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(Home of the On the Jazz Newsletter Archives)
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DATE: October 26, 1997
ISSUE: 2
VOLUME: 4
Current newsletter + mailing list subscribership: 197
Current newsletter-only subscribership: 341
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Well, a little late but better than never...been a slow news time but we try to please as best as possible, nevertheless...
NEWS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Stephen Cannell on Diagnosis Murder?
Dwight in upcoming SciFi Channel special
FROM THE ARCHIVES
WEB WATCH
ALTERNATIVE EPISODE GUIDE ENTRIES
The Rabbit Who Ate Las Vegas
West Coast Turnaround
VCR WATCH
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NEWS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS:
STEPHEN CANNELL ON DIAGNOSIS MURDER: While doing my usual late-night UseNET searching, I came across this tidbit regarding Diagnosis Murder (apparently from someone involved in the show's production):
[email protected] wrote:
> I'm glad you enjoy our stunt casting -- we're trying to be inventive
> about it without become the Love Boat of cop shows. You can see the cast of
> "Emergency" in our upcoming Malibu Fire episode, and we have an espionage
> story coming in November with four famous TV spies as post-Cold war, retired
> agents. And, our crowning stunt casting achievement, is Must Kill TV, an
> episode about the murder of a network executive -- guests already lined up
> include Stephen J. Cannell, Eric Estrada, Jane Seymour, and Doug E. Doug.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
More info on this episode as I hear about it - sounds like a likely broadcast for this coming November Sweeps month...
----
DWIGHT IN UPCOMING SCI-FI CHANNEL SPECIAL: Another Sweeps month event, here's one to set your vcr's for!
>HOLLYWOOD (Variety) - Cable's Sci-Fi Channel will next month participate
>in what it is calling the first live drama simulcast on both national TV
>and the Internet when it airs an adaptation of the H.G. Wells tale
>"First Men in the Moon."
>
>Performed live Nov. 2 from the Museum of TV & Radio branch in Beverly
>Hills, the drama stars Leonard Nimoy, John de Lancie, Ethan Phillips and
>Dwight Schultz. It will be shown simultaneously at 5 p.m. over Sci-Fi
>Channel and via the network's Web site, called the Dominion.
>
>"First Men in the Moon" was made into a feature in 1964.
For information on the 'net, go to http://www.scifi.com/
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FROM THE ARCHIVES...two short articles this week, one recent, one older, both focusing on Dwight (hey, just happened this way this issue...next issue I'll try to do a "focus" on one of the other guys...) The recent one first, and thanks to Bettina Poszvek for transcribing this article for us.
>Ok, here finally comes the transcript (I'm leaving out stuff we already
>know, like titles of films he appeared in) from "Star Trek. The official
>monthly magazine". Aug. '97:
..."Not long after graduating from college, where he majored in Theater Arts, Schultz began to act professionally in a variety of stage shows, including The Crazy Locomotive, with Glenn Close, The Water Engine (Broadway debut) and The Crucifier of Blood with Charlton Heston. Schultz's profile rose noticeably with television's The A-Team, on which he starred ...as the loosest cannon in a group of renegades who covertly righted wrongs committed against everyday people. After several years as the A-Team's pilot, some wondered if Schultz might be typecast as a loony tune, but such fears proved unfounded.
"I don't think TAT colored me at all. I was very fortunate. I went from Murdock to playing Robert Oppenheimer in Fat Man and Little Boy for Roland Joffe. Nobody had a defined idea as to what I was because I did many different things on that show." he notes. "If people saw me one week on TAT, they thought of me one way. If they saw it another week, they thought of me in a different way. My career has been pretty much the same thing. I've played daddies and preachers and psychologists and lawyers and policemen and a few psychopaths. I was not in any way pigeon-holed after TAT and I am, of course, very pleased about that."
