom Buddies,
         Superman, Spencer, Star Trek, Hogan's Heroes, the
         Honeymooners, the Great Gildersleeve, Sea Hunt, Robin Hood,
         the Patty Duke Show, My Two Dads, the A-Team, Doctor Who,
         MacGyver, Remington Steele, Riptide, Star Trek, and the all
         time classic, M*A*S*H.  I loved them then, and I still love
         them now.

         I always dreamed of being Mike Nelson (Sea Hunt) and writing
         a book about my exploits.  Later I dreamed of becoming a
         park/forest ranger.  Unfortunately my life had a different
         calling and I ended up in other places, far from my dream.
         But I still carried the passion to write a book.  One day I
         told my daughter that I was again thinking about all the
         things I had yet to accomplish in my life.  She told me "if
         you feel like a book, I know it will be great."  This is
         that book.  However, I soon discovered it would be more than
         "just a book."  It is the culmination of 50+ years of
         television history.  So much history infact, that it had to
         be broken into several volumes.  It was either that, or a
         hard drive dedicated to this television history!

         Instead of writing a hard cover book, limiting me to a
         select market, I wanted to share my passions with the people
         who share with me.  Hence, the "electronic book."  According
         to modern statistics, the same people who faithfully watch
         TV, are they same people who own a computer.  MY PEOPLE!, MY
         FRIENDS!, MY FELLOW TRAVELLERS!!!

                       G E T T I N G  D O W N  T O  I T

         Have you ever watched a favorite show on late-night TV and
         wondered when the show was filmed or taped?  Have you
         watched a show where the characters were old one day, a teen
         the next, and 30 the day after that?  Have you seen a show
         in black & white in one episode, and color the next?  Have
         you wondered where "so-n-so" entered the series?  Have you
         wondered what shows Mel Blanc guested in?  Have you heard
         that both Alan Alda and Mike Farrell wrote and directed
         episodes of M*A*S*H, and you wish you knew which they were?
         Or who produced what episode, directed, or even wrote a
         certain show?  Or perhaps, which show an actor or actress
         started in?

         Do you even know the title to your favorite episode?  Hummm.
         I'll bet you didn't even know that each episode of a show
         carries a "production title."  This is what they go by when
         filming it!  It is also referred to as a "working title,"
         "show title" or "episode title."  For example, the first
         episode of Superman (1951) was called "Superman On Earth."
         Or the episode of Lost In Space featuring John Carradine as
         the guest was titled "the Galaxy Gift."  And a classic, the
         Honeymooners episode where everyone in the building is
         learning to dance, except Ralph.  Oh yes!  He does the
         Hucklebuck!  The episode was titled "Mama Loves Mambo."

         Every show has them, but very few shows "present" them.  You
         will never see a "production title" on M*A*S*H, the Jack
         Benny Show, Growing Pains, Three's Company, Bewitched, Happy
         Days, Father Knows Best and most others.  You will see titles
         on Superman (the early episodes only, later they stopped
         presenting them), Batman, F Troop, the A-Team and a select
         few.  (Generally, the rule is that all mystery, crime and
         drama, and most detective shows present them (Charlie's
         Angels, the Equalizer, Murder She Wrote, etc.), where comedy
         and campy-shows don't).  I took a few years, to present them
         all, just for you!  Now with these "Episode Guides" you can
         have every show, every title, every plot (story), every
         director, writer, producer on your desktop for instant
         reference.

         Since it was impossible to put every show ever known to man
         on a single volume, I have broken the volumes into nice
         little "packages."  Each package has shows from the 50s,
         60s, 70, and some include the 80s (due to the fact that
         shows from the 80s are still in negotiations for
         syndication).  Those that were too long (Like Doctor Who for
         instance) were given volumes of their very own.  Each
         episode of Doctor Who is actually a movie length show,
         edited into one large show, from 6-8 (more or less)
         "serials" which were shown each week).  In each volume you
         are sure to find a show that you love!

         Currently available are 25 volumes, and that number is
         growing every day!  If you don't find your favorite show in
         any of the volumes, I assure you, it will be here soon!
         This is what I do, and what I love.  If however, you cannot
         find your favorite show on a volume, drop me a line and I'll
         try to accommodate you in every way possible.

                            H E R E  W E  G O...!