Schultz recently turned up as a guest on the Sci-fi Channel's talk show, 'The Vortex' to discuss the Roswell incident, UFO-matters and politics with the likes of author Harlan Ellison and others. [[NOTE - Harlan Ellison was NOT on this program as far as I can remember! ... Sockii]] He's also completed a role in 'Take to the Heart', [[Actually it was called 'Get to the Heart' - Sockii]] a US TV-movie in which he ages from 26 to 63. The film casts Schultz as the father of country music singer Barbara Mandrell, played by former Brady Bunch star Maureen McCormick. Schultz's ST-connection continues as well. The actor attends the occasional convention and he recently joined L. Nimoy and J. De Lancie when they recorded their latest radio play for 'Alien Voices': Arthur Conan Doyle's 'The Lost World'. "Doing 'The Lost World' was a lot of fun. It was nice to participate in something that was like an old radio play," he recalls. "John de Lancie is a blast. Hopefully I'll get to do a few more of those. John, actually, was instrumental in getting me involved with Spawn, for HBO (an animated version of the ongoing comic book series). It's a very, very dark show. I've met with the animators and that's a fascinating process. I'm looking forward to seeing my episode." [[Sockii asks - anyone know which episode Dwight was in?? I believe theseare available on video now.]]
About ST: "I got to work with one of the finest groups of people on ST:TNG, right on down the line from Patrick Stewart, Brent Spiner, who I knew from NY, and on and on. It really was a thrill," says Schultz, who lives with his wife and nine-year-old daughter in LA. "There was hardly an angry moment when I was there. It was just a lot of fun. They are very professional despite some very long working hours."
"First and foremost, the producers and writers are very concerned about the product. When I worked on TAT, half the time they didn't care about the show. They were off producing other shows. We had nobody at the helm. We had different writers every week. It was a crazy, mixed-up, catch-it-if-you-can kind of thing where there was nobody at the helm. And they really didn't care. If the show was a hit, it was, and if it died, they had 10 other shows they were going to produce. With ST, they were concerned about the quality, and maintaining the quality of the scripts. That's a pleasure for an actor. And when there's tension, it's a good tension. It's not about 'How do I survive here?' but about 'How do I make this better?'".
"I was very, very happy to be even a small part of Stat Trek. And who knows? I could be again someday."
----
The second article I'd picked out as it seems an appropriate response to the last featured article on violence in the A-Team ... this one is entitled
A-TEAM'S SCHULTZ SPEAKS HIS MIND (From the Tampa Tribune-Times, 07/14/85)
"What do they mean by 'aggressive behavior'?" queries a cynical Dwight Schultz in reaction to a recent survey that stated children who watch violence on television are more apt to be aggressive. "Do they mean they said 'no' to their mothers?" The actor who plays Howling Mad Murdock on The A-Team is skeptical about such surveys - and the famous people who make "this is terrible and I'm against it" statements without what Schultz sees as complete information or credible authority.
Although he acknowledges that he deplores "some of the violence" on television, he says he'd have no objections to a child of his own watching his series. "I'd sit down with him and explain it. The A-Team is not socially important. It's entertainment," he says about the show that has been castigated for having the most acts of violence per hour, the show in which millions of bullets are fired and no-one is hit. "It's really a question of taste." He cites Laurel and Hardy and points out that they destroyed houses and automobiles and shot guns into people's backsides - but no-one worries about the effect of their shows on the behavior of children.
Schultz expresses his views forcefully. Slender and personable, his brown hair combed forward disguising a receding hairline, he attributes much of the A-Team attitude to his political views. Describing himself as "one of the only two conservatives on the East Coast", he is a firm believer that what distinguishes America is freedom of choice - with all the inherent risks, from guns to taste.
The issue of violence aside, he was attracted to the A-Team scripts from the first reading. A New York stage actor, he says he had already been persuaded by his agent that he needed to work in television,that it is the contemporary, necessary detour to a successful stage career. The series was "well written and it had great potential," he says, adding that his role as a wacky pilot was particularly appealing since he would get to be different each week, a way to keep his creative juices flowing. And then, "I could get married," he grins. He had met actress Wendy Fulton on a blind date some six years earlier and reports it was definitely love at first sight. "I had been bitching and complaining for a year. I felt like a woman in the '50s. I wanted to have dinner and talk and get to know a woman, and all most of them wanted to do was hop in bed for an evening. I was very frustrated."
It turned out that Wendy Fulton was doing the same kind of complaining, and mutual friends finally persuaded them to meet. he was on Broadway in Night and Day, and Wendy was finishing a stage run in "Lady House Blues" when they got together for dinner and discovered, "we were probably the only two people in New York who wanted to see a documentary about Koko, the gorilla." When Wendy called a month later and asked to talked to him, he went in fear and trembling; a similar request the preceding year had turned out to be a Dear John talk. But Wendy said, "I just have to tell you that I'm crazy about you, so are you serious about me?" A relieved Dwight answered, "Oh yes, I'm crazy about you, too."
He says now, "We were so honest about it all; there wasn't a lot of fudging around. That's the way we both are - very blunt." They married in 1983, six months after The A-Team began airing. It is with what he calls 'amenities' (such as marriage) that his life has been most affected by the series. "What they say about starving actors in New York - it's true! When you have to make a decision about whether to buy a loaf of bread or not, your mind isn't free." The A-Team brought relief. "It's as if someone unscrewed the bolts a little bit in my head." And already his agent's promises are starting to come true. he marvels about a call asking him to replace Ed Herrman in Joseph Papp's Public Theater Production of 'Plenty'. "Television exposure make that possible."
He hopes that "When the series is over I may be fortunate enough to go to Broadway and do a show partially of my own choosing."
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WEB WATCH - A-Team Addicts everywhere can - and should - visit
http://www.geocities.com/hollyood/academy/6677
the A-Team Addict's Page. There are individual pages for each of the guys, so no matter what your particular affliction is, you can get a good dose of support - and pictures involving shorts.
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ALTERNATIVE EPISODE GUIDE - This issue, two more entries from Rachel Walker, the first one featuring...
The Rabbit Who Ate Las Vegas.
In the lovely town of Los Angeles two young women wait nervously for a bus. It arrives, they get on. They are alone until a large black guy wearing a lot of gold gets on. They are increasingly nervous. The bus leaves, pulls into a garage and everybody gets out. Nervous is ceasing to be an adequate description. A woman and man join the big guy and the bus driver and after some, er, nervous glances it appears they have hired the A-Team. The job, to rescue their math professor from a Mafia mobster. The reason, he has the perfect system.
So, it�s off to Las Vegas. While Hannibal gets into his nouveau bigtime disguise Murdock brushes up on his dice rolling. There�s no need, he�s very good, and only slightly annoys the hell out of BA. Mercifully Face calls a halt to the invisible game of Craps and calls in an order for flowers for Tony Vincent from Gianni Christian, the man holding the professor hostage.
No sooner have they arrived at the Xanadu Hotel when Hannibal starts causing trouble, demanding rooms, women in rooms and generally having a fun time of it. The desk clerk is finally persuaded to comply by the flowers that arrive from the most influential man in town, Gianni Christian, for his old buddy, Tony Vincent, so he gives the team the Elvis Suite. But when they have gone he calls Mr. Martell, Gianni�s right hand man, and an investigation is underway. Is Tony Vincent for real, despite the fact that he looks like he stepped out of a Dick Tracy novel?
Meanwhile, Face calls Hannibal�s suite and talks utter gibberish, knowing that the mob will be listening and will assume that the codes are government issue. To add to the illusion Hannibal asks for Gianni�s girlfriend, Ellie, to come to the room while BA attaches a toaster...er, I mean scrambling device, to the phone and Murdock sprinkles blue prints and high-power rifles around the room.
Fortunately Ellie is taken in by their act and believes they are federal agents about to make a hit on Gianni. After the attack of an unbelievably sleazy Bongo, a.k.a. Murdock, she agrees to co-operate and tells them Christian�s daily routine.
So, the stage is set. As predicted, Gianni sends more than room service to Hannibal�s suite and the Colonel soon ends up at gun point, in his pajamas in Christian�s apartment. What Christian doesn�t know is that Hannibal has an ace up his sleeve in the form of Face and Amy in the Honeymoon suite of the hotel across the road. So, instead of being food for the fishes Hannibal turns this rather awkward situation around by informing Gianni that he could take him out at any time. Gianni seems skeptical. He is less so when Face fires a bullet into the wall by his head. He agrees to hand over the professor, agrees to anything, just to get the mad man out of his room.