         Every show has a plot that the progression follows.  This is
         the script that they work by.  Without the script, there
         would be no show.  Our lives would be pretty boring, to say
         the least.  However, even though there are millions of shows
         on reruns (professionally known as "syndication") there are
         still only a handful of plots of which most shows have lived
         by, and some have died by.  Historians have commonly
         believed that there was never anything new under the sun,
         just rehashed ideas, made into new things.  If this is true,
         than it is certainly true for the TV generations.

         A brief summation of all the standard plots that well known
         shows have used (or will follow).  You can find these plots
         (aka "stories") hard at work in Family matters, Mr.
         Belvedere, Growing Pains, Who's the Boss?, and just about
         any TV show, past or present, even future, on prime time.

                                STANDARD PLOTS

         * Someone wins a shopping spree.
         * Someone is challenged to an event (usually sports related)
           that they cannot possibly match.
         * Someone initiates an endless string of practical jokes,
           that soon gets out of control.
         * A group (friends, coworkers, etc.) go on a "primal"
           camping trip, to get in touch with their "primal self."
         * A back to nature episode.
         * Someone is chosen to do a commercial.
         * Someone is obsessed with someone or something.
         * An episode where everyone is old (usually through a dream
           sequence), except one person in the cast.
         * Someone gets "flashed" or robbed.  (The perpetrator is
           usually caught).
         * Someone wants to get a tatoo, to show their affection for
           a loved one.
         * Someone buys a dump of a house, or a beat up old wreck of
           a car.
         * Someone (usually a family member) goes on a disastrous
           camping trip.
         * A horrible new neighbor moves in.
         * Someone inept fixes something around the house, (usually
           turns into a disaster.)
         * Someone elopes
         * Someone buys a stolen car or motorcycle.
         * A high school reunion episode.
         * An old friend returns, who is now a celebrity, or rock
           star.
         * An old friend returns, who hasn't changed a bit, but
           everyone else has.
         * Someone (usually friends) go on a trip of some kind, gets
           stranded, and nearly starve to death.
         * Someone doesn't make the basketball, (football, baseball,
           etc.) team.
         * Someone walks out on an unfair job.
         * Two old friends fall in love.
         * Someone gets a sexually transmitted disease.
         * Someone gets a promotion, and turns into a tyrant.
         * Someone gets married to avoid being deported.
         * Someone steals a friend's girlfriend.
         * The family goes to court (usually over something petty).
         * Someone moves in with the family.
         * Someone dies (and is usually replaced).
         * Someone moves out.
         * Someone cheats on a school test.
         * The house is robbed.
         * A fire.
         * A natural disaster.
         * Someone mistakenly thinks they've gained a promotion.
         * Someone thinks they are dying.
         * Someone buys a business (usually turns out to be a
           "lemon.")
         * A sunburn at the beach, or tanning booth.
         * Someone contracts a cold, (flu, measles, chicken pocks,
           etc.) just in time to ruin a vacation or outing.
         * A visit to the hospital.
         * A "It's a Wonderful Life" takeoff, where the principal
           player (lead) dreams how his/her life could have been.

                               STANDARD ISSUES

         * Medicare
         * The homeless
         * AIDS
         * Death
         * Taxes
         * Pregnancy (usually teens involved)
         * Marriage
         * Infertility
         * Divorce
         * Relationships
         * Loss of virginity
         * Rape (or date rape)
         * Prostitution
         * Drug abuse
         * V.D.
         * Drug addiction
         * Child molestation
         * Legal proceedings (a series all in its own!)
         * Religion
         * Homosexuality
         * Lesbianism
         * Activist groups
         * Earth Day
         * Deadly toxins
         * Poison
         * Television (really!)
         * Murder (many a series have been founded on this one!)
         * Gang violence
         * Repression of some sort
         * Depression
         * Suicide
         * Various "fad" illnesses
         * Animal cruelty
         * Harm to wildlife (dolphin trapping, seal clubbing, etc.)

         This is just a SAMPLE of the standard plots (stories) that
         so many shows use.  They are commonly used on comedy, drama,
         adventure, detective and mystery shows.  They have (or will
         be) used on every show ever known to modern man.  These
         plots can be tooled to any show by the professional script
         writer, with little effort.  They are indeed masters at
         their craft!

                            AND NOW FOR THE GUIDES!

                              --END OF CHAPTER--

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