The next day the exchange is made. The A-Team get the professor and Gianni, well, he gets his piece of mind back. So, everything�s going to be all right...right. But wait, there�s still 20 minutes left, something has to go wrong. And go wrong it does when Gianni Christian forgets his water wings when he takes a dive from his penthouse suite into the pool. The team takes off, the mobsters get angry and Mr. Martell puts the word out that it was our guys who killed his boss. The nerve!
There�s nothing to do but hide out in a local motel. The cops are everywhere, a photograph of Hannibal will soon be crossing Colonel Lynch�s desk and, to make matters worse, Martell has put a $100,000 reward on their heads. But Hannibal, as ever, has a plan...
What will the mob bosses think of their uninvited guests? What will Martell do when they realize he killed Gianni? Will Murdock ever catch that plane?
Don�t ask me...
Useful information from the episode.
1) The perfect system has something to do with remedial algebra, let�s get to work people.
2) You can always spot a federal agent, they�re the ones in the hideous jackets.
3) If you�re going to brag about killing your boss make very sure nobody is holding a tape recorder.
Highlights:
1) The bad guys flipping their car. It rolls and rolls, it smashes on it�s roof, it�s totaled.....
�Hey John, are you OK�
�Yeah, I�m OK�.
Classic!
2) The toaster.
Thought for the day:
Never order room service at The Xanadu.
Quote of the week:
Hannibal:
Cheer up Face. Remember, it�s always darkest just before it goes totally black.
*****
West Coast Turnaround
Watermelons. Not a word often associated with the Team, but this week they find themselves wheeling and dealing in the produce market and driving big trucks through peoples' cars. It's all in a day's work...
Having been hired to get the melons to market the boys realize they need some trucks. So, BA takes his mind off the mess Billy is making of his van by making a police car from scratch and Hannibal and Face have a little fun posing as the local constabulary. Luckily for them, the trucking company is having a sale and they get two trucks for one and drive to Green Valley, home of the bad boys of the week led by Easterland.
Easterland seem a little ticked when the chaps blow through a road block and pretty soon they turn up to have a little chat. Words are said and punches are thrown. The bad guys are tossed around a bit and Hannibal takes a nasty punch to the jaw. But never fear, it was all part of the plan...right?
So, the stage is set. While Face checks on the current price for over ripe watermelons, the rest of the team loads up the truck. But they also need a chase car. But where are they going to find a fast, little car at a moments notice? Well, Amy has thoughtfully brought along her new purchase, Le Car, and agrees to let BA at it after Face lays a major guilt trip on her. BA assures her that it'll come back as good as new.
So, as Amy waves good bye to Le Car, now transformed into Le Armored Vehicle, Hannibal drives away in the truck followed by Murdock and Face.
Pretty soon they meet the inevitable, a road block. Hannibal grins a wicked grin, puts his foot down and the chase is on. Things are looking peachy as the pursuit is foiled by smoke and tacks on the road but they haven't counted on one thing...a large mine in the middle of the road. The truck screeches to a halt and Le Armored Vehicle takes a detour through a bush to the bottom of a big ditch. Battered and bruised, the boys surrender and Easterland prepares to torch the load. But wouldn't you know it, sneaky old Hannibal has put the watermelons in the other truck which BA is now driving in the opposite direction...
Will BA make it to LA? Will Hannibal, Murdock and Face escape in the helicopter so thoughtfully supplied by Easterland? Will Le Car be all right after it's brush with a roaring fire?
Find out, if you dare......
Useful information from the episode.
1) Watermelons make great missiles.
2) 'It came from Planet X' is not a real movie, don't try to rent it.
3) Never trust a cop with a great smile.
Highlights:
1) Amy failing to recognize Hannibal in the hospital. I mean, what's wrong with the woman?!
2) Face discovering he ain't as good a salesman as he might think.
3) Le Car.
Thought for the day:
When BA says 'it'll look good as new' he really means 'it'll be a burnt up wreck and I hope you have insurance'.
Quote of the week:
Hannibal, on the state of Le Car:
"With the excitement of the escape, I don't remember it looking like that."
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Final thoughts for the ish, before we get to the web watch - anyone planning on dressing up like a Team member for Halloween this year? If so, send us a photo!
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VCR WATCH
All times are Eastern Standard.
MELINDA CULEA
Brotherly Love
MONDAY -> Friday 6:30 PM - DISN
GEORGE PEPPARD
Matlock
Thursday, October 30, 1997 - 12:05 PM - TBS
PROGRAM: Drama (60 Minutes)
"P.I.". Ben's friend (George Peppard), a private investigator, and his estranged daughter (Tracy Nelson) try to re-establish their relationship while probing the murder of a director's (Jonathan Banks) mistress. {CC,Stereo}.
10/28/97, 9:30 (A&E - GEN)
10/28/97, 15:30 (A&E - GEN)
Banacek (The Vanishing Chalice) - Banacek's latest assignment is to figure out how a rare Greek chalice could be missing from a closely guarded museum in Boston.
11/4/97, 9:30 (A&E - GEN)
11/4/97, 15:30 (A&E - GEN)
Banacek (Horse of a Slightly Different Color) - While in the backstretch, a champion racehorse is stolen and replaced by a look-alike-- and everyone bets on Banacek to solve the case.
11/11/97, 9:30 (A&E - GEN)
11/11/97, 15:30 (A&E - GEN)
Banacek (Rocket to Oblivion) - Banacek is called in after a revolutionary rocket engine disappears from an exposition center. Guest stars: Andrew Prine, Linda Evans. (TV-G)
11/18/97, 9:30 (A&E - GEN)
11/18/97, 15:30 (A&E - GEN)
Banacek (Fly Me -- If You Can Find Me) - Banacek investigates the disappearance of an airliner after an emergency landing on a desert airfield. Guest star: Sterling Hayden.
11/25/97, 9:30 (A&E - GEN)
11/25/97, 15:30 (A&E - GEN)
Banacek (Now You See Me, Now You Don't) - Banacek puts his skills to use when a tricky banker pulls a vanishing act after stealing $1.75 million in securities.
MR. T
Rocky III
Monday, October 27, 1997 - 12:00 AM - TNT
MOVIE: Action (125 Minutes)
(1982) Old foe Apollo Creed trains ex-boxing champ Rocky Balboa for a rematch with brutish Clubber Lang. Sylvester Stallone, Mr. T, Talia Shire, Carl Weathers, Burt Young, Burgess Meredith. Directed by Sylvester Stallone.
THE A-TEAM
10/24/97, 17:00 (FX - GEN)
A-Team (Lease With an Option to Die) - The A-Team tangles with neighborhood thugs after answering B.A.'s mother's (Della Reese) call for help.
10/24/97, 17:00 (FX - GEN)
A-Team (Lease With an Option to Die) - The A-Team tangles with neighborhood thugs after answering B.A.'s mother's (Della Reese) call for help.
10/27/97, 17:00 (FX - GEN)
A-Team (The Road to Hope) - The team tries to expose a millionaire's son who is running an illegal operation out of a Skid Row shelter.
10/28/97, 17:00 (FX - GEN)
A-Team (The Heart of Rock and Roll) - The A-Team works to expose a robbery scam being run by a prison warden. Guests: Rick James, Isaac Hayes.
10/29/97, 17:00 (FX - GEN)
A-Team (Body Slam) - The A-Team contends with mobsters who are trying to close down a youth center.
10/30/97, 17:00 (FX - GEN)
A-Team (Blood, Sweat and Cheers) - The A-Team helps a race-car driver who is being threatened by a Mafia boss's nephew. Guest star: Stuart Whitman.
10/31/97, 17:00 (FX - GEN)
A-Team (Where Is the Monster When You Need Him?) - On location in Mexico to film a monster movie, the A-Team locks horns with a war criminal.
11/1/97, 17:00 (FX - GEN)
A-Team (Mind Games) - Hannibal fears Faceman's official pardon is a setup.
11/3/97, 17:00 (FX - GEN)
A-Team (There Goes the Neighborhood) - The A-Team is hired to protect a rock singer from terrorists.
11/4/97, 17:00 (FX - GEN)
A-Team (The Doctor Is Out) - The team travels to South America to search for a kidnapped psychologist.
11/5/97, 17:00 (FX - GEN)
A-Team (Wheel of Fortune) - Murdock is caught in a plan to steal a Russian attack chopper.
11/6/97, 17:00 (FX - GEN)
A-Team (The A-Team Is Coming, the A-Team Is Coming) - A crazed Soviet general hatches a plot to spark World War III.
11/7/97, 17:00 (FX - GEN)
A-Team (Members Only) - Faceman uncovers a counterfeiting scheme.
11/8/97, 17:00 (FX - GEN)
A-Team (Cowboy George) - The team looks for a missing sheriff. Guest: Boy George.
11/10/97, 17:00 (FX - GEN)
A-Team (Waiting for Insane Wayne) - The A-Team helps a teen-ager protect his property from a greedy and deadly man.
11/11/97, 17:00 (FX - GEN)
A-Team (The Duke of Whispering Pines) - The A-Team travels to a small mining town in search of a missing precious-metals expert.
11/12/97, 17:00 (FX - GEN)
A-Team (Beneath the Surface) - Faceman's old buddy enlists the A-Team's help to search for sunken treasure.
11/13/97, 17:00 (FX - GEN)
A-Team (Mission of Peace) - The A-Team hopes to save a mission from being forced out of operation.
11/14/97, 17:00 (FX - GEN)
A-Team (The Trouble With Harry) - An alcoholic ex-fighter (William "The Refrigerator" Perry) is pursued by a vengeful mobster.
11/15/97, 17:00 (FX - GEN)
A-Team (A Little Town With an Accent) - After a mobster threatens to infiltrate a small town, the A-Team comes to the rescue.
11/17/97, 17:00 (FX - GEN)
A-Team (The Sound of Thunder) - Gen. Fullbright searches for his Amerasian daughter in Vietnam.
11/18/97, 17:00 (FX - GEN)
A-Team (Dishpan Man) - A powerful and mysterious government official (Robert Vaughn) blackmails Hannibal (George Peppard) and his cohorts into cooperating with him on a hostage-freeing mission in Mexico.
11/19/97, 17:00 (FX - GEN)
A-Team (Trial by Fire) - The A-Team is convicted of murdering Col. Morrison.
11/20/97, 17:00 (FX - GEN)
A-Team (Firing Line) - Murdock escapes from the veterans hospital to save Face, B.A. and Hannibal from execution.
11/21/97, 17:00 (FX - GEN)
A-Team (Quarterback Sneak) - The A-Team arranges an exhibition football game to free a famous biochemist in East Berlin. Guest star: Joe Namath.
11/22/97, 17:00 (FX - GEN)
A-Team (The Theory of Revolution) - The team hopes to rescue American intelligence agents who are imprisoned on an island.
11/24/97, 17:00 (FX - GEN)
A-Team (The Say Uncle Affair) - Stockwell is kidnapped after ordering the team to confiscate a Russian jet.
11/25/97, 17:00 (FX - GEN)
A-Team (Alive at Five) - A reporter attempts to save a future union boss who is a murder target.
11/26/97, 17:00 (FX - GEN)
A-Team (Family Reunion) - Stockwell wants the team to reunite a fugitive criminal and his daughter.
11/28/97, 17:00 (FX - GEN)
A-Team (Point of No Return) - The A-Team searches for Hannibal, who disappeared while tracking down stolen plutonium.
11/29/97, 17:00 (FX - GEN)
A-Team (The Crystal Skull) - Murdock is made a god on an island where the natives mine diamonds.
sockii ()
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"I fear you not, old woman! Neither you nor your blue hair!"
Never meddle in the affairs of Nighthawks, for we are insane, and can behave madly before our first cup of coffee. | | |
